Revelation, Rationality, Knowledge & Truth — Page 90
GREEK PHILOSOPHY 'Yes, what the inspired poet puts into his poem is a wonderful, god-given thing; but it isn't knowledge ― it can't be knowledge for it is mindless. "12 it can't be. His criticism that ‘it is not knowledge knowledge for it is mindless', is absolutely in accordance with the common practice of poetic expressions. No doubt there is a sort of magic in some poetry as though God were speaking through the poet's tongue, but a sensible man would not take this too seriously. For Socrates to speak of a poet as 'god-possessed,' may also have referred to the. Athenians' superstitious views of people being possessed by 'gods'. Such expressions are poles apart from the language which Socrates uses for himself. He is never. God-possessed but is only addressed by Him as a humble servant of His. . He makes it clear that the poetic experiences which may seem Divine are certainly not so. Whatever their import, they can at best be described as inspiration, not. Divine Revelation: 'I soon perceived that it is not through knowledge that poets produce their poems but through a sort of inborn gift and in a state of inspiration. . . 13. However, the conclusion drawn by Vlastos from the same passage drives the reader out of his mind, rather than the poet he refers to as being driven 'out of his mind': 6 . . . when the god is in him the poet is "out of his mind,” ἔκφρων. . . 13. Again he absolves Socrates of irrationality by declaring: 'Socrates has disarmed the irrationalist potential of the belief in supernatural gods communicating with human beings by supernatural signs. " 14 90