Category: PART I

There may be many worlds like circles round;
In after ages more worlds may be found.¹
If we by art of shipping could into²
Each circle slip, we might perhaps it know.³
This world compared to some may be but small:              5
No doubt but⁴ Nature made degrees of all.
If not, Drake ne’er had made so quick a skip⁵
About the largest circle in⁶ his⁷ ship.
For⁸ some may be so big as none can swim,
Had they the life of old Methusalem.                                  10
Or had they lives to number with each day,
They would want time to compass half the way.
But if that Drake had lived in Venus’s⁹ star,
His journey shorter might have¹⁰ been by far.

An earring round may well a zodiac¹¹ be,
Wherein a sun goes round, which we don’t¹² see;
And planets seven about that sun may move,
And he stand still, as learnèd men¹³ would prove;
And fixèd stars like twinkling diamonds, placed                   5
About this earring, which a world is vast.
That same which doth the earring hold, the hole,
Is that we call the North and Southern Pole;¹⁴
There nipping frosts may be, and winters¹⁵ cold,
Yet never on the lady’s ear take hold.                                      10
And lightning,¹⁶ thunder, and great winds may blow
Within this earring, yet the ear not know.
Fish there may swim in seas, which ebb and flow,¹⁷
And islands be, wherein do spices grow;¹⁸
There crystal rocks hang dangling at each ear,                     15
And golden mines as jewels may they wear.
There earthquakes¹⁹ be, which mountains vast down fling,
And yet ne’er stir the lady’s ear, nor ring.
There meadows²⁰ be, and pastures fresh and green,
And cattle feed, and yet be never seen,                                   20
And gardens fresh,²¹ and birds which sweetly sing,
Although we hear them not in an earring.
There²² night and day, and heat and cold, and so²³
May²⁴ life and death, and young and old still grow.²⁵
Thus²⁶ youth may spring, and several ages die;                    25
Great plagues may be, and no infections²⁷ nigh.
There cities²⁸ be, and stately houses²⁹ built,
Their³⁰ inside gay, and finely may be gilt.
There churches be,³¹ wherein priests teach and sing,³²
And steeples³³ too, yet hear the bells not ring.                      30
From thence may pious tears to Heaven run,³⁴
And yet the ear not know which way they’re gone.
There markets be,³⁵ where things are³⁶ bought and sold,
Though th’ear knows not the price their³⁷ markets hold.
There governors do³⁸ rule, and kings do³⁹ reign,                  35
And battles fought, where many may be⁴⁰ slain.
And all within the compass of this ring,
Whence they no⁴¹ tidings to the wearer bring.
Within the⁴² ring, wise counsellors may sit,
And yet the ear not one wise word may get.                           40
There may be dancing all night at a ball,
And yet the ear be not disturbed at all.
There rivals⁴³ duels fight, where some are slain;
There⁴⁴ lovers mourn, yet hear them not complain.
And Death may dig a lover’s grave: thus were                        45
A lover dead in a fair lady’s ear.
But when the ring is broke, the world is done;
Then lovers they into Elysium run.⁴⁵

Just like as in⁴⁶ a nest of boxes round
Degrees of sizes in⁴⁷ each box are found,
So in this world, may many worlds more⁴⁸ be,
Thinner and less, and less still by degree.
Although they are not subject to our sense,              5
A world may be no bigger than twopence.
Nature is curious, and such works may shape⁴⁹
Which our dull senses easily escape.⁵⁰
For creatures small as atoms may be there,
If every atom⁵¹ a creature’s figure bear.                    10
If atoms four⁵² a world can make,⁵³ then see
What several worlds might in an earring be.
For millions of these⁵⁴ atoms may be in
The head of one small little single pin.
And if thus small, then ladies well may⁵⁵ wear       15
A world of worlds as pendants in each ear.

