George Herbert- Collected Poetical Works

by George Herbert

  EASTER-WINGS.

  Lord, who createdst man in wealth and store,

  Though foolishly he lost the same,

  Decaying more and more,

  Till he became

  Most poor: 5

  With thee

  O let me rise

  As larks, harmoniously,

  And sing this day thy victories:

  Then shall the fall further the flight in me. 10

  My tender age in sorrow did begin:

  And still with sicknesses and shame

  Thou didst so punish sin,

  That I became

  Most thin. 15

  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. 20

  HOLY BAPTISM I.

  As he that sees a dark and shady grove,

  Stays not, but looks beyond it on the sky;

  So when I view my sins, mine eyes remove

  More backward still, and to that water fly,

  Which is above the heav’ns, whose spring and rent 5

  Is in my dear Redeemer’s piercèd side.

  O blessed streams! either ye do prevent

  And stop our sins from growing thick and wide,

  Or else give tears to drown them, as they grow.

  In you Redemption measures all my time, 10

  And spreads the plaster equal to the crime:

  You taught the Book of Life my name, that so

  Whatever future sins should me miscall,

  Your first acquaintance might discredit all.

  HOLY BAPTISM II.

  Since, Lord, to thee

  A narrow way and little gate

  Is all the passage, on my infancy

  Thou didst lay hold, and antedate

  My faith in me. 5

  O let me still

  Write thee great God, and me a child:

  Let me be soft and supple to thy will,

  Small to myself, to others mild,

  Behither ill. 10

  Although by stealth

  My flesh get on; yet let her sister

  My soul bid nothing, but preserve her wealth:

  The growth of flesh is but a blister;

  Childhood is health. 15

  NATURE.

  Full of rebellion, I would die,

  Or fight, or travel, or deny

  That thou hast ought to do with me.

  O tame my heart;

  It is thy highest art 5

  To captivate strong holds to thee.

  If thou shalt let this venom lurk,

  And in suggestions fume and work,

  My soul will turn to bubbles straight,

  And thence by kind 10

  Vanish into a wind,

  Making thy workmanship deceit.

  O smooth my rugged heart, and there

  Engrave thy rev’rend law and fear;

  Or make a new one, since the old 15

  Is sapless grown,

  And a much fitter stone

  To hide my dust, than thee to hold.

  SIN I.

  Lord, with what care hast thou begirt us round!

  Parents first season us: then schoolmasters

  Deliver us to laws; they send us bound

  To rules of reason, holy messengers,

  Pulpits and Sundays, sorrow dogging sin, 5

  Afflictions sorted, anguish of all sizes,

  Fine nets and stratagems to catch us in,

  Bibles laid open, millions of surprises,

  Blessings beforehand, ties of gratefulness,

  The sound of glory ringing in our ears: 10

  Without, our shame; within, our consciences;

  Angels and grace, eternal hopes and fears.

  Yet all these fences and their whole array

  One cunning bosom-sin blows quite away.

  AFFLICTION I.

  When first thou didst entice to thee my heart,

  I thought the service brave:

  So many joys I writ down for my part,

  Besides what I might have

  Out of my stock of natural delights, 5

  Augmented with thy gracious benefits.

  I lookèd on thy furniture so fine,

  And made it fine to me:

  Thy glorious household-stuff did me entwine,

  And ‘tice me unto thee. 10

  Such stars I counted mine: both heav’n and earth

  Paid me my wages in a world of mirth.

  What pleasures could I want, whose King I served?

  Where joys my fellows were.

  Thus argued into hopes, my thoughts reserv’d 15

  No place for grief or fear.

  Therefore my sudden soul caught at the place,

  And made her youth and fierceness seek thy face.

  At first thou gav’st me milk and sweetnesses;

  I had my wish and way: 20

  My days were straw’d with flow’rs and happiness;

  There was no month but May.

  But with my years sorrow did twist and grow,

  And made a party unawares for woe.

  My flesh began unto my soul in pain, 25

  Sicknesses cleave my bones;

  Consuming agues dwell in ev’ry vein,

  And tune my breath to groans.

  Sorrow was all my soul; I scarce believ’d,

  Till grief did tell me roundly, that I liv’d. 30

  When I got health, thou took’st away my life,

  And more; for my friends die:

  My mirth and edge was lost; a blunted knife

  Was of more use than I.

  Thus thin and lean without a fence or friend, 35

  I was blown through with ev’ry storm and wind.

  Whereas my birth and spirit rather took

  The way that takes the town;

  Thou didst betray me to a ling’ring book,

  And wrap me in a gown. 40

  I was entangled in the world of strife,

  Before I had the power to change my life.

