The Flesh and the Spirit

Riches are a recurring motif, since both Flesh and Spirit desire them, and they both conceive of riches in terms of precious stones. Flesh mentions “silver, pearls, and gold” (Line 31) as examples of the “riches” (Line 29) that people long for—all of which are available in abundance on earth. Spirit scorns such earthly things and tries to establish a contrast: She will be “enrichéd” (Line 75) by “Eternal substance” (Line 76), yet the heavenly city she describes as the ultimate manifestation of spiritual truth is also full of precious stones. Although Spirit does state that the crown she will wear in heaven will be made not of “diamonds, pearls, and gold, / But such as angels’ heads enfold” (whatever such a crown might be), the holy city is a different matter. Its walls are made of “precious jasper stone” (Line 88), the gates are “of pearl” (Line 89), and the streets are “transparent gold” (Line 91). Although Spirit is following her source in the Book of Revelation (especially Revelation 21), it is almost as if she has sublimated her longing to experience the earthly riches that Flesh mentions into a form that is more acceptable to her spiritual worldview. This underscores Spirit’s acknowledgement in lines 60-61 of the allure that worldly things have, and the temptations they present, even for her.