He is a brittle crazy glass;
Yet in thy temple thou dost him afford
This glorious and transcendent place,
To be a window, through thy grace.
But when thou dost anneal in glass thy story,
Making thy life to shine within
The holy preachers, then the light and glory
More reverend grows, and more doth win;
Which else shows waterish, bleak, and thin.
Doctrine and life, colors and light, in one
When they combine and mingle, bring
A strong regard and awe, but speech alone
Doth vanish like a flaring thing
And in the ear, not conscience, ring.
Yet in thy temple thou dost him afford
This glorious and transcendent place,
To be a window, through thy grace.
But when thou dost anneal in glass thy story,
Making thy life to shine within
The holy preachers, then the light and glory
More reverend grows, and more doth win;
Which else shows waterish, bleak, and thin.
Doctrine and life, colors and light, in one
When they combine and mingle, bring
A strong regard and awe, but speech alone
Doth vanish like a flaring thing
And in the ear, not conscience, ring.
(George Herbert, Windows)
So this semester I'm taking three 300-level history and English courses, because I obviously didn't have enough to do with my time in fall. As a result, all I do is read. I know, why am I complaining? This ought to be Sarah nirvana. Yeah yeah. I guess I just don't like being told what to read? That's my theory, anyways.
The plus side, however, is that I'm in a class called "Major British Authors of the Seventeenth Century." Ahhhhh. Don't tell my other professors, but the one teaching it is my favorite at school. I actually met him when touring the college the first time and he told me all about this amazing great books honors program he was working on starting up. (Yes, that was the moment I made my college decision.) But I digress. There are seven students in the class, and we all just sit around talking about poetry. Love and religion are the big themes. I sort of love it.
I came across the above poem yesterday and am totally drawn to it. The end reminds me of James 2. The thing I love about this period in English literature is how profoundly spiritual it is. It points me back to Christ. And then it's also incredibly beautiful. It's going to be a good semester.
