St Peter's Complaynt : Lines 223-234

[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 work is offered to Mary, Our Queen and Mother, and dedicated to 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 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.

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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.

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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 211-222

[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 work is offered to Mary, Our Queen and Mother, and dedicated to 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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- 36 -

O portresse of the doore of my disgrace,

Whose tongue vnlockt the truth of vowed minde;

Whose words from coward's hart did courage chase,

And let in deathfull feares my soule to blinde;

O hadst thou been the portresse to my toome, [215]

When thou wert portresse to that cursed roome!

    Thou art indeed a gatekeeper, the portress in charge of the door which led to my disgrace; the words of thy tongue laid bare what I had truly in mind when I made my oath of fidelity. Thy words chased out all courage from this coward’s heart and opened the door for fears fraught with death to blind my soul. 

Would thou had been the portress to my tomb when thou wert portress to that place.

    211. portresse. A female porter; a woman who acts as porter, doorkeeper, or gatekeeper.[1] 1613–31   Primer Our Lady 264.  The wench..that was portresse sayth to Peter, art not thou also of this mans disciples?

    Here is the Vulgate and Douy-Rheims text relating to the portress;

The maid therefore that was portress, saith to Peter: Art not thou also one of this man's disciples? He saith: I am not. 

Dicit ergo Petro ancilla ostiaria : Numquid et tu ex discipulis es hominis istius? Dicit ille : Non sum. [John. xviii. 17]

    It is interesting to note the use of the word ancilla in the Blessed Virgin Mary's response to Gabriel, her humble fiat providing a contrast to Peter's lack of courage:

And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. [Luke i. 38]

    212. vowed. Confirmed by a vow or vows; solemnly promised or guaranteed. Solemnly sworn or threatened. 1590   E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. iv. sig. P8   Our selues in league of vowed loue wee knitt.  1590   E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. vi. sig. R2v   Of his way he had no souenaunce, Nor care of vow'd reuenge, and cruell fight.

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]

    214. deathfull. Deathful. Fraught with death; fatal, destructive, deadly. Having the appearance of death; associated with death; deathly. a1586   Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1593) ii. f. 55   With a deathfull shutting off his eyes hee fell downe at her bedside.

    215. toome. Tomb. For spelling, see 1587   A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. 115/2   She was buried in the nunrie of Goodstow beside Oxford, with these verses vpon hir toome…

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- 37 -

Yet loue was loath to part, feare loath to die;

Stay, danger, life, did counterplead their causes;

I, fauouring stay and life, bad danger flie,

But danger did except against these clauses: [220]

Yet stay and liue I would, and danger shunne,

And lost myselfe while I my verdict wonne.

    My love for the Lord made me reluctant to leave, but my own fear would simply not go away; the issues of staying, the danger, and how this affected my life, all these pleaded their case in the judgement of my mind. 

    I was moved by the arguments in favour of staying and preserving my life, dismissing danger; but danger made objection to these arguments. 

In the end, I would stay and preserve my life, avoiding danger. In so doing, I seemed to win a successful verdict but, in winning, I lost myself.

    217. part. To depart, go away (from a place); to leave, set out. Of two or more people or things: to go or come apart; to separate; esp. (of persons) to go away from each other, quit one another's company. 1596   E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene vi. i. sig. Z5   So both tooke goodly leaue, and parted seuerall.

    218. stay. Perhaps the best sense here relates to: The action or fact of staying or remaining in a place, continued presence, by way of contrast with part in line 217. Or, similarly: A stationary condition, a standstill: 1600   R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique vii. xviii. 830   [Oaks have] one hundred [years] to growe, one hundred to stande at a staie, and one hundred to decline and fall away.

    220. except.  intransitive. To make objection; to object or take exception. 1577   M. Hanmer tr. Socrates Scholasticus i. xxi, in Aunc. Eccl. Hist. 248   He excepteth against Eusebius and his adherents, as open enemyes. 

    Etymology:  From the use of Latin excipere (adversus aliquem) in Roman Law; the etymological notion being that of limiting the right alleged in an opponent's declaration by setting up a countervailing right in the defendant which excepts his case; the etymological notion being that of limiting the right alleged in an opponent's declaration by setting up a countervailing right in the defendant which excepts his case. This jurisprudential sense features in line 218 (counterplead their causes) and line 222,  (while I my verdict wonne).

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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 199-210

[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 work is offered to Mary, Our Queen and Mother, and dedicated to 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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- 34 -

So farre lukewarm desires in crasie loue,

Farre off, in neede with feeble foote they traine; [200]

In tydes they swim, low ebbes they scorne to proue;

They seeke their friends' delights, but shun their paine:

Hire of a hireling minde is earned shame:

Take now thy due, beare thy begotten blame.