  Yet, for I threat’ned oft the siege to raise,

  Not simp’ring all mine age,

  Thou often didst with academic praise 45

  Melt and dissolve my rage.

  I took thy sweet’ned pill, till I came where

  I could not go away, nor persevere.

  Yet lest perchance I should too happy be

  In my unhappiness, 50

  Turning my purge to food, thou throwest me

  Into more sicknesses.

  Thus doth thy power cross-bias me, not making

  Thine own gift good, yet me from my ways taking.

  Now I am here, what thou wilt do with me 55

  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. 60

  Yet, though thou troublest me, I must be meek;

  In weakness must be stout.

  Well, I will change the service, and go seek

  Some other master out.

  Ah my dear God! though I am clean forgot, 65

  Let me not love thee, if I love thee not.

  REPENTANCE.

  Lord, I confess my sin is great

  Great is my sin. O! gently treat

  With thy quick flow’r, thy momentary bloom;

  Whose life still pressing

  Is one undressing, 5

  A steady aiming at a tomb.

  Man’s age is two hours’ work, or three:

  Each day doth round about us see.

  Thus are we to delights: but we are all

  To sorrows old, 10

  If life be told

  From what life feeleth, Adam’s fall.

  O let thy height of mercy then

  Compassionate short-breathed men.

  C
ut me not off for my most foul transgression: 15

  I do confess

  My foolishness;

  My God, accept of my confession.

  Sweeten at length this bitter bowl,

  Which thou hast poured into my soul; 20

  Thy wormwood turn to health, winds to fair weather:

  For if thou stay,

  I and this day,

  As we did rise, we die together.

  When thou for sin rebukest man, 25

  Forthwith he waxeth woe and wan:

  Bitterness fills our bowels; all our hearts

  Pine, and decay,

  And drop away,

  And carry with them th’ other parts. 30

  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. 35

  Fractures well cured make us more strong.

  FAITH.

  Lord, how couldst thou so much appease

  Thy wrath for sin as, when man’s sight was dim,

  And could see little, to regard his ease,

  And bring by Faith all things to him?

  Hungry I was, and had no meat: 5

  I did conceit a most delicious feast;

  I had it straight, and did as truly eat,

  As ever did a welcome guest.

  There is a rare outlandish root,

  Which when I could not get, I thought it here: 10

  That apprehension cured so well my foot,

  That I can walk to heav’n well near.

  I owèd thousands and much more:

  I did believe that I did nothing owe,

  And liv’d accordingly; my creditor 15

  Believes so too, and lets me go.

  Faith makes me anything, or all

  That I believe is in the sacred story:

  And where sin placeth me in Adam’s fall,

  Faith sets me higher in his glory. 20

  If I go lower in the book,

  What can be lower than the common manger?

  Faith puts me there with him, who sweetly took

  Our flesh and frailty, death and danger.

  If bliss had lien in art or strength, 25

  None but the wise or strong had gain’d it:

  Where now by Faith all arms are of a length;

  One size doth all conditions fit.

  A peasant may believe as much

  As a great clerk, and reach the highest stature. 30

  Thus dost thou make proud knowledge bend and crouch

  While grace fills up uneven nature.

  When creatures had no real light

  Inherent in them, thou didst make the sun,

  Impute a lustre, and allow them bright; 35

  And in this show, what Christ hath done.

  That which before was dark’ned clean

  With bushy groves, pricking the looker’s eye,

  Vanisht away, when Faith did change the scene:

  And then appear’d a glorious sky. 40

  What though my body run to dust?

  Faith cleaves unto it, counting ev’ry grain

  With an exact and most particular trust,

  Reserving all for flesh again.

  PRAYER I.

  Prayer the Church’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’ Almighty, sinners’ tower, 5

  Reversèd thunder, Christ-side-piercing spear,

  The six-days world-transposing in an hour,

  A kind of tune, which all things hear and fear;

  Softness, and peace, and joy, and love, and bliss,

  Exalted Manna, gladness of the best, 10

  Heaven in ordinary, man well dresst,

  The milky way, the bird of Paradise,

  Church-bells beyond the stars heard, the soul’s blood,

  The land of spices; something understood.

  THE HOLY COMMUNION.

  Not in rich furniture, or fine array,

  Nor in a wedge of gold,

  Thou, who for me wast sold,

  To me dost now thyself convey;

  For so thou shouldst without me still have been, 5

  Leaving within me sin:

  But by the way of nourishment and strength

  Thou creep’st into my breast;

  Making thy way my rest,

  And thy small quantities my length; 10

  Which spread their forces into every part,

  Meeting sin’s force and art.

