40 THE WISDOM OF THE ANCIENTS. 



by the omnipotency of God, being thus caught in the 

 straits of necessity, doth change and turn herself into 

 divers strange forms and shapes of things, so that at 

 length, by fetching a circuit as it were, she comes to 

 a period, and, if the force continue, betakes herself 

 to her former being. The reason of which constraint 

 or binding will be more facile and expedite, if matter 

 be laid on by manacles, that is, by extremities. 



Now whereas it is feigned that Proteus was a 

 prophet, well skilled in three differences of times.- it 

 hath an excellent agreement with the nature of mat 

 ter : for it is necessary that he that will know the 

 properties and proceedings of matter, should com 

 prehend in his understanding the sum of all things 

 which have been, which are, or shall be, although no 

 knowledge can extend so far as to singular and indi 

 vidual beings. 



MEMNON, OR A YOUTH TOO FORWARD. 



The poets say that Memnon was the son of 

 Aurora, who, adorned with beautiful armour, and 

 animated with popular applause, came to the 

 Trojan war : where, in rash boldness, hasting 

 into, and thirsting after glory, he enters into single 

 combat with Achilles, the valiantest of all the Gre 

 cians, by whose powerful hand he was there slain. 

 But Jupiter pitying his destruction, sent birds to 

 modulate certain lamentable and doleful notes at the 

 solemnization of his funeral obsequies. Whose 

 statue also, the sun reflecting on it with his morning 



