OESJD II.6; on 1 Tim. 3.16
[fol. 33r] 1 Timothy: 3:16.
And, wthout Controuersy, greate
is the Mystery of Godlynesse: God
was manifest in the flesh, Justifyed
in ye Spirrit, seene of Angells, prea
ched vnto the Gentills, Beleeued in
the world, Receiued into Glory
This is noe Text for an Howre-glasse. If God would offer me Ezekiahs signe, Vt reuertatur vmbra, yt the Shaddow might goe backward vppon ye Diall; or Josuahs signe, vt sistat Sol, yt ye Sunne might stand still all ye Day: this were Text enough to imploy all the Day [fol. 33v] & all the dayes of our Life. The Lent wch wee beginne now, is a full Tithe of ye yeare; but ye Howre wch we begine now, is not a full Tithe of ye day, & therfore we should not grudge all yt. But payment of Tithes is growne matter of Controuersy, & we by our Text, are directed onely vppon matter wthout Controuersy – And wthout Controuersy.
Heere is the Compase yt the Essentiall word of God, ye Sonne of God, Christ Iesus went. He was god humbled in the Flesh, He was man receiued into Glory. Heere is ye Compasse yt the written word of God went, the Bible, yt begunne in Moses in Darknesse (in ye Caos) & it ends in St John in cleerenesse, in Reuelation. Heere is the Compasse of all time, as time was was [fol. 34r] distributed in the Creation, Vespere et mane, darkness & then Light; the Eueninge & the Morninge made ye Day; Mystery and Manifestation make ye Text. The Doctrine of ye Present Season is Mortification, Humiliation; & ye Experience of the Present Place where wee stand now in Court, is That the glory of the Persons in whose presence wee stand, occasions Humility in vs, the more glorious they are, ye humbler we are. And there to consider Christ as he is receiued into Glory, is as much the way of our Mortification & humiliation; as to consider him in his Passion, in his Examination. At least how smal accoumpt should we make of those thinges, wch we suffer for Christ in this world? when we se in this Text That [fol. 34v] in discribinge ye History of Christ from his Incarnation to his Ascension, the Holy Ghost pretermitts, neuto in respect of yt wch he would suffer, yf ye Justice of God had required any heuiour satisfaction. The Text then is a sufficient instruction for Timothy to whome this Epistle is sent, & to vs to whome it is sent too, yt thereby we might know how to behaue our selues in the House of God, wch is the Church of God, ye Piller & ground of Truth, as is sayde in the Verse immediatly goinge before ye Text, & to wch ye Text hath 1 Tim: 15 relation. We know how to behaue our selues, in the Church, yf we know in [fol. 35r] the Text, yt such a Mystery of Godlynesse there is, & know wt it is. Our Parts therefore are but 2, Mystery, & Manifestation; In ye first ye Apostle proceeds thus, First he recommends vnto vs such Doctrine as is wthout Controuersy; & truly there is enough of that to saue any Soule, yt hath not a minde to wrangle it selfe into Hell. And yn he sayes yt this Godlynesse, though it be wthout Controuersy, yet it is a Mystery, a Secrett, not Present, not obuious, not discernable wth eu
