THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES FREDERIC THOMAS BLANCHARD FOR THE "s ;' , ENGLISH READING ROOM THE COMPLETE WORKS OF GEORGE HERBERT. VOL. II. VERSE. ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS. THE CHURCH MILITANT. LILIES OF THE TEMPLE. PSALM& SECULAR POEMS : WITH ADDITIONS FROM MSS. PARBNTALIA. ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA AND EPIGRAMMATA APOLOGETICA. ALIA POEMATA LATINA. PASSIO DISCERPTA. LUCUS. WITH TRANSLATIONS OF THE WHOLE. GLOSSARIAL INDEX. LONDON : ROBSON AND SONS, PRINTERS, PANCKAS KOAD, N.W. mt mtr. the. Juller THE COMPLETE WORKS IN VERSE AND PROSE OF GEORGE HERBERT. FOB THE FIRST TIME FULLY COLLECTED AND COLLATED WITH THE ORIGINAL AND EARLY EDITIONS AND MBS. AND MUCH ENLARGED WITH I. HITHERTO UNPKINTED AND INEDITED POEMS AND PROSE FROM THE WILLIAMS MSB. ETC. II. TRANSLATION OF THE WHOLE OF THE LATIN AND GREEK VEBSE AND LATIN PROSE. III. MEMORIAL-INTRODUCTION, ESSAY ON LIFE AND WRITINGS, AND NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. IV. IN QUARTO, PORTRAITS ON STEEL, AND OTHER SPECIALLY- PREPARED ILLUSTRATIONS AND FACSIMILES. @&tte& ig tljf EEV. ALEXANDER B. GROSART, ST. GEORGE'S, BLACKBURN, LANCASHIRE. IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. II. VERSE. PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION. 1874. 100 copies only. CONTENTS. Those with a star [] are in the Williams MS. ; t indicates additions or va- rious readings in the Notes and Illustrations ; i appear or are translated for the first tune. These markings (left side) apply to all the volumes. At right side G. is=the Editor ; R. Wi.=Rev. Richard Wilton; H.=Her- bert, as Translators. PAGE Essay on the Life and Writings of George Herbert, by the Editor ix I. THE CHURCH MILITANT, pp. 1-14. Notes and Illustrations 14 II. LILIES OF THE TEMPLE : from unpublished MSS., pp. 19-28. i. The Holy Communion 21 ii. Love 23 in. Trinity Sunday 24 iv. Euen-Song 24 v. The Knell 25 vi. Perseverance 26 vii. The Convert 27 III. PSALMS : hitherto uncollected and inedited, pp. 29-42. IV. SECULAR POEMS : with additions from MSS., pp. 43-52. i. Sonnets. Sent by George Herbert to his Mother as a New-year's gift from Cambridge . . . -45 ii. Inscription in the Parsonage, Bemerton : To my suc- cessor 46 Another version .46 1 CONTENTS. PAGE in. On Lord Danvers 47 iv. On Sir John Danvers 47 v. A Paradox. That the sick are in a better case, &c. . 48 vi. G. H. To ye Queene of Bohemia . . . -49 Notes and Illustrations . . . ; . . 52 J V. PARENTALIA : Latin and Greek, translated for the first time, pp. 55-84. VI. ANTI-TAM.I-CAMI-CATEGORIA ET GKORGII HERBERTI, ANGLI MUSAE RESPONSORIAE, &c. Ibid. pp. 85-156. Pro Supplici Evangelicorum Ministrorum in Anglia, &c., sive Anti-Tami-Cami-Cate- TRANS. goria 89 Translation ...'.... G. 97 Pro Disciplina Ecclesiae Nostrae Epigrammata Apologetica. Translated for the first time . 108 i. To King James I R. Wi. 108 ii. To Charles, Prince of Wales . . . . R. Wi. 109 in. To Bishop Andrewes R. Wi. no iv. To the King: Two Epigrams . . . R. Wi. no v. To Melville R. Wi. in vi. On the Monster of a Word 'Anti-Tami- Cami-Categoria' R. Wi. 112 vii. The division of Anti-Tami-Cami-Categoria . R. Wi. 113 vin. On the kind of Metre of Anti-Tami-Cami- Categoria R. Wi. 114 ix. Concerning the Masked Gorgon . . . G. 115 x. Concerning the Pride of Prelates . . . G. 115 xi. Concerning the Twin Universities . . R. Wi. 117 xn. Concerning the Rite of Holy Baptism . . G. 118 xin. Concerning the Sign of the Cross . . . G. 119 xrv. Concerning the Church's Oath . . . R. Wi. 120 xv. On Purification (=Churching) after Child- birth R. Wi. 121 xvi. Concerning the Pontifical Beauty (=decency) of Anti-Christ G. 122 xvn. Concerning the Surplice . . . . G. 122 xvin. Concerning the square College-cap . . G. 124 xix. To a Puritan R. Wi. 125 xx. Concerning Bishops R. Wi. 126 CONTENTS. Vll TRANS. PAGE xxi. Concerning the same : to Melville . . R. Wi. 127 xxii. Concerning a Puritan Weaver . . . R. Wi. 127 xxin. Concerning Magical Circles . . . G. 128 xxiv. On the Brethren R. Wi. 129 xxv. On Spots and Blemishes . . . . R. Wi. 130 xxvi. Concerning Sacred Music . . . R. Wi. 131 xxvii. Concerning the same . . . . R. Wi. 135 xxviii. Concerning the Use of Ceremonies . . G. 136 xxix. Concerning the Wedding-ring . . R. Wi. 137 xxx. Concerning Puritans and Worldlings . R. Wi: 138 xxxi. Concerning the Lord's Prayer . . . G. 138 xxxii. To a certain Puritan . . . . R. Wi. 140 xxxiii. Concerning the She- Wolf of the Vatican Puddle R. Wi. 140 xxxiv. Concerning Imposition of Hands . . R. Wi. 141 xxxv. The Petitioning Ministers Taking -off: treated as a Comedy . . . . R. Wi. 141 xxxvi. On the Enumeration of Authors . . R. Wi. 142 xxxvii. Concerning the accursed Hunger for Gold R. Wi. 145 xxxviii. To Scotland : an Exhortation to Peace . R. Wi. 145 xxxix. To Innocent Ones led astray . . . G. 146 xu To Melville G. 147 XLI. To the same R. Wi. 151 XLII. To his most Serene Majesty [James I. ] . R. Wi. 152 XLIII. To God G. 156 VII. ALIA POEMATA LATINA, pp. 157-178. i. To the Author of Instaurationis Magna, Francis Bacon G. 159 ii. To the honour of the most illustrious Francis, Baron Verulam, &c G. 161 in. Comparison between the Office of the Lord High Chancellorship and (Lord Bacon's) Book (presented to the University) . . R. Wi. 163 iv. A Negress courts Cestus, a Man of a different colour . G. 165 v. On the Death of the incomparable Francis, Viscount St. Albans G. 166 vi. On (my) Birthday and Good-Friday coinciding G. 167 vii. To Dr. Donne, on the gift of one of his Seals : an Anchor and Christ . . . .II. 167 Vlll CONTENTS. TRANS. PAGE On the Anchor-Seal H. 169 vin. To James I R. Wi. 169 ix. Epigram from Martial R. Wi. 169 x. On the Death of her most Serene Majesty Queen Anne (of Denmark) . . . R. Wi. 170 xi. On the Death of Henry Prince of Wales . G. 171 xn. On the Death of Prince Henry . . . R. Wi. 175 VIII. PASSIO DISCERPTA. Lucus, pp. 179-227. PA88IO DISCERPTA. i. To the dying Lord G. 181 n. On the bloody Sweat . . . . G. 181 in. On the same G. 182 iv. On the pierced Side G. 183 v. On the Spittle and Revilings . . . G. 183 vi. On the thorny Crown . . . . G. 184 vii. On the Reed, Crown of Thorns, Bending the Knee, and purple Robe . . . . R. Wi. 185 vin. On the Buffetings R. Wi. 185 ix. On the Scourge R. Wi. 186 x. On the parted Garments . . . . R. Wi. 186 xi. On the penitent Thief . . . . R. Wi. 187 xn. On Christ about to ascend the Cross . . R. Wi. 187 xni. Christ on the Cross R. Wi. 188 xiv. On the Nails R. Wi. 188 xv. On the bowed Head R. Wi. 189 xvi. To the failing Sun G. 190 xvn. The open Graves R. Wi. 191 xvni. The Earthquake . . . . . G. 192 xix. The rent Vail G. 192 xx. The rent Rocks R. Wi. 193 xxi. On the Earth's Sympathy with Christ . R. Wi. 194 LUCUS. i. Man an Image R. Wi. 195 ii. The Fatherland R. Wi. 195 in. On Stephen stoned R. Wi. 196 iv. On Simon Magus R. Wi. 197 v. On the Holy Scriptures . . . . G. 197 vi. On the Peace enjoyed by Britain . . R. Wi. 199 vn. Avarice R. Wi. 200 CONTENTS. IX VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. XIII. XIV. XV. XVI. XVII. XVIII. XIX. XX. XXI. XXII. XXIII. XXIV. XXV. XXVI. XXVII. XXVIII. XXIX. XXX. XXXI. xxxn. XXXIII. XXXIV. XXXV. TRANS. PAGE On the Washing of the Apostles' Feet . G. 200 On St. Luke R. Wi. 201 The Pope's Title : neither God nor Man . G. 201 The Paying of the Tribute . . . R. Wi. 202 The Tempest : Christ asleep . . . G. 202 The Good Citizen R. Wi. 203 On the Shadow of Peter . . . . R. Wi. 203 Martha: Mary G. 203 In Love G. 204 On a Proud Man R. Wi. 205 On the same R. Wi. 205 Affliction R. Wi. 206 On Vainglory R. Wi. 206 On a Glutton R. Wi. 207 On a plausible Villain . . . . R Wi. 208 Consolation . . . . . . G. 208 On the Angels R. Wi. 210 Rome: Anagram R. Wi. 212 Ibid, by Dean Duport .... 212 Pope Urban VIII. 's Reply . . . R. Wi. 213 Reply to Urban VIII. ". . . . R. Wi. 214 To Pope Urban VIII R. Wi. 214 A reasonable Sacrifice . . . . R. Wi. 215 On Thomas the Twin . G. 215 On a Sun-dial R. Wi. 216 The Triumph of Death . G. 217 The Christian's Triumph over Death . G. 225 To John on the Breast (of Christ) . . R. Wi. 226 To the Lord R. Wi. 227 Notes and Illustrations . . . 229 VOL. II. ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOL. II. 4 to. i. The Father and Mother of George Herbert. On steel, by Alais, from the Monument in Montgomery Church : photo- graphed by Owen, Newtown . . to face title-page. ii. The Herbert Family Monument in Montgomery Church : an anastatic etching by Rev. W. F. Francis, after a photo- graph by Owen, Newtown . to jace first page of Essay. in. Facsimile of two pages of the Williams MS. : also auto- graph to face page 179. Herbert airtj 2Lafcg fflagfcalnit fjts Rltfr. ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF GEORGE HERBERT. IN our Memorial- Introduction (Vol. I.) and in the anno- tated Life by Izaak Walton (Vol. III.), the outward Facts of the Biography of GEORGE HERBERT are given, it will perhaps be admitted, with more fulness and accu- racy of detail than hitherto. I propose now to offer the Reader a Study of the Life in relation to the Writings, and of the Writings in relation to the Life, in order to arrive at a deeper knowledge and a more adequate esti- mate of both. Thus far, narrative and criticism alike have been to a large extent traditional and repeatative. It is surely about time that such a Life and such Writings were submitted to a searching and deliberate examination, that we may understand the secret of the still unspent and unique POWER of these lowly and unpretentious Writ- ings after well nigh two and a half centuries and the abiding and ever-growing wealth of affectionate reverence cherished toward the Man so long subsequent to the in- evitable passing-away of the 'glamour' of personal me- mories as of Barnabas Oley and Izaak Walton ; e.g. in the United States of America, in Canada and Nova Sco- tia, in Australia and New Zealand, in India and through- Xii ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OP out the English-speaking colonies, the lovers of HERBERT are as numerous and as ardent as in the mother-country. 1 None the less is this desirable, in that it affords opportunity of bringing together many scattered remarks of eminent Admirers, contemporary and recent. These FIVE things seem to invite thought and critical examination : J. THE ORIGINAL AND EARLY EDITIONS AND MSS. OF THE WRITINGS AND OUR TEXT. II. THE STORY OF THE LlFE, AS REVEALING HIS ORI- GINAL AND ULTIMATE CHARACTER, PUBLIC AND PRIVATE. in. THE ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA CONTROVERSY, AND ITS SIGNIFICANCES AND BEARINGS. IV. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF HERBERT'S WRITINGS, VERSE AND PROSE. v. EARLY AND LATER ESTIMATES. I. The original and early editions ami MSS. of the Writings and our text. Like Sir Philip Sidney's, nearly the whole of GEORGE HERBERT'S Writings were published posthumously, al- though, with such loving Editors and guardians as Nicho- las Ferrar and Barnabas Oley, it were almost a wrong to follow T. P., on publishing theAnosnASMATiA SACRA of Bishop Andrewes (1657, folio), in calling them 'posthu- mous and orphan.'* The University Collections, as of the 1 To the praise of G. W. Childs, Esq., of Philadelphia, U.S.A., be it recorded that on learning the wish of the Dean of Westminster and others to place a memorial-window in our great Abbey, in honour of GEORGE HERBERT and WILLIAM COWPER, as Westminster- School boys, he spontaneously and large-heartedly expressed his readiness to furnish such a window at his own cost. The generous offer was cordially accepted. 2 Even so (presumably) well-informed a writer as the author of the Paper on HERBERT in the Retrospective Review (vol. iii. pp. 215-222) has fallen into the error of saying, ' His poems were ... GEORGE HERBERT. Xlll Lamentations for Prince Henry (1612), and on the death of Queen Anne (1619), and the like, contained the well- known but not at all remarkable Latin Verse, given in their places; and as an appendix to Dean Donne's Funeral Sermon for Lady Danvers, the ' Parentalia' were added (1627). Probably others were less or more circulated in manuscript, as was the mode even onward : the Melville Epigrams must have been thus circulated (as will appear hereafter). But substantially the Writings of GEORGE HERBERT were given to the world not by their Author, but by Friends. At a time when the Press travailled with the superabundance of books, this initial fact in the biblio- graphy of these Writings is noticeable, perhaps praise- worthy. Nevertheless, there can be no doubt that the posthumousness of HERBERT'S books placed them under inevitable disadvantages as compared with, e.g. Robert Herrick's ' Hesperi des,' or Henry Vaughan's ' Silex Scinti- lans' or ' Olar Iscanus.' As every one knows who has had to do with the Press, what is written is one thing, and what is printed quite another ; that the latter gives a different look and character to the whole, so much so that faults pre- viously overlooked come out startlingly and accusingly in the proof-sheets. There are things in ' The Temple' that one feels persuaded would have been cleared of their obscurity; while other things must have been felt to be incongruous, not to speak of occasional instances of mean symbolisms in published during his lifetime' (p. 217). In the Christian Remem- brancer for July 1862 (vol. xliv. p. 105), the writer of a thought- ful paper on GEORGE HERBERT and his Times remarks of this : ' It is characteristic of his modesty, or, more strictly speaking, of the vic- tory which he won over his naturally eager and ambitious tempera- ment, that they were [nearly] all posthumous in publication.' Again : ' The too frequent recurrence of anti-climax, and even down- right bathos, at the end of many [?] of the poems, indicates that they were never properly revised by the " last hand" of the author (p. 129). xiv ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF even the finest poems reminding of a lark that has just been soaring and singing, singing and soaring, all a-thrill with the ecstasy of its divinely -given music, dropping down not into the yellowing corn or daisied grass, but right on the bare-trodden highway : and so too with false rhymes, and at least one missing line (in 107. The Size, 1. 40). The Writings of HERBERT claim indulgence, therefore, as not having passed in their printed form beneath his own eyes. Very touching is Izaak Walton's narrative of the death- bed delivery of the ' little book,' which was to be after- wards known as ' The Temple.' Visited by a ' Mr. Dun- con' of whom it is pity we know so very little he sent a pathetic message to his ' brother Ferrar,' soliciting a continuance of his ' daily prayers' for him, and telling him all was ' well' and in ' peace.' ' Having said this,' we read, ' he did, with so sweet a humility as seemed to exalt him, bow down to Mr. Duncon, and, with a thoughtful and con- tented look, say to him, " Sir, I pray deliver this little book to my dear brother Ferrar, and tell him he shall find in it a picture of the mauy spiritual conflicts that have passed betwixt God and my soul, before I could subject mine to the will of Jesus my Master, in Whose service I have now found perfect freedom. Desire him to read it : and then, if he can think it may turn to the advantage of any de- jected poor soul, let it be made public ; if not, let him burn it ; for I and it are less than the least of God's mer- cies." ' Thus meanly did this humble man think of this excellent book, which now bears the name of ' The Tem- ple, or Sacred Poems and Private Ejaculations ;' of which Mr. Ferrar would say, ' There was in it the picture of a divine soul in every page, and that the whole book was such a harmony of holy passions as would enrich the world with pleasure and piety.' Good Nicholas Ferrar has fur- ther given his estimate of the ' little book' thus confided to him, in the golden Epistle as from ' The Printers to the Reader' (Vol. I pp. 3-5). It would appear that he lost no GEORGE HERBERT. XV time after the burial of HERBERT (3d March 1632) 1 in preparing it for the Press ; for immediately the Manuscript, as written out for Ferrar, was submitted by him for ' Li- cense' now deposited in the Bodleian. 2 There was a little difficulty, and consequent brief delay, in obtaining the necessary authority, as thus told by Walton, in its state- ment, removal, and result : ' This ought to be noted, that when Mr. Ferrar sent this book to Cambridge to be licensed for the press, the Vice-Chancellor would by no means allow the two so much noted verses (in the ' Church Militant,' 11. 239, 240), " Religion stands a-tiptoe in our land, Ready to pass to the American strand," to be printed, and Mr. Ferrar would by no means allow the book to be printed and want them ; but after some time, and some arguments for and against their being made public, the Vice-Chancellor said : " I knew Mr. HER- BERT well, and know that he was a divine poet ; but I hope the world will not take him to be an inspired prophet, and therefore I license the whole book." So that it came to be printed without the diminution or addition of a syllable since it was delivered into the hands of Mr. Duncon, save only that Mr. Ferrar hath added the excellent preface that is printed before it.' The ' after some time' must have been very inconsiderable, seeing that, almost certainly, ' The Temple' was in print and (at least) privately circu- lated in 1632. At BRAND'S Sale there was a copy with a second title-page, which is described as having 1632 printed on it (Lowndes, s. n.) ; and I have myself seen two copies 1 In our Memorial-Introduction (Vol. I.) we accept the date of the burial, 3d March 1632, usually given ; but see our Note in the annotated Life of Walton in Vol. III. for further details and queries. 2 See its title-page, &c. in Vol. I. p. 233 ; where are also a few Various Readings. XVi ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF contemporaneously marked 1632 on the undated title- page. 1 That title-page was literatim as follows : THE TEMPLE. SACRED POEMS AND PRIVATE EJA- CULATIONS. By Mr. GEORGE HERBERT Late Oratour of the Universitie. PSAL. 29. In his Temple doth every man speak of his honour. CAMBRIDGE : Printed by Thomas Buck and Roger Daniel : ^f And are to be sold by Francis Green, stationer in Cambridge. In Vol. I. pp. 1, 2 will be found similarly the title-pages of the first dated edition and of the second, both belonging 1 Hence I have, in Notes and Illustrations, designated the un- dated edition of ' The Temple' as of 1632. GEOEGE HERBERT. XV11 to 1633. There are minute typographical differences in the three title-pages ; but collation shows that the undated copies of 1632 and the first dated edition of 1633 corre- spond, and are indeed the same book throughout. The conclusion accordingly is, that the types were kept stand- ing for the first dated edition. 1 But the second edition of 1633 (so named), though answering page to page and line to line, is a distinct impression, i.e. was not the same set- ting up. In all likelihood the undated copies consisted of a very few issued as gifts for intimate friends. Then came early in 1633 the first edition proper, and then in the same year the second (as above) : the third followed in 1634 ; fourth in 1635 ; fifth in 1638 ; sixth in 1641 ; seventh in 1656 ; eighth in 1660 ; ninth in 1667 ; tenth in 1674 ; eleventh in 1679 ; twelfth in 1703 ; thirteenth in 1709. The first to the sixth edition's text remained the same : from 1640, ' The Synagogue' of Christopher Harvey ac- companied ' The Temple ;' from 1656 onward, there were orthographical alterations ; in 1 660 was ' an Alphabeticall Table for ready finding out chief places ;' in 1674 (see our Preface) the priceless gift of R. White's portrait of HER- BERT first appeared ; and also two (sorry) illustrations to the Church Threshold and The Altar : in 1679 began such corruptions of the text as ' gore 1 for ' doore' in The Thanks- giving (1. 6), and ' My' for ' Thy' (1. 29), and so increasingly ; 1 A Writer of a Paper on GEORGE HERBERT and his Times, in the Christian Remembrancer for July 1862 (vol. xliv. pp. 133-137), states : ' " The Temple" was first given to the world hi 1633, by Nicholas Ferrar, HERBERT'S literary executor ; under his editorship it was printed by his daughters and other members of his household, or " Protestant Nunnery," as it has been called, at Little Gidden, in Northamptonshire, and then published at Cambridge, after being, of course, formally licensed by the Vice-Chancellor's ' ' imprimatur" ' (pp. 106-7). There is no authority whatever for this alleged printing privately at Little Gidding. The undated copies are expressly stated to be ' Printed by Thomas Buck' (as supra). Curiously enough there is no ' imprimatur' in any of the editions of ' The Temple.' VOL. II. C XV111 ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OP the loss being that Pickering (1835, 1838, &c.) reprinted the vitiated text ; and even Dr. George Macdonald (in ' Antiphon') did not detect the blunders. 1 It adds to the significance of these multiplied editions, that earlier the troubles of Charles I. in Scotland, deepening into the cla- mour and confusions of the Civil War shadows of which darkened portentously over the closing weeks of HER- BERT'S life and later the profligacy and sensualism of The Restoration and the reign of Charles II., seemed to render it improbable that a fit audience should be found, how- ever ' few,' for, in relation to the Commonwealth , so churchly , and, in relation to the Restoration, so pure and true a book. I like to accept the Fact, as declarative of ' hidden ones' who still clave to the Lord, after the type of the olden revelation to Elijah of the ' seven thousand,' when he in his anguish and loneliness imagined there was not another besides himself who believed in the One living and True God. When Walton first wrote the Life (or about forty years after HERBERT'S death) , ' more than twenty thousand of them' had been ' sold since the first impression.' Well- thumbed and worn are the few copies of these earlier edi- tions that have come down to us. Lowly hands handled, lowly hearts received the devout teaching ; and I do not doubt ' The Temple' helped many and many a pilgrim Zionward to ' sing' when perchance only sobs and groans had fallen. I do not know that it is needful to record the numerous editions, complete and incomplete, from 1709 to 1873. They have nothing special about them : only be it ever remembered that to William Pickering belongs the praise of having been the first to aim at a complete col- lection of the Writings of GEORGE HERBERT. Returning now upon the MS. of ' The Temple' as 'licensed,' the printed text of 1632-3 corresponds with it pretty closely, departures being mainly orthographical. The Manuscript cannot, however, have been the ' printer's 1 'Antiphon,' pp. 190-1. GEORGE HERBERT. XIX copy,' for it is stainless and uncrushed, as well as occasion- ally differing in its readings. Being a folio, too, it cannot have been the ' little book' placed in Mr. Duncon's hands by the dying Poet. That, it is to be feared, has irrecover- ably gone, with many other of the Little Gidding trea- sures of the Ferrars. But of scarcely less interest is a MS. now in the Williams Library, London, whence it has been our privilege to draw so much hitherto unknown unprinted Poetry, English and Latin. 1 must here describe the ' little volume' (12mo). It records on the front fly-leaf that it was presented by Dr. Mapletoft to a Rev. John Jones (of Sheephall, Herts), who was donor of very many MSS. and books to the same Library. Mr. Jones has pre- fixed this note (in pencil) : ' This book came originally from the family of Little Gidding, and was probably bound there. Q. whether this be not the manuscript copy that was sent by Mr. Herbert a little before his death to Mr. Nic. Ferrar. See Mr. Herbert's Life.' 1 Again, on verso of p. 101 is the following note : ' The following sup- posed to be Mr. Herbert's own writing. See the records in the custody of y e University Orator at Cambridge.' With reference to the former note, we can testify that the binding (plain brown calf, with a single line of gold round the borders and a double line of tooling) is self-evidently amateur, and corresponds otherwise with other Little Gid- ding books that I possess and have seen. But as this volume does not contain one half of the Poems as published in ' The Temple,' Mr. Jones's query must be answered in 1 So in the Third Report of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, 1872, p. 368. The inscription is as follows: 'Don. Jni Jones, Cler. & Museo V. Cl. D. H. M. Venantodun. qui ob. 1730.' That is, 'A gift to John Jones, Clerk, from the study (Library) of Dr. H. Mapletoft, Huntingdon, who died 1730.' For notices of the Ferrars, mainly from Professor Mayor's ' Nicholas Ferrar' (1855), see our annotated 'Life of Herbert,' by Walton (in Vol. III.) ; also of the Mapletofts. XX ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF the negative. It seems to have been an earlier form of the Manuscript. With reference to the latter note, the suggested comparison with the Orator's Books at Cam- bridge and my familiarity with HERBERT'S handwriting, enable me to attest that the whole of the latter portion is in his own autograph ; while the earlier portion has a number of characteristic corrections of the amanuensis' MS. Our Facsimile (in the quarto) is true in its reproduc- tion of two pages of the holograph MS. ; and it will be ob- served that the appended signature (from another MS.) gives the somewhat curious form of V (e) a form never wanting in any of the MSS. of HERBERT that have been examined by me, albeit his autograph proper varies more than almost any that I have met with. 1 Our ' Various Readings' from the Williams MS. (before Notes and Illustrations, in Vol. I.), and the Six never- before-printed English sacred poems, with another version of ' The Song' for Easter, and the ' Passio Discerpta,' which may be interpreted as meaning the Passion or Re- deeming Love of the Lord Jesus, taken to pieces as one might a passion-flower, petal by petal ; or, more freely, that the Poet celebrates certain leading incidents in the great and awful story ; and ' Lucus,' which may intend a Sacred Grove, with perhaps a sub-reference to the trans- figuring light of the Divine presence there, and so reminds of Phineas Fletcher's ' Sylva Poetica,' and Milton's later will certify of our rare good fortune in the discovery or recovery of this ' little book.' It must often and often have been handled by visitors of the Williams Library, 1 In the Memorial-Introduction (Vol. I. p. xliv. ) it is seen that HERBERT signed ' Hrbert,' and that his name was so written con- temporaneously : in other University MSS. he signs ' Herbert*' and ' Herbert :' in others (certainly his) the character of the writing dif- fers considerably from these and from the Williams MS. See onward about a copy of King James's Works, alleged to have belonged to our successive HERBERTS. GEORGE HERBERT. XXI but no one seems to have really read it until the pre- sent Editor did so. If William Pickering was in ecs- tasies over his small ' find' from Dr. Bliss, of ' The Para- dox' from a Rawlinson MS., what would not his enthusi- asm have been over this treasure-trove ! Except the fur- ther details of the contents of the MS. below, more need not be repeated here, inasmuch as the WHOLE are given in this volume in their places, and in the first volume. 1 1 See Vol. I. pp. 219-231. These further little particulars may be recorded here. There comes first the fly-leaf, with the inscription in note on p. xix. ; a second leaf, with Mr. Jones's pencil-note, as before ; next the Dedication (six lines) ; The Church- Porch, folios 1-13 ; blank page 14, and on verso four lines headed ' Perirrante- rium;' folio 15, four lines headed ' Superliminare,' and on verso The Altar; then successively The Sacrifice, folios 16-22; on verso The Thanksgiving to folio 23 ; The Second Thanksgiving [or The Reprisall], folio 24 ; on verso The Passion (two) to folio 25 ; on verso Good-Friday ; The Sinner, folio 26 ; on verso Easter (two) to folio 27 ; on verso and folio 28, Easter Whigs ; on verso Holy Baptisme (two) to folio 29 ; on verso Love 1 and 2, to folio 30 ; The Holy Com- munion, verso to folio 31 (No. I. of the new Pieces) ; Church Musick, folio 32 ; verso The Christian Temper (two) to folio 33 ; Prayer (three) to folio 35 ; Imploiment verso to folio 36 ; verso Whit- sunday to folio 37 ; verso and to folio 38 The Holy Scriptures, 1 and 2 ; verso Love, to folio 39 (No. II. of the new Poems) ; folio 39 to 40, Sinne ; verso Trinity Sunday (two, latter No. III. of the new Pieces) to folio 40 ; verso Repentance, to folio 41 ; verso Praise ; folio 42, Nature ; verso Grace, to folio 43 ; folio 43, Mattens ; Even-song, folio 44 (No. IV. of the new Poems) ; Christmas-day, folio 45 ; verso Church Monuments, to folio 46 ; Frailty, folio 46 ; folio 47, Content, to folio 48; Poetry, folio 48; verso Affliction, to folio 50 ; verso Humility, to folio 51 ; verso Sunday, to folio 52 ; Jordan, folio 53 ; verso Deniall, to folio 54 ; verso Ungratef ul- nes, to folio 55 ; verso Imploiment, to folio 56 ; A Wreath, folio 56 ; verso To all Angels and Saints, to folio 57 ; verso The Pearle, to folio 58 ; verso Tentation, to folio 59 ; verso The World, to folio 60 ; folio 60, Coloss. iii. 3 ; verso Faith, to folio 61 ; Lent, folio 62 to 63 ; verso Man, to folio 64 ; Ode, folio 65 ; verso Affliction, to folio 66 ; Sinne, folio 66 ; verso Charmes and Knots, to folio 67 ; verso Un- kindnes, to folio 68 ; verso Mortification, to folio 69 ; verso The XX11 ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF Other two MSS. fall next to be described ; neither, it is believed, hitherto known. The first is a translation into Latin of The Church Militant ; the other a later adapta- tion of nearly the entire Poems of The Temple for sing- ing and praise. Of these successively. (a) Latin translation of The Church Militant. This is deposited in the Library of Durham Cathedral. The title-page runs : D. G. HERBERTI HAUD PRIDEM ORATORIS ACADEMIAE CANTABRIGIENSIS CARMINIS QUOD INSCRIBITUR ECCLESIA MILTTARIS VERSIO LATINA. HOR. IN EPIST. Indignor quicquam reprehendi, non quia crasse, Compositum illepidere putetur ; sed quia nuper At veniam quo laude peto : laudatus abunde Non fastiditus si tibi, Lector, ero. OVID: in Trist. 1634. An Epistle -dedicatory (in Latin) is dated ' Ex Collegio D.Petri Cantabrigiae Calend. Jan. MDCXXXim .' It is ad- Pablican, to folio 71 ; verso Prayer, to folio 72 ; verso Obedience, to folio 73 ; Invention, folio 74 ; verso Perfection, The Elixir, to folio 75 ; verso The Knell (No. V. of the new English Pieces) ; Persever- ance, folio 76 (No. VI. of the new English Poems) ; verso Death, to folio 77 ; verso Doomsday, to folio 78 ; verso Judgment ; folio 79, Heaven ; verso Love ; folio 80 to 82 (1st page) blank ; then The Church Militant, verso to folio 89, including L'Envoy (N.B. 11. 239-40), are emphatically dot-marked with a heavy pencil) ; folios 100-101 blank ; on verso Mr. Jones's pencil-note ; Passio Discerpta, folios 102-107 ; verso to 119, Lucus ; verso and folios 120-129 blank. GEORGE HERBERT. Xxiii dressed, ' Amplissimo viro et Augustissimo Regi Carolo a Secretiaribus Consiliis Heroi Pendentissimo D. Johanni Cooke, honoratissimo suo Maecenati evSatpoi'ffw.'' The translator is ' Jacobus Leeke.' This Sir John Cooke was probably of the family of Highnam, to the Sir Robert Cooke of which, HERBERT'S widow was married. It is to be regretted that the Epistle tells more of him thau of HERBERT ; yet this much may be recalled here, that this Sir John Cooke was Secretary of State to Charles I. from 1625 to 1632 ; that he was son of Richard Cooke of Trus- ley, co. Derby, and a brother of George Cooke, succes- sively Bishop of Bristol and Hereford ; and that his sister Dorothy was wife of Valentine Carey, Bishop of Exeter. Notwithstanding Leeke's superlatives, there was really nothing notable about him. Leaving it to the curious in such thing to consult the original Latin, the Epistle fol- lows in English, seeing it is a noteworthy memorial of our Worthy thus early : ' To that most noble man and to that most wise hero, Sir John Cooke (of his most august Majesty King Charles's Privy Council) his own most honoured Maecenas, all happiness! There are not wanting people nowadays, most noble Sir, who, when they feel themselves bound by a kindness, take upon them that they have made an abundant return of thanks so long as they boast that, with their interminable praises and mighty flourish of words, they exalt from earth, and place amid the inhabitants of heaven, even while he is yet living, their Maecenas, illustrious in himself, and needing no testimonial from petty ability which creeps along the ground : people, however, who perceive not meanwhile, much less consider sufficiently (mere beggars of the purchasable smoke of kindness), that they have not so much painted in fair colours one who deserves the utmost from them, as told a story in an exaggerated manner, and incurred the shameful suspicion of flattery. As to you, most honoured Sir, thy wisdom affects not those who love to " protest too much," much less endures those troublesome trumpeters of thy vir- tues. You are such an one as all who know you know that you were not born to catch at empty breaths (of praise), much less that you are at all influenced by a flattering tickling of the ears, except to XXIV ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF hatred and loathing. You would rather have the council of your wisdom, dignity, goodness, in fine, of all the virtues which adorn a man, (seated) in your conscience, than (dwelling) on the lips of a crier ; in your own individual mind you would rather have a noble testimony to shine forth than in another man's printed page. Since then this way does not lie open to me (without some risk of forfeit- ing your feeling and regard towards me) for proving my gratitude for the remarkable favour (which is never likely to escape from my mind) with which your kindness not long ago treated me ; nay, since whatever my poor ability may have suggested to my stam- mering inexperience is beneath your merits and unhoped-for frank- ness towards me, this only remains to me to prove my real regard and the expression of everlasting duty, to dedicate to your High- ness these recent attempts of my idle Muse. It is a familiar anecdote of Alexander the Great that he did not reject poor Mile's drop of water offered even in the palms of his hands, but valued it amongst the greatest gifts of the richest men. You in like manner, most noble Sir, if you will not disdain to take in good part this drop sought from the streams of the Muses, have made me happy to the point of envy : and if, with such a favouring gale of your most pleasant and kindly countenance as you have hitherto enriched my mind withal, you should not hesitate to rise and breathe upon this Translation of the illustrious Herbertian Muse, you will make me hope at length to present, not as now, one little drop from the streams of the Muses with a poor and unskilful hand, but hereafter to draw whole vessels full from the very foun- tains, to offer for your acceptance. May God, All-good, Almighty, keep you in safety as long as possible a glorious example of true godliness and an eminent ornament of the state. So never will cease to pray your Highness's most devoted JAMES LEEKE.' Sooth to say, the translation of ' The Church Militant' is in no way memorable. This slight specimen must suffice : ' Sentitur Pietatis apex : alata supremo Ungue premit nostram hanc tellurem, ad America vergens Littora ; quum Baccho, Veneri, Geniisque, litatur Omnimodis, odia in furcas rumpentia, et effrons Peccatum, lamiae, Circeaque murmura, dirae Perfidiae (horroris certissima signa f uturi) Nostra perimplerint ad apertas pocula fibras : GEORGE HERBERT. XXV Sequana quando rapax saturabit Tibridis unda Ingluviem, Thamisisque precis utrisque receptis Intactas putido vitiabit flumine Nymphas : Quando nova hanc quatiet male-suada tyrannide gente Ausonia, et veteres repetito crimine fastus Farserit, ut liceat venture [dicier] anno, [dici ex] Quod Gallis scelus et fractis dominabitur Anglis : Tune, tune occiduos exul properabit ad Indos Relligio : subeunt horum f aelicia nostris Tempora temporibus : Deus alme, his providus omnem Dempsisti remoram, laceratae hinc fulva parentis Viscera uiittendo, dirae irritamina culpae. Nam male conveniunt, nee in una sede morantur Auri sacra fames, et Gratia, sacra salutis' die. 1 What of further translation Leeke designed was done in more scholarly fashion in Dr. Dillingham's now somewhat rare book, viz.Poemata Varii Argumenti, &c. 1678. (V) A MS. adaptation of most of ' The Temple 1 for singing and praise. This ' translation,' as the writer calls it, was written, as shown by the several dates given in it, in the years 1681-2. The ' Church Porch' ended, he says, ' scripsi partim domi partim apud Hasleborow diebus . . . et Feb. 12, 1680-1 ;' and after 'The Sacrifice,' 'scripsi Feb. 7, et nunc ult ejusd. 1680-1 summi Honoris ergo Beatissimo Jesu hie pono.' Another of the larger pieces, ' Providence,' is dated March 3, 1680-1. Thereafter there appears to have been a cessation, and a steady resumption of the task in 1682. ' Humilitie,' p. 82, is dated Mar. 28, 1682 ; ' Constancy,' p. 86, Mar. 30, 1682 ; ' Lent,' p. 108, May 30, 1682 ; 'An Offering,' p. 180, Oct. 17, 1682 ; 'Love,' p. 222, Dec. 12, 1682. ' The Church Militant' is dated Dec. 14, 1682 ; this, like ' The Sacrifice,' having been in part translated contemporaneously with portions of ' The Temple.' 1 There is also a translation by Leeke in the same MS. entitled 'Ejusdem D. G. Herberti Poematis cui titulum inscripsit Parasche- ven 7j$To^>pors. (as given in detail in Vol. I. pp. 219-231, and as utilised in Notes and Illustrations occa- sionally), I should have liked space for a critical examination of them ; but this I am compelled to leave to each student-Reader on the strength of the ample materials furnished by us. See especially the opening stanzas of The Church Porch (Vol. I. p. 219, 220), where surely the new lines commencing 'it is a rodd, Whose twigs are pleasures,' Ac. (to notice no others) are very memorable. They may bear comparison with even Shakespeare's Lear (v. 3) : ' The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices Make instruments to scourge us.' The Various Readings and erasures of particles and epithets are very noticeable. 1XX ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF and his genius that elevated what would in others have been faults into graces. 1 Dr. George Macdonald (in ' Antiphon') saw deeper than Dr. Craik, and with characteristic insight puts the quaintness and nicety, as thus : '[GEORGE HERBERT] has an exquisite feeling of lyrical art. Not only does he keep to one idea in it, but he finishes the poem like a cameo. Here is an instance wherein he outdoes the elaboration of a Norman trouvere ; for not merely does each line in each stanza end with the same sound as the corresponding line in every other stanza, but it ends with the very same word. I shall hardly care to defend this if my reader chooses to call it a whim ; but I do say that a large degree of the peculiar musical effect of the poem subservient to the thought, keeping it dimly chiming in the head until it breaks out clear and triumphant like a silver bell in the last is owing to this use of the same column of words at the line-ends of every stanza. Let him who doubts it read the poem aloud : " 144. AARON. Holiiiesse on the head, Light and perfections on the breast, Harmonious bells below, raising the dead To leade them unto life and rest : Thus are true Aarons drest. Profanenesse in my head, Defects and darknesse in my breast, 1 Mr. Edward Farr, in his 'Select Poetry, chiefly Sacred, of the Reign of King James the First' (Cambridge, 1847), gives the following notice of GEORGE HERBERT in relation to Psalm v. : ' " The divine HERBEBT" published his principal poetical work, entitled " The Tem- ple," in the reign of King Charles, but in Playford's Music Book there are seven Psalms attributed to him which appear to have been written in the period to which this volume refers' (p. xvi.). It will be noted that Mr. Farr forgets that ' The Temple' was posthumously published, and that his reference to ' Playford's Music Book,' with so many issued by those of the name, is blameably vague. GEORGE HERBERT. A noise of passions ringing me for dead Unto a place where is no rest : Poore priest, thus am I drest. Onely another head I have, another heart and breast, Another musick, making live, not dead, Without Whom I could have no rest : In Him I am well drest. Christ is my onely head, My alone-onely heart and breast, My onely musick, striking me ev'n dead, That to the old man I may rest, And be in Him new-drest. So, holy in my head, Perfect and light in my deare breast, My doctrine tun'd by Christ, Who is not dead, But lives in me while I do rest, Come, people ; Aaron's drest." Note the flow and the ebb of the lines of each stanza from six to eight to ten syllables, and back through eight to six, the number of stanzas corresponding to the number of lines in each ; only the poem itself begins with the ebb, and ends with a full spring- flow of energy. Note also the perfect antithesis in their parts between the first and second stanzas, and how the last lines of the poem clenches the whole in revealing its idea that for the sake of which it was written. In a word, note the unity. 1 I intercalate that '124. Clasping of Hands,' with ' mine' and ' thine' ringing through it, is another instance of ex- quisite art in combination with quaintness. Further, and again much more penetratively than Craik in his Donne reference : ' Born in 1593, notwithstanding his exquisite art, he could not escape being influenced by the faulty tendencies of his age, borne in upon his youth by the ex- ample of his mother's friend, Dr. Donne. A man must be a giant like Shakespeare or Milton to cast off his age's faults. Indeed no man has more of the " quips and cranks Ixxii ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OP and wanton wiles" of the poetic spirit of his time than GEORGE HERBERT, but with this difference from the rest of Dr. Donne's school, that such is the indwelling potency that it causes even these to shine with a radiance such that we wish them still to burn and not be consumed. His muse is seldom other than graceful, even when her motions are grotesque, and he is always a gentleman, which cannot be said of his master. We could not bear to part with his most fantastic oddities, they are so inter- penetrated with his genius as well as his art.' Lovingly and admirably said. Again : 4 In relation to the use he makes of these faulty forms, and to show that even herein he has exercised a refraining judgment, though indeed fancying he has quite discarded in only somewhat reforming it, I recommend the study of two poems, each of which he calls Jordan, though why I have not yet with certainty discovered. It is possible that not many of his readers have observed the following instances of the freakish in his rhyming art, which however result well. When I say so, I would not be supposed to approve of the freak, but only to acknowledge' the success of the poet in his immediate intent. They are related to a certain tendency to mechanical contrivance not seldom associated with a love of art : it is art operating in the physical understanding. In the poem called Home, every stanza is perfectly finished till the last: in it, with an access of art or artfulness, he destroys the rhyme. I shall not quarrel with my reader if he calls it the latter, and regards it as art run to seed. And yetand yet I confess I have a latent liking for the trick. I shall give one or two stanzas out of the rather long poem, to lead up to the change in the last. " Come, Lord ; my head doth burn, my heart is sick, While Thou dost ever, ever stay ; Thy long deferrings wound me to the quick ; My spirit gaspeth night and day. O show Thyself to me, Or take me up to Thee. Nothing but drought and dearth, but bush and brake, Which way soe're I look, I see : Some may dream merrily, but when they wake They dresse themselves and come to Thee. show Thyself to me, Or take me up to Thee. GEORGE HERBERT. Come, dearest Lord, passe not this holy season, My flesh and bones and joynts do pray ; And ev'n my verse, when by the ryme and reason The word is itay,* says ever come. O show Thyself to me, Or take me up to Thee." Balancing this, my second instance is of the converse. In all the stanzas but the last, the last line in each hangs unrhymed : in the last the rhyming is fulfilled. The poem is called Denial. I give only a part of it. " When my devotions could not pierce Thy silent eares, Then was my heart broken, as was my verse ; My breast was full of fears And disorder. O that Thou shouldst give dust a toiigtie To cry to Thee, And then not hear it crying ! All day long My heart was in my knee : But no hearing ! Therefore my soul lay out of sight, Untun'd, unstrung ; My feeble spirit, unable to look right, Like a nipt blossome, hung Discontented. O cheer and tune my heartlesse breast Deferre no time ; That so Thy favours granting my request, They and my soule may chime, And mend my ryme." It had been hardly worth the space to point out these, were not the matter itself precious. Before making further remark on GEORGE HERBERT, let me pre- sent one of his poems in which the oddity of the visual fancy is only equalled by the beauty of the result. "THE PULLEY. When God at first made man, Having a glasse of blessings standing by, ' Let us,' said He, ' poure on him all we can : Let the world's riches, which dispersed lie, Contract into a span.' ' 1 To rhyme with pray in the second line.' VOL. II. A' ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OP So strength first made a way ; Then beautie flow'd ; then wisdome, honour, pleasure. When almost all was out, God made a stay, Perceiving that, alone of all His treasure, Rest in the bottome lay. ' For if I should,' said He, ' Bestow this Jewell also on My creature, He would adore My gifts instead of Me, And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature : So both should losers be. Yet let him keep the rest But keep them with repining restlessnesse : Let him be rich and wearie, that, at least, If goodnesse lead him not. yet wearinesse May tosse him to My breast.' " Is it not the story of the world written with the point of a diamond ? There can hardly be a doubt that his tendency to unnatural forms was encouraged by the increase of respect to symbol and cere- mony shown at this period by some of the external powers of the Church Bishop Laud in particular. Had all, however, who delight in symbols a power, like GEORGE HERBERT'S, of setting even within the horn-lanterns of the more arbitrary of them, such a light of poetry and devotion that their dull sides vanish in its piercing shine, and we forget the symbol utterly in the truth which it cannot ob- scure, then indeed our part would be to take and be thankful. But there never has been even a living true symbol which the dulness of those who will see the truth only in the symbol has not degraded into the very cockatrice-egg of sectarianism. The symbol is by such always more or less idolised, and the light within more or less patronised. If the truth, for the sake of which all symbols exist, were indeed the delight of those who claim it, the sectarianism of the Church would vanish. But men on all sides call that the truth which is but its form or outward sign material or verbal, true or arbitrary, it matters not which and hence come strifes and divi- sions. Although GEORGE HERBERT, however, could thus illumine all with his divine inspiration, we cannot help wondering whether, if he had betaken himself yet more to vital and less to half -artificial symbols, the change would not have been a breaking of the pitcher and an outshining of the lamp. For a symbol may remind us of the truth, and at the same time obscure it present it, and dull its effect. It is the temple of nature and not the temple of the Church, the things GEORGE HERBERT. IxXV made by the hands of God and not the things made by the hands of man, that afford the truest symbols of truth. I am anxious to be understood. The chief symbol of our faith, the Cross, it may be said, is not one of these natural symbols. I answer No; but neither is it an arbitrary symbol. It is not a symbol of a truth at all, but of ajact, of the infinitely grandest fact in the universe, which is itself the outcome and symbol of the grandest Truth. The Cross is an historical sign, not properly a symbol, except through the facts it reminds us of. On the other hand, Baptism and the Eucharist are symbols of the loftiest and pro- foundest kind, true to nature and all its meanings, as well as to the facts of which they remind us. They are in themselves symbols of the truths involved in the facts they commemorate. Of Nature's symbols GEORGE HERBERT has made large use ; but he would have been yet a greater poet if he had made a larger use of them still. Then at least we might have got rid of such oddities as the stanzas for steps up to the church-door, the first at the bottom of the page ; of the lines shaped into ugly altar- form ; and of the absurd Easter wings, made of ever-lengthening lines. This would not have been much, I confess, nor the gain by their loss great ; but not to mention the larger supply of images graceful with the grace of God, Who when He had made them said they were good, it would have led to the further purification of his taste, perhaps even to the casting out of all that could untimely move our mirth ; until possibly (for illustration), instead of this lovely stanza, he would have given us even a lovelier : " Listen, sweet Dove, unto my song, And spread Thy golden wings on me ; Hatching my tender heart so long, Till it get wing with Thee, and fly away." The stanza is indeed lovely, and true and tender and clever as well ; yet who can help smiling at the notion of the incubation of the heart- egg, although what the poet means is so good that the smile almost vanishes in a sigh ? There is no doubt that the works of man's hands will also afford many true symbols ; but I do think that, in proportion as a man gives himself to those instead of studying Truth's wardrobe of forms in nature, so will he decline from the high calling of the poet. GEORGE HERBERT was too great to be himself much injured by the narrowness of the field whence he gathered his symbols ; but his song will be the worse for it in the ears of all but those who, hav- ing lost sight of or having never beheld the oneness of the God Ixxvi ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF Whose creation exists in virtue of his redemption, feel safer in a low-browed crypt than under " the high embowed roof." When the desire after system or order degenerates from a need into a passion, or ruling idea, it closes, as may be seen in many women who are especial housekeepers, like an unyielding skin over the mind, to the death of all development from impulse and aspiration. The same thing holds in the Church : anxiety about order and system will kill the life. This did not go near to being the result with GEORGE HERBERT : his life was hid with Christ in God ; but the influence of his profession, as distinguished from his work, was hurtful to his calling as a poet. He of all men would scorn to claim social rank for spiritual service ; he of all men would not commit the blunder of supposing that prayer and praise are that service of God : they are prayer and praise, not sewice; he knew that God can be served only through loving ministration to His sons and daughters, all needy of commonest human help: but, as the most devout of clergymen will be the readiest to confess, there is even a danger to their souls in the unvarying recurrence of the outward obligations of their service ; and, in like manner, the poet will fare ill if the conventions from which the holiest system is not free send him soaring with seeled eyes. GEORGE HERBERT'S were but a little blinded thus ; yet some- thing, we must allow, his poetry was injured by his profession. All that I say on this point, however, so far from diminishing his praise, adds thereto, setting forth only that he was such a poet as might have been greater yet, had the divine gift had free course. But again I rebuke myself, and say, " Thank God for GEORGE HER- BERT." ' Very gladly and gratefully have I given way to one so appreciative and reverent, and nevertheless critical, as George Macdonald ; and I must also close this section of HERBERT'S quaintness and nicety of workmanship from him. Earlier he looks beneath all ihefantastique&nd oddity, and catches, as all who listen and have souls must catch, that music and melody which, while genius-born, is art- matured : ' Let me speak first of that which first in time or order of appearance we demand of a poet, namely music. For inasmuch as verse is for the ear, not for the eye, we demand a good hearing first. Let no one under- value it. The heart of poetry is indeed truth, but its GEORGE HERBERT. IxXVli garments are music, and the garments come first in the process of revelation. The music of a poem is its mean- ing in sound as distinguished from word its meaning in solution, as it were, uncrystallised by articulation. The music goes before the fuller revelation, preparing its way. The sound of a verse is the harbinger of the truth con- tained therein. If it be a right poem, this will be true. Herein HERBERT excels. It will be found impossible to separate the music of his words from the music of the thought which takes shape in their sound. *' I got me flowers to straw Thy way, I got me boughs off many a tree ; But Thou wast up by break of day, And broughtst Thy sweets along with Thee." And the gift it enwraps at once and reveals is, I have said, truth of the deepest. Hear this song of divine service. In every song he sings a spiritual fact will be found its fundamental life, although I may quote this or that merely to illustrate some peculiarity of mode' (pp. 174-5). Sum- marily, then, the quaintness of HERBERT in thought and wording, must not be allowed to hide from the Reader the exquisite nicety of workmanship spent on it. To those unfamiliar with the contemporary literature, it may at first repel, but a closer study will draw out full and abiding admiration and gratitude. The most odd outward forms will prove to hide in them precious things ; as I found the other day a glorious eastern shell, purple-lipped, passion- flower stained, carrying within murmurous memories of its far-off sea, notwithstanding that it was cut and shaped into a very humble use ; or as one marks in the old gar- dens, of which mention was made earlier, the clipped and trimmed boughs, bursting into a glory of blossom and odour beneath the breath of the returning season. It is very noticeable how the Poet asserts himself against the some- what ultra-correct Artist in many of the quaintest of HERBERT'S Poems. The careless lines, the lines that have Ixxviii ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OP not been worked and re-worked, are few and far between. Moreover, the quaintness and fantastique of some of the poems the thinking taking such shape inevitably hide a secret that good James Montgomery did not discern when in his 'Christian Poet' he hastily described ' The Temple' as ' devotion itself turned into masquerade.' If he had reversed it, it had been truer ; for HERBERT turns even masquerade into devotion. He fulfilled the Bible-vision of ' Holiness to the Lord,' graven on the very bells of the horses. 