Mr. Trump dictates revelation for his irrupting dispensation. There are impromptu connections one makes in the reading life that tease, entangle, invigorate, sustain. Mitch Teemley recently republished his open letter to Donald Trump from January 20, 2017. Luminous, aspirational, it’s well worth reading. (After Bishop Budde exhorted Trump to “have mercy” in a prayer service at the National Cathedral, he called her a “Radical Left hard line Trump hater” in a social media post. Sic transit pietas.)
Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
The passage, James 1:12, dates from 145 AD. It brought to mind verses written by a Jewish Arab* who lived some 400 years later in pre-Islamic times:
1 ‘iḏā-l-mar’(u) lam yadnas min(a)-l-lu’m(i) ^irḏ(u)-hu | fa-kullu ridā’(in) yartadī-hi jamīl(u) When a man’s reputation has not been sullied by baseness, then every cloak he puts on is beautiful. 2 wa-‘in huwa lam yaḥmil ^alā-n-nafs(i) ḍaim(a)-ha | fa-laisa ‘ilā ḥusn(i)-ṯ-ṯanā’(i) sabīl(u) And if he has not made himself endure injustice, then there is not (for him) a path to the beauty of praise.
Stature conveyed through tribulation suffered and surmounted must have been a topos common to the wisdom traditions of many ancient cultures. What appeals to me as a student of one of the Semitic languages (Arabic) is that the writings represent two of three religions originating in the Middle East (Christianity and Judaism), and one of the writings is voiced in the scriptural language of the third (Islam) by a pagan, i.e., one who lived in what Arabic calls the jāhilīya, or “age of ignorance.”
“If we can focus on that which is beautiful and good and true, we will ride through these four years and find our purpose.”
Notes ā ī ū ẗ ṯ ḥ ẖ ḏ š ṣ ḍ ṭ ẓ ḡ *The transliteration and translations are mine, from Arberry’s Arabic text. ”AL-SAMAU’AL ibn Gharīd ibn ‘Adiyā’ flourished in the middle of the sixth century A.D. Said to be a member of a Jewish Arab tribe, he dwelt in the fortress of al-Ablaq near Taimā’ [in modern day Saudi Arabia] where he is reported to have sheltered the poet Imra’ al-Qais fleeing before King al-Mundhir of al-Hīra. His name was proverbial for fidelity.” (“Biographical Notes,” A.J. Arberry, Arabic Poetry:A Primer for Students, Cambridge University Press, 1965) Literal: 1 when the man – was not sullied by the baseness his reputation – then every cloak he puts it on – beautiful 2 and if he did not carry upon the soul its injustice – then there is not to the beauty of the praise a path From Lane’s Lexicon: “[F]or one says, فُلَانٌ لَا يَــحْمِلُ الضَّيْمَ, i. e. (assumed tropical:) such a one refuses to bear, or submit to, and repels from himself, injury. حَمَلَ عَليْهِ [as syn. with حَمَّلَــهُ]: see 2, in three places. B16: حَمَلَ عَلَى دَابَّتِهِ فَوْقَ طَاقَتِهَا فِى السَّيْرِ (assumed tropical:) [He tasked his beast beyond its power in journeying, or marching, or in respect of pace]. (S in art. جهد.) and حَمَلَ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ فِى السَّيْرِ (assumed tropical:) He jaded, or fatigued, himself, or tasked himself beyond his power, in journeying, or marching. (S, TA.)”
I live in Texas and devote much of my time to easel painting on an amateur basis. I stream a lot of music, mostly jazz, throughout the day. I like to read and memorize poetry.
EthicalDative 
How Disparate Writings Intertwine
Mr. Trump dictates revelation for his irrupting dispensation. There are impromptu connections one makes in the reading life that tease, entangle, invigorate, sustain. Mitch Teemley recently republished his open letter to Donald Trump from January 20, 2017. Luminous, aspirational, it’s well worth reading. (After Bishop Budde exhorted Trump to “have mercy” in a prayer service at the National Cathedral, he called her a “Radical Left hard line Trump hater” in a social media post. Sic transit pietas.)
On another day Mitch quoted this scripture:
Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
The passage, James 1:12, dates from 145 AD. It brought to mind verses written by a Jewish Arab* who lived some 400 years later in pre-Islamic times:
1 ‘iḏā-l-mar’(u) lam yadnas min(a)-l-lu’m(i) ^irḏ(u)-hu | fa-kullu ridā’(in) yartadī-hi jamīl(u)
When a man’s reputation has not been sullied by baseness, then every cloak he puts on is beautiful.
2 wa-‘in huwa lam yaḥmil ^alā-n-nafs(i) ḍaim(a)-ha | fa-laisa ‘ilā ḥusn(i)-ṯ-ṯanā’(i) sabīl(u)
And if he has not made himself endure injustice, then there is not (for him) a path to the beauty of praise.
Stature conveyed through tribulation suffered and surmounted must have been a topos common to the wisdom traditions of many ancient cultures. What appeals to me as a student of one of the Semitic languages (Arabic) is that the writings represent two of three religions originating in the Middle East (Christianity and Judaism), and one of the writings is voiced in the scriptural language of the third (Islam) by a pagan, i.e., one who lived in what Arabic calls the jāhilīya, or “age of ignorance.”
Notes
ā ī ū ẗ ṯ ḥ ẖ ḏ š ṣ ḍ ṭ ẓ ḡ
*The transliteration and translations are mine, from Arberry’s Arabic text. ”AL-SAMAU’AL ibn Gharīd ibn ‘Adiyā’ flourished in the middle of the sixth century A.D. Said to be a member of a Jewish Arab tribe, he dwelt in the fortress of al-Ablaq near Taimā’ [in modern day Saudi Arabia] where he is reported to have sheltered the poet Imra’ al-Qais fleeing before King al-Mundhir of al-Hīra. His name was proverbial for fidelity.” (“Biographical Notes,” A.J. Arberry, Arabic Poetry: A Primer for Students, Cambridge University Press, 1965)
Literal:
1 when the man – was not sullied by the baseness his reputation – then every cloak he puts it on – beautiful
2 and if he did not carry upon the soul its injustice – then there is not to the beauty of the praise a path
From Lane’s Lexicon:
“[F]or one says, فُلَانٌ لَا يَــحْمِلُ الضَّيْمَ, i. e. (assumed tropical:) such a one refuses to bear, or submit to, and repels from himself, injury.
حَمَلَ عَليْهِ [as syn. with حَمَّلَــهُ]: see 2, in three places. B16: حَمَلَ عَلَى دَابَّتِهِ فَوْقَ طَاقَتِهَا فِى السَّيْرِ (assumed tropical:) [He tasked his beast beyond its power in journeying, or marching, or in respect of pace]. (S in art. جهد.) and حَمَلَ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ فِى السَّيْرِ (assumed tropical:) He jaded, or fatigued, himself, or tasked himself beyond his power, in journeying, or marching. (S, TA.)”
(c) 2025 JMN — EthicalDative. All rights reserved
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About JMN
I live in Texas and devote much of my time to easel painting on an amateur basis. I stream a lot of music, mostly jazz, throughout the day. I like to read and memorize poetry.