Blake's Moment of Grace

(This subject was also dealt with in Blake's Life.
The mind form'd manacles that he dealt with in various ways suggest that (in his own mind at least) he was largely free of them.)

With the Gnostics Blake believed that the Creator was an inferior (false) God; he had messed up the world pretty good. (You could find many people nowadays who might agree with that idea.):

Vision of The Last Judgment, E565):
"Thinking as I do that the Creator of this World is a very
Cruel Being & being a Worshipper of Christ I cannot help saying the Son O how unlike the Father
First God Almighty comes with a Thump on the Head
Then Jesus Christ comes with a balm to heal it."

Blake put these words in the mouth of Urizen:
"I am God from Eternity to Eternity"

(FZ1-12.23; E307)

( This is a fundamental archetype of Mankind, at least for Blake's culture and for ours.)

A mind form'd manacle indeed, but the one he struggled with for a long time was what he called the main chance. By that I think he meant the need for recognition of his gifts accompanied by an adequate income:
" I myself remember when I thought my pursuits of Art a kind of Criminal Dissipation & neglect of the main chance which I hid my face for not being able to abandon as a Passion which is forbidden by Law & Religion"

He rocked along for twenty years writing jewels and painting masterpieces--both of them rather uniformly ignored by the public; also by other poets and painters.

In 1800 an affluent poet named Hayley offered a house near the sea for Blake and his wife, a real beneficence! He hoped to make a successful artist of Blake painting miniatures; he discouraged Blake's poetry. Blake had already suffered similar attitudes from many, but none had been more beneficent.

We might consider this Blake's last temptation, and he passed it. Note in this letter to Hayley:
"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.."

The letter reveals that Blake had "annihilated the Selfhood" to the point where he could forgive Hayley for his insensitive insistence that Blake follow his (inferior!!) artistic direction. For Blake it led to the moment of grace, where, his negativities overcome, he could simply appreciate Hayley's hospitality.

Henceforth the 'inferior God' no longer had terrors for Blake; he was too filled with the new God he had found: Jesus, the Forgiveness. He changed from the stern prophet to the happy bearer of good news; he became the ram horn'd with gold.

Annihilate the Selfhood

We hear about this from Blake only after his conversion
to Christianity; it was a consequence of the Moment of Grace.

Blake spent his youth denouncing the 'Enemy': an
oppressive political and economic conspiracy against
Albion--its tool, the 'State Church' (all churches in
fact), exploitation of the poor, the Art merchants
who approved only commercial art (they had dealt with
Blake like the Pharisees dealt with Jesus), and
finally the misguided help of a 'corporeal friend'.

Jerusalem, Plate 76

After all this came the Moment when he heard the voice:
"thou ram horn'd with gold", and he knew himself accepted
and used by the Eternal Powers that abide after all the
above has passed away. Here's where he was at that point
in his journey through life, and the system with which he
reported it.

He came to see that the 'Enemy' was within (we have met
the enemy, and he is Us). He 'came to himself', he
confessed his sins. Henceforth the annihilation of his selfhood (Jerusalem 5, line 23) and the power of Forgiveness became his chief motifs. The old, old story was told again.

Annihilate the Selfhood

We hear about this from Blake only after his conversion
to Christianity; it was a consequence of the Moment of Grace.

Blake spent his youth denouncing the 'Enemy': an
oppressive political and economic conspiracy against
Albion--its tool, the 'State Church' (all churches in
fact), exploitation of the poor, the Art merchants
who approved only commercial art (they had dealt with
Blake like the Pharisees dealt with Jesus), and
finally the misguided help of a 'corporeal friend'.

Jerusalem, Plate 76

After all this came the Moment when he heard the voice:
"thou ram horn'd with gold", and he knew himself accepted
and used by the Eternal Powers that abide after all the
above has passed away. Here's where he was at that point
in his journey through life, and the system with which he
reported it.

He came to see that the 'Enemy' was within (we have met
the enemy, and he is Us). He 'came to himself', he
confessed his sins. Henceforth the annihilation of his selfhood (Jerusalem 5, line 23) and the power of Forgiveness became his chief motifs. The old, old story was told again.

WHY RAM HORN'D?

.
Perhaps it is inevitable that archetypal images appear in many settings with varied associations. The archetype of the shepherd and the sheep fits that description. In Blake the shepherd recurs as a metaphor for more than one of his characters; for instance, Tharmas is the shepherd, just as Urthona is the blacksmith, Urizen is the plowman and Luvah is the weaver. The ram, and the lion also appear as protectors of the fold the role usually assigned to the shepherd.