2. Thought and mysticism. While agreeing in part with ' Antiphon's' aphoristic judgment, that ' as verse is for the ear, not for the eye, we demand a good hearing first,' I must nevertheless reiterate a former opinion (in relation to Fulke Greville, Lord Brooke 1 ) that ' music' (or rhyme and rhythm in perfection), if the ' first,' is not the ' last' or supremest thing. Or, to put it in another way, unless the ' music' inform great and noble thought, and be thrilled by that subtlety of emotion which I call here mysticism, it may be of the poorest and emptiest Poetry qua Poetry : e.g. Thomas Moore is all but faultless in his rhyme and melody ; but one yearns for the roughness of a grand idea or fancy just as one likes the break of the flowing stream through the obstacle of some great stone or dipping branch, anything rather than the Dutch-dyke smoothness and mere flow. The quantity and quality of the thinking, and that as intensified by feeling, must ever determine the quantity and quality of a Poet's genius must, in truth, decide us whether or no it be genius and the results poetry. Where genius is, the Thinking and the Feeling send out their own ' music,' and that far beyond such as is put above the Thinking and the Feeling, instead of within them. William Cartwright, in his verse- 1 See Essay on his Poetry in our edition of his Complete Works (4 vols.), where the traditionalism of criticism has been, I hope, thor- oughly dealt with. GEORGE HERBERT. IxXlX tribute to John Fletcher, has very vividly expressed this, e.g. ' Fletcher, though some call it thy fault that wit So overflow'd thy scenes, that ere 'twas fit To come upon the stage, Beaumont was fain To bid thee be more dull, that's write again And bate some of thy fire, which from thee came In a clear, bright, full, but too large a flame ; And after all (finding thy genius such) That, blunted and allay'd, 'twas yet too much ; Added his sober spunge, and did contract Thy plenty to less wit to make't exact : Yet we through his correcting could see Much treasure in thy superfluity, Which was so fil'd away, as tohen we do Out jewels, that that's lost is Jewell too ; Or, as men use to wash gold, which we know By losing makes the stream thence wealth y grow.' 1 Of GEORGE HERBERT in kind this holds. With all his nicety of workmanship, or even his quaintness (one of many things), there is underneath it, as the matter of his workmanship all through, substantive Thought of a high order. His art was fine and subtle, but it .ceased when further use of 1 the file would not make smooth, but wear.' 2 Hence, as true of HERBERRT as of Jonson is it : ' Thy thought's so order'd, so express'd, that we Conclude that thou didst not discourse, but see ; Language so mastered, that thy numerous feet, Laden with genuine words, do alwaies meet Each in his art, nothing unfit doth fall ; Showing the Poet like the wise men all.' 3 That word ' see,' as I take it, goes critically deep, and is very much superior (with all respect) to Dr. George Mac- donald's test of the ' ear.' Music is for the ear, must satisfy 1 Comedies, Tragi-Comedies, with other Poems, 1651, p. 271. 2 Ibid. To the Memory of Ben Jonson ; Lament, p. 314. 3 Ibid. p. 312. 1XXX ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF it to be music. Poetry is also for the ear ; yet is it also for the eye, that the spirit may take in the altitudes and depths from the printed and read page. I claim for ' The Temple,' and for GEORGE HERBERT, this peculium of the true poet, that his poetry is high thought and his high thought poetry. Here I accept ' Antiphon's' welcome to him : ' With my hand on the lock, I shrink from opening the door. Here comes a poet indeed ! and how am I to show him due honour ? With his book humbly, doubt- fully offered ; with the ashes of the poems of his youth fluttering in the wind of his priestly garments, he crosses the threshold. Or rather, for I had forgotten the symbol of my book, let us all go from our chapel to the choir, and humbly ask him to sing, that he may make us worthy of his song. In GEORGE HERBERT there is poetry enough and to spare ; it is the household bread of his being. If I begin with that which first in the nature of things ought to be demanded of a poet namely, Truth, Revela- tion GEORGE HERBERT offers us measure pressed down and running over' (p. 174). ' Truth,' ' Revelation,' are other synonyms for my ' Thought' and ' Mysticism.' I find in the Writings of HERBERT profound, meditative, slow-patient Thought in the very cathedrals of Thinking, i.e. on the most ultimate problems of Fact and destiny. I find in it all, or in nearly all, that emotional element which I designate by Mysticism, or Thought trembling into feel- ing, feeling deepening into passion, passion laying hold of the Eternal and the True. There is a delicate mist (not haze) of the mystical (as in Henry Vaughan, the Silurist) over ' The Temple,' from Porch to L'Envoy comparable with the amethyst edgings of cloud-land, or the purples, opal- streaked, that fill Italian and Swiss hill- hollows. You come on a grand Thought, either naked or clad in a me- taphor or symbol, and as you dwell upon it, lo ! not the brain only but the heart is led captive. Let Dr. Samuel Brown cull for us instances in his charming Essay on GEORGE HERBERT. Ixxxi GEORGE HERBERT, 1 as thus : ' There is a tradition that, on the occasion of the birth of Christ, there flitted over sea and land, like an awestruck aurora of sound, a voice that murmured, " Great Pan is dead ;" but Pan is made alive again with Christianity by the rural scholar of Be- merton, in this exquisite stanza : " Now I am here, what Thou wilt do with me None of my books will show : I read, and sigh, and wish I were a tree ; For sure then I should grow To fruit or shade ; at least some bird would trust Her household to me, and I should be just.'" But could the gentle Dryad have written down the quality of prayer in such a precious, though fantastic, string of similes as we have here ? " 19. PRAYER. Prayer, the Churche's banquet, Angels' age, God's breath in man returning to his birth, The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage, The Christian plummet sounding heav'n and earth ; Engine against th' Almightie, sinner's towre, Reversed thunder, Christ-side-piercing spear, The six-daies-world transposing in an houre, A kinde of tune which all things heare and fear ; Softnesse, and peace, and joy, and love, and blisse, Exalted manna, gladnesse of the best, Heaven in ordinarie, man well drest, The milkie way, the bird of Paradise, Church-bels beyond the stars heard, the soul's bloud, The land of spices, something understood." Nor would not the delicate poet, like another and more blessed Ariel, have soon enough languished to be free from rind and leaves, even though musical with nightingales and bees, if for no other purpose than to inscribe this wise and witty couplet on the flyleaf of his study-Bible, 1 ' Lectures on the Atomic Theory and Essays Scientific and Lite- rary,' 2 vols. 8vo, 1858, vol. ii. pp. 119, 120. VOL. II. I Ixxxii ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF before becoming the permanent captive of a hundred sheltering years : " Stars are poor books, and oftentimes do miss ; This book of stars lights to eternal bliss." Alas, he could not have lived the oaken, or ashen, or any other vegetable life, one day in peace. His ardent spirit would have burned itself to death long before the first browning of the foliage, bringing in a premature autumn ! " O raise me then ! poor bees, that work all day, Sting my delay, Who have a work as well as they, And much, much more." ' Finer yet is Dr. Brown's estimate of the utmost utter- ance of GEORGE HERBERT in Thought and Feeling, Ima- gination and Fancy, and word-painting and solemn me- lody his poem of MAN, especially read in the light of c Man's Medley' and ' Providence.' ' Then there is,' says he, ' a wonderful statue of Man erected about the middle of the Church, which the sculptor, we shall not say has hardly dared, but has scarcely been able, to deface with one wayward stroke of the heaven-taught chisel that cut it out of the pure block of thought. 1 The wisdom, the real new insight, the revelation, so to speak, expressed in this striking production, are so great, that the language draws no part of the student's attention ; he only con- siders its mighty burden of remote truth, and wonders how it has been brought so near' (p. 123). ' My God, I heard this day That none doth build a stately habitation But he that means to dwell therein. What house more stately hath there been, Or can be, then is Man ? to whose creation All things are in decay. 1 Yet see the Various Readings from the Williams MS. GEORGE HERBERT. IxXXUJ Man is all symmetric, Full of proportions, one limbe to another, And all to all the world besides ; Each part may call the farthest brother, For head with foot hath private amitie, And both with moons and tides. Nothing hath got so farre But Man hath caught and kept it as his prey ; His eyes dismount the highest starre ; He is in little all the sphere ; Herbs gladly cure our flesh, because that they Finde their acquaintance there. The starres have us to bed, Night draws the curtain, which the sunne withdraws ; Musick and light attend our head, All things unto our flesh are Idnde In their descent and being ; to our minde In their ascent and cause. More servants wait on Man Than he'l take notice of: in ev'ry path He treads down that which doth befriend him When sicknesse makes him pale and wan. Oh mightie love ! Man is one world, and hath Another to attend him.' Professor Nichol has later pronounced the same verdict, as thus : ' HERBERT'S poem on " Man" is his masterpiece. The most philosophic as -well as the most comprehensive of his writings, it stands by itself, and has enlisted the ad- miration even of those furthest removed from him in creed, and cast, and time. Embodying his recognition of the mysterious relationship of the chief of created beings to his Creator and to the universe, it seems to anticipate centuries of discovery. The faculty which can range from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven, discerns the hidden links by which the world is woven together, and poetry prophesies what science proves. In the microcosm of man : ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF " East and vrest touch, the poles do kiss, And parallels meet." Man, with HERBERT, is everything " a tree," " a beast, yet is, or should be, more ;" he is " all symmetry, Full of proportions, one limb to another, And all to all the world besides." Claiming brotherhood with moons and tides, " in little all the sphere," everything ministers to his service : " For us the winds do blow, The earth doth rest, heaven move, and fountains flow." Clenching the whole into one grand line, the poet ex- claims : " Man is one world, and hath Another to attend him." And then, from the open vault of day, he turns again re- verently towards the temple, crying : " Since then, my God, Thou hast So brave a palace built, oh, dwell in it." This, which was the prayer and effort of his life, was surely in full measure granted to GEORGE HERBERT. Nothing arrests us more than his perfect honesty. There is no writing for effect in his pages ; as we turn them we feel ourselves in the presence of a man speaking out of the fulness of his heart, and carried away into a higher air by the sustaining power of his own incessant aspira- tions.' 1 With kindred insight and eloquent statement the Rev. George Gilfillan, of Dundee, also selecting ' Man' (and ' Providence'), has set forth the Thought and Mysti- cism of HERBERT. I feel assured every Reader will thank me for a long quotation : ' We have spoken of the philo- sophy of " The Temple." We do not mean by this, that 1 The Poetical Works of GEORGE HERBERT, .... with Intro- duction by John Nichol, B.A. Oxon., Professor of English Litera- ture, University of Glasgow ; London : 1863 (Bickers and Bush), pp. xxiv.-v. GEORGE HERBERT. IxXXV it contains any elaborately constructed, distinctly defined, or logically defended system, but simply that it abounds in glimpses of philosophic thought of a very profound and searching cast. The singular earnestness of HERBERT'S temperament was connected with perhaps we should rather say created in him an eye which penetrated below the surface, and looked right into the secrets of things. In his peculiarly happy and blessed constitution, piety and the philosophic genius were united and reconciled ; and from those awful depths of man's mysterious na- ture, which few have more thoroughly, although inci- dentally, explored than he, he lifts up, not a hand of despair, nor a curse of misanthropy, nor a cry of mere astonishment, but a hymn of worship. We refer espe- cially to those two striking portions of the poem en- titled " Man" and " Providence." The first is a fine comment on the Psalmist's words, " I am fearfully and wonderfully made." HERBERT first saw, or at least first expressed in poetry, the central position of man to the universe the fact that all its various lines find a focus in him that he is a microcosm to the All, and that every part of man is, in its turn, a little microcosm of him. The germs of some of the abstruse theories propounded by Swedenborg, and since enlarged and illustrated by the author of " The Human Body considered in its Relation to Man" (a treatise written with a true Elizabethan rich- ness of style and thought, and which often seems to ap- proach at least great abysses of discovery), may be found in HERBERT'S verses.' .... ' How strikingly do these words [in ' Man'] bring before us the thought of Man the Mystery ! " What a piece of workmanship" verily he is ! He is formed as of a thousand lights and shadows. He is compacted out of all contradictions. While his feet touch the dust, and are of miry clay, his head is of gold, and strikes the empyrean. He is mysteriously linked on the one side to the beasts that perish, and has an affinity as ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF mysterious on the other to the angels of God. Nay, in- animate nature itself claims " acquaintance" with this "quintessence of dust." The periods of his life bear a striking analogy to the seasons ; his brain at times moves to the moon ; his breast, as well as cheek, is coloured by the sun ; his advancement as a species bears a distinct relation to the changes of the earth's surface, and to its place in the heavens ; he is the representative of the universe, has imbibed at once its glories and its glooms, has snatched from the star its fire and its mystery, and vibrates like the string of a harp to any breath of the great system with which he is indissolubly connected. Made in the image of God, and having notions of and ex- pectations after absolute perfection, he is, and in some measure knows himself to be, a vile sinner. Lord of earth, air, sea, and all their riches, he is a fretful, dis- contented, hating, hateful, and on the whole, so far as his present life goes, miserable wretch. He is, in one view, a whole, and in another a yawning fragment ; and, according to the angle at which you see him, resem- bles, now a full moon, now a crescent, and now a waning orb. Able to " weigh the sun," span the fields of space, acquainted with the times and seasons of the heavenly bodies, full of " thoughts that wander through eternity," he is yet doomed to sicken, to die, and to have his low grave kissed, in scorn or pity, by the orbs whose spots he has numbered and whose eclipses he has foretold. Hum- boldt speaks of the Andes as including the world in their vast sweep, all climates, and seasons, and productions of earth being found between their base and their summit, between the ocean below and the hoary head of Chim- borazo above. Thus man rises from his dim embryo up to his gray head in age, touching, as he ascends, all condi- tions of being, and rising in parallel to all gradations of the universe, and remaining in each and all a mystery, having, indeed, all mysteries compounded and compressed GEORGE HERBERT. in his one mysterious self. ' ; When I consider the heavens," says David, " what is man ?" But may we not, with all reverence, invert David's statement, although not his spirit, and say, " When we consider man, what" (in gran- deur, incomprehensibility, and terror) " are the heavens ?" " For us the winds do blow, The earth doth rest, heaven move, and fountains flow." Many of HERBERT'S modern admirers, while quoting the rest of these verses on " Man," omit its last stanza, although it seems to contain the moral of the wondrous fable he had told, the solution of the Great Riddle he had propounded. Man is, in a great measure, a mystery, because he has for- saken his God ; he is a wondrous palace, untenanted by the only Being whose presence can fill the crevices, supply the deficiencies, occupy the vast rooms, glorify the gloomy places, explain the mysteriousness and fulfil the destiny of the fabric ; and whenever He shall return to it Man's con- tradictions shall be reconciled, his controversies ended, all that is now ambiguous about him shall be explained, and while his microcosmal character still continues, it shall as- sume a diviner meaning, and become as pure as it is uni- versal.' 1 All this is really fetched out of ' Man' and ' Pro- vidence,' not put into it (as too many preachers do with God's Word, to an imagined ' edification') ; and it is evi- dence of the THOUGHT in HERBERT. One can readily under- stand how Bacon and GEORGE HERBERT were congenial minds. They were Thinkers, with MAN to them as the end of the universe, and so its key in His Hands. That the thought ; and then there is the mysticism, the seer-gift, which puts the small hand of man in the great hand of God, and thus elevates and ennobles him still more, as being fallen, yet redeemed. 1 The Poetical Works of GEORGE HERBERT, with Life, Critical Dissertation, and Explanatory Notes, by the Rev. George Gilfillan. Edinburgh : 1857 (Nichol). There is not a single ' explanatory note.' ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF Perhaps sufficient has been said and suggested to vin- dicate a higher recognition than hitherto of the thinking power of GEORGE HERBERT as distinguished from his in- effable sweetness and saintliness. 'With a conscience tender as a child's,' says Dr. Macdonald on this, ' almost diseased in its tenderness, and a heart loving as a wo- man's, his intellect is none the less powerful. Its move- ments are as the sword-play of an alert, poised, well-knit, strong- wristed fencer with the rapier, in which the skill impresses one more than the force, while without the force the skill would be valueless, even hurtful, to its possessor' (Antiphon, p. 176). Even so : the gleam of the Damascus blade, lightning- edged, flames under the wreath- ing myrtles with which Peace has twined it ; or, unmeta- phorically, the brain -strength is used gently and without display, but it is there. With reference to Dyce's little painting of GEORGE HERBERT as an angler, the writer in the Christian Remembrancer from whom we have quoted more than once lays stress on this intellectuality and thought of ' The Temple,' and indeed of all HERBERT'S verse and prose, as thus : ' Mr. Dyce's picture, 1 while repre- senting well the serenity which HERBERT'S impetuous na- ture gained by rigid exercise of self-control and resignation, illustrates only too well the popular misconception, uni- versal among those who know GEORGE HERBERT only by report. Most persons, we may venture to say, only think 1 ' In last year's exhibition of paintings, not a few among the gazers who crowded the Royal Academy's rooms were attracted round a small but highly finished picture, which, to say nothing of its other claims to be noticed (and these are considerable with all who can appreciate the delicacy, repose, and careful execution of Mr. Dyce's manner), certainly stood out in unique contrast to its companions both in subject and colouring,' &c. (Chr. Remembr. p. 104). A. Cooper, R.A., selected the incident of HEBBERT'S helping the poor man whose horse had fallen by the wayside for a kindred painting. Major engraved it for his edition of the ' Lives' (1825, p. 320). It is commonplace, save in the horse's eye. GEORGE HERBERT. IxXXlX of him as, to borrow Mr. Spurgeon's elegant designation of him, '' a devout old Puseyite" of the time of the first Stuart, completely estranged from their sympathy, not by the antiquated manners of the period only, but by his own singular austerity of life and extraordinary self- abnegation. Most persons merely know his poetry by a few lines culled here and there to provoke a smile at their quaintness and want of rhythm. Even among those who cherish with loving reverence the memory of his holy and beautiful life, few are aware for it needs patient research, undiscouraged by the archaisms of a style strangely dissonant to modern ears how high a place he is entitled to, purely on the ground of intellectual ability. Among the rich legacies of literature bequeathed to us from the past, HERBERT'S " Remains" especially [Prose] deserve to be rescued from neglect, and restored to a place on our bookshelves and in our hearts. They are valuable, not merely or chiefly to the archaeologist, but intrinsically ; and in particular, at the present time, as containing the antidote to many of the evils incidental to the tendencies of our modern literature' (pp. 104-5). Proceed we now to his 3. Imaginativeness and originality. Imagination is so utterly of the stuff of poetry, that no one may hope to retain a place among the greatest ' Makers' (reverting to the fine old name) without it. Yet never was it more necessary than in our own day to remember that there is imagination and imagination ; never more necessary to test what claims our acceptance as poetry by Shakespeare's definition. Let us recall it : ' Lovers and madmen have such seething brains, Such shaping fantasies, that apprehend More than cool reason ever comprehends. The lunatic, the lover, and the poet Are of imagination all compact : One sees more devils than vast hell can hold ; VOL. II. Ill XC ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF That is the madman : the lover, all as frantic, Sees Helen's beauty in a brow of Egypt : The poefs eye, in a fine frenzy rolling, Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven ; And as imagination bodies forth The forms of things unknown, the poefs pen Turns them to shapes, and gives to airy nothing A local habitation and a name.'' (Midsummer- Night's Dream, act v. sc. 1.) We have many ' seething brains,' but lack the ' fine frenzy ;' abundance of ' great swelling words,' little of that ' ima- gination' which is ' compact. 1 The thick-coming epithets, the laborious and gaudy word - painting, the spasm and mouthing of belauded poetry, are the antithesis of what I take to be true Imaginativeness, an essential of which is that it be not diffuse but compact. Of this condensation and compactness of imagination I pronounce GEORGE HERBERT on his own level level rather than altitude to be a master ; and I regard ' The Temple' as furnish- ing incomparable examples of the fulfilment of the ' Mid- summer-Night's Dream's' supreme requirement: ' As Imagination bodies forth The forms of things unknown, the poet's pen Turns them to shapes, and gives to airy nothing A local habitation and a name.' Take this of the Agony of Gethsemane : ' Sin is that press and vice, which f orceth Pain To hunt his cruel food through every vein ;' and this in ' The Church Porch' (st. xv.) : 1 Chase brave employments with a naked sword Throughout the world. Fool not, for all may have, If they dare choose, a glorious life or grave.' Of the former, its naked simpleness of wording is surely declarative of the highest type of the imaginative faculty ' compact' and restrained. Of the latter, had Byron it in unconscious reminiscence in the close of the last, per- GEORGE HERBERT. XC1 haps truest as deepest, of all his poems, ' On this day I complete my thirty-sixth year' ? ' Tread those reviving passions down, Unworthy manhood unto thee Indifferent should the smile or frown Of beauty be. If thou regret'st thy youth, why live f The land of honourable death Is here : up to the field, and give Away thy breath ! Seek out less often sought than found A soldier's grave, for thee the best : Then look around, and choose thy ground, And take thy rest.' ' Man' and ' Man's Medley' and ' Providence' afford abun- dant examples of the imaginativeness and originality of our Poet. I retain a line and a half of the penultimate stanza of ' Man :' ' Man is one world, and hath Another to attend him.' I know nothing more magnificent than this as a thought, and nothing more perfect than its form. It was only a grotesque grandeur to make Earth (as old astronomic sci- ence did) the centre of the universe, and the huge sun to wheel in attendance on it ; but it is grand, without touch of grotesqueness, to recognise thus in Man the centre of the vastest and remotest circumference, with all the visible world 'to attend him.' How wide-reaching as Words- worth at his best, is this in 90. Providence (11. 29-32) ! ' We all acknowledge both Thy power and love To be exact, transcendent, and divine ; Who dost so strongly and so sweetly move, While all things have their will, yet none but Thine. 1 Nor is this in 129. ' The Search' at all inferior : ' Where is my God ? what hidden place Conceals Thee still ? What covert dare eclipse Thy face ? Is it Thy will ? ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF let not that of any thing ; Let rather brasse, Or steel, or mountains be Thy ring, ring-fence And I will passe. Thy will such an intrenching is As passeth thought : To it all strength, all subtilties Are things of nought. Thy will such a strange distance is As that to it East and West touch, the poles do kisse, And parallels meet. 1 (11. 29-44.) But perhaps the fineness of HERBERT'S imagination is best seen in his eye for Nature. Purblind critics, calling themselves philosophers, have ignorantly said of HER- BERT that he knew and cared little or nothing for the sights and sounds of outside Nature. 1 No genuine stu- 1 An example occurs in a Paper on ' Mr. Tennyson as a Bo- tanist' in St. Pauls Magazine (October 1873), as follows : ' Although belonging to an earlier date than the sterile period referred to, GEORGE HERBERT might also be quoted here as a case of poetic talent of a very genuine kind, yet unaccompanied by much percep- tion of natural beauty or picturesqueness. He has sometimes been likened to Keble, a brother churchman and clergyman ; but between the two in their feeling and apprehension of the wonders of creation the difference is singular and complete. HERBERT'S strong point was spiritual anatomy. His probing and exposure of the deceits and vanities of the human heart, and his setting forth of the dangers of the world to spirituality of mind, is at once quaint and incisive. But of any love or special knowledge of the physical world there is scarcely a trace. Keble's poetry, on the other hand quite as unworldly as that of the author of " The Temple'' is redolent everywhere of the sights and sounds of Na- ture. The seasons with their endless changes, the motions of the heavenly bodies, the fragrance of the field, trees, rivers, moun- tains, and all material things, are assimilated, so to speak, into the very essence of his verse. That very world which to HERBERT was only base and utterly Indifferent, seemed to Keble, to use his own words, " ennobled and glorified," and awakened in his soul poetical emotions of the highest and purest kind.' A footnote is GEORGE HERBERT. XC111 dent of ' The Temple' will be cheated by such hasty generalisation. While it must be granted that his pe- culiar poetic gifts were exercised most of all in the uttering of those spiritual experiences which rounded his remarkable Life, and while the penetrativeness and reve- lation that give Wordsworth his renown belong to a later day, I must nevertheless strenuously assert that all through, our ' sweet singer' walks the earth as still God's Eden, the great Gardener's Garden. If you bring insight to discern, you come on the daintiest, quietest, tenderest, winsomest allusions to Nature as he saw it, in simple level English landscape, and so worked -in that you feel at once the presence of Imagination, not mere word-painting : ' The consecration and the poet's dream, The light that never was on sea or shore.' ' Never was there,' says Dr. Samuel Brown, ' sweeter sym- added : ' One of his biographers has discovered a solitary verse, on the faith of which he complacently assumes that HEBBEET " was thoroughly alive to the sweet influences of nature" ' (p. 444). Conceding to this writer (Mr. J. Hutchison) that ' HEBBEBT'S strong point was spiritual anatomy,' and pleased that he admits the ' genuine kind' of our Worthy 's ' poetic talent' (albeit ' talent'is a sin- gularly ill-chosen term), it seems a bounden duty to protest against the serene ignorance of HEBBEBT'S ' Temple' herein exhibited. If Mr. Hutchison had really given a couple of open- eyed hours to the study of HEBBEET'S Poetry, such as he has to Mr. Tennyson's, with good results, he would have been astonished by the ' special knowledge' of the ' sights and sounds of Nature' shown by him. Indeed his own description of Keble (from which none will seek to abate) is an accurate one of HEBBEET. Nothing is more profoundly false than that HEBBEBT regarded this present world ' as only base and utterly indifferent. ' His was too spacious a soul and he was too whole-hearted for such sentimentalism of misanthropy. The footnote reference to a 'solitary verse' is simply ludicrous and blundering. Mr. Hutchison's foolish criticism was very well dis- posed of in the same periodical for November 1873 in a Paper by Georgiophilus, entitled ' George Herbert as a Lover of Nature ;' and our examples confirm all stated therein. XC1V ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF pathy with Nature half alive than our sweet-souled Pas- tor's : e.g. praying down grace, he remembers how it is said, " Come, let us reason together," and he murmurs with the veritable delicacy of a child : " The dew doth every morning fall : And shall the dew outstrip Thy Dove? The dew for which grass cannot call, Drop from above. " Ay, and he is a lover of the Night, after his own dear familiar fashion ; he says : " I muse which shows more love, The day or night : that is the gale, this the harbour ; That is the walk, and this the arbour ; Or that the garden, this the grove." Perhaps as good a specimen as could be shown of HER- BERT'S peculiar vein is to be found in the apostrophe called " The Star." It turns on a fanciful, almost a fan- tastic conceit ; but the moment you admit its legitimacy and you can do it only by an act of poetic faith you are ravished by the infinite ingenuity and beauty with which the author turns it to the fair and sacred uses for which he snatched it down from the " heaven of ima- gination." Examine the subtlety and feel the real beauty of this curious rapture : " 47. ^ THK STAKKE. Bright spark, shot from a brighter place, Where beams surround my Saviour's face, Canst thou be any where So well as there ? Yet if thou wilt from thence depart, Take a bad lodging in my heart ; For thou canst make a debter, And make it better. First with thy fire-work burn to dust Folly, and worse then folly, lust: Then with thy light refine, And make it shine. GEORGE HERBERT. XCV So, disengag'd from sinne and sicknesse, Touch it with thy celestial quicknesse, That it may hang and move After thy love. according to Then with our trinitie, of light, Motion, and heat, let's take our flight Unto the place where thou Before didst bow. Get me a standing there, and place Among the beams which crown the face Of Him Who dy'd to part Sinne and my heart ; That so among the rest I may Glitter, and curie, and winde as they : That winding is their fashion Of adoration. Sure thou wilt joy by gaining me To flie home, like a laden bee, Unto that hive of beams And garland-streams." This is the operation of the pure fancy ; and it is this sort of voluntary conceit that HERBERT excels and de- lights in. Yet it must be owned that these turns and feats of the mind, though frequently violent and against the use of nature, are not without their power and gran- deur on occasion, apart from the beauty with which the lovely spirit of the author almost unfailingly illustrates them. How sublime a prank is this all but imaginative anagram of the name of the Virgin Mary, the letters of which are the same as "Army" ! " How well her name an Army doth present In whom the Lord of Hosts did pitch His tent!" There is also something of the identifying process, or passionate condensation of imagination-proper, in this more sober repetition of the Oreadic aspiration : " that I were an orenge-tree, That busy plant ! XCV1 ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OP Then I should ever laden be, And never want Some fruit for Him that dresseth me." ' Although, however, the imagery and illustrations of HERBERT'S poems are almost entirely drawn from the storehouse of fancy, he was a man of true and penetrating imagination. All his most kindly sympathies ; the over- whelming passion of his piety ; his love, as universal as the sun's radiance, and as particular as its ray ; his pro- found insight into nature and man, and his trembling sense of the essential unity of all thoughts and things, were all the outcomings of a most imaginative spirit. These con- stituted his genius ; his fanciful mode of handling his expositions of himself was the result of his cultivated ta- lent. Like Donne, he had acquired the trick, the habit of working in that manner ; but in all that is within the mere manner of his works, in all that gives that man- nerism its perennial worth, he was alike untaught and unlearned. Nor does he not frequently drop his manner, and sing his word like a man too inspired to be capable of a style ? In what style or school can this solemn and beautiful thought be classed, unless it be in the unname- able one of human nature ? " What hath not man sought out and found, But his dear God ? Who yet His glorious law Embosoms in us, mellowing the ground With showers and frosts, with love and awe." '* The Reader will note how instinctively the ' showers' and ' frosts' and the ' mellowing' of the ' ground' symbolise to HERBERT the great Father's discipline and holy striving with His prodigal son, Man. So when he would ' body forth' his own quick resolves and slow fulfilment, he thus answers all who think him ' eager, hot, and undertaking, but in his prosecutions slack arid small :' 1 Lectures and Essays, as before, pp. 120-3. GEORGE HERBERT. XCV11 ' As a young exhalation, newly waking, Scorns his first bed of dirt, and means the sky, But cooling by the way, grows pursie and slow, And settling to a cloud, doth live and die In that dark state of tears, to all that so Show me and set me I have one reply, Which they that know the rest know more then 7.' The ' young exhalation' matches Byron's ' young earth- quake.' Thus is it invariably and inevitably ; and hence you have in well-nigh every poem the breath of the cool rural air, the gleam of the green fields, the sparkle of rain and infinite radiance of dew, the ' dark and shadie grove' and sky beyond, the ' sweet surprise' of woodland and wayside flowers in ' momentanie bloom,' or ' green and gay,' or autumn-stained, or twined in quick -fading ' posie,' and ' tender grasse,' and bud, ' nipt blossome,' and fruit ; the bird in its nest or on the wing, or lifting its little head after sipping a drink, the ' nightingale,' and ' lark,' and ' sweet Dove,' of changeful plumage ; the clouds, the stars' ' noiseless spheres,' light, and lightning God's ' golden spear,' wind and wave, ' rolling waves,' the tossing yet straight-steered ' boat,' the limpet on the rock, the ' bub- ble' iridescent and fragile, the snow, the flooded meadow, the ' secret cave,' the ' ringing' woods, the sunbeam reach- ing up like a golden stair from earth to heaven, the rain- bow, light ' watrish' or flashing ; bees, the ' worm' (' griev'd for a worm on which I tread'), dogs, the horse in fine, bits of nature comparable with the landscape backgrounds of our greatest portrait-painters behind the portraits, yet cunningly and inestimably done. HERBERT indeed actualised William Blake's 'Auguries of Innocence :' ' To see a world in a grain of sand, And a heav'n in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, And eternity in an hour.' VOL. II. H XCV111 ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OP Only one who found ' a heav'n in a wild flower,' one to whom his Parsonage -garden was a very Garden of Eden, would thus have cried out : ' Rain, do not hurt myjlowers, but gently spend Your bony-drops : presse not to smell them here; When they axe ripe their odour will ascend, And at your lodging with their thanks appeare.' (Providence, 1L 117-120.) Only one, too, who was ' all eare,' as ever Shakespeare was, could thus have ' imagined :' ' All must appeare, And be dispos'd, and dress'd, and tun'd by Thee, Who sweetly temper'st all. IF WE COULD HEABK THY SKILL AND ABT, WHAT MDSICK WOULD IT BE !' (Ibid. U. 37-40.) This latter especially shows how vocal to him was the ' physical world,' to which critics have supposed he was ' utterly indifferent,' or regarded as ' only base.' There is within it, too, as often, a subtle doubling of the thought, in its earthly and divine side a subtlety that comes out in the very first stanza of ' The Church Porch,' wherein ' delight' itself becomes consecrate with the awf ulness of ' sacrifice.' Dr. Macdonald has pointed out another element of HERBERT'S imaginativeness and originality in his ' use of homeliest imagery for highest thought.' This, he justly thinks, ' is in itself enough to class him with the highest kind of poets.' He proceeds : ' If my reader will refer to " The Elixir," he will see an instance in the third stanza, " You may look at the glass or at the sky" " You may regard your action only, or that action as the will of God." Again, let him listen to the pathos and simplicity of this one stanza from a poem he calls " The Flower." He has been in trouble ; his times have been evil, he has felt a spiritual old age creeping upon him ; but he is once more awake : GEORGE HERBERT. XC1X " And now in age I bud again, After so many deaths I live and write ; I once more smell the dew and rain, And relish versing : O, my onely Light, It cannot be That I am he On whom Thy tempests fell at night!" " Some may dream merrily, but when they wake They dress themselves and come to Thee," ' (Antiphon, p. 180.) That vivid line, ' I once more smell the dew and rain,' was the grateful sigh of one whose heart-delight was in Nature, even beyond his 'versing,' which, be it noted, comes after, not before, his celebration of return from the sick-chamber to his seat on the garden-meadow facing the Neddar. The ORIGINALITY of HERBERT is remarkable. His Son- net (a double one) to his Mother the Poem to the Queen of Bohemia by ' G. H.,' which I have reclaimed, with only slight hesitation, for him and 'The Parodie' bear the impress of Donne, 1 and prove that he was potential over him to the last ; 2 and there are cadences and pauses and breaks of melody that tell us Shakspeare's folio was all but certainly one of the books for which he fasted that he might possess it. But substantially he thought and felt and saw and sang for himself. Henry Vaughan thought more deeply, saw more magnificent visions (as of Eternity's ' great ring' of Light), felt perhaps more passionately, looked more widely, sang with a fuller music and a more absolute spontaneity ; but GEORGE HERBERT was * The 'Parody' (Vol. I. pp. 211, 212) is after Donne's Love-lyric (vol. ii. pp. 235-6). 2 The line quoted by HERBERT in the ' Church Porch' (st. xiv. 1. 2) occurs in Donne's Lines to ' Mr. Tillman on his taking Or- ders.' It is just the poem of his friend that we would have expected HERBERT to turn to and value. It must have gone home to him as he hesitated to accept Beraerton. i. ^ - & * f ' * t '* C ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF autochthonal after a remarkable type, alike in his think- ing and imaginativeness, and wording and art. His ' The Rose' and ' Sunday' attest this in their combined familiarity and newness. ' I invite brief attention next to his 4. Wit and Humour. Wit, in present meaning, is sy- nonymous with ' humour,' as humour is with ' wit.' For- merly it designated much more, as elsewhere is shown. 2 I use it in the old sense of Wisdom, and in that GEORGE HERBERT is affluent ; while I combine it with humour, in- asmuch as there is a delicate playfulness in his gravest wisdom that is to me infinitely winning. You cannot study ' The Temple,' or ' A Priest to the Temple,' or ' Ja- cula Prudentum' without being struck with the fulness of sound common-sensed counsels on everyday duties and obligations, as well as on the higher and everlasting, or without perceiving that the Parson of Bemerton could unbend, and enjoy 'pleasant laughter.' His humour we should ill have spared, so gracious is it in itself, and so much more human and near to us does it make the Saint ; for never was falser idea of Christ than the patristic legend of the Lord having wept but never laughed, as though He Who fashioned the ' fount of tears' were not He Who strung the risible nerves, and implanted in His most absolute and crowned men, a keen sense of the lu- dicrous, the incongruous, the odd, as ' all things are big with jest.' Yet is the ' jest' ever that of a profoundly thoughtful man, as in ' The Church Porch' (st. v. 1. 2), wherein he proclaims the levelling character in saint and x I may be permitted to refer to my Essay on the Life and Writings of HENRY YAUGHAN (Works, vol. ii. pp. IxxviiL-xcvi.) for 'His Relation to GEORGE HERBEBT.' I have very little to even modify therein, except perhaps that I have allowed Vaughan's grandeur of imagination to overshadow the not less genuine ima- ginative faculty of HERBERT, though on a humbler plane. 2 See Notes and Illustrations, Vol. I. pp. 255, et alibi. * * * * GEORGE HERBERT. ci sinner of ' strong drink' ' When once it is within.' Once let it pass ' within,' and ' grace' as ' flesh' falls before it surely a living word for to-day I 1 The wit, id est wisdom, of HERBERT, is most of all re- vealed in ' the simple but substantial and ever stately Church Porch.' Here once more I draw upon that thought- ful Essay which has already yielded so much of value : This [' The Church Porch'] consists of seven-and-seventy stanzas, full of clear sense concerning the common con- duct of life, chastened worldly wisdom, and pure Chris- tian morality, addressed to the Laertes or young son of the Church : " Thou whose sweet youth and early hopes inhance Thy rate and price, and mark thee for a treasure." The neophyte is cordially, fervently, but above all sensi- bly, warned against lust, wine, and, especially, boastful- ness and sensuality. It is roundly and grandly said of the boaster, " He makes flat war with God, and doth defy With his poor clods of earth the spacious sky." Swearing, leasing, and idleness are next rebuked with as much pungency as wit. The very soldier is adjured to use a noble sedulity : " Chase brave employment with a naked sword Throughout the world. Fool not ; for all may have, If they dare try, a glorious life or grave." Constancy, frugality, regularity of living, love of solitude and thrift are all enforced with singular judgment. Hints about dress, play, conversation, quarrel, laughter, wit, the great, friendship, and general behaviour are spun into as many stanzas. At length there is more seriously inculcated the duty of respect for Sunday, the Church, the 1 I searched JRyley's MS. Notes on ' The Temple' for something quick ; but found them dreary and empty and torpid, and un- worthy of quotation. cii ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF Minister, and the institution of Prayer ; all done with as much point as gravity ; and with a most gallant ending, which will always please the wisest best : " In brief, acquit thee bravely ; play the man. Look not on pleasures as they come, but go. Defer not the least virtue ; life's poor span Make not an ell by trifling in thy woe. If thou do ill the joy fades, not the pains ; If well, the pain doth fade, the joy remains." That which strikes one most forcibly in all these prelimi- nary stanzas is the practical sense that pervades them. One had thought HERBERT a meek and innocent Church- mystic, and here one finds him a man of life and counsel. The saint approves himself a gentleman ; the scholar a man of the world ; the minister a citizen. The reader is reminded of Bacon's minor Essays ; in some of the pass- ages there is, here and there, a touch of pawky Benjamin Franklin ; but such is the thoroughbred air of the whole " Porch," that the image of old Polonius bestowing wise and elegant advices on his son is more frequently sug- gested than either. These fits of easy association last only a moment now and then, however ; for the most part the individuality of GEORGE HERBERT is not to be lost sight of, for the fragrant breath of the Church is in the Porch. Besides, the style of the expression as well as the thought is remarkably idiosyncratic ; it is quite as much so in this profane portion of the piece as it is within " The Temple." It is full of felicities.' Further : ' We would hasten into the sacred and equalising enclosure, but that we wish to point out a certain hidden significance in the construction of the " Porch" before doing so. In this the prelude of the piece there is nothing set forth but manners and morality. Nothing truly sacred, nothing that is spiritual is introduced. The inner life of the Church member is hardly hinted at ; that life of Christ which is hid with God is religiously reserved for the in- GEORGE HERBERT. Clll terior of " The Temple." With how much care and touch- ing simplicity is morality, pure and undefiled, kept sepa- rate and differentialised from Christianity by this poetic contrivance ! Ethics, and even christianised ethics, which form '' the be-all and the end-all" here of certain ancient and modern codes, is the mere Perirrhanterium of the religion of Jesus. Beyond the endeavours and attain- ments of him " whose life is in the right" there is a whole universe of higher, deeper, subtiller, tenderer, and more glorious experiences for the Christian. Morality is no part of Christianity proper ; it is its best and likeliest pre- parative of the way, or it is its first and its necessary sign ; but it is not an integral part of it, any more than health is part and parcel of morality, although it is one of its delightful consequences. The Christian is and must be moral ; but he is not a Christian in virtue of his morality, he is a moral being in consequence of his Christianity. As it has been forcibly expressed by Coleridge, in his com- ment upon James i. 27, morality is the mere outer service or ceremonial of Christianity : it bears the same propor- tion and relation to the moral essence itself as the exter- nal services of the tabernacle and the temple sustained to the faith and theopathic life of Moses and the fathers. It is a mere body, capable of subsisting by itself ; but also capable of becoming informed and glorified by the new spirit of Christ. Now the reader of sensibility cannot fail to perceive that all this is enfolded in, or rather poeti- cally adumbrated by, the very subject-matter and the treatment of the '' Porch," at which we have just been glanc- ing. Nor can any one very well escape the feeling by way of inference that the author of so much plain good sense is a trustworthy guide to loftier themes. The priest has gained one's confidence on the threshold of his sacred home ; and one advances full of trust in the candour of the wise young minister, not overawed even by those solemn words from the Superliminare : * CIV ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF " Avoid profaneness ; come not here : - Nothing but holy, pure, and clear, Or that which groaneth to be so, May at his peril further go." 51 By the way, 'Avoid prof aneuess' as = a counsel to the reader is the usual way of understanding this ; but surely our reading ' Avoid' as=' Avaunt, Profaneness !' is deeper. With all this wisdom and all his gravity there is ever and anon, as indicated, scintillation of humour. Take these among many : ' God gave thy soul brave wings' is his awakening and grand clarion-call to the Sluggard in the face of the sun ; but how quaint and sly follows this ! ' Put not those feathers Into a bed, to sleep out all ill weathers.' Again, he has been holding interview in his parish with some stupid and obese squire ; and his portrait goes into ' The Church Porch :' 'O England! .... . . fill thy breast with glory ! Thy gentry bleats, as if thy native cloth Transfused a sheepishness into thy story.' Donne earlier and Cowper and Lamb later would have ' clasped hands' with warble of soft laughter over that. Again : ' He's a man of pleasure, A kind of thing that's for itself too dear.' The scorn of ' thing' here is almost terrible, yet is there gleam of humour in it. There is a ' grave sad' humour too in this emblem-conception of death : ' Therefore Thou dost not show This fully to us, till death blow The dust into our eyes ; For by that powder Thou wilt make us see.' In this also, and something profounder still : 1 Dr. Samuel Brown, as before, pp. 112-14, 115-17. GEORGE HERBERT. CY . 