Sermons (LXXX Sermons etc.); Holy Sonnets

Tiil now, thou warm'st with nttltiplying loves Two larks, two sparrows, or two dores. Ail that is nothing unto this, For thou this day couplest two phcenixes; Thou nak'st a taper see Vhat the sun never saw, and what the ark (Vhich was of fowls, and beasts, the cage, and park,) Did hot contain, one bed contains through thee, Two phcenixes, whose joined breasts Are unto one another nmtual nests, Vhcre notion kindlcs such rires, as shall give Young phoenixes, and yet the old shail li-c. Vhosc love and courage noyer shail dcclinc, But make thc wholc ycar through, thy day, O Valentine.

Up then fair phcenix bride, frustrate the sun, Thyself from thine affection Tak'st warmth enough, and from thine eye Ail lesser birds will take thier joility. Up, up, fait bride, and call, Thy stars, from out their several boxes; take Thy rubies, pearls, and diamonds forth, and make Thyself a constellation of them al], And by their blazing sinify, That a great princess falls, but doth hot die; Be thou a new star, that to us portends Ends of nuch 'onder; and be thou those ends, Since thou dost this day in new glory shine, llay all men date records, fron this thy Valentine.

Corne forth, corne forth, and as one glorious rame lleeting another, grows the saine, So nleet thy Frederic, and so To an unseparable union go, Since separation Fails hot on such things as are infinite, Nor things which are but one, can disunite. 'ou are twice inseparable, great, and one;

Go then te where the bishop sta{)'s, Te n,ake)'ou one, his way, which divers ways M,,st be cfl'ectcd, and when ail is past, And that)'ou are one, by hearts and hands ruade fast, ¥ou two bave ene way left, yourselves te cntwine, Besides this bishop's knot, O Bishop Valcntino.

But oh, vhat ails the sun, that here he st:tys, Longer to-day, than, other days! Stays he new light frein thesc te get. A nd finding here such store, is loth te,zet: And why de.vou two walk Se slowly paeed i,, this proeession. Is ail you care but te be look'd upon, A nd be te others spectacle, and talk. The feast, with gluttonous delays, ls eaten, a,d too long their meat they praisc, The masquers corne too late, and I think, will stay, Like thiries, till tlne cock erow them away. Alas, did net antiquity assign A night, as wcll as day, te thee, O Valcntine.

They did, and night is corne; and yet we sec Fornmlities retarding thee. Vlnat nwan these la,lies, which (as though They were te take a dock in pieces,) go Se nicely about the bride; A bride, before a good-night could be said, Should vanish frein hcr clothes, into her bed, As seuls frein bodies steal, and are net spied. But new she is laid; what tlnough she be. Yet there are more delays, for, where is he  He cornes, and passes thn'ouh sphere after sphere. First ber sheets, then l, er arms, then anywhere; Let net this day, tlnen, but this night be thine, Thy day was but the eve te this, O 'alentine.

]-Iere lies a she sun, and a he moon here, She gives the best light te his sphere,

Or each is both, and ail, and so They unto one another nothing owe, And yet thcy do, but are So just and 'ich in that coin which thcy pay, That neither wou](I, nor needs forbear, nor stay, lNeither dcsires to be spared, nor to ff)are, They quickly pay thcir debt, and thcn Take no ac(luittarlccs, but pay again; They pay, they give, flmy lcnd, and so let fall INo such occasion to be libcral. More truth, more courage in thcse two do shine, ï]mn al! thy turt]es have, and sparrows, Valcntine.

And by this act of these two phcenixes Nature again restored is, For since thcse two are two no nmrc, There's but one ph«enix stil], as was bctbre. Rcst now at last, and we As Satyrs watch the sun' uprise, will stay SVaiting, when your eyes opencd, let out day, On]y dcsired, because your face we sec; Othcrs near you shall whisl»cring speal, And wagers lay, at which side day will break, Aud win by observing, then, whose hand itis That opcns tiret a curtain, hors or his; This will be tried to-nml'row aftcr nine, Till which hour, we fly day enlarge, O Valcntilm.

COIIE lire with me, and be my love, And we will some new pleasures prove Of golden sands, and crystal broo]s: Vith silken lines, aud silver hooks.

