The Complete Works of Richard Crashaw Volume I Part 16

'From Thy hands and from Thy feet, From Thy head and from Thy side.'

So the SANCROFT MS.

St. ii. In 1646 and 1670 this stanza is the 5th, and in line 2 has 'teares' for 'showres.'

St. iii. This stanza, by some strange oversight, is wholly dropped in 1652. St. iii. not in SANCROFT MS., and our st. ii. is the last. On one of the fly-leaves of the copy of 1646 edition in Trinity College, Cambridge, is the following contemporary MS. epigram, which embodies the sentiment of the stanza:

'_In caput Xti spinis coronatum._ Cerno Caput si Christe tuum mihi vert.i.tur omne In spinis illud, quod fuit ante rosa.'

Turnbull gives the stanza, but misplaces it after our st. vi., overlooking that our st. ii. is in 1646 edition st. v.

St. iv. line 1: in 1646 and 1670 'they' for 'now.'

Line 3, ib. 'as they are wont'--evident inadvertence, as 'ever' is required by the measure.

Line 4, ib. 'blood' for 'floud:' so also in 1648.

St. v. line 1, ib. 'hand' for 'hands:' 'hand' in 1648, and in SANCROFT MS.: adopted. Line 4, 'dropps' in SANCROFT MS. for 'gives.'

St. vi. line 3. Our text (1652) prints 'pharian,' the Paris printer spelling (and mis-spelling) without comprehending the reference to Pharaoh.

St. vii. line 1, in 1646 and 1670 'not a haire but ...'

St. ix. line 3, in 1648 a capital in 'All's.' G.

TO THE NAME ABOVE EVERY NAME, THE NAME OF IESVS:

A HYMN.[33]

In Vnitate Devs Est Numisma Vrbani 6.

I sing the name which none can say 1 But touch't with an interiour ray: The name of our new peace; our good: Our blisse: and supernaturall blood: The name of all our liues and loues. 5 Hearken, and help, ye holy doues!

The high-born brood of Day; you bright Candidates of blissefull light, The heirs elect of Loue, whose names belong Vnto the euerlasting life of song; 10 All ye wise sovles, who in the wealthy brest Of this vnbounded name, build your warm nest.

Awake, my glory, Sovl (if such thou be, And that fair word at all referr to thee), Awake and sing, 15 And be all wing; Bring hither thy whole self; and let me see What of thy parent Heavn yet speakes in thee.

O thou art poore Of n.o.ble powres, I see, 20 And full of nothing else but empty me: Narrow, and low, and infinitely lesse Then this great morning's mighty busynes.

One little world or two (Alas) will neuer doe; 25 We must haue store.

Goe, Sovl, out of thy self, and seek for more.

Goe and request Great Natvre for the key of her huge chest Of Heauns, the self-inuoluing sett of sphears 30 (Which dull mortality more feeles then heares).

Then rouse the nest Of nimble Art, and trauerse round The aiery shop of soul-appeasing sound: And beat a summons in the same 35 All-soueraign name, To warn each seuerall kind And shape of sweetnes, be they such As sigh with supple wind Or answer artfull touch; 40 That they conuene and come away To wait at the loue-crowned doores of this ill.u.s.trious day. _love_ Shall we dare this, my Soul? we'l doe't and bring No other note for't, but the name we sing.

Wake lvte and harp, and euery sweet-lipp't thing 45 That talkes with tunefull string; Start into life, and leap with me Into a hasty fitt-tun'd harmony.

Nor must you think it much T' obey my bolder touch; 50 I haue authority in Love's name to take you, And to the worke of Loue this morning wake you.

Wake, in the name Of Him Who neuer sleeps, all things that are, Or, what's the same, 55 Are musicall; Answer my call And come along; Help me to meditate mine immortal song.

Come, ye soft ministers of sweet sad mirth, 60 Bring all your houshold stuffe of Heaun on earth; O you, my Soul's most certain wings, Complaining pipes, and prattling strings, Bring all the store Of sweets you haue; and murmur that you haue no more. 65 Come, ne're to part, Nature and Art!

Come; and come strong, To the conspiracy of our spatious song.

Bring all the powres of praise, 70 Your prouinces of well-vnited worlds can raise; Bring all your lvtes and harps of Heavn and Earth; Whatere cooperates to the common mirthe: Vessells of vocall ioyes, Or you, more n.o.ble architects of intellectuall noise, 75 Cymb.a.l.l.s of Heau'n, or humane sphears, Solliciters of sovles or eares; And when you are come, with all That you can bring or we can call: O may you fix 80 For euer here, and mix Your selues into the long And euerlasting series of a deathlesse song; Mix all your many worlds aboue, And loose them into one of loue. 85 Chear thee my heart!

For thou too hast thy part And place in the Great Throng Of this vnbounded all-imbracing song.

Powres of my soul, be proud! 90 And speake lowd To all the dear-bought Nations, this redeeming Name, And in the wealth of one rich word, proclaim New similes to Nature. May it be no wrong Blest Heauns, to you and your superiour song, 95 That we, dark sons of dust and sorrow, A while dare borrow The name of your dilights, and our desires, And fitt it to so farr inferior lyres.

Our murmurs haue their musick too, 100 Ye mighty Orbes, as well as you; Nor yeilds the n.o.blest nest Of warbling Seraphim to the eares of Loue, A choicer lesson then the ioyfull brest Of a poor panting turtle-doue. 105 And we, low wormes, haue leaue to doe The same bright busynes (ye Third Heavens) with you.

