Page:King Alfred's Version of the Consolations of Boethius.djvu/303

 nor anywhere near it;

And even those creatures    on which he can shine

He cannot illumine    with equal light

Inside and out. But the Almighty

Ruler and Worker    of the world's creatures

His own work    overlooks;

All creatures alike    He looks over.

He is the true Sun,    and rightly so;

Such in His honour    we may sing truly.

XXXI
You may know,    if you will notice,

That many creatures    of various kinds

Fare over earth    with unlike motions,

With gait and colour    quite diverse,

And aspects also    of endless kinds,

Queer and common. Some creep and crawl

With all their body    bound to the ground;

No wings them help    on feet they walk not,

Nor pace the earth,    as was them appointed.

Some on two feet    fare over the ground,

Some are four-footed;    some in flight

Wing beneath the clouds,    Yet each creature

Is drooping earthward,    stooping downward,

On the ground looking,    longing for earth,

Some need-driven,    some through greed.

Man only goes    of all God's creatures