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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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- 103 -
Our rocke (say they) is riven; O welcome hower,
Our Eagles wings are clypt that wrought so hie;
Our thundring Cloude made noyse, but cast no showre: [615]
He prostrate lyes that would have scal’d the sky;
In womans tongue our runner found a rub,
Our cedar now is shrunke into a shrub.
Listen to what these devils are now saying:
“See how this disciple’s loyalty has cracked; the so-called rock has been split, O happy day!
He had such dreams of high holiness, picturing himself as a soaring eagle; but see how low he has fallen, like a proud and foolish Icarus, flying too near the sun and then plummeting to the depths below.
He loudly proclaimed his virtues but, when put to the test, his courage dried up; he was like thunder in a cloud, bringing promise of rain, but delivering none.He wanted to scale the heavens but we brought him back down to earth, where he lies prostrate and abject.
The words of a female tongue proved too great an obstacle to him, causing him to run away like a coward from his duty.The man who saw himself as a great disciple is now like a mighty cedar that has shrivelled into a withered shrub.”
Note. These lines report the gloating scorn of the dispossessed devils (line 607. supra) as they look upon Peter after his denial.
613. rocke. Rock. Simon bar Jonah was renamed by Christ:
“And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” [Matt. xvi. 18]
riven. torn, rent; split, cloven; cracked. The devils mock the promise that the gates of hell would never prevail against the “rock.” There may also be an echo of the idea contained in lines 439. & 444., where Peter speaks of his tears in terms of the rock that was struck by Moses, causing water to pour forth.
hower. Hour.
614. This line seems to be a reference to the story of Daedalus and Icarus, recounted in Ovid’s Metamorphoses (Bk VIII:183-235). Daedalus and his son Icarus are prisoners of king Minos. They contrive to escape by fashioning wings from feathers and wax. The father warns his son:
‘Let me warn you, Icarus, to take the middle way, in case the moisture weighs down your wings, if you fly too low, or if you go too high, the sun scorches them.’ Alas, the boy began to delight in his daring flight, and abandoning his guide, drawn by desire for the heavens, soared higher. His nearness to the devouring sun softened the fragrant wax that held the wings: and the wax melted: he flailed with bare arms, but losing his oar-like wings, could not ride the air. Even as his mouth was crying his father’s name, it vanished into the dark blue sea, the Icarian Sea, called after him.
Our Eagles wings. Our eagles’s wings, i.e., the wings of our eagle, Peter.
clypt. clipped. clip. to clip the wings of: literal to cut (a bird's) wings short so as to disable it from flight; hence, to check any one's aspirations or ambition, cripple his strength, resources, or action. a1593 C. Marlowe Massacre at Paris (c1600) sig. D1v Away to prison with him, Ile clippe his winges.
wrought. Past tense of to work. To strive or endeavour strenuously to accomplish something or achieve some end. To act for a specified purpose, or so as to achieve a specified end; to plan, plot; to contrive, manage. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccxxxix Se how politikely the French kyng wrought for his aduantage.
hie. high.
615. thundring Cloud . . . but cast no showre. There are numerous references in Scripture to thundering clouds bringing rain. Some relate to a punishment wrought upon evil-doers, as in the following excerpts:
“And Moses stretched forth his rod towards heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and lightning running along the ground: and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt.” [Exodus ix. 23]
“Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call upon the Lord, and he shall send thunder and rain: and you shall know and see that you yourselves have done a great evil in the sight of the Lord, in desiring a king over you.” [1 Kings (1 Samuel) xii. 17]
Perhaps the devils are mocking Peter since he has been made incapable of fighting against evil because of his own sin.
thundring. Perhaps a reference to Peter’s loud “vaunts” of his loyalty. See, e.g., line 196. “Huge in high words, but impotent in proofe.”
Note. Two of Peter’s close friends were called by the Lord the “sons of thunder,” perhaps on account of their powerful preaching, a quality Peter too might have coveted.
“And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he named them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder:” [Mark iii. 17]
616. scal’d the sky. Scaled heights befitting his ambition; or, scaled the heights of Heaven.
