The contemplation of the various misfortunes that may befall even the king of birds leads to the reflection:
Often, to our comfort, shall we find
The sharded beetle in a safer hold
Than is the full-wing’d eagle.[56]
The last line of this quotation recalls another passage in which, as if the writer had watched the bird on the wing, the majestic sweep of its flight is pictured:
The course I hold
Flies an eagle flight, bold and forth on,
Leaving no tract behind.[57]
The eagle has been credited with a nobility of nature in keeping with his regal rank:
The eagle suffers little birds to sing,