First then he proposes Doctrine wthout August: Controuersy, for Quod simpliciter prædicatur, credendu120. be putt to aske St Paules Question Vbj Scribæ, Vbi Sapientes? Where are ye Scribes, where are ye Wise-men, where are ye disputers of this World? Perchaunce I may misse a greate many of ym there. It is ye Text yt saues vs: ye interliniary Glosses, & Marginall Notes, & ye Variæ Lectiones (diuers readinges) Controuersies & Perplexitys vndoe vs; The Will, ye Testamt. of God inriches vs; The Scedules Gen:3.1. ye Codicils of men begger vs. Because ye Serpent was subtiler yn any, he would Cor: 2.11 Dispute & Comment vppon Gods Law, [fol. 37r] & soe deceiued by Subtilty. The word of God is Biblia, it is not Bibliotheca; a booke, a bible, not a Library. And all yt booke is not written in Balthazars Dan: 5. 25. Character in a Mene Mene tehkel vpharsin; yt we must call in Astrologers, & Caldeans & South-sayers to interpret it. That wch was written soe yt it could not be vnderstood, was written sayth ye Text there, wth ye fingers of God Mans hand: verse. 5 It is ye hand of man yt induces obscuritys. The hand of god hath written soe that a man may turne & reade, walke in ye Wayes of his Callinge heere, & attend the Saluation of his Soule too. He yt beleeues Christ & Mahomet indifferently hath not proposed ye right end; He yt beleeues the word of god & traditions indifferently, [fol. 37v] hath not proposed ye right way. In any Conuayaunce, yf any thinge be interlined, ye inter-lininge must be as well testifyed & haue ye same witnesses on yt Indorsmt. as ye Conuayaunce had: where there are Traditions in the Church (as declaratory Conditions there are) they must haue ye same wittnesses they must be grownded vppon Gods word. For there only is truth wthout Controuersy. John.18.13. Pilatt asked Christ Quid veritas? Wt was Truth? & he might haue knowne yf he would haue stayed; but Eiuit; sayth ye Text there, he went out, out to ye Jewes, & there he could not finde it, there he neuto ye in his word, there you shall know Produce ye Record, ye Scripture, & there is Communis salus. I wrote vnto you of the [fol. 38r] Commune Saluation: what’s that? Semel tradita fides, sayth yt Apostle there, The Fayth ytwch was once deliuVbi Videtur quod non, one would thinke it were otherwise) yf when they haue sayd all I returne to ye begininge againe Videtur quod non, I thinke it is otherwise still, must I be damned? The Euidence of my Saluation is my Credo (I beleeue) not theyre Probo (I Proue it) And yf I must needes gett heauen by a Sylogisme, my Maior is Credo John.10.29 in Deum Patrem, I beleeue in God ye Father, [fol. 39r] for Pater maior, ye Father is greater yn all: And my Minor shalbe Credo in Deum 13.3 Fillium, I beleeue in god ye Sonne, Quj exiuit de Patre, he came from God. And my Conclusion wch must proceede from Maior & Minor, shalbe Credo in Spiritum Sanctum, I beleeue in ye Holy Ghost, who proceeds from Father & Sonne. For this Sylogisme brought me into the Militant Church at my baptisme, & this will carry me into ye Tryumphant at my Transmigration. For Doctrine of Saluation is matter wthout Controuersy.
But yet, as cleare as it is, It is a Mysteriuyt that was perfett before. Soe yf other men se yt some additionall or traditionall thinges may adde to the Dignity of ye Church, lett ym say it produces to ye well-beinge not to ye very Beinge, to ye Existence, not to ye very Essence of ye Church; for that’s only thinges, necessary to [fol. 40v] Saluation. And this Mystery is Fayth in a pure Conscience, for that’s ye same thinge yts call’d godlynesse in this Text. And it is to professe ye Ghospell of Iesus Christ sylr. 4.3. Colos.1.26 to dye for it. This is Mysterium Opertum, & Apertum, Hid from those yt are Lost, but manyfested to his Saintes.
