"Such was Gods Poem, this Worlds new Essay; So wild and rude in its first draught it lay; Th' ungovern'd parts no Correspondence knew, An artless war from thwarting Motions grew; Till they to Number and fixt Rules were brought By the eternal Minds Poetique Thought. Water and Air he for the Tenor chose, Earth made the Base, the Treble Flame arose, To th' active Moon a quick brisk stroke he gave, To Saturns string a touch more soft and grave. The motions Strait, and Round, and Swift, and Slow, And Short, and Long, were mixt and woven so, Did in such artful Figures smoothly fall, As made this decent measur'd Dance of All."
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Book I, lines 451-464
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Abraham Cowley
Abraham Cowley (1618 – July 28, 1667) was an English metaphysical poet. In his own time he was widely considered the greatest poet of the age.
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