Frontispiece to 'Steps to the Temple' by Richard Crashaw, engraved by J. Cross, 1648 (engraving)

Richard Crashaw (c.1613-1649) was an English Metaphysical poet; 'Steps to the Temple' is a collection of religious and secular poems by Crashaw that were collected by an anonymous friend and published while he was living in religious exile in France; The 1648 edition of 'Steps to the Temple' was an expanded version of the first edition that was published in 1646; son of a strongly anti-Catholic divine, Dr William Crashaw; During the English Civil War Richard was ejected from his college position and went into exile in Italy. While in exile he converted from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism.