Canto III
Not willing terror should His image move;He gives a pattern of eternal love;His Son descends to treat a peace with thoseWhich were, and must have ever been, His foes.Poor He became, and left His glorious seatTo make us humble, and to make us great;His business here was happiness to giveTo those whose malice could not let Him live.
Legions of angels, which He might have used,(For us resolved to perish) He refused;While they stood ready to prevent His loss,Love took Him up, and nail'd Him to the cross.
Immortal love! which in His bowels reign'd,That we might be by such great love constrain'dTo make return of love. Upon this poleOur duty does, and our religion, roll.To love is to believe, to hope, to know;'Tis an essay, a taste of heaven below!
He to proud potentates would not be known;Of those that loved Him He was hid from none.Till love appear we live in anxious doubt;But smoke will vanish when the flame breaks out;This is the fire that would consume our dross,Refine, and make us richer by the loss.
Could we forbear dispute, and practise love,We should agree as angels do above.Where love presides, not vice alone does findNo entrance there, but virtues stay behind;Both faith, and hope, and all the meaner trainOf mortal virtues, at the door remain.Love only enters as a native there,For, born in heaven, it does but sojourn here.
He that alone would wise and mighty be,Commands that others love as well as He.Love as He loved!--How can we soar so high?--He can add wings, when He commands to fly.Nor should we be with this command dismay'd;He that examples gives, will give His aid;For He took flesh, that where His precepts fail,His practice as a pattern may prevail.His love, at once, and dread, instruct our thought;As man He suffer'd, and as God He taught.Will for the deed He takes; we may with easeObedient be, for if we love we please.Weak though we are, to love is no hard task,And love for love is all that Heaven does ask.Love! that would all men just and temp'rate make,Kind to themselves, and others, for His sake.
'Tis with our minds as with a fertile ground,Wanting this love they must with weeds abound,(Unruly passions), whose effects are worseThan thorns and thistles springing from the curse.
Words in this poem
- 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.]
- sojourn v. i.
- To dwell for a time; to dwell or live in a place as a temporary resident or as a stranger, not considering the place as a permanent habitation; to delay; to tarry. [OE. sojornen, sojournen, OF. sojorner, sejorner, F. séjourner, fr. L. sub under, about + diurnus belonging to the day. See Journal, Diurnal.]
- instruct a.
- Arranged; furnished; provided. [L. instructus, p. p. of instruere to furnish, provide, construct, instruct; pref. in- in, struere. See Structure.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Canto III is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poetical Works of Edmund Waller and Sir John Denham, Project Gutenberg ebook #12322; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Edmund Waller, Canto III, in Poetical Works (1645–1668), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12322, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/waller-denham/canto-iii-2.html, id L09136.
Form and metre
Canto III is 52 lines in 7 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 92% of the lines: heroic couplets. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 10.0 syllables. 17% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
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 AABB--CC moveA · loveA · thoseB · foesB · seat · great · giveC · liveC
- 2 AABB usedA · refusedA · lossB · crossB
- 3 AABBCC reign'dA · constrain'dA · poleB · rollB · knowC · belowC
- 4 --AABB known · none · doubtA · outA · drossB · lossB
- 5 AABBCCDD loveA · aboveA · findB · behindB · trainC · remainC · thereD · hereD
- 6 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHH beA · heA · highB · flyB · dismay'dC · aidC · failD · prevailD · thoughtE · taughtE · easeF · pleaseF · taskG · askG · makeH · sakeH
- 7 AABB groundA · aboundA · worseB · curseB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Not willing terror should His image move; | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| He gives a pattern of eternal love; | 10 | ···/˘·˘/˘· |
| His Son descends to treat a peace with those | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Which were, and must have ever been, His foes. | 10 | ·····/˘··· |
| Poor He became, and left His glorious seat | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| To make us humble, and to make us great; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| His business here was happiness to give | 10 | ·/˘··/˘˘·· |
| To those whose malice could not let Him live. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Legions of angels, which He might have used, | 10 | /˘·/˘····· |
| (For us resolved to perish) He refused; | 10 | ··˘/·/˘·˘/ |
| While they stood ready to prevent His loss, | 10 | ···/˘·˘/·· |
| Love took Him up, and nail'd Him to the cross. | 10 | ·········· |
| Immortal love! which in His bowels reign'd, | 10 | ˘/˘····/˘· |
| That we might be by such great love constrain'd | 10 | ········˘/ |
| To make return of love. Upon this pole | 10 | ··˘/······ |
| Our duty does, and our religion, roll. | 10 | //˘··/˘/˘· |
| To love is to believe, to hope, to know; | 10 | ····˘/···· |
| 'Tis an essay, a taste of heaven below! | 10 | ··˘/···/·· |
| He to proud potentates would not be known; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Of those that loved Him He was hid from none. | 10 | ·········· |
| Till love appear we live in anxious doubt; | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| But smoke will vanish when the flame breaks out; | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| This is the fire that would consume our dross, | 10 | ···/··˘//· |
| Refine, and make us richer by the loss. | 10 | ˘/···/˘··· |
| Could we forbear dispute, and practise love, | 10 | ··˘/˘/·/˘· |
| We should agree as angels do above. | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| Where love presides, not vice alone does find | 10 | ··˘/··˘/·· |
| No entrance there, but virtues stay behind; | 10 | ·/˘··/˘··· |
| Both faith, and hope, and all the meaner train | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| Of mortal virtues, at the door remain. | 10 | ·/˘/˘···˘/ |
| Love only enters as a native there, | 10 | ·/˘/˘··/˘· |
| For, born in heaven, it does but sojourn here. | 10 | ···/···/˘· |
| He that alone would wise and mighty be, | 10 | ··˘/···/˘· |
| Commands that others love as well as He. | 10 | ˘/·/˘····· |
| Love as He loved!--How can we soar so high?-- | 10 | ·········· |
| He can add wings, when He commands to fly. | 10 | ······˘/·· |
| Nor should we be with this command dismay'd; | 10 | ······˘/˘/ |
| He that examples gives, will give His aid; | 10 | ··˘/˘····· |
| For He took flesh, that where His precepts fail, | 10 | ·······/·· |
| His practice as a pattern may prevail. | 10 | ·/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| His love, at once, and dread, instruct our thought; | 10 | ······˘//· |
| As man He suffer'd, and as God He taught. | 10 | ···/˘····· |
| Will for the deed He takes; we may with ease | 10 | ·········· |
| Obedient be, for if we love we please. | 10 | ˘/˘······· |
| Weak though we are, to love is no hard task, | 10 | ·········· |
| And love for love is all that Heaven does ask. | 10 | ·······/·· |
| Love! that would all men just and temp'rate make, | 10 | ·········· |
| Kind to themselves, and others, for His sake. | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| 'Tis with our minds as with a fertile ground, | 10 | ··/····˘/· |
| Wanting this love they must with weeds abound, | 10 | /˘······˘/ |
| (Unruly passions), whose effects are worse | 10 | ˘/˘/˘·˘/·· |
| Than thorns and thistles springing from the curse. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
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