Edward Taylor, Meditation 43.2

29 Thursday Dec 2022

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Barley-Break, Edward Taylor, Meditation 43, poem, Poetry Analysis, poety

Second Stanza

Nature’s corrupt, a nest of passion, pride,

Lust, worldliness, and such like bubs; I pray,

But struggling find these bow my heart aside.

A knot of imps at barley breaks in’t play. 10

They do enchant me from my Lord, I find

The thoughts whereof prove daggers to my mind.

Notes

He begins with the second stanza with a new sound and an accented syllable:

NAtures corRUPT `- -`

The second line likewise begins with an accented syllable

LUST, WORLDliness,

The effect is to emphasis “nature” and the sins which compose it.

Nature refers to what a human being is by birth, after the time of Adam, one who is infected by original sin. “By spiritual Edwards means “sanctified” in opposition to “carnal,” which signifies the natural or unsanctified man.” Smith, John E. “Editor’s Introduction.” Religious Affections, edited by John E. Smith and Harry S. Stout, Revised edition, vol. 2, Yale University Press, 2009, p. 24.

“That naturally we are not the children of God: we are not born God’s children, but made so. By nature we are strangers to God; swine, not sons, 2 Pet. 2 ult. Will a man settle his estate upon his swine? he will give them his acorns, not his jewels: by nature we have the devil for our father, John 8:44. ‘Ye are of your father the devil.’ A wicked man may search the records of hell for his pedigree.” Watson, Thomas. “Discourses upon Christ’s Sermon on the Mount.” Discourses on Important and Interesting Subjects, Being the Select Works of the Rev. Thomas Watson, vol. 2, Blackie, Fullarton, & Co.; A. Fullarton & Co., 1829, p. 294.

Taylor gives this definition of human nature aside from the work of the Spirit,

a nest of passion, pride,

Lust, worldliness, and such like bubs

A “nest of passion” is a striking image. It sounds like a nest of snakes.

Bub is likely here a mixture of yeast and meal to promote fermentation: Here, the concoction would be vile indeed.

When he turns to pray (I pray), he discovers this his mind and attention are drawn elsewhere, after these sins. Thomas Manton preached a sermon, “How May we Cure Distractions in Holy Duties.” He described the problem in this manner:

First, That there is such a sin, sad experience witnesseth; vain thoughts intrude importunately upon the soul in every duty; in hearing the word we are not free (Ezek. 33:31), nor in singing; but chiefly they haunt us in prayer, and of all kinds of prayer, in mental prayer, when our addresses to God are managed by thoughts alone; there we are more easily disturbed. Words bound the thoughts, and the inconvenience of an interruption is more sensible, as occasioning a pause in our speech; and as in mental prayer, so when we join with others, to keep time and pace with the words, unless the Lord quicken them to an extraordinary liveliness, we find it very hard; but how great a sin this is, is my first task to show.

Manton, Thomas. The Complete Works of Thomas Manton. James Nisbet & Co., 1871, pp. 443–44. Nathanel Vincent preaching on prayer wrote something similar:

Take heed of distraction in prayer, and not minding what you ask, or what you are doing, when at the mercy-seat.—It is great hypocrisy, to be present only in body at the sanctuary; the heart, in the mean while, running away after pleasures, coyetousness, vanity: and this exceedingly provokes the Lord to jealousy; and “are you stronger than he?” (1 Cor. 10:22.)

Nichols, James. Puritan Sermons. Richard Owen Roberts, Publishers, 1981, p. 312. It such a thing which troubles Taylor: he composes himself to pray,

But struggling find these bow my heart aside.

(This painting in the Getty Museum, LA. Artist, Hans Holbein, the Younger (1497-1541) The motto reads, “And so desire carries me along.” The framing for the painting is of a style used for a coat of arms, making the depiction ironic.)

These bubs of sin draw his attention elsewhere. He then goes on to describe this as cluster of devils (“knot of imps”) busy at a game:

A knot of imps at barley breaks in’t play.

To take an image from Faust, it as if devils at hexensabbat. The game he chose is appropriate to the imagery:

BARLEY-BREAK, an old English country game frequently mentioned by the poets of the 17th and 18th centuries. It was played by three pairs composed of one of each sex, who were stationed in three bases or plots, contiguous to each other. The couple occupying the middle base, called hell or prison, endeavoured to catch the other two, who, when chased, might break to avoid being caught. If one was overtaken, he and his companion were condemned to hell. From this game was taken the expression “the last couple in hell,” often used in old plays. Encyclopedia Britanica, 1911 “Barley-Break” https://www.studylight.org/encyclopedias/eng/bri/b/barley-break.html

The couplet scans as perfect iambs

They do enchant me from my Lord, I find

The thoughts whereof prove daggers to my mind.

Enchant here has a wholly negative meaning: to be enchanted would be to suffer from an evil spell, not a romantic glamor.

The final line returns to the paradox of his situation: These sins cause him to need a Savior. Yet, this sins draw him from his Savior. He finds a compulsion to go after these sins and simultaneously a detestation of the sins to which he is attracted. They are “daggers” in his thinking.

