Jerusalem Delivered

by Torquato Tasso

  Broad in the front behind more strait uptied

  His army ready stood the fight to try,

  And to the middle ward well armed he brings

  His footmen strong, his horsemen served for wings.

  IX

  To the left wing, spread underneath the bent

  Of the steep hill that saved their flank and side,

  The Roberts twain, two leaders good, he sent;

  His brother had the middle ward to guide;

  To the right wing himself in person went

  Down, where the plain was dangerous, broad and wide,

  And where his foes with their great numbers would

  Perchance environ round his squadrons bold.

  X

  There all his Lorrainers and men of might,

  All his best armed he placed, and chosen bands,

  And with those horse some footmen armed light,

  That archers were, used to that service, stands;

  The adventurers then, in battle and in fight

  Well tried, a squadron famous through all lands,

  On the right hand he set, somedeal aside,

  Rinaldo was their leader, lord and guide.

  XI

  To whom the Duke, “In thee our hope is laid

  Of victory, thou must the conquest gain,

  Behind this mighty wing, so far displayed,

  Thou with thy noble squadron close remain;

  And when the Pagans would our backs invade,

  Assail them then, and make their onset vain;

  For if I guess aright, they have in mind

  To compass us, and charge our troops behind.”

  XII

  Then through his host, that took so large a scope,

  He rode, and viewed them all, both horse and foot;

  His face was bare, his helm unclosed and ope,

  Lightened his eyes, his looks bright fire shot out;

  He cheers the fearful, comforts them that hope,

  And to the bold recounts his boasting stout,

  And to the valiant his adventures hard,

  These bids he look for praise, those for reward.

  XIII

  At last he stayed where of his squadrons bold

  And noblest troops assembled was best part;

  There from a rising bank his will he told,

  And all that heard his speech thereat took heart:

  And as the mountain snow from mountains cold

  Runs down in streams with eloquence and art,

  So from his lips his words and speeches fell,

  Shrill, speedy, pleasant, sweet, and placed well.

  XIV

  “My hardy host, you conquerors of the East,

  You scourge wherewith Christ whips his heathen fone,

  Of victory behold the latest feast,

  See the last day for which you wished alone;

  Not without cause the Saracens most and least

  Our gracious Lord hath gathered here in one,

  For all your foes and his assembled are,

  That one day’s fight may end seven years of war.

  XV

  “This fight shall bring us many victories,

  The danger none, the labor will be small,

  Let not the number of your enemies

  Dismay your hearts, grant fear no place at all;

  For strife and discord through their army flies,

  Their bands ill ranked themselves entangle shall,

  And few of them to strike or fight shall come,

  For some want strength, some heart, some elbow-room.

  XVI

  “This host, with whom you must encounter now,

  Are men half naked, without strength or skill,

  From idleness, or following the plough,

  Late pressed forth to war against their will,

  Their swords are blunt, shields thin, soon pierced through,

  Their banners shake, their bearers shrink, for ill

  Their leaders heard, obeyed, or followed be,

  Their loss, their flight, their death I will foresee.

  XVII

  “Their captain clad in purple, armed in gold,

  That seems so fierce, so hardy, stout and strong,

  The Moors or weak Arabians vanquish could,

  Yet can he not resist your valors long.

  What can he do, though wise, though sage, though bold,

  In that confusion, trouble, thrust and throng?

  Ill known he is, and worse he knows his host,

  Strange lords ill feared are, ill obeyed of most.

  XVIII

  “But I am captain of this chosen crew,

  With whom I oft have conquered, triumphed oft,

  Your lands and lineages long since I knew,

  Each knight obeys my rule, mild, easy, soft,

  I know each sword, each dart, each shaft I view,

  Although the quarrel fly in skies aloft,

  Whether the same of Ireland be, or France,

  And from what bow it comes, what hand perchance.

  XIX

  “I ask an easy and a usual thing,

  As you have oft, this day, so win the field,

  Let zeal and honor be your virtue’s sting,

  Your lives, my fame, Christ’s faith defend and shield,

  To earth these Pagans slain and wounded bring,

  Tread on their necks, make them all die or yield, —

  What need I more exhort you? from your eyes

  I see how victory, how conquest flies.”

  XX

  Upon the captain, when his speech was done,

  It seemed a lamp and golden light down came,

  As from night’s azure mantle oft doth run

  Or fall, a sliding star, or shining flame;

  But from the bosom of the burning sun

  Proceeded this, and garland-wise the same

  Godfredo’s noble head encompassed round,

  And, as some thought, foreshowed he should be crowned.

  XXI

  Perchance, if man’s proud thought or saucy tongue

  Have leave to judge or guess at heavenly things,

  This was the angel which had kept him long,

  That now came down, and hid him with his wings.

  While thus the Duke bespeaks his armies strong,

  And every troop and band in order brings.

