“The Pulley”
When God at first made man,
Having a glass of blessings standing by,
"Let us," said he, "pour on him all we can.
Let the world's riches, which dispersèd lie,
Contract into a span."So strength first made a way;
Then beauty flowed, then wisdom, honour, pleasure.
When almost all was out, God made a stay,
Perceiving that, alone of all his treasure,
Rest in the bottom lay."For if I should," said he,
"Bestow this jewel also on my creature,
He would adore my gifts instead of me,
And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature;
So both should losers be."Yet let him keep the rest,
But keep them with repining restlessness;
Let him be rich and weary, that at least,
If goodness lead him not, yet weariness
May toss him to my breast"The Pulley · George Herbert
George Herbert (1593–1633) was a Welsh-born English poet and Anglican priest. “The Pulley” appeared in The Temple, his collection of devotional poems published in 1633, the year he died. The text is long out of copyright and in the public domain.
Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi Bridge and Atake
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858) was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist. “Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi Bridge and Atake” (Ōhashi Atake no yūdachi) is print No. 58 (1857) in his series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, made in the last years of his life. Vincent van Gogh painted a copy of it in oils in 1887. The impression reproduced here is held by The Metropolitan Museum of Art (object no. JP3174) and is in the public domain.
- Utagawa Hiroshige, “Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi Bridge and Atake” (1857), One Hundred Famous Views of Edo — The Metropolitan Museum of Art (JP3174), via Wikimedia Commons.
- Sudden Shower over Shin-Ōhashi Bridge and Atake — Wikipedia — the print’s No. 58 placement in the series and Vincent van Gogh’s 1887 oil copy.