Careful Words

cynosure (n.)

Meadows trim with daisies pied,

Shallow brooks and rivers wide;

Towers and battlements it sees

Bosom'd high in tufted trees,

Where perhaps some beauty lies,

The cynosure of neighboring eyes.

John Milton (1608-1674): L'Allegro. Line 75.

Which serves for cynosure

To all that sail upon the sea obscure.

Du Bartas (1544-1590): First Week, Seventh Day.