Untitled

{"id":106074,"date":"2024-07-07T19:56:15","date_gmt":"2024-07-08T01:56:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?p=106074"},"modified":"2024-07-07T19:56:15","modified_gmt":"2024-07-08T01:56:15","slug":"an-anecdote-about-sir-edward-elgar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/07\/an-anecdote-about-sir-edward-elgar.html","title":{"rendered":"An anecdote about Sir Edward Elgar"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

"The <\/a>

Sir Edward Elgar, probably in the early 1900s. \u00a0Impressive mustache, no? \u00a0 (Wikimedia Commons public domain image)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some of you, and perhaps many of you, may be familiar with the name of Sir Edward Elgar. \u00a0Even if you\u2019re not, you\u2019ve almost certainly heard his\u00a0Pomp and Circumstance<\/i> March No. 1 in D (1901) \u2014 especially the part that comes in at about the two-minute mark in this recording<\/a>. \u00a0There were several Pomp and Circumstance marches, and the Enigma Variations, and a host of other compositions.<\/p>\n

And yet, although he certainly ranks among the greatest of English composers, Sir Edward (1857-1934) was apparently quite shy and deeply modest.<\/p>\n

So when, at a point late in the life of Queen Victoria (d. 1901), the monarch invited Elgar to some sort of event at Buckingham Palace, he waited until the last possible moment to respond. \u00a0And then he declined the invitation, saying that he felt that the distinguished aristocrats gathered at the event would not wish it to be ruined by the presence of a mere piano tuner\u2019s son and his wife.<\/p>\n

Perhaps it\u2019s because I\u2019m American and perhaps it\u2019s because we\u2019re living in a distinctly egalitarian age, but I find such a response \u2014 at least in the way he expressed it; not necessarily his disinterest in attending some sort of formal royal \u201ccocktail party,\u201d since I don\u2019t enjoy such events either \u2014 quite mystifying.<\/p>\n

Sir Edward Elgar should not have felt himself outclassed in the presence of a mere bunch of aristocrats who had inherited money and titles from ancestors centuries before \u2014 ancestors who, in many cases, were essentially buccaneers, extortionists, and gang leaders. \u00a0Instead, in my judgment, it was Lord Nondescript, Lady Lacktalent, and Sir Reginald Bland who should have been the people feeling outclassed by a man whose music is still played and admired, who had risen to his stature by dint of talent and hard work. \u00a0By contrast, they are by and large forgotten, except as dusty entries in Burke\u2019s Peerage<\/em>. \u00a0And, in a sense, justly so.<\/p>\n

Speaking of \u201cdusty,\u201d I\u2019m reminded of a story out of pre-Islamic Arabia. \u00a0I know that I\u2019ve told it here before, but I like it and I\u2019m going to tell it again.<\/p>\n

One of the great poets of the Arabic tradition is Antarah b. Shaddad, or Antar (AD 525-608). \u00a0He was the son, it is said, of a Bedouin chieftain and an Ethiopian slave. \u00a0True, she had been a princess, but now she was a slave, and her son was half black. \u00a0He didn\u2019t have the status of a freeborn Arab in that society.<\/p>\n

There came a time when his father\u2019s tribe was engaged in a fierce battle with a rival tribe, and the rivals were gaining the upper hand. \u00a0Antarah was standing on a ridge overlooking the fight and, as he had been charged to do, minding the camels of the warriors.<\/p>\n

Finally, one of his half brothers made it up the ridge and begged him to join the fight. \u00a0It has to be understood that the half brothers had long been among those who had mocked Antarah for his half-slave origin. \u00a0But, of course, now the situation was desperate; they needed his help. \u00a0\u201cSorry,\u201d Antarah responded. \u00a0\u201cI\u2019m a slave and a slave\u2019s son. \u00a0I\u2019m not worthy to fight alongside you.\u201d \u00a0\u201cOkay!\u201d came the reply. \u00a0\u201cYou\u2019re free now! \u00a0Please join us!\u201d<\/p>\n

Antarah waded into the fight and, as you might expect, routed the enemy. \u00a0Eventually, his exploits in battle won him the epithet of \u201cthe Bedouin Achilles.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the story I\u2019m really after is this one:<\/p>\n

Some years later, another Arabian aristocrat, encountering Antarah, mocked him as a person lacking a distinguished lineage. \u00a0By this time, though, Antarah had achieved renown both as a warrior and as a poet. \u00a0And his response to the man reproaching him is classic:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou,\u201d he told him, \u201crepresent the end of your noble line. \u00a0I represent the beginning of mine.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the Sadducees and Pharisees came to John the Baptist, secure in the nobility of their descent, he told\u00a0them \u201cThink not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham\u00a0to\u00a0our<\/span>\u00a0father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham\u201d (Matthew 3:9).<\/p>\n

<\/a>

Movie poster (fair use)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I think that this short article, which (as you can easily see) was plainly retrieved from the Christopher Hitchens Memorial \u201cHow Religion Poisons Everything\u201d File<\/em>\u2122, is worthy of particular attention: \u00a0\u201cAre congregations the key to stemming America\u2019s rising tide of polarization? \u00a0Dr. Rebecca Glazier argues in a new book that when people and places of faith get involved in their communities, it makes for a stronger society and healthier democracy\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

But that certainly doesn\u2019t exhaust<\/em> the Hitchens File<\/em>. \u00a0Not by a long shot! \u00a0Consider these three chilling accounts, for example:<\/p>\n