617. runner. A person who runs away; a fugitive; a deserter. a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) iv. viii. 11 Let vs score their backes,..'Tis sport to maul a Runner. Could the demons possibly have been aware of the aspiration of a faithful disciple as later described in the words of St Paul ?
“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. As to the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice, which the Lord the just judge will render to me in that day: and not only to me, but to them also that love his coming.” [2 Timothy iv. 7-8]
rub. 1. Bowls. An unevenness of the ground which impedes or diverts a bowl; the slowing or diversion of a bowl caused by this. 2. Any physical obstacle or impediment to movement, esp. one that is unexpected. Also in figurative contexts. An obstacle, impediment, or difficulty of a non-material nature. a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) ii. ii. 185 We doubt not now, But euery Rubbe is smoothed on our way.
618. cedar. Are the devils aware of the frequent references to the cedar in Scripture? Consider, e.g., the strength of the mighty cedar:
“The just shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow up like the cedar of Libanus.” [Psalms 91:13]
Or its image for the Church Christ was to found, in which Peter had a primary role?
“On the high mountains of Israel will I plant it, and it shall shoot forth into branches, and shall bear fruit, and it shall become a great cedar: and all birds shall dwell under it, and every fowl shall make its nest under the shadow of the branches thereof.” [Ezechiel (Ezekiel) 17:23]
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- 104 -
These scornfull wordes upbraid my inward thought,
Proofs of their damned prompters neighbour voice: [620]
Such ugly guests still wait upon the nought,
Fiends swarm to soules that swerve from vertues choise,
For breach of plighted truth this true I trie;
Ah! that my deede thus gave my word the lie!
The mocking words of the devils reproach my inner thoughts, providing proof of how closely these infernal spirits actually come with their incitement. These hideous devils are lying in wait for the annihilation of all life in my soul; such fiends swarm around souls that depart from the path of virtue.
I broke my promise that I would stay true to Christ who, after our last supper, told us He was the way, the truth and the life; through my breach, I now perceive this truth. I gave my word, but by betraying this word I gave the lie to the word.
619. upbraid. To reproach, reprove, censure (a person, etc.). 1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream iv. i. 49 I did vpbraid her, and fall out with her.
620. prompters. Prompter. 1. n. A person who urges, incites, or moves another to action; an instigator; (also) a thing which gives rise to or precipitates a condition, state, or action, a stimulus. 1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus Rom. Hist. xix. xii. 141 Paulus..was the prompter and succentor of these cruell enterludes.
2. A person in a theatre placed in a position next to the stage but out of sight of the audience, in order to be able to prompt the actors. 1585 J. Higgins tr. Junius Nomenclator 501/2 Monitor,..he that telleth the players their part when they are out, and haue forgotten: the prompter, or booke holder.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) i. ii. 85 Were it my Qu. to fight, I should haue knowne it, Without a prompter .
neighbour. Adj. In close proximity to another; positioned near or next to another on some occasion. Also figurative. a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) i. i. 151 Our Neighbour-Shepheards Sonne. 1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II i. i. 119 Such neighbour neerenes to our sacred bloud Should nothing priuiledge him.
621. wait upon. 1. To observe, watch; to fix one's eyes upon, gaze at. 2. To lie in wait for. 1595 W. S. Lamentable Trag. Locrine iv. i. 183 Millions of diuels wayt vpon thy soule!
nought. “The vacuum of the soul emptied by sin.” [RS-DS, p. 168.]
“And as the Lord rejoiced upon you before doing good to you, and multiplying you: so he shall rejoice destroying and bringing you to nought, so that you shall be taken away from the land which thou shalt go in to possess.”[Deuteronomy xxviii. 63]
623. plighted. plight. v. to pledge or engage (one's troth, faith, oath, promise, etc.). 1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. T. Boccalini Ragguagli di Parnasso ii. lvi. 322 He plighted his faith to keep this promise.
trie. try. v. To ascertain the truth or right of (a matter, a quarrel, etc.) by test or endeavour; 1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 163v To trye ye mater wt dynte of swearde.
To test the strength, goodness, value, truth, or other quality of; to put to the proof, test, prove. a1500 (▸1422) J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) 188 No word Sholde out-Passe, but yf hit were triet wyth reyson
this true. Some editions have “this scourge.”
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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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