St Peter's Complaynt : Lines 109-138

[The following posts contain a revised and expanded edition of St Peter's Complaynt.  This poem is considered by many to be the last poem written by St Robert Southwell ["RS"] before his martyrdom on the 21st of February 1595. 

The original series was first published on our sister site, Mary's English Dowry, in 2018. I have revised and expanded my original notes. I have also included paraphrases of the stanzas in modern English. The work is offered for EEKPTEE&EA.]

👈The Tears of St Peter -1587 until 1596 

El Greco (Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos) 1541-1614

Museo Soumaya at Plaza Carso, Mexico.

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- 21 -

 Ah, wretch! why was I nam'd sonne of a doue,

Whose speeches voyded spight and breathed gall?

No kin I am unto the bird of loue:

My stonie name much better sutes my fall:

My othes were stones, my cruell tongue the sling, [125]

My God the mark at which my spight did fling.

    Ah, what a sorry and pitiful wretch! Why was I named Bar-Jonah, the “son of a dove,” when, instead of peace and love,  fearful spite spewed from my lips in a spirit of bitterness? 

    No, I am not related to the bird of love, the dove. My other name of 'the rock' suits me better in my stony-hearted fall from grace; my oaths and curses were stones, my cruel tongue the sling and my Lord, the Son of the living God, was the target for my spite.

121. wretch. One driven out of or away from his native country; a banished person; an exile. A vile, sorry, or despicable person; one of opprobrious or reprehensible character; a mean or contemptible creature. Vid. a1555   J. Careless in M. Coverdale Certain Lett. Martyrs (1564) 230   Vnto me moste vile, sinnefull, wicked and vnworthy wretch.

sonne of a doue. Son of a dove. Peter is here referring to his original name and doubtless remembered the words of Christ as reported by St Matthew:

Whom do men say that the Son of man is? But they said: Some John the Baptist, and other some Elias, and others Jeremias, or one of the prophets. Jesus saith to them: But whom do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven. 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. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven. [Matt. xvi. 13-19]

Bar-Jonah means son of Jonah. Jonah: masc. proper name, biblical prophet and subject of the Book of Jonah, from Hebrew Yonah, literally “dove, pigeon.” OEtD. From earliest times, the dove was associated with peace, at first the peace between man and God restored after the Flood:

And having waited yet seven other days, he again sent forth the dove out of the ark. And she came to him in the evening, carrying a bough of an olive tree, with green leaves, in her mouth. Noe therefore understood that the waters were ceased upon the earth. [Gen. viii. 10-11]

The dove is also associated with the Holy Ghost:

And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape, as a dove upon him; and a voice came from heaven: Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. [Luke iii. 22]

122. voyded. Void. 7.  a. Of persons, animals, or their organs: to discharge (some matter) from the body through a natural vent or orifice, esp. through the excretory organs; to eject by excretion or evacuation; also, to spit or pour forth (venom). Vid. 1577   B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iii. f. 124   The more fylth he voydes at the mouth, the better wyll it be for him. Figurative: 1650   H. Vaughan Silex Scintillans 56   That's base wit, That voyds but filth, and stench.

gall. 3. a. Bitterness of spirit, asperity, rancour (supposed to have its seat in the gall). 1577   R. Stanyhurst Treat. Descr. Irelande vii. f. 27/1, in R. Holinshed Chron. I   A pleasant conceyted companion, full of mirth without gall.

123. the bird of love. The dove is associated with romantic love in pagan mythology and art: vid. The Dove by Umberto Eco. The sense here is the scriptural one (vid. 121 supra and e.g., chapter vi. of the Canticle of Canticles).

124. my stonie name. Simon was given the name Peter by Our Lord:

And he [Andrew] brought him to Jesus. And Jesus looking upon him, said: Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is interpreted Peter. [John i. 42] 

See also Matt. xvi supra, of which the Douay-Rheims note says:

“Peter, signifying a rock, St. John 1. 42, should be a rock indeed, of invincible strength, for the support of the building of the church; in which building he should be, next to Christ himself, the chief foundation stone, in quality of chief pastor, ruler, and governor; and should have accordingly all fulness of ecclesiastical power, signified by the keys of the kingdom of heaven.

‘Upon this rock’: The words of Christ to Peter, spoken in the vulgar language of the Jews which our Lord made use of, were the same as if he had said in English, Thou art a Rock, and upon this rock I will build my church. So that, by the plain course of the words, Peter is here declared to be the rock, upon which the church was to be built: Christ himself being both the principal foundation and founder of the same. Where also note, that Christ, by building his house, that is, his church, upon a rock, has thereby secured it against all storms and floods, like the wise builder, St. Matt. 7. 24, 25."

stonie.  1) referring to Simon’s name, Petrus; 2) ‘Hard’, insensible, or unfeeling, as if consisting of stone; hardened, obdurate. Vid. 1600   W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iv. i. 3   A stonie aduersarie, an inhumaine wretch, vncapable of pitty.

125. othes. Oaths.

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- 22 -

 Were all the Iewish tyranies too few

To glut thy hungrie lookes with His disgrace?

That thou more hatefull tyrannies must shew,

And spet thy poyson in thy Maker's face? [130]

Didst thou to spare His foes put vp thy sword,

To brandish now thy tongue against thy Lord?

    Were all the injustices, abuses of authority and malice on the part of the Jews who brought about the Lord’s disgrace, were they not enough to satisfy thee? Didst thou feel the need for acts more detestable still, and so thou didst spit thy poisonous betrayal in thy Maker’s face? Didst thou put up thy sword into its place to spare the foes of thy Master, only to brandish thy tongue against thy Lord, so to speak, with cutting words of betrayal?