I followed Him from afar . . . so far, as when the lukewarm longings of a love that is easily broken seem so distant; in distress they hang back, weakly and hesitantly.  They are happy to take the plunge and go with the flow when it suits, but when the tide turns and they find themselves at a low ebb, they seem to be stranded and unwilling to move. They are all for seeking out the pleasure and delight of friends, but they avoid altogether their friends’ sorrows and sufferings.

The reward earned for such a selfish and mercenary mentality is shame. Take this shame, which is thy due; and thou must bear the blame and guilt which thou didst bring upon thyself. 

    199. crasie. Full of cracks or flaws; damaged, impaired, unsound; liable to break or fall to pieces; frail. 1583   P. Stubbes Anat. Abuses sig. Dviiv   If Aeolus with his blasts, or Neptune with his stormes, chaunce to hit vppon the crasie bark.

    200. neede. The state or condition of requiring help or support; difficulty, distress. a1533   Ld. Berners tr. Arthur of Brytayn (?1560) lxxiii. sig. Siii   Whan nede is than a frende is proued.

    traine. Train. To drag oneself along; to creep, trail. 1566   J. Studley tr. Seneca Agamemnon iii. sig. C.iiv   He traynes along the roaryng seas and eke the waltryng waue By shouyng on hys bourly brest in sonder quyte he draue.

    201. tydes . . . ebbes. Tide. Applied to that which is like the tide of the sea in some way; as in ebbing or flowing, rising or falling, or ‘turning’ at a certain time. 1594   W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. E4v   My vncontrolled tide Turnes not, but swels the higher by this let. View more context for this quotation

a1616   W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) iv. ii. 270   There is a Tide in the affayres of men, Which taken at the Flood, leades on to Fortune.

    203. hireling. Characteristic of or pertaining to a hireling; serving for hire or wages; to be had for hire; mercenary. (Usually opprobrious.) 1587   Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. xxxii. 593   What find we in all the writings of the Heathen but a Hireling vertue?  1614   W. Raleigh Hist. World i. i. viii. §15. 177   The factious and hireling Historians of all Ages.

204. beare. Bear. There are several meanings possible here, e.g. : 1) To support the weight of; 2) To experience, entertain (an idea, feeling, or emotion); to hold on to, harbour (a feeling, esp. a negative one). 3) to assume, be given, or have attributed to one (responsibility, blame, guilt, etc.). 4) To suffer (pain, hardship, or adversity). 1611   Bible (King James) Gen. iv. 13   My punishment is greater then I can beare.

gg

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Ah, coole remisnes! Virtue's quartane feuer, [210]

Pyning of loue, consumption of grace;

Old in the cradle, languor dying euer,

Soule's wilfull famine, sinne's soft-stealing pase;

The vndermining euill of zealous thought,

Seeming to bring no harmes, till all be brought. [215]

    How thy heart has grown cold and neglectful. Virtue’s recurring ague — pining for love, longing for absent grace; grown old while yet in the cradle, with sorrow never-ending; the self-inflicted starvation of a soul, sin’s silent and stealthy progress; good undermined by evil stemming from zealous thoughts: seeming quite innocent until the resulting harm becomes apparent.

    205. remisnes. Reduction or lack of force or intensity; diminution; weakness. Carelessness, negligence; laxity. 1608   A. Willet Hexapla in Exodum 259   Nor yet do I consent to them, that thinke Moses still continued his prayers, but that this remisnes was only in his strength. 1575   in MSS. Rye & Hereford Corporations (1892) 48   We for remisenes in dutie to be gretly blamid.

    Virtue. 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. Frequently with capital initial. Such moral excellence personified. a1616   W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 (1623) iii. ii. 63   That loue which Vertue begges, and Vertue graunts.

    quartane.  Quartan. Medicine. Recurring (by inclusive reckoning) every fourth day (i.e. at intervals of approximately seventy-two hours); spec. designating a form of malaria in which fever recurs in this way. 1547   A. Borde Breuiary of Helthe i. f. lxi   A feuer quartayne..doth infest a man euery thyrde daye, that is to saye .ii. dayes whole and one sicke.

Perhaps in the sense of ague: An acute or high fever; disease, or a disease, characterized by such fever, esp. when recurring periodically, spec. malaria. Whence: A state or bout of distress, fear, or other strong emotion; a fit or spell of shaking or shivering.

    206. pyning. Pine. v. To suffer, to endure pain or (occasionally) penance. 1584   R. Scot Discouerie Witchcraft xii. vii. 226   She sticketh also needels fine In liuers, whereby men doo pine. To afflict with pain or suffering; to cause to suffer; to torment, trouble, distress. 