It is a Mystery, & a greate Mystery, that’s next, not yt there is not a greater: for ye Mystery of iniquity is greater yn ye Mystery of Godlynesse. Compare Creedes to Creedes, & ye new Creede of ye Trent Councell is greater by many Articles then the Apostles Creede is. Compare Othes to Othes & Berengarius his [fol. 41r] old Othe in ye Roman Church, yt he must sweare to; yehe Frangitur & Feritur, That he broke ye Flesh of Christ wth his teeth, & grownd it wth his Jawes. And ye new Othe of ye Councell of Trent yt he must swere, yt all those subtill Schoole poynts determined there (in wch a man might haue beleeued ye contrary a little before, & yett haue bine a good Roman Catholique too) are true & true de Fide, soe true as that he cannot be saued, vnlesse he beleeue ym to be soe. The Berengarians Othe, ye Trent Othe haue much more difficulty in them, yn to swere yt Kinge James is Lawfull Kinge in all his Dominions, and therefore exempt from all forrane Jurisdiction ouer him. There is a Mystery of Iniquity declared in ye Creede of Iniquity, [fol. 41v] & in an Othe of Iniquity greater yn ye Mystery of Godlynesse, But yet this is greate, that is, greate enough: He neede noe more yt hath this Fayth wth a pure Consciene: He needes not goe vp to heaue
Now how farr this Mystery, this greate 2.Part Mystery without Controuersy is reuealed in the text we are to looke in by ye seuerall beames thereof; of which ye first is Manifestatus Manifestatæeriorucsscio Loqui, not to speake plainely, come now wth Zacharies dumnesse not to speake at all in this Mystery? But harkeninge to yt wch he, who onely knew this Mystery, hath sayde Verbum Caro factum est, the word was made Flesh, & Deus manifestatdbe manifested, they must for a time suffer many calamityes in this world; yf theyre Messias shouldbe manifested now, sayes he, wt could they suffer? They say they must suffer banishmt; et vbi dispertie Gentis, quæ iam extorrjs, sayes he whether shall that [fol. 44r] Nation be banished, wch is allready in banishment, & dispersion? Redde statum Judaiis, Let ye Jewes shew me a State, a kingdome, a Commune-weale, a gouermt. Magistrates, Judicature, Merchame somethinge to Loose for a Meseias & then Looke for a Messias. The Jewes are within ye Non omnino, they beleeue not this Mystery at all. And yn for ye Non sicut est, for ye not beleeuing it aright as ye old Valentinians are renewed by the Anibaptists (for both deny yt Christ tooke Flesh of ye blessed virgin) soe ye old Manicheans are not renewed but exceeded by the Transubstantiators. For ythey sayde, yt ye body of Christ was left in one place of the Sunne: these say it is vppon as many tables, & in as many boxes as you will. But whether this Manifestation of God in [fol. 44v] the Flesh were referred to ye Incarnation of Christ, or to his declaration, when the Wisemen of ye East came to se him at Bethlehem, whether when it was donne, or when it was declared to be donne hath addmitted a Question, because the Westerne Church hath called yt day of theyre comminge to him ye Epithany, & Epiphany is Manifestation. Then therefore is god manifested to vs, when, as those wisemen offered theyre Myrrhe, & Frankinsence, we of the Sacryfice of Prayere: And as they offered theyre Gould, we offer our Temporall wealth for ye Glory of Christ Iesus: And when ye loue of him corrects in thee ye Intemperancy of adorninge of thy Flesh, of pamperinge thy Flesh, of obeyinge thy flesh; yn espetially is thys Epiphany, God is manifested in ye flesh, in they Flesh.