1 If, poor soul, thou hast no tears, Would thou hadst no faults, or fears ; Who hath these, those ills forbears.' ' The Quip' brims over with humour, and so too ' Death' (personated as a skeleton). Even the grave ' Church Mi- litant' has flashes of playful seriousness that would be greatly relished at Weston . It were easy to cull aphorisms of wisdom, succinct and condensed so as to be almost proverbial in their form, and to multiply, by puns and quips and playings on words and varying meanings, proofs of HERBERT'S humour, that inevitable element in the highest kind of Poet ; but suffi- cient has been said for those willing to 'search' for them- selves. I have to notice 5. Sanctity. Our analysis and interpretation of the Life of HERBERT has demonstrated that it was out of conflict and anguish, backsliding and tears, he grew up into the holy ' divine' man he ultimately became, and is to the universal heart ; but of that ultimate holiness and consecration there is not the shadow of a doubt. Few things consequently will more reward the student of human nature than an earnest, vigilant reading and re- reading of the writings of our Worthy, so as to receive into his heart-of -hearts the sanctity of his Poetry as represented by ' The Temple' and ' A Priest to the Temple.' Turning to ' Antiphon' again, here is criticism that is not so much criticism as outpoured affection, born of that infinite debt which every true HERBERT lover feels : ' No writer before him has shown such a love to God, such a child- like confidence in Him. The love is like the love of those whose verses came first in my volume. But the nation had learned to think more, and new difficulties had consequently arisen. These, again, had to be undermined by deeper thought, and the discovery of yet deeper truth had been the reward. Hence, the love itself, if it had not strengthened, had at least grown deeper. And GEORGE HERBERT had had difficulty enough in himself ; for, born of high family, by nature fitted to shine in that society where elegance of mind, person, VOL. II. o CV1 ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF carriage, and utterance is most appreciated, and having indeed en- joyed something of the life of a courtier, he had forsaken all in obedience to the voice of his higher nature. Hence the struggle be- tween his tastes and his duties would come and come again, aug- mented probably by such austere notions as every conscientious man must entertain in proportion to his inability to find God in that in which he might find Him. From this inability, inseparable in its varying degrees from the very nature of growth, springs all the asceticism of good men, whose love to God will be the greater as their growing insight reveals Him in His world, and their growing faith approaches to the giving of thanks in everything. When we have discovered the truth that whatsoever is not of faith is sin, the way to meet it is not to forsake the human law, but so to obey it as to thank God for it. To leave the world and go into the desert is not thus to give thanks : it may have been the only way for this or that man, hi his blameless blindness, to take. The divine mind of GEORGE HERBERT, however, was in the main bent upon discovering God everywhere. The poem I give next powerfully sets forth the struggle between liking and duty of which I have spoken. It is at the same time an instance of wonderful art in construction, all the force of the germinal thought kept in reserve, to burst forth at the last. He calls it meaning by the word, GocT s Restraint "THE COLLAR. I struck the board, and cry'd, ' No more ; I will abroad.' What, shall I ever sigh and pine ? My lines and life are free ; free as the road, Loose as the winde, as large as store. Shall I be still in suit ? Have I no harvest but a thorn To let me bloud, and not restore What I have lost with cordiall f ruit ? Sure there was wine Before my sighs did drie it ; there was corn Before my tears did drown it ; Is the yeare onely lost to me ? Have I no bayes to crown it, No flowers, no garlands gay ? all blasted, All wasted ? Not so, my heart ; but there is fmit, And thou hast hands. Recover all thy sigh-blown age GEORGE HERBERT. CVU On double pleasures ; leave thy cold dispute Of what is fit and not ; forsake thy cage, Thy rope of sands Which pettie thoughts have made ; and made to thee Good cable, to enforce and draw, And be thy law, While thou didst wink and wouldst not see. Away I take heed ; I will abroad. Call in thy death's-head there, tie up thy fears; He that forbears To suit and serve his need Deserves his load. But as I rav'd and grew more fierce and wilde At every word, Methought I heard one calling, ' Childe ;' And I reply'd, ' My Lord.' " ' Even more reverently and finely Dr. Macdonald con- cludes : ' It will be observed how much GEORGE HERBERT goes beyond all that have preceded him, in the expression of feeling as it flows from individual conditions, in the analysis of his own moods, in the logic of worship, if I may say so. His utterance is not merely of personal love and grief, but of the peculiar love and grief in the heart of GEORGE HERBERT. There may be disease in such a mind ; but, if there be, it is a disease that will burn itself out. Such disease is, for men constituted like him, the only path to health. By health I mean that simple regard to the truth, to the will of God, which will turn away a man's eyes from his own conditions, and leave God free to work His perfection in him free, that is, of the interference of the man's self -consciousness and anxiety. To this perfection St. Paul had come when he no longer cried out against the body of his death, no more judged his own self, but left all to the Father, caring only to do His will. It was enough to him then that God should judge him, for His will is the one good thing securing all good things. Amongst the keener delights of the life which is at the door, I look for the face of GEORGE HERBERT, with whom to talk humbly would be in bliss a higher bliss.' I know not that I need to add more than a sentence to these ' Good Words.' The Christian will ever find in the Life and Writings of GEORGE HERBERT at once motive and impulse, reproof and aspiration, and human CV111 ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF evidence of how an imagined impossible ideal may become a living reality on earth, and how the grand apostolic charge at first sight more wasteful than to ' gild refined gold,' to ' paint the lily,' to ' throw a perfume on the violet' to ' adorn the doctrine,' may be done by men and women to-day. The Sanctity of the Life, and the Sanc- tity in the very substance of the Writings of HERBERT, is a legacy to Christendom that arithmetic cannot estimate. We have finally v. Early and later estimates. The ' Commendatory Verses' prefixed to some of the early editions of ' The Temple' are very poor. The first, entitled ' A Memorial to the Honourable GEORGE HER- BERT, author of the Sacred Poems, who died about anno 1635,' is anonymous, and its ' about anno 1635,' when it would have been so easy to have given the correct year (1632-3), is an index of its carelessness. He sings : ' Great saint, unto thy memory and shrine I owe all veneration, save divine, For thy rare poems : piety and pen Speak thee no less than miracle of men ;' and it is pleasing to read his closing testimony that he ' lived and died without an enemy.' ' P. D. Esq.' is quaint and loving, but unpoetic ; his last couplet is : ' Here a divine, prophet, and poet lies, That laid up mana for posterities.' 1 The lines on 'The Church Militant,' by 'Adversus Impia, anno 1670,' find their fitting place with that poem. 2 Paling all the verse-tributes is Richard Crashaw's little Letter, 'sent to a gentlewoman' along with a gift - copy of ' The Temple.' We give them in our Memorial- 1 In Appendix to our annotated Life of HERBERT by Walton (Vol. III.) I give these Commendatory Poems, and also Daniel Baker's. 2 Present volume, pp. 17, 18. GEORGE HERBERT. C1X Introduction. 1 They are daintily wrought. They would have delighted the Author. Walton was appreciative enough to add these lines to his Life. Dean Duport, who first published the ' Epigrams- Apologetical' in answer to Anti-Tami-Cami-Categoria, has several Latin poems commemorative of HERBERT. I limit myself here to the one on the Poems, reserving that on the Life by Walton for its place therewith (in Vol. IU.) : ' On THE DIVINE POEM (ENTITLED THE TEMPLE) OF GEORGE HERBERT ; A Poet at once most witty and most devout, moreover Public Orator of the University of Cambridge, andjormerly Fellow of Trinity College in the same place. If pointed wit and pious zeal were found Ever in one book, with like glory crowned, 'Tis thine, O HERBERT : all votes dost thou carry Who to sweet music heavenly sense canst marry. No lyre e'er sang so smoothly hymns divine, But either it was David's or 'twas thine. What use then can it be my Muse to call To weaken mighty songs with numbers small ? In vain such praises I should strive to write, Or for thy Temple's steps measures indite, Till from the Blest Dove's wing a pen I steal, Or a live coal from thine own altar feel ; Till I perceive, in fine, the sacred fire Thy heart and mine with equal vein inspire. Then let me thy own phrases to thee bring, And thus my gardens water from thy spring. Not better can I praise this work of thine Than thou the king's grand work, Poet divine. " Bodleian, Vatican, why, stranger, vaunt ? One Book is all the Library we want." This I will say You'll find no better book, Except the Bible, wheresoe'er you look. Since, then, on earth no holier hymn is known, Or song, than this same Temple of thine own, 1 Vol. I. pp. Ixv.-vi. CX ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF To make eternal songs in heaven aspire, Which thou mayst sing to the angelic choir.' 1 The versification is superior to the substance in these as in all Duport's Latin and Greek Poems ; yet is it of interest to blow the dust from his long-shut leaves to open on certain of them, such as these on our Worthy. 2 The Preface-Memoir discursive and somewhat verbose of Barnabas Oley (1651), and the fuller Life by Walton (1670), are full of personal admiration, but contain little of critical value, except as seen earlier, that the former drew a broad line of demarcation between the sacred poems of ' The Temple' and his ' Parentalia' and ' Epigrams- Apolo- getical.' The next noticeable mention of HERBERT as a Poet is by Richard Baxter, in the Preface to his ' Poetical Fragments.' 3 It runs as follows : ' But I must confess, after all, that, next the Scripture Poems, there are none so savoury to me as Mr. GEORGE HERBERT'S. I know that Cowley and others far excel HERBERT in wit and accurate composure ; but as Seneca takes with me above all his contemporaries, because he speaketh things by words feel- ingly and seriously, like a man that is past jest, so HER- BERT speaks to God like a man that really believeth in God, and whose business in the world is most with God : heart-work and heaven-work make up his book.' Baxter elsewhere incidentally works in bits from ' The Temple.' He was related to the Danvers kindred, if I err not, and was introduced to Court by Sir HENRY HERBERT. Following Baxter comes Henry Vaughan, in his solemn and affecting Preface to ' Silex Scintillans,' as follows : 1 By Rev. Richard Wilton, as before : the Latin will be found in Duport's Musae Subsecivae (1676), pp. 357-8. Duport's allusion is to HERBERT'S Letter as Public Orator to the king on the gift-copy of ' Basilicon Doron' to the University. See it in Vol. III., in its place, with relative Note. 2 The full title of his collected Poems is ' Musae Subsecivae seu Poetica Stromata. Autore J. D. Cantabrigiensi. 1676, 8vo.' 3 1681. GEORGE HERBERT. CXI ' The first that with any effectual success attempted a di- version of this foul and overflowing stream [of love-verse] was the blessed man Mr. GEORGE HERBERT, whose holy life and verse gained many converts of whom I am the least and gave the first check to a most flourishing and admired wit of his time. After him followed diverse Sed non passibus aequis : they had more of fashion than force. And the reason of their so vast distance from him, besides differing spirits and qualifications for his measure was eminent I suspect to be, because they aimed more at verse than perfection, as may be easily gathered by their frequent impressions and numerous pages.' These lowly and grateful words have been pushed far beyond their meaning and intention, traditional criticism ignorantly finding in them a profession of indebtedness to HERBERT as a Poet, while it was only spiritual good the Silurist owned. Accordingly in my edition of his Works 1 I have vindicated for Henry Vaughan not his originality merely, but his well-nigh infinite supremacy over HERBERT in all that goes to constitute the aboriginal Poet ; and the more I study him the more I feel what an outrage it is to place ' Silex Scintillans,' ' Olor Iscanus,' and ' Thalia Rediviva' beneath ' The Temple.' But while this is so, and while Henry Vaughan in almost every way bulks out a larger - souled, more nobly-dowered Poet, it is very satisfying to find how our ' sweet Singer' ministered consolation and peace to him in that ' valley of the shadow of death' from which he came up ; as earlier the same ' little volume' was a soothing companion to unhappy Charles [I.] in his Prison ; 7 and later to William Cowper, when he wrestled 1 Our edition of HENRY VAUGHAN'S complete Works, Verse and Prose, 4 vols. 2 Dibdiii, in his Library Companion, p. 702, says : ' The second and best edition of HERBERT'S Poems appeared in 1633, in a slender duodecimo volume. I have seen more than one beautiful copy of the pious volume, which has brought as much as 4. 4s. , in a deli- cately-ruled and thickly-gilt ornamented condition ; and in some CX11 ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WHITINGS OF with despair and suicide, as he himself tells us in his frag- ment of Autobiography, as follows : 'I was struck, not long after my settlement in the Temple, with such a dejection of spirits as none but they who have felt the same can have the least conception of. Day and night I was on the rack ; lying down in horror, and rising up in despair. I presently lost all relish for those studies to which I had before been closely 'attached. The classics had no longer any charms for me; I had need of something more salutary than amusement, but I had no one to direct me where to find it. At length I met with HERBERT'S Poems, and Gothic and uncouth as they were, I yet found in them a strain of piety which I could not but admire. This was the only author I had any delight hi reading. I pored over him all day long ; and though I found not here what I might have found a cure for my malady yet it never seemed so much alleviated as while I was reading him.' The Writings of HERBERT continued to be ' in print' from generation to generation, and hence must have had a place in many homes and hearths. You come on not unfrequent citations from ' The Temple' in more especially godly Nonconformist authors. Thus, in Dr. Bryan's ' Dwelling with God, the Interest and Duty of Believers,' 1670 that book which is one of the very few known by his autograph on a copy to have been in the library of John Bunyan page on page is brightened with ' apples of gold' from The Temple's ' basket-work of silver ;' 1 and it were not hard to multiply similar recognitions of HER- BERT in the way that Dr. Samuel Johnson pronounced to be the 'highest compliment you could pay an Author,' such condition there is good reason to believe that Charles I. pos- sessed it. Indeed his own copy of it, in blue morocco with rich gold tooling, was^once, I learn, in the library of Tom Martin, of Pal- grave.' * Sir Thomas^Herbert, in his Carolina Threnodia, or Remains of the Two Last Years of Charles the First, names ' Herbert's Poems' among the books which the monarch-prisoner read most frequently. 1 See a Paper by us, in 'Leisure Hour' (October 1873), on 'A Book that belonged to John Bunyan' (pp. 686-88). GEORGE HERBERT. CX111 viz. to quote him. But you do not meet with his name in the usual biographic and literary authorities. Far inferior names occur and recur ; his does not. I have been spe- cially struck with the absence of so much as one hearty sentence about him, or quotation from him, in a Divine of his own Church ; and, curiously enough, the thing re- mains to-day very much the same. For while Coleridge has shown that the competent reader of HERBERT must not only be a Christian, devout and devotional, as well as the subject of poetical sensib lity and culture, but further (to give his own words) ' must be an affectionate and dutiful child of the Church [of England], and from habit, conviction, and a constitutional predisposition to cere- moniousness in piety as well as in manners, find her forms and ordinances aids to religion, not sources of formality ; for religion is the element in which he lives and the region in which he moves' it is simple matter-of-fact that the only approaches to adequate critical estimates of GEORGE HERBERT have been from the hearts and pens of Non- conformists. Witness the often-quoted Essays of our own day, in Dr. Samuel Brown and Dr. George Mac- donald, Professor Nichol and George Gilfillan, as com- pared with the jejune and captious notice of even such- an-one as Keble : of the last, more anon. The first-named must be allowed to offer his commentary on Coleridge's dictum: ' This is very true, if the object desired, or de- sirable, by the reader be such total absorption in the poet as is certainly the highest pleasure, and the most profit- able experience, in the study of poetry or any other sovereign art. Yet poetic merit is shed so profusely over the pages of this peculiar work, that the most uncom- panioned poetic taste is sure to find far more delight than weariness and offence. On the other hand, the well-tuned Christian mind, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, or Morellian we had almost said Roman or Psalanthropist will dis- cover such an excess of pure gold, that what may look like VOL. ii. p ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF dross to this reader or to that, will hardly be observed, or only kindly smiled at in passing by. The fact is, that HERBERT'S poem [The Temple] is more catholic than HERBERT'S creed, and incomparably more so than his doc- trine of Church services. As surely as a man is a poet, so surely is he humane, overgrowing every pale whatever, and possessed of blessings for all men. And HERBERT the man had often been wrapt in the unconsuming flame of inspiration as well as HERBERT the priest.' Personally it may be permitted us to state that Nonconformist though the present Writer be of the old Scottish Presbyterianism, his heart yearns to GEORGE HERBERT, while there is not a section of Nonconformity almost that is not represented in his constituency in bringing out this first adequate col- lection of the Works. There is a gap between Baxter and Vaughan and fur- ther noticeable mention of GEORGE HERBERT of fully a century. Headley's criticism was the first to break the long silence ; and Churchman though he was, it is an im- pertinence exceeded only by its characteristic shallowness ; e.g.'" The Temple" is a compound of enthusiasm without sublimity, and conceit without ingenuity or imagination' (Select Specimens, 2 vols. 8vo, 1810). Deplorable to say, across the Atlantic, Henry Neele is found indolently all but accepting the imbecile verdict (Lectures on English Poets). One cannot wonder that ' The Temple' fell out of sight comparatively during the eighteenth century ; for as the Christian Remembrancer (as before, p. 106) observes : ' His style was too abrupt and unadorned for their elabor- ately rounded periods, his religious aspirations too glowing for their decorous conventionalities, his theology too pa- tristic for their latitudinarianism, and, we may add, his thoughts at once too profound and too rudely chiselled for their polished but superficial philosophy.' To be read cum grano salis, seeing that Butler and Jonathan Edwards GEORGE HERBERT. CXV belong to the century : yet relatively true. Of its criticism the Christian Remembrancer (as before, p. 127) observes : ' Warton, in a strange confusion of metaphors, speaks of Pope " judiciously collecting gold from the dregs of HER- BERT, Crashaw," &c. It would be nearer the mark to say that Pope had penetration to detect the rich unpolished ore strewn at random in HERBERT'S poems, and skill to give it new lustre by the charm of his elaborate workman- ship.' "Who doubts this, let him read the ' Church Porch' and ' Essay on Man' in the light of each other. It is not until our own time that GEORGE HERBERT has received his due crown of praise. Hallam as so often has not a line to spare for GEORGE HERBERT as a Poet, and is wooden and unsympathetic on the one book of his which he glances at, although he turns aside to pay prepos- terous praise to a ' friend' bearing the name of Herbert, for a poem yclept ' Attilla ;' others are supercilious and ignorant ; and others feel repelled by the man's accusing sanctity. But Coleridge stooped his broad forehead to do honour to the Poet and to the Saint, and by sheer in- sistence talked many, who never would have opened his pages, into studying him, and that sufficed ; for if you once really read ' The Temple' a spell is on you, and you are held captive, as were his listeners by the ' Ancient Mariner.' I return now upon Dr. Samuel Brown for other critical estimates, all the more that in these the Prose of HER- BERT also comes in, and in the knowledge of which I have only thus far incidentally noticed it. Besides what has been already given from his Essay, take these suggestive and finely -touched criticisms of the Life and of the Writ- ings, the Man and the Poet. Thus of the Man : ' It was not till after a final struggle not with civil ambition [?], but with his inward sense of unworthiness that he entered into priest's Orders, and was inducted into the parsonage of Bemerton. It was not till after Dr. Laud, then the CXV1 ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF Bishop of London, and subsequently the historical Arch- bishop of Canterbury, did " so convince Mr. HERBERT that the refusal of it was a sin, that a tailor was sent for to come speedily from Salisbury to Wilton, to take his measure, end make him canonical clothes against next day : which the tailor did." 'It is a fine spectacle for the imagination to see the graceful, elegant, accomplished, witty, learned, eloquent, courtly, and high- born orator of Cambridge University turning meekly down one of England's green lanes, and stepping over the threshold of a country parsonage, of which it is said that it was "more pleasant than healthful." Nor was it suffered by this gentle and laborious spirit to become a rural bower for learned or poetic leisure. No sooner had he taken up his abode in this humble and industrious home, than he painfully elaborated his ideal-real of the country parson in thirty-seven weighty chapters, afterwards known as A Priest to the Temple. Carlyle writes with generous fire about poor Irving's de- termination, on entering the metropolis, veritably and once for all to be a minister of God's gospel, and not to seem it only, like the almost infinite majority of nominal priests. But we are profoundly impressed with the conviction, that never has that sacred resolution been more deeply felt, nor more fully acted out, than by GEORGE HERBERT ; no, not since the peculiar days of prophets and apostles. It is the common testimony of contemporaries that he was his own country parson, as entirely as it is possible for mortal to realise an ideal so exalted, so glowing, so severe. The Priest to the Temple ought to be in the hands and in the heart of every young minister in Scotland as well as in England ; for it is a genuine classic. No Scottish clergyman will agree with every particular it contains ; nor do we. Its severity borders on the austere. His notions concerning the marriage of ministers, his preference of celibacy for them unless marriage be necessary for some reason or other, his carefulness about fasts and meats, his tendency to formalism (not formality) in almost every direction, are all rather extreme. We would venture to say he overvalues the outward act of charity, the good deed, were it not impossible to overvalue Christian beneficence in those sad days of suffering and sorrow among the many. On the whole, however, it is clear that HERBERT was a genuine Anglican, setting his reverted eye with peculiar love upon the patristic Church, abominating and cursing the errors of Romanism, under-estimating the Reformation, loving and inculcating the plentiful use of outward symbols or GEORGE HERBERT. CXVll ceremonies for the expression of inward worship, and enamoured of charity practised within bounds. But if he was a f ormulist, he was no formalist, but as sincere a heart as ever bled under the sense of sin. In truth it is not easy to say what precise amount of symbolism or formalism is the best; we cannot do without some, we must pray either standing or kneeling; we cannot pray sitting with open eyes; and certainly, if the Anglican party in the Church of England is prone to one extreme, the Kirk of Scotland has long been an exem- plar of the other. Deducting these things, however, there is not, and there could not be, a better manual for our own parochial clergy, than this Pharos of that richly-laden, toil-worn, and yearning man of God, .GEORGE HERBEKT. Our poet was not permitted to illustrate his priestly ideal very long, alas ! for be died towards the close of his thirty-ninth year ; born in April 1593, he fell asleep in March 1632 ; and it is enough to say, he died as became so noble, gifted, and gracious a man. It was within three weeks of his death that he gave the manuscript of the Temple, his great work, into the hands of a friend, saying, " Sir, I pray deliver this little book to my dear brother Ferrar, and tell him he shall find in it a picture of the many spiritual conflicts that have passed betwixt God and my soul, before I could subject mine to the will of Jesus, my Master in Whose service I have now found perfect freedom : desire him to read it, and then, if he can think it may turn to the advantage of any dejected poor soul, let it be made public ; if not, let him burn it ; for I and it are less than the least of God's mercies." It is this singular combination of poems that we wish to introduce to the affectionate admiration of our more lyrical readers' (pp. 108-110). Of the Poet : ' The Temple itself may be viewed as the fair ideal of English churches, built up with words. It is not Canterbury, nor York, nor Westminster, nor any one of the thousand parish churches of Eng- land ; but it is the essence of all and each of these. It is, moreover, that inalienably English conception of a church transformed by the creative fancy of a free poet into a poem of rare architectural beauty. In approaching this song-temple, one must by no means think of the Scottish kirk on one side, any more than of the Roman Catholic cathedral on the other. The latter " Hath kissed eo long her painted shrines, That e'en her face with kissing shines, For her reward :" CXV111 ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF and as for the former " She in the valley is so shy Of dressing, that her hair doth lie About her ears." Our poem is simply a numerous and vocal symbol of that fine and matronly intermediate between those extremes, an English church : " A fine aspect in fit array, Neither too mean, nor yet too gay, Shows who is best. Outlandish looks may not compare, For all they either painted are, Or else undrest." ' (pp. Ill, 112.) Again : ' Once within, it is truly a wonderful place for eye and ear. There is a " broken altar," composed of the contrite heart of the poet, which every reader may appropriate with tears ; there is an elaborate altar-piece of the "sacrifice" painted immediately behind ; thanksgivings, confessions, prayers, sighs, and aspirations murmur everywhere around; hymns and psalms, choruses and fugues resound throughout the fane ; homilies, lessons, and sermons solemnise the intervals of orison and song ; there are carved pillars uplifting the roof, full of quaint devices, anagrams, and quips ; monumental in- scriptions and statues are all about ; painted windows let in whole passages of poetry from the heaven without; and an unknown organ never ceases to suffuse the holy place with its melodious breath, till the last anthem has been pealed forth from the sobbing depths : GLORY BE TO GOD, AND ON EARTH PEACE, GOOD- WILL TOWARDS MEN.' (p. 117.) Finally : ' Such then is the sacred poetry of GEORGE HERBERT, the coun- try parson of Bemerton. It is peculiar ; it even requires a peculiar cantation to secure its due effect upon the ear ; but it is resonant with genuine music, to the sense as well as to the soul. He was, indeed, a passionate lover and practitioner of music, so it were sacred ; for all his passions seem to have been subordinated to the idea of Christianity with which he was overflowed. Apart from such overflowing, in truth, he had scarcely been a poet of any re- nown, for his few profane pieces have none of the indelible glow of immortality upon them. He was inspired by the Bible as its vati- GEORGE HERBERT. CX1X cinators were inspired by God. He seems to stand in a relation to these sacred penmen, like that of the Greek rhapsodists, of whom Ion is our Platonic type, to the Homeric epics ; or like that of the actor of genius, a Siddons or a Kean, to the orb of Shakespeare's many-coloured song. As has already been hinted, this secondary relation to the original fountain of inspiration seems to be the con- dition of the modern hymnist's very existence ; and surely no man has drunk so deeply of the old river of joy as this English priest of the seventeenth century. Yet when under the glow of his sacred intoxication and self- abandonment, he sends out the most original coruscations of insight in other directions, as we have seen. His pages teem with the most novel conceits, and the most aboriginal images on the one hand ; and, on the other, from what book or Bible did he draw those subtle and far-reaching intuitions in the above-quoted piece upon Man, to signalise only one example?' (pp. 126-7.) Professor Nichol has also other ' Good Words' of our Worthy that may not be passed by, as these : ' No one ever lived to whom those words of a recent singer could more appropriately have been applied than to "holy GEORGE HERBERT :" " Better to have the poet's heart than brain, To feel than write ; but better far than both To be on earth a poem of God's making." ' Again : ' The collection of poems entitled " The Temple" .... embraces an almost indefinite variety of theme and measure, from the slender notes of the flute to the full tones of the organ bass ; yet it is per- vaded by a unity of thought and purpose which justifies the single name. Those poems are a series of hymns and meditations within the walls of an English church. They are Church music crystal- lised. There is a speciality about them which continually recalls the circumstances of the writer. " The Temple," as Coleridge re- marked [I intercalate, that the remark can bear repetition for sake of the further comment], will always be read with fullest appreci- ation by those who share the poet's devotion to the Dear Mother whose praises he has undertaken to celebrate. The verses on "Easter" and "Lent," on "Baptism" and "Communion," on "Church Monuments" and "Music" seem most directly to address the worshippers in that flock of which he was so good a shepherd, CXX ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF whose affections are entwined around his Church, who love to linger on the associations of her festivals, the rubrics of her creed, and the formularies of her service to feel themselves under the shadow of the old cathedrals to draw allegories from the fantasies of their fretted stone to watch the light flicker through the painted glass on marble tombs, and listen to the anthems throbbing through the choir. Yet there is in the author and in his work catholicity enough to give his volume a universal interest, and make his prayer and praise a fit expression of Christian faith under all varieties of form' (pp. xix. xx.). George Gilfillan furnishes also additional memorable things of our ' sweet Singer' and Saint, as thus : '" Life," it has been said, " is a Poem." This is true, probably, of the life of the human race as a whole, if we could see its beginning and end as well as its middle. But it is not true of all lives. It is only a life here and there which equals the dignity and aspires to the completeness of a genuine and great Poem. Most lives are fragmentary, even when they are not foul ; they disappoint even when they do not disgust ; they are volumes without a preface, an index, or a moral. It is delightful to turn from such apologies for life to the rare but real lives which God-gifted men like Milton or HERBERT have been enabled to spend even on this dark and melancholy foot-breadth for immortal spirits, called the Earth. We class Milton and HERBERT together for this among other reasons, that in both the life and the poems were thoroughly correspondent and commensurate with each other. Milton lived the " Para- dise Lost" and the " Paradise Regained" as well as wrote them. HERBERT was as well as built " The Temple." Not only did the intellectual archetype of its structure exist in his mind, but he had been able, in a great mea- sure, to realise it in life before expressing it in poetry. His piety was of a more evangelical cast than Milton's, his purity was tenderer and lovelier, he had more of the Chris- tian and less of the Jew. Milton ranks with the austere and sin-denouncing prophets of Israel HERBERT reminds GEORGE HERBERT. CXX1 us of that "disciple whom Jesus loved" ' (pp. v. vi.). Again : ' HERBERT, although his mind wrought in a super- induced atmosphere of mysticism, and although he is commonly classed with those whom Dr. Johnson [Dryden] calls the metaphysical poets, was by no means naturally or generally a mystic. The form of his writing was some- times dark and involved, but the substance and matter of it were generally clear. His views of religion, at least, seem to us to have been exceedingly explicit and distinct. He belonged neither to Paul (the metaphysical), nor alto- gether to Cephas (the ceremonial), nor to Apollos (the rhetorical), nor even, although he resembled him much, to John (that lovely flower on the breast of Christ), but to Jesus Himself, Whom he so often calls his " Master," and Whom he loved with a love passing the love of women. Emphatically he was a worshipper of Jesus Christ, and all his nature and all his genius spread out their full riches only to the magnet of the God-Man of Nazareth. His love to Him amounted to a personal passion. It is said of Robert Hall that in prayer he sometimes seemed abso- lutely to see Christ, and so probably it was with HERBERT. But it was not the glorified Christ that he saw so much as the pale Sufferer at Cavalry crowned with thorn?, bleeding, forsaken, with His eyes full of a far look of love and sorrow, as they gazed down on His murderers, and with His lips now uttering the awful question to His Father, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me ?" and now asking heaven, earth, and hell, " was ever grief like Mine ?" The Atonement was his favourite doc- trine, and how heavily does he lean all the weight of his hope upon the Cross !' (pp. xx. xxi.) Further : ' " The Temple," . . . . as a piece of devotion, is a Prayer-book in verse. We find in it all the various parts of prayer. Now like a seraph he casts his crown at God's feet, and covers his face with his wings, in awful adoration. Now he looks up in His face with the happy gratitude of a child, and VOL. IT. q CXX11 ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OP murmurs out his thanksgiving. Now he seems David the penitent, although fallen from an inferior height, and into pits not nearly so deep and darksome, confessing his sins and shortcomings to his Heavenly Father. And now he asks, and prays, and besieges Heaven for mercy, pardon, peace, grace, and joy, as with " groanings that cannot be uttered." We find in it, too, a perpetual under-song of praise. It is a Psalter no less than a Prayer-book. And how different its bright sparks of worship, going up with- out effort, without noise, by mere necessity of nature [through grace] to heaven, from the majority of hymns which have since appeared ! No namby-pambyism, no false unction, no nonsensical raptures are to be found in them ; their very faults and mannerisms serve to attest their sincerity, and to show that the whole man is reflected in them. Even although the poem [" The Temple"] had possessed far less poetic merit, its mere devotion, in its depth and truth, would have commended it to Christians as, next to the Psalms, the finest collection of ardent and holy breathings to be found in the world. But its poetical merit is of a very rare, lofty, and original order. It is full of that subtle perception of analogies which is competent only to high poetical genius. All things to HERBERT appear marvellously alike to each other. The differences, small or great, whether they be the interspaces between leaves or the gulf between galaxies, shrivel up and disap- pear. The ALL becomes one vast congeries of mirrors, of similitudes, of duplicates " Star nods to star, each system has its brother, And half the universe reflects the other." ' This principle, or perception, which is the real spring of all fancy and imagination, was very strong in HERBERT'S mind, and hence the marvellous richness, freedom, and variety of his images. He hangs upon his " Temple" now flowers and now stars, now blossoms and now full grown GEORGE HERBERT. CXX111 fruit. He gathers glories from all regions of thought from all gardens of beauty from all the history, and art, and science then accessible to him and he wreathes them in a garland around the bleeding brow of Immanuel. Sometimes his style exhibits a clear massiveness like one of the Temple pillars, sometimes a dim richness like one of the Temple windows ; and never is there wanting the Temple music, now wailing melodiously, now moving in brisk, lively, and bird-like measures, and now uttering loud paeans and crashes of victorious sound. It has been truly said of him, that he is " inspired by the Bible, as its vatici- nators were inspired by God." It is to him not only the " Book of God, but the God of Books." He has hung and brooded over its pages, like a bird for ever dipping her wing in the sea ; he has imbibed its inmost spirit he has made its divine words " the men of his counsel, and his song in the house of his pilgrimage," till they are, in his verse, less imitated than reproduced. In this, as in other qualities, such as high imagination, burning zeal, quaint fancy, and deep simplicity of character, he resem- bles that " Child- Angel," John Buuyan, who was proud to be a babe of the Bible, although his genius might have made him without it a gigantic original' (pp. xxi. xxii.). Once more : ' Altogether there are few places on earth nearer heaven filled with a richer and holier light, ad- orned with chaster and nobler ornaments, or where our souls can worship with a more entire f orgetfulness of self, and a more thorough realisation of the things unseen and eternal, than in " The Temple" of GEORGE HERBERT. You say, as you stand breathless below its solemn arches, " This is none other than the house of God ; it is the gate of heaven. How dreadful, and yet how dear, is this place !" ' (p. xxvi.) The ' Christian Remembrancer' (as before) the solitary adequate Anglican estimate of our Worthy thus sums up his conception of HERBERT as man and writer : ' We CXX1V ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF have been reluctant to quit a subject so fascinating. Men like GEORGE HERBERT are rare. It is not his wide learn- ing, nor his refined taste, nor his high spirit, nor his ami- ability, nor even his strictness of life ; it is not any of these qualities singly that distinguishes him, but the rare combination in one person of qualities so diversely beauti- ful. He was " master of all learning, human and divine." So writes his brother, Lord Herbert of Cherbury, and his Remains, few as they are, confirm this eulogy ; yet his learning is not what strikes the reader most, it is so thor- oughly controlled and subordinated by his lively wit and practical wisdom. He was exemplary in the domestic re- lations of life, " tender and true," as son, husband, friend : yet he seems to have lived as a " home- missionary" among his parishioners. He was a man of letters, yet ever con- descending to the petty concerns of his poor ignorant clients ; an ambitious man, yet he relinquished all worldly objects for the humble work of the ministry. He was, in a word, a man of extraordinary endowments, both per- sonal and such as belonged to his rank not lost in indo- lence nor wasted in trivialities, but all disciplined and cul- tivated to the utmost, and then devoted to the highest purposes. Men of a less evenly-balanced genius may create a greater sensation in the world ; as the eccentric course of a comet may attract more notice than steadier and less startling luminaries. But it may be questioned whether the influence of men like GEORGE HERBERT is not wider and deeper, though less perceptible, in the end. From them come the hidden watercourses of thought and action that irrigate the world with ever fresh supplies of life and vigour by innumerable unnoticeable rills, pre- serving its morality from corruption and stagnation. The influence of those who possess HERBERT'S natural ability, combined with his solidity of character, cannot be mea- sured by what we see. It is to men of this metal that England owes her greatness men. like him, of high spirit, GEORGE HERBERT. CXXV strict principle, genial practical energy men who, over and above other fine qualities, are strong in that reality and earnestness on which we are apt to pride ourselves as peculiarly English' (p. 137). This also might have been added, that, while thoroughly a man of his Age, GEORGE HERBERT, even when at Court, partook of none of its stains. He would fain have won high place there ; was not conscience-driven from it, as was Richard Baxter later when introduced by Sir Henry Herbert ; yet was he pure and true : ' not mixt Witih th' Age's torrent, but still clear and fist ; As gentle oyl upon the streams doth glide, Not mingling with them, though it smooth the tide ^ 1 so that, as William Bell sang of William Cartwright, ' The Priest may own all that the Poet writ.' Thus is it that these odd antique books hold their own amid all ebbing and flowing of opinion and circumstance : 1 though dumb Thy picturesque old language, long outworn, And spoken now by none of woman born, . . . Thy work, like some naive early fresco, keeps Its first quaint charm its feelings fresh as morn : Its mythic flowers, whose roots are in the deeps Of Truth ; and from which, though they seem t' adorn Alone, deep inward meanings Wisdom reaps. 52 One could as soon conceive the Skylark's singing or the Primrose's beauty to pall, as one stone of ' The Temple' to be suffered to moss over or to go to decay. Their very modesty and unpretence secure the undyingness of HER- BERT'S Writings, and especially his Verse : ' like the ivy, it grows Around neglected things : to beautify The commonplace, and touch with poesy 1 Cartwright : ' To the memory of Sir Henry Spelman,' p. 310. 2 Henry Ellison : To Herodotus, p. 161. CXXvi ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF The Daily and the Homely and it throws Its large affections, tendril-like and close, Bound the familiar hopes and fears whereby The household bosom of Humanity Is touched, as round the cottage-porch the rose.'' 1 I would draw these Estimates to a close with (a) ' The Christian Remembrancer's' comparison of HERBERT and Keble ; (6) Archbishop Leighton's notes on his copy of ' The Temple ; ' (c) Coleridge's notes on HERBERT ga- thering up the little all as we do filings of gold. (a) GEORGE HERBERT, JOHN KEBLE, AND COWPER. ' To compare HERBERT with the colossal genius of Milton would be preposterous. He is more nearly on a par with the others whom we have mentioned. If he wants their polished and musical diction, and is compara- tively deficient in the variety of natural imagery and the tenderness of domestic pathos which belong to the poets of Olney and Hursley, he may be ranked above Keble in terseness and vigour, while his manly cheerfulness is a de- lightful contrast to the morbid gloom which throws its chilling shade over many of Cowper's most beautiful pass- ages. In the general characteristics of profound and re- flective philosophy, HERBERT and Trench [Archbishop of Dublin] may be classed together. Between HERBERT and Keble the resemblance is still more striking. The influ- ence of the older poet is very perceptible throughout the " Christian Year," here and there in the very words of it. It is interesting to trace the coincidences[?] of these kin- dred minds. In the " Flower," which Coleridge calls " a delicious poem," HERBERT rejoices in the return of Spring to the earth, and of Spring-like feelings to his own heart, and proceeds : "These are Thy wonders, Lord of power, Killing and quickning, bringing down to hell 1 Henry Ellison, 'My Poetry.' GEORGE HERBERT. CXXV11 And up to heaven in an houre. We say amisse This or that is ; Thy Word is all, if we could spell." In almost the same words, Keble exclaims : "These are Thy wonders hourly wrought, Thou Lord of time and thought ; Lifting and lowering souls at will, Crowding a world of good or ill Into a moment's vision." (Sixth S. after Trinity.) In another place Keble expresses the longing, such as even heathen philosophers felt, for the glorious emancipation of the immortal nature of man from its earthly elements : " Till every limb obey the mounting soul, The mounting soul the call by Jesus given : He, Who the stormy heart can so control, The laggard body soon will waft to Heaven." (Twenty-third S. after Trinity.) The same thought occurs in HERBERT : " Give me my captive soul, or take My body also thither ! Another lift like this will make Them both to be together." In both poets alike we see a natural inclination towards the attractions of the world checked by self -discipline : "I thought it scorn with Thee to dwell, A hermit in a silent cell, While, gaily sweeping by, Wild Fancy blew his bugle strain, And marshalled all his gallant train In the world's wondering eye. I would have joined him, but as oft Thy whispered warnings kind and soft My better soul confest. ' My servant, leave the world alone ; Safe on the steps of Jesus' throne Be tranquil and be blest.'" (First S. after Trinity.) CXXV111 ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OP So in " The Quip," which we have already referred to : " The merrie World did on a day With his train-bands and mates agree To meet together where I lay, And all in sport to jeer at me." And the " merrie World," in the person of his representa- tives, " Beautie," " Money," " Wit," tries all his allure- ments, but in vain. HERBERT writes, in his poem on " Giddinesse :" " Surely, if each one saw another's heart, There would be no commerce, No sale and bargain passe : all would disperse And live apart." Keble has expressed the same idea more fully in his beau- tiful lines for the Twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity : " Or, what if Heaven for once its searching light Sent to some partial eye, disclosing all The rude bad thoughts that in our bosoms might Wander at large, nor heed love's gentle thrall. Who would not shun the dreary uncouth place ? As if, fond leaning where her inf ant slept, A mother's arm a serpent should embrace ; So might we friendless live, and die unwept." In both Poets the consecutiveness of the ideas is often far from obvious, and must be sought beneath the surface. In HERBERT there is less periphrasis in the expression of devotional feelings. Such outbursts as " Oh ! my dear God, though I am clean forgot, Let me not love Thee, if I love Thee not," cannot be paralleled in Keble ; they are characteristic of HERBERT and of his age. ' These parallel passages are interesting as marking the similarity of character which subsists in great and good men, even of very distinct individualities. The admirers of the " Christian Year" will find much in " The Temple" to remind them of their favourite passages. If " The Temple" GEORGE HERBERT. CXX1X is never likely to exercise the extraordinary influence of the " Christian Year" an influence on the religious mind of England greater than has ever been exercised by any book of the kind, an influence extending itself imper- ceptibly even to quarters seemingly most alien still it is a book to make a deep impression, when it impresses at all ; and its influence is of a kind to percolate through the few to the many. ' The resemblance between HERBERT and Cowper is fainter ; or rather, a strong resemblance is qualified by equally strong traits of difference. Both poets have much in common with Horace, strange as any comparison may appear at first sight between them and the pagan poet of the licentious court of Augustus. They have no small share of his lyrical fervour, his adroitness in the choice of words, and in the adaptation of metres ; and in satire, the same light touch, the same suppressed humour, the same half -sportive, half -pensive strictures on the anomalies of life. Both HERBERT and Cowper love to dwell on the transitoriness of earthly pleasures ; but there is this differ- ence : HERBERT oftener adds that man may enjoy them in moderation while they last : " Not that he may not here Taste of the cheer ; But as birds drink, and straight lift up their head, So must he sip, and think Of better drink He may attain to after he is dead." ' Both poets complain alike of times of religious depres- sion ; but HERBERT'S lyre is more often tuned to joy and thankfulness for refreshment and relief. He was natur- ally of a more hopeful temperament. But there are other causes to account for the difference. That distrust- ful dread of alienation from the favour of Heaven, which, in religious minds of Cowper's school, seems even to over- cloud the sense of reconciliation through the Cross, was no VOL. n. r CXXX ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF part of HERBERT'S creed. On the contrary, it was the very essence of his faith, a source of unfailing strength, to regard himself and his fellow-Christians as having all the privileges of adoption within reach freely to enjoy. Again, while poor Cowper's mental vision was for ever introverted on himself, and busied with that dissection of transient phases of feeling which paralyses the healthy action of the soul, HERBERT'S glance was oftener turned to the great objective truths of Christianity, deriving from them support in the consciousness of infirmity. Here is the secret of the cheerfulness of his poetry. The vivid realisation of the great external facts of Christianity is what distinguishes him from the " erotic school" of Ger- many. But for this, he might be classed with many of the poets of the " Lyra Germanica." But his poetry, though instinct with the same glow of seraphic love, is more de- finite, more practical, less sentimental. There is in it more substance for the mind to take hold of, more suggestive- ness of something beyond, less evaporation into mere transports of emotion. His expressions of devout love, however eager and impulsive, are always (as in a short poem called " Artillerie") profoundly reverential. Love and obedience, faith and duty, are with him inseparable. This habitual attitude of mind toward the Deity, this filial feeling of love tempered by awe, is beautifully apparent in the closing lines of another poem : " But as I grew more fierce and wild, At every word Methought I heard one calling ' Childe f And I replied, ' My Lord !' " ' (pp. 131-134.) I venture to add, that in the ending of one of the hither- to unprinted poems from the Williams MS. there is a fine parallel with the last quotation, as thus : ' . . . . Tandem prehensa comiter lacernula Susurrat aure quispiam, Haec fuerat olim potio Domini tui Gusto proboque dolium. ' (Present voL p. 71. ) GEORGE HERBERT. CXXX1 With reference to Cowper and Keble, it is very satis- fying to have the former's almost adoring expression of indebtedness to ' The Temple' as given onward ; while it is disappointing, if not more, with all our veneration for the latter, that he had nothing more to say of HERBERT than to transfer to him his own pervading fault of ' a con- stant flutter of his fancy for ever hovering round and round the theme' (Praelectiones Academicae, xx. 12) a fault instinctively dealt with by the Church everywhere, by excision, as of the ' flutter of fancy' in opening his truly sweet and beautiful hymn, instead of bursting out at once as HERBERT would have done ' Sun of my soul !' The ' Christian Year' is infinitely indebted within and on the surface, in its thinking and emotion and wording, to ' The Temple ;' and one reads the poor criticism of the ' Prselectiones' with a pain correspondent to that with which one reads Campbell's condemnation of Henry Vaughan while pilfering from him. I must also be permitted to demur to the closing remarks on the imagined non-objec- tive character of Cowper's poetry in relation to the Cross and cognate doctrines. Personally, the dark shadow of insanity held him in subjective misery and hopelessness certainly ; but the peculiarity is, that through all, his eye saw clearly the grand outstanding Facts. Be it remem- bered that, as Cowper wrote it (riot as Hymn-book com- pilers mutilate), ' There is a fountain filled with blood' reads gloriously and gratefully thus : 'The dying thief rejoiced to see That Fountain in his day ; And there have I, though vile as he, Wash'd all my sins away.' His subjective anguish Cowper kept to himself. His poe- try is all radiant with the light of the objective, and is as definite and articulate as HERBERT'S, or any of our Poets. * 4 CXXX11 ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF (b) ARCHBISHOP LEIGHTOJJ'S NOTES ON HIS COPY OF ' THE TEMPLE.' Dr. Burgon, in his ' Life of Patrick Eraser Tytler,' in giving an account of that Historian's visit to the Leighton Library at Dunblane, makes the following statement : ' This visit, I remember, delighted him much ; and he brought away an interesting memorial of it by transcribing the abundant notes with which Leighton has enriched his copy of HERBERT'S Poems' (The Portrait of a Christian Gentleman : a Memoir of P. F. Tytler, 1859 ; p. 250). It is not to be wondered at that such an intimation as ' abundant notes 1 by so preeminent and like- minded a man as Leighton on so congenial a ' little book' excited interest in all Christian and literary circles. In- vestigation very soon dispelled the pleasing hope of a real addition to that most covetable of our book-trea- sures, 'Marginalia,' after the type of Selden long ago, and Coleridge recently. Memory (' I remember' is the Bio- grapher's phrase) must have given a larger meaning to Tytler's spoken words than those warranted. At least Leighton's copy of ' The Temple' (the edition of 1634, and the only early one that ever belonged to the Library) does not contain a single note in the proper sense of the term, id est, on GEORGE HERBERT. Yet are his jottings of patristic quotations and references, suggested to the good bishop as he read, worthy of permanent record ; the more especially as, after a first loss and recovery of the volume, it has again disappeared surely through culpable neglig- ence of the trustees of the Leightonian Library. 