ROBERT HERRICK’S HESPERIDES CONSIDERED AS AN ORGANIZED WORK 132513 FOR THE DEGREE or Ph D MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY DOROTHY MATTHlS HUSON 3972 IMWWWWW \Wflfilllb— 1293 010016 This is to certify that the thesis entitled ROBERT HERRICK'S HESPERIDES CONSIDERED AS AN ORGANIZED WORK presented by Dorothy Mat this Huson has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Ph .D. dame in English / Major professor Date Agust 15,1972 0-7839 f i , ABSTRACT ROBERT HERRICK'S HESPERIDES CONSIDERED AS AN ORGANIZED WORK By] Dorothy Matthis Huson The purpose of the essay is to investigate the possibility that the Hesperides, including His Noble Numbers, is a unified,éorganized work. It suggests that Herrick arranged his work to stand as a confessio (in many ways paralleling St. Augustine's Confessions) which details Herrick's quest for God and his search for the mode of life through which men can best find happiness and thus compensate for the brevity of their lives. In order to suggest the unity of the Hesperides, the essay refers to the type sizes found in the 1648 edition (the British Museum copy E. 1090), indicating that Herrick may have chosen to signify divisions in the Hesperides proper through the use of 24-point type in certain titles;~ It further suggests that whether or not Herrick directed the printer as to how to set those titles, the Hesperides proper is divided into seven sections, each of which is headed by a poem titled "To the King . . ." and each of which deals with a particular theme or step in Herrick's progress toward truth and religious faith. Section One (poems H-l through H-76), it is proposed, is an introducotry section. Section Two-(poems H-77 through H-160) deals with stoic precepts and the search for virtue. Section Three (poems H-l6l through H-265) embraces hedonistic doctrines. Section Four (poems H—264 through H-684) constructs a pastoral world with which Herrick contrasts the real world. Section Five (poems H-685 through H-822) suggests Herrick's growing religious faith as well as his philosophical confusion. Section Six (poems H—825 through H-960) indicates Herrickls final rejeCtion of hedonism . Section Seven (poems H—96l through H-llBO) concludes the Hesperides proper and ends Herrick's concern with various non—Christian philOSOphers. His Noble Numbers, then, tells of his complete conversion to Christianity and the resolution of all his inner conflicts. The essay does not claim that all the poems in each section support the themes suggested above. It notes a few poems which are apparently miscellaneous. But it does propose that the vast majority of the poems, placed very often in sequences, are arranged to follow the progres- sion from material to spiritual found in "The Argument of his Book" and that the whole work may, therefore, be read as a chronicle of Herrick's spiritual growth. ROBERT HERRICK'S HESPERIDES CONSIDERED AS AN ORGANIZED WORK By Dorothy Matthis Huson A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of English 1972 Copyright by DOROTHY MATTHIS HUSON 1972 To Andy, Albert, Bridget, Herb, Manley, and Poo. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to express my gratitude to Professor Lawrence Babb for his time and invaluable assistance in the completion of the thesis and to Professors George Price and Joseph Waldmeir for their very helpful suggestions. Further recognition is due Dr. Bruce Cook for his information concerning typography. iii i_'— H TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction A Note on the Texts I. Section One: The Introduction to the Hesperides II. Section Two: Herrick's Search for Virtue III. Section Three: Herrick's Acceptance of Hedonistic Doctrine IV. Section Four: His Retreat to Nostalgia V. Section Five: Herrick's Partial Acceptance of Religious Faith VI. Section_Six: Herrick's Rejection of Hedonism VII. Section Seven: The Conclusion of the "Humane" Portion of Herrick's Work VIII. gig Ngblg Numbers: Herrick's Total Commitment to God Notes Bibliography iv INTRODUCTION Although from time to time critics have attempted to perceive some order in the arrangement of the Hesperides, most readers have been content to view the book as a rather haphazard collection of poems. That opinion rests primarily on two factors. First, despite arguments to the contrary, most critics have failed to find any tight connection between the order in which they suppose the poems were composed and the order in which they appear in the volume. L.C. Martin argues that the poems in the first half of the Hesperides properl are roughly assignable to the early years of Herrick's life, and those in the second half, to his later years. Yet he admits that the connection between the order of composition and the order of arrange- ment is "tenuous and broken."2 Floris Dleattre, who predates Martin in an attempt to show a broad corres- pondence between the phases of Herrick's life and the progression of style and theme in the Hesperides, concedes that there are "Eggs numbreuses exceptions" to a strict chronological order in the volume. The fact that the poems cannot have been arranged in exact order of composition is easily demonstrable. The first occasional poem in the Hesperides, "To the King, 2 upon his comming with his Army into the West," refers to Charles‘ stay at Exeter in the summer of 1644. Approximately two hundred poems later we find "The Poets good wishes for the most handsome Prince, the Duke of Yorke," a poem rather clearly written to cele- brate the birth of the future James II in 1653. "A Nuptial Song, or Epithalamie on Sir Clipsebie Crew and His Lady" (H-285), composed to honor their marriage in 1625, is preceded by "A Dirge upon the Death of the Right Valiant Lord, Bernard Stuart" (H—219), written to commemorate his death in 1645fL When we consider these and the other numerous examples of poems placed out of chronological order and add to that consideration the fact that the vast majority of poems in the Hesperides are incapable of certain dating, any argument for a chronological arrangement of poems in the volume is increasingly cast in doubt. Most critics, therefore, agreeing on the lack of chronological order and failing to perceive any other kind of order, label the volume a "collection." The second factor contributing to the general unwillingness to credit the Hesperides proper with any orderly arrangement is the great variety of subject matter and tone found within the volume. We read poems which countenance wanton pleasure and those which urge self-control. Some poems praise the simple life of the country; others express Herrick's bitterness at his "ban- ishment"ffrom London. Beside a tender lyric we dften 5 find a harsh or coarse epigram. A.B. Grosart, in his Memorial Introduction to The Complete Poems pf Robert Herrick, sees this diversity as evidence that Herrick "had nothing to do with the arrangement or disarrangement" of the poems.5 Because he views the epigrams as "just so many 'spots' of put- ridity"6 and notes that no mention of vulgar subjects or complimentary pieces is made in "The Argument," he pro- poses that Herrick was "over—persuaded" by his publisher to turn over a separate manuscript of epigrams, his marked cooy of ElEE Recreations, and his manuscript of compli- mentary poems.7 Whereupon. Grosart continues, the publisher or one of his subordinates indiscriminately mixed in poems from the additional manuscripts with those Herrick had orig- inally intended for the Hesperides. Such an assertion, based almost wholly on conjecture, is cast in doubt by noting that Herrick was involved in the publication and correction of the Hesperides at least to the extent that he included a list of errata: For these Transgressions whiCh thou here dost see, Condemne the Printer, Readeri and not me; Who gave him forth good Grain, though E5 mistook The Seed; s2 sow‘d these—Tares throughout my Rook. E R R A T A Page 55. line 10. read Rods. p. 41. 1. 19. r. Gotiere. p.65. 1.12.r. only 2&2. p.85.l.28.r. soft. p.88.l.26.r. the flowrie. p.9l.l.29.r. such fears. p. 156.1.9.r. £2 thee the. p. 155. I.IO.r. washt or's tg tell. p.I66.l.lO.r.hi§ Lachrimae.p.181.l.lO.r. Ah Egg is me, woe, wgg is me. p. 183.1.9.r. and thy brest.p.20l.IT§2rr. let chast. p.250.l.2l. r.agd having drunk. p.260.l.26.r.tg rise. p.535.l.l7.r. a wife as. 4 In the Divine Pag.22.line 14. read where so ere he sees. Grosart mentions the errata but proposes that the "Tares" to which Herrick refers are in part the additional poems he would like to have excluded. Yet, Herrick makes no mention of any mistakes or "Transgressions" other than misprints of individual words and phrases. Had he wished to disclaim his part in including any poem in the volume or had he aobjected to the arrangement, he might well have been more explicit in listing the "Tares," giving either the titles of such poems or offering a general disclaimer for a type of poem. But since he is silent on any other than typographical errors and since he does take time to list those mistakes, I think we can assume that, with the exception of a few printer's errors which Herrick may have overlooked, the poems stand or are corrected to stand in the form and order the poet intended. F.W. Moorman subscribes to the argument stated above. If the poems lack a method of arrangement, Moorman says, "it is by no means certain that this disorder was not inten- tional on the poet's part."8 But Moorman does not accept the idea that the Hesperides is totally disordered. He, like ”elattre,9notes the careful introduction and conclusion of the book. The first eight poems of the Hesperides proper are clearly introductory. They are addressed to his muse (H-2), to his book (H-5, H—4, H—5, H-7), and to the reader (H-6). They present "The Argument of his Book" (H-l) 5 and state "When he would have his verses read" (H-S). The last seven poems in the Hesperides proper, Moorman and Delattre note, are clearly concluding poems, bidding fare- well to the book and reader and stating Herrick's hope that his work will endure. Moorman finds such evidence of care commensurate with his opinion that Herrick supervised the ordering of all the poems in the Hesperides. But he does not wish to go further in ascribing a method to Herrick's arrangement. He is content to see the bulk of the volume as characterized by a disregard for chronological or any other kind of order.lo However, Henry Morley and Floris Delattre perceive a design in Herrick's tnedency to juxtapose poems of dis- similar subject matter and tone. MOPIGY argues that the poems are arranged as {foils and settings to one another," the delicate poems contrasting effectively with the coarse ‘epigrams.ll Delattre sees Herrick's method (aside from an over-all chronological ordering) as productive of a pur- poseful disorder, designed to produce an effect of con- 12 His love of paradoxical trasts, "faciles mais reels." phrases such as "wilde civility" and his poem "Delight in Disorder" suggest, Delattre continues, that Herrick arranged his poemsito achieve a semblance of disorder, in that way ’ I to introduce to the work "toute la variete et tous les con— 15 - ——_-——- —- trastes 93 la vie." II Each of these critics has made a valuable contribution to the discussion of Herrick's method in arranging the 6 Hesperides proper. But I should like to look at the book from a different point of view, to consider the reaction of a perceptive reader to the original edition of the Heeperides. first, as one reads through a copy of the 1648 edition, he must be struck by the variety of type sizes there. The body of each poeml4is set in 10 point roman type except for important words, proper names, and lines alluding to or translated from other sources (such words or lines being set in 10 point italic) and the first letter of each poem, which is set in 50 point roman type. The titles of almost all the poems are set in 10 point upper and lower case italic except, again, for proper names and important words. Those regularly appear in 10 point upper and lower case roman}~55 Yet, at fairly regular intervals the reader encounters a title which, because of its size, seems to demand special attention. One such title is "The Argument of his book," whith is set in 24 point upper and lower case italic type. There are nine other poems whose titles are set in large type: H—77, H-79, H—lSl, H-264, H-265, H-266, H-825, H-961, H-962. The title of H-77 is set in three lines: T O T H E K I N G Upon his comming with his Army into the West. The first line appears in 24 point upper case roman type; the second, in 24 point upper and lower case roman; the _~— ———-— .fi 1 7 third, in 14 point upper and lower case roman. The title of H—79 is set in two lines of 24 point upper and lower case italic: 22 the King and Queene, upon their unhappy distances. The title of H-161 is set in two lines, the first in 24 point upper case roman and the second in 24 point upper and lower case roman: T O T H E K I N G To cure the Evill. The titles of H—264 and H-265 are both set in one line of 24 point upper case roman: T O T H E K I N G. T O T H E Q U E E N'E. The title of H-266 is set in three lines of 24 point upper and lower case italic: The Poets good wishes for the most hopefull and handsome Prince, the Duke pf Yorke. The title of H—825 is set in two lines, the first in 24 point upper case roman and the second in 24 point upper and lower case italic and roman: T O T H E K I N G Upon his taking of Leicester. The title of H-961 is set in three lines, the first in 24 point upper case roman, the second in 12 point upper and lower case roman and italic, and the third in 10 point upper and lower case italic: 8 T O T H E K I N G Upon his welcome £3 Hampton—Court. Set and Sung. The title of H—962 is set in four lines, the first in 24 point upper and lower case italic type, the second in 12 point upper case roman, the third and fourth in upper and lower case roman and italic: U l t i m u s H e r o u m : O R , _g the most learned, and t_ the right Honourable, Henry, Marguesse pf Dorchester. As the reader comes to each of these titles, he receives the impression that Herrick intends special significance to attach to either the titles or their poems. One response is to assume that, just as the 50 point upper case letter signifies the beginning of a poem, the large title signi— fies the beginning of a new section in the book. That idea is supported by the fact that each of the poems discussed above is addressed to an important personage: the King, the Queen, the Duke of York, the Marquis of Dorchester. It was not unusual in Her ick's time to address a prefatory poem to one's king or patron.or to a.high'politicalgfigure. Indeed, the prefatory poem in Herrick's volume is addressed "To the most Illustrious and most Hopefull Prince, CHARLES, Prince of Wales." Therefore, it would seem reasonable for Herrick to signal the beginning of a new group of poems by heading the new section with a piece addressed to an important personage. 9 Greater weight is added to the argument when we see that some of the poems mentioned above occur in sequences. H—77 and H-79 are obviously companion poems. The former stands out more forcefully upon the page because of its title's pattern and style of type, so that the reader re- ceives the impression of a gradual narrowing—down of type size--much as when one moves from the large print of a title page or chapter heading to the smaller print in the body of a work.16 Much the same effect is achieved by the titles of H-264, H-265, and H-266 and by the last set of poems mentioned above, H-961 and H-962. We notice further that in each case in which a group of titles is set in large type, the first of the group is addressed to the King. If there are three poems in the group, the Second is addressed to the Queen, and the third to a person of lesser political importance. In a set of two poems, the second is addressed to the Queen or a per— son of less eminence. If one poem occurs by itself, it is addressed to the King. In addition to being addressed to King Charles, several of the poems under discussion bear a striking resem- blance to each other. H—77 begins: Welcome, most_welcome to our Vowes and us, Most great, and universall Genius! The Drooping West, which hitherto has stood As one, in long-lamented-widow—hood; Looks like a Bride now, or a bed of flowers. H-961 begins: Welcome, Great Cesar, welcome now you are, As dearest Peace, after destructive Warre: 10 Welcome as slumbers; or as beds of ease After our long, and peevish sicknesses. Aside from the similarity of the central idea and phrasing in the two poems, both continue with references to good omens which foretell the victory of the Royalist forces in the Civil War. Similarly, H-823 compliments Charles upon a victorious battle and predicts a total defeat of Cromwell's army. H-lél and H-264 are somewhat different in that, while they compliment Charles‘ power, they are not directly concerned with events in the Civil War. There is, however, another poem (H-685) which is very Similar to the prefatory poem. That lyric bears so close a resemblance to H-77 that Patrick suggests it is a sequel to H-7”?.17 That poem, though its title does not appear in large tyTDe, is, like the others discussed above, titled "To the King": Give way, give way, now, now, my Charles shines here, A Publike Light (in this immensive Sphere.) Some starres were fixt before; but these are dim, Compar'd (in this my ample Orbe) to Him. Draw in your feeble fiers, while that He Appeares but in His Meaner Majestie. ~ Where, if such glory flashes from His Name, Which is His Shade, who can abide His Flame! Princes, and such like Publike Lights as these, Must not be lookt on, but at distances: For, iZ-we aze on—These brave Lamps too neer, 53- eyes the y'I innd, or if not blind, they' 1 m- The prefatory poem reads: Well may my Book come forth, like Publique Day, When such a Light as You are leads the way: Who are my Works Creator, and alone The Flame of it, and the ExpanSion. And look how all those heavenly Lamps acquire Light from the Sun, that inexhausted Fire: 11 So all my Morne, and Evening Stars from You Have their Existence, and their Influence too. Full is my Book of Glories; but all These18 By You become Immortall Substances. In both poems we see the same central image-~the great light which emanates from the figures Herrick wishes to compliment--and in both Herrick compares the greater fire of the person to whom the poem is addressed to the lesser light shed by other "stars" within his book. The former poem extends the imagery to include an allusion to Exodus 55: 18-20 in which Moses is warned not to look upon the face of God lest he die. Partially because H-685 bears SJCh a striking resem- blernce to the prefatory poem and to H-77 and because it is onfi: of only six poems in the Hesperides proper entitled "To th£3 King," I should like to suggest that H-685 has the same Siégnificance attributed to the five other poems addressed tC> the King. A third reason for my suggestion derives from thus placement of the poem. If we include H—685 as a head- POenn'to its own section, the Hesperides proper can be seen as (livided into seven sections-~six of which are similar in lerugth, with a much longer middle section: Section One: H—l to H-76 (76 poems) Section Two: H-77 to H-lSO (84 poems) Section Three: H-161 to H-263 (10} poems) Section ”our: H-264 to H-684 (421 poems) Section Five: H-685 to H—822 (158 poems) Section Six: H—825 to H-96O (138 poems) Section Seven: H—961 to H-llBO (170 poems) The lengths of the suggested sections are of greater regu— laI‘itythan the table indicates because the poems toward the end of the book tend increasingly toward the epigram. Thus, ”mi“ 12 while Section Seven contains eighty-six poems more than Section Two, for example, their actual difference in length is only 248 lines, Section Two being the longer. III But to suggest that H-685 should be Considered as a head—poem to a section--even to suggest that the Hesperides proper is divided into sections--is valueless unless we can perceive some rationale for Herrick's choosing to divide his book in that way. It is to explaining my understanding of Herrick's principles of division that I have devoted the bulk of this paper. Let me just say at this point that the occurrence of a head-poem seems to indicate the beginning of.a new theme or point of view and that in several instances the head—poem helps to indicate the ideas to be discussed within a particular section. A further indication of a change of theme or point of view is found in the last poem of each section. Thus, the first head-poem, "The Argument of his Book," introduces Section One, which, in turn, introduces the main themes of the volume. The last poem in Section One, "Conformitie," states the necessity of obedience to law in order to avoid destruction. That poem, in addition to the head-poems of Section Two (H—77 and H-79),which deal with the detrimental influence of civil unrest, suggests the theme of the second section: the usefulness of law and a stable society in providing men with a happy life during their stay on earth. The last poem in Section Two, "To 13 Dianeme," warns a lady that her beauty will soon fade. That poem, together with the head-poem of Section Three (H-161), which praises the King as a healer of scrofula, suggests the theme of Section Three: that men are frail and their powers short-lived and that, consequently, men should enjoy pleasures while they can. The last poem in Section Three, "Mistresse Elizabeth Wheeler, under the name of the lost Shepardesse," essentially a pastoral poem, plus the three head-poems of Section Four (H-264, H-265, H-266) introduce the theme of Section Four: the condemnation of Herrick's world as compared with a pastoral realm. The last poem in Section Four, "To Dianeme. £°Ceremonie in Glocester," plus the head-poem to Section Five. (H—68S) suggest the emphasis on religion found in Section Five. The last poem in Section Five, "Upon Nodes," an epigram, together with the head-poem of Section Six (H-823), the shortest of all the head-poems, suggests the epigrammatic character and ethical emphasis of Section Six. The last poem in Section Six, "To his Booke," through its evidence of Herrick's tender regard for his work, suggests a secondary theme of Section Seven and of the whole work--Herrick's hope that his poetry will be well received and so bring him fame after he is dead. Whether or not Herrick instructed the printer as to how to set the titles of the head—poems discussed above is a question which may never be satisfactorily answered. 14 Because we have no letters of his dealing with that subject and because no edition later than the 1648 appeared during his lifetime to be revised or commentid upon by the poet, we may never know how closely matters such as choice of type accorded with Herrick's wishes. Yet, even if we say that the decision to set the titles of certain poems in large type was made by the printer, we must still acknowledge the regularity of the intervals between poems addressed to the King. We must further note the clearly introductory character of the beginning of the book and the sense of conclusion found at the end of the Hesperides proper. If we add to those considerations the fact that groups of poems placed between poems to the King seem to develop a theme introduced by the head-poem and the poem preceding the head— poem of a section, we cannot, I think, dismiss the care with which the Hesperides proper is arranged. There are, admittedly, some poems which apparently have little or nothing to do with the proposed themes or which would appear to fit better in another section. Those poems I have listed in the notes.19 Buy, considering the great number of poems within the Hesperides, the number of miscellaneous poems is very small. Most are epigrams, and most seemingly misplaced poems are apparently re-workings or repetitions of other poems in the Hesperides proper. I do not, however, wiSh to convey the impression that great numbers of the epigrams are extraneous to the themes developed in the work. On the contrary, the vast majority -v -—-—-. man—— 15 are arranged to emphasize and make clearer the theme of the section in which they are placed. Particularly in those sections devoted to discussion of virtue, Herrick uses the epigram as a satirical weapon against the foibles of man and offers them as a source of instructive maxims. It is to the former sort of epigram that Grosart so strenuously objects. Yet I find few of them as offensive as Grosart claims. They present an unattractive view of human charac- teristics, but in most cases they offer a different (often humorous) perspective of a serious idea and so tend to broaden our view of life and to strengthen the sense of realism within the work. IV It seems, then, that while the poems of the Hesperides proper discuss a great many topics, there is an essential order to their arrangement and that, despite the multiplicity of tOpics and forms, we find within the work a general ad- herence to Herrick's primary theme: a statement of man's transience and an attempt to find means of compensating man for the brevity of his life. Herrick indicates the importance of that theme and indicates one way of defeating time in the Latin inscription found on the title page of the Hesperides proper: "Effugient avidos Carmina nostra nggg," which may be translated, Our songs (or poetry) escape the greedy 21 He returns to that idea again and again in funeaal pyre. his book, promising his friends that the inclusion of their names in his work will assure them, as well as himself, 16 immortality, The next to last poem in the ggsperides proper (H—1129) repeats the idea of the inscription--that his poetry is‘impervious to wear and age and will remain forever as a monument to his name. ' The fact that Herrick expresses so confidently his ability to bring fame and immortality to himself through his own artistic endeavors is indicative of the philoso- phical position held throughout the Hesperides proper. Although he views man as a physically frail creature given to moral lapses and doomed to death, Herrick never loses his belief that men can, through exercise of their human capabilities, find happiness and successs. To that extent his position is aligned with that of the humanist tradition revived during the Renaissance. His insistence that man must first realize all his potential of creativity, sensuous enjoyment, and reason--his insistence that man is capable of and primarily resppnsible for control of himself and his environment--places the human creature at the center of the Hesperides proper. Although several of the poems in that portion of his work suggest Herrick's concern with the nature of prayer and with man's relationship to the gods or God, he continually takes the position that the purpose of worship should be to make men happy rather than to please God. Repeatedly he emphasizes that men must be moderate in their worship, giving something to the gods, but sawing the "Meat" of the sacrifice for themselves. Of course, some of the poems in the Hesperides proper show evidence of Christian influence upon Herrick's life. 17 We find biblical allusions and references to theological concepts. But, to my knowledge, the only poem which mentions Christ or Christianity directly is "The Christian Militant." Yet, despite its title, that poem does not seem to me an affirmation of faith in Christ. Herrick calls his hero a Christian, but the qualities he finds admirable in that man are stoic perseverance and calm in the face of adversity, rather than qualities more closely associated with Christian virtue. Thus, while the Hesperides proper is by no means anti- Christian, it in no way presents the poet as a fervent Christian. And while that portion of the work may not be considered anti-religious, it avoids (on the whole) any strong emphasis upon the spiritual, preferring to stress various philosophies and ethical systems. Herrick does obviously feel that men can and should call upon God for help in times of trouble and should offer praise or thanks- giving. But he sees mania attention to his spiritual nature as only one of the ways in which he can find hap- piness and success. The main burden, he says, is not upon God to provide for us, but upon ourselves. It is up to us to exercise our reason or to use our senses, he insists, in discovering paths to contentment and pleasure. V However, we see as we read through the Hesperides an increasing emphasis upon religion. Sections Five and Six in particular contain poems concerning the celebration 18 of Christmas and Candlemas and suggest Herrick's belief in the eternal life of the soul. Thus, the last sections of the Hesperides proper form a fitting prelude to the total religious commitment found in His-£2212 Numbers. That movement from concern with the affairs of man and belief in his power to control his life, expressed in the Hesperides proper, to complete concern with spiritual matters and faith in Christ, found in His £2213 Numbers, is essentially the same sort of progression observable in "The Argument of his Book": I Sing of Brdoks, of Blossomes, Birds, and Bowers: Of April, May, of June, and July-Flowers. I sing of May-poles, Hock—carts, Wassails, Wakes, Of Bride- rooms, Brides, and of their Bridall-cakes. I write of Youth, of Love, and have Accesse By these, to sing of cleanly-Wantonnesse. I sing of Dewes, of Raines, and piece by piece Of Balme, of Oyle, of 3 ice, and Amber-Greece. I sing of Times trans—shi ting; and I write How Roses first camegRed, and Lillies White. I write of Groves, of_Twilights, and I sing The Court of Mab, and of the Fairie-King. I write of HeII? I sing (and ever shall) Of Heaven, and hope to have it after all. Here we see a catalogue of subjects to be discussed in Herrick's work; but as Patrick points out, the poem is not simply a list of topics; it is "like a microcosm,"22 involving a progression from inanimate and natural objects to the spiritual realms of Heaven and Hell. The catalogue begins with a couplet devoted to natural beauty. In the first line Herrick lists the natural phenomena which give him pleasure, and in the second he connects the appearance of the flowers with passage of the seasons. In the third 19 line he lists the various ways in which men celebrate the seasons and names one kind of festival (the wake) which is not connected with a particular time of the year. The fourth line lists things connected with one of man's most important ceremonies-~the wedding. The third couplet focuses upon the expression of human emotion, particularly that of love, and its pleasure. The fourth couplet, Patrick suggests, juxtaposes the "dews and rains of the physical heaven" and the "balms, oils and_spices, which symbolize the spiritual."25 The fifth couplet suggests Herrick's concern with transience ("Times trans—shifting") and his interest in the origins of things. In the sixth couplet he mentions the characters of the groves and twilight hours, the fairies, who represent one kind of supernatural being. In the seventh he centers upon the Christian Heaven and Hell. "The Argument," then, indicates a broadening of man's experience and awareness. As it moves from concrete to abstract, from physical to spiritual, from sensuous pleasure to joys of the soul, we see in it not only a "microcosm," but a record of concerns held by man as he grows intellectually and spiritually. The progression of the ggsperides is not so neat or consistent as that of the "Argument," but the person who reads straight through the Hesperides proper and His Noble Numbers will, I think, find an experience similar to that of reading a chronicle of spiritual or religious growth. Throughout the Hesperides prOper we find evidence of Herrick's struggle to discover some means of dealing with 20 the fact of his mortality. In his search the poet looks first at the nature of man, hOping to find some human faculty which will, when exercised, bring happiness and so compensate one for the brevity of his life. He seizes upon the fact that man is a sensuous creature, able to find pleasure in joys of the flesh and imagination. But unre— strained self—gratification, he observes, brings satiety and sickness. So he turns (in Section Two) to man's faculties of reason and self-control. However, the poet seems to find the strictures of stoic self-discipline too repressive. Thus, he returns joyously in Section Three to singing the pleasures of the senses. Section Four, then, bitterly contrasts the attributes of a former pastoral age,, in which men were at once morally blameless and free to enjoy erotic pleausres, with the present, in which men live a corrupt and at the same time joyless existence. In Section Five Herrick combines praise of sensuous pleasure with descriptions of religious rites. Section Six finds the poet in a more sober mood. There he combines religious doctrine with stern warnings against a life of pleasure. Section Seven continues in the epigrammatic vein of Section Six, restating the importance of virtue, bidding farewell to the fitst portion of his work, and placing Herrick’s hope for immortality in the worth pf his poetry. Thus, the Hesperides proper is essentially a record of conflict--conflict between duty and pleasure, between reason and the senses, between hope for eternal life and desire for earthly fame. 21 But in His Nlee Numbers we see the conflicts resolved. By turning his attention from man to God, Herrick finds joy on earth, significance for his work as a testament to God's-glory, and eternal life through religious faith. Thus he may confidently state in "His Meditation on Death" that he no longer cares how long he lives; he cares only to know that he has lived well so that he can face his judge at the "Generall Doome" with faith that his earthly funeral will be a prelude to his entrance into Heaven. In many ways Herrick's description of his struggle to find God bears a striking resemblance to the first ten books of the Confessions of St. Augustine. In books I-IV of the Confessions (corresponding to Sections One through Four of the Hesperides) Augustine, like Herrick, details the wantonness of his youth, condemns the evils of society, and names various heresies and philosophies into which he was drawn. In fiooks V-VII (corresponding to Sections Five through Seven of the Hesperides) Augustine abandons his previous heretical beliefs and, longing for closeness to God, attempts to cast off his former habits. But Augustine, like Herrick, finds himself still attracted to sensual pleasure and given to philosophical quibbling. It is not until Book VIII of the Confessions (corresponding to the first few poems in His Noble Numbers) that Augustine is converted. In Book IX Augustine devotes himself to God and is baptized. Then in Book X be embarks upon a series of discussions concerning the nature of God and finally declares Christ as the redeemer of sin and the mediator 22 between man and God. The same progression is seen in His Noble Numbers in which Herrick, having announced his conversion and baptism, spends much time remarking upon God's mysterious and unapproachable nature, but then per- ceives Christ as a source of mercy and healing. I do not mean to claim that in the arrangement of the Hesperides Herrick necessarily imitated the Confessions. There are a great many differences between the works and between the personalities of the two authors. But I think it likely that Herrick, having no doubt read the Confessions, may have been influenced by the thoughts and format there. In any case, while Herrick's book may never be recog- nized as a great religious work--his secular poems far outweigh his "pious pieces" in interest and merit--I think his purpose clearly was, in addition to publishing all his poems, to present a kind of gonfessio arranged to represent the errors and ultimate conversion of a religious man. VI In speaking of the Hesperides as a "work," I have, of course, been including gig nglg Numbers as a part of that work. It is necessary, therefore, to make some ex- planation of the bases (aside from the thematic reasons discussed above) on which I think we can consider both "books" as forming a single work. One argument against the idea is the fact that the 25 title page of His Noble Numbers is dated 1647, while that of the Hesperides proper is dated 1648. Some readers may therefore assume that His Noble Numbers was intended to be published first, either as a separate volume or placed first in the single volume. However, the signatures of the Hesperides proper run.A—E, while those of His prle Numbers run Aa-Ee, suggesting that at the time the manu- scripts were ready for the printer, Herrick had decided to place the Hesperides proper first. Patrick suggests that the difference in dates may have resulted from Herrick's originally having prepared both "books" in 1647, dating the manuscript title pages accordingly, "but that the setting up of the type for the main title page was left to the last, by which time 1648 had arrived or was near."24 A second argument against seeing the Hesperides proper and His Noble Numbers as two parts of a single work is the fact that a separate title page was prepared for his "pious pieces." I think, however, that two consider- ations tend to controvert that argument. First, it would seem only proper to distinguish Significantly between the more secular first part of the work and the religious latter part. The preparation of a new title page would have that effect. Second, the full title of the Hesperides may be seen to include His Noble Numbers. It reads: Hesperides: While the "Divine" may be interpreted as signifying those poems within the Hesperides proper which deal with religion, 24 Herrick apparently intends the "Divine" to mean His Ngble Numbers. That fact is clear from his list of errata. There he begins by listing errors in the first part of his work. Then, to distinguish the page numbers in that list from those in His Noble Numbers, he heads the second part of the errata "In the Divine." A NOTE ON THE TEXTS In my discussion of the poems and for quotation of their texts, I refer always to J. Max Patrick's edition of the Hesperides. 