Gentle spirits, doe not complain!

We will haue care To keep it fair, 110 And send it back to you again.

Come, louely Name! Appeare from forth the bright Regions of peacefull light; Look from Thine Own ill.u.s.trious home, Fair King of names, and come: 115 Leaue all Thy natiue glories in their gorgeous nest, And giue Thy Self a while the gracious Guest Of humble soules, that seek to find The hidden sweets Which man's heart meets 120 When Thou art Master of the mind.

Come louely Name; Life of our hope!

Lo, we hold our hearts wide ope!

Vnlock Thy cabinet of Day, Dearest Sweet, and come away. 125 Lo, how the thirsty Lands Gasp for Thy golden showres! with long-stretcht hands Lo, how the laboring Earth That hopes to be All Heauen by Thee, 130 Leapes at Thy birth!

The' attending World, to wait Thy rise, First turn'd to eyes; And then, not knowing what to doe, Turn'd them to teares, and spent them too. 135 Come royall Name! and pay the expence Of all this pretious patience; O come away And kill the death of this delay!

O, see so many worlds of barren yeares 140 Melted and measur'd out in seas of teares: O, see the weary liddes of wakefull Hope (Love's eastern windowes) all wide ope With curtains drawn, To catch the day-break of Thy dawn. 145 O, dawn at last, long-lookt for Day!

Take Thine own wings, and come away.

Lo, where aloft it comes! It comes, among The conduct of adoring spirits, that throng Like diligent bees, and swarm about it. 150 O, they are wise, And know what sweetes are suck't from out it: It is the hiue, By which they thriue, Where all their h.o.a.rd of hony lyes. 155 Lo, where it comes, vpon the snowy Dove's Soft back; and brings a bosom big with loues: Welcome to our dark world, Thou womb of Day!

Vnfold Thy fair conceptions, and display The birth of our bright ioyes, O Thou compacted 160 Body of blessings: Spirit of soules extracted!

O, dissipate Thy spicy powres, (Cloud of condensed sweets) and break vpon vs In balmy showrs!

O, fill our senses, and take from vs all force of so prophane a fallacy, 165 To think ought sweet but that which smells of Thee!

Fair, flowry Name, in none but Thee And Thy nectareall fragrancy, Hourly there meetes An vniuersall synod of all sweets; 170 By whom it is defined thus, That no perfume For euer shall presume To pa.s.se for odoriferous, But such alone whose sacred pedigree 175 Can proue itself some kin (sweet Name!) to Thee.

Sweet Name, in Thy each syllable A thousand blest Arabias dwell; A thousand hills of frankincense, Mountains of myrrh, and beds of spices 180 And ten thousand paradises, The soul that tasts Thee takes from thence.

How many vnknown worlds there are Of comforts, which Thou hast in keeping!

How many thousand mercyes there 185 In Pitty's soft lap ly a-sleeping!

Happy he who has the art To awake them, And to take them Home, and lodge them in his heart. 190 O, that it were as it was wont to be!

When Thy old freinds of fire, all full of Thee, Fought against frowns with smiles; gaue glorious chase To persecutions; and against the face Of Death and feircest dangers, durst with braue 195 And sober pace, march on to meet A GRAVE.

On their bold brests, about the world they bore Thee, And to the teeth of h.e.l.l stood vp to teach Thee; In center of their inmost soules, they wore Thee, Where rackes and torments striu'd, in vain, to reach Thee. 200 Little, alas, thought they Who tore the fair brests of Thy freinds, Their fury but made way For Thee, and seru'd them in Thy glorious ends.

What did their weapons but with wider pores 205 Inlarge Thy flaming-brested louers, More freely to transpire That impatient fire, The heart that hides Thee hardly couers?

What did their weapons but sett wide the doores 210 For Thee? fair, purple doores, of Loue's deuising; The ruby windowes which inricht the East Of Thy so oft-repeated rising!

Each wound of theirs was Thy new morning, And reinthron'd Thee in Thy rosy nest, 215 With blush of Thine Own blood Thy day adorning: It was the witt of Loue oreflowd the bounds Of Wrath, and made Thee way through all those wovnds.

Wellcome, dear, all-adored Name!

For sure there is no knee 220 That knowes not Thee: Or, if there be such sonns of shame, Alas! what will they doe When stubborn rocks shall bow And hills hang down their heaun-saluting heads 225 To seek for humble beds Of dust, where in the bashfull shades of Night Next to their own low Nothing, they may ly, And couch before the dazeling light of Thy dread majesty.

They that by Loue's mild dictate now 230 Will not adore Thee, Shall then, with just confusion bow And break before Thee.

NOTES AND ILl.u.s.tRATIONS.

The t.i.tle in 1648 'Steps' is simply 'On the name of Jesus.' In 1670 it is 'To the Name above every Name, the Name of Jesus, a Hymn,' and throughout differs from our text (1652) only in usual modernisation of orthography. The text of 1648 yields these readings:

Line 7, 'the bright.'

" 42, 'of th's.'

" 49, 'Into a habit fit of self tun'd Harmonie.'

" 79, 'you're.'

" 92, 'aloud.'

" 105, 'Seraphins.'

" 106, 'loyall' for 'joyfull.'