This underscores a fundamental difference between Taylor’s desire for sanctification and would be recommended in modern therapy. The therapist would consider the problem to be the distress he is feeling in the conflict. Rather than feeling conflicted, he should come to terms with and accept “nature.”

Taylor’s desire to to transcend these desires to seek something better. He wants to “overcome” and receive a crown.

In this sense, we can see that the common therapeutic model and desire to alleviate distress by refusing to reject nature is, at least on the terms laid by Taylor, a religious decision.

The imps of the therapeutic model would be contesting the impulse and thinking of such things as “sin”.

Edward Taylor, Meditation 42.6

19 Monday Dec 2022

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Stanza Seven

Adorn me Lord with holy huswifry.

All blanch my robes with clusters of thy graces.

Thus lead me to thy threshold: give mine eye

A peephole to see bright glory chases.

Then take me in: I’ll pay, when I possess

Thy throne and thee the rent in happiness.

Notes

Prepare me and let me see the beauty of the world to come. Then, when I come to it, I will repay that sight with thankfulness.

Adorn me Lord with holy huswifry.

All blanch my robes with clusters of thy graces.

We come to the petition which ends the poem. He first asked to be adorned.

The verb adorn has a perfectly comprehensible meaning here: prepare me. But there is also an allusion to the heavenly new world:

Revelation 21:1–2 (KJV)

1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

The people of God are referred to as the “bride”. In Hosea, Israel is referenced as a bridge. Hos. 2:2, etc. The church is referred to as the bride of Christ. Eph. 5:25-30

Prepare for this holy service and care. (huswifry)

The robes are “blanced”, that is, made white. We again have an eschatological allusion:

Revelation 7:13–14 (KJV)

¹³And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? ¹⁴And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Revelation 19:7–10 (KJV)

⁷Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. ⁸And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. ⁹And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. ¹⁰And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

The culmination of history is a wedding, where the bride has been made ready to meet her husband. The poet is asking to be prepared for that wedding.

This helps underscore the importance of marriage as concept in Christianity. While the current sociological aspects are important, so is the eschatological reference. The concept of marriage of importance to human beings to teach of the coming event.

The robes are not merely washed white in blood, but they are further adorned with graces. This leads to another allusion, this time to the robes of the priest to enter the temple:

Exodus 39:22–26 (KJV)

²²And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue. ²³And there was an hole in the midst of the robe, as the hole of an habergeon, with a band round about the hole, that it should not rend. ²⁴And they made upon the hems of the robe pomegranates of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and twined linen. ²⁵And they made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates upon the hem of the robe, round about between the pomegranates; ²⁶A bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, round about the hem of the robe to minister in; as the LORD commanded Moses.

Just as the people of God are referred to as the wife, they are referred to as priests:

1 Peter 2:9 (KJV)

⁹But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

A priest is one who comes into the presence of God.

Having been prepared, he now requests a sight of what will come:

Thus lead me to thy threshold: give mine eye

A peephole to see bright glory chases.

Before we consider the details, notice that this references back to the beginning of the poem wherein the poet is distressed that his love is insufficient. The love is made active by means of a sight of the beloved. It is an increase in a greater desire for something holy which causes the change in his life.

He is asked to be led to the place of a view and there

to see bright glory chases.

A “chase” is an enclosed park or a hunting ground. An example of that use of the word would be found in the poem “Chevy Chase”.

Here the use would be the park, not the hunting ground. The idea would be a closed garden space. The image of a garden runs throughout Scripture. The first couple were placed in a garden. Jesus is buried in a garden tomb. Mary Magdalen mistakes Jesus for a “gardener.” The word “paradise” means garden. The Song of Solomon uses the image of a garden repeatedly for a place of romantic encounter:

Song of Solomon 5:1 (KJV)

¹I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk: eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.

Thus, Garden combines both eschatological and marriage images.

Then take me in: I’ll pay, when I possess

Thy throne and thee the rent in happiness.

The poet will possess the throne as a “joint heir” with Christ. Rom. 8:17

We end with happiness. Yet to rejoice in the Lord is end of all the other aspects of justification and sanctification. It is to rejoice in being reconciled to and living with our God. We give gifts and hope for the happiness of the one who receives that gift.

Edward Taylor, Meditation 42.5

14 Wednesday Dec 2022

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Stanza Six

Can’an in golden print enwalled with gems

A kingdom rim’d with glory round: in fine

A glorious crown pal’de thick with all the stems

Of Grace, and of all properties Divine.

How happy wilt thou make me when these shall 35

As a blessed heritage unto me fall?

Notes

The import of this stanza is simple. A glorious kingdom is shown to him as his inheritance. He anticipates how happy he will be when he receives this inheritance.

Canaan was the land promised to Israel. As the promised land it functions as a picture of heaven. Here is an example from Jonathan Edwards, the son of Taylor’s friend:

“But the first possession he had in it was the possession of a burying place, or a possession for him to be in after he and his were dead; which signifies this, that the heavenly Canaan, the land of promise, the rest that remains for the people of God, is a land for them to possess, and abide and rest in, after they are dead.” Edwards, Jonathan. Notes on Scripture. Edited by Harry S. Stout and Stephen J. Stein, vol. 15, Yale University Press, 1998, p. 335.