1 In my listing of the errata and my discussion of type sizes, I refer to a facsimile of the 1648 edition, as represented by the British Museum E. 1090 copy.2 In that copy incorrect pagination is found in the inner forme of M. Beginning with the signature M, we find 161, 166 (for 162), 167 (for 165), 164, 165, 162 (for 166), 165 (for 167), 168, 169, 174 (for 170), 175 (for 171), 172, 175, 170 (for 174), 171 (for 175), and 276 (for 176). Because of the regularity of catchwords and sequents, we may assume that all except "276" are simple misprints.5 On that page (276, signature M8) the catchword "Selfe" has as a sequent "Liberty" (p. 177, signature N). Martin suggests that the situation could have arisen from the excision of a poem titled "Semen-3'4 The E. 1090 copy also varies from some other copies in that it includes cancels C7, M8, and O8. 25 I. SECTION ONE: THE INTRODUCTION TO THE HESPERIDES The poems in Section One of the Hesperides are arranged to provide the section with two functions. The first is to introduce the entire volume to the reader, setting forth the essential subjects and themes. The second is to develop a theme and point of view of its own. It begins with "The Argument of His Book," disCussed in detail above, and follows with seven poems which concern the relationship of the author to his work, the kind of poetry he writes, and the relationship of the work to the reader. In succeeding poems Herrick begins his exposition of the principal theme of the Hesperides-~the transience of all things. Poems H—9 through H-62 and H-67 through H-69 emphasize man's physical frailty and the certainty that he will die. The bulk, then, of Section One is devoted to the theme of transience. but also important are poems which introduce other ideas to be more fully deve10ped later in the book. Such considerations include the place of religion in man's earthly experience, the necessity of virtue for managing one's life successfully, the importance of pre- serving social order, and a discussion of country life ("Diécontents in Devon" and "To his Paternall Country"). Man's religious experience is discussed in a 26 27 sequence of four poems (H—63 to H-66) which deal with man's relationship to the gods. In the first, "Cheerful— nesse in Charitie: or, The Sweet Sacrifice," Herrick states that no sacrifice can please the gods if the 1 The last two poems in offering is made reluctantly. the sequence are concerned with the nature of the sacrifice and the distinction between men and gods. "Sweetness in Sacrifice" reminds us that it is not the size of an of- fering but its quality (its "sweetness") which pleases the gods. "Steame in Sacrifice" remarks upon the difference between the physical nature of men, who may eat the meat of the burnt offering, and the spiritual nature of the gods, who prefer only the smell of the roasting meat. The second poem in the series (H-64) refutes the idea that men should show devotion to the gods in order to gain material benefit. Herrick sees convinced throughout 'his work that there are men who are destined to be poor and those destined to be rich and that no amount of prayer or work is capable of changing one's situation.2 Goes the world now, it will with thee goe hard; The fattest Hogs we grease the more with Lard. $2 him that has, there shall be added more; T92. .i_S genurious. pg shall 31511 22 core, ( Once poore, still penuriousng“- The wise man, then, will not turn to the gods to overcome earthly obstacles; he will base his life on ethical principles and virtuous action, hOping thereby to gain strength. "No Shipwrack of Vertue. To a Friend" 28 suggests that the virtuous man has a better chance than his non-virtuous fellow of dealing with the problems of life: Thou sail'st with others, in this Argus here; Nor wrack, or Bulging thou hast cause to feare; But trust to this, my noble passenger; Who swims with Vertue, he shall still be sure (Ulysses-like) all tempests to endure; And midst a thousand gulfs to be secure. 3 Virtue is partially defined in the Hesperides as con- forming to principles exemplified in Nature. H-76 reminds us that all things depend upon universal principles for wholeness; anarchy within a society or mtural system breedS'chaos: Conformity was ever knowne A foe to Dissolution: Nor can we that a ruine call, Whose crack gives crushing unto all. ("Conformitie") The subordinate ideas, then, introduced in Section One are the relationship of gods to men, the necessity of virtues as governing principles of the individual life, -and the importance of "conformity" for the preservation of social order. But most important to the section (and to the entire volume) is Herrick's concern with man's vulnerability to decay and death. His emphasis in this particular section is upon the transience of physical pleasure--the fading beauty of a mistress and the declin- ing powers of her lover. Thus he attempts to show the cruelty of time by juxtaposing calls to pleasure and 29 laments for lost potency or by juxtaposing love songs and epitaphs. The effect of that method of arrangement is to produce in the reader a sense of man's physical frailty and to provide in Section One groups of poems which assume the character of the carpe diem. Tflfi Elvelyrics which immediately follow the introductory poems form a sequence which moves from praise of his mistress' beauty and the pleasures of love to a statement concerning the speaker's death. "Upon Julia's Recovery" and "The Parliament of r‘oses to Julia" both relate the beauty of flowers to Julia's loveliness. She belongs, he says, to "that sweet Sister—hood" of beautiful things which give pleasure by their presence.4 "To Silvia to Wed" and "The Frozen Heart" discuss two views of love-— its magnificent pleasures and its equally magnificent pain.5 The sequence ends with "To Perilla" in which the speaker calls to his mistress to give him proper burial: Ah my Perillal do'st thou grieve to see Me, day by day, to steale away from thee? Age cals me hence, and my gray haires bid come, And haste away to mine eternal home; _ 'Twill not be long (Perilla) after this, That I must give thee the supremest disse: Dead when I am, first cast in salt, and bring Part of the creame from that Religious Spring; With which (Perilla) wash my hands and feet; That done, then wind me in that very sheet , Which wrapt thy smooth limbs (when thou didst implore The Gods protection, but the night before) Follow me weeping to my Turfe, and there Let fall a Primrose, and with it a teare. (11. 1-14) Thus Herrick reminds us that old age will come, and with 50 it the end of love and pleasure. The lover will at last bestow his "Supremest kisse"; and the sheet which once covered the lovers' bed will converted to a shroud. A similar relationship is developed among three of the poems which immediately follow the sequence discussed above. "A Song to the Maskers," which deals with the sensuous pleasures of the dance, and "To Perenna" (H-l6), a compliment to the passion Perenna's beauty evokes, are closely followed by "To his Mistresses": Helps me! helpe me! now I call To my pretty Witchcrafts all: Old I am, and cannot do That, I was accustomed to. Bring your Magicks, Spels, and Charmes, Io enflesh my thighs and armes: Is there no way to beget In my limbs their former heat? From this group of poems, then, we see that as we grow old, natural charms lose their ability to arouse passion. The old lover, whose thin arms and thighs reflect his waning passion, begs desperately for help in regaining his physical prowess.6 The next three poems in the section also form a sequence which begins with a lover's lament and ends with a consideration of the future death of the speaker and his mistress. "The Wounded Heart" belongs to the genre of poems to cold-hearted mistresses in which the speaker takes pleasure in vastly overstating his lady's coldness. "No Loathsomenesse in.love" falls into another convention-- that of cataloguing deformities in praise of an ugly 51 mistress. Implicit in both poems is the idea that whether or not love is reciprocated and whether the lady be beautiful or grotesque, the pursuit of love is com- pelling and ultimately fulfilling. Even the third in the sequence ("To Anthea") emphasizes the power of love, 'though in that poem the power is expressed in terms of love's ability to force a lover to follow his mistress to the grave. The poems which immediately follow those discussed above emphasize, in general, the "cleanly wantonnesse" enjoyed by lovers. "His Answer to a Question" reveals the speaker's reason for remaining a bachelor. He does so, he says, because What man would be here Slave to thrall, If at all He could live free here? (11. 9—12) Wantonness, then, is proper only for the single man; Herrick:always looks with disfavor upon misconduct in marriage. But to the bachelor is open a world of delights. One such moment is found in "The shooe tying": c. Anthea bade me tye her shooe; I did; and kist the instep too: And would have kist unto her knee, Had not her Blush rebuked me. In another poem the recipient of pleasure is the lady's horse: 52!. ,: Julia was careless, and withall, She rather took, then got a fall: The wanton Ambler chanc'd to see Part of her leggs sinceritie: ("Upon Julia's Fall," 11. 1-4) 7 Such poems are intermingled with more serious consider- ations of love. Two epigrams follow "Upon Julia's Fall." both of which attempt a philosophical attitude toward love:8 Love is a circle that doth move In the same sweet eternity of love. ("Love what it is") When what is lov'd, is Present, love doth spring; But being absent, Love lies languishing. ("Presence and Absence") To continue his "serious" commentary on love, Herrick places next a poem which concerns not passion but tender regard: A Bachelour I will Live as I have liv'd still, And never take a wife To crucifie my life: But this I'le tell ye too, What now I means to doe; A Sister (in the stead Of Wife) about I'le lead; Which I will keep embrac'd And kisse, but yet be chaste. ("No Spouse but a Sister") Two others in the group of poems (H-25 through.H-39) concern myths which show the relationship between virgins in love and flowers. "How the Wall-flower came first, and why so called" tells the story of a young girl who, attempting to let herself down a wall to meet her lover, 54 falls to her death and is turned into a flower. A similar sympathetic relationship between young enamoured girls and nature is found in "Why Flowers change colour." There Herrick suggests that floral color changes are related to the alternate paling and blushing of girls in love. The conventional exhange of gifts is delineated in "The Pomander Bracelet" and "The Carkanett" A lover's ' suggeststthe elo- farewell, "His Sailing from Julia,' quent outpourings of emotion sometimes evoked by love just as "To his Mistress, Objecting to him neither Toying or Talking" reflects the sometimes unaccountable silences of lovers. But inevitably the group of poems ends (as must love) with the loneliness of a severed relationship. "Upon the losse of his Mistresses" is vague as to the cause of the spearation. However, whether by death or other circumstance, Herrick emphasizes that eventual parting is an inescapable aspect of human rela- tionships, and death, the ultimme experience: I have lost, and lately, these (Many dainty Mistresses: Onely Herrick's left alone, For to number sorrow by Their departures hence, and die. (11. 1:2, 12—14) In a succeeding group of poems the separation is a result of failing physical powers. "The Vine" recounts a dream in which the speaker visualizes himself changed into a vine, in which form he ravishes his mistress. But 35 he awakes and realizes that his actual physical prowess is much less than the supple sensuality of the vine: ‘ But when I crept with leaves to hide Those parts, which mids keep unespy'd, Such fleeting pleasures there I took, That with the fancie I awook; And found (Ah me!) this flesh of mine.9 More like a Stock; then like a Vine. The concept of the aging lover taking refuge in fantasy is continued in "On himselfe": Young I was, but now am old,~ But I am not yet grown cold; I can play, and I can twine 'Bout a Virgin like a Vine: In her lap too I can lye Melting and in fancie die. (11. 1-6) ,Again, then, passionate love will pass away either through the death of the lovers or through diminished physical powers. It will pass because such-love is a human emotion, and all things in nature decay and die. This idea, as the main theme_of Section One, reaches its fullest expression in the poem which may be considered the climax of the section: All things decay with Time: The Forrest sees The growth, and down-fall of her aged trees: That Timber tall, which three-score lusters stood The proud Dictator of the State—like wood: I mean (the Soveraigne of all Plants) the Oke Droops, dies, and falls without the cleavers stroke. ("All things decay and die") II As stated above, Section One tends to emphasize 56 making merry use of limited time. Despite the fact that no one poem (with the possible exception of "To Silvia to Wed") may be called a carpe diem poem, Herrick's arrangement of the individual pieces tends to juxtapose the two aspects of the carpe diem: the call to love or a description of the pleasures of love and a reminder that time is short. In the instances discussed above, the theme is expressed in sequences of three to eighteen poems, each of which begins with a lyric (or lyrics) on the pleasing qualities of a lady or of love itself and ends with a statement on the loss of potency or on the nearness of death. It may appear that so long a seouence as eighteen poems may be difficult to sustain, particularly when many of the lyrics are apparently-~from casual reading-~on different topics. But two factors allow the reader to perceive the continuity. First, the-poems are generally quite brief; none is longer than fifteen lines; many are epigrams. Ihus, the group of poems from H-25 to H-59 is only 150 lines long. Second, once Herrick has established his theme in shorter sequences, the reader is prepared for longer, more complex series dealing with essentially the same idea. It is through the recognition of that kind of arrangement that many of Herrick's epigrams and other short poems--often overlooked or dismissed as shallow-- are seen to form a group, the significance of which is greater than that of the separate parts. Such a group is formed by poems H-48 through H-SO: 57 When one is past, another care we have, Thus Woe succeeds a Woe; as wave a wave. ("Sorrowes Succeed" Julia and I did lately sit Playing for sport, at Cherry-pit; She threw; I cast; and having thrown, I got the Pit, and she the Stone. ("Cherry-pit") Laid out for dead, let thy last kindnesse be With leaves and mosse-work for to cover me: And while the Wood-nimphs my cold corps inter, bing thou my Dirge, sweet-warbling Chorister! For Epitaph, in Foliage, next write this, Here, here the Tomb~of Robin Herrick is. ("To Robin Red- brest"$ That these poems are thematically related may be determined first by their adherence to the theme of previous groupings. H-48 ("Sorrowes Succeed") is preceded by a poem ("The _Parcae, or, Three Dainty Destinies") concerned with death. Thus, "Cherry—pit" stands among various intimations of sorrow and transience and suggests that pleasure must be taken when possible. Further coherence is established among the poems through Herrick's use of a standard expository technique: a general statement followed by examples. The epigram "Sorrowes Succeed" states that life is composed of a series of misfortunes; the next two poems then give examples of two kinds of trouble. In "Cherry-pit" the lover discovers himself the partner in an illegitimate pregnancy.10 In "To Robin Red-brest" the speaker is faced with the ultimate problem of life--his own death. In other instances the juxtaposition of an epigram and another poem produces an ironic view of the speaker. 58 "Two Things Odious" precedes "To his Mistresses" discussed above: Two of a thousand things, are disallode, A lying Rich man, and a Poore man proud. ("Two—Things Odious" Patrick notes that the source of the epigram is Ecclesiasticus xxv. 2: "Three sorts of men my soul hateth . . . a poor man that is proud, a rich man that is a liar, and an old adulterer that doteth." If we may assume that many of Herrick's contemporaries could be expected to know the apocryphal passage, an interesting relationship develOps between the epigram and "To his Mistresses," in which the speaker is an "old adulterer" asking help to restore his sexual vitality. Similarly, "Ambition" is an epigram which places "His Request to Julia" in a broader perspective: In Man, Ambition is the common'st thing; Each one, by nature, loves to be a King. (H-58) Julia, If I chance to die Ere I print my Poetry; I most humbly thee desire To commit it to the fire: Better 'twere my Book were dead, Then to live not perfected. (H-59) The juxtaposition in this case helps soften the egotism of "His Request to Julia" by revealing the poet's real- ization that his ambition as an artist to produce a perfect volume is a manifestation of the "common'st" human characteristic. 59 But in many instances the connection between poems is more complex than simple juxtaposition of compatible ideas. Herrick also tends to emphasize the relationship of ideas among poems by carrying over a line or an image from one poem to the next. That technique is used to link "To his Muse" (H—2) and "To his Booke" (H-B). "To his Muse" begins: Whither "Mad maiden" wilt thou roame? 11 Farre safer 'twere £2 stay at home: Where thou mayst sit, and piping,please The poore and private Cottages. Since Coats, and Hamlets best agree With this thy meaner Minstrelsie. (ll. l-6) On first reading, Herrick's main purpose in these lines seems to be to classify himself as a bucolic poet. But the poem assumes a more complex meaning when seen together with "To his booke": While thou didst keep thy Candor undefil'd 'Deerely I lov'd thee; as my firstybourne child: But when I saw thee wantonly £9 roame 12 From house 39 house, and never stay at home; I brake my bonds of love, and bad thee goe, Regardlesse whether well thou sped’st or no. On with thy fortunes, then, what e're they be; If good I'le smile, if bad I'le sigh for Thee. Here the near-repetition of the italicized lines immed- iately recalls the similar couplet in the preceding poem; and the reader looks for a relationship between the two poems. ‘he connection emerges when we see that Herrick is not so much interested in labelling himself a bucolic poet or apostrophizing his book as he is in distinguishing 40 between the relationship of the poet to his source of inspiration and of the poet to published (or circulated) work. He presents his muse as a songstress of "meaner minstralsie"——thus stylistically suited to simple subject matter. Artistically, then, it is "farre safer" for her to "stay at home" by dealing with less lofty content than that of the court poets. But in turning to his book, Herrick recognizes that, whereas it is artistically pro- fitable for a poet to "stay at home" with the subject matter to which his style is suited, a finished work ful- fills its purpose only when it is seen "never to stay at home." For a completed poem assumes autonomy; it travels from reader to reader, no longer the sole property of its author. Thus we are reminded of the analogy between the creative process and procreation of a "first- bourne child." From the intimate union of poet and muse the "Booke" is produced, first to be held close and "deerely loved," but at last to be set free to follow its own course. In other instances Herrick effects a connection of ideas not through repetition of lines but through raising an image from one level of significance to another. That technique links "To his Mistresses" and "To Anthea" (H-55). In the former he says: Put on your silks; and piece by piece Give them the scent of Amber—Greece: And for your breaths, too, let them smell Ambrosia-like, or Nectarell: While other Gums their sweets perspire, By your own jewels set on fire. 4 "To Anthea" is a request to Anthea to bury him "Under that Holy-Oke, or Gospel-tree Or for mine honour, lay me in that Tombe In which thy sacred Reliques shall have room: For my Embalming (Sweetest) there will be No spices wanting, when I'm laid by thee. (ll. 7-10) Here the main theme of the section--transience of physical pleasures—-is supported by the juxtaposition of two primry uses of spice. "To his Mistresses" speaks of various gums and perfumes in terms of the various pleasures they evoke; in "To Anthea" the spices are to be used for embalming. Thus, as the context of "spice" moves from a lady's silks to the tomb, we sense the continuity of the passage from life to grave. But perhaps the most complex relationship in the section is developed among poems H-65 through H-70. It may be recalled from discussion above that H-63 through H-66 ("Cheerfulnesse in Charitie," "Once Poore still penurious," "Sweetnesse in Sacrifice," and "Steame in Sacrifice") concern the religious aspect of man's exper— ience--his relationship with the spiritual world. Following those poems we find "Upon Julia's voice" (H—67) and "Againe" (H-68): So smooth, so sweet, so silv'ry is thy voice, As could they hear, the Damn‘d would make no noise, But listen to thee, (walking in thy chamber) Melting melodious words, to Lutes of Amber. ("Upon Julia's Voice") 42 When I thy singing next shall heare, Ile wish I might turne all to eare, To drink in Notes, and Numbers; such As blessed soules cann't heare too much: Then melted down, there let me lye Entranc'd, and lost confusedly: And by thy Musique strucken must, Die, and be turn'd into a Lute. ("Againe") The connection between the two poems is obvious, both in title and subject matter. But Herrick emphasizes the rela- tionship through a series of similar and contrasting images. In the former poem Julia's voice is said to be so sweet that the listening "Damn'd would make no noise"; in the latter, so sweet "As blessed soules cann't hear too much." In the former poem Julia's voice "melts" words to amber lutes; in the latter the speaker wishes to be "melted" into a lute after death. fhus we see continuedreferences to the grave and beyond. To express the ethereal quality of her music, he presents Julia‘s voice as enjoyed by "soules" rather than by people, and his own appreciation is manifest in desiring death and subsequent transfiguration. The spiritual emphasis of H-65 through H-66 is, then, continued_in a different context in H-67 and H-68. As we move to H-69, the title ("All things decay and die") takes up the word "Die" from the last line of "Againe" to discuss death from a different point of view: All things decay with Timg: the Forrest sees The growth and downfall of her aged trees: That Timber tall, which three-score lusters stood The proud Dictator of the State-like wood: I meane (the Soveraigne of all Plants) the Oke Droops, dies, and falls without the cleaners stroke. 45 Here the emphasis is not upon death as a means of gainign a higher form of being, but upon its connection with decay. However, the next poem, "The succession of the foure sweet months," attempts another View of time: First, April, she with mellow showrs Opens the way for early flowers: Then after her comes smiling May, In a more rich and sweet array: Next enters June, and brings us more Jems, then those two, that went before: Then (lastly) July comes, and she More wealth brings in, then all those three. l'hese lines form an apparent contrast to toe statement "All things decay with time" in that spring and summer are said to offer increasingly pleasurable natural phenomena as time moves on. The passage, then, of time from April through July brings not decay but growth and new life. The contradiction is resolved, however, in the fact that the former poem is concerned with a linear view of time; the latter, with a cyclical view of the recurring seasons. Thus, although there is no direct relationship of theme between the first poem in the group and the last, there is clearly a continuity of thought from the former to the latter.15 II. SECTION TWO: HERRICK'S SEARCH FOR VIRTUE One of the subordinate themes introduced in Section One is the necessity of virtue. "No Shipwrack of Vertue. To a Friend" states the usefulness of right conduct in battling the dangers of life: Who swims with Vertue, he shall still be sure (Ulysses-like) all tempests to endure. H-76 urges "conformity"--adherence to a principle or set of principles--as a means of preserving the whole: Conformity was ever knowne A foe to dissolution. ("Conformitie," ll. 1—2) Section Two develops the ideas presented in those poems, attempting to show the importance of ethical standards and to suggest the processes through which we discover the right principles to follow. The first step in achieving virtue seems to be, from Herrick's point of view, contemplation in the midst of natural phenomena, exemplified by the "Brooks," "Birds," and "Flowers" in "The Argument." The contemplative man, Herrick says, will be rewarded in one of three ways. Either the natural surroundings will evoke in him a read— iness to understand the truth, or his observation of the phenomena will allow him to perceive the principles which 44 45 govern all of Nature, or his simply absenting himself from the city to be close to Nature will evoke contentment and make virtuous behavior easier. The first of those rewards is illustrated in "The Vision," a poem which brings to mind the Ovidian dream- vision. In that lyric the speaker sits "alone (as one forsook)" beside "a Silver-shedding Brook" weeping for love. He soon falls asleep and is instructed by a "glorious forms": Which when I saw, I made acceSse To kisse that tempting nakednesse: But she forbad me, with a wand Of Mirtle she had in her hand: And chiding me, said, Hence, Remove, Herrick, thou art too coorse to love. (H-142, lle 17-22) The second benefit to be derived from contact with natural phenomena——that men may thereby be taught principles of nature-—is exemplified in "Divination by a Daffadill" and in "Upon the Bishop of Lincolne's Imprisonment." The former poem tells how the poet's knowledge of his own mor- tality is reaffirmed by observing a flower: When a Daffadill I see, Hanging down his head t'wards me; Guesse I may, what I mustbe: First, I shall decline my head; Secondly, I shall be dead; Lastly, safely buryed. (H-107) In the latter, Herrick offers comfort to the imprisoned John Williams, basing his hopeful words on truths he has learned from Nature: 46 Never was Day so over-sick with showres, But that it had some intermitting houres. Never was Night so tedious, but it knew The Last Watch out, and saw the Dawning too. Never was Dungeon so obscurely deep, Wherein or Light, or Day, did never peep. Never did Moone so ebbe, or seas so wane, But they left Hope-seed to fill up againe. So you, my Lord, though you have now your stay, Your Night, your Prison, and your Ebbe; you may Spring up afresh; when all these mists are spent, And Star-like, once more, guild our Firmament. (H—l46A, ll. l-l2) In both these poems the "message" received from natural phenomena derives its significance from the tacit understanding that man, as a member of the natural order, shares certain similarities with flowers and tides. Of course, the resemblances are presented as analogies; but the analogies contain real truth, Herrick believes, because all of Nature operates on the same set of principles.1 Both flowers and men will die. And just as Nature seems to function in cycles (exemplified by the action of the seas and the turning of night to day) or by the inclusion of some good in every evil (illustrated by the "intermitting houres" of sunlight in a rainy day and the "peeping",of light into a dungeon), so men may hope in their darkest hours for abatement of their difficulties. This application of natural law to the affairs of men is further illustrated in Herrick's use of the "impossibility" theme. "His Protestation to Perilla" is a vow to a mistress that he will remain faithful until a catalogue of impossible events occur, each of the events being impossible because their occurrence would defy a law 47 of Nature. The "impossibility" theme occurs again as a secondary idea in "To Dean-bourn, a rude River in Devon, by which sometimes he lived." Primarily that poem is concerned with a complex metaphorical relationship between the people of Devon and the river near which they live. It begins with personification of the river: Dean-Bourn, farewell; I never look to see Deane, or thy warty incivility. Thy rookie bottome, that doth teare thy streams, And makes them frantick, ev'n to all extreames; To my content, I never sho'd behold, Were thy streames silver, or thy rocks all gold. But near the middle of the poem, Herrick centers upon the character of the people who inhabit the river's banks, imputing to them the same qualities he sees in the river: Rockie thou art; and rookie we discover Thy men; and rookie are thy wayes all over. 0 men, 0 manners; Now, and ever knowne To be A Rockie Generation! A peopIe currish; churlish as the seas; And rude (almost) as rudest Salvages With whom I did, and may re-sojourne when Rockes turn to Rivers, Rivers turn to Men. Through this method--personification of the river and metaphorical description of the people--Herrick conveys his conviction that the people and their environment share the same characteristics. The last lines of the poem tell us that Herrick does not wish to suggest a literal identity between the river and the people: yet, he clearly feels there is some worth in noting that the character of one's environment may be indicative of or influence one's own character. 48 In these poems we begin to see the various ways in which men are related to nature. But it is also clear that Herrick is not in each poem concerned with the same aspect (or the same definition) of "Nature." Most often, as in "The Vision," he seems to view "nature" as simply the realm of all non—man-made phenomena: flowers, trees, brooks, and animals, as opposed to houses, poems, towns, and songs, which belong to the realm of art or artifice. But in other poems ("Upon the Bishop of Lincolne's Imprisonment" for example) Herrick seems to view "nature" as a system of phenomena, operating on discernable uni- versal principles. When he uses the term in that sense, he is likely to personify it. In its third sense, "Nature" is used as synonymous with "essential character." Thus one could say that it is the "nature" of some men to be rational or the "nature" of rivers to flow. At times some difficulty is involved in discerning which sense Herrick intends in a given line. Often he seems intentionally to create ambiguity. But he never wavers in Section Two from the belief that it is necessary to study natural phenom- ena, to perceive universal principles, and to understand one's ewn essential character in order to achieve a virtuous (and therefore happy) life. The relationship between man and nature is most fully discussed in two poems: "A Country life: To his Brother, Master Thomas Herrick" and "His farewell to Sack." The former poem begins: 49 Thrice, and above, blest (my soules halfe) art thou, In thy both Last, and Better Vow: Could'st leave the City, for exchange, to see The Countries sweet simplicity: And it to know, and practice; with intent To grow the sooner innocent: By studying to know vertue; and to aime More at her nature, than her name: The last is but the least; the first doth tell Wayes lesse to live,fthen to live well: And both are knowne to thee, who now can'st live Led by thy conscience; to give Justice to soone-pleas'd nature; and to show, Wisdome and she together goe, And keep one Centre: This with that conspires, To teach Man to confine desires: And know, that Riches have their proper stint, In the contented mind, not mint. (ll.'l-18) From these lines we perceive several important ideas. First, we hear that the "simplicity" of the country is "sweet"--that it is a place of innocence-and innocent pleasure. Just as the "rookie" waters of Dean-born‘ reflect the "incivility"_of its people, the quiet simpli- city of the country seems to affect its inhabitants. Later in the poem Thomas is contrasted with the "industrious Merchant" who "runneth to the Western Inde" and "(tortur'd with fears)" learns to "suffer Poverty" (11. 