Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-9q27g Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-20T09:21:53.467Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Estate

from Poems of Felicity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 May 2015

Edited by
Get access

Summary

But shall my Soul no Wealth possess?

No Outward Riches have?

Shall Hands and Eys alone express

Thy Bounty, which the Grave

Will soon devour? Shall I becom

Within my self a Living Tomb

Of useless Wonders? Shall the fair, and brave,

And great Endowments of my Soul ly waste;

Which ought to be a Fountain and a Womb

Of Praises unto Thee?

Shall there no Outward Objects be

For these to see and taste?

Not so, my God, for other Joys and Pleasures

Are the Occasion that my Limbs are Treasures.

My Palat is a Touch-stone fit

To taste how Good Thou art;

My other Members second it,

Thy Praises to impart:

There's not an Ey that's fram'd by Thee

But is thy Life and Lov to see:

Nor is there, Lord, upon mine Head, an Ear,

But that the Musick of Thy Works should hear:

Each Toe, each Finger, by thy pow'rful Skill

Created, should distill

Ambrosia; more than Nectar flow

From evry Joint I ow,

B'ing well-imploy'd; for they Thy Holy Will

Are activ Instruments made to fulfill.

Elixirs richer are than Dross;

The End is more divine

Than are the Means: But Dung and Loss

Materials (tho they shine

Like Gold and Silver) are, compar'd

To what Thy Spirit doth regard,

Thy Will require, Thy Lov embrace, thy Mind

Esteem, thy Wisdom most illustrious find.

These are the Things God reckons His Reward;

A grateful Heart that pays

Homage to Him without Delays;

A Tongue that's us'd to prais;

A bended Knee; an Ey fixt on the Skies;

A du Emploiment of our Faculties.

For this the Hev'ns were made as well

As Earth, the spacious Seas

Are ours: the Stars that Gems excell,

And Air, design'd to pleas

Our Earthly part; the very Fire

For Uses which our Needs require:

The Orb of Light in its wide Circuit movs;

Corn for our Food springs out of very Mire;

Fences and Fewel grow in Woods and Groves;

Choice Herbs and Flow'rs aspire

To kiss our Feet; Beasts court our Lovs.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Works of Thomas Traherne VI
Poems from the 'Dobell Folio', Poems of Felicity, The Ceremonial Law, Poems from the 'Early Notebook'
, pp. 165 - 166
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Print publication year: 2014

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • The Estate
  • Edited by Jan Ross
  • Book: The Works of Thomas Traherne VI
  • Online publication: 05 May 2015
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • The Estate
  • Edited by Jan Ross
  • Book: The Works of Thomas Traherne VI
  • Online publication: 05 May 2015
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Estate
  • Edited by Jan Ross
  • Book: The Works of Thomas Traherne VI
  • Online publication: 05 May 2015
Available formats
×