He compares the sight of Canaan as an image which has been interlaid (enwalled) with gemstones.

Gem stones are used throughout the Scripture as an image of the glory of the world to come:

“This kingdom excels in the riches of it; gold doth not so much surpass iron, as this kingdom doth all other riches; ‘the gates are of pearl,’ Rev. 21:21. ‘and the foundations of it are garnished with all precious stones,’ ver. 19. It is enough for cabinets to have pearl; but were gates of pearl ever heard of before? It is said ‘kings shall throw down their crowns and scepters before it.’ Rev. 4:10 as counting all their glory and riches but dust in comparison of it; this kingdom hath Deity itself to enrich it, and these riches are such as cannot be weighed in the balance; neither the heart of man can conceive, nor the tongue of angel express them.” Watson, Thomas. “Discourses upon Christ’s Sermon on the Mount.” Discourses on Important and Interesting Subjects, Being the Select Works of the Rev. Thomas Watson, vol. 2, Blackie, Fullarton, & Co.; A. Fullarton & Co., 1829, p. 74.

He repeats the image this time as a kingdom of glory.

“In fine” means in conclusion. (Latin, finis)

The image of the kingdom is repeated, as a crown. Grace is made to be the adornment of a crown.

all properties Divine. There are two possible references here. This could be a generic reference to all things divine, pertaining to God, of any sort.

However, “properties” is a technical theological term. For example, this usage by Jonathan Edwards, “COMMUNICATION OF PROPERTIES with respect to the divine and human nature of Christ. Such a communication of properties and characters with respect to Christ in the language of Scripture, which divines suppose to have its foundation in the union of the divine and human natures of Jesus, is not absurd.” Misc. 1219. Properties is an equivalent of attributes.

This second usage means the glory of the world to come which so stirs Taylor’s heart is the nature of God himself. John Piper had a useful meditation on this particular point some years ago. https://www.desiringgod.org/books/god-is-the-gospel

The hope is not some place, as lovely as it may be, but communion with God. This is also known in Christian theology as beatific vision.

“CHAP. XLVI

“The happiness of the beatifical vision discovered

“Secondly, they shall have the Beatifical Vision of God, we shall be where he is, and we shall see his face. Says Christ, Father, I will, that those which thou hast given me, be where I am, that is a blessing; but in Rev. 22:4. it is said, They shall see his face, and that is more, They shall know as they are known,* 1 Cor. 13:12. It is the promise of the pure in heart, that they shall see God: 1 John 3:2. Behold, now we are the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know, that when he shall appear,* we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. It is the happiness of the Angels that they behold the face of God; so it shall be the happiness of the Saints to behold the face of God in heaven: As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness, I shall be satisfied when I awake with thy likeness, Psal. 17:15. and so we may have the help of divers Scriptures to shew, that this is the happiness of the Saints.” Burroughs, Jeremiah. Moses His Choice, with His Eye Fixed upon Heaven: Discovering the Happy Condition of a Self-Denying Heart. John Field, 1650, p. 535.

This sight is the greatest answer for the human heart.

“tu excitas, ut laudare te delectet, quia fecisti nos ad te et inquietum est cor nostrum, donec requiescat in te.” Augustine of Hippo. St. Augustine’s Confessions, Vol. 1: Latin Text. Edited by T. E. Page and W. H. D. Rouse, Translated by William Watts, The Macmillan Co.; William Heinemann, 1912, p. 2.

“Because you have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in Thee.” Augustine, Confessions, 1.1.1. You can find an analysis of that sentence here. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justin-taylor/an-analysis-of-one-of-the-greatest-sentences-ever-written/

Edward Taylor, Meditation 42.4

10 Saturday Dec 2022

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Stanza Five

He takes them to the shining threshold clear 25

Of his bright palace, clothed in grace’s flame.

Then takes them in thereto, not only there

To have a prospect, but possess the same.

The Crown of Life, the Throne of Glory’s place,

The Father’s house blanched o’er with orient grace. 30

Notes

In the last stanza, he prayed that his heart would be opened, that he would be given apparel fitting to wait upon the King, and that such apparel would bedeck his Love, who would come ot the Lord, the King.

In this stanza, the King leads the poet on.

The time and perspective change slightly in this stanza. Rather than speaking directly to God, he seems to be standing at distance from himself and observing the work of the King leading his people to the palace:

He takes them to the shining threshold clear 25

Of his bright palace,

The “them” must be all others for whom Christ has “prepared a place.” This “place” is now revealed to be a palace.

It is ambiguous as to whom whom is “clothed in grace’s flame.” It could refer to the King who displays the grace of those whom he is bringing to the palace, or it could refer to the subjects of the King who have received the grace. In line 29, Taylor references “the Throne of Grace” which is the place from whence the Lord dispenses grace. I would think the reference is best fit to the subjects, but that is not completely clear and the ambiguity may be deliberate: All are clothed in grace.

