EAUTIES] BEAUTIES OF ^EV.^£OF[QEJ4jERBERT ; 5A.^V[. COMPILED AND EDITED BY BOSTWICK HAWLEY, D. D. NEW YORK : WM. B MUCKLOW, PUBLISHER. FORTY-SHCOND STREET AND MADISOX A VENUE. 1877. COPYRIGHT, 4 877, BY WM. B. MUCKLOW. I .- f To REV. JOSEPH HOLDICU, D. D„ A Rhetcfrrcian of Rare Culture, THIS VOLME IS INSCRIBED, BY HIS FORMER PUPLL, BOSTWICK HAWLEY CCJTTEJfTS. PAGE I. DEDICATION 3 II. GENERAL INTRODUCTION 9 HI. THE TEMPLE : Dedication 15 IV. THE CHURCH PORCH : the Font 16 V. MOSAICS FROM THE CHURCH PORCH 17 VI. THE CHURCH, Preface to 28 vn. THE CHURCH, Selections from 30 THE THRESHOLD 3) THE ALTAR 30 THE REPRISAL 31 REDEMPTION 32 SEPULCHRE 33 EASTER 34 EASTERWINGS 35 REPENTANCE 36 RESPONSIVE CHANT 38 GRACE 38 THE CHURCH-FLOOR 40 SIGHS AND GROANS 41 VIRTUE 42 ANTIPHON 43 6 BEAUTIES OF HERBERT. THE CHURCH, Selections prom — Continued : CHARMS AND KNOTS , . 44 HOME 45 JESU 47 BUSINESS , 48 DIALOGUE 50 LOVE-JOY 51 HOPE 52 TIME 53 GRATEFULNESS 53 PEACE 55 GIDDINESS 56 PARADISE 58 THE METHOD 59 THE PILGRIM 60 COMPLAINING 62 PRAISE 63 THE CALL 04 CLASPING OF HANDS 65 PRIMITIVE MAN 66 SEARCH 67 THE FLOWER 69 TRUE HYMN 71 A DIALOGUE ™ ANTHEM ? 2 BITTER-SWEET 73 GLANCE • •• 74 CONTENTS. 7 THE CHURCH, Selections from — Continued : TWENTY-THIRD PSALM 75 AARON 76 THE FOIL 77 DISCIPLINE . 77 THE INVITATION 79 THE MOTTO.. 81 APARODY 81 THE ELIXIR .... 83 DEATH 84 DOOMS-DAY 85 JUDGMENT 86 HEAVEN 87 LOVE 88 VIII. PROVERBS, Preface to 90 IX. HERBERT'S PROVERBS... 95 X. TEMPERANCE AND SOBRIETY o.. 112 IJTTftCQ UCTIOJT. It is often instructive to look back to the times when the luminaries of thought and letters shone in the Old World. What is called the Elizabethan age was productive of some of the grandest minds and works the world ever saw. Stars of the first magni- tude then shone in the literary firmament. Among them few shone more brightly and saintly than did George Herbert, a poet and divine. His literary works, both poetic and prose, that have come down to us, evince a rare genius and a high degree of cul- ture. Born of a noble and bold race, April 3, 1593, in the castle of Montgomery, Wales, he was left fatherless and chiefly to the care of his mother, in the fourth year of his age. By her and a private tu- tor he, with two of his brothers, was carefully in- structed in the rudiments of science and in the morals of Christianity, until he was sent to Westminster School. Thence, at the age of fifteen, he was elected to Trinity College, Cambridge. Of him while at thit i o BE A UTIES OF HERBER T. institution, the good Izaak Walton wrote : <4 In Cam- bridge we find one George Herbert's behavior to be such, that we conclude he consecrated the first fruits of his early age to virtue and a serious study of learning." The progress of young Herbert in his studies was rapid and encouraging. Within two years after grad- uating he was elected a Fellow of the Society ; and in 1619 he was promoted to the position of Public Orator, an office of honor rather than pecuniary profit, the salary being only thirty pounds or about a hundred and fifty dollars a year. But the office was a stepping-stone to Court life, a position which Her- bert then hoped to attain. Because of the death of the Duke of Richmond, of the Marquis of Hamilton, and of King James, who were his admirers and friends, his Court hopes vanished, and he left Lon- don for private life in the home of a friend in Kent. There he cultivated a love of solitude to such a de- gree as to greatly impair his health. Receiving in 1623 from James, the Marquis of Hamilton, a valuable sinecure, which had been held by Sir Philip Sidney, he was not without hope of attaining some special eminence. Having become a Christian he entered the sacred ministry. Though the date of his ordination is not known, it is known IN TROD L/C 110 N. 1 1 that Bishop Williams, of the diocese of Lincoln, gave to him, in 1626, the Prebend of Leighton Church. The village was attractive. The Church edifice was convenient, though in bad condition, and required that much of Herbert's income be expended in repairing and furnishing it. In 1627 one of the tender ties of life was severed in the decease of his mother, after a lingering and painful sickness. For her his letters show an admi- rable filial tenderness, as they also reflect the moth- erly and saintly traits of her character. Very soon after this bereavement his own health became so poor that symptoms of consumption were apparent, and he sought a change of climate and of his man- ner of life as a means of relief. In the clear air of Dauntsey, in Wiltshire, in the home of Lord Danby, where he was affectionately welcomed and cared for, and by the aid of cheerful exercise and society, his health was completely restored. This sojourn led, n the Providence of God, to an acquaintance with a lady, Miss Jane Danvers, of an excellent family, that soon resulted in a marriage that proved a blessing to both. Of his wedded life Izaak Walton wrote quaintly but well : " The Eternal Love of mankind made them happy in each other's mutual and equal affections and compliance ; indeed, so happy that 1 2 BE A U TIES OF HERBER T. there never was any opposition betwixt them, unless it were a contest which should most incline to a com- pliance with the other's desires." Within a few months after his marriage, Herbert became the recipient of the rectory of Bemerton. Tremblingly, and with a due sense of the responsi- bility of the position, he entered, April 26, 1630, upon his chosen life-work. Soon thereafter he drew up a set of rules for the government of his private, do- mestic, and official life, and made a vow, while lying prostrate before the altar of the Church, that he would keep them. But he was permitted to devote to pastoral labors in that place only " two years and a few months." In those relations, however, he was faithful and beloved. Intelligent and scholarly he ranked high among the clergy of his day and coun- try. As long as his strength allowed he was con- stant in the performance of the duties of his office. He died in the circle of his family, saying, " Lord, forsake me not now that my strength faileth me ; but grant me mercy for the merit of my Jesus. And now, Lord, Lord, now receive my soul." " The setting of the sun was as calm as its shining had been, only of a richer hue/' In the register of iiomerton is the following record of this devoted man of God : " Mr. George Herbert, Esq., Parson of INTRODUCTION. 13 Foughleston and Bemerton, was buried the 3d day of March, 1632." In person Herbert was tall, spare, and of imposing presence ; in looks, cheerful ; in social qualities, at- tractive ; in manners, benignant and courteous. He lived amid influences that greatly affected his char- acter and life. Associating with men of high literary attainments he was the more scholarly. Living in the time of Shakspere, Hooker, and Ben Jonson, he was familiar with their writings and became the more intelligent and accomplished thereby. As a poet Herbert had a reputation greater and wider than Milton's. The poem entitled the Temple had an extensive circulation. The characteristics and history of his several poems are beautiful and instructive. Seldom have we read anything more touching than those short effusions entitled, The Altar, Jesu, Clasping of Hands, Death, Heaven and Love. In his last sickness he presented a volume of his manuscript poems to 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 H BEAUTIES OF HERBERT. perfect freedom ; desire him to read it, and then, if he can think it may turn to the advantage of any poor dejected 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." Having been greatly edified in the perusal of the volume, the writer is encouraged to extend and per- petuate the publicity of such selections as may be deemed its more curious and touching parts. They are alike scriptural and sensible. Though the Tem- ple is constructed with special reference to the cer- emonies, prayers, and mysteries of the Church of which Herbert was a minister, it nevertheless abounds with evidences of large catholicity and a ripe Christian experience. The Church Porch, of which we select some of the richer and more practi- cal sentences, is well worthy of being made a pocket- companion for the young. Abounding with advices and rules for the government of life, it deserves a place on the centre-table of every household. Judging from his Country Parson, we think out favorite was an able minister and a faithful pastor. The several chapters of the treatise cover the whole range of duties and relations that belong to the pas- toral office. A burning and shining light in his own INTRODUCTION. 