Sermon 4 A Sermon Preached to Queen Anne, at Denmarke-house. December 14. 1617.

John Donne

Peter McCullough (ed.), The Oxford Edition of the Sermons of John Donne, Vol. 1: Sermons Preached at the Jacobean Courts, 1615–1619

Main Text

pg 42

Illus. 4. First leaf of the copy text of Sermon 4 (British Library Harley manuscript[s]MS 6946, fol. ir). © 2014 The British Library Board.

Editor’s Notepg 43Editor’s Notesermon 4Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus123Editor’s Note Critical ApparatusA Sermon Preached to Queen Anne, at Denmarke-house. December. 14. 1617.

Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus4^| Prou: 8: 17 [1r]

5I loue them that loue mee and they that seeke mee earlie shall finde mee.

Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus6As the Prophetts and other Secretaries of the holie Ghost in penning the Critical Apparatus7bookes of scriptures, doe for the most part reteine and express in their Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus8wrytings, some ympressions and some ayre of their former professions; Those 9that had bien bred in courts and Citties, Those that had bien Shepeheards and Critical Apparatus10heardsmen, Those that had bien Fishers, and so of the rest, ever incerting into 11their wrytings, some phrases, some metaphors, some allusions, taken from Critical Apparatus12that profession which they had exercyzed before. So that soule that hath bien 13transported vppon anie particular worldlie pleasure, when yt is intirelie turnd Critical Apparatus14vppon god, & the contemplacion of his all sufficiencie and aboundance, dooth Critical Apparatus15Find in god fitt subiect and iust occasion to exercize the same affection pyous-Critical Apparatus16lie and religiouslie, which had before so sinfullie transported and possest yt.

Critical Apparatus17A Couetous person, whoe is now trulie conuerted to god, hee will exercize a 18spirituall Couetousnes still; hee will desire to haue him all; hee will haue good Editor’s Note19securitie, the seale & assurance of the holie ghost, and hee will haue his 20securitie often renewed by new testimonies and increases of those graces in 21him; hee will haue wittnesses enough: hee will haue the testimonie of all the 22worlde by his good life and conuersacion; hee will gaine euerie waie at gods Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus23hand; hee will haue wages of god, for hee wilbee his servant; hee will haue a Editor’s Note24portion from god, for hee wilbee his sonne; hee will haue a reversion, hee Editor’s Note25wilbee sure that his name ys in the booke of life; hee will haue pawnes, the Editor’s Note26seales of the sacramentes; Naie, hee will haue a present possession: all that god Critical Apparatus27hath promised, all that Christ hath purchased; and all that the holie ghost hath Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus28stewardshipp and dispensacion of; hee will haue in present, by the Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus29appropracion and investiture of an actuall and applying Faith: A Covetous Critical Apparatus30person conuerted wilbee spirituallie couetous styll.

pg 44Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus31So will a voluptuous man whoe ys turnd to godd find plentie and deliciousnes Editor’s Note32enough in him to feed his soule as with marrowe and with fattnes; as David Editor’s Note33[1v] expresses yt: And so ^| an angrie and passionate man will find zeale enough in 34the howse of god to eate him vpp:

Critical Apparatus35All affections which are common to all men, and those too which in particular, Critical Apparatus36particular men haue bien addicted to, shall not onlie bee iustlie imployed Critical Apparatus37vppon god, but also securelie imployed, because wee cannot exceed nor goe Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus38too Farr in ymploying them vppon him. According to this rule St. Paule whoe 39Colos: 1: had bien so vehement a persecutor had euer his thoughts exercized vppon Critical Apparatus40that: And thervppon after his conuersion hee fullfills the rest of the sufferings 41of Christ in his Flesh: hee suffers most: hee makes moste mention of his Critical Apparatus42sufferings of anie of the Apostles.

Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus43And according to this rule too. Solomon, whose disposicion was amorous Editor’s Note44and excessiue in the loue of weomen, when hee turnd to god, hee departed Critical Apparatus45not vtterlie from his olde phrase and language, butt having putt a new and Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus46a spirituall tincture and forme and habitt into all his thoughts and wordes Editor’s Note47hee conveis all his loving approaches and applicacions to god, and all gods Editor’s Note48gracious answers to his amarous soule into song and epithalamiones, and 49meditacions vppon contracts and mariages betweene god and his Church, Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus50and god and his soule, as you see so euidentlie in all his other wrytings, and Critical Apparatus51particularlie in this text; I love them &c.

Critical Apparatus52In which wordes ys expressed all that belongs to loue: all which, ys to desire 53and to inioye: for to desire without fruition ys a rage, and to inioye withoute Editor’s Note54desire ys a stupiditie.

Critical Apparatus55In the first alone wee think of nothing butt that which wee then woolde haue: Critical Apparatus56and in the second alone wee care not for yt when wee haue yt: In the first, wee Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus57are without yt; In the second wee are as good bee withoute yt, For wee haue no 58pleasure in yt: Nothing then cann giue vs sattisfaccion butt where those twoe Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus59concurr Amare and Frui.

Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus60August: In sensuall loue yt is so: Quid erat quod me delectabat nisi amare et amari? Critical Apparatus61I tooke no ioye in this worlde, but in loving and in being beloued: In sensuall 62loue yt is so: butt in sensuall loue when wee are come so Farr, there ys no pg 45Editor’s Note63satisfaccion in that. The same Father confesseth more of ^| himselfe then anie [2r] Editor’s Note64Comission, anie oath woulde haue putt him to. Amatus sum etperueni occulte ad 65fruendum: I had all I desired, and I had yt with that aduantage of hauing yt Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus66secrettlie: butt what gott I by all that, Ut cæderer virgis ardentibus ferreis, zeli Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus67suspicionis et rixarum: Nothing but to be squourged with burning Iron Critical Apparatus68rods, Rods of iealouzie, and of suspicion and of quarrells. Butt in the loue 69and inioying of this text, there ys no roome for iealozie nor suspition nor Critical Apparatus70quarrelous complayning.

Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus71In this text then you maie bee pleased to consider theis twoe things, quid Divisio. 72amare, quid frui. What the affection of this loue ys, what ys the blessednes of Critical Apparatus73this enioyinge: But in the first of theis wee must first consider the persons whoe Editor’s Note74are the louers in this text. For there are persons that are incredible, though 75they saie they loue, because they are accustomed to Falsehood; And there are Editor’s Note76persons which are unrequitable, though they bee beleeued to loue, because 77they loue not where and as they sholde.

Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus78When wee haue found the persons in a second consideracion, wee shall looke 79vppon the affection yt self; what ys the loue in this text: And then after that Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus80vppon the bond and vnion and condicion of this loue: That yt is mutuall; Critical Apparatus81I loue them that loue mee: And hauing passed those three branches of the Critical Apparatus82first part, wee shall in the second which ys enioying consider first that this 83enioying ys expressed in the worde Finding and then that this Finding Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus84requyers twoe condicions a seeking and an earlie seeking: And they that seeke 85mee earlie shall finde mee.

Critical Apparatus86The person that professes loue, in this place, ys wisedome hir self as appeeres Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus87at the begining of the chapter, so that sapere et amare, to bee wise and to loue, 88which perchaunce neuer mett before nor since, are mett in this text. But 89whether this wisedome so frequentlie mentioned in this booke of proverbs bee Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus90sapientia creata or increata, whether yt bee the virtue wisedome or the roote of 91wisedome Christ Iesus, hath bien diverselie debated. ^| The occasion grewe in [2v] Critical Apparatus92that great Councill at Neice where the Catholique Fathers understood this 93wisedome to bee intended of Christ himself, and then the Arrian heretiques 94pressed some places of this booke where such things seemd to them to bee 95spoken of wisedome as coolde not bee appliable to anie butt to a Creature: and pg 4696that therfore yf Christe were this wisedome, Christ must necessarilie bee a 97creature and not god.

Critical Apparatus98Wee will not dispute those things ouer againe now: They are cleerlie enough Critical Apparatus99and largely enough sett downe in that Councill: Butt since there ys nothing Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus100said of wisedome in all this booke, which hath not bien by good exposicions Critical Apparatus101applyed to Christ. Much more maie wee presume the louer in this text Editor’s Note102(though presented in the name of wisedome) to bee Christ himselfe, and so 103wee doe.

