I. How sits this city, late most populous.

Thus solitary, and like a widow thus ? Amplest of nations, queen of provinces She was, who now thus tributary is?
L 28. 1635,/?^^
DIVINE POEMS. 195
2. Still in the night she weeps, and her tears fall Down by her cheeks along, and none of all Her lovers comfort her ; perfidiously
Her friends have dealt, and now are enemy.
3. Unto great bondage, and afflictions,
Judah is captive led ; those nations 10
With whom she dwells, no place of rest afford ; In straits she meets her persecutors' sword.
4. Empty are the gates of Sion, and her ways Mourn, because none come to her solemn days. Her priests do groan, her maids are comfortless ; And she's unto herself a bitterness.
5. Her foes are grown her head, and live at peace, Because, when her transgressions did increase, The Lord strook her with sadness ; the enemv Doth drive her children to captivity. 20
6. From Sion's daughter is all beauty gone ; Like harts which seek for pasture, and find
none, Her princes are j and now before the foe Which still pursues them, v/ithout strength they
go-
7. Now in their days of tears, Jerusalem
— Her men slain by the foe, none succouring them — Remembers what of old she esteemed most, Whiles her foes laugh at her, for what she hath lost.
196 DONNE'S POEMS.
8. Jerusalem hath sinn'd, therefore is she Removed, as women in uncleanness be ; 30 Who honour'd, scorn her, for her foulness they Have seen ; herself doth groan, and turn away.
9. Her foulness in her skirts was seen, yet she Remember'd not her end j miraculously Therefore she fell, none comforting ; behold, O Lord, my affliction, for the foe grows bold.
10. Upon all things where her delight hath been. The foe hath stretch'd his hand, for she hath seen Heathen, whom thou command'st should not do
so, Into her holy sanctuary' go. 40
11. And all her people groan, and seek for bread j And they have given, only to be fed,
All precious things, wherein their pleD"ure lay ; How cheap I'm grown, O Lord, behold, and weifjh.
12. All this concerns not you, who pass by me ; O see, and mark if any sorrow be
Like to my soitow, which Jehovah hath Done to me in the day of His fierce wrath?
13. That fire, which by Himself is governed.
He hath cast from heaven on my bones, and spread cq
A net before my feet, and me o'erthrown. And made me languish all the day alone.
DIVINE POEMS. 197
14. His hand hath of my sins framed a yoke Which wreathed, and cast upon my neck, hath
broke My strength ; the Lord unto those enemies Hath given me, from whom I cannot rise.
15. He under foot hath trodden in my sight My strong men ; He did company accite
To break my young men ; He the winepress hath Trod upon Judah's daughter in His wrath. 60
16. For these things do I weep j mine eye, mine eye Casts water out ; for He which should be nigh To comfort me, is now departed far ;
The foe prevails, forlorn my children are.
17. There's none, though Sion do stretch out her
hand, To comfort her ; it is the Lord's command That Jacob's foes girt him ; Jerusalem Is as an unclean woman amongst them.
■'is'-
18. But yet the Lord is just, and righteous still ;
I have rebell'd against His holy w-ill ; 70
O hear all people, and my sorrow see, My maids, my young men in captivity.
19. I called for my lovers then, but they Deceived me, and my priests, and elders lay Dead in the city ; for they sought for meat Which should refresh their souls, and none could
get
198 DONNE'S POEMS.
20. Because I am in straits, Jehovah, see !
My heart o'erturn'd, my bowels muddy be ; Because I have rebell'd so much, as fast 79
The sword without, as death within, doth waste.
21. Of all which here I mourn, none comforts me ; My foes have heard my grief, and glad they be, That Thou hast done it ; but Thy promised day Will come, when, as I suffer, so shall they.
22. Let all their wickedness appear to Thee ; Do unto them, as Thou hast done to me. For all my sins ; the sighs which I have had Are very many, and my heart is sad.
CHAP. II.
1. How over Sion's daughter hath God hung
His wrath's thick cloud ? and from heaven hath flung 90
To earth the beauty of Israel, and hath Forgot His foot-stool in the day of wrath ?
2. The Lord unsparingly hath swallowed All Jacob's dwellings, and demolished
To ground the strength of Judah, and profaned The Princes of the kingdom, and the land.
3. In heat of wrath the horn of Israel He Hath clean cut off, and lest the enemy
Be hinder'd, His right hand He doth retire,
But is towards Jacob all-devouring fire. 100
DIVINE POEMS, 199
4. Like to an enemy He bent His bow ; His right hand was in posture of a foe, To kill what Sion's daughter did desire, 'Gainst whom His wrath He poured forth like
fire.
