Homer begins his Iliad by asking the Muse to sing of the wrath of Achilleus and its dreadful consequences for so many. - My discursive mind thinks of the opening word of Beowulf: hwæt (it has been variously translated as lo, listen, so (say what?), and (my own personal favorite) shut the fuck up!). Insert smileys to taste. - That goddess acted as memory aid, something I am much in need of. Winged words like (the Greek for) Zeus Who gathers the clouds, rosy-fingered dawn, and I forget the rest, and a numbered syllable line helped.
In some ways, I think of that third Person of the Trinity in similar ways. My acknowledged Arian upbringing remains with me, despite my best efforts to eradicate it. The JWs don't think of the Holy Spirit as a Person at all, let alone as part of a triune Godhead. In the opening lines of Genesis, ruach is translated as "active force": an impersonal emanation.
It's complex.
I sometimes think of being inspired by the Holy Spirit in the same way. Not that I expect to formally utter Epic Verse, although that would be nice. I get as far as Hwæt! We Gar-Dena / in yeardagum / sed gefrunon... and then run out of Anglo-Saxon (or is it Old English?). The cognoscenti will recognize yeardagum as misspelled.
But I do feel like I'm being nudged sometimes, like the "bright" ideas I get from time to time. It's always best to check with other people, because it could just be the crack-pot brain talking.
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