Critical Apparatus104To shewe the constancie and durablenes of this loue, the louer ys a hee, that is 105Christe; To shewe the vehemencie and earnestnes of yt, the louer ys a shee, Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus106that ys wisedome: shee uttereth hir voice; yea in one place of the byble (and 107onlie in that one place I thinck) where Moses woolde express an extraordinarie 108and vehement and passionate indignacion in god against his people, whenas Critical Apparatus109Numbers 11:15 yt is in that text, his wrath was kindled, and greiuouslie kindled; There and 110onlie there, dooth Moses attribute euen to god himselfe the feminine sex, 111& speakes to god in the originall language, as yf hee shoold haue called him Critical Apparatus112Deam Iratam: an angrie shee god: All that is good then either in the loue of Critical Apparatus113man or woman is in this louer, For hee is expressed in boathe sexes of man and 114woman; And all that Can bee yll in the loue of either sex ys purged awaie, For 115the man ys no other man then Christ Iesus, and the woman no other woman 116then wisedome hirself euen the vncreated wisedome of god him self.

117Now all this ys butt one person, The person that professes loue: whoe ys the Critical Apparatus118other, whoe ys the beloued of Christ ys not so easilie discernd: In the loue 119betweene persons in this worlde and of this worlde wee are often deceaued Editor’s Note120with outward signes, wee often miscall and misiudge ciuill respects and 121mutuall courtesies, and a delight in one anothers conuersacion, and such other 122indifferent things as onlie malignity, and curiositie and selfe guiltines makes to Critical Apparatus123bee misinterpretable. Wee often call this loue: But neither amongst our selves, Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus124much less betweene Christ and our soules are theis outward apparances 125allwaies signes of loue.

Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus126[3r] ^| This person then, this beloued soule ys not euerie one to whome Christ Critical Apparatus127sends a loving message or writes to, For his letters his scriptures are directed Critical Apparatus128to all.

pg 47Critical Apparatus129Not euerie one that hee wishes well to, and sweares that hee does so, For so hee Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus130dooth to all: (As I liue saith the Lord, I woold not the death of a sinner); Not Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus131euerie one that hee sends iewells and preasents to, For they are often snares to Editor’s Note132corrupt as well as arguments of loue. Not though hee admitt them to his table 133and supper, For euen there the deuill entred into Iudas with a sopp. Not Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus134though hee receiue them to a kiss, for euen with that Familiaritie Iudas Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus135betraied him: Not though hee betroath him self as hee did to the Iewes, Ose: 2:19 Editor’s Note136sponsabo te mihi in aeternum. Not though hee make ioynetures, In pacto salis, 137in a Covenant of salt, an everlasting couenant. Not though hee haue com-138municated his name to them which ys an act of mariage, For to how manie Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus139hath hee said: Ego dixi dij &c and yet they haue bien reprobates. Nott all theis 140outward things amount so farr as to make vs discerne whoe ys this beloued 141person, For, himself saies of the Isralites (to whome hee had made all theis Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus142demonstracions of loue, yett after, For their abhominacions divorced himself Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus143from them), I haue forsaken mine house I haue left mine heritage, I haue given Critical Apparatus144the deerlie beloved of my soule into the hands of hir enemies: To conclude this 145person beloued of Christ ys onlie that soule that loues Christ; butt that 146belonges to the third branch of this first part, which ys the mutuall loue: Critical Apparatus147Butt first hauing found the person wee are to consider the affeccion yt self, the 148love of this text.

Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus149Yt is an observacion of Origens that though theis three wordes Amor, dilectio, Critical Apparatus150and Charitas, loue, affeccion and good will, bee all of one significacion in the 151scriptures yett saies hee, where soeuer there is daunger of representing to the Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus152Fantasie a lasciuious and carnall loue, the scripture forbeares the word loue, 153and vses either affection or good ^| will; And where there is no such daunger, [3v] 154the scripture comes directlie to this word loue: Of which Origens examples Critical Apparatus155are; That when Isaack bent his affections to Rebecca, and Iacob vpon Rachell, Critical Apparatus156in boath places yt is dilexit, and not amauit: And when yt is said in the Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus157Canticles, I charge you daughters of Ierusalem to tell my welbeloued, yt is not Critical Apparatus158to tell him that shee was in loue, butt tell him quod vulneratæ charitatis sum; 159That I am wounded with an affeccion and good-will towards him. Butt in this 160booke of prouerbs in all the passages betweene Christ and the beloved soule pg 48161there is euermore a free use of this word Amor: loue because yt is even in the Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus162first apprehension a pure, a chaste, and an vndefyled loue: Eloquia domini casta 163saies Dauid: All the wordes of the lord, and all their wordes that loue the Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus164lord, all that ys spoken to or from the lord, ys all full of chaste loue and of 165the loue of chastety.

Critical Apparatus166Now though this loue of Christ to our soule bee too large to shutt vpp or 167comprehend in anie definicion, yett yf wee content our selues with the Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus168definition of the schooles; Amare est, velle alicui quod bonum est: Loue ys 169nothing butt a desire that they whome wee loue shoold be happie. Wee maie Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus170easilie discerne thadvantage and proffitt which wee haue by this loue, when hee Critical Apparatus171that wishes vs this good by louing vs ys author of all good himself, and maie Critical Apparatus172giue vs as much as pleases him without ympairing his owne infinite treasure: Critical Apparatus173Hee loues vs as his auncient inheritance, as the first amongst his Creatures 174in the creation of the world, which hee created for vs; Hee loues vs more 175as his purchase, whome hee hath bought with his blood, For euen man Editor’s Note176takes most plesure in things of his owne getting: Butt hee loues vs moste for Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus177our improouement, when by the ploughing vpp of our hartes and the dewe of Critical Apparatus178[4r] his grace, and the seed of his worde, wee come to giue a greater rent in the ^| Critical Apparatus179Fruite of sanctificacion then before. And since hee loues vs thus and that in Editor’s Note180him this loue is a velle bonum, a desire that his beeloued shoolde bee happie, Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus181what soule amongst vs shall doubt that when god hath such an aboundant and Critical Apparatus182infinite threasure, as the meritt and passion of Christ Iesus sufficient to saue Critical Apparatus183millions of worlds, and yett manie millions in this worlde, (all the heathen) Critical Apparatus184excluded from anie interest therin; When god hath a kingdome so large as Critical Apparatus185that nothing lymitts yt, and yett hee hath banished manie naturall subiects Critical Apparatus186therof even those legions of Angells which were created in yt, and are fallen Critical Apparatus187from yt, what soule amongst vs shall doubt, but that hee that hath thus much Critical Apparatus188and loues thus much, will not deny hir a portion in the blood of Christ or a Critical Apparatus189roome in the kingdome of heauen? No soule can doubt yt, except yt haue bien Critical Apparatus190a wittnes to yt self and bee so still, that yt loue not Christ Iesus; For thats a Critical Apparatus191condicion necessarie, and that ys the third braunch, to which wee are come Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus192Mutuus orderlie: That this loue be mutuall, I loue them. &c

pg 49Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus193Yf anie man loue not our lord Iesus lett him bee accursed saies the Apostle. Critical Apparatus194Now the first part of this curse ys vpon the indisposition to loue, hee that Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus195loues not at all ys first accursed. That stuped inconsideracion which passes on Critical Apparatus196drowselie and negligentlie vpon gods Creatures, that sullen indifferencie in Critical Apparatus197ones disposicion to loue one thing nor more then an other, not to value not to Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus198choose, not to prefferr, that stonines, that inhumanitie, not to bee affected not Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus199to bee entendred, toward those things which god hath made obiects and Critical Apparatus200subiects of affections. That which St. Paule places in the bottome, and lees Rom: 1:30: 201and dreggs of all the sinns of the Iewes, to bee without naturall affections: Critical Apparatus202This distemper this yll complexion this yll nature of the soule ys under the Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus203first part of this curse, yf anie man loue not; For hee that loues not knowes not 204god, For god ys loue.

Editor’s Note205^| Butt this curse determines not vpon that, neither ys it principallie directed [4v] Editor’s Note206vpon that, not louing. For as wee saie in the schooles, Amor est primus actus Critical Apparatus207voluntatis, the first thing that the will of man does, is to affect, to choose, to 208loue something, and yt is scarce possible to find anie mans will so ydle, so 209baren, as that yt hath produced no act at all, and therfore the first act being 210loue, scarce anie man can bee found that dooth not loue something: Butt the Critical Apparatus211curse extends, yea is principallie intended vppon him that loues not Christ Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus212Iesus; though hee loue the Creature, and orderlie enough yea though hee loue Critical Apparatus213god as a great and incomprehensible power, yett yf hee loue not Christ Iesus, 214yf hee acknowledge not that all that passes betweene god and him, is in and for 215Christ Iesus, lett him bee accursed for all his loue.