There will thc river 'hispering run Warmed bv thy eycs, more than the sun. And there th" enamoured fish will stay, Begging themselvcs they may betray.

When thou wilt swim in that lire bath, Each lsh which every channel hath, Vill amorously to theo swim, Gladder to catch thee, than thou him. If thou to be so seen beest loth, By sun, or moon, thou darkenest both, And if myself have leave to see, I need not their light, having thee. Let others freeze with angling reeds, And cut their legs, which shells and weeds, Or treacherously poor fish beset, Vith strangling snare, or vindowy net: Let coarse bold hands, from slimy nest The bedded fish in ban -ks out-wrest, Or curious traitors" sleave-silk* flies Bcwitch poor fishes" wandering eyes. For thee, thou need'st no such deceit, For thou thyself art thine own bait, That fish, that is hOt catched thereby, Alas, is wiser far than l.

IV. A VALEWCTIO As virtuous men pass mildly away, And whisper to their souls to Vhilst some of their sad friends do say, The breath goes now, and some say, no: So let us mclt, and male no noise, No tear-floods, nor sigh-teml)ests more. Twerc profanation of our joys To tell thc laity out love. Moving of th  earth brings barres and fcars, Men reckon vhat it did and meant, ]ut trcpidation of the sphcres, Though grcater far, is innocent. • Sleave-silk, knotted or tangled SOEJOHNSON. "l" Tlis was written to his wife, on his going into France, about the year 1609. V'alton allears fo bave quoted it from memory a he differs widely from the original edition.—E».

Dull sublunary love love (Whose soul is sense) cannot adroit Absence, beause it doth remove Those things which elemented it.

But we by a love, so much reflned, That ourselves know hOt what it is, Inter-assured of the mind, Care legs, eyes, lips, and hands to miss.

Our two souls therefore, which are one, Though I must go, endure not yet A breach, but an expansion, Like gold to aery thinness beat.

If they be two, they are two so As stiff twin compasses are two, Thy soul the fixed foot, makes no show To more, but doth, if the other do.

And though it in the centre sit, Yet when the other far doth roam, It leans, and hearkens after it, And grows erect, as that cornes home.

Such wilt thou be to me, who must Like th » other foot, obliquely run. Thy firmness makes my circle just, And makes me end, where I begun.

THE V'ILL $. BIFORI I sigh my last gasp, let me breathe, Great love, some legacies; here I bequeath Mine eyes to Argus, if mine eyes can see, If they be blind, then, Love, I give them thee;

My tongue te faine; te ambassadors mine ears; Te women or the sea, my tears; Thou love, hast taught me heretofore By making me serve her v,-ho had twenty more, That I should givc te none, but such, as had too much beforc.

lly constancy I te the planets give, lly truth te them, who at the court de lire; lline ingenuity aml openness, Te Jesuits; te buffoons my pensiveness; My silence te any, who abroad bath been; My money te a Capuchin. Thou love taught'st me, by appointing me Te love there, where no love received can be, Only te give te such as have an incapacity.

My faith I give te Roman Catholics; Ail my good works imto the sehismatics Of Amsterdam; my best civility And courtship, te an university; My modesty I give te soldiers bare; My patience let galnesters share. Thou love taught'st me, by making me Love ber that holds my love disparity, Only te give te those that eount my gifts indignity.

I give my reputation te those Vhich were llly fi'iends; lnine industry te focs; Te schoolmen I bcqneath my doubtfulness; My sickness te physicians, or excess; Te nature, all that I lit rhymc have writ; And to my COlnœeany my wit; Thou lo'e, by making me adore Her, xvho begot this love in me before, Taught'st me to make, as though I gave, when I did but restore.

Te him for whom the passing-bell next tolls, I give my physic books; my written rolls Of moral counsels, I te ]3edlam give; My brazen medals, unto them which lire In want of bread; te them xvhich pass among Ail foreigners, mine English tongue.

Thon, love, by making me love one Vho thinks ber friendship a fit portiott For younger loyers, dost my gifts tllus disproportion. Therefore l'Il give no more; but Fil undo Tllc world by dying; becausc love dies too. Then ail your beauties will be no more worth Than gold in mines, where none dotll draw it forth. And ail your graces no more use shall havc Than a sun-dial in a grave; Thou love taughçst me, by making me Love her, who doth neglect both me and thee, To invent, and practisc this ont way to annihilate ail tllree.

