Henry Vaughan, The Mount of Olives, or Solitary Devotions

Glyn Pursglove (Swansea University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.04: English Writing and Culture of the Seventeenth Century, 1625-1688.
Vol. editors: Jennifer Brady (Rhodes College), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Neil Forsyth (Université de Lausanne), Nicole Kennedy (University of Newcastle), Claire Preston (Queen Mary, University of London), J A Roe (University of York), Sean Seeger (University of Essex), Virginia Mason Vaughan (Clark University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1652

Places

Wales (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poem collection
Religion and Spirituality (any)
- Prayer

Resources

The Mount of Olives comprises three independent works. The first is a collection of prayers, meditations and admonitions for a variety of occasions and moods. For many modern readers, most of these will perhaps be of greatest interest for the light they throw on Vaughan's religious lyrics. When, for example, Vaughan writes of night-vigils (“When all the world is asleep, thou shouldst watch, weep and pray”) in which one can “Contemplate the Order of the Stars, and how they all in their several Stations praise their Creator” one is reminded of important passages in Silex Scintillans. Similarly suggestive is Vaughan's detailed advice on the practise of morning prayer, a devotional exercise which clearly underlines such poems as “The Morning-Watch”.

The second part of The Mount of Olives is “A Discourse of Death”, which contains...

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393 words

Citation: Pursglove, Glyn. "The Mount of Olives, or Solitary Devotions". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 July 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=97, accessed 05 December 2025.]

Henry Vaughan, The Mount of Olives, or Solitary Devotions

Dates

Places

Genres and Modes

Resources

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