In Night Nine of the Four Zoas which is a culmination of the myth of the fall and division of Albion and his redemption and reunification, there is a passage amidst some of his loveliest poetic images, of the ram in that protective role. This passage deals not with Tharmas but with Luvah and his emanation Vala.

Plate 128.25-27
"So spoke the Sinless Soul & laid her head on the downy fleece
Of a curld Ram who stretchd himself in sleep beside his mistress
And soft sleep fell upon her eyelids in the silent noon of day"

For more of the passage in the Four Zoas click below.
4z's Night Nine go to 126.36, page 396

The poetic image of Vala asleep beside the ram recalls a visual image from America, A Prophecy, a scene of great peace and pastoral beauty. This image is ironically in the midst of an account of outbreak of revolution, the activity of Orc who is best known as Los's son.

Click below for links to the picture.
Asleep Beside the Ram
or
try this one.

This brings us to the poem from which Larry named this blog. In a letter to his friend Thomas Butts, Blake enclosed a poem know as 'My First Vision of Light.'

" ...And I heard his voice Mild
Saying This is My Fold
O thou Ram hornd with gold
Who awakest from sleep
On the sides of the Deep
On the Mountains around
The roarings resound
Of the lion & wolf
The loud sea & deep gulf
These are guards of My Fold
O thou Ram hornd with gold"

Here Blake himself becomes the 'Ram hornd with Gold' and identifies his 'fold' and the protective elements around it. It is a transforming experience for him, encouraging him to overcome the temptation to write for a popular audience and henceforth to speak only from the internal, eternal Imagination.

Letter to Thomas Butts

WHY RAM HORN'D?

.
Perhaps it is inevitable that archetypal images appear in many settings with varied associations. The archetype of the shepherd and the sheep fits that description. In Blake the shepherd recurs as a metaphor for more than one of his characters; for instance, Tharmas is the shepherd, just as Urthona is the blacksmith, Urizen is the plowman and Luvah is the weaver. The ram, and the lion also appear as protectors of the fold the role usually assigned to the shepherd.

In Night Nine of the Four Zoas which is a culmination of the myth of the fall and division of Albion and his redemption and reunification, there is a passage amidst some of his loveliest poetic images, of the ram in that protective role. This passage deals not with Tharmas but with Luvah and his emanation Vala.

Plate 128.25-27
"So spoke the Sinless Soul & laid her head on the downy fleece
Of a curld Ram who stretchd himself in sleep beside his mistress
And soft sleep fell upon her eyelids in the silent noon of day"

For more of the passage in the Four Zoas click below.
4z's Night Nine go to 126.36, page 396

The poetic image of Vala asleep beside the ram recalls a visual image from America, A Prophecy, a scene of great peace and pastoral beauty. This image is ironically in the midst of an account of outbreak of revolution, the activity of Orc who is best known as Los's son.

Click below for links to the picture.
Asleep Beside the Ram
or
try this one.

This brings us to the poem from which Larry named this blog. In a letter to his friend Thomas Butts, Blake enclosed a poem know as 'My First Vision of Light.'

" ...And I heard his voice Mild
Saying This is My Fold
O thou Ram hornd with gold
Who awakest from sleep
On the sides of the Deep
On the Mountains around
The roarings resound
Of the lion & wolf
The loud sea & deep gulf
These are guards of My Fold
O thou Ram hornd with gold"

Here Blake himself becomes the 'Ram hornd with Gold' and identifies his 'fold' and the protective elements around it. It is a transforming experience for him, encouraging him to overcome the temptation to write for a popular audience and henceforth to speak only from the internal, eternal Imagination.

Letter to Thomas Butts

Forgiveness

This was central to Blake's evolving theology. It came to him at 42 and delivered him from his need to flog Old Nobodaddy; he had experienced the 'healing balm'. Henceforth he loved and adored Jesus, the bearer of Forgiveness.

In this form Blake experienced the new birth, which Baptists tell us occurs when you "accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior". For Blake (and for me) it came with recognition of God's love, and particularly in his case a feeling of being accepted (for me, too actually). The First Vision of Light described his jubilation at being accepted and called "thou Ram hornd with gold".

For Blake (and for me) this led to an excess of power. It appears that Blake had a sense of guilt that came to a head during his three years at Felpham (by the sea). He had been invited there by a fashionable poet and man of affairs named Hayley.

That was wonderful, but Blake soon found that Hayley proposed to "assist" him to becoming succesful by producing miniatures. Blake had struggled with the temptation to pursue worldly success instead of the "main chance", by which he meant artistic integrity (no doubt something all or most artists struggle with). Blake spoke of this in a letter to Cumberland dated 2 July 1800.