15 age, he continues to shed a beautiful lustre in the general Church of God* Note. — For the sake of easy reading we have taken the liberty in these pages to conform the spelling as also the forms of letters to the modern styles, have substituted some current words for obso- lete ones, and in other cases we have denned the meaning, at the bottom of pages, of the obsolete words used. THE TEJlf(PLE. THE DEDICATION. Lord, my first fruits present themselves to thee ; Yet not mine neither : for from thee they came, And must return. Accept them and me, And make us strive, who shall sing best thy Name, Turn their eyes hither, who shall make again : Theirs, who shall hurt themselves or me, refrain, THE OHU(RCH (PO(BGH. THE FONT.* Thou, whose sweet youth and early hopes enhance Thy rate and price, and mark thee for a treasure, Hearken unto a Verser, who may chance Rhyme thee to good, and make a bait of pleasure : A verse may find him, who a sermon flies, And turn delight into a sacrifice. * The Greek word, Perirrhanterium, used by Herbert, means Font or other sacred vessel. MOSAICS FROM THE CHURCH PORCH. 17 MOSAICS FROM THE CHURCH PORCH. Beware of lust ; it doth pollute and foul Whom God in baptism washed with his own blood ; It blots the lesson written in thy soul ; The holy lines cannot be understood. How dare those eyes upon a Bible look, Much less towards God, whose lust is all then book ! Drink not the third glass,* which thou canst not tame, When once it is within thee ; but before Mayst rule it, as thou list, and pour the shame, Which it would pour on thee, upon the floor. It is most just to throw that on the ground, Which would throw me there if I keep the round. Shall I, to please another's wine-sprung mind, [ Lose all mine own ? God hath given me a measure Short of his can,t and body : must I find A pain in that, wherein he finds a pleasure ? Stay at the third glass ; if thou lose thy hold, Then thou art modest, and the wine grows bold. * The advanced temperance principles of this age would say, 4 Drink not the first glass. t A cup or vessel for liquors. 1 8 BEA UTIES OF HERBER T. Yet, if thou sin in wine or wantonness, Boast not thereof; nor make thy shame thy glory. Frailty gets pardon by submissiveness ; But he that boasts, shuts that out of his story : He makes flat war with God, and doth defy With his poor clod of earth the spacious sky. Take not his name, who made thy mouth, in vain: It gets thee nothing, and hath no excuse. Lust and wine plead a pleasure, avarice gain But the cheap swearer through his open fluce* Let's his soul run for nought, as little tearing: Were I an Epicure, I would bate swearing When thou dost tell another's jest, therein Omit the oaths, which true wit cannot need Pick out of tales the mirth, but not the sin. He pares his apple that will cleanly feed. Play not away the virtue of that name,f Which is the stake, when griefs make thee tame* Lie not ; but let thy heart be true to God, Thy mouth to it, thy actions to them both ; Cowards tell lies, and those that fear the rod ; The stormy working soul spits lies and froth. * Flue, air-passage, mouth, t The name of a Christian.. MOSAICS FROM THE CHURCH PORCH. 19 Dare to be true. Nothing can need a lie ; A fault, which needs it most, grows two thereby. Flee idleness, which yet thou canst not fly By dressing, mistressing,* and compliment. If those take up thy day, the sun will cry Against thee ; for his light was only lent. God gave thy soul brave wings ; put not those feathers Into a bed, to sleep out all ill weathers. The way to make thy son rich, is to fill. His mind with rest, before his trunk with riches ; For wealth without contentment, climbs a hill, To feel those tempests which fly over ditches. But if thy son can make ten pound his measure, Then all thou addest may be call'd his treasure. When thou dost purpose aught (within thy power) Be sure to do it, though it be but small : Constancy knits the bones, and makes us siowre,t When wanton pleasures beckon us to thrall. Who breaks his own bond, forfeits himself:- What nature makes a ship, he makes a shelf. * Courting, t Strong, brave. 20 BEAUTIES OF HERBERT. Look to thy mouth : diseases enter there. Thou hast two safeguards, if thy stomach call ; Carve or discourse ; do not a famine fear. Who carves, is kind to two ; who talks, to all Look on meat, think it dirt, then eat a bit, And say withal, Earth to earth I commit. By all means use sometimes to be alone. Salute thyself: see what thy soul doth wear. Dare to look in thy chest ; for 'tis thine own ; And tumble up and down what thou find'st there. Who cannot rest till he good fellows find, He breaks up house, turns out of doors his mind. Be thrifty, but not covetous : therefore give Thy need, thine honor, and thy friend his due. Never was scraper brave man. Get to live ; Then live and use it, else it is not true That thou hast gotten. Surely use alone Makes money not a contemptible stone. Never exceed thy income. Youth may make Ev'n with the year ; but age, if it will hit, Shoots a bow shot, and lessens still his stake, As the day lessens, and his life with it. Thy children, kindred, friends upon thee call ;— Before thy journey fairly part with all. MOSAICS FROM THE CHURCH PORCH. 21 What skills it, if a bag of stones or gold About thy neck do drown thee ? raise thy head ; — Take stars for money ; stars not to be told By any art, yet to be purchased. None is so wasteful as the scraping dame ; She loses three for one : her soul, rest, fame. By no means run in debt ; take thine own measure. Who cannot live on twenty pounds a year, Cannot on forty ; he's a man of pleasure, A kind of thing that's for itself too dear. The curious unthrift makes his cloth too wide, And spares himself, but would his tailor chide. Spend not on hopes. They that by pleading clothes Do fortunes seek, when worth and service fail, Would have their tale believed for their oaths, And are like empty vessels under sail. Old courtiers know this ; therefore set out so, As all the day thou mayst hold out to go. Play not for gain, but sport. Who plays for more, Than he can lose with pleasure, stakes his heart : Perhaps his wife's too, and whom she hath bore : Servants and churches also play their part. Only a herald, who that way doth pass, Finds his crack'd name at length in the church- glass. 2 2 BE A UTIES OF HERBER T. Catch not at quarrels. He that dares not speak Plainly and home, is coward of the two. Think not thy fame at ev'ry twitch will break ; By great deeds show that thou canst little do ; And do them not : that shall thy wisdom be, And change thy temperance into bravery. Laugh not too much : the witty man laughs least ; For wit is news only to ignorance. Less at thine own things laugh ; lest in the jest Thy person shares and the conceit advance. Make not thy sport, abuses, for the fly, That feeds on dung, is colored thereby. Pick out of mirth, like stones out of thy ground, Profaneness, fllthiness, abusiveness, These are the scum, with which coarse wits abound The fine may spare these well, yet not go less. All things are big with jest : nothing that's plain But may be witty, if thou hast the vein. Wit's an unruly engine, wildly striking Sometimes a friend, sometimes the engineer: Hast thou the knack ? pamper it not with liking ; But if thou want it, buy it not too dear. Many affecting wit beyond their power, Have got to be a dear fool for an hour. MOSAICS FROM THE CHURCH PORCH 23 Thy friend put in thy bosom : wear his eyes Still in thy heart, that he may see what's there. If cause require, thou art his sacrifice ; Thy drops of blood must pay down all his fear; But love is lost ; the way of friendship's gone ; Though David had his Jonathan, Christ his John. Yet be not surety, if thou be a father. Love is a personal debt. I cannot give My children's right, nor ought he take it ; rather Both friends die, than hinder them to live. Fathers' first