5. For like an enemy Jehovah is, Devouring Israel, and his palaces, Destroying holds, giving additions To Judah's daughters' lamentations.
6. Like to a garden hedge He hath cast down
The place where was His congregation, 1 10
And Sion's feasts and sabbaths are forgot ; Her King, her Priest, His wrath regardeth not.
7. The Lord forsakes His altar, and detests His sanctuary, and in the foes' hands rests His palace, and the walls, in which their cries Are heard, as in the true solemnities.
8. The Lord hath cast a line, so to confound And level Sion's walls unto the ground ;
He draws not back His hand, which doth o'erturn The wall, and rampart, which together mourn. 120
9. Their gates are sunk into the ground, and He Hath broke the bar ; their king and princes be Amongst the heathen, without law, nor there Unto their prophets doth the Lord appear.
1. 121. 1635, The
200 DONNE'S POEMS.
10. There Sion's elders on the ground are placed, And silence keep ; dust on their heads they cast j In sackcloth have they girt themselves, and low The virgins tovi^ards ground their heads do throw.
11. My bowels are grown muddy, and mine eyes Are faint with weeping ; and my liver lies 130 Pour'd out upon the ground, for misery
That sucking children in the streets do die.
12. When they had cried unto their mothers, "\Vhere Shall we have bread, and drink ? " they fainted
there, And in tlie street like wounded persons lay, Till 'twixt their mothers' breasts they went away.
13. Daughter Jerusalem, O what may be A witness, or comparison for thee?
Sion, to ease thee, what shall I name like thee ? Thy breach is like the sea ; what help can be ? 140
14. For thee vain foolish things thy prophets sought ; Thee, thine iniquities they have not taught, Which might disturb thy bondage ; but for thee False burthens, and false causes they would see.
15. The passengers do clap their hands, and hiss And wag their head at thee, and say, " Is this That city, which so many men did call
Joy of the earth, and perfectest of all ? "
DIVINE POEMS. 20I
1 6. Thy foes do gape upon thee, and they hiss,
And gnash their teeth, and say, "Devour we this, 15"
For this is certainly the day which we Expected, and which now we find, and see."
17. The Lord hath done that which He purposed ; FulfiU'd His word of old determined ;
He hath thrown down, and not spared, and thy
foe Made glad above thee, and advanced him so.
18. But now their hearts unto the Lord do call ; Therefore, O walls of Sion, let tears fall Down like a river, day and night ; take thee
No rest, but let thine eye incessant be. 160
19. Arise, cry in the night, pour out thy sins, Thy heart, like water, when the watch begins ; Lift up thy hands to God, lest children die, Which, faint for hunger, in the streets do lie.
20. Behold, O Lord, consider unto whom
Thou hast done this ; what, shall the women come To eat their children of a span ? shall Thy Prophet and priest be slain in sanctuai^ ?
21. On ground in streets the young and old ^o lie ; My virgins and young men by sword do die ; 1 70 Them in the day of Thy wrath Thou hast slain ; Nothing did Thee from killing them contain.
202 DONNE'S POEMS.
22. As to a solemn feast, all whom I fear'd
Thou call'st about me ; when Thy wrath appear'd, None did remain or scape, for those which I Brought up, did perish by mine enemy.
CHAP. III.
1. I AM the man which have affliction seen, Under the rod of God's wrath having been j
2. He hath led me to darkness, not to light,
3. And against me all day, His hand doth fight. 180
4. He hath broke my bones, worn out my flesh and
skin,
5. Built up against me ; and hath girt me in With hemlock, and with labour ; 6. And set me In dark, as they who dead for ever be.
7. He hath hedged me lest I 'scape, and added more To my steel fetters heavier than before.
8. When I cry out He outshuts my prayer j 9. And
hath Stopp'd with hewn stone my way, and turn'd my path.
10. And like a lion hid in secrecy,
Or bear which lies in wait, He was to me. 190
11. He stops my way, tears me, made desolate ;
12. And He makes me the mark He shooteth at.
DIVINE POEMS. 203
13. He made the children of His quiver pass Into my reins. 14. I, with my people, was All the day long, a song and mockery.