    127. & 129.  tyranies. 3. a. Tyranny. Arbitrary or oppressive exercise of power; unjustly severe use of one's authority; despotic treatment or influence; harsh, severe, or unmerciful action; with a and plural, an instance of this, a tyrannical act or proceeding. 3. b. Violent or lawless action; violence, outrage, villany. Vid. 1613   S. Purchas Pilgrimage 546   He delights to see men..torn with Elephants. Of these tyrannies he reckons many particulars which he saw.

    These tyrannies began with plots to kill Christ and the malicious words and acts would continue through the Passion. Here are some examples:

"Which when the chief priests and the scribes had heard, they sought how they might destroy him. For they feared him, because the whole multitude was in admiration at his doctrine."

[Mark xi:18]

"Now the feast of the pasch, and of the Azymes was after two days; and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might by some wile lay hold on him, and kill him."

[Mark xiv. 1]

"And he was teaching daily in the temple. And the chief priests and the scribes and the rulers of the people sought to destroy him:"

[Luke xix. 47]

"And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might put Jesus to death: but they feared the people."

[Luke xxii. 2]

"And straightway in the morning, the chief priests holding a consultation with the ancients and the scribes and the whole council, binding Jesus, led him away, and delivered him to Pilate." [Mark xv.1]

"And the chief priests and the whole council sought false witness against Jesus, that they might put him to death:" [Matthew xvi. 59]

"But the chief priests and ancients persuaded the people, that they should ask for Barabbas, and take Jesus away." [Matthew xxvii. 20]

"Pilate saith to them: What shall I do then with Jesus that is called Christ? They say all: Let him be crucified. The governor said to them: Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying: Let him be crucified. And Pilate seeing that he prevailed nothing, but that rather a tumult was made; taking water washed his hands before the people, saying: I am innocent of the blood of this just man; look you to it. And the whole people answering, said: His blood be upon us and our children." [Matt. xxvii. 22-25]

"In like manner also the chief priests, with the scribes and ancients, mocking, said: He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the king of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him now deliver him if he will have him; for he said: I am the Son of God." [Matt. xxvii. 41-43]

"And after these things, Joseph of Arimathea (because he was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews) besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus."

[John xix. 38]

    128. glut. 2. a. figurative. To gratify to the full (in earlier use, a sense or appetite of any kind, now, esp., a ferocious or lustful desire). Also to glut a person, to glut his eyes, etc. with, in something. Vid. 1549   J. Cheke Hurt of Sedicion (ed. 3) sig. C2v   You..are better contented to suffer famine..to glutte your lustes, than to liue in quietnesse.

1621   R. Burton Anat. Melancholy ii. iii. iii. 399   A country man may travell from kingdome to kingdome,..and glut his eyes with delightfull obiects. 

    thy. An alternative reading in some editions is their, referring to those Jews who hungered after the death of Christ (see supra).

    hungrie. Hungry. 4. transferred and figurative. Having or characterized by a strong desire or craving. Perhaps a reference to Peter’s keen desire to see what was happening after Christ’s arrest in Gethsemane.  

    130. spet. Spat. Cf. Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him: and others struck his face with the palms of their hands. [Matt. xxvi. 67]

131. Didst thou to spare His foes put vp thy sword? This a reference to Peter’s action when he saw Christ being seized in the garden of Gethsemane. 

Then they came up, and laid hands on Jesus, and held him. And behold one of them that were with Jesus, stretching forth his hand, drew out his sword: and striking the servant of the high priest, cut off his ear. Then Jesus saith to him: Put up again thy sword into its place: for all that take the sword shall perish with the sword. [Matt. xxvi. 50-52]

 

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- 23 -

 Ah! tongue, that didst His prayse and Godhead sound,

How wert thou stain'd with such detesting words,

That euerie word was to His heart a wound, [135]

And launct Him deeper then a thousand swords?

What rage of man, yea what infernall spirit,

Could haue disgorg'd more loathsome dregs of spite?

Ah, what a tongue! A tongue that offered up praise to the Lord and declared His divinity. How thou wert stained by the hateful words thou didst utter. His Sacred Heart was wounded by every word of thy betrayal, which pierced Him more deeply than a thousand swords. What rage within a man, what spirit from Hell, could have spewed up more loathsome dregs of spite?

    133. that didst His prayse  . . . sound. Here are some examples of Peter’s praise, 

"Which when Simon Peter saw, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying: Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord."

[Luke v. 8]

"And Simon Peter answered him: Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life."

[John vi. 69]

    that didst His . . . Godhead sound: 

"Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God."

[Matthew xvi.16]

    135. euerie. Every.

    136. launct. Lanced. 6. a. To pierce with or as with a lance or a lancet; to cut, gash, slit. Also, to slit open; to open. 1590   C. Marlowe Tamburlaine: 1st Pt. sig. A8v   We will lift our swords. And..lanch his greedy thirsting throat.

    138. disgorg’d. 1. a. transitive. To eject or throw out from, or as from, the gorge or throat; to vomit forth. b. figurative. To discharge as if from a mouth; to empty forth; esp. to give up what has been wrongfully appropriated. Vid. 1587   G. Turberville Tragicall Tales f. 114v   Disgorge thy care, abandon feare.

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Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

St Peter's Complaynt : Lines 109-120

[These posts contain revised and expanded notes to St Peter's Complaynt, considered by many to be the last poem written by St Robert Southwell ("RS") before his martyrdom on the 24th of February 1595.  The original series of posts was first published in 2018 on our sister site, Mary's English Dowry. I have expanded my original notes so as to provide a more detailed critical apparatus - with fairly extensive use of quotations from the period in which RS wrote. I have also included paraphrases with the aim of making the poet's language more accessible to modern readers.]

