Page:Halliwell Collection of Letters.djvu/50

26 redd cockes, with his strength Gemini and Virgo. Jupiter on thursdaie, in his chariot drawen by twoe pecockes, his coachman Sagitarius, his strength Pisces. Venus on fridaie, drawen in her chariot by twoe white doves, her coachman Cupid, her strength Libra and Taurus. Saturne on satterdaie, drawen in his coach by twoe greane dragons, his strength Capricornus and Aquarius; so that in the whoale weake they all showe themselves. This motion is mervelous beautifull and veary strange, and in my opinion adorneth more than any other parte in the whoale fabricke. Those rounde spotts in the twoe sides of the callender be the notable eclipses of the soone and moone, that shall happen within this thirtie twoe yeares. The rounde blewe, havinge the center thereof redd, is nothinge but the motion of an index that sheweth the minutes of the hower; on the sides whereof be twoe angelicall boyes, the one havinge an hower glasse which he toorneth every hower, the sande beinge emptied out in the lower parte thereof; the other havinge a cepter in his hande whiche he liftinge up semeth as it weare to commaunde the clocke to stricke. The next great circumpherence distinguished by twenty foure howers, is an astronomicall instrument called the astrolabe, wherein be the howerly, dailie, weakly, monethly and yearly motions of the planets and starres; in the corners whereof be the foure ages of man, the foure seasons of the yeare: above this is the monethly course of the moone which doeth so wax and waine, is manifested shininge or shadowed, as the moone is in the firmament. Above this be those men which stricke the quarters, wheare the hower is resembled to the life of man, which hath his infancie like to the first quarter, which is strooken by the child; his adolescencie resembled by the second quarter, which is strooke by a yooth; his manhood resembled by an armed souldier, whoe strikes the third quarter; and his owld age resembled by a graie-bearded man, whoe striketh the laste quarter. The hower glasse beinge nowe emptied (which the angelicall boye before spoken of that sitteth belowe by the circule of minutes held in his hand), the course of man's age is by that figured to be ended, and therefore death ensueth and striketh the stroke on the little bell, as it weare to summon us to appeare before the tribunale seat of the heavenly judge, and sheweth that the lif is finisshed as the hower, whose droppes of sand be resembled to the daies, and protract our lif to our end, and that our period of abidinge heare is so shorte as the hower is in respect of eternitie; Opposite to death is Christ which reviveth and raseth up to lif everlastinge; and in this second place is eternitie signified, whoe was before all tyme, figured in the pellican belowe, and shall continew after all