Justificatbllathians still, That begunne in ye Spiritt, & wilbe made perfect in yt Flesh, That receiued theyre Christianity in one Church, & attend a Confirmation, a better state in a worse. Christ was [fol. 46r] Justified by ye Holy-ghost when ye holy-ghost came to him: Soe he was when he came from him at Pentecost, vppon his Apostles; And when he came in Tounges, in fyery-tounges. Christ was not, a Christian is not Justified in Silence; but in declarations & open professions, in Tounges, ffyery, yt is feruent, fyery, yt is, cleere. He was Justified a Sp)(In ye beginninge) before there was any Creature (for when Christ came there was noe Creature yt could exercise any naturall faulty in opposition to his purposes) when Nature his Vice-gerent gaue vp his sword into his handes; when the Sea shutt vp herselfe like marble, & bare him; & y.eearth opened her selfe like a booke, to deliuancto, & in Spiritu suo (in ye Holy spiritt & his owne Spirritt) Two wittnesses were enough for him: Adde a 3d. for thy selfe, & Justificetur in Spiritu tuo, Let him bye Justified in thy spiritt. God is safe enough in himselfe, & yet it was a good declaratory addition, That ye Publicans Justified God. Wisedome is safe enough of her, & yett wisedome is iustifyed of her Children. Chr: is sufficiently Justified, But Justificetur in Spiritu tuo, In thy Spiritt. To say yf I [fol. 47v] consider ye Talmud, Chr: may as well be ye Messias, as any whome ye Jewes place markes vppon. Yf I consider ye Alcoran, Chr: is like enough to be a better Prophett yn Mahomet. Yf I consider ye Arguments of ye Arians, Chr: may be ye sonne of god for all that. If I consider ye Church of Rome, & ours, he is as likely to manifest himselfe in his word heere, as there, in theyre word. To say but soe, Chr: may be god for any thinge I knowe, this is but to baile him, not to Justify him, not to acquitacquaint him, but to put him ou
Christ had all this Testimony & more, Visus Visus ab Angelis. ab Angelis. He was seene of Angells, wch is not only viseted by Angells, serued of Angells, waited vppon by Angells: Soe he was & he was soe in euCyrcle Compas, in euery Arch, in eut wch noe man knowes ye Diameter, how long it shalbe from Ch:s first comminge, to his 2d; Visus ab Angelis, he was seene, he was visited, he was waited vppon by Angells. But there is more intended in this Text yn soe: Christ was seene other now of ye Angells yn: euof& places & apprehensions of places Angells ^more yn any, obseruers of the highest order of Angells -^ Ordinuitis now come to be Ephe: 3.6 knowe some thinges of Christ since Chr: came, in an other manner yn before) And this may be yt wch. St: Paule intends when he sayth That he was made a Minister of ye Gospell, to ye intent yt now to Verse 10 Ephe. Principalitys, & Powers in heauenly places might be knowne by ye Church the manifould wisedome of God. And St Peter allsoe, speakinge of ye Administration of Pet: 1.12 ye Church, expresses it soe, That ye Angells desire to looke into it, wch is not onely yt wch: St Augustine sayes, Innotuit a sæculis per Eclesiam Angelis, That ye Angells saw ye Mysterys of Christian Religion from before all beginninges; but euen in ye Propogation & yt by the Church, Quia ipsa Ecclesia in deo apparuit, Because they saw in God ye future Church before all begininges [fol. 51r] but euen in the Propagation & administratioall ye Angells themselues, & to ye Glory of God, ye Angells [fol. 51v] doe see mens particular actions. And then yf thou wouldst not solicite a womans chastity, yf her seruant were by to testify it; nor calumniate an innocent absent person in ye Kinges name, yf yt his frend were by to testify it, yf thou canest slumber in thy selfe yt maine consideration, That ye Eye of God is allwayes open, & vppon thee; Yett haue a little religious ciuillity, & holy respect euen to those Angells that see thee. That those Angells ytwch saw Chr: Iesus now sate downe in Glory at the right hand of his Father & all sweate wiped from his browes, all teares from his eyes, all his stripes healed, all his bloudd stanched, all his wounds shutt vpp, & all his beauty returned there; When they shall looke downe hether to see the same Chr:t in thee, may not see him scourged againe, wounded, torne, & mangled againe in thy blasphemys, nor crusifyed againe in thy irriligious conuersatiowasis seene in his Sts. vppon Earth by Angells now, & shalbe to ye End of ye World, wch Sts. he hath gathered from ye Gentills, wch is ye next branch, Prædicatus Gentibus, He was Preached to ye Gentills.
