William Blake
William Blake
William Blakewas an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age. His prophetic works have been said to form "what is in proportion to its merits the least read body of poetry in the English language". His visual artistry led one contemporary art critic to proclaim him "far and away the greatest artist Britain has ever produced". In...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionPhilosopher
Date of Birth28 November 1757
The apple tree never asks the beech how he shall grow, nor the lion the horse, how he shall take his prey.
Some will say,Is not God alone the Prolific? I answer,God only Acts & Is, in existing beings or Men.
Man's Desires are limited by his Perceptions; none can desire what he has not perceived.
Great things are done when men and mountains meet. This is not done by jostling in the street.
I feel that a Man may be happy in This World. And I know that This World Is a World of Imagination & Vision.
I must Create a System, or be enslaved by another Man's; / I will not Reason and Compare; my business is to Create.
Hear the voice of the Bard! / Who present, past, and future sees; / Whose ears have heard/ The Holy Word / That walked among the ancient trees.
I give you the end of a golden string; / Only wind it into a ball, / It will lead you in at Heaven's gate, / Built in Jerusalem's wall.
You never know what is enough until you know what is more than enough
For the Eye altering alters all;The Senses roll themselves in fearAnd the flat Earth becomes a Ball.
I do not like the man's face. He looks as if he will live to be hanged.
Can I see another's woe, and not be in sorrow, too? Can I see another's grief, and not seek for kind relief?
And Father, how can I love youOr any of my brothers more?I love you like the little birdThat picks up crumbs around the door.
For Mercy has a human heart; Pity, a human face; Love, the human form divine; and Peace, the human dress.