To THE LADY IAGDALEN I-]ERKF, RT; OF ST. MA]Y MAGDALENo HR of your nnme, whose fait inheritance Iethin was, and jointure Magdlo; An active faith so higlfly did advance, That she once knew more than the chureh did know, The resurrection; so much good there is Delivered of her, that some fathers be Loth to believe one woman could do this; But think these Magdalens were two or three. Increase their number, lady, and their lame; To their devotion, add your innocence; Take so much of th" example as of the name; The latter hall; and in some recompence That they did harbour Christ himseff  guest, Harbour these hymns, to his dear name addrest. JoH Do..

DEATn! be not proud: thy hand gave not this blow; Sin was ber captive, whence thy power doth flow: The executioner of wrath thou art, But to destroy the just is hot thy part. Thy coming terror, anguish, grief, denounces; Her happy state, courage, case, joy, pronounces. From out the crystal palace of ber breast, The clearer sou] was called to endless rest: (lot by the thundering voice wherewith God threats, But as with crowned saints in heaven he treats) And, waited on by angels, home was brought, To joy that it through many dangers sought; The key of mercy gently did uu]ock The door 'twixt heaven and it, when lifo did knock. Nor boast the fairest framo was marie thy prey, Becauso to mortal eyes it did decay: A better witness than thou art, assures Th:t, though dissolved, it yet a space endures. 1o drain thereof shall want, or loss sustain, When her best sotd inh:bits it agin.

POE.MS. Go thon to people curst belote they were, Their souls in triumph to thy conquet bear. Glory hot thou thyself în these hot tears, 1Vhich our face hot for lier, but out harm, wears. The mourning livery giron by grace, hOt thee, 1Vhich wills our uls in thcse streams washt should I»c; And on our hearts, hcr luemory's best tomb, In this ber cpitaph doth writc thy doom. Blind werc those eyes saw hot how bright did shinc, Through flesh's misty veil, those beams divine: Deaf were the ears hOt charmed with that sweet sound 1Vhich did i" th" spirit's instructed voice abound; Of flint the conscience, did hot yield and melt A t what in ber last actit saw and felt. Veep not, nor gru(lge, thon, to have ]ost lier sigh/, Taug.ht thus our after-stav's but a short night; But by ail souls imt by corruption chol'd, Let in high-rais'd notes tbat pow'r be invok'd; Calm the rough seas by which she sails to test, From sorrows here t" a lingdom ever blest; And teach this hymn of her with joy, and sing, " The grare no conquests gets, death hath no sting."

Mv fortune and my choice this custom break, Vhen we are.qpeechless grown to make stones speak Thoug, h no stone tell thee what I was, yet thou In my gavc's insidc sec'st what thou art now: Yet thox'rt uot yet so good; till dcath us lay To ripe and mellow, here we'rc stubborn clay. Parents make us earth, and souls dignify Us tobe glass; here to grow gold we lie. 1Vhilst in our souls sin bred and pampcr'd is, Our sou|s become worm-eaten careases; So we ourselves luiraculously destroy; tIerc bodies with less miracle enjoy Such privileges, enabled here fo seale Heav'n, when the trumpet's air shall them exhale. Hear this, and mend thyself, and thou mend'st me, By making me, being dead, do good for thee: And think me well eomposed, that I eould now A last siek hour to syllables allow.

ELEGY. That I might make your cabinet my tomb, And for my faine, which I love next my soul, Next to my soul provide the happiest room, Adroit to tht place this last funeral scroll. Others by wills give leacies, but I, Dying, of you do beg  leacy. My fortune and mv will this custom break, XVhen we are senseless grown, to make stones seak; Thouh no stone tell thee what I was, yet thou In my grave's inside see what thou aoE now. 'et thou'rt not yet so good; till us death To ripe and mellow there, we're stubborn cly. Parents make us earth, and souls dignify Us to be lass; here to grow gold we lie. Vhilst in out souls sin bred and pamper'd is, Our soubs become worm-eaten carcases.

