"If I Speak in the Tongues of Men..." St. Paul's Attitude to MusicAuthor(s): Eric WernerSource: Journal of the American Musicological Society, Vol. 13, No. 1/3, A MusicologicalOffering to Otto Kinkeldey upon the Occasion of His 80th Anniversary (1960), pp. 18-23Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the American Musicological SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/830243 .Accessed: 12/06/2014 15:27

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"If I Speak in the Tongues of Men.. " St. Paul's Attitude to Music

BY ERIC WERNER

THIS CELEBRATED PASSAGE (I Cor. 13: 1) has often been quoted,

many tracts have been written about it, and more sermons preached. Yet I have been unable to find in all the commentaries, ancient, mediaeval, or modem, an explanation of this musi- cal metaphor, which so contemptu- ously speaks of instrumental music. Even vocal sounds uttered "without love" (aydlYv b ittI 9X'0)

are decried. At first blush our passage reads quite easily, almost like a commonplace. For the postulate of love was noth- ing extraordinary or novel at a time when many a rabbinical treatise cul- minated in this demand for trans- cendent love.' But the descending gradation

tongues of men tongues of angels sounding brass tinkling cymbal

was, when it was pronounced, a rev- olutionary conception. For the meta- phor was couched when the Temple in Jerusalem still stood with all its ceremonial music, instrumental and vocal. Did Paul not set aside with one stroke the age-old and venerated glory of the Temple, exactly as he had set aside the Law? Voices of men, even angelic choirs seemed worthless to him when bereft of

love--not to speak of instrumental strains! In the above gradation, Paul cites what seemed to him the lowest instruments of the Jewish or pagan orchestra, viz. "the tinkling cymbal." Yet the cymbal was in the Temple of his time a highly re- spected instrument, for it served al- most as a kind of conductor's baton. According to the Mishna (Tamid VII: 3) the signals of the cymbal served as cues for the vocal and in- strumental performance of the Le- vites. The Mishna mentions even one of the cymbal-players of the Second Temple, Ben Arsa, by name. What, then, were Paul's reasons for so dras- tic an Umwertung aller Werte?

In order fully to understand any one passage, we must read it in its full context. The Corinthians, whom Paul addressed, were somewhat one- sided, not to say biased, in their scale of "spiritual gifts." In ch. 12, Paul lists these gifts, (verses 4-11), and it seems to this writer that the apostle's gradation is again a descending one: from "the utterance of wisdom" (M6yog oo(Eag) down to the "inter- pretation of tongues" (9trvLuEiva yXwaaoov). Then, as often today, ec- static utterances such as glossolaly (speaking in tongues), or miracle- working stood in higher esteem with the gentile Christians of Corinth, than sober instruction and teaching of ethics. Hence, the apostle had to deal most cautiously with a group of neophytes, filled with eager expecta-

1 For examples of such statements, cf. G. F. Moore, Judaism, Vol. II, pp. 85ff; also Hillel's dictum: "Be of the disciples of Aaron, loving and pursuing peace, loving all creatures and drawing them near to the Law" (Abot I: 12)

18

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"cIF I SPEAK IN THE TONGUES OF MEN . .." )19

tions. (I Cor. 14:1-23). These early Christians believed that with good will everybody could become his own prophet, healer, or miracle- worker. Paul recognized the danger and faced it squarely. He taught the Corinthians that their scale of spir- itual gifts was much too narrow (ch. 12:14-26). Thereafter he challenged them:

"Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work mira- cles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all in- terpret? But they all earnestly desire the higher gifts."

The apostle has not yet climaxed his harangue; but instead of a pro- phetic or doctrinal message he shows to the Corinthians, who were losing their sense of measure, "a more ex- cellent way"-and he commences his sublime hymn on the power of love (I Cor. 13:1-13). The special significance of Paul's term for love (&yan'ti), is still being debated by theologians, but as this is no theolog- ical paper, we shall (with Lietzmann, Bultmann, Klausner and others) un- derstand it as love in the widest sense of the word.

The love which Paul glorifies, should not only bind man to God, but also man to fellow-man, and even to fellow-creature. This was, of course, nothing new, either in thought or in formulation. For Jesus had stressed these "laws of love" most emphatically. (Cf. Matt. 22: 37-40.) Yet even then, the two com- mandments mentioned by Christ were nothing but literal quotations from the Old Testament, and among the most celebrated ones. (Deut. 6:5; and Lev. 19:18.)

The apostle goes further; he exalts love as the most timeless spiritual gift. The gifts of tongues, of proph- ecy, and of knowledge will pass

away, but love never ends. Paul, however, makes it plain that he neither will nor can grant to the good Corinthians those spiritual gifts, which they crave, be they miracle- working or healing or prophecying. Love is higher than any of these gifts and of timeless value. The pre- amble to this hymnic manifesto is our musical metaphor. What makes it so bold is the transition from the spiritual gifts to "the tongues of men and angels"; it strikes us as unex- pected and almost incoherent.

The transition is, as it were, sub- terraneous. In order to appreciate it, we must take into consideration the attitude of the Jewish and Greek groups of Paul's time towards music in general, and to its different types in particular.

Paul was brought up as a Pharisee. He says of himself: "I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees." (Acts 23:6).2 This statement implies that he and his ancestors were adherents of the Pharisaic sect. Indeed, he prides him- self of having been a disciple of the great Rabban Gamaliel. (Acts 22:3). How did the Pharisees regard music? A few references will answer this question. (a) The apostasy of E. Elisha ben Abuya was attributed (by his colleagues) to the Greek instru- ments which were always in his home, and to Greek tunes always in his mouth. (b) The rabbis held a particularly low opinion of certain instruments: the halil (a primitive clarinet, or a kind of a'X6g) the toph, a tamburine or hand-drum, us- ually played by women, and the tziltzelim (cymbals). A bronze gong, called ayrus (Roman aes, Aramaic ris, hellenist aes-ris) was used in the

2 The term "Pharisee" is used here in the sense in which Paul and modern comparative history of religion have understood it, not in the derogatory meaning frequently found in the Gospels.

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20 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Temple on festive occasions and at solemn weddings. It was probably the instrument most contemptible to the rabbis. (c) Philo and the Sibyls expressed strong antagonism to all cymbals and similar noise-making instruments. (De rita Moysis II, #239; Oracula Sibyllina, ed. Geff- cken, 8, #113.)

Many reasons for the Pharisee's anti-musical attitude may be pre- sented: their inclination to puritan- ism, their original opposition to the Sadducean hierarchy in the Temple, and others. I am inclined to believe, however, that the real cause of this antagonism is to be found in the Pharisaic abhorrence of each and every kind of syncretism. Just these three instruments (clarinet, cymbal, gong, or drum) were inseparably bound to the mystery cults of Asia Minor. Whether the divinity wor- shipped in these cults was the ancient Kybele, the Syrian-Babylonian Ish- tar, or the Roman Magna Mater, did not interest the rabbis: they knew that all these female deities protected as well as symbolized the principle of fertility; also, that their cults were by nature orgiastic. That was enough for them.

The Corinthian group, which the apostle addressed, was composed of adherents of these fertility-cults; in- deed, we find strong allusions to their licentiousness in Paul's epistle. (ch. 5; 6:9-11: 7:1-6; 10:7-9.) In the last-mentioned passage idolatry is coupled with whoredom!

The apostle, however, is not con- tent with disparaging solely the in- struments used for the mystery-cults; he adds another musical metaphor which indiscriminately attacks all instruments (I Cor. 14:6-9).

Now, brethren, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how shall I benefit you unless

I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? If even lifeless (dauxa, properly "soulless") instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played?

Again spoken like a true Pharisee! For this sect was actually opposed to all and every instrumental music well before the Temple's destruc- tion. They had no power to abolish it, for the jurisdiction of the Temple rested safely in the hands of the Sadducees, a hereditary hierarchy. Pharisaic dicta such as "Music in the house, ruin at the threshold," or "the ear that listens to (instrumental) music should be torn out," are sig- nificant in themselves. More import- ant are the reasons-both the real reasons and the given ones--of this hostility.

Contemporary with Paul's activi- ties were the syncretistic Jewish sects in Asia Minor, especially in Phrygia. There the worship of Zeus Sabazios was ministered by Jewish priestesses. Even some of their Roman names have come down to us-Julia Severa or Servenia Cornuta. Indispensable to this heretic ritual was the use of musical instruments, especially of xiqt3axov, r-n[avov and gong. Yet, the priestly authorities in Jerusalem could not excommunicate those sec- tarians: they identified themselves as Jews and paid the Temple-Tax faith- fully. In contrast to the authorities of the Temple (the Sadduceans), the Pharisees turned away from these perversions of Jewish monotheism with horror and contempt. Such abusive practices made all instru- mental music suspect, even that of the Temple. As soon as the Temple fell under the incendiary missiles of Roman catapults, and all sacrificial ritual had to be abolished, the Phari-

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"IF I SPEAK IN THE TONGUES OF MEN . .." 21

sees came to power. They did not hesitate to prohibit all instrumental music, liturgical or secular. The way by which they could legally justify this negation of a millenary tradi- tion is interesting enough, but does not concern us here.

How differently had a poet of the aristocracy felt about this very issue 200 years before!

The Siracide (Jesus ben ben Sirach Simon ben Eleazar) advises young men of his time in the niceties of ur- bane behavior:

Do not disturb the musicians! Where there is music, Do not pour out speech, And be not importunate in showing thy

wisdom; As a ruby shines in its golden setting, So is the musician's ensemble at a ban-

quet of wine As the splendour of the precious emer-

ald in a frame of gold, So are melodies of musicians in a feast

of wine. Listen in silence, And they, modest, will be rewarded by

good will. (Ecclesiasticus, 32:3-8)

Can we wonder at the austere Phar- isee's banishment of this charming book from the Canon of the Bible? And yet, the views of the early Christian leaders, certainly those of Paul and his disciples, ran parallel with those of the puritans. A sur- prising confirmation of this thesis (which the author has first expressed in 1943) has come from the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were written dur- ing the period of flourishing Hellen- ism (180 B.C.-A.D. 200).

The Dead Sea Scrolls, however, are anything but Hellenistic in spirit. They represent the thinking of neither Pharisees nor Sadducees, but are closest to the sentiments of the dissident sect of Essenism, a move-

ment of ascetic character. The Es- senes and their many splinter-groups were certainly puritans as well in their morality, which viewed the life of normal man as "wicked," as in their emphasis upon strict discipline among themselves. Indeed, we must consider Essenism in general, and the sect of Khirbet Qumran (where the Dead Sea Scrolls and the cloister of the group were discovered) in par- ticular, as the prototype of organ- ized monasticism.

It is curious and noteworthy that in the Dead Sea Scrolls passages oc- cur which we can find in Paul's writings. Some of them deal with music. Exactly as the apostle uses names of instruments for metaphors and similes, so do the Dead Sea Scrolls.

I will sing with understanding And all my music shall be for the glory

of God. My lyre and harp shall be For this holy fixed Order, And the flute of my lips I will raise in His just circle.

(Manual of Discipline, ch.x)

The incipit of this passage is identi- cal with I Cor. 14:15; the Hebrew term "understanding" encompasses both the "spirit" (ntve~ta) and "mind" (voig), the word chosen by Paul. If this verse does not yet prove the purely rhetorical usage of musi- cal terms, then the following will convince the most literal-minded reader:

But suddenly I saw That there was no distress To tear me with pain. I played then my harp With sounds of redemption, My lyre to joyful strains, Yea, I blew the pipe and the flute In ceaseless praise.

(Hymns of Thanksgiving, ch. XI)

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22 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MUSICOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Whether or not the writer of these verses could have played all four instruments, it is obvious that this ensemble of praise is nothing but poetic license. Really meant here is the chanted prayer, the "hymns, psalms and spiritual songs" of which Paul speaks (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). The Essenes, however, could dis- pense with spoken or chanted wor- ship. As we know from Philo, they practiced also silent prayer-prayer in thought--a custom unacceptable to the missionary Paul. Not only are instruments "soundless" and "indis- tinct" to him, but also silent prayer. He recognizes only prayer through words as, in I Cor. 14:9, "If you ut- ter speech in a tongue that is not in- telligible, how will anyone know what is said?" And again: I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also; Otherwise, if you give thanks with the spirit alone, how can anyone in the posi- tion of an outsider [i.e., pagan or un- learned] say the Amen to your thanks- giving, when he does not know what you are saying? [A veiled attack upon the Philonic concept of silent prayer.]

