Christopher Smart on the Nativity

Not exactly or only the nativity–the Incarnation, the boldness of it. 

Glorious the sun in mid career;
Glorious th' assembled fires appear;
Glorious the comet's train:
Glorious the trumpet and alarm;
Glorious th' almighty stretch'd-out arm;
Glorious th' enraptur'd main:
 
Glorious the northern lights a-stream;
Glorious the song, when God's the theme;
Glorious the thunder's roar:
Glorious hosanna from the den;
Glorious the catholic amen;
Glorious the martyr's gore:
 
Glorious—more glorious is the crown
Of Him that brought salvation down
By meekness, call'd thy Son;
Thou that stupendous truth believ'd,
And now the matchless deed's achiev'd,
Determin'd, dar'd, and done.
 
I love that last line; I take "determin'd" to mean "planned" and "intended." This is only a part of a longer poem called "A Song to David." I copied these stanzas from the Poetry Foundation, and you can read a longer excerpt there. 
 
If you're fond of cats or have been around people who are, you may have encountered what's probably Smart's most well-known work, a sort of rhapsody on his cat Jeoffry, also a part of a longer work. If  you don't like cats, the poem may prompt you to wonder if you might be missing something. It was posted at Poems Ancient and Modern a while back: you can read it there, along with some more information about Smart. 

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4 responses to “Christopher Smart on the Nativity”

  1. Anne-Marie

    Thank you, Maclin. I love this. Merry Christmas!

  2. You’re welcome, and Merry Christmas to you

  3. A belated Merry Christmas to all!
    For various reasons I wasn’t feeling very Christmas-y in the lead up to the holiday this year, but I read the following a couple days before and found it quietly inspiring:
    https://foxedquarterly.com/a-countrymans-winter-notebook-in-search-of-christmas/

  4. Thanks. I never feel very Christmas-y anymore, so maybe that will be good for me, too.

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