👈The Tears of St Peter (1587-1596)
El Greco (Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos) 1541-1614
Museo Soumaya at Plaza Carso, Mexico.
+ + +
- 38 -
I stayde, yet did my staying farthest part;
I liv'd, but so, that sauing life, I lost it;
Danger I shunn'd, but to my sorer smart; [225]
I gayned nought, but deeper damage crost it.
What danger, distance, death, is worse then his
That runnes from God and spoyles his soule of blisse?
And so I stayed, but the manner of my staying was such that in reality I departed to a great distance. I preserved my life but, in saving it, I lost it. I avoided danger, but in a manner that made my suffering and sorrow more painful.
I gained nothing but actually caused much deeper harm to myself. What danger, distance or death could be worse than those of the man who runs away from God and strips bare his own soul of Heavenly bliss?
225. shunned. Shun. 1. To seek safety by concealment or flight from (an enemy, his pursuit, etc.). a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) i. vii. 44 The Mouse ne're shunn'd the Cat, as they did budge From Rascals worse then they.
2. To avoid (in modern prose use always to avoid persistently or habitually) from repugnance, fear, or caution; to keep away from (a person or his society, a place, etc.); to avoid encountering or exposing oneself to (dangers, conditions). 1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream ii. i. 142 If you will patiently daunce in our Round,..goe with vs: If not, shunne me, and I will spare your haunts.
smart. Here, mental pain or suffering; grief, sorrow, affliction; (sometimes) suffering of the nature of punishment or retribution. a1591 H. Smith 6 Serm. (1592) 44 He came..when man had sinned, that he might feele the smart of sinne.
Crost. Cross. There are several possible senses: 1. To thwart, oppose, go counter to. 1588 J. Udall Demonstr. Trueth of Discipline xvi. 87 He that loueth Christ, cannot crosse the course of the Gospel. 2. To contradict, contravene, traverse (a sentence, statement, etc.). 1615 Bp. J. Hall No Peace with Rome v, in Recoll. Treat. 848 They..will be crossing euery thing, that is spoken. 3. To cancel by marking with a cross or by drawing lines across; to strike out, erase.
228. Spoyles. Spoil. 1. To strip or despoil. 1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. lxxix. 1249 When the conquerour was in disarming and spoiling him whom he had slaine. 2. To strip (persons) of goods or possessions by violence or force; to plunder, rob, despoil. 1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie i. v. 4 [They] had robbed & spoyled him. but..had restored vnto him that which was taken from him.
blisse. The perfect joy of heaven; the beatitude of departed souls. Hence, the place of bliss, paradise, heaven. The meaning of bliss and that of bless have mutually influenced each other since an early period; compare bless v.1; confusion of spelling is frequent from the time of Wyclif to the 17th cent. Hence the gradual tendency to withdraw bliss from earthly ‘blitheness’ to the beatitude of the blessed in heaven, or that which is likened to it. Vid. 1595 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 iii. iii. 182 By the hope I haue of heauenlie blisse.
+ + +
- 39 -
O Iohn, my guide unto this earthly hell,
Too well acquainted in so ill a Court, [230]
(Where rayling mouthes with blasphemies did swell,
With taynted breath infecting all resort,)
Why didst thou lead me to this hell of euils,
To shew myselfe a fiend among the deuils?
A question for John, who was my companion and who led me into this earthly hell; who was well known to the high priest of this wicked and vicious court, where savage tongues poured forth wave after wave of blasphemy: John, why didst thou bring me into this infernal den of evil, where I myself became like a fiend among the other demons?
229. Iohn. John. When Christ was led away to the high priest, Peter followed, along with one of the other disciples. Here are the words of St John:
And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. And that disciple was known to the high priest, and went in with Jesus into the court of the high priest. But Peter stood at the door without. The other disciple therefore, who was known to the high priest, went out, and spoke to the portress, and brought in Peter. [John xviii. 15-16]
RS follows a traditional interpretation that the “other disciple” was in fact the “beloved disciple,” St John himself.
230. ill. Morally evil; wicked, iniquitous, depraved, vicious, immoral, blameworthy, reprehensible. Marked by evil intent, or by want of good feeling; malevolent, hostile, unfriendly, adverse, unkind, harsh, cruel. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccxxxiiv Reuilyng hym with suche yll wordes, and so shamful termes.
Court. The court of the high priest. As throughout RS’s writings, there may here be a reference to the Elizabethan court. See RS-DS, Deciphering Southwell pp. 121-144.
231. rayling. Rail. To complain persistently or vehemently. 1519 W. Horman Vulgaria vi. f. 61 He is so pacient, that he suffereth men all to rayle and rage vpon hym. 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. xxiij [He] raileth against all the discipline of the church.
232. resort. People forming a crowd or throng. A gathering of people; a crowd, a throng. A place much frequented or visited. 1565 J. Jewel Replie Hardinges Answeare xiv. 501 The Christians euerywhere, in their common resortes, and in the open market places published, and Proclaimed the Uictorie, and Triumphe of the Crosse.
+ + +
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
No comments:
Post a Comment