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Fovre bookes of Du Bartas

I. The Arke, II. Babylon, III. The Colonnyes, IIII. The Columues or Pyllars: In French and English, for the Instrvction and Pleasvre of Svch as Delight in Both Langvages. By William Lisle ... Together with a large Commentary by S. G. S

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The soldiour Triangles, and th'architect Quadrangles,
With hundred other shapes of more increased Angles,
Sharpe, blont, or falling right; Loe here two crooked lines,
One like a crawling Snake, one like a Dodman twines:
Lo many crooked shapes, and here, of all the rest
The Circle in fauour most with eu'ry learned brest;
Whose roundell doth it selfe right-equally display,
And from the Center stands like distant euery way.
Here measure with thine eye all manner Cors-solids,
The Cubes, Dodechedrons, Cylinders, Pyramids;
And wond'r here at the Globe, which all doth comprehend,
So like the world it selfe, and hath nor mid, nor end:
The highest point of Art, and top of all his kynt
A maruaile that containes much counter-maruaile in't:
Moouabl' and immoouabl', inward-bent and bent-out,
Composed of a straight, yet crooked round about.
Behold, at any time when on a plaine 'tis throne,
It downe and vpward stirs, back, forward, all in one.
Nor stirs it all alone when cunning force it moues,
But neighbour moouables proportionally shoues;
As by the heau'ns appears; nay more, though still it bide,
It seemes to threat'n a fall and shake on eu'ry side:
Because a point is all it hath for standing-place,
And halfe on eu'ry side hangs o're so small a base.
And much more wond'r it is how this great earthie ball
Whereon we dwell, sans-base, hangs fast and cannot fall
Amids the yeelding ayre: it selfe is (out of doubt)
The commyd bodies midst, that are not press'd without.
All bodies other-shap'd, into the water cast,
Make shapes vnlike their owne; but alway round do last
Th'impressions of a Round: because it cannot strike
With any diuers part, all are vnt'all so like.
Beside as moe may stand in houses Amblygons,
Then can in equall-bought of any Oxygons;

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Because the sharpe and right take not so large a stride
As corner blunt; so doth the Round in cloyster wide
More hold then all the rest.