Amendment
That all things should be mine,This makes His bounty most divine:But that they all more rich should be,And far more brightly shine,As used by me;It ravisheth my soul to see the end,To which this work so wonderful doth tend.
That we should make the skiesMore glorious far before Thine eyesThan Thou didst make them, and even TheeFar more Thy works to prize,As used they beThan as they're made, is a stupendous work,Wherein Thy wisdom mightily doth lurk.
Thy greatness, and Thy love,Thy power, in this, my joy doth move;Thy goodness, and felicityIn this exprest aboveAll praise I see:While Thy great Godhead over all doth reign,And such an end in such a sort attain.
What bound may we assign,O God, to any work of thine!Their endlessness discovers theeIn all to be Divine;A DeityThat will for evermore exceed the endOf all that creature's wit can comprehend.
Am I a glorious springOf joys and riches to my King?Are men made Gods? And may they seeSo wonderful a thingAs God in me?And is my soul a mirror that must shineEven like the sun and be far more divine?
Thy Soul, O God, doth prizeThe seas, the earth, our souls, the skies;As we return the same to TheeThey more delight Thine eyes,And sweeter beAs unto thee we offer up the same,Than as to us from Thee at first they came.
O how doth Sacred LoveHis gifts refine, exalt, improve!Our love to creatures makes them beIn Thine esteem aboveThemselves to Thee!O here His goodness evermore admire!He made our souls to make His creatures higher.
Words in this poem
- bounty n.
- Goodness, kindness; virtue; worth. [OE. bounte goodness, kindness, F. bonté, fr. L. bonitas, fr. bonus good, for older duonus; cf. Skr. duvas honor, respect.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- didst
- , the 2d pers. sing. imp. of Do.
- stupendous a.
- Astonishing; wonderful; amazing; especially, astonishing in magnitude or elevation; as, a stupendous pile. [L. stupendus astonishing, p. future pass. of stupere to be astonished at. Cf. Stupid.]
- mightily adv.
- In a mighty manner; with might; with great earnestness; vigorously; powerfully. [From Mighty.]
- endlessness n.
- The quality of being endless; perpetuity. [AS. endeleásnys.]
- evermore adv.
- During eternity; always; forever; for an indefinite period; at all times; -- often used substantively with for.
- admire v. t.
- To regard with wonder or astonishment; to view with surprise; to marvel at. [F. admirer, fr. L. admirari; ad + mirari to wonder, for smirari, akin to Gr. smi, and E. smile.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Amendment is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poetical Works of Thomas Traherne, 1636?-1674, from the original manuscripts, Project Gutenberg ebook #61586; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Thomas Traherne, Amendment, in Poetical Works (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #61586, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/traherne-poems/amendment.html, id L13316.
Form and metre
Amendment is 49 lines in 7 stanzas of 7 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABABCC, complete in 4 of its 7 stanzas. 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.6 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 39% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 AABABCC mineA · divineA · beB · shineA · meB · endC · tendC
- 2 AABABCC skiesA · eyesA · theeB · prizeA · beB · workC · lurkC
- 3 AA-A-BB loveA · moveA · felicity · aboveA · see · reignB · attainB
- 4 AA-A-BB assignA · thineA · thee · divineA · deity · endB · comprehendB
- 5 AABABCC springA · kingA · seeB · thingA · meB · shineC · divineC
- 6 AABABCC prizeA · skiesA · theeB · eyesA · beB · sameC · cameC
- 7 AABAB-- loveA · improveA · beB · aboveA · theeB · admire · higher
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. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| That all things should be mine, | 6 | ······ |
| This makes His bounty most divine: | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| But that they all more rich should be, | 8 | ········ |
| And far more brightly shine, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| As used by me; | 4 | ···· |
| It ravisheth my soul to see the end, | 10 | ·········· |
| To which this work so wonderful doth tend. | 10 | ·····/˘˘·· |
| That we should make the skies | 6 | ······ |
| More glorious far before Thine eyes | 9 | ·/˘˘····· |
| Than Thou didst make them, and even Thee | 9 | ······/˘· |
| Far more Thy works to prize, | 6 | ······ |
| As used they be | 4 | ···· |
| Than as they're made, is a stupendous work, | 10 | ······˘/˘· |
| Wherein Thy wisdom mightily doth lurk. | 10 | ···/˘/˘˘·· |
| Thy greatness, and Thy love, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Thy power, in this, my joy doth move; | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Thy goodness, and felicity | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| In this exprest above | 6 | ······ |
| All praise I see: | 4 | ···· |
| While Thy great Godhead over all doth reign, | 10 | ···/······ |
| And such an end in such a sort attain. | 10 | ········˘/ |
| What bound may we assign, | 6 | ····˘/ |
| O God, to any work of thine! | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Their endlessness discovers thee | 8 | ·/˘˘˘/˘· |
| In all to be Divine; | 6 | ····˘/ |
| A Deity | 4 | ·/˘˘ |
| That will for evermore exceed the end | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| Of all that creature's wit can comprehend. | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| Am I a glorious spring | 7 | ···/˘˘· |
| Of joys and riches to my King? | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Are men made Gods? And may they see | 8 | ········ |
| So wonderful a thing | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| As God in me? | 4 | ···· |
| And is my soul a mirror that must shine | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Even like the sun and be far more divine? | 10 | /·······˘/ |
| Thy Soul, O God, doth prize | 6 | ······ |
| The seas, the earth, our souls, the skies; | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| As we return the same to Thee | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| They more delight Thine eyes, | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| And sweeter be | 4 | ·/˘· |
| As unto thee we offer up the same, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Than as to us from Thee at first they came. | 10 | ·········· |
| O how doth Sacred Love | 6 | ···/˘· |
| His gifts refine, exalt, improve! | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘/ |
| Our love to creatures makes them be | 9 | /˘··/˘··· |
| In Thine esteem above | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| Themselves to Thee! | 4 | ˘/·· |
| O here His goodness evermore admire! | 10 | ···/˘/˘·˘/ |
| He made our souls to make His creatures higher. | 11 | ··/····/˘/˘ |
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.