(Look also at Blake's Bible.)
If you think the Bible is inerrant, and that every word has one and only one meaning, then you don't need to read this any further.
Blake had an unparalleled freedom with the Bible. Northrup Frye referred to him as a Bible soaked protestant. He was Bible soaked, but the meanings he found in most of the Bible were distinctive and often unique: "Both read the Bible day and night,But thou read’st black where I read white."
Blake's 'white' reading will excite you and/or repel you. Or perhaps you will add your Blake to the canon; that happens.
1. The idea of Nobodaddy implies an explicit and emphatic rejection of the "sub-Christian" elements of the O.T.
Blake spent half his life figuring out who/what Christ was, after which he measured the quality and value of everything in the Bible in accordance with Christ's identity.
He rejected the thump on the head for the "healing balm".
2. He put the same value on his own visions (and vision) as he did the Bible. In visions he conversed with Isaiah and Ezekiel (see the second Memorable Fancy). My wife's favorite Blake quoted Ezekiel's conversation with Blake thusly: when Blake asked him why he behaved so erratically re living in his underwear and spending 3 months on his left side, etc., Ezekiel responded "'the desire of raising other men into a perception of the infinite". That has in fact became our calling in life.
To use slightly more orthodox terminology we could say the desire to get people thinking about Heaven (in it's larger meaning). That's a good subject for another post.
When our youngest was married (an outdoor Catholic marriage, I had a chance to read some scripture. I finished with the quotation from "Saint William Blake":
"Throughout Eternity I forgive you, you forgive me;
as the dear Redeemer said, this the wine and this the bread."
Blake was very free with his use of the Bible, as I, too strive to be, God willing.
There's much further information on this subject at Chapter Six of my Blake website.
Showing posts with label Perception of the Infinite. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Perception of the Infinite. Show all posts
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
VENGEANCE
Jesus taught forgiveness not vengeance. Blake rejected the God of vengeance of the Old Testament for the God of forgiveness of the New Testament.
Matthew 5:43-45 - "You have heard that it used to be said, 'You shall love your neighbour', and 'hate your enemy', but I tell you, Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Heavenly Father. For he makes the sun rise upon evil men as well as good, and he sends his rain upon honest and dishonest men alike."
Matthew 7:1-5
Judge not, that ye be not judged.
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you.
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me cast out the mote out of thine eye; and lo, the beam is in thine own eye?
Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
In Jerusalem, Blake explains his attitude toward taking retribution for offense. He realizes that executing vengeful punishment does greater harm to the person who has been offended than it does to the offender. Doing harm - hindering your brother - does harm within yourself and hinders your spiritual development. The person who harms others, harms himself. Forgiving your brother opens your heart to receiving God's love and mending divisions in the unity of the whole body.
Jerusalem, Plate 25, (E 169)
"But Vengeance is the destroyer of Grace & Repentance in the bosom
Of the Injurer: in which the Divine Lamb is cruelly slain:
Descend O Lamb of God & take away the imputation of Sin
By the Creation of States & the deliverance of Individuals
Evermore Amen"
Jerusalem, Plate 47, (E 193)
"What shall I [Los] do! what could I do, if I could find these Criminals
I could not dare to take vengeance; for all things are so constructed
And builded by the Divine hand, that the sinner shall always escape,
And he who takes vengeance alone is the criminal of Providence;
If I should dare to lay my finger on a grain of sand
In way of vengeance; I punish the already punishd: O whom
Should I pity if I pity not the sinner who is gone astray!
O Albion, if thou takest vengeance; if thou revengest thy wrongs
Thou art for ever lost! What can I do to hinder the Sons
Of Albion from taking vengeance? or how shall I them perswade.
PLATE 48
These were his [Albion's] last words, and the merciful Saviour in his arms
Reciev'd him, in the arms of tender mercy and repos'd
The pale limbs of his Eternal Individuality
Upon the Rock of Ages."
Vala, Hyle, and Skofield
Blake created an image on Plate 51, which illustrates the harm which comes to the individual when he does harm to others. The three in the illustration are Vala, Hyle and Skofield; three whom Blake might consider his worst enemies. Vala is materiality, fallen Nature, the obscuring and distorting principle which hides Eternity and restrictes his imagination. Pictured as dark and frozen she bears no resemblance to the rich and glorious unfallen Nature. Hyle is Blake's representation of Hayley who wanted to prevent Blake from following his Imagination in exercising his artistic and poetic talents; pretending to be a friend he wanted to direct Blake's work to popular media. Hyle is pictured as if he were enclosed in a cube, his 'doors of perception' to this world as well as the other, are closed and locked. Skofield who brought Blake to law by false accusation, is pictured in the chains with which he hoped to manacle Blake. He is burning with the fire of wrath rather then sitting in darkness as is Vala.
But I think Blake presented these three, not as the vengeful but as 'the sinners' who 'always escape' although they have 'gone astray.'
Matthew 5:43-45 - "You have heard that it used to be said, 'You shall love your neighbour', and 'hate your enemy', but I tell you, Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Heavenly Father. For he makes the sun rise upon evil men as well as good, and he sends his rain upon honest and dishonest men alike."
Matthew 7:1-5
Judge not, that ye be not judged.
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you.
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me cast out the mote out of thine eye; and lo, the beam is in thine own eye?
Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
In Jerusalem, Blake explains his attitude toward taking retribution for offense. He realizes that executing vengeful punishment does greater harm to the person who has been offended than it does to the offender. Doing harm - hindering your brother - does harm within yourself and hinders your spiritual development. The person who harms others, harms himself. Forgiving your brother opens your heart to receiving God's love and mending divisions in the unity of the whole body.
Jerusalem, Plate 25, (E 169)
"But Vengeance is the destroyer of Grace & Repentance in the bosom
Of the Injurer: in which the Divine Lamb is cruelly slain:
Descend O Lamb of God & take away the imputation of Sin
By the Creation of States & the deliverance of Individuals
Evermore Amen"
Jerusalem, Plate 47, (E 193)
"What shall I [Los] do! what could I do, if I could find these Criminals
I could not dare to take vengeance; for all things are so constructed
And builded by the Divine hand, that the sinner shall always escape,
And he who takes vengeance alone is the criminal of Providence;
If I should dare to lay my finger on a grain of sand
In way of vengeance; I punish the already punishd: O whom
Should I pity if I pity not the sinner who is gone astray!
O Albion, if thou takest vengeance; if thou revengest thy wrongs
Thou art for ever lost! What can I do to hinder the Sons
Of Albion from taking vengeance? or how shall I them perswade.
PLATE 48
These were his [Albion's] last words, and the merciful Saviour in his arms
Reciev'd him, in the arms of tender mercy and repos'd
The pale limbs of his Eternal Individuality
Upon the Rock of Ages."
Vala, Hyle, and Skofield
Blake created an image on Plate 51, which illustrates the harm which comes to the individual when he does harm to others. The three in the illustration are Vala, Hyle and Skofield; three whom Blake might consider his worst enemies. Vala is materiality, fallen Nature, the obscuring and distorting principle which hides Eternity and restrictes his imagination. Pictured as dark and frozen she bears no resemblance to the rich and glorious unfallen Nature. Hyle is Blake's representation of Hayley who wanted to prevent Blake from following his Imagination in exercising his artistic and poetic talents; pretending to be a friend he wanted to direct Blake's work to popular media. Hyle is pictured as if he were enclosed in a cube, his 'doors of perception' to this world as well as the other, are closed and locked. Skofield who brought Blake to law by false accusation, is pictured in the chains with which he hoped to manacle Blake. He is burning with the fire of wrath rather then sitting in darkness as is Vala.
But I think Blake presented these three, not as the vengeful but as 'the sinners' who 'always escape' although they have 'gone astray.'
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
STATES
Milton, Plate 32
Plate 32 does not appear in the first two copies (A&B) of Milton. It was added later to explain the important concept of 'states'. Blake had clarified his thinking and so gave Milton and the readers the benefit of his understanding. The idea of states is essential to understanding Blake's ideas about 'good and evil', imputing sin, annihilation, and forgiveness. The concept of a merciful and benevolent God, which is incompatible with a God of cruelty and vengeance, requires the idea of states to deal with the problem of handling evil. The understanding of 'states' allows us to 'turn our backs on Heavens builded on cruelty'.
