Gregory was, throughout his life, a self-conscious literary artist, who had, in his youth, committed himself to devote his powers of speech to the living Word.11 In this poem, Gregory answers various accusers who maintain that his writing of verse is undignified and frivolous, that it is done only for the sake of winning empty fame. He answers these accusations by outlining four chief reasons for his writing of poetry. It is worth noting, first of all, the word Gregory uses