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| Please pray for the soul of Esther Clark. R.I.P. She gave a framed copy of this painting to the author in the 1980's. |
The work is offered on behalf of my family to Our Blessed Lady, Regina Martyrum et Consolatrix Afflictorum.
For EEKPTEE&EA.
👈The Tears of St Peter (1587-1596)
El Greco (Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos) 1541-1614
Museo Soumaya at Plaza Carso, Mexico.
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I lost all that I had, and had the most, [505]
The most that will can wish, or wit devise:
I least perform'd, that did most vainely boast,
I stainde my fame in most infamous wise.
What daunger then, death, wrath, or wreck can move
More pregnant cause of teares then this I prove? [510]
I lost everything I had; and what I had was the most that any will could wish for or any mind conceive. I had in my vanity made the most foolish boasts, and to no purpose since I did not in the least translate them into action. I stained my name in a most shameful manner.
What possible danger then could there be to me — death, divine wrath, utter ruin — that could be more guaranteed to bring forth tears than what I am now experiencing?
507. vainely. 1. With personal vanity; conceitedly. 1602 W. S. True Chron. Hist. Ld. Cromwell sig. D4 'Tis greater glorie for me, that you remember it, Then of my selfe vainelie to report it. 2. Foolishly, senselessly, thoughtlessly. 1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 101 Nathir haue thay notwithstandeng, now vanelie fallin frome the faith of the Catholik Kirk. 3. In a vain or futile manner; without advantage, profit, or success; to no effect or purpose; in vain; uselessly, fruitlessly, ineffectually. a1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) v. v. 8 Till now, my selfe and such As slept within the shadow of your power Haue..breath'd Our sufferance vainly .
boast. See, for example:
"And Peter answering, said to him: Although all shall be scandalized in thee, I will never be scandalized. Jesus said to him: Amen I say to thee, that in this night before the cock crow, thou wilt deny me thrice. Peter saith to him: Yea, though I should die with thee, I will not deny thee. And in like manner said all the disciples." [Matt. xxvi. 33-35]
508. infamous. Deserving of infamy; of shameful badness, vileness, or abominableness; of a character or quality deserving utter reprobation. (One of the strongest adjectives of detestation.) 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. xii. sig. M2v False erraunt knight, infamous, and forswore. 1606 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) ii. iii. 147 A Sinke of Filth, where aye th' infamousest, Most bold and buisie, are esteemed best.
509. daunger. 1. Liability (to loss, punishment, etc.). 1526 W. Tyndale Pathway Holy Script. in Wks. (1848) I. 9 The wretched man (that knoweth himself to be..in danger to death and hell). 2. Difficulty (made or raised); hesitation, reluctance, chariness, stint, grudging; 1526 A. Dalaber in J. Foxe Actes & Monuments (1570) 1368/2 I made daunger of it a while at first, but afterward beyng persuaded by them..I promised to do as they would haue me.
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If Adam sought a veyle to scarfe his sinne,
Taught by his fall to feare a scourging hand;
If men shall wish that hils should wrap them in,
When crimes in finall doome come to be scand;
What mount, what cave, what center can conceale [515]
My monstrous fact, which even the birds reveale?
Adam sought to consider the shame resulting from his sin by covering his nakedness with fig leaves; he learned that his fall brought fearful consequences as punishment.
When men consider how their sins will be revealed and examined at the day of Judgement, they pray in their shame and terror for the mountains and hills to fall upon them and cover them.
As for me, what mountain, hill or hidden den can conceal my monstrous sin, a sin which even the birds reveal?
511. The reference here is to chapter iii. of Genesis:
“And the woman saw that the tree was good to eat, and fair to the eyes, and delightful to behold: and she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave to her husband who did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened: and when they perceived themselves to be naked, they sewed together fig leaves, and made themselves aprons. And when they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in paradise at the afternoon air, Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord God, amidst the trees of paradise. And the Lord God called Adam, and said to him: Where art thou? And he said: I heard thy voice in paradise; and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” [Gen. iii. 6-10]
veyle. veil. A length of linen or other fabric. figurative and in extended use. Something which conceals, covers, or hides in the manner of a veil; 1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 228 Eftir her consecratione, haueng put on the Vale of her Virginitie..eftir the consuetude of the kirke.
scarfe. v. To clothe, cover, or wrap with or as with a scarf or scarves; a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iii. ii. 48 Come, seeling Night, Skarfe vp the tender Eye of pittifull Day.
512. Adam’s fall through pride and disobedience brought consequences not only for himself but for all mankind:
“To the woman also he said: I will multiply thy sorrows, and thy conceptions: in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children, and thou shalt be under thy husband's power, and he shall have dominion over thee. And to Adam he said: Because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat, cursed is the earth in thy work; with labour and toil shalt thou eat thereof all the days of thy life. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herbs of the earth. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return to the earth, out of which thou wast taken: for dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return.” [Gen. iii. 16-19]
513. - 514. Consider the words of Christ when He encounters the women of Jerusalem whilst carrying His cross:
“And there followed him a great multitude of people, and of women, who bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning to them, said: Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not over me; but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For behold, the days shall come, wherein they will say: Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that have not borne, and the paps that have not given suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains: Fall upon us; and to the hills: Cover us.” [Luke xxiii. 27-30]
Consider, too, St John’s words in the Apocalypse:
“And I saw, when he had opened the sixth seal, and behold there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair: and the whole moon became as blood: And the stars from heaven fell upon the earth, as the fig tree casteth its green figs when it is shaken by a great wind: And the heaven departed as a book folded up: and every mountain, and the islands were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and tribunes, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman, and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of mountains: And they say to the mountains and the rocks: Fall upon us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of their wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?” [Apoc. vi. 12-17]
514. doome. doom. The last or great Judgement at the end of the world; 1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes ii, in Wks. 180/1 I speke of Christes..comming to the dreadfull dome. a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iv. i. 133 What will the Line stretch out to' th' cracke of Doome ?
scand. scanned. Scan. v. Here, To examine, consider, or discuss minutely. 1586 Let. to Earl Leicester 16 But you Lawyers are so nice in sifting and skanning euery woorde and letter.
516. even the birds reveale. A reference to the cock crowing and Peter’s denial. see, for example:
“And immediately the cock crew again. And Peter remembered the word that Jesus had said unto him: Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt thrice deny me. And he began to weep.” [Mark xiv. 72]
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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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