`    Also intransitive.To yearn; to languish with desire, to hunger for something; to long eagerly. 1599   W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet v. iii. 235   The new-made Bridegroome..For whome, and not for Tibalt, Iuliet pinde. 

    consumption.  There are several possible meanings here: 1. The action or fact of destroying or being destroyed; destruction. c1540   J. Bellenden tr. H. Boece Hyst. & Cron. Scotl. xv. xv. f. 240/1   The vnstabyl conditioun of mannis lyfe sa suddany alterit. Now flurisand, and suddanly falling to vter consumption. 2. abnormality or loss of humours, resulting in wasting (extreme weight loss) of the body; such wasting; (obsolete). Later: disease that causes wasting of the body. Figurative and in extended use: 1576   A. Fleming tr. Erasmus in Panoplie Epist. 337   Freendly services..ceasing, freendshippe must needes be in daunger of a consumption.

    207. languor. 1. Mental suffering or distress; pining, longing, sorrow, grief. 1594   W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus iii. i. 13   My harts deepe languor, and my soules sad teares. 

    208. pase. The action or manner of stepping when walking, running, or dancing; the rate at which a person or animal takes steps, or moves by stepping. c1515   Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) lv. 185   The horse wold nother trot nor galop but go styll his owne pase.

    209. vndermining. Undermine. To work secretly or stealthily against (a person); to overthrow or supplant by underhand means. 1561   T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. iv. xviii   To beguile and vndermine an other man, al men know to be vnlawfull.

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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 187-198

[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 work is offered to Mary, Our Queen and Mother, and dedicated to 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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- 32 -

When Christ, attending the distressefull hower,

With His surcharged breast did blesse the ground,

Prostrate in pangs, rayning a bleeding shower,

Me, like myselfe, a drowsie friend He found, [190]

Thrice, in His care, sleepe clos'd my carelesse eye;

Presage how Him my tongue should thrise denie.

     Christ, presenting Himself in the garden at the hour of His agony, felt His heart overburdened and sorrowful even unto death. He fell prostrate upon His face, thereby blessing the ground where he lay; his sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground.
    He found me, His friend, drowsy, just as I was to find myself later - for my eyes were heavy; three times, whilst He was overcome with cares, I closed my eyes in sleep, without caring for His suffering.
    These three times were a portent of how I would later deny my Lord three times.

Note. These lines refer to Christ’s Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane: 

“Then Jesus came with them into a country place which is called Gethsemani; and he said to his disciples: Sit you here, till I go yonder and pray. And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to grow sorrowful and to be sad. Then he saith to them: My soul is sorrowful even unto death: stay you here, and watch with me. And going a little further, he fell upon his face, praying, and saying: My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me. Nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. And he cometh to his disciples, and findeth them asleep, and he saith to Peter: What? Could you not watch one hour with me? Watch ye, and pray that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh weak. Again the second time, he went and prayed, saying: My Father, if this chalice may not pass away, but I must drink it, thy will be done. And he cometh again and findeth them sleeping: for their eyes were heavy. And leaving them, he went again: and he prayed the third time, saying the selfsame word. Then he cometh to his disciples, and saith to them: Sleep ye now and take your rest; behold the hour is at hand, and the Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners.” [Matt. xxvi. 36-47]

These should be read together with St Luke’s acccount:

“And going out, he went, according to his custom, to the mount of Olives. And his disciples also followed him. And when he was come to the place, he said to them: Pray, lest ye enter into temptation. And he was withdrawn away from them a stone's cast; and kneeling down, he prayed, Saying: Father, if thou wilt, remove this chalice from me: but yet not my will, but thine be done.  And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony, he prayed the longer. And his sweat became as drops of blood, trickling down upon the ground. And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow. And he said to them: Why sleep you? arise, pray, lest you enter into temptation.” [Luke xxii. 39-46]

187. hower. Hour. 1553   T. Wilson Arte Rhetorique (1580) 150   Sir Thomas More..whose witte even at this hower, is a wonder to all the worlde.

192. Presage. Something that gives warning of what is about to happen; an indication or foreshadowing of a future event; an omen, a sign, a portent. 1579   T. North tr. Plutarch Liues 1114   A very euil signe and presage for him, to enter into Rome with such bloudshed.

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Parted from Christ, my fainting force declin'd,

With lingring foot I followed Him aloofe;

Base feare out of my hart His love vnshrin'd: [195]

Huge in high words, but impotent in proofe,

My vaunts did seeme hatcht vnder Sampson's locks,

Yet woman's words did giue me murdring knocks.

    They led Jesus away and I was parted from Him; my already fainting courage grew weaker. Fearfully and cautiously I followed Him from afar. Craven fear banished His love from my heart, where it had dwelt as in a shrine or tabernacle.

    I had been grand enough when it came to my proud and inflated words, but I was feeble and useless when these words were put to the test.

    My bragging claims sounded as strong as Sampson himself, before his locks were shorn to take away his strength; yet it took only a few words from a woman to despatch me with their blows.