PLATE 32 [35] (E130)
"And Milton oft sat up on the Couch of Death & oft conversed
In vision & dream beatific with the Seven Angels of the Presence
I have turned my back upon these Heavens builded on cruelty
My Spectre still wandering thro' them follows my Emanation
He hunts her footsteps thro' the snow & the wintry hail & rain
The idiot Reasoner laughs at the Man of Imagination
And from laughter proceeds to murder by undervaluing calumny
Then Hillel who is Lucifer replied over the Couch of Death
And thus the Seven Angels instructed him & thus they converse.
We are not Individuals but States: Combinations of Individuals
We were Angels of the Divine Presence: & were Druids in Annandale
Compelld to combine into Form by Satan, the Spectre of Albion,
Who made himself a God &, destroyed the Human Form Divine.
But the Divine Humanity & Mercy gave us a Human Form
Because we were combind in Freedom & holy Brotherhood
While those combind by Satans Tyranny first in the blood of War
And Sacrifice &, next, in Chains of imprisonment: are
Shapeless Rocks
Retaining only Satans Mathematic Holiness, Length: Bredth &
Highth
Calling the Human Imagination: which is the Divine Vision &
Fruition
In which Man liveth eternally: madness & blasphemy, against
Its own Qualities, which are Servants of Humanity, not Gods
or Lords[.]
Distinguish therefore States from Individuals in those States.
States Change: but Individual Identities never change nor cease:
You cannot go to Eternal Death in that which can never Die.
Satan & Adam are States Created into Twenty-seven Churches
And thou O Milton art a State about to be Created
Called Eternal Annihilation that none but the Living shall
Dare to enter: & they shall enter triumphant over Death
And Hell & the Grave! States that are not, but ah! Seem to be.
Judge then of thy Own Self: thy Eternal Lineaments explore
What is Eternal & what Changeable? & what Annihilable!
The Imagination is not a State: it is the Human Existence itself
Affection or Love becomes a State, when divided from Imagination
The Memory is a State always, & the Reason is a State
Created to be Annihilated & a new Ratio Created
Whatever can be Created can be Annihilated Forms cannot
The Oak is cut down by the Ax, the Lamb falls by the Knife
But their Forms Eternal Exist, For-ever. Amen Halle[l]ujah
Thus they converse with the Dead watching round the Couch of
Death.
For God himself enters Death's Door always with those that enter
And lays down in the Grave with them, in Visions of Eternity
Till they awake & see Jesus & the Linen Clothes lying
That the Females had Woven for them, & the Gates of their
Fathers House"
The Eternal dimension which seems shadowy to the unawakened, is seen to be substantial and vividly real by those who have been given a 'perception of the infinite.' They have entered the door of death and prepared themselves for transformation. In awakening, they see their physical bodies as garments that can be discarded as they enter the true world of unencumbered Spirit.
From The Grave
Philippians 2:8
2:5-11 - Let Christ himself be your example as to what your attitude should be. For he, who had always been God by nature, did not cling to his prerogatives as God's equal, but stripped himself of all privilege by consenting to be a slave by nature and being born as mortal man. And, having become man, he humbled himself by living a life of utter obedience, even to the extent of dying, and the death he died was the death of a common criminal.
Plate 32 does not appear in the first two copies (A&B) of Milton. It was added later to explain the important concept of 'states'. Blake had clarified his thinking and so gave Milton and the readers the benefit of his understanding. The idea of states is essential to understanding Blake's ideas about 'good and evil', imputing sin, annihilation, and forgiveness. The concept of a merciful and benevolent God, which is incompatible with a God of cruelty and vengeance, requires the idea of states to deal with the problem of handling evil. The understanding of 'states' allows us to 'turn our backs on Heavens builded on cruelty'.
PLATE 32 [35] (E130)
"And Milton oft sat up on the Couch of Death & oft conversed
In vision & dream beatific with the Seven Angels of the Presence
I have turned my back upon these Heavens builded on cruelty
My Spectre still wandering thro' them follows my Emanation
He hunts her footsteps thro' the snow & the wintry hail & rain
The idiot Reasoner laughs at the Man of Imagination
And from laughter proceeds to murder by undervaluing calumny
Then Hillel who is Lucifer replied over the Couch of Death
And thus the Seven Angels instructed him & thus they converse.
We are not Individuals but States: Combinations of Individuals
We were Angels of the Divine Presence: & were Druids in Annandale
Compelld to combine into Form by Satan, the Spectre of Albion,
Who made himself a God &, destroyed the Human Form Divine.
But the Divine Humanity & Mercy gave us a Human Form
Because we were combind in Freedom & holy Brotherhood
While those combind by Satans Tyranny first in the blood of War
And Sacrifice &, next, in Chains of imprisonment: are
Shapeless Rocks
Retaining only Satans Mathematic Holiness, Length: Bredth &
Highth
Calling the Human Imagination: which is the Divine Vision &
Fruition
In which Man liveth eternally: madness & blasphemy, against
Its own Qualities, which are Servants of Humanity, not Gods
or Lords[.]
Distinguish therefore States from Individuals in those States.
States Change: but Individual Identities never change nor cease:
You cannot go to Eternal Death in that which can never Die.
Satan & Adam are States Created into Twenty-seven Churches
And thou O Milton art a State about to be Created
Called Eternal Annihilation that none but the Living shall
Dare to enter: & they shall enter triumphant over Death
And Hell & the Grave! States that are not, but ah! Seem to be.
Judge then of thy Own Self: thy Eternal Lineaments explore
What is Eternal & what Changeable? & what Annihilable!
The Imagination is not a State: it is the Human Existence itself
Affection or Love becomes a State, when divided from Imagination
The Memory is a State always, & the Reason is a State
Created to be Annihilated & a new Ratio Created
Whatever can be Created can be Annihilated Forms cannot
The Oak is cut down by the Ax, the Lamb falls by the Knife
But their Forms Eternal Exist, For-ever. Amen Halle[l]ujah
Thus they converse with the Dead watching round the Couch of
Death.
For God himself enters Death's Door always with those that enter
And lays down in the Grave with them, in Visions of Eternity
Till they awake & see Jesus & the Linen Clothes lying
That the Females had Woven for them, & the Gates of their
Fathers House"
The Eternal dimension which seems shadowy to the unawakened, is seen to be substantial and vividly real by those who have been given a 'perception of the infinite.' They have entered the door of death and prepared themselves for transformation. In awakening, they see their physical bodies as garments that can be discarded as they enter the true world of unencumbered Spirit.
From The Grave
Philippians 2:8
2:5-11 - Let Christ himself be your example as to what your attitude should be. For he, who had always been God by nature, did not cling to his prerogatives as God's equal, but stripped himself of all privilege by consenting to be a slave by nature and being born as mortal man. And, having become man, he humbled himself by living a life of utter obedience, even to the extent of dying, and the death he died was the death of a common criminal.
STATES
Milton, Plate 32
Plate 32 does not appear in the first two copies (A&B) of Milton. It was added later to explain the important concept of 'states'. Blake had clarified his thinking and so gave Milton and the readers the benefit of his understanding. The idea of states is essential to understanding Blake's ideas about 'good and evil', imputing sin, annihilation, and forgiveness. The concept of a merciful and benevolent God, which is incompatible with a God of cruelty and vengeance, requires the idea of states to deal with the problem of handling evil. The understanding of 'states' allows us to 'turn our backs on Heavens builded on cruelty'.
PLATE 32 [35] (E130)
"And Milton oft sat up on the Couch of Death & oft conversed
In vision & dream beatific with the Seven Angels of the Presence
I have turned my back upon these Heavens builded on cruelty
My Spectre still wandering thro' them follows my Emanation
He hunts her footsteps thro' the snow & the wintry hail & rain
The idiot Reasoner laughs at the Man of Imagination
And from laughter proceeds to murder by undervaluing calumny
Then Hillel who is Lucifer replied over the Couch of Death
And thus the Seven Angels instructed him & thus they converse.