Why does the King lead the procession: To show them their inheritance, and then to give them their inheritance:

Then takes them in thereto, not only there

To have a prospect, but possess the same.

“To have a prospect” means to be able to see, to look upon. They will be shown the palace and then given a place in the palace.

Romans 8:17 promises that we are “joint heirs with Christ”, that is, we will share in his inheritance. Revelation 20:6 promises that the saints will reign with Christ. The promise is to share in the inheritance given to Christ.

What is the content of this inheritance? In an including but not limited to list we find:

The Crown of Life, the Throne of Glory’s place,

The Father’s house blanched o’er with orient grace. 30

The Crown of Life:

James 1:12 (ESV)

¹²Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

Throne of Grace

Hebrews 4:14–16 (ESV)

¹⁴Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

The Father’s House is the place wherein Jesus will prepare a place:

John 14:1–2 (ESV)

14 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. ²In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

To blanched over is to be made shining bright. Orient grace: Taylor here repurposes “grace” to refer to earthly splendor. The orient would have been understood by a man from Britain as being a place of gold and gems and spice and wonder. Thus, the most magnificent which he could imagine.

Edward Taylor, Meditation 42.3

29 Tuesday Nov 2022

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Unkey my heart, unlock thy wardrobe: bring

Out royal robes; adorn my soul, Lord, so; 20

My love in rich attire shall on my King

Attend, and honor on him bestow.

In glory he prepares for his a place

Whom he doth here beglory all with grace.

Notes

The flow of this stanza is easy to follow: Open up your wardrobe and take out a robe to put on me. When I am suitably dressed I will wait upon you like a a courtier waits upon the king.

Unkey my hear, unlock thy wardrobe: bring

Out royal robes; adorn my soul, Lord, so;

Lines 19-20 express a simple prayer: Open up closet and dress me in a robe. The imagery here alludes to the story of the Prodigal Son. The son of a rich father demands his inheritance. The son then leaves his father and wastes the inheritance on debauched living. The son falls to feeding pigs during a famine. In despair he returns home with the hope that he perhaps he take a position as a servant on his father’s estate. Each movement of the son’s life brings greater disgrace upon the father. To demand an inheritance is to wish his father dead. To live a profligate life degrades his father further. He falls to the lowest of servants and then comes back a virtual slave. The father should reject the son to maintain his honor.

Instead, the father has been patiently waiting for his son to return. When he sees his son “a long way off” he runs through the streets (degrading himself further) to bring his son home. Once home, the father prepares a banquet and dresses his son in his “best robe.” (Luke 15:22)

By alluding to this story, Taylor is putting himself in the place of the son who has degraded his father and then receives grace and mercy in abundance.

The return of the poet for being so dressed is to attend upon the king in love. While no one can increase the honor of God, we can certainly extol his honor, which increases our joy in the Lord. (Think of the analogy. How we praise those things we love and admire because our praise of the thing increases our joy in that object or person. To praise God is not to increase God’s merit but our happiness.)

Let’s now move back to the very first clauses in the stanza:

Unkey my heart, unlock thy wardrobe

The King’s wardrobe is also the poet’s heart. God is not going somewhere else to find the robe. This is the image which has been working its way through the poem. The poet is a chest wherein God should find something wonderful. The love therein is in terrible shape, but the very act of God going to that chest makes it new.

There is a conceit in Christianity that God does not love us because we are lovely. We do not merit God’s mercy and love. But that by loving us, God makes us lovely. His love transforms us.

Taylor ends with this couplet:

In glory he prepares for his a place

Whom he doth here beglory all with grace

In John 14, after the “last supper” the disciples of Jesus are discouraged. He tells them not to be discouraged or frightened: He is leaving. But his leaving is “to prepare a place” for us to live with him.

Christ has gone to prepare a place – and here prepares us here to enter into that place. Here, we are “beglor[ied] all with grace.” Grace is every good kindness which God bestows upon us. Our return to him is love, praise, honor.

This poem then, which extols the glory of God in bestowing grace is part of the honor which the poet promises to render. The poem is both a prayer and an answer to the prayer (open my heart that I may praise you).

Measure for Measure Act 1, Scene 1a

17 Thursday Nov 2022

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Measure for Measure has provoked a rather mixed appraisal among critics. While the play hinges on a very improbable plot point, it raises questions of morality in a rather pointed manner. I have been fascinated by this play and want to think it through

Scene 1

Enter Duke, Escalus, Lords, ⌜and Attendants.⌝

Duke

[1] Escalus.

Escalus

[2] My lord.

Duke

[3] Of government the properties to unfold

[4] Would seem in me t’ affect speech and discourse,

[5] Since I am put to know that your own science

[6] Exceeds, in that, the lists of all advice

[7] My strength can give you. Then no more remains

[8] But that, to your sufficiency, as your worth is able,

[9] And let them work. The nature of our people,

[10] Our city’s institutions, and the terms

[11] For common justice, you’re as pregnant in

[12] As art and practice hath enrichèd any

[13] That we remember. There is our commission,

⌜He hands Escalus a paper.⌝

[14] From which we would not have you warp.—Call

[15] hither,

[16] I say, bid come before us Angelo.

