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"Truly, My Satan, thou art but a Dunce,
And dost not know the Garment from the Man.
Every Harlot was a Virgin once,
Nor can'st thou ever change Kate into Nan."
William Blake (1757-1827), British poet, painter, mystic. For the Sexes: The Gates of Paradise (Epilogue, l. 1-4). . .
The Complete Poems [William Blake]. Alicia Ostriker, ed. (1977) Penguin Books. |
"I see every thing I paint in this world, but everybody does not see alike. To the eyes of a miser a guinea is more beautiful than the sun, and a bag worn with the use of money has more beautiful proportions than a vine filled with grapes."
William Blake (1757-1827), British poet, painter, engraver. letter, Aug. 23, 1799. The Letters of William Blake (1956). |
"For where'er the sun does shine,
And where'er the rain does fall,
Babe can never hunger there,
Nor poverty the mind appall."
William Blake (1757-1827), British poet, painter, mystic. Holy Thursday (l. 13-16). . .
The Complete Poems [William Blake]. Alicia Ostriker, ed. (1977) Penguin Books. |
"Want of money and the distress of a thief can never be alleged as the cause of his thieving, for many honest people endure greater hardships with fortitude. We must therefore seek the cause elsewhere than in want of money, for that is the miser's passion, not the thief's."
William Blake (1757-1827), British poet, painter, engraver. letter, Aug. 23, 1799. The Letters of William Blake (1956). |
"Is this a holy thing to see
In a rich and fruitful land,
Babes reduced to misery,
Fed with cold and usurous hand?"
William Blake (1757-1827), British poet, painter, mystic. Holy Thursday (l. 1-4). . .
The Complete Poems [William Blake]. Alicia Ostriker, ed. (1977) Penguin Books. |
"My mother bore me in the southern wild,
And I am black, but O! my soul is white;"
William Blake (1757-1827), British poet, painter, mystic. From SONGS OF INNOCENCE. The Little Black Boy (l. 1-2). . .
The Complete Poems [William Blake]. Alicia Ostriker, ed. (1977) Penguin Books. |
"Beneath them sit the aged men, wise guardians of the poor;
Then cherish pity, lest you drive an angel from your door."
William Blake (1757-1827), British poet, painter, mystic. From SONGS OF INNOCENCE. Holy Thursday (l. 11-12). . .
The Complete Poems [William Blake]. Alicia Ostriker, ed. (1977) Penguin Books. |
"When I from black and he from white cloud free,
And round the tent of Godlike lambs we joy,
I'll shade him from the heat till he can bear
To lean in joy upon our father's knee;
And then I'll stand and stroke his silver hair,
And be like him, and he will then love me."
William Blake (1757-1827), British poet, painter, mystic. From SONGS OF INNOCENCE. The Little Black Boy (l. 23-28). . .
The Complete Poems [William Blake]. Alicia Ostriker, ed. (1977) Penguin Books. |
"The hum of multitudes was there, but multitudes of lambs,
Thousands of little boys and girls raising their innocent hands."
William Blake (1757-1827), British poet, painter, mystic. Holy Thursday (l. 1-4). . .
The Complete Poems [William Blake]. Alicia Ostriker, ed. (1977) Penguin Books. |
""And we are put on earth a little space,
That we may learn to bear the beams of love,"
William Blake (1757-1827), British poet, painter, mystic. From SONGS OF INNOCENCE. The Little Black Boy (l. 13-14). . .
The Complete Poems [William Blake]. Alicia Ostriker, ed. (1977) Penguin Books. |
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William Blake
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