15. He hath fiU'd me with bitterness, and He
Hath made me drunk with wormwood. 16. He
hath burst My teeth with stones, and cover'd me with dust
17. And thus my soul far off from peace was set, And my prosperity I did forget. 2on
18. My strength, my hope — unto myself I said — Which from the Lord should come, is perished •
19. But when my mournings I do think upon, My wormwood, hemlock, and affliction,
20. My soul is humbled in rememb'ring this ;
21. My heart considers, therefore, hope there is.
22. 'Tis God's great mercy we're not utterly Consumed, for His compassions do not die ;
23. For every morning they renewed be,
For great, O Lord, is Thy fidelity. 210
24. The Lord is — saith my soul — my portion, And therefore in Him will I hope alone.
25. The Lord is good to them, who on Him rely, And to the soul that seeks Him earnestly.
26. It is both good to trust, and to attend The Lord's salvation unto the end.
204 DONNE'S POEMS,
27. 'Tis good for one His yoke in youth to bear.
28. He sits alone, and doth all speech forbear, Because he hath borne it. 29. And his mouth
he lays Deep in the dust, yet then in hope he stays. 220
30. He gives his cheeks to whosoever will Strike him, and so he is reproached still.
31. For not for ever doth the Lord forsake ;
32. But when He hath struck with sadness, He doth
take
Compassion, as His mercy 's infinite ;
33. Nor is it with His heart, that He doth smite,
34. That underfoot the prisoners stamped be,
35. That a man's right the judge himself doth see
To be wrung from him ; 36. That he subverted is In his just cause, the Lord allows not this. 230
37. Who then will say, that aught doth come to pass, But that which by the Lord commanded was ?
38. Both good and evil from His mouth proceeds ;
39. Why then grieves any man for his misdeeds ?
40. Turn we to God, by trying out our ways ;
41. To Him in heav'n our hands with hearts upraise.
42. We have rebell'd, and fallen away from Thee ; Thou pardon'st not j 43. Usest no clemency ; Pursuest us, kill'st us, cover'st us with wrath ;
44. Cover'st Thyself with clouds, that our prayer hath 240
DIVINE POEMS. 205
No power to pass. 45. And Thou hast made us fall As refuse, and off-scouring to them all. 46. All our foes gape at us. 47. Fear and a snare With ruin, and with waste upon us are.
48. With watery rivers doth mine eye o'erflow 1 For ruin of my people's daughters so ;
49. Mine eye doth drop down tears incessantly,
50. Until the Lord look down from heav'n to see.
51. And for m.y city daughters' sake, mine eye Doth break mine heart. 52. Causeless mine
enemy 250
Like a bird chased me. 53. In a dungeon They've shut my life, and cast me on a stone.
54. Waters flow'd o'er my head ; then thought I, I am Destroy'd ; 55- -^ called, Lord, upon Thy name Out of the pit ; 56. And Thou my voice didst hear; O from ray sigh and cry, stop not Thine ear.
57. Then when I call'd upon Thee, Thou drew'st
near Unto me, and said'st unto me, ** Do not fear."
58. Thou, Lord, my soul's cause handled hast, and
Thou Rescuest my life. 59. O Lord, do Thou judge now. 260
L 256. 1650, my sight
2o6 DONNE'S POEMS.
Thou heardst my wrong, 60. Their vengeance, all they've wrought ;
61. How they reproach'd, Thou'st heard, and what
they thought ;
62. What their lips utter'd, which against me rose, And what was ever whisper'd by my foes.
63. 1 am their song, whether they rise or sit ;
64. Give them rewards, Lord, for their working fit,
65. Sorrow of heart, Thy curse ; 66. And with Thy
might Follow, and from under heaven destroy them quite.
CHAP. IV.
1. How is the gold become so dim ? How is Purest and finest gold thus changed to this ? 270 The stones which were stones of the sanctuary, Scatter'd in comers of each street do lie.
2. The precious sons of Sion, which should be Valued at purest gold, how do we see Low rated now, as earthen pitchers, stand. Which are the work of a poor potter's hand ?
3. Even the sea-calfs draw their breasts, and give Suck to their young ; my people's daughters live, By reason of the foes' great cruelness,
As do the owls in the vast wilderness. 2S0
L 274. 1650, as purest gold
DIVINE POEMS. 207
4. And when the sucking child doth strive to draw, His tongue for thirst cleaves to his upper jaw j And when for bread the children cry,
There is no man that doth them satisfy.
5. They which before were delicately fed, Now in the streets forlorn have perished ; And they which ever were in scarlet clothed,
Sit and embrace the dunghills which they loathed.