⁵⁶

Nothing so hard in nature as faith is,⁵⁷
For⁵⁸ to believe impossibilities—
Not that they’re not,⁵⁹ but that they do not clear⁶⁰
Unto our reason and to sense appear.⁶¹                      
For reason cannot find them out, since they⁶²                    5
Seem wrought beyond all Nature’s course and way.⁶³
For⁶⁴ many things our senses dull may scape,⁶⁵
For they’re too gross to know each form and⁶⁶ shape.
So in this world another world⁶⁷ may be,
Which⁶⁸ we do neither touch, taste, smell, hear, see.⁶⁹   10
What eye so clear is, yet did ever see⁷⁰
Those little hooks that in the loadstone be,⁷¹
Which draw hard iron, or give reasons why⁷²
The needle’s point still in the north will lie?
As for example, atoms in the air                                           15
We ne’er perceive, although the light be fair.
And⁷³ whatsoever can a body claim,
Though ne’er so small, life may be in the same.
And what has⁷⁴ life may understanding have,
Though’t⁷⁵ be to us as buried in the⁷⁶ grave.                      20
Then probably may men and women small,
Live in the world, which we know not⁷⁷ at all,
May build them houses to dwell in, and make⁷⁸
Orchards and gardens,⁷⁹ where they pleasure take,
Have⁸⁰ birds which sing, and cattle in the field,                25
May plow and sow, and there⁸¹ small corn may yield;
They may have commonwealths,⁸² and kings to reign,
Make wars and battles, where are many⁸³ slain,
And all without our hearing, or our sight,
Or⁸⁴ any of our other senses⁸⁵ light.                                     30
And other stars, and suns, and moons⁸⁶ may be,
Which our dull eyes shall never come to see.
But we are apt to laugh at tales so told:
Thus senses gross do back our reason⁸⁷ hold.
Yet things which are ’gainst nature we think⁸⁸ true,        35
That spirits change and can take bodies new,
That life may be, yet in no body live,
For which no sense nor reason we can give.
As⁸⁹ incorporeal spirits this fancy⁹⁰ feigns,
Yet fancy cannot be without some brains.                          40
If fancy⁹¹ without substance cannot⁹² be,
Then souls are more than reason well can see.

⁶⁴

’Tis thought an unctuous matter comes from⁹³ the sun
In streaming⁹⁴ beams, which Earth doth feed upon,
And that the Earth by them, when they ascend,⁹⁵
Unto the sun a nourishment doth send.⁹⁶
And so each⁹⁷ beam the sun doth make a chain,                         5
Which brings down food and draws food⁹⁸ back again.
Or we may well those beams to ships compare,⁹⁹
Where each is laden with the richest ware.¹⁰⁰
Each ship¹⁰¹ is fraught with heat; through air it sails¹⁰²
And brings this heat to th’Earth, which never fails¹⁰³              10
By traffic’s laws equal returns to make,¹⁰⁴
And sends instead of heat moist vapor back.¹⁰⁵
Great danger is, if ships be overfraught,¹⁰⁶
For many times they sink with their own weight:¹⁰⁷
And¹⁰⁸ those gilt ships such fate¹⁰⁹ do¹¹⁰ often find,                         15
They sink with too much weight or split with wind.

¹¹¹
Some by their industry and¹¹² learning found
That all the blood like to the sea runs round:
From two great arteries it doth begin,¹¹³
Runs through all veins, and so comes back again.¹¹⁴
The muscles like the tides do ebb and flow                   5
According as the several spirits go.
The sinews, as small pipes, come from the head,
And¹¹⁵ all about the body they are¹¹⁶ spread,
Through which the animal spirits are conveyed
To every member, as the pipes are laid.                        10
And from those sinews-pipes each sense doth take
Of those pure spirits, as they us do make.

Each sinew is a small and slender string,¹¹⁷
Which to the body all the senses bring.¹¹⁸
And they like¹¹⁹ pipes or gutters hollow be,
Where animal spirits run continually.
Though small, yet they¹²⁰ such matter do contain           5
As in the skull doth lie, which we call brain.
That makes if anyone doth strike the heel,
The thought of that sense in the brain doth feel.¹²¹
Yet ’tis¹²² not sympathy, but ’tis the same¹²³
Which makes us think and feel the pain.¹²⁴                     10
For had the heel such quantity of brain
As¹²⁵ doth the head and skull therein contain,
Then would such thoughts, which in the brain dwell high,
Descend down low, and in the heel¹²⁶ would lie.
In sinews small, brain scattered lies about;                 15
It wants both room and quantity, no doubt.
For if a sinew so¹²⁷ much brain could hold,¹²⁸
Or had so large a skin it¹²⁹ to enfold
(As hath¹³⁰ the skull), then might the toe or knee,
Had they an optic nerve, both hear and see.               20
Had sinews room fancy therein to breed,
Copies of verses might from the heel¹³¹ proceed.

