POEM

Sonnet to the Color Black by Edward, Lord Herbert of Cherbury
Posted September 14, 2001 · Issue 110

Thou Black, wherein all colors are compos'd,
And unto which they all at last return,
Thou color of the Sun where it doth burn,
And shadow, where it cools, in thee is clos'd
Whatever nature can, or hath dispos'd
In any other Hue: from thee do rise
Those tempers and complexions, which disclos'd,
As parts of thee, do work as mysteries,
Of that thy hidden power; when thou dost reign
The characters of fate shine in the Skies,
And tell us what the Heavens do ordain,
But when Earth's common light shines to our eyes,
Thou so retir'st thyself, that thy disdain
All revelation unto Man denies.

Edward Herbert (1583-1648) was born at Eyton in Shropshire; he was the elder brother of the poet George Herbert. He attended Oxford University, and later spent eight years on the continent as a soldier of fortune, occasionally seeking the company of scholars in the intervals of his campaigns, chases, or duels. He was an ambassador at Paris, and both and Irish and an English peer. He died in London on August 20, 1648.