Exhortation to His Own Soul, That, Considering Her Great Nobility, She Should Not Delay to Take the Way of Divine Love
O SOUL of mine, how noble wert thou made!Be not afraid,Nor deem thy nature low:Thou art not so,High is thy birth, and lordly thine estate.
If a poor man a gift to thee should bring,Thy heart would clingTo him, and there abide,With love and gratitude unfaltering ;—So slight a thingWould bind thee to his side.—Thy Lord, thy Guide,Makes pilgrimage for thee,Treads painfullyHis toilsome path alone:O heart of stone!To stand thus obdurate.
The King of France might have a daughter fair,His only Heir,His pride and his delight.The fame of her would travel everywhere,Gems would she wear,And robes of spotless white.But should she plightHer troth, in marriage base,Her tender graceTo infamy betray,—What should men sayOf bonds so profligate?
The thing that thou hast done is worse than this,—To clasp and kissThe treacherous world abhorred!Thy body, that thy humble servant is,Thou'st used amiss,Given him the ruler's sword.Ah, careless lord,To set a slave to reign!—So doth he gainA lordship criminal:And to this thrall'Tis thou hast oped the gate.
Thy kingdom of five parts is composite;—Hearing and Sight,And Taste, and Touch, and Scent.This Body, that the world hath ruled outright,Resents her plight,Restless in discontent.Her gaze is bentTo seek the Beautiful ;Naught else can lullHer ear, nor feed her eye:Earth's fragments die,Her makeshifts come too late.
This World sufficeth not thine Eye to feed,Because her needMust still be measureless.She of a thousand Worlds would take no heed,—So strange her greed,So deep her thirstiness.The World's caressIs turned to torment so:The mind must goDefrauded of her gain ;Joy becomes pain,The heart to penetrate.
This World feeds not thy senses, nor thy mind,Nor canst thou bindThy heart in her control.Joy for these vassals if thou strive to find,That task will grindThy struggling, suffering soul.Then seek thy goalThere, where thy heart must be;Thy kingdoms threeNow lie, though once so fair,All parched and bare,Famished and desolate.
So high and in such honour wert thou born,Thy nature's mornAwaked in gentlehood.Ponder the grace and beauty thou hast worn,So shalt thou scornAll else, with fortitude.Naught here is good—No creature fair enough ;No earthly stuffDeserves thy heart's desire ;God is thy Sire,To Him be consecrate.
Look in thy mirror for a little space,And thou shalt traceThy delicate beauty there.Thou bear'st thy Father's image on thy face:U joy! U grace!His likeness thus to wear!The Eternal Fair,Poured in thy little cup,Floats trembling up,—There Earth and Heaven meet.O Vessel sweet!So spoiled, so desecrate!
Thou art not nourished by created things;Thy nature's wingsTo other realms must fly.Thou art God's heir,—towards Him thy being springs,His largess bringsWealth to thy poverty;Pause not, nor sigh;Swift on Love's journey start:Give Him thy heart,And let the pact be fair;—Thou art His Heir,—Lay hold on thine Estate.
O Love, thou givest all, and for Love's sakeAll dost thou take,To have and hold for aye.Ah, to thy God great honour dost thou make,All to forsake,To find in Him thy Way!—What should man say?E'en God were sure unwise,If when He buysThis treasure fathomless,He should give less,Bargain or hesitate.
Words in this poem 21
- deem v. t.
- To decide; to judge; to sentence; to condemn. [OE. demen to judge, condemn, AS. d, fr. d doom; akin to OFries. d, OS. ad, D. doemen, OHG. tuommen, Icel. dæma, Sw. dömma, Dan. dömme, Goth. d. See Doom, n., an]
- pilgrimage n.
- The journey of a pilgrim; a long journey; especially, a journey to a shrine or other sacred place. Fig., the journey of human life. [OE. pilgrimage, pelgrinage; cf. F. pèlerinage.]
- plight v. t.
- To weave; to braid; to fold; to plait. [OE. pliten; probably through Old French, fr. LL. plectare, L. plectere. See Plait, Ply.]
- troth n.
- Belief; faith; fidelity. [A variant of truth. See Truth.]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- outright adv.
- Immediately; without delay; at once; as, he was killed outright.
- lull v. t.
- To cause to rest by soothing influences; to compose; to calm; to soothe; to quiet. [Akin to OD. lullen to sing to sleep, G. lullen, Dan. lulle, Sw. lulla; all of imitative origin. Cf. Loll, Lollard.]
- measureless a.
- Without measure; unlimited; immeasurable.
- greed n.
- An eager desire or longing; greediness; as, a greed of gain. [Akin to Goth. grdus hunger, Icel. graedhr. sq. root34. See Greedy.]
- thirstiness n.
- The state of being thirsty; thirst.
