George Herbert's Chirstian Interpreation of Plato

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Herbie Adopts Augustine with Gusto

Perhaps due to his primarily ecclesiastical lifestyle or to the quite intensity of his works in comparison to his contemporaries, George Herbert receives notably less attention as a metaphysical poet than others of the school such as Andrew Marvell or Herberts famed patron, John Donne. The metaphysical poets came into prominence in the seventeenth century as a loosely defined group of artists who concerned themselves with the recondite experiences of human nature, such as love, sensual pleasure, and in Herberts case especially, mans relationship to God. Herbert reserved his poems subject almost entirely to the holy and within his work can been seen a deep understanding of the history of religious philosophy. Notably so is Herberts debt to Saint Augustine of Hippo, whose late fourth century work, Confessions, had been at the time (and continually persists to be) a heavy influence on Christian, especially Catholic, doctrine. Augustine has enjoyed such longevity, and would have been particularly enticing to a metaphysic like Herbert, because his work is conceptually philosophic and personally unabashed in its attempts to discuss the scriptures. As the poem, Easter-Wings, will confirm, George Herbert was greatly informed by Augustines conception of evil, use of Platonism, and practice of devotional humility.

Herberts Easter-Wings seems to be indebted and synchronous with Augustines teachings, and this also includes the title itself. Easter-Wings is the verbal marriage of Augustines overarching theological belief that combines Christian piety with Platonic ideals. The use of the word Easter connotes the Christian belief that Jesus Christ ascended from his earthly embodiment to into the realm of the Godly, while the positioning of wings in the title suggests the mode with which such ascendancy is possible. Herbert is not referring to the actual event of Christs body rising from the tomb, but rather the concept that religion allows one to make the transgression from the material world into the spiritual. A set of wings was the device that Plato used to symbolize the soul of man getting to close to the forms. Plato aptly defines this concept in the Phaedrus

The wing is the corporeal element which is most akin to the divine, and which by nature tends to soar aloft and carry that which gravitates downwards into the upper region, which is the habitation of the gods.

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(Phaedrus, 46e)

The truer a man is to the concept of the forms the further he can rise in their approximation. With the title Easter-Wings, Herbert is paying homage to the fusion that Augustine heralded in Confessions; the realization that Platos description of the forms can reverentially translate into the Christian devotion to God.

In Herberts first stanza there is a strong Augustinian influence in his description of mans fall from grace. The stanza seems to be rather specific in aim; Herbert is explaining why sin, or evil, exists in mankind if God createdst man in wealth and store. Herbert explicates that no inherent evil force exists, but that free will has allowed man to turn away from his inborn wealth, instead decaying more and more,/ Till he became/ Most poor. A poetic reading of Herbert depends on enlarging the brief concept that he presents through allusion or association, to which Augustines treatment of evil seems to be most appropriate. Augustine founded his understanding of evil, on the fact that whatever is, is good; and evil, the origin of which I was trying to find, is not a substance, because if it were a substance, it would be good. (Confessions, Book VII 1) As Herbert relates in his poem, Augustine believes that since God is creator he only can create the good. Therefore evil is mans decay [Herberts use of this word may be a reference to Augustine who said even those things that decay are good (Book VII 1)], or as Augustine elucidates, evil is, not a substance but perversion of will when it turns aside from you. (Book VII 16) In Augustines definition of evil, that which is responsible for mans fall from grace, he is counteracting to the Manichees notion to which he once subscribed. The Manichees believed that evil is a separate entity that battled God for dominance; a theory that is in direct opposition to Augustines belief that God created all and therefore, all must be good. Instead of the Manichee version of evil, Confessions applies the concept of human freewill, which when used against the will of God merely removes mankind from its original goodness. In Easter-Wings, this concept is wholly applied in the first stanza, showing that Herbert, if not directly taking from Confessions, has been inundated with the Augustinian notion of freewill and evil.

In the fourth stanza of Easter-Wings is the direct application of platonic imagery into the Christian notion of salvation. Herberts use of the phrase, I imp my wing on thine [your wing, God] is a direct reference to Platos notion of the winged soul. He uses the of the word imp in both the sense to repair a wing and to improve flying capability. By practicing the will of God one can improve the ability to approximate him. This directly ties into Plato notion that when adhering to the forms and not to the earthly representation of them, the quills of the feathers swell and set to growing from their roots under the whole form of the soul. (Phaedrus, 55c) The notion of the winged soul being most akin to the divine is the work of Plato; however, Herbert is using the Augustinian adoption of the concept into the Christian landscape. Augustine is candid about the effect that the Plato school of thought had on him, as explains he procured

Some of the books of the Platonists, translated from Greek into Latin. In them I read - not, of course word for word, though the sense was the same and it was supported by all kinds of different arguments.

(Book VII )

Augustine is careful not to have read the books word for word, meaning that he did not interpret them as a separate religion or belief system, but rather the Platonic ideas were congruent with the Christian. Confessions gives consent for Christianity to use the Greek philosophies, as Augustine does freely throughout the book with his references to the Platonists. As is clear in Easter-Wings, Herbert is the successor to Augustines acceptance of the Greek abstraction of the soul.

Although Herbert is beholden to Augustines version of Platonism, and Augustine is beholden to Plato himself, the two Christians have similarities outside the ancient context. Herberts apparent metaphysical devotion to God is aptly stated in the fourth stanza when he writes, Affliction shall advance the flight in me. The word affliction in this sense can be understood in its now-defunct definition of humbleness. Herbert renders that in order to advance the flight in me, or become closer to God, the most significant action a Christian can take is to show humility. This appears to be mainstay in Christianity, especially in Catholicism, yet the treatment that Augustine had given the topic of humility some twelve centuries prior to Herbert was incalculable to the influence it would have on the religion as a whole. Herberts conception of Christianity would have most likely have been derived from Catholicism, since the Church of Englands conversion to Anglicanism from the Roman Church had only been in place for a century. The impact that Saint Augustine had had on Catholicism, both in his own age and the following years can be implied by the reverence in which his works are held in, especially Confessions. Augustine did not originate Herberts conception of salvation through humility; however, as an early and fervent exo-biblical reference to the practice, Confessions served as a popularization of the now accepted aspect of religion. When Augustine addresses God, he does make salutations in an assured or loving way, he speaks with the manners of a lowly servant, O my God, whose high majesty is the measure of my lowliness… man is nothing unless you remember him. (Book XII 6) A connection can be made between Herberts belief that humbleness is the path to God and Augustines seminal writings of the Catholic Church praising such humbleness.

George Herberts short yet masterly elegant Easter-Wings goes beyond a mere devotional to God, it expounds itself in historic religious philosophy in order to put a sense of rationality within the praise. As a metaphysical poet, Herbert finds it essential to investigate the phenomena of religion and not merely adhere to Christianity as a standard practice. To do so would be to cheapen the religious experience. By carefully following Augustines arguments, a sense that Christianity is a rational religion is derived. Furthermore, this rationality, as touted by Augustine, is not solely a Christian tradition, but has extended back to the teachings of the Greeks, adding a distinct sense of the archetypal into mans conception of religion.

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