6. The daughters of my people have sinn'd more, Than did the town of Sodom sin before ; 290 Which being at once destroy'd, there did remain No hands amongst them to vex them again.
7. But heretofore, purer her Nazarite
Was than the snow, and milk was not so white ; As carbuncles did their pure bodies shine, And all their polish'dness was sapphirine.
8. They're darker now than blackness j none can
know Them by the face, as through the street they go ; For now their skin doth cleave unto their bone, And withered, is like to dry wood grown. 300
9. Better by sword than famine 'tis to die ;
And better through-pierced, than through penury. 10. Women, by nature pitiful, have eat
Their children — dress'd with their own hand — for meat.
2o8 DONNE'S POEMS.
11. Jehovah here fully accomplish'd hath
His indignation, and pour'd forth His wrath ; Kindled a fire in Sion, which hath power To eat, and her foundations to devour.
12. Nor would the kings of th' earth, nor all which
live In the inhabitable world believe, 310
That any adversary, any foe, Into Jerusalem should enter so.
13. For the priests' sins, and prophets', which have
shed Blood in the streets and the just murdered ;
14. Which, when those men whom they made blind
did stray Thorough the streets, defiled by the way
With blood, the which impossible it was Their garment should 'scape touching, as they pass,
15. Would cry aloud, ** Depart, defiled men, Depart, depart, and touch not us ! " and then 320
They fled, and stray'd, and with the Gentiles were ; Yet told their friends, they should not long dwell there.
16. For this they're scatter'd by Jehovah's face, Who never will regard them more ; no grace
DIVINE POEMS. 209
Unto their old men shall the foe afford ; Nor, that they're priests, redeem them from the sword.
17. And we as yet, for all these miseries Desiring our vain help, consume our eyes.
And such a nation as cannot save,
We in desire and speculation have ; 330
18. They hunt our steps, that in the streets we fear To go ; our end is now approached near.
Our days accomplish'd are ; this the last day ; Eagles of heav'n are not so swift as they
19. WTiich follow us ; o'er mountain tops they fly At us, and for us in the desert lie.
20. Th' Anointed Lord, breath of our nostrils. He Of whom we said, under His shadow we Shall with more ease under the heathen dwell, Into the pit which these men digged, fell. 340
21. Rejoice, O Edom's daughter, joyful be Thou that inhabit'st Uz, for unto thee
This cup shall pass, and thou with drunkenness Shalt fill thyself, and show thy nakedness.
22. Then thy sins, O Sion, shall be spent.
The Lord will not leave thee in banishment. Thy sins, O Edom's daughter, He will see, And for them, pay thee with captivity. VOL. I. 14
210 DONNE S POEMS,
CHAP. V,
1. Remember, O Lord, what is fall'n on us ;
See, and mark how we are reproached thus ; 350
2. For unto strangers our possession
Is turn'd, our houses unto aliens gone.
3. Our mothers are become as widows ; we As orphans all, and without fathers be ;
4. Waters which are our own, we drink and pay ; And upon our own wood a price they lay.
5. Our persecutors on our necks do sit ; They make us travail, and not intermit ;
6. We stretch our hands unto th* Egyptians
To get us bread ; and to th' Assyrians. 360
7. Our fathers did these sins, and are no more ; But we do bear the sins they did before.
8. They are but servants, which do rule us thus. Yet from their hands none would deliver us.
9. With danger of our life our bread we gat ; For in the wilderness the sword did wait.
10. The tempests of this famine we lived in. Black as an oven colour'd had our skin.
1 1. In Judah's cities they the maids abused
By force, and so women in Sion used. 370
12. The princes with their hands they hung ; no grace Nor honour gave they to the elder's face.
DIVINE POEMS. 21 1
13. Unto the mill our young men carried are, And children fell under the wood they bare.
14. Elders the gates, youth did their songs forbear ; Gone was our joy ; our dancings, mournings were.
15. Now is the crown fall'n from our head ; and woe Be unto us, because we've sinned so.
16. For this our hearts do languish, and for this Over our eyes a cloudy dimness is. 380
17. Because Mount Sion desolate doth lie, And foxes there do go at liberty ;
18. But Thou, O Lord, art ever, and Thy throne From generation to generation.
19. Why shouldst Thou forget us eternally ? Or leave us thus long in this misery ?
20. Restore us. Lord, to Thee, that so we may Return, and as of old, renew our day.
21. For ouglitest Thou, O Lord, despise us thus, And to be utterly enraged at us ? 390
HYMN TO GOD, MY GOD, IN MY SICKNESS.
