00018-- How does Sidney establish the superiority of poetry over all other branches of learning?

                                   Sidney      

Sidney says that poetry is the most ancient source of learning and wisdom.  It is "the first light giver to ignorance, and first nurse, whose milk by little and little enabled them to feed afterwards of tougher knowledge."   Poetry is the better and nobler source of wisdom than even history and philosophy which are believed to be the richest source of knowledge and wisdom.  Even philosophy was first taught in verse.   Wise Solomon was directly a poet. Plato's 'DIALOGUES' are in spirit poetical because they are imaginative and emotional.   The Bible itself is written in poetical prose and its sayings are called 'verses'.   Sidney says, "And even Historiographers, although their lips sound of things done,... have been glad to borrow both fashion and perchance weight of poets."

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