We are not Individuals but States: Combinations of Individuals
We were Angels of the Divine Presence: & were Druids in Annandale
Compelld to combine into Form by Satan, the Spectre of Albion,
Who made himself a God &, destroyed the Human Form Divine.
But the Divine Humanity & Mercy gave us a Human Form
Because we were combind in Freedom & holy Brotherhood
While those combind by Satans Tyranny first in the blood of War
And Sacrifice &, next, in Chains of imprisonment: are
Shapeless Rocks
Retaining only Satans Mathematic Holiness, Length: Bredth &
Highth
Calling the Human Imagination: which is the Divine Vision &
Fruition
In which Man liveth eternally: madness & blasphemy, against
Its own Qualities, which are Servants of Humanity, not Gods
or Lords[.]
Distinguish therefore States from Individuals in those States.
States Change: but Individual Identities never change nor cease:
You cannot go to Eternal Death in that which can never Die.
Satan & Adam are States Created into Twenty-seven Churches
And thou O Milton art a State about to be Created
Called Eternal Annihilation that none but the Living shall
Dare to enter: & they shall enter triumphant over Death
And Hell & the Grave! States that are not, but ah! Seem to be.
Judge then of thy Own Self: thy Eternal Lineaments explore
What is Eternal & what Changeable? & what Annihilable!
The Imagination is not a State: it is the Human Existence itself
Affection or Love becomes a State, when divided from Imagination
The Memory is a State always, & the Reason is a State
Created to be Annihilated & a new Ratio Created
Whatever can be Created can be Annihilated Forms cannot
The Oak is cut down by the Ax, the Lamb falls by the Knife
But their Forms Eternal Exist, For-ever. Amen Halle[l]ujah
Thus they converse with the Dead watching round the Couch of
Death.
For God himself enters Death's Door always with those that enter
And lays down in the Grave with them, in Visions of Eternity
Till they awake & see Jesus & the Linen Clothes lying
That the Females had Woven for them, & the Gates of their
Fathers House"
The Eternal dimension which seems shadowy to the unawakened, is seen to be substantial and vividly real by those who have been given a 'perception of the infinite.' They have entered the door of death and prepared themselves for transformation. In awakening, they see their physical bodies as garments that can be discarded as they enter the true world of unencumbered Spirit.
From The Grave
Philippians 2:8
2:5-11 - Let Christ himself be your example as to what your attitude should be. For he, who had always been God by nature, did not cling to his prerogatives as God's equal, but stripped himself of all privilege by consenting to be a slave by nature and being born as mortal man. And, having become man, he humbled himself by living a life of utter obedience, even to the extent of dying, and the death he died was the death of a common criminal.
Plate 32 does not appear in the first two copies (A&B) of Milton. It was added later to explain the important concept of 'states'. Blake had clarified his thinking and so gave Milton and the readers the benefit of his understanding. The idea of states is essential to understanding Blake's ideas about 'good and evil', imputing sin, annihilation, and forgiveness. The concept of a merciful and benevolent God, which is incompatible with a God of cruelty and vengeance, requires the idea of states to deal with the problem of handling evil. The understanding of 'states' allows us to 'turn our backs on Heavens builded on cruelty'.
PLATE 32 [35] (E130)
"And Milton oft sat up on the Couch of Death & oft conversed
In vision & dream beatific with the Seven Angels of the Presence
I have turned my back upon these Heavens builded on cruelty
My Spectre still wandering thro' them follows my Emanation
He hunts her footsteps thro' the snow & the wintry hail & rain
The idiot Reasoner laughs at the Man of Imagination
And from laughter proceeds to murder by undervaluing calumny
Then Hillel who is Lucifer replied over the Couch of Death
And thus the Seven Angels instructed him & thus they converse.
We are not Individuals but States: Combinations of Individuals
We were Angels of the Divine Presence: & were Druids in Annandale
Compelld to combine into Form by Satan, the Spectre of Albion,
Who made himself a God &, destroyed the Human Form Divine.
But the Divine Humanity & Mercy gave us a Human Form
Because we were combind in Freedom & holy Brotherhood
While those combind by Satans Tyranny first in the blood of War
And Sacrifice &, next, in Chains of imprisonment: are
Shapeless Rocks
Retaining only Satans Mathematic Holiness, Length: Bredth &
Highth
Calling the Human Imagination: which is the Divine Vision &
Fruition
In which Man liveth eternally: madness & blasphemy, against
Its own Qualities, which are Servants of Humanity, not Gods
or Lords[.]
Distinguish therefore States from Individuals in those States.
States Change: but Individual Identities never change nor cease:
You cannot go to Eternal Death in that which can never Die.
Satan & Adam are States Created into Twenty-seven Churches
And thou O Milton art a State about to be Created
Called Eternal Annihilation that none but the Living shall
Dare to enter: & they shall enter triumphant over Death
And Hell & the Grave! States that are not, but ah! Seem to be.
Judge then of thy Own Self: thy Eternal Lineaments explore
What is Eternal & what Changeable? & what Annihilable!
The Imagination is not a State: it is the Human Existence itself
Affection or Love becomes a State, when divided from Imagination
The Memory is a State always, & the Reason is a State
Created to be Annihilated & a new Ratio Created
Whatever can be Created can be Annihilated Forms cannot
The Oak is cut down by the Ax, the Lamb falls by the Knife
But their Forms Eternal Exist, For-ever. Amen Halle[l]ujah
Thus they converse with the Dead watching round the Couch of
Death.
For God himself enters Death's Door always with those that enter
And lays down in the Grave with them, in Visions of Eternity
Till they awake & see Jesus & the Linen Clothes lying
That the Females had Woven for them, & the Gates of their
Fathers House"
The Eternal dimension which seems shadowy to the unawakened, is seen to be substantial and vividly real by those who have been given a 'perception of the infinite.' They have entered the door of death and prepared themselves for transformation. In awakening, they see their physical bodies as garments that can be discarded as they enter the true world of unencumbered Spirit.
From The Grave
Philippians 2:8
2:5-11 - Let Christ himself be your example as to what your attitude should be. For he, who had always been God by nature, did not cling to his prerogatives as God's equal, but stripped himself of all privilege by consenting to be a slave by nature and being born as mortal man. And, having become man, he humbled himself by living a life of utter obedience, even to the extent of dying, and the death he died was the death of a common criminal.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Awakenings
In the Gospel of John, Nicodemus heard Jesus say, "you
must be born again" representing the most significant
event in a person's life-- their awakening from a purely
physical, materialistic life to a Perception of the Infinite
(MHH, Plate 13, lines 21-23, E39).
A person with inherent gifts of imagination and insight
into their psyche may be susceptible to moments of new
insight that seem like a rebirth. (Three seminary
professors told this student that 'you must be born
again, and again, and again'.)
Such a rebirth for our poet occurred in 1804, and he
immediately reported it to his (corporeal) friend and
physical benefactor, William Hayley; in Letter 51,
dated 23 October 1804 (Erdman 756) Blake wrote:
"Suddenly, on the day after visiting the Truchsessian
Gallery of pictures, I was again enlightened with the
light I enjoyed in my youth, and which has for exactly
twenty years been closed from me as by a door and by
window-shutters." (This letter is well worth reading
but I skipped the first three paragraphs.)
Although the experience had brought Blake a
significant increase in his creative powers, you may
envision even more significant ones in the years before:
Letter 16 to Butts (Oct 2, 1800), mentioned often
recently, which I called first vision of light, appeared
to me to be more critical in Blake's spiritual development.
It was the word from God that empowered him to the
magnificent statement of faith that his great poems
represented.
The letter to Hayley was of another genre; we might call
it an attempt to express his own spiritual attitude in a
way acceptable to the 'non-spirtual friend'. In
contrast Blake poured out his heart to his really
supportive friend, Butts.
All 91 of the letters, printed on 85 pages of Erdman's
Complete Poetry and Prose... reward the reader. You may
become weary from coping with the continuous barrage of
metaphors, figures, images, etc in Blake's works of art;
turn to the letters, which offer few obstacles to good
understanding.
We read and study Blake many different ways. The 91
letters might provide other 'visions of light'.
must be born again" representing the most significant
event in a person's life-- their awakening from a purely
physical, materialistic life to a P
(MHH, Plate 13, lines 21-23, E39).
