Volume 1 — IN THE GLORIOVS EPIPHANIE OF OVR LORD GOD:
Reading edition
A HYMN SVNG AS BY THE THREE KINGS.[38]
1 Kinge. Bright Babe! Whose awfull beautyes make1 The morn incurr a sweet mistake; 2 Kinge. For Whom the officious Heauns deuise To disinheritt the sun's rise: 3 Kinge. Delicately to displace5 The day, and plant it fairer in Thy face. 1 Kinge. O Thou born King of loues! 2 Kinge. Of lights! 3 Kinge. Of ioyes! Chorus. Look vp, sweet Babe, look vp and see10 For loue of Thee, Thus farr from home The East is come To seek her self in Thy sweet eyes. 1 Kinge. We, who strangely went astray,15 Lost in a bright Meridian night. 2 Kinge. A darknes made of too much day. 3 Kinge. Becken'd from farr By Thy fair starr,20 Lo, at last haue found our way. Chorus. To Thee, Thou Day of Night! Thou East of West! Lo, we at last haue found the way To Thee, the World's great vniuersal East, The generall and indifferent Day.25 1 Kinge. All-circling point! all-centring sphear! The World's one, round, æternall year: 2 Kinge. Whose full and all-vnwrinkled face Nor sinks nor swells with time or place; 3 Kinge. But euery where and euery while30 Is one consistent, solid smile: 1 Kinge. Not vext and tost 2 Kinge. 'Twixt Spring and frost; 3 Kinge. Nor by alternate shredds of light, Sordidly shifting hands with shades and Night.35 Chorus. O little all! in Thy embrace The World lyes warm, and likes his place; Nor does his full globe fail to be Kist on both his cheeks by Thee. Time is too narrow for Thy year,40 Nor makes the whole World Thy half-sphear. 1 Kinge. To Thee, to Thee From him we flee. 2 Kinge. From him, whom by a more illustrious ly, The blindnes of the World did call the eye.45 3 Kinge. To Him, Who by these mortall clouds hast made Thyself our sun, though Thine Own shade. 1 Kinge. Farewell, the World's false light! Farewell, the white Ægypt; a long farewell to thee50 Bright idol, black idolatry: The dire face of inferior darknes, kis't And courted in the pompus mask of a more specious mist. 2 Kinge. Farewell, farewell The proud and misplac't gates of Hell,55 Pertch't in the Morning's way perched. And double-guilded as the doores of Day: The deep hypocrisy of Death and Night More desperately dark, because more bright. 3 Kinge. Welcome, the World's sure way!60 Heavn's wholsom ray. Chorus. Wellcome to vs; and we (Sweet!) to our selues, in Thee. 1 Kinge. The deathles Heir of all Thy Father's day! 2 Kinge. Decently born!65 Embosom'd in a much more rosy Morn: The blushes of Thy all-vnblemisht mother. 3 Kinge. No more that other Aurora shall sett ope Her ruby casements, or hereafter hope70 From mortall eyes To meet religious welcomes at her rise. Chorus. We (pretious ones!) in you haue won A gentler Morn, a iuster sun. 1 Kinge. His superficiall beames sun-burn't our skin;75 2 Kinge. But left within 3 Kinge. The Night and Winter still of Death and Sin. Chorus. Thy softer yet more certaine darts Spare our eyes, but peirce our harts: 1 Kinge. Therfore with his proud Persian spoiles80 2 Kinge. We court Thy more concerning smiles. 3 Kinge. Therfore with his disgrace We guild the humble cheek of this chast place; Chorus. And at Thy feet powr forth his face. 1 Kinge. The doating Nations now no more85 Shall any day but Thine adore. 2 Kinge. Nor—much lesse—shall they leaue these eyes For cheap Ægyptian deityes. 3 Kinge. In whatsoe're more sacred shape Of ram, he-goat, or reuerend ape;90 Those beauteous rauishers opprest so sore The too-hard-tempted nations. 1 Kinge. Neuer more By wanton heyfer shall be worn 2 Kinge. A garland, or a guilded horn:95 The altar-stall'd ox, fatt Osyris now With his fair sister cow 3 Kinge. Shall kick the clouds no more; but lean and tame, Chorus. See His horn'd face, and dy for shame: And Mithra now shall be no name.100 1 Kinge. No longer shall the immodest lust Of adulterous godles dust 2 Kinge. Fly in the face of Heau'n; as if it were The poor World's fault that He is fair.105 3 Kinge. Nor with peruerse loues and religious rapes Reuenge Thy bountyes in their beauteous shapes; And punish best things worst; because they stood Guilty of being much for them too good. 1 Kinge. Proud sons of Death! that durst compell110 Heau'n it self to find them Hell: 2 Kinge. And by strange witt of madnes wrest From this World's East the other's West. 3 Kinge. All-idolizing wormes! that thus could crowd And vrge their sun into Thy cloud;115 Forcing His sometimes eclips'd face to be A long deliquium to the light of Thee. Chorus. Alas! with how much heauyer shade The shamefac't lamp hung down his head For that one eclipse he made,120 Then all those he suffered! 