    193-4. The poet refers to the Gospel account:

"But they holding Jesus led him to Caiphas the high priest, where the scribes and the ancients were assembled. And Peter followed him afar off, even to the court of the high priest. And going in, he sat with the servants, that he might see the end." [Matt. xxvi. 57-58]

    193. declined. 1) To fall off or fail in force, vigour, or vitality; to decay, wane, diminish, decrease; to fall from prosperity or excellence, to deteriorate. 1597   T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke 182   Your health, which I feare is already declining. 2) To turn or bend aside; to deviate (from the straight course); to turn away. To turn aside in conduct; esp. to swerve or fall away (from rectitude, duty, allegiance, instructions, etc.). 1495   Act 11 Hen. VII c. 1 §2   Persones..which shall hereafter declyne from..their seid alliegeaunce.

    There are two possible interpretations: 1) Parted from Christ, my strength already failing, grew weaker. 2) Parted from Christ, my companions, whose courage was weakening, turned and ran away.

    194. lingering. To stay behind, tarry, loiter on one's way; to stay on or hang about in a place beyond the proper or usual time, esp. from reluctance to leave it. 1553   R. Eden tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India sig. Gjv   Leaste any linger behynde his companie.

    aloofe. Aloof. To or at a distance from something; far off; separately, apart. a1554   J. Croke tr. Thirteen Psalms (1844) cii. 20   No frende draweth nere, I syt alowfe.

    195. base. Morally low; despicable, ignoble; reprehensibly cowardly, craven; selfish, mean. 

    vnshrined. Unshrine. transitive. To remove from, cast out of, a shrine. Also figurative. 1599   Life Sir T. More in C. Wordsworth Eccl. Biog. (1853) II. 181   We have of late unshrined him [sc. Thomas of Canterbury].

    196. proofe. Proof. The action or an act of testing or making trial of something; the condition of being tested; examination, experiment; test, trial; (also) an instance of this. Often in phrases, as to bring (set, etc.) (a thing) in (also on, to) (the, †a) proof. Now usually as to put to (the) proof. ?a1500   in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) I. 270 (MED)   A place of proff for man to knowe bothe frend and foo; Sum hold abacke, sum nott att home.

    197. vaunts. Vaunt. Boasting, bragging; boastful or vainglorious language or utterance; arrogant assertion or bearing. 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.

198. knocks. Knock. A sounding blow; a hard stroke or thump; A misfortune, a rebuff, a blow; adverse criticism. 

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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 169-186

[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 work is offered to Mary, Our Queen and Mother, and dedicated to 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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- 29 -

Titles I make vntruths: am I a rocke,

That with so soft a gale was ouerthrowne? [170]

Am I fit pastor for the faithfull flocke,

To guide their soules that murdred thus mine owne?

A rocke of ruine, not a rest to stay,

A pastor, not to feede but to betray.

    I turn titles into their opposite; am I really as solid and immovable as a rock when I was demolished by such a gentle wind, the words spoken to me by the maidservant? Am I even fit to be the shepherd and pastor of the faithful, guiding their souls, when I brought death to my own soul? I am a rock, but a rock of ruin that collapsed and not a solid base providing strength and support; I am a shepherd of souls, but a pastor who does not feed his sheep and lambs ...but one who betrays.

    169. Titles . . . rocke. Recalling the title Christ gave to Peter:

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]

    171. pastor. Etymology: late 14c. (mid-13c. as a surname), “shepherd, one who has care of a flock or herd” (a sense now obsolete), also figurative, “spiritual guide, shepherd of souls, a Christian minister or clergyman,” from Old French pastor, pastur “herdsman, shepherd” (12c.) and directly from Latin pastor “shepherd,” from pastus, past participle of pascere “to lead to pasture, set to grazing, cause to eat,” from PIE root *pa- “to feed; tend, guard, protect.” Compare pasture.

    Cf. Christ’s words to Peter after His Resurrection:

When therefore they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter: Simon son of John, lovest thou me more than these? He saith to him: Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith to him: Feed my lambs. He saith to him again: Simon, son of John, lovest thou me? He saith to him: Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith to him: Feed my lambs. He said to him the third time: Simon, son of John, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved, because he had said to him the third time: Lovest thou me? And he said to him: Lord, thou knowest all things: thou knowest that I love thee. He said to him: Feed my sheep. [Matt. xxi. 15-17]

    173. rest. A thing which acts as a support or comfort to a person, esp. Christ or religious faith. Obsolete.

1590   A. Prowse tr. J. Taffin Of Markes Children of God iv. sig. E4v   They beleeue that Christ is the sonne of God,..but yet they vnderstand not that he must die, and rise againe: wherein notwithstanding lieth the principall rest of our faith.

Alternatively, a place to rest or stay, a resting place; 1572  (▸a1500)    Taill of Rauf Coilȝear (1882) 59   I pray the, bring me to sum rest, the wedder is sa schill.

    stay. To support, sustain, strengthen, comfort. 1590   E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. xi. sig. Nn4v   Neither may This fire be quencht by any witt or might,..So mighty be th'enchauntments, which the same do stay.

