"It is natural to speak of hymns as "poems," indiscriminately, for they have the same structure. But a hymn is not necessarily a poem, while a poem that can be sung as a hymn is something more than a poem. Imagination makes poems; devotion makes hymns. There can be poetry without emotion, but a hymn never. A poem may argue; a hymn must not. In short to be a hymn, what is written must express spiritual feelings and desires. The music of faith, hope and charity will be somewhere in its strain."
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The Story of the Hymns and Tunes (New York: George H. Doran Co., 1906) Introduction, p. ix — written with Theron Brown
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hezekiah_Butterworth
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Hezekiah Butterworth
1839 – 1905
Hezekiah Butterworth (December 22, 1839 – September 5, 1905) was an American author and poet.
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