65-68) and with the courtier who learns through his knowledge of "states, of Countries, Courts, and Kings" that "Vice rules the Most, or All at Court." (ll. 85 and 90) The life which Thomas knows, however, is one of beauty and pleasure. His dreams are of "Damaskt meadows" and "peebly streames," of "groves, birds, and well-weav'd bowrs." (ll. 43—45) The second important idea presented near the beginning of the poem is that if one sees, knows, and practices the "Sweet simplicity" of the country, he will grow "the sooner SO innocent." In that line we see Herrick's first clear connection between knowledge and innocence or virtue. Such a notion would at first seem contrary to the Judeo- Christian position, reflected in the story of Adam and Eve, that knowledge may be dangerous. But Herrick seems to subscribe to the theory that urbanized man suffers both from knowledge and from lack of knowledge. He knows evil; he sees it practiced in cities and courts. What he lacks is a knowledge of good. He has lost his instinctive ad- herence to the laws of nature, so he must return to the countryside, observe the natural phenomena there, and pattern his life after the principles he discovers to exist in Nature. A third point made in those opening lines is that the essential function of virtue ("her nature") is to teach men to live happily and successfully.2 The main impression we receive of Thomas is that he_is happy. He is "Thrice, and above blest" in that he avoids the dangers of tbmmerce and the courts and consequently is able to enjoy a tranquil, contented life. But perhaps the most important function of the intro- ductory lines of the poem is to construct a philosophical argument which urges us to "confine desires." The argument runs in this way: first, Nature is content with little ‘(she is "soone-pleas'd"); to be wise is to conform to the laws of nature ("Wisdome and she together goe,/ And keep one Centre")5; both wisdom and Nature teach us to limit our desires in order to attain happiness (a "contented mind"); 51 therefore, the wise man who wishes to be a happy man will control his desires.4 From this argument we learn both the process through which men discover virtue, and the one great virtue which leads to happiness. The gaining of virtue requires observation, reason, and conformity. A man observes the realm of nature, rationally determines the laws manifest there, and patterns his life accordingly. When he has completed that process, the one prevailing principle in his life will be that of moderation. The importance of moderation is stressed throughout the remainder of the poem. Thomas is commended for his attempts to "keep cheap Nature even, and upright" by learning to "coole, not cocker Appetite."5 (11. 24-25) He keeps his stomach "wisely quiet" by eating simple foods. (11. 29-50) He can pass up the elegant delicacies "which Art, not Nature, makes so rare" (l. 111) and dine upon "Nettles, Colworts, Beets," and "sowre herbs" (11. 112-15), learning that "Content makes all Ambrosia." (l. 116) Further, he is content with a "little-well-kept-stock" (l. 128) of worldly goods. His entertainment consists of listening to a choir of "singing crickets" and watching the play of his cat and mouse. (11. 121-26) Nor does he simply settle for such reduced means; he keeps "this stricter size" not "So much for want, as exercise." (11. 117-18) And he applies the same self-control to conjugal pleasure: Thus let thy Rurall Sanctuary be Elizium to thy wife and thee; 52 There to disport your selves with golden measure: For seldome use commends the pleasure. (11. 157-40) Many of the important ideas found in "A Country Life" are expressed from a different point of view in "His fare-well to Sack." In the latter poem Herrick turns the admonition to "confine desires" upon himself. Yet, as is the case when anyone takes his own advice, Herrick's application of the principle to his own situation seems, at least at first, to produce more sorrow than happiness. The tension develops from the fact that the kind of poetry he wishes to write seems to require the help of wine, a drug which Herrick recognizes as poten- tially dangerous. We find, therefore, a conflict between his artistic yearnings and his "nature," which requires moderation. The poem begins with several lines which express the poet's deep feelings of love and gratitude toward wine. The greatest service which wine provides, he says, is the deadening of despair and the awakening of creative fervor: 'Tis thou, above Nectar, O divinest soulel (Eternall in thy self) that canst controule That, which subverts whole nature, grief and care; Vexation of the mind, and damn'd Despaire. 'Tis thou, alone, who with thy Mistick Fan, Work'st more then Wisdome, Art, or Nature can, To rouze the sacred madnesse; and awake The frost-bound-blood, and spirits; and to make Them frantick with thy raptures, flashing through The soule, like lightning, and as active too. 'Tis not A 0110 can, or those thrice three Castalian Sisters, sing, if wanting thee. Horace,,Anacreon both had lost their flame, Had'st thou not fill'd them with thy fire and flame. (11. 19-52) 55 Wine, therefore, is necessary for the creation of poetry worthy of "Cedar, and the Bayes" (1. 56); yet, Herrick vows to abandon his dependence on it. He does so because he finds that his brain is too weak to withstand the powerful influence of alcohol. Nature, Operating on a balance which requires moderation, has given the poet a mind which cannot tolerate the "wild, and active fires" (1. 18) which lift him to rapture: Since I must leave thee; and enforc'd, must say To all thy witching beauties, Goe, Away. But if thy whimpring looks doe ask me why? Then know, that Nature bids thee goe, not I. 'Tis her erroneous self has made a braine Uncapable of such a Soveraigne, As is thy powerful selfe. (11- 59-45) And because Herrick abandons his former aid to inspiration, he also abandons the kind of poetry which, through its fire and imagination, would place him with Horace and Anacreon: Let others drink thee freely; and desire Thee and their lips espous‘d; while I admire And love thee; but not taste thee. Let my Muse Faile of thy former helps; and onely use Her inadult'rate strength; what's done by me Hereafter,rshall smell of the Lamp, not thee. (11. 49-54) Herrick, then, insists that the poet, in order to conform to Nature's laws, must like any other man control his desires and ambitions. Just as Thomas must give up delicate foods and wild pleasures to be happy, the poet .must give up his wine. And just as Thomas must content himself with small wealth, the poet must find contentment 54 in writing verses of smaller flame and less appeal. The kind of poetry Herrick sees as prOper is described in "To His Muse": Were I to give-thee Ba time, I wo'd chuse To Christen thee, the Bride, the Bashful Muse, Or Muse of Roses: since that name does fit Best with those Virgin-Verses thou hast writ: Which are so cleane, so chest, as none may feare Cato the Censor, sho'd he scan each here. His poetry, therefore, may not be tinged with rapture, but it will be "clean" and "chast2" Its beauty, he implies, will derive from its imitation of nature, as in_"Delight in Disorder" he proposes that a lady who" would please him in her dress must create an illusion of spontaneity or "natural-ness": A sweet disorder in the dresse Kindles in cloathes a wantonnesse: A Lawne about the shoulders thrown Into a fine distraction; A carelesse shooe-string, in whose tye I see a wilde civility: Doe more bewitch me, then when Art Is too precise in every part. In this poem we see a new application of the term "cleanly- Wantonnesse." Art, Herrick says, is worthwhile when it is "chast"; and it is pleasing when it imitates nature's "wilde civility"--an apparent wantonness which strikes a balance between absolute carelessness and total precision. Herrick, then, sees Nature not only as a source of moral guidance and self-knowledge; he views it as the proper model for artistic endeavor. That idea--that art does and should imitate nature--comes down to us primarily I e «0. V‘ u r a“ ,4 J4- .O U 14 .0 .U f—. D. ab m...“ a: fly. ea n6 7.. we a e a .r .. nu -u Mu ad Q» read; 55 from Aristotle, though his statement that "Art imitates Nature" was and is often misinterpreted. Aristotle insists that the artist, dealing as he does with how a thing appears to the senses and not with how it is in itself, must depend upon skill in creating illusions.6 And it is the ability to create an illusion--a semblance of the principle expressed in Nature--that Herrick praises in the poem quoted above. He employs essentially the same aesthetic principle in "to the Painter, to draw him a Picture." There the poet suggests the;difficulty of painting a subject to "the life" and in capturing his essential nature; But through skillful fusion of brush technique and imination, he says, the painter can create a work which will seem ready to speak. And the painting will be good because it 7 imitates what the painter sees. As he continues to discuss the necessity of confining desires and avoiding excesses, Herrick often refers to the discomfort caused by passion. The basis for his criticism of that emotion lies in the nature of sexual desire It thrives, he says, in the midst of wealth and comfort: Let me be warme; let me be fully fed: Luxurious Love py wealth is nourished. Let me be Ieane, and cold, and once grown poore, I shall dislike, what once I lov'd before. ("Love kill'd by Lack") It embroils the victim in a consuming fire: 56 I Burn, I burn; and beg of you To quench, or coole me with your Dew. I frie in fire, and so consume, Although the Pile be all Perfume. ("To Dewes. A Dong.") In his search to regain his balance and free himself from pain, the lover calls out to snow and ice to moderate his hot passion: When are my heart, Love's warmth, but entertaines, 0 Frost! 0 Snow! 0 Haile forbid the Banes. One drop now deads a spark; but if the same Once gets a force, Floods cannot quench the flame. Rather then love, let me be ever lost; Or let me 'gender with eternall frost. ("Against Love" H-ll5) Or he may wish to die: Love-sick I am, and must endure A desp'rate grief, that finds no cure. Ah me! I try; and trying, prove, No Herbs have power 3g cure Love. Only one Sovereign salve, I know, And that is Death, the end of Woe. ("On himselfe" H-157) But neither death nor living "with eternall frost" seems to offer men a pleasant alternative to their suffering.8 The best course, Herrick says, is to master one's emotions-- to love, if possible, only a little. In that way, the lover not only assures himself safety from destructive fire, but keeps alive his love, which, if allowed to burn uncon- trolled, will be itself consumed: You say, to me-wards your affection's strong; Pray love me little, so you love me long. Slowly goes farre; The meane is best: Desire Grown violent, do's either die or tire. ("Love me little, love me long") 57 Moderation, therefore, is a virtue man must learn if he is not to be destroyed by his own desires and pleasures. Because he is one of nature's creatures, he must learn always to be content with little: To Bread and Water none is poore; And having these, what need of more? Though much from out the Cess be spent, Nature with little is content. The man who has learned that lesson, the man who can be called a truly virtuous man, has little to fear from life:9 Give me that man, that dares bestride The active Sea-horse, and with pride, Through that huge field of waters ride: Who, with his looks too, can appease The ruffling winds and‘raging Seas, In midst of all their outrages. This, this a virtuous man can doe, Saile against Rocks, and split them too; I! and a world of Pikes passe through. ("His Cavalier") II We find in all the above-mentioned poems that Nature provides men with two things essential to his per- sonal happiness. First, it gives aesthetic pleasure through its "Damaskt meadows" and "peebly streames" and by serving as a model for artists. Second, it gives man guidance, cautioning him to confine desires, providing him with examples of moderation and balance. The ability of Nature to provide pleasure and guidance is based on the fact that man is one of nature's_phenomena. Like flowers and streams, he is most likely to survive and is happiest when 58 he allows himself to be governed by natural laws. In that way he acknowledges and benefits from his membership in the community of Nature. But each man belongs also to another community--his society. And just as men need to conform to the laws of the natural community, they must conform to social laws in order to preserve their society and benefit from its pro- tection. The social laws which Herrick proposes men should follow are derived from many sources--prevailing political theories, the Bible, and traditional social values. They include loyalty to the King, chastity, respect for parents, proper care of children, love of friends, and respect for the dead. Each of those virtues is neces- sary because of the interdependence of each member of society. Men need love, loyalty, and a stable society; and the assurance of those things depends upon the perfor- mance of duty by each member of the society. Herrick begins Section Two with a series of poems which point out the relationship between political stability 10 The head-poem, "To the King, Upon and personal happiness. his Comming with his Army into the West," is primarily a compliment to the King's military prowess. The country is at war, and Herrick welcomes Charles as the leader of the army, the "brave Prince of Cavaliers." But much of the imagery in the poem is directed toward establishing a more personal relationship between Charles and England than that of general to troops: C )9 The Drooping West, which hitherton has stood As one, in long-lamented-widow-hood; Looks like a Bride now, or a bed of flowers, Newly refresh't, both by the Sun, and showers. (110 5.6) Here the King is presented as the metaphorical husband of his country; and the political strife which separates Charles frpm his country analogously separates a groom from his bride. That image is important in showing the close relationship between the King and his country. It is further emohasized by Herrick's reference (in "To the King and Queens, upon their unhappy distances") to the actual separation of Charles from Maria when in 1642 she went abroad to seek support for the Royalist forces and again in 1644 when she sought permanent quarters on the Continent: Woe, woe to them, who (by a ball of strife) _Doe, and have parted here a Man and Wife: CHARLS the best Husband, while MARIA strives To be, and is, the very best of Wives: Like Streams, you are divorc'd; but 'twill come, when These eyes of mine shall see you mix agen. (110 1‘6) In this poem Herrick manages to present the Civil War not only as a political disaster but a source of personal unhappiness to those involved. The war which separates a King from his country also separates a man from his wife and, by extension, many men from their wives. Thus it must seem particularly foolish to Herrick, who proposes conformity to laws as a method of obtaining personal happiness, that this destructive war is a civil 60 war. The threat to England comes not from a foreign _enemy but from within the society itself. The extent of the turmoil is expressed in the epigram "Dangers wait on Kings": As oft as Night is banish't by the Morne, 11 So oft, we'll think, we see a King new born. Patrick suggests (p. 58) that these lines refer to the "successive risings of different parliamentary leaders to power during the Civil War period." But even if the ref- erence is not so specific, Herrick clearly intends to show the chaotic political condition in England and to suggest that the dangers which threaten kings also threaten the stability of the society and the personal happiness of its members. Consequently, he sees as desirable above all else an end to the rising of divisive factions. That end is possible, he suggests, through the recognition of the King as one's l2 supreme political authority. Although the king may be guilty of transgressions, the multitude can threaten his sovereignty only at the risk of their own security. A king's culpability does not alter the duty of his subjects, for the king answers not to his people, but to the gods: Good Princes must be pray'd for: for the bad They must be borne with, and in rev'rence had. Doe they first pill thee, next, pluck off thy skin? Good children kisse Eh; Rods, that punish gig. Touch not the Tyrant; Let the GOds alone To strike him dead, that but usurps a Throne. ("Duty to Tyrants") 61 It is not clear from the Hesperides whether Herrick in fact believes that a king's authority is divinely bestowed or whether he has much personal admiration for Charles. His many references to faults in kings suggest that he is critical of at least some aspects of Charles' reign. But it is expressly clear that he considers disloyalty to one's sovereign to be destructive and dangerous. Other important relationships are named in "His fare-well to Sack." In that poem, as previously discussed, Herrick decides to forego wine because his brain is "unca- pable of such a Soveraigne." To what extent wine has become his "Soveraigne," we can see more clearly in the social context of this section: Farewell thou Thing, time-past so knowne, so deare To me, as blood to life and spirit: Neare, Nay, thou more deare then kindred, friend, man, , wife, Male to the female, soule to body: Life To quick action, or the warme soft side Of the resigning, yet resisting Bride. The kisse of Virgins; First-fruits of the bed; Soft speech, smooth touch, the lips, the Maiden- head: These, and a thousand sweets, co'd never be So nears, or deare, as thou wast once to me. (11. l-lO) In these lines-Herrick names the relationships which, in addition to that of a man to his country and to the natural order, give pleasure and fulfillment to his life. It would seem, then, that wine, with its ability to take the place of a mistress, wife, child, friend, and kinsman, in a sense de-humanizes the speaker. It robs him of his 62 pleasure in human relationships, substituting "sacred madnesse" for love. Consequently, the poet's decision to give up his wine is an acceptance of his human-ness and the expression of a desire to rejoin the community of men, and to accept the duties which those relationships entail. One of the most frequently--though least seriously-- treated relationships in the section is that of the romantic attachment. A great many of the poems on that subject are compliments to a lady's beauty: "To Anthea, Lying in bed"; "To Electra" (H-lOS); "To Dianeme" (H-lO5); "To Julia" (H-88); "Upon Julia's Riband"; and "The Eye" (H-155). Others are rebukes for a lady's coldness: "The Teare Sent her from Stanes"; "To Myrrha Hard-hearted"; and "The Frozen Zone: or, Julia disdainfull." A third group are concerned with the nature of love itself: "Love Perfumes all parts"; "To Julia" (H-156); "Upon Love" (H-85); "The Houre-glasse"; "Disswasions from Idlenesse"; and "Zeal Required in Love." We see from the number of poems on this subject that Herrick recognizes the importance of that kind of love. But, as discussed above, Herrick sees the lover-mistress relationship as potentially a source of pain, through its tendency to run to extremes. Further, in theabsence of legal ties, love tends to lack stability and permanence. No legitimate children are produced from that kind of relationship, and no new families are created. Consequently, the contribution of romantic love to society is small. 63 Herrick does, however, attempt to prescribe correct behavior for lovers. In addition to warning them against extremes of emotion, he warns that the primary trans- gression of the lover is infidelity. In "To his Mistresse" he states that "Loves doctrine" will not tolerate the breaker of vows: Promise, and keep your vowes, Or vow you never; Loves doctrine disallowes Troth-breakers ever. (H-94A, 11. 5-8) The pain and bitterness evoked by faithlessness are pre- sented in "The Curse. A Song": Goe perjur'd man; and if thou ere return To see the small remainders in mine Urne: When thou shalt laugh at my Religious dust; And ask, Where's now the colour, forms and trust Of Womans beauty? and with hand more rude Rifle the Flowers which the Virgins strew'd: Know, I have pray'd to Furie, that some wind May blow my ashes up, and strike thee blind. In both these poems Herrick employs the overstatement and melodrama characteristic of many romantic lyrics. For that reason, the reader tends to take the protestations of pain and his insistence on the necessity of lovers' fidelity rather lightly. However, there is one poem in Section Two which deals with the lover-mistress relationship and which Herrick intends us to receive quite seriously. That poem, "The suspition upon his over-much familiarity with a Gentlewoman," reveals the inability of lovers to live apart from the eyes and morals of their society: ._7“fl‘i F ‘33?“ “c.“ 64 And must we part, because some say, Loud is our love, and loose our play, And more then well becomes the day? Alas for pitty! and for us Most innocent, and injur'd thus. Had we kept close, or play'd within, suspition now had been the sinne, And shame had follow'd long ere this, T'ave plagu'd, what now unpunisht is. (11. 1-9) In these lines Herrick makes clear the fact that lack of discretion, even when unaccompanied by other wrong-doing, invites suspicion and disgrace. I think he wishes us to believe that he and the lady engaged in nothing more than flirtation: "where no sin/ Unbolts the doors, no shame comes in." (11. 12-15) But Herrick does admit that they made an important mistake--the"loudness" of their play carries an implicit lack of concern for appearances, and that lack of concern reveals a certain disrespect for society and its conventions. Consequently, despite the speaker's bitterness at having been falsely accused of unchastity, he acknowledges that it is best that he and the lady part. For neither can live happily in the presence of social disfavor: Then, beauteous Maid, you may retire; And as for me, my chest desire Shall move t'wards you; although I see Your face no more: 80 live you free From Fames black lips, as you from me. (11. 52-56) The primary virtues, then, of the lover are constancy and discretion. But despite Herrick's_insistence on the necessity of those virtues, the indiscreet or inconstant 65 mistress is niver criticized so harshly as the unfaithful wife. Marriage is, in the eyes of society, a much more important relationship than that between lovers. It is a union sanctioned by the church and state and is made more complex by the addition of children. Therefore, while marriage is capable of providing greater pleasure through the marriage bed than that offered by lovers' kisses and games, its moral requirements are also greater. The pleasures of marriage are described in "An Epithalamie to Sir Thomas Southwell and his Ladie." There Herrick presents his good wishes for fertility and con- nubial delight. Marriage, he assures Sir Thomas, will be a continuation of romantic bliss, with the added pleasure of sexual union.15 Yet, Herrick hastens to point out in a following poem, the mature marriage is seasoned with the cares of child-bearing and rearing. Thus, the fertility hoped for in the epithalamion can become a source of pain and death: Let all chaste Matrons, when they chance to see My num'rous issue: Praise, and pitty me. Praise me, for having such a fruitfull wombe; Pity me too, who found so soone a Tomb. ("Upon a young mother of many children") In another epitaph Herrick presents a view of two gener- ations: a chaste matron and her daughter, dead in child- birth: With blameless Carriage, I liv'd here, To'th'(almost) sey'n and fortieth yeare. Stout sons I had, and those twice three; One onely daughter lent-to me: 66 The which was made a happy Bride, But thrice three Moones before she dy'd. My modest wedlock, that was known Contented with the bed of one. ("An Epitaph upon a sober Matron") Marriages such as those described above reflect well upon the institution and, despite their pain and sorrow, exalt the individual partners. But not all mar- riages find so noble an expression. When wedding vows are broken, the result is degrading to the union and to the partners: Scobble for Whoredome whips his wife; and cryes,_ ‘He'll slit her nose; But blubb'ring, she replyes, Good Sir, make no more cuts i'th'outward skin, One slit 8 enough to let Adultery in. ("Upon Scobble. Epigram") Jealousy, too, can have an adverse effect upon the partner and the marriage: In this little Vault she lyes, Here, with all her jealousies: Quiet yet; but if ye make Any noise, they both will wake, And such spirits raise, 'twill then Trouble Death to lay agen. ("Upon a Wife that dyed mad with Jealousie") In these poems Herrick seems to say that the success of a mariage depends upon right conduct by the partners. The chaste matron brings admiration to herself and her estate, while the faithless or jealous wife creates misery for herself and her spouse. It is for this reason that Herrick can in one poem present a joyous epithalamion and in another hold that: Suspicion, Discontent, and Strife, Come in for Dowrie with a Wife. ("Single life most secure") 67 Closely allied to the duties husband and wife bear toward each other is the responsibility they hold toward their children. In addition to giving life to their offspring, good parents will provide love, discipline, and instruction. The relationship of parent to child is pre- sented in two poems, both of which concern Cupid and his mother. In "The Bag of the Bee" two Cupids argue over possession of "the sweet bag of a bee." Venus arrives, and "for their boldnessm removes their clothes and whips them with myrtle rods. Then, . n.- o-¢_.--—.—.-..n_.—— ___' a Which done, to still their wanton cries, When quiet grown sh'ad seen them, She kist, and wip'd thir dove-like eyes; And gave the Bag between them. In the second poem, "The wounded Cupid. Song," Cupid runs to his mother, crying in anger and pain at being stung by a bee, whereupon she kisses him and reminds him that his pain is small compared to that he inflicts with his arrows. Thus, the mother becomes a source of comfort and instruction. Related to the duty of parent to child is that of offspring to parent. Herrick at once acknowledges and belatedly fulfills his duty to his father in "To the Reverend Shade of His Religious Father": That for seven Lusters I did never come To doe the Rites to thy Religious Tombe: That neither haire was cut, or true teares shed By me, o'r thee, (ag justments 32 the dead) Forgive, forgive me; since I did not know Whether thy bones had here their Rest, or no. 68 But now 'tis known, Behold; behold, I bring Unto thy Ghost, th'Effused Offering: And look, what Smallage, Night-shade, Cypresse, Yew, Unto the shades have been, or now are due, ‘Here I devote; And something more then so; I Come to pay a Debt of Birth I owe. Thou gav'st me life, (but Mortall;) For that one Favour, Ile make full satisfaction; For my life mortall, Rise from out thy Herse, And take a life immortall from my Verse. In this poem Herrick seeks completely to repay his "debt of Birth" by contributing some action from each of three roles. First, as a son, he weeps from grief. Then, as a priest, he reads the proper burial service over the grave. And third, as a poet, he is able to return his father's gift of mortal life with the gift of everlasting memory: 14 1"or Herrick, then, our duty is not only to the living. Those who have died may call out to those who remain, rightfully demanding respect and perpetuation of their memory. Thus Herrick recognizes that his duty to his father has two wources. As a child of the deceased, he owes gratitude and respect; as a human being and a priest, he is required to see that the dead receive proper mourning and funeral services. Dut of further importance is Herrick's apparent insistence that the dead, as much as the living, deserve a kind of justice. Nicholas Herrick, his father, was suspected at his death of having committed Suicide. The matter was left unsettled; and Herrick, only an infant at the time, seems concerned not only that his father may not have received proper burial rites, but that his memory bears the stain of suspected wrong-doing. For 1'1- I.‘I.I".'—.- w.-4' 69 that reason he comes to perform "justments to the dead," a phrase which Patrick suggests (p. 41) may (in light of its Latin root Egg, meaning "right," "law," or "justice") mean that "Herrick, rejecting this suspicion, felt that an adjustment, a settling of legal and proper claims and liabilities, was due." Hence, our duties to the dead consist of a demon- stration of grief, a performance of commemorative rituals, and respectful perpetuation of memory. It is out of —\ respect for his dead friend and from grief at his passing that Cupid refrains from mischief in "Leanders Obsequies"; and it is to demand his right to promised rituals that a child calls out: Virgins promis'd when I dy'd, That they wo'd each Primrose-tide, Duly, Morne and Ev'ning, come,' And with flowers dresses my Tomb. Having promis'd, pay your debts, Maids, and here strew Violets. ("An Epitaph upon a Child") For the poet, a third means exists for showing grief and, in a more lasting way, preserving the memory of the departed. As indicated by "To the Reverend Shade of his religious Father," a poem can immortalize its subject. Herrick offers that gift to John Warre: What Wisdome, Learning, Wit, or Worth, Youth, or sweet Nature, co'd bring forth, Rests here with him; who was the Fame, The Volume of himselfe, and Name. ("Upon the Much Lamented, Master J. Warr") 70 Having completed in the poems discussed above his consideration of the most important social duties and virtues, Herrick broadens his perspective to include the obligations of courtesy and graciousness owed in more casual relationships. That subject is treated in a poem which is essentially an indictment of love. But in keeping with the theme of the section, Herrick's rebuke is based not on Cupid's mischief and cruelty, but on his rudeness as a thankless guest. He is graciously received, offered pity and comfort: But when he felt him warm'd, Let's try this bow of ours, And string if they be harm'd, Said he, with these late showrs. Forthwith his bow he bent, And wedded string and arrow, And struck me that it went Quite through my heart and marrow. Then laughing loud, he flew Away, and thus said flying, Adieu, mine Host, Adieu, Ile leave thy heart a dying. ("The Cheat of Cupid: Or, The ungentle guest") Herrick is mindful, also, of one's duty to love his enemies as he speaks to the imprisoned John Williams, offering him comfort in his dark hours: Though you (my Lord) have been unkind to me: To wound my heart, and never to apply (When you had power) the meanest remedy: Well: though my griefe by you was gall'd the more; Yet I bring Balme and Oile to”heal your sore. ("Upon the Bishop of Lincolne's Imprisonment") 71' In all these poems, then,15 Herrick emphasizes the importance of human relationships. We need one another, he says, and so must respond to our fellow creatures in a way which fulfills our duty to others. By acting in that way; we create a pleasant, stable society. Even artistic creation, he reveals, depends upon a chain of human relationships. The poet, in order to finance his work, requires a patron; for that help, Herrick offers gratitude to Endimion Porter: Let there be Patrons; Patrons like to thee, Brave Porter! Poets ne'r will wanting be: Fabius, and Cotts, Lentulus, all live In thee, thou Man of MenI who here do'st give Not onely subject-matter for our wit, But likewise Oyle of Maintenance to it: For which, before thy Threshold, we'll lay downe Our Thryse, for Scepter; and our Baies for Crown. ("To the Patron of Poets, Master Endimion Porter," 11. 1-8) Once the work is completed, the poem requires a sympa- thetic reader, addressed in H-95: See, and not see; and if thou chance t'espie Some aberrations in my Poetry; Wink at small faults, the greater, ne'erthelesse Hide, and with them, their Fathers nakedness. Let's doe our best, our Watch and Ward to keep: Homer himself, in a long work, may sleep. ("To the generous Reader") The work, in addition to giving pleasure to the reader, gives a paison d'etre to critics: Ile write, because Ile give You Criticks means to live: For sho'd I not supply The Cause, th'effect wo'd die. ("To Criticks") 72 A further benefit, as discussed above, is derived by the subject of the poem; he is immortalized in verse. And that last "effect" produced by the poem circles back to the poet himself, giving him, also, a kind of immortality: A Funerall stone, Or Verse I covet none; But onely crave Of you, that I may have ' ‘ A sacred Laurel springing from my grave: ‘ Which being seen, Blest with perpetuall greene, May grow to be Not so much call{d a tree, As the eternall monument of me. ("To Laurels") t III Thus as Herrick looks at his Country torn by war, his fellow Creatures doomed to trouble and certain death, he sees hope in man's ability to reason toward virtuous action and to provide and receive comfort from other men. If we will, Herrick says, recognize our need for others and help in building worthwhile relationships, we Will move toward achieving happiness and contentment. The importance of having a sympathetic companion 16 each of in times of need is expressed in two poems, whidh concerns a woman in love. The first is addressed as a tender lyric to a mistress, asking that she guide the speaker should he grow old and blind: When Age or Chance has made me blind, So that the path I cannot find: And when my falls and stumblings are More then the stones i'th'streets by farre: 75 Goe thou afore; and I shall well Follow thy Perfumes by the smell: Or be my guide; and I shall be Led by some light that flows from thee. Thus held, or led by thee, I shall In wayes confus'd, nor slip or fall. ("Being once blind, his request to Biancha") The second, an epigram of quite a different tone, acknow- ledges the power of affection to continue in the face of adversity and to see beauty where others see ugliness: Blanch swears her Husband's lovely; when a scald Has bIear'd his eyes: Besides, his head is bald. Next, his wilde eares, like Lethern wings full spread, Flutter to flie, and bears away his head. ("Upon Blanch") llil! In. III. SECTION THREE: HERRICK'S ACCEPTANCE OF HEDONISTIC DOCTRINE Whereas:Section Two expressessa belief in man's ability to control his social environment and actions through reason, Section Three emphasizes man's frailty. The section begins with a sequence of four poems, each of which deals with a form of illness or with transience. The head-poem, "To the King, to cure the Evill," addresses the King not as head of the state, but in his legendary capacity as a healer of scrofula: To find that Tree of Life, whose Fruits did feed, And Leaves did heale, all sick of humane seed: To finds Bethesda, and an Angel there, Stirring the waters, I am come; and here, At last, I find, (after my much to doe) The Tree, Bethesda, and the Angel too: And all in Your Blest Hand, which has the powers Of all those suppling-healing herbs and flowers. To that soft Charm, that Spell, that Magick Bou h, That high Enchantment I betake me now: And to that Hand, (the Branch of Heavens faire Tree) I kneele for help; 0! lay that hand on me, Adored Cesar! and my Faith is such, ‘ I shall be heal'd, if that my KING but touch. The Evill is not Yours: my sorrow sings, Mine is the Evill, but the Cure, the Kings. The second poem, "His misery in a Mistresse," comments on the physical and mental torture produced by unrequited passion: Water, Water I espie: Come, and coole ye; all who frie In your loves; but none as I. (11. 