enter bonds to nature's ends ; And are her sureties, ere they are a friend's. If thou be single, all thy goods and ground Submit to love ; but yet not more than all. Give one estate, as one life. None is bound To work for two, who brought himself to thrall. God made me one man ; love makes me no more Till labor come and make my weakness score. Be calm in arguing : for fierceness makes Error a fault, and truth discourtesy. Why should I feel another man's mistakes More than his sickness or poverty? In love I should ; but anger is not love, Nor wisdom neilhcr ; therefore gently move. 24 BEA l/TIES OF HERBER 71 Calmness is great advantage : he that lets Another chase, may warm him at his fire : Mark all his wanderings, and enjoy his frets ; As cunning fencers suffer heat to tire. Truth dwells not in the clouds : the bow that's there Doth often aim at, never hit the sphere. Mark what another says : for many are Full of themselves, and answer their own notion. Take all into thee ; then with equal care Balance each drachm of reason like a potion. If truth be with thy friend, be with them both — Share in the conquest, and confer a troth. Be useful where thou livest, that they may Both want, and wish thy pleasing presence still. Kindness, good parts, great places are the way To compass this. Find out men's wants and will, And meet them there. All worldly joys go less To the one joy of doing kindnesses. Let thy mind still be bent, still plotting where, And when, and how the business may be done. Slackness breed worms ; but the sure traveler, Though he aiight sometimes, still goeth on. Active and stirring spirits live alone : Write on the others, Here lies such a one. MOSAICS FROM THE CHURCH PORCH. 25 Keep all thy native good, and naturalize All foreign of that name ; but scorn their ill : Embrace their activeness, not vanities. Who follows all things, forfeiteth his will. If thou observest strangers in each fit, In time they'll run thee out of all thy wit. In alms regard thy means, and other's merit. Think heav'n a better bargain, than to give Only thy single market-money for it. Join hands with God to make a man to live. Give to all something ; to a good poor man, Till thou change names, and be where he begair Man is God's image, but a poor man is Christ's stamp to boot ;* both images regard. God reckons for him, counts the favor his : Write, So much giv'n to God ; thou shalt be heard : Let thy alms go before, and keep heav'ns gate Open for thee, or both may come too late. Restore to God his due in tithe and time : A tithe purloin'd cankers the whole estate. Sundays observe : think when the bells do chime, 'Tis angels music ; therefore come not late. God there deals blessings. If a king did so, Who would not haste, nay give, to see the show? *In addition, besides. 26 BE A UTIES OF HERBER T. Though private prayer be a brave design, Yet public hath more promises, more love ; And love's a weight to hearts, to eyes a sign. We all are but cold suitors ; let us move Where it is warmest. Leave thy six and seven ; Pray with the most : for where most pray is heaven. When once thy foot enters the Church, be bare. God is more there than thou ; for thou art there Only by his permission. Then beware, And make thyself all reverence and fear. Kneeling ne'er spoiled silk stocking: quit thy state. All equal are within the Church's gate. Resort to sermons, but to prayers most : Praying's the end of preaching. O be drest ; Stay not for th' other pin : why thou hast lost A joy for it worth worlds. Thus hell doth jest Away thy blessings, and extremely mock thee, Thy clothes being fast, but thy soul loose about thee. Judge not the preacher, for he is thy judge ; If thou mislike him, thou conceiv'st him not. MOSAICS FROM THE CHURCH PORCH. 27 God calleth preaching folly. Do not grudge To pick out treasure from earthen pot. To worst speak something good : if all want sense, God takes a text and preaches patience. He that gets patience, and the blessing which Preachers conclude with, hath not lost his pains, He that by being at church escapes the ditch, Which he might fall in by companions, gains. He that loves God's abode, and to combine With saints on earth, shall one day with them shine. Jest not at preacher's language or expression : How know'st thou but thy sins made him miscarry ? Then turn thy faults and his into confession ; God sent him, whatso'er he be : O tarry And love him for his Master: his condition, Though it be ill, makes him no ill physician. Sum up at night what thou hast done by day ; And in the morning, what thou hast to do. Dress and undress thy soul : mark the decay And growth of it, if with thy watch, that too Be down, then wind up both, since we shall be Most surely judg'd, make thy accounts agree. 28 BEA UTIES OF HERBER T. - 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. From the specimens of the Mosaics which we have given, it is evident that Mr. Herbert was a quaint thinker and strong writer. Sympathetic, vigorous, and deeply religious, he wrote for the people. Strongly characterized for common sense, his fancy was fruitful, his language pure and racy, and his style true to nature. As specimens of rare beauty and tender pathos we give the following from the body of The Church. The word ecclesia, commonly ren- dered church in the New Testament and by the Fathers, literally means called out, and refers to them who are called of God, to those called out from the impenitent and unbelieving — called out from the world. The Church of Christ is a select body duly organized, of which He is the Head, The definition given in the Articles of Religion of both the Protestant and Methodist Episcopal MOSAICS FROM THE CHURCH PORCH. 29 Churches, is therefore better than the commonly ac- cepted one by which a house of worship is called a Church. It is rather only the place in which a Church or Christian assembly meets for worship. The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, in which the pure word of God is preached, and the sacraments are duly administered, etc." We nevertheless like the poetic idea of our author, that makes the Church to consist of Christ tian principles and spiritual graces duly adjusted in the character of men. This seems apostolic. These graces and virtues are what make " faithful men," to whom "the pure word of God is preached, and the Sacraments are administered." Of the many and es- sential characteristics of the Church we select a few of the more prominent that are skilfully wrought into a beautiful whole bv Mr. Herbert. THE CRUNCH. THE THRESHOLD.* Thou, whom the former precepts have Sprinkled and taught, how to behave Thyself in church ; approach, and taste The Church's mystical repast. THE ALTAR.t A broken altar, Lord, thy servant rears, Made of a heart, and cemented with tears ; Whose parts are as thy hand did frame ; No workman's tool hath touched the same. A heart alone Is such a stone, As nothing but Thy pow'r doth cut. * Herbert has Superliminare, which means Threshold . i Editor's Note. — Though an altar was a significant and import- ant article of furniture in connection with Jewish worship and sacrifice, and for which there is no use in the Christian Church, the word should not be applied to the communion-table, much le^s to the chancel or to the communion-rail or balustrade, as it sometimes and unfortunately is in some Protestant Churches, as it also is in the Roman Catholic Church ; yet there can be no objection to the significance and use given in this gem of a poem. A modern ~ >oet writes, *■ the mean altar of my heart." SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH. 31 Wherefore each part Of my hard heart Meets in this frame, To praise thy name : That, if I chance to hold my peace, These stones to praise thee may not cease. O let thy blessed Sacrifice be mine, And sanctify this Altar to be thine. THE REPRISAL. I have considered it, and find There is no dealing with thy mighty passion ; For though I die for thee, I am behind ; My sins deserve the condemnation. O make me innocent, that I May give a disentangled state and free ; And yet thy wounds still my attempts defy, For by thy death I die for thee. Ah ! was it not enough that thou By thy eternal glory did'st outgo me ? Couldst thou not griefs sad conquests me allow, But in all vict'ries overthrow me ? 