Poetry Chaikhana
Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Christian : Catholic

13th Century

About Jacopone da Todi (Jacopone Benedetti)

Timeline (1230 - 1306)

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English version by
Serge and Elizabeth Hughes

Original Language
Italian

Oh, the futility of seeking to convey (from Self-Annihilation and Charity Lead the Soul...)

Recommended Books

	All Saints: Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time, by Robert Ellsberg
	Jacopone da Todi: Lauds (Classics of Western Spirituality), Translated by Serge and Elizabeth Hughes
	Poetry for the Spirit: Poems of Universal Wisdom and Beauty, Edited by Alan Jacobs

Oh, the futility of seeking to convey
With images and feelings
That which surpasses all measure!
The futility of seeking
To make infinite powers ours!
Thought cannot come to certainty of belief
And there is no likeness of God
That is not flawed.

Hence, if He should call you,
Let yourself be drawn to Him.
He may lead you to a great truth.
Do not dwell on yourself, nor should you --
A creature subject to multiplicity and change -- seek Him;
Rest in tranquility, loftier than action or feeling,
And you will find that as you lose yourself
He will give you strength.

-- from Jacopone da Todi: Lauds (Classics of Western Spirituality), Translated by Serge and Elizabeth Hughes

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Poetry Chaikhana Sacred Poetry from Around the World

About Jacopone da Todi (Jacopone Benedetti)

Poetry Chaikhana
Sacred Poetry from Around the World