Hercules, or the Kneeling Constellation
The kneeling hero: daredevils, who love a skill more dangerous than useful.
[p. 80] But now go on; with Pisces last Degrees,The humble Constellation on his KneesO'th' Right appears: And those that then are bornNo vertuous Powers, nor useful Arts adorn,But they're for treachery, mischief, spoil design'd,Guilt's in their looks and Rapine in their mind.Or if to Arts he shall incline the Breed,Such, where the Danger doth the Skill exceed,They chiefly follow; 'tis their only scopeTo mount a Precipice, or dance a Rope;Tread ³²Airy steps, and whilst thro Clouds they reel,Draw up the Crowd, and hang them at their heel.
The notes
³² Vossius out of his Ancient Manuscript reads,
Et Coeli meditatus iter vestigia perdet,
Et Perna pendens populum suspendet ab ipsa. (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).