Mercy & truth mett together sayes Prædicatus Gentibsayes But noe where closer then in callinge ye Gentills. Iesus Chr:t was made a Minister fofr ye Circumsition for Rom:15.8. ye truth of God. Wherein consisted this Truth? To confirme ye Promises made to ye Fathers, sayth the Apostle there, & that’s to ye Jewes. But was he a Minister of ye Circumsition onely for that? onely for ye Truth? Noe. Truth & Mercy mett together, as yf fellowes there. And yt ye Gentills might glorify God in his Mercy; The Jewes were a Foollish Nation, [fol. 52v] that was theyre Addition; But ye Addition of ye Gentills was Peccatores, Sinners, says St. Paule. He yt touched ye Jewes, touched ye Apple of Gods Eye; And for theyre sakes God rebuked Kinges, & sayd, Touch not mine Anointed. But vppon ye Gentills not onely dereliction, but Indignation, & Consternation, & Deuastation, Exterminatioyt was, that was such a super-aboundant mercy, as might seeme to be allmost aboue ye bargaine, aboue ye Contract betweene Chr:t & his Father; more yn. was conditioned in ye Price of his bloudde, & reward of his death. For when god had sayde, I will declare my decree, Psal: 2. yt: is, wch I intended to giue him, which is expressed thus, I haue sett my kinge vppon my holy hill of Sion, wch seemes to concerne ye Jewes onely; God adds then Postula a me, make Petition to me, make a newe Suite vnto me, Et dabo tibj Gentes, not onely ye Jewes, but ye Gentills for thine [fol. 53v] Psal. 97.1 Inheritaunce. And therfore Letentur Gentes, sayes Dauid, Lett ye Gentills reioyce & we in ym. that Chr: asked vs at his Fathers hand, & receiued vs. And Lætentur Insulæ, sayth ye Prophet too,) Lett ye Iland reioyce, & we in ym. that hath raysed vs out of ye Sea, out of ye Ocean Sea yt ouerflowed all ye World wth Ignorance. And out of ye Mediterranean Sea, wch hath flowed into soe many Lands, ye Sea of Rome, ye Sea of Superstition.
Creditus mundo. There was then a greate Mercy, Prædicatus Gentibus, yt he was Preached to ye Gentills: but ye greater power is next, Creditus Mundo, That he was beleeued on in ye World. We haue a callinge in our Church yt makes vs Prechers, & we haue Cannons in owhat it was in ye matter, wt it was yt was to be beleeued. That that Iesus must be and is whose Age they .knew must be a.ntidated soe, that they must beleeue him to be older yn Abramore vppon theyre Durus sermo, yt it was a hard sayinge yt they must eate his flesh & drinke his bloude; & pyewas ye Apostles Rom: 11.33 Altitudo diuitiarum, the depth of ye Riches of [fol. 56v] Ephe: 3.18. God’s wisedome: And this was his Longitudo, & Latitudo, ye length & bredth, & height & depth wch noe man can Comprehend. Act: 5.36 Theudas rose vp Dicens se esse aliquem, sayinge he was somethinge body, & hee Cap: 8.9 prou’d nobody. Simon Magus rose vp dicens se esse aliquem magnum, sayinge he was some greate body, but he prou’d a little. Chr:t Iesus rose vp, & sayde himselfe to be, not some-body, nor some greate body, but yt there was noe body els, noe other name giuen vnder heauen, wherby we maybe saued, & was beleeued. And therfore if any thinke to destroy this vniuersall by makeinge himselfe an. awefull instance to ye Contrary, Chr:t is not beleeued in all the World, for I neu
[fol. 57r] Now when he was Preached to ye Gentills Receptvp therfore he had noe Ayry, noe Imaginary fantasticall body, therfore he did not vanish away, he was true man. And yn he was Receptus, Reassumed againe, & soe was in Glory before, & therfore true god. This which we are faine to call Glory, is an vnexpressable thinge, & an incommunicable. Surely I will not giue my Glory to an other sayes Esay. 48.11. God in Esay; We finde greate Tittles, atributed to, & assumed by Princes, both Spirittuall & Temporall, Celsitudo vestra, et vestra Maiestas (yor Highnesse, & your Maiesty) is dayly giuen, & duly [fol. 57v] giuen among vs. And Sanctitas vestra & Beatitudo