Editor’s Note216Now there are but twoe that can bee loued, God and the Creature and of the 217Creatures, that must necessarilie bee best loued, which is neerest vs, which Critical Apparatus218wee understand best and reflect most vpon and thats our self: For, For the loue Critical Apparatus219of other Creatures, yt ys butt a secondarie loue; and yf wee loue god, wee Critical Apparatus220loue them for his sake; yf wee loue our selues, wee loue them for oure sakes. 221Now to loue our selues, ys onlie allowable, onlie proper to god himself, For Critical Apparatus222this loue ys a desire, that all honor and praize, and glorie should bee attributed Critical Apparatus223to ones self, and yt can bee onlie proper to god to desire that. To loue our self Critical Apparatus224then ys the greatest treason wee can committ against god; & all loue of the Critical Apparatus225creature determines in the loue of our self, For though sometymes, wee maie pg 50Critical Apparatus226say that wee loue them better then our selues, and though wee giue so good Critical Apparatus227(that is indeed so yll) testimonie that wee doe so, that wee neglect our selues 228boath our religion and our discretion, For their sakes whome wee pretend to 229loue, yett all this ys butt a secondarie loue, and with relacion still to our selues, Critical Apparatus230and our owne contentment; for ys this loue which wee beare to other Editor’s Note231[5r] Creatures within that defi-^|nition of loue, velle bonum amato, to wish that 232which wee loue happie? Dooth anie ambitious man loue honor or office 233therfore, because hee thincks that tytle or that place shoold receaue a dignity Critical Apparatus234by his hauing yt, or an excellencie by his executing yt? Dooth anie covetous 235man loue a house or horse therfore, because hee thincks that house or horse 236shoold bee happie in such a maister, or such a Rider? dooth anie lycentious Critical Apparatus237man covet or solicite a woman therfore because hee thincks yt a happines Critical Apparatus238to hir to haue such a servant? No, yt is onlie himself that is within the definition: Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus239Vult bonum sibi, hee wishes well (as hee mistakes yt) to himself, and hee is 240content that the slavery and dishonor and ruyne of others, shoolde contribute 241to make vpp his ymaginarie happines.

Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus242August: O dementiam, nescientem amare homines humaniter: What a perverse madnes ys Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus243it to loue a creature, and not as a creature, with all the adiuncts and circum-Critical Apparatus244stances and qualities of a creature, of which the principall ys, that, that loue Critical Apparatus245rayse vs to the contemplacion of the Creator; For yf yt doe soe, wee maie loue Editor’s Note246our selues as wee are the ymages of god; And so wee maie loue other men as Editor’s Note247they are the ymages of vs, and our nature, yea as they are members of the same Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus248bodie; For Omnes homines, una humanitas; And so wee loue other Creatures, Editor’s Note249as wee all meete in our Creator, in whome Princes & subiects Angells and Critical Apparatus250men, men and wormes are fellowe servants.

Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus251Aug: Si male amaueris tunc odisti: yf thou haue loued thy self or anie bodie else Critical Apparatus252principallie, or so, that when thou dooest anie act of loue, thou canst not saie to Critical Apparatus253thine owne conscyence, I doe this for gods sake, and for his glory, yf thou haue 254loued so thou hast hated thy self and him whome thou hast loued, and god Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus255whome thou shooldest loue: Si bene oderis, sayes the same father, yf thou Critical Apparatus256[5v] haue ^| hated thine owne internall tentacions, and the outward solicitacions Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus257of others. Amasti, thou hast expressed an act of loue, of loue to thy god, and pg 51Critical Apparatus258to his ymage, thy self, and to thine ymage, that man whome thy virtue hath Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus259declyned, and kept from offending his and thy god.

Critical Apparatus260And as this affection loue, dooth belong to god principally that ys, rather then Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus261anie affection else, For, the feare of god ys the beginning of wisedome, butt the Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus262loue of god ys the consumacion, that ys, the mariage and vnyon of thy soule 263and thy sauiour.

Critical Apparatus264Butt can wee loue god when wee will? Doe wee not find that in the loue of Critical Apparatus265some other things, of some courses of life, of some waies in our accions, yea, Critical Apparatus266and of some perticular persons, that wee woulde faine loue them and cannot, Critical Apparatus267when wee can obiect nothing against yt, when wee can multiply arguments Critical Apparatus268why wee shoolde loue them, yett wee cannot? Butt yt is not so towards god: Critical Apparatus269euerie man maie loue him that will. But can euerie man haue this will? this Critical Apparatus270desire? certainlie wee cannot begin this loue; except god loue vs first, wee 271cannot loue him. Butt god dooth loue vs all so well from the begining as that 272euerie man maie see, the fault was in the peruersenes of his owne will, that hee Critical Apparatus273did not loue god better. Yf wee looke for the roote of this loue, yt is in the 274Father, For though the death of Christ bee towards vs, as a roote, as a cause of Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus275our loue, and of the acceptablenes of yt, yett, Meritum Christi est effectum Aug: Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus276amoris dei erga nos: The death of Christ was butt an effect of the loue of god Editor’s Note277towards vs. So god loued the worlde that hee gaue his sonne: yf hee had not 278loued vs first ^| wee had neuer had his sonne: Heere ys the roote then, the loue [6r] Critical Apparatus279of the Father, and the tree, the meritt of the sonne. Except there bee Fruit Critical Apparatus280too, loue in vs to them againe, boath roote and tree will wither towards vs Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus281howsoeuer they grewe in god. I haue loued thee in euerlasting loue, (saies Jer: 31:3: Critical Apparatus282god) therefore with mercie have I drawen thee: If therfore wee doe not per-Critical Apparatus283ceaue that wee are drawen to loue againe by this loue, yt is not an euerlasting 284loue that shines vpon us.

Critical Apparatus285All the sun shine all the glorie of this lyfe, though all theis bee testimonies Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus286of gods loue to vs, yett all they bring butt a winters daie, a short daie and a 287colde daye and a darke daie: For except wee loue too, god dooth not loue with 288an euerlasting loue. God will not suffer his loue to bee ydle, and since yt pg 52Critical Apparatus289profitts him nothing, yf yt profitts vs nothing neither, hee will withdrawe yt. Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus290Amor dei, vt lumen ignis, vt splendor solis, vt odor succi, non prabenti proficit, sed Critical Apparatus291vtenti. The sonne hath no benefitt by his owne light nor the Fyer by his heat, Critical Apparatus292nor a perfume by the sweetnes, but only they whoe make their use, and inioy Critical Apparatus293this heat, & Fragrancie. And this brings vs to our other part, to pass from 294loving to inioying.

Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus2952 Pars. Tulerunt Dominum meum: They haue taken awaie my lord, and I knowe not Critical Apparatus296where they haue laid him, was one straine of Marie Magdalins lamentacion Editor’s Note297when shee found not hir Sauiour in the monument. yt is a lamentable case to Critical Apparatus298bee faine to cry so tulerunt other men haue taken Christ awaie, by a dark and a Editor’s Note299corrupt educacion which was the state of our Fathers to the Roman Captiuitie. Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus300But when the abiecerunt Dominum which ys so often complayned of by god in Critical Apparatus301[6v] the ^| Prophets, is pronounced against thee, when thou hath had Christ offered Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus302to thee by the mocions of his grace, & sealed to thee by his sacraments, and Critical Apparatus303yett will cast him so farr from thee that thou knowest not where to find him: Editor’s Note304when thou hast powrd him out at thine eyes in prophane and counterfeit Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus305teares, which shoold bee thy soules rebaptizacion for thy sinns and when thou 306hast blowen him awaie in corrupt and yll intended sighes, which shoold bee Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus307Gemitus Columba, the voice of the turtle to sound thy peace and reconciliacion Editor’s Note308with thy god, yea when thou hast spitt him out of thy mouth in execrable and 309blasphemous oathes, when thou hast not only cast him so farr, as that thou 310knowest not where to find him, butt hast made so ordinarie and so indifferent Critical Apparatus311a thing of sinne as thou knowest not when thou didst lose him; no nor Critical Apparatus312dooest not remember that euer thou hadst him; No nor dooest not knowe Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus313whether there bee anie such man as Dominus tuus; a Iesus, that ys thy lord. The Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus314tulerunt is dangerous, when others hide Christ from thee; But the abiecerunt Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus315is desperate when thou thy self doest cast him awaie.