\u201cEntrepreneur Is Transforming Sanitation in a Peru Town:\u00a0With help from the Church and Water For People, one woman is helping families have better bathrooms in Cascas, Peru\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cElder Paul B. Pieper Speaks at Unite with the Children of Sudan Event in Nairobi:\u00a0Elder Pieper joins government and NGO leaders to address the needs of Sudanese children affected by war\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

This Hitchens File item is something that I\u2019m hoping to see: \u00a0\u201cSound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

FILM SYNOPSIS:The fight for kids begins July 4. Inspired by the powerful true story, Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot, follows Donna and Reverend Martin as they ignite a fire in the hearts of their rural church to embrace kids in the foster system that nobody else would take. By doing the impossible\u2013adopting 77 children\u2013this East Texas community proved that, with real, determined love, the battle for America\u2019s most vulnerable can be won.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And here\u2019s a 2014 article to which I\u2019m sure I called attention way back then, but which I ran across again yesterday while looking for something else. \u00a0It\u2019s still worth a look: \u00a0\u201cThe Mormon Advantage:\u00a0Leaving theology aside, what can we learn from the Mormons?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

And, finally, there is material in this article that is, at a bare minimum, adjacent<\/em> to the ever-flowing Hitchens File<\/em>: \u00a0\u201cNew Church buildings spur invitations, celebrations in Nigeria and Ghana:\u00a0Open house programs allow the community to learn more about the Church in Choba and Jos, Nigeria, and Kumasi, Ghana\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 Some of you, and perhaps many of you, may be familiar with the name of Sir Edward Elgar. \u00a0Even if you\u2019re not, you\u2019ve almost certainly heard his\u00a0Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 in D (1901) \u2014 especially the part that comes in at about the two-minute mark in this recording. \u00a0There were several Pomp […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":106083,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[37773,33564,30118,37767,37764,37770],"class_list":["post-106074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-antara","tag-antarah","tag-elgar","tag-pomp-and-circumstance","tag-possum-trot","tag-sound-of-hope"],"yoast_head":"\nAn anecdote about Sir Edward Elgar<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\" Some of you, and perhaps many of you, may be familiar with the name of Sir Edward Elgar. \u00a0Even if you're not, you've almost certainly heard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/07\/an-anecdote-about-sir-edward-elgar.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An anecdote about Sir Edward Elgar\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\" Some of you, and perhaps many of you, may be familiar with the name of Sir Edward Elgar. \u00a0Even if you're not, you've almost certainly heard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/07\/an-anecdote-about-sir-edward-elgar.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sic et Non\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-07-08T01:56:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2024\/07\/Sound_of_Hope_The_Story_of_Possum_Trot_Poster.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"259\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"384\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Peterson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/07\/an-anecdote-about-sir-edward-elgar.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/07\/an-anecdote-about-sir-edward-elgar.html\",\"name\":\"An anecdote about Sir Edward Elgar\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-08T01:56:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-07-08T01:56:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\"},\"description\":\" Some of you, and perhaps many of you, may be familiar with the name of Sir Edward Elgar. \u00a0Even if you're not, you've almost certainly heard\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/07\/an-anecdote-about-sir-edward-elgar.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/07\/an-anecdote-about-sir-edward-elgar.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/07\/an-anecdote-about-sir-edward-elgar.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"An anecdote about Sir Edward Elgar\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/\",\"name\":\"Sic et Non\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045\",\"name\":\"Dan Peterson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dan Peterson\"},\"description\":\"\\\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\\\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"An anecdote about Sir Edward Elgar","description":" Some of you, and perhaps many of you, may be familiar with the name of Sir Edward Elgar. \u00a0Even if you're not, you've almost certainly heard","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/07\/an-anecdote-about-sir-edward-elgar.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"An anecdote about Sir Edward Elgar","og_description":" Some of you, and perhaps many of you, may be familiar with the name of Sir Edward Elgar. \u00a0Even if you're not, you've almost certainly heard","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/07\/an-anecdote-about-sir-edward-elgar.html","og_site_name":"Sic et Non","article_published_time":"2024-07-08T01:56:15+00:00","og_image":[{"width":259,"height":384,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2024\/07\/Sound_of_Hope_The_Story_of_Possum_Trot_Poster.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Dan Peterson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dan Peterson","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/07\/an-anecdote-about-sir-edward-elgar.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/07\/an-anecdote-about-sir-edward-elgar.html","name":"An anecdote about Sir Edward Elgar","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-07-08T01:56:15+00:00","dateModified":"2024-07-08T01:56:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045"},"description":" Some of you, and perhaps many of you, may be familiar with the name of Sir Edward Elgar. \u00a0Even if you're not, you've almost certainly heard","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/07\/an-anecdote-about-sir-edward-elgar.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/07\/an-anecdote-about-sir-edward-elgar.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2024\/07\/an-anecdote-about-sir-edward-elgar.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"An anecdote about Sir Edward Elgar"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/","name":"Sic et Non","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/77113e9b09701bd1599fa272c4f65045","name":"Dan Peterson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5ed1a72d26805e35a503e3167599df7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dan Peterson"},"description":"\"Life was very unsatisfying until I discovered Dan's blog, which gave me a reason to live.\" (gemli, 7 November 2019)","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/author\/danpeterson"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1019"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}