Jerusalem Delivered

by Torquato Tasso

  Her gown tucked up, and in her hand a bow;

  In her sweet face her new displeasures shone,

  Mixed with the native beauties there which grow,

  And quickened so her looks that in sharp wise

  It seems she threats and yet her threats entice.

  XXXIII

  No more remained, when, like a shooting star,

  Armida suddenly her train displayed.

  She sat sublime upon a gorgeous car,

  And as a quivered archer was arrayed.

  Her lovely face with recent anger gleamed,

  Which with its fire her natural sweetness armed;

  Relentless, and in bitter mood, she seemed

  To threaten all, and still, while threatening, charmed.

  XXXIV.

  Somiglia il carro a quel che porta il giorno,

  Lucido di pirópi e di giacinti:

  E frena il dotto auriga al giogo adorno

  268 Quattro unicorni a coppia a coppia avvinti:

  Cento donzelle e cento paggj intorno

  Pur di faretra gli omeri van cinti,

  Ed a bianchi destrier premono il dorso,

  272 Che sono al giro pronti, e lievi al corso.

  XXXIV

  Her chariot like Aurora’s glorious wain,

  With carbuncles and jacinths glistered round:

  Her coachman guided with the golden rein

  Four unicorns, by couples yoked and bound;

  Of squires and lovely ladies hundreds twain,

  Whose rattling quivers at their backs resound,

  On milk-white steeds, wait on the chariot bright,

  Their steeds to manage, ready; swift, to flight.

  XXXIV

  Her car with jacinths and carbuncles shone,

  And vied in splendour with the glorious Morn’s;

  A charioteer, the golden joke upon,

  Drove, bound in pairs, four docile unicorns.

  A hundred girls and pages round her course,

  Whose tender shoulders polished quivers bear;

  Each mounted is upon a milk-white horse,

  Well broke, and bitted, and as swift as air.

  XXXV.

  Segue il suo stuolo, ed Aradin con quello

  Ch’Idraote assoldò nella Soria.

  Come allor che ‘l rinato unico augello

  276 I suo’ Etiópi a visitar s’invia,

  Vario e vago la piuma, e ricco e bello

  Di monil, di corona aurea natía;

  Stupisce il mondo, e va dietro ed ai lati,

  280 Maravigliando, esercito d’alati:

  XXXV

  Followed her troop led forth by Aradin,

  Which Hidraort from Syria’s kingdom sent,

  As when the new-born phoenix doth begin

  To fly to Ethiop-ward, at the fair bent

  Of her rich wings strange plumes and feathers thin

  Her crowns and chains with native gold besprent,

  The world amazed stands; and with her fly

  An host of wondering birds, that sing and cry:

  XXXV

  Then came her troops, by Aradino led,

  And raised by Idraot in Palestine.

  As when reborn the bird unique doth spread

  His wings to visit lands beneath the line,

  His variegated plumage, necklace rare,

  And golden coronet, the world astound;

  While flocks of birds, his escort thro’ the air,

  In wonder lost, on all sides hover round;

  XXXVI.

  Così passa costei, maravigliosa

  D’abito, di maniere, e di sembiante.

  Non è allor sì inumana o sì ritrosa

  284 Alma d’Amor, che non divenga amante.

  Veduta appena, e in gravità sdegnosa,

  Invaghir può genti sì varie e tante!

  Che sarà poi quando, in più lieto viso,

  288 Co’ begli occhj lusinghi e col bel riso?

  XXXVI

  So passed Armida, looked on, gazed on, so,

  A wondrous dame in habit, gesture, face;

  There lived no wight to love so great a foe

  But wished and longed those beauties to embrace,

  Scant seen, with anger sullen, sad for woe,

  She conquered all the lords and knights in place,

  What would she do, her sorrows passed, think you,

  When her fair eyes, her looks and smiles shall woo?

  XXXVI

  So passed Armida, seeming, as she drove,

  In look, attire, and port, a marvel rare;

  Nor was there one such stubborn soul of love,

  But straight became enamoured of the fair.