1 The 1 The Letters referred to are from the Rev. James Boe, of the Kirk of Scotland, Dunblane, and are dated 24th November and 24th December 1859 ; and to the Times, December 24th, 1859. The vol- ume was then in the Library, and the Notes were transcribed by the late Mr. Boe (who died in 1860), with praiseworthy carefulness, in- deed in facsimile so as to authenticate the handwriting as Leighton's own. Now, on repeated inquiries, the volume is not to be found. GEORGE HERBERT. CXXX111 following details are derived from private letters and public addressed to B. H. Beedham, Esq., Ashfield House, Kimbolton, and to the Times, with which I have been fa- voured. As stated above, the edition was that of 1634 (' the Third'), and on the blank page, fronting the first verses of ' The Church Porch,' are these two quotations in Greek from Gregory Nazianzen : O>V ^vro\uv. NAZ. rb Tfpirv'bv oT/xcu rov KaAoD Troiovfj-evoi OXW Ka ^ Twrovirrts e'/c fji.f\u>v rp6wovs. NAZ. These are connected with stanza i. 11. 5, 6, by a cross mark in each case : ' A verse may finde him who a sermon flies, And turn delight into a sacrifice.' In the former it will be seen that the old Father, having previously spoken of the persuasive influence of verse over certain classes of persons, in leading them to the practice of what is worthy and profitable, represents the versifier Surely the representatives of Mr. Boe ought to be communicated with. In all likelihood it was inadvertently retained among his own books. Dr. Walter C. Smith of Glasgow, in ignorance of Mr. Boe's letter to the Times, has this pungent note to ' The Bishop's Walk :' ' Mr. Burgon states in his Life of P. F. Tytler, that a copy of HERBERT'S Poems, with notes by Leighton, once existed in the Library at Dunblane. It certainly is not there now ; and I take this opportunity of again advertising all whom it may con- cern, that if they do not return it, all literature will persecute them' (p. 138). The loss of HERBERT'S Poems recalls a wish of Mr. Allen of Frees, Shrewsbury, ' that those volumes which contain Leighton's notes (not, as I believe, a very large number) could be carefully catalogued by themselves, and put under closer restrictions as to loan than the other volumes that could be easily replaced.' Cer- tainly the Trustees of the Leightonian Library owe it to themselves (1) to spare no effort to recover Leighton's HERBERT'S Poems; (2) to show a more adequate appreciation of the iuestimableness of the Leighton-noted books in their custody. CXXX1V ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OP as ' skilfully sweetening the bitter or unacceptable parts of his moral precepts by presenting them in an agreeable or attractive form.' In the latter, having adduced the example of the ancients and of even not a few of the authors of the books of Holy Scripture, who composed their writings in verse, he suggests the following reason : ' Those persons, as I imagine, making that which is plea- sant the vehicle of that which is excellent, and teaching morals by means of verses or of acceptable songs.' The apostolic words, ' being crafty I caught you with guile' (2 Cor. iv. 16), and that he 'might by all means save some' (1 Cor. ix. 22), adumbrate the principle. Other jottings are on the fly-leaves, without mark or reference, as follow : (1) fUKpbv Kal irdina \eAcwrroj. (2) oJ/cot ytvoifMjv. (3) Eripe me his, invicte, mails. The last of these, which is found in several of Leighton's books, was suggested no doubt by the ' evil days' on which his meek spirit was fallen. Others have been scratched out and are illegible. Besides these small notes, round pencil-marks (dots) abound ; but it is impossible to say whether they were made by Leighton. If it be disap- pointing that for ' abundant notes' we must be content with these very slight things, it is satisfactory to have all that really exists (or existed). But the published works of Archbishop Leighton contain a number of allusive quotations from HERBERT that it seems well to bring together. There are these from the Commentary upon the First Epistle of St. Peter. (1) ' This is the form and life of actions, that by which they are earthly or hea- venly. Whatsoever be the matter of them, the spiritual mind hath that alchemy indeed of turning base metals into gold, earthly employments into heavenly' (c. ii. 18- 20). The tacit reference is to ' The Elixir :' GEORGE HERBERT. CXXXV 4 This is the famous stone That turneth all to gold ; For that which God doth touch and own Cannot for less be told.' (2) ' What is all knowledge but painted folly in com- parison of this ? Hadst thou Solomon's faculty to dis- course of all plants, and hadst not the right knowledge of this Root of Jesse ; wert thou singular in the knowledge of the stars and of the course of the heavens, and couldst walk through the spheres with a Jacob's staff [= Cross Staff], but ignorant of this Star of Jacob ; if thou knew- est the histories of all time, and the life and death of all the most famous princes, and could rehearse them all, but dost not spiritually know and apply to thyself the death of Jesus as thy life, thou art still a wretched fool, and all thy knowledge with thee shall quickly perish' (c. ii. 24). The entire passage recalls the opening of ' The Agony :' ' Philosophers have measured mountains, Fathomed the depths of seas, of states and kings, Walked with a staff to Heaven, and traced fountains : But there are two vast, spacious things The which to measure it doth more behove, Yet few there are that sound them, Sin and Love.' (3) ' He who sends oftenest out those " ships of desire," who makes the most voyages to that land of spices and pearls, shall be sure to improve his stock most, and have most of heaven upon earth' (c. iv. 7). So HERBERT calls prayer itself ' the land of spices' (19. Prayer). (4) ' In this lower world it is man alone that is made capable of showing the glory of God, and of offering Him praises. He expresses it well who calls man " the World's High- Priest ;" all the creatures bring their oblations of praise to him, to offer up for them and for himself, for whose use and comfort they are made' (c. v. 11). Leighton had thus singled out HERBERT'S ' Providence,' where we read : CXXXV1 ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF ' Man is the world's High-Priest ; he doth present The sacrifice for all ; while they below Unto the service mutter an assent, Such as springs use that fall, and winds that blow.' The Sermons and Lectures also give these : (5) ' This He does infallibly and uncontrollably, yet in such a way as there is nothing distorted or violenced. Fortiter et suaviter strongly and sweetly, all is so done' (on Jeremiah x. 23- 25). So HEKBERT apostrophises ' Providence :' ' O sacred Providence, who from end to end Strongly and sweetly movest.' Both followed the Vulgate (Sap. viii. 1) : ' Attingit a fine usque ad finem fortiter, et disponit omnia suaviter.'' (6) ' He is admirable in all : the very lowest and smallest crea- tures have their wonders of Divine wisdom in their frame more than we are able to think. Magnus in minimis He is great in the least of His works' (Exp. Lect. on Psalm viii.). So again in ' Providence :' ' Thou art in small things great, not small in any ; Thy even praise can neither rise nor fall ; Thou art in all things One, in each thing many ; For Thou art infinite in one and all.' (7) ' The sea fitted for navigation . . . and the impetuous - ness of it, yet confined and forced to roll in its channel so that it cannot go forth ; the small sands giving check to the great waters' (ibid.). So once more in ' Providence :' ' Thou hast made poor sand Check the proud sea, even when it swells and gathers.' (8) ' Thou mindest him in all these things ; the works above him, even in the framing of these heavens, the moon and the stars, designing his good ; Thou makest all attend and serve him' (ibid.). So in ' Man :' 4 Man is one world, and hath Another to attend him.' (9) ' The Church of Rome hate it for their common shift ; GEORGE HERBERT. CXXXV11 they have shut out the heart from this employment, where it hath most interest, by praying in an unknown tongue ; and this defect they make up with long continuance and repetition of Pater-nostcrs, with a devotion as cold and dead as the beads they drop 1 (Exp. of the Lord's Prayer). This reminds of HERBERT'S " only beads" (Glossary, s.v.). (10) ' This [Sunday] is the loveliest, brightest day in all the week to a spiritual mind. These rests refresh the soul in God, that finds nothing but turmoil in the crea- ture. Should not this day be welcome to the soul, that sets it free to mind its own business, which is on other days to attend the business of its servant, the body ? And these are a certain pledge to it of that expected freedom, when it shall enter into an eternal sabbath, and rest in Him for ever, Who is the only rest of the soul' (Exp. of the Ten Commandments). This was inspired by ' Day most calm, most bright !' With these jottings and references before us, it will be felt that most fitting it is that in ' The Bishop's Walk' Leighton should be introduced as reading (among others) GEORGE HERBERT, thus : 1 Two hundred years have come and gone Since that fine spirit mused alone On the dim walk, with faint green shade By the light-quivering ash-leaves made, And saw the sun go down Beyond the mountains brown. Slow-pacing, with a lowly look, Or gazing on the lettered book Of Taylor, or a-Kempis, or Meek HERBERT with his dulcimer, In quaintly pious vein Rehearsing a deep strain.' 1 (p. 13.) 1 There are other tacit reminiscences of HERBERT in Leighton's Works ; but both read in the same line and were of kindred head and heart. It was to the present Writer a sad stern duty to expose VOL. II. * CXXXV111 ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF (f) NOTES BY S. T. CoLEBroaE ON HERBERT'S POEMS. From Pickering's edition of 1835. G. HEBBEBT is a tiue poet, but a poet sui generis, the merits of whose poems will never be felt without a sympathy with the mind and character of the man. To appreciate this volume, it is not enough that the reader possesses a cultivated judgment, classical taste, or even poetic sensibility, unless he be likewise a Christian, and both a zealous and an orthodox, both a devout and a devotional Christian. But even this will not quite suffice. He must be an affectionate and dutiful child of the Church, and from habit, con- viction, and a constitutional predisposition to ceremoniousness, in piety as in manners, find her forms and ordinances aids of religion, not sources of formality ; for religion is the element in which he lives, and the region in which he moves. The Church say, rather, the Churchmen of England under the two first Stuarts has been charged with a yearning after the Romish fopperies and even the papistic usurpations ; but we shall decide more correctly, as well as more charitably, if for the Romish and papistic we substitute the patristic leaven. There even was (natural enough, from their distinguished learning and knowledge of eclesiastical antiquities) an overrating of the Church and of the Fathers for the first five or even six centuries ; these lines on the Egyptian monks, ' Holy Macarius and great Anthony' [VoL II. p. 4, 1. 42], supply a striking instance and illustration of this. VoL I. p. 21, st. xlviii. I do not understand this stanza. P. 52, 1. 25. ' My flesh begun unto my soul in pain.' Either a misprint, or a noticeable idiom of the word ' began' ? Yes ! and a very beautiful idiom it is ; the first colloquy or address of the flesh. P. 57, 1. 43. ' With an exact and most particular trust.' I find few historical facts so difficult of solution as the continuance, in Protestantism, of this anti-scriptural superstition. P. 65, L 19. 'This verse marks that,'&c. The spiritual unity of the Bible = the order and connexion of organic forms, in which the well-meant but absolutely worthless edition of Archbishop Leigh- ton's Writings, edited by the Rev. William West of Nairn. His laboriousness and enthusiasm are neutralised by the pervading cor- ruption of his author's text, under a delusion of 'improvement.' GEORGE HERBERT. CXXX1X the unity of life is shown, though as widely dispersed in the world of the mere sight ; as the text. P. 65, L 21. ' Then, as dispersed herbs do watch a potion.' Some misprint. [See our Notes and Illustrations.] P. 99, 1. 10. 'A box where,' &c. Nest. P. 103, L 39. ' Distinguished.' I understand this but imper- fectly. Dist. they form an island ? and the next lines refer per- haps to the then belief that all fruits grow and are nourished by water ? but then how is the ascending sap ' our cleanliness' ? Perhaps, therefore, the ruins. P. 154, L 21. ' But He doth bid us take His blood for wine.' Nay, the contrary ; take wine to be blood, and the blood of a man who died 1800 years ago. This is the faith which even the Church of England demands ; for Consubstantiation only adds a mystery to that of Tr an substantiation, which it implies. Pp. 190-2. 'The Flower.' A delicious poem. P. 190, L 4. 'The late-past frosts tributes of pleasure bring.' Epitritus primus + Dactyl + Trochee + a long word - syllable, which together with the pause intervening between it and the word trochee, equals o o o form a pleasing variety in the Pentameter Iambic with rhymes. Ex. gr. Th6 late past frosts | tribute's of [ pleasure | bring. N.B. First, the difference between o | and an amphimacer v | and this not always or necessarily arising out of the latter being one word. It may even consist of three words : yet the effect be the same. It is the pause that makes the difference. Secondly, the expediency, if not necessity, that the first syllable both of the Dactyl and the Trochee should be short by quan- tity, and only= by force of accent or position the Epi trite being true lengths. Whether the last syllable be or = , the force of the rhymes renders indifferent. Thus : . . . P. 190, L 7. 'As if there were no such cold thing.' Had been no such thing. P. 196, L 5. ' That choice,' &c. Their. P. 199, 1. 18. ' E'en in my enemies' sight.' Foemen's. P. 216, 1. 7. 'That they in merit shall excel.' I should not have expected from HERBERT so open an avowal of Romanism in the article of merit. [A misprint ' here' for ' hear' misled Cole- ridge. See our Notes and Illustrations in loco.] In the same spirit is holy Macarius and great Anthony, Vol. II. p. 4. 1. 42. CXI ESSAY ON THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OP Besides these Notes-proper, Coleridge has passing tri- butes elsewhere to HERBERT as Poet as well as Man : e.g. in ' The Friend' (vol. i. p. 53) : ' Let me add, that the quaintness of some of his thoughts, not of his diction, than which nothing can be more pure, manly, and unaffected, has blinded modern readers to the general merits of his poems, which are for the most part exquisite in their kind.' Similarly in ' Biographia Literaria,' he speaks of the 'weight, number, and compression of HERBERT'S thoughts, and the simple dignity of the language :' and he wrote to his friend Collins the Painter : ' Read " The Temple," if you have not read it.' Again : ' The charac- teristic of our elder poets is the reverse of that which distinguishes more recent versifiers ; the one (HERBERT and his school) conveying the most fantastic thoughts in the most correct and natural language ; the other, in the most fantastic language conveying the most trivial thoughts. The latter is a riddle of words, the former an enigma of thoughts.' Finally : I envy not the man who can read the story of GEORGE HERBERT'S Life, as told by Izaak Walton and Barnabas Oley and ourselves, and as interwoven with his Verse and Prose, without thankfulness to the Great Giver for such a Life and such Writings. The Church of England has had many illustrious Sons, who hold a per- manent place in the Theological Literature of Europe ; but I do not know that she has had a finer intellect, a nobler spirit, a more lovable nature, a truer ' Maker' than the ' Country Parson' of Bemerton. 1 ' Two years and 1 In the Christian Remembrancer we read : ' The Poems seem to have been written before the " Country Parson." His preface to the latter is dated 1632, the year of his death ; and its other name, by which it was more usually known at first, " A Priest to the Temple,'' seems to indicate that it was conceived in its Author's mind as a companion volume to the already existing, though unpublished, col- lection of poems entitled "The Temple"' (p. 105). I suspect that GEORGE HERBERT. Cxli three months may seem a disproportionate space of time for his work in the ministry, after so long and so careful preparation for it. But it is not for us to call his death premature. To himself the old adage may safely be ap- plied " his wings were grown ;" and, as for his work, it was ended. " Non diu sed multum vixit." His contem- poraries complained that " he lost himself in that humble way," while devoting his energies to that obscure little parish. But his influence in forming the highest type of Christian character for laity as well as clergy, has been extended, by his example and writings, far beyond the narrow limits of that little parish on Salisbury Plain, with its " twenty cottages" and " less than a hundred and twenty souls," far beyond the age in which he lived.' 1 Our own generation has witnessed an Augustus Hare, in his little sequestered parish (also in Wilts), sustaining the Her- bertian type of Life. Such, then, is what we wished to say and furnish on the Life and Writings of GEORGE HERBERT. Now that our Essay is finished, and we go back on it, its inadequate- ness pains us ; yet there is this consolation, that perhaps our words may suggest and allure Readers ; and above all it is our priceless privilege to present FOR THE FIRST TIME fully and worthily the Works of one of the uncanonised Saints of the Church Catholic. For Leighton, of ' The Bishop's Walk,' I substitute the ' Parson' of Bemerton ; and as I turn and return on the Face, as reproduced in integrity from that of 1674 (in the Quarto form), I find in its vivid portraiture our very own GEORGE HERBERT. I the ' other name' was given by Oley in order to relate it to ' The Temple,' and that as not ' The Temple' but ' The Church' was HER- BERT'S own title, so the ' Country Parson' was probably his own. See account of the Williams MS. 1 Christian Remembrancer, as before, p. 115. Cxlii THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF GEORGE HERBERT. cannot more fitly close our Essay than with it (slightly adapted) : ' Slow-pacing with a downcast eye, Which yet, in rapt devotion high, . Sometimes its great dark orb would lift, And pierced the veil, and caught the swift Glance of an angel's wing, That of the Lamb did sing ; And with the fine pale shadow, wrought Upon his cheek by years of thought, And lines of weariness and pain, And looks that long for home again ; So went he to and fro, With step infirm and slow. A frail slight form no temple he Grand for abode of Deity ; Rather a bush inflamed with grace, And trembling in a desert place, And unconsumed with fire, Though burning high and higher. A frail slight form, and pale with care, And paler from the raven hair That folded from a forehead free, Godlike of height and majesty A brow of thought supreme, And mystic glorious dream.' (pp. 14, 15.) ALEXANDER B. GROSART. I. THE CHURCH MILITANT. VOL. II. NOTE. ' The Chnrch Militant' is Herbert's heading in the Wil- liams MS., and is in agreement with his title of ' The Church Porch' and ' The Church' for the other two portions of the volume of 1632-3, published by Nicholas Ferrar as ' The Tem- ple.' It occupies pp. 184 - 192 of the original edition, and ever since has been regarded as a third division of one set of poems. It is independent ; and I have deemed it better to dis- join it from the minor pieces of ' The Temple,' differing as it does from them alike in substance and form. At the close of this Poem will be found various-readings and additions from the Williams MS. ; some of the latter inserted in the text (11. 17, 61-3, and 162-4). For more on it, see our Essay in the present volume. G. THE CHUECH MILITANT. ALMIGHTIE Lord, Who from Thy glorious throne Seest and rulest all things ev'n as one; The smallest ant or atome knows Thy power, Known also to each minute of an houre : Much more do common-weals acknowledge Thee, 5 And wrap their policies in Thy decree, Complying with Thy counsels, doing nought Which doth not meet with an eternall thought. But above all, Thy Church and Spouse doth prove, Not the decrees of power, but bands of love. 10 Early didst Thou arise to plant this vine, Which might the more indeare it to be Thine. Spices come from the East, so did Thy Spouse, Trimme as the light, sweet as the laden boughs Of Noah's shadie vine, chaste as the dove, 15 Prepar'd and iitted to receive Thy love, All emblems which Thy darling doth improve. The course was westward, that the sunne might light As well our understanding as our sight. Where th' Ark did rest, there Abraham began 20 To bring the other Ark from Canaan. 4 THE CHURCH MILITANT. Moses pursu'd this; but King Solomon Finisht and fixt the old religion. When it grew loose, the Jews did hope in vain By nailing Christ to fasten it again; 25 But to the Gentiles He bore Crosse and all, Eending with earthquakes the partition-wall. Onely whereas the Ark in glorie shone, Now with the Crosse, as with a staffe, alone, Religion, like a pilgrime, Westward bent, 30 Knocking at all doores ever as She went. Yet as the sunne, though forward be his flight, Listens behinde him, and allows some light Till all depart; so went the Church her way, Letting, while one foot stept, the other stay 35 Among the Eastern nations for a time, Till both removed to the Western clime. To Egypt first she came, where they did prove Wonders of Anger once, but now of Love; The Ten Commandments there did flourish more 40 Then the ten bitter plagues had done before; Holy Macarius and great Anthonie Made Pharaoh Moses, changing th' historic; Goshen was darknesse, Egypt full of lights, Nilus for monsters brought forth Israelites. 45 Such power hath mightie Baptisme to produce, For things misshapen, things of highest use. How deare to me, God, Thy counsels are ! Who may with Thee compare? THE CHURCH MILITANT. 5 Religion thence fled into Greece, where arts 50 Gave her the highest place in all men's hearts; Learning was pos'd, Philosophic was set, pulled Sophisters taken in a fisher's net. Plato and Aristotle were at a losse, And wheel'd about again to spell Christ-Crosse. 55 Prayers chas'd syllogismes into their den, And Ergo was transform'd into Amen. Though Greece took horse as soon as Egypt did, And Rome as both, yet Egypt faster rid, And spent her period and prefixed time 60 Before the other two were in their prime; From Greece to Rome she went, subduing those Who had subdued all the world for foes. The Warrier his deere skarres no more resounds, But seems to yeeld Christ hath the greater wounds ; 65 Wounds willingly endur'd to work his blisse, Who by an ambush lost his Paradise. The great heart stoops, and taketh from the dust, A sad repentance, not the spoils of lust ; Quitting his spear, lest it should pierce again 70 Him in His members, Who for him was slain. The Shepherd's hook grew to a scepter here, Giving new names and numbers to the yeare; But th' Empire dwelt in Greece, to comfort them Who were cut short in Alexander's stemme. 75 In both of these Prowesse and Arts did tame And tune men's hearts against the Gospel came ; THE CHURCH MILITANT. Which using, and not fearing skill in th' one Or strength in th' other, did erect her throne. Many a rent and struggling th' Empire knew 80 As dying things are wont untill it flew At length to Germanic, still Westward bending, And there the Churche's festivall attending; That as before Empire and Arts made way For no lesse Harbingers would serve then they 85 So they might still, and point us out the place Where first the Church should raise her doAvncast face. Strength levels grounds, Art makes a garden there; Then showres Religion, and makes all to bear. Spain in the Empire shar'd with Germanie, 90 But England in the higher victorie, Giving the Church a crown to keep her state, And not go lesse then she had done of late. Constantine's British line meant this of old, And did this mysterie wrap up and fold 95 Within a sheet of paper, which was rent From Time's great Chronicle, and hither sent. Thus both the Church and sunne together ran Unto the farthest old meridian. How deare to me, God, Thy counsels are ! i oo Who may with Thee compare? Much about one and the same time and place, Both where and when the Church began her race, Sinne did set out of Eastern Babylon, And travell'd Westward also : journeying on 105 THE CHURCH MILITANT. 7 He chid the Church away where e're he came, Breaking her peace and tainting her good name. At first he got to Egypt, and did sow Gardens of gods, which ev'ry yeare did grow Fresh and fine deities. They were at great cost, 1 1 o Who for a god clearely a sallet lost. Ah, what a thing is man devoid of grace, Adoring garlick with an humble face, Begging his food of that which he may eat, Starving the while he worshippeth his meat ! 115 Who makes a root his god, how low is he, If God and man be sever'd infinitely ! What wretchednesse can give him any room, Whose house is foul, while he adores his broom? !Xone will beleeve this now, though money be 120 In us the same transplanted foolerie. Thus Sinne in Egypt sneaked for a while ; His highest was an ox or crocodile, And such poore game. Thence he to Greece doth passe, And being craftier much then Goodnesse was, 125 He left behinde him garrisons of sinnes, To make good that which ev'ry day he winnes. Here Sinne took heart, and for a garden-bed = instead of Eich shrines and oracles he purchased; He grew a gallant, and would needs foretell 130 As well what should befall as what befell ; Nay, he became a poet, and would serve His pills of sublimate in that conserve. O THE CHURCH MILITANT. The world came both with hands and purses full To this great lotterie, and all would pull. draw 135 But all was glorious cheating, brave deceit, Where some poore truths were shuffl'd for a bait To credit him, and so discredit those Who after him should braver truths disclose. From Greece he went to Rome ; and as before 1 40 He was a god, now he's an emperour ; Nero and others lodg'd him bravely there, Put him in trust to rule the Romane sphere. Glorie was his chief instrument of old ; Pleasure succeeded straight when that grew cold, 1 45 Which soon was blown to such a mightie flame, That though our Saviour did destroy the game, Disparking oracles and all their treasure, Setting affliction to encounter pleasure; Yet did a rogue, with hope of carnall joy, Mahomet 150 Cheat the most subtill nations. Who so coy, So trimme, as Greece and Egypt 1 Yet their hearts Are given over, for their curious arts, To such Mahometan stupidities As the old heathen would deem prodigies. 155 How deare to me, God, Thy counsels are ! Who may with Thee compare ? Onely the West and Rome do keep them free From this contagious infidelitie; 160 And this is all the Rock whereof they boast, As Rome will one day finde unto her cost; THE CHURCH MILITANT. Traditions are accounts without our host; They who rely on them must reckon twice, When written Truths shall censure man's devise. Sinne being not able to extirpate quite 165 The Churches here, bravely resolv'd one night To be a Churchman too, and wear a mitre ; The old debauched ruffian would turn writer. I saw him in his studie, where he sate Busie in controversies sprung of late : 170 A gown and pen became him wondrous well ; His grave aspect had more of heav'n then hell ; Onely there was a handsome picture by, To which he lent a corner of his eye. As Sinne in Greece a prophet was before, 175 And in old Eome a mightie emperour; So now, being priest, he plainly did professe To make a jest of Christ's three offices; The rather since his scatter'd jugglings were United now in one, both time and sphere. 180 From Egypt he took pettie deities, From Greece oracular infallibilities, And from old Eome the libertie of pleasure, By free dispensings of the Churche's treasure ; Then, in memoriall of his ancient throne, 185 He did surname his palace Babylon. Yet that he might the better gain all nations, And make that name good by their transmigrations, From all these places, but at divers times, VOL. II. C 10 THE CHURCH MILITANT. He took fine vizards to conceal his crimes 190 From Egypt anchorisme and retirednesse, Learning from Greece, from old Rome statelinesse ; And blending these, he carri'd all men's eyes, While Truth sat by, counting his victories ; Whereby he grew apace, and scorn'd to use 195 Such force as once did captivate the Jews, But did bewitch, and finally work each nation Into a voluntarie transmigration. All poste to Rome ; princes submit their necks Either t' his publick foot or private tricks. 200 It did not fit his gravitie to stirre, Nor his long journey, nor his gout and furre ; Therefore he sent out able ministers, Statesmen within, without doores cloisterers ; Who, without spear, or sword, or other drumme 205 Then what was in their tongue, did overcome ; than And having conquer' d, did so strangely rule, That the whole world did seem but the Pope's mule. As new and old Rome did one Empire twist, So both together are one Antichrist; 210 Yet with two faces, as their Janus was, Being in this their old crackt looking-glasse. How deare to me, God, Thy counsels are ! Who may with Thee compare ? Thus Sinne triumphs in Western Babylon ; 215 Yet not as Sinne, but as Religion. Of his two thrones he made the latter best, THE CHURCH MILITANT. 1 1 And to defray his journey from the East. Old and new Babylon are to hell and night As is the moon and sunne to heav'n and light. 220 When th' one did set, the other did take place, Confronting equally the Law and Grace. They are hell's landmarks, Satan's double crest; They are Sinne's nipples, feeding th' East and West. But as in vice the copie still exceeds 225 The pattern, but not so in virtuous deeds ; So, though Sinne made his latter seat the better, The latter Church is to the first a debter. The second Temple could not reach the first; And the late Eeformation never durst 230 Compare with ancient times and purer yeares, But in the Jews and us deserveth tears. .Nay, it shall ev'ry yeare decrease and fade, Till such a darknesse do the world invade At Christ's last coming as His first did finde ; 235 Yet must there such proportions be assign'd To these diminishings as is between The spacious world and Jury to be seen. Religion stands on tiptoe in our land, Eeadie to passe to the American strand. 240 When height of malice and prodigious lusts, Impudent sinning, witchcrafts, and distrusts The marks of future bane shall fill our cup Unto the brimme, and make our measure up ; When Sein shall swallow Tiber, and the Thames, 245 12 THE CHURCH MILITANT. By letting-in them both, pollutes her streams; When Italic of us shall have her will, And all her calendar of sinnes fulfill, Whereby one may foretell what sinnes next yeare Shall both in France and England domineer 250 Then shall Religion to America flee; They have their times of Gospel ev'n as we. My God, Thou dost prepare for them a way, By carrying first their gold from them away; For gold and grace did never yet agree, 255 Religion alwaies sides with povertic. We think we rob them, but we think amisse ; We are more poore, and they more rich by this. Thou wilt revenge their quarrell, making grace To pay our debts, and leave our ancient place 260 To go to them, while that which now their nation But lends to us shall be our desolation. Yet as the Church shall thither Westward flie, So Sinne shall trace and dog her instantly; They have their period also and set times, 265 Both for their vertuous actions and their crimes. And where of old the Empire and the Arts =whreas Usher'd the Gospel ever in men's hearts, Spain hath done one; when Arts perform the other, The Church shall come, and Sinne the Church shall smother; 270 That when they have accomplished the round, And met in th' East their first and ancient sound, = haven L'ENVOY. 1 3 Judgement may meet them both and search them round. Thus do both lights, as well in Church as sunne, Light one another and together runne ; 275 Thus also Sinne and Darknesse follow still The Church and sunne with all their power and skill. But as the sunne still goes both West and East, So also did the Church by going West Still Eastward go ; because it drew more neare 280 To time and place where judgement shall appeare. How deare to me, God, Thy counsels are ! Who may with Thee compare? Tf L'ENVOY. King of glorie, King of peace, With the one make warre to cease; With the other blesse Thy sheep, Thee to love, in Thee to sleep. Let not Sinne devoure Thy fold, Bragging that Thy bloxid is cold; That Thy death is also dead, While his conquests dayly spread ; That Thy flesh hath lost his food, And Thy Crosse is common wood. Choke him, let him say no more, But reserve his breath in store. Till Thy conquest and his fall Make his sighs to use it all; 14 THE CHURCH MILITANT. And then bargain with the winde To discharge what is behind. be (Soft alone, &f)rirt fclesstD Gtyrtt in n?. NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Line 14, ' trimme'= spruce or sprucely adorned. See its use again in 1. 152. Line 16. I insert this line from the Williams MS., hut mark it as a kind of parenthetical glance hack on the similes or ' em- blems' of the Church, the Spouse, as 'Light,' 'Vine,' 'Dove.' By ' improve' Herbert seems to mean set forth fittingly in the old sermon-sense of ' improve.' It was probably struck out by Ferrar as not very well agreeing with ' trimme as sweet as, chaste as.' Line 26, 'bore Crosse and all.' Cf. Passio Discerpta. ,, 33, 'Listens behinde him .-' a metaphor drawn from field- sports. Line 34, ' depart .-' the Williams MS. reads ' begone' : the re- ference being to ' light' and ' twilight.' I have deemed it bet- ter to retain the printed text, ' depart.' Line 50. In Williams MS. it is ' Thence into Greece she fled, where curious Arts.' ' Her' is=Beligion. Cf. 11. 84-5 and 267-9. The liberal arts, which emolliunt mores, and the habit of philosophic thought, pre- pared them for the reception of the truth. Line 55, ' Christ-Crosse :' colloquially criss-cross, the alpha- bet in a horn-book or primer ; called so, either because a cross was prefixed to the alphabet row, or because the alphabet was aiTanged to form a cross. Lines 61-3. I adopt the Williams MS. readings here. They are much more vivid and striking than the usual text, which runs: ' Before the other. Greece being past her prime, Religion went to Rome, subduing those Who, that they might eubdue, made all their foes.' Line 64, ' Warrier:' Williams MS. spells 'Warriour.' 65, ' hath :' Williams MS. reads ' had ;' but ' hath,' in its ' present for all time,' gives the finer sense. NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 15 Line 73, ' new names'=the change of Pagan holy days to Christian : the ' new numbers ;' and perhaps the whole line, may refer to the change of style introduced by Pope Gregory in 1582. Line 77, ' tune :' Williams MS. ' dense' inferior, if indeed it be not untrue. Line 79, ' did erect her throne ' Williams MS. ' took posses- sion' again inferior. Line 85, ' Harbingers :' see full Note on 147. The Forerun- ners, 1. 1, in Vol. I. Line 89, ' Then showres Religion'=Then Religion showers. ,, 92, ' a crown ;' the reference is, as in the next note, to the Reformation. Line 93, ' Constantine's British line.' The thought is here obscure and proflbably far-fetched. When Constantius Chlorus Csesar, in Britain, died at York, his son Constantino was pro- claimed and eventually became emperor, and on his conversion gave, so to speak, a crown to the Church. Thus his rise in Britain, and his giving a crown to the Church, foreshadowed, says Herbert, or was a type, that hereafter Britain should give the Church a crown ; meaning that at the Reformation Henry VIII. would put down the usurped authority of the Church, and make it a national Church, and the State's head its supreme head. This is the more probable interpretation of ' giving the Church a crown to keep her state,' inasmuch as Herbert after- wards distinctly dissociates the Church from the Papacy and Papal polity, calling the latter ' the reign of Sin.' The mode of giving also corresponds, the action of Henry being more like that of Constantino than that of John in his giving up of his crown to the Pope, which otherwise we might have supposed to be the reference. Line 124, ' poore :' Williams MS. 'small,' inferior in relation to ' ox' and ' crocodile.' Lines 132-3. The oracular responses being in verse, Her- bert says they hide their poison in the sweetness of verse. Line 134, ' both :' Williams MS. ' in.' 135, 'pull:' another proof that ' pulling prime' consisted in drawing from the pack. See Glossarial Index s.v. Line 138, ' so .-' from Williams MS. for ' to' of printed text. ,, 148, ' disparking.' On ' disparking' in connection with destroying game, see Glossarial Index s.v. Line 152, ' trimme.' See Note on 1. 14. 16 THE CHUHCH MILITANT. Line 158. In Williams MS. originally ' Europe alone and Rome :' but Herbert erases, and writes ' Onely the West.' Lines 162-4. I insert these lines from the Williams MS. They are too characteristic to be lost. Line 162 : to reckon without one's host is to reckon mistakenly ; and that Herbert was here thinking of the saying is clear by the next line, and the use in it of ' reckon.' Traditions, says he, are accounts at second, third, or other hand, not verified by the personal or written word of the host ; and those who rely on them must reckon twice, consider well when they are not only so verified, but differ from the written truths, the host's own words. Line 172, ' had more o/:' Williams MS. ' was liker.' ,, 173, ' Onely there was a handsome picture by :' I fear the allusion is to certain Popes' ' lust' after pictures of ' fair women,' their concubines and mistresses, semi-nude the scan- dals of the Church. Line 184, ' dispensings ;' Williams MS. ' dispensations,' which has a somewhat ambiguous sound. Lines 193-4. I punctuate parenthetically ' While Truth sat by.' Hitherto it has not been so done. Of course it may be said that Truth is represented as having nothing else to do ; but is that counting of Sin's victories an occupation for Truth ? I prefer considering ' While Truth sat by> i.e. aside and idly as parenthetical, and that it is Sin that counts or reckons up her victories, and, glorying therein, grows apace, &c. Line 197. Williams MS. ' bewitch both kings and many a.' ,, 198, 'Into:' Williams MS. 'Vnto;' but we transmigrate ' into,' not ' unto,' for the soul transmigrates, not the body. Line 202, 'and:' Williams MS. 'or.' ,, 205-8. Not in the Williams MS., but the following come after line 204 : ' Who brought his doctrines and his deeds from Borne ; But when they were vnto the Sorbon come, The waight was such they left the doctrines there, Shipping the Vices onely for our sphere.' Line 218, ' defray 1 =and made [from line above] [itj the latter to defray ; an irregular ellipsis. Line 232=But [the second Temple] in the Jews and [the late Reformation] in us [each or each part] deserveth tears. Again very elliptical. Line 233, ' yeares:' Williams MS. ' days,' which less accords with a progress reckoned by centuries than 'yeares.' NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 17 Lines 239 - 40. On these famous lines, see our Essay in present volume. Line 252, ' times :' Williams MS. ' time.' 262, ' lends to :' Williams MS. ' lendeth.' ,, 265, ' period '=termination. 272, ' sound:' an expanse of sea or kind of sea-lake, with a narrow outlet, giving, therefore, a land-locked haven or har- bour. Line 275. In Williams MS. ' Like Comick Lovers euer one way runn.' Lines 276-7. In Williams MS. these read as follows : ' Darknesse constantly Follow the Church and Sunn where ere they fly.' ^ L' Envoy. In the Williams MS. Herbert himself has written this as a heading. On a Latin verse-translation of The Church Militant, with a specimen, see our Essay as before. The following verse- tribnte to ' The Church Militant' appeared in 1674 and after editions of The Temple : THE CHURCH MILITANT. The Churche's progress is a master-piece, Limn'd to the life, of Egypt, Borne, and Greece ; . Wherein he gives the Conclave such a blow, They nere receiv'd from either friend or foe. England and France do bear an equal share In his predictions ; which Time will declare. Here's height of malice, here's prodigious lust, Impudent sinning, cruelty, distrust ; Here's black ingratitude, here's pride and scorn ; Here's damned oaths, that cause the land to mourn ; And here's oppression, marks of future bane, And here's hypocrisie, the counter-pane ; Here's love of Guinies curs'd root of all And here's religion tnrn'd up to the wall : And could we see with Herbert's eagle eyes, Without checkmate Religion westward flies. A most sad sacrifice was made of late Of God s poor lambs by Pharisaique hate : For discipline with doctrine so to jarr, Was just like bringing Justice to the barr. Was it the will, or judgment, or commands Of the great Pilot for to pass the Sands ? Well may we hope that our quick-fited State Will take God's grievance into a debate. Cathedrall priests long since have laid about Hammer and tongs, to drive Religion out ; Her grace and majesty makes them so 'fraid They cry content, and so espouse her maid. Shoe's decent, lovely, chaste, divine, they say ; She loves their sons that sing our sins away. VOL. ii. i) 18 THE CHURCH MILITANT. Could we but count the thousands every year These dreams consume, the musick is too dear. When Elie's sons made luxury their god, Their widows nam'd their posthumes Icabod. They both were slain, God's sacred ark was lost, Though they had with it a most mighty hoast. Well may ingratitude make us all mourn ; Pearls we receive, poor pebles we return. Now Sein is swallowing Tiber, if the Thames, By letting in them both, pollute her streams ; Or if the Seeres shall connive or wink, Beware the thunderbolt : miyremus hine. O, let me die, and not survive to see, Before my death, Religion's obsequie. Religion and dear Truth will prove at length The Alpha and Omega of our strength ; Our Boaz, our Jakine, our Great Britain's glory, Look'd on by owls as a romantick story. Our CLOUD that comes behind us in the day, Night's fiery pillar, to direct our way ; Our chariots, ships, and horsemen to withstand The fury of our foes by sea or land ; Our eyes may see, as hath been seen before, Religion's foes lye floating 011 the shore. The head of England's Church, proud Babel's, but Will Faith defend, and Peace will Janus shut. Adversus Inipia, Anno 1G70. II. LILIES OF THE TEMPLE. FROM UNPUBLISHED MSS. NOTE. The first six pieces in this section were published by us from the Williams MS. in the ' Leisure Hour' of the Religious Tract Society. See our Preface and Memorial-Introduction in Vol. I., and Essay in present volume. The last piece is from ' Miscellanea Sacra, or Poems on Divine and Moral Subjects,' collected by N. Tate. 2d edition, 1698, p. 51, where it is headed ' The Convert. An Ode written by Mr. George Herbert. ' It is to be regretted that Tate does not inform us whence he deiived this Ode. But as he was well-circumstanced to procure MSS., and as others of eminent names first published by him have been authenticated, there is every probability that he had an auto- graph of this poem. It has touches of Herbert in it. I am not aware that any one until now has reprinted it. I gladly entwine it with the six Lilies. G. I. THE HOLY COMMUNION. Gratious Lord, how shall I know Whether in these gifts Thou bee so As Thou art everywhere ? Or rather so, as Thou alone Tak'st all y e Lodging, leaving none 5 For Thy poore creature there. First I am sure, whether bread stay, Or whether Bread doe fly away, Concerneth Bread, not mee; But y* both Thou and all Thy traine 10 Bee there, to Thy truth and my gaine Concerneth mee and Thee. And if in comming to Thy foes, Thou dost come first to them, y l showes The hast of Thy good will ; 1 5 Or if that Thou two stations makest, In Bread and mee, the way Thou takest Is more, but for mee still. Then of this also I am sure, That Thou didst all these pains endure 20 T' abolish Sinn, not Wheat; 22 LILIES OF THE TEMPLE. Creatures are good, and have their place ; Sinn onely, \v ch did all deface, Thou drivest from his seat. I could beleeve an Impanation 25 At the rate of an Incarnation, If Thou hadst dyde for Bread; But that \v ch made my soule to dye, My flesh and fleshy villany, That allso made Thee dead. 30 That flesh is there mine eyes deny: And what shold flesh but flesh discry The noblest sence of five ? If glorious bodies pass the sight, Shall they be food and strength and might, 35 Euen there where they deceiue 1 Into my soule this cannot pass ; Flesh, though exalted, keeps his grass, And cannot turn to soule. Bod yes and Minds are different spheres; 40 Nor can they change their bounds and meres, But keep a constant Pole. This gift of all gifts is the best, Thy flesh the least y* I request ; Thou took'st that pledg from mee : 45 Give me not that I had before, Or give me that so I have more; My God, give mee all Thee. (Fol. 31.) LOVE. 23 II. LOVE. Thou art too hard for me in Love ; There is no dealing w th Thee in that Art, That is Thy Masterpeece, I see. When I contrive and plott to prove Something that may be conquest on my part, 5 Thou still, Lord, outstrippest mee. Sometimes, when as I wash, I say, And shrodely as I think, ' Lord, wash my soule, More spotted then my Flesh can bee.' But then there comes into my way 10 Thy ancient baptism, w cb when I was foule And knew it not, yet cleansed mee. I took a time when Thou didst sleep, Great waves of trouble combating my brest : I thought it braue to praise Thee then ; 1 5 Yet then I found that Thou didst creep Into my hart w th ioye, giving more rest Than flesh did Lend Thee back agen. Let mee but once the conquest have Vpon ye matter, 'twill Thy conquest prove : 20 If Thou subdue mortalitie, Thou dost no more than doth y e graue ; Whereas if I orecome Thee and Thy love, Hell, Death, and Divel come short of mee. (Fols. 38, 39.) LILIES OF THE TEMPLE. III. TRINITY SUNDAY. He that is one Is none ; Two reacheth Thee In some degree : Nature and Grace 5 W th Glory may attaine Thy Face. Steele and a flint strike fire; Witt and desire Never to Thee aspire, Except life catch and hold those fast. i o That w ch beleefe Did not confess in y e first Theefe Satan His fall can tell From Heaven through Earth to Hell. Lett two of those alone T 5 To them that fall, Who God and Saints and Angels loose at last : lose Hee that has one Has all. (Pol. 40.) IV. EUEN-SONG. The Day is spent, and hath his will on mee : I and y e Sunn haue runn our races : I went y e slower, yet more paces ; For I decay, not hee. THE KNELL. 2o Lord, make my Loss vp, and sett mee free, 5 That I, who cannot now by day Look on his daring brightnes, may Shine then more bright then hee. If Thou deferr this light, then shadow mee, Least that the Night, earth's gloomy shade, 10 Fouling her nest, my earth invade, As if shades knew not Thee. But Thou art Light and darkness both togeather: If that bee dark we cannot see, The sunn is darker then a Tree, 15 And Thou more dark then either. Yet Thou art not so dark since I know this, But that my darknes may touch Thine; And hope that may teach it to shine, Since Light Thy darknes is. 20 lett my Soule, whose keyes I must deliver Into the hands of senceles dreames, W ch know not Thee, suck in Thy beames, And wake w th Thee for ever. (Pol. 44.) V. THE KNELL. The Bell doth tolle : Lord, help Thy servant, whose perplexed Soule Doth wishly look wistfully On either hand, VOL. II. E 26 LILIES OF THE TEMPLE. And sometimes offers, sometimes makes a stand, 5 Strugling on th' book. Now is the season, Now y e great combat of our flesh and reason : C) help, my God ; See, they break in, 10 Disbanded humours, sorrows, troops of Sinn, Each wi his rodd. Lord, make Thy Blood Convert and colour all the other flood And streams of grief, 1 5 That they may bee Julips and cordials when we call on Thee For some relief. (Fol. 75.) VI. PERSEVEEANCE. My God, y e poore expressions of my Love, W ch warme these lines and serve them vp to Thee, Are so as for the present I did moue, Or rather as Thou mouedst mee. But what shall issue, whether these my words 5 Shal help another, but my iudgment bee; As a burst fouling-peece doth saue y e birds, But kill the man, is seald w th Thee. For who can tell, though Thou hast dyde to winn And wedd my soule in glorious paradise, 10 Wliither my many crymes and vse of sinn May yet forbid the banes and bliss ? bans THE CONVERT. 