  Lord Emiren his host disposed well,

  And with bold words whet on their courage fell;

  XXII

  The man brought forth his army great with speed,

  In order good, his foes at hand he spied,

  Like the new moon his host two horns did spreed,

  In midst the foot, the horse were on each side,

  The right wing kept he for himself to lead,

  Great Altamore received the left to guide,

  The middle ward led Muleasses proud,

  And in that battle fair Armida stood.

  XXIII

  On the right quarter stood the Indian grim,

  With Tisipherne and all the king’s own band;

  But when the left wing spread her squadrons trim

  O’er the large plain, did Altamoro stand,

  With African and Persian kings with him,

  And two that came from Meroe’s hot sand,

  And all his crossbows and his slings he placed,

  Where room best served to shoot, to throw, to cast.

  XXIV

  Thus Emiren his host put in array,

  And rode from band to band, from rank to rank,

  His truchmen now, and now himself, doth say,

  What spoil his folk shall gain, what praise, what thank.

  To him that feared, “Look up, ours is the day,”

  He says, “Vile fear to bold hearts never sank,

  How dareth one against an hundred fight?

  Our cry, our shade, will put them all to flight.”

  XXV

  But to the bol
d, “Go, hardy knight,” he says,

  “His prey out of this lion’s paws go tear:”

  To some before his thoughts the shape he lays,

  And makes therein the image true appear,

  How his sad country him entreats and prays,

  His house, his loving wife, and children dear:

  “Suppose,” quoth he, “thy country doth beseech

  And pray thee thus, suppose this is her speech.

  XXVI

  “Defend my laws, uphold my temples brave,

  My blood from washing of my streets withhold,

  From ravishing my virgins keep, and save

  Thine ancestors’ dead bones and ashes cold!

  To thee thy fathers dear and parents grave

  Show their uncovered heads, white, hoary, old,

  To thee thy wife — her breasts with tears o’erspread —

  Thy sons, their cradles, shows, thy marriage bed.”

  XXVII

  To all the rest, “You for her honor’s sake

  Whom Asia makes her champions, by your might

  Upon these thieves, weak, feeble, few, must take

  A sharp revenge, yet just, deserved and right.”

  Thus many words in several tongues he spake,

  And all his sundry nations to sharp fight

  Encouraged, but now the dukes had done

  Their speeches all, the hosts together run.

  XXVIII

  It was a great, a strange and wondrous sight,

  When front to front those noble armies met,

  How every troop, how in each troop each knight

  Stood prest to move, to fight, and praise to get,

  Loose in the wind waved their ensigns light,

  Trembled the plumes that on their crests were set;

  Their arms, impresses, colors, gold and stone,

  Against the sunbeams smiled, flamed, sparkled, shone.

  XXIX

  Of dry topped oaks they seemed two forests thick,

  So did each host with spears and pikes abound,

  Bent were their bows, in rests their lances stick,

  Their hands shook swords, their slings held cobbles round:

  Each steed to run was ready, prest and quick,

  At his commander’s spur, his hand, his sound,

  He chafes, he stamps, careers, and turns about,

  He foams, snorts, neighs, and fire and smoke breathes out.

  XXX

  Horror itself in that fair fight seemed fair,

  And pleasure flew amid sad dread and fear;

  The trumpets shrill, that thundered in the air,

  Were music mild and sweet to every ear:

  The faithful camp, though less, yet seemed more rare

  In that strange noise, more warlike, shrill and clear,

  In notes more sweet, the Pagan trumpets jar,

  These sung, their armors shined, these glistered far.

  XXXI

  The Christian trumpets give the deadly call,

  The Pagans answer, and the fight accept;

  The godly Frenchmen on their knees down fall

  To pray, and kissed the earth, and then up leapt

  To fight, the land between was vanished all,

  In combat close each host to other stepped;

  For now the wings had skirmish hot begun,

  And with their battles forth the footmen run.

  XXXII

  But who was first of all the Christian train,

  That gave the onset first, first won renown?

  Gildippes thou wert she, for by thee slain

  The King of Orms, Hircano, tumbled down,

  The man’s breastbone thou clov’st and rent in twain,

  So Heaven with honor would thee bless and crown,

  Pierced through he fell, and falling hard withal

  His foe praised for her strength and for his fall.

  XXXIII

  Her lance thus broke, the hardy dame forth drew

  With her strong hand a fine and trenchant blade,

  And gainst the Persians fierce and bold she flew,

  And in their troop wide streets and lanes she made,

  Even in the girdling-stead divided new

  In pieces twain, Zopire on earth she laid;

  And then Alarco’s head she swept off clean,

  Which like a football tumbled on the green.

  XXXIV

  A blow felled Artaxerxes, with a thrust

  Was Argeus slain, the first lay in a trance,

  Ismael’s left hand cut off fell in the dust,

  For on his wrist her sword fell down by chance:

  The hand let go the bridle where it lust,

  The blow upon the courser’s ears did glance,

  Who felt the reins at large, and with the stroke

  Half mad, the ranks disordered, troubled, broke.