  If, when scarce seen, and in such sullen mood,

  She could so great and various hosts beguile,

  What were the spell, when she, all sunshine, wooed

  With her seductive eyes and witching smile?

  XXXVII.

  Ma poi ch’ella è passata, il Re de’ Regi

  Comanda ch’Emireno a se nè vegna:

  Chè lui preporre a tutti i duci egregj,

  292 E duce farlo universal disegna.

  Quel, già presago, ai meritati pregj

  Con fronte vien che ben del grado è degna:

  La guardia de’ Circassi in due si fende

  296 E gli fa strada al seggio, ed ei v’ascende.

  XXXVII

  She passed, the king commanded Emiren

  Of his rich throne to mount the lofty stage,

  To whom his host, his army, and his men,

  He would commit, now in his graver age.

  With stately grace the man approached then;

  His looks his coming honor did presage:

  The guard asunder cleft and passage made,

  He to the throne up went, and there he stayed.

  XXXVII

  When she had passed, the king of kings commands

  That they the gallant Emireno call;

  Preferred to the other captains of his bands,

  He meant to make him captain over all;

  Divining his intent, with look of pride,

  That told how due the honour, he attends:

  Straight the Circassian guard their ranks divide,

  And make a path, while he the throne ascends.

  XXXVIII.

  E chino il capo e le ginocchia, al petto

  Giunge la destra; e’l Re così gli dice:

  Tè questo scettro; a te, Emiren, commetto

  300 Le genti, e tu sostieni in lor mia vice:

  E porta, liberando il Re soggetto,

  Su’ Franchi l’ira mia vendicatrice.

  Và, vedi, e vinci: e non lasciar de’ vinti

  304 Avanzo, e mena presi i non estinti.

  XXXVIII

  To earth he cast his eyes, and bent his knee:

  To whom the king thus gan his will explain,

  “To thee this sceptre, Emiren, to thee

  These armies I commit, my place sustain

  Mongst them, go set the king of Judah free,

  And let the Frenchmen feel my just disdain,

  Go meet them, conquer them, leave none alive;

  Or those that scape from battle, bring captive.”

  XXXVIII

  With head in reverence bowed, and bended knee,

  Upon his heart he laid his loyal hand,

  When thus the king: ‘O Emiren, to thee

  I entrust this sceptre and the chief command;

  Hurl on the Franks my vengeful wrath, and rive

  The galling chains of the beleaguered king;

  Go, see, and conquer; leave no soul alive,

  Or should one ‘scape, him back a prisoner bring.’

  XXXIX.

  Così parlò il Tiranno; e del soprano

  Imperio il cavalier la verga prese.

  Prendo scettro, Signor, d’invitta mano,

  308 Disse, e vo co’ tuo’ auspicj all’alte imprese:

  E spero in tua virt�
�, tuo capitano,

  Dell’Asia vendicar le gravi offese.

  Nè tornerò, se vincitor non torno;

  312 E la perdita avrà morte, non scorno.

  XXXIX

  Thus spake the tyrant, and the sceptre laid

  With all his sovereign power upon the knight:

  “I take this sceptre at your hand,” he said,

  “And with your happy fortune go to fight,

  And trust, my lord, in your great virtue’s aid

  To venge all Asia’s harms, her wrongs to right,

  Nor e’er but victor will I see your face;

  Our overthrow shall bring death, not disgrace.

  XXXIX

  The knight then took the symbol of command,

  Soon as the tyrant ceased, and thus replied:

  ‘I take the sceptre from thy unconquered hand,

  And to the emprise proceed, thy star my guide;

  And, as thy captain, hope, in right of thee,

  Asia’s deep wrongs to vindicate. Thy face

  I ne’er, except as conqueror, will see;

  Failure may bring me death, but not disgrace.

  XL.

