The poetical works of Thomas Traherne faithfully reprinted from the author's original manuscript together with Poems of Felicity reprinted from the Burney manuscript and Poems from Various Sources: Edited with preface and notes by Gladys I. Wade |
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News.
News from a forein Country came,
As if my Treasures and my Joys lay there;
So much it did my Heart enflame,
'Twas wont to call my Soul into mine Ear;
Which thither went to meet
Th' approaching Sweet,
And on the Threshold stood
To entertain the secret Good;
It hover'd there
As if 'twould leav mine Ear,
And was so eager to embrace
Th' expected Tidings, as they came,
That it could change its dwelling-place
To meet the voice of Fame.
As if my Treasures and my Joys lay there;
So much it did my Heart enflame,
'Twas wont to call my Soul into mine Ear;
Which thither went to meet
Th' approaching Sweet,
And on the Threshold stood
To entertain the secret Good;
It hover'd there
As if 'twould leav mine Ear,
And was so eager to embrace
Th' expected Tidings, as they came,
That it could change its dwelling-place
To meet the voice of Fame.
As if new Tidings were the Things
Which did comprise my wished unknown Treasure,
Or els did bear them on their wings,
With so much Joy they came, with so much Pleasure,
My Soul stood at the Gate
To recreäte
It self with Bliss, and woo
Its speedier Approach; a fuller view
It fain would take,
Yet Journeys back would make
Unto my Heart, as if 'twould fain
Go out to meet, yet stay within,
Fitting a place to entertain
And bring the Tidings in.
Which did comprise my wished unknown Treasure,
Or els did bear them on their wings,
With so much Joy they came, with so much Pleasure,
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To recreäte
It self with Bliss, and woo
Its speedier Approach; a fuller view
It fain would take,
Yet Journeys back would make
Unto my Heart, as if 'twould fain
Go out to meet, yet stay within,
Fitting a place to entertain
And bring the Tidings in.
What Sacred Instinct did inspire
My Soul in Childhood with an hope so strong?
What secret Force mov'd my Desire
T' expect my Joys beyond the Seas, so yong?
Felicity I knew
Was out of view;
And being left alone,
I thought all Happiness was gon
From Earth: for this
I long'd-for absent Bliss,
Deeming that sure beyond the Seas,
Or els in somthing near at hand
Which I knew not, since nought did pleas
I knew, my Bliss did stand.
My Soul in Childhood with an hope so strong?
What secret Force mov'd my Desire
T' expect my Joys beyond the Seas, so yong?
Felicity I knew
Was out of view;
And being left alone,
I thought all Happiness was gon
From Earth: for this
I long'd-for absent Bliss,
Deeming that sure beyond the Seas,
Or els in somthing near at hand
Which I knew not, since nought did pleas
I knew, my Bliss did stand.
But little did the Infant dream
That all the Treasures of the World were by,
And that himself was so the Cream
And Crown of all which round about did ly.
Yet thus it was! The Gem,
The Diadem,
The Ring enclosing all
That stood upon this Earthen Ball;
The hev'nly Ey,
Much wider than the Sky,
Wherin they All included were;
The Lov, the Soul, that was the King
Made to possess them, did appear
A very little Thing.
That all the Treasures of the World were by,
And that himself was so the Cream
And Crown of all which round about did ly.
Yet thus it was! The Gem,
The Diadem,
The Ring enclosing all
That stood upon this Earthen Ball;
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Much wider than the Sky,
Wherin they All included were;
The Lov, the Soul, that was the King
Made to possess them, did appear
A very little Thing.
| The poetical works of Thomas Traherne | |