1-5) 74 75 The third is an epigram which describes a victim of multiple ills: First, Jollies wife is lame; the next, loose-hipt: Squint-ey'd, hook-nos'd; and lastly, Kidney-lipt. ("Upon Jollies wife") In the fourth Herrick bitterly explains the inevitability of old age and physical decay: Am I despis'd, because you say, And I dare sweare, that I am gray? Know, Lady, you have but your day: And time will come when you shall weare Such frost and snow upon your haire: And when (though long it comes to passe) You question with your Looking-glasse; And in that sincere Christall seek, But find no Rose-bud in your cheek: Nor any bed to give the shew Where such a rare Carnation grew. ("To a Gentlewoman, objecting to him his gray haires," ll. l-l7) In these four poems Herrick covers a wide range of human disability. The congenital deformities of Jollie's wife, the constant threat of communicable disease (exem- plified by scrofula), the emotionally induced pain of passion, and the inescapable weakening due to age--all combine to give us a view of man's life as a brief period, much of which is spent in pain and illness. To support that View, Herrick scatters throughout Section Three a number of poems similar to those quoted above. Some, like "Upon Jollies wife," simply describe physical ailments; others are more concerned with the sorrow and pain the victim and his loved ones suffer. Some of the poems, like "His misery in a Mistresse," convey the discomforts of passion; others use illness as a metaphorical basis for 76 describing various foibles. Among the first group, "Upon a Blear-ey'd woman" ,is significant for its vivid description of infirmity: Wither'd with yeeres, and bed-rid Mpmma lyes; Dry-rosted all, but raw yet in her eyes. In another poem Guesse imitates the behavior of a gout sufferer in order to hide his true ailment: Guesse cuts his shooes, and limping, goes about To have men think he's troubled with the Gout: But 'tis no Gout (beleeve it) but hard Beere, Whose acrimonious humour bites him here, ("Upon Guesse. Epigram") A more serious poem, "To the Fever, not to trouble Julia," describes the suffering of a fever victim and her loved one. In that poem Herrick conveys the hopelessness of man's attempting to combat disease. The speaker threatens revenge upon the fever, but the louder and more expansive his threats grow, the more surely we realize his fear and impotence. Among those poems which describe another kind of pain--that induced by passion--are those which present the effects of "love-sickness" as similar to a fever. "Not to Love" catalogues the alternating chills and heat of passion: Freezing cold, and firie heats, Fainting swoones, and deadly sweats; Now an Ague, then a Fever, Both tormenting Lovers ever. (11. 7-10) 77 Other poems focus upon the mental suffering caused by love. "To the Willow-tree" tells how the willow is associated with the many torments of the lover. I The pansy, too, is credited with offering comfort to the victim of love: Ah, cruell Love! must I endure Thy many scorns, and find no cure? Say, are thy medicines.made to be Helps to all others, but to me? Ile leave thee, and to Pansies come; Comforts you'l afford me some: You can ease my heart, and doe What Love co'd ne'r be brought unto. ("To Pansies") f -.~ ' ~ . ~4 —--—---~-- ‘1' Having convinced the reader that illness and suffering are inescapable aspects of the human condition, Herrick moves to other infirmities which, though not literally examples of sickness, characterize men as essentially frail creatures.2 "To the Detracter" wishes upon the overly zealous critic a set of physical ills to replace his aesthetic impairment (insensitivity) and describes the author's prurient verses as "wanton with their itch." Similarly, "Upon himself" uses a physical ailment, that of being nearsighted, as a metaphor for lack of clear thinking: Mop-ey'd I am, as some have said, Because I've liv'd so long a maid: But grant that I shotd wedded be, Sho'd I a jot the better see? No, I sho'd think, that Marriage might, Rather than mend, put out the light. 78 In the same way, "Upon a Crooked Maid" plays upon the double meanings of "Crooked" and "straight": Crooked you are, but that dislikes not me; So you be straight, where Virgins straight sho'd be. But more disturbing than man's vulnerability to illness is the inevitability of his aging and death. Included in the section are two poems which ask young women to meditate upon that problem. The first, "A Meditation for his Mistresse," offers for the lady's consideration seven metaphors, each likening her to a beautiful but short-lived object. The poem ends: You are the Queen all flowers among, But die you must (faire Maid) ere long, As He, the maker of this Song. The second lyric, more sophisticated and complex in expression, tells Corinna that life follows a pattern of "changes" or reversals. Tranquility is followed by upheaval; one physical condition, by another. Hope alter- nates with fear, and one's emotions fluctuate from one state to another. It follows, then, the speaker continues, ~that the young will grow old; and age is the forerunner of death: Be not proud, but now encline Xour soft eare to Discipline. You have changes in your life, Sometimes peace, and sometimes strife: You have ebbes of face and flowes, As your health or comes, or goes; You have hopes, and doubts, and feares Numberlesse, as are your haires. You have Pulses that doe beat ..29~ u w 79 High, and passions lesse of heat. You are young, but must be old,. And, to these, ye must be told, Time, are long, will come and plow Loathed Furrowes in your brow: And the dimnesse of your eye Will no other thing imply, But you must die As well as I. However, Herrick tells us in other poems, not all men will die from old-age. Some die in infancy, hardly having lived at all: But borne, and like a short Delight, I glided by my Parents sight. That done, the harder Fates deny'd My longer stay, and so I dy'd. ("Upon a Child. An Epitaph," 11. 1-4) Other lives are lost in giving birth: Batt he gets children, not for love to reare 'em; But out of hOpe his wife might die to beare 'em. ("Upon Batt") Whatever the circumstances, then, all men must face death. Eventually the death will be one's own. But until that time most men will have to deal with numerous losses of others whom they love or admire. Both "An Ode to Master Endymion Porter, upon his Brothers death" and "To his dying Brother, Master William Herrick" are reactions to the loss of a brother. Boths poems speak movingly of the struggle to come to terms with a parting which will last forever, but the grief expressed in."To his dying Brother..." is particularly poignant: 80 There's a pains in parting; and a kind of hell, When once true-lovers take their last Fare-well. What? shall we two our endlesse leaves take here Without a sad looks, or a sblemne teare? He knowes not Love, that hath not this truth proved, Love ip most loth pp leave the thing beloved. (110 6"I2) The depth of his loss is declared most vividly in the final lines in which the living man becomes a kind of fur ghost, lacking the life-giving warmth of his brother's presence: No, here Ile last, and walk (a harmless shade) About this Urne, wherein thy Dust is laid, To guard it so, as nothing here shall be Heavy, to hurt those sacred seeds of thee. (11. l7-20) IL. 5... .‘-¢. ._. 1 chm—.W“- A‘third poem concerned with the loss of a loved one is "Comfort to a Lady upon the Death of her Husband." In that poem the speaker attempts to console the bereaved, but Herrick's words of comfort appear rather weak beside his compelling picture of grief. Part of the relative lack of power in the latter poem is certainly derived from the speaker's distance from the deceased. But a greater part, it seems, is a result of the poet's own failure to be convinced that "time heals all woundsw'or to believe that such an assertion can provide sufficient balm for the lady's suffering. And yet, he seems unable to find another basis for comfort. The loss of a brother, a husband, or a friend, Herrick is willing to admit, creates a painful void no power can erase. It is true that the poet refers several times to the immortality of the soul. The last line of 81 "To his dying Brother..." calls William's ashes "those sacred seeds," presumably in reference to his future resurrection. Similarly, "A Dirge upon the Death of the Right Valiant Lord, Bernard Stuart" contains the fol- lowing lines: Live, live thou dost, and shalt; for why? Soules doe not with their bodies die: Ignoble off-springs, they may fall Into the flames of Funerall: When as the chosen seed shall spring Fresh, and for ever flourishing. (11. 15-20) Still, Herrick does not seem very much comforted by such beliefs. His reaction to the inevitability of death is one of bitter helplessness; the promise of eventual resurrection does little to offset the pain and suffering one endures on earth. Consequently, he looks elsewhere 5 to find compensation for suffering and death. , II As we follow Herrick's search for compensation, it becomes immediately clear that he feels the attitudes and solutions proposed in Section Two are inappropriate. Adherence to ethical principles and confidence in man's ability to exercise rational control over his actions are no longer emphasized. Men, he now says, are not to the trusted ("Distrust," H-l77); and it is futile to attempt to reform the immoral: 82 Barre close as you can, and bolt fast too your doore, To keep out the Letcher, and keep in the whore: Iet, quickly you'l see by the turn of a pin, The whore to come out, or the Letcher come in. ("No Lock against Letcherie") Therefore, each man must look to himself for security or whatever else he seeks, giving little thought to the deeds of his neighbors: For my neighbor Ile not know, Whether high he builds or no: Onely this Ile look upon, Firm be my foundation. Sound, or unsound, let it be; 'Tis the lottordain'd for me. He who to the ground do's fall, Has not whence to sink at all. -——.—-.—u ("SafEty to look to ones selfe") But while Herrick no longer demonstrates faith in man's ability to better himself morally nor places much emphasis on the value of human relationships, he does retain his belief that man possesses useful attributes—-his emotions and senses. Through one's sensuous nature, Herrick says, he can find joy in all objects or experiences which stimulate him through their taste, smell, touch, sound, or look. To search for such pleasure is a worth- while endeavor, he insists, for it offers at least tem- porary happiness and provides occasional escape from suf- fering. However, time is short. Each day brings us closer to old age and death. Consequently, Herrick empha- sizes the necessity of making the most-of one's youth. ! "To the Virgins, to make much of Time,‘ one of several carpe diem poems in this section, reminds girls 85 that time is speeding by, that death approaches, and that each hour brings increased disability. Girls, therefore, cannot afford coyness. Their beauty, like that of the rose, is delicate and short-lived; and as it fades, their chances for marriage grow slimmer. The concept that each passing moment weakens us and brings us closer to death is most fully expressed in the last stanza of "Corinna's going a Maying": We ahall grow old apace, and die Before we know our liberty. Our life is short; and our dayes run As fast away as do's the Sunne: And as a vapour, or a drop of raine Once lost, can ne'r be found againe: So when 9r you or I are made A fable, song, or fleeting shade; All love, all liking, all delight Lies drown'd with us in endlesse nitht. Then while time serves, and we are but decaying; Come, my Corinna, come, let‘s goe a Maying. In these lines Herrick makes clear that each day lived is a further step in the process of decay and that this process can end only in death. Nor is death a wondrous release. It is the creation ofwa void, as when water evaporates and is lost forever. Man's best course, then, is to experience all the pleasure he can in the brief time allotted him. Most of the other lines in the poem are directed toward explaining what kinds of "harmlesse follie" will best solace the man aware of his mortality and fleeting youth. One such pleasure is the enjoyment a May morning offers in thewway of natural beauty. Another is found in the sociable merry-making of spring festivals. Third is 84 erotic pleasure of love-making and marriage. All of the above—mentioned pleasures are further dealt with in other poems of this section. "The Hook- cart, or Harvest home" tells of the joys of harvest time-- of the merry-making and pleasant association with nature. That poem is significant in that it demonstrates how an emphasis on such pleasures can turn the mind from dwelling too much on the hardships of living and the deleterious effect of time. The harvest is a season of heavy toil for the "Rusticks," yet Herrick asks them to think of the "merry cheere" which is also to be found in autumn. Soon the planting of new crops will have to begin; yet, Herrick reminds the workers that the plowing and harrowing are, like rain, sent not to take away care completely, but at least to bring back the pleasure of spring: And know, besides, ye must revoke The patient Oxe unto the Yoke, And all goe back unto the Plough, And Harrow, (though they'r hang'd up now.) And, you must know, your Lords word's true, Feed him ye must, whose food fils you. And that this pleasure is like raine, Not sent ye for to drowns your paine, But for to make it spring againe. (11. 47-55) Of the pleasures of love, Herrick has much to say, despite his earlier warnings that passion often brings suffering. He tells us that the lover, in making the most of this kind of pleasure, must use all his senses. It is the sight of Julia's robe in "Julia's Petticoat" which excites the speaker to a near-swoon. 1'he sweet 85 taste of her lips is praised in "The captiv'd Bee: or, the little Filcher." The pleasant odor of her breath is described in "On Julia's breath." The lover's sensitivity to sound is alluded to in "A Dialogue betwixt Horace and Lydia." The sense of touch is not often mentioned in Herrick's poetry, a fact which contributes to the delicacy of most of his love lyrics. But the kiss and sigh he tells of in "Lips Tongueless" and the embrace he craves in "Upon Julia's breasts" certainly refer to the importance of touch in arousing or satisfying passion. The effect of the poems mentioned above, in juxtaposition to those which complain of love's pain and cruelty, is to suggest that passion provides its own compensation for the discomfort it gives. The suffering is accompanied by times of such ecstasy that, Herrick says, men become willing victims to its power: Love, I recant, And pardon crave, No more Ile vaunt, For now I see, Thou onely hast the power, To find, And bind, A heart that's free, And slave it in an houre. ("His Recantation") We see, then, that Herrick no longer insists that men must master their emotions or deny themselves sen- suous stimulation. He joyously includes in Section Three the companion poem to "His fare-well to Sack," "The Welcome to Sack." There the "witching beauties" and "sacred 86 madnesse" formerly rejected as dangerous, are welcomed as necessary to a life spent in search of pleasure. He says: Eternall Lamp of Love! whose radiant flame Out-glares the Heavens Osiris; and thy gleams Out-shine the splendour of his mid-day beams. Welcome, 0 welcome my illustrious Spouse; Welcome as are the ends unto my Vowes. (11. 10-14) He confesses that he has been "cold" and "too temperate" in his attitude toward wine (and therefore toward all pleasures); but he vows that absence has only increased his zeal. The poem continues with a tribute to the power of wine to rouse her lover to exalted heights of activity and stimulation. "Thou mak'st me ayrie," Herrick says, "active to be born. . . upon the tops of Corn," "nimble," and ready to "dance and caper on the heads of flowers." So he beckons: Come, come and kisse me; Love and lust commends Thee, and thy beauties; kisse, and we will be friends 0 o o o o e o o o o o o o o o o 9 o o o e o o Swell up my nerve with spirit; let my blood Run through my veines, like to a hasty flood. Fill each part full of fire, active to doe What thy commanding soule shall put it to. (11. 69-70, 77-80) What man, Herrick asks, aware of the joys love, beauty, and wine can offer and knowing that his life is brief, can reject the merry life? Fooles are they, who never know How the times away doe goe: 'But for us, who wisely see Where the bounds of black Death be: Let's live merrily, and thus Gratifie the Genius. ("Best to be merry") 87 The word "Genius" may refer to a tutelary spirit, or Herrick may intend its other Latin meaning——fondness for social pleasure. In either case, he wishes us to seek gratification through a joyous life, dwelling not on our troubles, but on the delights life can offer: I Feare no Earthly Powers; But care fer crowns of flowers: And love to have my Beard With Wine and Oile besmear'd. This day Ile drowne all sorrow; Who knowes to live to morrow? ("On himselfe," H—l70) Such sentiments are far different from the ethical concern exhibited in Section Two. Yet, as Herrick ceases to emphasize morality and social obligation, he finds value in religion. He does not propose any specific set of beliefs, nor does he suggest that religious exercise should become an end in itself or take up too much of man:s valuable time. "Wash; dresse, be briefe in praying," he says to Corinna; "Few Beads are best, when once we goe a Maying." ("Corinna's going a Maying," 11. 27-28) However, the joyous worship of a being greater than ourselves seems to form an important part of the "merry" life. He continues his call to Corinna by describing the houses decorated for the May festival, likening them to holy places or houses of worship: Devotion gives each House a Bough, Or Branch: Each Porch, each doore, ere this, An Arke a Tabernacle is. (11. 52—5¢) 88 The farm workers of "The Hock-cart . . ." perform a kind of religious ceremony in the midst of their harvest celebration: Some blesse the Cart; some kisse the sheaves; Some prank them up with Oaken leaves: Some crosse the Fill-horse, some with great Devotion, stroak the home-borne wheat. (11. 19-22) Even the birds, he tells Corinna, "have mattens seyd,/ And sung their thankfull Hymnes." In these poems Herrick makes a point of connecting the religious attitude with pleasurable experiences. He even suggests to Corinna that the sinner is the man who refuses to seek sensuous delight: O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 'tis Sin, Nay, profanation to keep in, When as a thousand Virgins on this day, Spring, sooner then the Lark, to fetch in May. Even the church becomes, in "The Fairie Temple: or, Oberons Chappell," ah object which inspires the senses and imagin- ation: Rare Temples thou hast seen, I know, And rich for in and outward show: Survey this Chappell, built, alone, Without or Lime, or wood, or Stone: Then say, if one th'ast seene more fine Then this, the Fairies once, now Thine. Such sentiments may appear to some minds profane; critics may assert that such poems are not "serious." But either response fails, I think, to take into account the philosophical position expressed in this section. All 89 poems here are man—centered. Consequently, whom or what one worships seems less important than the joy derived from that worship. Further, Herrick emphasizes throughout Section Three the importance of the senses in attempting to transcend human pain. It is not, then, unreasonable that he should suggest the compatibility of religious fervor and sensuous experience. III Consistent with Herrick's changed idea of how men should conduct their lives is his altered attitude toward Nature. While he continues to believe that men share important characteristics with natural phenomena, he does not see that circumstance as productive of ethical precepts. Nature gives us pleasure, he says, but he does not advise that we look for or follow principles exemplified there. Rather, he suggests that Nature and men are equally flawed. Natural phenomena are, like men, deceitful, he tells us in "Faire dayes: or, Dawnes deceitfull." And like men, all natural objects suffer the effects of time:5 Ye may simper, blush, and smile, And perfume the aire a while: But (sweet things) ye must be gone; Fruit, ye know, is comming on: Then, Ahl Then, where is your grace, When as Cherries come in place? ("To Cherry-blossomes") I Evidence of Herrick 3 lack of concern with "natural" principles is found in a group of poems which attempt to 9O explain "how Eases first came 32g, and Lillies White." There are four such poems in this section, each of which connects a flower's color to a quality associated with women. The anemia resulting from puberty (“greenrsickness") is suggested as the origin of the primrose's paleness in "How Primroses came green." Feminine vanity and rivalry are presented as bases for the colors of roses and violets in "How Violets came blew." And in "How Lillies came white" the beauty of a woman's breast and its milk are associated with the pure white of lilies. It seems, then, that not only, as mentioned above, does Herrick now see little value in man's imitating nature; he has taken the position that natural phenomena, personified and reported to receive characteristics from the actions of men, are no more beautiful or admirable than the human being.6 It is reasonable that as he re-evaluates the function and character of nature, Herrickls attitude toward art also changes. In contrast to his statements of the previous section, he is now willing to admit not only the worth but the necessity of art. Nor does he continue to insist that art, any more than men, should imitate nature. Rather, he gains new respect for man's ability to improve on natural conditions. In "Neglect" he says: Art quickens Nature; Care will make a face: Neglected beauty perishes apace. Later, in a poem which may be read as a condemnation of painting one's face, he nevertheless admits that a painted 91 woman is fair, despite the fact that praise should be accorded the applier of the paint than the lady's natural beauty: Men say y'are faire; and faire ye are 'tis true; But (Hark!) we praise the Painter now, not you. ("Upon a painted Gentlewoman") The idea that art should improve upon nature is most fully discussed in "The Lilly in a Cristal." That poem clearly indicates that any natural object can be improved through man's artifice. In the first stanza we are shown how covering a rose with gauze or encasing a lily in crystal increases the beauty of both objects. The second stanza remarks how greatly men enhance the beauty of cream by adding strawberries. But it is the fourth stanza which most distinctly states that any natural object is less beautiful when it lacks man's artistry. Fruits which depend upon their own "tinctures naturall" appear, Herrick says, "naked": Put Purple Grapes, or Cherries in- To Glasse, and they will send More beauty to commend Them, from that cleane and subtile skin, Then if they naked stood, And had no other pride at all, Butntheir won flesh and blood, And tinctures naturall. Art, therefore, is able to increase man's pleasure in natural objects by enhancing their beauty. But in another form-~that of music—-it is capable of even greater influence. As music enthrall men's minds and senses, cares disappear, and pain is dissipated. So great is the power 92 of music that Herrick continually attributes to it the potency of a magic charm. Though music does not cure illness, Herrick says, its hypnotic influence can take one's mind from his pain and focus it on an aesthetic experience: Charme me asleep, and melt me so With thy Delicious Numbers; That being ravisht, hence I goe Away in easie slumbers. Ease my sick head, And make my bed, Thou Power that canst sever From me this ill: And quickly still: Though thou not kill My Fever. ("To Musique, to becalme his Fever") In a later poem Herrick explains more fully the process through which music soothes the listener. The sounds, he says, "bind up" the senses and "entrance" the pain. The music then lulls the mind to sleep, allowing the sufferer to rest and sooner recover from his illness: Uharmes, that call down the moon frOm out her sphere, On this sick youth work your enchantments here: Bind up his senses with your numbers, so, As to entrance his paine, or cure his woe. Fall gently, gently, and a while him deep Lost in the ciVill Wilderness of sleep: That done, then let him, despossest of paine, Like to a slumbring Bride, awake againe. ("To Musick, to becalme a sweet-sick-youth") A poem which calls to mind (though it predates) Congreve's "Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast" is "To Musick. A Song." In that poem Herrick tells us how music 95 can tame tigers and calm the "fierce storms" of the soul. But in another poem Herrick tells how music can, instead of soothing the mind, rouse the spirit and make it "frantick": Begin to charms, and as thou stroak'st mine eares With thy enchantment, melt me into tears. Then let thy active hand scu'd o're thy-Lyra: And make my spirits frantick with the fire. ("To Musick") Music, then, along with the plastic‘arts, is important in man's battle against pain and unhappiness. Like love-making, wine, and festivals, music brings men sensuous delight to compensate for and dim awareness of their many troubles. But perhaps more important than music is another kind of song-—the poem. The basis for Herrick's belief in the value of poetry seems in Section Three to lie in its power to evoke delight even after the poet's death. Once created, the work forms a permanent record of the poet's thoughts and emotions. Thus, the poet who fails in love can still attain eminence by providing aesthetic pleasure ("Upon Cupid," H-166). The ooet who is poor can still bequeathe a worthwhile legacy ("Lyridk for Legacies"). Nor must the poet, as greatly as other men, fear death either for himself or his loved ones. Because poetry forever records the poet's words, it triumphs over the oblivion of death. With that knowledge in mind, Herrick promises to his friend a 94 "crowne of life" ("To Mistresse Katherine Bradshaw, the lovely, that crowned him with Laurel"). For himself, Herrick sees an even greater fame resulting from his work: 5. 0 time that cut'st down all! And scarce leav'st here Memoriall Of any men that were. 4. How many lye forgot In Vaults beneath? And piece-meals rot Without a fame in death? 5. Behold this living stone, I reare for me, Ne'er to be thrown Downe, envious Time by thee. ("His Poetrie,his Pillar," 11. 9-20) Poetry, then, is a "living stone." It provides an eternal monument because, unlike its creator, the work is not vulnerable to decay. In fact, Herrick reminds us, it is after his death that the poet often achieves his finest hour: I Ask't thee oft, what Poets thou hast read, And lik'st the best? Still thou reply'st, The dead. I shall, ere iong, with green turfs cover'd be; Then sure thou't like, or thou wilt envie me. ("Upon the same") For poetry to survive, it must possess great merit; it must be "worthy to be washt" in the preserving oil of cedar. But Herrick is confident that at least some of his work will live on. He sees within his book sometimes a splendor, the flame of inspiration. This quality he attributes fairly often to the happy influence of liquor: 95 When I through all my many Poems look, And see your selfe to beautifie my Book; Me thinks that onely lustre dothe appears A Light ful-filling all the Region here. Guild still with flames this Firmament, and be A Lamp Eternall to my Poetrie. Which if it now, or shall hereafter shins, 'Twas by your splendour (Lady) not by mine. The Oile was yours; and that I owe for yet: He payss theflhalfe, who do's confesse the Debt. ("To the most virtuous Mistresse.Pot, who many times entertained him.") In this poem we see how far Herrick has shifted his position since Section Two. Not only does he now recognize his need for the "Oile" with which liquor enflames his imagination-~in contrast to the "Oyle of Maintenance" for which he thanks Endimion Porter (H-ll7)--he now declares his admiration for a different kind of poetry. No longer does he insist that his work will "smell of the Lamp" of serious diligence; he now welcomes the fiery "Light" emanating from Alcohol's "Lamp Eternall." 9 Thus, throughout Section Three Herrick bases his search for a happy life and his hope for everlasting fame upon man's ability to create and to find pleasure in things which appeal to the senses. The pleasure produced by music enthralls the senses so that men forget their pain. The enjoyment of natural beauty and the pleasures of passionate love provide men escape from the duller and more disagree- able facets of life. In the same way, the reading of great poetry, especially when accompanied by wine, can induce in the reader an ecstasy which far surpasses that found in Herrick's descriptions of love-making: Wild I am now with heat; C Bacchus! coole thy Raies! Or frantick I shall sate Thy Thyrse, and bite the Bayes. Round, round, the roof do's run; And being ravisht thus, Come, I will drink a Tun To my Propertius. Now, to Tibullus, next, This flood I drink to thee: But stay; I see a Text, That this presents to me. Behold, Tibullus lies Here burnt, whose smal return Of ashes, scarce suffice To fill a little Urns. Trust to good Verses then; They onely will aspire, When Pyramids, as men, Are lost, i'thifunerall fire. And when all Bodies meet In Lethe to be drown'd; Then onely Numbers sweet, 10 With endless life are corwn'd. ("To live merrily, and to trust to Good Verses," ll. 29-52) Because poetry is itself invulnerable to time, Herrick says, its author is accorded everlasting fame and appre- ciation. 1'o acknowledge his own debt to the ancient poets, he drinks (in stanzas four through seven) toasts to Homer, Virgil, Ovid, and Catullus and to Propertius and Tibullus in the lines quoted above. Tibullus is dead, 11 but his memory and poetry live on. It is Herrick says, that fact which sustains Herrick's hope that he, too, may find everlasting fame and one day be remembered in the kind of tribute he accords the poets listed above. IV. SECTION FOUR: HIS RETREAT TO NOSTALGIA Thus far Herrick's search for a means of solving or compensating for human difficulties has led him to suggest two conflicting philosophies. As we look from Section Two to Section Three, we see self-control set against self—gratification; the ethical frame of mind contrasted with the religious; and a view of natural objects as purveyors of helpful principles set against a view of nature as sympathetic to, but just as flawed as man. Consequently, the reader may finish Section Three with the expectation that such conflicts will shortly be resolved. But rather than resolution Herrick offers a group of poems which further increase awareness of the problems facing Seventeenth-century England and man in general. His method in Section Four is first to present a picture of theoworld as he knows its-a view which includes the chaos of the Civil War, the certainty of death through illness or old age, his own poverty and "banishment" from London, the corruption of the government, and the insen- sitivity of the public to artistic creation. He then surrounds and includes in poems on those subjects themes and images which reflect a life quite different from the one he knows. He talks of shepherds tending their flocks, 97 98 of a time when peace and contentment were in the land and the innocent enjoyment of a bucolic existence was possible. Through that ordering--the juxtaposition of the simple and complex, the past and the present, the ideal and the actual-~Herrick is able to suggest his displeasure with present times and to create in the reader a nostalgic longing for a better era. It is by way of his nostalgia that Herrick comes to construct in Section Four a group of poems which primarily depend upon the pastoral tradition. Iado not mean to imply that the pastoral is totally absent in other sections of the work nor to suggest that all poems in this section contain pastoral elemtnts. But Herrick does use the themes and images of the pastoral writer to construct an idyllic background against which to set a picture of the disagree- able present; and_he, like the pastoral poet, maintains in this section a highly critical attitude toward the attributes of present civilization. In characterizing Section Four in this way, I am primarily dependent on Frank Kermode's definitions and comments found in English Pastoral Poetry: From Egg Beginnings to Marvell.l In that volume Kermode notes four features of the genre which seem relevant to the material in the Hesperides; A primary element of nstoral, he says, is a recognition of the "sharp difference" between city and country life.2 Second, he continues, the patoral po et "assumes that natural men are purer and less 99 vicious than cultivated men."5 Thus, in the encounters between the rustic or shepherd and the courtier (often staged as a musical contest), the country dweller always wins. The third characteristic, one which overlaps those already mentioned, is a "pure though nostalgic pleasure" in contemplating the beauty of nature for its own sake.4 The fourth is a belief that the world was once a "better place." In the past,the pastoral poet often contends, men lived in peace-and enjoyed a "hedonistic" life which was "sinless though wanton." 