vestra (yonu number; as Nos, we; that’s mistaken by ym, for there are Examples But it is mistaken more in practise by the Generalls, nay Prouincialls of some orders of Fryers, where they signe & substitute in forme of Princes Nos frater N we Fryer N &c It is not hard to name some yt haue taken to ymselues, ye addition of Diuus (St) in theyre life time; A stile soe high, as that Bellarm: Bellarmine himselfe denys yt it appertaynes to any St in heauen, & yet these men haue Cannoized themselues wthout the consent of Rome, & remayned good sonnes of yt Mother too. we shall finde in Auncient Stiles yt high addition Æternitas nostra, our Eternity: & not [fol. 58r] onely in auncient, but in our owne dayes, annother equall to yt giuen to a Cardinall Numen vestrum, yoleauesleaues & doth not tell vs wch Brytaine, he would haue bine content to haue had it thaught ours, but he yt hath abridged his booke, hath abridged his Britayne too; There it is Britania Minor, but he was a Kinge & therfore had power, yf he fill’d his Place, & wisedome too, yf he answered his name, for his name was Solomon) And this K: we finde reduced to yt lownesse as yt he writes to yt Bishop Adrian 2 in yt stile, Precor Omnipotentes dignitatjs vestræ; He giues him ye Title of God Almighty; But 2 or 3 years after before he was farr from it: Then when he writeght he placed his owne name before aboue the Popes: [fol. 58v] But it is a slippery declination, yf it be not a Præcipitation, to come at all vnder him: Greate Titles haue bin taken; Ambition goes farr, & greate giuen Flattery goes as farr. Greater yn this in ye Text Perchaunce haue, but it hath not fallen wthin my narrow readinge & obseruation, That euGloria vestra, May it please yohad man had in any State in Court, yt some Person in yt State hath not had men of Titles aino (ye same Spirritt in ye Lord) as inseperable, from his Father, as he himselfe is. The Glory of God’s Sts: in heauen is not [fol. 59v] soe much to haue a Crowne, as to lay downe yt Crowne at ye feete of ye Lamb. The Glory of Good men heere vppon Earth, is not soe much to haue honor, & fauour & fortune, as to imploy those beames of Glory, to his Glory who gaue it ym. In our Pooyre Callinge God hath giuen vs Grace, But Grace for grace as ye Apostle sayes yt is grace to deriue & conuey, & seatle Grace vnto you. To those of higher rank, God hath giuen glory, & Glory, for glory; Glory therefore to gloryfy him in a Care of his glory. And because he dwells in Luce inaccessiblj, in a glorious light, wch you cannot see heere, Glorify him in yt wherin you may se him, in yt wherein he hath manifested himselfe; Glorify him in his Glorious Gospell: Employ your beames of Glory, Honor, Fauour, Fortune, in transmittinge ye[fol. 60r]same Gospel in ye same Glory to your Children, as you receiued it from yodady coassumed wth Christ into Glory, by haueinge soe Layde an vnremoueable hold vppon yt Kingdome wch he hath purchased for you wth the Inestimable price of his incorruptible bloude.
To wch: the glorious sonne of God &c.
Finis
Publishing statement
Publisher: The Oxford Edition of the Sermons of John Donne
General Editor: Peter McCullough
Funder: Arts and Humanities Research Council
Availability: This XML document is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License.
Transcription notes
Transcription by Erica Longfellow.
Transcription proofread and technical description by Mary Morrissey.
Transcription checked and coded by Elizabeth Williamson.
The Manuscript
Institution: St Paul's Cathedral Library, London
Shelfmark: MS 52.D.14
OESJD siglum: P
Manuscript Content
Item no: 1
Locus: ff. 3r-32r
Title: Psalme.144. Verse.15: Blessed are the people yt be soe yea blessed are ye People whose God is the Lord.
Incipit: The first part of this Text hath
Explicit: inestimable price of his incorruptible bloud.
Final Rubric: To wch glorious sonne of God. &c Finis.
