The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1894-10-16

When and Where 1t WIS written, with
the Facts Concerning 1t.

When and Where It WIS written, Win
the Facts Concerning 1t.
The first true English poem is the
work Of C@dmon and is from North
umbria QSorthumbria, it should be
remembered, meant formerly the
whole of England north of the Hum
Der, and it extended beyond the Scot
fish border), says an English author
ity. The story Of it, as told by Bede,
proves that the making of songs was
common at the time. Csedmon was
a servant to the monastery of Hid,
an abbess of royal blood, at Whitby,
in Yorkshire. He was somewhat aged
when the gift of song came to him,
and he knew nothing of the art OF
verse, SO that at the feaSts when, for
The sake Of mirth, all Sang in turn
he left the table.
One night. having done so, and
gone to thestables, for he had the care
of the cattle, he fell asleep, and one
came to him in vision and said,
"C@dmon, sing me a song" And he
answered, II cannot sing; for this
cause / left the feast and came hither"
Then said the ether, However, you
shall singh" What shall ] sing9" he
replied. Sing tlse beginning of Gre
ated things" answered the other.
Whepeupon he began to sing verse to
the praise of God, and, awakening,
remembered what he had sung and
added more in verse worthy of God.
In the morning he came to the
steward and told him of the gift he
had received, and being brought to
Hid was ordered to tell his dream
before learned men, that they might
Give Judgment whence his verses
came. And when they had heard
theyall said that heavenly grace had
been conferred on him by our Lord.
The verse of the first poet is not
without the stormy note of the
scenery among which it was written.
In it also the old, fierce war element
is felt when CRdmon comes to sing
the wrath of the rebel angels with
God, and.the overthrow of Pharaoh's
host and the lines repeating, as was
the old English way, the thought
second time fan like stroke on
stroke in battle. But the poem Is
religious throughout-C Christianity
speaks in it simply, sternly, with
fire, and brings with it new world
of spiritual romance and feeling.
The subjects of the poem were taken
from the Bible-in fact, Cadomn
paraphrased the history Of the Ofd
and the New Testaments. He sang the
creation of the world, the history of
Israel, the book of Daniel, the whole
story of the life off Christ, future
Judgment, purgatory, hell and heav-
en-. All who heard it thought it di-
wnely given.
Others after him." said B8de,
tried to make religious poems, but
none could vie with him, for he did
not learn the art of poetry from men,
but from God" 1t was thus that
English song Began in religion. The
most famous passage of the poem not
only illustrates the dark sadness, the
fierce love of freedom and the power
of painting distinct characters, which
has always marked our poetry, but it
is also famous for> its likeness to a
parallel passage in Milton. ItisEhea
CRdmon describes the proud and an
cry cry of satan against God from
his bed of chains in hell. The two
great English poets may be brought
together over space of 1000 years
in another way, for both died in such
peace that those who watched beside
them knew not when they died.