⌜An Attendant exits.⌝

[17] What figure of us think you he will bear?

[18] For you must know, we have with special soul

[19] Elected him our absence to supply,

[20] Lent him our terror, dressed him with our love,

[21] And given his deputation all the organs

[22] Of our own power. What think you of it?

Escalus

[23] If any in Vienna be of worth

[24] To undergo such ample grace and honor,

[25] It is Lord Angelo.

This introductory scene is all exposition, typically the dullest part of a story. Let us consider how Shakespeare handles this.

First, the entry of the characters.

Duke

[1] Escalus.

Escalus

[2] My lord.

We would have the advantage of seeing the way the men are dressed. But the costumes alone would only convey a limited amount of information. This interaction is necessary in any conversation, the two people acknowledge one-another.

We also learn that one character is named “Escalus” and the other character is more important, he is address, “My lord.”

The Duke (we do not necessarily know exactly what his status before this speech):

Duke

[3] Of government the properties to unfold

[4] Would seem in me t’ affect speech and discourse,

[5] Since I am put to know that your own science

[6] Exceeds, in that, the lists of all advice

[7] My strength can give you. Then no more remains

[8] But that, to your sufficiency, as your worth is able,

[9] And let them work. The nature of our people,

[10] Our city’s institutions, and the terms

[11] For common justice, you’re as pregnant in

[12] As art and practice hath enrichèd any

[13] That we remember.

Details

[3] Of government the properties to unfold

[4] Would seem in me t’ affect speech and discourse,

There is no need for me to explain [unfold] how our government works. To explain that to you would be an affectation.

[5] Since I am put to know that your own science

[6] Exceeds, in that, the lists of all advice

[7] My strength can give you.

Your “science” is your knowledge. You already know more about the government than I could tell you. This particular element is not a significant point in the remainder of the play, so one could see this as perhaps a slight misstep. On the other hand, the Duke is about to put someone else in charge of the state while the Duke leaves. Perhaps we can understand this as flattery meant to soften the fact that another will be given the reigns and not Escalus.

Then no more remains

[8] But that, to your sufficiency, as your worth is able,

[9] And let them work. The nature of our people,

[10] Our city’s institutions, and the terms

[11] For common justice, you’re as pregnant in

[12] As art and practice hath enrichèd any

[13] That we remember.

He continues on with the praise of Escalus. But here we have our first pun –which is not apparent on the first encounter as it will be later. Escalus is “pregnant/in art and practice.” This play will turn upon the question of pregnancy, art (skill) and practice. Also, Escalus is “enriched” in this knowledge. And to “know” something also has double meaning.

The Duke continues:

There is our commission,

⌜He hands Escalus a paper.⌝

[14] From which we would not have you warp.—Call

[15] hither,

[16] I say, bid come before us Angelo.

The Duke gives instruction to Escalus and tells him he may not vary anything in the direction. The irony here is the question of varying from the strict application of the law is the main moral quandary of this play. Escalus reads the paper and the Duke continues:

⌜An Attendant exits.⌝

[17] What figure of us think you he will bear?

[18] For you must know, we have with special soul

[19] Elected him our absence to supply,

[20] Lent him our terror, dressed him with our love,

[21] And given his deputation all the organs

[22] Of our own power. What think you of it?

This information which Escalus does not have and which he needs. Also, this is all we need to know about the circumstance to permit the play to get going. The Duke asks Escalus whether he agrees with this decision. This allows us to learn this point of exposition, but it is not given mere talk so the play can get going.

It also sets up a dramatic question which underlies the remainder of the play, Is Angelo able to handle this power.

We then here the answer:

Escalus

[23] If any in Vienna be of worth

[24] To undergo such ample grace and honor,

[25] It is Lord Angelo.

There is an interesting ambiguity here. If any be worthy is Angelo. Does this mean that Angelo is the best or that no one is worthy.

Edward Taylor, Meditation 42

04 Friday Nov 2022

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Apples of gold in silver pictures shrined

Enchant the appetite, make mouths to water.

And loveliness in lumps tunn’d and enshrined

In jasper cask, when tapped, doth briskly vaper:

Brings forth a birth of keys to unlock Love’s Chest, 5

That Love, like birds, may fly to’t from its nest.

(World’s largest wine tun)

Such is my Lord, and more. But what strange thing

Am I become? Sin rusts my lock all o’re.

Though he thousand keys all on a string

Takes out, scarce one, is found, unlocks the door. 10

Which ope, my love crincht in a corner lies

Like some shrunk crickling and scare can rise.

Notes

To “tun” to store in a tun, a cask.

Vaper: turn to vapor? (There is a contemporary definition of the word meaning one who “vapes.)

Crinch: An obsolete dialect form of “cringe”. The idea being to grind or to be a small ground down bit. Here the meaning is to be folded or cramped into a corner.

