Thou must renounce and utterly displace,
And give thyself unto Him full and free,
That full and freely gave Himself to thee.

Then shalt thou feel thy spirit so possest,
And ravish'd with devouring great desire
Of His dear self, that shall thy feeble breast
Inflame with love, and set thee all on fire
With burning zeal, through every part entire,
That in no earthly thing thou shalt delight,
But in His sweet and amiable sight.

gaze,

Thenceforth all world's desire will in thee die,
And all earth's glory, on which men do
Seem dirt and dross in thy pure-sighted eye,
Compar'd to that celestial beauty's blaze,
Whose glorious beams all fleshly sense doth daze
With admiration of their passing light,
Blinding the eyes, and lumining the sprite.

Then shall thy ravish'd soul inspired be
With heavenly thoughts, far above human skill,
And thy bright radiant eyes shall see

Th' idea of His pure glory present still
Before thy face, that all thy spirits shall fill
With sweet enragement1 of celestial love,

Kindled through sight of those fair things above.

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1 Fervent admiration.

AN HYMN OF HEAVENLY BEAUTY.

RAPT with the rage of mine own ravish'd thought,
Through contemplation of those goodly sights,
And glorious images in heaven wrought,
Whose wondrous beauty, breathing sweet delights,
Do kindle love in high conceited sprites;
I fain to tell the things that I behold,
But feel my wits to fail, and tongue to fold.

Vouchsafe then, O Thou most Almighty Sprite!
From whom all gifts of wit and knowledge flow,
To shed into my breast some sparkling light
Of thine eternal truth, that I may show
Some little beams to mortal eyes below
Of that immortal Beauty, there with Thee,
Which in my weak distraughted mind I see;

That with the glory of so goodly sight
The hearts of men, which fondly here admire
Fair seeming shows, and feed on vain delight,
Transported with celestial desire

Of those fair forms, may lift themselves up higher,
And learn to love, with zealous humble duty,
Th' Eternal Fountain of that heavenly Beauty.

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Beginning then below, with th' easy view
Of this base world, subject to fleshly eye,
From thence to mount aloft, by order due,
To contemplation of th' immortal sky;
Of the soar falcon1 so I learn to fly,
That flags a while her fluttering wings beneath,
Till she herself for stronger flight can breathe.

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Then look, who list thy gazeful eyes to feed
With sight of that is fair, look on the frame
Of this wide universe, and therein reed2
The endless kinds of creatures which by name
Thou canst not count, much less their nature's aim;
All which are made with wondrous wise respect,
And all with admirable beauty deck'd.

First, th' Earth, on adamantine pillars founded
Amid the Sea, engirt with brasen bands;
Then th' Air still flitting, but yet firmly bounded
On every side, with piles of flaming brands,
Never consum'd, nor quench'd with mortal hands; 40
And, last, that mighty shining crystal wall,
Wherewith he hath encompassed this all.

By view whereof it plainly may appear,
That still as every thing doth upward tend,
And further is from earth, so still more clear
And fair it grows, till to his perfect end
Of purest Beauty it at last ascend;

Air more than water, fire much more than air,
And heaven than fire, appears more pure and fair.

Look thou no further, but affix thine eye
On that bright shiny round still moving mass,

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1 A falcon of the first year.

2 Consider, or perceive.

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The house of blessed God, which men call Sky,
All sow'd with glist'ring stars more thick than grass,
Whereof each other doth in brightness pass,

But those two most, which, ruling night and day,
As king and queen, the heavens' empire sway;

And tell me then, what hast thou ever seen
That to their beauty may compared be,
Or can the sight that is most sharp and keen
Endure their captain's flaming head to see?
How much less those, much higher in degree,
And so much fairer, and much more than these,
As these are fairer than the land and seas?

For far above these heavens, which here we see,
Be others far exceeding these in light,
Not bounded, not corrupt, as these same be,
But infinite in largeness and in height,
Unmoving, uncorrupt, and spotless bright,
That need no sun t' illuminate their spheres,
But their own native light far passing theirs.

And as these heavens still by degrees arise,
Until they come to their first mover's bound,
That in his mighty compass doth comprise,
And carry all the rest with him around;
So those likewise do by degrees redound,
And rise more fair, till they at last arrive
To the most fair, whereto they all do strive.

Fair is the heaven where happy souls have place,
In full enjoyment of felicity,

Whence they do still behold the glorious face 80 Of the Divine Eternal Majesty;

More fair is that, where those Idees on high
Enranged be, which Plato so admired,
And pure Intelligences from God inspired.

Yet fairer is that heaven, in which do reign
The sovereign Powers and mighty Potentates,
Which in their high protections do contain
All mortal princes and imperial states;
And fairer yet, whereas the royal Seats
And heavenly Dominations are set,
From whom all earthly governance is fet.1

Yet far more fair be those bright Cherubins,
Which all with golden wings are overdight,
And those eternal burning Seraphins,

Which from their faces dart out fiery light;
Yet fairer than they both, and much more bright,
Be th' Angels and Archangels, which attend
On God's own person, without rest or end.

These thus in fair each other far excelling,
As to the Highest they approach more near,
Yet is that Highest far beyond all telling,
Fairer than all the rest which there appear,
Though all their beauties join'd together were;
How then can mortal tongue hope to express
The image of such endless perfectness?

Cease then, my tongue! and lend unto my mind
Leave to bethink how great that Beauty is,
Whose outmost parts so beautiful I find;
How much more those essential parts of His,

His truth, His love, His wisdom, and His bliss, 110

His grace, His doom, His mercy, and His might,
By which He lends us of himself a sight!

1 Fetched.