27 Onely my soule hangs on Thy promises, W th face and hands clinging vnto Thy brest; Clinging and crying, crying w th oiit cease, 1 5 ' Thou art my Rock, Thou art my Best.' (Fol. 76.) VII. THE CONVERT. If ever tears did flow from eyes, If ever voice was hoarse with cries, If ever heart was sore with sighs, Let now my eyes, my voice, my heart Strive each to play their part. My eyes, from whence these tears did spring, Where treach'rous Syrens us'd to sing, Shall flow no more, untill they bring A deluge on my sensual flame, And wash away my shame. My voice, that oft with foolish lays, With vows and rants and senseless praise, Frail Beauty's charms to heav'n did raise, Henceforth shall only pierce the skies In penitential cryes. My heart, that gave fond thoughts their food - Till now averse to all that's good, The Temple where an idol stood, Henceforth in sacred flames shall burn, And be that idol's urn. 28 LILIES OF THE TEMPLE. NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. i. The Holy Communion. Lines 13-18=Whether Thou comest direct to the believer, or comest first into the bread and wine, and thence to the receiver. Lines 25-6=1 could believe God becoming bread (impanation), and hold it as of the same value as God becoming man, if &c. Line 38, ' keeps his grass .-' i. e. keeps that natural substance which is in the grass and herbs from which all flesh is immediately or intermediately de- rived. Line 41, ' meres :' generally said to be a boundary ; but perhaps more correctly what it certainly is sometimes, a bound- ary-mark. See Drayton's Polyolb. i. %* I printed l ff' originally, but I have since discovered that this was merely a form of capital F. n. Love. Line 20, ' Upon y e matter' in this matter [of love]. in. Trinity Sunday. In this there is a play on ' one' at the beginning and end, and intermediately on ' three.' He that is one (Nature) &c. Two (Nature and Grace) reacheth &c. He that has ' one' of the three, i. e. ' Heaven,' has all. iv. Euen-song. Line 3, ' more 2>aces :' and therefore advanced with more exertion and expense of energy and flesh. vi. Perseverance. Line 3, ' ?ttoue'=intend to speak. vn. The Convert. See Note prefixed to this section. G. in. PSALMS. HITHERTO CNCOLLECTED AND INEDITED. NOTE. These Psalms are taken from the following now extremely rare book : PSALMS AND HYMNS IN SOLEMN MUSICK OF FOURE PARTS, Or the common tunes to the Psalms in Metre : Used in Parish-Churches. Also six Hymns for one Voice to the Organ. For God is King of all the earth ; sing ye praises with understanding. PSALM xlvii. 7. BY JOHN PLAYFORD. [Picture of K. David playing, surrounded by a square margin containing 'the music of Gloria in excelsis, Deo Cantato, &c.] London : Printed by W. Godbid for J. Playford at his shop in the Inner-Temple. 1671. [A folio.] It is dedicated to William Bancroft, D.D., Dean of St. Paul's. In the Preface occur these explanations : ' To those which are Bishop King's, there is H. K. ; those of Mr. [Miles] Smith [yet living], M. S. ; those with G. H. are supposed to be Mr. George Herbert's.' The translation of the 23d Psalm in ' The Temple' is also given by Playford, who was well acquainted with Her- bert's sacred poems. In the same volume he sets the Altar to music, and in his preface quotes Herbert's first Autiphon (Vol. I. pp. 59-60). Probably, therefore, the 23d Psalm was added from ' The Temple,' and this is the more likely, as the other Psalms signed G. H. run on continuously from 1 to 7. Edward Farr, in his ' Select Poetry, chiefly sacred, of the Reign of King James the First' (Cambridge, 1847), gives ' Psalm V.' (pp. 87-8). On his uncharacteristically incorrect Note hereon, and other points, see our Preface (Vol. I.) and Essay (Vol. II.). G. PSALM III. Another translation. How are my foes increased, Lord ! many are they that rise Against me, saying, for my soul no help in God there is. But Thou, O Lord, ar't still the shield of my deliverance ; Thou art my glory, Lord, and He that doth my head advance. I cry'd unto the Lord, He heard me from His holy hill ; I laid me down and slept, I wak't ; for God sustain'd me still. Aided by Him, I will not fear ten thousand enemies, Nor all the people round about that can against me rise. Arise, O Lord, and rescue me ; save me, my God, from thrall ; 'Tis Thou upon the cheek-bone smit'st mine adversaries all. 32 PSALMS. And Thou hast brok th' ungodly's teeth : salvation unto Thee Belongs, O Lord ; Thy blessing shall upon Thy people be. G. H. (p. 12.) PSALM IV. Another translation. Lord, hear me when I call on Thee, Lord of my righteousness ; Thou that hast enlarged me when I was in distress. Have mercy 011 me, Lord, and hear the prayer that I frame ; How long will ye, vain men, convert my glory into shame ? How long will ye seek after lies, and vanity approve ? But know the Lord Himself doth chuse the righteous man to love. The Lord will hearken unto me when I His grace implore ; learn to stand in awe of Him, and sin not any more. Within your chamber try your hearts ; offer to God on high The sacrifice of righteousness, and on His grace rely. PSALM VI. 33 Many there are that say, ' 0, who will show us good ]' But, Lord, Thy countenance's cheering light do Thou to us afford. For that, Lord, with perfect joy shall more replenish me Then worldlings joy'd with all their store of corn and wine can he. Therefore will I lie down in peace and take my restful sleep ; For Thy protection, Lord, alone shall me in safety keep. G. H. (p. 18.) PSALM VI. Eebuke me not in wrath, O Lord, nor in Thine anger chasten me ; O pity me ; for I, O Lord, am nothing hut infirmitie. O heal me, for my bones are vex'd, my soul is troubled very sore ; But, Lord, how long so much perplex'd shall I in vain Thy grace implore ? Return, God, and rescue me, my soul for Thy great mercy save ; For who in death remember Thee ? or who shall praise Thee in the grave 1 ? VOL. II. p 34 PSALMS. With groaning I am wearied, all night I make my couch to swim, And water with salt tears my bed ; my sight with sorrow waxeth dim. My beauty wears and doth decay, because of all mine enemies ; But now from me depart away all ye that work iniquities. For God Himself hath heard my cry ; the Lord vouchsafes to weigh my tears ; Yea, He my prayer from on high and humble supplication hears. And now my foes the Lord will blame that e'rst so sorely vexed me, And put them all to utter shame, and to confusion suddainly. Glory, honour, power, and praise to the most glorious Trinity ; As at the first beginning was, is now, and to eternity. G. H. (p. 26.) GLORIA TO PSALM XXIII. To Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, one consubstantial Three, All highest praise, all humblest thanks, now and for ever be. G. H. PSALM VII. 35 PSALM VII. Save me, my Lord, my God, because I put my trust in Thee ; From all that persecute my life, Lord, deliver mee. Lest like a lion swollen with rage he do devour my soul ; And peace-meal rent it, while there's none his mallice to controul. If I have done this thing, Lord, if I so guilty be ; If I have ill rewarded him that was at peace with me ; Yea, have not oft deliver'd him. that was my causeless foe ; Then let mine enemie prevail unto mine overthrow. Let him pursue and take my soul, yea, let him to the clay Tread down my life, and in the dust my slaughter'd honour lay. Arise in wrath, Lord, advance against my foes' disdain ; Wake and confirm that judgment now which Thou did'st foreordain. 36 PSALMS. So shall the people round about resort to give Thee praise ; For their sakes, Lord, return on high, and high Thy glory raise. The Lord shall judge the people all : God, consider me According to my righteousness and mine integritie. The wicked's malice, Lord, confound, but just me ever guide ; Thou art that righteous God by whom the hearts and rains are try'd. God is my shield, Who doth preserve those that in heart are right ; He judgeth both the good and those that do His justice slight. Unless the wicked turn again, the Lord will whet His sword ; His bow is bent, His quiver is with shafts of vengeance stor'd. The fatal instruments of death in that prepared lie ; His arrows are ordain'd 'gainst him that persecuteth me. Behold, the wicked travelleth with his iniquitie ; PSALM I. 37 Exploits of mischief he conceives, but shall bring forth a lye. The wicked digged, aad a pit for others' mine wrought ; But in the pit which he hath made shall he himself be caught. To his own head his wickedness shall be returned home ; And on his own accursed pate his cruelty shall come. But I, for all His righteousness, the Lord will magnifie ; And ever praise the glorious Name of Him that is on high. G. H. (p. 30.) PSALM L Blest is the man that never would In councels of th' ungodly share, IS T or hath in way of sinners stood, Nor sitten in the scorner's chair. But in God's Law sets his delight, And makes that Law alone to be His meditation day and night : He shall be like an happy tree, Which, planted by the waters, shall "With timely fruit still loden stand ; His leaf shall never fade, and all Shall prosper that he takes in hand. 38 PSALMS. The wicked are not so ; but they Are like the chaff, which from the face Of earth is driven by winds away, And finds no sure abiding place. Therefore shall not the wicked be Able to stand the Judge's doom ; Nor in the safe society Of good men shall the wicked come. For God Himself vouchsafes to know The way that right'ous men have gone ; And those ways which the wicked go Shall utterly be overthrown. (p. 54.) PSALM II. Why are the heathen swell'd with rage, The people vain exploits devise ? The kings and potentates of earth Combin'd in one great faction rise ? And taking councels 'gainst the Lord And 'gainst His Christ, presume to say, ' Let us in sunder break their bonds, And from us cast their cords away.' But He that sits in heaven shall laugh, The Lord Himself shall them deride ; Then shall He speak to them in wrath, And in sore anger vex their pride. PSALM V. 39 ; But I am God, and seated King On Sion, His most holy hill ; I will declare the Lord's decree, Nor can I hide His sacred will. He said to Me, Thou art My Son, This day have I begotten Thee ; Make Thy request, and I will grant The heathen shall Thy portion be. Thou shalt possess earth's farthest bounds, And there an awful sceptre sway ; Whose pow'r shall dash and break them all, Like vessels made of brittle clay.' Now therefore, ye kings, be wise ; Be learned, ye that judge the earth ; Serve our great God in fear ; rejoice, But tremble in your highest mirth. kiss the Son, lest He be wroth, And straight ye perish from the way : When once His anger burns, thrice blest Are all that make the Son their stay. G. H. (p. 54.) PSALM V. Lord, to my words encline Thine ear, My meditation weigh ; My King, my God, vouchsafe to hear My cry to Thee, I pray. 40 PSALMS. Thou in the morn shalt hear my mone ; For in the morn will I Direct my prayers to Thy throne, And thither lift mine eye. Thou art a God, Whose puritie Cannot in sins delight ; No evil, Lord, shall dwell with Thee, Nor fools stand in Thy sight. Thou hat'st those that unjustly do, Thou slay'st the men that lye ; The bloody man, the false one too, Shall be abhorr'd by Thee. But in th' abundance of Thy grace Will I to Thee draw near, And toward Thy most holy place Will worship Thee in fear. Lord, lead me in Thy righteousness, Because of all my foes ; And to my dym and sinful eyes Thy perfect way disclose. For wickedness their insides are, Their mouths no truth retain, Their throat an open sepulcher, Their flattering tongues do fain. PSALM V. 41 Destroy them, Lord, and by their own Bad councels let them fall In hight of their transgression ; Lord, reject them all ; Because against Thy Majesty They vainly have rebell'd. But let all those that trust in Thee With perfect joy be fill'd : Yea, shout for joy for evermore, Protected still by Thee ; Let them that do Thy name adore In that still joy full bee. For God doth righteous men esteem, And them for ever bless ; His favour shall encompass them, A shield in their distress. VOL. II. 42 PSALMS. NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Psalm viii. p. 35, at. ix. 1. 3, misprinted ' Good' for ' God.' i. p. 37. This has no signature, but Psalm ii., which follows immediately, has ; and above Psalm i. is ' Two other Psalms to this Tune, of a new translation.' Psalm ii. p. 38, st. iv. 1. 1, is printed ' But I by God.' This might be by = through God ... I will declare. But it is harsh, and forestalls what becomes a repetition, 'He said to me.' I have ventured to read ' am.' Vulg. ' B,ex ab eo.' Psalm vi. p. 33. With reference to the ' Gloi'ia,' wherever it is added to a psalm or hymn, whether the psalm be King's, G. H.'s, or other, it is in italics if the psalm be in roman, and vice versa. The ' Gloria' to Psalm xxiii., which bears Herbert's initials, occurs also after a hymn (p. 85) by the ' unknown au- thor.' That after Psalm vi. is twice repeated, but in a slightly varied form, after Psalm xcv. by H. K. and after an unsigned hymn (p. 74). Hence these were probably added by Playford, according to his own judgment. G. IV. SECULAE POEMS. WITH ADDITIONS FEOM MSS. NOTE. The sources of the poems of this section are stated in the Notes and Illustrations at the close of it. There are here also interesting additions. G. I. SONNETS. SENT BY GEORGE HERBERT TO HIS MOTHER AS A NEW- YEAR'S GIFT FROM CAMBRIDGE. MY God, where is that ancient heat towards Thee Wherewith whole shoals of martyrs once did burn, Besides their other flames 1 Doth poetrie Wear Venus' liverie, onely serve her turn 1 Why are not sonnets made of Thee, and layes 5 Upon Thine altar burnt ? Cannot Thy love Heighten a spirit to sound out Thy praise As well as any she 1 Cannot Thy Dove Outstrip their Cupid easilie in flight 1 Or, since Thy wayes are deep, and still the same, i o Will not a verse runne smooth that bears Thy Name 1 ? Why doth that fire, which by Thy power and might Each breast does feel, no braver fuel choose Then that which one day worms may chance refuse 1 Sure, Lord, there is enough in Thee to drie 1 5 Oceans of ink ; for, as the Deluge did Cover the earth, so doth Thy Majestic. Each cloud distills Thy praise, and doth forbid Poets to turn it to another use ; Roses and lilies speak Thee, and to make 20 46 SECULAR POEMS. A pair of cheeks of them is Thy abuse. =abuse of Thee Why should I women's eyes for crystal take 1 Such poor invention burns in their low minde, Whose lire is wild, and doth not upward go To praise, and on Thee, Lord, some ink bestow. 25 Open the bones, and you shall nothing finde In the best face but filth ; when, Lord, in Thee The beauty lies in the discoverie. II. INSCRIPTION IN THE PARSONAGE, BEMERTON. TO MY SUCCESSOR. If thou chance for to find A new House to thy mind, And built without thy Cost ; Be good to the Poor As God gives thee store, And then my Labour's not lost. Another Version. Fuller writes in his character of The Faithful Minister : ' A clergyman who built his house from the ground wrote on it this counsel to his successor:' If thou dost find An house built to thy mind, Without thy cost ; Serve thou the more God and the poor ; My labour is not lost. ON Sill JOHN DANVERS. 47 III. ON LORD DANVEES. Sacred marble, safely keepe His dust who under thee must sleepe Untill the graves againe restore Theire dead, and time shal be no more. Meaue while, if Hee which all thinges weares Doe ruine thee, or if the tears Are shed for him dissolve thy frame, Thou art requited; for his fame, His vertues, and his worth shal bee Another monument for thee. G. HERBERT. IV. ON SIR JOHN DANVERS. By the same (Geo. Herbert), Orator of [the] University at Cambridge ; pinned on the curtaine of the picture of the old Sir John Danvers, who was both a handsome and a good man : Passe not by ; Search, and you may Find a treasure Worth your stay. What makes a Danvers Would you find ? In a fayre bodie A fayre mind. S r John Danvers' earthly part Here is copied out by art ; But his heavenly and divine In his progenie doth shine. Had he only brought them forth. Know that much had been his worth. Ther's no monument to a sonne ; Read him there, and I have done. 48 SECULAR POEMS. V. A PARADOX. THAT THE SICK ARE IN A BETTER CASE THEN THE WHOLE. (From Rawlinson MSS. in Bodleian, Oxford, p. 78.) You who admire yourselves because You neither grone nor weepe, And think it contrary to nature's laws To want one ounce of sleepe ; Your strong beleife 5 Acquits yourselves, and gives y e sick all greife. Your state to ours is contrary ; That makes you thinke us poore : So Black-Moores think us foule, and wee Are quit w th y m , and more : i o Nothing can see And judg of things but mediocrity. The sick are in y m selves a state W ch health hath nought to doe ; How know you that o r tears p r 'ceed from woe, 1 5 And not fro better fate ? Since that Mirth hath Her waters alsoe and desyred bath. How know you y* y e sighs wee send Fro want of breath p r 'ceede, 20 Not fro excesse 1 and therefore we do spend That w ch we do not neede : So trembling may As well shew inward warblings as decay. TO Y E QUEENE OP BOHEMIA. 49 Cease y n to judge calamity es 25 By outward forme and shew, But view yourselves, and inward turn yo r eyes, Then you shall fully know That your estate Is, of y e two, y e farre more desperate. 30 You allwayes feare to feele those smarts =continuaii y W ch we but sometimes p r 've ; Each little comfort much affects o r hearts, =our None but gross joyes you move ; Why, then confesse 35 Your feares in number more, yo r joyes are lesse. Then for yo r selves not us embrace Plaints to bad fortune due ; For though you visitt us, and plaint o r case, =our Wee doubt much whether you 40 Come to our bed To comfort us, or to be comforted. G. HEBBEBT. VI. G. H. TO Y E QUEENE OP BOHEMIA. Bright soule, of whome if any countrey knowne Worthy had bin, thou hadst not lost thine owne ; No Earth can bee thy Jointure, For the sunne And starres alone vnto y e pitch doe runne And pace of thy swift vertues; onely they 5 Are thy dominion. Those that rule in clay VOL. II. H 50 SECULAR POEMS. Stick fast therein, but thy transcendent soule Doth for two clods of earth ten spheres controule, And though starres shott from heauen loose their light, Yet thy braue beames, excluded from there right, 10 Maintaine there Lustre still, & shining cleere their Turne watrish Holland to a chrystalline sphere. Mee thinkes, in that Dutch optick I doe see Thy curious vertues much more visibly : There is thy best Throne, for afflictions are 1 5 A foile to sett of worth & make it rare. Through y* black tiifany thy vertues shine Fairer and richer. Now wee know what's thine, And what is fortune's. Thou hast singled out Sorrowes & griefs, to fight with them about 20 At there owne weapons, w th out pomp or state To second thee against there cunning hate. what a poore thing 'tis to bee a Queene When scepters, state, Attendants are y e screene Betwixt us & the people ! when-as glory 2 5 Lyes round about us to helpe out y e story, When all things pull & hale, y 4 they may bring A slow behauiour to the style of king ; When sense is made by Comments, But y* face Whose natiue beauty needs not dresse or lace 30 To serue it forth, & being stript of all Is self-sufficient to bee the thrall Of thousand harts : y* face doth figure thee And show thy vndiuided Maiestye TO Y E QUEEXE OF BOHEMIA. 51 W ch misery cannot vntwist, but rather 35 Addes to the vnion, as lights doe gather Splendour from darknes. So close sits y e crowne About thy temples y* y e furious frowne Of opposition cannot place thee where Thou shalt not be a Queene, & conquer there. 40 Yet hast thou more dominions : God doth giue Children for kingdomes to thee; they shall liue To conquer new ones, & shall share y e frame Of th' vniuerse, like as y e windes, & name The world anew : y e sunne shall neuer rise 45 But it shall spy some of there victories. There hands shall clipp y e Eagles winges, & chase Those rauening Harpyes w ch peck at thy face At once to Hell, without a baiting while At Purgatory, there inchaiited He 50 And Paris garden. Then let there perfume And Spanish sents, wisely layd vp, presume To deale w th brimstone, y* vntamed stench Whose fier, like there malice, nought can quench. But ioyes are stord for thee ; thou shalt returne 55 Laden vi^ comforts thence, where now to morne Is thy chief gouerment, to manage woe, To curbe some Rebell teares w ch faine would flow, Making a Head & spring against thy Reason. This is thy empire yet : till better season 60 Call thee from out of y* surrounded Land ; That habitable sea, & brinish strand, 52 SECULAR POEMS. Thy teares not needing. For y* hand Divine, W ch migles water \v tt thy Rhenish wine, Will power full ioyes to thee; but dregs to those 65 And meet theire tast who are thy bitter foes. LENVOY. Shine on, Maiestick soule, abide Like Dauid's tree, planted beside The Flemmish riuers : in the end 7 o Thy fruite shall w th there drops contend ; Great God will surely dry those teares, Which now y* moist land to thee beares. Then shall thy Glory, fresh as flowers In water kept, maugre the powers 75 Of Diuell, Jesuitt, & Spaine, From Holland saile into the Maine : Thence wheeling on, it compass shall This oure great Sublunary Ball, And with that King thy fame shall wedd 80 Eternity into one Bedd. NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. i. Sonnets. On these Sonnets see our Memorial-Introduc- tion and our Essay, as before. They are taken from Walton's ' Life' of Herbert, where they are called ' a Sonnet'=a double one, like Shakespeare's Sonnets v. and vi., xv. and xvi., xxvii. and xxviii., &c. Lines 10-11. Suggested by a remembrance of the proverb, ' Still waters run deep.' ii. Inscription. The original slab, or whatever it was, has disappeared ; but it has been modernly carved and placed in back-front of the ' Parsonage,' facing the little church. The NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 53 second version is derived from Dr. Thomas Fuller's ' Holy and Profane State' (1642). The first is from Walton's ' Life' of Her- bert (1670). Fuller's readings are surely the better. in. On Lord Danvers. Our text is taken from the monu- ment in the church of Dauntsey. There are corrections of the hitherto printed texts : e. g. 1. 3, ' graves' for ' yeares ;' 1. 6, ' the' for ' thy;' 1. 10, 'for' for 'to' the second very important. Line 7 is=if the tears [that] are shed [by mourners] for him [do] dissolve thy frame, &c. The quaint idea of the name and virtues of the dead being a monument to the marble beneath which they rest, is not original. A similar thought is found in an epitaph on Euri- pides, among the Greek epigrams by uncertain authors (Jacobs, iv. 231, dxxxvi.). The following translation of it is taken from No. 551 of the Spectator: ' Divine Euripides, this tomb we see, So fair, is not a monument for thee, So much as thou for it, since all will own Thy name and lasting praise adorn the stone.' Iii the monument of Dray ton (Westminster Abbey) there is almost a parallel to Herbert's on Danvers altogether : ' Do, pious marble, let thy readers know What they and what their childrtn owe To Drayton's name, whose sacred dust We recommend unto thy trust. Protect his memory, and preserve his story, Eemain a lasting monument of his glory. And when thy ruins shall disclaim To be the treasurer of his name, His name, that cannot fade, shall be An everlasting monument to thee.' See also Nugce Canone (1827) for another. (Dodd's Epigram- matists, 1870, pp. 232, 234.) iv. On Sir John Danvers. I take this from Aubrey and Jackson's ' Wiltshire' (pp. 224-6), where the preceding also ap- pears, and in its text of it is found the source of the after-mis- print of ' thy' for ' the.' The following is Jackson's note on the lines, so far as required here : ' Sir John Danvers senior mar- ried Elizabeth Nevill, fourth daughter and co-heiress of John, Lord Latimer. She remarried Sir Edmund Carey. Her fine monument in the church of Stowe, co. Northampton, is described in Baker's History of that county, i. 147. George Herbert of emerton, having been in the first year of his age in 1594, when 54r SECULAR POEMS. Sir John Danvers senior died, could only have known his char- acter by report.' v. A Paradox. Written, as shown by 1. 7, in sickness, or rather when ailing. Line 12, ' mediocrity' is here used for one who is in the mean or middle state between the two ; neither in perfect health nor under the full sway of sickness ; one who was, in fact, in the state in which Herbert then was failing. Line 14, a curious ellipse of ' with.' Can ' which' be an error for ' where' ? There is a distinct misreading of ' or' for ' our' (often in the MS. 'o 1 '). From the Rawlinson MS., corrective of the text, as furnished by Dr. Bliss to Pickering. ' The Synagogue,' by C. Harvey, contains a parallel poem, showing that he knew of this of Herbert's. vi. To the Queen of Bohemia. From Harleian MS. 3910, pp. 121-2 never before printed. G. H. is placed prominently at the head of this poem in the MS. It has a good deal of the rhythm and breaks of Donne, and this I take as a confirmation of the Herbert authorship, for elsewhere he remembered and copied his friend Dean Donne. So too with L'Envoy, as at end of The Church Militant. Line 13, ' optick' = the crystalline sphere. I do not think the reference is to the magnifying effect of the sphere, but to it as an optic or glass in which we see the proportion and form of lines, which, looked at otherwise, are mere confusion. Such optic is the perspective-glass so notice- ably spoken of by Herbert in The Temple (Vol. I. p. 138j, and which in other authors are called optics. Thus an undistinguish- able picture revealed itself when seen in a cylindrical mirror into a portrait of Charles I. This out-of-the-way illustration, as being common to Herbert in The Temple with this, per- haps additionally confirms his authorship of these Lines. See Glossarial Index under ' perspective.' Miss Benger (1825) has written the life of Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia. She died February 13th, 1662. See our Essay for remarks on this Poem, as having been composed while Donne was still strongly influential over Herbert. G. V. PARENTALIA. NOTE. The ' Parentalia' poems were first published at end of Dr. Donne's Sermon on the death of Herbert's mother. See our Essay in present volume for details. The ' Parentalia' has never before been translated. As with the others, R. Wi. is=Rev. Richard Wilton ; G.=the Editor. G. PARENTALIA. SACRED TO A MOTHER'S MEMORY. I. AH Mater, quo te deplorem fonte? Dolores Quae guttae poterunt enumerare meos? Sicca meis lacrymis Thamesis vicina videtur, Virtutumque choro siccior ipse tuo. In flumen moerore nigmm si funderer ardens, Laudibus haud fierem sepia justa tuis. Tantum istaec scribo gratus, ne tu mihi tantuni Mater : et ista Dolor nunc tibi Metra parit. Ah, Mother ! where is Grief's full-flowing fount ? What drops my sorrows ever can recount 1 ? Dry, to my tears, seems Thames that murmurs by, Myself for all thy virtues all too dry. Into the grief -black stream pour burning me; Fit ink to write thy praise I should not be. These things I pen in love, that all may know, Mother means Music when Grief wills it so I 1 R. WI. 1 Or to preserve the play on the words, ' Mater' is Metre when Grief wills it so. VOL. II. I 58 PARENTALIA. II. Corneliae sanctae, graves Semproniae, Et quicquid uspiam est severae foeminae, Conferte lacrymas ; Ilia quae vos miscuit Vestrasque laudes, poscit et mixtas genas. Namque hanc ruinam salva Gravitas defleat, Pudorque constet vel solutis crinibus ; Quandoque vultus sola majestas, Dolor. Decus mulierum. periit; et metuunt viri Utrumque sexum dote ne mulctaverit. Non ilia soles terere comptu lubricos, Struices superbas atque turritum caput Molita, reliquum deinde garriens diem, Nam post Babelem linguae adest confusio, Quin post modestam, qualis integras decet, Substructionem capitis et nimbum brevem, Animam recentem rite curavit sacris Adorta numen acri et ignea prece. Dein familiam lustrat, et res prandii, Horti colique distributim pensitat. Suum cuique tempus et locus datur. Inde exiguntur pensa crudo vespere. Katione certa vita constat et domus, Prudenter inito quot-diebus calculo. Tota renident aede decus et suavitas Animo renidentes prius. Sin rarior Magnatis appulsu extulit se occasio, Surrexit una et ilia, seseque extulit : PARENTALIA. 59 Occasions certat imo et obtinet. Proh ! quantus imber, quanta labri coniitas, Lepos severus, Pallas mixta Gratiis; Loquitur numellas, compedes, et retia ; Aut si negotio hora sumenda est, rei Per angiportus et maeandros labitur, Ipsos Catones provocans oraculis. Turn quanta tabulis artifex 1 quae scriptio 1 Bellum putamen, nucleus bellissimus Sententiae cum voce mire convenit. Volant per orbem literae notissimae : blanda dextra, neutiquam istoc pulveris, Quo nunc recumbis, scriptio merita est tua, Pactoli arena tibi tumulus est unicus. Adde his trientem Musices, quae molliens Mulcensque dotes caeteras, visa est quasi Caelestis harmoniae breve praeludium. Quam mira tandem sublevatrix pauperum 1 ? Languentium baculus, teges jacentium, Commune cordis palpitantis balsamum : Benedictiones publicae cingunt caput, Caelique referunt et praeoccupant modum. Fatisco, referens tanta quae numeraut mui Solum dolores, et dolores, stellulae ! At tu qui inepte haec dicta censes filio, Nato parentis auferens Encomium, Abito trunce cum tuis pudoribus. Ergo ipse solum mutus atque excors ero 60 PARENTALIA. Strepente mundo tinnulis praeeoniis 1 Mihine Matris urna clausa est unico, Herbae exoletae, ros-marinus aridus ? Matrine linguam refero, solum ut mordeam? Abito barde ! Quam pie istic sum impudens ! Tu vero Mater perpetim laudabere Nato dolenti : literae hoc debent tibi Queis me educasti ; sponte chartas illinunt Fructum laborum consecutae maximum Laudando Matrem, cum repugnant inscii. Holy Cornelias, and Sempronias grave, And all of serious womanhood, I crave Your tears ; for she, who blended what in you Shines good and beautiful, claims as her due Your blended sorrows. For this downfall raise Loud weepings, Dignity, nor lose thy praise : Stand, Modesty, with locks loose flowing down ; Sorrow is sometimes Beauty's loftiest crown. The glory of women has perish'd ; and men dread Lest of each sex with her the dower has fled. The fleeting suns she would not wear away In vanity of dress and self-display, Piling proud structures in the morning hour Upon her head, rear'd upwards like a tow'r ; Then spending the long day in talk and laughter For tongues' confusion comes tower'd Babel after ! But after modest braiding of her hair, PA RENT ALIA. 61 Such as becomes a matron wise and fair, And a brief bath, her freshen'd mind she brought To pious duties and heart-healing thought, Addressing to the Almighty Father's throne Such warm and earnest prayers as He will own. Next she goes round her family, assigning What each may need for garden, distaff, dining. To everything its time and place are given ; Then are call'd in the tasks at early even. By a fix'd plan her life and house go on, By a wise daily calculation; Sweetness and grace through all her dwelling shine, Of both first shining in her mind the sign. But if at times a great occasion rise With visit of some noble she likewise Eises, and raises up herself, and vies With the occasion, and the victory gains. 0, what a shower of courteous speech she rains ! Grave pleasantry, grace mix'd with wit is heard ; Fetters and chains she weaves with every word. Or if some business for the hour should ask, She glides through turns and windings of the task, With her replies a match for wisest men. Then what a mistress was she of the pen ! What graceful writing hers ! Mark the fair shell, Wherein a kernel fairer still may dwell, The voice and sentiment agreeing well. Through all the world her well-known letters flit : 62 PARENTALI A. Charming right hand, that dust 1 is all unfit, Where now thou liest, for thy writing fine; Pactolus' sand sole fitting tomb of thine. Add music, smoothing, soothing other gifts, Which, for a moment, the rapt spirit lifts As with a prelude of Heaven's harmony. Then what a helper of the poor you see In her ! A prop of languid folk and slow, A roof for those who live forlorn and low, A common balm on throbbing bosoms shed, While public blessings hover round her head, Rehearsing now the manner of the sky, Anticipating her reward on high. I droop as all her virtues I relate, Which by my sorrows I enumerate ; Stars are they now, my tearful griefs of late. But thou who think'st these things not fitly done, A mother's praise forbidding to a son, Away with thy false foolish modesty ! Heartless and silent then shall only I Be found, when her fine praise rings to the sky 1 My mother's urn, is't closed only to me Wither'd the herbs, and dry the rosemary ? Owe I to her a tongue only to grieve ? Away, thou foolish one and give me leave Shame to forget while pious praise I weave. 1 Alluding probably to the dust sprinkled from a small cas- tor, which was formerly used in letter- writing to dry the ink. PABENTALIA. 03 Thou shalt be prais'd for ever, mother mine, By me, thy sorrowing son; for surely thine This learning is, which I deriv'd from thee, Which o'er the page now flows spontaneously, Its highest fruit of labour seen to attain In praising thee, though Folly may arraign. R. wi. in. Cur splendes, o Phoebe ? ecquid demittere matrem Ad nos cum radio tarn rutilante potes ? At superat caput ilia tuum, quantum ipsa cadaver Mens superat; corpus solum elernenta tenent. Scilicet id splendes : haec est tibi causa micandi Et lucro apponis gauclia sancta tuo. Verum heus si nequeas coelo demittere matrem, Sitque omnis motus nescia, tanta quies, Fac radios saltern ingemines, ut dextera tortos Implicet, et matrem, matre manente, petam. Why shin'st thou, sun ? Canst thou send down to me My mother, with thy beam so bright to see ? Ah, she o'ertops thy head as soul the clay ; The elements but round her body play. Sure, thus thou shinest, and adorn'st thy face, And holy joys to thy account dost place. But if thou canst not send her down from heav'n, And rest to her, deep and serene, be giv'n, Double thy rays, that I, my hand being twin'd In them, my mother in her bliss may find. n. wi. PAREXTALIA. IV. Quid nugor calamo favens ? Mater perpetuis uvida gaudiis, Horto pro tenui colit Edenem Boreae flatibus invium. Quin coeli mihi sunt mei Materni decus, et debita nominis ; Dumque his iiivigilo frequens Stellarum socius, pellibus exuor. Quare Sphaerani egomet meam Connixus, digitis impiger urgeo : Te, mater, celebrans diu, Noctu te celebrans luminis aemulo. Per te nascor in hunc globum, Exemploque tuo nascor in alterum : Bis tu mater eras mihi, Ut currat paribus gloria tibiis. Why do I trifle, still with my pen playing ? My mother, now in heavenly Eden straying 'Stead of her little garden bow'rs, Tends there ever-blooming flow'rs. !N"or there amid the still-increasing joy May blast of Boreas blow, or once annoy; Nay, my mother dear, in thee Heaven comes down to me. And while I muse, companion of the stars, I am a spirit, free of my body's bars ; PARENTALIA. 65 Wherefore in this my lower sphere I sing, with sweet soft tear; Still praising thee, mother, throughout the day, And the hush'd night when light has pass'd away ; Dark night rivalling e'en the morn, Though I am lone and lorn. From thee my birth, through thee my second birth Twice mother to me showing heav'n on earth, That here and there I might thy praise In song still grateful raise. G. v. Horti, deliciae Dominae, marcescite tandem ; Ornastis capulum, nee superesse licet. Ecce decus vestrum spinis horrescit, acuta Cultricem revocans anxietate manum : Terram et funus olent flores : Dominaeque cadaver Contiguas stirpes afflat, eaeque rosas. In terram violae capite inclinantur opaco, Quaeque domus Dominae sit, gravitate decent. Quare haud vos hortos, sed coemeteria dico, Dum torus absentem quisque reponit herain. Euge, perite omnes ; nee posthac exeat ulla Quaesitum Dominam gemma vel herba suam. Cuncta ad radices redeant, tumulosque paternos, Nempe sepulcra Satis numen inempta dedit ; Occidite ; aut sane tantisper vivite, donee Vespere ros maestis funus honestet aquis. VOL. II. K 66 PABENTALIA. Gardens, your Lady's joy, now meet your doom ; Ye've deck'd her bier, no longer ye may bloom : Your beauty, bristling now with briers and thorns, Her tending hand with a keen sorrow mourns. Of earth the flowers smell, and where she reposes Death taints the neighbouring stems, and these the roses. With dim heads violets to the ground bend low, And by their grief their Lady's dwelling show. Not gardens, cemeteries here I find ; Of absent mistress all the beds remind. Die all ! nor in this garden, from this hour, To seek their Lady spring forth bud or flower ! Back to your roots and fathers' tombs all glide ; Graves without price God does for plants provide. Die ; or live only till sad Eve appears To deck your obsequies with dewy tears. R. wi. VI. Galene, frustra es, cur miserum premens Tot quaestionum fiuctibus obruis, Arterias tractans micantes Corporeae fluidaeque molis Aegroto mentis ? quam neque pixides Xec tarda possunt pharmaca consequi, Utrumque si praederis Indum, Ultra animus spatiatur exlex. Impos medendi, occidere si potes, Nee sic parentem ducar ad optimam : PARENTALIA. 67 Ni sancte, uti Mater, recedam, Morte magis viduabor ilia. Quin cerne ut erres inscie, brachium Tentando sanum : si calet, aestuans, Ardore scribendi calescit, Mater inest saliente vena. Si totus infler, si tumeam crepax, Ne membra culpes, causa animo latet Qui parturit laudes parentis : Nee gravidis medicina tuta est. Irregularis nunc habitus mihi est : Non exigatur crasis ad alterum. Quod tu febrem censes, salubre est, Atque animo medicatur unurn. O Galen, altogether vain art thou, Still questioning me with moody brow ; Thy fingers on my wrist inclin'd, So searching me, me, sick in mind : In mind, not body ; which nor thy pills many Nor aught slow nied'cines yield, nor any Spoil o' the Indies, e'er can cure : Mind soaring free, like spirit pure. Pow'rless to heal, if thou couldst but kill ! Nay, not e'en so should I obtain my will : Save by a holy death reliev'd, I should but be the more bereav'd. How ignorautly, Galen, thou dost err, 68 PARENTALIA. Feeling my pulse ! If it be fever'd, there Burns the desire to write of Mother ; She's in the throbbing veins, none other. Or if I flat'lent swell, blame not my members ; The cause hides in my mind, as fire in embers Trav'ling with her praise, my Mother styl'd ; Med'cine's unsafe to those with child. My frame's disorder 'd, yet don't mixtures weigh For an unreal state ; what thou dost say Is fever brings alone my cure, For troubl'd mind a medicine sure. G. VII. Pallida materni Genii atque exsanguis imago, In nebulas similesque tui res gaudia nuinquid Mutata ? et pro Matre mihi phantasma dolosum Uberaque aeria hiscentem fallentia natum ? Vae nubi pluvia gravidae, non lacte, measque Eidenti lacrymas quibus unis concolor unda est. Quin fugias ? mea non fuerat tarn nubiJa Juno, Tarn segnis facies aurorae nescia vernaej Tarn languens genitrix cineri supposta fugaci ; Verum augusta parens, sanctum os caeloque locandum, Quale paludosos jamjam lictura recessus Praetulit Astraea, aut solio Themis alma vetusto Pensilis, atque acri dirimens Examine lites. Hunc vultuin ostendas, et tecum nobile spectrum Quod superest vitae, insumam ; Solisque jugales PARENTALIA. 69 Ipse tuae solum adnectam, sine murmure, thensae. Nee querar ingratos, studiis dum tabidus insto, Effluxisse dies, suffocatamve Minervam, Aut spes productas, barbataque somnia vertam In vicium mundo sterili, cui cedo cometas Ipse suos, tanquam digno, pallentiaque astra. Est mihi bis quinis laqueata domuncula tignis Eure ; brevisque hortus, cujus cum vellere florum Luctatur spatium, qualem tamen eligit aequi Judicii dominus, flores ut junctius halent Stipati, rudibusque volis impervius hortus Sit quasi fasciculus crescens, et nidus odorum. Hie ego tuque erimus, variae suffitibus herbae Quotidie pasti : tantum verum indue vultura Affectusque mei similem ; nee languida misce Ora meae memori menti : ne dispare cultu Pugnaces, teneros florum turbemus odores, Atque inter reliquos horti crescentia foetus Nostra etiam paribus marcescant gaudia fatis. Pale bloodless image of maternity, Into such misty likenesses of thee Are my joys changed 1 For mother do I see A treacherous phantasm, and aerial breast Mocking a son who fain would there find rest ? Woe for a cloud fill'd not with milk but rain, And laughing at my tears as I complain, Tears which reflect the watery tint again ! 70 PARENTALIA. Nay, wouldst thou fly ? Not such a cloudy face My Juno show'd ; where you could see no trace Of vernal dawn. She was no mother pale, Conceal'd behind a fleeting ashy veil. Parent august was she, whose holy face, Star-like, in yonder sky deserv'd a place ; Such as Astraea wore, about to leave Her haunt amid the reeds some cloudless eve ; Or Themis, o'er her old throne hovering seen, Settling contentions with discernment keen. Show such a face, and with thee, image fair, My life's remainder I will gladly share ; Myself the horses of the sun will tie Unto thy car alone, unmurmuringly Nor while on such pursuits, wasting, I pore, Will mourn my days unpleasingly past o'er ; Nor sigh for learning quench'd or thrown away, And hopes deferr'd to some far-distant day. And for my uncouth fancies I shall blame An empty world, which well deserves to claim Its comets, spreading consternation far, And many a pale and pallor- striking star. I have a rural cottage, ceil'd with beams Scanty and bare, where a small garden gleams, Whose fleecy growth of flowers with radiant bloom Struggles for light in the too narrow room : But 'tis a garden which a master's mind Well balanced to its wish exact would find, PARENTALIA. 71 That crowded flowers more closely might exhale Their odours, and rude hands might ne'er prevail To burst its bounds ; a growing bouquet fair, A nest of sweets, enriching all the air. Here thou and I, my Mother dear, will stray, Inhaling flowery incense day by day ; Only do thou assume feelings and face Where I an image of myself may trace ; Nor a dim drooping countenance let me find Oppos'd to my too-well-remembering mind ; Lest, differing in discordant look and act, The tender fragrant flower-beds we distract, And mid the garden's other offspring fair, Our growing joys should wither in despair. R. wi. VIII. Parvam piamque dum lubetner semitam Grandi reaeque praefero, Carpsit malignum sidus hanc modestiam Vinumque felle miscuit. Hinc fremere totus et minari gestio Ipsis severus orbibus, Tandem prehensa comiter lacernula Susurrat aure quispiam, Haec fuerat olim potio Domini tui. Gusto proboque dolium. Whilst I a humble holy path prefer To grand and guilty wherein others err, 72 PABENTALIA. An envious star my modest choice arraigns, And mingles gall i' my wine, nor ill restrains. Alas, on this I fling me down, repining, And the orbs of heaven menace in their shining ; Till Some One grasps my cloak, and whispers kindly Into my ear, the while I murmur blindly : ' This is the cup thy Lord drank.' Then I ask, Adoring, taste it, and approve the cask. o. IX. Hoc, Genitrix, scriptum proles tibi sedula mittit. Siste parum cantus, dum legis ista, tuos. Nossesuiquid agant, quaedam estquoque musicasanctis, Quaeque olim fuerat cura, manere potest. Nos misere flemus, solesque obducimus almos Occiduis, tanquam duplice nube, genis. Interea classem magnis Rex instruit ausis : Nos autem flemus : res ea sola tuis. Ecce solutura est, ventos causata morantes : Sin pluviam : fletus suppeditasset aquas. Tillius incumbit Dano, Gallusque marinis : Nos flendo : haec nostrum tessera sola ducum. Sic aevum exigitur tardum, dum praepetis anni Mille rotae nimiis impediuntur aquis. Plura tibi missurus eram ; nam quae mihi laurus, Quod nectar, nisi cum te celebrare diem ? Sed partem in scriptis etiam dum lacryma poscit, Diluit oppositas candidus humor aquas. PARENTALIA. 73 Mother, thy child this letter sends to thee; To read it, stay awhile thy melody : 'Tis music to the saints, news of their own : The cares abide which they of old have known. Sadly we weep, and the fair suns we shroud "With darkening cheeks, as with a double cloud. Our king prepares a fleet with grand design ; We weep ; sole interest is this to thine. About to sail, they blame the winds that blow; If rain, our tears the hindering cause might show. The Dane claims Tilly; 1 sea-affairs the Gaul; But weeping occupies our leaders all. So Time rolls slowly, while full many a tear Retards the thousand wheels of the swift year. Fain would I write thee more ; for what know I Of crown or joy, save thought of thee is nigh ] But while of this my page tears ask a share, The ink they meet is blurr'd with moisture fair. R. wi. x. Nempe hujusque notes tenebricosos, Et maestum nimio madore coelum, Tellurisque Britannicae salivam Injuste satis arguit viator. At te commoriente, magna Mater, Recte, quern trahit, aerem repellit Cum probro madidum, reumque difflat. 1 John Tzerclaes, Count de TUly ; born 1559 ; died 1632. G. VOL. II. L 74 PARENT ALIA. Nam te nunc ager, urbs, et aula plorant : Te nunc Anglia Scotiaeque binae Quin te Cambria pervetusta deflet, Deducens lacrymas prioris aevi Ne serae meritis tuis venirent. Non est angulus uspiam serenus, Nee cingit mare, nunc inundat omnes. Surely the trav'ller censures wrongly Our cloudy south-winds blowing strongly, Our gray skies with rain o'ercharg'd, Still spitting, and yet ne'er discharg'd, In this our British land. But thou dying, great Mother, now Rightly he speaks ; for I do vow This over-moisture well he may As guilty name, and drive away With breath and tongue and hand. For thee, now country, city, hall, For thee, Anglia, two ScotiaS Call, Ireland and Scotland And ancient Cambria; tears down-pour, Such as were wept in classic lore, Fearing too late they come. Not anywhere is there* quiet spot That tears of sorrow do not blot ; Nor doth griefs sea merely surround ; It all o'erflows without a bound, And leaves me stricken dumb. G. PARBNTALIA. 75 XI. Dum librata suis haeret radicibus ilex Nescia Vulturnis cedere firma manet ; Post ubi crudelem sentit divisa securem, Quo placet oblato, mortua fertur, hero : Arbor et ipse inversa vocor : dumque insitus almae Assideo Matri, robore vinco cedros. Nunc sorti pateo, expositus sine matre procellis, Lubricus, et superans mobilitate salum. Tu radix, tu petra mihi firmissima, Mater, Ceu polypus, chelis saxa prehendo tenax : Non tibi nunc soli filum abrupere sorores Dissutus videor funere et ipse tuo. Undo vagans passim recte vocer alter Ulysses, Alteraque haec tua mors, Ilias esto mihi. While balanc'd by its roots the oak holds fast, Firm it remains, nor fears or flood or blast ; But when its trunk the cruel hatchet hews, Dead it is borne where'er its chance lord choose. I am a tree o'erthrown ; while planted by My Mother's side, with cedars strong I vie. Now, motherless, to Fate and storms I bow, Tottering and wavering like a billow now. Thou art my root, a rock most firm to me; Like limpet to the crags I cling to thee. Not thy thread only have the Fates unspun, I also by thy death appear undone; 76 PARENTALIA. Wandering, a new Ulysses may I be, And a new Iliad be thy death to me. R. wi. XII. Facesse Stoica plebs, obambulans cautes. Exuta strato carnis, ossibus constans, lisque siccis, adeo ut os Molossoram Haud glubat inde tres teruncios escae. Dolere prohibes 1 ? aut dolere me gentis Adeo inficetae, plumbeae, Meduseae, Ad saxa speciem retrahentis humanam, Tantoque nequioris optima Pyrrha. At forte Matrem perdere haud soles demens : Quin nee potes ; cui praebuit tigris partum. Proinde parco belluis, nee irascor. Begone, Stoic race ! a walking rock Stript of all softer flesh as e'er was block ; Made up of bones alone, and these so dry That e'en Molossians, were they to try, Should not peel from them three grains of bare food. And do ye bid me grieve not 1 or as rude And leaden Medusean tribes do grieve, Who call men back to stones, naught human leave, More harsh than exc'llent Pyrrha ? Insensate crew ! Ye nor e'er mother lost, nor mother knew. A tiger bore ye is not this your boast ? I spare my ire ; on your hard hearts 'twere lost. G. PARENTALIA. 77 XIII. Epitaphium. Hie sita foeminei laus et victoria sexus : Virgo pudens, uxor fida, severa parens : Magnatumque inopumque aequum certamen et ardor : Nobilitate illos, hos pietate rapit. Sic excelsa humilisque simul loca dissita junxit, Quicquid habet tellus, quicquid et astra fruens. Here lies her sex's triumph and its praise : As maid shamefast, as wife faithful always, As mother gently grave Alike of great and poor, strife and desire : These to her nobleness ravish'd aspire ; Those her sweet goodness crave. High, lowly she unites opposing things, Enjoying all that earth, all heaven brings. Whoe'er may her deprave Of grace or glory brave 1 G. XIV. aeQsvsg ipxog, aftaupbv vviv/j NoD d' ainoZ rd duvarov. ffsfj,vu/j.aros eVXsro r' /VSaX/ia xaXoD, ^s/oi/ rs Karovrpov. ytvlrtipav, Ovx, eV/ /3aXXo/x.i/))s a%s/ yusyaXw Xivrovfttvai' tvrs yap aura/ / truXXaX/ot/tf/c, sou ^ro/x/X/iarog apdyv ig, q fiz\6vn ff[j.OLTOc, aXXo , j8/ou vdgodov ftovvoig Iti I bewail a Mother, and other men bewail her too; Yet not as she is my Mother do they their sorrow show, VOL. n. M 82 PA BENT ALIA. But, as having taken her into their loftiest strain For a common mother of Virtue, they weep amain. NOT marvel is it at all they should my Mother claim, For idle 'twere to limit her to those who bear her name ; Vain as within one door to shut the water or fire, Or any common bounty from our heavenly Sire : She was a measure of majesty, image of beauty rare, A mirror to reflect what of divine still lingers here. I bewail a Mother; and women her bewail, No longer struck by Envy's shafts, that still the good assail, But pierc'd by a mighty grief for her by Death struck low, Mourning that they no more shall see her on earth below: For when they speak of her, their embroidery they let fall, The needle pricking their hearts, and blood spotting the garment all ; And so a new robe for my Mother, a mourning robe, they make, While their hands and hearts together in grief and an- guish shake. I bewail a Mother; the orchard fruit-trees also weep, No longer tended by her, who doth in the cold ground sleep ; Whose life, like the sun, emitting gentle and vernal beams, Dispers'd itself o'er the garden in gracious as lovely streams ; PABENTALIA. 83 But now this death of their mistress, like arid-parching sun O'erpower'd by burning Sirius, blights all he looks upon ; And now I myself shall live faintly but a little while, So using my breath that I may in her my grief beguile : Another spirit is born of her spirit within me, Measuring its course with words only, weak, empty, as you may see. o. XVIII. a,fj,7iffso$, aixe oynou Nt/K QefJiit opfvalr) fAtydXris twi ftijSav \t^{i ou yag raga^og vori Kai vpevov udt wapa daxpuoeaffi gttiv. If when, ye froarie waves of Thames, The Moon's fair face a cloud defames, Filching from her the pallid light That gleams upon the brow of Night, Ye rise in wrathful majesty, How much more may ye mount on high, Since she, fairer than moon, is gone, Her life's light in extinction, Who lately dwelt your banks upon ! Now 'twere but right o'er such a fate, 'Gainst the heavens to strike elate: 84 PARENTALIA. Yet rest ye, hush ye, where ye are, My Mother's ear no noise may jar ; More fitting 'tis ye murm'ring flow, Beside us weeping here below. G. XIX. Excussos manibus calamos falcemque resumptam Eure, sibi dixit Musa fuisse probro. Aggreditur Matrem, conductis carmine Parcis, Funereque hoc cultum vindicat aegra suum. ]S"on potui non ire acri stimulante flagello : Quin Matris superans carmina poscit honos. Eia, agedum, scribo : vicisti, Musa ; sed audi, Stulta semel scribo, perpetuo ut sileam. My pen laid by, and pruning-hook retaken, The Muse's indignation soon awaken: She seeks my Mother, the Fates by song being won, And, sad, demands the worship of her son For this dark death : and what she asks is done. I needs must go, urg'd on by scourge so strong ; My Mother's honour claims it, passing song. Ah, well, I write : thou hast conquer'd, Muse; but see These follies once for all I write for thee, That ever after I may silent be. B. wi. VI. ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA ET GEORGII HERBERTI, ANGLI MUSAE RESPONSORIAE, AD ANDREAE MELVINI, SCOTI, ANTM A MI-C AMI-CATEGORI AM . VERSES OF GEORGE HERBERT, ENGLISHMAN, IN REPLY TO THE ' ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA* OF ANDREW MELVILLE, SCOTCHMAN j ACCUSATION AGAINST THE THAMES AND CAM = THK UNIVERSITIES OF OXFORD AND CAMBRIDGE. O. NOTE. In our Memoir (Vol. I.) and Essay (Vol. II.) we have stated and examined critically the historic grounds on which the ' An- ti-Tami-Cami-Categoria' rests, as well as the controversy in re- lation to Melville and Herbert. Thither the reader is referred. This memorable satire was originally published in 1604. My text is taken from the following excessively rare edition, with which David Laing, Esq., LL.D. Edinburgh, favoured me : PARASYNAGMA PERTHENSE ET IVRAMENTUM ECCLESIAE SCOTICANAE ET A. M. ANTITAMICA- MICATEGORIA. Anno M.DC.XX. Quarto Title and pp. 3-47. ' Anti-Tami-Cami-Categoria' oc- cupies pp. 41-47. Stanza 43 in this edition differs from the usual text, which is as follows : ' Quisquis hano, surda negat aure, qua se Fundit ubertim liquidas sub auras, Ille ter prudens, sapiens que, et onini ex Parte beatus.' that is : Who turns a deaf ear to all these, Nor sinfully will himself please, As from the air and sea and earth Pleasure her tempting snares pours forth, He is thrice prudent and wise of heart, Perfectly happy in every part. and furnishes variations and an additional stanza thereafter, 88 NOTE. as inserted in its place. Mr. W. Aldis Wright, as before, in- forms me that in the copy of above edition of 'Anti-Tami,' &c. in the University Library, Cambridge, there are inserted after ' Porr'gerre Regi' (1. 