53

The Life of John Donne,

joyed to be in each others Company; and this
happy friendship was still maintained by many
sacred indearments, of which, that which fol-
loweth may be some Teftimony.

To Mr. George Herbert, sent him with one of
my Seales of the Anchor and Chrift. (A theaf
of Snakes ufed heretofore to be my Seal, which
is the Creft of our poor Family.)

Qui prius affuetus serpentum falce tabellas
Signare, hæc nostræ Symbola parva domus
Adscitus domui domini. —

Adopted in Gods family, and so
My old Coat loſt into new Arms I go.

The Croſs my Seal in Baptifm, ſpread below,
Does by that form into an Anchor grow.

Croſſes grow Anchors, bear as thou ſhouldst do
Thy Croſs, and that Croſs grows an Anchor too.

But he that makes our Croſſes Anchors thus
Is Chrift; who there is crucified for us.

Yet with this I may my firſt Serpents hold:
(God gives new bleſſings, & yet leaves the old)

The Serpent may as wise my pattern be ;
My poyſon, as he feeds on duſt, that's me.

And, as he rounds the earth to murder, ſure
He is my death; but on the Croſs my cure:

Cruciſe nature then; and then implore
All grace from him, crucify'd there before.

When all is Croſſ, and that Croſſ Anchor grown,
This ſeales a Catechism, not a ſeal alone.

Under

late Dean of St Pauls, London.

59

Under that little feal great gifts I send,
Both works & prayers, pawns & fruits of a friend,
Oh may that Saint that rides on our great Seal,
To you that bear his name large bounty deal.

J. Donne.

In Sacram Anchoram Piscatoris
Geo. Herbert.

Quod Crux nequibat fixa clavique additi,
Tenere Chriftum scilicet ne ascenderet
Tuive Chriftum —

Although the Cross could not Chrift here detain,
When nail'd unto't, but he ascends again:
Nor yet thy eloquence here keep him still,
But only whilest thou speak'st; this Anchor will:
Nor canst thou be content, unless thou to
This certain Anchor add a feal, and so
The water and the earth, both unto thee
Do owe the Symbole of their certainty.
Let the world reel, we and all ours stand sure,
This Holy Cable's from all storms secure.

G. Herbert.

I return to tell the Reader, that besides
these verses to his dear Mr. Herbert, and that
Hymne that I mentioned to be sung in the
Quire of St Pauls Church; he did also shorten
and

26

The Life of Dr. George Herbert;

form'd so well, that he still grew more into the
Kings favour; insomuch, that he had a particu-
lar appointment to attend His Majesty at Roy-
ston, where after a Discourse with him, His Ma-
jeſtly declar'd to his Kinsman, the Earl of Pem-
broke, That he found the Orators learning and wis-
dom, much above his age or wit. The year fol-
lowing, the King appointed to end His progresſs
at Cambridge, and to stay there certain dayes;
at which time, he was attended by the great
Secretary of Nature, and all Learning, Sir
Francis Bacon (Lord Virulam) and by the ever
memorable and learned Dr. Andrews Bishop of
Winchester, both which did at that time begin a
defir'd friendship with our Orator. Upon whom
the firſt put ſuch a value on his judgement, that
he usually defir'd his approbation, before he
would exſpofe any of his Books to be printed;
and thought him ſo worthy of his friendship,
that having translated many of the Prophet
Davids Pſalms into English Verſe, he made
George Herbert his Patron of them, by a pub-
lick dedication of them to him, as the beſt
Judge of Divine Poetry. And, for the learned
Bishop, it is obſervable, that at that time, there
fell to be a modeſt debate about Predeſtination,
and Sanctity of life; of both which, the Orator
did not long after ſend the Bishop ſome ſafe and
uſeful Aphorisms, in a long Letter written in
Greek; which, was ſo remarkable for the lan-
guage, and matter, that after the reading of it,
the

The Life of Mr. George Herbert.

the Bishop put it into his bosom, and did often
shew it to Scholars, both of this, and forreign
Nations; but did alwayes return it back to the
place where he first lodg'd it, and continu'd it
to near his heart, till the last day of his
life.

To these, I might add the long and intire
friendship betwixt him and Sir Henry Wotton,
and Dr. Donne, but I have promised to contract
my self, and shall therefore only add one testi-
mony to what is also mentioned in the Life of
Dr. Donne; namely, that a little before his
death, he caused many Seals to be made, and in
them to be ingraven the figure of Christ cruci-
fied on an Anchor, which is the emblem of hope,
and of which Dr. Donne would often say, Crux
mihi Anchora: These Seals, he sent to most of
those friends on which he put a value; and, at
Mr. Herberts death, these Verses were found
wrap't up with that Seal which was by the
Doctor given to him.

When my dear Friend, could write no more,
He gave this Seal, and, so gave ore.

When winds and waves rife highest, I am sure,
This Anchor keeps my faith, that, me secure.

At this time of being Orator, he had learnt
to understand the Italian, Spanish, and French
Tongues very perfectly; hoping, that as his
Prede-