👈The Tears of St Peter -1587 until 1596 

El Greco (Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos) 1541-1614

Museo Soumaya at Plaza Carso, Mexico.

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- 19 - 

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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- 20 -

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.

St Peter's Complaynt : Lines 97-108

[These posts contain revised and expanded notes to St Peter's Complaynt, considered by many to be the last poem written by St Robert Southwell ("RS") before his martyrdom on the 21st of February 1595.  The original series of posts was first published in 2018 on our sister site, Mary's English Dowry. I have expanded my original notes so as to provide a more detailed critical apparatus - with fairly extensive use of quotations from the period in which RS wrote. I have also included paraphrases with the aim of making the poet's language more accessible to modern readers.]

👈The Tears of St Peter -1587 until 1596 

El Greco (Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos) 1541-1614

Museo Soumaya at Plaza Carso, Mexico.

+    +    +

- 17 - 

And could I rate so high a life so base?

Did feare with loue cast so vneven account,

That for this goale I should runne Iudas' race,

And Caiphas' rage in crueltie surmount? [100]

Yet they esteemed thirtie pence His price;

I, worse then both, for nought denyd Him thrice.

    How could I rate so highly in my mind a life so base in reality? How could I reckon up an account showing fear so out of balance with love? How could I through this fear have no fear about rushing to follow the treachery of Judas, and exceeding in cruelty the rage of Caiphas? They reckoned Christ’s price to be thirty pieces of silver, whereas I was worse than both of them because I denied Him three times . . . for nothing.

98. cast . . . account. VI. To reckon, calculate.  37. To count or reckon, so as to ascertain the sum of various numbers, originally by means of counters, to the manipulation of which the word probably refers. c. esp. in to cast accounts, originally to sum up or reckon accounts. Vid. 1581   J. Bell tr. W. Haddon & J. Foxe Against Jerome Osorius 44 b   You cast your accomptes amisse in your numbryng.

99. & 101. Judas...thirtie pence. vid.

Then went one of the twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, to the chief priests, And said to them: What will you give me, and I will deliver him unto you? But they appointed him thirty pieces of silver. [Matt. xxvi. 14-15]

100. Caiphas. 

“The death of Jesus being resolved upon, the most unscrupulous means were employed in order to bring it about, and Caiphas is chiefly to blame. The meeting determined upon by the princes of the priests and the elders of the people, "that by subtlety they might apprehend Jesus", was held in the house of Caiphas (Matthew xxvi. 3-5). The hill south of Jerusalem where this house is said by tradition to have stood is called the “Hill of Evil Counsel.” As high-priest, Caiphas was the official head of the Sanhedrin, and consequently responsible for the travesty of a trial to which Christ was submitted by the Jewish authorities, before they handed Him over to Pilate and stirred up the people to demand his death.” [Caiphas, Catholic Encyclopedia]

And Peter followed him from afar off, even into the court of the high priest; and he sat with the servants at the fire, and warmed himself. And the chief priests and all the council sought for evidence against Jesus, that they might put him to death, and found none. For many bore false witness against him, and their evidences were not agreeing. And some rising up, bore false witness against him, saying: We heard him say, I will destroy this temple made with hands, and within three days I will build another not made with hands. And their witness did not agree. And the high priest rising up in the midst, asked Jesus, saying: Answerest thou nothing to the things that are laid to thy charge by these men?  But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said to him: Art thou the Christ the Son of the blessed God? And Jesus said to him: I am. And you shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of the power of God, and coming with the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rending his garments, saith: What need we any further witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. What think you? Who all condemned him to be guilty of death. And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him: Prophesy: and the servants struck him with the palms of their hands. [Mark xiv. 54-65]

102. then: than.

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- 18 - 

The mother-sea, from ouerflowing deepes,

Sends forth her issue by diuided vaines,

Yet back her ofspring to their mother creepes, [105]

To pay their purest streames with added gaines;

But I, that drunke the drops of heauenly flud,

Bemyr'd the Giuer with returning mud.

   

     The sea from her abundant depths sends forth waters which go their separate ways; but they slowly make their way back and show how they have enriched the pure water they received from the source. 

As for me, I received the waters of Baptism and I have drunk from the heavenly source of grace, but I have polluted my soul through sin and, instead of beautiful gifts, I return to the Lord a soul made filthy through betrayal.

Note. One image here refers to water which, being drawn up from the seas and received in the heavens, is purified and returns to earth to feed into streams and rivers, finally replenishing its own source. A second image refers to a mother whose offspring are sent forth, going their separate ways, before finally coming home to share what they have added to the gifts their mother gave them. One interpretation is that the words relate to a man’s soul, uplifted from the waters of Baptism, rises heavenwards. Whilst alive, a man is duty bound to make good use of this gift of supernatural life in his soul. He later returns before his Lord to show what gaines he has added to the gifts given him by the Lord. Another interpretation concerns the Blessed Virgin Mary who, as our mother and the Mediatrix of all graces, sends her children forth into the world; at length, we come quietly back to our mother to show how we have tried to add to the gifts she gave us.  