3 2 BE A UTIES OF HERBERT. Yet by confession will I come Into the conquest. Though I do nought Against thee, in thee I will overcome The man,* who once against thee fought. REDEMPTION. Having been tenant long to a rich lord, Not thriving, I resolved to be bold, And make a suit unto him, to afford A new small-rented lease, and cancel the old. In heaven at his manor I him sought: They told me there, that he was lately gone About some land, which he had dearly bought Long since on earth, to take possession. I straight returned, and knowing his great birth ; Sought him accordingly in great resorts ; In cities, theatres, gardens, parks, and courts: At length I heard a ragged noise and mirth Of thieves and murderers : there I him espied, Who straight, Your suit is granted, said, and died, * The old man of the heart subdued by grace. SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH, 33 SEPULCHRE. O blessed body ! Whither art thou thrown? No lodging for thee, but a cold hard stone ? So many hearts on earth, and yet not one Receive thee ? Sure there is room within our hearts' good store ; For they can lodge transgressions by the score : Thousands of toys dwell there, yet out of door They leave thee. But that which shows them large, shows them unfit, Whatever sin did this pure rock commit, Which holds thee now ? Who hath indited it Of murder ? Where our hard hearts have took up stones to brain* thee, And missing this, most falsely did arraign thee ; Only these stones in quiet entertain thee, And order. And as of old, the law by heav'nly art, Was writ in stone ; so thou, which also art The letter of the word, flnd'st no fit heart To hold thee. * To beat out the brains, to bruise the head. 34 BEA UTIES OF BERBER T. Yet do we still persist as we began, And so should perish, but that nothing can, Though it be cold, hard, foul, from loving man Withhold thee. EASTER. Rise, heart ; thy Lord is risen. Sing his praise Without dela3's, Who takes thee by the hand, that thou likewise With him mayst rise That, as his death calcined thee to dust, His life may make thee gold, and much more just. Awake, my lute, and struggle for thy part With all thy art. The cross taught all wood to resound his name Who bore the same. His stretched sinews taught all strings, what key Is best to celebrate this most high day Consort both heart and lute, and twist a song Pleasant and long : Or since all music is but three parts vied* And multiplied ; O let thy blessed Spirit bear a part, And make up our defects with his sweet art. * The variations in music, which seem to contend with others, were said to vie. SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH. 35 I got me flowers to strew the way ; I got me boughs off many a tree ; But thou wast up by break of day, And brought'st thy sweets along with thee. The Sun arising in the East, Though he give light, and th' East perfume ; If they should offer to contest With thy arising, they presume. Can there be any day but this, Though many suns to shine endeavor? We count three hundred, but we miss There is but one, and that one ever. EASTERWINGS. Lord, who createdst man in wealth and store, Though foolishly he lost the same, Decaying more and more, Till he became Most poor : With thee O let me rise As larks, harmoniously, And sing this day thy victories : Then shall the fall further the flight in me. 36 BE A UTIES OF BERBER T. My tender age in sorrow did begin, And still with sicknesses and shame Thou didst so punish sin, That I became Most thine. With thee Let me combine, And feel this day thy victory, For, if I imp my wing on thine, Affliction shall advance the flight in me. REPENTANCE. Lord, I confess my sin is great ; Great is my sin. Oh ! gently treat With thy quick flow'r, thy momentary bloom Whose life still pressing Is one undressing, A steady aiming at a tomb. Man's age is two hour's work, or three ; Each day doth round about us see. Thus are we to delights : but we are all To sorrows old, If life be told From what life feeleth, Adam's fall. SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH. 37 O let thy height of mercy then Compassionate short-breathed men, Cut me not off for most foul transgression : I do confess My foolishness ; My God, accept my confession. Sweeten at length this bitter bowl, Which thou hast pour'd into my soul ; Thy wormwood turn to health,win ds to fair weather* For if thou stay, I and this day, As we did rise we die together. When thou for sin rebukest man, Forthwith he waxeth wo and wan ; Bitterness fills our bowels ; all our hearts Pine and decay, And drop away, And carry with them th' other parts. But thou wilt sin and grief destroy ; That so the broken bones may joy, And tune together in a well-set song, Full of his praises Who dead men raises. Fractures well cur'd make us more strong. 38 BEAUTIES OF HERBERT. RESPONSIVE CHANT.* Chorus. — Let all the world in ev'ry corner sing, My God and King. Response. — The heav'ns are not too high, j His praise may thither fly; The earth is not too low, His praises there may grow. Cko.— Let all the world in ev'ry corner sing. My God and King. Res. — The Church with psalms must shout, No door can keep them out ; But above all, the heart Must bear the longest part. Cho. — Let all the world in ev'ry corner sing, My God and King. GRACE. My stock lies dead, and no increase Doth my dull husbandry improve ; O let thy graces without cease Drop from above ! * Herbert's " Antiphon. 1 SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH. 39 If still the sun should hide his face, Thy house would but a dungeon prove, Thy works night's captives • O let grace Drop from above ! The dew doth ev'ry morning fall ; And shall the dew outstrip thy dove ? The dew, for which grass cannot call, Drop from above. Death is still working like a mole, And digs my grave at each remove • Let grace work too, and on my spul Drop from above. Sin is still hammering my heart Unto a hardness, void of love - Let suppling grace, to cross his art, Drop from above. O come ! for thou dost know the way. Or if to me thou wilt not move, Remove me, where I need not say — Drop from above. 40 BE A UTIES OF HERBER T. THE CHURCH-FLOOR. Mark you the floor? that square and speckled stone, Which looks so firm and strong, Is Patience : And th' other black and grave, where with each one Is checker'd all along, Humility : The gentle rising, which on either hand Leads to the Choir above, / Is Confidence : But the sweet cement, which in one sure band, Lies the whole frame, is Love And Charity. Hither sometimes sin steals, and stains The marble's neat and curious veins : But all is cleansed when the marble weeps. Sometimes Death, puffing at the door, Blows all the dust about the floor ; But while he thinks to spoil the room, he sweeps. Blest be the Architect, whose art Could build so strong in a weak heart. SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH, 41 SIGHS AND GROANS. Do not use me After my sins ! look not on my desert, But on thy glory ! then thou wilt reform, And not refuse me : for thou only art The mighty God, but I a silly worm : O do not bruise me ; O do not urge me ! For what account can thy ill steward make ? I have abus'd thy stock, destroy 'd thy woods, Suck'd all magazines : my head did ache, Till it found out how to consume thy goods : O do not scourge me ! O do not blind me ! I have deserv'd that an Egyptian night Should thicken all my powers ; because my last Hath still sow'd fig-leaves to exclude thy light : But I am frailty, and already dust ; O do not grind me ! O do not fill me With the turn'd vial of thy bitter wrath (!) For thou hast other vessels full of blood, 42 BEAUTIES OF HERBERT. A part whereof my Savior empti'd hath, Ev'n unto death : since he died for my good, O do not kill me ! But O reprieve me ! For thou hast life and death at thy command ; Thou art both Judge and Savior, feast and rod, Cordial and Corrosive : put not thy hand Into the bitter box ; but O my God — My God, relieve me ! VIRTUE. Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright, The bridal of the earth and sky . The dew shall weep thy fall to-nighc ; For thou must die. Sweet rose, whose hue, angry and brave, Bids the rash gazer wipe his eye, Thy root is ever in its grave, And thou must die. Sweet spring, full of sweet days and roses, A box where sweets compacted lie, My music shows ye have your closes, And all must die. SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH. 43 Only a sweet and virtuous soul, Like seasoned timber, never gives ; But though the whole world turn to coal, Then chiefly lives, ANTIPHON. Chorus. — Praised be the God of lo Men. — Here below Angels. — And here above : Chorus. — Who hath dealt his mercies so, Angels. — To his friend, Men. — And to his foe ; Chorus. — That both grace and glory tend Angels. — Us of old, Men. — And us in th' end. Chorus.— The great Shepherd of the fold Angels. — Us did make, Men. — For us a fold. Chorus. — He our foes in piece Angels, — Him we touch ; Men. — And him we take. 44 BE A UTIES OF HERBER T. Chorus. — Wherefore since that he is such, Angels. — We adore, Men. — And we do crouch. Chorus. — Lord, thy praises should be more. Men. — We have none, Angels. — And we no store. Chorus. — Praised be the God alone Who hath made of two folds one. CHARMS AND KNOTS. Who read a chapter when they rise, Shall ne'er be troubled with ill eyes. A poor man's rod, when thou dost ride, Is both a weapon and a guide. Who shuts his hand, hath lost his s:old Who opens it, hath it twice told. Who goes to bed and doth not pray, Maketh two nights to ev'ry day. Who by aspersions throw a stone At th* head of other/, hit their own. SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH. 45 Who looks on ground with humble eyes, Finds himself there, and seeks to rise. When th' hair is sweet through pride or lust, The powder doth forget the dust. In shallow waters heav'n doth show : But who drinks on, to hell may go. HOME. 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, O take me up to thee ! When man was lost, thy pity look'd about,* To see what help in th' earth or sky : But there was none ; at least no help without: The help did in thy bosom lie. O show thyself to me, Or take me up to thee ! * See Isaiah lxiii. 5. 46 BEAUTIES OF HERBERT. There lay thy Son : and must he leave that nest, That hive of sweetness, to remove Thraldom from those, who would not at a feast Leave one poor apple of thy love? O show thyself to me, Or take me up to thee. He did, he came : O my Redeemer, dear, After all this canst thou be strange ? So many years baptized, and not appear; As if thy love could fail or change ? O show thyself to me, Or take me up to thee. Yet if thou stayest still, why must I stay? My God, what is this world to me ? This world of woe ? hence, all ye clouds, away, Away ; I must get up and see. O show thyself to me, Or take me up to thee. O loose this frame, this knot of man untie ! That my free soul may use her wing, Which now is pinion'd with mortality As an intangled, hamper'd thing. O show thyself to me, Or take me up to thee. SELECTIONS FROM THE CI T URCH. 47 What have I left, that I should stay and groan ? The most of me to heav'n is fled : My thoughts and joys are all pack'd up and gone, And for their old acquaintance plead. O show thyself to me, Or take me up to thee. Come, dearest Lord, pass not this holy season, My flesh and bones and joints do pray : And ev'n my verse, wLen by the rhyme and reason The word is, Stay, says ever, Come. O show thyself to me, Or take me Home to thee ! JESU Jesu is in my heart ; his sacred name Is deeply carved there : but the other week A great affliction broke the little frame, Ev'n all to pieces ; which I went to seek And first I found the corner where was J, After, where E S, and next where U was graved. When I had got these parcels, instantly I sat down to spell them, and perceived That to my broken heart he was I ease yon, And to my whole is JESU, 48 BEA UTIES OF HERBER T. BUSINESS. Canst be idle ? canst thou play, Foolish soul who sinned to-day? Rivers run, and springs each one Know their home and get them gone : Hast thou tears, or hast thou none ? If, poor soul, thou hast no tears ; Would thou hadst no faults or fears ! Who hath these, those ill forbears. Winds still work : it is their plot, Be the season cold or hot : Hast thou sighs, or hast thou not ? If thou hast no sighs or groans, Would thou hadst no flesh and bones » The less pains 'scape greater ones. But if thou idle be, Foolish soul, Who died for thee ? Who did leave his Father's throne, To assume thy flesh and bone? Had he life, or had he none ? SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH. 49 If he had not liv'd for thee, Thou hadst died most wretchedly ; And two deaths had been thy fee. He so far thy good did plot, That his own self he forgot. Did he die, or did he not ? If he had not died for thee, Thou hadst lived in mis'ry. Two lives worse than ten deaths be. And hath any space Twixt his sins and Savior's death ? He that loseth gold, though dross, Tells to all he meets, his cross : He that sins, hath he no loss ? He that finds a silver vein, Thinks on it, and thinks again : Brings thy Savior's death no gain ? Who in heart not ever kneels, Neither sin nor Savior feels. 5o BE A UTIES OF HERBER T DIALOGUE. Sweetest Savior, if my soul Were but worth the having, Quickly should I then control Any thought of wav'ring. But when all my care and pains Cannot give the name of gains To thy wretch so full of stains ; What delight or hope remains? What (child), is the balance thine, Thine the poise and measure ? If I say, Thou shalt be mine, Finger not my treasure. What the gains in having thee Do amount to, only He, Who for man was sold, can see, That transferred th' accounts to me, But as I can see no merit, Leading to this favor : So the way to fit me for it, Is beyond my favor. As the reason then is thine ; So the way is none of mine — I disclaim the whole design — Sin disclaims and I resign. SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH. 51 That is all, if that I could Get without repining ; And my clay, my creature, would Follow my resigning : That as I did freely part With my glory and desert, Left all joys to feel all smart — Ah ! no more : thou break'st my heart. LOVE -JOY. As on a window late I cast mine eye, I saw a vine drop grapes with J and C Anneal'd on every branch. One standing by Ask'd what it meant. I (who am never loth To spend my judgment) said, It seem'd to me To be the body and the letters both Of Joy and Charity : Sir, you have not miss'd, The man replied : it figures Jesus Christ. HOPE. I gave to Hope a watch of mine ; but he An anchor gave to me. 52 BEA UTIES OF HERBER T. Then an old Prayer-book I did present : And he an optic* sent. With that I gave a vial full of tears : But he a few green ears. Ah, Loiterer ! I'll no more, no more I'll bring, I did expect a ring. TIME Meeting with Time, Slack thing, said I, Thy scythe is dull ; whet it for shame. No marvel, Sir, he did reply, If it at length deserve some blame : But where one man would have me grind it, Twenty for one too sharp do find it. Perhaps some such of old did pass, Who above all things lov'd this life To whom thy scythe a hatchet was, Which now is but a pruning-knife. Christ's coming hath made man thy debtor, Since by thy cutting he grows better. * An instrument of sight. SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH. 53 Aud in his blessing thou art blest : For where thou only wert before An executioner at best, Thou art a gardn'r now, and more. An usher to convey our souls Beyond the utmost stars and poles. And this is what makes life so long, While it detains us from our God. Ev'n pleasures here increase the wrong : And length of days lengthens the rod. Who wants the place where God doth dwell, Partakes already half of hell. Of what strange length must that needs be, Which ev'n eternity excludes ! Thus far Time heard me patiently : Then chafing said, This man deludes — What do I here before his door ? He doth not crave less time, but more. GRATEFULNESS. O Thou that hast giv'n so much to me, Give one thing more, a grateful heart. See how thy beggar works on thee Bv art. 54 BEA UTIES OF HERBER T. He makes thy gifts occasion more, And says, If he in this be cross'd, All thou hast giv'n him heretofore Is lost. But thou didst reckon, when at first Thy word our hearts and hands did crave, What it would come to at the worst To save. Perpetual knockings at thy door, Tears sullying thy transparent rooms. Gift upon gift ; much would have more, And comes. Wherefore I cry, and cry again ; And in no quiet canst thou be, Till I a thankful heart obtain Of thee, Not thankful, when it pleaseth me ; As if thy blessings had spare days : But such a heart, whose pulse may be Thy praise. SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH. 55 PEACE. Sweet Peace, where dost thou dwell? I humbly crave, Let me once know. I sought thee in a secret cave, And ask'd, if Peace were there. A hollow wind did seem to answer, No ; Go seek elsewhere. I did ; and going did a rainbow note : Surely, thought I, This is the lace of Peace's coat : I will search out the matter. But while I looked, the clouds immediately Did break and scatter. Then went I to a garden, and did spy A gallant flower, The crown Imperial :* Sure, said I, Peace at the root must, dwell. But when I dug, I saw a worm devour What show'd so well. At length I met a rev'rend good old man: Whom when for Peace I did demand, he thus began : There was a Prince of old At Salem dwelt, who liv'd with good increase Of flock and fold. * The flower of that name . 