A collection of emblemes, ancient and moderne quickened vvith metricall illustrations, both morall and divine: and disposed into lotteries, that instruction, and good counsell, may bee furthered by an honest and pleasant recreation. By George VVither. The first booke.

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Title: A collection of emblemes, ancient and moderne quickened vvith metricall illustrations, both morall and divine: and disposed into lotteries, that instruction, and good counsell, may bee furthered by an honest and pleasant recreation. By George VVither. The first booke.
Author: Wither, George, 1588-1667.
Publication: London :: Printed by A[ugustine] M[athewes] for Iohn Grismond, and are to be sold at the signe of the Gunne in Ivie-Lane,; MDCXXXV. [1635]
Rights/Permissions: To the extent possible under law, the Text Creation Partnership has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above, according to the terms of the CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/). This waiver does not extend to any page images or other supplementary files associated with this work, which may be protected by copyright or other license restrictions. Please go to http://www.textcreationpartnership.org/ for more information.
Subject terms: Emblem books, English -- Early works to 1800.
Cite this Item: "A collection of emblemes, ancient and moderne quickened vvith metricall illustrations, both morall and divine: and disposed into lotteries, that instruction, and good counsell, may bee furthered by an honest and pleasant recreation. By George VVither. The first booke." In the digital collection Early English Books Online. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/A15631.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 2, 2024.

Pages

ILLVSTR. XXXIX. Book. 3
THe big-bon'd Oxe, in pace is very slow,
And, in his travaile, step by step, doth goe,
So leisurely, as if he tir'd had bin,
Before his painfull Iourney did beginne;
Yet, all the day, he stifly ploddeth on,
Vntill the labour of the day be done:
And, seemes as fresh (though he his taske hath wrought)
As when to worke, he first of all was brought.
Meane-while, the Palfray, which more swiftnesse had,
Hath lost his breath, or proves a Resty-jade.
This Emblem, therefore, maketh it appeare,
How much it profiteth, to persevere;
And, what a little Industry will doe,
If wee continue constant thereunto.
For, meanest Faculties, discreetly us'd,
May get the start, of nobler Gifts, abus'd.
This, may obserued be in many a one:
For (when their course of life was first begunne)
Some, whose refined wits, aspi'rd as high,
As if above the Sphaeres, they were to flie:
By Sloth, or Pride, or over-trusting to
Their owne Sufficiencies, themselves undoe.
Yea and those forward-wits, have liv'd to see
Themselves inferiours, unto those, to be,
Whom, they did in their jollity, contemne,
As blocks, or dunces, in respect of them.
Then, learne, Great-wits, this folly to prevent:
Let Meane-wits, take from hence, incouragement:
And, let us all, in our Affaires proceed,
With timely leisure, and with comely speed.