A person with inherent gifts of imagination and insight
into their psyche may be susceptible to moments of new
insight that seem like a rebirth. (Three seminary
professors told this student that 'you must be born
again, and again, and again'.)
Such a rebirth for our poet occurred in 1804, and he
immediately reported it to his (corporeal) friend and
physical benefactor, William Hayley; in Letter 51,
dated 23 October 1804 (Erdman 756) Blake wrote:
"Suddenly, on the day after visiting the Truchsessian
Gallery of pictures, I was again enlightened with the
light I enjoyed in my youth, and which has for exactly
twenty years been closed from me as by a door and by
window-shutters." (This letter is well worth reading
but I skipped the first three paragraphs.)
Although the experience had brought Blake a
significant increase in his creative powers, you may
envision even more significant ones in the years before:
Letter 16 to Butts (Oct 2, 1800), mentioned often
recently, which I called first vision of light, appeared
to me to be more critical in Blake's spiritual development.
It was the word from God that empowered him to the
magnificent statement of faith that his great poems
represented.
The letter to Hayley was of another genre; we might call
it an attempt to express his own spiritual attitude in a
way acceptable to the 'non-spirtual friend'. In
contrast Blake poured out his heart to his really
supportive friend, Butts.
All 91 of the letters, printed on 85 pages of Erdman's
Complete Poetry and Prose... reward the reader. You may
become weary from coping with the continuous barrage of
metaphors, figures, images, etc in Blake's works of art;
turn to the letters, which offer few obstacles to good
understanding.
We read and study Blake many different ways. The 91
letters might provide other 'visions of light'.
Awakenings
In the Gospel of John, Nicodemus heard Jesus say, "you
must be born again" representing the most significant
event in a person's life-- their awakening from a purely
physical, materialistic life to a Perception of the Infinite
(MHH, Plate 13, lines 21-23, E39).
A person with inherent gifts of imagination and insight
into their psyche may be susceptible to moments of new
insight that seem like a rebirth. (Three seminary
professors told this student that 'you must be born
again, and again, and again'.)
Such a rebirth for our poet occurred in 1804, and he
immediately reported it to his (corporeal) friend and
physical benefactor, William Hayley; in Letter 51,
dated 23 October 1804 (Erdman 756) Blake wrote:
"Suddenly, on the day after visiting the Truchsessian
Gallery of pictures, I was again enlightened with the
light I enjoyed in my youth, and which has for exactly
twenty years been closed from me as by a door and by
window-shutters." (This letter is well worth reading
but I skipped the first three paragraphs.)
Although the experience had brought Blake a
significant increase in his creative powers, you may
envision even more significant ones in the years before:
Letter 16 to Butts (Oct 2, 1800), mentioned often
recently, which I called first vision of light, appeared
to me to be more critical in Blake's spiritual development.
It was the word from God that empowered him to the
magnificent statement of faith that his great poems
represented.
The letter to Hayley was of another genre; we might call
it an attempt to express his own spiritual attitude in a
way acceptable to the 'non-spirtual friend'. In
contrast Blake poured out his heart to his really
supportive friend, Butts.
All 91 of the letters, printed on 85 pages of Erdman's
Complete Poetry and Prose... reward the reader. You may
become weary from coping with the continuous barrage of
metaphors, figures, images, etc in Blake's works of art;
turn to the letters, which offer few obstacles to good
understanding.
We read and study Blake many different ways. The 91
letters might provide other 'visions of light'.
must be born again" representing the most significant
event in a person's life-- their awakening from a purely
physical, materialistic life to a P
(MHH, Plate 13, lines 21-23, E39).
A person with inherent gifts of imagination and insight
into their psyche may be susceptible to moments of new
insight that seem like a rebirth. (Three seminary
professors told this student that 'you must be born
again, and again, and again'.)
Such a rebirth for our poet occurred in 1804, and he
immediately reported it to his (corporeal) friend and
physical benefactor, William Hayley; in Letter 51,
dated 23 October 1804 (Erdman 756) Blake wrote:
"Suddenly, on the day after visiting the Truchsessian
Gallery of pictures, I was again enlightened with the
light I enjoyed in my youth, and which has for exactly
twenty years been closed from me as by a door and by
window-shutters." (This letter is well worth reading
but I skipped the first three paragraphs.)
Although the experience had brought Blake a
significant increase in his creative powers, you may
envision even more significant ones in the years before:
Letter 16 to Butts (Oct 2, 1800), mentioned often
recently, which I called first vision of light, appeared
to me to be more critical in Blake's spiritual development.
It was the word from God that empowered him to the
magnificent statement of faith that his great poems
represented.
The letter to Hayley was of another genre; we might call
it an attempt to express his own spiritual attitude in a
way acceptable to the 'non-spirtual friend'. In
contrast Blake poured out his heart to his really
supportive friend, Butts.
All 91 of the letters, printed on 85 pages of Erdman's
Complete Poetry and Prose... reward the reader. You may
become weary from coping with the continuous barrage of
metaphors, figures, images, etc in Blake's works of art;
turn to the letters, which offer few obstacles to good
understanding.
We read and study Blake many different ways. The 91
letters might provide other 'visions of light'.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
POETIC GENIUS
BLAKE'S SUBLIME ALLEGORY, Edited by Stuart Curran
and Joseph Anthony Wittreich, Jr.
This book is a useful addition to the Blake shelf in our
library. It is easier to understand than some and more
thorough than others.
In addition to the helpful essay 'On Reading the Four Zoas'
by Mary Lynn Johnson and Brian Wilkie, are several others
including 'The Aim of Blake's Prophecies' by Jerome
McGann, which I particularly like.
From page 16, I quote:
"...The demand is that we set the poem's terms into
successively different types of relations to each other.
Blake's art is a sort of Glass Bead Game. (Hermann
Hesse, The Glass Bead Game) To "make sense" of his
works we establish in and for them different forms of
order, based on shifting sets of dissociations and
associations, contrasts and analogies. To cease the
act of creating these relations, or ironically, unbuilding
them again, is to lapse into single vision."
page 17 "Every line ought to be an opportunity for
outwitting Satan's watch fiends, while every poem as a
whole is designed as a spiritual exercise for the
encouragement of universal prophecy."
page 20 "Golgonooza is the house whose windows of the
morning open out to the worlds of eternity, where Jesus
dwells. We were never meant to live in, or with it but
through it."
page 21 "...artists must approach the world not with
creations which will trap men but with visions that will
encourage imaginative activity."
Trapped in the Cave of the Mind
The point to me is that Blake did not write poetry whose
meaning is discernible in static images, methods, or rules.
He wrote to encourage the kind of discernment or
perception which characterizes intuitive, imaginative,
immediate response to the image which presents itself.
The way he wrote, what he wrote, and why he wrote are
all one piece: imagination permeates all. He didn't want us
to exit by the same door we entered, so he closed that
one door and left all the others open.
and Joseph Anthony Wittreich, Jr.
This book is a useful addition to the Blake shelf in our
library. It is easier to understand than some and more
thorough than others.
In addition to the helpful essay 'On Reading the Four Zoas'
by Mary Lynn Johnson and Brian Wilkie, are several others
including 'The Aim of Blake's Prophecies' by Jerome
McGann, which I particularly like.
From page 16, I quote:
"...The demand is that we set the poem's terms into
successively different types of relations to each other.
Blake's art is a sort of Glass Bead Game. (Hermann
Hesse, The Glass Bead Game) To "make sense" of his
works we establish in and for them different forms of
order, based on shifting sets of dissociations and
associations, contrasts and analogies. To cease the
act of creating these relations, or ironically, unbuilding
them again, is to lapse into single vision."
page 17 "Every line ought to be an opportunity for
outwitting Satan's watch fiends, while every poem as a
whole is designed as a spiritual exercise for the
encouragement of universal prophecy."
page 20 "Golgonooza is the house whose windows of the
morning open out to the worlds of eternity, where Jesus
dwells. We were never meant to live in, or with it but
through it."
page 21 "...artists must approach the world not with
creations which will trap men but with visions that will
encourage imaginative activity."
