Religion
These Asclepiads of Mr. H. S. translated and enlarged
Translated by Phineas Fletcher (1633) · From Poeticall Miscellanies (1633)
Nè Verbum mihi sit mortua Litera,
Nec Christi Meritum Gratia vanida;
Sed Verbum fatuo sola Scientia,
Et Christus misero sola Redemptio.
UNletter'd Word, which never eare could heare;
Unwritten Word which never eye could see,
Yet syllabled in flesh-spell'd character,
That so to senses thou might'st subject be;
Since thou in bread art stampt, in print art read,
Let not thy print-stampt Word to me be dead.
Thou all-contriving, all-deserving Spirit,
Made flesh to die, that so thou might'st be mine,
That thou in us, and we in thee might merit,
We thine, thou ours; thou humane, we divine;
Let not my dead lifes merit, my dead heart
Forfeit so deare a purchas'd deaths desert.
Thou Sunne of wisdome, knowledge infinite,
Made folly to the wise, night to prophane;
Be I thy Moon, oh let thy sacred light
Increase to th' full, and never, never wane:
Wise folly set in me, fond wisdome rise,
Make me renounce my wisdome, to be wise.
Thou Life eternall, purest blessednesse,
Made mortal, wretched, sinne it self for me;
Shew me my death, my sin, my wretchednesse,
That I may flourish, shine, and live in thee:
So I with praise shall sing thy life, deaths storie,
O thou my Merit, Life, my Wisdome, Glorie.
Codex Note
The Latin Asclepiad quatrain is by H. S.; the English verses are Phineas Fletcher's own translation, 'translated and enlarged'.
Cite this poem
MLA
Fletcher, Phineas. “These Asclepiads of Mr. H. S. translated and enlarged.” Translated by Phineas Fletcher. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/fletcher_p/28/.
Chicago
Fletcher, Phineas. “These Asclepiads of Mr. H. S. translated and enlarged.” Translated by Phineas Fletcher. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/fletcher_p/28/.
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