The Marriage of Heaven and Hell~~William Blake

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
William Blake




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Plate 2
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The Argument Rintrah roars & shakes his fires in the burdend air; Hungry clouds swag on the deep Once meek, and in a perilous path, The just man kept his course along The vale of death. Roses are planted where thorns grow. And on the barren heath Sing the honey bees. Then the perilous path was planted: And a river, and a spring On every cliff and tomb; And on the bleached bones Red clay brought forth. Till the villain left the paths of ease, To walk in perilous paths, and drive The just man into barren climes. Now the sneaking serpent walks In mild humility. And the just man rages in the wilds Where lions roam. Rintrah roars & shakes his fires in the burdend air; Hungry clouds swag on the deep.

 

Plate 3

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As a new heaven is begun, and it is now thirty-three years t since its advent: the Eternal Hell revives. And lo! Swedenborg is The Angel sitting at the tomb; his writings are the linen clothes folded up. Now is the dominion of Edom, & the return of Adam into Paradise; see Isaiah XXXIV & XXXV Chap: Without Contraries is no progression. Attraction and Repulsion, Reason and Energy, Love and Hate, are necessary to Human existence. From these contraries spring what the religious call Good & Evil. Good is the passive that obeys Reason. Evil is the active springing from Energy. Good is Heaven. Evil is Hell.

 

Plate 4
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The voice of the Devil​ All Bibles or sacred codes. have been the causes of the following Errors. [1.]That Man has two real existing principles Viz: a Body & a Soul. [2.]That Energy. calld Evil. is alone from the Body. & that Reason. calld Good. is alone from the Soul. [3.]That God will torment Man in Eternity for following his Energies. But the following Contraries to these are True 1 Man has no Body distinct from his Soul for that calld Body is a portion of Soul discernd by the five Senses. the chief inlets of Soul in this age 2 Energy is the only life and is from the Body and Reason is The bound or outward circumference of Energy. 3 Energy is Eternal Delight

 

Plate 5
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Those who restrain desire, do so because theirs is weak enough to be restrained; and the restrainer or reason usurps its place & governs the unwilling. And being restraind it by degrees becomes passive till it is only the shadow of desire. The history of this is written in Paradise Lost. & the Governor or Reason is call'd Messiah. And the original Archangel or possessor of the command of the heavenly host, is calld the Devil or Satan and his children are call'd Sin & Death But in the Book of Job Miltons Messiah is call'd Satan. For this history has been adopted by both parties It indeed appear'd to Reason as if Desire was cast out. but the Devils account is, that the Messi- -ah

 

Plate 6

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-ah fell. & formed a heaven of what he stole from the Abyss This is shewn in the Gospel, where he prays to the Father to send the comforter or Desire that Reason may have Ideas to build on, the Jehovah of the Bible being no other than he, who dwells in flaming fire. t Know that after Christs death, he became Jehovah. But in Milton; the Father is Destiny, the Son, a Ratio of the five senses. & the Holy-ghost, Vacuum! Note. The reason Milton wrote in fetters when he wrote of Angels & God, and at liberty when of Devils & Hell, is because he was a true Poet and of the Devils party without knowing it A Memorable Fancy.​ As I was walking among the fires of hell, delighted with the enjoyments of Genius; which to Angels look like torment and insanity. I collected some of their Proverbs: thinking that as The sayings used in a nation, mark its character, so the Proverbs of Hell, shew the nature of Infernal wisdom better than any description of buildings or garments. When I came home; on the abyss of the five senses, where a flat sided steep frowns over the present world. I saw a mighty Devil folded in black clouds, hovering on the sides of the rock, with cor-

 

Plate 7

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-roding fires he wrote the following sentence now percieved by the minds of men, & read by them on earth. How do you know but ev'ry Bird that cuts the airy way, Is an immense world of delight, clos'd by your senses five? Proverbs of Hell.​ In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy. Drive your cart and your plow over the bones of the dead. The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom. Prudence is a rich ugly old maid courted by Incapacity. He who desires but acts not, breeds pestilence. 5 The cut worm forgives the plow. Dip him in the river who loves water. A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees. He whose face gives no light, shall never become a star. Eternity is in love with the productions of time. The busy bee has no time for sorrow. The hours of folly are measur'd by the clock, but of wisdom: no clock can measure. All wholsom food is caught without a net or a trap. Bring out number weight & measure in a year of dearth. No bird soars too high. if he soars with his own wings. A dead body. revenges not injuries. The most sublime act is to set another before you. If the fool would persist in his folly he would become wise Folly is the cloke of knavery. Shame is Prides cloke.

 

Plate 8
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Proverbs of Hell​ Prisons are built with stones of Law, Brothels with bricks of Religion. The pride of the peacock is the glory of God. The lust of the goat is the bounty of God. The wrath of the lion is the wisdom of God. The nakedness of woman is the work of God. Excess of sorrow laughs. Excess of joy weeps. The roaring of lions, the howling of wolves, the raging of the stormy sea, and the destructive sword. are portions of eternity too great for the eye of man. The fox condemns the trap, not himself. Joys impregnate. Sorrows bring forth. Let man wear the fell of the lion. woman the fleece of the sheep. The bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship. The selfish smiling fool. & the sullen frowning fool. shall be both thought wise. that they may be a rod. What is now proved was once, only imagin'd. The rat, the mouse, the fox, the rabbet; watch the roots, the lion, the tyger, the horse, the elephant, watch the fruits. The cistern contains: the fountain overflows One thought. fills immensity. Always be ready to speak your mind, and a base man will avoid you. Everything possible to be believ'd is an image of truth. The eagle never lost so much time, as when he submitted to learn of the crow.

 

Plate 9

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Proverbs of Hell​ The fox provides for himself. but God provides for the lion. Think in the morning, Act in the noon, Eat in the evening, Sleep in the night. He who has sufferd you to impose on him knows you. As the plow follows words, so God rewards prayers. The tygers of wrath are wiser than the horses of instruction Expect poison from the standing water. You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough. Listen to the fools reproach! it is a kingly title! The eyes of fire, the nostrils of air, the mouth of water, the beard of earth. The weak in courage is strong in cunning. The apple tree never asks the beech how he shall grow, nor the lion. the horse; how he shall take his prey. The thankful reciever bears a plentiful harvest. If others bad not been foolish. we should be so. The soul of sweet delight. can never be defil'd, When thou seest an Eagle, thou seest a portion of Genius. lift up thy head! As the catterpiller chooses the fairest leaves to lay her eggs on, so the priest lays his curse on the fairest joys. To create a little flower is the labour of ages. Damn. braces: Bless relaxes. The best wine is the oldest. the best water the newest. Prayers plow not! Praises reap not! Joys laugh not! Sorrows weep not!

 

Plate 10

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Proverbs of Hell​ The head Sublime, the heart Pathos, the genitals Beauty, the hands & feet Proportion. As the air to a bird or the sea to a fish, so is contempt to the contemptible. The crow wish'd every thing was black, the owl, that every thing was white. Exuberance is Beauty. If the lion was advised by the fox. he would be cunning. Improvement makes strait roads, but the crooked roads without Improvement, are roads of Genius. Sooner murder an infant in its cradle than nurse unacted desires Where man is not nature is barren. Truth can never be told so as to be understood, and not be believ'd. Enough! or Too much