Crickling: something small, shrunken

The Motto as printed mistakenly reads Revelation 3:22, but quotes from

Revelation 3:21 (KJV)

21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

This comes at the end of the seven “letters” which Jesus sends to seven churches. In addition to various warnings and commendations, Jesus makes promises to the church. This is the final promise to the churches. To sit on the throne with does not mean two people physically sitting in the same chair but rather sharing in one’s inheritance and power. To this extent the promise echoes:

Romans 8:14–17 (KJV)

¹⁴For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. ¹⁵For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. ¹⁶The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: ¹⁷And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Apples of gold this line is an allusion to Proverbs 25:11 “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.”

Here “shrined” must mean placed.

Enchant the appetite, make mouths to water. The sight of something delicious stimulates the appetite. A side note: I just finished teaching the chapter on motivation for introductory psychology. The textbook reports the finding that sensory exposure to food can stimulate the appetite. Apparently Taylor happened upon this scientific discovery some years earlier.

And loveliness in lumps tunn’d and enshrined

In jasper cask, when tapped, doth briskly vaper.

These lines function as a repetition of the concept from the first two lines: When exposed to something beautiful or desirable, the effect to create positive response. I must admit that the use of the word “lump” with a positive connotation is difficult for modern ears but the sound of the line is excellent. There the repetition of “l” loveliness/lumps. The repeated “u” “lumps tunn’d”. The repetition of the “t” and “d” tunn’d/tapped creates a near rhyme. The “enshrined” parallels the “shrined” of the first line.

The last word “vaper” must then parallel the conceit of a positive response (mouths to water = vaper), but I am not quite certain of Taylor’s meaning.

Perhaps it means to turn to vapor which then leads to the next image:

doth briskly vaper:

Brings forth a birth of keys

Here the subjective effect of the sight moves from taste/appetite, to vapor, to mental state which is akin to keys which open a chest. The move between psychological states and concrete images is something.

One could either find the shift between mental states and physical objects too remote and dissonant to be effective. But as I work with this idea, I like the movement here. I come to a sight. The sight strikes and creates a strong desire. That desire is a key which will open a chest.

In that manner I find the movement of images effective: Desire certainly can be a power which opens “Love’s Chest.” In fact, it is hard to conceive of love without desire for the beloved:

Brings forth a birth of keys to unlock Love’s Chest, 5

That Love, like birds, may fly to’t from its nest.

The sight of this chest creates strong desire in me, which opens this chest. This chest, “love’s chest” welcomes love to enter, like a bird it will there.

The difficulty of Taylor’s images can either be taken as a needlessly difficult puzzle, or as a faithful representation of manner in which ideas move from one-association to another. The poem is not impenetrable. Rather the difficulty can lie in the difficulty of tracing another human being’s thought.

What is interesting, is that we do not know yet what Taylor has seen. The references to the apples of gold or loveliness in lumps are stand-ins for what he has actually come to see. But that is not revealed until the first line of the second stanza:

Such is my Lord, and more.

We can now fill-in the movement of thought. The sight of my Lord creates such desire, that it opens a chest for love to enter and remain. The Second Meditation refers to a soul as a cabinet wherein the Lord could be present as something of inestimable value.

This then leads to an overarching theme of Taylor’s poetry: the beauty/holiness/wonder of the Lord when brought into contrast with the unworthiness of the poet. There is an absurd difference between the greatness of God and the sinfulness of the man.

But what strange thing

Am I become? Sin rusts my lock all o’re

Here we have language which echoes Mediation 36, But am I thine? Oh! What strange thing’s in me? https://memoirandremains.com/tag/meditation-36/

The next movement of the story should “obviously” be he will open his life to this beauty. But instead, sin has intervened. The key of desire cannot open the chest for love, because Sin rusts my lock all o’re

Here his imagery becomes a bit confused but still consistent in its emphasis:

Though he thousand keys all on a string

Takes out, scarce one, is found, unlocks the door. 10

Which ope, my love crincht in a corner lies

Like some shrunk crickling and scare can rise.

If one opens “Love’s Chest”, love will be found inside, but it is shrunken and whithered in a corner. The just of the obsolete dialect “crincht” and “crickling” sounds wonderful to me. They are words that sound like what they mean. https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/456303/word-that-sounds-like-its-meaning-not-onomatopoeia-ex-twinkle

Edward Taylor, Meditation 41.7

27 Thursday Oct 2022

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Edward Taylor, Meditation 41, poem, Poetry Analysis

Reason, lie prison’d in this golden chain.

Chain up thy tongue and silent stand awhile

Let this rich love thy love and heart obtain

To tend thy Lord in all admiring style.

Lord screw my faculties up to the skill

And height of praise as answers thy good will.

Notes

Having examined the impossible goods of the Lord to pay his debt and set him free from the debtor’s prison of death by overing the debt from the prison, the grave, what can be said. This makes no “sense”: What does God obtain from saving me from my own rebellion.

In trying to make sense this, the poet can do no more but turn to his reason, which would seek to explain all and tell his reason to stand back and just admire:

Reason, lie prison’d in this golden chain.