12), in a contemporary hand, the following the end of the lines being, unfortunately, cut off by the binder : Rege quo mains, meliusne Fata donavere nihil, dab Gratius, quamuis red can Tempera pris Cuius in scripto Themis, i Suda, sub fibris Sophio ex Suanis in vultu Charis in Entheus ardo. Another edition is given in ' Ecclesiastes Solomonis. Auctore Joan. Viviano. Canticum Solomonis : Nee non Epigrammata Sacra, Per Ja. Duportum. Accedunt Georgii Herberti, Musae Responsoriae, ad Andreae Melvini, Anti-Tami-Cami-Categoriam. Cant. 1662. 12.' There is a separate title-page, as follows: ' Georgii Herberti, Angli Musae Responsoriae, ad Andreae Mel- vini, Scoti, Anti-Tami-Cami-Categoriam. Cantabrigiae : Ex Omcina Joannis Field, celebenimae Academiae Typographi. Anno Dom. 1662.' pp. 1-30 (separate pagination). This seems to have been the first edition of the ' Musae Responsoriae.' Our text of Herbert's ' Response' is from it. G. PKO SUPPLICI Evangelicorvm Ministrorvm in Anglia, ad Serenissimum Regem contra Larvatam geminae Academiae Gorgonem Apologia ; ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGOEIA, Authore A [NDREA] M [ELVINO] . Responsum, non dictum. INSOLENS, audax, facinus nefandum, Scilicet, poscit ratio ut decori, Poscit ex omni officio ut sibi mens Conscia recti Anxiam Christi, vigilemque curam, 5 Quae pias terris animas relictis Sublevans deducit in astra, nigroque Invidet Oreo, De sacri casta ratione cultus, De Sacro-sancti Officii decoro, 10 Supplicem ritu veteri libellum Porr'gere Kegi, Simplici mente atque animo integello, Spiritu recto, et studiis modestis, Numinis sancti veniam, et benigni 1 5 Regis honorem VOL. II. N 90 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. Kite praefantem : Scelus expiandum Scilicet tauro[rum], et ovium, suumque Millibus centum, voluisse nudo Tangere verbo 20 Praesulum fastus ; monuisse Eitus Impios, deridiculos, ineptos, Lege, ceu labes maculasque lecta ex Gente fugandos. Jusque-jurandum ingemuisse jura 2 5 Exigi contra omnia ; turn misellis Mentibus tristem laqueum injici per Fasque nefasque. Turbida illimi crucis in lavacro Signa consignem? magico rotatu 30 Verba devolvam ? sacra vox sacrata im- murmuret unda Strigis in morem ? Eationis usu ad Fabor Infantem vacuum ? canoras Ingeram nugas minus audienti 35 Dicta puello ? Parvulo impostis manibus sacrabo Gratiae foedus 1 digitone Sponsae Annulus sponsi impositus sacrabit Connubiale 40 Foedus aeternae bonitatis ? Unda Num. salutari mulier sacerdos ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. 91 Tinget in vitam, Sephoramque reddet Lustrica mater? Pilei quadrum capiti rotundo 45 Kite quadrabit ? Pharium Camillo Supparum Christi, et decus Antichrist! Pontificale ? Pastor examen gregis exigendum Curet invitus, celebrare coenatn 50 Promptus arcanam, meinorando Jesu Vulnera dira 1 Cantibus certent Berecinthia aera Musicum fractis ? reboentve rauco Templa mugitu 1 Illecebris supremi ah 5 5 Rector Olympi Captus humanis ? libitumque nobis, Scilicet, Regi id Superum allubescet ? Somniumque aegri cerebri profanum est Dictio sacra 1 ? 60 Haud secus lustri Lupa Vaticani Romuli faecem bibit, et bibendum Porrigit poc'lo, populisque et ipsis Regibus aureo. Non ita aeterni "Wittakerus acer 65 Luminis vindex patriaeque lumen Dixit aut sensit ; neque celsa summi Penna Renoldi. 92 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. Certa sublimes aperire calles, Sueta coelestes iterare cursus, 70 Laeta misceri niveis beatae Civibus aulae ; Nee Tami aut Cami accola saniore Mente, qui coelum sapit in frequenti Hermathenaeo et celebri Lycaeo 75 Culta juventus, Cujus affulget genio Jovae lux : Cui nitens Sol justitiae renidet : Quern jubar Christi radiantis alto Spectat Olympo. 80 Bucerum laudem 1 memoremque magnum Martyrem ? Gemmas geminas renati Aurei saec'li, duo dura sacri Fulmina belli? Alter urn Camus liquido recursu, 85 Alterum Tamus trepidante lympha Audiit, multum stupuitque magno Ore sonantem. Anne mulcentem Rhodanum et Lemanum Praedicem. Bezam viridi in senecta? 90 Octies cujus trepidavit aetas Claudere denos Solis anfractus, reditusque, et ultra Quinque percurrens spatiosa in annos ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. 93 Longius florem viridantis aevi 95 Prorogat et ver. Oris erumpit scatebra perenni Amnis exundans, gravidique rores Gratia fecunda animos apertis Auribus implent. 100 Major hie omni invidia, et superstes Millibus mille, et Sadeele, et omnium Maximo CALVINO, aliisque veri Testibus aequis ; Voce olorina liquidas ad undas 105 Nunc canit laudes Genitoris almi, Carmen et nato canit eliquante Numinis aura, Sensa de castu sacra puriore, Dicta de cultu potiore sancta, no Anna quae in castris jugulent severi Tramitis hostes. Cana cantanti juga ninguidarum Alpium applaudunt, resonantque valles ; Jura concentu nemorum sonoro, c 1 5 Et pater Ister. Consonant longe ; pater et bicornis Rhenus ascensum ingeminat : Garumna, Sequana, atque Arar, Liger : insularum et Undipotentum 120 94 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. Magna pars intenta Britannicarum Voce conspirat liquida : solumque Et salum coeli aemula praecinentis More modoque Concinunt Bezae numeris modisque 125 Et polo plaudunt ; referuntque leges Lege quas sanxit plus ardor, et Kex Scoto-britannus. Sicut edictum in tabulis ahenis Servat aeternum pia cura Regis, 130 Qui mare et terras variisque mundum Temperat horis : Cujus aequalis Soboles Parenti Gentis electae Pater atque Gustos ; Par et ambobus, veniens utrinque i 3 5 Spiritus almus ; Quippe Tres-unus Deus ; unus actus, Una natura est tribus ; una virtus, Una Majestas, Deitas et una, Gloria et una. 140 Una vis immensa, perennis una Vita, lux una, et sapientia una, Una mens, una et ratio, una vox, et Una voluntas. Lenis, indulgens, facilis, benigna ; 145 Dura et inclemens, rigida et severa; ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. !>5 Semper aeterna, omnipotens, et aequa, Semper et alma: Lucidum cujus speculum est, reflectens Aureum vultus jubar, et verendum, 150 Virginis proles, sata coelo, et alti In- terpres Olympi: Qui Patris mentemque animumque sancti Filius pandit face noctiluca, Sive doctrinae documenta, seu com- 155 pendia vitae, Publicae, privae, sacra scita Eegni Regis ad nutum referens, domusque Ad voluntatem Domini instituta Singula librans, 160 Luce quam Phoebus melior refundit, Lege quam legum- tulit ipse -lator, Cujus exacti officii suprema est Norma voluntas. Caeca mens humana, honiinum voluntas 165 Prava, et affectus rabidi : indigetque Luce mens, norma officii voluntas, Lege libido : Quisquis hanc surda negat aure et orba Mente dat ferri rapidis procellis, 170 Ter quater caudex, stolidusque et omni ex Parte misellus 1 1 This additional stanza from the original edition. 96 ANTl-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. Quisquis hanc prava bibit aure, qua se Fundit ubertim liquidas sub auras, Ille ter prudens sapiensque et onini 175 Ex parte beatus. Ergo vos Cami proceres, Tamique, Quos via flexit malesuadus error, Denuo rectum, duce Rege Regum, in- sistite callem. 180 Vos metus tangit si hominum nee ullus, At Deum fandi memorem et nefaudi Vindicem sperate, et amoena solis Tartara Diris ; Quae manent sorites an.im.as trucesque 185 Praesulum fastus, male quos perurit Pervigil zelus vigilum, et gregis cus- todia pernox. Veste bis tincta Tyrio superbos Murice, et pastes dape pinguiore 190 Regia quondam aut Saliari inuncta ab- domine coena. QuallS Ursini, Damasique fastus Ammianus Marcell. lib. 27 Turgidus, luxuque ferox, feroque Ambitu pugnax, sacram et aedem et urbem 195 Caede nefanda Civium incestavit, et ominosum Traxit exemplum veniens in aevum ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. 97 Praesulum quod nobilium indecorus Provocat ordo. 200 Quid fames auri sacra ? quid cupido Ambitus diri fera non propagat Posteris culpae ? mala danina quanta Plurima fundit 1 ? NOTES. The text of 1662 furnishes these slight variations : St. v. 1. 18, 'taurorum, ovium.' ,, xvi. 1. 62, ' bihendam.' ,, xxxi. 1. 123, ' coeli.' ,, xliii. xliv. of 1622 were displaced in Duport's edition (1662) by that given in the Note before this section. G. A Defence in behalf of the Petition of the Evangelical Ministers in England [=the Puritans] to the most serene King, against the masked Gorgon of the twin Universities ; or Anti- Tami-Cami-Categoria, Andrew Melville being author. Answered, not spoken. 1 Insolent, impudent, impious crime As e'er was written in annals of Time :' So I am jeer'd and flouted forsooth, Although what I contend for is TRUTH ; Right, becoming, conscience-rul'd, as I Would faithful speak for Him on high ; As I vigilant under-shepherd would be, Anxious and watchful as was He, To lead souls upward and upward still, Seeking to do the Master's will ; VOL. II. O 98 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEQORIA. Drawing from Earth and all its jars, Rising exultant to the stars ; Rescuing souls from Shades infernal, Gaining them for the light eternal. Of SACRED WORSHIP, as simple and pure, Of the HOLY OFFICE, what shall allure, I now am to write ; and petition bring Humbly, in olden wise, to my King : With a ' single mind' and purpose upright, In spirit meek and motive right, I venture to hope for Almighty ruth And my Sovran's face as I stand for THE TRUTH Thus in due form favour bespeaking, I unconscious am of aught self-seeking. But, lo, 'tis a crime, that I expiate may By holocausts only, in ancient way: A hundred thousand bulls, sheep, swine, A victim, and more, for my every line. That I by so much as one word should dare To brand Prelates' pride, and Rites lay bare Impious and foolish and absurd, Such as are found not in The Word ; That I should seek such Rites to expel As blots on God's chosen ; and rebel, Yea, groan, that an oath exacted should be Against all law; and that I should see ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. 99 A sorrowful trap or net spread along, To catch wretched souls by right or by wrong ! 0, how could I sign dark signs of the Cross Over the Laver, withouten loss ] How dare I roll out set words of prayer In magic rotation through the air 1 How, with solemn voice, o'er the water-fill'd bowl Murmur, as screeches the hooting owl ] Shall I speak to a babe unknowing Harmonious trifles, it no heed showing 1 Or solemn hands on young heads place, Confirming thus the promis'd GRACE 1 Or shall I to the bridegroom elate On bride's finger a ring consecrate 1 As though, forsooth, 'twere in my mind The ETERNAL GOODNESS thus to bind ! With healing water shall the priest In long attire like woman drest, Sprinkle the babe, and make it live, As if a man could sins forgive ? And shall the 'churching' mother bring Her ' customary offering,' And, like another Zipporah, fling Exodus iv. 25 Before his feet the odious thing ? Shall he, the Minister of Christ, Don cap four-squar'd ? or o'er him twist 100 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. Egyptian robes or pomp externe, Such as in papal glory worn 1 Shall he, Christ's simpleness denying, Be found old Antichrist out- vying ? Or should Pastor perforce drive out His flock, as he The Supper's about ; Seeking in secret that confounds To celebrate Christ's awful wounds? Or voice-music's sweet melody By clash of Phrygian cymbals die 1 Or House of God with bellowings roar Hoarse as sea-waves on a lee shore ? Ah, is the Euler, God Most High, Pleas'd with such heathen minstrelsy] And what to human ears is sweet, Shall it Divine approval meet 1 And shall the dreams of sickly brain The name of Sacred Worship gain 1 Just so the Roman she-wolf slakes Her thirst ; to Vat'can puddle takes A golden cup, and filling it there Holds it still forth, alluring, fair, For peoples and for kings to share. Not so did WniTAKER 1 speak or feel, When he Eome's darkness did reveal : Champion of the Eternal Light, Forth-bearing to defend the RIGHT, ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. 101 Himself light of his native land ; Nor he that did beside him stand, The great EAINOLDS, S pen in hand. Ah, that lofty pen was sure To open ways sublime and pure, Tracing the paths celestial still, Joyous all minds and hearts to fill With visions of the City of Gold, And hosts in snow-white vesture stol'd. of sounder mind by Cam or Thames Dwells any whom Athenaeum names ; Or throng'd Lyceum as learn' d, and given Such joys as mixes man with heav'n : Whose light effulgent God did give, And by Sun of Righteousness did live ; Fetching still from Christ on high Radiance to th' upward-gazing eye. Shall I laud BUCBR I 3 or proclaim The great PETER MARTYR'S* lustrous name ? Twin gems of our Golden Age they are, Twin thunderbolts of the Holy War. Cam, listening backward, heard the one ; Thames, tremulous, look'd the other upon ; Both wond'ring as 'fore flashing swords How each grand mouth spoke burning words. Or should I celebrate BEZA hoar, Soothing the Rhone and Leman's shore 102 ANTI-TAMI-CAMl-CATEGORIA. In his green old age 1 who, white -hair'd, saw His fourscore years ; and still doth draw For five years more his line of life, Fruitful as Spring with young flow'rs rife ; His mouth like stream o'erflowing, rushing- Still his prime eloquence forth-gushing, Filling men's minds as they list attent With grace as rich as dews heaven-sent ; Above all envy, thousands outliving, And holy SADEEL S and CALVIN S surviving Greatest of names that Europe boasts, Grandest e'er led the Lord's own hosts : With swan-like voice to the flowing waves, He sings the praise of Him Who saves : Now of God the Father kind, Now of the Son, now of the Wind Divine, e'en God the Spirit holy, Sanctifier of the meek and lowly : He sings what he feels of Truth more pure, Of simpler Worship that shall endure ; The pure an added pureness taking, The already worthy worthier making ; Furnishing arms to smite the foes Of Him Whose Cross on Calv'ry rose. To him singing, Alpine summits hoar, Which up to the heavens serenely soar, ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEQORIA. 103 Shout forth his praise ; the valleys beneath Take up the echo, and their breath Far Jura rolls back in his thund'ring woods, And Father Ister with his floods They ring together from afar; And two-horn'd Ehine doubles the war; Garonne, Seine, Saone, and Loire, And our British Isles, that rule the sea, In great part join the melody, Lifting a liquid voice on high ; And earth and sea and the wide sky, In emulation to prolong His form and mode who leads the song, Together sing, and seek to move In measures which BEZA will approve, And renew those laws, by zeal inspir'd, "Which our Scoti-British 7 king requir'd ; Laws which he order'd to stand fast, That the FAITH REFORM'D for aye may last. Thus His eternal, fix'd decree On brazen tablets keepeth He, The King Who rules the earth and sea, And governs all things wondrously. Whose Offspring takes coequal place With's Father Guard of the Elect Race, And nurt'ring Spirit, equal to Both, Proceeding from them as BREATH doth 104 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. In fine, the Tri-une God, yet One In nature, virtue, action ; One Glory and one Majesty, One self-contained Deity ; One boundless Power, One Eudless Life, One Light, one Wisdom superlative ; One Mind, one Reason, and One Voice, One Will, according in all choice ; Gentle, indulgent, easy, kind Yet other attributes are join'd ; Stern, rig'rous, unyielding, and severe 0, weak our words how deep soe'er ! Omnipotent, eternal, just, Yet ever mild to all Him trust. Clear Mirror of Whose Face of Wonder Golden and awful in its splendour Is He the Virgin-born from above, And Mediator there of Love ; The Son Who doth the Father show All that He feels, all He doth know, With such a keen and piercing light As drives away the blackest night ; Whether He holy doctrine preacheth, Or Way of Christian life He teacheth ; Public or private ordinances Whate'er His Kingdom great advances ; ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. 105 Referring all unto the King, 'Neath Whose will he all doth bring ; By light which better Sun bestows Than our dim sky or earth e'er knows; By a law which The Lawgiver made, Whose Will may never be gainsaid ; Of perfect duty the supreme rule He who denies it is a fool ! Blind, alas, is mind of man ; His will deprav'd and under ban ; Passions outrageous, soul benighted ; His choice from duty disunited ; Lust at the call of Appetite, That doth all obedience slight. Whoe'er to Duty turns deaf ear, And yields to Passion without fear, While like a storm it bears along His foolish heart with impulse strong, Fool blockhead thrice, four times, we say, And wholly wretched every way. Whoe'er drinks-in with ready ear The voice of Duty stern yet clear, As freely it makes known abroad, Throughout the world, the will of God ; He is thrice prudent and wise of heart, Perfectly wise in every part. VOL. II. p 106 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. Therefore, ye foremost men of Cam, And ye whom famous Thames doth claim, Whom ill-advising Error hath Turned aside from the right path, O, return now, and once again Guidance of King of Kings obtain. And if no fear of man will awe, Think God will yet avenge His Law ; The right, the wrong, is 'neath His eye, Nor may you hope Him to defy ; Bethink ye too o' the realms below, Which only fiends as pleasant know ; And of the doom that there awaits All guilty souls whom Pride elates. Ah, pomp-full Prelates, ye shall feel Strange fiery overseers' zeal, And through Hell's night shall ye their flock Be held who the Almighty mock ! Prelates ! in twice-dipt Tyrian dyes, As proud ye court admiring eyes ; Gorging your paunches in banquets high, Outvying all regal revelry ; Such pride as did URSINUS show Such pride as DAMASIS did blow, Swelling in luxury, insolent, Pugnacious, to fierce ambition bent ; ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. 107 Polluting God's House and the City With vilest slaughter without pity ; Drawing precedent for our age, Kindling e'en now to utmost rage Against the prelate-order, who All the old wrong-doings full renew ; What will not this dire thirst of gold Lead men to do ? Crimes manifold. What guilt will not Ambition From age to age bring mortals on ? Alas, how many woes, and great, Doth it not pour, unconsecrate ! G. NOTES. 1 Whitaker (William), the illustrious Master of St. John's, Cambridge : b. 1547, d. 1595. 2 Rainolds (John), a famous Puritan divine and controver- sialist : b. 1549, d. 1607. See our Life of him prefixed to re- print of his Commentaries on Obadiah and Haggai, in Nichol's Puritan Commentaries. 3 Bucer (Martin), the reformer : b. 1491, d. 1551. 4 Martyr (Peter), another venerable reformer and scholar: b. 1500, d. 1562. s Sadeel (Anthony), a celebrated French Huguenot divine : b. 1534, d. 1591. Hitherto misprinted Sadecle, to the ruin of the verse and of the memory of a great and good man. Calvin. Nothing more is needed but the name. The small stone at Geneva, with ' J. C.' on it, seemed to me magnificent by its very simplicity, as I looked on neighbouring stone-tawdry monuments. For a noble tribute to Calvin as a commentator, see Perowne's recent most masterly Exposition of the Psalms (2 vols.). 7 James VI. of Scotland and I. of England. See the histo- rical fact in Life of Herbert by Walton (in Vol. III.). G. 108 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. PRO DISCIPLINA ECCLESIAE NOSTEAE EPIGRAMMATA APOLOGETICA. I. Augustissimo Potentissimoque Monarchae Jacobo, D. G. Magnae Britanniae, Franciae, et Hiberniae Regi, Fidel Defensori, &c. Geo. Herbertus. ECCE recedentis foecundo in littore Nili Sol generat populum luce fovente novum. Ante tui, Caesar, quam fulserat aura favoris, Nostrae etiam Musae vile fuere lutum ; Nunc adeo per te vivunt, ut repere possint, Sintque ausae thalamum solis adire tui. EPIGRAMS IN DEFENCE OF THE DISCIPLINE OF OUR CHURCH. To the Most August and Mighty Monarch, James, by the Grace of God of Great Britain, France, and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, &c, George Herbert. Lo, on the fruitful banks of ebbing Nile The sun begets new tribes with nurturing smile. So, Caesar, ere thy favouring ray had gleam'd, Nothing but common mud our Muses seem'd. Now these, through thee, so live that they can creep, And into thy sun's bedchamber dare peep. R. wi. ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. 109 II. Illustris. celsissimoque Carolo, Walliae et Juventutis Principi. Quam chartam tibi porrigo recentem, Humanae decus atque apex juventae, Obtutu placido benignus affles, Namque aspectibus e tuis vel unus Mordaces tineas, nigrasque blattas, Quas livor mihi parturit, retundet, Ceu, quas culta timet seges, pruinas Kascentes radii fugant, vel acres Tantum dulcia leniunt catarrhos. Sic, o te, juvenem senemve, credat Mors semper juvenem, senem Britanni. To the most illustrious and exalted Charles, Prince of Wales and of our Youth. On this new page which in thy hand I place, crown and glory of the youthful race, Breathe thou with tranquil countenance benign. Surely before a single glance of thine Devouring worms and dusky moths will flee The carping race which Envy bears to me ; E'en as the rising sunbeams put to flight Hoar-frosts, which cultivated crops affright ; Or as sweet syrups soothe a wearing cold ; So shall I call thee young, prince, or old ? May Death believe thee always young in years, While to our eyes thy wisdom old appears. R. wi. 110 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. III. Reverendissimo in Christo Patri ac Domino Episcopo Vintoniensi, <&'c. Sancte Pater, coeli custos, quo doctius uno Terra nihil, nee quo sanctius astra vident ; Cum mea futilibus numeris se verba viderent Claudi, pene tuas praeteriere fores. Sed propere dextreque reduxit euntia sensus, Ista docens soli scripta quadrare tibi. To the Eight Reverend Father in Christ and Lord Bishop of Winchester, <&c. [Launcelot Andrewes.j Blest sire, Heaven's guard, than whom more learned seems Nought upon Earth, on High nought holier gleams ; When in weak numbers were imprison'd fast My words, thy friendly doors they well-nigh past : But quickly, cleverly there issu'd thence, And stay'd them as they went along, GOOD SENSE Teaching my poetry henceforth to find Its fair proportion only from thy mind. n. wi. IV. Ad Regem Epigrammata duo. Instituti Epigrammatici Ratio. Cum millena tuam pulsare negotia menteni Constet, et ex ilia pendeat orbis ope ; ~NQ te productis videar lassare camoenis, Pro solido, CAESAR, carmine frusta dabo. ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. Ill Cum tu contundens, Catharos, vul tuque librisque, Grata mihi mensae sunt analecta tuae. To the King : Two Epigrams. 1. The reason of the epigrammatic form. Since thousand matters knock at thy mind's gates, Upon whose aid a world dependent waits ; Lest with long poems I should tedious be, For solid verse, fragments I offer thee. 2. Second Epigram of the two. With looks and books the Puritans crush thou ; Thy table's pickings be for me enow. R. wi. v. Ad Melvinum. Non mea fert aetas, ut te, veterane, lacessam ; Non ut te superem : res tamen ipsa feret. Aetatis numerum supplebit causa minorem; Sic tu nunc juvenis factus, egoque senex. Aspice, dum perstas, ut te tua deserat aetas ; Et mea sint canis scripta referta tuis. Ecce tamen quam suavis ero ! cum, fine duelli, Clauserit extremas pugna peracta vices, Turn tibi, si placeat, fugientia tempora reddam ; Sufficiet votis ista juventa rneis. To Melville. Nor to attack, vet'ran, my age befits, Nor conquer thee; but yet the theme permits. 112 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. Let my good cause my want of years supply ; So thou a youth art found, an old man I. As thou contendest, shorten'd see thine age, While with thy hoary hairs I deck my page. But how obliging am I ! when our blows Have brought the changing conflict to a close, Then thy fleet years, an't please thee, I'll resign, And rest contented with this youth of mine. R. wr. VI. In Monstrum vocabuli Anti-Tami-Cami-Categoria. Ad eundem. O quam bellus homo es ! lepido quam nomine fingis Istas Anti-Tami-Cami-Categorias ! Sic Catharis nova sola placent ; res, verba novantur : Quae sapiunt aevum, ceu cariosa jacent. Quin liceat nobis aliquas procudere voces : Non tibi fingendi sola taberna patet. Cum sacra perturbet vester furor omnia, scriptum Hoc erit, Anti-furi-Puri-Categoria. Pollubra vel cum olim damnaris Regia in ara, Est Anti-pelvi-Melvi-Categoria. On the Monster of a Word, 'Anti-Tami-Cami-Categoria.' To the same [=Melville] . What a fine man thou art ! a pretty word to say, This 'Anti-Tami-Cami-Categoria' ! Thus Puritans in words and things love novelties ; What smacks of age or hoary time neglected lies. ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. 113 To hammer-out some words now also grant to me ; The shop for forging them is not confin'd to thee. Accept, since Puritanic fury rules the day, My ' Anti-furi-Puri-Categoria;' Or since you blam'd the bowls which on James' altar lay, Take ' Anti-pelvi-Melvi-categoria.' 1 R. wi. VII. Partitio Anti-Tami-Cami-Categoriae. Tres video partes, quo re distinctius utar, Anti categoriae, Scoto-Britanne, tuae : Ritibus 2 una sacris opponitur ; 3 altera sanctos Praedicat autores ;* tertia plena Deo est. Postremis ambabus idem sentimus uterque ; Ipse pios laudo ; numen et ipse colo. Non nisi prima suas patiuntur praelia lites. bene quod dubium possideamus agrum ! The division of Anti-Tami-Cami-Categoria. Three parts, Scot, to make the thing more clear, Of ' Anti-categoria' appear. One Sacred Rites attacks : Two, lifts on high Holy Divines : Three, treats of Deity. Concerning the two last we think the same : I praise the Good, and I adore God's Name. About the first alone debate is found : 0, well that we possess some, fighting-ground ! R. wi. 1 See our Essay for the historical reference here. G. 2 Ab initio ad vers. 65. J Inde ad vers. 128. Inde 170. VOL. II. o 114 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. VIII. In Metri Genus. Cur, ubi tot ludat numeris antiqua poesis, Sola tibi Sappho feminaque una placet 1 Cur tibi tarn facile non arrisere poetae Heroum grandi carmina fulta pede? Cur non lugentes elegi ? non acer Iambus ? Commotos animos rectius ista decent. Scilicet hoc vobis proprium, qui purius itis, Et populi spurcas creditis esse vias ; Vos ducibus missis, missis doctoribus, omnes Femineum blanda fallitis arte genus : Nunc etiam teneras quo versus gratior aures Mulceat, imbelles complacuere modi. On the kind of Metre of Anti-Tami-Cami-Categoria (Sapphics). Why, when the Classics deal in many a measure. Does female Sappho only give thee pleasure 1 How came thy poet-fancy to decline So readily the grand Heroic line, Iambics quick, and mournful Elegies? Hearts agitated best find words in these. This style suits you, who wear so demure face, And deem the people's ways defil'd and base. Leaders and learned men ye bid depart, And ' silly women' guile with cozening art. And now to suit your verse to tender ears, The unwarlike Sapphic on your page appears. R. wi. ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. 115 IX. De Larvata Gorgone. 1 Gorgona cur diram larvasque o"btrudis inanes ? Cum prope sit nobis Musa, Medusa procul ! Si, quia felices olim dixere poetae Pallada gorgoneam, sic tua verba placent. Vel potius liceat distinguere. Tuque tuique Sumite gorgoneam, nostraque Pallas erit. Concerning the Masked Gorgon. Why thrustest thou on us a Gorgon dire And senseless masks, our patience thus to tire ] Near is the Muse Medusa, far be thou ! Or if, as happy poets, we allow Once on a time Pallas Gorgonean nam'd, Then thy words please me, nor must thou be blam'd ; Or if between us we must draw a line, Gorgonean shall belong to thee and thine, While Pallas shall be left to me and mine. G. x. De Praesulum Fastu. Praesulibus nostris fastiis, Melvine, tumentes Saepius aspergis. Siste, pudore vacas. An quod semotum populo laquearibus altis Eminet, id tumidum protinus esse feres 1 Ergo etiam solem dicas, ignave, superbuni, Qui tarn sublimi conspicit orbe viam : In titulo. 116 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. I lie tamen, quamvis altus, tua crimina ridens Assiduo vilem lumine cingit humum. Sic laudandus erit nactus sublimia Praesul, Qui dulci miseros irradiabit ope. Concerning the Pride of Prelates. Our Prelates, Melville, oft dost thou asperse As swoll'n with, pride. Stay, list my answering verse. Whate'er above ' the people' towering high Is elevated to the ceiled sky As puffd-up, straightway wilt thou that decry ? Then thou must designate as proud the Sun Holding its lofty course, foolish one ! Disdaining thee, he speeds his heavenly round, Yet ceaselessly illumes the lowest ground. So Prelates, who, when to high places rais'd, Lighten with help the wretched, should be prais'd. G. XI. De Gemina Academia. Quis hie superbit, oro ? tune, an Praesules ? Quos dente nigro corripis 1 Tu duplicem solus Camaenarum thronum Virtute percellis tua ; Et unus impar aestimatur viribus, Utrumque sternis calcitro ; Omnesque stulti audimus, aut hypocritae, Te perspicaci atque integro. ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. 117 An rectius nos, si vices vertas, probi, Te contumaci et livido 1 Quisquis tuetur perspicillis Belgicis Qua parte tractari solent, Res ampliantur, sin per adversam videt, Minora fiunt omnia ; Tu qui superbos caeteros existimas, Superbius cum te nihil, Vertas specillum ; nam, prout se res habent, Vitro minus recte uteris. Concerning the Twin Universities. Who here is proud ? Prelates, or thou, forsooth ? Prelates, whom thou dost seize with thy black tooth ? Thou dost strike through the Muses' double throne By thine own merit, mighty though alone. Powerless is one the conflict to maintain ; A valiant kicker, thou dost floor them twain. All fools, or hypocrites, we are esteem'd ; Clever and upright thou alone art deem'd. Are we not rather, changing places, good 1 Thou full of obstinate and envious blood ? If through perspective you make inspection, See Gios. s.v. Holding it in the usual direction, Objects are magnified ; but turn it round The other way, all things are lessen'd found. Thou who dost deem all others proud to be, Although naught prouder do we know than thee, 118 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGOUIA. Just turn the perspective ; for now, I wis, You use the magnifying glass amiss ! R. wi. XII. De S. Baptismi Eitu. Cum tener ad sacros infans sistatur aquales, Quod puer ignorat, verba profana putas ? Annon sic mercamur agros ? quibus ecce Redemptor Comparat aeterni regna beata Dei. Scilicet emptorem si res aut parcior aetas Impediant, apices legis amicus obit. Forsitan et prohibes infans portetur ad undas, Et per se templi limen adire velis : Sin, Melvine, pedes alienos postulet infans, Cur sic displiceat vox aliena tibi 1 Rectius innocuis lactentibus omnia praestes, Quae ratio per se, si sit adulta, facit. Quid vetat ut pueri vagitus suppleat alter, Cum nequeat claras ipse litare preces 1 Saevus es eripiens parvis vadimonia coeli : Et tibi sit nemo praes, ubi poscis opem. Concerning the Rite of holy Baptism, When to the Font a tender babe is brought, Must the accustom'd words profane be thought, Because the child knows not ? Thus buy we fields For whom Christ's blood a heavenly kingdom yields 1 If circumstance or nonage buyer prevent, A friend to go through points of law is sent. ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. 119 Would you the carrying of the babe escheat, Bidding it cross the church on its own feet ? But if another's feet a babe demands, How is't another's voice displeasing stands ? Rightly may innocent sucklings claim from you All things which Sense mature itself would do. "Why should not one make good an infant's cries, Powerless itself to supplicate the skies ] Cruel, dost snatch from babes the pledge of heaven ? No surety be to thee in thy need given. o. XIII. De Signaculo Crucis. Cur tanta sufflas probra in innocuam crucem ? Non plus maligni daemones Christi cruce Unquam fugari, quam tui socii solent. Apostolorum culpa non levis fuit Vitasse Christi spiritum efflantis crucem. Et Christianus quisque piscis dicitur Tertulliano, propter undae pollubrum, Quo tiiigimur parvi. Ecquis autem brachiis Natare sine clarissima potest cruce ? Sed non moramur : namque vestra crux erit, Vobis faventibusve vel negantibus. Concerning the Sign of the Cross. Why 'gainst the harmless Cross do you thus puff Keproaches keen and fierce and ne'er enough? 120 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. Not more precip'tate flee demons malign Than you and yours before the sacred Sign ! It was of the Apostles no light blame To eschew Christ's Sp'rit, breathing Cross's shame : Each Christian, Tertullian styles a fish From Baptism's waters in the sacred dish Wherein when we are children we are dipp'd, And thereby for life's warfare are equipp'd. Who looks upon the arms of one who swims, NOT sees the Cross in his outstretched limbs ? I will not waste more time : your Cross will come, Whether you welcome it, or meet it dumb. G. XIV. De Juramento Ecclesiae. Articulis sacris quidam subscribere jussus, Ah, Cheiragra vetat, quo minus, inquit, agam. vere dictum et belle ! cum torqueat omnes Ordinis osores articulare malum. Concerning the Church's Oath. To sign the Articles when one was told, ' Ah, gout forbids my hand a pen to hold !' finely said ! when all who order hate Find rack'd articulations is their fate ! R. wi. xv. De Purificatione post Puerperium. Enixas pueros matres se sistere templis Displicet, et laudis tura litare Deo. ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. 121 Forte quidem, cum per vestras Ecclesia turbas Fluctibus internis exagitata natet, Vos sine maternis hymnis infantia vidit, Vitaque neglectas est satis ulta pieces. Sed nos, cum nequeat parvorum lingua parentem Non laudare Deum, credimus esse nefas. Quotidiana suas poscant si fercula grates, Nostra caro sanctae nescia laudis erit ? Adde piis aniinis quaevis occasio lucro est, Qua 1 possint humili fundere corde preces. Sic ubi jam mulier decerpti conscia pomi Ingemat ob partus, ceu maledicta, suos, Apposite quum 2 commotum subfugerat olim, Nunc redit ad miteni, ceu benedicta, Deum. On Purification (= Churching) after Childbirth. Childbearing mothers you object to find In God's House, praising Him with grateful mind. Perchance, since with such waves of mutual strife The harass'd Kirk of Scotland still was rife, [years, No mother's prayers and hymns bless'd your young And the neglect in your marr'd life appears. But we, when children's tongue to God is still, That parent should not praise Him, think it ill : If for our daily food our thanks we raise, For our own flesh shall we ascribe no praise ? Nay, pious souls for gain the occasion count [mount. When from meek hearts their prayers to heaven may 1 Printed ' Quae.' J Printed ' quern.' VOL. II. R 122 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEQORIA. So when a woman, conscious of the gloom Of the pluck'd apple and the sorrowing womb, Groans bitterly beneath the Curse's doom, Rightly does she, escap'd from storm to rest, Go to her kind Preserver, as one blest. R. wi. XVI. De Antichristi decore Pontificali. Non quia Pontificum sunt oliin afflata veneno, Omnia sunt temere projicienda foras. Tollantur si cuncta malus quae polluit usus, Non remanent nobis corpora, non animae. Concerning the Pontifical Beauty (=decency~) of Antichrist. Not 'cause of old poison'd with Papal breath, Are all things to be flung straight out o' door ; If all misused things are due to death, 'Tis time our souls and bodies were no more. Q. XVII. De Superpelliceo. Quid sacrae tandem meruere vestes ? Quas malus livor jaculis lacessit, Polluens castam chlamydis colorem Dentibus atris ? Quicquid ex urna meliore ductum Luce praelustri, vel honore pollet, Mens sub insigni specie coloris Concipit albi. ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGOUIA. 123 Scilicet talem liquet esse solem ; Angeli vultu radiante candent ; Incolae coeli melioris alba Veste triumphant. E creaturis sine mentis usu Conditis binas homini sequendas Spiritus proponit, et est utrique Candor amicus. 1 Ergo ringantur pietatis hostes, Filii noctis, populus maligniis, Dum suum nomen tenet et triumphat Albion albo. Concerning the Surplice. What have the sacred vestments done, I pray, Which Envy thus assails as beast of prey, Staining the Surplice's chaste hue, forsooth, With venomous black tooth ] Whate'er's drawn from the heav'nly urn of Brightness, Or Honour, men conceive of it as whiteness ; The sun around his glorious circuit turning, Angels in splendour burning. So the redeemed throng from Earth below, Cloth'd in the blood-bought raiments white as snow ; Yea look on Sheep and Dove, by whom Christ teacheth, The favour'd White still preacheth. 1 Ovis et colnmba. Columel. 1. 7. c. 2, and 1. 8. c. 8. 124 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. Then let Eeligion's foes, the sons of Night, Gnash their malignant teeth in jealous spite, So long as Albion by ' white' is named, Nor of ' white' Surplice is ashamed, o. XVIII. De Pileo Quadrato. Quae dicteria fuderat Britannus Superpellicei tremendus hostis, Isthaec pileus audiit propinquus, Et partem capitis petit supremam ; Non sic effugit angulus vel unus Quo dictis minus acribus notetur. Verum heus ! si reputes, tibi tuisque Longe pileus anteit galerum, Ut fervor cerebri refrigeretur, Qui vestras edit intime medullas. Sed qui tarn male pileos habetis, Quos Ecclesia comprobat, verendum Ne tandem caput ejus impetatis. Concerning the Square College-cap. The words of the North-Briton witty, Foe of the Surplice, without pity The neighb'ring @ollege-cap has heard, And flies incont'nent, terror-stirr'd, Eight to the upmost part o' the head ; But even there astonied ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. 125 It too must list for naught escapes Sharp twittings from this Jack-o'-napes. But, ah, if but ye will attend, You and each North-Briton friend, You will see our College-cap Would better suit you far, mayhap, Even than that close-fitting hood : Why ? To cool your hot brains' blood ; Which consumes I say't with sorrow Even your very inmost marrow. But ye who treat our cap so badly, Prating 'gainst it thus so madly, Which our Church of old approves, As she decent vestment loves ; Ah, we have reason much to dread, Lest next ye should assail her HEAD ! o. XIX. In Catharum. Cur Latiam linguam reris nimis esse profanam ? Quam praemissa probaut secula, nostra probant ? Cur teretem Graecam damnas, atque Hellada totam, Qua tamen occisi foedera scripta Dei 1 Scilicet Hebraeam cantas, et perstrepis unam : Haec facit ad nasum sola loquela tuum. To a Puritan. The Latin tongue why common dost thou deem, Which former ages and our own esteem ? 126 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. Why the smooth Greek, and Hellas all disdain, Which holds the Covenants of the Godhead slain ? Hebrew, forsooth, you sing and sound alone, Because that language suits your nasal tone ! B. wi. xx. De Episcopis. Quos charos habuit Christus Apostolos Testatosque suo tradiderat gregi ; Ut cum mors rabidis unguibus imminens Doctrinae fluvios clauderet aureae, Mites acciperent Lampada Praesules, Servarentque sacrum clavibus ordinem ; Hos nunc barbaries impia vellicat Indulgens propriis ambitionibus, Et quos ipsa nequit scandere vertices Hos ad se trahere, et mergere gestiens. O coecum populum ! si bona res siet Praesul, cur renuis 1 sin mala, pauculos Quam cunctos fieri praestat Episcopos. Concerning Bishops. Holy Apostles, whom the Saviour lov'd, And to His flock commended as approv'd, That, when impending Death fierce-talon'd rose His golden Doctrine's living streams to close, Such Rulers mild the sinking torch might seize, And the blest Order keep with power of keys ; ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. 127 An impious rudeness now plucks at these heights, Indulging its ambitions and its spites ; And since it cannot reach, itself, this crown, Eager to drag it to the earth, or drown. O blinded people ! if a Bishop be A good thing, why refuse it wantonly? If bad, 'tis well to have them very few, And not have all men bishops over you ! R. wi. XXI. De iisdem : ad Melvinum. Praesulibus dirum te Musa coarguit hostem : An quia textores artificesque probas 1 Concerning the same : to Melville. To prelates the Muse proves thee a dire foe ; Weavers and workmen is't thou lovest so ? B. wi. XXII. De Textore Catharo. Cum piscatores Textor legit esse vocatos, Ut sanctum Domini persequerentur opus ; Ille quoque invadit Divinam Flaminis artem, Subtegmen reti dignius esse putans, Et nunc perlongas Scripturae stamine telas Torquet, et in textu doctor utroque cluet. Concerning a Puritan Weaver. That fishermen were call'd, a Weaver heard, To do the work of Christ, and preach His Word ; 128 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. So at the priestly office straight he caught; ' A shirt more noble than a net,' he thought. Long yarns he twists a Scripture thread around, For text and texture equally renown'd ! R. wi. XXIII. De Magicis Rotatibus. Quos tu rotatus, quale murmur auscultas In ritibus nostris 1 Ego audio nullum. Age, provocemus usque ad angelos ipsos Auresque superas : arbitri ipsi sint litis, Utruni tenore sacra nostra sint, nee ne Aequabili facta. Ecquid ergo te tanta Calumniandi concitavit urtica, Ut quae Papicolis propria, assuas nobis, Falsumque potius, quam crepes versu ? Tu perstrepis tamen; utque tingeat carmen Tuum tibi, poeta belle non mystes Magicos rotatus, et perhorridas striges, vers. 33 Dicteriis mordacibus notans, clausus Non convenire precibus ista Divinis. saevus hostis ! quam ferociter pugnas ! Nihilne respondebimus tibi 1 Fatemur. Concerning Magical Circles. What circlings and what murmur hearest thou In our Church-rites ? I hear none, I avow. Come, let us give a challenge, ev'n above, To angels and all ears in realms of Love ; ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGOEIA. 129 Let them the umpires of our strife now be, Whether our sacred rites they do not see To have been form'd with equal-flowing course, Neither too slack, nor with immoderate force. What fresh itch stings you to calumniate, And patch on us things popish that we hate ? Chatt'ring all falsely, and thy lines to swell, Like ill-instructed bard, in sarcasms tell Of magic circlings, and screech-owls malign, Crying, ' how unfit for prayers divine !' Harsh enemy, how savagely you fight ! Shall we reply naught to thee ? We own all : good- night ! G. XXIV. Ad Fratres. saeclum lepidum ! circumstant undique Fratres, Papicolisque sui sunt Catharisque sui. Sic nunc plena boni sunt omnia Fratris, amore Cum nil fraterno rarius esse queat. On the Brethren. Fine age ! on all sides brethren stand no less. Papists and Puritans each theirs possess. So now ' Good brother' you may hear all round ; Though nought more rare than brotherly love is found. R. wi. VOL. n. s 130 ANTI-TAMI-CAMl-CATEGORIA. XXV. De labe maculisque. Labeculas maculasque, nobis objicis : Quid 1 hoccine est mirum ? Viatores sumus. Quo sanguis est Christi, nisi ut maculas lavet, Quas spargit animae corporis propius lutum 1 Vos ergo puri ! nomen appositissimum Quo vulgus ornat vos ! At audias parum ; Astronomus olim, ut fama, dum maculas diu, Quas luna habet, tuetur, in foveam cadit, Totusque caenum Cynthiae ignoscit notis. Ecclesia est mini luna ; perge in fabula. On Spots and Blemishes. Small spots and blemishes in us appear ; Why, is this wonderful 1 we're travellers here. Is not Christ's blood to wash the stains away Which the soul takes from contact with base clay ? Ye're Puritans indeed ! Appropriate style Which the crowd decks you with ! But list awhile. Once an astronomer, as he eyes long The spots which to the silvery moon belong, Falls in a ditch ; with mire all cover'd o'er, Of spots upon the moon he thinks no more. The Church of England is to me the moon : Follow the fable and fulfil it soon ! R. wi. ANTI-TAMI-CAM1-CATEGORIA. 131 XXVI. De Musica Sacra. Cur efficaci, Deucalion, manu, Post restitutes fluctibus obices, Mutas in humanam figuram Saxa supervacuasque cautes ? Quin redde formas, bone, pristinas, Et nos reducas ad lapides avos : Nam saxa mirantur canentes, Saxa lyras citharasque callent. Kupes tenaces et silices ferunt Potentiori carmine percitas Saltus per iijcultos lacusque Orphea mellifluum secutas. Et saxa diris hispida montibus Amphionis testitudine nobili Percussa dum currunt ad urbem, Moenia contribuere Thebis. Tantum repertum est trux hominum genus, Qui templa sacris expoliant choris, Non erubescentes vel ipsas Duritia superare cautes. () plena centum musica gratiis, Praeclariorum spirituum cibus, Quo me vocas tandem, tuumque Ut celebrem decus insusurras ? 132 ANTI-TAMI-OAMI-CATEGORIA. Tu Diva miro pollice spiritum Caeno profani corporis exuens Ter millies caelo reponis : Astra rogant, Novus hie quis hospes ? Ardore Moses concitus entheo, Mersis revertens laetus ab hostibus Exsuscitat plebem sacratos Ad Dominum properare cantus. Quid hocce ? Psalmos audion' ] dapes ! succulenti balsama spiritus I Eamenta caeli, guttulaeque Deciduae melioris orbis ! Quos David, ipsae deliciae Dei, Ingens piorum gloria Priucipum, Sionis excelsas ad arces Cum citharis lituisque miscet. Miratur aequor finitiinum sonos, Et ipse Jordan sistit aquas stupens ; Prae quo Tibris vultum recondit, Eridanusque pudore fusus. Tun' obdis aures, grex nove, barbaras, Et nullus audis 1 cantibus obstrepens, Ut, quo fatiges verberesque Pulpita, plus spatii lucreris ? At cui videri prodigium potest Mentes, quietis tympana publicae, Discordiis plenas sonoris Harmoniam tolerare nullam ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. 133 Concerning Sacred Music. Deucalion, why, with wondrous hand, When their old banks the waves withstand, The rocks and useless stones dost take, And thence the human figure make 1 Tay, kindly our old forms restore, Leave us the stones we were of yore ; For rocks the voice of song admire, Eocks answer to the lute and lyre. The stedfast cliffs and flints, they say, Stirr'd by some mighty moving lay, Through lake and wilderness and wood The sweet-voic'd Orpheus once pursu'd. And shaggy rocks from mountains dire, Smit by Amphion's noble lyre, While ancient Thebes they gather'd round, A strong protecting wall were found. To cruel mankind it remains God's House to rob of hallo w'd strains ; Yea, and they blush not when, alas, E'en rocks in hardness they surpass. O Music, of all graces blent, Of noble souls blest aliment, Whither dost whisper me away To celebrate thy praise to-day ? Thou, goddess, dost the soul divorce From contact with the body coarse, 134 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA, And oft in heaven dost bid it rest ; The stars ask : ' Who is this new guest V Exultant o'er his whelmed foes, Moses, with zeal inspir'd, arose, And summon'd Israel's sacred throng To lift on high their timbrell'd song. What's this ? Psalms do I hear ? feast ! balsam of the drooping breast ! Sweet bits of heaven and dewdrops clear Down-sliding from a happier sphere ; Which David, the Lord's own delight Of pious kings the pride and might Seated on Zion's turrets high, Mix'd with his harp melodiously. The sound amazes Ocean near, And Jordan stays his stream to hear; Tiber to Jordan veils his face, And Po is cover'd with disgrace. Your barbarous ears, strange race, d'ye close, And not one hears ? Hymns ye oppose, That ye the time may lengthen out, To beat the pulpit and to shout. To wonder, surely, men may cease, That minds, the drums of public peace, Fill'd full of all discordant hate, No harmony can tolerate ! R. wi. ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. 135 XXVII. De eadem. Cantus sacros, profane, mugitus vocas 1 ? Mugire multo mavelim quam rudere. Concerning the same. Our sacred songs are bellowings, dost thou say ? To bellow I think better far than bray. R. wi. XXVIII. De Rituum Usu. Cum primum ratibus suis Nostram Caesar ad insulam Olim appelleret, intuens Omnes indigenas loci Viventes sine vestibus, O victoria, clamitat, Certa ac perfacilis mihi ! Non alio Cathari modo Dum sponsam Domini piis Orbam ritibus expetunt, Atque ad barbariem patrum Vellent omnia regredi, Illam tegminis insciam Prorsus daemoni, et hostibus Exponunt superabilem. Atqui vos secus, o boni, Sentire sapere addecet, 136 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. Si vestros animos regant Scripturae canones sacrae : Namque haec, jure, cuipiam Vestem non adimi suam, Sed nudis et egentibus Non suam tribui jubet. Concerning the Use of Ceremonies. When Caesar steer'd to Britain's shore, With his great fleet in days of yore, Seeing the natives of the place To have of clothing not a trace, He cried out as they caught his eye, ' certain and easy victory !' Just so, the Puritans austere, While they the Lord's Spouse would strip bare Of all ceremonies holy, Howe'er reverent and lowly ; Seeking with perverse earnestness, Such as nor God nor man may bless Forefathers' rudeness primitive To go back on, and revive. Thus would they straightway her expose, Destitute of seemly clothes, To the Devil and enemies, Conqu'ring easily as so she lies. But, good friends, false is your zeal, Far otherwise ought ye to feel, ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. 137 If Holy Scripture rule your minds, And to its precepts conscience binds ; For Scripture precepts plainly say, Clothing from no one take away ; Nay, that to naked and to needy We succour give and clothing speedy. G. XXIX. De Annulo Conjugali. Sed nee conjugii signum, Melvine, probabis 1 Nee vel tantillum pignus habebit amor 1 Nulla tibi si signa placent, e nubibus arc am Eripe caelesti qui moderatur aquae. Ilia quidem a nostro non multum abludit imago, Annulus et plenus tempore forsan erit. Sin nebulis parcas, et nostro parcito signo, Cui non absimilis sensus inesse solet. Scilicet, ut quos ante suas cum conjuge tedas Merserat in lustris perniciosa Venus, Annulus hos revocet, sistatque libidinis undas Legitimi signum connubiale tori. Concerning the Wedding-Eing. Of wedlock's symbol dost thou not approve 1 So small a pledge wilt thou deny to love ? If no signs please thee, bid the braided bow Which stays the rain of heaven to hide its glow. A ring and rainbow well may go together, Both may be tokens of the coming weather. VOL. n. T 138 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. So, if you spare the bow, our symbol spare, Which may a meaning not unlike it bear ; Since those whom hurtful love in mire had drown'd Before the comfort of a wife was found, The ring may rescue, and lust's waves arrest, Of lawful marriage joy the symbol blest. R. wi. xxx. De Mundis et Mundanls. Ex praelio undae ignisque, si physicis fides, Tranquillus aer nascitur : Sic ex profano Cosmico et Catharo potest Christianus extundi bonus. Concerning Puritans and Worldlings. To strife of fire and water, naturalists say, Calm atmosphere is due ; So from a Worldling and a Puritan may Be found a Christian true. R. wi. XXXI. De Oratione Dominica. Quam Christus immortalis innocuo gregi Voce sua dederat, Quis crederet mortalibus Orationem rejici septemplicem, Quae miseris clypeo Ajacis est praestantior 1 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORI A. 1 39 Haec verba, superos advolaturus thronos Christus, ut auxilii Nos baud inanes linqueret, Cum dignius nil posset aut melius dare, Pignora cara sui Fruenda nobis tradidit. Qviis sic amicum excipiet, ut Cathari Deum, Qui renovare sacri Audent amoris syinbolum 1 Tu vero quisquis es, cave, ne dum neges, Improbe, verba Dei, Te deneget VERBUM Deus. Concerning the Lord's Prayer. The Pray'r of tbe Lord Jesus sevenfold More excellent tban sbield of Ajax old For wretcbed ones ; Pray'r which with His own voice He gave to cause His innocent Flock rejoice, Who would believe mortals should it neglect, Nay, as 'twere e'en an evil thing, reject ? Those holy words He, Ever-living One, Ere He left earth, ascending to His throne, Bestow' d nought sweeter had He to bestow That we might none of us unsuccour'd go : Pledges of Heaven, giving joy below. As Puritans their God, who would treat friend, Daring Love's sacred symbol thus to rend 1 Beware, lest while God's words thou dost deny, The Word of God deny thee from on high ! G 140 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. XXXII. In Catharum quendam. Cum templis effare, madent sudaria, mappae, Trux caper alarum, suppara, laena, sagum. Quin populo, clemens, aliquid largire caloris : Nunc sudas solus ; caetera turba riget. To a certain Puritan. When thou dost preach in church, the sweat runs down Thy handkerchief and bands and coat and gown. A little heat be to the rest allow'd ; Thou only dost perspire stark sits the crowd. B. wi. XXXIII. De Lupa lustri Vaticani. Calumniarum nee pudor quis nee modus, Nee Vaticanae desines unquam lupae 1 Metus inanes ! Nos pari praetervehi Illam Charybdim cautione novimus Vestramque Scyllam, aequis parati spiculis Britannicam in vulpem inque Romanam lupam. Dicti fidem firmabimus anagrammate. Concerning the She-Wolf of the Vatican Puddle. Is there no bound or blush to calumny 1 Shall ' Roman she- wolf be your ceaseless cry? Vain are your fears ! We know with equal care To sail by that Charybdis, and beware ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. 