George Herbert

George Herbert was an English poet, orator and priest of the Church of England who lived from 1593 to 1633. His poetry is associated with the metaphysical poets, and he is recognized as one of the foremost British devotional lyricists. Born in Wales into an artistic and wealthy family and largely raised in England, he received an education that led to his admission to Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1609, intending to become a priest, but he became the university's Public Orator and attracted the attention of King James I, sitting in the Parliament of England in 1624 and briefly in 1625. After James's death Herbert renewed his interest in ordination, gave up his secular ambitions in his mid-thirties, and took holy orders in the Church of England, spending the rest of his life as rector of the rural parish of Fugglestone St Peter outside Salisbury, where he was noted for unfailing care of his parishioners, bringing them the sacraments when ill and providing food and clothing to those in need. Henry Vaughan called him a most glorious saint and seer. He was never a healthy man and died of consumption at age 39.