Critical Apparatus316To lose Christ maie befall the most righteous man that ys: butt when hee Critical Apparatus317knowes where hee left him, hee knowes at what sinne hee lost his waie and Editor’s Note318where to seeke yt againe. Euen Christs ymagined Father and his true mother Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus319Ioseph and Marie lost him at Ierusalem, they lost him and knew yt not, they 320lost him and went adaies iorney without him, and thought him to bee in the pg 53Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus321companie: but as soone as they deprehended their error, they sought, and they Critical Apparatus322found him, when, as his mother tolde him, his Father and shee had sought Critical Apparatus323him with a heavie hart. Alas wee maie lose ^| him at Ierusalem, even in his owne [7r] Critical Apparatus324howse, even at this present whilste wee pretend to doe him service, wee maie Critical Apparatus325lose him by suffering our thoughts to looke back with plesure vppon the sinns Critical Apparatus326which wee haue committed, or forward with greedines vpon some sinne that Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus327ys now in our purpoze and prosecution. Wee maie lose him at Ierusalem; how Editor’s Note328much more yf our dwelling bee a Rome of superstition and Idolatrie, or yf yt Editor’s Note329bee a Babilon in confusion and mingling God and the worlde together, or yf Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus330yt bee a Sodome, a wanton and intemperate misuse of gods benefitts to vs, 331wee maie thinck him in the Companie, when hee ys not, wee maie mistake Editor’s Note332his howse, wee may take a conventicle for a Church; wee maie mistake his Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus333apparell, that is the outward Forme of his worship: Wee maie mistake the 334person, that is associate oure selues to such as are no members of his bodie: Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus335Butt yf wee doe not returne to our diligence to seeke him, & seeke him with Critical Apparatus336heavie harts, though wee begun with a Tulerunt, other men, other tentacions Critical Apparatus337tooke him awaie yett wee end in an abiecerunt, wee our selues cast him awaie, Critical Apparatus338since wee haue bien tould where to find him and haue not sought him. And Critical Apparatus339lett no man bee affraid to seeke or find him for feare of the loss of good Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus340Companie: Religion ys no sullen thing, yt is not a melanchollie; there ys not so Critical Apparatus341sociable a thing as the loue of Christ Iesus: yt was the first worde which hee Editor’s Note342whoe first found Christ of all the Appostles, St. Andrewe ys noted to haue said Critical Apparatus343Inuenimus Messiam. And yt is the first act that hee is noted to haue done, Jo: 1.42. Critical Apparatus344after hee had found him; to seeke his brother Peeter ^| Et duxit ad Iesum, so [7v] Editor’s Note345communicable a thing ys the loue of Iesus when wee haue found him.

Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus346Butt where are wee likeliest to find him? yt is said by Moses, of the wordes and Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus347precepts of god. They are not hid from thee, neither are farr off: Not in Deut: 30:11: 348heaue[n] that thou shooldest saie, whoe shall goe vpp to heaven for vs to bring Critical Apparatus349them downe; nor beyond the Sea, that thou shooldst goe ouer the Sea for 350them, butt the worde is verie neere thee, even in thy mouth and in thy hart; Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus351and so neere thee, is Christ Iesus, or thou shalt neuer find him; Thou must not Critical Apparatus352seeke him in heauen, as thinking that thou canst not haue ymediate access to 353him without intercession of others; nor so beyond Sea: as to seeke him in a pg 54Editor’s Note354Forraine Church; either where the Church ys butt an Antiquaries Cabinett, 355full of raggs and Fragments of Antiquitie, butt nothing fit for that vse for Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus356which yt was made at first; or where yt is so new a built house with bare walls Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus357that yt is yett vnfurnished of such Ceremonies as shoolde make yt comelie and Editor’s Note358reuerend. Christ is at home with thee: hee is at home within thee, and there ys 359the neerest waie to find him.

Editor’s Note360Itt is true, that Christ in the begining of this Chapter shadowed vnder the 361name of wisedome, when hee discouers where hee maie bee found, speakes in 362the person of humane wisedome; as well as diuyne. Dooth not wisedome cry Critical Apparatus363and vnderstanding utter hir voice? where those twoe wordes wisedome and Critical Apparatus364understanding, signify sapientiam and prudentiam. That wisedome whose Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus365obiect ys god, and that which concernes our conuersacion in this worlde. For Editor’s Note366[8r] Christ ^| hath not taken so narrowe a dwelling as that hee maie bee found Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus367butt one waie in one profession; For in all professions, in all stations, in all 368vocacions when all our accions in our seuerall courses are directed principallie Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus369vpon his glorie. Christ is eminent and maie easilie bee found. To that purpoze Editor’s Note370in that place Christ in the person of wisedome offers himself to bee found in 371the topps of high places and in the gates of Citties, to shewe that this Christ Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus372and this wisedome, which must saue our soules is not confyned to cloisters 373and monasteries, and speculatiue men onlie, butt is also evidently and Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus374eminently to bee found in the Courts of religious princes, In the toppe of high Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus375places, and in the Courts of Iustice, in the gates of the Cittie. Boath theis Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus376kindes of Courtes maie haue more diuersions from him then other places; butt 377in theis places, hee is also gloriouslie & conspicuouslie to bee found; For Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus378whersoeuer hee is, hee Cryes aloud, as the text saies there, and hee vtters his Critical Apparatus379voice. Tentacions to sinn are all but whisperings, and wee are afraid, that a Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus380housband, that a Father, that a Competitor that a Rivall, a pretender at least Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus381the Magistrate maie heare of yt, private conventicles and Clandestine worship-382ing of god in a forbiden manner in corners, are all but whisperings: yt is not Critical Apparatus383the voice of Christ except thou heare him cry aloud and vtter his voice so, as 384thou maiest confidently doe whatsoeuer hee commaunds thee in the eye of all 385the worlde; Hee is euerie where to bee found, hee calls vpon thee euerie 386where, but yett there belongs a dilligence on thy part, thou must seeke him.

Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus387[8v] ^| Esaias is bolde (saies St. Paule) and saies, I was found of them that sought Critical Apparatus388Quærere. mee not, when that Prophett deriues the loue of god to the gentiles, whoe 389coolde seeke god no where butt in the booke of Creatures, and were destitute pg 55Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus390of all other lightes to seeke him by, and yett god was found of them: Esaias, ys Critical Apparatus391bold, (saies the Apostle.) that is, yt was a great degree of confidence in Esaias Ro: 10:20: Critical Apparatus392to saie, that god was found of them that sought him not; yt was a boldnes and a 393confidence which no perticular man maie haue, that Christ wilbee found, Critical Apparatus394except hee bee sought: Hee giues vs light to seeke him by, butt hee is not found 395till wee haue sought him. yt is true that in that commaundement of his, Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus396Primum quarite Regnum dei; the Primum ys not to prevent god, to seek yt 397before hee shewes yt, thats ympossible: withoute the light of grace, wee dwell Editor’s Note398in Darknes and in the shadowe of Death: Butt the Primum is that wee shoold 399seeke yt before wee seeke anie thing elce; that when the sunne of grace ys Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus400ryzen to vs, the first thing that wee doe, bee to seeke Christ Iesus. Quarite me Amos. 5:4: Critical Apparatus401et viuetis; why? wee were aliue before, elce wee coold not seeke him, but yt is Critical Apparatus402a promise of an other lyfe, of an eternall life: yf wee seeke him, and seeke Critical Apparatus403him earlie; which is our last consideracion:

Critical Apparatus404The worde heere vsed for earlie signifies propperlie Auroram, the morning, Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus405and ys vsuallie transferd in scriptures to anie begining. So in particular Euill Esay. 47.11. Editor’s Note406shall come vppon thee and thou shalt not knowe shakrah: the morning the Editor’s Note407begining of yt: And therfore this text is elegantlie translated by one ^| [9r] Critical Apparatus408Aurorantes ad me. They that haue their breake of daie towards mee, they that Critical Apparatus409send forth their first morning beames towards mee; their first thoughts, they Editor’s Note410shalbee sure to find mee; St. Ierome expresses this early dilligence requird in 411vs well in his translacion: Qui mane vigilauerint, they that wake betymes in Editor’s Note412the morning shall find mee, butt the Chaldee paraphrase better, Qui mane Critical Apparatus413consurgunt, they that ryse betymes in the morning shall find mee; For which of 414vs dooth not knowe that wee waked long agoe, that wee sawe daie, and had Editor’s Note415heertofore some motions to find Christ Iesus: Butt though wee were awake, 416wee haue kept our bed still, wee haue continewed styll in our former sinns; so Critical Apparatus417that there is more to bee done then waking; wee see the spouse hir selfe saies, Cant: 3:1 Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus418in my bed by night I sought him whome my soule loued, butt I found him not: Editor’s Note419Christ maie bee sought in the bed and missed, other thoughts maie exclude 420him. Hee maie bee sought there and found, wee haue good meditacions there; 421and Christ maie bee nearer vs when wee are asleepe in our bedds then when 422wee are awake: Butt howsoeuer, the bedd ys not his ordinarie station: Hee Critical Apparatus423maie bee, and hee saies hee wilbee, at the making of the bed of the sick, but not Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus424at the marring of the bed of the wanton and lycentious.

pg 56Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus425To make haste, the circumstance onlie requird heere ys that hee bee sought 426earlie; and to invite thee to yt, consider how earlie hee sought thee. It is a great Critical Apparatus427mercie that hee staies so long for thee, yt was more to seeke thee so earlie. 428Doest thou not feele that hee seekes thee now in offering his loue, and desiring Critical Apparatus429[9v] thine? Canst not ^| thou remember that hee sought thee yesterdaie, that is, that Critical Apparatus430some tentacions beseigde thee then, and hee sought thee out by his grace Critical Apparatus431and preserued thee? And hath hee not sought thee so so earlie, as from the Critical Apparatus432begining of thy life? Naie doest thou not remember, that after thou hadest Editor’s Note433committed that sinne, hee sought thee by imprinting some remorse, some Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus434Grego: apprehension of his iudgements; and so Miro et diuino modo, et quando te oderat Critical Apparatus435diligebat, by a miraculous and powerfull working of his spiritt hee threatened 436thee, when hee comforted thee, hee loued thee when hee chid thee, hee sought Critical Apparatus437thee when hee droue thee from him; hee sought thee amongst the infinite Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus438nombers of false and fashionall Christians, that hee might bring thee out from Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus439the hipocrytes, to serue him in earnest and in holines and in righteousnes. Hee 440sought thee before that, amongst the heard of the nations and gentiles whoe Editor’s Note441had no Church to bring thee into his inclosures & pastures, his visible Church, 442and to feed thee with his worde and sacraments. Hee sought thee before that 443in the Catalogue of all his creatures, where hee might haue left thee a stone, or Critical Apparatus444a plant, or a beast, and then hee gaue thee an immortall soule, capable of all his Critical Apparatus445future blessings; Yea before this, hee sought thee when thou wast no where, no Critical Apparatus446thing; Hee brought thee then the greatest stepp of all, from being nothing to 447[10r] be a Creature; How earlie did hee seeke thee when ^| hee sought thee in Adams Editor’s Note448confuzed loynes, and out of that leavened and sower loafe, in which wee were Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus449all kneaded vpp; out of that massa damnata, that refuze and condemned lumpe Editor’s Note450of Doe; Hee sought and seuerd out that graine which thou shooldest bee. Yea 451millions of millions of generacions, before all this hee sought thee in his Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus452eternall decree: And in that first scripture of his, which is as olde as him self, Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus453in that booke of life hee wrote thy name, in the blood of that lamb which was Critical Apparatus454slaine for thee, not onlie from the begining of this worlde, but from the Critical Apparatus455wryting of that eternall decree of thy saluacion. Thus early had he sought thee 456in the Church amongst hipocrites, out of the Church amongst the heathen, in Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus457his creatures amongst Creatures of an ignoble nature; and in the first vacuitie, Critical Apparatus458when thou wast nothing, Hee sought thee so earlie as in Adam, so early as in 459the booke of lyfe, and when wilt thou thinck yt a fitt tyme to seeke him?

pg 57Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus460There is an earlines which will not serue thy turne; when afflictions and Prou: 1:28: Critical Apparatus461anguish shall come vpon thee; they shall seeke mee earlie and shall not find 462mee; earlie in respect of the punishment, at the begining of that, but this ys 463late in respect of thy fault or of thine age, when thou art growen oulde in the Critical Apparatus464custome of sinne; For thus wee maie misvse this earlie, and make yt serue to all Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus465yll vses. Yf wee wil saie wee will leaue Covetousnes earlie, that ys, as soone as Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus466wee are ritch enough; incontinencie earlie, that is as soone as wee are olde or 467sick: ambition earlie; that is as soone as wee haue ouerthrowne and crushed Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus468our enimies irrecouerablie; for thus, wee ^| shall, by this habitt, carrie on this [10v] Critical Apparatus469earlie to our late and last hower, and saie wee will repent earlie, that is as soone Editor’s Note470as the bell beginns to toll for us.

Editor’s Note471Itt is good for a man that hee beare his yoake in his youth; that hee seeke Critical Apparatus472Christ earlie; For even god himself when hee had given ouer his people to bee Esay. 47:6: Critical Apparatus473afflicted by the Chaldeans, yet complaines of them that they laie heavie loades 474vpon olde men. Though this yoake of this amarous seeking of Christ bee a Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus475light yoake, yett ytt is too heavie for an old man, that hath neuer vsed himself 476in all his life to beare yt. Even this spirituall loue, will not suite well with an Critical Apparatus477old man, yf hee neuer begin before, yf hee neuer loued Christ in his youth; 478even this loue wilbee an vnweildie thing in his age.

Critical Apparatus479Yett yf, wee haue omitted our first earlie, our youth, there is yett one earlie 480left for vs, this minute, seeke Christ earlie now, now, as soone as his spiritt Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus481begins to shine vppon your hartes. Now as soone as you begin your daie of 482regeneracion; seeke him the first minute of this daie, for you know not Editor’s Note483whether this daie shall haue twoe minutes or no; that is, whether his spiritt Critical Apparatus484that discends vppon you now, will tarrie and rest vppon you or no, as yt did 485vppon Christ at his baptisme.

Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus486Therfore shall euerie one that is godlie make his praier vnto thee O God in Ps: 32.6. Critical Apparatus487a tyme when thou maiest bee found. Wee acknowledge this to bee that tyme: Editor’s Note488& wee come to thee now earlie with the confession of thy servant Augustine: 489Sero te amaui pulchritudo, tam antiqua, tam noua. O glorious bewty infinitelie 490reu[er]end, infinitelie fresh & young ^| wee come late to thy loue, yf wee [11r] 491consider the past daies of our liues, butt earlie yf thou beest pleased to reckon Editor’s Note492with vs from this hower of the shyning of thy grace vpon vs. And therfore 493O god, as thou hast brought vs safelie to the begining of this daie, as thou Critical Apparatus494hast not given vs ouer to a fynall perishing in the works of night and darknes. pg 58495As thou hast brought vs to the begining of this daie of grace, so defend vs in Editor’s Note496the same with thy mightie power; and graunt that this daie, this daie of thy 497visitacion, wee fall into no sinne, neither runn into anie kind of danger Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus498no such sinne, no such Daunger, as maie seperate vs from thee, or frustrate 499vs of our hopes, in that eternall kingdome, which thy sonne our saviour Christ Editor’s Note500Iesus hath purchased for us, with the inestimable price, of his incorruptible Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus501blood: In whome &c

Critical Apparatus502Finis

Notes Settings

Editor’s Note

Text. The c-t is British Library Harley MS 6946 ('HI'), fos. 1^r–11^r. This has been collated with the three other known witnesses: F26 (no. 18, 257–69, 2L1^r–2M3^r); the 'Ellesmere Manuscript' ('E'; Cambridge University Library MS Add. 8469, fos. 1^r–18^r); and the 'Merton Manuscript' ('M'; Bodleian Library Oxford MS Eng. th. c. 71, fos. 116^r–122^r). H1, a copy not known to PS, was identified in 1992 (see Jeanne Shami, 'New Manuscript Texts of Sermons by John Donne', English Manuscript Studies, 13 (2007), 77–119). It is one of four sermons by D (but unattributed to him), each in a different early 17th-century hand and on different paper stocks, bound together in the late 17th century. Shami dates the paper stock used for H1 as 1616—suggestive of this copy's origin being close to the date of preaching. Shami gives a preliminary assessment of H1's textual significance based on collation with the three other witnesses. My independent conclusion from the same exercise broadly concurs with hers—that H1 is undoubtedly the superior MS text of this sermon, and that all four witnesses derive from the same source. My analysis of the vars., however, further suggests that E and M derive from a copy made after slight authorial emendations to the text found in H1, and that F26 contains yet later substantive refinements by D. F26 was chosen by PS as the c-t—by the standards of their edition (to present the last authorially revised text) entirely correct. By the standards of this edition, however (to present the text closest to that at the time of delivery), H1 is a prime example of an unrevised text undoubtedly closer than the printed copy to the sermon as preached. It is shorter by some fifty words than F26, and in some ways less refined in smaller points of diction and style. Its paragraphing also attends more to rhetorical movements than to the conventional paragraphing by topic followed by F26. These matters are addressed case by case in the cmts and tns. The remainder of this headnote addresses (1) the conventions observed in presenting H1 as copy, and (2) detailed analysis of each witness's textual significance in support of the claims made above.