Musing one time alone,¹³² mine eyes being¹³³ fixed
Upon the ground, my sight with gravel mixed,
My feet did walk without direction’s guide;
My thoughts did travel far and wander wide.
At last they chanced upon¹³⁴ a hill to climb,                                 5
And being there, saw things that were divine.
        First, what¹³⁵ they saw: a glorious light did¹³⁶ blaze,¹³⁷
Whose splendor made it painful for the¹³⁸ gaze.
No separations nor shadows by stops¹³⁹ made,
No darkness did¹⁴⁰ obstruct this light with shade.                     10
This light had no dimension, nor no bound,¹⁴¹
No limits, but it¹⁴² filled all places round.¹⁴³
Always in motion ’twas,¹⁴⁴ yet fixed did prove,
Like to the twinkling stars, which never move.
This motion working, running several ways,                           15
Seemed as if contradictions it would¹⁴⁵ raise,
For with itself it seemed not to agree,¹⁴⁶
Like to¹⁴⁷ a skein of thread, if’t knotted be.
For some did go straight in an even line,
But some again did cross, and some did twine.                        20
Yet at the last, all several motions run
Into the first Prime Motion, which begun.
In various forms and shapes did life run through,
Which was eternal, but the shapes were¹⁴⁸ new;
No¹⁴⁹ sooner made, but quickly¹⁵⁰ passed away,                         25
Yet while they were, they did desire¹⁵¹ to stay.
But motion to one form can ne’er constant¹⁵² be,
For life, which motion is, joys in¹⁵³ variety.
For the¹⁵⁴ First Motion everything can make,
But cannot add unto itself, nor take.                                           30
Indeed no other matter could it¹⁵⁵ frame:
Itself was all, and in itself the same.
Perceiving now this fixèd point of light,
I spied¹⁵⁶ a union: Knowledge, Power, and Might,
Wisdom, Truth, Justice,¹⁵⁷ Providence, all one,                          35
No attribute was by itself¹⁵⁸ alone.
Not like to¹⁵⁹ several lines drawn to one point,
For what doth meet may be again¹⁶⁰ disjoint.
But this same¹⁶¹ point, from whence all lines did¹⁶² flow,
Nought can diminish it, or¹⁶³ make it grow.                               40
’Tis its own center and circumference round,
Yet neither has a limit nor¹⁶⁴ a bound.
A fixed eternity,¹⁶⁵ and so will last:
All present is, nothing to come or¹⁶⁶ past.
A fixed perfection; nothing can add more;                               45
All things is it, and itself doth¹⁶⁷ adore.
My thoughts then wondering at what they did see,
Found at the last themselves the same to be,¹⁶⁸
Yet were¹⁶⁹ so small a branch, as they¹⁷⁰ could not
Know¹⁷¹ whence they sprung, nor how they¹⁷² were begot.    50
        Some say, all that¹⁷³ we know of Heaven above
Is that we joy, and that we love.¹⁷⁴
But who¹⁷⁵ can tell that? For all we know,¹⁷⁶
Those passions we call joy and love below¹⁷⁷
May by excess such other passions grow;                                  55
None in the world is capable to know.
Just like our bodies, although¹⁷⁸ they shall rise,
And as St. Paul says, see God with our eyes,¹⁷⁹
Yet may we in the change such difference find,
Both in our bodies, and also in mind,¹⁸⁰                                      60
As if we never had been of¹⁸¹ mankind,
And that these¹⁸² eyes we see with now were blind.
Say we can measure all the planets high,
And number all the stars be¹⁸³ in the sky,
And we can circle¹⁸⁴ all the world about,                                    65
And can find all¹⁸⁵ th’effects of nature out:¹⁸⁶
Yet all¹⁸⁷ the wise and learnèd cannot tell¹⁸⁸
What’s done in Heaven, or how we there shall dwell.

¹⁴⁰

The eights in music, when they¹⁸² equal are,
If one be struck, the other seems to jar.
So the heartstrings, if equally be¹⁸⁹ stretched
To¹⁹⁰ those of music, love from thence is fetched.
For when one’s struck, the other moves just so,       5
And with delight as evenly doth go.

We should those men think mad which should us tell¹⁹¹
That they did see a sound, or taste a smell.
Yet reason proves a man doth not err much
Whenas he says¹⁹² his senses all are touch.
If actions in a picture¹⁹³ be lively¹⁹⁴ told,                                        5
The brain straight thinks the eye the same¹⁹⁵ behold.
The stomach hungry, the nose good meat doth¹⁹⁶ smell;
The brain doth¹⁹⁷ think that smell the tongue tastes well.
If we a thief do see, and do him¹⁹⁸ fear,
We straight do think that breaking doors¹⁹⁹ we hear.              10
Imaginations just like motions make,
That every sense is struck with a²⁰⁰ mistake.