Since I am coming to that Holy room,
Where, with Thy choir of saints for evermore,
I shall be made Thy music ; as I come I tune the instrument here at the door, And what I must do then, think here before ;
1. 2. So Walton (1670) ; 1650, the \. 4. Walt., my instrument
212 DONNE'S POEMS.
Whilst my physicians by their love are grown Cosmographers, and I their map, who lie
Flat on this bed, that by them may be shown That this is my south-west discovery. Per f return febr is f by these straits to die ; 10
I joy, that in these straits I see my west ;
For, though those currents yield return to none, What shall my west hurt me ? As west and east
In all flat maps — and I am one — are one,
So death doth touch the resurrection.
Is the Pacific sea my home ? Or are The eastern riches ? Is Jerusalem ?
Anyan, and Magellan, and Gibraltar ?
All straits, and none but straits, are ways to them
Whether where Japhet dwelt, or Cham, or
Shem. 20
We think that Paradise and Calvary,
Christ's cross and Adam's tree, stood in one place ;
Look, Lord, and find both Adams met in me ; As the first Adam's sweat surrounds my face. May the last Adam's blood my soul embrace.
So, in His purple wrapp'd, receive me, Lord ; By these His thorns, give me His other crown ;
And as to others' souls T preach'd Thy word, Be this my text, my sermon to mine own, " Therefore that He may raise, the Lord throws down." 30
1. 6. Walt., Since loves 1. 28. Walt., oihe?
1. 30. Walt., That he may raise, therefore
DIVINE POEMS. 213
A HYMN TO GOD THE FATHER. I.
Wilt Thou forgive that sin where I begun,
Which was my sin, though it were done before ? Wilt Thou forgive that sin, through which I run, And do run still, though still I do deplore ? When Thou hast done, Thou hast not done, For I have more.
II.
Wilt Thou forgive that sin which I have won Others to sin, and made my sin their door ? Wilt Thou forgive that sin which I did shun
A year or two, but wallowed in a score ? 10
When Thou hast done. Thou hast not done, For I have more.
III.
I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun
My last thread, I shall perish on the shore ; But swear by Thyself, that at my death Thy Son Shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore ; And, having done that. Thou hast done ; I fecr no more.
1. 8. 1650, my sins
214 DONNE'S POEMS.
TO GEORGE HERBERT,
SENT HIM WITH ONE OF MY SEALS OF THE ANCHOR AND CHRIST.
Qui prius assuetus serpentum fasce tabellas
Signare, hasc nostrae symbola parva domus, Adscitus doinui Domini, patrioque relicto
Stemmate, nanciscor stemmata jure nova. Hinc mihi Cmx prime quae fronti impressa lavacro,
Finibus extensis, ancliora facta patet. Anchora^ in effigiem Crux tandem desinit ipsam,
Anchora fit tandem Crux tolerata diu. Hoc tamen ut fiat, Christo vegetatur ab ipso
Cmx, et ab affixo est Anchora facta Jesu. lo
Nee natalitiis penitus serpentibus orbor,
Non ita dat Deus, ut auferat ante data. Qua sapiens, dos est, qua terram lambit et ambit,
Pestis, at in nostra sit medicina Cruce Serpens fixa Cruci si sit natura, Crucique
A fixo nobis gratia tota fluat. Om.nia cum Crux sint, Crux Anchora fixa, sigilhim
Non tam dicendum hoc, quam catechismus erit. Mitto, nee exigua, exigua sub imagine, dona,
Pignora amicitiae, et munera vota preces. 20
Plura tibi accumulet sanctus cognominis Ille
Regia qui flavo dona sigillat equo.
1. I. Walton [i6sZ),fulce
DIVINE POEMS. 215
A SHEAF OF SNAKES USED HERETOFORE TO BE MY SEAL, THE CREST OF OUR POOR FAMILY.
Adopted in God's family 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.
Crosses grow Anchors ; bear, as thou shouldest 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 blessings, and yet leaves the old j 10
The serpent may, as wise, my pattern be ;
My 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
All grace from Him, crucified there before ;
Then all is Cross, and that Cross Anchor grown ;
This seal's a catechism, not a seal alone.