- caress n.
- An act of endearment; any act or expression of affection; an embracing, or touching, with tenderness. [F. caresse, It. carezza, LL. caritia dearness, fr. L. carus dear. See Charity.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- fortitude n.
- Power to resist attack; strength; firmness. [L. fortitudo, fr. fortis strong. See Fort.]
- sire n.
- A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.]
- desecrate v. t.
- To divest of a sacred character or office; to divert from a sacred purpose; to violate the sanctity of; to profane; to put to an unworthy use; -- the opposite of consecrate. [L. desecratus, p. p. of desecrare (also desacrare) to consecrate, dedicate; but taken in the sense if to divest of a sacred character; de- + sacrare to consecra]
- largess n.
- Liberality; generosity; bounty. [F. largesse, fr. large. See Large, a.]
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- pact n.
- An agreement; a league; a compact; a covenant. [L. pactum, fr. paciscere to make a bargain or contract, fr. pacere to settle, or agree upon; cf. pangere to fasten, Gr. paca bond, and E. fang: cf. F. pacie. Cf]
- fathomless a.
- Incapable of being fathomed; immeasurable; that can not be sounded.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Exhortation to His Own Soul, That, Considering Her Great Nobility, She Should Not Delay to Take the Way of Divine Love is in the public domain. This text is taken from Jacopone da Todi, Poet and Mystic, 1228-1306: A Spiritual Biography, with a Selection from the Spiritual Songs, Internet Archive, the Mrs. Theodore Beck translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Jacopone da Todi, Exhortation to His Own Soul, That, Considering Her Great Nobility, She Should Not Delay to Take the Way of Divine Love, in The Lauds (1919), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/jacopone-lauds/exhortation-to-his-own-soul-that-considering-her-great-nobil.html, id L27102.
Form and metre
Exhortation to His Own Soul, That, Considering Her Great Nobility, She Should Not Delay to Take the Way of Divine Love is 125 lines in 11 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 61% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. This poem did not settle on a metre of its own; the book it comes from is in iambic tetrameter.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, other poems in iambic tetrameter.
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 AABB- madeA · afraidA · lowB · soB · estate
- 2 AABAABB--CC- bringA · clingA · abideB · unfalteringA · thingA · sideB · guideB · thee · painfully · aloneC · stoneC · obdurate
- 3 AABAABBCCDD- fairA · heirA · delightB · everywhereA · wearA · whiteB · plightB · baseC · graceC · betrayD · sayD · profligate
- 4 AAB-ABBCCDD- thisA · kissA · abhorredB · is · amissA · swordB · lordB · reignC · gainC · criminalD · thrallD · gate
- 5 AABAABBCCDD- compositeA · sightA · scentB · outrightA · plightA · discontentB · bentB · beautifulC · lullC · eyeD · dieD · late
- 6 AABAABBCCDD- feedA · needA · measurelessB · heedA · greedA · thirstinessB · caressB · soC · goC · gainD · painD · penetrate
- 7 AABAABBCCDD- mindA · bindA · controlB · findA · grindA · soulB · goalB · beC · threeC · fairD · bareD · desolate
- 8 AABAA-BCCDD- bornA · mornA · gentlehoodB · wornA · scornA · fortitude · goodB · enoughC · stuffC · desireD · sireD · consecrate
- 9 AABAABBCCDD- spaceA · traceA · thereB · faceA · graceA · wearB · fairB · cupC · upC · meetD · sweetD · desecrate
- 10 AABAA-BCCDD- thingsA · wingsA · flyB · springsA · bringsA · poverty · sighB · startC · heartC · fairD · heirD · estate
- 11 AA-AABBCCDD- sakeA · takeA · aye · makeA · forsakeA · wayB · sayB · unwiseC · buysC · fathomlessD · lessD · hesitate
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 tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| O SOUL of mine, how noble wert thou made! | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Be not afraid, | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Nor deem thy nature low: | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Thou art not so, | 4 | ···· |
| High is thy birth, and lordly thine estate. | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| If a poor man a gift to thee should bring, | 10 | ·········· |
| Thy heart would cling | 4 | ···· |
| To him, and there abide, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| With love and gratitude unfaltering ; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| —So slight a thing | 4 | ···· |
| Would bind thee to his side. | 6 | ······ |
| —Thy Lord, thy Guide, | 4 | ···· |
| Makes pilgrimage for thee, | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| Treads painfully | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| His toilsome path alone: | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| O heart of stone! | 4 | ···· |
| To stand thus obdurate. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| The King of France might have a daughter fair, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| His only Heir, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| His pride and his delight. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| The fame of her would travel everywhere, | 10 | ·····/˘/˘· |
| Gems would she wear, | 4 | ···· |
| And robes of spotless white. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| But should she plight | 4 | ···· |
| Her troth, in marriage base, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Her tender grace | 4 | ·/˘· |
| To infamy betray, | 6 | ·/˘˘˘/ |
| —What should men say | 4 | ···· |
| Of bonds so profligate? | 6 | ···/˘· |