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- 30 -

Fidelitie was flowne, when feare was hatched, [175]

Incompatible brood in Vertue's neast:

Courage can lesse with cowardise be matched,

Prowesse nor loue lodg'd in diuided breast.

O Adam's child, cast by a sillie Eue,

Heire to thy father's foyles, and borne to grieue!

    Fidelity took wing and flew off as soon as fear made its appearance, for these fledgling qualities in Virtue’s nest are quite incompatible. Courage and cowardice could be less easily matched; neither courage nor love could exist in a heart which is divided. 

    O child of Adam, born from foolish Eve, inheriting thy father’s misfortunes and born to sorrow!

    176. neast. Nest.

    177. matched. Match. To join (two people or things) in companionship or cooperation; to put together so as to form a pair or set with (another person or thing). 1585   Abp. E. Sandys Serm. iii. 47   Matching alwaies with iustice mercie.

    178. prowesse. Prowess. Valour, bravery, gallantry, martial daring; manly courage, fortitude. 1569   R. Grafton Chron. I. vii. 176   In this battaile Canutus proued the Loyaltie and manly prowesse of the Englishe men. 

Moral goodness. ?a1425  (▸c1380)    G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. iv. pr. iii. 71   So as bounte and pruesse ben the mede to goode folk, also is schrewidnesse itself torment to schrewes.

    179. cast. To give birth to, bear (young); to lay (eggs), deposit (spawn). Obsolete or dialect. 1587   G. Turberville Tragicall Tales f. 81v   Shee was the fairest hewde..that euer kinde Had cast.

    sillie. Silly. Helpless, defenceless, powerless; Of a person, esp. a woman or a child: 1539   R. Morison tr. J. L. Vives Introd. Wisedome sig. G.viii   Consyder, in what dangers man is, whyle he lyeth lyke a deade carkas, hauynge noo power of hym selfe. Wherfore Christe must soo moche the more instantelye be sought vpon, that he may vouchsafe to defende vs sylly wretches [L. nos tam imbecillos].

    Of a person: lacking in judgement or common sense; foolish, thoughtless, empty-headed; 1611   Bible (King James) 2 Tim. iii. 6   Of this sort are they which creep into houses, and leade captiue silly women, laden with sins, led away with divers lusts.

    180. foyles. Foil. A repulse, defeat in an onset or enterprise; a baffling check. 1573   G. Harvey Let.-bk. (1884) 13   Considering what a foul shame and foil it had alreddi bene unto me. Some versions have toyles.

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- 31 -

In Thabor's ioyes I eger was to dwell:

An earnest friend while pleasures' light did shine,

But when eclipsed glorie prostrate fell,

These zealous heates to sleepe I did resigne;

And now, my mouth hath thrise His name defil'd, [185]

That cry'd so loude three dwellings there to builde.

    I was happy to set up home with Thee on the heights of Mt Thabor, where I wanted to be a faithful and ardent friend — while enjoying the bright and warming radiance of that day; but when His glory, shining as the sun, was eclipsed and brought low by His Passion, I closed my eyes and my heart to these warm feelings of enthusiasm and friendship. 

    And look at me now, my lips have three times His name denied and defiled, the same lips that called out so loudly to make three tabernacles as dwellings for Jesus, Moses and Elias.

Note. These lines refer to Peter’s recollection of the Transfiguration on Mt. Thabor the “high mountain apart”:

“And after six days Jesus taketh unto him Peter and James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart: And he was transfigured before them. And his face did shine as the sun: and his garments became white as snow. And behold there appeared to them Moses and Elias talking with him. And Peter answering, said to Jesus: Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. And as he was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them. And lo, a voice out of the cloud, saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: hear ye him. And the disciples hearing, fell upon their face, and were very much afraid. And Jesus came and touched them: and said to them, Arise, and fear not. And they lifting up their eyes saw no one but only Jesus.” [Matt. xvii. 1-8]

    Peter himself refers to this remarkable event in one of his letters:

“For we have not by following artificial fables, made known to you the power, and presence of our Lord Jesus Christ; but we were eyewitnesses of his greatness. For he received from God the Father, honour and glory: this voice coming down to him from the excellent glory: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. And this voice we heard brought from heaven, when we were with him in the holy mount. And we have the more firm prophetical word: whereunto you do well to attend, as to a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Understanding this first, that no prophecy of scripture is made by private interpretation.” [2 Peter i. 16-20]

This text is particularly pertinent to the Protestant innovation of private interpretation of scripture. On the one hand, the poet uses Peter's denial as a metaphor for the denial of their faith by Catholics of this period through fear of the illegitimate 'virgin' queen of England, Elizabeth. In another sense, many in England are being forced through fear to deny Peter (in his primacy) and thus to reject the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church founded by Christ.