5 Kermode traces this notion from Virgil, whose poetry contained as one of its themes the "restoration of the Golden Age."6 In incorporating those themes into his poetry, Herrick does not become merely a singer of rustic lays. He is interested in natural beauty for its own sake, but he also wishes to condemn the city by praising the country. He seems to enjoy considering a past time when the world was at peace and people were better, but he does so with an eye to criticizing current instability and corruption. Thus in this section he describes a pstoral world,7 but he places within that Eden the elements of the real world which make Paradise unobtainable. This section, like Section Two, is headed by two poems. The first, "To the King" (H-264) requests Charles' approval of the poet's work and installs him as ruler of "This gaggt rgalm 2; Poetry." The second, "To the Queens," attributes to Maria the qualities of a fairy princess: lOO Goddess of Youth, and Lady of the Spr1 ‘(Most fit to be the Consort to* a Kingn Be pleas d to rest you in This Sacred Grove, Beset with Mjrtles; whose each leafs—drops Love. Many a sweet— fac t Wood-N h here is seene, Of which chast Order You are now the Queens: Witness their Homage, when they come and strew Your walks with lowers, and give their crowns to you. Your Leavie-Throne (with Lilly-work) possesse; And be both Princesse here, and Poetresse. Patrick suggests that the phrase "This Sacred urove" refers to "the Garden of the Hesperides and, by extension, this volume of poems."8 However, it would seem more fitting, had Herrick intended this interpretation, to have placed the poem nearer the beginning of the book. It seems likely that the "Sacred:Grove" refers to this particular section of the work and that Herrick, through this phrase, indicates his intention of creating a picture of an ideal kingdom. Charles will rule the idyllic "Realm of Poetry," and Maria will be its consort and inspiration. Those two pieces are the first of a group of compli— mentary poems which elevate their subjects to high positions in the Sacred Grove and surround them with its natural beauty. "The Poets good wishes for the most hopeful and handsome Prince, the Duke of York" expresses hope that the Duke will long enjoy the pleasures of this ideal realm: May the thrice- three—Sisters sing Him the Soveraigne of their Spring: And entitle none to be Prince of Hellicon, but He. lOl Herrick's compliment to Prince Uharles ("To his Muse," H-Sll) refers to a poem previously composed in which the birth of the Prince is attended by gift-bearing shepherds, "A Pastorall upon the birth of Prince Charles, Presented to the King, and Set by Master Nicholas Laniere." Another lyric, "The meddow verse or Anniversary to Mistris Bridget Lowman," crowns the lady as queen of the meadow. Through those and similar poems, Herrick character- izes his Sacred Grove as a place of idyllic beauty and its population as comprised of lovely ladies, worthy gentle- men, and faithful shepherds. The branches of myrtle, the meadows, the wood numphs, all common features of the pas- toral, combine to provide the reader with a picture of an idealized realm from which coarseness and harsh reality are absent. But as the reader is lulled into contemplating Arcadia, Herrick allows a glimpSe at the mortality of his characters. In "To his Kinswoman, Mistresse Susanna Herrick" he says: When I consider (Dearest) thou dost stay But here awhile, to languish and decay; Like to these Garden-glories, which.here be The Flowrie-sweet resemblances of Thee: With griefe of heart, methinks, I thus doe cry, Wo'd thou hast ne'r been born, or might'st not die. The Garden, then, is vulnerable to decay as are its inhabitants; Another poem, "To Daffadills," repeats this theme, foretelling the fading of the flowers and the death 9 of their admirers: 102 We have short time to stay, as you, We have as short a Spring; As quick a growth to meet Decay, As you, or any thing. (11. 11-14) When we return to the brighter side of the Sacred Grove, we are invited to contemplate the pleasures of marriage. There are two long nuptial songs included in this section, both of which offer good wishes along with a picture of married life. The first, "A Nuptiall 5ong, or Epithalamie, on Sir Clipseby Crew and his Lady," places the bride and groom within the idealized kingdom. The tenth stanza in particular is concerned with associating the beauty of nature with the innocence of the bride: 10. Strip her of Spring-time, tender-whimpring- maids, Now Autumne's come, when all those flowrie aids Of her Delayes must end; Dispose That lady-smock, that Pansie, and that Rose Neatly apart; But for Prick-madam, and for Gentle-heart; And soft-Maidens-blush, the Bride Makes holy these, all others lay aside: Then strip her, or unto her Let him come, who dares undo her. These lines, to some extent allied with the pastoral tradition through conventional natural imagery, are further connected with that genre through their indication 10 of "sinless though wanton" pleasures. Near the end of the poem, the groom overcomes all obstacles: 105 . . . . . . . like a of thunder he will make his way, , And rend the cloud, and throw The sheet about, like flakes of snow. . . . . . . . . . . . . .so commence All faire Constellations Looking upon yes, that two Nations Springing from two such Fires, May blaze the vertue of their Sires. (11. 148—50, 156-60) Bolt The second nuptial poem is rather different in tone; yet, it, too, contains certain features of the pastoral and offers hope for children in the spring, happiness in love, and a pleasant old age:11 5. Here we present a fleece To make a peece Of cloth; Nor Fairs, must you be loth Your finger to apply To huswiferie. Then, then begin To spin: And (Sweetling) marks you, what a Web will come Into your Chests, drawn by your painfull Thumb. Then, against those pictures of marital bliss, Herrick sets other views of marriage and fruitfulness. The wedding night is not always, we are told, the beginning of a long, happy life: That Morne which saw me made a Bride, The Ev'ning witnsst that I dy'd. Those holy lights, wherewith they guide Unto the bed the bashfull Bride; Serv'd but as Tapers, for to burne,, And light my Reliques to their Urns. This Epitaph, which here you see, Supply d the Epithalamie. ("Upon a maid that dyed the day she was marryed") 104 Childbirth, too, can be attended by death rather than by the fortunate influence of the "Mid-wife Moons." In "Upon a Lady that dyed in child-bed, and left a daughter behind her," Herrick presents a comment on the fragility of life. In a second poem, a sad companion to the nuptial song for Sir Clipsebie Crew and his wife (H-285), Herrick offers comfort to Lady Crew upon the death of her child: Why, Madam, will ye longer weep, When as your Baby's lull'd asleep? And (pretty Child) feeles now no more Those paines it lately felt before. ("To the Lady Crew upon the death of her Child," 11. l-4) Again, then, Herrick balances the beauty and ideally simple life of the Garden against the mortality of its natural objects and human inhabitants. Other poems which increase our awareness of transience are those concerned With the poet's own death. "To the Nightingale, and Robin-Red-brest" asks the nightingale to sing and the robin to act as sexton at the poet's funeral. "To the Yew and Cypresse to grace his Funerall" is a request for the flora of the Garden to attend his services. A third portion of the funeral ceremony he asks from Julia in "His charge to Julia at his death." But perhaps the strongest antithesis to lavish good wishes presented in the epithalamia is an epigram found near the middle of Section Four: 12 Putrefaction is the end Of all that Nature doth entend. ("Putrefaction") 105 Another group of poems, perhaps best classified as calls to love, urge girls to go out into the fields, to enjoy the beauty there, and to engage in innocent love- making: One such lyric is "To the maids to walks abroad": Come sit we under yonder Tree, Where merry as the Maids we'l be. And as on Primroses we sit, Ws'l venter (if we can) at wit: If not, at Draw-gloves we will play; 50 spend some minutes of the day: Next we will act, how young men wooe; And sigh, and kiss, as Levers do: And talk of Brides; and who shall make That Dress, this Sprig, that Leaf, this Vine; That smooth and silken Columbine. And how t e P sset will be made With cream of Lillies (not of Kine) And Maiden's-blush, for spiced wine. Thus, having talkt, we'l next commend A kiss to each; and so we'l end. (11. 1-6, 19-24,‘32:3€7 “'— Here we see the conventional images of the pastoral: the lovers' games, kisses, and sighs; the flowers; and the cream of lilies. In another call to pleasure, "The Apparition of his Mistresse calling him to Elizium," a lady beckons the post to a garden of delights resembling the Elysian Fields. In the first twenty-four lines the lady describes an idyllic meadow filled with natural pleasures of sight and sound where there is nordisease or corruption but only eternal growth and spring. In those lines Herrick combines the pastoral poet's love of beauty with his delight in "sinless though wanton" sport. The remainder of the poem lists a catalogue of pleasures 106 designed to appeal particularly to a poet. The garden, the apparition promises, contains a theater in which the dramas of the masters are continually played. The classical poets, too, are promised to be there, joining all in merry pursuit of pleasure. In a third call to love,15 the . poet speaks much like Marlowe's passionate shepherd: Live, live with me, and thou shalt see The pleasures Ile prepare for thee: What sweets the Country can afford Shall blesse thy Bed, and blesse thy Board. The tongues 0 Kids shall be thy meats; Their Milke thy drinks; and thou shalt eats The Paste of Filberts for thy bread With Cream of Cowslips buttered: Thy Feasting-Tables shall be Hills With Daisies spread, and Daffadils; Where thou shalt sit, and a Redpbrest by, For meat, shall give thee melody. Thou sha't have Ribbands, Roses; Rings, 'Gloves, Garters, Stockings, Shooes, and Strings Of winning Colours, that shalt move Others to Lust, but me to Love. These (nay) and more, thine own shal be, If thou wilt love, and live with me. ("To Phillis to love, and live with him," 11. 1-4, 11-18, 51-56) Into those meadows and glades, however, comes another voice--that of a maid seeking the grave of her lover. The primroses are addressed as funeral flowers; bees are accused of bearing her love away; strawberry beds and grass are now seen as part of the"cold, cold Earth" and searched for signs of hiw grave. Cowslips become a shroud: 7. He's soft and tender (Pray take heed) With bands of Cowslips bind him; And bring him hime, but 'tis decreed, That I shall never find him. ("The mad Maids song," ll. 25—28) 107 A second voice, speaking in quite a different tons, adds another dissonant note. Like Raleigh's nymph, Herrick's Jill interjects a realistic comment on the rarefied existence promised in the pastoral: When Jill complaines to Jack for want of meats; Jack kisses Jill, and bids her freely eats: Jill sayes, of what? sayes Jack, on that sweet kisse, Which full of Nectar and Ambrosia is, The food of Poets; so I thought sayes Jill,. That makes them looks so lanke, so Ghost-like still. Let Poets feed on airs, or what they will; Let me feed full, till that I fart, sayes Jill. ("Upon Jack and Jill. Epigram") Inhabiting the Sacred Grove along with the human ‘ population are various supernatural creatures. In a POem which can be sung to the tune of "Drink to me only 14 with Thine Eyes," Herrick addresses the water nymphs: 1. Reach, with your whiter hands, to me, Some Christall of the Spring; And I, about the Cup shall see , Fresh Lillies flourishing. ("To the Water Nymphs, drinking at the Fountain," 11. 1-4) Other supernatural characters frequently mentioned are the English fairies. In poems which deal with those inhab- itants of the Garden, we find fewer mentions of flowers, shepherds, and young maids. Yet tradition has it that fairies inhabit woods and glades, appearing at night to dance in the moonlight. The two longest fairy poems in this section concern Oberon, sometimes recognized as king of the Fairies. 108 "Oberon's Feast" describes a royal banquet in the land of the "little people." For the feast we find provided a list of "natural" foods similar in many ways to those promised Phillis. "To quench his thirst," Oberon is offered "A pure seed-Pearle of Infant dew." Music is provided (as in "AxCountry Life: To his Brother, Master Thomas Herrick") by the "merry cricket" and the "piping gnat." Other delights are the "Beards of mice," the "Bees sweet bagge," and wine served in "a dainty daizie." In "Oberons Palace," just as in the former poem, the delights mentioned are bits of natural phenomena, though tending toward the exotic rather than the rustic. The floors, Herrick imagines,.are covered with "Squirrels and childrens teeth late shed," with "brownest Toadstqggg" and the waxy covering of the plum. The room is hung with blue snake-skin and decorated with "eyes of Peacocks Trains," "glow-wormes eyes," "wheat- strawes," and Silverfish scales. The wanton delights of the pastoral are also present here. Oberon is described near the beginning of the poem as "high fed/ for lust and action." Later he is led through a lovers' Grove and to bed. But not all the supernatural inhabitants are part of the pleasant side of the Garden. In addition to the water nymphs and delicate fairies, we find "The flag," riding with the devil through stormy nights. In "The _Bell-man" (H-299) Herrick alludes to the fear of the "Goblin." "The Fairies" (H-556) describes proper behavior 109 to appease mischievous fairies; and a prayer to guard against "fiends" and frightening sounds in the night is found in "The Old Wives Prayer." Such poems suggest a dark side to human experience, far removed from the beautiful Garden of beauty and love.15 In addition to those poems which present the Sacred Grove as a trysting place for lovers are those which concentrate on the contentment derived from the simple country life. In "An Eclogue, or Pastorall between Endimion Porter and Lycidas Herrick, set and sung," a rebuke is offered Porter for leaving the country to frequent the court. Later in the section we find a complimentary poem which praises Porter for his decision to return to the simple life. "The Country life, to the honoured Master Endimion Porter, Grooms of the Bed-Chamber to His Majesty" begins by contrasting the man who enjoys the "sweet Country life" and those whose "lives are not their own." The unfortunate second group serve the "courts and cities," engaging in a life of busy commerce, searching far from home for the "world's treasures." But Porter, whose ambition now "flies no higher then a fleece," is able to walk his moderate estate in contentment:l6 And, as thou look'st, the wanton Steers, The Heifer, Cow, and Oxe draw neere To make a pleasing pastime there. These seen, thou go'st to view thy flocks Of sheep, (safe from the Wolfe and, Fox) And find'st their bellies there as full Of short sweet grasse, as backs with wool. And leav'st them (as they feed and fill) A Shepherd piping on a hill. (11. 57-45) 110. Herrick's description of his own rural life is some- what different, however: Here, here I live with what my Board, Can with the smallest cost afford. Though ne'r so mean the Eiands be, They well content my Prew and me. ("His content in the Country," 11. 1-4) Here, despite the speaker's insistence that he is contented, the reader senses a certain dissatisfaction with the "poore Tenement" (l. 8) and "mean";food. Indications of Herrick's poverty are made clearer in "The Plunder," a poem which, though it exaggerates, suggests the poet's 1? means are slender: I am of all bereft; Save but some few Beanes left, Whereof (at last) to make For me, and mine a Cake; Which eaten, they and I Will say our grace, and die. His poverty seems connected with Herrick's banishment from London to a parish in Devon.18 He has previously mentioned his bitterness concerning his predicament--his alienation from London--and the theme recurs in Section Four. Though he never makes clear his specific complaints (other than his poverty), he is most emphatic in stating that country life has, in his case, not been a success. "His Lachrimae or Mirth, turn'd to mourning" indicates that his poetry has suffered from his rural surroundings: 111 2. Before I went To banishment Into the loathed West; I co'd rehearse A Lyrick verse, And speak it with the best. 5. But time (Ai me) Has laid, I see My Organ fast asleep; And turn'd my voice Into the noise Of those that sit and weep. (11. 7-18) Consequently, he says: Ile sing no more, nor will I longer write Of that sweet Lady, or that gallant Knight: No more of Groves, Meades, Springs, and wreaths of Flowers: Ile write no more, nor will I tell or sing Of Cupid, and his wittie coozning:, Ile sing no more of death, or Shall the grave No more my Dirges, and my Trentalls have. ("On himselfe," H-658) But his unhappiness with country life pushes him even further. Despite his contempt for the politic courtier, he states a wish to return to London in service of the government--to leave the yet more "loathed Country-life." Uome, leave this loathed Country-life, and then Grown up to be a Roman Citizen. Those mites of Time, which yet remain unspent, Waste thou in that most Civill Government. Get their comportment, and the gliding tongue Of those mild Men, thou art to live among: Then being seated in that smoother Sphere, Decree thy everlasting Tropick there. And to the Farm-house nere return at all; Though Granges do not love thee, Cities shall. ("Upon himself," H-456) Thus Herrick's attitude toward the rural life seems 112 full of conflict. He praises Endimion Porter for his decision to remain in the country, but he himself finds his farm-house and grange unsympathetic. Porter is asked to delight in the wassailing and other rustic pleasures; yet Herrick writes to Clipseby Crew: Since to th'Country first I came, I have lost my former flame: And, methinks, I not inherit, As I did, my ravisht spirit. If I write a Verse, or two, 'Tis with very much ado; In regard I want that Wine, Which sho'd conjure up a line. ("To Sir Clipsebie Crew," 11. l-8) Perhaps the apparent contradictions are best explained by making a distinction between the comfortable country life possible for Porter (holder of high political Office and wealthy enough to be patron to many posts) and the less affluent life possible to Herrick.19 Lack of funds can dim one's pleasure in any surroundings. A second consideration is the matter of choice. Porter chooses to return to his country estate; Herrick considers his appointment to Dean Prior a "banishment." A third factor which may influence Herrick's attitude is his feeling, evident throughout the Hesperides, that his life has in many ways been a failure. While he always maintains that his poetry is worthwhile, he indicates again and again unsatisfied ambition. In this section he says: A Long-lifes-day I've taken paines For very little, or no gaines: The Ev'ning's come; here now Ile stop, And work no more; but shut up shop. ("Paines without profit") 113 Thus we may infer--and I think it is Herrick's intention that we do so--that personal circumstances to a great extent determine our reaction to our surroundings. What is a garden of rustic delights to Porter can be a source of bitterness and ill content to another.20 Yet despite Herrick's personal discontent with country life, he continues to find the pasotral a useful genre for expressing certain important ideas. He particularly drawn to the concept of a former Golden.Age and the belief, mentioned by Kermode as a "regular feature of pastoral poetry" (p. 14), that "the world has been a better place and that men have degenerated." He, like other English pastoral poets of his time, is concerned with the "loss of virtue" entailed in the-urbanization of the countryside--with, in Kermodeds words, "Pietas, gravitas, virtus . . . qualities which wither in acquisitive com- munities." (p. 15) Herrick characterizes his own time as one of wide- spread decadence and unrest. As in Section Two, he often turns to the epigram to satirize.human foibles. The lecher and drinker are mentioned in "Upon Letcher._Epigram," "Upon Spunge. Epigram," and "Upon one-ey'd Broomsted. Epigram." The pretender to knowledge and pretender to youth are satirized in "Upon Parrat" and "Upon one who said he was alwayes young." The hypocrite and the preacher who. hunts rather than attend to parish duties are mentioned, along with the ependthrift and the ceremonious but grudging host in "Upon Rook, Epigram," "Upon Parson Beanes," "Upon 114 Flimsey. Epigram," and "Upon Shewbread. Epigram."- Also satirized are the greater faults of thievery, prostitution, and parricide in "Upon Eeles. Epigram," "Upon Doll. Eipgram," and "Upon Leech." 21 Such moral decadence is accompanied, in Herrick's mind, by public insensitivity to art and by pandering to lack of taste. "Upon Master Ben. Johnson. Epigram" notes the decline of the theater after Jonson's death and com- ments on the ignorant mob which once hissed at The Alchemist:22 After the rare Arch-Poet JOHNSON dy'd, The sock grew loathsome, and the Buskins pride, Together with the Stages glory stood Each like a poore and pitied widowhood. (11. 1-4) Another poem, "To his Books," characterizes much of current popular as vulgar and often nonsensical: Nor thinks these Ages that do hoarcely sing The farting Tanner, and familiar King; The dancing Frier, tatter'd in the bush; (Bred fro .the dung-hills, and aduiterous rhimes,) Shall live, and thou not superlast all times? (110 5-7 , 15-14) But perhaps most troublesome to Herrick is the turmoil produced by the Civil War. "Upon the troublesome times" reveals the despair he feels at the thought of the war: 0! Times most bad, Without‘thessoops Of hops Of better to be had! 2. Where shall I goe, Or whither run 115 To shun This public overthrow? 5. No places are (This I am sure) Secure In this our wasting Warre. 4. Some storms w'ave past; Yet we must all Downfall And perish at the last. "A Pastorall Sung to the King: Montano, Silvio, and Mirtillo, Shepheards" recalls the kind of song to which Kermode refers in his remarks on the "Golden Age" theme of the pastoral: In Ancient Greece and in the Europe of the Middle Ages the women at the corn mills sang their cantilenae molares, songs which told of a former age of Gold, under the reign of a peaceful King whose sudden death brought it to an end. (13- 18) In Herrick's poem shepherds meet to discuss the bad times and to weep with Charles over the departure of 25 "Amarillis," Henrietta Maria: Mon. Bad are the times. Sil. And wors then they are we. Mon. Troth, bad are both; worse fruit, and ill -I_ the tree: The feast of Shepheards fails. Sil. None crowns ‘ ’ the cup Of Wassaile now, or sets the uintell up: And He; who us'd to leads the Country-round, Youthful Mirtillo, Here he comes, Grief-drownd. Ambo. Lets cheer him up. §il. Behold him weeping Mirt. Ah! Amarillisi farewell mirth and pipe; Since thou art gone, no more I mean to play, To these smooth Lawns, m mirthfull Roundelay. (ll. l-lO In response to the "troublesome times," Herrick 116 offers two kinds of poems. The first group merely offers a contrast to the loss of "pietas, gravitas, and yirtus." In "The Christian .Militant" he describes a man who possesses a worthy dis- regard for courtly life, who is not concerned with acquiring foreign wealth, who is brave, and at the same time is compassionate. In other poems we learn the importance of .pietas. "Pray and Prosper" tells how the "fields and meads" will flourish in answer to prayers. Some of the poems are, like "The Christian Militant," concerned with 24others mention Roman gods and goddesses. Christianity; "Mattens, or morning Prayer" describes a clearly Christian ceremony for the morning, and "EvenSong," one which suggests evening rites for Jove. It seems, then, that Herrick is here, as throughout the Hesperides proper, concerned less with the object of worship than with the worship itself.25 Consequently, we find in this section prayers or hymns to Vulcan ("To Vulcan"); to Bacchus ("A Hymns to Bacchus," "To Bacchus, a Canticle"); to Mars ("A Vow to Mars"); to Juno ("A Hymns to Juno");:to Neptune ("Another to Neptune"); to Venus ("A short hymns toVenus," "A Hymns to Venus and Cupid"); to Apollo ("To Apollo. A short Hymns"); and several poems which describe appropriate offerings to the Lares: "A Hymns, to the Lares," "A short Hymns to Larr," "To Larr," "Larr's portion and the Poets part."26 The second group of responses to the "troublesome times" are those poems which call for a return to the Golden 117 Age. "The bad season makes the Poet sad" describes the grief and deadening of pleasure suffered by the poet and imagines his delight should Charles return in peace: Dull to my selfe, and almost dead to these My many fresh and fragrant Mistresses: -Lost to all Musick now; since every thing Puts on the semblance here of sorrowing. Sick is the Land to'th'heart; and doth endure More dangerous faintings by her desp'rate curs. But if that Golden Age wo'd come again, And Charles here Rule, as he before did Raign; If smooth and unperplext the Seasons were, As when the Sweet Maria lived here; I sho'd delight to have my Curles halfe drown'd In Tyrian Dewes, and Head with Roses crown'd. And once more yet (ere I am laid out dead) "Farwell Frost, or welcome the Spring" compares the change of seasons to the hoped for shift from war to peace: Fled are the Frosts,.and now the Fields appears Re-cloth'd in fresh and verdant Diaper. So when this War (which tempest-like doth spoil Our salt, our Corn, our Howie, Wine, and Oils) Falls to a temper, and doth mildly cast His inconsiderate Frenzie off (at last) - The gentle Dove may, when these turmoika cease, Bring in her Bill, once more, the Branch p£_Peace. (11. 1—2, 17-227" "'— ""‘"'" This poem, much like "Upon the Bishop of Lincolne's Imprisonment," seeks comfort in the fact that all things seems to Operate on the principle of change. "A Paran- aeticall, or Advisive Verse, to his friend, Master John Wicks" suggests that a merry life can offer pleasure in the midst of bad times and thus "turn the iron Age to Gold": 27 118 Np sound recalls the houres once fled, Op Roses, ppipg withered: Nor us (my Friend) when we are lost, Like to a Deaw, or melted Frost. Then live we mirthfull, while we should, And turn the iron Age to Gold. ‘ (11. 24-29) Section_Four, then, although it occasionally suggests a solution to one of man's problems, is for the most part devoted to juxtaposing the pleasant past and the trouble- 28 And because Herrick neither believes filled present. that we can escape into the past nor suggests that men can or will create a better future, this section remains essentially a statement of despair and nostalgic longing. His only comfort in the face of political unrest, moral decadence, and the certainty of death is his conviction that his poetry will live on, bringing to himself and his friends lasting memory. He promises immortality to his friends in "To the right Honourable Edward Earle of Dorset," "To his Kinswoman, Mistresse Penelope Wheeler," "To Mistresse Mary Willand," "To his worthy kinsman, Master Stephen Soame," "To his honoured friend, Master Arthur Bartly," "To the most learned, wiSe, and arch-antiquary, Master John Selden," "To his peculiar friend Sir Edward Fish, Knight Baronet," and "To his Kinsman, ”ir Thomas Soame." The certainty that his own name will be remembered is expressed in "On himselfe": Live by thy Muse thou shalt; when others die Leaving no Fame to long Prosperity: When Monarchies trans-shifted are, and gone; Hers shall endure thy vast Dominion. 119 Thus, Herrick again affirms the importance of man's creative ability in fulfilling his potential as a human being, thereby bringing to himself praise and fame. To emphasize that point, he repeats an idea discussed more fully in Section Three: that it is man's nature to create and to improve upon Nature:30 Man is compos'd here of a two-fold part; The first of Nature, and the next of Art; Art presupposes Nature; Nature shes31 Prepares the way to mans docility. ("Upon Man") If Nature do deny 32 Colours, let Art supply. ("Painting sometimes permitted") V. SECTION FIVE: HERRICK'S PARTIAL ACCEPTANCE OF RELIGIOUS FAITH In the first three sections of his book Herrick has introduced almost all the important ideas in his work. The two main problems men face, he has said, are how to achieve happiness or contentment on earth in order to compensate for the brevity of life and how to overcome transience by achieving immortality. The solution to the.first problem, he believes, must be found in one of two conflicting philo— sophies: either the sober search for pietas, gravitas, and virtue or the merry pursuit of pleasure through sensuous gratification. The solution to the second problem, he suggests, lies in the achievement of some memorable work (particularly poetry) which will last forever in the minds of men and so perpetuate the artist's name. In the fourth section, apparently weary of his search, Herrick for a time abandons his offering of sol- utions and retreats to the contemplation of a former less complicated style of life. He longs for the time in which erotic pleasures, enjoyed by innocent shepherds and shep- herdesses, were untainted by the intrusion of sin into the world. He wishes for the return of a society which, uncor- rupted by greed and ambition, existed in peace and tran- quility. But always in Section Four Herrick is aware that 120 121 recapturing such past innocence is impossible. Therefore, as he begins Section Five, Herrick again takes up the search for solutions which are possible to effect in the "real" world.1 In that section much time is spent in re-stating problems and solutions already dis- cussed in his book. Some of the poems there, like those in Section Two, are concerned with ethical behavior and its ability to make life more stable andcomfortable. Others, like the poems in Section Three, urge men to make merry use of time. Through that juxtaposition of conflicting moods and philosophies, the reader is better able to perceive the relationship between ideas presented in the first por- tions of the book. As the pleasures of life are weighed against its burdens and moral concepts are presented next to poems praising the merry life, the reader comes fully to realize the extent of the confusion and contradiction existing in the poet's mind. But just as Section Five exposes philosophical con- fusedness, it also indicates that Herrick is approaching an end to his spiritual quest. In Section Two Herrick has claimed that piety is a necessary quality of the virtuous man. In Section Three he has suggested that the religious experience can (as in "Corinna's going a Maying") be found in joyous communion with nature. Now, in Section Five, he begins to understand that religion offers victory over death. And it is through that realization that Herrick comes slowly to embrace Christian doctrine. 122 The format, then, of Section Five is as follows: the juxtaposition of poems which suggest conflicting ideas concerning how to live, and the introduction of religious (Christian) ideas concerning death. II Many of the poems in the fifth section are based on the carpe diem theme. "Stool-ball," alyric which describes a lover's playful wager, is followed by "To Sappho," a poems which reminds us that time is short: Let us now take time, and play, Love, and live here while we may; Drink rich wine; and make good cheers, While we have our being here: For, once dead, and laid i'th'grave, No return from thence we have. a ’ In a later sequence an idealized desctiption of marriage preparations is followed by a warning that such pleasures must be enjoyed while we are young and by a reminder that the end of old age is death: This day my Julia thou must make For MiStresse Bride, the wedding Cake: Knead but the Dow and it will be To paste of Almonds turn'd by thee: Or kisse it thou, but once, or twice, And for the Bride-Cake ther'l be Spice. ("The Bride-Cake") Lets now take our time; While w'are in our Prime; And old, old Age is a farre off: Forthe evill evill dayes Will come on apace; Before we can be aware of. ("To be merry") 125 Man may want Land to live in; but for all, Nature finds out some place for buriall. ("Buriall") Similarly, H-78l and H-782 in juxtaposition suggest that time is of the essence. The former is a call to love;.the latter, an epitaph: Lets call for Hypen if agreedithou art; DelaZS'ip love but crucifie the heart. Loves thornie Tapers yet neglectedllye: Speak thou the word, they'l kindle by and by. ("To Anthea," 11. 1-4) In this little Urns is laid Prewdence Baldwin (once my maid) From whose happy spark here let Spring the purple Violet. ("Upon Prew his Maid") Closely related to the poems discussed above are those which indicate the power of love to enthrall the mind and so turn our thoughts from unpleasant things. One sequence begins with three epigrams ("Adversity," "Want," and "Griefe") which center upon the dark side of life. They are followed by a poem which describes the pleasure of a kiss ("Love Palpable") and an epigram which comments on the tendency of love to soften our apprehension of ugliness or harshness: Nothing hard, or harsh can prove Unto those that truly love. ("No action hard to affection") The same idea--that love can divorce us from harsh reality-- is found again in "Lovers how thy come and part": 124 A Gyges Ring they bears about then still,2 To be, and not seen when and where they will. They tread on clouds, and though they sometimes fall, They fall like dew, but make no noise at all. So silently they one to th'other come, As colours steale into the Pears or Plum, And Airs-like, leave no pression to be seen Where e're they met, or parting place has been. But Herrick does not suggest that love must always exist on such an elevated plane. In fact, he seems to delight in contrasting the coarse with the idealized or the ugly with the beautiful. One sequence begins with a poem which presents an erotic experience as a kind of vulgar drama: Begin with a kisse, Go on too with this: And thus, thus, thus let us smother Our lips for a while, But let's not beguile Our hope of one for the other. This play, be assur'd Long enough has endur'd, Since more and more is exacted; For love he doth call For his'Uptailes all; And that's the part to be acted. ("Up tailes all") The second presents a harsh view of a woman: Franck wo'd scours her teeth; and setting to't, Twice two fell out, all rotten at the root. ("Upon Franck") But the last poem in the sequence, while it (like "Up tailes all") refers to the sensuous enactment of a "mask" and to the lady's clothes as a "scene" or curtain which 125 hides the desired view, shows respect for the lady and tends to idealize the experience: My Lucia in the deaw did go, And prettily bedabled so, Her cloaths held up, she shew'd withall Her decent legs, cleans, long and small. I follow'd after to descrie Part of the nak't sincerity; But still the envious Scene between Deni'd the Mask I wo'd have seen. ("Upon Lucia dabled in the deaw") A second sequence further demonstrates the two tones which Herrick uses in talking about women. In the first poem there he speaks with the clear vision and sharp tongue of the satirist: Close keep your lips, if that you meane To be accounted inside cleane: For if you cleave them, we shall see There in your teeth much Leprosie. ("To women, to hide their teeth, if they be rotten or rusty") But he follows that epigram with a declaration that he will "first die" before speaking ill of women: O Ju iter, sho'd I speaks ill Of woman-kind, first die I will; Since that I know, 'mongst all the rest Of creatures, woman is the best. ("In praise of women") Succeeding poems conform to his view that "Of creatures, woman is the best." He describes an idyllic picture of a lady gathering flowers in "The Apron of Flowers" (H-740); and, as if in apology for H-758 ("To women, to hide their teeth . . ."), he praises Julia's teeth in "The Candor of 126 Julias teeth" (H-741). The last two poems in the sequence ("Upon her weeping," H-742, and "Another upon her weeping," H-743) idealize her tears.5 III The poems discussed above repeat the theme of Section Three, urging men to find happiness on earth trough a search for sensuous pleasure. In direct contrast are those poems which urge attention to self-control and so repeat the theme of Section Two. One series of epigrams (H-707 through H-7l2) offers a variety of comments on human behavior. Those poems assure us that kings are not born but made, remind US that we must work before we are paid, suggest mixed reactions to death, define fame, warn us that possessions won by war are "short-liv'd," and define "bashfulnesse." In another sequence Herrick considers a king's problems and duties, particularly in regard to dissension. In the first poem there he warns that war brings no glory to kings ("Blame the reward of Princes). In the second ("Clemency in Kings") he asks kings to be cautious in shedding blood. The third ("Anger") warns that anger brings only further discord. A third sequence begins with a complimentary poem to Prince Charles, expressing Herrick's hope that the Prince can help bring an end to the war ("To Prince Charles upon his coming to Exeter). But succeeding poems remind Charles 127 that a prince's or king's life involves problems and responsibilities other than war. He must, therefore, learn to deal with fair-weather friends ("Princes and Favourites"); and he must assume a position of moral responsibility ("Examples, or like Prince, like People"). But, Herrick continues, the prince receives compensation for the dangers of war and the difficulty of leadership T in his ability to command deference and respect ("Potentates").4 Another group of poems are concerned with the p admonition in Section Two to be "content with little." In E Section Five, as in previous sections, Herrick's attitude toward wealth is rather ambiguous. That ambiguity is demonstrated in a sequence which begins with an assertion that, despite his straitened circumstances, the poet still manages to find pleasure in "slight things" ("His Grange, or private wealth"): The second poem ("Good precepts, or counsell") asks us to content ourselves with the knowledge that all troubles will soon pass. But the third admits that money, after all, has great power and attraction: When all Birds els do of their musick fiaile, Money's the still-sweet-singing Nightingale. ("Money makes the mirth") A second sequence, however, suggests that despite ~Herrick's apparent yearning for wealth, he is able to place money in its proper perspective. That sequence begins with two epigrams which depict the rigors of poverty. "Tuck" discovers (in "Upon Tuck, Epigram") that lack of 128 money can bar one from social pleasures. The next epigram, "Biting of Beggars," alludes to the hard life of the beggar. The third poem offers as a part of his good wishes to participants in the May festival Herrick's hope that the girls may marry into high position and wealth: A health to my Girles, Whose husbands may Earles Or Lords be, (granting my wishes) ("The May-pole," 11. 