Aside from that, here is some of what I got off of MAN.
[my comments are bold and in brackets, like this]
[It's influenced by Herbert's work: The Pulley]WEIGHING the stedfastness and state
Of some mean things which here below reside,
Where birds, like watchful clocks, and the noiseless date
And intercourse of times divide,
Where bees at night get home and hive, and flow'rs
Early, as well as late,
Rise with the sun and set in the same bow'rs
[what the hell is bow'rs? if it means bowers, the only one I could find was a support structure for a vine plant, and I'm not sure how well that fits here][This first stanza is a long-winded way of saying that nature has a natural rhythm.][I didn't get much of the second stanza, save for the last three lines, but it looks like a continuation of the first stanza and it appears to be illustrating the same point. The last three lines seemed a bit different from the rest, though.][. . .]The birds nor sow nor reap, yet sup and dine;
[sup means have supper]The flow'rs without clothes live,
Yet Solomon was never dress'd so fine.
[The last three lines refer to 6:25-30 in the book of Matthew:http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matt%206:25-30,Matt%2010:29-31,Basically, flowers and birds clothed in beauty by god surpass the riches even of King Solomon.]Man hath still either toys, or care;
He hath no root, nor to one place is tied,
But ever restless and irregular
[These were the only three lines I got for this one. The first two lines give off the message that man is frivolous and anxious. The third line calls man irregular, in reference to lacking harmony with nature. This is a contrast to the first two stanzas, from what I can gather. The last four lines could just be a further elaboration on the idea that man is horribly dissonant relative to nature's rhythm.]He knocks at all the doors and strays and roams,
[Man is lost]Nay, hath not so much wit as some stones have,
[refers to lodestones, which could be used as compasses, thanks to their magnetic charge][The first two lines ridicule man's being out of sync by saying that even stones have better sense of time and place than does man.]Which in the darkest nights point to their homes,
[another reference to lodestones]By some hid sense their Maker gave;
[again, lodestones are the "their" and the Maker is god.]Man is the shuttle, to whose winding quest
And passage through these looms
[This line and the one right before it refer to the classic imagery of the fates weaving lives (man is the shuttle, for anyone familiar with tapestry work, that passes through these looms), but this was adapted from paganism to a Christian audience]God order'd motion, but ordain'd no rest.
[one can only escape toil by going back to god for guidance, at least that's how I understand it]Hope this helps everyone. The quiz tomorrow better be on MAN or I'll be right angry.
You guys better thank me for that link to bible gateway, too; anything involving the divine (especially holy water) burns my skin. Also, I will no longer be posting notes upside-down. The people in Australia will just have to deal with it.
~Kenneth Janes
