Of Differences in the Contemplation of the Cross
I FLEE the Cross that doth my heart devour,I cannot bear its ardour and its power.
I cannot bear this great and dreadful heat ;Far from the Cross, from Love, on flying feetI haste away; my heart at every beatConsumes me with that burning memory.
Brother, why dost thou flee from this delight ?This is the joy - yearn tor, day and night:Brother, this is but weakness in my sight,To flee from joy and peace so cravenly.
Brother, I flee, for I am wounded sore,My heart is pierced and sundered to the core ;—Thou hast not felt the anguish that I bore,Else wouldst thou speak in other words to me.
Brother, I find the Cross all garlanded,And with its blossoms do I wreathe my head ;It wounds me not ;—nay, I am comforted ;The Cross is all delight and joy to me.
I find it full of arrows sharp, that dartForth from its side: they reach, they pierce my heart!The Archer aims His shafts that tear and smart ;And through my armour He hath wounded me.
I once was blind, but now I see the light ;Gazing upon the Cross I found my sight.Beneath the Cross my soul is glad and bright ;Far from the Cross, I am in misery.
Not so with me: this Light hath made me blind!So fierce the lustre that around me shined,My head is giddy, and confused my mind,Mine eyes are dazzled that I cannot see.
Now can I speak, I that was once so dumb ;'Tis from the Cross that all my powers come;Yea, by that Cross, of Thought and Love the Sum,Now can I preach to men full potently.
The Cross hath made me dumb, who spoke so well;In such a deep abyss my heart doth dwell,I cannot speak, and nothing can I tell ;And none can understand nor talk with me.
Lo, I was dead, and now new life is mine,Life that was given me by the Cross Divine:Yea, parted from the Cross, in death I pine,Its Presence gives me all vitality.
I am not dead, but dying day by day,Would God that I were dead and passed away!Eternally I struggle, gasp, and pray,—And nothing that I do can set me free.
Brother, to me the Cross is all delight ;Beneath it dwells no torment nor affright:Perchance thou hast not felt that Union's might,Nor that Embrace, that clasps so tenderly?
Ah, thou art warmed ; but I am in the Fire:Thine the delight, and mine the flaming Pyre ;I cannot breathe within this furnace dire!Thou hast not entered There, It burns not thee.
Brother, thy words I cannot understand:Why dost thou flee from gentle Love's demand?Tell me thy state, and let me take thy hand,The while I listen to this mystery!
Brother, thou breath'st the perfume of the Wine;But I have drunk It, and no strength of mineCan bear the onslaught of that Must Divine,That ruthless, ceaseth not to torture me!
Words in this poem 16
- ardour n.
- Heat, in a literal sense; as, the ardor of the sun's rays. [L. ardor, fr. ardere to burn: cf. OF. ardor, ardur, F. ardeur.]
- dreadful a.
- Full of dread or terror; fearful.
- yearn v. t.
- To pain; to grieve; to vex. [Also earn, ern; probably a corruption of OE. ermen to grieve, AS. ierman, yrman, or geierman, geyrman, fr. earm wretched, poor; akin to D. & G. arm, Icel. armr,]
- hast
- , 2d pers. sing. pres. of. Fave, contr. of havest.
- armour n.
- Defensive arms for the body; any clothing or covering worn to protect one's person in battle. [OE. armure, fr. F. armure, OF. armeure, fr. L. armatura. See Armature.]
- lustre n.
- A period of five years; a lustrum. [L. lustrum: cf. F. lustre.]
- potently adv.
- With great force or energy; powerfully; efficaciously.
- spoke n.
- The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]
- dwell v. i.
- To delay; to linger. [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dväljas to dwell, Dan. dv]
- eternally adv.
- In an eternal manner.
- gasp v. i.
- To open the mouth wide in catching the breath, or in laborious respiration; to labor for breath; to respire convulsively; to pant violently. [OE. gaspen, gaispen, to yawn, gasp, Icel. geispa to yawn; akin to Sw. gäspa, Dan. gispe to gasp.]
- tenderly adv.
- In a tender manner; with tenderness; mildly; gently; softly; in a manner not to injure or give pain; with pity or affection; kindly.
- pyre n.
- A funeral pile; a combustible heap on which the dead are burned; hence, any pile to be burnt. [L. pure, Gr. Fire.]
- dire a.
- Ill-boding; portentous; as, dire omens. [L. dirus; of uncertain origin.]
- onslaught n.
- An attack; an onset; esp., a furious or murderous attack or assault. [OE. on on + slaught, slaht, slaughter. See Slaughter.]
- ruthless a.
- Having no ruth; cruel; pitiless.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Of Differences in the Contemplation of the Cross 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, Of Differences in the Contemplation of the Cross, in The Lauds (1919), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/jacopone-lauds/of-differences-in-the-contemplation-of-the-cross.html, id L27099.
Form and metre
Of Differences in the Contemplation of the Cross is 62 lines in 16 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 52% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%).
