This poem is from the anthology ‘The Temple’,
published in 1633
O Sacred Providence, who from end to end
Strongly and sweetly movest! shall I write,
And not of thee, through whom my fingers bend
To hold my quill? shall they not do thee right?
Of all the creatures both in sea and land
Only to Man thou hast made known thy ways,
And put the pen alone in his hand,
And make him Secretary of thy praise.
Beasts fain would sing; birds ditty to their notes;
Trees would be tuning on their native lute
To thy renown: but all their hands and throats
Are brought to Man, while they are lame and mute.
Man is the world’s high Priest; he doth present
The sacrifice for all; while they below
Unto the service mutter an assent,
Such as springs use that fall, and winds that blow.
He that to praise and laud thee doth refrain,
Doth not refrain unto himself alone,
But robs a thousand who would praise thee fain,
And doth commit a world of sin in one.
The beasts say, Eat me: but, if beasts doth teach,
The tongue is yours to eat, but mine to praise.
The trees say, Pull me: but the hand you stretch,
Is mine to write, as is yours to raise.
Wherefore, most sacred Spirit, I here present
For me and all my fellows praise to thee:
And just it is that I should pay the rent,
Because the benefit accrues to me.
We all acknowledge both thy power and love
To be exact, transcendent, and divine;
Who dost so strongly and so sweetly move,
While all things have their will, yet none but thine.
For either thy command, or thy permission
Lay hands on all: they are thy right and left.
The first puts on with speed and expedition;
The other curbs sins stealing pace and theft.
Nothing escapes them both; all must appear,
And be dispos’d, and dress’d, and turn’d by thee,
Who sweetly temper’st all. If we could hear
Thy skill and art, what music would it be!
Thou are in small things great, not small in any:
Thy even praise can neither rise, nor fall.
Thou art in all things one, in each thing many;
For thou art infinite in one and all.
Tempests are calm to thee; they know thy hand,
And hold it fast, as children do their fathers,
Which cry and follow. Thou hast made poor sand
Check the proud sea, ev’n when it swells and gathers.
Thy cupboard serves the world: the meat is set,
Where all may reach: no beast but knows his feed.
Birds teach us hawking; fishes have their net:
The great prey on the less, they on some weed.
Nothing engendered doth prevent his meat:
Flies have their table spread, ere they appear.
Some creatures have in winter what to eat;
Others do sleep, and envy not their cheer.
How finely dost thou times and seasons spin.
And make a twist checker’d with night and day!
Which at it lengthens winds, and winds us in,
As bouls go on, but turning all the way.
Each creature hath a wisdom for his good.
The pigeons feed their tender off-spring, crying,
When they are callow; but withdraw their food
When they are fledge, that need may teach them flying.
Bees work for man; and yet they never bruise
Their master’s flower, but leave it, having done,
As fair as ever, and as fit to use;
So both the flower doth stay, and honey run.
Sheep eat the grass, and dung the ground for more:
Trees after bearing drop their leaves for soil:
Springs vent their streams, and by expense get store:
Clouds cool by heat, and baths by cooling boil.
Who hath the virtue to express the rare
And curious virtues both of herbs and stones?
Is there a herb for that? O that thy care
Would show a root, that gives expressions!
And if a herb hath power, what have the stars?
A rose, besides his beauty, is a cure.
Doubtless our plagues and plenty, peace and wars
Are there much surer than our art is sure.
Thou hast hid metals: man may then take them thence,
But at his peril: when he digs the place,
He makes a grave; as if the thing had sense,
And threatened man, that he should fill the space.
Ev’n poisons praise thee. Should a thing be lost?
Should creatures want for want of heed their due?
Since where are poisons, antidotes are most:
The help stands close, and keeps the fear in view.
The sea, which seems to stop the traveller,
Is by a ship the speedier passage made.
The winds, who think they rule the mariner,
Are rul’d by him, and taught to serve his trade.
And as thy house is full, so I adore
Thy curious art in marshalling thy goods.
The hills and health abound; the vales with store;
The South with marble; North with furs & woods.
Hard things are glorious; easy things good cheap.
The common all men have; that which is rare,
Men therefore seek to have, and care to keep.
The healthy frosts with summer-fruits compare.
Light without wind is glass: warm without weight
Is wool and furs: cool without closeness, shade:
Speed without pains, a horse: tall without height,
A servile hawk: low without loss, a spade.
All countries have enough to serve their need:
If they seek fine things, thou dost make them run
For their offence; and then dost turn their speed
To be commerce and trade from sun to sun.
Nothing wears clothes, but Man; nothing doth need
But he to wear them. Nothing useth fire
But Man alone, to show his heav’nly breed
And only he hath fuel in desire.
When th’ earth was dry, thou mad’st a sea of wet:
When that lay gather’d, thou didst broach the mountains:
When yet some places could no moisture get,
The winds grew gard’ners, and the clouds good fountains.
Rain, do not hurt my flowers; but gently spend
Your honey drops: press not to smell them here:
When they are ripe, their odour will ascend,
And at your lodging with their thanks appear.
How harsh are thorns to pears! and yet they make
A better hedge, and need less reparation.
How smooth are silks compared with a stake,
Or with a stone! yet make no good foundation.
Sometimes thou dost divide thy gifts to man,
Sometimes unite. The Indian nut alone
Is clothing, meat and trencher, drink and kan,
Boat, cable, sail and needle, all in one.
Most herbs that grow in brooks, are hot and dry.
Cold fruits warm kernels help against the wind.
The lemon’s juice and rind cure mutually.
The whey of milk doth loose, the milk doth bind.
The creatures leap not, but express a feast,
Where all the guests sit close, and nothing wants.
Frogs marry fish and flesh; bats, bird and beast;
Sponges, non-sense and sense; mines, th’earth & plants.
To show thou art not bound, as if thy lot
Were worse than ours; sometimes thou shiftest hands.
Most things move th’ under-jaw; the Crocodile not.
Most things sleep lying; th’ Elephant leans or stands.
But who hath praise enough? nay who hath any?
None can express thy works, but he that knows them:
And none can know thy works, which are so many,
And so complete, but only he that owes them.
All things that are, though they have sev’ral ways,
Yet in their being join with one advise
To honour thee: and so I give thee praise
In all my other hymns, but in this twice.
Each thing that is, although in use and name
It go for one, hath many ways in store
To honour thee; and so each hymn thy fame
Extolleth many ways, yet this one more.
Notes:
‘Clouds cool by heat…’ The heat of the sunshine causes the
cool front to rise and form clouds which condenses into rain. The rest of the
line refers to steam condensing back into the boiling vessel.
‘Indian nut’ – now called the coconut tree, which every
part is useful.
‘Trencher’ – a flat piece of wood, circular or rectangular,
on which meat was cut up or served; a plate or platter of wood, metal or
earthenware; a store of food
‘Kan’ – a vessel for holding liquids; in George Herbert’s
time, it was any container, not just sealed tins
Herbs and minerals that were used for medicine were cold or
hot, wet or dry. The herbs by the brook were hot and dry, as opposed to the
brook itself which was cold and wet; therefore one cures the other. They have natures
to be cures and antidotes to human illnesses.
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