crutch; and inscribed in the copy, "FALSITAS IN ME SEMPER EST." The
Fidessa of Spenser, the great enemy of Una, or Truth, is far more subtly
conceived, probably not without special reference to the Papal deceits.
In her true form she is a loathsome hag, but in her outward aspect,
"A goodly lady, clad in scarlet red,
Purfled with gold and pearle;...
Her wanton palfrey all was overspred.
With tinsell trappings, woven like a wave,
Whose bridle rung with golden bels and bosses brave."
Dante's Fraud, Geryon, is the finest personification of all, but the
description (Inferno, canto XVII.) is too long to be quoted.