H1 is a very clean scribal copy. In only thirty-six instances have I supplied a reading from the other witnesses to correct H1, and even these are minor: twenty-eight are corrections of what I judge to be slight scribal errors, and eight are interventions where H1's punctuation was either so manifestly wrong, or so unconventional by modern standards, as seriously to compromise sense for a reader. All supplied readings are supported by at least two, and usually all three, other witnesses. In only one case does H1 suffer from a substantial loss of text (eight words); this can be attributed confidently to copyist error (ll. 455–6 tn).

All contractions and abbreviations have been silently expanded. The vast majority of these are standard scribal forms such as superscription ('w^ch' for 'which', 'w^th' for 'with') macrons ('Primū' for 'Primum', 'sanctificacōn' for 'sanctificacion'), or modified letter forms (for 'pro-', 'pre-', 'per-', 'pri-', and '-er', '-re', '-or', '-ro'). Also silently expanded are the scribe's habitual (though not universal) definite articles composed of the modified thorn ('y') with sup. contractions ('y^e' for 'the', 'y^t' for 'that'; note that 'yt' for 'it' is consistently distinguishable by the scribe's lower-case 't'). The abbreviation 'S^ct' (in origin, Lat. sanctus) for 'saint' has been presented here as 'St.' The only non-standard scribal feature that I have sometimes modernized is the upper-case 'F', which is often applied without reference to part of speech or syntax; where it is used for any part of speech other than a noun, or does not appear at the beginning of an independent clause, it has been silently dropped to lower case; for example, 'dooth Find in god Fitt subiect' becomes 'dooth find in god fitt subiect', and 'nothing Fit For that vse For w^ch yt was made at First' becomes 'nothing fit for that vse for w^ch yt was made at first'. Ampersands ('&', '&c') have not been expanded, in keeping with the edition's policy of retaining the same from print witnesses. Three spellings used consistently in H1 and M, but which could result in confusion of sense ('loose', 'of, 'to', meaning 'lose', 'off', 'too'), have been supplied from their more modern spellings in E and/or F26.

Punctuation in all four witnesses, and the MSS in particular, is idiosyncratic, and inconsistent among them. Because recording all of these incidentals would render the critical apparatus unwieldy, I have (1) adopted a very conservative policy against intervention with the c-t, and (2) not recorded punctuation vars. unless they render a significantly different meaning. I have recorded all variations in paragraphing between the c-t and other witnesses.

Before addressing the textual significance of each witness singly, it is first important to determine whether they had a common source. PS (i. 330) suggest that one reading that is clearly corrupt in F26 and entirely omitted (with further loss of sense) from E and M is due to a 'failure to make out an illegible source' common to those three witnesses. H1 (not known to PS) agrees with the other MSS in the omission (l. 199 tn and cmt). This common flaw strongly suggests that all four surviving witnesses, or their mediating sources, struggled with the same probably heavily revised original. Another instance where the three MSS differ but H1 agrees with F26 (l. 259 tn and cmt) leads Shami to speculate that the fact that 'all of the manuscripts are garbled at these points, suggests a common source for all three' (114, n. 15); these three readings are all valid in terms of sense, and are 'garbled' only in their difference from one another, though those differences do support Shami's suggestion of a common source that was difficult to read. In two, more substantive, examples of what seem to be attempts to read a difficult passage of script, each of the four witnesses stands alone; these examples confirm the speculations of PS and Shami, and extend them to the likelihood that all four of the witnesses that are now known derive from the same source (see ll. 106, 253, tns and cmts). It seems highly likely that this common source was in places heavily emended (with crossings-out, interlineations, and marginal additions), probably by D.

The substantive vars. in which M stands alone are the simplest for which to account. M is the most error prone of all three MSS. It contains a host of scribal errors, including: (1) comical Lat. (with errors in almost every quotation); (2) errors of anticipation, which omit text present in all other copies (ll. 37 (two), 99, 109, 226, 242, 255, tns) or even reverse the sense (ll. 195, 340, tns); and (3) nonsensical readings (l. 237 tn). Even the vars. in M that are viable in terms of sense are probably scribal deviations from copy, usually in the dropping or swapping of determiners and demonstratives, prepositions, and conjunctions where their palaeographical and sense proximity allow easy scribal alteration. The scribe of M was neither latinate nor alert to the meaning of what he copied. No independent readings from M are here judged valid for copy.

M does, however, agree with E in a large number of substantive readings which are independent of the other two witnesses, and which place M and E in a clearly separate line of descent from the lost holograph. My apparatus records seventy-five readings found only in E and M. The majority are of the incidental nature found in M's independent vars.—in particular, differences in noun number made by the addition or omission of 's', and variations in prepositions, articles, or determiners. These do not change grammar or sense, and are therefore not substantive enough necessarily to suggest authorial origins, though their presence in E and M documents the substantial relationship between those two. E and M are also related in the independence of their marginalia: they contain one citation not found in H1 and F26 (l. 388 [marg.] tn), two corrupt citations (ll. 200 [marg.], 486 [marg.], tns), and an omission of another (l. 75 [marg.] tn). Similarly striking, though also authorially uncertain, is the much lighter paragraphing of E and M, which lack ten paragraph breaks found in H1 and F26 (ll. 17, 31, 35, 43, 52, 55, 60, 98, 104, 126, tns); this may be the result—especially at the start of the sermon text, where these omissions are concentrated—of these scribes' desire for tighter text blocks in work more concerned with elegant presentation. E and M have only one paragraph break not found in the other two witnesses (l. 455 tn). Six single-word vars. shared by E and M are not incidental, but are here rejected as corruptions (ll. 23, 374, 430, 449–50, 457, tns and cmts). E and M alone also have a nine-word prepositional phrase that I reject as a corruption, added contrary to the sense of the passage (l. 390 tn). Only one reading shared by E and M corrects the c-t: they alone provide the correct genitive 'domini', where F26 (and PS) read 'dominis' and H1 the uncharacteristically improbable 'domina' (l. 162 tn).

E stands alone against all other witnesses in some ninety readings, yet only those that I judge to be corruptions alter the sense. The scribe of E (or its exemplar) seems to have attended more closely to presenting a clear reading text than the scribes of the other two MSS. Only E systematically italicizes quotations (M does so less consistently, and H1 almost not at all). And one third of its independent vars. consist of punctuation or 'pointing' that emphasizes D's grammatical structures: parentheses—'( … )'—are used for fifteen appositives, interjections, and independent clauses; and interrogatives (question marks) are supplied on eight occasions. In both cases the other witnesses use points, virgules, commas, or no punctuation. E is even more lightly paragraphed than M; they both have no break at ll. 17, 31, 35, 43, 52, 55, 60, 98, 104, 126, and in addition E has no break at ll. 71, 86, 126, 166, 425 (see tns). E has its own trouble with Lat., with five independent misspellings. There are sixty independent vars. in diction, all so minor or arguably inferior as to be candidates for scribal error. Authorial revision—of the lightest kind—must be a possibility. For the most significant of these see ll. 16, 194, 230, 238, 262, 273, 315, 338, 468, tns and cmts. E's marginalia are closest to M (see above), though it frequently prefers biblical citation by chapter only, omitting verse numbers. E is related, but significantly superior, to M, though it again supplies no independent readings to correct the c-t.

