"The cock swan is an emblem or representation of an affectionate and true husband to his wife above all other fowls; for the cock swan holdeth himself to one female only, and for this cause nature hath conferred on him a gift beyond all others; that is, to die so joyfully, that he sings sweetly when he dies; upon which the poet saith: "Dulcia defecta modulatur carmina lingua, Cantator, cygnus, funeris ipse sui, &c.""