Discussion Topic

The depiction of God's relationship with and love for mankind in George Herbert's "The Pulley"

Summary:

In "The Pulley," George Herbert depicts God's relationship with and love for mankind as one of benevolent restraint. God bestows various blessings upon humanity but withholds the gift of rest, ensuring that people remain reliant on Him. This act of withholding is framed not as a punishment, but as a divine strategy to draw humans closer to God through their inherent need for rest and peace.

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What is the relationship between God and man in "The Pulley" by George Herbert?

Herbert is using a pulley as a metaphor for the relationship between God and man. A pulley is a simple mechanical device which you use to lift something up by pulling down on it. God lifts us up by withholding the gift of rest and drawing us closer to Himself. The mechanical metaphor neatly encapsulates the reciprocity of the relationship between man and God.

The central conceit of the poem is God's act of creating human beings. God has a glassful of blessings he wishes to pour into us as he puts us together:

So strength first made a way;

Then beauty flowed, then wisdom, honour, pleasure.

The most important blessing, the gift of rest, lies at the bottom of the glass. When God has finished bestowing the other blessings upon us, he hesitates. Perhaps it might not be a good idea, God muses, to include this particular blessing in the making of human beings:

“'For if I should,' said he, 'Bestow this jewel also on my creature, He would adore my gifts instead of me, And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature; So both should losers be.'"

St. Augustine once famously wrote in his Confessions, "Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee.” This is what Herbert himself is driving at here. If we were not restless, then we would have no need for God. We would simply spend all our time luxuriating in the myriad worldly gifts that God has so graciously bestowed upon us—without recognizing who was responsible for these gifts in the first place.

It may seem to some as if God is being manipulative here. However, Herbert's answer to this possible criticism is set out beautifully in the last line of the stanza quoted above, "So both should losers be." The implication is that both God and man will be the poorer if our hearts are not filled with a restless desire for the Almighty.

Having been endowed with every possible earthly blessing and joy, it is inevitable that at some point we will grow weary and bored. Under those circumstances, God will still be there for us, whatever our motivations for seeking Him:

Yet let him keep the rest, But keep them with repining restlessness; Let him be rich and weary, that at least, If goodness lead him not, yet weariness May toss him to my breast.

References

www.poetryfoundation.org

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“The Pulley” is a creation poem written by George Hebert. In this poem, God is benevolent to man by bestowing the contents of his “glass of blessings” upon humankind. God made man strong, beautiful, filled with “wisdom” and “honor.” He also allowed man to experience “pleasure.”

So strength first made a way;
Then beauty flowed, then wisdom, honour, pleasure.
When almost all was out, God made a stay

Yet, as God took stock of his creation, he held back one attribute so man would be tied to him eternally. God withheld “rest” so man would have to turn to him to find peace. The poet expresses God’s fear man would find solace in nature instead of seeking him.

Therefore, God was generous to man, but he ensured man would seek him out for eternal rest. He accounted for the push and pull life causes in mankind’s belief in God.

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How does God show love for mankind in "The Pulley"?

In "The Pulley," the narrator imagines himself as a witness at the moment of creation, seeing God Himself puzzle over what to bestow upon mankind, and how to go about doing it. God has a series of blessings that are referred to as the "world's riches"—such as strength, wisdom, and beauty—that He pours out freely upon all of mankind, showing His love by granting them.

However, He also makes a point to withhold the last gift that He has, the gift of "Rest." He rationalizes that, were mankind to possess this final and greatest of gifts, they would stray in their godliness and worship "nature" instead of "the God of nature." He maintains that in the end, it will only be weariness that brings mankind back to God. With this in mind, the seeming negligence of keeping this final blessing is actually a way that God has shown his love in the poem.

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