His Name Is Love, and He Inspires The Song

The literary works of past generations are a vital source of aesthetic delight, capable of awakening profound insight into the essence of human nature and the meaning of life. Poets, with passion and wisdom, link humanity to the vast realm of society-a realm that spans the whole earth and extends through all ages.

In eighteenth-century England, the field of Neoclassical literature witnessed a flourishing of works marked by depth of thought, artistic refinement, and enduring influence, and it brought forth a circle of pioneering and highly esteemed writers and poets. The Christian men of letters introduced in this book, though writing in a style plain and natural, distinguished themselves in an age when poetry was at its most fiercely competitive. Many have traveled purposefully to visit their former homes. Yet those houses, bereft of their dwellers, seem hollow; only through their works can one touch the truth of their souls. May this book offer a glimpse of their brilliance, and lead us to revere the testimony of faith and spiritual legacy that still shines today. Though many truths may be forever lost to history, fragments of their lives-their character, joys and sorrows-may yet be discerned in the letters they left behind or in contemporary biographies.

Twere new indeed to see a bard all fire,

Touch'd with a coal from heav'n, assume the lyre,

And tell the world, still kindling as he sung,

With more than mortal music on his tongue,

That he who died below, and reigns above,

Inspires the song, and that his name is love.

• Table Talk 734-739

If you should behold a soul ablaze, whose words sound like both music and fire, seeming not of this earthly world, it is because the One in heaven is stirring his heart. And now, He is stirring mine as well.