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20 Sep: "Hymn to God, My God, in My Sickness" by John Donne,

Since I am coming to that Holy room, 
    Where, with Thy choir of saints for evermore, 
I shall be made Thy music; as I come 
    I tune the instrument here at the door, 
    And what I must do then, think here before; 

Whilst my physicians by their love are grown 
    Cosmographers, and I their map, who lie 
Flat on this bed, that by them may be shown 
    That this is my south-west discovery, 
    Per fretum febris, by these straits to die; 

I joy, that in these straits I see my west; 
    For, though those currents yield return to none, 
What shall my west hurt me?  As west and east 
    In all flat maps—and I am one—are one, 
    So death doth touch the resurrection. 

Is the Pacific sea my home?  Or are 
    The eastern riches?  Is Jerusalem? 
Anyan, and Magellan, and Gibraltar? 
    All straits, and none but straits, are ways to them 
    Whether where Japhet dwelt, or Cham, or Shem. 

We think that Paradise and Calvary, 
    Christ’s cross and Adam’s tree, stood in one place; 
Look, Lord, and find both Adams met in me; 
    As the first Adam’s sweat surrounds my face, 
    May the last Adam’s blood my soul embrace. 

So, in His purple wrapp’d, receive me, Lord; 
    By these His thorns, give me His other crown; 
And as to others’ souls I preach’d Thy word, 
    Be this my text, my sermon to mine own, 
    “Therefore that He may raise, the Lord throws down.”

2 comments:

  1. The love the closing, "The Lord throws down!"

    I never thought of Jesus as the second Adam. Is that a common idea in Christianity?

    Straits are narrow passages of water connecting large bodies of water. How Europe, Asia, and Africa all connect. But how about "by these straits to die," could he be talking about the bad situations as in "dire straits?" (I read that somewhere else looking up fretum febris, but it works.)

    Donne has such an excellent command of language! I'm jealous as always.

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    Replies
    1. Coincidently while reading Paradise Lost it mentioned the Second Adam, so that was/is a thing

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