That the Soule Is More Then the Temperature of the Humors of the Body
If shee doth then the subtill Sense excell,How gross are they that drown her in the blood!Or in the bodie's humors tempred well,As if in them such high perfection stood?
As if most skill in that Musician were,Which had the best, and best tun'd instrument;As if the pensill neate and colours cleare,Had power to make the Painter excellent.
Why doth not beautie then refine the wit?And good complexion rectifie the will?Why doth not health bring wisdom still with it?Why doth not sicknesse make men bruitish still?
Who can in memory, or wit, or will,Or ayre, or fire, or earth, or water finde?What alchymist can draw, with all his skil,The quintessence of these, out of the mind?
If th' elements which haue nor life, nor sense,Can breed in vs so great a powre as this;Why giue they not themselues like excellence,Or other things wherein their mixture is?
If she were but the Bodie's qualitieThen would she be with it sicke, maim'd and blind;But we perceiue where these priuations beA healthy, perfect, and sharpe-sighted mind.
If she the bodie's nature did pertake,Her strength would with the bodie's strength decay;But when the bodie's strongest sinewes slake,Then is the Soule most actiue, quicke and gay.
If she were but the bodie's accident,And her sole being did in it subsist;As white in snow; she might her selfe absent,And in the bodie's substance not be mist.
But it on her, not shee on it depends;For shee the body doth sustaine and cherish;Such secret powers of life to it she lends,That when they faile, then doth the body perish.
Since then the Soule works by her selfe alone,Springs not from Sense, nor humors, well agreeing;Her nature is peculiar, and her owne:She is a substance, and a perfect being.
Words in this poem
- excell v. t.
- To go beyond or surpass in good qualities or laudable deeds; to outdo or outgo, in a good sense. [L. excellere, excelsum; ex out + a root found in culmen height, top; cf. F. exceller. See Culminate, Column.]
- complexion n.
- The state of being complex; complexity. [F. complexion, fr. L. complexio. See Complex, a.]
- quintessence n.
- The fifth or last and highest essence or power in a natural body. [F., fr. L. quinta essentia fifth essence. See Quint, and Essence.]
- subsist v. i.
- To be; to have existence; to inhere. [L. subsistere to stand still, stay, remain alive; sub under + sistere to stand, to cause to stand, from stare to stand: cf. F. subsister. See Stand.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
That the Soule Is More Then the Temperature of the Humors of the Body is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poems of Sir John Davies. Volume 1 of 2., Project Gutenberg ebook #44977; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: John Davies, That the Soule Is More Then the Temperature of the Humors of the Body, in The Complete Poems, Volume I (1596–1599), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #44977, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/davies-poems/that-the-soule-is-more-then-the-temperature-of-the-humors-of.html, id L08738.
Form and metre
That the Soule Is More Then the Temperature of the Humors of the Body is 40 lines in 10 stanzas of 4 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABAB, in 4 of the 10 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 83%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.1 syllables. 9 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 5% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABAB excellA · bloodB · wellA · stoodB
- 3 ABAB witA · willB · itA · stillB
- 4 -A-A will · findeA · skil · mindA
- 5 A-A- senseA · this · excellenceA · is
- 6 -A-A qualitie · blindA · be · mindA
- 7 ABAB pertakeA · decayB · slakeA · gayB
- 8 -A-A accident · subsistA · absent · mistA
- 9 ABAB dependsA · cherishB · lendsA · perishB
- 10 -A-A alone · agreeingA · owne · beingA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| If shee doth then the subtill Sense excell, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| How gross are they that drown her in the blood! | 10 | ·········· |
| Or in the bodie's humors tempred well, | 10 | ···/˘/˘/˘· |
| As if in them such high perfection stood? | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| As if most skill in that Musician were, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Which had the best, and best tun'd instrument; | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| As if the pensill neate and colours cleare, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Had power to make the Painter excellent. | 11 | ·/˘···/˘/˘˘ |
| Why doth not beautie then refine the wit? | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| And good complexion rectifie the will? | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Why doth not health bring wisdom still with it? | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Why doth not sicknesse make men bruitish still? | 10 | ·········· |
| Who can in memory, or wit, or will, | 10 | ···/˘˘···· |
| Or ayre, or fire, or earth, or water finde? | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| What alchymist can draw, with all his skil, | 10 | ·········· |
| The quintessence of these, out of the mind? | 10 | ·˘/˘······ |
| If th' elements which haue nor life, nor sense, | 10 | ·/˘˘······ |
| Can breed in vs so great a powre as this; | 11 | ···/˘···/·· |
| Why giue they not themselues like excellence, | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Or other things wherein their mixture is? | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| If she were but the Bodie's qualitie | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Then would she be with it sicke, maim'd and blind; | 10 | ·········· |
| But we perceiue where these priuations be | 8 | ········ |
| A healthy, perfect, and sharpe-sighted mind. | 10 | ·/˘/···/˘· |
| If she the bodie's nature did pertake, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Her strength would with the bodie's strength decay; | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| But when the bodie's strongest sinewes slake, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| Then is the Soule most actiue, quicke and gay. | 9 | ········· |
| If she were but the bodie's accident, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘˘ |
| And her sole being did in it subsist; | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| As white in snow; she might her selfe absent, | 10 | ········/˘ |
| And in the bodie's substance not be mist. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| But it on her, not shee on it depends; | 10 | ········˘/ |
| For shee the body doth sustaine and cherish; | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| Such secret powers of life to it she lends, | 10 | ·/˘/······ |
| That when they faile, then doth the body perish. | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| Since then the Soule works by her selfe alone, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Springs not from Sense, nor humors, well agreeing; | 11 | ·····/˘·˘/˘ |
| Her nature is peculiar, and her owne: | 10 | ·/˘·˘/˘··· |
| She is a substance, and a perfect being. | 11 | ···/˘··/·/˘ |
Notes from the edition 1
A. B. Grosart's notes to the Complete Poems of Sir John Davies (Project Gutenberg #44977).
- Stanza 2, line 3 Clean, pure. G.
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