Donne on the Trinity
In stanza 4 of Donne’s “Litanie,” he addresses the Trinity:
O Blessed glorious Trinity, Bones to Philosophy, but milke to faith, Which, as wise serpents, diversly Most slipperinesse, yet most entanglings hath, As you distinguish’d undistinct By power, love, knowledge bee, Give mee a such selfe different instinct Of these; let all mee elemented bee, Of power, to love, to know, you unnumbred three.
Equally vivid, Sonnet XVI refers, with reference to the eternal Son, to “his joynture in the knottie Trinitie.”
Peter Leithart
Peter J. Leithart is President of Theopolis Institute. He is the author of numerous books on theology, literature, and culture, including Theopolitan, Defending Constantine, and Baptized Body.
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