Chain up thy tongue and silent stand awhile

The repetition the word “chain” and the repetition of the image of the prison work well here. The Lord has set me free from the prison, so you stand here imprisoned and be silent. The chain is golden because it is so wonderful, but it is a chain of goodness and release. William Ames had years previous published his “Golden Chain” to speak of God’s salvation and predestination. The image of a golden chain of salvation was taken up by other Puritan writers:

The gracious purpose of God is the fountain-head of all our spiritual blessings. It is the impulsive cause of our vocation, justification, glorification; it is the highest link in the golden chain of salvation. What is the reason that God has entered into a covenant with fallen man? it is from his eternal purpose.

Thomas Brooks, The Complete Works of Thomas Brooks, ed. Alexander Balloch Grosart, vol. 5 (Edinburgh; London; Dublin: James Nichol; James Nisbet and Co.; G. Herbert, 1867), 316–317.

To give just one more instance:

Again, tell me, O despairing soul, is not the grace of God free grace, is not man’s salvation of free grace?2 ‘By grace ye are saved,’ Ephes. 2:8. Every link of this golden chain is grace. It is free grace that chose us, Rom. 11:5. Even so then at this present time also there is ‘a remnant according to the election of grace.’ It is free grace that chooses some to be jewels from all eternity, that chooses some to life, when others are left in darkness.

Thomas Brooks, The Complete Works of Thomas Brooks, ed. Alexander Balloch Grosart, vol. 2 (Edinburgh; London; Dublin: James Nichol; James Nisbet and Co.; G. Herbert, 1866), 375.

By referring to this salvation as a golden chain is thus unique to Taylor. But what Taylor does with this image is turn it upon reason which would seek a reason for God’s love. That golden chain of salvation is a golden chain which chains up the mouth of reason.

It has nothing more to say.

Reason seeks to capture and limit and make a thing comprehensible. But this love is to be praised, not to be parsed and understood.

He then explains to his Reason to rather receive what is being given:

Let this rich love thy love and heart obtain

It reminds me of John Donne’s Poem The Canonization which begins

For God’s sake hold your tongue, and let me love

I do not know if Taylor was familiar with this particular poem, but the progression of images is similar.

And yet, it does not stand in complete silence: but rather than explain he praises:

To tend thy Lord in all admiring style.

Receive this love, then praise: “tend thy Lord” and how so, “in all admiring style.”

He then turns to the Lord with a prayer asking for help to praise the Lord:

Lord screw my faculties up to the skill

And height of praise as answers thy good will.

Lord give me the powers (screw up my facilities). This means to tighten up to prepare. As Lady Macbeth says to her wavering husband: “But screw your courage to the sticking place.”

Prepare and make ready by abilities. Do not let them fail. Make me able to provide the praise which makes the good which you have done me.

This means then that the poem and the act of prayer in the poem are self-referential. Lord help me praise you. The poem is itself the praise which he prayed to receive.

This is an interesting facet of Taylor’s poetry: the degree to which the poem references itself. The preceding stanzas of the poem, which were all praise to the goodness of God are the praise for which he prays at the end of the poem.

Edward Taylor, Meditation 41.6

20 Thursday Oct 2022

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Edward Taylor, Meditation 41, poem, Poetry Analysis

Stanza 6

Why didst thou thus? Reason stands gastered here.

She’s overflown: this soars above her sight.

God’s only Son for sinner thus appear

Prepare for dirt a throne in glory bright!

Stand in the door of glory to embrace 35

Such dirty bits of dirt with such grace!

Notes

Here is one of the unfathomable mysteries of the Gospel: Why would God do this:

Why didst thou thus?

The creature can never provide any benefit to the Creator. Even the bare existence of the creature is at the will of the Creator. When the creature rebels, what reason would God have to rescue the creature of its rebellion:

Reason stands gastered here.

God’s mercy and love are unreasonable, in any metric which we could use. When reason looks upon this situation it causes perplexity and fear, it is “gastered”. The word “gastered” is related to gast, agast, and aghast, all meaning to be afraid. The idea here is as if reason looks upon what God has done and is as frightened as if it had seen a ghost.

Now it may seem strange to combine the idea of God’s mercy and sacrifice with fear. However the Scripture does just that:

Psalm 130:3–4 (ESV)

³ If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,

O Lord, who could stand?

⁴ But with you there is forgiveness,

that you may be feared.

When reason looks about grace, it seems inexplicable:

Micah 7:18–20 (ESV)

¹⁸ Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity

and passing over transgression

for the remnant of his inheritance?

He does not retain his anger forever,

because he delights in steadfast love.

¹⁹ He will again have compassion on us;

he will tread our iniquities underfoot.

You will cast all our sins

into the depths of the sea.

²⁰ You will show faithfulness to Jacob

and steadfast love to Abraham,

as you have sworn to our fathers

from the days of old.

The language “pardoning iniquity” is literally “bearing iniquity” or carrying it away, hence pardoning. But the iniquity is carried away because it is carried by the body of Christ:

²²He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. ²³When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. ²⁴He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

1 Peter 2:22–24 (ESV)

To seek to explain the act of God on here on some “rational” basis will fail:

She’s overflown: this soars above her sight.