  Ben prego il Ciel che, s’ordinato male

  (Ch’io già nol credo) di là su minaccia;

  Tutta sul capo mio quella fatale

  316 Tempesta accolta di sfogar gli piaccia:

  E salvo rieda il campo, e in trionfale

  Più che in funebre pompa il duce giaccia.

  Tacque; e seguì co’ popolari accenti

  320 Misto un gran suon di barbari instrumenti.

  XL

  “Heavens grant if evil, yet no mishap I dread,

  Or harm they threaten against this camp of thine,

  That all that mischief fall upon my head,

  Theirs be the conquest, and the danger mine;

  And let them safe bring home their captain dead,

  Buried in pomp of triumph’s glorious shine.”

  He ceased, and then a murmur loud up went,

  With noise of joy and sound of instrument.

  XL

  ‘And Heaven I pray, should its indignant arm

  Misfortune menace, which I don’t believe,

  That on my head alone the fatal storm

  May spend its fury, but uninjured leave

  The gallant host, and that their chief be borne

  Back in triumphal, more than funeral pride.’

  He ceased, the clang of many a barbarous horn

  To the camp’s hearty wild huzzas replied.

  XLI.

  E fra le grida e i suoni, in mezzo a densa

  Nobile turba, il Re de’ Re si parte:

  E giunto alla gran tenda, a lieta mensa

  324 Raccoglie i duci, e siede egli in disparte:

  Ond’or cibo, or parole altrui dispensa;

  Nè lascia inonorata alcuna parte.

  Armida all’arte sue ben trova loco

  328 Quivi opportun, fra l’allegrezza e ‘l gioco.

  XLI

  Amid the noise and shout uprose the king,

  Environed with many a noble peer

  That to his royal tent the monarch bring,

  And there he feasted them and made them cheer,

  To him and him he talked, and carved each thing,

  The greatest honored, meanest graced were;

  And while this mirth, this joy and feast doth last,

  Armida found fit time her nets to cast:

  XLI

  Girt by his staff, amid their ringing cheers,

  The mighty monarch hastened to depart;

  And, reached his tent, assembled his chief peers

  To a gay banquet — but he sat apart,

  Dispensing viands now, now words of grace,

  He honoured all. There fair Armida found

  For her designs a most convenient place,

  While ‘mong them mirth and revelry flew round.

  XLII.

  Ma già tolte le mense, ella che vede

  Tutte le viste in se fisse ed intente:

  E che a’ segni ben noti omai s’avvede

  332 Che sparso è il suo velen per ogni mente:

  Sorge, e si volge al Re dalla sua sede

  Con atto insieme altero e riverente:

  E quanto può, magnanima e feroce

  336 Cerca parer nel volto e nella voce.

  XLII

  But when the feast was done, she, that espied

  All eyes on her fair visage fixed and bent,

  And by new notes and certain signs described,

  How love’s empoisoned fire their entrails brent,

  Arose, and where the king sate in his pride,

  With stately pace and humble gestures, went;

  And as she could in looks in voice she strove

  Fierce, stern, bold, angry, and severe to prove.

  XLII

  Soon as the tables cleared, the artful fair

  Perceived all eyes were fixed on her alone,

  And was by many well-known signs aware

  How deep her poison on their minds was sown.

  She rose, and turning round in attitude

  That of respect and stateliness partook,

  Tried to appear as fully as she could

  Fierce and magnanimous in voice and look:

  XLIII.

  O Re supremo, dice, anch’io ne vegno

  Per la fe, per la patria ad impiegarmi.

  Donna son’io; ma regal donna: indegno

  340 Già di Reina il guerreggiar non parmi.

  Usi ogn’arte regal chi vuole il regno:

  Dansi all’istessa man lo scettro, e l’armi.

  Saprà la mia (nè torpe al ferro, o langue)

  344 Ferire, e trar delle ferite il sangue.

  XLIII

  “Great Emperor, behold me here,” she said.

