{"id":2858,"date":"2012-11-05T09:00:04","date_gmt":"2012-11-04T22:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/?p=2858"},"modified":"2016-12-18T17:41:43","modified_gmt":"2016-12-18T06:41:43","slug":"jubilate-agno-by-christopher-smart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/2012\/11\/jubilate-agno-by-christopher-smart\/","title":{"rendered":"Jubilate Agno by Christopher Smart"},"content":{"rendered":"

I am more of a dog person than a cat person, but I was completely charmed by Christopher Smart’s<\/a> ode to his cat Jeoffry, when I first read it a few years ago. The Jeoffry verses are part of a much longer work, Jubilate Agno<\/em><\/a>1<\/a><\/sup>, which was written sometime between 1759 and 1763. Christopher and Jeoffry were incarcerated at St Luke’s Hospital for Lunatics at the time, which may account for what Robert Pinsky<\/a> calls the “oddball, manic seriousness” of the poem. <\/p>\n

Poor Christopher Smart died in a debtor’s prison a few years later, and Jubilate Agno<\/em> was not published until 1939. Naturally, Rupert Stanley-Ross loved it and learned the Jeoffry section by heart, which is why he’s able to quote from it in The FitzOsbornes at War<\/em><\/a>. There wasn’t room to quote the entire Jeoffry section in that book, so here it is, for those who are interested.<\/p>\n

For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry.
\nFor he is the servant of the Living God duly and daily serving him.
\nFor at the first glance of the glory of God in the East he worships in his way.
\nFor is this done by wreathing his body seven times round with elegant quickness.
\nFor then he leaps up to catch the musk, which is the blessing of God upon his prayer.
\nFor he rolls upon prank to work it in.
\nFor having done duty and received blessing he begins to consider himself.
\nFor this he performs in ten degrees.
\nFor first he looks upon his fore-paws to see if they are clean.
\nFor secondly he kicks up behind to clear away there.
\nFor thirdly he works it upon stretch with the fore paws extended.
\nFor fourthly he sharpens his paws by wood.
\nFor fifthly he washes himself.
\nFor Sixthly he rolls upon wash.
\nFor Seventhly he fleas himself, that he may not be interrupted upon the beat.
\nFor Eighthly he rubs himself against a post.
\nFor Ninthly he looks up for his instructions.
\nFor Tenthly he goes in quest of food.
\nFor having consider’d God and himself he will consider his neighbour.
\nFor if he meets another cat he will kiss her in kindness.
\nFor when he takes his prey he plays with it to give it chance.
\nFor one mouse in seven escapes by his dallying.
\nFor when his day’s work is done his business more properly begins.
\nFor he keeps the Lord’s watch in the night against the adversary.
\nFor he counteracts the powers of darkness by his electrical skin and glaring eyes.
\nFor he counteracts the Devil, who is death, by brisking about the life
\nFor in his morning orisons he loves the sun and the sun loves him.
\nFor he is of the tribe of Tiger.
\nFor the Cherub Cat is a term of the Angel Tiger.
\nFor he has the subtlety and hissing of a serpent, which in goodness he suppresses.
\nFor he will not do destruction, if he is well-fed, neither will he spit without provocation.
\nFor he purrs in thankfulness, when God tells him he’s a good Cat.
\nFor he is an instrument for the children to learn benevolence upon.
\nFor every house is incompleat without him and a blessing is lacking in the spirit.
\nFor the Lord commanded Moses concerning the cats at the departure of the Children of Israel from Egypt.
\nFor every family had one cat at least in the bag.
\nFor the English Cats are the best in Europe.
\nFor he is the cleanest in the use of his fore-paws of any quadrupede.
\nFor the dexterity of his defence is an instance of the love of God to him exceedingly.
\nFor he is the quickest to his mark of any creature.
\nFor he is tenacious of his point.
\nFor he is a mixture of gravity and waggery.
\nFor he knows that God is his Saviour.
\nFor there is nothing sweeter than his peace when at rest.
\nFor there is nothing brisker than his life when in motion.
\nFor he is of the Lord’s poor and so indeed is he called by benevolence perpetually — Poor Jeoffry! poor Jeoffry! the rat has bit thy throat.
\nFor I bless the name of the Lord Jesus that Jeoffry is better.
\nFor the divine spirit comes about his body to sustain it in compleat cat.
\nFor his tongue is exceeding pure so that it has in purity what it wants in musick.
\nFor he is docile and can learn certain things.
\nFor he can set up with gravity which is patience upon approbation.
\nFor he can fetch and carry, which is patience in employment.
\nFor he can jump over a stick which is patience upon proof positive.
\nFor he can spraggle upon waggle at the word of command.
\nFor he can jump from an eminence into his master’s bosom.
\nFor he can catch the cork and toss it again.
\nFor he is hated by the hypocrite and miser.
\nFor the former is affraid of detection.
\nFor the latter refuses the charge.
\nFor he camels his back to bear the first notion of business.
\nFor he is good to think on, if a man would express himself neatly.
\nFor he made a great figure in Egypt for his signal services.
\nFor he killed the Icneumon-rat very pernicious by land.
\nFor his ears are so acute that they sting again.
\nFor from this proceeds the passing quickness of his attention.
\nFor by stroaking of him I have found out electricity.
\nFor I perceived God’s light about him both wax and fire.
\nFor the Electrical fire is the spiritual substance, which God sends from heaven to sustain the bodies both of man and beast.
\nFor God has blessed him in the variety of his movements.
\nFor, tho he cannot fly, he is an excellent clamberer.
\nFor his motions upon the face of the earth are more than any other quadrupede.
\nFor he can tread to all the measures upon the musick.
\nFor he can swim for life.
\nFor he can creep.<\/p>\n

\"'Six
‘Six studies of a cat’ by Thomas Gainsborough, 1763\u201370<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

_____<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n
    \n
  1. The Jeoffry segment can be found in Fragment B, part 4<\/a>. ↩<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I am more of a dog person than a cat person, but I was completely charmed by Christopher Smart’s ode to his cat Jeoffry, when I first read it a few years ago. The Jeoffry verses are part of a much longer work, Jubilate Agno1, which was written sometime between 1759 and 1763. Christopher and … Continue reading Jubilate Agno by Christopher Smart<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,9,15],"tags":[171],"class_list":["post-2858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-animals","category-poetry","category-the-montmaray-journals","tag-christopher-smart"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2858"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2858\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5044,"href":"https:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2858\/revisions\/5044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/michellecooper-writer.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}