Trapped in the Cave of the Mind
The point to me is that Blake did not write poetry whose
meaning is discernible in static images, methods, or rules.
He wrote to encourage the kind of discernment or
perception which characterizes intuitive, imaginative,
immediate response to the image which presents itself.
The way he wrote, what he wrote, and why he wrote are
all one piece: imagination permeates all. He didn't want us
to exit by the same door we entered, so he closed that
one door and left all the others open.
POETIC GENIUS
BLAKE'S SUBLIME ALLEGORY, Edited by Stuart Curran and
Joseph Anthony Wittreich, Jr.
This book is a useful addition to the Blake shelf in our
library. It is easier to understand than some and more
thorough than others.
In addition to the helpful essay 'On Reading the Four Zoas' by
Mary Lynn Johnson and Brian Wilkie, are several others including
'The Aim of Blake's Prophecies' by Jerome McGann, which I
particularly like.
From page 16, I quote:
"...The demand is that we set the poem's terms into successively
different types of relations to each other. Blake's art is a sort of
Glass Bead Game. (Hermann Hesse, The Glass Bead Game)
To "make sense" of his works we establish in and for them
different forms of order, based on shifting sets of dissociations
and associations, contrasts and analogies. To cease the act of
creating these relations, or ironically, unbuilding them again, is
to lapse into single vision."
page 17 "Every line ought to be an opportunity for outwitting
Satan's watch fiends, while every poem as a whole is designed
as a spiritual exercise for the encouragement of universal
prophecy."
page 20 "Golgonooza is the house whose windows of the
morning open out to the worlds of eternity, where Jesus dwells.
We were never meant to live in, or with it but through it."
page 21 "...artists must approach the world not with creations
which will trap men but with visions that will encourage
imaginative activity."
Trapped in the Cave of the Mind
The point to me is that Blake did not write poetry whose
meaning is discernible in static images, methods, or rules. He
wrote to encourage the kind of discernment or perception
which characterizes intuitive, imaginative, immediate response
to the image which presents itself. The way he wrote, what
he wrote, and why he wrote are all one piece: imagination
permeates all. He didn't want us to exit by the same door we
entered, so he closed that one door and left all the others
open.
Joseph Anthony Wittreich, Jr.
This book is a useful addition to the Blake shelf in our
library. It is easier to understand than some and more
thorough than others.
In addition to the helpful essay 'On Reading the Four Zoas' by
Mary Lynn Johnson and Brian Wilkie, are several others including
'The Aim of Blake's Prophecies' by Jerome McGann, which I
particularly like.
From page 16, I quote:
"...The demand is that we set the poem's terms into successively
different types of relations to each other. Blake's art is a sort of
Glass Bead Game. (Hermann Hesse, The Glass Bead Game)
To "make sense" of his works we establish in and for them
different forms of order, based on shifting sets of dissociations
and associations, contrasts and analogies. To cease the act of
creating these relations, or ironically, unbuilding them again, is
to lapse into single vision."
page 17 "Every line ought to be an opportunity for outwitting
Satan's watch fiends, while every poem as a whole is designed
as a spiritual exercise for the encouragement of universal
prophecy."
page 20 "Golgonooza is the house whose windows of the
morning open out to the worlds of eternity, where Jesus dwells.
We were never meant to live in, or with it but through it."
page 21 "...artists must approach the world not with creations
which will trap men but with visions that will encourage
imaginative activity."
Trapped in the Cave of the Mind
The point to me is that Blake did not write poetry whose
meaning is discernible in static images, methods, or rules. He
wrote to encourage the kind of discernment or perception
which characterizes intuitive, imaginative, immediate response
to the image which presents itself. The way he wrote, what
he wrote, and why he wrote are all one piece: imagination
permeates all. He didn't want us to exit by the same door we
entered, so he closed that one door and left all the others
open.
Monday, September 28, 2009
The Circle of Destiny
In Night One of The Four Zoas, after a disheartening relationship with Enion, his emanation [wife?], Tharmas reluctantly
"Turnd round the circle of Destiny with tears & bitter sighs,
And said. Return O Wanderer when the Day of Clouds is oer" (Night 1; chapter 5, lines 11 and 12).
The Day of Clouds? Another name for the Circle of Destiny? Or we might call it 'this vale of tears'.
The Circle of Destiny! Percival wrote a book with that name, actually more elementary and hence better for new Blakeans than Fearful Symmetry by Northrup Frey.
The circle of destiny encapsulates Blake's myth perhaps more concisely than any thing else. The rest of The Four Zoas describes the journey Albion (and all of us as well) went through to get back to the Eden he had lost.
Well another concise statement of Blake's purpose came in Plate 12 of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: When Blake asked Ezekiel the reason for some of his bizarre behavior, he replied with "the desire of raising others [humans] into a perception of the infinite".
So what is the Circle of Destiny that Blake charged his character, Tharmas with? One of the best answers comes in Blake's magnificent Arlington Tempera.
Click on the picture for an enlargement.
More to come!
Tell me what you think.
"Turnd round the circle of Destiny with tears & bitter sighs,
And said. Return O Wanderer when the Day of Clouds is oer" (Night 1; chapter 5, lines 11 and 12).
The Day of Clouds? Another name for the Circle of Destiny? Or we might call it 'this vale of tears'.
The Circle of Destiny! Percival wrote a book with that name, actually more elementary and hence better for new Blakeans than Fearful Symmetry by Northrup Frey.
The circle of destiny encapsulates Blake's myth perhaps more concisely than any thing else. The rest of The Four Zoas describes the journey Albion (and all of us as well) went through to get back to the Eden he had lost.
Well another concise statement of Blake's purpose came in Plate 12 of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: When Blake asked Ezekiel the reason for some of his bizarre behavior, he replied with "the desire of raising others [humans] into a perception of the infinite".
So what is the Circle of Destiny that Blake charged his character, Tharmas with? One of the best answers comes in Blake's magnificent Arlington Tempera.
Click on the picture for an enlargement.
More to come!
Tell me what you think.
The Circle of Destiny
In Night One of The Four Zoas, after a disheartening relationship with Enion, his emanation [wife?], Tharmas reluctantly
"Turnd round the circle of Destiny with tears & bitter sighs,
And said. Return O Wanderer when the Day of Clouds is oer" (Night 1; chapter 5, lines 11 and 12).
The Day of Clouds? Another name for the Circle of Destiny? Or we might call it 'this vale of tears'.
The Circle of Destiny! Percival wrote a book with that name, actually more elementary and hence better for new Blakeans than Fearful Symmetry by Northrup Frey.
The circle of destiny encapsulates Blake's myth perhaps more concisely than any thing else. The rest of The Four Zoas describes the journey Albion (and all of us as well) went through to get back to the Eden he had lost.
Well another concise statement of Blake's purpose came in Plate 12 of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: When Blake asked Ezekiel the reason for some of his bizarre behavior, he replied with "the desire of raising others [humans] into a perception of the infinite".
So what is the Circle of Destiny that Blake charged his character, Tharmas with? One of the best answers comes in Blake's magnificent Arlington Tempera.
Click on the picture for an enlargement.
More to come!
Tell me what you think.
"Turnd round the circle of Destiny with tears & bitter sighs,
And said. Return O Wanderer when the Day of Clouds is oer" (Night 1; chapter 5, lines 11 and 12).
The Day of Clouds? Another name for the Circle of Destiny? Or we might call it 'this vale of tears'.
The Circle of Destiny! Percival wrote a book with that name, actually more elementary and hence better for new Blakeans than Fearful Symmetry by Northrup Frey.
The circle of destiny encapsulates Blake's myth perhaps more concisely than any thing else. The rest of The Four Zoas describes the journey Albion (and all of us as well) went through to get back to the Eden he had lost.
Well another concise statement of Blake's purpose came in Plate 12 of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell: When Blake asked Ezekiel the reason for some of his bizarre behavior, he replied with "the desire of raising others [humans] into a perception of the infinite".
So what is the Circle of Destiny that Blake charged his character, Tharmas with? One of the best answers comes in Blake's magnificent Arlington Tempera.
Click on the picture for an enlargement.
More to come!