In the parable of the talents, Our Lord makes clear in a vivid manner what happens to those who fail to do this and instead bemire the giver with returning mud:

But he that had received the one talent, came and said: Lord, I know that thou art a hard man; thou reapest where thou hast not sown, and gatherest where thou hast not strewed. And being afraid I went and hid thy talent in the earth: behold here thou hast that which is thine. And his lord answering, said to him: Wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that ... I should have received my own with interest. Take ye away therefore the talent from him, and give it to him that hath ten talents. For to every one that hath shall be given, and he shall abound: but from him that hath not, that also which he seemeth to have shall be taken away. And the unprofitable servant cast ye out into the exterior darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. [Matthew xxv. 24-30]

103. The mother-sea. It may not be too fanciful to discern a reference here to the Blessed Virgin Mary, The Mediatrix of all graces. Christ designated her as our Mother before He died on the Cross1 and she has fourteen titles as a Mater /Mother in the Litany of Loreto, as well as being hailed as Mater Misericordiæ in the antiphon Salve Regina. St Thérèse of the Child Jesus spoke about this shortly before her death:

“Un soir elle s'écria: «Que je l'aime la Vierge Marie! Si j'avais été prêtre, que j'aurais bien parlé d'elle! On la montre inabordable, il faudrait la montrer imitable. Elle est plus mère que reine!” / “One evening she exclaimed: ‘Oh, how I love Our Blessed Lady! Had I been a Priest, how I would have sung her praises! She is spoken of as unapproachable, whereas she should be represented as easy of imitation. . . . She is more Mother than Queen.’” [L'Histoire d'une Âme]

    Note. The origin of the Blessed Virgin’s name is associated by some with the sea: mare , is, n.: the sea, freq.; ocean; water, flood; one of her titles is Stella Maris, Star of the Sea, which some believe was originally Stilla Maris, droplet of the sea (cf. distilled essence from the..). For more, see The Name of Mary in the Catholic Encyclopedia. 

104. issue. Something which proceeds or results from any source – here, waters.

        vaines: veins. With reference or allusion to veins as channels for water. Vid Obsolete. 1534   J. Fewterer tr. U. Pinder Myrrour Christes Passion f. cxxxv   What drynke..dyd he desyre, whiche is the founten of the lyuely and holsome water, the veyne of lyfe, the ryuer of all pleasure.

Offspring, produce, proceeds, and derived senses. Vid. c1613  (▸1504)    in T. Stapleton Plumpton Corr. (1839) 193   As for such essew as God sendeth them, it is noe doubt but he wyll..provyd for them.

104. vaines: veins. With reference or allusion to veins as channels for water . Obsolete. 1534   J. Fewterer tr. U. Pinder Myrrour Christes Passion f. cxxxv   What drynke..dyd he desyre, whiche is the founten of the lyuely and holsome water, the veyne of lyfe, the ryuer of all pleasure.

105. creepes. Creep. To move softly, cautiously, timorously, or slowly; to move quietly. There may be an echo of another sense suited to the figurative meaning: vid. 1589   W. Warner Albions Eng. (new ed.) v. xxiii. 103   We kisse the Pix, we creepe the Crosse, our Beades we ouer-runne.

1609   W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iii. iii. 67   To come as humbly as they vsd to creep, to holy aultars.

106. gaines. In plural. Sums acquired by trade or in other ways; emoluments, profits, winnings, etc. Vid. 1600   P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. (1609) xxxi. xlv. 800   The gaines would hardly quit the paines [L. vix operæ pretium erat].

107. flud. Flood (or possibly fluid?) No trace of flud for fluid in OED quotations).

108. bemyre. Bemire. To cover or befoul with mire. Vid. c1532   T. More Let. Impugnynge J. Fryth in Wks. 833/2   If only they that are alredy bymired, were..myred on more and more.

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Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

St Peter's Complaynt : Lines 85-96

[These posts contain revised and expanded notes to St Peter's Complaynt, considered by many to be the last poem written by St Robert Southwell ("RS") before his martyrdom on the 21st of February 1595.  The original series of posts was first published in 2018 on our sister site, Mary's English Dowry. I have expanded my original notes so as to provide a more detailed critical apparatus - with fairly extensive use of quotations from the period in which RS wrote. I have also included paraphrases with the aim of making the poet's language more accessible to modern readers.]

👈The Tears of St Peter -1587 until 1596 

El Greco (Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos) 1541-1614

Museo Soumaya at Plaza Carso, Mexico.

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- 15 - 

Ah, life! sweet drop, drownd in a sea of sowres,

A flying good, posting to doubtfull end,

Still loosing months and yeeres to gaine few howres:

Faine, time to haue and spare, yet forc't to spend:

Thy growth, decrease; a moment all thou hast:

That gone, ere knowne; the rest, to come, or past. [90]

    Ah life! A precious gift, but lived out in a vale of tears, like a sweet droplet swallowed up in floods of bitterness; something blessed but fleeting, rushing along to an uncertain and awful end; incessantly, months and years must pass in order to gain but few hours of time; fortunate in having time, and time to spare, yet forced to use it up; and the greater the passage of time, the more doth time diminish; all thou hast is the present moment, and that is gone before it is known; all that remains for the present is in the past or still to come.