Under that little seal great gifts I send,
Works, and prayers, pawns, and fruits of a friend. 20
And may that saint which rides in our great seal,
To you who bear his name, great bounties deal !
deal
2. Walton (1658), My old coat lost, into new arms I go
3. Walt., /« baptism
9. Walt. , Yet with this, I may 14. Walt., He is my death 1. 17. Walt., When
20. Walt. , Both works 1. 21. Wait , that rides on •22, Walt., To you that bear his name large boi4nty
2i6 DONNE S POEMS.
TRANSLATED OUT OF GAZ^US, "VOTA AMICO FACTA," POL. 1 60,
God grant thee thine own wish, and grant thee mine, Thou who dost, best friend, in best things outshine ; May thy soul, ever cheerful, ne'er know cares, Nor thy life, ever lively, know grey hairs, Nor thy hand, ever open, know base holds. Nor thy purse, ever plump, know pleats, or folds, Nor thy tongue, ever true, know a false thing, Nor thy word, ever mild, know quarrelling, Nor thy works, ever equal, know disguise, Nor thy fame, ever pure, know contumelies, 10
Nor thy prayers know low objects, still divine ; God grant thee thine own wish, and grant thee mine.
NOTES.
THE PRINTER TO THE UNDERSTANDERS.
p. xlv. This preface occurs in the editions of 1633, 1635, and 1639.
TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE WILLIAM LORD CRAVEN.
p. xlix. This preface replaces The Printer to the Understanders in the editions of 1650 and 1669. William Craven, created Baron Craven of Hampsted-Marsham in 1627, and Earl Craven in 1664, is best known as a devoted adherent of Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia. He was believed to have been privately married to her. His only connection with literature appears to be in several dedications. On a poem written to him by Donne, or, more likely, by his son, see Appendix C.
John Donne, D.C.L., the writer of the preface to the edition of 1650, was a son of the poet. He was born 1604, and died 1662. He cannot, therefore, have had anything to do with the edition of 1669, as Dr. Grosart thinks. He was a freethinker, and a man of loose literary and per- sonal character. After his father's death he got hold of the papers left to Dr. King, and appeared as the editor of the LXXX Sermons (1640), the Biatha7iatos (1648), the Essays in Divinity (1651), the Letters to Several Persons of Honour (1651), and other posthumous works. He also edited Sir T. Matthews' Collection of Letters (1660), and Pembroke and Ruddier's Poems (1660). His own productions are trifling, and mostly indecent. Most of them exist only in MS. ; a few are to be found in a volume called Donne's Satyr {1662). A copy of his Will, printed as a broadsheet, is in the British Museum.
2iS NOTES.
Hexastichon Bibliopolae.
p. li. The book alluded to is the Death's Duel of 1632. It is described on the title-page as " Delivered in a sermon at Whitehall before the King's Majesty in the beginning of Lent, i63o[i]. Being his last sermon, and called by his Majesty's household, 'The Dean's own Funeral sermon.' " It has for frontispiece an engraving by Martin Dr[oeshout], a half-length figure of Donne in a shroud, with the motto Corporis haec animae sit Syndon SyncJon Ies7t. Two anonymous elegies, beginning re- spectively "To have lived eminent in a degree," and "1 cannot blame those men, that knew thee well," are appended at the end of the volume. These v/ere reprinted in the 1633 Poems with the signatures H[enry] K[ing] and Edw. Hyde. Walton (1640) gives an account of the preaching of the sermon, and also, in his 1658 edition, describes the painting of the portrait, as follows —
"A monument being resolved upon, Dr. Donne sent for a carver to make for him in wood the figure of an urn, giving him directions for the compass and height of it, and to bring with it a board, of the just height of his body. These being got, then without delay a choice painter was got to be in readiness to draw his picture, which was taken as foUoweth : — Several charcoal fires being first made in his large study, he brought with him into that place his winding-sheet in his hand, and having put off all his clothes, had this sheet put on him, and so tied with knots at his head and feet, and his hands so placed as dead bodies are usually fitted, to be shrouded and put into their coffin or grave. Upon this urn he thus stood, with his eyes shut, and with so much of the sheet turned aside as might show his lean, pale, and death-like face, which was purposely turned towards the East, from whence he expected the second coming of his and our Saviour Jesus. In this posture he was drawn at his just height ; and when the picture was fully finished, he caused it to be set by his bedside, where it continued, and became his hourly object till his death, and was then given to his dearest friend and executor Dr. Henry King, then chief residentiary of Paul's, who caused him to be thus carved in one entire piece of white marble, as it now
S'OT£S. 2TO
stone" is sdll to be see- - 5 .. P«als: i: fiew T^cs ptcautul frc~ — e Great Rre Ater «Mf ^■eriBT (iSJ Series, li 393) - examples of "enadaftei Ttaev
beeo ft fiivuurile wliuir- ..i- . ^ — - Midn
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220
SONGS AND SONNETS.
