1 God made man upright at the first; Man made himself by sin accurst: Sin is a deviation from the way Of God: 'tis that wherein a man doth stray From the first path wherein he was to walk, From the first truth he was to talk. 2 His talk was to be all of praise, Thanksgiving, rapture, holy days; For nothing else did with his state agree: Being full of wonder and felicity, He was in thankful sort to meditate Upon the throne in which he state. 3 No gold, nor trade, nor silver there, Nor clothes, nor coin, nor houses were, No gaudy coaches, feasts, or palaces, Nor vain inventions newly made to please; But native truth, and virgin-purity, An uncorrupt simplicity. 4 His faithful heart, his hands, and eyes He lifted up unto the skies; The earth he wondering kneel'd upon; the air, He was surrounded with; the trees, the fair And fruitful fields, his needful treasures were; And nothing else he wanted there. 5 The world itself was his next theme, Whereof himself was made supreme: He had an angel's eye to see the price Of every creature; that made Paradise. He had a tongue, yea more, a cherub's sense To feel its worth and excellence. 6 Encompass'd with the fruits of love, He crowned was with Heaven above, Supported with the footstool of God's throne, A globe more rich than gold or precious stone, The fertile ground of pleasure and delight, Encircled in a sphere of light. 7 The sense of what he did possess Fill'd him with joy and thankfulness; He was transported even here on earth, As if he then in Heaven had his birth: The truth is, Heaven did the man surround, The earth being in the middle found. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...ON DONNE'S POETRY by SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE IN THE LAND WHERE WE WERE DREAMING by DANIEL BEDINGER LUCAS GREEK ARCHITECTURE by HERMAN MELVILLE THE EGYPTIAN PRINCESS by EDWIN ARNOLD LILIES: 17 by GEORGE BARLOW (1847-1913) A WEATHER PROPHET by JANE BARLOW URANIA; THE WOMAN IN THE MOON: THE THIRD CANTO, OR FULL MOON by WILLIAM BASSE |