Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889). The Habit of Perfection. Robert Bridges, ed. 1916. The Spirit of Man: An Anthology

Robert Bridges, ed. (1844–1930). The Spirit of Man: An Anthology. 1916.

The Habit of Perfection

Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–1889)


ELECTED 1 Silence, sing to me
And beat upon my whorlèd ear,
Pipe me to pastures still and be
The music that I care to hear.

Shape nothing, lips; be lovely-dumb:	5
It is the shut, the curfew sent
From there where all surrenders come
Which only makes you eloquent …

Note 1. Gerard Hopkins. The Habit of Perfection. A Nun takes the veil. The first two stanzas. Written when an undergraduate at Oxford. [back]