Named source · 1633

The Pulley Quotes by George Herbert: Context & Meanings

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If goodness lead him not, yet weariness May toss him to my breast.

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“If goodness lead him not, yet weariness May toss him to my breast.”

George Herbert

Meaning & context

Herbert’s poem imagines restlessness and weariness as forces that may turn a person toward God when abundance and comfort do not, within its specifically Christian account of human desire.

Source details

“The Pulley,” from The Temple (1633), represented by Poetry Foundation. The ending is spoken by God within Herbert’s devotional conceit and expresses Christian theology rather than a medical or psychological explanation of fatigue.

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