The Modest Water, Awed by Power Divine

John Dryden (1631–1700), an English critic and poet laureate, often skipped classes at Westminster School in London and rarely prepared his lessons. One day, when tasked with writing a poem on the gospel story of Jesus turning water into wine, Dryden quickly scribbled:

“The modest water, awed by power divine, / Beheld its God, and blushed itself to…