  XXXV

  All these, and many mo, by time forgot,

  She slew and wounded, when against her came

  The angry Persians all, cast on a knot,

  For on her person would they purchase fame:

  But her dear spouse and husband wanted not

  In so great need, to aid the noble dame;

  Thus joined, the haps of war unhurt they prove,

  Their strength was double, double was their love.

  XXXVI

  The noble lovers use well might you see,

  A wondrous guise, till then unseen, unheard,

  To save themselves forgot both he and she,

  Each other’s life did keep, defend, and guard;

  The strokes that gainst her lord discharged be,

  The dame had care to bear, to break, to ward,

  His shield kept off the blows bent on his dear,

  Which, if need be, his naked head should bear.

  XXXVII

  So each saved other, each for other’s wrong

  Would vengeance take, but not revenge their own:

  The valiant Soldan Artabano strong

  Of Boecan Isle, by her was overthrown,

  And by his hand, the bodies dead among,

  Alvante, that durst his mistress wound, fell down,

  And she between the eyes hit Arimont,

  Who hurt her lord, and cleft in twain his front.

  XXXVIII

  But Altamore who had that wing to lead

  Far greater slaughter on the Christians made;

  For where he turned his sword, or twined his steed,

  He slew, or man and beast on earth down laid,

  Happy was he that was at first struck dead,

  That fell not down on live, for whom his blade

  Had speared, the same cast in the dusty street

  His horse tore with his teeth, bruised with his feet.

  XXXIX

  By this brave Persian’s valor, killed and slain

  Were strong Brunello and Ardonia great;

  The first his head and helm had cleft in twain,

  The last in stranger-wise he did intreat,

  For through his heart he pierced, and his seat,

  Where laughter hath his fountain and his seat,

  So that, a dreadful thing, believed uneath,

  He laughed for pain, and laughed himself to death.

  XL

  Nor these alone with that accursed knife,

  Of this sweet light and breath deprived lie;

  But with that cruel weapon lost their life

  Gentonio, Guascar, Rosimond, and Guy;

  Who knows how many in that fatal strife

  He slew? what knights his courser fierce made die?

  The names and countries of the people slain

  Who tells? their wounds and deaths who can explain?

  XLI

  With this fierce king encounter durst not one.

  Not one durst combat him in equal field,

  Gildippes undertook that task alone;

  No doubt could make her shrink, no danger yield,

 
By Thermodont was never Amazone,

  Who managed steeled axe, or carried shield,

  That seemed so bold as she, so strong, so light,

  When forth she run to meet that dreadful knight.

  XLII

  She hit him, where with gold and rich anmail,

  His diadem did on his helmet flame,

  She broke and cleft the crown, and caused him veil

  His proud and lofty top, his crest down came,

  Strong seemed her arm that could so well assail:

  The Pagan shook for spite and blushed for shame,

  Forward he rushed, and would at once requite

  Shame with disgrace, and with revenge despite.

  XLIII

  Right on the front he gave that lady kind

  A blow so huge, so strong, so great, so sore,

  That out of sense and feeling, down she twined:

  But her dear knight his love from ground upbore,

  Were it their fortune, or his noble mind,

  He stayed his hand and strook the dame no more:

  A lion so stalks by, and with proud eyes

  Beholds, but scorns to hurt a man that lies.

  XLIV

  This while Ormondo false, whose cruel hand

  Was armed and prest to give the trait’rous blow,

  With all his fellows mongst Godfredo’s band

  Entered unseen, disguised that few them know:

  The thievish wolves, when night o’ershades the land,

  That seem like faithful dogs in shape and show,

  So to the closed folds in secret creep,

  And entrance seek; to kill some harmless sheep.

  XLV

  He proached nigh, and to Godfredo’s side

  The bloody Pagan now was placed near:

  But when his colors gold and white he spied,

  And saw the other signs that forged were,

  “See, see, this traitor false!” the captain cried,

  “That like a Frenchman would in show appear,

  Behold how near his mates and he are crept!”

  This said, upon the villain forth he leapt;

  LXVI

  Deadly he wounded him, and that false knight

  Nor strikes nor wards nor striveth to be gone;

  But, as Medusa’s head were in his sight,

  Stood like a man new turned to marble stone,

  All lances broke, unsheathed all weapons bright,

  All quivers emptied were on them alone,

  In parts so many were the traitors cleft,

  That those dead men had no dead bodies left.

  LXVII

  When Godfrey was with Pagan blood bespread,

  He entered then the fight and that was past

  Where the bold Persian fought and combated,

  Where the close ranks he opened, cleft and brast;

  Before the knight the troops and squadrons fled,

  As Afric dust before the southern blast;

  The Duke recalled them, in array them placed,