The Vision
Flight is but the preparative. The sightIs deep and infinite,Ah me! 'tis all the glory, love, light, space,Joy, beauty and varietyThat doth adorn the Godhead's dwelling-place,'Tis all that eye can see.Even trades themselves seen in celestial light,And cares and sins and woes are bright.
Order the beauty even of beauty is,It is the rule of bliss,The very life and form and cause of pleasure;Which if we do not understand,Ten thousand heaps of vain confused treasureWill but oppress the land.In blessedness itself we that shall miss,Being blind, which is the cause of bliss.
First then behold the world as thine, and wellNote that where thou dost dwell.See all the beauty of the spacious case,Lift up thy pleas'd and ravisht eyes,Admire the glory of the Heavenly placeAnd all its blessings prize.That sight well seen thy spirit shall prepare,The first makes all the other rare.
Men's woes shall be but foils unto thy bliss,Thou once enjoying this:Trades shall adorn and beautify the earth,Their ignorance shall make thee bright,Were not their griefs Democritus his mirth?Their faults shall keep thee right:All shall be thine, because they all conspire,To feed and make thy glory higher.
To see a glorious fountain and an end,To see all creatures tendTo thy advancement, and so sweetly closeIn thy repose: to see them shineIn use, in worth, in service, and even foesAmong the rest made thine:To see all these unite at once in theeIs to behold felicity.
To see the fountain is a blessed thing,It is to see the KingOf Glory face to face: but yet the end,The glorious, wondrous end is more;And yet the fountain there we comprehend,The spring we there adore:For in the end the fountain best is shewn,As by effects the cause is known.
From one, to one, in one to see all things,To see the King of KingsBut once in two; to see His endless treasuresMade all mine own, myself the endOf all his labours! 'Tis the life of pleasures!To see myself His friend!Who all things finds conjoined in Him alone,Sees and enjoys the Holy One.
Words in this poem
- preparative a.
- Tending to prepare or make ready; having the power of preparing, qualifying, or fitting; preparatory. [Cf. F. préparatif.]
- blessedness n.
- The state of being blessed; happiness; felicity; bliss; heavenly joys; the favor of God.
- 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,]
- 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]
- 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.]
- 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.]
- wondrous adv.
- In a wonderful or surprising manner or degree; wonderfully. [OE. wonders, adv. (later also adj.). See Wonder, n., and cf. -wards.]
- adore v. t.
- To worship with profound reverence; to pay divine honors to; to honor as deity or as divine. [OE. aouren, anouren, adoren, OF. aorer, adorer, F. adorer, fr. L. adorare; ad + orare to speak, pray, os, oris, mouth. In OE. confused with honor, the French pr]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Vision 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, The Vision, in Poetical Works (1903), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #61586, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/traherne-poems/the-vision.html, id L13299.
Form and metre
The Vision is 56 lines in 7 stanzas of 8 lines each. The commonest rhyme scheme is AABCBCDD, in 2 of the 7 stanzas; the rest vary or could not be confirmed. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.6 syllables. 9 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 25% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See 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 AAB-B-AA sightA · infiniteA · spaceB · variety · placeB · see · lightA · brightA
- 2 -ABCBCAA is · blissA · pleasureB · understandC · treasureB · landC · missA · blissA
- 3 AABCBCDD wellA · dwellA · caseB · eyesC · placeB · prizeC · prepareD · rareD
- 4 AABCBCDD blissA · thisA · earthB · brightC · mirthB · rightC · conspireD · higherD
- 5 AABCBC-- endA · tendA · closeB · shineC · foesB · thineC · thee · felicity
- 6 AABCBC-- thingA · kingA · endB · moreC · comprehendB · adoreC · shewn · known
- 7 AABCBC-- thingsA · kingsA · treasuresB · endC · pleasuresB · friendC · alone · one
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Flight is but the preparative. The sight | 10 | ····˘/˘˘·· |
| Is deep and infinite, | 6 | ···/˘˘ |
| Ah me! 'tis all the glory, love, light, space, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Joy, beauty and variety | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘˘ |
| That doth adorn the Godhead's dwelling-place, | 10 | ··˘/·/·/˘· |
| 'Tis all that eye can see. | 6 | ······ |
| Even trades themselves seen in celestial light, | 10 | /·˘/··˘/˘· |
| And cares and sins and woes are bright. | 8 | ········ |
| Order the beauty even of beauty is, | 10 | /˘·/˘/·/˘· |
| It is the rule of bliss, | 6 | ······ |
| The very life and form and cause of pleasure; | 11 | ·/˘······/˘ |
| Which if we do not understand, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Ten thousand heaps of vain confused treasure | 10 | ·/˘···˘//˘ |
| Will but oppress the land. | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| In blessedness itself we that shall miss, | 10 | ·/˘˘˘/···· |
| Being blind, which is the cause of bliss. | 9 | /˘······· |
| First then behold the world as thine, and well | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Note that where thou dost dwell. | 6 | ······ |
| See all the beauty of the spacious case, | 10 | ···/˘··/˘· |
| Lift up thy pleas'd and ravisht eyes, | 8 | ········ |
| Admire the glory of the Heavenly place | 10 | ˘/·/˘··/˘· |
| And all its blessings prize. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| That sight well seen thy spirit shall prepare, | 10 | ·····/˘·˘/ |
| The first makes all the other rare. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Men's woes shall be but foils unto thy bliss, | 10 | ·········· |
| Thou once enjoying this: | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| Trades shall adorn and beautify the earth, | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| Their ignorance shall make thee bright, | 8 | ·/˘˘···· |
| Were not their griefs Democritus his mirth? | 10 | ·········· |
| Their faults shall keep thee right: | 6 | ······ |
| All shall be thine, because they all conspire, | 11 | ········˘/˘ |
| To feed and make thy glory higher. | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| To see a glorious fountain and an end, | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| To see all creatures tend | 6 | ···/˘· |
| To thy advancement, and so sweetly close | 10 | ··˘/˘··/˘· |
| In thy repose: to see them shine | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| In use, in worth, in service, and even foes | 10 | ·····/˘·/· |
| Among the rest made thine: | 6 | ······ |
| To see all these unite at once in thee | 10 | ····/····· |
| Is to behold felicity. | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘˘ |
| To see the fountain is a blessed thing, | 10 | ···/˘···˘· |
| It is to see the King | 6 | ······ |
| Of Glory face to face: but yet the end, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| The glorious, wondrous end is more; | 9 | ·/˘˘/˘··· |
| And yet the fountain there we comprehend, | 10 | ···/˘···˘/ |
| The spring we there adore: | 6 | ····˘/ |
| For in the end the fountain best is shewn, | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| As by effects the cause is known. | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| From one, to one, in one to see all things, | 10 | ·········· |
| To see the King of Kings | 6 | ······ |
| But once in two; to see His endless treasures | 11 | ·······/˘/˘ |
| Made all mine own, myself the end | 8 | ·····/·· |
| Of all his labours! 'Tis the life of pleasures! | 11 | ···/˘····/˘ |
| To see myself His friend! | 6 | ···/·· |
| Who all things finds conjoined in Him alone, | 10 | ·····/··˘/ |
| Sees and enjoys the Holy One. | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
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