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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE EVIDENCE by THOMAS TRAHERNE

Poet Analysis

First Line: HIS WORD CONFIRMS THE SALE
Last Line: WHICH MADE THEM ALL, AND MADE THEM TO BE MINE.
1

His Word confirms the sale:
Those sheets enfold my bliss:
Eternity itself's the pale
Wherein my true estate enclosed is:
Each ancient miracle's a seal:
Apostles, prophets, martyrs, patriarchs are
The witnesses; and what their words reveal,
Their written records do declare.
All may well wonder such a 'state to see
In such a solemn sort settled on me.

2

Did not His Word proclaim
My title to th' estate,
His works themselves affirm the same
By what they do; my wish they antedate.
Before I was conceiv'd, they were
Allotted for my great inheritance;
As soon as I among them did appear
They did surround me, to advance
My interest and love. Each creature says,
'God made us thine, that we might show His praise.'

3

The services they do,
Aloud proclaim them mine;
In that they are adapted to
Supply my wants; in which they all combine
To please and serve me, that I may
God, angels, men, fowls, beasts, and fish enjoy,
Both in a natural and transcendent way;
And to my soul the sense convey
Of wisdom, goodness, power, and love divine,
Which made them all, and made them to be mine.



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