Herbert called his position as public orator ‘the best place in the university.’ The two previous orators had risen to high position of influence in English society, and Herbert initially hoped to do the same. During his time at Cambridge, Herbert published his first poems, a pair of elegies written in Latin, mourning the death of Prince Henry.

While matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge, Herbert took the post of public orator of Cambridge, a position to which he was probably appointed because of his poetic skill. Open the bones, and you shall nothing find In the best face but filth when Lord, in thee The beauty lies in the discovery.

Roses and lilies speak thee and to make A pair of cheeks of them, is thy abuse Why should I women's eyes for crystal take? Such poor invention burns in their low mind Whose fire is wild, and doth not upward go To praise, and on thee, Lord, some ink bestow. Sure Lord, there is enough in thee to dry Oceans of ink for, as the Deluge did Cover the earth, so doth thy Majesty: Each cloud distills thy praise, and doth forbid Poets to turn it to another use. My God, where is that ancient heat towards thee, Wherewith whole shoals of martyrs once did burn, Besides their other flames? Doth poetry Wear Venus' livery? only serve her turn? Why are not sonnets made of thee? and lays Upon thine altar burnt? Cannot thy love Heighten a spirit to sound out thy praise As well as any she? Cannot thy Dove Outstrip their Cupid easily in flight? Or, since thy ways are deep, and still the fame, Will not a verse run smooth that bears thy name! Why doth that fire, which by thy power and might Each breast does feel, no braver fuel choose Than that, which one day, worms may chance refuse. The sonnets are brief enough that they can be quoted in full: These juvenile poems are notable for their content, which foreshadows the devotional poetry of Herbert's maturity, as well as for their form, modeled after the poetry of Donne with its combination of exaggerated metaphors expressed in ordinary language. Herbert first distinguished himself in 1610 at the age of seventeen when, as a New Year's present to his mother, he sent her a pair of sonnets (titled, simply, “A Sonnet”) describing how the love directed towards God was more fulfilling than love directed towards a woman. His older brother Edward, later Lord Herbert of Cherbury, was an important poet and philosopher, often referred to as 'the father of English deism.' Herbert's mother, in particular, was a patron and friend of John Donne and the metaphysical poets. Herbert's family was deeply involved in the currents of English literature and poetry, and often had prominent poets as guests at their estate. Herbert's family was wealthy, eminent, intellectual and members of the noble class. Herbert was born in 1593, the son of Sir Richard and Magdalen Herbert.

George herbert famous poems