180. I eger was to dwell. Vid. supra, 

“Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.” 

181. earnest. Of a person: serious, not frivolous; showing sincere and intense feeling or conviction; lacking playfulness. Of feelings, convictions, etc.: intense, ardent; sincerely held. 1597   W. Shakespeare Richard III i. iii. 87   I..haue beene, An earnest aduocate to pleade for him. 

    while pleasures’ light did shine. Vid. 

“And he was transfigured before them. And his face did shine as the sun: and his garments became white as snow.”

183. heates. Heat. Intensity or great warmth of feeling; fervour, ardour, animation, vehemence, eagerness, excitement. 1565   J. Jewel Def. Apol. Churche Eng. (1611) 238   Amplifications, or heats of speech, the better to stirre vp, and to enflame the minds of the Hearers.

resign. To hand over (a physical object, a possession, an asset, etc.); to give up ownership of or claim to (something in one's possession or charge); to cede. Vid. 1535   W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 713   That all Northumberland And Cumbria he sould frelie resing, Into the handis of this Dauid king. 

    To consign, make over, deliver up to a person, thing, circumstance, etc. Vid. 1561   R. Norvell Myroure of ane Christiane f. 61   My supplicatione I resing Onlie to Thé, and my intent I do present.

184. thrise. Thrice.

185. That cry'd so loude three dwellings there to builde. Vid.  

“...if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.”

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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 157-168

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 work is offered to Mary, Our Queen and Mother, and dedicated to 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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- 27 -

Ah! whether was forgotten loue exil'd?

Where did the truth of pledged promise sleepe?

What in my thoughts begat this vgly child,

That could through rented soule thus fiercely creepe?

O viper, feare their death by whom thou liuest;

All good thy ruine's wreck, all euils thou giuest.

    Thou didst forget thy love for Christ . . . whither has it been banished? Thou didst pledge a promise to Christ, but where did it go to die? How did thy thoughts generate this hideous idea that would rip thy soul apart and crawl out? How like a viper, yet thou, seeking to save thy life, shouldst fear the death of all thou dost cherish; thy spiritual ruin is the destruction of the good and thou hast become the source of every evil.  

    157. whether. Whither. To what place? a1616   W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) iv. i. 17   Whether trauell you?

    158. pledged promise. A reference to Peter’s words: 

"Peter saith to him: Yea, though I should die with thee, I will not deny thee…" [Matthew xxvi. 35]

    sleepe. 2. figurative. To lie in death; to be at rest in the grave. 1548   R. Hutten tr. J. Spangenberg Sum of Diuinitie R vij b   Euen so wil god bring them wyth him whych haue sleped. 1567   Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 164   The bodie sleipis, quhill Domisday.

    160. rented. Rend. To tear, pull, or rip (something) away from its proper place or current position; to remove (a thing, occasionally a person) by force. 1596   E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. v. sig. P8v   As if she had intended Out of his breast the very heart haue rended.

    161. viper. RS uses this image in his prose to describe the persecutors of English Catholics. In this verse, the sense is that Peter risks the death off everything he holds dear as the price of saving his life through betrayal off Him whom he holds most dear. 

10. The viper (vipera) is so named because it is ‘born through force’ (vi parere), for when their mother’s womb is groaning to deliver, the offspring, not waiting for nature’s suitable time, gnaw at and forcibly tear open their mother’s sides, causing her death. Lucan (Civil War 6.490) says:

When the body has burst apart, the knotted vipers gather.

11. It is said that the male spits his seed into the mouth of the female viper, and she, turned from the passion of lust to rage, bites off the head of the male that is in her mouth. Thus it happens that each parent dies; the male when they mate and the female when she gives birth. From the viper comes the pill that the Greeks call θηριακοὶ. [Isidore of Seville, Etymologies. Book XII Animals (De animalibus)].

     162. wreck. Wreak. 1) Pain or punishment inflicted in return for an injury, wrong, offence. 1587   G. Turberville Tragicall Tales f. 79v   Such flames of wreake withyn her bowels fride. 2) Harm, injury; damage. 1591   E. Spenser Ruines of Rome in Complaints 33   These same olde walls..is that which Rome men call. Behold what wreake, what ruine, and what wast.

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- 28 -

Threats threw me not, torments I none assayd:

My fray with shades; conceits did make me yeeld,

Wounding my thoughts with feares; selfely dismayd, [165]

I neither fought nor lost, I gaue the field:

Infamous foyle! a maiden's easie breath

Did blow me downe, and blast my soule to death.

    Threats made to me had no effect and I didn’t test myself against the torment of severe pain;

no, my problem was a frightening struggle with shadows — notions haunting my mind made me surrender. My thoughts were as if wounded by my fears and I was discouraged so as to be defeated in my heart. I didn’t put up a fight but neither did I fight and lose — no, I surrendered the field.

