Izaak Walton

1593-1683 / England

Commendatory Verse To The Author Of Scintillula Altaris

_To the Author upon the sight of the first sheet of his Book._

My worthy friend, I am much pleas'd to know,
You have begun to pay the debt you owe
By promise, to so many pious friends,
In printing your choice Poems; it commends
Both them, and you, that they have been desir'd
By persons of such Judgment; and admir'd
They must be most, by those that best shal know
What praise to holy Poetry we owe.
So shall your Disquisitions too; for, there
Choice learning, and blest piety, appear.
All usefull to poor Christians: where they may
Learne Primitive Devotion. Each Saints day
Stands as a Land-mark in an erring age
to guide fraile mortals in their pilgrimage
To the Coelestiall _Can'an_; and each Fast,
Is both the souls direction, and repast:
All so exprest, that I am glad to know
You have begun to pay the debt you owe.
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