| The thing that thou hast done is worse than this, | 10 | ·········· |
| —To clasp and kiss | 4 | ···· |
| The treacherous world abhorred! | 7 | ·/˘˘·˘/ |
| Thy body, that thy humble servant is, | 10 | ·/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Thou'st used amiss, | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Given him the ruler's sword. | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Ah, careless lord, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| To set a slave to reign! | 6 | ······ |
| —So doth he gain | 4 | ···· |
| A lordship criminal: | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| And to this thrall | 4 | ···· |
| 'Tis thou hast oped the gate. | 6 | ······ |
| Thy kingdom of five parts is composite; | 10 | ·/˘····˘/˘ |
| —Hearing and Sight, | 4 | /˘·· |
| And Taste, and Touch, and Scent. | 6 | ······ |
| This Body, that the world hath ruled outright, | 10 | ·/˘·····// |
| Resents her plight, | 4 | ˘/·· |
| Restless in discontent. | 6 | /˘·˘˘/ |
| Her gaze is bent | 4 | ···· |
| To seek the Beautiful ; | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Naught else can lull | 4 | ···· |
| Her ear, nor feed her eye: | 6 | ······ |
| Earth's fragments die, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Her makeshifts come too late. | 6 | ·/···· |
| This World sufficeth not thine Eye to feed, | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| Because her need | 4 | ···· |
| Must still be measureless. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| She of a thousand Worlds would take no heed, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| —So strange her greed, | 4 | ···· |
| So deep her thirstiness. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| The World's caress | 4 | ··˘/ |
| Is turned to torment so: | 6 | ···/·· |
| The mind must go | 4 | ···· |
| Defrauded of her gain ; | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| Joy becomes pain, | 4 | ·˘/· |
| The heart to penetrate. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| This World feeds not thy senses, nor thy mind, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Nor canst thou bind | 4 | ···· |
| Thy heart in her control. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| Joy for these vassals if thou strive to find, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| That task will grind | 4 | ···· |
| Thy struggling, suffering soul. | 8 | ·/˘˘/˘˘· |
| Then seek thy goal | 4 | ···· |
| There, where thy heart must be; | 6 | ······ |
| Thy kingdoms three | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Now lie, though once so fair, | 6 | ······ |
| All parched and bare, | 4 | ···· |
| Famished and desolate. | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| So high and in such honour wert thou born, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Thy nature's morn | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Awaked in gentlehood. | 6 | ˘/···· |
| Ponder the grace and beauty thou hast worn, | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| So shalt thou scorn | 4 | ···· |
| All else, with fortitude. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Naught here is good— | 4 | ···· |
| No creature fair enough ; | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| No earthly stuff | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Deserves thy heart's desire ; | 7 | ˘/··˘/˘ |
| God is thy Sire, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| To Him be consecrate. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Look in thy mirror for a little space, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| And thou shalt trace | 4 | ···· |
| Thy delicate beauty there. | 7 | ·/˘˘/˘· |
| Thou bear'st thy Father's image on thy face: | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| U joy! U grace! | 4 | ···· |
| His likeness thus to wear! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| The Eternal Fair, | 5 | ·˘/˘· |
| Poured in thy little cup, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Floats trembling up, | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| —There Earth and Heaven meet. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| O Vessel sweet! | 4 | ·/˘· |
| So spoiled, so desecrate! | 6 | ···˘˘/ |
| Thou art not nourished by created things; | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| Thy nature's wings | 4 | ·/˘· |
| To other realms must fly. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Thou art God's heir,—towards Him thy being springs, | 11 | ········/˘· |
| His largess brings | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Wealth to thy poverty; | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Pause not, nor sigh; | 4 | ···· |
| Swift on Love's journey start: | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Give Him thy heart, | 4 | ···· |
| And let the pact be fair; | 6 | ······ |
| —Thou art His Heir, | 4 | ···· |
| —Lay hold on thine Estate. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| O Love, thou givest all, and for Love's sake | 10 | ·········· |
| All dost thou take, | 4 | ···· |
| To have and hold for aye. | 6 | ······ |
| Ah, to thy God great honour dost thou make, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| All to forsake, | 4 | ··˘/ |
| To find in Him thy Way! | 6 | ······ |
| —What should man say? | 4 | ···· |
| E'en God were sure unwise, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| If when He buys | 4 | ···· |
| This treasure fathomless, | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| He should give less, | 4 | ···· |
| Bargain or hesitate. | 6 | /˘·/˘· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.