Heaven be thy rest, on earth thy lot was toyle;
Thy private loss, ment to thy countryes gayne,
Bredde grief of mynde, which in thy brest did boyle,
Confyning cares whereof the scarres remayne.
Thy private loss, ment to thy countryes gayne,
Bredde grief of mynde, which in thy brest did boyle,
Confyning cares whereof the scarres remayne.
John Donne
The estate which Goodyere inherited was apparently encumbered, and he
was himself generous and extravagant. He was involved all his life in
money troubles and frequently petitioned for relief and appointments.
It was to him probably that Donne made a present of one hundred pounds
when his own fortunes had bettered. The date of the present letter was
between 1605 and 1608, when Donne was living at Mitcham. These were
the years in which Goodyere was a courtier. In 1604-5 ? 120 was stolen
from his chamber 'at Court', and in 1605 he participated in the
jousting at the Barriers. Life at the dissolute and glittering Court
of James I was ruinously extravagant, and the note of warning in
Donne's poem is very audible. Sir Henry Goodyere died in March 1627-8.
Additional MS. 23229 (_A23_) contains the following:
Funerall Verses sett on the hearse } of Polesworth.
of Henry Goodere knighte; late }
[March 18. 1627/8 c. ]
Esteemed knight take triumph over deathe,
And over tyme by the eternal fame
Of Natures workes, while God did lende thee breath;
Adornd with witt and skill to rule the same.
But what avayles thy gifts in such degrees
Since fortune frownd, and worlde had spite at these.
Heaven be thy rest, on earth thy lot was toyle;
Thy private loss, ment to thy countryes gayne,
Bredde grief of mynde, which in thy brest did boyle,
Confyning cares whereof the scarres remayne.
Enjoy by death such passage into lyfe
As frees thee quyte from thoughts of worldly stryfe.
WM. GOODERE.
Camden transcribes his epitaph:
An ill yeare of a Goodyere us bereft,
Who gon to God much lacke of him here left;
Full of good gifts, of body and of minde,
Wise, comely, learned, eloquent and kinde.
The Epitaph is probably by the same author as the _Verses_, a nephew
perhaps. Sir Henry's son predeceased him.
PAGE =183=, l. 1. It is not necessary to change 'the past' of
_1633-54_ to 'last' with _1669_. 'The past year' is good English for
'last year'.
PAGE =184=, l. 27. _Goe; whither? Hence; &c. _ My punctuation, which
is that of some MSS.
