Or which of old disturbed the Church’s peaceful reign;
And we can point each period of the time
When they began and who begat the crime;
Can calculate how long th’ eclipse endured;
Who interposed; what digits were obscured;
Of all which are already passed away
We knew the rise, the progress, and decay.
DRYDEN, Hind and Panther
Oh, said the Hind, how many sons have you
Who call you mother, whom you never knew!