  Yet can these not get over to my soul,

  Leaping the wall that parts

  Our souls and fleshly hearts; 15

  But as th’ outworks, they may control

  My rebel-flesh, and carrying thy name,

  Affright both sin and shame.

  Only thy grace, which with these elements comes,

  Knoweth the ready way, 20

  And hath the privy key,

  Op’ning the soul’s most subtle rooms;

  While those to spirits refin’d, at door attend

  Dispatches from their friend.

  Give me my captive soul, or take 25

  My body also thither.

  Another lift like this will make

  Them both to be together.

  Before that sin turn’d flesh to stone,

  And all our lump to leaven; 30

  A fervent sigh might well have blown

  Our innocent earth to heaven.

  For sure when Adam did not know

  To sin, or sin to smother;

  He might to heav’n from Paradise go, 35

  As from one room t’another.

  Thou hast restored us to this ease

  By this thy heav’nly blood;

  Which I can go to, when I please,

  And leave th’ earth to their food. 40

  ANTIPHON I.

  Cho. Let all the world in ev’ry corner sing,

  My God and King.

  Vers. The heav’ns are not too high,

  His praise may thither fly:

  The earth is not too low, 5

  His praises there may grow.

  Cho. Let all the world in ev’ry corner sing,

  My God and King.

  Vers. The church with psalms must shout,

  No door can keep them out: 10

  But above all, the heart

  Must bear the longest part.

  Cho. Let all the world in ev’ry corner sing,

  My God and King.

  LOVE I.

  Immortal Love, author of this great frame,

  Sprung from that beauty which can never fade;

  How hath man parcell’d out thy glorious name,

  And thrown it on that dust which thou hast made,

  While mortal love doth all the title gain! 5

  Which siding with invention, they together

  Bear all the sway, possessing heart and brain

  (Thy workmanship), and give thee share in neither.

  Wit fancies beauty, beauty raiseth wit:

  The world is theirs; they two play out the game, 10

  Thou standing by: and though thy glorious name

  Wrought our deliverance from th’ infernal pit,

  Who sings thy praise? only a scarf or glove

  Doth warm our hands, and make them write of love.

  LOVE II.

  Immortal Heat, O let thy greater flame

  Attract the lesser to it: let those fires,

  Which shall consume the world, first make it tame;

  And kindle in our hearts such true desires,

  As may consume our lusts, and make thee way. 5

  Then shall our hearts pant thee; then shall our brain

  All her invention on thine Altar lay,

  And there in hymns send back thy
fire again:

  Our eyes shall see thee, which before saw dust;

  Dust blown by wit, till that they both were blind: 10

  Thou shalt recover all thy goods in kind,

  Who wert disseisèd by usurping lust:

  All knees shall bow to thee; all wits shall rise,

  And praise him who did make and mend our eyes.

  THE TEMPER I.

  How should I praise thee, Lord! how should my rhymes

  Gladly engrave thy love in steel,

  If what my soul doth feel sometimes,

  My soul might ever feel!

  Although there were some forty heav’ns, or more, 5

  Sometimes I peer above them all;

  Sometimes I hardly reach a score,

  Sometimes to hell I fall.

  O rack me not to such a vast extent;

  Those distances belong to thee: 10

  The world’s too little for thy tent,

  A grave too big for me.

  Wilt thou meet arms with man, that thou dost stretch

  A crumb of dust from heav’n to hell?

  Will great God measure with a wretch? 15

  Shall he thy stature spell?

  O let me, when thy roof my soul hath hid,

  O let me roost and nestle there:

  Then of a sinner thou art rid,

  And I of hope and fear. 20

  Yet take thy way; for sure thy way is best:

  Stretch or contract me, thy poor debtor:

  This is but tuning of my breast,

  To make the music better.

  Whether I fly with angels, fall with dust, 25

  Thy hands made both, and I am there:

  Thy power and love, my love and trust

  Make one place ev’ry where.

  THE TEMPER II.

  It cannot be. Where is that mighty joy,

  Which just now took up all my heart?

  Lord, if thou must needs use thy dart,

  Save that, and me; or sin for both destroy.

  The grosser world stands to thy word and art; 5

  But thy diviner world of grace

  Thou suddenly dost raise and race,

  And ev’ry day a new Creator art.

  O fix thy chair of grace, that all my powers

  May also fix their reverence: 10

  For when thou dost depart from hence,

  They grow unruly, and sit in thy bowers.

  Scatter, or bind them all to bend to thee:

  Though elements change, and heaven move,

  Let not thy higher Court remove, 15

  But keep a standing Majesty in me.

  JORDAN I.

  Who says that fictions only and false hair