Tell me what you think.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
BLAKE: PHENOMENON OR VISIONARY
Was Blake widely read and influential among his contemporaries? NO.
Did he build institutions to transform society? NO.
Did he establish a school of thought to perpetuate his ideas? NO.
Was he a leader who changed his little corner of the world? NO.
Did he have wealth, power or success? NO.
Did he leave a legacy, a body of work in words and pictures, that is becoming recognized as a treasure for developing the human mind and spirit? YES!
When I look at the resources that have been made available for the study of this obscure artist and poet who lived about the time America was being born, I am delighted. Who else has all his poetry and prose available online. Who else has an online concordance to his work to make it immediately searchable for every word or phrase. Who has a web site devoted to displaying his graphic output in the most technologically sophisticated and artistically sensitive way.
So why have all this effort and all these resources been devoted to this artist whose books were produced by the two, or threes, sometimes by the dozens or left in manuscript form only?
Is he becoming known now because he is difficult to read and produces images which are mystifying at first glance? Or can we find some other reasons. Effort is being made into figuring him out. Some study him objectively to describe how he fits in the body of English literature, or how he was influenced by traditions of multiple sorts, or how the times in which he lived determined his understanding of the world. The structure of his work; the techniques he used; his relationship to philosophies, psychologies, religions; how he fits into various structures of thought in science, politics, aesthetics - all ways in which he is being studied as an object from every direction.
But there is another way to study him - subjectively. By looking at what he taught through his poetic visions and graphic images, by looking at the content, not just the form of his output; we can engage in the process of absorbing into our psyches what he had to teach. Of course one wouldn't want to allow someone to influence one's psyche unless one was convinced of the benevolence of the artist, poet or teacher.
So one way to get started on Blake is through becoming familiar with quotes from his works which encapsulate some of his original expressions of archetypal ideas.
"Everything possible to be believed is an image of truth."
"Eternity is in love with the productions of time."
"I give you the end of a golden string
Only wind it into a ball,
It will lead you in through heavens gate
built in Jerusalem's wall."
" Man was made for joy and woe
And if this he rightly know,
He through life may safely go,
Joy and Woe woven fine,
A clothing for the Soul Divine."
If we become convinced that we want to gain access to his insights, of course we will let him speak to us directly through the words of his poetry and the visual images. Of course we will get help in understanding his complex mythology from scholars and Blake enthusiasts. But we shouldn't allow ourselves to be drawn into making our studies objective rather than subjective. If we don't come to see Blake as a great man, with a gift of genius from God "to raise the consciousness on men to a perception of the Infinite", we will have missed the reason for studying him, and for all the effort that has been made to make him available to us.
EUROPE, Plate 13 "Till the night of holy shadows and human solitude is past!"
Did he build institutions to transform society? NO.
Did he establish a school of thought to perpetuate his ideas? NO.
Was he a leader who changed his little corner of the world? NO.
Did he have wealth, power or success? NO.
Did he leave a legacy, a body of work in words and pictures, that is becoming recognized as a treasure for developing the human mind and spirit? YES!
When I look at the resources that have been made available for the study of this obscure artist and poet who lived about the time America was being born, I am delighted. Who else has all his poetry and prose available online. Who else has an online concordance to his work to make it immediately searchable for every word or phrase. Who has a web site devoted to displaying his graphic output in the most technologically sophisticated and artistically sensitive way.
So why have all this effort and all these resources been devoted to this artist whose books were produced by the two, or threes, sometimes by the dozens or left in manuscript form only?
Is he becoming known now because he is difficult to read and produces images which are mystifying at first glance? Or can we find some other reasons. Effort is being made into figuring him out. Some study him objectively to describe how he fits in the body of English literature, or how he was influenced by traditions of multiple sorts, or how the times in which he lived determined his understanding of the world. The structure of his work; the techniques he used; his relationship to philosophies, psychologies, religions; how he fits into various structures of thought in science, politics, aesthetics - all ways in which he is being studied as an object from every direction.
But there is another way to study him - subjectively. By looking at what he taught through his poetic visions and graphic images, by looking at the content, not just the form of his output; we can engage in the process of absorbing into our psyches what he had to teach. Of course one wouldn't want to allow someone to influence one's psyche unless one was convinced of the benevolence of the artist, poet or teacher.
So one way to get started on Blake is through becoming familiar with quotes from his works which encapsulate some of his original expressions of archetypal ideas.
"Everything possible to be believed is an image of truth."
"Eternity is in love with the productions of time."
"I give you the end of a golden string
Only wind it into a ball,
It will lead you in through heavens gate
built in Jerusalem's wall."
" Man was made for joy and woe
And if this he rightly know,
He through life may safely go,
Joy and Woe woven fine,
A clothing for the Soul Divine."
If we become convinced that we want to gain access to his insights, of course we will let him speak to us directly through the words of his poetry and the visual images. Of course we will get help in understanding his complex mythology from scholars and Blake enthusiasts. But we shouldn't allow ourselves to be drawn into making our studies objective rather than subjective. If we don't come to see Blake as a great man, with a gift of genius from God "to raise the consciousness on men to a perception of the Infinite", we will have missed the reason for studying him, and for all the effort that has been made to make him available to us.
EUROPE, Plate 13 "Till the night of holy shadows and human solitude is past!"
BLAKE: PHENOMENON OR VISIONARY
Was Blake widely read and influential among his contemporaries? NO.
Did he build institutions to transform society? NO.
Did he establish a school of thought to perpetuate his ideas? NO.
Was he a leader who changed his little corner of the world? NO.
Did he have wealth, power or success? NO.
Did he leave a legacy, a body of work in words and pictures, that is becoming recognized as a treasure for developing the human mind and spirit? YES!
When I look at the resources that have been made available for the study of this obscure artist and poet who lived about the time America was being born, I am delighted. Who else has all his poetry and prose available online. Who else has an online concordance to his work to make it immediately searchable for every word or phrase. Who has a web site devoted to displaying his graphic output in the most technologically sophisticated and artistically sensitive way.
So why have all this effort and all these resources been devoted to this artist whose books were produced by the two, or threes, sometimes by the dozens or left in manuscript form only?
Is he becoming known now because he is difficult to read and produces images which are mystifying at first glance? Or can we find some other reasons. Effort is being made into figuring him out. Some study him objectively to describe how he fits in the body of English literature, or how he was influenced by traditions of multiple sorts, or how the times in which he lived determined his understanding of the world. The structure of his work; the techniques he used; his relationship to philosophies, psychologies, religions; how he fits into various structures of thought in science, politics, aesthetics - all ways in which he is being studied as an object from every direction.
But there is another way to study him - subjectively. By looking at what he taught through his poetic visions and graphic images, by looking at the content, not just the form of his output; we can engage in the process of absorbing into our psyches what he had to teach. Of course one wouldn't want to allow someone to influence one's psyche unless one was convinced of the benevolence of the artist, poet or teacher.
So one way to get started on Blake is through becoming familiar with quotes from his works which encapsulate some of his original expressions of archetypal ideas.
"Everything possible to be believed is an image of truth."
"Eternity is in love with the productions of time."
"I give you the end of a golden string
Only wind it into a ball,
It will lead you in through heavens gate
built in Jerusalem's wall."
" Man was made for joy and woe
And if this he rightly know,
He through life may safely go,
Joy and Woe woven fine,
A clothing for the Soul Divine."
If we become convinced that we want to gain access to his insights, of course we will let him speak to us directly through the words of his poetry and the visual images. Of course we will get help in understanding his complex mythology from scholars and Blake enthusiasts. But we shouldn't allow ourselves to be drawn into making our studies objective rather than subjective. If we don't come to see Blake as a great man, with a gift of genius from God "to raise the consciousness on men to a perception of the Infinite", we will have missed the reason for studying him, and for all the effort that has been made to make him available to us.
EUROPE, Plate 13 "Till the night of holy shadows and human solitude is past!"
Did he build institutions to transform society? NO.
Did he establish a school of thought to perpetuate his ideas? NO.
Was he a leader who changed his little corner of the world? NO.
Did he have wealth, power or success? NO.
Did he leave a legacy, a body of work in words and pictures, that is becoming recognized as a treasure for developing the human mind and spirit? YES!