What an infamous defeat it was! The gentle breath of a young woman was enough to lay me low and blow my soul into death’s oblivion.

    163. threw. Perhaps in the figurative sense from Throw. a. transitive.  As in wrestling. Vid. l.167. Or from a horse.. ?1573   L. Lloyd Pilgrimage of Princes f. 144   Thei were bothe throwen by their horses, and so died.

assay. c. figurative. transitive. To put to the proof, try (a person or thing); vid. 1545   R. Ascham Toxophilus To Gentlem. Eng.      Therfore did I take this litle matter in hande, to assaye my selfe. To attack anything difficult: ?1606   M. Drayton Man in Moone in Poemes sig. H7v   She the high mountaines actiuely assays.

    164. fray. 1. A feeling of fear; alarm, fright, terror. 2. An assault, attack. c1575   in J. Raine Depositions Courts Durham (1845) 300   After that Crampton had maid a fraye of the said Martyn, one Robert Johnson cauld for the constable, to carry them to the stoks.

    shades. II. A shadow, image, or phantom, and related uses. c1580   Sir P. Sidney tr. Psalmes David xxxix. iv   They are but shades, not true things where we live.

    conceits. Something conceived in the mind; a notion, conception, idea, or thought. Emotional state or disposition; frame of mind.  nn

    165. selfely. Selfly. 2. a. In oneself; in one's heart. Also: in itself; inherently. 

    167. foyle. Foil. a. A repulse, defeat in an onset or enterprise; a baffling check. 1573   G. Harvey Let.-bk. (1884) 13   Considering what a foul shame and foil it had alreddi bene unto me.

    easie. Easy. Not hard pressed: not hurried, gentle; said of motion, a breeze. Of actions: Not difficult; to be accomplished with little effort. 1608   E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 282   They haue a very slowe and easie pace.

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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 139-156

[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 (1587-1596) 

El Greco (Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos) 1541-1614

Museo Soumaya at Plaza Carso, Mexico.

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- 24 -

Why did the yeelding sea, like marble way,

Support a wretch more wauering then the waues? [140]

Whom doubt did plunge, why did the waters stay?

Vnkind in kindnesse, murthering while it saues:

Oh that this tongue had then been fishes' food,

And I deuour'd, before this cursing mood!

    Why did the waters of the sea of Galilee, which like all waters normally give way to solid objects, become as firm as a path of solid marble, able to support the weight of of a pitiful wretch, who was more wavering and fluctuating than the waves themselves? When he doubted through his want of faith, why did he start to sink and why did the waters cease to provide a firm support? 

    The tongue of this wretch, so kind and careful when his personal interests were concerned, but unkind and indifferent to others; taking pains to save his own skin but at the same time betraying others, even unto death.

    If only this tongue had been food for fishes, and I myself had been completely devoured before my denial and betrayal of Christ with oaths and curses!

    Note. These lines recall the following incident related in St Matthew’s Gospel:

And having dismissed the multitude, he went into a mountain alone to pray. And when it was evening, he was there alone. But the boat in the midst of the sea was tossed with the waves: for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night, he came to them walking upon the sea. And they seeing him walk upon the sea, were troubled, saying: It is an apparition. And they cried out for fear. And immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying: Be of good heart: it is I, fear ye not. And Peter making answer, said: Lord, if it be thou, bid me come to thee upon the waters. And he said: Come. And Peter going down out of the boat, walked upon the water to come to Jesus. But seeing the wind strong, he was afraid: and when he began to sink, he cried out, saying: Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretching forth his hand took hold of him, and said to him: O thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt? And when they were come up into the boat, the wind ceased. [Matt. 23-32]

    139. yeelding. Yield. a. intransitive. To give way under some natural or mechanical force, so as to collapse, stretch, bend, crack, etc.; vid. 1579   T. Lodge Protogenes 26   Looke for wonders where musike worketh,..the bowels of the earth yeld where the instrument soundeth.

    140. wavering. Waver. 2. To sway to and fro, as if in danger of falling; to reel, stagger, totter. a. Of persons, their sentiments, etc.: To exhibit doubt or indecision; to change or vary; to fluctuate or vacillate (between); to falter in resolution or allegiance; to show signs of giving way. Vid. 1548   N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Matt. i. 20, 21   Why art thou vexed? why doest thou wauer in & out?

1609   W. Shakespeare Louers Complaint in Sonnets sig. K3   And nice affections wauering stood in doubt If best were as it was, or best without.

141. stay. There are two possible senses: 1) remain in place (whilst he sank); and 2) To cease or desist from some specified activity. Vid. 1590   E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. vii. sig. F8   He hearkned, and did stay from further harmes.  Hence, when Peter’s want of faith cause him to start sinking, why did the waters cease to provide support as solid as marble?

