George Herbert and the Mystery of the Word: Poetry and Scripture in Seventeenth-Century England PDF
Preview George Herbert and the Mystery of the Word: Poetry and Scripture in Seventeenth-Century England
George Herbert and the Mystery of the Word Poetry and Scripture in Seventeenth-Century England g a r y k u c h a r George Herbert and the Mystery of the Word Gary Kuchar George Herbert and the Mystery of the Word Poetry and Scripture in Seventeenth-Century England Gary Kuchar University of Victoria Victoria, British Columbia, Canada ISBN 978-3-319-44044-6 ISBN 978-3-319-44045-3 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-44045-3 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016962102 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Cover image © Peter Horree / Alamy Stock Photo Cover design by Fatima Jamadar Printed on acid-free paper This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland For Troy and in memory of my father Joseph Kuchar A N R ote oN efeReNces – References to George Herbert’s English poetry are given in text by line number and are from The English Poems of George Herbert ed. Helen Wilcox (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2007). – References to George Herbert’s prose are given in text by page number and are from The Works of George Herbert ed. F.E. Hutcheson (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1959). – References to George Herbert’s Latin poetry are given in text by page number and are from The Latin Poetry of George Herbert: A Bilingual Edition. trans. Mark McCloskey and Paul R. Murphy (Athens: Ohio UP, 1965). – Unless noted otherwise, references to the sermons of Lancelot Andrewes are given in text by volume and page number and are from Lancelot Andrewes: Ninety-Six Sermons 5 Volumes (Oxford: John Henry Parker, 1841–1843). – Unless noted otherwise, references to the work of Richard Sibbes are given in text by volume and page number and are from The Complete Works of Richard Sibbes 7 Volumes ed. Alexander Grosart (Edinburgh: James Nichol, 1863). – References to Edward Herbert’s De Veritate are given in text by page number and are from Edward Herbert, De Veritate trans. Meyrick H. Carré (London: Routledge, 1937). – References to Edward Herbert’s A Dialogue Between a Tutor and His Pupil are given in text by page number are from the 1678 London edition printed by W. Bathoe. vii viii A NOTE ON REFERENCES – References to Edward Herbert’s De Religione Laici are given in text by page number and are from De Religione Laici ed. Harold R. Hutcheson (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1944). – References to John Donne’s Sermons are given in text by vol- ume and page number and are from The Sermons of John Donne 10 vols. ed. George R. Potter and Evelyn M. Simpson (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1953–1962). – Except when otherwise noted, references to St. Augustine are given in text by volume and page number and are from The Works of St. Augustine (2nd Release) ed. John E. Rotelle (Charlottesville: Intelex Corp., 2001). – References to Henry Vaughan’s poetry are given in text by line numbers and are from The Works of Henry Vaughan ed. L.C. Martin 2nd edition (Clarendon: Oxford UP, 1957). – Unless noted otherwise, references to Martin Luther are given in text by volume and page number and are from Luther's Works 55 Volumes. ed. Jaroslav Pelikan and Helmut T. Lehmann (Fortress Press: Philadelphia, 1955–1986). – Unless noted otherwise, all references to the bible are given in text by chapter and verse and are from The Holy Bible: King James Version a Reprint of the edition of 1611 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2005). You see, the Word stands apart as at once the foundation for all things to stand on, and the ceiling for them to stand under … all things are in it.1 —St. Augustine A problem is something which I meet, which I find complete before me, but which I can therefore lay siege to and reduce. But a mystery is something in which I myself am involved, and it can therefore only be thought of as a ‘sphere where the distinction between what is in me and what is before me loses its meaning and its initial validity.’ A genuine problem is subject to an appropriate technique by the exercise of which it is defined; whereas a mystery, by definition, transcends every conceivable technique. It is, no doubt, always possible (logically and psychologically) to degrade a m ystery so as to turn it into a problem. But this is a fundamentally vicious proceeding, whose springs might perhaps be discovered in a kind of corruption of the intelligence. —Gabriel Marcel 2 We say amiss, This or that is: Thy word is all, if we could spell. —George Herbert, “The Flower.” 1 13.210. 2 Gabriel Marcel, Being and Having trans. K. Farrer (New York: Harper and Row, 1965), 101. ix A ckNoweldgmeNts I am very grateful to have the opportunity to thank the friends, colleagues, and institutions that helped make this book possible. This project began with a generous invitation from Hannibal Hamlin to write on poetry and prayer. During that time, I enjoyed the support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Paul Dyck commented on an early draft of the whole manuscript while Sara Beam, Matthew Koch, John Money, Ed Pechter, Terry Sherwood, Judith Weil, and Chauncey Wood provided advice on individual sections. I am also very grateful to my anonymous readers who offered crucial advice and to Phillip Getz and Alexis Nelson for their editorial support. My biggest intellectual debt is to Paul Cefalu for commenting on multiple drafts and for allow- ing me to draw on his magisterial book project in manuscript form, The Johannine Renaissance in Early Modern English Religion and Literature (Oxford University Press: Forthcoming). I am also grateful to all those who generously provided me with a venue to test out my ideas at various stages in the project, including Margaret Cameron, Paul Dyck, Kenneth Graham, Ryan Mcdermott, Heather Easterling Ritchie, Paul Stevens, Linda Tredennick, Alden Turner, and Jennifer Waldron. I also benefit- ted from conversations with Christopher Douglas, Erin Kelly, Jim Knapp, Allan Mitchell, Linda Morra, and many others. Thanks also go to my many RAs over the last decade, especially Rose Morris who helped me through the book’s final stages. A Faculty Fellowship in 2016–2017 from the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Victoria allowed me to complete this project. Finally, I am grateful to the editors of the follow- ing publications for kindly allowing me to reprint some of the material xi xii ACKNOWELDGMENTS from the following publications: “Sounding The Temple: George Herbert and the Mystery of Hearkening” Figures of the Sacred in English Poetry. eds. Jennifer Kilgore-Caradec, Ineke Bockting, and Cathy Parc (New York: Peter Lang, 2013); “Prayer Terminable and Interminable: George Herbert and the Art of Estrangement” Religion and Literature. 42.3 (2010), 132–143; and “Exegesis and Experience in Herbert and Calvin: A Review Essay of Daniel Doerksen’s Picturing Religious Experience: George Herbert, Calvin, and the Scriptures” in George Herbert Journal 34. 1–2 (2010–2011), 119–136. It goes without saying that errors are mine alone.
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