When I look at the resources that have been made available for the study of this obscure artist and poet who lived about the time America was being born, I am delighted. Who else has all his poetry and prose available online. Who else has an online concordance to his work to make it immediately searchable for every word or phrase. Who has a web site devoted to displaying his graphic output in the most technologically sophisticated and artistically sensitive way.
So why have all this effort and all these resources been devoted to this artist whose books were produced by the two, or threes, sometimes by the dozens or left in manuscript form only?
Is he becoming known now because he is difficult to read and produces images which are mystifying at first glance? Or can we find some other reasons. Effort is being made into figuring him out. Some study him objectively to describe how he fits in the body of English literature, or how he was influenced by traditions of multiple sorts, or how the times in which he lived determined his understanding of the world. The structure of his work; the techniques he used; his relationship to philosophies, psychologies, religions; how he fits into various structures of thought in science, politics, aesthetics - all ways in which he is being studied as an object from every direction.
But there is another way to study him - subjectively. By looking at what he taught through his poetic visions and graphic images, by looking at the content, not just the form of his output; we can engage in the process of absorbing into our psyches what he had to teach. Of course one wouldn't want to allow someone to influence one's psyche unless one was convinced of the benevolence of the artist, poet or teacher.
So one way to get started on Blake is through becoming familiar with quotes from his works which encapsulate some of his original expressions of archetypal ideas.
"Everything possible to be believed is an image of truth."
"Eternity is in love with the productions of time."
"I give you the end of a golden string
Only wind it into a ball,
It will lead you in through heavens gate
built in Jerusalem's wall."
" Man was made for joy and woe
And if this he rightly know,
He through life may safely go,
Joy and Woe woven fine,
A clothing for the Soul Divine."
If we become convinced that we want to gain access to his insights, of course we will let him speak to us directly through the words of his poetry and the visual images. Of course we will get help in understanding his complex mythology from scholars and Blake enthusiasts. But we shouldn't allow ourselves to be drawn into making our studies objective rather than subjective. If we don't come to see Blake as a great man, with a gift of genius from God "to raise the consciousness on men to a perception of the Infinite", we will have missed the reason for studying him, and for all the effort that has been made to make him available to us.
EUROPE, Plate 13 "Till the night of holy shadows and human solitude is past!"
Friday, February 6, 2009
VENGEANCE
Jesus taught forgiveness not vengeance. Blake rejected the God of vengeance of the Old Testament for the God of forgiveness of the New Testament.
Matthew 5:43-45 - "You have heard that it used to be said, 'You shall love your neighbour', and 'hate your enemy', but I tell you, Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Heavenly Father. For he makes the sun rise upon evil men as well as good, and he sends his rain upon honest and dishonest men alike."
Matthew 7:1-5
Judge not, that ye be not judged.
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you.
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me cast out the mote out of thine eye; and lo, the beam is in thine own eye?
Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
In Jerusalem, Blake explains his attitude toward taking retribution for offense. He realizes that executing vengeful punishment does greater harm to the person who has been offended than it does to the offender. Doing harm - hindering your brother - does harm within yourself and hinders your spiritual development. The person who harms others, harms himself. Forgiving your brother opens your heart to receiving God's love and mending divisions in the unity of the whole body.
Jerusalem, Plate 25, (E 169)
"But Vengeance is the destroyer of Grace & Repentance in the bosom
Of the Injurer: in which the Divine Lamb is cruelly slain:
Descend O Lamb of God & take away the imputation of Sin
By the Creation of States & the deliverance of Individuals
Evermore Amen"
Jerusalem, Plate 47, (E 193)
"What shall I [Los] do! what could I do, if I could find these Criminals
I could not dare to take vengeance; for all things are so constructed
And builded by the Divine hand, that the sinner shall always escape,
And he who takes vengeance alone is the criminal of Providence;
If I should dare to lay my finger on a grain of sand
In way of vengeance; I punish the already punishd: O whom
Should I pity if I pity not the sinner who is gone astray!
O Albion, if thou takest vengeance; if thou revengest thy wrongs
Thou art for ever lost! What can I do to hinder the Sons
Of Albion from taking vengeance? or how shall I them perswade.
PLATE 48
These were his [Albion's] last words, and the merciful Saviour in his arms
Reciev'd him, in the arms of tender mercy and repos'd
The pale limbs of his Eternal Individuality
Upon the Rock of Ages."
Vala, Hyle, and Skofield
Blake created an image on Plate 51, which illustrates the harm which comes to the individual when he does harm to others. The three in the illustration are Vala, Hyle and Skofield; three whom Blake might consider his worst enemies. Vala is materiality, fallen Nature, the obscuring and distorting principle which hides Eternity and restrictes his imagination. Pictured as dark and frozen she bears no resemblance to the rich and glorious unfallen Nature. Hyle is Blake's representation of Hayley who wanted to prevent Blake from following his Imagination in exercising his artistic and poetic talents; pretending to be a friend he wanted to direct Blake's work to popular media. Hyle is pictured as if he were enclosed in a cube, his 'doors of perception' to this world as well as the other, are closed and locked. Skofield who brought Blake to law by false accusation, is pictured in the chains with which he hoped to manacle Blake. He is burning with the fire of wrath rather then sitting in darkness as is Vala.
But I think Blake presented these three, not as the vengeful but as 'the sinners' who 'always escape' although they have 'gone astray.'
Matthew 5:43-45 - "You have heard that it used to be said, 'You shall love your neighbour', and 'hate your enemy', but I tell you, Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Heavenly Father. For he makes the sun rise upon evil men as well as good, and he sends his rain upon honest and dishonest men alike."
Matthew 7:1-5
Judge not, that ye be not judged.
For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you.
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me cast out the mote out of thine eye; and lo, the beam is in thine own eye?
Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
In Jerusalem, Blake explains his attitude toward taking retribution for offense. He realizes that executing vengeful punishment does greater harm to the person who has been offended than it does to the offender. Doing harm - hindering your brother - does harm within yourself and hinders your spiritual development. The person who harms others, harms himself. Forgiving your brother opens your heart to receiving God's love and mending divisions in the unity of the whole body.
Jerusalem, Plate 25, (E 169)
"But Vengeance is the destroyer of Grace & Repentance in the bosom
Of the Injurer: in which the Divine Lamb is cruelly slain:
Descend O Lamb of God & take away the imputation of Sin
By the Creation of States & the deliverance of Individuals
Evermore Amen"
Jerusalem, Plate 47, (E 193)
"What shall I [Los] do! what could I do, if I could find these Criminals
I could not dare to take vengeance; for all things are so constructed
And builded by the Divine hand, that the sinner shall always escape,
And he who takes vengeance alone is the criminal of Providence;
If I should dare to lay my finger on a grain of sand
In way of vengeance; I punish the already punishd: O whom
Should I pity if I pity not the sinner who is gone astray!
O Albion, if thou takest vengeance; if thou revengest thy wrongs
Thou art for ever lost! What can I do to hinder the Sons
Of Albion from taking vengeance? or how shall I them perswade.
PLATE 48
These were his [Albion's] last words, and the merciful Saviour in his arms
Reciev'd him, in the arms of tender mercy and repos'd
The pale limbs of his Eternal Individuality
Upon the Rock of Ages."
Vala, Hyle, and Skofield
Blake created an image on Plate 51, which illustrates the harm which comes to the individual when he does harm to others. The three in the illustration are Vala, Hyle and Skofield; three whom Blake might consider his worst enemies. Vala is materiality, fallen Nature, the obscuring and distorting principle which hides Eternity and restrictes his imagination. Pictured as dark and frozen she bears no resemblance to the rich and glorious unfallen Nature. Hyle is Blake's representation of Hayley who wanted to prevent Blake from following his Imagination in exercising his artistic and poetic talents; pretending to be a friend he wanted to direct Blake's work to popular media. Hyle is pictured as if he were enclosed in a cube, his 'doors of perception' to this world as well as the other, are closed and locked. Skofield who brought Blake to law by false accusation, is pictured in the chains with which he hoped to manacle Blake. He is burning with the fire of wrath rather then sitting in darkness as is Vala.