The pressure of Hayley on him to conform to worldly expectations was the last straw, and he returned to London a new man, no longer concerned about the approval of those who could reward him monetarily.

His best work came then with Milton and Jerusalem, but his new life is also expressed in the last part of The Four Zoas.

This experience of Blake's strikes me as a universal, applicable to many of us. The world calls, and God calls. Happy are those who hear and respond to the second call.

Example of Blake Bible Interpretation

Recently I've been studying Revelations with two different groups. Chapter Five came up, with the introduction of the lamb; I focused on a short phrase from verse 8: a golden bowl.

Something clicked: what did Blake do with the golden bowl? In the beginning of Thel we read:

Does the Eagle know what is in the pit?
Or wilt thou go ask the Mole:
Can Wisdom be put in a silver rod?
Or Love in a golden bowl?

Early in Thel we're introduced to the Lilly, in fact the Lilly of the Valley, a name for Christ; the Bible also uses the lamb for that purpose, in Rev 5 in fact. So Blake took the lamb and the golden bowl from Rev 5, and used it to set the stage for Thel, one of his earliest lessons for us from the Bible.

Move now down to Blake's first vision of light, and note the identity that God (Christ) gave to him:

Thou ram horn'd with gold. You might say we're still in Rev 5.

(For more on this go here.)

Forgiveness

This was central to Blake's evolving theology. It came to him at 42 and delivered him from his need to flog Old Nobodaddy; he had experienced the 'healing balm'. Henceforth he loved and adored Jesus, the bearer of Forgiveness.

In this form Blake experienced the new birth, which Baptists tell us occurs when you "accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior". For Blake (and for me) it came with recognition of God's love, and particularly in his case a feeling of being accepted (for me, too actually). The First Vision of Light described his jubilation at being accepted and called "thou Ram hornd with gold".

For Blake (and for me) this led to an excess of power. It appears that Blake had a sense of guilt that came to a head during his three years at Felpham (by the sea). He had been invited there by a fashionable poet and man of affairs named Hayley.

That was wonderful, but Blake soon found that Hayley proposed to "assist" him to becoming succesful by producing miniatures. Blake had struggled with the temptation to pursue worldly success instead of the "main chance", by which he meant artistic integrity (no doubt something all or most artists struggle with). Blake spoke of this in a letter to Cumberland dated 2 July 1800.

The pressure of Hayley on him to conform to worldly expectations was the last straw, and he returned to London a new man, no longer concerned about the approval of those who could reward him monetarily.

His best work came then with Milton and Jerusalem, but his new life is also expressed in the last part of The Four Zoas.

This experience of Blake's strikes me as a universal, applicable to many of us. The world calls, and God calls. Happy are those who hear and respond to the second call.

For Blake Fans

“Every thing possible to be believ’d is an image of truth.”, from the Marriage of Heaven and Hell

Here it is: the first blog (from blogger.com at least) devoted to the works of William Blake. What ensues here will also appear in Ram Horn'd with Gold.

"Thinking as I do that the Creator
of this world is a cruel being, and
being a worshipper of Christ, I have to
say: "the Son! oh how unlike the Father":
First God Almighty comes with a thump on
the head; then J.C. comes with a balm
to heal it." (Blake's comments on The Last Judgment)

Blake damned Old Nobodaddy until his early 40's. From then on he blessed Jesus the Forgiveness.

He recorded that Moment of Grace in a letter to his friend and benefactor, Thomas Butts. It contained the famous poem where he was called "Thou Ram Horn'd with Gold.

-----------------------------------------
I need your help for this ongoing project. Grace me with your objections, comments, suggestions or whatever, in the form of a comment here.

For Blake Fans

“Every thing possible to be believ’d is an image of truth.”, from the Marriage of Heaven and Hell

Here it is: the first blog (from blogger.com at least) devoted to the works of William Blake. What ensues here will also appear in Ram Horn'd with Gold.

"Thinking as I do that the Creator
of this world is a cruel being, and
being a worshipper of Christ, I have to
say: "the Son! oh how unlike the Father":
First God Almighty comes with a thump on
the head; then J.C. comes with a balm
to heal it." (Blake's comments on The Last Judgment)

Blake damned Old Nobodaddy until his early 40's. From then on he blessed Jesus the Forgiveness.

He recorded that Moment of Grace in a letter to his friend and benefactor, Thomas Butts. It contained the famous poem where he was called "Thou Ram Horn'd with Gold.

-----------------------------------------
I need your help for this ongoing project. Grace me with your objections, comments, suggestions or whatever, in the form of a comment here.