7-9) In all three poems, then, Herrick emphasizes the benefits of money. Yet in the next poem he notes that neither high position nor wealth is of much value in the face of ill health: That flow of Gallants which approach To kisse thy hand from out the coach; That fleet of Lackeyes, which do run Before thy swift Postilion; Those strong-hoof'd Mules, which we behold, Rein'd in with Purple, Pearl, and gold, And shod with silver, prove to be The drawers of the axeltree. Thy Wife, thy Children, and the state Of Persian Loomes, and antique Flats: All these, and more, shall then afford No joy to thee their sickly Lord. ("Men mind no state in sicknesse") The effect of these poems together with the preceding sequence is to suggest that although money can make life easier, it is useless in times of greatest trouble. The desire, therefore, for material goods is a state of mind which not only brings discontent but focuses one's mind on a relatively valueless object. Herrick exemplifies the proper attitude toward wealth in the last poem of the 129 sequence. We should, he says, View the lack of money not 5 as a catastrophe, but as an inconvenience: Need is no vice at all; though here it be, With men, a loathed inconveniencie. ("Want") IV We see, then, that much of Section Five is directed toward setting up in oppo ition the two philosophies Herrick has proposed in earlier sections of the Hesperides: the hedonistic delight in pleasure and the stoic exercise of self-control and moderation. To emphasize that this format is intentional, Herrick includes two successive sequences which contrast the attitude of the lover with that of the ethically concerned man. The first sequence begins with a lyric which states the ability of love to evoke "softnesse" even in wild animals: Love love begets, then never be Unsoft to him who's smooth to thee. Tygers and Beares (I've heard some say) For profer'd love will love repay: None are so harsh, but if they find Softnesse in others, will be kind; Affection will affection move, Then you must like, because I love. ("To Electra. Love looks for Love") In this poem Herrick characterizes love as having a gentling influence upon man. One who is the object of love will, he says, lose his harshness and find himself slowly drawn toward docility and amenability. But when he speaks as an ethical counselor, we find Herrick's words suggestive of 150 the hardness and intractability which he claims the lover loses: Hast thou attempted greatness? then go on, Back-turning slackens Resolution. ("Regression spoiles Resolution") Discreet and prudent we that Discord call, That either profits, or not hurts at all. ("Contention") Consult ere thou begin'st, that done, go on With all wise speed for execution. ("Consultation") The epigram, of course, lends itself to sternness; but I do not think that the shift in tone from the lyric to the last poems in the sequence is simply a matter of form. Because love is a powerful emotion, Herrick continually insists, its "victim" loses his ability to be self-directing. He does not choose to love, but "falls" or is drawn into love. The ethical man. however, bases his actions on rational choice. He is always in command of himself and to a great extent can shape his own destiny. The virtues he acquires, such as those alluded to in the epigrams above, make him the master rather than the victim of a situation. Thus he goies fearlessly forward, prudently enters into discord, and always seeks counsel before proceeding wisely toward his goal. The ethical man, then, is harsh or hard in the sense that he does battle with life and refuses to be led or coerced by others. A similar distinction between the two attitudes is made in the second sequence. There Herrick again juxta- poses a lyric which indicates the "softening" influence of 151 love and a group of epigrams which suggest the necessary "harshness" of the ethical man. In that sequence the contrast is based on clarity of vision. The lyric (H-750) says that the lover is blind to faults: Whatsoever thing I see, Rich or poore although it be; 'Tis a Mistresse unto mes. Be she fat, or be she leans, Be she sluttish, be she cleane, I'm a man for ev'ry Sceane. ("Love dislikes nothing") ,Love,then, becasue ti is an emotion, clouds one's mind and urges him to satisfy his desire without regard to the worth of his beloved. But the man who seeks virtue for himself and his society must, Herrick continues, be pos- sessed of clear vision and be able to judge himself and others. In the five epigrams which follow "Love dislikes nothing," Herrick admonishes us first to be aware of our own faults and to accustom ourselves to hard labor, then to look sternly at those around us, judging not only overt action but attitude as well: Other mens sins wee ever bears in mind; None sees the fardell p3 his faults behind. ("Our own sinnes unseen") If little labour, little are our gaines: Mans fortunes are according to his paines. ("No Paines, no Gaines") Slouch he packs up, and goes to sev'rall Faires, and weekly Markets for to sell his wares: Means time that he from place to place do's rome, His wife her owns ware sells as fast at home. ("Upon Slouch") 152 By so much vertue is the lesse, By how much, neere to singlenesse. ("Vertue best united") A Wanton and lascivious eye Betrayes the Hearts Adulterie. ("The eye") The effect of those two sequences, it seems to me, is to convince us that all men are possessed of two equally powerful, though essentially uncongenial, faculties. One is the ability to love and to find gratification through the senses. The other is the ability to exercise reason, thus to achieve self-mastery (virtue) and content- ment or success. Throughout the Hesperides Herrick has struggled in separate sections to choose between those two faculties in order to decide how man may best or most happily live his life. Now he juxtaposes the choices in a single section as if to emphasize his own confusion and the difficulty of the decision. Nor does he, in Section Five, resolve the conflict. The method through which men can most successfully find happiness on earth in order to compensate for transience is, at this point, still a matter for further consideration. But Despite Herrick‘s confusion as to how men may best live, he has progressed in his understanding of how we may defeat death. One way, the composition of immortal verse, he has already discovered. The second way, through religious faith, is fully discussed for the first time in Section Five. We notice Herrick's new awareness of religious 153 concepts most surprisingly in those poems which are primarily concerned with the power of poetry to immor- talize. In H-804 he begins with what is by now a familiar theme--the repayment of a debt through including a friend's name in his "immortal" work. But the last line indicates that, since the debt is too great to be repaid entirely in 'this way, Herrick can rely on there being a "world to come" in which he can offer further restitution: For all thy many courtesies to me, Nothing I have (my Crofts) to send to Thee For the requitall; save this only one Halfe of my just remuneration. As for the rest, being too great a summe Here to be paid; Ile path i'th'world to come. ("To his faithfull friend, Master John Crofts, Cup-bearer to the King," 11. 1-4, 15-14) Similarly, in H-794 Herrick confidently states that his poetry will offer him "Repullulation" (regeneration) for as long as the earth survives. But he further believes that at the "thirtieth thousand yeere" when the world is destroyed and poetry becomes insignificant, he along with all other men will be resurrected to eternal life: Here I my self might likewise die And utterly forgotten lye, But that eternall Poetrie Bepullulation gives me here Unto the thirtieth thousand yeere, When all now dead shall re-appeare. ("Poetry Perpetuates the Post") In a different way "Charon and Phylomel, a Dialogue sung" fuses Herrick's concepts of the two kinds of immor- tality. There. Herrick presents an imaginary dialogue 154 between Charon, the boatman of the river Styx, and Philomela, a maiden turned into a nightingale after being raped by her brother-in-law. Philomela asks that Charon ferry her across the river, but he refuses, insisting that only "humane soules" can enter Hades. However, Philomela bribes him with a song, and he agrees: Ph.I'1e beg a penny, or Ile sing so long, Till thou shalt say, I've paid thee with a song. Ch. Why then begin, and all the while we make Our slothfull passage 0 're the Stygian Lake, Thou and 1' 1e sing to make these dull shades merry, Who els with tears wo'd doubtles drown my ferry. (11. 25-50) These lines suggest the great power of song, and by extension, of poetry. But they also indicate Herrick's new-found attention to the existence of an after-life and to man's spiritual immortality.6 The emphasis on theological concepts begins with the last poem in Section Four ("To “ianeme. A Ceremonie in Glocester"), a poem concerned with the celebration of Mid- Lent Sunday, and with the head-poem to Section Five, "To the King," which ends: Princes, and such like Publike Lights pp ppppp, Must not be lookt Ln, but at distances: or, :f—we aid—Ln“ These brave Lamps too near, Our eyes they 1 blind, Lr i; not blind, they‘ 1 bleer. In these lines, through their allusion to Exodus xxxiii. 18-20, in which Moses is warned not to look on God's face lest he die, Herrick for the first time links the two 155 figures which will in His Noble Numbers appear as proper objects of worship or allegience--his God and his King. Then, throughout Section Five Herrick includes poems which refer to religious beliefs and to the after- life. "To Docotr Alabaster" compliments William Alabaster for his learned works on mystical theology and indicates Herrick's interest in Judgment Day. In a different tone he, in "The Peter—penny," alludes to St. Peter as holder of the keys to Heaven. *he efficacy of prayers for the dead is suggested in "Purgatory": Readers wee entreat ye pray For the soule of Lugia; That in little time she be From her Purgatory free: In th'intrim she desires That your teares may coole her fires. The perversion of religion is discussed in two poems, both of which concern the practice of religion for unwor- thy ends. The first (He800) condemns the man who turns to God or to Satan to gain material wealth: E'ene all Religious courses to be rich Hast been reherst, by Joell Michelditch: But now perceiving that it still do's please The sterner Fates, to cross his purposes; He tacks about, and now he doth profess Rich he will be by all unrighteousness: Thus if our ship fails of her Anchor hold, We'l love the Divell, so he lands the gold. ("Any way for wealth") The second warns of the fear and remorse which will accom- pany bargaining with the devil:7 156 01 widdow Prouse to do her neighbours evill Wo d give (some say) her soule unto the Devill. Well, when sh'as kild, that Pig, Goose, Cock or Hen What wo'd she give to get that soule agen? , ("Upon an old Woman") Herrick, then, apparently declares himself a believer in "true" religion or Christianity. He expresses his faith in the doctrines of the church-—in the existence of Heaven ant the efficacy of prayers for the dead. But as we look at the religious poems in Section Five, we see that all of them are concerned with the dying or the dead. In addition to the poems discussed above, "The Funerall Rites of the Rose" describes a religious funeral, and "Upon his Kinswoman Mistresse Mary Stone" asks prayers and fasts for the dead.8 Nowhere in Section Five does Herrick suggest that religion, the source of his hOpe for spiritual immortality, may offer answers as to how to live. Whether men should in their time on earth seek virtue or pleasure is a problem which, because he has not yet embraced the concept of Christian ethics, awaits solution. That fact is emphasized in a sequence at the end of Section Five in which Herrick juxtaposes poems concerned with how to live and others concerned with death. "To my dearest Sister Mercie Herrick" is a farewell blessing. It begins with a statement that the poet, apparently old and approaching death, is uncertain as to his own future. Dut he wishes for his sister a merry life, full of ease and 157 pleasure: When ere I go, or what so ere befalls Me in mine Age, or forraign Funerals, This Blessing I will leave thee, ere I go, Prosper thy Basket, and therein thy Dow. Feed on the paste of Filberts, or else knead And Bake the floure of Amber for thy bread. Balm may thy Trees drop, and thy Springs runne w Oyle And everlasting Harvest crown thy Soilel These I but wish for; but thy selfe shall see, The Blessing fall in mellow times on Thee. The succeeding poem describes the glorious metamorphosis which Herrick believes will occur after death: Immortall clothing I put on,. so soone as Julia I am gon To mine eternall Mansion. Thou, thou art here, to humane sight Cloth'd all with incorrupted light; But yet how more admir'dly bright Wilt thou appear, when thou art set In thy refulgent Thronelet, That shin'st thus in thy counterfeit? ("The Transfiguration") Here the biblical allusions (to II Esdras ii. 45; John xiv. 2; Wisdom of Solomon xviii. 4; Psalms cxxxii. 9; and Isaiah lxi. 10) in addition to the expressed belief in a life after death place the poem in a Christian context. But it is linked to the former poem through its emphasis on a material conception of beauty and happiness. The next poem is, like "To my dearest Sister . . .," concerned with a view of life. But there, rather than suggest a preferable a merry or pleasure-filled life, Herrick proposes the hard-won attainment of virtue as 158 most worthwhile: Do's Fortune rend thee? Beare with thy hard Fate: Vertuous instructions n'er are delicate. Say, do's she frown? still countermand her threats: Vertue best loves those children that she beates. The last poem in the sequence returns to the matter of death,9 reminding a wayfarer that all men are entitled to .‘ L, a religious burial, but retracting that statement in the last lines in favor of Lucan's idea: "they obtaine/ Heavens coverture, that have no urnes at all."10 If I lye unburied Sir, These my ReliQues (pray) interre: 'Tis religious part to see Stones, or turfes to cover me. One word more I had to say; But it skills not; go your way; He that wants a buriall roome £23 a Stone, ha's Heaven his Tombe. ("To the Passenger") In this way Herrick conveys at once his philosophi- cal uncertainty and his growing religious faith. He is sure that all men will rise at Judgment Day to everlasting life, but he cannot decide how best to live his life on earth. He believes in the existence of the soul, but he is still drawn to a love of material beauty and to the thoughts of various poets and philosophers. V Thus Section five is for the Hesperides a turning point in the same way that Book V of the Confessions 159 suggests a turning point for Augustine. There, Augustine, having listened to St. Ambrose, deserts the Manichees. But he is still uncertain as to how to prove the falsity of their beliefs. He is mistakenly still drawn to the tenets of certain philosophers, judging their ideas as "much more probable" than those of the Manichees, consi- dering "the frame of this world and the whole of nature, ‘ which the senses can reach to . . . ."11 Augustine's main failing, he says, is his inability to conceive of a "spiritual substance." Could he have done *r’frifu ‘_ . . so, he continues, the basis for utterly defeating the Manichees and casting from his mind theirs and other wrong beliefs would have been in his hands. But he. like Herrick, is still concerned with a material conception of the world, and so "after the manner of the Academics (as they are supposed) doubting of everything, and wavering between all,"12 Augustine rejects the Manichees.and, unwilling to trust his soul.to the philosophers, who were "without the saving Name of Christ,"13 professes his conversion to the Catholic Church. But he does so in the midst of doubt and confu- sion, waiting, he says: "till something certain should dawn upon me, whither I might steer my course."14 VI. SECTION SIX: HERRICK'S REJECTION OF HEDONISM In Section Six, having professed his religious faith but still perturnbed and confused, Herrick continues his search for truth and communion woth God. That search leads him now to reject the merry life and to embrace fully the search for virtue. In that way he apparently draws closer to true Christianity. By casting aside sen— suous gratification, it would seem that he begins better to understand the teachings of the church. But as we look at the ethical precepts presented in Section Six, we see that they, for the most part, fall outside the framework of Christian ethics. They are concerned with political concepts. stoic acceptance of fate, striving for the Golden Mean, and other philosophical attitudes toward life. Therefore, while Herrick continues in his acceptance of Christianity, he still tends to consult his favorite secu- lar philosophers in determining the course of hrs life. 1'here are, however, several poems in Section Six which suggest that Herrick has moved forward in his per- ception of the relationship between the material and spiritual worlds. He continues to insist upon the impor- tance of religion in attaining immortality (almost totally disregarding the power of poetry to immortalize),lbut he no longer claims that religion is important only to the 140 141 dying. He indicates that God may in answer to prayers intervene in affairs of this world, offering help and comfort. Uonsequently, although Herrick does not in that section experience a complete conversion, he does suggest that the force of religion is growing stronger in his life and that his perception of truth is growing clearer. g II -_.....___. ._. 1 ‘ . A‘. .I‘ ‘n Herrick's rejection of the hedonistic life is shown first in the great number of epigrams included in Section m- “.3...— ..—.. ._._- 1 _z I ‘- Six. As stated in the Introduction, Herrick tends almost always to use the epigram to condemn faults and to present ethical precepts. Therefore, the largely epigrammatic character of the section, alone, suggests its~ethical emphasis. In addition to epigrams discussed below, we find various satires ("Upon Adam Peapes," "Upon Raspe," "Upon Prickles," "Upon Truggin," "Upon Lulls," "Upon Nis," "Upon Burr," "Upon Teage," "Upon Megg," "Upon Ralph," "No difference i'th'dark," "Upon Hanch, a Shcoolmaster," "Upon Spenke," "Women uselesse") and diverse philosophical comments on life: "Writing," "Twilight," "The Eyes before the Eares," "Out of Time, out of Tune," "To his Booke" (H-868), "Want," "Draw and Drinke," "Beginnign, difficult," "The present time best pleaseth," "Slavery," "Cleathes, are conspirators," "Faire after foule," "Hunger," "Truth," "Feare," "The End," "Readiness," "Faith four-square," "More Words, lesse Workes," "Faire shewes deceive," "His wish," 142 "Teares" (H-9OO).2 Against the satires Herrick balances many short complimentary poems: "To Master Henry Lawes," "To his r'riend, Master J. Jincks," "Upon Master William Lawes . . .," "Upon Ben. Johnson," "An Ode for him," "To his honoured and most Ingenious friend Master Charles Cotton," "To the most comely and proper Mistresse Elizabeth Finch," and "To his worthy friend Master John Hall." i A second indication of Herrick's dismissal of hedonistic precepts lies in his rejection of the carpe 1T“?”m—~“-’_-‘“; diem theme. There are five epitaphs in Section Six, but rather than (as in Section Five) place them next to poems which describe the pleasures of love, Herrick tends now to juxtapose an epitaph and a moralistic or philosophical epigram.5 "Upon a Maid" (H-848) lies between "Society" and "Satisfaction." Two things do make society to stand; The first Commerce is, and the next Command. Gone she is a long, long way, But she has decreed a day Back to come, (and make no stay.) So we deepe till her returne Here, her ashes, or her Urne. For all our workes, a recompence is sure: 'Tis sweet 23 thinke 9g what was hard t'endure. "Upon a Virgin," an epitaph, precedes "Blame," a political truism: Dpend Harmlesse shade thy nightly Houres, Selecting here, both Herbs, and Flowers; 145 Of which make Garlands here, and there, To dress thy silent sepulchre. Nor do thou feare the want of these, In everlasting Properties. SInce we fresh strewings will bring hither, Farre faster then the first can wither. In Battailes what disasters fall, The King he beares the blame of all. "On Himselfe" (H-952) and "On Himselfe" (H-954) are separated by a comment on the necessity of fortunate influence in attaining success: Weepe for the dead, for they have lost thisx light: And weepe for me, lost in an endlesse night. Or mourne, or make a Marble Verse for me, Who writ for many. Benedicitie. No man such rare parts hath, that he can swim, If favour or occasion helpe not him. ("No man without Money") Lost to the world; lost to my selfe alone Here now I rest under this Marble stone: In depth of silence, heard, and seene of none. Herrick, then, has rejected the search for pleasure and devotes himself to a sober view of life. In several poems he discusses problems of the government and the proper behavior of rulers: "Kings and Tyrants," "Multitude," "Cunctation in Correction," "Revenge," "Cruelty," "Present Government Grievous," and "Bad wages for good service." In others he stresses the importance of moderation. He insists that the lover must, despite its difficulty, exercise self- control. Satiety, he says, brings sickness ("Love is a sirrup"). He finds the indelicate kiss "loathsome" ("Kisses Loathsome"). And in "To Silvia" he apologizes for a kiss, 144 though it is unclear whether his transgression was the kiss itself or his method:4 Pardon my trespasse (Silvia) I Confesse, My kisse out-went the bounds of shamfastnesse: None is discreet at all times; no, not Jove Himselfe, 33 one time, can pg wise and Love. Vonsistent with his insistence that pleasure must give way to virtue is his tendency to discount the bene- ficial effects of liquor. Herrick does mention in "Happiness to hospitalitie, or a hearty wish to good housekeeping" that wine, ale, and beer are associated with a merry or happy life. But all other poems which speak of alcohol in Section Six depict its degenerative effect upon the mind and moral sense.5 Beer makes Blinks appear ridiculous: Tom Blinks his Nose is full of wheales, and these Tom calls not pimples, but Pimpleides: Sometimes (in mirth) he sayes each whelk's a spark (When drunke with Beere) to light him home, i'th' dark. ‘ ("Upon Dlinks. Epigram") The need for drink makes Tap heedless of filial piety: Tap (better known then trusted) as we heare Sold his old Mothers Spectacles for Beere: And not unlikely; rather too then fail, ' He'l sell her Eyes, and Nose, for Beere and Ale. ("Upon Tap") The effect on Blisse is even more demoralizing: Blisse (last night drunk) did kisse his mothers knee: Where he will kisse (next drunk) conjecture ye. ("Upon Blisse") 145 But perhaps the strongest statement against the effects of liquor is seen in "Upon Punchin. Epigram." Ther Herrick describes a man whose higher faculties have so far deter— iorated through his use of alcohol that he assumes the characteristics of a plant: Give me a reason why men call Punchin a dry plant—animall. Because as Plants by water grow, Punchin by Beere and Ale, spreads so. It seems, therefore, that in the conflict between pleasure and virtue, virtue has won out. Herrick includes in Section Six various lyrics which concern the enjoyment of love: "To Dianeme" (H-828), "Upon Love," "The Delaying Bride," "Upon Julia's haire, bundled up in a golden net," "The Showre of Blossomes," "Upon Julia's washing herself in the River," "Upon Cupid" (H—942), "An.Hymne to Love," "To Biancha," "How his soule came ensnared," "The Bondman," "Leven," and "A Pong upon Silvia." However, he attempts to explain such poems not as indicative of his own life but as necessary to the success of his book. He claims in "A request to the Graces"-that a poet must sometimes tempt the reader with "wanton carriages" in order to please him: Numbers n'er tickle, 23 but lightly please, Unlesse they have some wanton carriages. (11. 7-8) Thus, Herrick would have us believe (and the bulk of Section Six bears him out) that despite his recognition that love 146 and wine bring pleasure, he has chosen self-denial and so chosen "for the best": Give house-roome to the best; 'Tis never known Vertue and leasure, both 32 dwell in one. pronto—gm the best")—_ “'— III Herrick's emphasis on virtuous behavior, as indi- cated near the beginning of this chapter, extends to include I the time of old age and death. He suggests that when men grow old, their minds_should turn not only toward Heaven 3 (as suggested in Section Five) but toward serious concerns of this world. That idea is discussed in a sequence which begins with a comment on the poet's age and consequent abandonment of "play." It is important, I think, to note that Herrick does not as in the carpe diem lyrics state that old men cannot enjoy love; he says that it is unfitting for them to do so: Maidens tell me I am old: Let me in my Glasse behold Whether smooth or not I be Or if haire remaines to me. Well, or be't or be't not so, This for certainty I know; Ill it fits old men to play, When that Death bids come away. ("Age unfit for Love") In the next poem the speaker, having accepted the fact of his approaching death, requests a proper burial site ("The Bed-man, or Grave—maker").6 That matter settled, he turns 147 to Anthea to ask her prayers for his soul: Anthea I am going hence With some small stock of innocence: But yet those blessed gates I see Withstanding entrance unto me. To pray for me doe thou begin, The Porter then will let me in. ("To Anthea") Thus, Herrick suggests that virtue is important for the dying as well as the living, and there are a group of poems in Section Six which indicate an increasing awareness that religion is important for the living as well as the dying. Following the sequence discussed above, we find two poems which concern the proper attitude of a man in distress. H-855 tells us that even in the midst of physical suffering we should consider what will benefit the soul: Who begs to die for feare of humane need, Wisheth his body, not his soule good speed. ("Need") H-856 indicates that men need not have to die to escape pain; they can ask and receive help from God: I Am zeallesse, prethee pray For my well-fare (Julia) For I thinke the gods require Male perfumes, but Female fire. ("To Julia") In keeping with his belief that religious exercise may prove beneficial to the living, Herrick includes a sequence of three poems which show the incorporation of church holidays into everyday life. "The Ceremonies for 148 Candlemasse day" concerns the custom of saving a part of the Christmas log to rekindle the fire for the following year. "Upon Candlemasse day" calls for the end of fes— tivities associated with the Christmas season. The first in the sequence, "Ceremonies for Candlemasse Eve," begins with a call to take down the Christmas decorations (hung in a similar sequence in Section Five) and to replace them with box garlands. It continues with a catalogue of the various hangings appropriate throughout the church year: Down with the Rosemary and Baues Down with the Misleto; In stead of Holly, now up-raise The greener Box (for show.) The Holly hitherto did sway; Let Box now domineere; Untill the dancing Easter—day, Or Easters Eve appeare. Then youthfull Box which now hath grace, Your houses to renew; Grow old, surrender must his place, Unto the crisped Yew. When Yew is out, then Birch comes in, And many Flowers beside; A Both of a fresh, and fragrant kinne To honour Whitsuntide. Green Rushes then, and sweetest Bents, With cooler Oken bough; Come in for comely ornaments, To re-adorn the house. Thus times do shift; each thing his turne do's hold; New things succeed, gg former things grow old. This poem reveals an interesting shift in emphasis from earlier sections in the book. Previously Herrick has "discovered" philosophical truths through studying nature. 149 He has noted the transience of all living things by observing daffodils and cherry blossoms and has under- stood the cyclical nature of life by studying the movement of the planets and tides. But now the poet perceives a connection between the passing of time, as indicated by the changes in natural phenomena (holly gives way to box; box, to the yew; and yew, to birches and flowers), and the progression of the church calendar, as indicated by the various holidays celebrated (Christmas, Easter, and Whitsuntide). ‘he effect of this poem, then, is to suggest a complex series of correspondences. The passage of a season, which sees the birth and death of a flower, corresponds to the lifetime ofza man. And the passing of a year on earth corresponds to the working out of a divine plan represented by the church calendar--the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ and the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles. Herrick, therefore, is close to rejecting his completely materialistic view of the world. As revealed in this poem, he is now able to see in nature a spiritual significance. A poem which not only indicates the relevance of the church to everyday life but suggests that human hap- piness is increased by attention to spiritual matters is "Julia!s Churching, or Purification": Put on thy Hgly Fillitings, and so To th'temple with the sober Midwife go. Attended thus (in a most soleEEIWIEe) By those who serve the Child-bed misteries. Burn first thine incense; next, when as thou see'st The candid Stole thrown ore the Pious Priest; 150 With reverend Curtsies come, and to him bring Thy free (and not decurted) offering. All Rites well ended, with faire Auspice come (As to the breaking of a Bride-Cake) home; Jhere ceremonious Hygen shall for thee Provide a second Epithalamie. She who keeps chastly to her husbands side Is not for one, but every night his Bride: And stealing still with love, and feare to Bed, Brings him not one, but many a Maiden—head.* In this poem Julia is asked to go to church to give thanks for the safe delivery of a child. bhe must burn incense, receive the priest's blessing, and make an offering. Such are her obligations to God. b‘ut just as fulfilling social obligations has been shown to bring happiness in Section Two, Herrick now suggests that performance of religious duty can bring joy and pleasure. Julia when home from church will re-live all the pleasures of her honeymoon. The rites will, Herrick says, cleanse her and bring her as a virgin to her husband's side. Some of the poems which deal with the suprnatural are, however, not so much concerned with religion as with superstition. Immediately preceding the sequence of poems on Candlemas are a series of four "Charmes," each of which is designed to thwart or entrap "the Hag": "Charmes," "Another," "Another to bring in the Witch," "Another Charme for Stables." The inclusion of such poems in a section which indicates the poet's near-approach to "true" religion may at first seem incongrbus. But we must not forget that during Herribk's time a great many people feared and persecuted "witches." hnd even those who would reject the popular conception of such beings were ever 151 aware of the power of Satan to possess the mind and influence behavior. Herrick must have been acquainted with that fact and may have felt that a full discussion of man's attitude toward the supernatural might well include at least a mention of the superstitious belief in "charmes." Herrick does not, however, view superstition and religion as equally useful to man. In his religious poems we find a sense of light and happiness. The participants in the Candlemas ceremonies are merry, and Julia returns urn—.4 =-.«-—.u.__-..—___—-._‘ -_.