The majority of the lyrics included in this section appeared in various parts of the 1633 Poems. In 1635 were added Farewell to Love (p. 76), A Lecture upon the Shadow (p. 78), and A Dialogue between Sir Henry Wotton and Mr. Donne {p. 79) ; in 1650 The Token (p. 80), and Self -Love (p. 81) ; and in 1669 the first of the two Break of Day poems (p. 22). A reference to the notes that follow will show that hardly any of the Songs and Sonnets can be definitely dated. The only excep- tions are A Valediction forbidding Mourning (p. 51), and the song '"'Sweetest Love, I do not go'* (p. 16), which were probably written in the autumn of 161 1. Several other songs appear to have been written to music, which has not in most cases been identified. All Donne's Love-poems, — and the majority of the Songs and Sonnets are concerned with love, — seem to me to fall into two divisions. There is one, marked by cynicism, ethical laxity, and a somewhat deliberate profession of incon- stancy. This I believe to be his earliest style, and ascribe the poems marked by it to the period before 1596. About that date he became acquainted with Anne More, whom he evidently loved devotedly and sincerely ever after. And therefore from 1596 onwards I place the second division, with its emphasis of the spiritual, and deep in- sight into the real things of love. About 1615, when he took orders, Donne practically ceased from writing secular poetry altogether. This gives a range for his lyrics of, say twenty-five years, from 1590 to 1615. The earlier portion of this time, up to his marriage in 1601, was, however, probably the most prolific.
p. I. The Flea.
The bad taste of the editor or publisher of the 1635 edition must be responsible for the appearance of this poem at the beginning of the volume. In 1633 it occu-
SONGS AND SONNETS. 221
pied a much less conspicuous position. Another similar one has been ascribed to Donne by Sir John Simeon [see Appendix A). Two others may be found in the works of Wm. Drumraond of Hawthornden (ed. W. C. Ward, vol. i. p. 173), and a fifth in John Davies of Hereford's Scourge of Folly (1611). Robert Gomersall in his Poems, 1633, has an epistle to Richard Corbett beginning —
' ' Still to be silent, or to write in prose. Were alike sloth, such as I leave to those Who either want the grace of wit, or have Untoward arguments : like him that gave Life to the fiea."
p. 3. The Good-Morrow.
1. 4. The Seveft Sleepers den. The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, said by Gregory of Tours to have been seven noble Christian youths, who fled to escape martyrdom during the Decian persecution (a.d. 250) to a cave in Mt. Celion, and remained there asleep for 230 years. Other versions of the legend are given in the Koran and elsewhere.
p. 4. Song.
The first two stanzas of this song, with the heading A Raritie, are printed in the 1653 edition of Francis Beau- mont's Poems. They are not in the 1640 edition, where, however, may be found another poem of similar character, beginning —
" Catch me a star that's falling from the sky."
This is also in Mennis and Smith's Wit Restored (1658).
The second stanza of Donne's poem was printed in one of the editions of Wits Recreations (cf. the reprint in Musarum Deliciae, 1817). The poem, or part of it, also occurs, set to music by an unknown composer in Eg, MS. 2013, f. 58.
Habington has a poem, evidently referring to this of Donne's Agairist thein who lay Unchastity to the Sex >/ Women. It begins —
222 NO TES.
•• They meet but with unwholesome springs, And summers which infectious are ; They liear but when the mermaid sings, And only see the falling star :
Who ever dare Affirm no woman chaste and fair.
1. I. Compare the Epithalamium on Lord Somerset, line 204, and the different use of the same metaphor in these lines from Lord Strafford's Meditations (Hannah, Courtly Poets, p. 194).
*• How each admires Heaven's twinkling fires, Whilst from their glorious seat Their influence gives light and heat ; But O how few there are, Though danger from the act be far, Will run to catch a falling star ! "
1. 2. A mandrake root. The viandragora, or man- drake, partly from its name, partly from the shape of its forked root, was looked upon as a link between the animal or human and vegetable worlds. It was supposed to shriek when it was torn up out of the earth.
p. 6. The Undertaking.
The heading is not in the 1633 edition. It was added in 1635.
