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
Love seeketh not itself to please, but for another gives its ease.
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.
I have mental joys and mental health,Mental friends and mental wealth,I've a wife that I love and that loves me;I've all but riches bodily.
They suppose that Woman's Love is Sin; in consequence all the Loves & Graces with them are Sin.
I thought Love lived in the hot sunshine,But O, he lives in the moony light!I thought to find Love in the heat of day,But sweet Love is the comforter of night.
Never seek to tell thy love, / Love that never told can be; / For the gentle wind does move / Silently, invisibly.
O Rose, thou art sick! The invisible worm, That flies in the night, In the howling storm, Has found out thy bed Of crimson joy; And his dark secret love Does thy life destroy
He who doubts from what he seesWill ne'er believe, do what you please.
Humility is only doubt, / And does the sun and moon blot out.
Every thing possible to be believed is an image of truth.
The Child's Toys and the Old Man's ReasonsAre the Fruits of the Two seasons.
Bring me my bow of burning gold!Bring me my arrows of desire!Bring me my spear! O clouds, unfold!Bring me my chariot of fire!
He's a Blockhead who wants a proof of what heCan't PerceiveAnd he's a Fool who tries to make such aBlockhead believe.
He who desires but does not act, breeds pestilence.