Dagworth

Here on the fields of Cressy we are settled Till Philip springs the timorous covey again. The wolf is hunted down by causeless fear; The lion flees, and fear usurps his heart, Startled, astonished at the clamorous cock; The eagle, that doth gaze upon the sun, Fears the small fire that plays about the fen. If, at this moment of their idle fear, The dog doth seize the wolf, the forester the lion, The negro in the crevice of the rock Doth seize the soaring eagle; undone by flight, They tame submit: such the effect flight has On noble souls. Now hear its opposite: The timorous stag starts from the thicket wild, The fearful crane springs from the splashy fen, The shining snake glides o’er the bending grass, The stag turns head, and bays the crying hounds; The crane o’ertaken fighteth with the hawk; The snake doth turn, and bite the padding foot. And if your Majesty’s afraid of Philip, You are more like a lion than a crane; Therefore I beg I may return to England.