Comparisons

A lamb and a lion — a fox and an ass,
Resemble mankind, as it were in a glass;
Males are harmless as lambs till they're fourteen years old,
And till they are forty, as lions are bold;
As foxes they're cunning till three-score and ten,
Then, silly as asses no longer are men.

A dove and a sparrow — a parrot and crow,
The life of a woman most aptly will show;
Girls innocent doves are till fourteen years old,
And chirrup like sparrows, till forty are told;
Like parrots they'll prate till they're three-score and ten,
And as crows often croak, so do most old WO-MEN.