F26, though the latest extant witness, is (through the lost MS from which it was typeset) very closely related to H1. This has also been shown by Shami (80) who relies primarily on the evidence of similarities in marginalia. My collation supports her conclusion with the further detail of the absence of the vars. and corruptions found only jointly in E and M (see above). F26 contains fifty-two readings that are substantive, valid in sense and grammar, and entirely independent of the three MSS. Shami observes that 'the manuscripts agree more substantively in omitting words and phrases found in F26' (80). I agree, but with a reversal of Shami's implied chronology: the MSS derive from a copy made before the revision of the text used to set F26. In the vast majority of cases, the MSS do not 'omit' F26 readings; rather, F26 has added readings. Moreover, I think it possible to diagnose more specifically the kinds of revisions that produced the independent F26 readings. My scrutiny of them convinces me that they are either interventions made for typesetting, or revisions made by D, or some combination of both, but which in any case all probably post-date the copy for H1. The most straightforward subset of F26's independent vars. is the supply of Eng. translations of Lat. quotations (ll. 59, 139, 248, 255, 298, 343, 396, 401, tns); that these are absent in all three MSS suggests that they were added at the time of typesetting to aid a less latinate readership, or possibly in a last revision by D. Similarly, F26's unique marginalium 'First Part. The Person.' may be a standardizing of copy for the folio printing (l. 86 tn). F26's Lat. is slightly superior to the MSS, and would require correction in only four readings (all of which could be typesetter's errors; ll. 131, 239, 257, 374 tns). A larger and more important subset of F26's independent vars. is either substantive changes to, or additions of, single words or occasionally whole phrases to the text as found in H1, E, and M. None changes the sense of the passage concerned. However, they do refine it through slight changes to diction (usually prepositions, articles, and pronouns) and in additions to, or reordering of, short phrases which expand slightly or clarify a clause. In the latter case these are mostly small-scale expansions of a single image or idea, for example by addition of a modifier (ll. 257, 291 (two), tns), prepositional phrase (l. 319 tn), or of-genitive (l. 405 tn); in two instances the mood and tense of a verb phrase is recast (ll. 57, 396, tns). Two much more significant additions are dependent clauses of ten and fifteen words, which again dilate, but do not change, sense (ll. 106, 261, tns and cmts). All of these substantive additions and changes are entirely consistent with D's own style and voice, and I take them to be later authorial revisions which refine local points of style. Each is recorded in a tn and discussed in a cmt.

The relationship between the H1 / F26 tradition and that of E and M, however, is further complicated by clear evidence that E and M were also influenced by the sources of F26 and H1 independently. When limited to readings that could not possibly be due to scribal or typesetter error, E and M agree with F26 against H1 in eleven substantive readings (ll. 70, 106, 158, 164 (two), 196, 218, 223, 225, 381, 455–6, tns and cmts), and with H1 against F26 in six (ll. 124, 255 ('bene'), 261, 280, 473, tns and cmts). Considered with the much larger number of substantive vars. (all additions to the MS texts) found in F26 alone, this must suggest that since ultimately all four witnesses derive from the same source, that common source went through several stages of revision during which E and M or their exemplars were copied. The instances of E and M's agreement with F26 against H1 are small refinements (rather than corrections) to H1, and do not include the kind of substantive and lengthy vars. in which F26 stands alone. I would suggest, based on this collation and analysis, that E and M derive from a copy that was the source for H1, but made after it had been lightly revised by D. And further, that the copy from which F26 was set was, or was derived from, a subsequent, more substantial, revision by D. It must also be considered a distinct possibility that the copy used to set F26 was a copy with holograph revisions made at these different times by D, which at different times in its life was the source for the other three MSS.

Since F26 is not the c-t for this sermon, the apparatus does not list the incidental vars. found between copies except in one instance, which relates directly to vars. also found in the MSS (l. 256 tn). Except in that instance, 'F26' in the apparatus refers to F26¹. Collational details about this sermon's sheets in F26^1–15 will be included in TC. Finally, note that when two or more witnesses are documented in the tns as being in agreement but contain wholly incidental differences in orthography, I do not record the incidental variations. The full diplomatic transcriptions of H1, E, and M used for this edition are available at <http://www.cems-oxford.org/Donne/Sermons%20in%20Manuscript>.

Editor’s Note

Headnote. This sermon is unusual in several ways. First, it is a departure from D's month and place of waiting as a royal chaplain (Apr., at the king's court at Whitehall). Second, it was certainly preached before Anne of Denmark, queen consort of James VI and I. Given the assignment in this edition of D's first surviving sermon to Greenwich Palace (see this vol., Sermon 1, Headnote), this may be the second sermon preached to Anne's household, though it is the only one for which there is evidence of her attendance. And finally, it is characterized by a unique degree of both literary sophistication and particularized response to its audience—it is deservedly one of D's most admired sermons.

Anne of Denmark (1574–1619), Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, was notable as a patron of the arts, including literature, painting, and architecture and, most famously, court masques by Ben Jonson and Inigo Jones. She presided over her own household, and owned, in her own right, palaces at Greenwich (favoured in the spring and summer months) and Somerset House in the Strand, which she renamed Denmark House (see ll. 1–3 cmt); her ladies-in-waiting included D's patron Lucy, Countess of Bedford, and Anne had been instrumental in the introduction to James of a new favourite, George Villiers, who as Duke of Buckingham would be a pivotal patron for D in the early 1620s (Bald, 371–2, 374–5; cf. also l. 328 cmt). The last of Anne's known court masques had been staged in 1614, since which time she had withdrawn somewhat from conspicuous cultural patronage, and, shortly after this sermon, suffered the onset of the prolonged period of ill health and gradual decline that ended in her death fourteen months later.

D's first attempt to seek employment after the disgrace of his marriage was to angle (unsuccessfully) from his own rooms in the Strand for a secretaryship in Anne's household in 1607 (Bald, 160, 538). His appearance there as a preacher a decade later can be explained only by an informed guess. Anne was served by her own entourage of domestic chaplains, so D's performance must have been by special invitation; possible mediating patrons could be the Countess of Bedford, or the Bishop of London, John King (D's personal friend and ordaining bishop, who was admired by Anne). However, given the queen's own excellent literary taste, it may be unfair to presume anything other than a desire to hear in her own household the court preacher made so suddenly prominent by her husband's favour. The auditory would have been markedly female, its primary members being the queen and the ladies of her Privy Chamber. The usual time for court preaching was late morning (Sermons at Court, 115–16), which D exploits here as a temporal theme throughout and in the concluding prayer adapted from the service of Morning Prayer (BCP; see ll. 492–8 and cmts). As I have argued elsewhere (see Further reading), two further biographical facts about Queen Anne—her secretly practised Roman Catholicism, and the fact that this sermon was preached two days after her forty-third birthday—should animate any contextualized study of this sermon. Returning to it many years after arguing those points, I remain convinced of their importance. However, I see them now as enriching rather than dominating what is a more generally personal and pastorally minded sermon, where Anne's (and her court's) femininity and age, rather than her Roman Catholicism, inspired the preacher most.

Both structure and content give this sermon an intimate, sympathetic tone that stands in sharp contrast to the earlier extant court sermons' stringent anatomies of sin (this vol., Sermons 1–3). After an extended exordium composed of short vignettes on sensual and spiritual affections (ll. 6–70), D announces a clear divisio (ll. 71–85) from which he does not deviate; but the choice of a thematic (vs. seriatim) explication of his text (the person loved by Christ, and the nature of the love between them), and the richly metaphorical content of his prose, softens the divisions between the parts. Responsiveness to what we now call 'gender' (here more specifically amorous femininity) imbues the entire sermon, first from the author of the chosen text, 'amorous' Solomon (l. 43), and then from the frank acknowledgement of its lover-speaker as 'wisedome hir self (l. 86 and cmt)—the female personification of Christ, wherein is expressed the perfectly reciprocal balance of 'All that is good then either in the loue of man or woman' (ll. 12–13). D extends feminine reference yet further by seizing upon the Platonic convention of the soul as feminine (ll. 143–4, 187–8); deploying emotive exempla of the Magdalen's devotion (ll. 295–7) and the Virgin Mary's maternity (ll. 318–23); and repeated use of the moralized eroticism of the S. of S. Further, much of D's language for love is borrowed from contemporary love poetry, most explicitly 'song and epithalamiones' (l. 48 and cmt), but also more subtly in a passage that Christianizes Petrarchan conceits in a manner not unlike that of Robert Southwell or George Herbert, rather than ironizing them satirically, as D famously does in his own poetry (ll. 304–8 and cmt).

