How It Is the Highest Wisdom to Be Reputed Mad for the Love of Christ
WISDOM 'tis and Courtesy,Crazed for Jesus Christ to be.
No such learning can be foundIn Paris, nor the world around;In this folly to aboundIs the best philosophy.
Who by Christ is all possessed,Seems afflicted and distressed,Yet is Master of the best,In science and theology.
Who for Christ is all distraught,Gives his wits, men say, for naught ;—Those whom Love hath never taught,Deem he erreth utterly.
He who enters in this school,Learns a new and wondrous rule:—"Who hath never been a fool,Wisdom's scholar cannot be."
He who enters on this dance,Enters Love's unwalled expanse ;—Those who mock and look askance,Should do penance certainly.
He that worldly praise achieves.Jesus Christ his Saviour grieves.Who Himself, between two thieves,On the Cross hung patiently.
He that seeks for shame and pain,Shall his heart's desire attain:All Bologna's lore were vain,To increase his mastery.
Words in this poem
- distraught p. p.
- Torn asunder; separated. [OE. distract, distrauht. See Distract, a.]
- 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]
- wondrous adv.
- In a wonderful or surprising manner or degree; wonderfully. [OE. wonders, adv. (later also adj.). See Wonder, n., and cf. -wards.]
- askance adv.
- Sideways; obliquely; with a side glance; with disdain, envy, or suspicion. [Cf. D. schuin, schuins, sideways, schuiven to shove, schuinte slope. Cf. Asquint.]
- saviour n.
- One who saves, preserves, or delivers from destruction or danger. [OE. saveour, OF. salveor, F. sauveur, fr. L. salvator to save. See Save, v.]
- patiently adv.
- In a patient manner.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
How It Is the Highest Wisdom to Be Reputed Mad for the Love of Christ 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, How It Is the Highest Wisdom to Be Reputed Mad for the Love of Christ, in The Lauds (1919), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/jacopone-lauds/how-it-is-the-highest-wisdom-to-be-reputed-mad-for-the-love-.html, id L27089.
Form and metre
How It Is the Highest Wisdom to Be Reputed Mad for the Love of Christ is 30 lines in 8 stanzas. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%).
See other poems in trochaic 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.
- 2 AAA- foundA · aroundA · aboundA · philosophy
- 3 AAA- possessedA · distressedA · bestA · theology
- 4 AAA- distraughtA · naughtA · taughtA · utterly
- 5 AAA- schoolA · ruleA · foolA · be
- 6 AAA- danceA · expanseA · askanceA · certainly
- 7 AAA- achievesA · grievesA · thievesA · patiently
- 8 AAA- painA · attainA · vainA · mastery
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| WISDOM 'tis and Courtesy, | 7 | /˘··/˘˘ |
| Crazed for Jesus Christ to be. | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| No such learning can be found | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| In Paris, nor the world around; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| In this folly to abound | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Is the best philosophy. | 7 | ···˘/˘˘ |
| Who by Christ is all possessed, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Seems afflicted and distressed, | 7 | ·˘/˘·˘/ |
| Yet is Master of the best, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| In science and theology. | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| Who for Christ is all distraught, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Gives his wits, men say, for naught ; | 7 | ······· |
| —Those whom Love hath never taught, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Deem he erreth utterly. | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| He who enters in this school, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Learns a new and wondrous rule:— | 7 | ····/˘· |
| "Who hath never been a fool, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Wisdom's scholar cannot be." | 7 | /˘/˘/˘· |
| He who enters on this dance, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Enters Love's unwalled expanse ; | 7 | /˘···˘/ |
| —Those who mock and look askance, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Should do penance certainly. | 7 | ··/˘/˘˘ |
| He that worldly praise achieves. | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Jesus Christ his Saviour grieves. | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Who Himself, between two thieves, | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| On the Cross hung patiently. | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| He that seeks for shame and pain, | 7 | ······· |
| Shall his heart's desire attain: | 7 | ···˘/˘/ |
| All Bologna's lore were vain, | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| To increase his mastery. | 7 | ·˘/·/˘˘ |
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