Jubilate Agno, Fragment B
Jubilate Agno, Fragment B [For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry]
For he is the servant of the Living God, duly and daily serving him.
For at the first glance of the glory of God in the East he worships in
his way.
For is this done by wreathing his body seven times round with elegant
quickness.
For he keeps the Lord's watch in the night against the adversary.
For he is of the tribe of Tiger.
For he purrs in thankfulness when God tells him he's a good Cat.
For he is an instrument for the children to learn benevolence upon.
For every house is incomplete without him, and a blessing is lacking in
the spirit.
For he is the cleanest in the use of his forepaws of any quadruped.
For he is the quickest to his mark of any creature.
For there is nothing sweeter than his peace when at rest.
For there is nothing brisker than his life when in motion.
For by stroking of him I have found out electricity.
Lines from Jubilate Agno, Fragment B [For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry] by Christopher Smart. Public Domain. Christopher Smart was born in Shipbourne, England (1722). Smart experienced a religious awakening that convinced him that he was a prophet. He began publicly praying and preaching on the streets of London, which embarrassed his family. They placed him into an asylum, where he wrote the two poems for which he is best known: A Song to David (1763) and Jubilate Agno (first published in 1938). Benjamin Britten would later composed his Rejoice in the Lamb based on Smart’s poetry.
