The Starre
The Star's Invitation
The speaker addresses a bright spark from heaven, inviting it to leave its glorious place and take lodging in his heart.
Bright spark, shot from a brighter place where beams surround my Savior's face—can you be anywhere as well as there? Yet if you'll leave that place, take a poor lodging in my heart; for you can make a debtor, and make it better.1
Purification and Animation
The speaker asks the spark to burn away folly and lust, then refine and animate the heart with heavenly life.
First, with your fire, burn folly—and worse than folly, lust—to dust. Then refine it with your light, and make it shine.2 So, freed from sin and sickness, touch it with your heavenly vitality, that it may hang and move following your love.3
Ascent to the Heavenly Throne
The speaker proposes a flight using the trinity of light, motion, and heat to reach Christ's presence, where he desires to stand among the beams and join in adoration.
Then with our trinity of light, motion, and heat, let's take our flight to the place where you once bowed. Give me a place to stand there, among the beams that crown the face of the one who died to separate sin from my heart. So that I may glitter, curl, and wind along with the rest, for winding is their way of adoration.
The Joyful Return
The speaker concludes that the star will rejoice in gaining him, as he flies home like a laden bee to the hive of beams.
Surely you'll rejoice, by gaining me, to fly home like a laden bee to that hive of beams and garland-streams.
Read the original English
BRight spark, shot from a brighter place, Where beams surround my Saviours face, Canst thou be any where So well as there?
Yet, if thou wilt from thence depart, Take a bad lodging in my heart; For thou canst make a debter, And make it better.
First with thy fire-work burn to dust Folly, and worse then folly, lust: Then with thy light refine, And make it shine.
So disengag'd from sinne and sicknesse, Touch it with thy celestiall quicknesse, That it may hang and move After thy love.
Then with our trinitie of light, Motion, and heat, let's take our flight Unto the place where thou Before didst bow.
Get me a standing there, and place Among the beams, which crown the face Of him, who dy'd to part Sinne and my heart.
That so among the rest I may Glitter, and curle, and winde as they: That winding is their fashion Of adoration.
Sure thou wilt joy, by gaining me To flie home like a laden bee Unto that hive of beams And garland-streams.
Notes
- 1 ↩Source 'debter' is the early modern spelling of 'debtor': the star can put the heart in its debt and, by lodging there, make that bad lodging better.
- 2 ↩Herbert's fire-work means the star's fiery working (fire's work), not modern fireworks; rendered as 'your fire' for clear contemporary sense.
- 3 ↩Early modern 'quickness' means living force or vitality (as in 'the quick and the dead'), not mere speed; rendered as 'vitality' to keep that sense.
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