Such rich loveliness (in every sense) only intensifies the sermon's passages of exhortation and admonition, for it does insist frankly and intensely upon conversion in repeated calls to reject dalliance with worldly loves in favour of seeking the Christ who only is love (see Sources). Here D's implicit criticisms of Anne's Catholicism come to the fore in passages that first charge Rome with having stolen Christ (as Mary Magdalen thought had happened at the tomb), and then more pointedly condemn individuals who 'lose' Christ in a false church or, worse, actively seek him in one (ll. 297–9, 328, 354–6, and cmts). But instead of indignation or the kind of strident anti-Catholicism of which D was certainly capable, his approach remains positive and pastoral by stressing that, no matter what one's station, Christ 'maie easilie bee found' anywhere, including 'the Courts of religious princes' (ll. 369–74). A climactic series of clauses, beginning 'he sought thee … ' (ll. 433–59), exploits another acutely particular point—that his auditory, and not least Anne herself, had already been sought by Christ and safely placed not in a 'false and fashionall' church, but in the true 'visible Church' where they are fed 'with his worde and sacraments' (ll. 438, 442). Anne had been baptized a Lutheran and, similarly, her court had been born in Protestant British kingdoms: to reject having been so specially sought by Christ was not only not to seek Christ, but to throw him away.

The sermon's conclusion masterfully exploits the potential of the text's temporal marker, 'earlie'. First applying it to age, D warns of the folly of old-age and death-bed conversions (ll. 460–4 and cmt); next 'earlie' becomes the present—'now, now' as the only sure time to act (l. 480). But an immediately ensuing passage of baptismal imagery (ll. 481–5 and cmts) collapses past and present in what must be a reminder of the anniversary of Anne's own christening. The sermon concludes with yet another kind of 'earlie'—the time of day—in an exquisitely embroidered version of the third collect said at Morning Prayer, a deft stroke that gathers up earlier thematic imagery of waking, sunrise, and morning (ll. 492–501 and cmt) and inscribes it into an appeal for new beginnings, articulated in the authorized form of the established church—to all of which D invites his auditory to return.

The sermon is, by design, not greatly speculative in its theology, though the emphasis on 'seeking' Christ invites awkward questions about predestination, of which D was no doubt aware. Although he mentions 'reprobates' and the 'wryting of that eternall decree of thy saluacion', he swiftly returns to the question, 'when wilt thou thinck yt a fitt tyme to seeke him?' (ll. 139, 455, 459, and cmts). Although D is tactful in this brush with stricter forms of Calvinism, he addresses a congregation who, by their baptism, have already received the 'seal' of saving grace, but still insists that they must exert their own spiritual and moral effort to secure it (cf. also ll. 390–403 and cmts).

Editor’s Note

Sources. In this, unlike some earlier sermons (cf. this vol., Sermons 1 and 2), D wears his learning lightly. Yet the entire sermon is an essay in the Augustinian concept of rightly ordered love ('amor ordinatus'), particularly informed by the Father's influential distinction between 'use' ('uti') and 'enjoyment' ('frui') in love, from the first book of De Doctrma Christiana. D's entire exordium (ll. 6–70) charts the Augustinian view of the transformation that occurs when earthly enjoyments (or even characteristics) are used for their proper purpose, the love of God. D comes closest to an acknowledgement of De Doctrma Christiana's first book in the diction of the Lat. tag that he uses at the end of his exordium (ll. 71–3 and cmt), but many subsequent passages have roots deep in it. The debt is often too extensive or diffused to allow quotation of parallel passages from De Doctrine, but full references are given (cf. ll. 100–2, 216–41, 249, cmts). Also present but unacknowledged in the sermon are significant related passages from Augustine's In Joannis Evangelium Tractatus and De Trimtate (ll. 78–80, 251, 255–7, and cmts). Woven into this theological and ethical fabric of Augustine's are also very carefully deployed quotations from his autobiographical Confessions. D deploys three of these in sequence from Books 2, 3, and 4 (see ll. 60, 64–5, 66–7, 242, and cmts); not attributed, they tacitly trace Augustine's adolescent and young adult lusts, promiscuity, and misdirected love. A fourth quotation (see ll. 488–9 and cmt), which is introduced by a reference to 'confession' and finally names Augustine, is the Father's climactic exclamation upon having redirected his earthly loves to God. Ettenhuber (see Further reading) discusses this last as an example of D quoting Augustine with 'no visible attempt to work with the context of the quotation they draw on' (79). Considered as the climax of a sermon that has so carefully and systematically traced an Augustinian journey to Christ, I find in it a deeper engagement by D with his source. Also prominent is Augustine's image of 'massa damnata' for original sin, from De Civitate Dei (see ll. 448–50 cmt). Important too is Origen's analysis of different kinds of love in his commentary on S. of S. (ll. 149–59, 157–9, cmts). D also shows familiarity with Athanasian accounts of Arian controversy (ll. 90–2 cmt); a quotation ascribed in some copies to Ambrose and in the others left unattributed is from Hilary of Poitiers on the Psalms (ll. 290–1 cmt, and l. 290 tn), and another ascribed in all to Gregory the Great is in fact from Augustine (ll. 434–5 cmt). D makes characteristic use of Aquinas, ST, to illustrate brief scholastic points (ll. 168, 206–7, cmts). The sermon also contains several striking appearances of diction and imagery from D's verse (see ll. 48–9, 152, 286–7, 304–6, 354–8, 374–6, cmts).

Editor’s Note

Further reading. The best biography of Anne of Denmark, particularly for evidence of her Roman Catholicism, is ODNB; for her cultural patronage, see Leeds Barroll, Anna of Denmark, Queen of England (Philadelphia, 2000). For her domestic chaplains, attendance at Protestant worship, and a reading of this sermon in light of her Catholicism, see Sermons at Court, 169–82. PS (i. 134–8) wax lyrical about this sermon; although their praise is justified, more debatable is their evolutionary argument that 'a great artist in prose has emerged from his two-year period of experimentation and uncertainty' (138). PS also remark upon the sermon's aptness for its female auditory; their belief that the sermon is animated by D's loss of his wife Ann four months earlier is subjective, but the comparison with the sonnet 'Since she whom I lov'd' is entirely apt; also noted is the 'Augustinian attitude toward sexual indulgence' (134) fully documented here. For D's Augustinianism, the standard study is Katrin Ettenhuber, Donne's Augustine: Renaissance Cultures of Interpretation (Oxford, 2011). There is a large body of work on Augustine's ideas of 'uti' and 'frui' in love; an outstanding overview, with bibliography, is Henry Chadwick, 'Frui—Uti', in Cornelius Mayer (gen. ed.), Augustinus-Lexikon (Basle, 1994- ), iii. 1/2 (2004), 70–5 (available at <http://www.augustinus.de/bwo/dcms/sites/bistum/extern/zfa/lexikon/artikeldesmonats/fruiuti.html>). The sermon has attracted far greater attention from anthologists than critics: the long exordium (ll. 6–70) was included in Logan Pearsall Smith's Donne's Sermons: Selected Passages (Oxford, 1919), under the title 'Sanctified Passions' (24–6); ll. 6–77 and 264–9 appear in John Donne, Selected Prose, ed. Neil Rhodes (Harmondsworth, 1987), who in a note follows PS in seeing Ann Donne's death as contextually pertinent (144–6, 339); and John Carey combines distant passages on election and original sin (ll. 181–90, 437–59) under the heading 'Salvation Sure' in John Donne: A Critical Edition of the Major Works (Oxford, 1990), 271–2.

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John Donne

Peter McCullough (ed.), The Oxford Edition of the Sermons of John Donne, Vol. 1: Sermons Preached at the Jacobean Courts, 1615–1619

Main Text

Editor’s Notepg 43Editor’s Notesermon 4Editor’s NoteCritical Apparatus123Editor’s NoteCritical ApparatusA Sermon Preached to Queen Anne, at Denmarke-house. December. 14. 1617.

Notes

Editor’s Notepg 43Editor’s Notesermon 4Editor’s Note Critical Apparatus123Editor’s Note Critical ApparatusA Sermon Preached to Queen Anne, at Denmarke-house. December. 14. 1617.