The Swan
The Swan: keepers of birds, and singers.
[p. 69] But when this Centaur hath advanc'd his FireThrice Ten Degrees, and shews his Horse entire;The Swan displays his Wings; And then by FateThe Birds for an Enployment, and EstateAre given to every Birth: Nor can the SkiesMake better claim to every Fowl that flies;And hence to seize their own, they oft declareAgainst the Sky it self an open War;They take them flying, or they set their ToylsOn Boughs or Fields, and catch the Feather'd Spoils.Sometimes besiege their Nests with treach'rous Reed,Or draw the Net, and take them whilst they feed;Thus Luxury toyls; bold Luxury ventures farTo Foreign Lands, and Travels more than War:Numidia's Plains, and Cholcos Woods affordDelicious Tribute to the Glutton's Board.Or Nature's stubborn Laws their Art shall break,Enlarge Converse, and teach the Birds to speak.
[p. 70] The ²⁶Swan still shrouds a God, 'tis more than Fowl,The Feather'd part confines a noble Soul;And when cold Death comes on, the God dilatesHis Powers, and softly murmurs o're his Fates.Or they on Doves shall all their Cares employ,To make them Thrive, or teach them to decoy,Or carry Messages; the Birds conveyTheir Masters Orders, nor mistake their way:They know this Star, and they this Influence own,Who carry sportive Birds about the Town;Who with one Sparrow wretched Life maintain;These are his Powers, and thus inclines the Swan.
The notes
²⁶ Alluding to the Fable, which says Jupiter Courted Leda in the shape of a Swan. (Creech’s note, 1697)
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The text is Thomas Creech's 1697 verse translation, checked word by word between three scans of the same type (the 1697 printing, the 1700 printing and a third copy). The long s is printed as s; every other spelling is Creech's. Pages are cited as the 1697 printing numbers them. The portrait is William Marshall’s engraving of Lilly from the front of the 1659 printing (Wellcome Library, public domain).