VII. 



WHAT IS INSPIRATION ? 



THE word " inspiration " furnishes an excellent 

 example of the way in which a whole theory of the 

 universe may be imbedded in an etymology. In its 

 origin the word means a " breathing in," or sugges- 

 tion from some external source, of thoughts not 

 natural to the writer or speaker. The non-natural- 

 ness of the thought is an essential part of the defini- 

 tion, since, if the thought be such as would naturally 

 arise, through ordinary logical or emotional sequence, 

 in the mind of the writer or speaker, there is no 

 reason for referring it to any external source. That 

 thoughts often do come into the mind unbidden, and 

 apparently without any assignable immediate ante- 

 cedent, is a matter of the commonest experience. 

 From the purposeless succession of phantasms in 

 idle reverie up to the orderly visions of Milton, the 



