The Complete Works of Richard Crashaw, Volume ICrashaw, Richard
General
The Complete Works of Richard Crashaw, Volume I
Crashaw, Richard
English poetry -- Early modern, 1500-1700
The title in 1648 omits the words 'the seraphical saint,' and the text
there lacks the last twenty-four lines.
_Various readings from 1648._
Line 3, 'so' for 'too.'
" 11, 'And' for 'read.'
" 18, 'happier.'
Line 31 misreads 'But e're,' and 'were' for 'weares.'
" 33, 'cheekes.'
" 34 flagrantly misreads 'flagrant' for 'fragrant,' which
TURNBULL as usual blindly repeats.
Line 48, 'shafts.'
" 58 reads '... kindly tells the shame.' It is a characteristic
of CRASHAW to vary his measures, else I should have
adopted this reading from 1648. The line is somewhat obscure
through the conceitful repetition of 'gives.' The sense is,
who, being pictured red, shows the blushing shamefacedness
of being outdone in his own seraphic nature by an earthly
saint. G.
A SONG OF DIVINE LOVE.[51]
Lord, when the sense of Thy sweet grace 1
Sends vp my soul to seek Thy face,
Thy blessed eyes breed such desire,
I dy in Loue's delicious fire.
O Loue, I am thy sacrifice! 5
Be still triumphant, blessed eyes!
Still shine on me, fair suns! that I
Still may behold, though still I dy.
SECOND PART.
Though still I dy, I liue again;
Still longing so to be still slain; 10
So gainfull is such losse of breath,
I dy euen in desire of death.
Still liue in me this longing strife
Of liuing death and dying life;
For while Thou sweetly slayest me 15
Dead to my selfe, I liue in Thee.
IN THE GLORIOVS ASSVMPTION OF OVR BLESSED LADY.[52]
THE HYMN.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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