Christopher Smart

“ O guide my judgment and my taste,
Sweet SPIRIT, author of the book
Of wonders, told in language chaste,
And plainness not to be mistook.
5O let me muse, and yet at sight
The page admire, the page believe;
"Let there be light, and there was light,
"Let there be Paradise and Eve!"
Who his soul's rapture can refrain?
10At Joseph's ever-pleasing tale,
Of marvels, the prodigious train,
To Sinai's hill from Goshen's vale.
The Psalmist and proverbial Seer,
And all the prophets' sons of song,
15Make all things precious, all things clear,
And bear the brilliant word along.
O take the book from off the shelf, ”

“ Adorn me with thy grace.
5 All evil of the day forefend,
Prevent the Tempter's snare;
Thine Angel on my steps attend,
And give me fruit to pray'r.
O make me useful as I go
10 My pilgrimage along ”

“ Souls sprung from an etherial flame,
However clad, are still the same;
Nor should we judge the heart or head,
By air we breathe, or earth we tread.
15 Dame Nature, who, all meritorious,
In a true Englishman is glorious ”

“ Pray Remember the POOR.
I just came by the prison door,
I gave a penny to the poor:
Papa did this good act approve,
And poor Mamma cry'd out for Love.
5 Whene'er the poor comes to my gate,
Relief I will communicate ”

“ Hail to the chearful rays of ruddy morn,
That paint the streaky East, and blithsome rouse
The birds, the cattle, and mankind from rest!
30 Hail to the freshness of the early breeze,
And Iris dancing on the new--fall'n dew! ”

“ Fights when the battle's o'er, with wond'rous pain,
By Shrewsbury's clock, and nobly slays the slain.
30The Critic's censures are beneath our care,
We strive to please the generous and the fair;
To their decision we submit our claim,
We write not, speak not, breathe not, but for them. ”

“ For ADORATION all the ranks
Of angels yield eternal thanks,
And DAVID in the midst;
With God's good poor, which, last and least
In man's esteem, thou to thy feast,
O blessed bride-groom, bidst. ”

“ On this triumphant day:
Your souls to piety dispose,
Arise to bless and pray.
5 Ev'n rustics do adorn them now,
Themselves in roses dress;
And to the clergyman they bow,
When he begins to bless. ”

“ To suffer long and still be kind
10 In holy temperance of mind,
Rejoice that truth is on my side,
As free from envy as from pride.
Both tongues and prophecies shall cease,
And painful knowledge cede to peace;
15 And time and death o'er all prevail,
But Charity shall never fail. ”

“ And laid in insolent position,
Among us people of condition?
Back to the helper in the stable,
20 Scour the close-stool, or wash-house table;
Or cleanse some horsing block, or plank,
Nor dare approach us folks of rank. ”

“ Ye carry armies on your tow'r-crown'd backs,
90And grace the turban'd tyrants, bow to him
Who is as great, as perfect and as good
In his less-striking wonders, till at length
The eye's at fault and seeks th'assisting glass. ”

“ The squirrel hoards his nuts:
All creatures batten o'er their stores,
And careful nature all her doors,
For ADORATION shuts.
LXIV.
For ADORATION, DAVID's psalms
Lift up the heart to deeds of alms;
And he, who kneels and chants,
Prevails his passions to controul,
Finds meat and med'cine to the soul,
Which for translation pants. ”

“ Asteria too shall help her soon
15 With voice of skilful ease. [3]
A nosegay, every thing that grows,
And music, every sound
To lull the sun to his repose;
The skies are coloured like the rose
20With lively streaks around. ”

“ The young rhymester was very fond of a lady of about three times his own age who used to notice and caress him. A gentleman old enough to be her father to teaze the child would pretend to be in love with his favourite and threatened to take her for his wife — “You are too old,” said little Smart ”

“ Stood at this violent attack,
Like statutes made by Roubilliac [3] ,
65 Tho' form'd beyond all skill antique,
They can't their marble silence break;
They only breathe, and think, and start,
Astonish'd at their maker's art. ”

“ Abraham's offering of Isaac as sacrifice was regarded by St Paul as a great example of faith.
13—16. See: "And here we offer and present unto thee, O Lord, ourselves, our souls and bodies , to be a reasonable, holy, and living sacrifice unto thee" (The Prayer of oblation after Communion) . ”

“ And Jael's memorable nail,
20 Did o'er a sleeping king prevail. [6]
"Behold, I come" — come quickly then,
Thou Saviour of the souls of men;
For pray'r and hymns are mine employ,
Who long for ever-wakeful joy. ”

“ We pay our debts in honour's cause,
Lost in the breaking of the laws:
'Tis for some selfish impious end,
To murder the sincerest friend;
15 But wou'd you alter all the clan,
Turn out an honourable man. ”