See other poems in heroic couplets, 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 AA devourA · powerA
- 2 AAA- heatA · feetA · beatA · memory
- 3 AAA- delightA · nightA · sightA · cravenly
- 4 AAA- soreA · coreA · boreA · me
- 5 AAA- garlandedA · headA · comfortedA · me
- 6 AAA- dartA · heartA · smartA · me
- 7 AAA- lightA · sightA · brightA · misery
- 8 AAA- blindA · shinedA · mindA · see
- 9 AAA- dumbA · comeA · sumA · potently
- 10 AAA- wellA · dwellA · tellA · me
- 11 AAA- mineA · divineA · pineA · vitality
- 12 AAA- dayA · awayA · prayA · free
- 13 AAA- delightA · affrightA · mightA · tenderly
- 14 AAA- fireA · pyreA · direA · thee
- 15 AAA- understandA · demandA · handA · mystery
- 16 AAA- wineA · mineA · divineA · me
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I FLEE the Cross that doth my heart devour, | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| I cannot bear its ardour and its power. | 11 | ·/˘··/˘··/˘ |
| I cannot bear this great and dreadful heat ; | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Far from the Cross, from Love, on flying feet | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| I haste away; my heart at every beat | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| Consumes me with that burning memory. | 10 | ˘/···/˘/˘˘ |
| Brother, why dost thou flee from this delight ? | 10 | /˘······˘/ |
| This is the joy - yearn tor, day and night: | 9 | ········· |
| Brother, this is but weakness in my sight, | 10 | /˘···/˘··· |
| To flee from joy and peace so cravenly. | 10 | ·········· |
| Brother, I flee, for I am wounded sore, | 10 | /˘·····/˘· |
| My heart is pierced and sundered to the core ; | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| —Thou hast not felt the anguish that I bore, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Else wouldst thou speak in other words to me. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Brother, I find the Cross all garlanded, | 10 | /˘·····/˘˘ |
| And with its blossoms do I wreathe my head ; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| It wounds me not ;—nay, I am comforted ; | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| The Cross is all delight and joy to me. | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| I find it full of arrows sharp, that dart | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Forth from its side: they reach, they pierce my heart! | 10 | ·········· |
| The Archer aims His shafts that tear and smart ; | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And through my armour He hath wounded me. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| I once was blind, but now I see the light ; | 10 | ·········· |
| Gazing upon the Cross I found my sight. | 10 | /˘········ |
| Beneath the Cross my soul is glad and bright ; | 10 | ·········· |
| Far from the Cross, I am in misery. | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| Not so with me: this Light hath made me blind! | 10 | ·········· |
| So fierce the lustre that around me shined, | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| My head is giddy, and confused my mind, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| Mine eyes are dazzled that I cannot see. | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Now can I speak, I that was once so dumb ; | 10 | ·········· |
| 'Tis from the Cross that all my powers come; | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Yea, by that Cross, of Thought and Love the Sum, | 10 | ·········· |
| Now can I preach to men full potently. | 10 | ·······/˘˘ |
| The Cross hath made me dumb, who spoke so well; | 10 | ·········· |
| In such a deep abyss my heart doth dwell, | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| I cannot speak, and nothing can I tell ; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| And none can understand nor talk with me. | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| Lo, I was dead, and now new life is mine, | 10 | ·········· |
| Life that was given me by the Cross Divine: | 10 | ···/····˘/ |
| Yea, parted from the Cross, in death I pine, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Its Presence gives me all vitality. | 10 | ·/˘···˘/˘˘ |
| I am not dead, but dying day by day, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Would God that I were dead and passed away! | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Eternally I struggle, gasp, and pray,— | 10 | ˘/˘˘·/˘··· |
| And nothing that I do can set me free. | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Brother, to me the Cross is all delight ; | 10 | /˘······˘/ |
| Beneath it dwells no torment nor affright: | 10 | ·····/··˘/ |
| Perchance thou hast not felt that Union's might, | 10 | ˘/·····/˘· |
| Nor that Embrace, that clasps so tenderly? | 10 | ··˘/···/˘˘ |
| Ah, thou art warmed ; but I am in the Fire: | 11 | ·········/˘ |
| Thine the delight, and mine the flaming Pyre ; | 11 | ··˘/···/˘/˘ |
| I cannot breathe within this furnace dire! | 10 | ·/˘····/˘· |
| Thou hast not entered There, It burns not thee. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Brother, thy words I cannot understand: | 10 | /˘···/˘·˘/ |
| Why dost thou flee from gentle Love's demand? | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| Tell me thy state, and let me take thy hand, | 10 | ·········· |
| The while I listen to this mystery! | 10 | ···/˘··/˘˘ |
| Brother, thou breath'st the perfume of the Wine; | 10 | /˘···˘/··· |
| But I have drunk It, and no strength of mine | 10 | ·········· |
| Can bear the onslaught of that Must Divine, | 10 | ···/····˘/ |
| That ruthless, ceaseth not to torture me! | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
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.