1. 2. the Worthies. The Nine Worthies were three Gentiles, Hector, Alexander, Julius Caesar ; three Jews, Joshua, David, Judas Maccabaeus ; three Christians, Arthur, Charlemagne, Godfrey of Bouillon. Cf. the pageant of the Nine Worthies in Love's Labour's Lost.
I, 6. specular stone. This appears to be an allusion to the famous magic mirrors or "show-stones" of Dr. Dee. Dee was a man of great learning, a mathematiciaa and astrologer, and an original Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. He took to alchemy, and was said to have found the philosopher's stone in the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey. In 158 1 appeared the first of these mysterious "show-stones," which when gazed upon by a properl)
SONGS AND SONNETS. 223
gifted person, presented apparitions. A second, said by- Dee to have been given to him by an angel, was pro- duced in 1582, Both of these are in existence ; one, a piece of poUshed cannel coal, is in the possession of Lord Londesborough ; the other, a smoky quartz crystal, is in the British Museum. Dee earned an unenviable reputa- tion for the black art, but he appears to have been in large measure the dupe of others. Many of his writings on occult subjects remain, most of them in MS.
p. 7. The Sun Rising.
In Addl. MS. 25,707, f. 20, this poem is headed Ad Solem: A Song,
p. 9. The Indifferent.
Compare with the subject of this poem that of Elegy xviii.
p. 10. Love's Usury.
J. 15. quelques choses, kickshaws, dainties, trifles. In a letter to Sir Henry Goodyere, written 1606 — 1610 [Alford, vi. 301), Donne says, "These, sir, are the salads and onions of Micham, sent to you with as wholesome affection as your other friends send melons and qtielque- choses from Court and London."
p. 12. The Canonization.
1. 15. the plaguy bill, the weekly bill or list of deaths from the plague.
p. 15. Lovers' Infiniteness.
This poem is headed Mon Tout in Addl. MS. 25.707. f- 16.
p. 16. Song.
I have little doubt that this poem, like the Valediction on p. 51, and perhaps Elegy xvii., was written at the time
224 NOTES.
of Donne's departure for France with the Drurys in 1611. The phrase used in the last stanza —
" Let not thy divining heart Forethink me any ill "—
should be compared with what Walton (1670) says of this journey, "She professed an unwillingness to allow him any absence from her ; saying, ' Her divining soul boded her some ill in his absence" ; and therefore desired him not to leave her."
p. 20. A Fever.
This occurs twice in T. C. Dublin MS. G, 2. 21. On f. 143 it is found unsigned amongst a number of Donne's poems, also unsigned : on f. 430 it is ascribed to John Chudleigh.
p. 22. Break of Day.
This first appeared in 1669, not as a separate poem, but as a first stanza to the following, which had begun in previous editions with, '"Tis true, 'tis day; what though it be." The two are, however, obviously of different metrical structure. In Addl MS. 25,707, f. 18, the additional stanza has been inserted by a different hand. It occurs also by itself, set to music and with no author's name given, in Orlando Gibbons' XVI Madrigals and Mottets (1612). Here it begins, "Ah, dear heart, why do you rise?" It also occurs in John Dowland's A Pilgrims Solace (1612). Here it begins "Sweet, stay awhile, why will you rise," and is followed by a second verse. Probably the initials J. D. led to its being ascribed to Donne.
For the sentiment, compare Romeo and Juliet, Act III. Sc. v., the passage in which Gervinus finds the influence of the Aubade or dav,n-song.
'o*
p. 23, [Another of the Same.]
This is in William Corkine's Second Book of Airs {1612).
SONGS AND SONNETS. 225
p. 25. A Valediction of my Name, in the Window.
1. 6. the diamonds 0/ either rock; L e. from the East or West Indies, Golconda or Brazil.
1. 8. through-shifie, translucent.
1. 21. The fashion of wearing death's-heads in rings, by way of Memento Mori, is said to have been set by Diana of Poitiers: cf. 2 Hen. IV., II. iv. 254, "Peace, good Doll ! do not speak like a death's-head ; do not bid me remember mine end" ; and Beaumont and Fletcher, The Chances, Act I. Sc. v. —
"As they keep death's-heads in rings, To cry ' memento ' to me. "
1. 33. It is unnecessary to multiply quotations illus- trating the belief in the influence of stars upon the character of those born when they are, as astrologers say, in the ascendant : cf. e. g. Beatrice's explanation of her mercurial temperament in Much Ado About Nothing,