Sir John Davies (1569-1626). Self-Ignorance. Henry Charles Beeching, ed. 1903. Lyra Sacra: A Book of Religious Verse

Verse > Anthologies > Henry Charles Beeching, ed. > Lyra Sacra

Henry Charles Beeching, ed. (1859–1919). Lyra Sacra: A Book of Religious Verse. 1903.

Self-Ignorance

By Sir John Davies (1569–1626)


WE seek to know the moving of each sphere,
And the strange cause of th’ ebbs and floods of Nile;
But of that clock within our breasts we bear,
The subtle motions we forget the while.

We that acquaint ourselves with every zone	5
And pass both tropics, and behold the poles,
When we come home are to ourselves unknown,
And unacquainted still with our own souls.