Stan,

In the Bible it speaks of a scribe who would become a disciple of Christ's kingdom. (A scribe was a professional writer in the days of Jesus.) Jesus said, "The scribe who becomes a disciple of the kingdom will be like a householder who brings forth from his treasure room things new and old."

So it would seem, at least in Christian circles, that the practice of mingling newly created compositions with that which came before is an acceptable thing. In fact, there's a great deal of that sort of borrowing in the Bible itself. Later writers often make allusion to, or borrow portions of, thought from those who came before them. The final book of the Bible (the book of Revelation) paraphrases images, phrases, and themes from every book that comes before it.

Guess there is a precedent for borrowing based on previously known material. So long as it is openly done, it is acceptable.

There are any number of country songs that make reference to other country singers and songs already familiar to the listeners. I think the problem would come if a person presented what was derivative as something that was entirely original. Or borrowed largely from the recently penned, unknown work of a contemporary and passed it off as one's own intellectual property.

I hope not to do that in this piece.

Thanks for a look.

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