ODE. VENGEANCE will sit abo'e out faults; but till Site there do sit We see ber hot, nor them. Thus blind, yet still We lead her way; and thus, whilst we do iii, Ve suflèr it. Unhappy he whom youth makes hot beware Ot" doiug ill: Euough we labour uuder age and tare: In number the errors of the last place are The greatest still. 'et we, that should the ill ve now begin As soon repent, (Strange thing!) pereeive hot; out faults are not seen, But pt ris; neither felt, but only in ïhe l»unishment. But ve knov ourselves least; mere outward shows Out minds so store, That out souls, no more than out eyes, disclose lIut form and colour: only he who kuows llimselt; kuows more. o1.. "¢1. "2 o

ETERNAL God! (for whom whoever dare Seek new expressions, de the eircle square, And tbrust into strait eorners of poor wit Thee, who art cornerless and infinite) I would but bless thy naine, net naine thee new  (And thy gifts are as infinite as thou:) Fix we eut praises therefore on this one, That as thy blessed spirit fell upon These Psalms" first author in a cloven tongue, (For 'twas  double power by whleh he sun.'.,, The highest matter in the noblest tbrm) Se thou hast cleft tiret spirit, te perform That work again, and shed it here upon Two, by their bloods and by thy spirit oue; A brother and  sister, ruade by thee Tbe organ, 'bere thou art the harmony; Two that nmde one John Baptist's holy roiee; And who that Psalm, " nov let the isles rcjoiee, " Have both translated, and applied it too; Both told us what, an,1 taugbt us how te de. They show us islanders out joy, out king; They tell us why, and teach u how te sing. /lake all this all, threé choirs, hea'en, e,rth, and.pheres; The first, heaven, bath  song, but no man hears: The spberes have music, but they have no tongue, Their harmony is rather danced than sung; llut one tlfird choir, te which the first gives ear, (For angels learn by 'hat the church doeshear) This choir hath ail. The organist is he Vho hath tuned God and man, the organ we: The songs are these, which Heaven's high holy muse Vhispered te David, David te the Jews, And David's successors in holy zeal, In ferres of joy and art, de re-reveal Te us se sweetly and sincerely too, That I must net rejoice as I would de, ,Vhen I behold that these Psalms are become Se -ell attired abroad, se ill at home;

So well in chambers, in thy chureh so ill, As I can scarce call that reformed until This be reformed. ,Vould a whole state present A lesser gift than some one man hath sent. And shall our church unto out spouse and king More hoarse, more harsh, than any other, siug. For that we pray, we praise thy naine for this, Whieh by this Moses, and this Miriam is Already doue; and, as those Psalms we eall (Though some bave other authors) David's all; So though some have, some may some psahus translate, l$re thy Syduean psalms shall celebrate; And till we corne th" extemporal song to sig, (Learned the first hour that we sec the king, lVho hath translated those translators,) may These, their sweet learned labours, ail the way Be as our tuning, that when hece we par/, We may fill in xvith them and sing our part.

Tue state and men's affairs are the best plays Next yours: 'tis not more nor less thau due pralsc. SVrite, but touch hot the much-descending race Of lords" houses, ao settled in worth's place, As but themselves noue think them usurpera It is no fault in thee to surfer theirs. If thc queen masque, or king a hunting go, Though ail the court follow, let them. V'e know Like them in goodaess that court ne'er will be, For that were virtue, and not flattcry. Forget we were thrust out. It is but thus God threatens kings, kings lords, as lords do us. Judge of strangers, trust and believe your fi'iend, And ao me; and when I truc friendship end, SVith guilty conscience let me be worse stung Than with Popham'a sentence thieves, or Cook'a tongue Traitors are. Friends are ourselves. This I thee tell As to my friend, and myself as counsel.

Let for a while the thne's unthrifty rout Contemn learning, and all your studies flout: Let them scorn hell, they will a serjeant fear 1More than we them, that ere long God may forbear, But creditors vill not. Let theln increase In riot and excess, as their means cease: Let them scorn him that ruade them, and still shun His grace, but love the whore who bath undone Them and their souls. But that they that allow But one God, should have religious enow, For the queen's masque, and their husbands for more Than all the Gentiles knew or Atlas bore. Vell, let all pass, and trust him who hot cracks The bruised seed, nor quencheth smoking flax.