“ In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) . ↑ 7. the corner-stone — Christ is so called in 1 Peter 2:6—7: "Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief 'corner stone', elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. / Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, 'the stone' which the builders disallowed, the same is made 'the head of the corner'..." ”

“ Their voices tun'd to transport, wing'd their flight,
50And bade them call for nurture, and receive;
And lo! they call; the blackbird and the thrush,
The woodlark, and the redbreast jointly call;
He hears and feeds their feather'd families,
He feeds his sweet musicians, — nor neglects
55Th'invoking ravens in the greenwood wide;
And tho' their throats coarse ruttling hurt the ear,
They mean it all for music, thanks and praise
They mean, and leave ingratitude to man;--
But not to all,--for hark! ”

“ The Lord is judge alone.
Notes
↑ 3-4. Which weigh'st the mountains in thy scale, / And ballancest the cloud... — "scale" is the traditional symbol of Justice and the biblical symbol of Divine Omnipotence. Cf. “Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?” Isaiah 40:12; “Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him which is perfect in knowledge?” ”

“ Too hard for any frog's digestion,
To have his froghood call'd in question! ”

“ As Karina Williamson explains: "Trough Christ, the Word, man will regain more than he lost by ingratitude. Cf. "On Gratitude" 47—8: "For Paradise had ne'er been lost / Had heav'nly Gratitude remain'd.""↑ 23. upper Eden is the heavenly paradise with multitudes of singers. ”

“ The multitudinous abyss,
Where secrecy remains in bliss,
And wisdom hides her skill.
XXII.
Trees, plants, and flow'rs---of virtuous root;
Gem yielding blossom, yielding fruit,
Choice gums and precious balm ”

“ For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie." ↑ 10. See: Psalms 50:6: "And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself". ”

“ Karina Williamson notes: "The patience of Christ in accepting incarnation and crucifixion is cited in the Collect for the Sunday before Easter as an example for Christians to follow".
↑ 3—4. See Job 28:16—19, where said that wisdom (but not patience) to be more precious than jewels. ”

“ And with his gun, from wood to wood
The man of prey his course pursu'd;
The dew and herbage all around,
Like pearls and emeralds on the ground;
15Th'uncultur'd flowers that rudely rise,
Where smiling freedom art defies ”

“ See "Acts 24:16: "And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men. ↑ 19—20. See Luke 10:7: "And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire." ”

“ The Latin expression, “Cur moriatur homo cui salvia crescit in horto?” (Why should a man die whilst sage grows in his garden?) , is a cogent summary of sage’s reputation among ancient and medieval herbalists. Culpeper associated sage with Jupiter, the almighty god of Roman mythology, and credited the herb with a wide variety of healing powers. ”

“ Isaiah 53:3: "He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not".↑ 10. Prophet Daniel had a dreadful dream described in the 7th chapter of his book. ”

“ Smart describes his Cat Jeoffrey as follows: "For he purrs in thankfulness? when God tells him he's good Cat". ↑ 7. "a good domestic friend" Karina Williamson thinks that this is presumable the conscience. She also notes that Abraham called his wife "my fair domestic friend" (Abimelech i. 64) ↑ 19-20. Karina Williamson notes that "wages of the day" are intended in merciful, not retributive, sense. ”

“ To give the praise to God most High,
And all the sulky fiends defy,
⁠25 Is a most joyful thing.
Notes
As Karina Williamson noticed, this Hymn "was perhaps designed as a general celebration of Christ's triumph in the Resurrection and Ascention (Ascention Day fell on 30 April in 1761) ".
↑ 5. "It shall be May to-morrow's morn..." — this makes clear that the Hymn was intended for the celebration on 30th April. ↑ 8. "in" — was replaced with "with" in ed. 1786.↑ 8—9. The thorn as well as the crowing cock have both Biblical allusions. ↑ 21. ”

“ When on roast beef, strong beer, and sturgeon,
55 Joyous to breakfast they set round,
Nor were asham'd to eat a pound.
These were the manners, these the ways,
In good Queen Bess's golden days;
Each damsel ow'd her bloom and glee,
60 To wholesome elbow-grease, and me,
“But now they center all their joys
In empty rattle traps and noise.
Thus where the Fates send you, they send
Flagitious times, which ne'er will mend,
65Till some Philosopher can find,
A Scrubbing-Brush to scour the mind."
1753 Notes First published in The Midwife; or The Old Woman's Magazine (iii. 134-6, June. 1753) . ”

“ But three other senses are embraced in the hymn: keeping alert against temptation (lines 1—2) ; guarding against enemies (9—12, 18— 20) ; and looking forward to (12—22) ".
↑ 2. See Mark. 14:38, Christ's injunction to his disciples in the garden of Gethsemane: "Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak".↑ 8. Printed "fear?" (ed. 1786) ; "fear." ”