1    Are the knights ready to begin the triumph?

2    They are, my liege;
3    And stay your coming to present themselves.

4    Return them, we are ready; and our daughter,
5    In honour of whose birth these triumphs are,
6    Sits here, like beauty's child, whom nature gat
7    For men to see, and seeing wonder at.

8    It pleaseth you, my royal father, to express
9    My commendations great, whose merit's less.

10   It's fit it should be so; for princes are
11   A model which heaven makes like to itself:
12   As jewels lose their glory if neglected,
13   So princes their renowns if not respected.
14   'Tis now your honour, daughter, to explain
15   The labour of each knight in his device.

16   Which, to preserve mine honour, I'll perform.

17   Who is the first that doth prefer himself?

18   A knight of Sparta, my renowned father;
19   And the device he bears upon his shield
20   Is a black Ethiope reaching at the sun
21   The word, 'Lux tua vita mihi.'

22   He loves you well that holds his life of you.
The Second Knight passes over
23   Who is the second that presents himself?

24   A prince of Macedon, my royal father;
25   And the device he bears upon his shield
26   Is an arm'd knight that's conquer'd by a lady;
27   The motto thus, in Spanish, 'Piu por dulzura que por fuerza.'

28   And what's the third?

29   The third of Antioch;
30   And his device, a wreath of chivalry;
31   The word, 'Me pompae provexit apex.'

32   What is the fourth?

33   A burning torch that's turned upside down;
34   The word, 'Quod me alit, me extinguit.'

35   Which shows that beauty hath his power and will,
36   Which can as well inflame as it can kill.

37   The fifth, an hand environed with clouds,
38   Holding out gold that's by the touchstone tried;
39   The motto thus, 'Sic spectanda fides.'

40   And what's
41   The sixth and last, the which the knight himself
42   With such a graceful courtesy deliver'd?

43   He seems to be a stranger; but his present is
44   A wither'd branch, that's only green at top;
45   The motto, 'In hac spe vivo.'

46   A pretty moral;
47   From the dejected state wherein he is,
48   He hopes by you his fortunes yet may flourish.

49   He had need mean better than his outward show
50   Can any way speak in his just commend;
51   For by his rusty outside he appears
52   To have practised more the whipstock than the lance.

53   He well may be a stranger, for he comes
54   To an honour'd triumph strangely furnished.

55   And on set purpose let his armour rust
56   Until this day, to scour it in the dust.

57   Opinion's but a fool, that makes us scan
58   The outward habit by the inward man.
59   But stay, the knights are coming: we will withdraw
60   Into the gallery.