a These were the terms, and this the form, of the Dedication of the earliest Edition of the three firft books of "The Faerie Queene” in 1590. The Dedication of the second and fubfequent impreffions, in fix books, ran thus:

"To the most high mightie and magnificent Empresse, renowmed for pietie vertue and all gracious government, Elizabeth, by the Grace of God, Queene of England, Fraunce and Ireland and of Virginia, Defendour of the Faith &c. her moft humble fervaunt, Edmund Spenser, doth in all humilitie, dedicate, present and confecrate these his labours to live with the eternitie of her fame." C.

A LETTER OF THE AUTHORS,

Expounding his whole intention in the courfe of this worke: which, for that it giveth great light to the Reader, for the better understanding is hereunto annexed.

SIR WALTER RALEIGH, KNIGHT,

LO. WARDEIN OF THE STANNERYES, AND HER MAIESTIES LIEFETEN AUNT OF THE COUNTY OF CORNEWAYLL.

IR, knowing how doubtfully all Allegories may be conftrued, and this booke of mine, which I have entituled the Faery Queene, being a continued Allegory, or darke conceit, I haue thought good, afwell for avoyding of gealous opinions and mifconftructions, as alfo for your better light in reading therof, (being fo by you commanded,) to difcover unto you the general intention and meaning, which in the whole courfe thereof I have fashioned, without expreffing of any particular purposes, or by accidents, therein occafioned. The generall end therefore of all the booke is to fashion a gentleman or noble perfon in vertuous and gentle difcipline: Which for that I conceived fhoulde be most plaufible and pleafing, being coloured with an hiftoricall fiction,

the which the most part of men delight to read, rather for variety of matter then for profite of the enfample, I chose the historye of King Arthure, as most fitte for the excellency of his perfon, being made famous by many mens former workes, and alfo furthest from the daunger of envy, and fufpition of prefent time. In which I have followed all the antique Poets hiftoricall; firft Homere, who in the Perfons of Agamemnon and Ulyffes hath enfampled a good gouernour and a vertuous man, the one in his Ilias, the other in his Odysseis: then Virgil, whofe like intention was to doe in the perfon of Aeneas: after him Ariosto comprised them both in his Orlando; and lately Taffo diffevered them again, and formed both parts in two perfons, namely that part which they in Philofophy call Ethice, or vertues of a private man, coloured in his Rinaldo; the other named Politice in his Godfredo. By enfample of which excellente Poets, I labour to pourtraict in Arthure, before he was king, the image of a brave knight, perfected in the twelve private morall vertues, as Aristotle hath devifed; the which is the purpose of these first twelve bookes: which if I finde to be well accepted, I may be perhaps encoraged to frame the other part of polliticke vertues in his perfon, after that hee came to be king.

To fome, I know, this Methode will feeme displeasaunt, which had rather have good difcipline delivered plainly in way of precepts, or fermoned at large, as they ufe, then thus clowdily enwrapped in Allegoricall devifes. But fuch, me feeme, fhould be fatisfide with the use of these dayes, seeing all things accounted by their showes, and nothing esteemed of, that is not delightfull and pleafing to commune fence. For this caufe is Xenophon preferred before Plato, for that the one, in the exquifite depth of his judgement, formed a Commune welth, fuch as it should be; but the other, in the perfon of Cyrus, and the Perfians, fashioned a governement, fuch as might beft be: So much more profitable and gratious

is doarine by enfample, then by rule. So haue I laboured to doe in the perfon of Arthure: whome I conceive, after his long education by Timon, to whom he was by Merlin delivered to be brought up, so foone as he was borne of the Lady Igrayne, to have feene in a dream or vifion the Faery Queen, with whofe excellent beauty ravished, he awaking refolved to Jeeke her out; and fo being by Merlin armed, and by Timon throughly inftructed, he went to feeke her forth in Faerye land. In that Faery Queene I meane glory in my generall intention, but in my particular I conceive the most excellent and glorious person of our foveraine the Queene, and her kingdome in Faery land. And yet, in fome places els, I doe otherwife fhadow her. For confidering fhe beareth two perfons, the one of a most royall Queene or Empresse, the other of a most vertuous and beautifull Lady, this latter part in Some places I doe expresse in Belphabe, fashioning her name according to your owne excellent conceipt of Cynthia: (Phæbe and Cynthia being both names of Diana.) So in the perfon of Prince Arthure I fette forth magnificence in particular ; which vertue, for that (according to Ariftotle and the reft) it is the perfection of all the reft, and conteineth in it them all, therefore in the whole courfe I mention the deedes of Arthure applyable to that vertue, which I write of in that booke. But of the xii. other vertues, I make xii. other knights the patrones, for the more variety of the history: Of which these three bookes contayn three.

The first of the knight of the Redcrosse, in whome I expreffe Holynes: The feconde of Sir Guyon, in whome I fette forth Temperaunce: The third of Britomartis, a Lady Knight, in whome I picture Chastity. But, because the beginning of the whole worke feemeth abrupte, and as depending upon other antecedents, it needs that ye know the occafion of these three knights feuer all adventures. For the Methode of a Poet hiftorical is not fuch, as of an Hiftoriographer.

For an Hiftoriographer difcourfeth of affayres orderly as they were donne, accounting as well the times as the actions; but a Poet thrufteth into the middeft, even where it moft concerneth him, and there recourfing to the thinges forepaste, and divining of thinges to come, maketh a pleafing Analyfis of all.

The beginning therefore of my history, if it were to be told by an Hiftoriographer should be the twelfth booke, which is the laft; where I devise that the Faery Queene kept her Annuall feafte xii.dayes; uppon which xii. fever all dayes, the occafions of the xii. feverall adventures hapned, which, being undertaken by xii. feverall knights, are in thefe xii. books feverally handled and difcourfed. The first was this. In the beginning of the feast, there prefented him felfe a tall clownishe younge man, who falling before the Queene of Faries defired a boone (as the manner then was) which during that feast she might not refuse; which was that bee might have the atchievement of any adventure, which during that feafte fhould happen: that being graunted, he rested him on the floore, unfitte through his rufticity for a better place. Soone after entred a faire Ladye in mourning weedes, riding on a white Asse, with a dwarfe behind her leading a warlike fteed, that bore the Armes of a knight, and his fpeare in the dwarfes hand. Shee, falling before the Queene of Faeries, complayned that her father and mother, an ancient King and Queene, had bene by an huge dragon many years shut up in a brafen Caftle, who thence fuffred them not to yfew; and therefore befought the Faery Queene to affygne her fome one of her knights to take on him that exployt. Prefently that clownish perfon, upstarting, defired that adventure: whereat the Queene much wondering, and the Lady much gainefaying, yet he earnestly importuned his defire. In the end the Lady · told him, that unlesse that armour which she brought, would Serve him (that is, the armour of a Chriftian man specified