LXVII.
Zacharias minus credens. Luc. i. 12.
Infantis fore te patrem, res mira videtur;
Infans interea factus es ipse pater.
Et dum promissi signum, nimis anxie, quaeris,
Jam nisi per signum quaerere nulla potes.
Zacharias incredulous.
To have a child thou deem'st so strange a thing,
That thou art made a child for wondering.
Whilst for a sign too eagerly thou dost call,
Except by sign thou can'st not ask at all. Cl.
LXVIII.
In aquam baptismi Dominici. Matt. iii. 13-16.
Felix ô, sacros cui sic licet ire per artus;
Felix, dum lavat hunc, ipsa lavatur aqua.
Gutta quidem sacros quaecunque perambulat artus,
Dum manet hic, gemma est; dum cadit hinc, lacryma.
On the water of our Lord's baptisme.
Each blest drop on each blest limme
Is washt itselfe in washing Him:
'Tis a gemme while it stayes here;
While it falls hence 'tis a teare. Cr.