ART. VIII.-THE POET JESUS. WAS Jesus a poet? Some will answer immediately, “Certainly." Others, with equal confidence, will reply, "No." In some degree all men are poets. "The dying earth's last poet Shall be the earth's last man." It requires a measure of poetic instinct to detect and appreciate poetry; a far greater measure is necessary to create it. Poetry is akin to prophecy; it is a gift, an inspiration. Like eloquence, it is difficult to define, but all men recognize it instinctively. This gift is tame and moderate in most men. It is one of the original elements of man's constitution, an essential fiber of the soul, but it lies passive in the multitude. It quietly recognizes the beautiful, the true, the good, and is contented. This moderate degree of inspiration does not constitute a poet. The current is weak. It murmurs, but it does not articulate; it flutters, but it does not fly. The true poet writes, as the bird sings, because he cannot help it. His inspiration is so strong that it must out, if only for its own relief and satisfaction. True poetry possesses a twofold character. It is an incarnation; it has a soul and a body. Form and spirit are both essential. The poetic form without the spirit is the prosiest prose. The spirit without the form is simply poetic prose. The happiest results are found only where form and spirit are united. The highest phases of poetic thought seem to demand a poetic form. Rare gems require a beautiful setting. So the soul of poetry refuses to be satisfied with anything less than an appropriate incarnation. There is no doubt but that Jesus possessed the poetic instinct, at least in a normal degree, for he was a model man. "In him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead;" so in him was found all the fullness of manhood. The spirit of poetry is found even in the prose narratives of Jesus. The parables of the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan are confessedly poetic. The question then resolves itself into the matter of form. Did Jesus, in a technical sense, produce poetry? That is, were his grand and poetic thoughts sometimes enshrined in a poetic body? It is certain that he did not rhyme his thoughts nor shape his words in measured lines. Rhyme and meter, however, have not always been essential to poetic form. The stanza is a modern evolution. Jesus did not communicate with his disciples by telephone. He did not sail on the Sea of Galilee in a steam yacht, nor go up to Jerusalem in an express train. His manner of life was in keeping with the customs of the time. Jesus was a Hebrew, and if he produced poetry we should expect to find it, not in modern form, but in the style of the ancient poems of his nation. The common form of Hebrew poetry is a parallelism, usually of two lines, a couplet; sometimes of three lines, a triplet. This parallelism is subject to many variations. Sometimes the second member of the couplet is a repetition of the thought of the first; this is known as synonymous parallelism. Frequently the thought of the second member is contrasted with that of the first, and then it is called antithetic parallelism. Still another species of verse is named synthetic parallelism; the sentiment of the second line is an addition, the thought is constructive. This style of composition is found in the Psalms, Proverbs, and other poetical books of the Bible. Isaiah, and other prophets, made frequent use of parallelism. When the spirit of prophecy came upon them they delivered their utterances in the lofty and sententious form of Hebrew poetry. It is evident that, following the same great law of mental activity, either intentionally or unconsciously Jesus frequently used the same style of discourse. When not distinctly parabolic his teachings are usually poetic in form. The Sermon on the Mount is an example. It can be arranged in parallels as readily as the Psalms or any of the chapters of Isaiah. The same is true of the great farewell discourse recorded by John and of other teachings of Jesus. To illustrate this idea notice the similarity in structure in the following passages taken alternately from the poetical books of the Old Testament and from the words of Jesus. The quotations are all from the Revised Version. "So teach us to number our days, That we may get us an heart of wisdom. Return, O Lord; how long? And let it repent thee concerning thy servants. That we may rejoice and be glad all our days." This quotation from the prayer of Moses (Psalm xc, 12-14) is undoubtedly poetic in form; compare with it the same number of lines from the prayer of Christ (John xvii, 15-17): “I pray not that thou shouldest take them from the world, But that thou shouldest keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, Even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth: Thy word is truth.” Next compare the Old Testament poem upon wisdom (Prov. iii, 13-20) with the poetic beatitudes of the New Testament (Matt. v, 3-10): "Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, And the man that getteth understanding. For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, And the gain thereof than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies : And none of the things thou canst desire are to be com pared unto her. Length of days is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: Blessed are the meek: For they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteous ness: For they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: For they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: For they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteous ness' sake: For theirs is the kingdom of heaven." By what law of composition is the passage from Proverbs styled poetry, and that from Matthew called prose? The following classic passage from Psalm cxxxix, 7-10, is poetic both in form and spirit: "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, . And thy right hand shall hold me.” Compare with the above lines the petitions of the Lord's Prayer, as follows: "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And bring us not into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one." 51-FIFTH SERIES, VOL. VIII. The resemblance in form of some of the teachings of Christ to the confessedly poetic parts of the Old Testament is very striking. We conclude that Jesus produced poetry, and was, therefore, a poet. It will be readily seen that this argument has a certain theologic value. It may throw light upon the much-discussed method of inspiration. If the parallelistic teachings of Jesus were delivered in the form of Hebrew poetry, the special aid of the Holy Spirit would be necessary to make a record of those communications. A reporter might undertake to reproduce a prose speech months or years after it was delivered, writing it out from memory or from notes made at the time; but no reporter would undertake to reproduce a poem in the same manner. Dictation would be necessary, or a stenographic report. It is evident that much of the teaching of Jesus was delivered in the lofty style of the Hebrew prophets. The special inspiration, not to say dictation, of the Holy Spirit would be necessary to make a record of that teaching. This agrees with the promise of the Saviour (John xiv, 26): "But the Comforter, even the Holy Spirit, And bring to your remembrance all that I said unto you." Sometime we may have a version of the Bible in which the poetic teachings of Christ will appear in the form of the Hebrew parallelism. Chas S. Nutter |