Edward E. Hale’s ‘A Piece of Possible History’

Homer brought a love of the world through his storytelling. "Homer," 1841, by Jean-Baptiste Auguste Oil on canvas. Louvre. Public Domain

Good storytelling is far more difficult than many realize. Discipline and understanding guide it, but inspiration and heart drive it.

In his short story “A Piece of Possible History,” Edward E. Hale tells how the ancient Greek poet Homer and the Bible’s King David meet in a camp and exchange songs. Through these two singers, Hale conveys the importance of storytelling and the heart that allows us to fill it with meaning.

Hale begins this story by acknowledging the criticism that arrived after the story’s publication in 1851. Many objected that David and Homer could never have met, yet Hale counters that “the difficulties in the geography are perhaps worse than those of chronology.”

Song and Stories

Philistine soldiers, camping near the River Kishon in Israel, await the next day’s possible battle. As they wait, they wish for a song or story to distract their minds. However, the only two musical soldiers are away visiting another camp, where a Jewish minstrel sings.

Yet soon a few other Philistines arrive from a trip to the sea and announce the arrival of some Ionian sailors desirous to join the battle. Among these sailors is the bard, Homer.

Knowing the soldier’s desire for song, Homer begins singing to while away the time. He sings of Ares, the god of war, and describes the reason for war: to obtain peace. Then, Homer sings to Mother Earth praising her as the provider of good abundance in everything: “Whom thou, O great in reverence! / Are bent to honor. They shall all things find / In all abundance!”

Homer quickly captivates and soothes his audience, one of which is the Jewish minstrel, David, who comes to join in the music. In response to Homer’s song of Mother Earth, David sings a parallel song about the God who created Earth: “Happy is the people that is in such a case; / Yea, happy is the people whose God is the Lord!”

Homer and David become fast friends, sitting next to each other, singing. Meanwhile, the soldiers quickly perceive a difference between their songs. Homer sings about things (nature, storms, battles), painting beautiful pictures of them, while David sings of the maker of those things, feeling his presence in everything. One of the soldiers also notes that if David was “blind, deaf, imprisoned, exiled, sick, or all alone,” his songs would still show the grandeur of his God.

"King David Playing the Harp," 1622, by Gerard van Honthorst. Public Domain

This unhistorical encounter shows us how these two ways of singing complete one another. Homer is drawn by what is, but David is drawn by who made it so. Their songs form a unified whole, showing the actuality of the world and the God who made it.

Hale shows the importance of storytelling and how it connects us. He demonstrates what Christian singer-songwriter Andrew Peterson said in a 2016 interview with “Our Jackson Home”: “If you want someone to know the truth, you tell them. If you want someone to love the truth, tell them a story.” Homer makes us love the truth of the world, but David furthers that love by making us love the spirit that created it and inspires him.

Likewise, as we continue to live our own stories, we must embrace not only the truth of the world but also the one who imbues that truth with love. When we let that truth and spirit fill our stories, we will be storytellers of higher truths and greater love for our listeners.

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