1 Kinge. For this he look't so bigg; and euery morn With a red face confes't his scorn. Or hiding his vex't cheeks in a hir'd mist Kept them from being so vnkindly kis't.125 2 Kinge. It was for this the Day did rise So oft with blubber'd eyes: For this the Evening wept; and we ne're knew But call'd it deaw. 3 Kinge. This dayly wrong130 Silenc't the morning-sons, and damp't their song: Chorus. Nor was't our deafnes, but our sins, that thus Long made th' harmonious orbes all mute to vs. 1 Kinge. Time has a day in store When this so proudly poor135 And self-oppressèd spark, that has so long By the loue-sick World bin made Not so much their sun as shade: Weary of this glorious wrong From them and from himself shall flee140 For shelter to the shadow of Thy tree: Chorus. Proud to haue gain'd this pretious losse And chang'd his false crown for Thy crosse. 2 Kinge. That dark Day's clear doom shall define Whose is the master Fire, which sun should shine:145 That sable judgment-seat shall by new lawes Decide and settle the great cause Of controuerted light: Chorus. And Natur's wrongs rejoyce to doe Thee right. 3 Kinge. That forfeiture of Noon to Night shall pay150 All the idolatrous thefts done by this Night of Day; And the great Penitent presse his own pale lipps With an elaborate loue-eclipse: To which the low World's lawes Shall lend no cause,155 Chorus. Saue those domestick which He borrowes From our sins and His Own sorrowes. 1 Kinge. Three sad hours' sackcloth then shall show to vs His penance, as our fault, conspicuous: 2 Kinge. And He more needfully and nobly proue160 The Nations' terror now then erst their loue. 3 Kinge. Their hated loues changd into wholsom feares: Chorus. The shutting of His eye shall open their's. 1 Kinge. As by a fair-ey'd fallacy of Day Miss-ledde, before, they lost their way;165 So shall they, by the seasonable fright Of an vnseasonable Night, Loosing it once again, stumble on true Light: 2 Kinge. And as before His too-bright eye Was their more blind idolatry;170 So his officious blindnes now shall be Their black, but faithfull perspectiue of Thee: 3 Kinge. His new prodigious Night, Their new and admirable light, The supernaturall dawn of Thy pure Day;175 While wondring they (The happy conuerts now of Him Whom they compell'd before to be their sin) Shall henceforth see To kisse him only as their rod,180 Whom they so long courted as God. Chorus. And their best vse of him they worship't, be To learn of him at last, to worship Thee. 1 Kinge. It was their weaknes woo'd his beauty; But it shall be185 Their wisdome now, as well as duty, To injoy his blott; and as a large black letter Vse it to spell Thy beautyes better; And make the Night it self their torch to Thee. 2 Kinge. By the oblique ambush of this close night190 Couch't in that conscious shade The right-ey'd Areopagite Shall with a vigorous guesse inuade And catch Thy quick reflex; and sharply see On this dark ground195 To descant Thee. 3 Kinge. O prize of the rich Spirit! with what feirce chase Of his strong soul, shall he Leap at thy lofty face, And seize the swift flash, in rebound200 From this obsequious cloud, Once call'd a sun, Till dearly thus vndone; Chorus. Till thus triumphantly tam'd (O ye two Twinne svnnes!) and taught now to negotiate you.205 1 Kinge. Thus shall that reuerend child of Light, 2 Kinge. By being scholler first of that new Night, Come forth great master of the mystick Day; 3 Kinge. And teach obscure mankind a more close way By the frugall negatiue light210 Of a most wise and well-abusèd Night To read more legible Thine originall ray; Chorus. And make our darknes serue Thy Day: Maintaining 'twixt Thy World and oures A commerce of contrary powres,215 A mutuall trade 'Twixt sun and shade, By confederat black and white Borrowing Day and lending Night.219 1 Kinge. Thus we, who when with all the noble powres That (at Thy cost) are call'd, not vainly, ours: We vow to make braue way Vpwards, and presse on for the pure intelligentiall prey; 2 Kinge. At least to play The amorous spyes225 And peep and proffer at Thy sparkling throne; 3 Kinge. In stead of bringing in the blissfull prize And fastening on Thine eyes: Forfeit our own And nothing gain230 But more ambitious losse at last, of brain; Chorus. Now by abasèd liddes shall learn to be Eagles; and shutt our eyes that we may see. The Close. [Chorus.] Therfore to Thee and Thine auspitious ray235 (Dread Sweet!) lo thus At last by vs, The delegated eye of Day Does first his scepter, then himself, in solemne tribute pay. Thus he vndresses240 His sacred vnshorn tresses; At Thy adorèd feet, thus he layes down 1 Kinge. His gorgeous tire Of flame and fire, 2 Kinge. His glittering robe. 3 Kinge. His sparkling crown;245 1 Kinge. His gold: 2 Kinge. His mirrh: 3 Kinge. His frankincense. Chorus. To which he now has no pretence: For being show'd by this Day's light, how farr He is from sun enough to make Thy starr, His best ambition now is but to be250 Somthing a brighter shadow, Sweet, of Thee. Or on Heaun's azure forhead high to stand Thy golden index; with a duteous hand Pointing vs home to our own sun The World's and his Hyperion.255
NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
The title in 1648 edition is simply 'A Hymne for the Epiphanie. Sung as by the three Kings.' Except the usual slight changes of orthography, the following are all the variations between the two texts necessary to record: and I give with them certain corrective and explanatory notes:
line 25, 'indifferent' is = impartial, not as now 'unconcerned.' Line 52, 1648 edition misprints 'his't' for 'kis't.' In the 51st line the 'bright idol' is the sun. Line 83, ib. reads 'thy' for 'this.' " 95, 'a guilded horn.' Cf. Juvenal, Satire x. " 99, ib. is given to 3d King. Throughout we have corrected a number of slips of the Paris printer in his figures. Line 108, ib. spells 'to' for 'too.' " 117, 'deliquium' = swoon, faint. In chemistry = melting. " 122, 1648 edition reads 'his' for 'this;' and I have adopted it. Line 143, ib. reads 'deere:' a misprint. " 155, ib. reads 'domesticks.' " 180, ib. reads 'the' for 'their.' " 186, ib. drops 'it.' " 195, ib. reads 'what' for 'that,' and in next line 'his' for 'this,' of 1652: both adopted. Line 212, 'legible' is = legibly. " 224 and onward, in 1648 is printed 'least,' in our text (1652) 'lest.' Except in line 224 it is plainly = last, and so I read it in 231st and 237th.
See our Essay for Miltonic parallels with lines in this remarkable composition. Line 46, 'these mortal clouds,' i.e. of infant flesh. Cf. Sosp. d' Herode, stanza xxiii.
'That He whom the sun serves should faintly peep Through clouds of infant flesh.'
Line 114, 'And urge their sun into Thy cloud,' i.e. into becoming Thy cloud, forcing him to become 'a long deliquium to the light of thee.' Line 189, our text (1652) misprints 'in self.' Line 190, 'By the oblique ambush,' &c. The Kings continuing in the spirit of prophecy, and with words not to be understood till their fulfilment, pass on from the dimming of the sun at the Crucifixion to a second dimming, but this time through the splendour of a brighter light, at the conversion of him who was taken to preach to the Gentiles in the court of the Areopagites. The speaker, or rather Crashaw, takes the view which at first sight may seem to be implied in the gospel narrative, that the light brighter than midday shone round about Saul and his companions but not on them, they being couched in the conscious shade of the daylight. Throughout, there is a double allusion to this second dimming of the sun as manifesting Christ to St. Paul and the Gentiles, and to the dimming of the eyes, and the walking in darkness for a time of him who as a light on Earth was to manifest the True Light to the world. Throughout, too, there is a kind of parallelism indicated between the two lesser lights. Both rebellions were to be dimmed and brought into subjection, and then to shine forth 'right-eyed' in renewed and purified splendour as evidences of the Sun of Righteousness. Hence at the close, the chorus calls them 'ye twin-suns,'—and the words, 'Till thus triumphantly tamed' refer equally to both. The punctuation to make this clear should be '... sun, ... undone; ...' 'To negotiate you' (both word and metaphor being rather unhappily chosen) means, to pass you current as the true-stamped image of the Deity. 'O price of the rich Spirit' (line 197) may be made to refer to 'thee [O Christ], price of the rich spirit' of Paul, but 'may be' is almost too strong to apply to such an interpretation. It is far more consonant to the structure and tenor of the whole passage, to read it as an epithet applied to St. Paul: 'O prize of the rich Spirit of grace.' I have also without hesitation changed 'of this strong soul' into 'of his strong soul.' 'Oblique ambush' may refer to the oblique rays of the sun now rays of darkness, but the primary reference is to the indirect manner and 'vigorous guess,' by which St. Paul, mentally glancing from one to the other light, learned through the dimming of the sun to believe in the Deity of Him who spake from out the dimming brightness. The same thought, though with a strained and less successful effort of expression, appears in the song of the third King, 'with that fierce chase,' &c.
Line 251. 'Somthing a brighter shadow (Sweet) of Thee.' Apparently a remembrance of a passage which Thomas Heywood, in his 'Hierarchie of the Angels,' gives from a Latin translation of Plato, 'Lumen est umbra Dei et Deus est Lumen Luminis.' On which see our Essay. Perhaps the same gave rise to the thought that the sun eclipsed God, or shut Him out as a cloud or shade, or made night, e.g.
'And urge their sun . . . . . . . . . . eclipse he made:' (lines 115-120). 'Not so much their sun as shade . . . . by this night of day:' (lines 138-151). G.