XVI. Geffrey Whitney. Embleme V. Edward Farr, ed. 1845. Select Poetry, Chiefly Devotional, of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth

Edward Farr, ed. Select Poetry of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth. 1845.

Embleme V

XVI. Geffrey Whitney


Motto: Prouidentia. SVCHE prouidence hath nature secret wroughte
In creatures wilde, and eeke such knowledge straunge,
That man by them in somme thinges maie be taughte:
As some foretell when weather faire will chaunge;
Of heate, of raine, of winde, and tempests’ rage,	5
Some showe by signes, and with their songs presage.

But leauing theise, which almost all doe knowe;
The crocodile, by whome th’ Ægyptians watche
Howe farre that yeare shall mightie Nilus flowe,
For theire shee likes to laie her egges and hatche:	10
Such skill deuine, and science to foretell,
Hath nature lente vnto this serpent fell.

Which showes they should with due regarde foresee,
When anie one doth take in hande a cause,
The drifte and ende of that they doe decree,	15
And longe thereon to ponder and to pause:
For after-witts are like a shower of rayne,
Which moistes the soile when witherd is the graine.