56 BEAUTIES OF HERBERT. He sweetly liv'd ; yet sweetness did not save His life from foes. But after death out of his grave There sprang twelve stalks of wheat: Which many wond'ring at, got some of those To plant and set. It prosper'd strangely, and did soon disperse Through all the earth : For they that taste it do rehearse, That virtue lies therein ; A secret virtue, bringing peace and mirth By flight of sin. Take of this grain, which in my garden grows, And grows for you ; Make bread of it : and that repose. And peace which ev'ry where With so much earnestness you do pursue, Is only there. GIDDINESS, Oh, what a thing is man ! how far from power From settled peace and rest ! He is some twenty sev'ral Eti3ti at least Each sev'ral hour. SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH, 57 One while he counts of heav'n,as of his treasure : But then a thought creeps in, And calls him coward, who for fear of sin Will lose a pleasure. Now he will fight it out, and to the wars ; Now eat his bread in peace, Lie snug in quiet: now he scorns increase ; Now all day spares. He builds a house, which quickly down must go, As if a whirlwind blew And crush'd the building; and it's partly true, His mind is so. O what a sight were Man, if his attires Did alter with his mind ; And, like a Dolphin's skin, his clothes combined With his desires !* Surely if each one saw another's heart, There would be no commerce, No sale or bargain pass : all would disperse, And live apart. :: If his outward appearance changed like and as often as hi \ mind. 5 8 BEA UTIES OF HERBER T. Lord, mend or rather make us : one creation Will not suffice one term : Except thou make us daily, we shall spurn Our own salvation. PARADISE.t I bless thee, Lord, because I GROW Among thy trees, which in a ROW To thee both fruit and order OW. What open force, or hidden CHARM Can blast my fruit, or bring me HARM, While the inclosure is thine ARM ? Inclose me still for fear I START. Be to me rather sharp and TART, Than let me want thy hand and ART. When thou dost greater judgment Spare, And with thy knife but prune and Pare, Ev'n fruitful trees more fruitful Are. t From this beautiful poem it is evident that by Paradise Mr. Her- bert did not understand simply and only Heaven or the place of de- parted spirits from death to the resurrection, but also the Church of Christ in which are the good, as trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord . SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH, 59 Such sharpness shows the sweetest Friend, Such cuttings rather heal than Rend, And such beginnings touch their End. THE METHOD. Poor heart, lament. For since thy God refuseth still, There is some rub, some discontent, Which cools his will. Thy Father could Quickly effect, what thou dost move, For he is Power : and sure he would ; For he is Love. What do I see Written above there ? Yesterday I did behave me carelessly, When I did pray. And should God's ear To such indifferents* chained be, Who do not their own motions hear? Is God less free ? * Indifferent p 31*3 )ns. 60 BEAUTIES OF HERBERT. But stay ! what's there ? Late when I would have something done, I had a notion to forbear, Yet I went on. And should God's care, Which needs not man, be tied to those Who hear not him, but quickly hear His utter foes ? Then once more pray : Down with thy knees, up with thy voice Seek pardon first, and God will say, Glad heart rejoice. THE PILGRIMAGE. I travell'd on, seeing the hill, where lay My expectation. A long it was and weary way, The gloomy cave of Desperation I left on th' one, and on the other side The rock ot Pride. SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH. 61 And so I came to fancy's meadow strew'd With many a flower : Fain would I here have made abode, But t was quicken'd by my hour. So to care's copse* I came, and there got through With much ado. That led me to the wild of passion ; which Some call the wold ;t A wasted place, but sometimes rich. Here I was robb'd of all my gold, Save one good Angel, £ which a friend had ti'd Close to my side, At length I got unto the gladsome hill, Where lay my hope, Where lay my heart ; and climbing still, When I had gain'd the brow and top, A lake of brakish waters on the ground Was all I found. With that abash'd and struck with many a sting Of swarming fears, I fell, and cri'd, Alas my King; Can both the way and end be tears ? * A wood of small growth, or brushwood. t A wood or forest. % An ancient coin bearing the figure of an angel. 62 BEAUTIES OF HERBERT. Yet taking heart I rose, and then perceiv'd I was deceived : My hill was further ; so I flung away, Yet heard a cry Just as I went, None goes that way And lives : If that be all, said I, After so foul a journey death is fair, And but a chair. COMPLAINING. Do not beguile my heart, Because thou art My power and wisdom. Put me not to shame, Because I am Thy clay that weeps, thy dust that calls. Thou art the Lord of glory ; The deed and story Are both thy due : but I a silly flie, That live or die, According as the weather falls. SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH. 63 Art thou all justice, Lord : Shows not thy word More attributes ? Ant I all throat or eye, To weep or cry? Have I no parts but those of grief? Let not thy wrathful power Afflict my hour, My inch of life : or let thy gracious power Contract my hour, That I may climb and find relief. PRAISE. King of glory, King of peace, I will love thee : And that love may never cease, I will move thee. Thou hast granted my request, Thou hast heard me : Thou didst note my working breast, Thou hast spar'd me. 64 BEA UTIES OF HERBER T. Wherefore with my utmost art I will sing thee, And the cream of all my heart I will bring thee. Though my sins against me cried, Thou didst clear me ; And alone, when they replied, Thou didst hear me. Sev'n whole days, not one in seven, I will praise thee. In my heart, though not in heaven I can raise thee. Small it is, in this poor sort To enroll thee : Ev'n eternity is too short To extol thee. THE CALL. Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life : Such a Way, as gives us breath : Such a Truth, as ends all strife : Such a Life, as killeth death. SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH, 65 Come, my Light, my Feast, my Strength : Such a Light, as shows a feast : Such a feast, as mends in length : Such a Strength, as makes his guest. Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart : Such a Joy, as None can move : Such a Love, as none can part : Such a Heart, as joys in love. CLASPING OF HANDS. Lord, thou art mine, and I am thine, If mine I am : and thine much more, Than I or ought, or can be mine. Yet to be thine, doth me restore ; So that again I now am mine, And with advantage mine the more. Since this being mine, brings with it thine, And thou with me dost thee restore. If I without thee would be mine, I neither should be mine nor thine. Lord, I am thine, and thou art mine : So mine thou art, that something more I may presume thee mine, then thine ; For thou didst suffer to restore 66 BEAUTIES OF HERBERT. Not thee, but me, and to be mine : And with advantage mine the more, Since thou in death wast none of thine, Yet then as mine didst me restore. O be mine still ! still make me thine ; Or rather make me Thine and Mine. THE PRIMITIVE MAN.