Status Updates From Herbert: The Complete Engli...

In brief, acquit thee bravely; play the man.
Look not on pleasures as they come, but go.
Defer not the least virtue: life's poor span Make not an ell, by trifling in thy woe.
If thou do ill; the joy fades, not the pains:
If well; the pain doth fade, the joy remains.

Oh that I knew how all thy lights combine
And the configurations of their glory!
Seeing not only how each verse doth shine,
But all the constellations of the story.
Such are thy secrets, which my life makes good,
And comments on thee: for in every thing
Thy words do find me out, & parallels bring
And in another make me understood.
Stars are poor books, & oftentimes do miss:
This book of stars lights to eternal bliss

When creatures had no real light
Inherent in them, thou didst make the sun
Impute a lustre, and allow them bright;
And in this show what Christ hath done.

That which before was darkened clean
With bushy groves, pricking the looker’s eye,
Vanisht away, when Faith did change the scene,
And then appear’d a glorious sky.