The Muses are personifications of inspiration for aspects of poetry and the arts. For the Christian, to be Inspired is to have been touched by the Holy Spirit, to have been given a charism, a gift of God which enables some action or work.
Part of the work of a school is to enable children to come to recognize their gifts and to make best use of them. A Christian school will teach that the best use we can make is that to which God calls us. In a recent list Haileybury came out being among the best independent schools at bringing 'value added.' Value added is a horrid phrase, but it refers to the extra that the school brings to the child beyond what he or she would have achieved anyway, so that selective schools are put on more even terms with non-selective schools in assessing performance.
Value Added is what Grace is about. God gives us what we need to do His will, but calls us to co-operate with Him, to work with Him and to be obedient to His call, in short, to bring Value Added. Christians assert that to act in this way makes a person happy and fulfilled, even if it may seem that he or she has chosen a path the world would not recommend. A Christian education seeks to help souls be open to this.
If the ancient Greeks personified artistic inspiration they were beginning to apprehend the truth that the gifts we have come from beyond ourselves. The concomitant is that we should use them well. Are we fit for the muses?
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