- _T g . ‘ . from her "purification" reborn and fulfilled.7 The charms, by contrast, suggest only darkness and terror of evil forces which come in the night. The inference, therefore, is that superstition results in feeding man's fears of the unknown; true religion has a cleansing influence and brings man into harmony with God. This idea is illustrated in "The Sacrifice, by way of Discourse betwixt himself and Julia," in which the poet emphasizes that if we approach God with clean hands and hearts, we will find "acceptance" and communion with Him: Herr. Come and let's in solemn wise Both addresse to sacrifice: Old Religion first commands That we wash our hearts, and hands. Is the beast exempt from staine, Altar cleane, no fire prophane? Are the Garlands, I s the Nard Jul. Ready here? All well prepar'd, With the Wine that must be shed (Twixt the hornes) upon the head Of the holy Beast we bring For our Trespasse-offering. Herr. All is well; now next to these Put we on pure Surplices; 152 And with Chaplets crown'd we'l rost With perfumes the Holocaust: And (while we the gods invoke) Reade acceptance by the smoake. IV Yet, despite Herrick's insistence on the importance of religion, he still clings to the idea that men should not give everything to God. Our souls are important, he tells us, but our bodies must, as the home of the soul, also be cared for ("The Body"). We must give sufficiently to God, he continues, but should reserve something for ourselves: Though Frankinsense the Deities require, W3 must not give all 32 the hallowed fire. Such be our gifts, and such be our expence, As for our selves to leave some frankinsence. ("A Meane in our Meanes") In this poem, through its insistence on following the doctrine of moderation, Herrick indicates that at this point in the Hesperides he is not yet ready to make a full confession of faith. No truly Christian man would, Herrick expects us to realize, so far distrust God as to think that He would require all our material goods, leaving us nothing with which to sustain our bodies, or possess so tepid a devotion to God as to suggest that we be "moderate" in our worship of Him. Section Six, therefore, functions similarly to Book VI of the Confessions. There, Augustine, driven by lust 155 and craving for material success, nevertheless rejects the teachings of Epicurus because he (Epicurus) "would not believe" that "after death there remained a life for the soul, and places of requital according to men's deserts."8 Yet even then, Augustine finds himself unable completely to embrace church doctrine. Perturbed by various philos0phical concepts, he rejects the Epicureans only to turn to the Platonists in search of truth. He is drawn toward the teachings of the church but,sti11, through his material conception of God, is estranged from Christ. Herrick is, in the same way, separated from God through his clinging to the doctrine of moderation. He does not realize that God will not "like those infernall deities" . . . . . . . . . .,. . . . eate The best of all the sacrificed meate; And leave their servants but the smoak and sweat. ("Bad Princes pill their People," 11. 1-5) Thus, although he begins to see the impingement of the spiritual upon the material world and perceives God as a source of help and comfort, he cannot let go his doubts concerning a total commitment to God. Because he does not yet understand God to be the purveyor of all which is good, he insists that we must "keep" something for ourselves. Consequently, while he professes the truth of various Christian teachings, he cannot feel a deep trust and closeness to God. Although he urges others to go to church, he never, without the assistance or accompaniment 154 of one of his mistresses, partakes in the religious ceremonies. He asserts the efficacy of prayer, but does not himself pray, always instead requesting prayers from others. He has, in other words, accepted some Christian beliefs but has not yet experienced a true conversion. VII. SECTION SEVEN: THE CONCLUSION OF THE "HUMANE" PORTION OF HERRICK'S WORK Section Seven, the last in the Hesperides proper, is in many ways a section of farewells.1 Tracy, the spaniel which has comforted the poet for many years (see H—724) is dead: Now thou art dead, no eye shall ever see, For shape and service, S aniell like to thee. ("Upon his Spaniell Tracie, 11. 1-2) The Thames, part of the London scene for which Herrick continually longs, he fears he will see no more: I Send, I send here my supremest kiss To thee my silver—footed Thamasis. No more shall I reiterate thy Strand, Whereon so many Stately Structures stand: Nor in the summers sweeter evenings go, To bath in thee (as thousand others doe.) Grow young with Tydes, and though I see ye never, Receive this vow, g2 fare-ye-well for ever. ("His tears to Thamasis," 11. 1—67‘55L267 The pastoral scene, so often a subject of longing and hOpe, is marred by violence and death: Thyr. I have lost my lovely steere, Now (ai me) (ai me) Last nigh Came a mad dog, and did bite, I, and kil'd my dear delight. O O I O O O O C I O O O O O O 155 156 Hence I must, for time doth call Me, and my sad Play-mates all, To his Ev'ning Funerall. Live long, Lacon, so adew. ("A Bucolick betwixt Two: Lacon and Thyrsis") Even the poet, who has formerly been so critical of court life, begs Amaryllis to forsake the meadow; so they part: Her. What have the Meades to do with thee, Or with thy youthfull houres? Live thou at Court, where thou mayst be The Queen of men, not flowers. Amaril. You set too high a rate upon . A Shepeardess so homel ; Egg. Believe it (dearest) ther s not one I'th'Court so comly. I prithee stay. (émg) I must away, Lets kiss first, then we'l sever. Ambo. And though we bid adieu to day, Wee shall not part for ever. ("A Dialogue betwixt himselfe and Mistresse Elizabeth Wheeler . . .," 11. 9—12, 17-24) The pleasures of love, already judged as inferior to virtuous behavior, he now contemptuouslyiabandons;2 and the life to which he has tenaciously clung, he now wishes were ended: Il'd write no more of Love; but now repent Of all those times that I in it have spent. Ile write no more of life; but wish twas ended, And that my dust was to the earth commended. ("On Himselfe") The Hesperides proper is finished: Part of the worke remaines; one part is past: And here my ship rides having Anchor cast. ("The end of his worke") 157 He commend$ it, then, to go forth: Goe thou forth my books, though late; Yet be timely fortunate. If thou know'st not where to dwell, See, the fier's by: Farewell. ("To his Booke") -—--——— The effect of these poems is once more to remind the reader that as time passes, all things change. OccasiOn- ally, as he has previously suggested, change brings improvement (see "Anacreontike"). But usually, he insists, time causes decay. Sour vinegar is but over-aged wine ("Upon Vinegar"). Rags are clothes grown old and worn ("Raggs"). And men, too, decay with time: Thou seest me Lucia this year droope, Three Zodiaks IIIITd more I shall stOOpe; Let Cruthces then provided be To shore up my debilitie. ("Crutbhes") This section, then, like all others, is greatly con- cerned with tranSience.5 Its answer, as we have seen in other sections, is to live a virtuous life, to exercise reason, and to trust to poetry for immortality. As indicated earlier ( in the discussion of Section Two) Herrick believes that all the truths necessary for men to live happily and successfully are available to them if they will only observe their surroundings and listen to wise thinkers. Whether or not a man chooses to follow the advise he receives depends upon two factors. If he is the sort of person who is innately given to rational behavior, 158 his conscience will force him to obey the rules. If, how- ever, he is given to thoughtlessness or self-seeking, he must be controlled by his society in order to protect the community. In other words, all men need rules: Men must have Bounds how farre to wolke; for we Are made farre worse, by lawless liberty. ("Rules for our reach") ~Some men also need a strong government to enforce the rules. For that reason, Herrick devotes many poems to how a king may successfully lead his people. He warns the head of the state that his position is secure only as long as he has the consent of his subjects ("Obedience"). It therefore behooves the king, Herrick says, to act in such a way that his people will offer support and loyalty. He -must be strong ("Strength to support Soveraignty" and "Upon Kings"); but he must rule with a gentle hand( see "Gentlenesse"). He must be wary of severe punishment ("Patience"); else the kingdom will fall“ ("Rapine brings Ruine"). It is important to note that several such poems (especially the last mentioned) apply equally to Charles and Cromwell. It is also possible to infer, as suggested earlier, that Herrick is in his many admitions to the king suggesting partial disapproval of Charles' reign. Yet, he is, as always, interested in the establishment of a just, lasting government to remove-from England the turmoil of war. For that reason, he continues throughout the last section of the Hesperides proper to pledge his 159 loyalty to Charles, recognizing him as the lawful ruler of his country. (See "To the King, upon his welcometo Hampton- Court".) uuch loyalty is, Herrick believes, one of the impor- tant attributes of a wise and therefore virtuous man. "The citizen who would protect his society and thereby assure for himself a stable community must honor his king and obey his laws. The man who would, in addition, achieve personal hap- piness must humble himself before nature and wise advice and follow the most important ethical precept--moderation. In a series of five epigrams, Herrick urges us to consider all those ideas: "Moderation," "Advice the best actor," "Conformity is comely," "Lawes," "The meane." Elsewhere in the section Herrick further discusses those rules. Moderation, he repeats, is the sine qua non of moral behavior; for temperance is the "Conclave" (the dwelling place) of virtue: Excesse is sluttish: keepe the meane; for why? Vertue's clean Conclave is sobriety. ("Excesse") Where Pleasures rule a Kingdome, never there Is sober virtue seen to move her sphere. ("Pleasures Pernicious") Thus, we can drink wine andenjoy love, but not to foolish excess: Drinke up Your Cup, But not spill Wine; For if you Do 'Tis an ill signe; 160 2. That we Foresee, You are cloy'd here, If so, no Hoe, But avoid here. ("A Bachanalian Verse") The important virtues which accompany moderation are modesty, chastity, contentment with little, and good manners, discussed in "More modest, more manly," "Bastards," "Not to covet much where little is the charge," and "Good manners at meat."5 The lack of virtue, Herrick sees as a disease-- specifically as a kind of "leprosie." .The symptoms of the illness may appear in one's manner of dress: When flowing garmets I behold Enspir'd with Purple, Pearle, and Gold; I think no other but I see In them a glorious leprosie That do's infect, and make the rent More mortall in the vestiment. Ag flowrie vestures doe descrie The wearers rich immodestie; _ Sp plaine and simple cloathes doe show Where vertug walkes, not those that flow. ("Leprosie in Cloathes") Or the disease may spread throughout a household, infecting each of the members with intemperance, lack of discipline, and incivility: When to a House I come, and see The Genius wastefull, more then free; The servants thumblesse, yet to eat, With lawlesse tooth the floure of wheate: The Sonnes to suck the milke of Kine, More than the teats of Discipline: ‘The Daughters wild and loose in dresse; Their cheekes unstain'd with shamefac'nesse: 161 The Husband drunke, the Wife to be A Baud to incivility: I must confesse, I there descrie, A House spred through with Leprosie. ("Leprosie in houses") Herrick does not, as in Sections Five and Six, emphasize the importance of religion. He does include a series of "charmes" (H-1065, H-1064, H—lO65) and a description of the "Hag" (H-1122). In addition, he F includes "To Julia" (H-974), "Ceremony upon Candlemas Eve," "Saint Distaffs day, or the morrow after Twelfth day," "Twelve Night, or King and Queeen, "His last request to Julia," "The soul is the salt," "To Julia" (H-1069). T‘FVB‘I . Dut none of those poems can be considered a truly religious piece. They center primarily upon superstition, folk customs, and holiday entertainment. It appears that Herrick has reverted to his former dependence upon rationally achieved virtue for bringing happiness and success. In keeping with that "reversion," the poet no longer looks toward Heaven in his hope for immortality. His own poetic achievement will, he insists, suffice to bring him everlasting flame. He is prepared to work hard, he says in "Parcell-gil't-Poetry"; and he will not haste toward publication: Let others to the Printing Presse run fast, Since after death comes glory, Ile not haste. ("Posting to Printing") As he approaches the coming forth of his book, he has some ‘[Lillv iii! I 162 fear that it will be rejected, but he remains confident that the muses will mourn when he is dead: The work is done: Young men, and maidens set Upon my curles the Mirtle Coronet, Washt with sweet ointments; Thus at last I come To suffer in the Muses Martyrdome: But with this comfort, If my blood be shed, The Muses will weare blackes, when I am dead. ("On Himselfe," H-ll28) It is this faith in the real worth of his work which allows him to promise Michael Oldisworth that his fame is secure by the inclusion of his name in the book ("To the most accomplisht Gentleman Michael Oulsworth") and which permits him to see the end of his book as the beginning of ever- lasting life: The bound (almost) now of my book I see, But yet no end of those therein or me: Here we begin new life; while thousands quite Are lost, and theirs, in everlasting night. ("On his Booke") The strongest statement of hope for his book is the next to last poem in the Hesperides proper. There he says that poetry, because it is not constructed of material things,6 forms a monument which will never decay. It is "charm'd and enchanted," so it can withstand the forces of man and nature, impervious to changes in the government. It is, in other words, self—sufficient and everlasting: 165 FAmes pillar here, at last, we set, Out-during Marble, Brasse, or £33, Charde and enchanted so, As to withstand the blow Of overthrow: Nor shall the seas, Or OUTRAGES Of storms orebear What we up-rear, Tho Kingdoms fal, This pillar never shall Decline or waste at all; But stand for ever by his owne Firme and well fixt foundation. p ("The pillar of Fame") But Herrick does not wish to leave us with the i idea that, as important as one's work is, it should be the only prupose of his life. Fame, Herrick recognizes, , usually comes only after death; therefore, the kind of life one leads is as important as his working to achieve greatness. And the man who wishes truly to live rather than waste his life, must strive for virtue: He lives, who lives to virtue: men who cast Their ends for Pleasure, g2 not live, but last. ("On himself," H-IOBB, 11. 5-6) The man who lives for virtue need not fear death, even if he cannot hope for everlasting fame: For truth I may this sentence tell, Np man dies 111, that liveth well. (“A good death“) Consequently, Herrick chooses as the last poem of the Hesperides proper a statement which assures us that despite the frolicsome nature of much of his poetry, his life has 164 been chaste. He trusts to poetry because it alone "escapes the greedy funeral pyre"; but he also wishes it known that his life has been well—spent: To his Book's end this last line he'd have plac't, Jocund his Muse was; but his Life was chast. Herrick, then, throughout the conclusion of the Hesperides proper, continues to insist upon the importance of virtue. But despite his statements that the ethical man will find happiness, I do not think we can at this point classify the poet as a truly happy man. He has chosen "for the best" by dedicating himself to good works, but his dedication seems essentially joyless. His "chastity" has brought him a sense not of fulfillment but of empty victory over the flesh. He has yet to effect within himself that joyous union of ethical concern and religious fervor which he will find in total commitment to Christ:7 1T VIII. HIS NOBLE NUMBERS: HERRICK'S TOTAL COMMITMENT TO GOD As discussed above, we see evidence throughout the -,", seventh section of the Hesperides that it is arranged as a conclusion. There the poet bids farewell to various beloved people and places and to the Hesperides proper. Yet we HT. I l ' _t‘ Aim-n« _m -- find in turning to His Noble Numbers that Section Seven does more than conclude a portion of Herrick's work. It serves as a farewell to a chapter in Herrick's life—-to the contradictions and despair occasioned by his clinging to erroneous beliefs and attitudes. In His Nlee Numbers Herrick's voice assumes a tone of new hope. That portion of his work begins with a con- fession and a prayer for absolution. In the first poem he acknowledges the exercise of his "wanton wit"“in previous poems. The second poem begs forgiveness for all his "unbaptized Phimes" and asks favor for any which may merit benediction: Look how our foule Dayes do exceed our faire: And as our bad, more then our good Works are: Ev'n sathose Lines, pen'd by my wanton Wit, Treble the number of these good I've writ. ("His Confession") For Those my unbaptized Rhimes, Writ in my wild unhallowed Times; For every sentence, clause and word, That's not inlaid with Thee, (my Lord) 165 166 Forgive me God, and blot each line Out of my Book, that is not Thine. But if, 'mongst all, thou find'st here one Worthy thy benediction; That One of all the rest, shall be The Glory of my Work, and Me. ("His Prayer for Absolution") It is important to note, I think, that Herrick does not here discount the importance of poetry. He asks God to pardon his poems' many flaws but does not suggest that creating poetry is a lowly endeavor. The same idea is found in a later poem, "To Uod," in which the poet again asks forgiveness for placing Him in "so meane a seat" and asks for His blessing on the book. It is his belief that God will bless his book, making it divine, which takes from N-115 a sense of the poet's conceit in linking his work with the Bible: Thy Crosse, my Christ, fixt 'fore mine eyes sho'd be, Not to adore that, but to worship Thee. So, here the remnant of my dayes I'd spend, Reading Thy Bible,and my Book; so end. ("His wish to God," 11. 9-IE) Herrick, then, has not lost his assurance that his book is worthwhile, but he has changed his idea of what qualifies poetry must have to be "good." The Hesperides has stated that "wanton carriages" are necessary to please the reader (H-914); and he has in that prt of his work been interested only in pleasing men. But His Noble Numbers defines "good" poetry as that which is righteous: it is worthwhile only if it pleases God. And as Herrick lifts his attention from man to God, the many conflicts and 16? problems presented in t‘e first part of his work are resolved. Following "His Prayer for Absolution" is a sequence which tells us of God's incomprehensible nature. The first poem there, based like several in the Hesperides proper on the "impossibility theme," states the impossibil- ity of seeing God ("To finde God").1 The second poem, ironically titled "What God is," poses a paradox: that since God is beyond our understanding or judgment, he is best known When we do not attempt to perceive a limit to His being: God is above the sphere of our esteem, And is the best known, not defining Him. God, Herrick continues, is not only a being, but exists above or beyond being: God is not onely said to be An Ens, but Supraentitie. His primary qualities, we learn in "Mercy and Love2"are mercy and love. He is constant in those qualities, Herrick says;.He only seems to alter His attitude because we change ("Gods Anger without Affection"). The sequence ends with a further statement of God's incomprehensible nature and Our difficulty in finding Him: 'Tis hard to finde God, but to comprehend Him, as He is, is labour without end. ("God not to be comprehended") The next twenty-four poems concern our relationship with God in regard to sin. "Three fatall Sisters" warns 168 3 that sin always causes suffering: Three fatall Sisters wait upon each sin; fiirst Fear and Shame without, then Guilt within. So oppressive is the burden of sin that it takes the place of various malignant supernatural creatures presented in the Hgsperideg proper as objects of fear. In the former book there are several poems which express terror of the Goblin, sprite, or Hag and suggest charms or rites as pro- tection against the creatures that come in the night. "The Bell-man" depicts the town crier's_b1éssing to the sleeping populace, wishing them freedom from murders, "mischances" in the night, and the Goblin. (Hé299) gig Noble Numbers, too, includes two poems which speak of the "Bell4man" and fear in the night. But Herrick's terror is no longer directed toward the "Goblin"; he now fears his own propensity for sin and the judgment which will follow guilt. In "Cock-crow" the Bell—man is a rooster. Herrick asks that the cock warn him as it warned Saint Peter of his transgression: Bell-man of Night, if I about shall go For to denie my Master, do thou crow. In the second poem the Bellman urges the sinful to repent before the day of judgment: Scores of sins w'ave made here many, Wip't out few, (God knowes) if any. Rise ye Debters then, and fall To make paiment, while I call. 169 By contrast, Herrick defines "true mirth" as know- ledge that we have not sinned: True mirth resides not in the smiling skin: The sweetest solace is to act no sin. ("Mirth") In this poem we see the change in Herrick's attitude toward morality as he moves from the man—centered Hesperides proper to the God-centered Noble Numbers. As previously mentioned, the former book sees virtue only as a means of gaining personal comfort and social stability. To be virtuous, Herrick has said, brings not pleasure but con- tentment. In fact, Herrick seems in the Hesperides proper to view almost any kind of enjoyment as endangering one's dedication to right conduct. But by viewing virtue not as a service to man but an affirmation of his closeness to God, the poet finds sinlessness itself productive of happiness ("true mirth"). Nor must Herrick any longer spend endless hours (and poems) reasoning what actions.are best. God is ever vigilant and keeps the man who bows to His will on the right path: God when for sin He makes His Children smart, His own He acts not, but anothers part: But when by stripes He saves them, then 'tis known, He comes to play the part that is His own. ("God has a twofold part") On those with hardenend hearts, He inflicts punishment; bqt to those who listen, His "whip" becomes a method of guidance: I,"IA._1' 170 Gdd has his whips here to a twofold end, The bad to punish, and the good t'amend. ("Whips It) Afflictions, then, are not evidence of Fortune's capricious nature (cf. H-520), but are profitable both to the onlooker and the sufferer: Afflictions they most profitable are To the beholder, and the sufferer: Bettering them both, but by a double straine, The first by patience, and the last by paine. ("Persecutions profitable") 01...“? What may appear to us as only cruel pain, Herrick continues P? — T vrflmw-‘-, ./ in "Persecutions purifie," is God's method of strength- ening and purifying us. Man's best course, therefore, is to accept his suffering as proof of God's care and to follow the path down which God's "whips" drive him. He must turn to God not in searCh of understanding but with prayers and praise: Prayers and Praises are those spotlesse two Lambs, by the Law, which God requires as due. ("Gods part") The sort of prayer one should offer is exemplified in "To God: An Anthem, sung in the Uhappell at White-Hall, before the King" and in "His Ejaculation to God": My God! looke on me with thine eye Of pittie, not of scrutinie; . _ For if thou dost, thou then shalt see Nothing but loathsome sores in mee. 0 then! for mercies sake, behold These my irruptions manifold: and heale me with thy looke, or thouch: But if thou wilt not deigne so much, Because I'me odious in thy sight, Speak but the word, and cure me quite. 171 But while His Nlee Numbers is essentially a state- ment of religious faith, Herrick does not totally ignore the mundane. Though none of the poems here is directly addressed as a compliment to the King, Herrick does acknowledge that several are sung in Charles' presence: "To God: An Anthem,sung in the Chappell at White-Hall, before the King," "A Christmas Caroll, sung to the King in the Presence at White-Hall," "The New-yeeres Gift, or Circumcisions Song, sung to the King in the Presence at WhiteLHall," "Another New-yeeres Gift, or Song for the Circumcision," "The Star-Song: A Caroll to the King; sung at White-Hall." In those poems Herrick reflects his belief that the King, as head of the Church of England, is worthy of a pious man's praise and recognition. In addition, if we accept W.C. Hazlitt's conjecture that Herrick "may have had some subordinate post in the Chapel noyal,"4 it is possible to infer that his attentions to Charles are in part a result of his being in the royal employ. But he is, in any event, aware that during his lifetime his duty lies in glorifying both his God and his King: How am.I bound to Two! God, who doth give The mind; the King, the meanes whereby I live. ("God and King") In this last poem we observe an attitude directly opposite that in "His Wish," poem 155 of the Hesperides: It is sufficient if we pray To J ve, who gives, and takes away: Let him the Land and living finde; Let me alone to fit the mind. 172 This poem suggests that the gods are responsible for pro- viding man with material goods, but that the "mind" (ideas and emotions) is the province of man.5 The former poem contends that God is the purveyor of hope and comfort; the King, responsible for material welfare. That idea is extended in "Prayer," in which Herrick maintains that we must not ask God for wealth: b A Prayer, that is said alone, Starves, having no companion. Great things ask for, which ne're decay. Pray not for silver, rust eats this; Ask not for gold, which metall is: Nor yet for houses, which are here But earth: such vowes nere reach Gods eare. _......_A.L4a. _ 1.x. .1', ‘ ' tf'~ ‘ . :1 The idea is further discussed in "To God." .However, Herrick does not intend us to think that God is careless of our human needs. He believes that God supplies, if not always an abundance, material sufficient to sustain us in order that we may offer our thankful hearts to Him: Thou mak'st my teeming Hen to lay Her egg each day: Besides my healthfull Ewes to beare Me twins each yeare: The while the conduits of my Kine Run Creame, (for Wine.) All these, and better Thou dost send Me, to this end, That I should render, for my part, A thankfull heart; Which fir'd with incense, I resigne, As wholly Thine; But the acceptance, that must be, My Christ, by Thee. ("A Thanksgiving-to God, for his House," '11. 45-58) In this poem we read Herrick's final acceptance of his 175 6 . . . poverty. No longer do we sense, as in the Hesper1des proper, a conflict between his insistence that we must be "content with little" and his obvious desire for more. Once he looks at all he owns as a gift from God (although His human agent may be the King), Herrick no longer needs to remind himself that he must be "content"; he i joyful that God has indicated His care by providing him with even a "little" house. Of course, Herrick con- tinues, not all men are equally wealthy. Some live in abundance; others are poor. But we must accept that appa- rent inequality as part of God's plan both to teach us patience and to show His bountiful nature: GOD co'd have made all rich, or all men poore; But why He did not, let me tell wherefore: Had all been rich, where then had Patience been? Had all been poore, who had His bounty seen? ("Riches and Poverty") Seen in this light, poverty itself appears a gift; and our possessions, however small, seems a "sup'rabundant" plenty ("To God," N—66). Another gift, the most important ever bestowed, is Christ.7 So necessary is Christ to our welfare that Herrick arranges gig nglg Numbers so we may follow from the Old Testament perception of God to Christ's birth, His death, and resurrention. The first thrity—two poems of the book contain no mention of Christ. Then, N-55, "An Ode of the Birth of 8 N-59. "To His Saviour, a Child; a Present, by a Child,"urges the our Saviour," celebrates Christ's coming to earth. 174 offering of a flower to the infant Jesus. That poem is followed by "The New—yeeres Gift." N-96 continues the Christmas celebration with "A Uhristmas Caroll . . ." N—97 celebrates the festival of the Circumcision, January 1, with "The New—yeeres uift . . ." and is followed by "Another New-yeeres Gift . . ." (N-98). N-lOE, "The Star-Song," is sung in celebration of Epiphany on January 6. The last poem concerned with the CHristmas season is "To His Saviour . . ." (N-l25). N-l67 ("Christs words on the Crosse, My God, My God") begins Herrick's focussing on Christ's death. "Observation" (N-lBO) describes Mary's vigil at the cross; and N-183 ("The Virgin Mary") and N-l92 ("Upon woman and Mary") both pay homage to the Virgin as the mother of Jesus. N-l95 ("The Fast, or Lent") and N-228 ("To Keep a true Lent") comment on the tradition and proper obser- vance of the last days before Easter. The last poems in the book form a sequence which moves from Christ's going to the cross to His resurrenction, The first poem in the sequence, "Good Friday: Rex Tragicus, or Christ going to His Cross," describes the many tor- mentors who surround Him on His journey. The next, "His words to Christ, going to the Cross." begs that the poet may not, like the disciples, flee from Christ. "Another, to his Saviour" repeats Herrick's wish to follow Christ and either share His suffering or relieve His pain. whe fourth poem, "His Saviours words, going to the Cross," asks whether there is no one to pity Him or one to realize 175 that in His suffering He removes the bitter cup of death from all men. In answer to that plea, Herrick presents "His “nthem, to Christ on the Crosse" (N-267). N—268 is 9 an untitled pattern poem formed in.the shape of the cross. It is followed by "To his Saviours Sepulcher: his Devotion" (N-269) in which the speaker kisses the tomb and asks to spend his "eternitie" buried with Christ. In the next poem, "His Offering, with the rest at the Sepulcher" (N-270), he offers a "Virgin-Flower" to Christ, as he urged the child to do in N-59. The last poem in the sequence, "His coming to the Sepulcher," expresses the speaker's amazement and happiness at finding Christ's tomb empty. He vows to follow Him even into Hell, where he has gone, according to various authorities, to raise up those who believed in His coming but who died before they could be baptized in His name. I do not mean to imply by the above discussion that His Neble Numbers follows the events of Christ's life in strict chronological order. His words to Martha ("Martha, Martha," N-174) are preceded by His words on the cross (N-167). "Cock—crow" (N-45) is placed between poems which celebrate Christ's birth (N—55) and the New Year (N-60). But it does seem that Herrick intends the book as a record of his spiritual advancement, which corresponds to the movement of the church calendar. As indicated above, the first thirty-two poems of gig Noble Numbers contain no mention of Christ. In those pieces Herrick centers upon God as a merciful, but primarily 176 stern and jealous God. He is, Herrick says, "not to be comprehended"; and our way to Him is difficult to find. This idea is further developed in two later poems. The first, "To his ever-loving God," suggests the torment of a man who craves oneness with God but who is held back: Can I not come to Thee, my God, for these be very-many-meeting hindrances, That slack my pace; but yet not make me stay? Who slowly goes, ride (in the end) his way. Cleere Thou my paths, or shorten thou my miles, Remove the barrs, or lift me o're the stiles: Since rough the way is, help me when I call, And take me up; or els prevent the fall. I kenn my home; and it affords some ease, To see far off the smoaking Villages. Fain would I rest; yet covet not to die, For fear of future—biting penurie: No, no, (my God) Thou know'st my wishes be To leave this life, not loving it, but Thee. The second poem, similar in theme to Herbert's "Easter Wings," states the apparentJimpossibility of earth—bound . . ~ ‘ 10 man's r1s1ng toward Heaven: Thou bidst me come; I cannot come; for why, Thou dwel'st aloft, and I want wings to flie. To mount my Soule, she must have pineons given; r‘or, 'tis no easie way from Earth to Heaven. ("Another") As Herrick looks to God, he believes in His mercy, but seems to feel only his harshness and anger: Thy scourge of steele, (Ay me!) I feele, Upon me beating ever: While my sick heart With dismall smart Is disacquainted never. ("To his angrie God," 11. 15-18) 177 Nor does God alone chasten and judge him. His conscience records each lapse into sin, and he therefore suffers both from fear of God's retaliation and his own knowledge of trespass ("To his Uonscience"). Thus, the early poems in Hip nglg Numbers express Herrick's desire to do well--to please God so that he may come closer to Him. But always his fear, his sense of inadequacy, and his sinful nature hold him back. However, Christ's birth having been announced in N-55, Herrick begins in N-75 to see Christ as the solution to his pre— dicament. Following "His Conscience," we find a poem which declares Christ as the poet's only hope for being cleansed of the guilt and sin which weigh him down: LORD, I confesse, that Thou alone are able To purifie this my Augean stable: Be the Seas water, and the Land~all SOpe, Yet if Thy Bloud not wash me, there's no hope. ("To his Saviour") Comforted by the knowledge that Christ can cleanse him, Herrick presents "His Creed" (N-78) in which he states his confidence that he will have eternal life through Christ's mercy. In "To God" (N-lO5), a poem which immediately succeeds "The Star-Song," Herrick resumes his lament upon his inadequacy. He acknowledges his many gifts (Christ being the greatest) but fearfully confesses that he can pay none of the debts he owes: 178 With golden Censers, and with Incense, here, Before Thy Virgin-Altar I appeare, To pay Thee that I owe, since what I see In, or without; all, all belongs to Thee: Where shall I now begin to make, for one Least loane of Thine, half Restitution? (11. 1-6) ‘ But closely following this confession, we find Herrick again tabulating his debts—-assured now that Christ has already paid all the poet owes: Last night I drew up mine Account, And found my Debits to amount To such a.height, as for to tell How I sho d pay, 's impossible: Well, this I'le do; my mighty score Thy mercy—seat I'le lay before; but therewithall I'le bring the Band, Which, in full force, did daring stand, Till my hedeemer (on the Tree) Made void for millions, as for me. Then, if Thou bidst me pay, or go Unto the prison, I'le say, no; Christ having paid, I nothing owe: For, this is sure, the Debt is dead By Law, the bond once cancelled. ("The Summe, and the Satisfaction") The book continues in this way (the poet, overcome with guilt and fear, despairing, but then, reminded of Christ's love and mercy, looking upward with new hope) until N-l67, "Christ's words on the Crosse, My God, My God." From that point on, Herrick talks increasingly less about God's sternness and more and more frequently about the miracle of Christ's incarnation, death and resurrection. "Christs Incarnation" tells us that Christ chose to take human form because We have need of Him. It is only His presence, Herrick continues in two later poems, which gives the poet courage to face God ("No 179 coming to God without Christ" and "Another, to God"). Thus, as His Noble Numbers progresses and the story of Christ unfolds, Herrick grows closer to God. His fear and guilt fade away, and his whole mind is focused on knowing the heat of God's "Active Love." To signify how closely his life and work are bound up with service to God, Herrick chooses to declare his work finished just before he begins the final sequence of poems which, as discussed above, narrate the events of the Easter season. His words "The work is done" (referring to his work) must, in juxtaposition to "Good Friday . . .," immediately bring to mind Christ's words "It is finished": The work is done; now let my Lawrell be Given by none, but by Thy seleT-EB-me: That done, with Honour Thou dost me create Thy Poet, and Thy Prophet Laureate. ("To God, N 2 ) After that poem Herrick does not again refer to his book or to his function as a poet. We find, therefore, as the last poem not a farewell to the reader but a statement that God is the beginning and end of all good works, suggesting thereby that Herrick has undergone a total conversion. No longer does he worry how he will find means to live or whether his book will find favor with its audience. His thoughts are totally on the glory of God: Of all the good things whatsoe're we do, God is the APXH, and the TE O too. NOTES Notes to the Introduction 1 For clarity, I will, when it is necessary to dis- tinguish between the first part of Herrick's volume (his "humane" numbers) and the whole volume (including Hip Noble Numbers), refer to the former as "the Hesperides proper.