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- 25 -

There surges, depths and seas, vnfirme by kind, [145]

Rough gusts, and distance both from ship and shoare,

Were titles to excuse my staggering mind;

Stout feet might falter on that liquid floare:

But heer no seas, no blasts, no billowes were,

A puffe of woman's wind bred all my feare. [150]

    There on the Sea of Galilee, the depth of water and surging of the waves, naturally ever-changing, together with the squally gusts of wind and the distance I was from the safety of the ship and the shore — all these might be excuses for losing my presence of mind, and even the sturdiest and most valiant might falter on such a shifting, watery base.

    But here there were no seas, with great, swelling waves, and no blasts of the wind; there were only the few words of a woman, her breath being the wind, as it were, that generated the fear within me.

    145. vnfirme. Unfirm. insecure; unstable, unsteady; a1616   W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) ii. iv. 32   Our fancies are more giddie and vnfirme..Then womens are.

    148. Stout. There are several possible senses here: 1) Proud, haughty, arrogant. a1616   W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) i. i. 185   As stout and proud as he were Lord of all. Peter’s pride comes before his fall. 2) Valiant, brave; undaunted. a1616   W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) iii. viii. 19   A stouter Champion neuer handled Sword. 3) Strongly built; capable of bearing rough weather. 1622   in W. Foster Eng. Factories India 1622–3 (1908) 114   Hath made us promyse to furnishe three stoutt shippes.

    floare. Floor. 

    liquid. Not fixed or stable. In poetical and rhetorical language often used for: Watery. 1609   W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida i. iii. 39   And anon, behold The strong ribbd barke through liquid mountaines cut.

    149. billowes. A great swelling wave of the sea, produced generally by a high wind; but often used . . . . poetically for ‘the sea’. Vid. 1589   A. Jenkinson in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations ii. 358   And much adoe to keepe our barke from sinking, the billowe was so great.

    150.  A puff of woman's winde: a reference to Peter's denial when questioned by a maidservant:

But Peter sat without in the court: and there came to him a servant maid, saying: Thou also wast with Jesus the Galilean. But he denied before them all, saying: I know not what thou sayest. 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. [Matthew xxvi. 69-72]

In the particular historical context, the maidservant may also represent the 'virgin' queen Elizabeth. Many Catholics, questioned by her agents about their faith, would also fall into denial and betrayal, through fear of the reprisals. See ll 276 & 288.

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- 26 -

O coward troups, far better arm'd then harted!

Whom angrie words, whom blowes could not prouoke;

Whom thogh I taught how sore my weapon smarted,

Yet none repaide me with a wounding stroke.

Oh no! that stroke could but one moity kill; [155]

I was reseru'd both halfes at once to spill.

    Those cowardly men were well-armed with their swords and clubs, but there was no fight in their hearts. Our angry protests and our attempts to defend the Lord failed to provoke a reaction. Even though I showed how much pain my sword could inflict, nobody retaliated by striking and wounding me. 

Oh no, that could not be. Such a blow could kill only one half; I was being retained to kill both halves at once. 

Note. The scene shifts back to Peter’s actions in Gethsemane when a band of soldiers arrived with Judas and Christ was seized.

As he yet spoke, behold Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests and the ancients of the people. And he that betrayed him, gave them a sign, saying: Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is he, hold him fast. And forthwith coming to Jesus, he said: Hail, Rabbi. And he kissed him. And Jesus said to him: Friend, whereto art thou come? Then they came up, and laid hands on Jesus, and held him.

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. 47-52]

    151. harted. Hearted. 3. Full of heart; spirited, courageous. a1552   J. Leland Itinerary (1711) V. 21   Coltes..better fed then harted or apt for War.

    153. sore. Sorely. To a grievous or serious extent; greatly. With great force or vigour; strongly. To a great extent; greatly, very much. 1606   G. W. tr. Justinus Hist. xxxv. 113   So sore hated was Demetrius among all men.

    Smarted. Smart. 2. transitive. To cause (physical or mental) pain to; to hurt, sting, be painful to. 1558   T. Phaer tr. Virgil Seuen First Bks. Eneidos ii. 30   Than pardon we for pity gaue, this wayling smartes us so.

    155. moity. Moiety. A half, one of two equal parts. 1567   G. Fenton tr. M. Bandello Certaine Tragicall Disc. (1898) II. 259   The one halfe or moytie of their mynde. 

    156. to spill. transitive. To destroy by depriving of life; to put (or bring) to death; to slay or kill. a1545   Now synge We ii, in J. Skelton Poet. Wks. (1843) I. 144   Thus was I spylt, Man, for thy gylte, And not for myne.

Note. The two halves. One interpretation is that the two halves refer to the lives of Peter: his earthly life and eternal life for his soul and risen body in Heaven. A blow from the enemies of Christ would bring to an end his earthly life; but his mortal sin in betraying of Christ would bring to an end the hope of eternal  life.

+    +    +

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.