* When God at first made man, Having a glass of blessings standing by ; Let us (said he) pour on him all we can : Let the world's riches, which dispersed lie, Contract into a span. So strength first made a way ; Then beauty flow'd, then wisdom, honor, pleasure When almost all was out, God made a stay, Perceiving that alone, of all his treasure, Rest in the bottom lay. - For if I should (said he) Bestow this jewel 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. * We prefer this title to that given by Mr. Herbert to this beautiful poem, viz. The Pully. SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH. 67 Yet let him keep the rest, But keep them with repining restlessness: Let him be rich and weary, that at least, If goodness lead him not. yet weariness May lift him to my breast. THE SEARCH. Whither, O whither art thou fled, My Lord, my Love ? My searches are my daily bread ; Yet never prove. My knees pierce th' earth, mine eyes the sky And yet the sphere And centre both to me deny That thou art there. Yet can I mark how herbs below; Grow green and gay, As if to meet thee they did know, While I decay. Yet can I mark how stars above Simper* and shine, And having keys unto thy love, While poor I pine. Glimmer, twinkle. 68 BE A UTIES OF HERBER T. I sent a sigh to seek thee out, Deep drawn in pain, Wing'd like an arrow : but in my scout Returns in vain. Where is my God? what hidden place Conceals thee still ? What covert dare eclipse thy face ? Is it thy will ? 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 Bast and West touch, the poles do kiss, And parallels meet. Since then my grief must be as large As is thy space, Thy distance from me ; see my charge, Lord, see my case. SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH. 69 O take these bars, these lengths away ; Turn, and restore me : Be not Almighty, let me say, Against, but for me. When thou dost turn, and wilt be near ; What edge so keen, What point so piercing can appear To come between ? For as thy absence doth excel All distance known : So doth thy nearness bear the bell, Making two one. THE FLOWER.* How fresh, O Lord, how sweet and clean Are thy returns ! ev'n as the flowers in spring ; To which, besides their own demean, The late-past frosts tributes of pleasure bring. Grief melts away Like snow in May, As if there were no such cold thing. * To this exquisite poem Coleridge pays this just tribute: "The Flower is especially affecting, and to me such a phrase as ' relish versing ' expresses a sincerity, a realrcy which I would not willingly exchange for the more dignified, ' and once more love the muse. ' ' ' It is a delicious poem. 70 BE A [/TIES OF HERBER T. Who would have thought my shrivel'd heart Could have recovered greenness ? It was gone Quite underground ; as flowers depart To see their mother-root, when they have blown ; Where they together All the hard weather, Dead to the world, keep house unknown. These are thy wonders, Lord of power, Killing and quick'ning, bringing down to hell And up to heaven in an hour ; Making a chiming of a passing-bell. We say amiss, This or that is: Thy word is all, if we could spell. O that I once past changing were, Fast in thy Paradise, where no flower can wither ! Many a spring I shoot up fair, Oft'ring at heav'n, growing and groaning thither : Nor doth my flower Want a spring-shower, My sins and I joining together. But while I grow in a straight line, Still upwards bent, as if heav'n were mine own, SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH. 71 Thy anger comes, and I decline : What frost to that ? what pole is not the zone Where all things burn, When thou dost turn, And the least frown of thine is shown ? 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 only light, It cannot be That I am he, On whom thy tempests fell all night. These are thy wonders, Lord of love, To make us see we are but flowers that glide, Which when we once can find and prove, Thou hast a garden for us where to bide, Who would be more, Swelling through store, Forfeit their Paradise by their pride. A TRUE HYMN. My joy, my life, my crown ! My heart was meaning all the day, Somewhat it fain would say, 72 BEAUTIES OF HERBERT. And still it runneth mutt'ring up and down, With only this, My joy, my life, my crown. Yet slight not these few words ; If truly said, they may take part Among the best in art. The fineness which a hymn or psalm affords, Is, when the soul unto the lines accords. He who craves all the mind, And all the soul, and strength, and time, If the words only rhyme, Justly complains, that some what is behind To make his verse, or write a hymn in kind. Whereas if th' heart be moved, Although the verse be somewhat scant, God doth supply the want. As when th' heart says (sighing to be approved) O, could I love ! and stops ; God writeth, Loved. A DIALOGUE— ANTHEM. CHRISTIAN, DEATH. Chr. — Alas, poor death ! Where is thy glory ? Where is thy famous force, thy ancient sting ? Dea. — Alas, poor mortal, void of story, Go spell and read how I have kill'd thy King. SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH. 73 Ckr. — Poor death ! and who was hurt thereby ? Thy curse being laid on him makes thee ac- curst, Dea.— Let losers talk, yet thou shalt die ; These arms shall crush thee. Chr. — Spare not, do thy worst. I shall be one day better than before : Thou so much worse, that thou shalt be no more. BITTER-SWEET. Ah, my dear angry Lord, Since thou dost love, yet strike ; Cast down, yet help afford ; Sure I will do the like. I will complain, yet praise ; I will bewail, approve: And all my sour-sweet days I will lament, and love. 74 BE A UTIES OF BERBER T. THE GLANCE. When first thy sweet and gracious eye, Vouchsaf d ev'n in the midst of youth and night To look upon me, who before did lie Weltering in sin ; I felt a sugar'd,* strange delight, Passing all cordials made by any art, Bedew, embalm, and overrun my heart, -nnd take it in. F Since that time many a bitter storm My soul hath felt, ev'n able to destroy, Had the malicious and ill-meaning harm His swing and sway : But still thy sweet original joy, Sprung from thine eye, did work within my soul, And surging griefs, when they grew bold, control, And got the day. If thy first glance so powerful be, A mirth but open'd, and seal'd up again ; What wonders shall we feel, when we shall see Thy full-ey'd love ! When thou shalt look us out of pain, And one aspect of thine spend in delight More than a thousand suns disburse in light, In heav'n above. * Sweetened, pleasant, agreeable. SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH. 75 THE TWENTY-THIRD PSALM. The God of love my shepherd is, And he that doth me feed : While he is mine, and I am his, What can I want or need ? He leads me to the tender grass, Where I both feed and rest ; Then to the streams that gently pass : In both I have the best. Or if I stray, he doth convert, And bring my mind in frame And all this not for my desert, But for his holy name. Yea, in death's shady black abode Well may I walk, not fear: For thou art with me, and thy rod To guide, thy staff to bear. Nay, thou dost make me sit and dine, Ev'n in my enemies' sight: My head with oil, my cup with wine Runs over day and night. 