A Dialogue
_Man._ Sweetest Saviour, if my soulWere but worth the having,Quickly should I then controlAny thought of waving.But when all my care and painsCannot give the name of gainsTo Thy wretch so full of stains,What delight or hope remains?
_Saviour._ What, child, is the balance thine,Thine the poise and measure?If I say, ‘Thou shalt be Mine,’Finger not My treasure.What the gains in having theeDo amount to, only HeWho for man was sold can seeThat transferr’d th’ accounts to Me.
_Man._ But as I can see no meritLeading to this favour,So the way to fit me for itIs beyond my savour.As the reason, then, is Thine,So the way is none of mine;I disclaim the whole design;Sin disclaims and I resign.
_Saviour._ That is all: if that I couldGet without repining;And My clay, My creature, wouldFollow My resigning;
That as I did freely partWith My glory and desert,Left all joys to feel all smart----
_Man._ Ah, no more! Thou break’st my heart!
Words in this poem
- 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.]
- shalt
- 2d per. sing. of Shall.
- favour n.
- Kind regard; propitious aspect; countenance; friendly disposition; kindness; good will. [Written also favour.]
- savour v. t.
- To perceive by the smell or the taste; hence, to perceive; to note. B. Jonson.
- disclaim v. t.
- To renounce all claim to deny; ownership of, or responsibility for; to disown; to disavow; to reject.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Dialogue is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250-1900, Project Gutenberg ebook #66619; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: George Herbert, A Dialogue, in Poems (1593–1632), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #66619, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/obev-george-herbert/a-dialogue.html, id L16066.
Form and metre
A Dialogue is 32 lines in 6 stanzas. The commonest rhyme scheme is ABABCCCC, in 2 of the 6 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.0 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 38% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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.
- 1 A-A-BBBB soulA · having · controlA · waving · painsB · gainsB · stainsB · remainsB
- 2 ABABCCCC thineA · measureB · mineA · treasureB · theeC · heC · seeC · meC
- 3 ABABCCCC meritA · favourB · itA · savourB · thineC · mineC · designC · resignC
- 4 ABAB couldA · repiningB · wouldA · resigningB
- 5 A-A partA · desert · smartA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| _Man._ Sweetest Saviour, if my soul | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Were but worth the having, | 6 | ····/˘ |
| Quickly should I then control | 7 | /˘···˘/ |
| Any thought of waving. | 6 | /˘··/˘ |
| But when all my care and pains | 7 | ······· |
| Cannot give the name of gains | 7 | /˘····· |
| To Thy wretch so full of stains, | 7 | ······· |
| What delight or hope remains? | 7 | ·˘/··˘/ |
| _Saviour._ What, child, is the balance thine, | 9 | /˘····/˘· |
| Thine the poise and measure? | 6 | ····/˘ |
| If I say, ‘Thou shalt be Mine,’ | 7 | ······· |
| Finger not My treasure. | 6 | /˘··/˘ |
| What the gains in having thee | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Do amount to, only He | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| Who for man was sold can see | 7 | ······· |
| That transferr’d th’ accounts to Me. | 7 | ·˘/˘/·· |
| _Man._ But as I can see no merit | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Leading to this favour, | 6 | /˘··/˘ |
| So the way to fit me for it | 8 | ········ |
| Is beyond my savour. | 6 | ····/˘ |
| As the reason, then, is Thine, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| So the way is none of mine; | 7 | ······· |
| I disclaim the whole design; | 7 | ·˘/··˘/ |
| Sin disclaims and I resign. | 7 | ·˘/··˘/ |
| _Saviour._ That is all: if that I could | 9 | /˘······· |
| Get without repining; | 6 | ······ |
| And My clay, My creature, would | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Follow My resigning; | 6 | /˘·˘/˘ |
| That as I did freely part | 7 | ····/˘· |
| With My glory and desert, | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| Left all joys to feel all smart---- | 7 | ······· |
| _Man._ Ah, no more! Thou break’st my heart! | 8 | ········ |
Notes from the edition 1
Quiller-Couch's glosses on the hard words, from The Oxford Book of English Verse, 1250–1900, chosen and edited by Arthur Quiller-Couch (Oxford, 1900; Project Gutenberg #66619)
- Stanza 1 savour] savoir, knowing.
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