141 Your Scylla ; with our darts prepar'd alike The British fox and Eoman wolf to strike ; And our sincerity to carry home, Here is a stinging anagram on Eome. R. wi. xxxiv, De Impositione Manuum. Nee dextra te fugit almi amoris emblema 1 ? Atqui manus imponere integras praestat Quam, more vestro, imponere inscio vulgo. Quanto impositio melior est impostura ! Concerning Imposition of Hands. And so this emblem meet of fostering love Thou thinkest needful also to reprove 1 But to impose pure hands, 'twill be allow'd, Excels your way, to impose on the dull crowd. Such imposition, surely all will say, Is better than imposture, any day. R. wi. xxxv. Supplicum Ministrorum Eaptus Kw/j.cfSov/j.fvos. Ambitio Cathari quinque constat actibus. i. Primo, unus aut alter parum ritus placet. Jam repit impietas volatura illico. ii. Mox displicent omnes. Ubi hoc permanserit in. Paulo, secretis mussitans in angulis Quaerit recessus. Incalescit fabula, 142 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. iv. Erumpit inde, et continere nescius v. Sylvas pererrat. Fibulis dein omnibus Prae spiritu ruptis, quo eas resarciat Amstellodamum corripit se. Plaudite. The Petitioning Ministers' Taking -off : treated as a Comedy. The progress of a Puritan, his round, In these five acts is regularly found, i. First, he is scarcely pleas'd with some one rite, And then and there he meditates a flight, ii. Soon all displease. When this awhile has grown, in. Muttering in secret corners with Ms own, He seeks withdrawal. Hotter grows the play, iv. He bursts forth now, unable there to stay, v. And roams the woods. Then every clasp being rent Before the Spirit, see him straightway bent To Amsterdam to mend them. Meanwhile hark What ' Plaudits' follow his departing bark! R. wi. xxxvi. De Auctorum Enumeratione. Quo magis invidiam nobis, et crimina confles, Pertrahis in partes nomina magna tuas ; Martyra, Calvinum, Bezam, doctumque Bucerum, Qui tamen in ncstros fortiter ire negant. Whitaker, erranti quern praefers carmine, miles Assiduus nostrae papilionis erat. quoque possemus longas conscribere turmas, Si numero starent praelia, non animis. ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. 143 Primus adest nobis, Pharisaeis omnibus hostis, Christus Apostolici cinctus amore gregis. Tu geminas belli portas, o Petre, repandis, Dum gladium stringens Paulus ad arma vocat. Inde Patres pergunt quadrati, et tota Vetustas. Nempe novatores quis veteranus amat 1 Jam Constantinus multo se milite miscet ; Invisamque tuis erigit hasta Crucem. Hipponensis adest properans, et torquet in hostes Lampada, qua studiis invigilare solet. Teque Deum alternis cantans Ambrosius iram, Immemor antiqui mellis, eundo coquit. Haec etiani ad pugnam praesens, qua vivimus, aetas Innumeram nostris partibus addit opem. Quos inter plenusque Deo genioque Jacobus Defendit veram mente manuque fidem. Interea ad sacrum stimulat sacra Musica bell urn, Qua sine vos miseri lentius itis ope. Militat et nobis, quern vos contemnitis, Ordo, Ordine discerni maxima bella solent. vos invalidos ! audi quern talibus armis Eventum Naso vidit et admonuit ; Una dies Catharos ad bollum miserat omnes : Ad bellum missos perdidit una dies. On the Enumeration of Authors. The more to give thy envious charges way, Great names upon thy side thou dost display ; 144 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. World-famous Calvin, Bucer erudite, Martyr and Beza, thy own chief delight, Who yet 'gainst us stoutly refuse to fight. Whitaker, nam'd with a false quantity, Rank'd with our party you may always see. We too might muster-up a long array, If numbers, and not spirit, won the day. Foe to all Pharisees first see Christ stand, Girt with His loving Apostolic band; While Peter opens the twin gates of war, Paul with drawn sword to battle calls from far ; Next go the Fathers in a mighty square, And all Antiquity, in arms, is there ; What ancient can raw innovators bear ? Now Constantino with his vast host draws nigh, The Cross thou hatest on a spear rais'd high ; Augustine, hastening, hurls against the foe The torch which o'er his midnight task would glow ; In strains alternate, praising God, Ambrose, Mindless of dew from classic hives which flows, Nurses his wrath against you as he goes ; And for the fight, this present living age Succour untold on our side can engage ; James, in whose soul Godhead and genius blend, With mind and hand the true faith will defend. To sacred war hear sacred Music call ; Without whose aid your poor ranks falter all. Order, which you despise, fights on our side ; ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGOR1A. 145 Order is wont great battles to decide. ye poor strengthless ones ! the issue know, Which Ovid sang to such arms long ago : Behold, to battle one day sent them all, And, sent to battle, one day saw them fall ! R. wi. XXXVII. De Auri sacra Fame. Claudis avaritia satyram, statuisque sacrorum Esse recidendas, Aeace noster, opes. Caetera condonabo tibi, scombrisque remittam : Sacrilegum carmen, censeo, flamma voret. Concerning the accursed Hunger for Gold. Your satire ends with avarice, and you say That our endowments must be cut away, The ^Eacus of this our modern day. To thee and thine the rest I will condone ; But for such sacrilegious verse, I own, Devouring fire must be reserv'd alone. R. wi. xxxvm. Ad Scotiam Protrepticon ad Pacem. Scotia, quae frigente jaces porrecta sub Arcto, Cur adeo immodica relligione cales 1 Anne tuas flammas ipsa Antiperistasis auget, Ut nive torpentes incaluere manus ? Aut ut pruna gelu summo mordacius urit, Sic acuunt zelum frigora tanta tuum ? VOL. n. u 146 AXTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. Quin nocuas extinguc faces, precor : unda propinqua est, Et tibi vicinas porrigit aequor aquas ; Aut potius Christ! sanguis demissus ab alto, Vicinusque magis nobiliorque fluit: Ne, si flamma novis adolescat mota flabellis, Ante diem vestro mundus ab igne mat. To Scotland : an Exhortation to Peace. Scotland, outstretcht beneath the freezing North, Why such immoderate Church-heat dost put forth ? By force of contraries do thy flames glow, As hands benumb'd have gather'd warmth from snow ? Or as in frosts more heat from .coal we feel, Does thy chill climate sharpen-up thy zeal ? Nay, quench thy hurtful flames, water is nigh, On either hand contiguous oceans lie. Or, better still, Christ's blood pour'd down from heaven, A nearer and a nobler stream is given ; Lest if thy flames, stirr'd by new fans, should grow, Earth from your fire to untimely ruin go. R. wi. xxxix. Ad seductos Innocentes. Innocuae mentes, quibus inter flumina mundi Ducitur illimi Candida vita fide, Absit ut ingenuum pungant mea verba pudorem ; Perstringunt vestros carmina sola duces. utinam aut illorum oculi, quod comprecor unum, Vobis, aut illis pectora vestra forent ! ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. 147 To Innocent ones led astray. innocent minds, who this earth's tumults thread With fair white life by faith unspotted led, Far be it my words should hurt your modesty, Or even smite your leaders angrily. would their eyes 'tis my one prayer to Heav'ii Were given to you, your breasts to them were given ! G. XL. Ad Melvinum. Atqui te precor unice per ipsam, Quae scripsit numeros, manum ; per omnes Musarum calices, per et beatos Sarcasmos quibus artifex triumphas ; Quin per Presbyteros tuos ; per urbem Quam curto nequeo referre versu ; Per caras tibi nobilesque dextras, Quas subscriptio neutiquam inquinavit ; Per quicquid tibi suaviter probatur ; Ne me carminibus nimis dicacern, Aut saevum reputes. Amica nostra est Atque edentula Musa, nee veneno Splenis perlita contumeliosi. Nam si te cuperem secare versu, Totamque evomerem potenter iram Quam aut Ecclesia despicata vobis, Aut laesae mihi suggerunt Athenae, Et quern non stimularet haec simultas, 148 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGOIUA. Jam te funditus igneis Caraoenis, Et Musa crepitante subruissem : Omnis linea sepiam recusans Plumbo ducta fuisset aestuanti, Centum stigmatibus tuos inurens Profanes fremitus bonasque sannas : Plus charta haec mea delibuta dictis Haesisset tibi, quam suprema vestis Olim accreverit Herculi furenti : Quin hoc carmine lexicon probrorum Extruxissem, ubi, cum moneret usus, Haurirent tibi tota plaustra Musae. Nunc haec omnia sustuli, tonantes Affectus sociis tuis remittens. Non deridiculumve sive ineptum, Non striges magiamve vel rotatus, Non fastus tibi turgidos repono ; Errores, maculas superbiamque, Labes somniaque ambitusque diros, Tinnitus Berecynthios omittens Nil horum regero tibi merenti. Quin te laudibus orno : quippe dico, Caesar sobrius ad rei Latinae Unus dicitur advenire cladem : Et tu solus ad Angliae procellas, Cum plerumque tua sodalitate Nil sit crassius impolitiusve, Accedis bene doctus, et poeta. ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGOUIA. 149 To Melville. Now your ear, I pray thee, lend. By the hand thy poem penn'd ; By the sacred founts which flow Where the Muses' footsteps go ; By thy artist-powers sarcastic, Keen, triumphant, trenchant, drastic ; Nay, by thine own Presbyters, and By the chief city of thy land, Edinburgh Which in short verse I'd fail to name ; By the right-hands thou wilt not blame, Noble, venerable, holy, Lov'd of highest and of lowly ; Right-hands on which e'en thou canst smile, Which ne'er SUBSCRIPTION did defile ; By all that doth itself approve As sweet to thee, and wins thy love, Do not count me harsh, severe ; My Muse is toothless and sincere, Nor would with Spleen's abuse besmear. For if I wish'd in cutting verse Thy many failings to rehearse, Or if indeed I should desire To pour forth all the mighty ire Which THE CHURCH, by thee despised, And LEARNING, wroth, as she's advised, Of thy scholarship misus'd And of thy genius abus'd, 1 50 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEOORIA. Might suggest I should thee scorn, And in passionate anger burn ; And whom would not this jealousy Spur to indignation high ? Then I should thee have overwhelm'd, Rushing on thee like warrior helm'd ; While along my fiery page The Muse should thunder forth its rage In ev'ry line refusing ink Fast as I could my vengeance think ; I should with furious leaded pen Have torn thy verse 'gain and again ; Branding thy mutterings profane, Thy pretty grimaces o'er thy strain ; And thus my page of pois'nous ire Have clung to thee like shirt of fire That clave to Hercules loud-raging, Naught his agony assuaging ; Nay, in this very poem now I should have piled-up aglow A lexicon of reproachful words, Whence the Muses, as sharp swords, Might have chosen a wagon-load O' weapons thee to smite and goad. Now all these things I have borne, Nor thund'ring passions have me torn ; These to thy coarse friends resigning, Still envious and still maligning. ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. 151 I have not call'd thee in my verse ' Fierce,' ' ridic'lous,' ' absurd,' or worse ; I do not give thee back in taunt ' Screech-owls,' ' magic-circles,' ' a vaunt,' Nor ' swollen-pride,' nor terms accusing, All charity and ruth refusing ; Passing o'er ' errors,' ' spots,' ' blots,' ' state,' ' Ambitions dire' and ' dreams' elate, Yea ' Berecynthian tinkling,' and all ; I don't retaliate or mis-call Thee, the heaviest deserving, Full-giv'n, and with hand unswerving ; Kay, with my praise I thee adorn, Nor to place thee with Caesar scorn ; Cassar sober found alone In the Commonwealth o'erthrown. And now thee alone I see, Midst thy brutal company That seeks to wreck our Church august, And hurl it prone unto the dust, Thoroughly learn'd and poet, such As words are weak to praise too much. o. XLI. Ad eundem. Incipis irridens ; stomachans in carmine pergis ; Desinis exclamans : tota figura vale. 152 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. To the same. First mocking, storming next, thy verses swell ; Shouting thou endest : every style farewell. R. wi. XLII. Ad seren. Regem. Ecce pererratas, regum doctissime, nugas, Quas gens inconsulta, suis vexata procellis Libandas nobis absorbendasque propinat ; caecos animi fratres ! quis vestra fatigat Corda furor, spissaque afflat caligine sensus ? Cernite quam formosa suas Ecclesia pennas Explicat, et radiis ipsum pertingit Olympum ; Vicini populi passim mirantur, et aequos Mentibus attonitis cupiunt addiscere ritus ; Angelicae turmae nostris se coetibus addunt ; Ipse etiam Christus coelo speculatus ab alto Intuituque uno stringens habitacula mundi, Sola mihi plenos, ait, exhibet Anglia cultus. Scilicet has olim divisas aequore terras Seposuit Divina sibi, cum conderet orbem, Progenies gemmamque sua quasi pyxide clausit. O qui Defensor Fidei meritissimus audis, Responde aeternum titulo ; quoque ordine felix Coepisti, pergas simili res texere lilo. Obrue ferventes, ruptis conatibus, hostes ; Quasque habet aut patulas aut caeco tramite, moles Haeresis, evertas. Quid enim te fallere possit ? ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. 153 Tu venas laticesque omnes quos sacra recludit Pagina gustasti, multoque interprete gaudes ; Tu Synodosque Patresque et quod dedit alta vetustas Haud per te moritura, Scholamque introspicis omnem. Nee transire licet quo mentis acumine findis Viscera naturae, commistusque omnibus astris Ante tuum tempus coelum gratissimus ambis. Hac ope munitus securior excipis undas, Quas Latii Catharique movent, atque inter utrasque Pastor agis proprios, medio tutissimus, agnos. Perge, decus Regum ; sic, Augustissime, plures Sint tibi vel stellis laudes et laudibus anni ; Sic pulsare tuas, exclusis luctibus, ausint Gaudia sola fores sic quicquid somnia mentis Intus agunt, habeat certum meditatio finem ; Sic positis nugis, quibus irretita libido Innumeros mergit vitiata mente poe'tas, Sola Jacobaeum decantent carmina noinen. To Ms most Serene Majesty [James I.] . Behold, at last, most erudite of kings, "We have discuss'd in full the trifling things Which an unwise race, hither, thither blown, Offers to us to taste and make our own. brethren blind, what madness wraps your souls, And with pitch-darkness round your senses rolls? Behold our beauteous Church its plumes unfold, And brush the very sky with wings of gold. VOL. n. x 154 ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. All neighbouring peoples wonder, and desire, With minds amaz'd, our just rites to acquire. Angelic bands with our assemblies join, And Christ Himself, from heavenly heights divine Down-looking, and with one glance of His eye Surveying all earth's dwellings easily, Says : England only My full service yields. Forsooth, of old these ocean-sunder'd fields Christ for Himself claim'd when the world He made, And in a box as 'twere His jewel laid. ' Defender of the Faith !' most just style, Fulfil thy title always, as erewhile. Nobly thou hast begun to all 'tis clear ; In the same line of action persevere. Break their attempts, confound the fervid foe ; All the designs of Heresy o'erthrow, Open or secret, howsoe'er She go. What can deceive thee 1 Thou hast tasted all The secret springs and waters, great or small, Which Holy Writ unfolds ; and dost rejoice In them, and in the exegetic voice Of many a scholar. Thou dost look within Synods and Fathers, and whate'er we win From the far depths of hoar Antiquity, Never to perish now, by means of thee ; Through every School thy footsteps wander free. Nor is it possible the bounds to find Of that acute discernment of the mind ANTI-TAMI-CAMI-CATEGORIA. 155 With which great Nature's secrets thou dost probe ; And quitting ere thy time this earthly globe, To mingle with the stars to thee is given, And walk, a welcome guest, the floor of Heaven. Arm'd with these aids thou dost securely scan The agitating waves of Puritan And Papist, and between them, as they rock, Dost lead, as a good shepherd, thine own flock The middle way, safest from danger's shock. Glory of kings, go on ! thus mayst thou see, O most august, more praises given to thee Than stars are counted in the evening sky ; And may thy years thy praises still outvie. So, knocking at thy door may only joys Dare to appear, while far away the noise Of grief is banish'd. So, what dreams soe'er Dwell in my mind, be it my only care That all my thoughts a certain issue bear. So, trifles laid aside with which lust binds Innumerable Poets, whose base minds Are plung'd in folly ; be it my sole aim That all my verses chant great James's name. R. wi. XLIII. Ad Deum. Quern tu, summe Deus, semel Scribentem placido rore beaveris, Ilium non labor irritus 150 AXTl-TAMI-CAMI CATEGOR1A.. Exercet miserum ; non dolor unguium Morsus increpat anxios ; Non maeret calamus ; non queritur caput : Sed fecunda poesewj Vis, et vena sacris regnat in artubus ; Qualis nescius aggerum Exundat fluvio Nilus amabili. dulcissime spiritus Sanctos, qui gemitus mentibus inseris A te turture defluos, Quod scribo, et placeo, si placeo, tuum est. To God. On whom Thy blessing, Lord, descendeth, When soft as dew his strains he blendeth, Him no more vain toil perplexeth, ]STor nail-biting trouble vexeth ; His pen mourns not, his head aches not ; But Nile-like from its fountain shot Bounds along its far- drawn course With an unrestrained force, The fecund strength of Poesy, And the vein that in it doth lie, Reign in scarce-measurable wealth, Giving to mind and body health. most sweet celestial Spirit, From Whom these breathings we inherit, Murmurings of quiet love Flowing down from Thee, the Dove, That I write and that each line Pleases, if it please, is Thine. VII. ALIA POEMATA LATINA. OTHER LATIN POEMS. NOTE. See Walton's annotated Life of Herbert for notice of Her- bert's relations to Bacon. There are additions to this section, as in others. G. I. Ad Auctorem Instaurationis Magnae [Franciscum Bacon] . PER strages licet auctorum veterumque ruinam Ad famae properes vera tropaea tuae, Tarn nitide tamen occidis, tarn suaviter hostes, Se quasi donatum funere quisque putat. Scilicet apponit pretium tua dextera fato, Vulnereque emanat sanguis, ut intret honos. O quam felices sunt, qui tua castra sequuntur, Cum per te sit res ambitiosa mori ! To the Author of the Instauratio Magna, Francis Bacon. Although the Ancients thou o'erthrowest, And their many errors showest, Building up trophies of thy fame, Placing 'mong greatest thy proud name ; So tenderly thou dost them kill, Not even death can they take ill; In sooth, beneath thy hand to fall, Destruction seems a prize to all. When from the wound the blood flows forth Honour flows in t' exalt their worth. 160 ALIA POEMATA LA TINA. 0, then, how favour' d must they be Who to the battle follow thee, When even at thy hands to die Puts fire into Ambition's eye ! o. ii. In honorem illustrissimi Domini Francisci de Verulamio, Vice- Comitis Sti Albani. Post editam ab eo Instaur. Magnam. Quis iste tandem ? non enim vultu ambulat Quotidiano. Nescis, ignare? audies. Dux If otionum ; Veritatis Pontifex ; Inductionis Dominus et Verulamii ; Eerum Magister Unicus, at non Artium ; 5 Profunditatis Pinus atque Elegantiae ; Naturae Aruspex intimus ; Philosophiae Aerarium ; Sequester Experientiae Speculationisque ; Aequitatis Signifer ; Scientiarum sub pupillari statu 10 Degentium olim Emancipator; Luminis Promus ; Eugator Idolum atque Nubium ; Collega Solis ; Quadra Certitudinis ; Sophismatum Mastix; Brutus Literarius, Authoritatis exuens Tyrannidem ; 1 5 Rationis et Sensus Stupendus Arbiter; Repumicator mentis; Atlas Physic us, Alcide succumbente Stagiritico ; Columba Noae, quae in vetustate Artibus ALIA POEMATA LATINA. 1G1 Uullum locum requiemque cernens, praestitit 20 Ad se suamque matris, arcam regredi ; Subtilitatis terebra ; Temporis nepos Ex Veritate matre ; mellis alveus ; Mundique et animarum Sacerdos unicus ; Securisque errorum ; inque natalibus 2 5 Granum sinapis, acre aliis, crescens sibi ; me prope lassum ! Juvate Poster!. GEOR. HERBERT, Orat. Pub. in Academ. Cantab. 1 To the honour of the most illustrious Francis, Baron Vemlam, Viscount St. Albans, on the publication of the Instauratio Magna. Who is this approaching, pray ? 'Tis not a face seen ev'ry day : Knowest thou not, ignorant one, Gazing astonied as he pass'd on ? Listen to me, and thou shalt hear, As eager to me thou d rawest near : 'Tis the Prince of Ideas great, High-Priest of Truth consecrate, Lord of Induction and VERULAM ; Master of all things thou couldst name, Though ' Master of Arts' give him not fame ; 1 In a MS. contemporary copy in possession of the Duke of Devonshire (erroneously signed ' Gulielmus Herbert") there are these slight variations: 1.14, 'matrix;' 1. 19, 'vetustatis ;' 1. 20, ' perstitit ;' 1. 21, ' suamque ;' 1. 25, ' Naturalibus.' It is headed ' D. D. Verulamij . . . Al. magni sigilli Custodis . . . In- staurationem magnam.' G. VOL. II. Y 162 ALIA POEMATA LATINA. Like a pine that towers on high, Strong-rooted, yet tapering gracefully ; Inmost diviner Nature hath, Tracking her every secret path ; Umpire of Experience golden, And all Speculation olden ; Of Equity the standard-bearer ; Of Science the deliverance-sharer, For ere he came Science was bound, In statu pupillari found ; Steward of Light, as is the sun ; Driver away of ' idola,' dun As clouds that drift the sky athwart; Four-squar'd foundation of all Art ; Of Sophisms the mighty scourge, Let them howe'er wise-seeming urge ; A Brutus of Literature, off-shaking Authority, the tyrant quaking ; The Brightness of the mental eye ; Atlas of Natural Philosophy, When the Hercules-Stagyrite He with deadly wounds doth smite ; A Noah's dove, with unresting wing Flitting o'er all the ancients bring, Finding nor foot-hold there, nor rest, And so within itself is blest ; Fetching from his own mighty brain "What ne'er Antiquity did attain ; ALIA POEMATA LATINA. 163 Piercer of nicest subtlety That in all darkest problems lie ; Heir of Time, by Truth for mother, Can the World show such another? The river-bed of honey flowing, All richest eloquence still showing ; Of Earth and Souls the only Priest ; The Axe of errors, greatest or least ; At birth a grain of mustard-seed, To others pungent, found indeed To itself gathering fame with speed. O, I am worn his might to tell; Help me, Posterity, and farewell ! o. in. Comparatio inter Munus Summi Cancellariatus ct Librum. Munere dum nobis prodes, libroque futuris, In laudes abeunt saecula quaeque tuas ; Munere dum nobis prodes, libroque remotis, In laudes abeunt jam loca quaeque tuas : Hae tibi sunt alae laudum. Cui contigit unquam Longius aeterno, latius orbe decus ? Comparison between the Office of the Lord High Chancellorship and (Lord Bacon's) Book (presented to the University). Thou with thine Office this our time dost bless, And with thy Book all future times no less ; And thus all ages join thy praise to express. Thou with thine Office blessest this our day, 164 ALIA POEMATA LATINA. And with thy Volume countries far away ; All regions to thy praise their tribute pay. These are the wings of thy illustrious Name : Who such eternal glory e'er could claim, Or the high meed of such a world-wide fame 1 B. wi. NOTE. In Fry's 'Bibliographical Memoranda,' Bristol, 1816 (4to), pp. 188-9, is a poem which is thus described : ' Extracted from a small quarto volume of MS. Latin poetry, containing 40 pages, to which the above name [A. Melvin] is prefixed as that of the author. Its date is nearly ascertained from two poems ad- dressed to James I., and his son Charles as Prince of Wales, consequently after the death of Prince Henry.' The poem is OWS . CHANCELLOR. My Lord, a Diamond to mee you sent, And I to you a Blackamoore present. Gifts speake the givers, for as those refractions, Shining and sharpe, poynt out your rare perfections ; So by the other you may read in mee, Whome Scholler's habite and obscurity Hath soyl'd with black, the color of my state Till your bright gift my darknes did abate : Onely, my noble Lord, shutt not the doore Agaynst this meane and humble blackamoore ; Perhaps some other subject I had tryed, But that my inke was factious for that side. ' Fry continues : ' This was addressed to The Chancellor, ac- companied by a Latin poem, which is subjoined to the MS., Aethiopissa ambit Cestum diversi coloris virum. Perhaps it may have been sent to Lord Bacon in return for a copy of his Essays, the volume of which is indeed a Diamond, shining and sharpe, and pointing out his rare perfections. Of the authour, Melvin, I do not trace, in our literary collections, any notice or mention of his name.' It seems abundantly clear that these lines were by George Herbert, not Melville, whose Latinised name, ' Melvin,' misled Fiy. The ' Aethiopissa' &c. is one of Herbert's recognised Latin poems. See it in its place next to this. Dr. M'Crie, in his Life of Melville, pointed out Fry's error, or rather the error of his MS. C. ALIA POEMATA LATINA. 165 IV. Aethiopissa ambit Cestum diversi colons Virum. Quid mihi si facies nigra est 1 hoc, Ceste, colore Sunt etiam tenebrae, quas tamen optat amor. Cernis ut exusta semper sit fronte viator ; Ah longum, quae te deperit, errat iter. Si nigro sit terra solo, quis despicit arvum ? Claude oculos, et erunt omnia nigra tibi : Aut aperi, et cernes corpus quas projicit umbras ; Hoc saltern officio fungar amore tui. Cum mihi sit facies fumus, quas pectore flammas Jamdudum tacite delituisse putes ? Dure, negas ? fata mihi praesaga doloris, Quae mihi lugubres contribuere genas ! A Negress courts Cestus, a Man of a different colour. What if my face be black 1 Cestus, hear ! Such colour Night brings, which yet Love holds dear. You see a Trav'ller has a sunburnt face ; And I, who pine for thee, a long road trace. If earth be black, who shall despise the ground ? Shut now your eyes, and, lo, all black is found ; Or ope, a shadow-casting form you see ; This be my loving post to fill for thee. Seeing my face is smoke, what fire has burn'd Within my silent bosom, by thee spurn'd ! Hard-hearted man, dost still my love refuse ? Lo, Grief's prophetic hue my cheek imbues ! o. 166 ALIA POEMATA LATINA. In Obitum incomparabilis Vice-Comitis Sancti Albani, Baronis Verulamii. Dum longi lentique gemis sub pondere morbi, Atque haeret dubio tabida vita pede, Quid voluit prudens fatum, jam sentio tandem : Constat, Aprile uno te potuisse mori : Ut flos hinc lacrymis, illinc Philomela querelis, Deducant linguae funera sola tuae. On the Death of the incomparable Francis, Viscount St. Albums, Baron Verulam. While thou dost groan 'neath weight of sickness slow, And wasting Life with doubtful step doth go, What wise Fates sought I see at last fulfill'd ; Thou needs must die in April so they will'd ; That here the Flowers their tears might weep forlorn, And there the Nightingale melodious mourn, Such dirges only fitting for thy tongue, Wherein all eloquence most surely hung. G. VI. In Natales et Pascha concurrentes. Cum tu, Christe, cadis, nascor; mentemque ligavit Una meam membris horula, teque cruci. me disparibus natum cum numine fatis ! Cur mihi das vitam, quam tibi, Christe, negas 1 Quin moriar tecum : vitam, quam negligis ipse, Accipe ; ni talem des, tibi qualis erat. ALIA POEMATA LATINA. 167 Hoc mihi legatum tristi si funere praestes, Christe, duplex fiet mors tua vita mihi : Atque ibi per te sanctificer natalibus ipsis, In vitam, et nervos Pascha coaeva fluet. On (my) Birthday and Good-Friday coinciding. "While Thou, Christ, dost droop, lo, I am born ; One little hour Thee to the Cross forlorn Binds, and my soul to flesh. How strange that I Should then be born when Thou, alas, must die ! Why give to me the life Thou dost deny Unto Thyself? Nay, I will die with Thee : The life Thou dost neglect accept from me, Unless Thou give to me such life as Thine That were a legacy indeed divine, And thus Thy death a double life would bring To me, in soul and body my King. Thus were I from my birthday sanctified : Into my life and limbs with holy tide Thy Passover that very day should flow, And all my life with its blest influence glow. G. VII. Ad Johannem Donne, D.D. De uno Sigillorum ejus, Anchora et Christo. Quod crux nequibat fixa, clavique additi Tenere Christum scilicet, ne ascenderet Tuive Christum devocans facundia Ultra loquendi tempus ; addit Anchora : 1G8 ALIA POEMATA LATINA. hoc abunde est tibi, nisi certae anchorae Addas Sigillum ; nempe symbolum suae Tibi debet unda et terra certitudinis. Quondam fessus Amor, loquens amato, Tot et tanta loquens arnica, scripsit : Tandem et fessa manus dedit Sigillum. Suavis erat, qui scripta, dolens, lacerando recludi, Sanctius in regno magni credebat Amoris, In quo fas nihil est rumpi, donare Sigillum ! Munde, fluas fugiasque licet, nos nostraque fixi Deridet motus sancta catena tuos. The same in English. Although the Cross could not Christ here detain, Though nail'd unto 't, but He ascends again, Nor yet thy eloquence here keep Him still, But only while thou speakst, this Anchor will. Nor canst thou be content, unless thou to This certain Anchor add a Seal ; and so The water and the earth both unto thee Do owe the symbole of their certainty. When Love, being weary, made an end Of kind expressions to his friend, He writ ; when 's hand could write no more, He gave the Seal, and so left o're. How sweet a friend was he, who, being griev'd His letters were broke rudely up, believ'd ALIA POEMATA LATINA. 169 'Twas more secure in great Love's commonweal, Where nothing should be broke, to add a Seal ! Let the world reel, we and all ours stand sure ; This holy cable's of all storms secure. o. H. On the Anchor-Seal. When my dear friend could write no more, He gave this Seal, and so gave o'er. When winds and waves rose highest, I am sure, This Anchor keeps my faith ; that, me secure. 1 VIII. Cum petit Infantem Princeps, Grantamque Jacobus, Quisnam horum major sit, dubitatur, amor. Vincit more suo Foster : nam millibus, Infans Non tot abest, quot nos Regis ab ingenio. When Charles the Infanta seeks, and James the Cam, Which love is greater, at a loss I am. James wins ; with him no man is on a par, For not in miles the Infanta is so far From Charles, as we from James in genius are. R. wi. IX. Vero verius ergo quid sit audi : Verum, Gallice, noil libenter audis. 2 1 From Walton's Life of Herbert. G. 2 This is from Martial, Epigr. viii. 76, as pointed ont by Pro- fessor Mayor in Notes and Queries (first series, vol. ix. p. 301). Because found in Herbert's handwriting, it has hitherto been given to him. It is printed here simply to correct the error. G. VOL. II. Z 170 ALIA POEMATA LATINA. What, then, is truer than the truth, give ear : Frenchman, the truth unwilling thou dost hear. x. In Obitum serenissimae Reginae Annae. (e Lacrymis Cantabrigiensibus.) Quo te, felix Anna, modo deflere licebit 1 Cui magnum imperium, gloria major erat : Ecce meus torpens animus succumbit utrique, Cui tenuis fama est, ingeniumque minus. Quis, nisi qui maiiibus Briareus, oculisque sit Argus, Scribere te dignum vel lacrymare queat ? Frustra igitur sudo ; superest mihi sola voluptas, Quod calamum excusent Pontus et Astra meum : Uamque Annae laudes coelo scribuntur aperto, Sed luctus noster scribitur Oceano. On the Death of her most serene Majesty Queen Anne(of Denmark.) (From Laciymae Cantabrigienses.) How shall I duly mourn blest Anna's name, Whose power was great, but greater was her fame? To neither can my mind full justice render. Whose fame is small, and genius still more slender. Fitly to weep or write of thee demands The eyes of Argus and Briareus' hands. Vain toil ! This joy alone to me remains, That Sea and Sky excuse my pen's poor pains : For Anna's praises in the Heavens we trace, Our grief is written in the Ocean's face. B. wi ALIA POEMATA LATIN A. 171 XI. In Obitum Henrici Principis Walliae. (Ex Epicedivm Cantabrigiense, In Obitum immaturum, semperq. deflendum Henrici, &c. 1612.) Ite, leues, inquam, Parnassia numina, Musae ; Non ego vos posthac, hederae velatus amictu, Somnis nescio queis nocturna ad vota vocabo : Sed nee Cyrrhaei saltus Libethriaue arua In mea dicta ruant ; non tarn mihi pendula iiiens est, Sic quasi diis certem, magnos accersere montes ; Nee vaga de summo deducam flumina monte, Qualia parturiente colunt sub rupe sorores : Si quas meiis agitet moles, dum pectora saeuo Tota stupent luctu, lacrymisque exaestuet aequis Spiritus, hi mihi jam montes, haec flumina sunto : Musa, vale ; et tu, Phoebe, dolor mea carmina dictet ; Hinc mihi principium : vos, o labentia mentis Lumina, nutantes paulatim acquirite vires, Viuite, dum mortem ostendam : sic tempora vestram Non comedant famam, sic nulla obliuia potent. Quare age, mens ; eiFare, precor, quo numine laeso ? Quae suberant causae 1 quid nos committere tantum, Quod non lanigerae pecudes, non agmina lustrent ? Annon longa fames miseraeque injuria pestis Poena minor fuerat, quam fatum Principis aegrum ? lam felix Philomela et menti conscia Dido ; Felices quos bella premunt et plurimus ensis ; Non mctuunt ultra ; nostra infortunia tantum 1 72 ALIA POEMATA LATINA. Fataque fortunasque et spem laesere futuram. Quod si fata illi longam invidere salutem, Et patrio regno, sub quo jam Principe nobis Quid sperare, immo quid non sperare licebat ? Debuit ista pati prima et non nobilis aetas : Aut cita mors est danda bonis aut longa senectus. Sic laetare animos et sic ostcndere gemmam Excitat optatus auidos, et ventilat ignem. Quare etiam nuper Pyrii de pulveris ictu Principis innocuam servastis numina vitam, Ut morbi perimant, alioque in pulvere prostet. Phoebe, tui puduit, quum sum mo mane redires, Sol sine sole tuo ! quum te turn nubibus atris Totum offuscari peteres, ut nocte silenti Humana aeternos agerent praecordia questus, Tantum etenim vestras, Parcae, non flectit habeuas. Tempus edax rerum, tuque, o mors, improba sola es, Cui caecas tribuit vires annosa vetustas. Quid non mutatum est 1 requierunt flumina cursus ; Plus etiam veteres coelum videre remotum : Cur ideo verbis tristes effundere curas Expeto, tanquam baec sic nostri medicina doloris 1 Immodicus luctus tacito vorat igne medullas, Ut fluuio currente, vadum sonat, alta quiescunt. On the Death of Henry Prince of Wales. Begone, trifling Muses ! yes, begone, Ye deities that fork'd Parnassus own ! ALIA POEMATA LATINA. 173 Not ye, with ivy-fillet round my brow, Call I in dreams to hear my nightly vow ; Nor let Crissean nor Libethrian mountains 5 Invade my verse, or pour for me their fountains : My mind's not so with vanity elate As that I wish with gods myself to mate ; To summon mountain-chain or wandering stream, E'en such as for the sister Muses gleam : i o If needs I must turn o'er my mighty grief, While all my heart is dumb, without relief; If from my spirit fitting tears do swell, As labouring I fain my woes would tell, Be these my mountains, these my rivers be ! 15 Adieu, Muses, and thou, Phoebus, see From grief shall flow my songs not thee, not thee. Henceforth be ye my Muses, swimming eyes, Up-gathering such strength as in ye lies, While I my Prince's mournful death show forth ; 20 So rolling years shall ne'er consume your worth, Nor dark Oblivion ever drink your fame, Or stain or raze out his illustrious name. Come, therefore, come, my Mind ; speak out, I pray, What god thus wrathful is ; and whence, come, say, 2 5 Flow woes like ours ? 0, ye wool-bearing flocks Know no such sufferings, no such cruel shocks; For, lo, our shepherd-prince, by angry Heaven, Sudden and swift, alas, from us is riven. Me thinks a wasteful plague had been less curse, 30 174 ALIA POEMATA LAT1NA. Nor had a famine long-drawn-out been worse, Than mortal sickness of our Prince belov'd, Toward whom in sweet fealty all hearts mov'd. Now Philomel, compar'd with us, glad is, And Dido 'reaved of her erewhile bliss. 35 Happy are they crush'd by War's frequent sword, They have no more to fear of Fates abhorr'd ; Our dread misfortune, as in gloom we grope, Is, that woes present quench all future hope. How lawful 'twas to hope with him for King ! 40 Nay, what might we not hope his reign would bring ? But if the Powers begrudg'd him to us long, Nor for the Kingdom would his life prolong, Surely as babe, not in fresh bloom of youth, We should have borne his loss with smaller ruth ; 45 Or early death, or long-protracted years, Ought for the good to draw the mourner's tears ; Thus to delight hearts with a touch of gladness Thus just to show a jewel, and then sadness, Stirs keener longings, fans desire to madness. 50 Why from the damned Plot, ye Powers divine, Sav'd ye his life, by sharp disease to untwine ? Why cruelly and basely him destroy, And hide in the dark grave a nation's joy ? Phoebus, asham'd wast thou, as in clouds dun 5 5 Thou didst return, a sun without thy sun ! For we did see thee robe thyself in gloom, That we might wail and plain beside his tomb. ALIA POEMATA LATINA. 175 Time, that devours all things, ne'er alters Fate, And Death has powers which know nor stint nor date. What changes not ? Rivers their courses change ; 6 1 E'en stars by age forsake their wonted range : But Fate and Death remain changeless for ever ; To alter them we hope never, no, never. But why with bootless words pour I my grief, 65 As if such medicine e'er could bring relief? My burning sorrow wastes my inmost strength, Sorrow which knows no bounds of depth or length. Hush, hush, my soul ; as in a river's course The shallow places roar with murmurs hoarse, 70 But the deep current flows with silent force. G. XII. Innupta Pallas, nata Diespatre, Aeterna summae gloria regiae ; Cui dulcis arrident Camoenae Pieridis Latiaeque Musae. Cur tela mortis, vel tibi vel tuis Quacunque gutta temporis imminent 1 Tantaque propendet statera Regula sanguinolenta fati ? Numne Hydra talis tantaque bellua est Mors tot virorum sordida sanguine, Ut mucro rumpatur Minervae, Utque minax superetur 176 ALIA POEMATA LATINA. Tu flectis amnes, tu mare caerulum Ussisse prono fulmine diceris, Ajacis exesas triremes Praecipitans graviore casu. Tu discidisti Gorgoneas maims Nexas, capillos anguibus oblitos, Furvosque vicisti Gigantes Enceladum, pharetramque Rhaeci. Ceu victa, Musis porrigit herbulas Pennata caeci dextra Cupidinis, Non ulla Bellonae furentis Arma tui metuunt alumni. Pallas retortis caesia vocibus Respondit : Eia ! ne metuas, precor, Nam fata non justis repugnant Principibus, sed arnica fiunt. Ut si recisis arboribus meis Nudetur illic lucus amabilis, Fructusque post mortem recusent Perpetuos mihi ferre rami. Dulcem rependent turn mihi tibiam Pulchre renatam ex arbore mortua, Dignamque coelesti corona Harmoniam dabit inter astra. G. HERBERT, Coll. Trin. ALIA POEMATA LATIN A. 177 Ore the Death of Prince Henry. O virgin Pallas, goddess bright, The glory of Heaven's Courts of light, To whom in hours of blissful leisure The Eonaan Muse and Greek give pleasure ; Why do Death's darts tow'rds thee or thine With threat'ning motion e'er incline ? Why is the balance of stern Fate Pull'd down for thee with such dead weight 1 Has Death, with blood of thousands stain'd, A Hydra's monstrous form attain'd, That e'en Minerva's sword is broken, And crush'd her mighty ^Egis-token 1 Rivers thou turnest ; Ocean blue Was flush'd by thee with fiery hue, When lightning, with a direr blow, 'Whelmed Ajax' shatter'd ships below. The Gorgon's knots thou didst divide, With twisted snakes for locks supplied ; Didst slay grim giants fain'd of old, Enceladus and Rhsecus bold. The feather'd hand of blind Love brings, Vanquish'd, to thee green offerings ; Thy foster-children feel no fear, Though fierce Bellona thunder near. VOL. II. A A 178 ALIA POEMATA LATIN A. With quick stern answer Pallas cries, ' Let no vain fear, I pray thee, rise ; Fates with just princes ne'er contend, But always bless them in the end. What though my trees were all cut down, This pleasant grove stript of its crown, And the dead boughs should bear no more The fruits they render'd me before ; A sweet-ton'd lute they'll yield to me, Fram'd beauteous from the fallen tree, Whose dulcet strains shall float on high, And win a garland in the sky.' n. wi. NOTE TO In Natales et Pascha concurrentes, p. 166. This reminds us of Dr. Donne's very striking poem ' Vppon the Annunciacon and Passiown fallinge vpon one day, 1608' (our edition of his complete Poems, vol. ii. pp. 296-8). By the way, for Winchester, read in the Note, Westminster. Probahly both were written on the same occasion. Sir John Beaumont has an equally noticeable poem ' Vpon the two Great Feasts of the Annunciation and Resurrection falling on the same day, March 25th, 1627' (our edition of his Poems, pp. 67-8). Cra- shaw and William Cartwright also turn the stable of Bethlehem into quaint symbolisms ; e.g. the latter, as less known : ' Blest Babe, Thy birth makes Heaven in the stall, And we the manger may Thy altar call : Thine and Thy mother's eyes as stars appear ; The bull no beast, but constellation here. Thus both were born the Gospel and the Law : Moses in flags did lye, Thou in the straw.' (On the Nativity, pp. 317-18.) K * ^ - iX ~ 3? V ' f > J i m * ^ .1 5 o - VIII. PASSIO DISCERPTA. LUCUS. Printed and translated for the first time. G.= THE EDITOK. B. Wi. REV. RICHARD WILTON, M.A. (as before.) NOTE. The whole of ' Passio Discerpta' and ' Lucus' are derived from the Williams MS., as before. For details on these and others, see Preface in Vol. I., and Essay in present volume. G. PASSIO DISCERPTA. i. Ad Dominum morientem. CUM lacrymas oculosque duos tot vulnera vincant, Impar, et in fletum vel resolutus, ero; Sepia concurrat, peccatis aptior humor, Et mea jam lacrymet culpa colore suo. To the dying Lord. Since my two eyes and utmost tears Thy many wounds exceed ; Weeping will never match their worth, I must dissolve indeed : let my ink together run, Moisture of fitting hue ; And thus black tears for niy black sins These guilty cheeks imbue. n. In Sudorem sanguineum. Quo fugies, sudor] quamvis pars altera Christi Kescia sit metae, venula cella tua est. 182 PAS8IO DISCERPTA. Si tibi non illud placeat mirabile corpus, Caetera displiceat turba, necesse, tibi : Ni me forte petas ; nam quanto indignior ipse, Tu mihi subveniens dignior esse potes. On the bloody Sweat. Whither wilt thou, bloody sweat, now flee 1 Though other parts of Christ unbounded be, A vein is surely the fit home for thee. And if His marvellous body please thee not, I know no other more alluring spot Amid the crowd of men stain'd with sin's blot. Unless thou seekest me, unworthy me ! For succouring me most worthy thou shalt be. G. HI. In eundem. Sic tuus effundi gestit pro crimine sanguis, Ut nequeat paulo se cohibere domi. On tlie same. Impatient for man's sin to be pour'd out, Thy blood E'en for a little while may not restrain its flood. G. More freely. So does Thy blood for sin exult to pour, It can't itself restrain for one short hour, But rains its awful shower. G. PASSIO DISCERPTA. 183 IV. In Latus perfossum. Christe, ubi tarn duro patet in te semita ferro, Spero meo cordi posse patere viam. On the pierced Side. Christ, where now a path I see Made by the cruel spear, For my poor heart a way to Thee I trust will be kept clear. G. v. In Sputum et Convicia. O barbaros ! sic os rependitis sanctum, Visum quod uni praebet, omnibus vitam, Sputando, praedicando? sic Aquas Vitae Contaminatis alveosque caelestes Sputando, blasphemando 1 nempe ne hoc fiat In posterum, maledicta Ficus, arescens Gens tota net, atque utrinque plectetur. Parate situlas, Ethnici, lagenasque Graves lagenas, vester est Aquae-ductus. On the Spittle and Eevilings. O barbarous ! e'en thus do ye requite That holy mouth, which unto one gives sight, And life to all, by spittle or His word 1 Thus foully is the sacred fountain stirr'd ? 184 PA88IO 1MSCERPTA. Dare ye the living waters thus defile, And wantonly celestial stream-beds soil, Ey your base spitting and wild blasphemy, Conimingl'd with that fierce rejecting cry 1 Ah, lest such wickedness repeated be, The Nation shall become a curs'd Fig-tree, Withering away in wrath, on every side Punish'd by Him Who as their Victim died. Gentiles, bring vessels, bring great flagons ; lo, For you, and through you, shall the Water flow. G. VI. In Coronam spineam. Christe, dolor tibi supplicio, mihi blanda voluptas; Tu spina misere pungeris, ipse rosa. Spicula mutemus : capias Tu serta rosarum, Qui Caput es, spinas et tua membra tuas. On the thorny Crown. Grief is the source of suffering, Lord, to Thee ; Soft pleasure is its source to guilty me. Thou, Lord, art pierced grievously with thorn ; I with a rose : Lord, look on me forlorn ! Exchange the points that pierce ; take Thou, the Head, All roses ; and Thy members thorns instead. G. VII. In Arund., Spin., Genuft., Purpur. Quam nihil illudis, Gens improba ! quam male cedunt Scommata ! Pastorem semper Arundo decet. PA8SIO DISCERPTA. 185 Quam nihil illudis ! cum quo magis angar acuto Munere, Rex tanto verier inde prober. Quam nihil illudis flectens ! namque integra posthac Posteritas flectet corque genuque mihi. Quam nihil illudis ! Si, quae tua purpura fin git, Purpureo melius sanguine regna probem : At non lusus erit, si quern tu laeta necasti Vivat, et in mortem vita sit ilia tuam. On the Eeed, Crown of Thorns, Bending the Knee, and Purple Eobe. Vainly ye mock ; your scoffs fly wide, vile race ; A Reed in Shepherd's hand finds fitting place : Vainly ye mock ; your pointed thorns may sting, So much the more they prove Me a true King : Vainly ye mock, bending ; for unto ME All times to come shall bend both heart and knee : Vainly ye mock if not with purple vest, Yet purple blood, I claim My kingdom blest. But if He lives Whom once in sport ye slew His life your death 'twill be no play to you ! R. wi. VIII. In Alapas. Ah, quam caederis hinc et inde palmis ! Sic unguenta solent inanu fricari; Sic toti medicaris ipse mundo. On the Buffetings. They smite Thee, Lord, on all sides with their palms ; Thus men are wont to bruise Earth's precious balms : VOL. II. BB 18G PASSIO DISCERPTA. Thus all the world Thou healest with Thy woes, And from Thy stripes the Balm of Gilead flows. R. wi. IX. In Flagellum. Christe, flagellati spes et victoria mundi, Crimina cum turgent, et mea poena prope est : Suaviter admoveas notum tibi came flagellum, Sufficiat virgae saepius umbra tuae. Mitis agas : tenerae duplicant sibi verbera mentes, Ipsaque sunt ferulae mollia corda suae. On the Scourge. O Christ, sole Hope of a world scourg'd with woe, When swelling crimes invite the imminent blow, Softly apply the scourge once felt by Thee, Let Thy rod's shadow oft suffice for me : Deal gently; tender minds their strokes redouble, And gracious hearts are their own sharpest trouble. R.WI. x. In Vestes divisas. Si, Christe, dum suffigeris, tuae vestes Sunt hostium legata, non amicorum, Tit postulat mos ; quid tuis dabis ? Teipsum. On the parted Garments. If, Lord, while Thou art fasten'd on the Tree, Thy garments, the accustom'd legacy PASSIO DISCERPTA. 187 Of friends, e'en to Thy foes assign'd we see ; What to Thy faithful followers wilt Thou give ? Thyself, Thy dying self, that they may live. R. wi. XI. In pium Latronem. nimium Latro ! reliquis furatus abunde, Nunc etiam Christum callidus aggrederis. On the Penitent Thief. And does he now, this robber overbold, Who largely on his fellows prey'd of old, Dare craftily assail the very Christ, To gain possession of the Pearl unpric'd ? R. wi. XII. In Christum Cnicem ascensurum. Zacchaeus, ut te cernat, arborem scandet; Nunc ipse scandis, ut, labore mutato, Nobis facilitas cedat, et tibi sudor. Sic omnibus videris ad modum visus : Fides gigantem sola vel facit nanum. On Christ about to ascend the Cross. Zaccheus, to behold Thee, climb'd a tree ; Now Thou Thyself dost climb that I may see : The labour chang'd, the toil and sweat are Thine ; While easiness of vision now is mine. 188 PASSIO DISCERPTA. Thus to Sight's measure Thou art seen by all ; Faith only makes or dwarf or giant tall. R. wi. XIII. Christus in Cruce. Hie, ubi sanati stillant opobalsama mundi, Advolvor madidae laetus hiansque Cruci : Pro lapsu stillarum abeunt peccata ; nee acres Sanguinis insultus exanimata ferunt. Christe, fluas semper; ne, si tua flumina cessent, Culpa redux jugem te neget esse Deum. Christ on the Cross. Here, where the heal'd World's balm distilleth free, With yearning joy I cling to the drench'd tree : E'en as drops fall, sins vanish; nor are they Half dead, by Blood's strong gushing borne away. Christ, flow always ; lest if cease Thy streams, Eeturning guilt no living God Thee deems. R. wi. XIV. In Clavos. Qualis eras, qui, ne melior natura minorem Eriperet nobis, in Cruce fixus eras, Jam meus es : nunc Te teneo : Pastorque prehensus Hoc ligno, his clavis est, quasi falce sua. On the Nails. Whate'er Thou wert, Who, lest Thy higher birth Should take away Thy lower from the earth, Wast fasten'd on the Cross, while men made mirth, PASSIO DISCERPTA. 189 Now Thou art mine; I grasp Thee now, this wood, These nails, hold fast the Shepherd for my good, As by His pruning-hook bedew*d with blood. R. wi. xv. Inclinato capite. John xix. 30. Vulpibus antra feris, nidique volucribus adsunt, Quodque suum novit stroma, cubile suum. Qui tamen excipiat, Christus caret hospite; tantum In cruce suspendens, unde reclinet, habet. On the bowed Head. Foxes have holes, each bird of air its nest, All creatures know where they may roost or rest : Christ has no host to welcome Him ; but now The Cross permits Him His tir'd head to bow. R. wi. XVI. Ad Solem deficientem. Quid hoc 1 et ipse deficis, coeli gigas, Almi choragus luminis ? Tu promis orbem mane, condis vesperi, Mundi fidelis claviger. At nunc fatiscis, nempe Dominus aedium Prodegit integrum penu. Quamque ipse lucis tesseram sibi negat, Negat familiae [jam] suae. Carere discat verna, quo summus caret Paterfamilias lumine. 190 PASSIO DISCERPTA. Tu vero mentem neutiquam despondeas, Kesurget occumbens Herus : Tune instruetur lautius radiis penu, Tibi supererunt et mihi. To the failing Sun. Matt, xxvii. 45. O thou huge giant of the sky, Wherefore this dimness in thine eye ? Say, what is this ? Dost thou fail now, Darkness enfolding thy great brow ? fountain of all-nurturing light, Whence around thee this mid-day night ? Erewhile at morn the earth revealing, At shut of eve the earth concealing, Faithful key-bearer of the world, Art thou from thy grand office hurl'd, Since thou droopest ominous, Nor sheddest light on Him or us 1 The Master of the House on high Thy beams rnethinks spent lavishly; And what He to Himself denies, Shines not in our unworthy eyes : Nor let the servant dare complain, If from Day's light his Lord abstain : If the Head Himself deny, Shall not the Family comply 1 But lose not heart, nor droop amain, Thy sinking Lord will rise again ; PASSIO DISCERPTA. 191 New rays in infinite supply Shall then relume thy fading eye ; More than sufficient there will be For all the world, and thee, and me. G. XVII. Monumenta aperta. Dum moreris, mea Vita, ipsi vixere sepulti, Proque uno vincto turba soluta fait. Tu tamen, haud tibi tarn moreris, quam vivis in illis, Asserit et vitam Mors animata tuam. Scilicet in tumulis Crucifixum quaerite, vivit : Convincunt unam multa sepulcra crucem. Sic pro majestate Deum non perdere vitam Quam tribuit, verum multiplicare decet. The open Graves. Thy death, my Life, the buried saints awoke, And for One bound, a crowd to freedom broke. Thou diest not, but in these drawest breath ; Thy life is prov'd by animated Death. Seek Him amid the tombs, He is not dead ; One Cross by many graves is answered : For it becomes not the Lord's majesty To waste the life He gave, but multiply. R. wi. XVIII. Terrae-motus. Te fixo, vel Terra mo vet ; nam cum Cruce totam Circumferre potes, Samson ut ante fores. 