៖ X. THE MARTYRS. AND since thou so desirously Didst long to die, that long before thou couldst, In thine, let their blood come To beg for us a discreet patience Of death, or of worse life; for, oh! to some THEREFORE with thee triumpheth there Hourly tempestuous persecutions grow. 100 THE Cold white-snowy nunnery, (Which, as thy mother, their high abbess, sent Their bodies back again to thee, As thou hadst lent them, clean and innocent) Tho' they have not obtain'd of thee That or thy church or I Should keep, as they, our first integrity; And call chaste widowhood Virginity. XIII. THE DOCTORS. THE sacred Academ above Of Doctors, whose pains have unclasp'd and taught. To know the Scripture tells us we are wrote Or mis-said, we to that may not adhere; Their zeal may be our sin. Lord, let us run XIV. And whilst this universal choir, (That church in triumph, this in warfare here, Of love, that none be lost, which cost thee dear) (Since to be gracious Our task is treble, to pray, bear, and do) Hear this pray'r, Lord! O Lord! deliver us 130 From trusting in those prayers, tho' pour'd out thus, XV. From being anxious, or secure, Dead clouds of sadness, or light squibs of mirth, Donne.] I ij From thinking that great courts immure Is only for our prison fram'd, Or that thou 'rt covetous To them thou lov'st, or that they are maim'd, 130 From reaching this world's sweets: who seek thee thus With all their might, good Lord! deliver us. XVI. From needing danger to be good, From owing thee yesterday's tears to-day, That in that hope we wound our souls away; Some sin more burdenous; From light affecting in religion news, From thinking us all scul, neglecting thus XVII. From tempting Satan to tempt us, By our connivance or slack company; Neglecting to choak Sin's spawn, vanity; Which might be scandalous, And cast reproach on Christianity; From being spies, or to spies pervious; From thirst or scorn of fame, deliver us, 140 150 XVIII. Deliver us thro' thy descent Into the Virgin, whose womb was a place T' ungracious us, stay'dst at her full grace; And yet soon after riches didst allow, 160 By' accepting king's gifts in th' Epiphany, Deliver, and make us to both ways free. XIX. And thro' that bitter agony, Which still is th' agony of pious wits, And interrupted evenness with fits; And thro' thy free confession, Tho' thereby they were then Made blind, so that thou might'st from them have Good Lord! deliver us; and teach us when We may not, and we may, blind unjust men. XX. Thro' thy submitting all to blows Thy face, thy robes to spoil, thy fame to scorn; All ways which rage or justice knows, [gone, 878 And by which thou couldst shew that thou wast born; And thro' thy gallant humbleness, Which thou in death didst show, Dying before thy soul they could express, Deliver us from death, by dying so To this world, ere this world do bid us go. XXI. When senses, which thy soldiers are, We arm against thee, and they fight for sin; And love it, not him, whom it should reveal; Only to vent wit, Lord! deliver us. XXM. In churches when th' infirmity Of him which speaks diminishes the word; To us, as we judge, lay or ghostly sword; When Heresy, thy second deluge, gains, In th' hour of death, th' eve of last judgment-day, 180 190 A sinner is more music when he prays, Than spheres' or angels' praises be In panegyric halleluiahs; 200 |