(I Cor. 14:15-16)

It is clear that wordless prayer and, so, all "soulless" sounds, includ- ing instrumental music, are meaning- less to him-even prayer "in tongues" does not fulfill its proper purpose. There remains only the chanted prayer; inseparably linked to scrip- tural "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs." It is possible to infer from this attitude that even the word- less Jubili or ecstatic songs without words did not meet with his ap- proval. All this reflects again the rab- binic doctrine of prayer.

Viewed from the more detached angle of history of religion, Paul's hostility towards each and every kind

of instrumental music appears as a paradox. Unfolded on that higher level, it deserves a further explana- tion and solution.

Paul, a Jew of the Diaspora, was linked to the world of Hellenism by Greek customs, ideas, even by lan- guage: it was his natural and con- genital home. The then dominant Hellenistic philosophy was the school of stoicism, and it attracted Paul by many of its conceptions. Yet both Pharisaic Judaism and incipient Chris- tianity opposed this philosophy. Dur- ing his formative years, especially during his years of study under Rab- ban Gamaliel, Paul seems to have for- gotten his leanings toward the Stoa. Then, on the road to Damascus, there befell the dramatic conversion, that transformed his further life. As apostle to the Gentiles Paul sought- and recovered-his erstwhile rap- port with Hellenistic thought. With one exception however: in the eter- nal conflict of values, between the Greek admiration of beauty, perfec- tion, of elegant moderation in life and art, and the Pharisaic transcend- ent awe of the ethical postulate, he chose the latter. He disparaged the Jewish Law, mainstay of the Phari- sees, and replaced it with his own doctrine of sin and redemption. But still, he insisted upon a number of Jewish conventions, retaining, so to speak, the empty shell of rabbinic Judaism: women shall not speak or sing in the churches; they shall cover their heads, lest they exhibit their hair and attract the lust of men; after the thanksgiving prayer even the uninitiated must add their Amen; psalmody and prophecy remain for him important constituents of Chris- tian life and worship; and finally, in- strumental music, soulless, and even unclean through syncretistic misuse, must not be heard in the service. The

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4"IF I SPEAK IN THE TONGUES OF MEN .. ." 23

Law has lost its validity for him and his adherents; Love and Grace super- sede it. Yet many of the old mores remain intact. They are the mores of the Pharisees. Hellenistic thought is blended with Jewish practices. How-

ever, the guiding idea of this seem- ingly contradictory system emerges pure: no mystery-cults, but the one mysterium of Jesus.

Jewish Institute of Religion

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Article Contentsp. 18p. 19p. 20p. 21p. 22p. 23

Issue Table of ContentsJournal of the American Musicological Society, Vol. 13, No. 1/3, A Musicological Offering to Otto Kinkeldey upon the Occasion of His 80th Anniversary (1960), pp. 1-270Front Matter[Photograph]: Otto Kindeldey, 1957The Principles of Greek Notation [pp. 1-17]"If I Speak in the Tongues of Men..." St. Paul's Attitude to Music [pp. 18-23]The Magrepha of the Herodian Temple: A Five-Fold Hypothesis [pp. 24-42]Primitive and Medieval Music: A Parallel [pp. 43-49]The Antiphons of the Oktoechos [pp. 50-67]The Polyphonic Magnificat of the Renaissance as a Design in Tonal Centers [pp. 68-78]Review: Barbireau and Barbingant: A Review [pp. 79-101]Browsing Through a Little-Known Manuscript (Prague, Strahov Monastery, D. G. IV. 47) [pp. 102-111]The Dedication of Francesco Corteccia's "Hinnario" [pp. 112-116]The Lute Music of MS Royal Appendix 58 [pp. 117-125]Early Scores in Manuscript [pp. 126-173]The Beginnings of the Orchestra [pp. 174-180]Major and Minor Mysteries of Identification in the 18th-Century Symphony [pp. 181-196]Mozart after 200 Years [pp. 197-205]Andrew Law and the Pirates [pp. 206-223]On the Moods of a Music-Logic [pp. 224-261]Analogical Relations in Musical Pattern [pp. 262-269]