‘ 2 The Poetical Works pf Robert Herrick (London, 1956), p. xxix. 5 Robert Herrick (Paris, 1912), p. 491. 4 Traditionally, all poems in the Hesperides proper are numbered "H--" and those in.Hjs Noble Numbers "N——." 5 (London, 1876), p. cxxii. Grosart, p. cxxi. 7 Grosart, p. cxxii. Grosart suggests that Herrick owned a manuscript of epigrams which he never intended to publish and a separate manuscript of complimentary poems intended to be published by itself. 8 Robert Herrick (London, 1910), p. 108. 9 Delattre, p. 485. 10 Moorman and Delattre are, of course, referring to the Hesperides proper in their remarks. ll Moorman, p. 108 12 p. ix. See Henry Morley's Universal Library (London, 1884), 15 Delattre, p. 487. 1“ Delattre, p. 491. 180 181 15 The prefatory poem is an exception. 16 There are, as we might expect from a Seventeenth- Century printer, many instances in which a letter from a line of type will appear one or two points larger than the other letters in that line. . 17 It is impossible, of course, to indicate the graphic appearance of the titles without access to various sizes of type. 18 J. Max Patrick, The Complete Poetry pf Robert Herrick (New York, 1968), p. 515. 19 The stellar imagery in the poem refers to the appearance of Hesperus, the evening star, at mid—day, an hour after the birth of Prince Charles on.May 29, 1650. It is likely that the title "Hesperides" refers not only to the mythical garden but to the fact that Herrick's poems are inspired by Prince Charles and the daughters of Hesperus, the star which signalled his birth. 20 I, of course, do not intend to suggest that Herrick wrote his poems with the arrangement I have described in mind. Though he apparently re—worked many previously published poems before including them in the Hesperides, (See Grosart's extensive discussion of that subject in his Memorial Introduction) evidence seems to indicate that most of the poems were written many years prior to 1648. 21 See "Comfort in Calamity" and "Conformity is comely," which together essentially repeat the idea found in "Conformitie." Compare also "Some comfort in calamity" and the last couplet of "Conformitie"; "In the darke none dainty" and "No difference i'th'dark"; "Steame in Sacrifice" and "The smell of the Sacrifice"; "Twilight" (H-858) and ' "Twilight" (H-1046); "Losse from the least" and "Meane things overcome mighty"; "Love what it is" and "Upon Love" (H-859). 22 Patrick notes that this inscription "is the same as Ovid, Amores, III,IX,28 except for its first word, defugient (diffpgiunt; effugiunt)." He translates the inscription as "Song alone escapes the greedy funeral pyre." (Patrick, p. 5). 23 Patrick, p. 11 182 2“ ibid. 25 Patrick, p. 449 185 Notes to "Notes Concerning the Texts" 1 The gomplete Poetry of Robert Herrick, ed. by J. Max Patrick, copyright (5) 1965 by’Doubleday and Company, Inc. Reprinted by permission of the publisher. 2 Robert Herrick: Hesperides l648,facsimile edition published by The Scolar Press Limited (Menston, England, 1969). 5 The format of the E. 1090 copy is A4 B-208; 2A-2E8. 4 L.C. Martin, The Poetical Works pi Robert Herrick (London, 1956), p. xxii. Notes to Section One 'Tis not a thousand Bullocks thies Can please those Heav'nly Deities, If the vower don't express In his Offering, Cheerfulness. Here, as in most of the Hesperides-pr0per, Herrick avoids speaking directly to or about the Judeo—Christian uod, preferring to make general references to "the gods" Or to specific Greek or Roman gods. Sometimes "the gods" is a metaphor for "fate." But here and in the poems discussed below, Herrick seems to have in mind Christian rites. 2 A notable exception is "His Wish." 5 This subject is more fully treated in the discussion of Section Two. Other poems which indicate attention to ethics in this section are "Expenses Ekhaust," "Treason," "The Difference Betwixt Kings and Subjects," and "Money gets the masterie." 4 Other poems which state essentially the same idea are "The Weeping Cherry," "The Rosarie," "Cherrie—ripe," and "The Rock of Rubies: and the quarrie of Perls." 5 Other poems which discuss the pain and cruelty of love are "The Dream," "To Love," "Love's play at Push- pin," and "The Scar-fire." 184 6 See also "Upon Silvia, a Mistresse" and "Upon his Sister-in-Law, Mistresse Mercie Herrick’" 7 Other poems which describe sensuous pleasures are "To Perenna," "To Anthea," "The Vision to Electra," and "Soft Musick." 8 Other poems which discuss the nature of love are "Of Love. A Sonet" and "Upon Cupid." 9 I interpret "stock" in its archaic sense of "log" or "block of wood." In this sense the word may be applied to something dull or clumsy. It is also poSsible that Herrick intends the image to reflect the speaker's sex- ual arousal by the dream. But pretty clearly, the main idea here is a contrast between the active sensuality of the vine and the relative deadness of the speaker's actual powers. 10 Patrick, p. 5. ll Italics in the first two lines are mine. 12 Italics in the third and fourth lines are mine. 15 An apparently miscellaneous poem in this section is "Dreames." Notes to Section Two 1 Other poems concerned with the sympathy between man and nature are "Upon Roses," "The Sadnesse of things for Sapho's sicknesse," and "Upon a Virgin Kissing a Rose." 2 Herrick's definition of virtue seems closely allied with the Greek arete, which denotes a functional exce1~ lence. Aristotle and Plato both agree that this excel- lence is necessary for achieving happiness or any other goal. 5 For this idea Herrick is no doubt indebted to the Stoic philosophers whose Stoic doctrine of Nature states that Nature is rational and therefore good. Thus, men must live according to Nature (rationally) if they are to achieve tranquility. See A Critical Introduction to Ethics by Philip Wheelwright, Third Edition (New York, I959), p. 116. 185 4 We find this idea discussed in Aristotle's Nicbmachean Ethics in which he states that the soul achieves moral virtue only in so far'as it is able to control the senses and appetites. 5 Aristotle speaks specifically of health as deriving from moderation. He says: "Strength is destroyed by an excess of bodily exercise; likewise health is destroyed by too much as well as too little food, but is produced, developed, and preserved by a moderate amount." (Nicomachean Ethics, trans. Martin Ostwald. New York, 1962). 6 See Hg Anima iii, 5-10 and Aristotleis Theory 9; Fine Art, translated and with critical commentary by S.H. Butcher (New York, 1951), p. 127. 7 In addition, Herrick defines beauty as embodying the balance exemplified in nature. (See "The Definition of Beauty," H-102). 8 Other poems shich discuss the sorrows of love are "The Cruell Maid" and "Teares and *ongues." As a contrast see "To fl'lectra" and "A Lyrick to Mirth." 9 Herrick's virtuous cavalier bears a striking resemblance to the ideal man described by Epictetus: What aid then should we have ready at hand in circumstances such as these? Why, what else but the knowledge of what is mine and what is not mine, of what is permitted me and what is not? I must die; very well, but must I die groaning? Be fettered; shall it be lamenting? Go into exile: does any one prevent me from going with a smile, cheerful, and serene? (Discourses g; Epictetus, Book I, Chapt. 1) 10 Thomas Hobbes lacks faith in man's ability to understand this principle-—one which nevertheless is followed by "political creatures" such as ants and bees. He says: . . . amongst these creatures the common good differeth not from the private, and being by nature inclined to the private, they procure thereby the common benefit. But man, whose joy consists in comparing himself with other men, can relish nothing but what is eminent. ‘ ' (Leviathan, Part II, Chapter XVII) 186 ll Hobbes continues his criticism of man's political instincts by stating: . . . amongst men there are very many that think themselves wiser and better than the rest; and these strive to reform and inno- vate, one this way, another that way, and thereby bring it into distraction and civil war. (Leviathan, Part II, Chapter XVII) 12 This is the same conclusion to which Hobbes comes. He says: The only way to erect such a common power as may be able to defend them from the in- vasion of foreigners and the injuries of one another, and thereby to secure them in such sort as that by their own industry and the fruits of the earth they may nourish themselves and live contentedly is: to confer all their power and strength upon one man . r . that may reduce all their wills . . . into one will . . . . (Leviathan, Part II, Chapter XVII) 15 Another poem concerned with marriage is "Upon one Lillie who merryed with a maid call'd Rose." 14 See "To the Earle of Westmerland" as a poem which also discusses the power of poetry to immortalize. 15 Other foibles of man are satirized in "Upon Cuffe," "Upon Fone a School-master," "Upon Gryll," "Upon Strut," "Upon Glasco," and "The Custard." See also "Some Comfort in Calamity," "Vertue is sensible of suffering," and "HOpe Heartens" as further ethical commentary. 16 See also "Four things make us happy here," "His Parting from Mistresse Dorothy Keneday," and "Upon Mistresse Elizabeth Wheeler . . ." (H-150). Notes to Section Three 1 Other poems which suggest the pains_of love are "On Gelli-Flowers begotten," "The Bubble. A Song," "Upon Cupid" (H-229), "To the Base. Song," "Impossibilities to his friend," and "The bleeding hand: or, The Sprig of Eglantine given to a maid." 187 2 Other poems which deal with sickness, moral frailty, and the pains of life are "Upon Pagget," "Upon Much—more," "Upon some women," "Upon Luggs," "Upon Grubbs," "Upon Bunce," "Great boast, small rost," "Upon a Physitian," "To Primroses fill'd with morning-dew," and "Upon Groynes." 5 Other poems concerned with transience and death are "To Violets,? "To Perenna,“a Mistresse," "The Plaudite, or end of life," "The Olive Branch," and "Upon the death of his Sparrow." 4 Other poems concerned with the pleasures of love are "Upon a black Twist, rounding the Arme of the Countesse of Carlile," "A Ring presented to Julia," "To Carnations. A Dong," "To the Lark," "Draw Gloves," "The Present: or, The Bag of the Bee," "On Love" (H-249), and "To the Western Wind." 5 While "To Cherry Blossomes" may at first seem similar to emblem poems such as "Divination by a Daffadil" in Section Two, it seems to me that the two poems are actually quite different. In the former poem Herrick uses the daffodil as a center of meditation from which he draws metaphorical significance concerning his own death. By contrast, H-189 is simply a warning that men and blossoms will fade. Hence,-we see in a compar- ison of the two poems evidence of Herrick s altered attitude toward nature. In Section Two the poet turns _to nature as a source of self-knowledge. In Section Three he tends to use the natural metaphor as a vehicle for expressing what he already knows. In addition, while Section Two presents a natural setting as an aid to con- templation, in Section Three Herric tends to see nature as a pleasant background for merriment and metaphorically or literally as a souree of pleasure. For further comment on the Seventeenth-Century view of nature, see Frank Kermode's "The Argument of Marvell's 1Garden'" printed in Seventeenth Centur English Poetry; ed. William R. Keast (New York, 1962;, Joseph H. Summers' "The Poem as_Hierog1yph" printed in the same volume, and Edward W. Tayler's Nature and Art 12 Renaissance Literature (New York, 1964). 6 I mean to suggest by these comments that Herrick's personification of nature in Section Three tends to de- emphasize nature's rational character. 7 In this idea Herrick is not far from Aristotle's belief that man should, through his own faculty of art, fulfill nature's uncompleted purposes and correct any of her defects. (See Physics, ii, 8). 188 8 Other poems which deal with the pleasure of music are "Upon a Gentlewoman with a Sweet Voice" and "Upon her Voice." 9 Patrick notes that "Mistress Pot" may be a vessel to hold liquor, in which case "vertuous" refers to the "efficacy of its contents?" or that Herrick may be addres- sing a real person. I have chosen to read the poem in the former sense because 6f the parallel images found in this poem and "The Welcome to Sack." 10 The last three stanzas are a translation of Ovid's A Amores, III, 9, 59-40 (Patrick, p. 115) and restate the idea found in the inscription on the title page of the Hesperides proper. '4 ‘- . A. 4534:. ‘1'.i"-“- «nu-.2 . 11 Apparently miscellaneous poems in Section Three u are "To Joseph Lord Bishop of Exeter," "Supreme Fortune E falls soonest," "To his friend, on the untuneable Times," "Safety on the Shore," "Upon Sudds a Laundresse," PTO the High and Noble Prince, George, Duke, Marquesse, and Earle of Buckingham," "The comming of goOd luck," and "A Pastorall upon the birth of Prince Charles . . . ." The last poem in the Section,"Mistresse Wheeler, under the Name of the lost Shepardesse," suggests the theme of Section Four. W Notes to Section Four London, 1952. Kermode, p. 14. Kermode. p. 19. Kermode, p. 44. Kermode, p. 45. 6 Kermode, p. 14. 7 Again, let me emphasize that not all the details of Herrick s ideal realm are pastoral. 8 Patrick, p. 148. 189 9 Other complimentary poems, some not allied with the pastoral tradition, are "To his honoured Kinsman Sir William Soame," "To the Lady Mary Villars," "To the most fair and lovely Mistress Anne Soame," "A Panegerick to Sir Lewis Pemberton," "To his peculiar friend Master Thomas Shapcott, Lawyer," "To the right Honourable Mildmay, Earle of Westmorland," "To his Honoured Kinsman, Sir Richard Stone," "To his Brother in Law Master John Wingfield," "Another upon her," "Upon Mistresse Susanna Southwell her cheeks," "Upon her eyes," "Upon her feet," "To his honoured friend, Sir John Mynts," "To his Maid Prew,+ "To his worthy friend Master Thomas Falconbirge," "To Mistresse Dorothy Parsons," "To the most accomplisht Gentleman, Master Edward Norgate , , .," "To Master Denham . . .," "To Sir Clipsebie Crew," "To the right honourable Philip, Earle of Pembroke, and Montgomerie," "Upon his kinswoman Mistresse Bridget Herrick," and "To the right gratious Prince, Lodwick . . . ." 10 Although this poem is not specifically pastoral throughout, it does exemplify the pastoral poets' use of natural imagery and the concept of innocent wanton- ness and it does give the reader a sense of distance from the harshness of the real world. 11 Other poems which praise the pleasures of marriage are "To Rosemary and Baies," "The Tythe. To the Bride," "A nuptiall Verse to Mistresse Elizabeth Lee . . .," "The Entertainment or Porch-verse . . .," and "The good- night or filessing." 12 Other poems concerned with death or transience are "Upon a child that dyed," "His embalming to Julia," "To Flowers," "Upon Wrinkles," "To Blossoms," "Man's dying- place uncertain," "Upon his departure hence," "To a Bed of Tulips," "Precepts," "Upon himself" (H-507), "0n Jone," "Great Spirits Supervive," "None free from fault," "On Himself," "His own Epitaph," "No despight to the dead," "To his verses," "Upon a child" (H-640), "Never too late to dye," "The Rosemarie branch," "The Dreame," "His Windin Sheet," "Upon his gray haires," "Upon his Kinswoman M stris Elizabeth Herrick," "Upon himself being buried," "To his Tomb-maker," "Upon a comely and curious Maide," "Upon the losse of his Finger," "Upon a Maide," "Glorie," "An Epitaph upon a virgin," "Large »Bounds doe but bury us," "To his lovely Mistresses," "To Julia" (H-499), "To Julia" (H-584), "Upon an old man a Residenciarie." Related poems--those based on the carpe diem theme-~are "To live Freely," "To enjoy the Time," "Anacreontike," "An end decreed," "To Youth," "To nlectra" (H-545), "On himselfe" (H-519). 190 13 Other poems which describe the pleasures of love are "Upon Julia's unlacing herself," ”The Lawne," "The Poet loves a Mistresse, but not to marry," ”Short and long both likes," "Upon the nipples of Julia's breast," "Fresh Cheese and Cream," "The Braclet to Julia," "I call and I call," "The Kisse. A Dialogue," "Upon a delaying Lady," "Upon his Julia," "On Julia's picture," "Her Bed," "Her Legs," "To Electra," "To Anthea" (H-678), "Upon Lucia" (H-599), "The Night-piece, to Julia," "To Marygolds," "To Dianeme" (H—558), "Kissing and Bussing," "Change Gives Content," "Laugh and lie down," "The Silken snake," "A Kisse" (H-622), "To Oenone" (H—446), "The Jimmall Ring or True—love-knot," "Upon Julia's haire fill'd with Dew," "Another on her," "To Anthea" (H-267), "Chop-Cherry," "To his Valentine on S. Valentines day," "Love lightly pleased;" "In the darke none dainty," "To Julia . . ." (H-559), "To Virgins" (H-297), "Upon Love" (H-458), "Of love," "To the ladys," "Deniall in women no disheartening," By contrast, the sorrows of love are discussed in "Upon Love" (H-509), "Upon himself," "Another" (H-408), "To Dprings and Fountains," "To Sycamores," "The Willow Garland," "To Perenna" (H-47l), "Upon himselfe" (H-490), "Upon Love" (H—628), "Upon Love" (H-655), "The Primrose," "No lack in Love," "A charme or an alley for Love," "To the little Spinners," "To Groves," "To Jealousie," "How Springs came first," "Upon Love" (H-565), "Upon Irene," "To jealousie." 14 Patrick, p. 247. 15 Other poems concerned with the fairies are "On himselfe" (H-506) and "The Beggar to Mab, the Fairie Queen." 16 Other poems which describe the pleasures of the bucolic life are "An Ode to Sir Clipsebie Crew" and "The Wassail." See also "Ambition" (H-66l). Herrick's warnings against ambition resemble Bacon's remarks in "Of Great Place": Men in great place are thrice servants—- servants of the sovereign or state, servants of fame, and servants of business. So as they have no freedom, neither in their per- sons, nor in their actions, nor in their times . . . . Certainly men in great place are strangers to themselves, and while they are in the puzzle of business they have no time to tend their health either of body or mind. (Printed in Seventeenth Century Prose and Poetry, edited by A.M. Witherspoon and Frank J. Warnke (new York, 1965). 191 For further comments on this theme, see Maren-Sofie Rostvig, "The Happy Man: Studies in the Metamorphoses of a Classical Ideal. Vol I. 1600— 1700 (Morwegian University Press, 1962). 17 patrick proposes (p. 204) that the poet's income was approximately thirty-five pounds per year. 18 Other poems concerned with financial matters and poverty are "Reverence to Riches," "Upon Bungie," "Gold, before Goodnesse," "Upon Cuts," "His Almes," "Poverty and Riches," "Again," "Littleness no cause of Leannesse," "Upon Huncks," "The Covetous still CaptiVes." 19 Other evidence of Herrick's personal problems and their adverse effect on his poetry is founiin "On himself" (H-552), "The Poet hath lost his pipe," "The departure of the good Daemon." 20 Further evidence of Herrick's discontent in the country is found in "To his Household gods." 21 Other faults of the government and the populace are condemned (or an opposite virtue suggested) in "Prevision or Provision," "Obedience in Subjects," "More potent, lesse peccant, "Upon himselfe" (H-285), "Upon Shark," "Merits make the man," "Vertue," "Bribes and Gifts get all," "Upon Greedy," "Clemency," "To a Gentlewoman on just dealing," "The power in the people," "Upon her Almes," "Long and lazie," "Upon Ralph," "Upon Mease," "Upon Paske a Draper," "Upon Prigg," "Upon Moon,"' "Upon Shift," "Upon Skrew," "Upon Glasse," "A just man," "Lots to be liked," "Upon Raspe," "Empires," "The Crowd and company," "Pollicie in Princes," "Shame, no statist," "Upon Magot, a frequenter of Ordinaries," "Discord not disadvantageous," "Ill Government," "Pitie to the prostrate," "The credit of the conqueror," "Upon Sibilla," "True ‘ Friendship," "Upon Urles," "Upon a free Maid, with a foule breath, " "Cruelty base in Commanders," "Little and loud, " "Lawes, " "Like Pattern, like people," "Purposes," "Upon Share, an Usurer," "Upon Grudgings," "The Primitae to Parents, "What kind of M stresse he would have," "Upon Zelot," "Love," "Cruelties," "Health," "Perseverance," "The End," and "Cruelties." 2; A second poem praising Jonson, a sequel to H—582, is "Another" (H—585). A third is "His Prayer to Ben. Johnson." 23 Patrick, p. 215. 192 24 Despite the poem's title, however, the virtues exemplified here are more closely allied with the stoic philosophy than with Christianity. 25 See "Devotion makes the Deity," 26 Other poems of this type are "The Frankincense," "Observation," "To Julia in the Temple," "Upon Prudence Baldwin her Sicknesse," "The Rainbow," "To his Closet- gods," "An Hymne to the Graces," "To Sylvia" (H-570), and "To Silvia" (H—651). 27 Other poems which contrast a past Golden Age with the troublesome present are "To Meddowes" and "His Age 0 o o" (H-556) o 28 Poems which Suggest that it is man's lot to find misery in life are "Crosses," "Miseries," "Events of things not in our power," "Content, not cates," "Griefes," "Few fortunate," "Crosse and pile," "Fortune Favors," "Ship—wrack," "Good luck not lasting," and "His weaknesse in woes." 29 Another poem which deals with the same theme is "Upon himself" (H-566). 50 Other poems which suggest the worth of art are "Upon Sapho, sweetly playing, and sweetly singing," "To his Nephew, to be prosperous in his art of painting," "A Vow to Minerva," "Art above Nature, to Julia," "A Hymne to the Muses," "Fame makes us forward." - By contrast, poems which condemn ladies' artful attempts to make themselves more attractive are "On a perfum'd Lady," "No fault in women," "The Admonition," ."Upon Judith," "Clothes do but cheat and cousen us," and "To Dianeme" (H-405). 51 In the last line "Docility" refers to one's aptness for being taught. cf. Milton's statement: "Nature taught Art." 52 Because of the great length of Section Four, many of the poems there have not been discussed here. Of those poems, most are satires whiCh either criticize human foibles or serve as a contrast to the idyllic beauty of the garden. Others are epigrams which condemn foolish behavior or suggest virtues. The only poems which apparently have little or nothing to do with the themes in Section Four are "The Parting Verse . . .,' "Upon a Lady faire, but fruitlesse," "The broken Christall, " and "Lines have their linings, and Bookes their Buckram. " 195 Notes to Section Five 1 Poems which, nevertheless, recall the pastoral emphasis of Section Four are "A Beucolick, or discourse of Neatherds" and "The Wake." 2 See Plato, Republic II. 3 Other poems concerned with love and sensuous pleasure are "Upon Pusse and her Prentice," "To Oenone" (H-790), "Kisses" (H-797). "How noses came red" (H-706), "Maids nay's are nothing," "A Hymne to Bacchus," "Courage cool'd," "Upon Julia's sweat," "Upon the Roses in Julias bosome," "Upon Julia's Ulothes," "The Maiden- blush," "Orpheus," "Upon Comely a good speaker but an ill singer, epigra," "The Cloud," and "The Amber Bead." 4 Other poems concerned with ethical precepts or the foibles of man are "Fortune," "Meane things overcome mighty," "Upon Sibb," "Upon Smeaton," "Felicitie knows no fence," "Happiness," "Things of choice, long a coming," "Upon Bice," "Upon Trencherman," "Upon Pearch," "Lenitie," "Griefe," "Upon Nodes," "True Safety," "A good Husband," "Upon Paul," "By use comes easiness," "Penitence," "Upon Trigg," "Delay," "To Sir JOhn Berkley . . ." (H-745), "Moderation," "Power and Peace," "A Prognostick," "The invitation," "The Meane," "Haste hurtfull," "Upon Loach." 5 Another poem concerned with poverty is "Poverty the greatest pack." 6 Other poems concerned with poetry and its power to immortalize are "To his deare Valentine, Mistresse Margaret Falconbrige," "Verses," "An Hymne to the Muses," "A Psalme or Hymne to the Graces," "On Poet Prat," "Not every day fit for Verse," and "Fame." 7 Other poems concerned with religious exercise are "The Smell of the Sacrifice," "The Spell," and "To the Genius of his house." 8 Other poems concerned with death are "Proof to no purpose," "Death ends all woe," and "His returne to London." 194 9 Other poems which link religious exercise or concepts with attention to the two divergent philo- sophies are " A Ternarie of littles, upon a pipkin of Jellie sent to a Dady," "The Rainbow or curious Covenant," "A Conjuration, to Electra," "Ceremonies for Christmasse," "Christmas-eve, another Ceremonie," "Another to the Maids," "Another" (H-787). lOPharsalia, VII, 819. The allusion and translation are noted by Patrick, p. 556. 11 The Confessions pf Saint Augustine, trans. Edward ! B. Pusey with an introduction by Harold C. Gardiner, ' S.J. (New York, 1964) p. 81. 12 ibid. 15 The Confessions, p. 82. 1“ ibid. Notes to Section Six 1 The only poems in Section Six concerned with Herrick's high hopes for his work are "To Apollo," "A Request to the Graces," and "To his Booke" (H-960). 2 Other ethically concerned poems are "A defence for women" and "To his Book" (H-899). 3 The exception is the sequence H-857 through H-859 ("To Mistresse Anne Potter," "Upon a Maide," and "Upon Love"), which develops the carpe diem theme. 4 Other poems which stress the importance of moderation are "Surfeits," "The Hony-combe," "Repletion," and "Beauty. " 5 An indication, nevertheless, of Herrick's own love of wine is "To Master Kellam." Other poems which indicate his awareness of approaching death are "On himselfe" (H—860) and "To Electra" (H—875). 195 7 See also "To Julia, in her Dawn or Day-breake," "To Julia," and "Crosses." 8 The Confessions 9; Saint Augustine, p. 105. Notes to Section Seven 1 Other poems which indicate that Herrick is nearing the end of his book are "On Himselfe," "To his Booke," "The end of his Worke," "To Crowne it," "On Himselfe," "The Pillar of Fame," and untitled H—ll50. 2 Poems which, nevertheless, praise love and the merry life are "Anacreontick Verse," "The Vision," "A Vow to Venus," "Nor buying or selling," "The deluge," "To Perenna" (H-lOBl), "On himself" (H-1082), "His Covenant or Protestation to Julia," "The Voice and Violl," and "To Roses in Julia's bosome." He insists, however, that love is a source of pain and must be moderated. See "Upon Love, by way of question and answer," "The Beggar," "His comfort," "Of Love" (H-1075), "On Love".(H-1085), "Another on Love," and "To Cupid" (Ii-1120) o 3 Other poems concerned with transience, sickness, and death are "To Perenna" (H-976), "Upon the Lady Crew," "To Biancha" (H-99l), "His answer to a friend," "A_sonnet of Perilla," "Comfort to a youth that had lost his love," "After Autume, Winter," "On himselfe" (H-109l), "To his Girles who would have him Sportfull," "To his Girles," and "To Anthea" (H-1054). 4 Other comments on the government and Civil War are- found in "To the Lord Hopton, on his fight in Cornwall," "Pardons," "Peace not Permanent," "His desire," "Caution in Counsell," "Warre," "A King and no King," and "Patience." 5 Other virtues (or their lack) are discussed in "Upon Case," "Suspicion.mskes secure," "Upon Faunus," "Care a good keeper," "Seeke and finde," "Upon Buggins," "Like loves his like," "False Mourning," "Diet," "Sincerity," "To his peculiar friend Master John Wicks," "The more"might, the more mercifull," "To Dir George Perrie, Doctor of the Civill Law," "Speake in season," "Another on the same," "Upon Grubs," "Upon Chub," "To his Brother Nicholas Herrick," "Upon Flood, or a thankfull man," "Foolishness," "Upon Rush," "Abstinence," "Sauce for sorrowes," "Distrust," "Great maladies, long Medicines," "The will makes the work . . .," "Smart." 196 .Other philosophical comments on man's nature and the human condition are found in "Feare gets force," "Comforts in Crosses," "Rest," "His change," "Truth and Errour," "Sufference," "Wit punisht, prospers most," "His hope or sheat-anchor," "Recompence," "On Fortune," "Truth and falsehood," "Plots not still prOsperous," and "No danger to men desperate," "Anthea's Retraction," "Twilight, " "On himselfe" (H- 1096), "Ultimus Heroum," "To his Muse, another to the same," "Upon Mudge," "To his learned friend Master John Harmar . . .," "Upon Lupes, " "To his Sister in Law, Mistresse Susanna Herrick, " "On Tomasin Parsons, " "Upon Spokes," "To his kinsman Master Thomas Herrick .- .-.," "Upon Sapho, " "The Quintell," "To the handsome Mistresse Grace Potter," "Upon Pennie," "The Tinkers song, " "Upon Gorgonius," "To the Honoured Master Endimion Porter," "Upon Trap," "Upon Hog, " "The School or Perl of Putney . . .,' "Upon Gut," "To Master Lawrence Swetnaham," "Upon Rumpe," "Upon Shopter," "Upon Deb," "Upon Croot," "Upon Pimpe," "Upon Luske," and "Upon Spur." 6 cf. "Things mortall still mutable." 7 An apparently miscellaneious piece in Section Seven is "His Grange" (HeIOOB), a riddle poem. Notes to His Noble Numbers 1 This poem and N-4 reflect the influence of theologians suCh as St. Anselm, who states: Man was created to see God. Man by sin lost the blessedness for which he was made“. . . . Man cannot seek God, unless he reveals himself . . . . The believer does not seek to understand, that he may believe, but he believes that he may understand . . . . (Proslogium, trans. S. N. Deane, printed in Readings in Religious Philosophy, Geddes MacGregor and J. Wesley Robb, ed. (Boston, 1962), p. 75. 2 In this idea Herrick reflects the remarks of Aristotle concerning the "unmoved mover" in the Metaphysics, XII, 6- 7, in which he states that the eternal" and "unmovable" substance "cannot have any magnitude" and is therefore infinite—-not infinite in magnitude, but "separate from sensible things." See The Basic Works of Aristotle, ed. Richard McKeon (New York, 1941). 197 5 The unity of Herrick's work is enhanced by correspondences between poems (through title, theme, or imagery) found in the Hesperides proper and in His Noble Numbers. "Three fatall Bisters" is an instance in which the Greek myth of the three Fates, alluded to in "The Parcae" (H—47), is here utilzed to express a concept of Christian theology. Other, though not all, instances of that sort are discussed below in the paper. 4 Noted by Patrick, p. 454. 5 In the poem quoted above (H-155) Herrick no dOubt intends us to understand "Jove" as signifying God. 6 In N-47, as in most of His Noble Numbers, we see what John R. Mulder calls a "deliberate simplicity of spirit." (The Temple of the Mind, New York, 1969, p. 124). For further comments on this aspect of Herrick' 5 religious poetry, see "Noble Numbers and the Poetry of Devotion" by Miriam K. Starkman, printed in Reason and the Imagination, Joseph Mazseo, ed. (New York, 1962). 7 "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." John III, 16. 8 It is perhaps not too fanciful to suggest that Herrick chose the thirty-third-poem to announce the birth of Christ in remembrance of His thirty-third year, in which He was crucified. 9 It is significant, I think, that in the Hesperides proper Herrick chooses to include a pattern poem, composed in the shape of a pillar ("The Pillar of Fame") and in His Noble Numbers, a pattern poem in the shape cf the cross. The former poem symbolizes the center of Herrick's hope in the first part of his work--that his poetry will provide a lasting monument to his name, thereby bestowing upon him an "immortality" which will last until the end of the world. The latter poem symbolizes the center of his hope for true immortality—- the cross on which Christ died to give all men eternal -life. ”or a discussion of poems of this type, with special reference to their religious significance, see Joseph Summers' essay "The Poem asHieroglyph," printed in William R. Keast's Seventeenth Century English Poetry, pp. 215-57, and "Typology:Divine Hieroglyphics," ‘ Chapter Six in Mulder's The Temple 2; the Mind. 198 10 Although in Herbert's poem the speaker rises with God's help, the central image and idea are essentially the same in both poems. BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY Patrick, J. Max, ed. The Complete Poetry g3 Robert Herrick. New York, 1968. Robert Herrick: Hesperides 1648. Facsimile edition published by The Scolar Press Limited. Menston, England, 1969. Other works consulted Aiken, Pauline. The Influence pf the Latin Elegists. Orono, Maine, 1952. Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. Translated by Martin Otswald. New York, 1962. Augustine. The Confessions pf Saint Augustine. Translatedsby Edward Pusey with an introduction by Harold C. Gardiner, S.J. New York, 1964. Butcher, S.H. Aristotle's Theory 2; POetry and Fine Art. New York, 1951. Bush, Douglas. English Literature 1n the Earlier Seventeenth Century. Second Edition: Revised. New York, 1962. . The Renaissance and English Humanism. Toronto, 1959: Delattre,-Floris. Robert Herrick. Paris, 1912. Empson, William. English Pastoral Poetry. New York, 1958. Gilbert, A.H. "Robert Herrick on Death," MLQ,V (1944), 61-68 0 Grierson, Sir Herbert. Cross-Currents in English 1 Literature pf the XVIIth Century. London, 1929. Grosart, Alexander B., ed. The Complete Poems 2; Robert Herrick. London, 1876. Keast, William R., ed. Seventeenth Century English Poetry. New York, 1962. 199 200 Kermode, Frank. Englisp Pastoral Poetry from the Beginnings pp Marvell. London, 1952. Lewis, C.S. A Preface 33 Paradise Lost. New York, 1961. Maegregor, Geddes, and J, Wesley Robb, ed. Readings in Religious Philosophy. Boston, 1962. Mahl, Mary R., ed. Seventeenth-Century English Prose. New York, 1968. Mahood, M.M. Poetry and Humanism. New York, 1950. Martin, L.C., ed. The Poetical Works pf Robert Herrick. London, 1956. McCoy, Dorothy S. Tradition and Convention: A Study pf Periphrasis 1p English Pastoral Poetry from 1557- 1215. London, 1965. Mchen, Kathryn A. Classical Influpnce upon the Tribe pf Ben. Cedar Rapids, 1959. McKeon, Richard, ed. The Basic Works pf Aristotle. New York, 1941. Moorman, F.W. Robert Herrick. London, 1910. Mulder, John R. The Temple pf the Mind. New York, 1969. Musgrove, S. The Universe pf Robepp Herrick. Aukland, 1950. Rollin, Roger B. Robert Herrick. New York, 1966. Rostvig, Maren-Sofie. The Happy Man: Studies 3p the Metamorphoses pf 3 Classical Ideal. Vol. I, 1600- 1700. Norway, 1962. Starkman, Miriam K. "Noble Numbers and the poetry of Devotion," printed in Reason and the Imagination , Joseph A. Mazzeo, ed. New York, 1962. pp. 1-27. Summers, Joseph H. "The Poem as Hieroglyph," printed in Seventeenth-Century English Poetry, William R. Keast, Tayler, Edward W. Nature and Art ip Renaissance Literature. .New'York, 1964. Titus, Harold H. Ljving Issues ip Philosophy. New York, 1959- 201 Wheelwright, Philip. A Critical Introduction pp Ethics. Willey, Basil. The Seventeenth Century Background. London, 1954. Williamson, George. Seventeenth—Century Contexts. London, 1960. Witherspoon, Alexander M. and Frank J, Warnke, ed. Seventeenth—Century Prose and Poetry. New York, 1965. "‘9” I . EIK‘A‘L 1a.,r-.-' '1