192 PAS8IO DISCERPTA. Heu, stolidi ! primum fugientem figite Terrara, Tune Dominus clavis aggrediendus erit. The Earthquake. Though Thou art fasten'd to the fatal Tree, Lo, the huge earth is moving ; For Thou dost bear it all about with Thee, The Cross and all ; so proving That as, of old, the gates strong Samson bore, His utmost strength, Thy weakness bows before. Fools ! first the flying earth fix in its place, Then, with your nails fast-fix the Lord of grace ! XIX. Velum scissum. Frustra, Verpe, tumes, propola cultus, Et Templi parasite ; namque velum Difnssum reserat Deum latentem, Et pomaeria terminosque sanctos Non urbem facit unicam, sed orbem. Et pro pectoribus recenset aras, Dum cor omne suum sibi requirat Structorem et Solomon ubique regnet. Nunc Arcana patent, nee involutam Phylacteria compKcant latriam. Excessit tener Orbis ex ephebis, Maturusque suos coquens amores Praeflorat sibi nuptias futuras. Ubique est Deus, Agnus, Ara, Flamen. PAS8IO DISCERPTA. 193 The rent Vail. Thou circumcised ! vain thy swelling, Parasite of the sacred dwelling ! Huckster of vestments, for gold selling. For, lo, the vail is rent in twain, Nor mayst thou seek God to retain : Surcease thee now thy venal gain. Ah, the old vail is now up-furl'd, And not one city, but the world, Is holy : all place- worship hurl'd. And now, as He new hearts doth count, He each a Sol'mon doth account ; And living altars the old surmount. One Sol'mon only was of old ; Now, as believers' names are told, In each a Sol'mon is enroll'd. Now the mystery is laid ope, Nor do phylacteries veil our hope, Nor legal rites mar Gospel scope. The world, from tender childhood pass'd, Attains its manhood, and at last Eejoices as a spouse to haste. Look where we may, our God is found; Lamb ! altar ! priest ! lo, all abound, And EVERYWHERE is sacred ground. o. XX. Petrae scissae. Sanus homo factus, vitiorum purus uterque ; At sibi collisit fictile Daemon opus. VOL. II. CC 194 PASSIO DISCERPTA. Post ubi Mosaicae repararent fragmina Legis, Infectas tabulas facta juvenca scidit. Haud aliter cum Christus obit, prae funere tanto Constat inaccessas dissiluisse petras. Omnia praeter corda scelus confregit et error, Quae contrita tamen caetera damna levant. The rent Rocks. Man was made sound and pure in heart, life, lip, But Satan shatter'd God's fair workmanship. "When Moses' Law the fragments would refit, The new-made calf the unmade tablets split. So when Christ dies, at such a Tragedy Eocks inaccessible asunder fly : All things but hearts are broken by Sin's might ; Yet broken hearts make other losses light. R. wi. XXI. In Mundi Sympathiam cum Christo. Non moreris solus ; Mundus simul interit in te, Agnoscitque tuam Machina tota crucem. Hunc ponas animam mundi, Plato ; vel tua mundum Ne nimium vexet quaestio, pone meam. On the Earth's Sympathy with Christ. Alone Thou diest not ; in Thee the World dies ; The whole Machine Thy Cross must recognise. Make Him Earth's soul, Plato ; nor pains of thine Disturb Earth more, after these pains of Mine. R. wi. LUCUS. Homo Statua. SUM, quis nescit, Imago Dei, sed saxea certe : Hanc mihi duritiem contulit improbitas. Durescunt propriis evulsa corallia fundis, Haud secus ingenitis dotibus orbus Adam. Tu qui cuncta creans docuisti marmora flere, Haud mihi cor saxo durius esse sinas. Man an Image. Doubtless I am God's image, but in stone : This hardness which I feel from sin has grown. As corals harden from their own beds torn, Just so does man, of native virtues shorn. Marbles to weep, Almighty, Thou hast taught : Let not my heart more hard than stone be thought. R. wi. n. Patria. Ut tenuis flammae species caelum usque minatur, Igniculos legans, manserit ipsa, licet. 196 LUCUS. Sic mucronatam reddunt suspiria mentem, Votaque scintillae sunt animosa meae. Assiduo stimulo carnem mens ulta lacessit, Sedula si fuerit, perterebrare potest. The Fatherland. As a small flame threatens to pierce heaven's face, Sending up sparks, though keeping its own place ; E'en thus sighs make my soul sharp-pointed grow ; Prayers, hearty prayers, the sparks with which I glow. The keen soul plies the flesh with ceaseless fire ; 'Twill penetrate it, if it does not tire. B. wi. in. In Stephanum lapidatum. Qui silicem tundit mirum tamen elicit ignem : At Caelum e saxis elicuit Stephanus. On Stephen stoned. Who strikes a flint draws fire wondrous to say ; But out of stones Stephen drew Heaven one day ! R. wi. IV. In Simonem Magum. Ecquid ernes Christum? pro nobis scilicet olim Venditus est Agnus, non tamen emptus erit. Quin nos Ipse emit, precioso fenora solvens Sanguine, nee pretium merx emit ulla suum. LUCUS. 197 Ecquid ernes Caelum ? quin stellam rectius unam Quo pretio venit, fac, liceare prius. Nempe gravi fertur scelerata pecunia motu, Si sursum jacias, in caput ipse ruit. Unicus est nummus caelo Christoque petitus, Nempe in quo clare lucet Imago Dei. On Simon Magus. Wilt thou buy Christ ? Once, for us, we are taught, The Lamb was sold, yet will He not be bought. Himself bought us ; with blood our debts He paid : For such a price no money can be weigh'd. "Wilt thou buy Heaven ? Nay, thou hadst better try What price one star will fetch in yonder sky. With its own weight curst money downward tends; Thrown upwards, on your head itself descends. One only coin to Heaven and Christ is dear ; 'Tis that where God's own image shines forth clear. K. wi. v. In S. Scripturas. Heu, quis spiritus igneusque turbo Eegnat visceribus, measque versat Imo pectore cogitationes ? Nunquid pro foribus sedendo nuper Stellam vespere suxerim volantein, 5 Haec autem hospitio latere turpi Prorsus nescia, cogitat recessum? 198 LUCUS. Nunquid mel coinedens, apem coinedi Ipsa cum domina domum vorando ? Imo, me nee apes nee astra pungunt ; 10 Sacratissima charta, tu fuisti Quae cordis latebras sinusque caecos Atque omnes peragrata es angiportus Et flexus fugientis appetitus. Ah, quam docta perambulare calles 1 5 Maeandrosque plicasque quam perita es ? Quae vis condidit, ipsa novit aedes. On the Holy Scriptures. Ah, what wind, like blast of fire, Thus sways my inmost soul in ire, Turning my thoughts e'en upside down I' th' centre of a heart of stone ? Is it that, seated by my door At the evening's stilly hour, I suck'd in a flying star That thither travell'd from afar, Ign'rant it hid in my base breast, And now would out with wild unrest ? Or is't that, eating of my honey, Golden as e'er is golden money, While I devour'd the comb rich-dropping, Queen-bee and all, there interloping, I too devour'd ? Nor stars nor bees Have ever stung, or broke my ease. LUCUS. 199 blessed Book, most holy chart, Hast thou aye been within my heart ; Thou all its lurking-places showest, And all its dark recesses knowest, And all the mazes intricate Where'er Desire retreating sate : Ah, how rarely skill'd art thou Bye-ways to track and turnings show, And all Sin's foldings hid below ! The Heavenly Power which built my heart To know it has alone the art. o. VI. In Pacem Britannicam. v Anglia cur solum fuso sine sanguine sicca est, Cum natet in tantis caetera terra malis ? Sit licet in pelago semper, sine fluctibus ilia est, Cum qui plus terrae, plus habuere maris. Naufragii causa est aliis mare, roboris Anglo, Et quae corrumpit moenia, murus aqua est. Nempe hie Religio floret, regina quietis, Tuque super nostras, Christe, moveris aquas. On the Peace enjoyed by Britain. From outpour'd blood why still is England free, When all the world wades through such misery ] No waves she feels, though always in the deep, While seas of woe o'er inland countries sweep. 200 LUCUS. Their shipwreck, but our strength, the sea we call ; And rampart-sapping water is our wall. Forsooth, here reigns Eeligion, queen of rest, And Thou, Lord, walkest o'er our waters blest. R. wi. VII. Avaritia. Aurum nocte videns, vidisse insomnia dicit ; Aurum luce videns, nulla videre putat. falsos homines ! vigilat, qui somniat aurum, Plusque habet hie laetus, quam vel Avarus habet. Avarice. He says he saw a dream, beholding gold by night ; He thinks he sees no dream, seeing gold in the light. Mistaken men ! he keeps awake who dreams of gold, And joyful clutches more than ever miser told. R. WT. VIII. In Lotionem Pedum Apostolorum. Solem ex Oceano Veteres exsurgere fingunt Postquam se gelidis nocte refecit aquis : Verius hoc olim factum est, ubi, Christe, lavares Illos, qui mundum circumiere, pedes. On the Washing of the Apostles' Feet. The Sun the ancients did devise Out of the Ocean to arise, LUCUS. 201 Where his resplendent face he laves All night within the cooling waves. More truly was this done by Thee, Christ, of Love the boundless Sea ; When washing Thy disciples' feet, Which girdled Earth with circuit fleet. G. IX. In D. Lucam. Cur Deus elegit Medicum, qui numine plenus Divina Christi scriberet acta manu ? Ut discat sibi quisque quid utile : nempe nocebat Crudum olim pomum, tristis Adame, tibi. On St. Luke. Why a Physician did God fill with grace Christ's deeds and death with hand divine to trace ? That what was good for them all men might see ; For raw fruit once, poor Adam, injur'd thee. R. wi. x. Papae Titulus nee Deus nee Homo. Quisnam Antichristus cessemus quaerere ; Papa Nee Deus est nee homo : Christus uterque fuit. The Pope's Title, neither God nor Man. Search we no more for Antichrist : The Pope's nor God nor man : God-Man is Christ. G. VOL. II. D D 202 LUOUS. XI. Tributi Solutio. Piscis tributum solvit et tu Caesari. Utrumque mirum est ; hoc tamen mirum magis, Quod omnibus tute imperes, nemo tibi. The Paying of the Tribute. A fish for Csesar brought the tax to shore ; 'Twas paid by Thee to him who purple wore. Both facts are wonderful ; but this is more, That Thou commandest all that swim, walk, soar ; But over Thee none e'er dominion bore. B. wi. XII. Tempestas, Christo dormiente. Cum dormis, surgit pelagus : cum, Christe, resurgis, Donnitat pelagus : Quam bene fraena tenes 1 The Tempest: Christ asleep: When, Lord, Thou sleepest, lo, the sea awaketh, Lifting its waves. When Thou arisest, lo, its sleep it taketh, No more it raves. Well o'er the sea His reins the Master shaketh. o. XIII. Bonus Civis. Sagax Humilitas eligens viros bonos Atque evehens, bonum facit faecundius, LUCUS. 203 Quam si ipse solus omnia interverteret, Suamque in aliis possidet prudentiam. The Good Citizen. When wise Humility good men elects And elevates to honour, she effects A greater blessing than if one good man Should change society to suit his plan. Thus her own wisdom copied out she traces In many persons and in many places. R. wi. XIV. In Umbram Petri. Produxit umbram corpus, umbra corpori Vitam reduxit : ecce gratitudinem. On the Shadow of Peter. A body gave a shadow, and straightway A shadow gave back life to mortal clay : Lo, gratitude is paramount to day ! R. wt. xv. Martha: Maria. Christus adest : crebris aedes percurrite scopis, Excutite aulaea, et luceat igne focus. Omnia purgentur, niteat mihi tota supellex ; Parcite luminibus, sitque lucerna domus ; cessatrices ! eccum pulvisculus illic : Corde tuo forsan, caetera munda, Soror. 204 LUCUS. Martha: Mary. Lo, Christ is here ! run ye, maidens, run Through all the house, let nothing be undone ; Shake out the curtains all, and let the hearth Glow brightly in the bright fire's dancing mirth ; Tables and couches all be polished, Leave not a speck by me be admonished ; Spare lights let the whole house a candle be. O idlers, lo, there some small dust I see : ' In thy heart, Sister, perhaps ? all else is clean, I ween.' XVI. Amor. Quid metuant homines infra, suprave minentur Sidera, pendenti sedulus aure bibis : Utque ovis in dumis, haeres in crine Cometae, Sollicitus, ne te stella perita notet : Omnia quaerendo ; sed te, super omnia, vexas : Et quid tu tandem desidiosus ? Amo. In Love. Whate'er skies threaten, or whate'er earth fears, Thou drinkest in with eager-open ears ; As sheep on brambles, so thou layest hold On comet's tail in trouble manifold Lest swift some knowing star thy fate unfold. All things thou rackest, thyself all things above : Idler, what wouldst thou learn o' me ? I LOVE. LUCUS. 205 XVII. In Superbum. Magnas es ; esto, bulla si vocaberis, Largiar et istud : scilicet Magnatibus Difficilis esse baud soleo : nam, pol, si forem, Ipsi sibi sunt nequiter facillimi. Quin mitte nugas ; teque carnem et sanguinem Communem habere crede cum Cerdonibus : Ilium volo, qui calceat lixam tuum. On a Proud Man. A Lord art thou ; be also call'd a bubble That I will grant th.ee too without more trouble. Too hard on Lords you never will find me ; Dreadfully easy to themselves they be. Joking apart, let it be understood That thou possessest the same flesh and blood As artisans ; that cobbler, if you choose, Who for your humblest serving-boy makes shoes ! R. wi. XVIII. In eundem. Unusquisque hominum Terra est et filius arvi. Die mihi, mons sterilis, vallis an uber eris ? On the same. In every man earth and earth's child we hail : Wilt be a barren mountain or rich vale ? R. wi. 206 LUCUS. XIX. Afflictio. Quos tu calcasti fluctus, me, Christe, lacessunt Transiliuntque caput, qui subiere pedes. Christe, super fluctus si non discurrere detur, Per fluctus saltern, fac, precor, ipse vader. Affliction. The waves Thou troddest, Lord, against me beat, Over my head they leap, which bore Thy feet. If o'er the waves, Lord, I may not glide, Yet through them bid me pass safe to Thy side. R. wi. xx. In KfvoSol-lai'. Qui sugit avido spiritu rumusculos Et flatulentas aucupatur glorias, Felicitatis culmen extra se locat, Spargitque per tot capita, quot vulgus gerit. Tu vero collige te tibique insistito, Breviore nodo stringe vitae sarcinas, Kotundus in te : namque si ansatus sies> Te mille rixae, mille prensabunt doli, Ducentque donee incidentem in cassidem Te mille nasi, mille rideant sinus. Quare peritus nauta, vela contrahas Famamque nee difflaveris nee suxeris : Tuasque librans actiones, gloriam, Si ducat agmen, reprime ; sin claudat, sinas. Morosus oxygala est : Levis, coagulum* LUCUS. 207 On Vainglory, Who sucks with greedy breath all light reports, And windy words of flattery hunts and courts, His highest happiness outside him places, And spreads as widely as the crowd counts faces. Collect thyself, and on thyself rely; And with a tighter knot life's burdens tie ; Eound as a globe, not handl'd like a cup, Which thousand snares and quarrels will catch up And carry off, till thy poor falling helm A thousand jeers, a thousand smiles o'erwhelm. Then, like a seaman wise, draw in thy sails ; Nor suck in fame, nor blow it to the gales. Balance thine actions well, and if the crowd Brings glory to thee with applauses loud, Check them ; but if they stint it, say ' All right !' Neither morosely sour, nor softly light. 1 B. wi. XXI. In Gulosum. Dum prono rapis ore cibos, et fercula verris, Intra extraque gravi plenus es illuvie : Non jam ventriculus, verum spelunca vocetur Ilia caverna, in qua tot coiere ferae. Ipse fruare licet, solus graveolente sepulcro, Te petet, ante diem quisquis obire cupit. 1 The whey or buttermilk, being sour, is like the morose de- spiser of praise; the curd, being soft and impressible with the least touch, like the man who is lightly moved by praise or M 4L 208 LUCU8. On a Glutton. Thou, while with guzzling mouth the plates thou clearest, Within, without, a mass of filth appearest : A stomach call it not, but a den rather, That cavern where so many wild beasts gather. Alone enjoy the stench as of a tomb ; He'll seek thee who would die before his doom. R. wi. XXII. In Improbum disertum. Sericus es dictis, factis pannusia Baucis : Os et lingua tibi dives, egena manus. Hi facias, ut opes linguae per brachia serpant, Aurea, pro naulo, lingua Charontis erit. On a plausible Villain. Nabob thou art in words, pauper in deeds ; Thy mouth and tongue are rich, thy hand still needs ; Unless thy tongue's wealth down thine arms thou shake, Charon for fare a golden tongue will take. B. wi. XXIII. Consolatio. Cur lacrymas et tarda trahis suspiria, tanquam Nunc primum socii mors foret atra tui? Nos autem a cunis omnes sententia Mortis Quotidie jugulat, nee semel ullus obit. LUCU8. 209 Vivimus in praesens : hesternam vivere vitam Nemo potest : hodie vita sepulta prior. Trecentos obiit Nestor, non transiit annos, Vel quia tot moritur, tot viguisse probes. Dura lacrymas, it vita : tuus tibi clepsydra fletus, Et numerat mortes singula gutta pares. Frustra itaque in tot funeribus miraberis unum, Sera nimis lacryma haec, si lacrymabis, erit. Siste tuum fletum et gemitus : namque imbribus istis Ac zephyris, carnis flos remeare nequit. Nee tu pro socio doleas, qui fugit ad illud Culmen, ubi pro te nemo dolere potest. Consolation. Why dost thou weep, while slow-drawn sighs Answer the tears within thine eyes ? As if the sad death of thy friend No prior death did e'er portend ; Whereas all from the cradle lie Beneath Death's sentence visibly ; Nor only once may mortals say We die, for all die day by day. The present ours where's yesterday? Ah, none may yesterday recall, None may arrest its burial ! Three hundred years died Nestor old, Not liv'd, so many years enroll'd ; Unless because so oft he perish'd Thou provest that so long he flourish'd. VOL. II. EE 210 LUCUS. Whilst thou weepest, life is going; Lo, thy hour-glass, tears, fast flowing ; Each drop numbers equal dying, Therefore vain is thy keen sighing ; Midst so many deaths, o'er one Waste not admiration. Too late shall this weeping be, If weeping still must comfort thee ; Stanch thy tears, and still thy groaning ; For amid these show'rs, this moaning, Thou, O weeper, thyself wastest, And Life's flow'r in fading hastest. Neither grieve thee for thy friend, Who to that height doth ascend Where no tears the eyelids steep, And where none for thee may weep. XXIV. In Angelas. Intellectus adultus Angelorum, Haud nostro similis, cui necesse Ut dentur species, rogare sensum : Et ni lumina januam resignent, Et nostrae tribuant molae farinam, Saepe ex se nihil otiosa cudit, A nobis etenim procul remoti Labuntur fluvii scientiarum : LUCUS. 211 Si non per species, nequimus ipsi, Quid ipsi sumus, assequi putando. Non tantum est iter Angelas ad undas, Nullo circuitu scienda pungunt : Illis perpetuae patent fenestrae, Se per se facili modo scientes, Atque ipsi sibi sunt mola et farina. On the 'Angels. The Angels' full-grown keen intelligence Is unlike ours, which needs must call the sense To give the forms of things ; and oft until The eyes unlock the door, and to our mill Bring corn for grist, unfruitful is the mind, Out of itself unable aught to grind. For parted from us by a distance wide The rivers of enriching knowledge glide ; Unable but through forms of things are we, By thinking, to find out what ourselves be. But no such journey need the Angels take To reach the waters, no such circuit make To penetrate into what may be known ; Wide open always are their windows thrown. Themselves they know by method short and clear, And to themselves both mill and meal appear. R. wi. 212 LUCU8. XXV. r Oram. Maro. 1 Roma: AnagrA Ramo. Armo. {Mora. Amor. Roma, tuum nomen, quam non pertransiit OBAM, Cum Latium ferrent saecula prisca jugum ? Non deerat vel faina tibi vel carmina famae, Unde MARO laudes duxit ad astra tuas. At nunc exsucco similis tua gloria RAMO A veteri trunco et nobilitate cadit. Laus antiqua et honor periit: quasi scilicet ARMO Te dejecissent tempora longa suo. Quin tibi tarn desperatae MORA nulla medetur, Qua Fabio quondam sub duce nata salus. Hinc te olim gentes miratae odere vicissim, Et cum sublata laude recedit AMOR. Roma : Anagram. Thy name, Rome, has crost to every SHORE, oram Since Latium's yoke the early ages bore. 1 This is one of only two of all these Latin poems that have hitherto heen printed. It appeared in the Parentalia. Cf. with this of Herbert, Dean Dnport's, as follows : fMaro 1 Roma 1 Amor }- Anagram. Mora Roma Maro : quid enim praeclarius ilia Marone Unquam, vate sacro, Parthenioque, tnlit ? Roma Amor impurus, Venerisque infanda libido, Et sitis imperii, et dira cupido Incri. Roma Mora, oppositusque piis conatibus obex, Spemque reformandi tempns in omne trahens. Roma Armo gentes in praelia perque duelles Instruo, et in Reges concito regna suos. (Sylvarum, lib. ii. Musae Subsccivae, pp. 218-19.) LUCUS. 213 Fame and the songs of fame alike were thine, Where to the stars on MARO'S page they shine. Maro But all thy glory, like a wither' d BOUGH ramo From that grand ancient trunk, has fallen now. Thy praise and honour perish, e'en as though The centuries from their FLANK had hurl'd thee low. armo To heal thy deep despair comes no DELAY, mora Such as great Fabius brought in olden day. The nations hate thee now which once admir'd, And with thy glory LOVE too has retir'd. R. wi. amor XXVI. Urbani VIII. Pont. Respons. Cum Romam nequeas, quod aves, evertere, nomen Invertis, mores carpis et obloqueris. Te Germana tamen pubes, te Graecus et Anglus Arguit, exceptos ; quos pia Roma fovet. Hostibus haec etiam parcens imitatur Jesum : Invertis nomen, Quid tibi dicit ] AMOR. Pope Urban VIIISs Reply. Since Rome you cannot subvert, lo, its name You invert, and its ways carp at and blame. But youth of German, Greek, and English race Rebuke you, welcome made to Rome's embrace. Her foes she spares, e'en like the Lord above : Invert her name, what says it to thee ? LOVE. Amor R.WI. 214 LUCUS. XXVII. Respons. ad Urb. VIII. Non placet Urbanus noster de nomine lusus Romano ; sed res seria Koma tibi est : Nempe Caput Komae es, cujus mysteria velles Esse jocum soli, plebe stupente, tibi. Attamen Urbani delecto nomine, constat Quam satur et suavis sit tibi Roma jocus. Reply to Urban VIII. Our play upon Rome's name thou wilt not see ; Rome is a serious business unto thee : Rome's head thou art, and wouldst her mysteries make A joke thyself, while the crowd fearing quake. But since thou choosest to be call'd Urbane, Rome is to thee a pleasant joke, 'tis plain. R. wi. XXVIII. Ad Urbanum VIII. Pont. Pontificem tandem nacta est sibi Roma poe'tam : Res redit ad vates Pieriosque duces. Quod Bellarminus nequiit, fortasse poetae Suaviter efficient, absque rigore Scholae. Cedito barbaries : Helicon jam litibus instat, Squaloremque togae Candida Musa fugat. To Pope Urban VIII. At last Rome finds a poet for her Pope ; To bards inspir'd power now returns, we hope. LUCU8. 215 Bellarmine and stern schools could nought effect, But more from the smooth poets we expect. Uncouthness, yield : Helicon rolls in sight ; Vile wrangling gowns the fair Muse puts to flight. R. wi. XXIX. Ao7/ri) dv/ria. Ararumque hominumque ortum si mente pererres, Cespes vivus, Homo : mortuus, Ara fuit. Quae divisa nocent, Christi per foedus in unum Conveniunt ; et Homo viva fit Ara Dei. A reasonable Sacrifice. If altars' birth and men's in mind you scan, Dead earth an altar was, live earth a man. What droop'd apart, Christ's grace in one hath join'd ; And man, God's living altar, now you find. R. wi. xxx. In Thomam Didymum. Dum te vel digitis minister urget, Et hoc judicium jubes, Kedemptor ; Nempe es totus amor, medulla amoris, Qui spissae fidei brevique menti Paras hospitium torumque dulcem, Quo se condat, et implicet volutans Ceu fida statione et arce certa, Ne perdat Leo rugiens vagantem. 216 LUCUS. On Thomas the Twin. Thy pierc'd side Thy servant presseth, Yet, Redeemer, Thou him blesseth ; For Thou love art marrow of love ; NOT may aught Thee from loving move. To a slow faith and mind shallow Thou a couch prepar'd didst hallow, Wherein it might hide, beholding Thee, and, 'neath Thy love enfolding, Rest secure, ineffable, As in some mighty citadel; Lest the great Lion him destroy, Wand'ring aside from Thee for joy. XXXI. In Solarium. Conjugium Caeli Terraeque haec machina praestat ; Debetur caelo lumen, et umbra solo. Sic Hominis moles animaque et corpore constat, Cujus ab oppositis fluxit origo locis. Contemplare, miser, quantum terroris haberet, Vel sine luce solum, vel sine mente caro. On a Sundial. Marriage of Heaven and Earth this dial shows ; Its light to heaven, its shade to earth it owes. So soul and body are blended in man's frame, Whose origin from divers regions came. LUCUS. 217 Think, wretched one, what fear would o'er thee roll, If earth lack'd light, or human flesh a soul. R. wi. XXXII. Triumphw Mortis. mea suspicienda manus venterque perennis, Quern non Emathius torrens, non sanguine pinguis Daunia, non satiat bis ter millesima caedis Progenies, mundique aetas abdomine nostro Ingluvieque minor. Quercus habitare feruntur 5 Prisci, crescentesque una cum prole cavernas. Nee tamen excludor : namque una ex arbore vitam Glans dedit, et truncus tectum, et ramalia mortem. Confluere interea passim ad Floralia pubes Coeperat, agricolis mentemque et aratra solutis : 10 Compita fervescunt pedibus, clamoribus aether. Hie ubi discumbunt per gramina, salsior unus Omnia suspendit naso, sociosque lacessit : Non fert Ucalegon, atque amentata retorquet Dicta ferox : haerent lateri convitia fixo. 1 5 Scinditur in partes vulgus, ceu compita ; telum Ira facit, mundusque ipse est apotheca furoris. Liber alit rixas ; potantibus omnia bina Sunt praeter vitam : saxis hie sternitur, alter Ambustis sudibus: pars vitam in pocula fundunt, 20 In patinas alii : furit inconstantia vini Sanguine, quern dederat spolians. Primordia Mortis Haec fuerant : sic Tisiphone virguncula lusit. VOL. II. FP 218 LUCU8. placuit rudis atque ignara occisio : Morti Quaeritur ingenium, doctusque homicida probatur. 25 Hinc tirocinium parvoque assueta juventus, Fictaque Bellona et verae ludibria pugnae, Instructaeque acies, hiemesque in pellibus actae, Omniaque haec ut transadigant sine crimine costas, Artifesque necis clueant et mortis alumni, artificesque N"empe et millenos ad palum interfi cit hostes 3 1 Assiduus tiro, si sit spectanda voluntas. Heu, miseri ! quis tantum ipsis virtutibus instat Quantum caedi ? adeon' unam vos pascere vitam, Perdere sexcentas? crescit tamen hydra nocendi 35 Tristis, ubi ac ferrum tellure reciditur una Fecundusque chalybs sceleris, jam sanguine tinctus Expleri nequit et totum depascitur orbem. Quid memorein tormenta quibus prius horruit aevum Ballistasque onagrosque, et quicquid scorpio saevus 40 Vel catapulta potest, Siculique inventa magistri, Anglorumque arcus gaudentes sanguine Galli, Fustibalos fundasque, quibus, cum Numine, fretus Stravit Idumaeum divinus Tityrus hostem ? Adde etiam currus, et cum temone Britanno 45 Arviragum, falcesque obstantia quaeque metentes Quin Aries ruit, et multa Demetrius arte Sic olim cecidere. Deerat adhuc vitiis hominum dignissima mundo Machina, quam nullum satis execrabitur aevum, 50 Liquitur ardenti candens fornace metallum LUCUS. 219 Fusaque decurrit notis aqua ferrea sulcis : Exoritur tubus atque instar Cyclopis Homeri Luscum prodigium medioque foramine gaudens, Inde rotae atqueaxes subeunt, quasi sella curulis, 55 Qua Mors ipsa sedens, hominum de gente triumphat. Accedit pyrius pulvis, laquearibus Orel Erutus, infernae pretiosa tragemata mensae Sulphureoque lacu, totaque imbuta mephiti. Huic glans adjicitur non quam ructare vetustas 60 Creditur, ante satas, prono cum numiue fruges Plumbea glans, livensque suae quasi conscia noxae, Purpureus lictor Plutonis, epistola Fati Plumbis obsignata, colosque et stamina vitae Peirumpens Atropi vetulae marcentibus ulnis. 65 Haec ubi juncta, subit vivo cum fune minister, Fatalemque levans dextram, qua stuppeus ignis Mulcetur vento, accendit cum fomite partem Pulveris inferni properat, datus ignis, et omnem Materiam vexat : nee jam se continet antro 70 Tisiphone ; flamma et fallaci fulmine cincta Evolat, horrendumque ciet bacchata fragorem. It stridor, caelosque omnes et Tartara findit. Non jam exaudiri quicquam, vel musica caeli, Vel gemitus Erebi : piceo se turbine volvens 75 Totamque eructans nubem, glans proruit imo Praecipitata, cadunt urbes, formidine muri Diffugiunt, fragilesque crepant coenacula niundi. Strata jacent toto millena cadavera campo 220 LUCUS. Uno ictu : non sic pestis, non stella maligno 80 Afflatu perimunt : en, cymba Cocytia turbis Ingemit, et defessus opem jam portitor orat. Nee glans sola nocet : mortem quandoque susurrat Aura volans, vitamque aer quam paverat, aufert. Dicite, vos Furiae, qua gaudet origine moustrum. 85 Nox Aetnam, Noctemque Chaos genuere priores. Aetna Cacum ignivomum dedit, hie Ixiona multis Cantatum ; deinde Ixion cum nubibus atris Congrediens genuit monachum, qui limen opacae Triste colens cellae, noctuque et daemone plenum, 90 Protulit horrendum hoc primus cum pulvere monstrum. Quis monachos mortem meditari et pulvere tristi Versatos neget, atque humiles, queis talia cordi Jam demissa, ipsamque adeo subeuntia terram ] Nee tamen hie noster stetit impetus : exilit omni 95 Tormento pejor Jesuita et fulminat orbem, Ridens bombardas miseras, quae corpora perdunt Non animas, raroque ornantur sanguine regum, Obstreperae stulto sonitu crimenque fatentes. Imperii hie culmen ligo : mortalibus actum est t oo Corporeque atque animo. Totus mihi serviat orbis. The Triumph of Death. hand of mine, to be suspected ever, And hunger to be ended never, never ; Which nor Emathian torrent rushing red, Nor Daunia, nor vast brood of Slaughter bred, LUCU8. 221 Will satiate ; yea, the whole human family 5 Too small with thy prodigious paunch to vie ! Man primitive, they say, in oak-trees dwelt, And caverns which Time's hollowing touch had felt : There bore they offspring ; there their offspring grew Grew too the trees which shelter'd them from view. 10 Nor thence was I shut out ; for from one tree Acorns gave life, trunk roof, boughs DEATH for me. Meantime the youths the floral-feast attend ; Thither from toil set free the rustics wend; The cross-roads ring with the thick-coming feet, 15 Kesonant the air as crowd with crowd doth meet. Here, as about the grassy slopes they rest, One turns all things to scorn and bitter jest, Stinging his neighbour, who retorts with hate ; Reproaches stick, anon exasperate ; 20 The crowd divides into two sides, and swift All blindly rage, unknowing of the drift : Like the cross-roads, they seem at random hurl'd ; Strange weapons used by Passion and unfurl'd, Which makes an armory of the whole wide world. 25 Bacchus sustains the strife ; to those who drink All things are double, save life upon that think : One's fell'd with stones, one 'neath fire-harden'd stake ; Part i' their cups pour forth their life, part shake It i" their plates. Now louder grows the rout ; 30 Immoderate drinking rages all about, In turn excites the blood, and pours it out. 222 LUCUS. Such War's first-fruits; such the beginnings be Of the sharp sports of young Tisiphone. But such untutor'd and rough killing ne'er 35 Pleas'd DEATH, who sought for skill refin'd and rare ; Approves the clever man-slayer ; schools the young, By dainty diet to high efforts strung, By mimic fights rehearsals of true war - And lines of bristling battle stretch'd afar; 40 And winters spent beneath the raging sky, While in their goat-hair tents cold-pierc'd they lie ; And all to grow adepts at slaying men In lawful war, and from red slaughter gain Fame, as inventors of destruction fell, 45 And foster-sons of Death and yawning Hell. Yea, the eager youth slays at the mimic stakes His thousands, and his thirst for glory slakes. Good gods ! for Virtue's self where shall we find Such zeal as for the slaughter of mankind ? 50 Shall we, who own one life and then must die, Destroy six hundred lives all wantonly 1 Yet the Hydra, sad of doing hurt, will grow When men dig iron from earth's depths below ; And brass, of crime prolific and blood-stain'd, 55 Feeds on the world unsated, unrestrain'd. Why should I reckon-up the engines of war With which the old times bristl'd wide and far ? Ballistae, scorpio of Sicilian master, And English bows, which brought the Gaul disaster; 60 LUCUS. 223 Clubs, slings by which, on Heaven's high help relying, When rose the Philistine God's host defying, Breathless the pious shepherd left him lying ; Add chariots, with British pole scythe-arm'd, Mowing down all they meet, themselves unharm'd ; 65 The battering-ram, fruit of Demetrius' skill, Crashing along. So were men wont to kill. But still there lack'd that engine most of all Meet for men's crimes it no curse can miscall : The melting iron in the furnace glowing, 70 The metal molten in its channel flowing, A tube comes forth, a prodigy, one-ey'd As if with Homer's Cyclops it had vied That deadly orifice its power and pride. Then upon wheels 'tis plac'd, like curule chair, 75 And DEATH himself triumphant sits down there. Fire-dust is added Orcus gave it birth A sweetmeat of Hell's table, not of Earth, Sulphurous, mephitic, to fiends causing mirth. To this a ball is join'd not such as grew 80 Within the acorn's cup, before men knew The ears of corn down-bending in the dew : A ball of lead, and, as if conscious, livid ; Pluto's red minister epistle vivid Of Fate, lead-seal' d bursting the web of Life 85 With all its threads ; cutting sheer as a knife Held by the wasted Atropos the old, In many a hoary legend long enroll'd. 224 LUOUS. These being join'd, behold the gunner stand With live tow lifted in his fatal hand : 90 Fann'd by the wind, the infernal dust it lights, And flashing onwards, all the mass ignites. No more the Fury keeps within her cave, But, girt with treacherous lightning, doth outbrave The Day ; and flying forth with horrid sound, 95 A dread explosion thunders all around. A hiss is heard, which cleaves the sky and Hell. Nor may be caught beneath the hideous yell The music of the spheres, or groans of demons fell. Wing'd with a whirlwind, belching pitchy cloud, i oo The ball tears headlong on with roarings loud ; Cities fall fear-struck ; huge walls fly asunder ; Yea, the Earth's chambers, fragile, shake in wonder ; A thousand bodies stretch'd along the plain, At one dread blow are found among the slain. 1 05 Not so the plague, not so a star malign Did e'er destroy; lo, here the proof, the sign, Cocytus' skiff groans with its crowding load, And the tir'd boatman begs help of his god. NOT hurts the ball alone ; the attendant gale no Breathes death, and makes the life it fed to fail. Say, Furies, whence this monster sprang to light. Night begot JEtna ; Chaos begot Night ; -#Ctna fire-breathing Cacus ; Cacus gave Ixion to Greek song; he in dark cave 115 Begot a monk, of clouds ; who, his dim cell LUCUS. 225 Frequenting, shadow'd o'er with Night and Hell, First made with dust this horrid portent fell. Who would deny that monks do meditate On death and mournful dust, and emulate 120 The lowly, unto whom each downward thing Which dwells beneath the earth can gladness bring ? Nor yet e'en here DEATH'S violence endeth all; There leaps forth, worse than powder-driv'n ball, The Jesuit, who seeks to blast the world, 125 Scorning explosions which destruction hurl'd On bodies, not on souls, and seldom found In king's blood deckt ; but with a foolish sound Obstreperous blazoning their guilt around. Here I do fix the summit of my power ; 130 Men, ye are done for, body and soul ; this hour Let all the world now serve, and serving cower. G. XXXIII. Triumphus Christiani in Mortem. Ain' vero 1 quanta praedicas ? hercle adepol, Magnificus es screator, homicida inclytus. Quid ipse faciam ? qui nee arboreas sudes In te, nee arcus scorpionesve aut rotas Gladiosve, catapultasve teneam, quin neque Alopas nee arietes ? Quid ergo? Agnum et Crucem. The Christian's Triumph over Death. What dost thou say, Death ? what boasts are thine ] A mighty vaunter thou, and murderer fine. VOL. II. QG 226 LUOUS. What shall I do ? who neither hedge-stakes wield, NOT: bows, nor scorpions, nor engines wheel'd, Nor swords, nor catapults, nor battering-ram. What then ? I face thee with the Cross and Lamb ! G. xxxiv. In Johannem twurr-fiOiov. Ah nunc, helluo, fac ut ipse sugam : Num. totum tibi pectus imputabis 1 Fontem intercipis omnibus patentem ? Quin pro me quoque sanguinem profudit, Et jus pectoris inde consecutus Lac cum sanguine posco devolutum ; Ut, si gratia tanta copuletur Peccati veniae mei, vel ipsos Occumbens humero Thronos lacessam. To John on the Breast (of Christ). Ah, let me quaff now, thou who drinlcest deep : Unto thyself wilt His whole bosom keep 1 Dost intercept the fount open to all ? Nay, for me too the pour'd-out blood did fall : And thence I claim rights in that breast divine, And milk roll'd down with blood demand as mine ; Till I, such grace being link'd with sin forgiven, Stay'd on His arm assay God's throne in heaven. R. wi. xxxv. Ad Dominum. Christe, decus, dulcedo, et centum circiter Hyblae, LUCUS. 227 Cordis apex, animae pugnaque paxque meae : Quin sine, te cernam ; quoties jam dixero, cernam ; Immoriarque oculis, mea vita, tuis. Si licet, immoriar : vel si tua visio vita est, Cur sine te, votis immoriturus, ago ? Ah, cernam ; Tu, qui caecos sanare solebas, Cum te non videam, mene videre putas ? .Non video, certum est jurare ; aut si hoc vetuisti, Praevenias vultu non facienda tuo. FINIS. Soli Dro Gloria. To the Lord. Christ ! glory, sweetness, Hybla of the mind, Heart's crown, where my soul's strife and peace I find ; Nay, let me, let me see Thee, oft I say, And on Thine eyes expire, my Life, I pray, If I may die ; or if life is sight-born, Why, soon to die with prayers, live I forlorn? Thou Who didst cure the blind, ah, let me see ! Dost deem it sight when I behold not Thee ? I swear I see not : if Thou forbid'st this, With Thine own Face prevent me and 'tis bliss. R. wi. THE END. $o &oft alone for lorp. NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. I. PASSIO DISCEBPTA. i. Ad Dominum morientem. Cf. the Parentalia, i. 6: 'laudi- bus baud fierem sepia justa tuis. ' xvi. Ad Solem deficientem : 1. 1 ; cf . Psalm xix. xxi. In Mundi sympathiam cum Christo : 1. 4. There is a play on the word qusestio=inquiry by torture, and so suffering as well as search. II. Lucus. v. In S. Scripturas : 11. 13-15; cf. Parentalia, ii. 33: 'per angiportus et meandros labitur.' vi. In Pacem Brit. : 11. 1, 2. A reminiscence of Juvenal, x. 112, 113 : ' sine caede et vulnere .... sicca morte.' xi. Tributi Solutio. The tribute-money was not a Roman tax, but the customary offering to the Temple God's House. xv. Martha : Maria : 1. 2 ; Tibullus, i. 1, 6, ' Bum meus as- siduo luceat igne focus.' The thought is from Juvenal, xxv. 60 seq. xx. In Kevo$oiav, 1. 7, 'sies'=old form of sis; cf. Epigr. Apolog. 17, 1. antepenult, 'siet.' Line 6 (translation), tighter = have fewer incumbrances, lighter baggage. xxn. In Improbum disertum. See Persius, iv. 21. xxni. Consolatio : 1. 4, a false quantity, qu5tidie=quotidie. So in the Parentalia, vii. 29, and Epigrammata Apologetica, xii. 9. Line 7, a false quantity, trecento. The true quantity of the former quSttdiano in the second poem, Ad Auctorem Instau- rationis magnae, ver. 2. Lines 5, 6, an echo of Seneca, Ep. 1. xxiv. In Angelos : 1. 2, ctti, a dissyllable : so in Parentalia, ii. 20, ' suum cui'que tempus et locus datur.' In Epigr. Apolog. xxv. ' namque haec jure cui'piam.' NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 229 xxxi. In Solarium : 1. 2. For this pun on caelo and solo, see Ausonius, Epigr. 33 : Orta salo, suscepta solo, patre edita caelo, Aeneadum genitrix, hie habito, alma Venus." xxxn. Triumphus Mortis : 1. 2, ' Emathius torrens.' Lu- can, ' Bella per Emathios plusquam civilia campos' (Phar- salia, i. 1). Lane 3, ' Daunia :' Horace, Carm. ii. i. 34, 35 : ' quod mare Dauniae Non decoloravere caedes ?' refers to the battle of Cannae chiefly. Line 18, cf. Horace, Sat. ii. i. 25. Line 23, Juvenal, xiii. 40, ' tune, cum virgun- cula Juno.' Line 41=Archimedes. Line 44, ' divinus Tityrus. qu. David? Line 45, cf. Juvenal, iv. 126-7 : ' de temone Britanno Excidet Arviragus.' Line 47 = Demetrius Poliorcetes. Lines 56-7, cf. Herbert, ' In Obitum Henrici Principis Walliae,' 33-5. Line 60, cf. Ju- venal, vi. 10, ' glandem ructante marito.' Line 81, a false quantity, CScytia. These false quantities of Herbert's own make his eager catching at an imagined one of Melville's (in the name Whitaker) somewhat amusing, if only that. It may be recalled that even Milton allowed himself lacobus, instead of the more accurate lacobus. (Eleg. Lib. In prod. Bomb.) The text of ' Triumphus Mortis' from Herbert's own MS., as given by us, corrects various somewhat flagrant mistakes in previously-printed texts of it, under the title of ' Inventa Bel- lica,' notwithstanding that it has been professedly printed ' e Msto Autog.' For, not to record the superior punctuation, we have these manifest improvements : arcus for areas (unintelligible). huic for Mnc. juncta for vincta. datus ignis for datur ignis. cellae for sellae. axes for axis. erutus for exulis (nonsense). primus for primum. The opening and close have been slightly altered by the Au- thor to suit change of title, and there are other various read- ings. G. GLOSSARIAL INDEX. NEABLY all the references will be found to give more or less full notes on the respective words. Different forms of the same word are placed together. It is only intended to record here words peculiar to Herbert and his contemporaries, or in some way noticeable not words used in their present and or- dinary senses. G. A. AbusivenesB, i. 19. Abjects, i. 35. Abroach, i. 42, 277. Accesse, i. 116. Accord, i. 41. Advise, i. 108, 112, 137. Affect, i. 24, 206. Affecting, i. 19. After, i. 83, 150. Aims, L 171, 204. Allay, i. 18, 253. Alone, i. 1, 23. All-heal, i. 169, 306-7. Alone-onely, i. 201. Amber-grease, i. 201, 310-11. Amitie, i. 103. Amounts, i. 286. Anneal, i. 75, 132, 287. Angrie, i. 99. Angel, i. 306. Angels' age, i. 282. Antiphon, L 282. Apparitions, i. 70. Apple, i. 295. Arras, i. 20, 192, 258. Art, i. 298. Arbor, i. 115. Articling, i. 160. Assay, i 18, 42. Aspect, i. 96, 124, 198; ii. 9. Ascent, i. 103. Authority, i. 291. Avoid, i. 29. B. Bait, i. 9, 235. Bate, i. 11, 20, 238. Balsome, i. 31, 169. Bandying, i. 79, 194, 288. Balcones, i. 94, 291. Bare, i. 270. Bands, i. 289. Beast, i. 10, 257. Bell, bear the, 1. 17, 188, 251, 308. Beacon, i. 19, 256. Beads, i. 30, 273. Behither, i. 49, 279. Begun, i. 52, 279-80. Bigge, i. 30, 19, 255. Bias, L 81. Biere, L 111. Bill, i. 120, 295. Bounds, i. 10. Boldnesse, i. 18, 20, 252. Boot, to, i. 25, 268. Bosom e- sin, i. 51, 258. Box, i. 71, 93, 94, 99, 275. Bone, i. 307. Board, i. 267. Boure, i. 294. 232 GLOSSARIAL INDEX. Brave, i. 17, 26, 48, 51, 68, 79, 80, 95, 104, et alibi. Braverie, i. 18 (bis), 252. Braves, i. 67, 285. Brags, L 77. Brunt, L 77. Brook, L 80, 216. Brow, L 166, 306. Breaks, the square, i. 306. Brook, i. 113. Broach, i. 136, 153, 299. Breed, i. 242. Brain, i. 277. But, i 44. Burnish, i. 115, 294-5. By- waves, i. 10. C. Canne, i 11, 237. Card, L 21. Captivate, i. 50; ii. 10. Captives, i. 67, 285. Candle, i. 91, 290. Callow, i. 96, 134, 291, 297. Casks, i. 192, 308-9. Career, i. 309. Canvas, i 204, 312. Carp, i. 119. Catch, i. 119. Censure, i 184; ii. 9. Censorious, i. 33, 274. Cheap, i. 11, 17, 238, 299. Cheapest, i. 12, 239. Change names, L 25, 268. Christ-side-piercing, i. 57. Chair (bis), i. 63. Checker'd, i. 74, 134. Chiming, i. 268, 308. Chases, L 192, 309. Choice, i. 310. Chalk'd, i. 311-12. Chatting, L 119. Choice, L 310. Christ-crosse, ii. 5, 14. Civility, i. 255. Clue, i. 14, 245. Clerk, L 56. Clouts, i. 110. Clinking, i. 125. Common, i. 10, 235-6. Concert, consort, i. 19, 64, 278. Cost, quit the, i. 23. Couzin, i. 27, 270. Corall-chain, i. 78, 287. Cockatrice, i. 301-2. Coast, i. 309. Country-aires, i. 141. (See un- der Cuntry). Course, i. 149. Cops, i. 162. Commerce, i. 202. Complexion, i. 252. Cock, i. 256. Crosse, i. 10, 25, 43, 236, 269. Crakt, i. 17. Cross-bias, i. 53, 280. Crosse, i. 68. Crazie, i. 75. Creed, i. 98. Creation, i 292. Crown Imperiall, i. 302. Crystal, i. 304. Curiousnesse, i. 17, 251. Curie, i. 83. Cupboard, i. 103, 134, 188. Cuntry-cleanlinesse, i. 222. Cyens, i. 175. D. Date, i. 48. Daintie, i. 73. Dash, L 200, 310. Devest, i. 10, 96, 220, 237. Decreed, i. 37, 275. Devil, i. 70. Demain, L 78, 190, 308. Decayes, i. 98. Define, L 312. Descent, L 103. Desire, i. 302. Depart, I. 165. Deare (cleare?), i. 201. Delight, i. 235. Debt, i. 258-9. Defray, ii. 16. Ditties, i. 19. Disseized, i. 61, 107, 282. Dittie, i. 132, 297. Dishes, i. 161, 305. Dispark, i. 203,311-12; ii. 8, 15. GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 233 Dismount, i. 103. Discolour, i. 285. Dispensings, ii. 16. Distinguished, L 103, 292. Double-dark, i. 35. Doore, i. 39, 275. Dogging, i. 51, 279; ii 12. Doom, i. 64. Double-moat, i. 125, 295-6. Dolphin, L 145, 302. Dust, i. 277-8. E. Elements, i. 290. Ell, i. 28, 117. Enmitie, i. 274. End, out-an-, i. 306. Environs, i. 306. Epicure, i. 238. Epicycles, i. 304. Exact, i. 57. Extent, i. 64. Expatiate, L 148, 303. Even= evening, i. 297- F. Fat, i. 201, 311. False-glozing, i. 192. Fears, L 307. Fearing, i. 238. Fine, i. 51, 255, 303. Fierceness, i. 263-4. Flegme, i. 13. Flaring, L 75. Floting, L 109. Flout, i. 122, 270, 274. Fledge-souls, i. 214. Forgo, i. 11. Folly, i. 28, 271. For, I. 41. Fome, i. 71. Foot, i. 302. Fool, not, i. 240. Forty, i. 249-50. Forrain, L 266-7. Foolerie, ii. 7. Frailtie, i. 11, 238. Frosts, i. 305. Fright, i. 312. Fraught, i. 157. VOL. IT. Fume, i. 50, 77. G. Gallants, i. 11. Geere, i. 125. Gigler, i. 19, 256. Gives, i. 99. Glasse, i. 34, 65, 284. Glasse, third, i. 10, 11, 236. Glozing, L 308. Goode, cheap, i. 136. Good-fellowes, i. 248. Good- cheer, i. 89. Grain, i. 309. Grasse, i. 192, 241. Gunpowder, i. 17, 252. Guilds, i. 18, 79. H. Handsomeness, i. 17. Hawk, i. 33. HandseU, i. 65. Hands, shiftest, L 299. Harbingers, i. 203, 311; ii. 6, 15. Hale, i. 181. Herauld, i. 17, 252. Heare (here), i. 216, 314. Heap, i. 239. His, i. 213. High-priest, i. 132, 297. Hope, i. 250 1, 299-301. Host, ii. 9. I. Impal'd, i. 10, 236. Imp, i. 48. Impute, i. 57. Imprest, i. 69, 286. Immure, i. 112. Improve, ii. 3. Impanation, ii. 22. Incloser, i. 10. Ingross, i. 37. In, i. 40. Invention, i. 60. Interlin'd, i. 172, 307. Indifferents, i. 152. Inch, i. 165. Infection, i. 256. HH 234 GLOSSARIAL INDEX. Indited, i. 277. J. Jagg'd, i. 154. Jeat, i. 72. Jordan, i. 283. Judas-Jew, i. 196. L. Lay-hypocrisie, i. 14. Lay-sword, i. 184. Late-past, i. 190. Let loose, i. 76, 287 ; ii. 4. Leap, not, i. 299. Lewd, i. 302. Leaf, i. 307. Lesson, i. 235. Lethargicness, i. 266. Letting, ii. 4. List, i. 10, 35, 63, 236. Lingring, i. 53, 280. Lift, i. 59. -Light, i. 173. Lieger, i. 65, 284. Licorous, i. 165, 306. Loose, i. 123, 247. Lose, i. 11, 15, 237-8. Loud, i. 304. Lordship, i. 117. Lowre, i. 119. Lullings, i. 100. M. Mark, i. 13, 241. Market-money, i. 25. Manour, i. 45. Match, i. 69. Mansuetude, i. 78. Mark-man, i. 81, 288. Man, old, i. 277. Marking, i. 294. Means, i. 23, 194, 296. Meet, i. 62, 282. Me, i. 219, 308. Mean, i. 308, 309-10. Measure, i. 249. Meres, ii. 22, 28. Milkmaid, i. !'.. Mistressing, i. 240. Moneth, i. 52. Momentanie, i. 54, 281. Mounter, i. 65. Most take all, i. 78, 287. Move, i. 152, 303. Mo, i. 102. Mother, i. 237. Modest, i. 238. Multiplied, i. 278. My, i. 289-90. N. Native, i. 267. Neatly, i. 21, 74, 104, 156, 262, 267, 309, 312. Needs, i. 242. Night-fires, i. 309. Note, i. 43. Noise, 304, 310. Noisomeness, i. 24, 267. Non-sense, i. 137. Notion, i. 265. O. O, i. 302. Observest, i. 267. Object, i. 151, 303. Onely, i. 37, 102. Opened, i. 305. Optick, i. 139. Orenge-tree, i. 89, 290. O r =our, ii. 49. Outlaw'd, i. 10. Outlandish, i. 56, 124, 281-2. P. Painted, chaire, i. 283-4. Pack, i. 15, 114. Parcell, i. 15, 60, 257. Parcell-devil, i. 20. Passe, i. 34, 117-18, 138-9, 203, 312. Pant, i. 61. Partie, i. 179. Parodie, i. 211, 313. Parcels, i. 127, 169. Parley, i. 159. Paces, ii. 24, 28, 116, 120. Perirrhanterium, i. 9, 234-5. Perquisites, i. 279. Personall, i. 21. GLOSSABIAL INDEX. 235 Pence, thirtie, i. 30. Peculiar, i. 216. Peere, i. 61, 282. Perspective, i. 70, 286. Pendant, i. 98, 292. Period, ii. 17. Phansies, i. 94. Piercer, i. 143. Pilgrim's Progress, i. 305. Pleading-clothes, i. 17. Plots, i. 27. Plaister, i. 49. Plaies, i. 156, 304. Play, i. 239, 251, 272. Pos'd, i. 18, 254. Posie, i. 40, 88, 106, 115, 210, 276, 294. Poste, i. 73. Powder, i. 294. Poysons, i. 298. Pomander, i. 202, 209, 311, 313. Priest, i. 274. Prevent'st, i. 39, 49, 134, 139, 197. Pricking, i. 57. Prick, i. 80. Pre-possest, 1. 313. Pretendeth, i. 106, 293. Provide, i. 166. Purling, i. 63, 284. Pull, for prime, i. 63, 283; ii. 8, 15. Pulling, i. 156. Pursuing, i. 221. Q. Quarrell, i. 113, 294. Quest, i. 76, 287. Quick, i. 54, 88, 97, 248, 281, et frequenter. Quickness, i. 83, 131. Quidditie, i. 77, 287. Quip, i. 125, 296. R, Rate, i. 9, 235, 252. Ragged, i. 45. Rack, i. 61. Race, i. 62, 91, 95. Raz'd, i. 274, 283. Rest, i. 14, 21, 85, 242. Respective, i. 20, 256-7. Reprisall, i. 41. Rent, i. 49, 279. Regiments, i. 79. Relishes, i. 100. Reparation, i. 137. Release, i. 289. Restorative, i. 289. Restful, ii. 313. Rheumes, i. 98, 143. Ring, i. 187. Right, i. 237. Rottennesse, i. 10. Round, i. 10, 236-7, 301. Road, i. 12. Roundly, i. 52. Rod, i. 220. Rub, i. 152. Rug, i. 114. Ryme, i. 9, 61. S. Sallet, il. 7. Sacrifice, i. 9. Sad, i. 19 (bis), 80, 107, 121, 256, 286. Sand, i. 297. Sconses, i. 14, 245-6. Scraper, i. 15, 248. Scraping, i. 16. Scumme, i. 19. Score, i. 21, 24, 76, 102, 157, 174, 277, 292. 'Scape, i. 305. Schooling, i. 111. Secretarie, i. 132, 297. Seeled, 1. 100, 229. Severe, i. 240. Shpr'd, i. 291. Shipwrack, i. 11. Sheepishnesse, i. 13. Ship, i. 13, 241. Shelf, i. 14, 115, 244. Shake, i. 85, 254. Shiner, i. 92. Shi ill, i. 156, 304. Shooters, i. 159. Shrodely, ii. 23. Single, i. 21. 236 GLOSSARIAL INDEX. Single, market-money, i. 268. Simprtng, i. 14, 53, 186, 245, 308. Six and seven, i. 26, 269-70. Sink, i. 36. Sign, i. 269. Sigh, i. 82, 289. Sillie, i. 93, 126. Silk-twist, i. 101. 1 Skill, i. 108, 248. Skipping, i. 275-6. Slack, i. 15. Sleight, i. 81. Sluttish, i. 98. Sluttery, i. 222. Smacke, i. 228. Smooth, i. 87. Snudge, i. 144, 302. Sommers, i. 95, 291. Sonre, i. 14, 18, 242-4. Souldier, great, i. 18, 254. Sorted, i. 51. Sowre-sweet, i. 197. Sophisters, ii. 5. Sound, ii. 12. Spider, i. 254. Sprung- wine, i. 11. Spittle, i. 40, 276. Spann'd, i. 116, 146, 303. Spread, i. 303. Sphere, i. 311. Spare, i. 239. Sport, i. 251. Staies, i. 10. Stake, i. 12, 16. Stonnie-working, i. 12. Stowre. (See under Sowre). Sting, i. 24, 222. Stocking, i. 26. Stroking, i. 40. Staffe, i. 42, 154, 277. Straw'd, i. 52. Stemme, i. 72. Strongly, i. 297. Streams, i. 297. Stormes, i. 303. Store, i. 294, 307. Streamer, i. 182, 308. Strut, i. 182. Submissiveness, i. 11. Surety, i. 21. Superliminare, i. 28. Subsist, i. 38. Subtile, i. 58, 282. Suppling, i. 68. Surging, i. 107, 131, 197. Surety, i. 258, et seqq. Such, i. 279. Sycamore, i. 95, 291. Square, i. 166, 300. T. Tallies, i. 82, 289. Tacks, i. 116. Take, i. 141. Tarantulae's, i. 215. Task, i. 245. Tentations, i. 81. Thrall, i. 14, 21, 36, 244; ii. 50. Then=than, i. 17, et frequenter. Thy=the, i. 42. This it is, i. 302, 307. Thirds, i. 112, 294. Them, i. 242. Thaw, i. 246-7. Thorns, i. 275. Thee, i. 276. 'Tice, i. 52, 203. Till, i. 143, 302. 1 Of. with this Joseph Fletcher (our edition, p. 154), in ' Christe's Bloodie Sweate' : ' Euen as a man that treades a wearie pace In laborinthes, continually in doubt To find the center of the curious trace ; Once entred, still vncertane to get out, Before some skillful maister by a twist Doth guide him in or out, or as he list.' =cord or clue, as in Herbert, not, as explained by us (in loco), a small twig or branch. G. GLOSSARIAL INDEX. 237 Tincture, i. 313-14. Tithe, i. 268. Toy, i. 18 (bis), 45, 254, 277. Tort'ring, i. 161, 305. Told, i. 213. Trunk, i. 14, 242. Truss'd-well, i. 15. Trimmer, i. 17. Troth, i. 22, 265. Trimmed, i. 37; ii. 3, 8, 14. True-love, i. 100. Train-bands, i. 125. True-earnest, i. 192. Turns, i. 263. Turn'd, i. 94. Two, i. 12, 21, 246. Twitch, i. 18. Twine, i. 92. Twice, i. 299. U. Unthrif t, i. 16, 250. Unpinne, i. 80. Unhinge, i. 85. Unmeasurable, i. 117. Utter, i. 153. Underwriter, i. 247. Understood, i. 268-9. V. Verser, i. 9, 235. Vertue, i. 12, 114, 135, el fre- quenter. Vein, i. 19. Vied, i. 47, 100, 274, 278, 292. Vizard, ii. 10. Vogue, i. 145, 303. W. Way, i. 12. Want, i. 23. Watch, i. 65, 272, 284-5. Watrish, i. 75; ii. 50. Waving, L 129, 296. Wants, i. 140. We, L 271. Weed, i. 284. Weeds, i. 275. Where, i. 46. Whenas, i. 177. Whey, i. 137, 299. Whistled, i. 125. Wine-sprung, i. 11, 237. Wit, i. 60-1, 88. Witty, i. 255. Wishly, Ii. 25. Winding-stair, i. 63. Wilde-fire, i. 71. Winding, i. 83, 116, 225. Window-songs, i. 131, 297. Windes, i. 298. Wide, i. 250. Work, i. 50. Wo, i. 55. Worky-dayes, i. 84. Wold, i. 162, 306. Working, i. 167, 306. Worm, i. 257. Writhe, i. 81, 288. Yet, i. 248. y. NOTE. An additional overlooked mispunctuation in Vol. I. page 56, line 34, is here noted, viz. a period (.) for a comma (,). This with the others being, in good old Thomas Larkham's phrase, 'as easily mended as espied' ('Attributes,' 1656), the Reader will of his charity please correct. G. END OF VOL. II.