  “For thee, my country, and my faith to fight,

  A dame, a virgin, but a royal maid;

  And worthy seems this war a princess hight,

  For by the sword the sceptre is upstayed,

  This hand can use them both with skill and might,

  This hand of mine can strike, and at each blow

  Thy foes and ours kill, wound, and overthrow.

  XLIII

  ‘I, too, have come,’ she said, ‘O king supreme,

  Aid for our faith and country to afford;

  Woman I am, but royal, nor can deem

  It wrong that I, a queen, unsheathe the sword:

  Who reigns should practise every royal art,

  And the same hand both arms and sceptre wield.

  Mine shall strike home, aye, to the very heart,

  And strow with foeman’s blood the battle-field.

  XLIV.

  Nè creder che sia questo il dì primiero,

  Ch’a ciò nobil m’invoglia alta vaghezza;

  Chè in pro di nostra legge, e del tuo impero

  348 Son’io già prima a militar avvezza.

  Ben rammentar dei tu s’io dico il vero;

  Chè d’alcun’opra nostra hai pur contezza:

  E sai, che molti de’ maggior campioni

  352 Che dispieghin la Croce, io fei prigioni.

  XLIV

  “Nor yet suppose this is the foremost day

  Wherein to war I bent my noble thought,

  But for the surety of thy realms, and stay

  Of our religion true, ere this I wrought:

  Yourself best know if this be true I say,

  Or if my former deeds rejoiced you aught,

  When Godfrey’s hardy knights and princes strong

  I captive took, and held in bondage long.

  XLIV

  ‘Nor think that this is the first day my zeal

  Has urged me forward in this noble cause,

  For I before have battled for thy weal,

  And in support of Mahmoud’s sacred laws;

  Thou shouldst remember if I speak the truth,

  Who hast some knowledge of
each gain, each loss;

  Thou know’st what numbers of its bravest youth

  I captured prisoners from the purple Cross.

  XLV.

  Da me presi ed avvinti, e da me furo

  In magnifico dono a te mandati:

  Ed ancor si stariano in fondo oscuro

  356 Di perpetua prigion per te guardati:

  E saresti ora tu via più sicuro

  Di terminar, vincendo, i tuoi gran piati;

  Se non che ‘l fier Rinaldo, il qual uccise

  360 I miei guerrieri, in libertà gli mise.

  XLV

  “I took them, bound them, and so sent them bound

  To thee, a noble gift, with whom they had

  Condemned low in dungeon under ground

  Forever dwelt, in woe and torment sad:

  So might thine host an easy way have found

  To end this doubtful war, with conquest glad,

  Had not Rinaldo fierce my knights all slain,

  And set those lords, his friends, at large again.

  XLV

  ‘By me they were both taken and secured,

  And unto thee as splendid trophies sent;

  And still in thy dark dungeons had endured

  From thee perpetual imprisonment,

  And thou hadst been a thousand times more sure

  To have crowned thy great dispute with victory,

  Did not Rinaldo fatal means procure

  To slay my escort, and to set them free.

  XLVI.

  Chi sia Rinaldo è noto: e quì di lui

  Lunga istoria di cose anco si conta:

  Questi è il crudele, ond’aspramente i’ fui

  364 Offesa poi, nè vendicata ho l’onta.

  Onde sdegno a ragione aggiunge i sui

  Stimoli, e più mi rende all’arme pronta.

  Ma qual sia la mia ingiuria, a lungo detta

  368 Saravvi: or tanto basti. Io vuò vendetta.

  XLVI

  “Rinaldo is well known,” and there a long

  And true rehearsal made she of his deeds,

  “This is the knight that since hath done me wrong,

  Wrong yet untold, that sharp revengement needs:

  Displeasure therefore, mixed with reason strong,

  This thirst of war in me, this courage breeds;

  Nor how he injured me time serves to tell,

  Let this suffice, I seek revengement fell,

  XLVI

  ‘Who this Rinaldo is, is widely known,

  Ev’n here has reached some mention of his name;