May he fall in with beasts that scatter fire,
⁠Like Jason, when he sought the fleece of gold,
Or change from man to beast three years entire,
⁠As King Nebuchadnezzar did of old;
Or else have times as shameful and as bad
As Trojan folk for ravished Helen had;
Or gulfed with Proserpine and Tantalus
Let hell's deep fen devour him dolorous,
⁠With worse to bear than Job's worst sufferance,
Bound in his prison‑maze with Dædalus,
⁠Who could wish evil to the state of France!

May he four months, like bitterns in the mire,
⁠Howl with head downmost in the lake‑springs cold,