George Herbert: The Country Parson and the Temple

Herbert is one of the best devotional poet of all time. The footnotes are excellent. Buy this book if you enjoy contemplative literature.

George Herbert (1593-1633) has long been respected as a clergyman, poet, and spiritual master. Like many clergymen of his day, Herbert owed his position to a certain extent to his political connections - his family had some influence, and indeed, Herbert himself was probably destined for a parliamentary/political career, had another calling not seized him. He became a country parson, which was an ideal setting for Herbert, for it afforded him the time and the environment he needed to delve deeply into the human spirit, and produce works of depth and inspiration that make him an important figure in literary history.Herbert's peaceful musings come at a time when the church in England was going through a tempestuous time. Herbert's poetry and prose strikes a chord with Catholics, Anglicans high and low, and Puritans, in different ways. Herbert's personal devotion and humility shines through his writings, and his works provide material for spiritual direction to a wide range of people to this day.This volume includes two of Herbert's best known works - 'The Country Parson', a prose reflection of Herbert's own work as a pastor, which provides insight into his own spiritual work as well as a snapshot of life in the early seventeenth century, and 'The Temple', a collection of Herbert's poetry. Both works were published only after Herbert's death in 1633.The underlying sensibilities in both prose and poetry are many of the same sources of much of English literary works: the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, the works of Shakespeare, and the rapidly developing English language itself. The ever-shifting ground of political and spiritual realms, together with a rapidly changing intellectual climate, made England a dynamic place in many respects, yet Herbert's works show a permanence and a synthesis of concepts that is almost mystifying when one considers the background.The Paulist Press volume includes a good preface setting the context by Arthur Macdonald Allchin, a residentiary canon of Canterbury Cathedral, and an interesting introduction of historical and literary detail by John Wall, Jr., at the time of writing a professor of English. The book is well indexed, and has a good, useful bibliography. Herbert's work is indispensable for any one looking for a deeper spirituality, particularly within the context of a church community. For those with a suspicion or disdain for church, reading the struggles and honesty of a country parson is worthwhile. This particular volume is a good one for study and reflection.