Caught out

I guess that unless a blog is used for news and information, or to formally guide learners, we aren't obligated to check facts. One of my blogging sons is a meticulous speller in real life, but considers his blog informal enough to not feel obligated to proof-read and make tidy.

I fall somewhere between there. Because I know someone will tease me about my spelling (are you reading, HC?) I try to be careful there. Elsewhere I acknowledged that I may write out of my ignorance, without taking time to look up quote sources or even facts.

But last week I rather blithely offered up an excellent hymn, with my own text change. Oh well, at least I didn't try to pass off the the text tweak as part of the original hymn. But a more careful reader actually took the time to find "Christ triumphant, ever reigning" in one of his hymnals. To be fair, I also tried, but none of my hymnals include it. And Jim passed along this bit of information ...

the text in question
Priestly king, enthroned forever high in heaven above!
Sin and death and hell shall never stifle human love:
* which I changed to: keep us from your love: *
Yours the glory and the crown,
the high renown, the eternal name.
Jim wrote: "In my copy of Jubilate Hymns (2nd edition/Music Edition- 1987; #172(ii)), the 'confusing' phrase is "stifle hymns of love". The line, "stifle human" sounds like it might be from a previous version."
Or indeed it might be a misprint in the hymn page I was given. In either case, it was pretty cavalier of me to change someone's text, especially without due diligence.

Having said that, I do still rather like the proffered phrase with its echoes of Romans 8 set up by "sin and death and hell shall never" ... But that isn't my business, is it? My responsibility is to (a) confirm the text, (b) understand the urtext and/or the author's own alterations, and then (c) if I change it, get permission. Mea maxima culpa!

But still, we sing.