From The Temple

Description

George Herbert drafted verse in English, Latin and Greek. In 1633, all of his English poems were printed in The Temple: Sacred Poems and Private Ejaculations, with a preface by Nicholas Ferrar. The collection underwent eight editions by 1690. In accordance with Isaac Walton, when George gave the copy to Ferrar, he stated that “he shall find in it a picture of the many spiritual conflicts that have passed between God and my soul, before I could subject mine to the will of Jesus, my Master”. In this, George applied the layout of the poems to highlight the topic he was aiming to describe. Starting with The Church Porch, they carried on through The Altar to The Sacrifice, and straight on through the compilation.

George Herbert was a Welsh-born poet, orator and Anglican minister. George’s poetry is linked with the works of the philosophical poets, and he is distinguished as “one of the foremost British devotional lyricists.” He was born into an imaginative and fortunate family, George was widely fostered in England and had a fine education that brought to his entrance in 1609 as a pupil at Trinity College, Cambridge. He enrolled there at first with the purpose of becoming a clergyman, but when finally he became the University’s Public Orator he enticed the attentiveness of King James I. In 1624 and shortly in 1625, he assisted in the Parliament of England. After King James died, George’s concentration in ordination deepened. In his 30s, he relinquished his worldly desires and undertook holy orders in the Church of England, spending all of his life as the rector of the small parish of St. Andrews Church, Lower Bemerton, Salisbury. He was remarkable for reliable guardianship for his congregations, taking the sacraments to them when they were sick, and gave them everything they need such as food and clothing. Henry Vaughan described him as “a most glorious saint and seer”.
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