George Herbert
George Herbert
George Herbertwas a Welsh poet, orator and Anglican priest. Herbert's poetry is associated with the writings of the metaphysical poets, and he is recognized as "a pivotal figure: enormously popular, deeply and broadly influential, and arguably the most skilful and important British devotional lyricist."...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth3 April 1593
foxes monk length
At Length the Fox turnes Monk.
bees bakers ifs
Bee not a Baker, if your head be of butter.
bees longing idle
Bee not idle and you shall not bee longing.
land sea settling
Being on sea saile, being on land settle. [Being on sea, sail; being on land, settle.]
flower benefits please
Benefits please like flowers while they are fresh.
knaves fool
Better be a foole then a knave. [Better be a fool than a knave.]
hands evil afar
Better good afarre off, then evill at hand. [Better good afar than evil at hand.]
suffering doe ill
Better suffer ill, then doe ill. [Better suffer ill, than do ill.]
ill
Better to be blinde, then to see ill.
space ought
Between the businesse of life and the day of death, a space ought to be interposed.
want
Brabling Curres never want torne eares.
home sells fairs
Buy at a faire, but sell at home. [Buy at a fair, but sell at home.]
doing-nothing ill
By doing nothing we learne to do ill.
blocked cautious delicacy entrance forbids gesture indecent manner putting spirits
Our cautious ancestors, when yawning, blocked the way to the entrance of evil spirits by putting their hands before their mouths. We find a reason for the gesture in the delicacy of manner which forbids an indecent exposure.