👈The Tears of St Peter -1587 until 1596
El Greco (Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos) 1541-1614
Museo Soumaya at Plaza Carso, Mexico.
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Is this the haruest of His sowing-toyle?
Did Christ manure thy heart to breede Him briers? [110]
Or doth it neede, this vnaccustom'd soyle,
With hellish dung to fertile heauen's desires?
No, no, the marle that periuries do yeeld,
May spoyle a good, not fat a barraine field.
Is this what the Lord will harvest after all the effort he put into sowing his word? Did Christ carefully cultivate your heart only to see thorns and weeds spring up? Or doth this strange soil need be spread with dung from Hell so as to bring to fruition the desires of Heaven?
No, and again no: the mucky compost that perjuries produce will not make a barren field fertile and will actually ruin good soil.
109. toyle. Intensive labour; hard or prolonged exertion which is physically or mentally taxing: 1594 W. Hervey Epicedium Lady Helen Branch 1 You that to shew your wits, have taken toyle.
a1613 E. Brerewood Learned Treat. Sabaoth (1630) 16 The law giuen was manifestly intended to bring seruants release, and remission of their weekely toile.
110. manure. c. 1400, “to cultivate (land, a garden) by manual labor,” also “to hold property, rule,” from Anglo-French meynoverer (late 13c.), Old French manovrer “to work with the hands, cultivate; carry out; make, produce,” from Medieval Latin manuoperare (see maneuver (n.)) Sense of “work the earth” led to "put dung and compost on the soil, treat (soil) with fertilizing materials" (1590s) [OEtD].
1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. iv. xiv. f. 94v The word of God..if it light vpon a soule manured with the hande of the heauenly Spirite, it will be moste fruitefull.
breede. To give rise to, engender, develop, produce, create, cause, be the source of. 1598 R. Barret Theorike & Pract. Mod. Warres iv. 120 Warres may breed pouertie, and pouertie breedeth peace.
briers. A prickly, thorny bush or shrub in general; Troubles, difficulties, vexations.
Note: The best-known example of this similitude of a sower is found in Chapter xiii of St Matthew’s Gospel:
And he spoke to them many things in parables, saying: Behold the sower went forth to sow. And whilst he soweth some fell by the way side, and the birds of the air came and ate them up. And other some fell upon stony ground, where they had not much earth: and they sprung up immediately, because they had no deepness of earth. And when the sun was up they were scorched: and because they had not root, they withered away. And others fell among thorns: and the thorns grew up and choked them. And others fell upon good ground: and they brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. [Matt. xiii. 3-9.]
111. vnaccustomed. Not customary; unfamiliar, unusual, strange. 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cccclij Such vnaccustomed vices, and not euery where vsed.
113. marle. Earth, soil; the ground. An earthy deposit, typically loose and unconsolidated and consisting chiefly of clay mixed with calcium carbonate, formed in prehistoric seas and lakes and long used to improve the texture of sandy or light soil.1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie iii. xxv. 254 The good gardiner seasons his soyle by sundrie sorts of compost: as mucke or marle.
periuries. Perjury. The violation of a promise, vow, or solemn undertaking; a breach of oath.
“And as he(Peter) went out of the gate, another maid saw him, and she saith to them that were there: This man also was with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath, I know not the man. And after a little while they came that stood by, and said to Peter: Surely thou also art one of them; for even thy speech doth discover thee. Then he began to curse and to swear that he knew not the man.” [Matt. xxvii. 71-74]
114. fat. 5. transitive.To enrich (the soil) with nutritious and stimulating elements; to fertilize. 1594 T. Blundeville Exercises v. f. 265v The flood Nilus, which by his inundations doth yearely..fatte the Countrie of Egypt.
barraine. 4. a. Of land: Producing little or no vegetation; not fertile, sterile, unproductive, bare. 1614 W. Raleigh Hist. World i. ii. xii. §3. 413 Land..exceeding stony and barraine.
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Was this for best deserts the duest meede?
Are highest worths well wag'd with spitefull hire?
Are stoutest vowes repeal'd in greatest neede?
Should friendship, at the first affront, retire?
Blush, crauen sot, lurke in eternall night;
Crouch in the darkest caves from loathed light. [120]
Was this by way of just deserts the most merited reward? Are the highest personal qualities well paid for by a recompense of spite? Can the most resolute vows be overridden at will in cases of personal need? Should friendship at the first affront withdraw into the background?
Blush, thou cowardly fool; creep away into an everlasting night; crawl into the darkest caves so as to hide from a light thou dost loathe.
115. desert. That which is deserved; a due reward or recompense, whether good or evil.
duest. Due. 2. a. (a) More generally: that ought (by right, in fairness, etc., or in the opinion of the writer or speaker) to be given, granted, or carried out; requisite; merited, deserved. Vid. 1591 E. Spenser Prosopopoia in Complaints 1237 Hell, his dewest meed.
meede. Meed. 1. a. In early use: something given in return for labour or service; wages, hire; recompense, reward, deserts; a gift. Later: a reward or prize given for excellence or achievement; a person's deserved share of (praise, honour, etc.). Vid. 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. ii. sig. B8 A Rosy girlond was the victors meede.
116. worths. Worth. II 6 b. In plural in same sense: a person's merit or excellence. Vid. a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) ii. ii. sig. P1v How can you him vnworthy then decree, In whose chiefe parte your worthes implanted be?
1594 C. Marlowe & T. Nashe Dido iii. iv. 1037 If that you maiestie can looke so lowe, As my despised worths.
wag’d. Wage. 9. a. To pay wages to. Vid. 1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie iii. xxii. 112 b Besides that which is giuen vnto them of almes, they are waged either publikely, or of som in particular.
hire. 3. figurative. Reward, recompense, payment (for work or service of any kind). Vid. 1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 29 Our lorde god shal ones rewarde them their hyre.
c1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xxxii. 10 Schort plesour, lang displesour; Repentence is the hyre.
stoutest. Stout. 1) Firm in resolve, unyielding, determined. 1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 58 He..with wordes of great consolation did courage him to be stoute in the quarrell he toke in hand. 2) With a hint of the pejorative: c. Of utterances or demeanour: Resolute, defiant. 1553 J. Brende tr. Q. Curtius Rufus Hist. i. f. 5v Wherupon Alexander with many stowte and dispiteful wordes departed from his father.
119. craven. Craven. That owns himself beaten or afraid of his opponent; cowardly, weak-hearted, abjectly pusillanimous. 1597 M. Drayton Englands Heroicall Epist. f. 19 When beggers-brats..Alie the kingdome to theyr crauand brood.
sot. 1. A foolish or stupid person; a fool, blockhead, dolt. 1598 Floure & Leafe in T. Speght Wks. G. Chaucer f. 366/2 So sodainly that as it were a sote I stood astonied.
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Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
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