prophet still, if bird or devil!—
Whether Tempter sent, or whether
Whether Tempter sent, or whether
tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted,
Desolate yet all undaunted,
on this desert land enchanted—
On this home by Horror haunted—
On this home by Horror haunted—
tell me truly, I implore—
Is there—is there balm in Gilead?—
Is there—is there balm in Gilead?—
tell me—tell me, I implore!”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”
Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”
- Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven
When revisiting this poem back on 4/30/2020, my mind attached itself to the sentiment above. I performed a search and located the source from which Poe borrowed this phrase.
Jeremiah 8:21-22
For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me. Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
There are two kinds of despair. One kind is being without a balm which you are convinced could heal you if you only had it; the other kind being unsure if such a balm even exists. If you know and believe hope is out there, you despair its absence, but hope in its eventual presence. But if you doubt its existence, you despair of its absence without hope. To miss a loved one is to wish them back, but the Christian hopes in going to them, whereas the unbeliever has no hope of ever seeing them again.
2 Samuel 12:23
He is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.
When revisiting this poem back on 4/30/2020, my mind attached itself to the sentiment above. I performed a search and located the source from which Poe borrowed this phrase.
Jeremiah 8:21-22
For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me. Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
There are two kinds of despair. One kind is being without a balm which you are convinced could heal you if you only had it; the other kind being unsure if such a balm even exists. If you know and believe hope is out there, you despair its absence, but hope in its eventual presence. But if you doubt its existence, you despair of its absence without hope. To miss a loved one is to wish them back, but the Christian hopes in going to them, whereas the unbeliever has no hope of ever seeing them again.
2 Samuel 12:23
He is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.
Proverbs 13:12
Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
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