We are left with no explanation than the “praise of his glory.” Eph. 1:12.

We are left here with the repetition of the words and images of dirt and glory:

God’s only Son for sinner thus appear

Prepare for dirt a throne in glory bright!

Stand in the door of glory to embrace 35

Such dirty bits of dirt with such grace!

The foulest are brought up to the highest. Mud, for we are dirt and water, is elevated to a rank above the angels, to share an inheritance with Christ.

Why would God such a thing? A parable by Kierkegaard alludes to this absurdity:

“Suppose there was a king who loved a humble maiden. The king was like no other king. Every statesman trembled before his power. No one dared breathe a word against him, for he had the strength to crush all opponents.

“And yet this mighty king was melted by love for a humble maiden who lived in a poor village in his kingdom. How could he declare his love for her? In an odd sort of way, his kingliness tied his hands. If he brought her to the palace and crowned her head with jewels and clothed her body in royal robes, she would surely not resist-no one dared resist him. But would she love him?

“She would say she loved him, of course, but would she truly? Or would she live with him in fear, nursing a private grief for the life she had left behind? Would she be happy at his side? How could he know for sure? If he rode to her forest cottage in his royal carriage, with an armed escort waving bright banners, that too would overwhelm her. He did not want a cringing subject. He wanted a lover, an equal. He wanted her to forget that he was a king and she a humble maiden and to let shared love cross the gulf between them. For it is only in love that the unequal can be made equal.

“The king, convinced he could not elevate the maiden without crushing her freedom, resolved to descend to her. Clothed as a beggar, he approached her cottage with a worn cloak fluttering loose about him. This was not just a disguise – the king took on a totally new identity – He had renounced his throne to declare his love and to win hers.”

The parable however should not end here. The king then raises the beggar to the throne. It is ridiculous. Why would God even trouble himself?

We do not tremble at the thoughts of God’s action here as we should. Perhaps our natural pride is such that we do not see ourselves as the humble maiden but as someone who should be loved by the King. With Heinrich Heine we could think, “Of course God will forgive me; that’s his job.”

What is strange in our pride is that grace ennobles us. Anyone reasonably acquainted with human beings cannot have an overly high valuation on the manner to which we live up to that we profess to be best. We are ridiculous and become increasing absurd. We certainly do nothing to ennoble God.

We have the dignity of a dog standing on its hindlegs begging for snacks.

But God’s love and mercy ennoble us, because God conveys his glory to us and values us so. It the high value which God places upon us which makes of infinite value. And that leaves us with the mystery:

Psalm 8

To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of David.

¹O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. ²Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

³When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; ⁴What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? ⁵For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. ⁶Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: ⁷All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; ⁸The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. ⁹O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

Edward Taylor, Meditation 41.5

15 Saturday Oct 2022

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Stanza 5

What wonder’s here? Big belli’d wonders in’t 25

Remain, though wrought for saints as white as milk.

But done for me whose blot’s as black as ink

A clew of wonders finer far than silk.

Thy hand alone that wound this clew I find

Can to display these wonders it unwind. 30

Note

This stanza answers the question: What sort of wonder is here found:

What wonder’s here?

The image of the wonders being bursting full is quite striking:

Big belli’d wonders in’t

I don’t believe I could have described the wonder as “big bellied”. The two B’s in this image are matched later by the B’s in “blot’s as black as ink”.

But this strange image is set up for a further description. The argument runs as follows: If this rescue had merely been for perfect people

saints as white as milk

It would have been a big bellied wonder. But this miracle extends further than perfect people, it extends to me:

But done for me whose blot’s as black as ink

I am as opposite of a perfect person as could be found. They are “white as milk.” I’m as black as ink. This contrast sets up a second description of the wonder:

A clew of wonders finer far than silk.

A clew (a ball) of wonders is a repetition of the first line of the poem, albeit with the additional description that it is “finer far than silk.” The use of “fine” here carries the connotation of something delicate and small, thin; rather than “fine” as in good quality like “fine art.” This conclusion is based upon the next two lines:

Thy hand alone that wound this clew I find

Can to display these wonders it unwind.

Only the hand which wound the clew would be able to unwind the clew. The idea here is of fine silk thread.

It seems that Taylor had experience with silk. A silk plantation existed in South Carolina in 1689, Ben Marsh, “Silk Hopes in Colonial South Carolina”. The Journal of Southern History Vol. 78, No. 4 (NOVEMBER 2012), pp. 807-854.

There is a description of the silk clothing worn in the colonies in 1669 in The Textile Industries of the United States Including Sketches and Notices of Cotton, Woolen, Silk, and Linen Manufacturers in the Colonial Period · Volume 1, By William R. Bagnall (1893), p. 62.

Taylor pictures the wonder of his rescue as a bundle of wonders all tightly wound together, fine as silk thread, impossible to examine unless God himself unwinds the ball and displays each wonder at a time.

Theologically, this is a recognition that one cannot understand the grandeur and greatness of what has done unless God displays and explains that wonder.