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    85. sweet. Pleasing (in general); yielding pleasure or enjoyment; agreeable, delightful; vid. 1604   W. Shakespeare Hamlet iii. iv. 185 + 8   O tis most sweete When in one line two crafts directly meete. Perhaps the following sense is more appropriate here: Dearly loved or prized, precious; beloved, dear. Vid. 1583   H. Howard Defensatiue sig. Ppivv   Policarpus, the sweete Martir of our Lorde. This second sense would suggest a contrast between, on the one hand: life as a precious gift from God,  compared with life as lived after original sin by exsules filii Hevæ /poor banished children of Eve, in hac lacrimarum valle / in this vale of tears. [From the Marian antiphon Salve Regina / Hail Holy Queen]. RS devoted an entire poem to this theme, vid. A Vale of teares.

    sowres. This is perhaps an echo of the words “sorrows” and “sores”, but the primary sense would appear to derive from a contrast between “sweet” and “sour” (as exemplified in the two quotations): Sours. That which is sour, in literal or figurative senses [B. n.1 1. ]. Vid. 1584   R. Greene Gwydonius f. 38 By the sweete (quoth he) how should we know the sower. 1594   J. Sylvester tr. O. de La Noue Profit Imprisonm. sig. C4v   This worlds fained sweet..Should be preferd before these seeming-sowres, that make vs Taste many true-sweet sweets.

    86. flying. Fly. To move or travel swiftly, pass rapidly, rush along, esp. of time. Vid. 1609   W. Shakespeare Louers Complaint in Sonnets sig. K2v   That..had let go by The swiftest houres obserued as they flew.

Cf. fugit invida ætas. [Horace, Odes 1 ; 11]: 

dum loquimur, fugerit invida / aetas: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero. 

In the moment of our talking, envious time has ebb'd away / Seize the present; trust tomorrow e'en as little as you may.

posting. Post. To ride, run, or travel with speed or haste; to hurry, make haste. Vid. 1595   Blanchardine & Eglantine 208   They posted so fast [Fr. tant cheuaucherent], that within short time they came before the gate.

    1598   R. Hakluyt tr. Vincent of Beauvais in Princ. Navigations (new ed.) I. 65   Riding as fast as our horses could trot (for we had fresh horses almost thrise or foure times a day) we posted [Fr. hastions, L. properabamus] from morning till night.

    doubtfull. Doubtful. a. Of things: Involved in doubt or uncertainty; uncertain, undecided; indistinct, ambiguous.  b. Of uncertain issue. 3. To be dreaded or feared; awful, dread. Vid. 1556   in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxf. (1880) 240   The unfortunate end and doubtful tragedy of T.C. 

    87. still. 3. a. With reference to action or condition: Without change, interruption, or cessation; continually, constantly; on every occasion, invariably; always. Vid. 1609   W. Shakespeare Sonnets cxxvi. sig. H3   She may detaine, but not still keepe her tresure!

    loosing. This may be “losing” or “loosing” in the sense of losing or letting go a great deal in order to gain what is in comparison much less.

    88. Faine. 1) Adv. Gladly, willingly, with pleasure. Vid. a1616   W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) i. i. 63   I would faine dye a dry death. 2) Alternatively, this passes gradually into the sense: Necessitated, obliged. Vid. a1535   T. More Hist. Richard III in Wks. (1557) 58/1   Penker..so lost his voice that he was faine to leaue off.

    forc’t. Forced. 

    90. ere. Before.

- 16 -

Ah, life! the maze of countlesse straying waies, —

Open to erring steps and strew'd with baits, —

To winde weake senses into endlesse strayes,

Aloofe from Vertue's rough, vnbeaten straights;

A flower, a play, a blast, a shade, a dreame, [95]

A liuing death, a never-turning streame.

    Ah life! What a maze of countless paths leading this way and that, littered and strewn with temptations; with nothing to stop those whose steps lead them astray, persons weak in mind, who are drawn into endless wanderings and take the wrong road; avoiding the wild and strait way of virtue, scarcely trodden, that leads to life. Life . . . a flower, a play, a gust of wind, a shadow, a dream, a living death, a stream that never turns back.

    91. straying. To wander from the direct way, deviate. Vid. 1590   E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. i. sig. A4   When weening to returne, whence they did stray, They cannot finde that path.

    waies. Ways.

    92. erring. 1) To ramble, roam, stray, wander. 2) To go astray; to stray from (one's path or line of direction).3) To go wrong in judgement or opinion: to make mistakes, blunder. To go astray morally; to sin. 

    strew’d. Strewed. To scatter, spread loosely; to scatter (rushes, straw, flowers, etc.) on the ground or floor, or over the surface of something; vid. a1616   W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) ii. iv. 59   Not a flower, not a flower sweete On my blacke coffin, let there be strewne [rhyme throwne] .

    baits. Food used to entice a prey. figurative. An enticement, allurement, temptation. Vid. 1573   T. Tusser Points Huswifrie (new ed.) f. 12, in Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.)    A dore without lock, is a baight [1577 baite] for a knaue. 

    93.-94. To winde . . . unbeaten straights. These lines recall the words of Christ:

"Enter ye in at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leadeth to life: and few there are that find it! [Matt. vii. 13-14]" [New Testament, Douay Rheims, pub. 1582.]

    winde. In immaterial sense: To turn or deflect in a certain direction; esp. to turn or lead (a person) according to one's will; vid. 1606   G. Chapman Sir Gyles Goosecappe i. sig. Cv   Wee will turne her, and winde her, and make her so plyant that we will drawe her thorugh a wedding ring yfaith.

    senses. In plural. The thinking or reasoning faculties of the human mind in a normal or undisturbed state; reason; sanity; wits. 1600   W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 (2nd issue) iii. i. 8   Ô sleepe..how haue I frighted thee, That thou no more wilt weigh my eye-liddes downe, And steep my sences in forgetfulnesse. 

    strayes. The action of straying or wandering. Vid. 1608   W. Shakespeare King Lear i. 199   I would not from your loue make such a stray, To match you where I hate. 

    1623   W. Lisle in tr. Ælfric Saxon Treat. Old & New Test. To the Prince xxxv   As long as these, and Riuers all else-where, Their moulten Crystall poure by crooked strayes Into the Maine.

    94. Aloofe. [A loose, RS-DS] figurative. Frequently with from. Apart from another person or group (with respect to one's attitudes, actions, or interests), usually suggesting a lack of sympathy or common ground. Vid. 1583   G. Babington Very Fruitfull Expos. Commaundem. ix. 449   [Lying]..maketh them hang aloofe, suspect, and be strange one to an other.

1603   W. Shakespeare Hamlet v. ii. 193   I'le stand aloofe, And will no reconcilement.

    Vertue. Conformity to moral law or accepted moral standards, the possession of morally good qualities; behaviour arising from such standards, abstention on moral grounds from any form of wrongdoing or vice. Vid. 1621   R. Burton Anat. Melancholy i. i. ii. xi. 45   The principall Habits are two in number, Vertue, and Vice.

    rough. Of ground: difficult to traverse; uneven, rugged, broken, stony; uncultivated, wild. 

    vnbeaten. Beat. transitive. Said of the action of the feet upon the ground in walking or running; hence, to beat the streets: to walk up and down. to beat a path or to beat a track: to tread it hard or bare by frequent passage; hence, to open up or prepare a way. Often figurative. 

    straights. The word suggests two meanings: 1) strait. A narrow confined place or space or way generally. 

Vid. 1585   T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie iv. xv. 129   Through which narrow streights, Alexander..made his armie to pass. 1600   J. Bodenham Bel-vedére 228   No wise man likes in such a life to dwell, Whose wayes are strait to heauen, but wide to hell.  2) rectitude. Of conduct: Free from crookedness; frank, honest. Hence of persons and their attributes. Also in modern colloquial use, law-abiding as opposed to criminal. Vid. a1628   J. Preston New Covenant (1634) 233   To describe to you a right and straight man, when his end is right, and his rule is right. 

    95. a play. Cf. Shakespeare, As you like it, Act II Scene VII Line 139: “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players.”

    shade. Perhaps referring to the sense of a shadow, image, or phantom, and related uses. Cf. Plato’s image of the cave:

"In the allegory of the cave (Republic, VII, 514 d) a race of men are described as chained in a fixed position in a cavern, able to look only at the wall in front of them. When an animal, e.g. a horse, passes in front of the cave, they, beholding the shadow on the wall, imagine it to be a reality, and while in prison they know of no other reality." [Catholic Encyclopedia, Plato.]

    dreame. Cf. 

Our revels now are ended. These our actors, 

As I foretold you, were all spirits and 

Are melted into air, into thin air: 

And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, 

The cloud-capp'd towers, the gorgeous palaces, 

The solemn temples, the great globe itself, 

Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolve 

And, like this insubstantial pageant faded, 

Leave not a rack behind. We are such stuff 

As dreams are made on, and our little life 

Is rounded with a sleep.

Shakespeare, The Tempest (Act IV, Scene I)

If we shadows have offended,

Think but this, and all is mended—

That you have but slumbered here

While these visions did appear.

And this weak and idle theme,

No more yielding but a dream…

Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Act V, Scene I)

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Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.

St Peter's Complaynt : Lines 61-84

[These posts contain revised and expanded notes to St Peter's Complaynt, considered by many to be the last poem written by St Robert Southwell ("RS") before his martyrdom on the 21st of February 1595.  The original series of posts was first published in 2018 on our sister site, Mary's English Dowry. I have expanded my original notes so as to provide a more detailed critical apparatus - with fairly extensive use of quotations from the period in which RS wrote. I have also included paraphrases with the aim of making the poet's language more accessible to modern readers.]

👈The Tears of St Peter -1587 until 1596 

El Greco (Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos) 1541-1614

Museo Soumaya at Plaza Carso, Mexico.

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- 11 - 

Vaine in my vaunts, I vowd, if friends had fail'd,

Alone Christ's hardest fortunes to abide:

Giant in talke, like dwarfe in triall quaild:

Excelling none, but in vntruth and pride.

Such distance is betweene high words and deeds: [65]

In proofe, the greatest vaunter seldome speeds.

    In my foolish and conceited pride, I vowed that if the disciples’ hearts should fail, I would face the hardest of Christ’s trials on my own. When it came to talking, I was like a giant; but when put to the test, I felt very small and my courage failed. I was actually better than nobody, except when it came to pride and telling untruths; such is the big difference between high-sounding words and putting those words into action. This is proved by observation: the greatest braggart rarely turns his boasts into deeds.

    61-62. Note Peter’s words in the following exchanges:

Simon Peter saith to him: Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered: Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow hereafter. Peter saith to him: Why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thee. Jesus answered him: Wilt thou lay down thy life for me? Amen, amen I say to thee, the cock shall not crow, till thou deny me thrice. [John xiii. 36-38]

Then Jesus said to them: All you shall be scandalized in me this night. For it is written: I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be dispersed. But after I shall be risen again, I will go before you into Galilee. 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. 31-35]

    vaine. Of persons: devoid of sense or wisdom; foolish, silly, thoughtless; vide 1569   R. Grafton Chron. II. 106   Diuerse vaine persons bruted dayly among the Commons of the realme, that Christ had twise apered vnto him.

    vaunts. Vaunt. Boasting, bragging; boastful or vainglorious language or utterance; arrogant assertion or bearing. Vide 1596   E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene vi. iv. sig. Cc5   A great Gyant..Whom he did ouerthrow..And in three battailes did so deadly daunt, That he dare not returne for all his daily vaunt.

