Sonnet 14

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Herbert

SONNET NO. 14

Not from the stars, do I my judgement pluck,
And yet me thinks I have astronomy,
But not to tell of good, or evil luck,
Of plagues, of deaths, or seasons quality,
Nor can I fortune to brief minutes tell;
Pointing to each his thunder, rain and wind,
Nor say with Princes if it shall go well
By oft predict that I in heaven find,
But from thine eyes my knowledge I derive,
And constant stars, in them I read such art,
As truth and beauty shall together thrive,
If from thyself, to store thou would'st convert,
Or else of thee this I prognosticate,
Thy end is truths and beautys doom and date.

Note the repetition of the following words, we find tell,
tell, truth and beauty, truth and beauty.

Here Bacon tells Herbert that he (Bacon) does not get his judgment from the stars and yet that he has astonomy although he cannot foretell the events that he enumerates but that he derives his knowledge from Herbert's eyes where there is truth and beauty but he warns Herbert that if Herbert does not convert (change from an irreligious to a holy life) he prognosticates (foretells) that his end will also be tbe doom (ruin) of truth and the date (end) of beauty.

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