Well. Here's the thing. I am struggling with depression. It's taken a bit for me to get to the point where I have enough oomph to work against it, but today I remembered "read the boys" (there should be a link here to The Blog I Accidentally Deleted, but there isn't, because I accidentally deleted it, but in that post I talk about 3 poets whose work often sustains me - Malcolm Guite, Stephen Berg, and John Blase) and so one thing led to another and then I found an email in which Malcolm recommended I read John Drury's book Music at Midnight if I wanted more insight into the work of George Herbert and so I went to Kindle and look, look what I found in the introduction to the book!
In another walk to Salisbury he saw a poor man with a poorer horse that was fallen under his load; they were both in distress, and needed present help, which Mr. Herbert perceiving, put off his canonical coat, and helped the poor man to unload, and after to load his horse. The poor man blessed him for it, and he blessed the poor man; and so was like the good Samaritan, that he gave him money to refresh both himself and his horse, and told him, that if he loved himself, he would be merciful to his beast. Thus he left the poor man, and at his coming to his musical friends at Salisbury, they began to wonder that Mr. George Herbert, who used to be so trim and clean, came into that company so soiled and discomposed; but he told them the occasion; and when one of the company told him he had disparaged himself by so dirty an employment, his answer was, that the thought of what he had done would provide to him music at midnight, and that the omission of it would have upbraided and made discourse in his conscience, whensover he would pass by that place. 'For if I be bound to pray for all that be in distress, I am sure that I am bound, so far as it is in my power, to practice what I pray for. And though I do not wish for the like occasion every day, yet let me tell you, I would not willingly pass one day of my life without comforting a sad soul, or showing mercy; and I praise God for the occasion. And now let's tune our instruments.'
- From The Life of Mr George Herbert.by Izaak Walton, 1670.
Music at midnight. Let's all do that. Let's all make the choices that provide for us music at midnight.