    62. fortunes. A chance, hap, accident; an event or incident befalling any one, an adventure. A mishap, disaster. c1500 Three Kings' Sons (E.E.T.S.) 67   It was tyme nowe to leue of alle sorowe & lamentacion for any fortune that was befalle.

    abide. To await defiantly; to encounter, withstand, or sustain; to face, esp. in combat. To experience or undergo; to endure, suffer, bear. Vide 1588   A. King tr. P. Canisius Cathechisme or Schort Instr. 125   Christ our lord..abaid ye schame of ye croce. 

    63. triall. Trial: The fact or condition of being tried by suffering or temptation; probation. Vide a1557   J. Cheke tr. Gospel St. Matthew (1843) xxvi. 41   Can ie not watch oon hour with me, watch and prai yt ie enter not into trial.

    quaild. quailed. Quail: Of courage, †hope, †faith, etc.: to fail, give way, become faint or feeble. Vide a1577   G. Gascoigne Hundred Flowers in Wks. (1869) I. 43   Since courage quayles, and commes behind, Go sleepe.

    66. vaunter. A boaster or braggart. Vide a1610   J. Healey tr. Theophrastus Characters (1636) 79   A vanter or forth-putter is he, that boastes upon the Exchange, that he hath store of banke mony.

    speeds. Speed: intransitive. Of persons: to succeed or prosper; to meet with success or good fortune; to attain one's purpose or desire. Vide  1580   T. Tusser Fiue Hundred Pointes Good Husbandrie (new ed.) f. 19   But woorse shall he speed, that soweth ill seed.

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- 12 - 

Ah, rashnes! hastie rise to murdering leape,

Lauish in vowing, blind in seeing what:

Soone sowing shames that long remorse must reape:

Nursing with teares that ouer-sight begat; [70]

Scout of Repentance, harbinger of blame,

Treason to wisedome, mother of ill name.

    Ah, what rashness, a hasty and ill-considered high opinion of myself proved a jumping-off point for murder — a mortal sin leading to my Master’s death and the slaying of my own conscience, with the loss of grace and of eternal life. I was most effusive in my declarations of courage and loyalty, but I was blind to the truth. My words soon became like seeds of shame that I would harvest over a long period of remorse, nursing with tears that which neglect had brought forth. A forerunner of repentance and culpability; betrayal of wisdom, mother of ill repute. 

    67. rashnes. Rash: late 14c., "nimble, quick, vigorous" (early 14c. as a surname), a Scottish and northern word, perhaps from a survival of Old English -ræsc (as in ligræsc "flash of lightning") or one of its Germanic cognates . . . . The original senses in English now are obsolete. Sense of "reckless, impetuous, heedless of consequences, hasty in council or action" is attested from c. 1500. OEtD.

    hastie. Hasty. Characterized by excessive speed or urgency; rash; lacking sufficient care, consideration, or forethought. Vide 1569   R. Grafton Chron. II. 44   Hastie and furious of heart, and vnware of perilles.

    rise. Perhaps a general sense of rash pride swelling or rising quickly and  culminating in a leape or transition resulting in murder (vid. infra). 

    Alternatively, rise may have a particular meaning: A start or aid towards achieving upward movement in a leap; a place from which to leap or soar upwards.Vid.  a1616   J. Smith Poore Penitent 21 in Essex Dove (1629)    Wee see in reason, if a man come to a great ditch to leape ouer, if hee misse his rise, yet hee will goe backe againe and againe, and take his best aduantage, rather then hee will fall in the midst. 

    murdering. Perhaps Peter saw his rashness and his betrayal as a mortal sin contributing to the death of Christ on the Cross and to the loss life-giving grace within his own soul, resulting in the loss of eternal life. There may also be a reference to the death of his conscience.

    68. lavish.  With reference to speech: Unrestrained, effusive; vid. 1594   W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 i. i. 25   Th'excessiue loue I beare vnto your grace, Forbids me to be lauish of my tongue.

    remorse. Deep regret or guilt for doing something morally wrong; the fact or state of feeling sorrow for committing a sin; repentance, compunction. 

late 14c., from Old French remors and directly from Medieval Latin remorsum"a biting back or in return," OEtD.

Vid. 1563   T. Sackville in W. Baldwin et al. Myrrour for Magistrates (new ed.) Induct. xxxii   And first within the portche and iawes of Hell Sate diepe Remorse of conscience.

    70. nursing. Transitive. 1) To care for (a person) during sickness or infirmity; to help through an illness, etc. Vid. 1562   J. Heywood Wks. ii. vii   God graunt (quoth I) the head and bodie both twoo. To nourse eche other, better then they doo.  2) Of a woman: to breastfeed (a baby or young child). This sense is supported by the use of “begat” at the end of the line.  

    over-sight. The sense here seems to refer to his blindness (line 68) resulting in a negligent oversight of what was really happening and what his right course of action should have been.

    begat. Beget. Of a father or (now less commonly) both parents: to bring (a child) into existence by the process of reproduction; to procreate. Also of an animal: to sire. figurative and in extended use: to call into being, give rise to; to produce, occasion. Vid. 1581   W. Lambarde Eirenarcha i. xvi. 123   The doing thereof doth also beget a forfeiture of the Recognusance that is made.