76 BEA UTIES OF HERBER T. Surely thy sweet and wondrous love Shall measure all my days ; And as it never shall remove, So neither shall my praise. AARON. Holiness on the head, Light and perfections on the breast, Harmonious bells below raising the dead To lead them unto life and rest. Thus are true Aarons drest. Profaneness in my head, Defects and darkness in my breast, A noise of passions ringing me for dead Unto a place where is no rest : Poor priest* thus am I drest. Only another head I have, another heart and breast, Another music, making live, not dead ; Without whom I could have no rest : In him I am well drest. * In the Church of England presbyters are wrongly called priests SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH. 77 Christ is my only head, My alone only heart and breast, My only music, striking me ev'n dead ; That to the old man I may rest, And be in him new drest. THE FOIL. If we could see below The sphere of virtue, and each shining grace, As plainly as that above doth show ; This were the better sky, the brighter place. God hath made stars the foil To set off virtues ; griefs to set off sinning : Yet in this wretched world we toil, As if grief were not foul, nor virtue winning. DISCIPLINE. Throw away thy rod, Throw away thy wrath O my God, Take the gentle path. 78 BEA [/TIES OF HERBER T. For my heart's desire Unto thine is bent: I aspire To a full content. Not a word or look I affect to own, But by book, And thy book alone. Though I fail, I weep : Though I halt in pace, Yet I creep To the throne of grace. Then let wrath remove ; Love will do the deed : For with love Stony hearts will bleed. Love is swift of foot, Love's a man of war, And can shoot, And can hit from far. SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH. 79 Who can 'scape his bow ? That which wrought on thee, Brought thee low, Needs must work on me. Throw away thy rod ; Though man frailties hath, Thou art God : Throw away thy wrath. THE INVITATION. Come ye hither all, whose taste Is your waste Save your cost, and mend your fare, God is here prepar'd and drest, And the feast, God, in whom all dainties are. Come ye hither all, whom wine Doth define,* Naming you not to your good : Weep what ye have drunk amiss, And drink this, Which before ye drink isf blood. * Tell its qualities, t Represents blood. 8o BEAUTIES OF HERBERT. Come ye hither all, whom pain Doth arraign, Bringing all your sins to sight : Taste and fear not : God is here In this cheer, And on sin doth cast the fright. Come ye hither all, whom joy Doth destroy, While ye graze without your bounds Here is joy that drowneth quite Your delight, As a flood the lower grounds. Come ye hither all, whose love Is your dove, And exalts you to the sky : Here is love, which having breath Ev'n in death, After death can never die. Lord I have invited all, And I shall Still invite, still call to thee : For it seems but just and right In my sight, Where is all, there all should be. SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH. 81 THE MOTTO.* Let wits contest, And with their words and mottoes windows fill ; Less than the least Of all thy mercies, is my motto still. This on my ring, This by my picture in my book I write : Whether I sing, Or say, or dictate, this is my delight. Invention rest ; Comparisons go play ; wit use thy will : Less than the least Of all God's mercies, is my motto still. A PARODY. Soul's joy, when thou art gone And I alone, Which cannot be, Because thou dost abide with me, And I depend on thee ; * In Herbert's Works this poem is called ''The Posie," which then meant motto. 82 BE A UTIES OF HERBER T. Yet when thou doth suppress The cheerfulness Of thy abode, And in my powers not stir abroad, But leave me to my load : O what a damp and shade Doth me invade ! No stormy night Can so afflict, or so affright, As thy eclipsed light. Ah Lord ! do not withdraw, Lest want of awe Make sin appear, And when thou dost but shine less clear, Say, that thou art not here. And then what life I have, While sin doth rave, And falsely boast, That I may seek, but thou art lost ; Thou, and alone thou know'st. O what a deadly cold Doth me infold ! I half believe, That sin says true : but while I grieve, Thou com'st and dost relieve. SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH, 83 THE ELIXIR. Teach me, my God and King, In all things thee to see, And what I do in anything, To do it as for thee : Not rudely, as a beast, To run into an action ; But still to make thee prepossess'd, And give it his perfection. A man that looks on glass, On it may stay his eye ; Or if he pleaseth, through it pass, And then the heav'n espy. All may of thee partake : Nothing can be so mean, Which with his tincture (for thy sake) Will not grow bright and clean. A servant with this clause Makes drudgery divine : Who sweeps a room, as for thy laws, Makes that and th' action fine. 84 BE A [/TIES OE HERBER T. This is the famous stone That turneth all to gold, For that which God doth touch and own, Cannot for less be told. DEATH. Death, thou wast once an uncouth hideous thinr, Nothing but bones. The sad effect of sadder groans : Thy mouth was open, but thou couldst not sing. For we consider'd thee as at some six Or ten vears hence, After the loss of life and sense, Flesh being turn'd to dust, and bones to sticks. We look'd on this side of thee, shooting short ; Where we did find The shells of fledge souls left behind, Dry dust, which sheds no tears, but may extort. But since our Saviour's death did put some blood Into thy face ; Thou art grown fair and full of grace, Much in request, much sought for, as a good. SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH. 85 For we do now behold thee gay and glad, As at dooms-day ; When souls shall wear their new array : And all thy bones with beauty shall he clad. Therefore we can go die as sleep, and trust Half that we have Unto an honest, faithful grave ; Making our pillows either down or dust. DOOMS-DAY.* Come away, Make no delay. Summon all the dust to rise, Till it stir, and rub the eyes ; While this member joys the other, Each one whispering, Live you, brother? Come away, Make this the day. Dust, alas, no music feels, But thy trumpet : then it kneels, * Though the teachings of this poem are in accord with the prev^ alent sentiment of the Church as to the literal resurrection of the entire body, in the times when Herbert lived, they are now consid- red too gross and material. 86 BEAUTIES OF HERBERT. As peculiar notes and strains Cure Tarantula's* raging pains. Come away, O make no stay ! Let the graves make their confession, Lest at length they plead possession : Flesh's stubbornness may have Read that lesson to the grave. Come away, Thy flock doth stray. Some to the winds their body lend, And in them may drown a friend : Some in noisome vapors grow To a plague and public wo. Come away, Help our decay, Man is out of order hurl'd, Parcel'd out to all the world. Lord, thy broken consort raise, And the music shall be praise. * A species of spider, whose bite is poisonous and extremely painful. SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH. 87 JUDGMENT. Almighty Judge, how shall poor wretches brook Thy dreadful look, Able a heart of iron to appall, When thou shalt call For ev'ry man's peculiar book ? What others mean to do, I know not well ; Yet I hear tell, That some will turn thee to some leaves therein So void of sin, That they in merit shall excel. But I resolve, when thou shalt call for mine, That to decline, And thrust a Testament into thy hand : Let that be scann'd. There thou shalt find my faults are thine.* HEAVEN. O who will show me those delights on iiigh ? Echo — /. Thou Echo, thou art mortal, all men know. Echo — No, * Atoned for and cancelled by the Savior and Judge. 88 BEAUTIES OF HERBERT. Wert thou not born among the trees and leaves? Echo — Leaves. And are there any leaves, that still abide ? Echo — Bide. What leaves are they? impart the matter wholly. Echo — Holy. Are holy leaves the Echo then of bliss ? Echo — Yes. Then tell me, what is that supreme delight? " Echo — Light. Light to the mind : what shall the will enjoy ? Echo — Joy. But are there cares and business with the pleasure > Echo — Leisure. Light, joy, and leisure : but shall they pei sever ?* Echo — Ever. LOVE. Love bade me we/come : yet my soul drew back Guilty of dust and sin. But quick-ey'd love, observing me grow slack From my first entrance in, Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning, If I lack'd anything. * Obsolete for persevere, continue. SELECTIONS FROM THE CHURCH. 89 A guest, I answer'd, worthy* to be here : Love said, you shall be he. I the unkind, ungrateful ? Ah my dear, I cannot look on thee. Love took my hand, and smiling did reply Who made the eyes but I ? Truth, Lord, but I have marr'd them : let my shame Go where it doth deserve. And know you not, says Love, who bore the blame ? My dear, then I will serve. 7ou must sit down, says Love, and taste my meat : So I did sit and eat. Glory be to God on High, and on Earth Peace, Good Will Towards Men. * Not oi nature, but oi grace x accounted worthy or suitable.