But I think Blake presented these three, not as the vengeful but as 'the sinners' who 'always escape' although they have 'gone astray.'
Monday, August 13, 2007
Perception of the Infinite
Ezekiel once acted out a bizarre symptom of the prospects of the Israelites, lying for 3 months on his right side, then 3 months on his left. Mr.Blake once had a conversatiion with him and asked him why he had done it and the answer came clearly: "the desire of raising other [people] into a perception of the infinite".
Who can doubt that William actually had that interview with Zeke? But if truth be known, that desire became the agenda for Blake's life, and perhaps the generic life purpose of every true prophet.
He saw things that most of us don't, and he urgently needed to show them to us, to show us how to see them.
There are many kinds of seeing and many levels of consciousness, but with the natural proclivity to resort to the dialectic we might say there are two:
1. The sense-based, natural, materialistic consciousness (Blake called this Ulro; Jesus called it Hell).
2. Vision, coming forth from the inner man, the Light, the Now. It's a different kind of consciousness, a perception of the infinite (Blake called it Eden; Jesus called it the Kingdom of Heaven or the Kingdom of God).
Jesus showed us with his life how to live eternally; and he told us we could do it. Blake did it, periodically at least, and like Jesus he wanted us to share that heavenly gift.
He called it Vision; that's what he lived for, those eternal moments were all that matters. If you can't do it continuously, then you can talk about it, write about it, draw it, paint it. He did (and you can) show us how to see.
Do you want to see? Read Blake.
Who can doubt that William actually had that interview with Zeke? But if truth be known, that desire became the agenda for Blake's life, and perhaps the generic life purpose of every true prophet.
He saw things that most of us don't, and he urgently needed to show them to us, to show us how to see them.
There are many kinds of seeing and many levels of consciousness, but with the natural proclivity to resort to the dialectic we might say there are two:
1. The sense-based, natural, materialistic consciousness (Blake called this Ulro; Jesus called it Hell).
2. Vision, coming forth from the inner man, the Light, the Now. It's a different kind of consciousness, a perception of the infinite (Blake called it Eden; Jesus called it the Kingdom of Heaven or the Kingdom of God).
Jesus showed us with his life how to live eternally; and he told us we could do it. Blake did it, periodically at least, and like Jesus he wanted us to share that heavenly gift.
He called it Vision; that's what he lived for, those eternal moments were all that matters. If you can't do it continuously, then you can talk about it, write about it, draw it, paint it. He did (and you can) show us how to see.
Do you want to see? Read Blake.
Perception of the Infinite
Ezekiel once acted out a bizarre symptom of the prospects of the Israelites, lying for 3 months on his right side, then 3 months on his left. Mr.Blake once had a conversatiion with him and asked him why he had done it and the answer came clearly: "the desire of raising other [people] into a perception of the infinite".
Who can doubt that William actually had that interview with Zeke? But if truth be known, that desire became the agenda for Blake's life, and perhaps the generic life purpose of every true prophet.
He saw things that most of us don't, and he urgently needed to show them to us, to show us how to see them.
There are many kinds of seeing and many levels of consciousness, but with the natural proclivity to resort to the dialectic we might say there are two:
1. The sense-based, natural, materialistic consciousness (Blake called this Ulro; Jesus called it Hell).
2. Vision, coming forth from the inner man, the Light, the Now. It's a different kind of consciousness, a perception of the infinite (Blake called it Eden; Jesus called it the Kingdom of Heaven or the Kingdom of God).
Jesus showed us with his life how to live eternally; and he told us we could do it. Blake did it, periodically at least, and like Jesus he wanted us to share that heavenly gift.
He called it Vision; that's what he lived for, those eternal moments were all that matters. If you can't do it continuously, then you can talk about it, write about it, draw it, paint it. He did (and you can) show us how to see.
Do you want to see? Read Blake.
Who can doubt that William actually had that interview with Zeke? But if truth be known, that desire became the agenda for Blake's life, and perhaps the generic life purpose of every true prophet.
He saw things that most of us don't, and he urgently needed to show them to us, to show us how to see them.
There are many kinds of seeing and many levels of consciousness, but with the natural proclivity to resort to the dialectic we might say there are two:
1. The sense-based, natural, materialistic consciousness (Blake called this Ulro; Jesus called it Hell).
2. Vision, coming forth from the inner man, the Light, the Now. It's a different kind of consciousness, a perception of the infinite (Blake called it Eden; Jesus called it the Kingdom of Heaven or the Kingdom of God).
Jesus showed us with his life how to live eternally; and he told us we could do it. Blake did it, periodically at least, and like Jesus he wanted us to share that heavenly gift.
He called it Vision; that's what he lived for, those eternal moments were all that matters. If you can't do it continuously, then you can talk about it, write about it, draw it, paint it. He did (and you can) show us how to see.
Do you want to see? Read Blake.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Blake and the Bible
(Look also at Blake's Bible.)
If you think the Bible is inerrant, and that every word has one and only one meaning, then you don't need to read this any further.
Blake had an unparalleled freedom with the Bible. Northrup Frye referred to him as a Bible soaked protestant. He was Bible soaked, but the meanings he found in most of the Bible were distinctive and often unique: "Both read the Bible day and night,But thou read’st black where I read white."
Blake's 'white' reading will excite you and/or repel you. Or perhaps you will add your Blake to the canon; that happens.
1. The idea of Nobodaddy implies an explicit and emphatic rejection of the "sub-Christian" elements of the O.T.
Blake spent half his life figuring out who/what Christ was, after which he measured the quality and value of everything in the Bible in accordance with Christ's identity.
He rejected the thump on the head for the "healing balm".
2. He put the same value on his own visions (and vision) as he did the Bible. In visions he conversed with Isaiah and Ezekiel (see the second Memorable Fancy). My wife's favorite Blake quoted Ezekiel's conversation with Blake thusly: when Blake asked him why he behaved so erratically re living in his underwear and spending 3 months on his left side, etc., Ezekiel responded "'the desire of raising other men into a perception of the infinite". That has in fact became our calling in life.
To use slightly more orthodox terminology we could say the desire to get people thinking about Heaven (in it's larger meaning). That's a good subject for another post.
When our youngest was married (an outdoor Catholic marriage, I had a chance to read some scripture. I finished with the quotation from "Saint William Blake":
"Throughout Eternity I forgive you, you forgive me;
as the dear Redeemer said, this the wine and this the bread."
Blake was very free with his use of the Bible, as I, too strive to be, God willing.
There's much further information on this subject at Chapter Six of my Blake website.
If you think the Bible is inerrant, and that every word has one and only one meaning, then you don't need to read this any further.
Blake had an unparalleled freedom with the Bible. Northrup Frye referred to him as a Bible soaked protestant. He was Bible soaked, but the meanings he found in most of the Bible were distinctive and often unique: "Both read the Bible day and night,But thou read’st black where I read white."
Blake's 'white' reading will excite you and/or repel you. Or perhaps you will add your Blake to the canon; that happens.
1. The idea of Nobodaddy implies an explicit and emphatic rejection of the "sub-Christian" elements of the O.T.
Blake spent half his life figuring out who/what Christ was, after which he measured the quality and value of everything in the Bible in accordance with Christ's identity.
He rejected the thump on the head for the "healing balm".
2. He put the same value on his own visions (and vision) as he did the Bible. In visions he conversed with Isaiah and Ezekiel (see the second Memorable Fancy). My wife's favorite Blake quoted Ezekiel's conversation with Blake thusly: when Blake asked him why he behaved so erratically re living in his underwear and spending 3 months on his left side, etc., Ezekiel responded "'the desire of raising other men into a perception of the infinite". That has in fact became our calling in life.
To use slightly more orthodox terminology we could say the desire to get people thinking about Heaven (in it's larger meaning). That's a good subject for another post.
When our youngest was married (an outdoor Catholic marriage, I had a chance to read some scripture. I finished with the quotation from "Saint William Blake":
"Throughout Eternity I forgive you, you forgive me;
as the dear Redeemer said, this the wine and this the bread."
Blake was very free with his use of the Bible, as I, too strive to be, God willing.
There's much further information on this subject at Chapter Six of my Blake website.
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