    71. scout. Military. One sent out ahead of the main force in order to reconnoitre the position and movements of the enemy. Hence occasionally in wider sense: One sent out to obtain information. 

    harbinger. One that goes before and announces the approach of someone; a forerunner. Mostly in transferred and figurative senses, and in literary language. Vid. 1575   G. Gascoigne Fruites of Warre cxliv, in Posies sig. Iviiiv   Hope is harbenger of all mishappe.

blame. Responsibility for anything wrong, culpability;

wisdom. Soundness of judgement; also, Christ: vid. 1587   Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. v. 60   We call him also the Wisedome of the Father, yea, and euen meerely and simply wisedome. [cf. 1 Corinth. i. 19-30]

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- 13 - 

The borne-blind begger, for received sight,

Fast in his faith and loue to Christ remain'd;

He stooped to no feare, he fear'd no might, [75]

No change his choice, no threats his truth distain'd:

One wonder wrought him in his dutie sure,

I, after thousands, did my Lord abiure.

    The beggar, who was blind from birth, remained steadfast in his faith and love for Christ — by whom he received the miraculous gift of his sight. He yielded to no fear and was not afraid of the high and mighty. The threats made to him over the truth of what he said and seeking to make him change his mind did not succeed; his honour was left intact and unsullied. It took only one miracle to make him steadfast and sure in his duty; but even after seeing thousands of miracles, I denied my Master, with an oath and cursing.   

    73. The borne-blind begger.  Christ heals a man who was born blind. The man is questioned by neighbours and aggressively interrogated by the Pharisees. He shows honesty and remarkable courage throughout. Finally, he says to Christ: “I believe, Lord. And falling down, he adored him.”  For the full account given by St John, see Appendix I, The man born blind (page 29).

    74. Fast. Of a person, state of mind, attribute, etc.: not easily turned aside, unwavering, resolute, steadfast. Vid. 1509   J. Fisher Serm. Henry VIJ (de Worde) sig. A.iijv   A fast hope & confydence þt he had in prayer.

    75. stooped. Stoop: Of a person: To lower the body by inclining the trunk or the head and shoulders forward, sometimes bending the knee at the same time. To ‘bow’ to superior power or authority; to humble oneself, yield obedience. Const. to, under. Vid. 1555   R. Eden in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde Pref. sig. bjv   Stoope Englande stoope, and learne to knowe thy lorde and master.

    76. distain’d. Distain: To imbue or stain (a thing) with a colour different from the natural one; to discolour, stain, dye, tinge. Transferred and figurative. To defile; to bring a blot or stain upon; to sully, dishonour. Vid. 1590   C. Marlowe Tamburlaine: 2nd Pt. sig. I4   Shame of nature which Iaertis streame..Can neuer wash from thy distained browes.

    78. abjure. To reject or repudiate on oath (a claim or claimant); to renounce or disavow (a thing).Vid.

“And as he 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] 

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- 14 - 

Could seruile feare of rendring Nature's due,

Which growth in yeeres was shortly like to claime, [80]

So thrall my loue, that I should thus eschue

A vowed death, and misse so faire an ayme?

Die, die disloyall wretch, thy life detest:

For sauing thine, thou hast forsworne the best.

    Could abject fear of death, (which advancing years would shortly bring in any event), could such fear so enslave and terrify my love as to make me run away from the death I claimed with a vow to prefer to denying Christ, making me miss the noble aim I had stated? Die, I say, die thou wretched traitor; thou shouldst detest thy life; for in saving thine own life, thou hast denied and renounced the best.

    79. servile. Of an action, personal attribute, etc.: slavish, abject, ignoble; fawning, cringing, obsequious; esp. indicative of or motivated by an excessive desire to serve, please, or defer to someone. Vid. a1616   W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) i. i. 75   [Cæsar] Who else would soare aboue the view of men, And keepe vs all in seruile fearefulnesse.

    rendring. Render: To pay as a tax, rent, or tribute. Also figurative. Vid. 1594   W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus i. i. 160   My tributarie teares, I render for my brethrens obsequies. 1611   Bible (King James) Mark xii. 17   Render to Cesar the things that are Cesars.

    Rendring Nature’s due. Paying the debt due to Nature, i.e., dying.

    81. thrall. To bring into bondage or subjection; to deprive of liberty; to hold in thraldom, enthrall, enslave; to take or hold captive. Vid. ?1531   J. Frith Disput. Purgatorye To Rdr. sig. a5v   Fleshlye lust..wolde subdue..and holde vs thraulde vnder sinne.

    Loue. Love. Perhaps the sense is the affectionate devotion due to God from an individual; vid. 1611   Bible (King James) 1 John iv. 16   God is loue, and hee that dwelleth in loue, dwelleth in God.

    eschue. Eschew: To avoid, keep clear of, escape (a danger or inconvenience). Vid. 1553   T. Wilson Arte of Rhetorique 2   Beware..of straunge woordes, as thou wouldest take hede and eschewe greate rockes in the sea. 

    82. A vowed death. A reference to Peter’s declaration: “Peter saith to him: Yea, though I should die with thee, I will not deny thee.” [Matt. xxvi. 31-35]

    ayme. Aim. An object aimed at; a mark, a target. In early use frequently in figurative context, with allusion to archery. A desired outcome; an end aimed at; an objective, a goal; a purpose, an intention. Vid. 1595   H. Roberts Trumpet of Fame 5   Take courage then, let honor be your aime, And drag not back, you that will honor gaine.

wretch. One who is sunk in deep distress, sorrow, misfortune, or poverty; a miserable, unhappy, or unfortunate person; a poor or hapless being. Vid. 1577   H. I. tr. H. Bullinger 50 Godlie Serm. I. ii. ii. sig. H.vii/1   Solomon the..happy king of Iuda, bycause of his Idolatrie..is of a soudeine, made a wretch of all other.

forsworne. Forswear. To abandon or renounce on oath or in a manner deemed irrevocable; = abjure. Vid. 561   T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. iv. f. 109   By suche contempt the grace offred is refused and as it were forsworne.

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Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.