Tnot, whose diviner soul hath caused thee noxv To put thy hand nnto the holy plough, Making lay-scorniugs of the ministry Not an impediment, but victory; Vhat briug'st thou home with thee . hov is thy mind Attècted since the vintage. dost thou find New thoughts and strings within thee . and, as stcel Touch'd with a loadstone, dost new motions feel.  Or as a ship, aftcr much paiu attd care, For iron and cloth, briugs home rich lndian warc. llast thou thus traftick'd, but with far more gain Of uoble goods, and with less time and pain. Thou art the saine materials as before, Only the stamp is changed, but no more. And as new-cromed kings alter the face, ]3ut not the money's substance, so hath grace Chang'd only God's old image by creation To Christ's new stamp, at this thy coronation; Or as we paint angels with wings, because They bear God's message, and proclaim his laws: Since thou must do the like, and so must mo'e, Art thou new-feather'd with celestial love

Dear! tell me where thy purchase lies, and show Vhat thy advantage is above below: But if thy gainings do surmount expression, ,Vhy doth the foolish world scorn that profession Vhose joys pass speech. Vhy do they think unfit That gentry should join families with it. As if their day were only to be spent In dressing, mistressing, and compliment. Alas! poor joys, but poorer men, whose trust Seems richly placed in sublimed dust! (For such are clothes and beauty, which, though gay, Are at the best but of sublimed clay.) Let then the word thy calling disrespect, But go thou on, and pity their neglect. What function is so noble as fo be Embassador to God and destiny. To open lire, to give kingdoms to more Than kings give dignities; to keep heaven's door. Mary's prerogative was to bear Crist; so "Tis preachers' fo convey him, t'or they do As angels out of clouds, from pulpits speal, And bless the poor beneath, the lame, the weak; If then th" astronomers, whereas they spy A new-round star, their optics magnify, How brave are those who with their englue can °Bring man to heav'n, and heav'n again to nan . These are thy titles and pre-eminences, In whom must meet God's graces, men's oences; And so the heav'ns which beget ail things here, And th" earth, out mother, which these things doth bear, Both these in thee are in thy calling knit, And make thee now a blest hermaphrodite.

To llr. George Herbert. IlIM WITH O2ql OF MY" SlAtS OF "rH 1 A2qCIltOB. A2qD CHRIST, Qt'l priùs assuetus serpentum fasce tabellas Signare (hoec nostroe symbola parva domfis) Adscitus donmi Domini, patrioque relicto Stemmate, naneiscor stemmata jure nova. Hinc mihi crux, primo quoe fronti impressa lavacro, Finibus extensis, anchora faeta patet.

Anchora in effigem crux tandem desinit ipsam. Anchora fit tandem crux tolerata diu. Hoc tamen ut fiat, Christo vegetatur ab ipso Crux, et ab affixo est auchora facta Jesu. iNec natalitiis penitus serpenti.bus orbor; iNon ita dat Deus, ut auferat ante data. Quà sapiens, dos est; quà terrain lambit et ambit, Pestis; at in nostrî fit nledicina cruce Serpens; fixa cruci si sit naura; cruclquc A fixo nobis gratia tota fluat. Onmia cure crux sint, crux anchora fixa, sigillum l'ontam diceldum lloc, quhm catechislnus erit. Mitto, nec exigua, exiguh sub ilnagine, dona, Pignora amiciti,'e, et munera, vota, preces. l'lura tibi accumulet sanctus cognominis ille, Regia qui flavo dona sigillat equo.

kDOVTED in God's fanfily, and so Our old coat lost, unto new arms I go. The cross (my seal at baptism) spread below, Does by that form into an anchor grow. ('rosses grow anchors: bear as thou shouhlst do, Thy cross, and that cross grows an anchor too. But he that makes our crosses anchors thus Is Christ, who there is crucified for us. Yet may I, with this, my first serpents hold; God gives new Idessings, and yet leaves the old. The serpent may, as wise, my pattern be; lXly poison, as he feeds on dust, that's me: And as he rounds the earth to murder sure, My death he is, but on the cross my cure. Crucify nature then, and then implore Ail grace from him crucified there belote. "Vhen ail is cross, and that cross anchor grown, This seal is a catechism, hot a seal alone. Under that little seal great gifts I send, "Vorks, and prayers, pawns and fruits of a friend, And may that saint which rides in out great seal To you who bear his naine great bounties deal.