Bibliography: OESJD Vol. II.5; P&S Vol. III.2
Note: Textual matter around the sermons: Title page, f.1r 'SERMONS MADE BY I. Donne. doctor of Deuinty & Deane of Pauls - Ano: Domini: 1625. Kni: Chetwode'
Item no: 2
Locus: ff. 33r-60r
Title: 1 Timothy: 3:16. And, wthout Controuersy, greate is the Mystery of Godlynesse: God was manifest in the flesh, Justifyed in ye Spirrit, seene of Angells, preached vnto the Gentills, Beleeued in the world, Receiued into Glory
Incipit: This is noe Text for an Howre-glasse.
Explicit: bloude.
Final Rubric: To wch: the glorious sonne of God &c. Finis
Bibliography: OESJD Vol. II.6; P&S Vol. III.9
Note: Textual matter around the sermons: Slip of paper pasted into the left margin of f.33r: 'This sermon I could not finde, in either of the two volumes.'. Title page, f.32v '1625. The Second Sermon Preached by John Donne Dotr: of Deuinity & Deane of PAVLS KNIGHTLEY CHETWODE'
Item no: 3
Locus: ff. 80r-105r
Title: Hosea 2.5.19 I will mary thee vnto me for euer
Incipit: The word, which is the hinge on
Explicit: corruptible bloud.
Final Rubric: To whome wth the father &c. Finis.
Bibliography: OESJD VII.2; P&S Vol. III.11
Note: Textual matter around the sermons: Title page, f.79v: '1626. THE FOVRth SERMON by John Donne Doctor of Deuinity & Deane of Paules - Knightley Chetwode'. Comment on f.79v: 'Preached at St: Clements at Mr: Washingtons Mariage'
Item no: 4
Locus: ff. 106r-177r
Title: 2 Cor: 4.6. Preached at the Spittle on Easter Monday 1622. For God who Commaunded light to shine out of darknesse hath shined in or Hartes, to giue ye light of the knowledge of the Glory of God in ye face of Iesus Christ
Incipit: The first booke of ye Bible begins wth the
Explicit: face of Iesus Christ.
Final Rubric: FINIS.
Bibliography: OESJD Vol. VIII.2; P&S Vol. IV.3
Note: Textual matter around the sermons: Slip of paper pasted into the left margin of f.105r: 'This sermon I could not finde, in either of the two volumes.'. Title page, f.104v: 'THE F SERMon by Iohn Donne Doctor of Deuinity & Deane of Paules - Knightley Chetwode: Anno Domi: 1625'. End of sermon, f.177r: 'Knightley Chetwode'
Physical Description
Material: Paper, quarto, 277 leaves 200 X 150 mm.
Foliation: The manuscript has recently been foliated by Mr Wisdom, Librarian, and Mr Wisdom’s foliation (taking the page with Katherine Butler’s ownership mark as f. 1) has been observed in the transcription following. The manuscript reverses at f. 230, with ff. 196-230r being blank.
Collation: There are no signatures. There appears to be extensive and complex quiring, which, combined with the tight binding, makes it practically impossible to work out the collation.
Condition: The manuscript is in excellent condition.
Hand(s) description
Hand 1, responsible for materials on ff. 3-174r, belongs Knightley Chetwode. This copyist of the four Donne sermons and the court sermon by Joseph Hall signs his name on the title page (either fully or with initials) of each sermon. His hand is a mix of late secretary and round hand features, and is neat and easily legible. He uses black and brown ink, with multiple changes throughout the volume, including in some cases between the body of the text and marginal comments, marginal corrections, and supralinear corrections, for example on f.49v-50r. Chetwood finally wrote some elaborately flourished additions, like the title page on f. 105v or the 'Finis' on f. 177r.
Hand 2 is unknown, and responsible for some supralinear correction and comments on pasted slips: ff.33r, 37r, 105r.
Hand 3 is unknown, and responsible for some supralinear corrections on ff. 110v, 135v. There are yet other hands in the manuscript, most notedly that of Katherine Butler, who inherited the manuscript and turned it into a commonplace book. However, since none of these other hands in the manuscript contribute to Donne's sermons, they are not further described here.
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