In the poem, the central idea posited by Herbert is that when God made man, he p

oured all his blessings on him, including strength, beauty, wisdom, honor and pl
easure. However, as in Pandora's box, one element remained. We are told that God
"made a stay," that is, He kept "Rest in the bottome." We might, in modern parl
ance, call this God's ace. God is aware that if He were to bestow this "jewel" (
i.e. rest) on Man as well then Man would adore God's gifts instead of God Himsel
f. God has withheld the gift of rest from man knowing fully well that His other
treasures would one day result in a spiritual restlessness and fatigue in man wh
o, having tired of His material gifts, would necessarily turn to God in his exha
ustion. God, being omniscient and prescient, knows that there is the possibility
that even the wicked might not turn to Him, but He knows that eventually mortal
man is prone to lethargy; his lassitude, then, would be the leverage He needed
to toss man to His breast. In the context of the mechanical operation of a pulle
y, the kind of leverage and force applied makes the difference for the weight be
ing lifted. Applied to man in this poem, we can say that the withholding of Rest
by God is the leverage that will hoist or draw mankind towards God when other m
eans would make that task difficult. However, in the first line of the last stan
za, Herbert puns on the word "rest" suggesting that perhaps God will, after all,
let man "keep the rest," but such a reading would seem to diminish the force be
hind the poem's conceit. The importance of rest -and, by association, sleep- is
an idea that was certainly uppermost in the minds of Renaissance writers. Many o
f Shakespeare's plays include references to sleep or the lack of it as a punishm
ent for sins committed. In Macbeth, for example, the central protagonist is said
to "lack the season of all natures, sleep" and both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth ar
e tormented by the lack of sleep. Even Othello is most disconcerted by the fact
that he is unable to sleep peacefully once Iago has poisoned him with the possib
ility of his wife's infidelity with Cassio. Herbert's Pulley, then, does not pre
sent a new concept. In fact, the ideas in the poem are quite commonplace for sev
enteenth century religious verse. What is distinctly metaphysical about the poem
is that a religious notion is conveyed through a secular, scientific image that
requires the reader's acquaintance with, and understanding of, some basic laws
of physics.
Pulleys and hoists are mechanical devices aimed at assisting us with moving heav
y loads through a system of ropes and wheels (pulleys) to gain advantage. We sho
uld not be surprised at the use of a pulley as a central conceit since the domai
n of physics and imagery from that discipline would have felt quite comfortable
to most of the metaphysical poets.
Written by : Alaa Cali4nia Boy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------
man is reflection of god....why at all gods needs some instrument to pull his cr
eation to..him....as mother wants her child to be back home...at some point of t
ime...god has his own strategy to pull back is creation ....god sounds like any
insecure father out of love for his child uses his own means to care and bring
back the child home.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
When God made man (Herbert . The opening line introduced the reader
to the God who is a Creator - a Creator of Man . This has a reference to
the Christian , Islamic and other monotheistic religion 's belief of a God
who created man . This is evident in the creation myth found in the Book
of Genesis . Being the Creator , the poem suggests a powerful God .
As the poem unfolds , the persona introduces the reader to the kind of
God who is a provider when God ``pour on him ' - on man-- the glass of
blessings which includes ``the world 's riches , ``Strength , ``Beauty ,
wisdom , honor , and pleasure . It is evident that all of men 's
`treasures ' like the world 's riches , among others are all God 's gifts to
man . It suggests that men owe these things to God .
Nevertheless , the persona , in his omniscient point of view , also sees
the treasure that God did not give to man . The persona , too , knew the
reason why God did not give it . It appears as if the persona has
encountered God himself . Anyhow , this is a style used to make the poem
radical , in this respect .
God gave several treasures to men , but one that is , Rest . He made man
restless because according to God : ``For if I should bestow this jewel
on my creature , He would adore my gifts instead of me . This line
introduces the reader to the kind of God who is jealous and somehow
conceited .
It appears that God has bestowed treasures on man because he loves men
dearly . But then , he did not give rest to man because he wants their
loyalty and their affirmation of Him when he said ``Let him be rich and
weary , that at least , if goodness lead him not , yet weariness may toss
him to my breast ' In here , it is clear that the God referred to here is
a jealous God . He always wants men to be by his side and to be with him .
Nevertheless , in my opinion , the experience of weariness is not just
the only `pulley ' that God has bestowed upon men . We can see the unfair
allocation of blessings like in riches for example . Actually , there...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Feelings of Restlessness
Since first attaining consciousness, the human creature has been plagued with fe
elings of restlessness. This has resulted in finding new and better ways of doin
g things. We could outline a whole litany of inventions and nodes of progress th
at have been made. It has also led to new discoveries on this planet, and unchar
ted trips to new worlds. In that sense, this feeling of restlessness has been a
boon and blessing to all mankind.
Of course, there are those who used it to line their own pockets, to gain power
over their fellow human beings, and to cause nations to go to war over their dif
ferences. The call to arms has always relied on tapping that feeling of restless
ness and adventure among our young. In this sense, the feelings of restlessness
have often been a curse to mankind.
I suppose this is true of all the things we human beings have to deal with inclu
ding religion. There always seems to be a dark side and the shining of a light o
f hope in every one of our human endeavors. What we need to do is learn to chann
el those feelings of restlessness into creative and productive enterprises rathe
r than into finding new means of destruction. All the major religions have attem
pted to deal with this issue. However, they have often failed miserably. I think
it would be fair to say that the Western religions of Judaism, Christianity, an
d Islam have the worst record on this score. I am not sure why this is so, but I
suspect that the nationalizing of these religions is at the very heart of the p
roblem. That is what makes Fundamentalism in each of them such a dangerous viewp
oint.
What is at the root of this feeling of restlessness? I have heard many a sermon
espousing the notion that it is caused by a feeling of emptiness stemming from a
lack of faith in the creator. That may well be, but I think that is an over-sim
plification. In our modern understanding of the evolutionary development of life
, it might be explained as part of that long-term evolution of the species. We u
nderstand so little of the human psyche, and that leads us to all kinds of theor
ies and suppositions about the origins of human thought and emotions. I certainl
y do not stand here as any authority on the matter. I only raise the questions.
Sometimes it is helpful to go to the arts and literature to search for meanings.
I have become somewhat enamored with the poetry of George Herbert 1593-1632. He
rbert can be included with the metaphysical school of poets. His poems are chara
cterized by a precision of language, a metrical versatility, and an ingenious us
e of imagery. They include a variety of songs and poems, and also reflect Herber
t's concern with speech --- conversational, persuasive, and proverbial. His poem
s explore and celebrate the ways of God's love as Herbert discovered them within
the fluctuations of his own experience. Because Herbert, who was a priest in th
e Anglican church, is as much an ecclesiastical as a religious poet, one would n
ot expect him to make much appeal to an age as secular as our own; but this has
not proved so. All sorts of readers have responded to his quiet intensity; some
say that for readers of the present day, Herbert displaced Donne as the supreme
Metaphysical poet.
Herbert wrote this poem as his explanation of the feeling of restlessness with w
hich we are both blessed and cursed. His interpretation can be accepted literall
y, but in a non-theistic sense, it could be interpreted as the fact that the evo
lution of man is not yet complete. We still must partake of more of that cup. Ho
wever, we must also remember that the dregs at the bottom can also be bitter.
- The Old Professor
Copyright © Jay D Weaver - December 24, 2002