THE VOICE OF THE DEVIL
All Bibles or sacred codes have been the cause of the following errors:—
1. That man has two real existing principles, viz., a Body and a Soul.
2. That Energy, called Evil, is alone from the Body; and that Reason, called 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 called Body is a portion of Soul discerned 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.
Those who restrain desire, do so because theirs is weak enough to be restrained; and the restrainer or reason usurps its place and governs the unwilling.
And being restrained, it by degrees becomes passive, till it is only the shadow of desire.
The history of this is written in Paradise Lost, and the Governor or Reason is called Messiah.
And the original Archangel or possessor of the command of the heavenly host is called the Devil, or Satan, and his children are called Sin and Death.
But in the book of Job, Milton’s Messiah is called Satan.
For this history has been adopted by both parties.
It indeed appeared to Reason as if desire was cast out, but the Devil’s account is, that the Messiah fell, and formed a heaven of what he stole from the abyss.
This is shown 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. Know that after Christ’s death he became Jehovah.
But in Milton, the Father is Destiny, the Son a ratio of the five senses, and the Holy Ghost vacuum!
Note.—The reason Milton wrote in fetters when he wrote of Angels and God, and at liberty when of Devils and Hell, is because he was a true poet, and of the Devil’s party without knowing it. — William Blake - The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
Sooner strangle an infant in its cradle than nurse unacted desires. — Blake
It is important to note that Blake sees a duality of the soul and the body. Of course, it is rare to use the concept of the soul, and are more likely to use the term mind or self. I find the idea of 'Energy is eternal delight' inspirational and many others have done so too. Blake was an artist and poet who was radical for his time. He was also rather eccentric and a visionary. If he were alive today he would have probably been Sectioned for treatment in a psychiatric hospital and, quite likely, he would not have written and created the work for which he is known and loved by so many. — Jack Cummins
Blake's philosophy is extremely interesting one in the way it came at a time when most people believed in the metaphysical reality of God and the devil. — Jack Cummins
His emphasis on imagination was important too and this may be one big contribution he made to philosophy. — Jack Cummins
Blake seemed to have believed that deities found their life in the human imagination: — Janus
I rest not from my great task! To open the Eternal Worlds, to open the immortal Eyes Of Man inwards into the Worlds of Thought: into Eternity Ever expanding in the Bosom of God. the Human Imagination — William Blake - Jerusalem The Emanation of The Giant Albion
I rest not from my great task! To open the Eternal Worlds, to open the immortal Eyes Of Man inwards into the Worlds of Thought: into Eternity Ever expanding in the Bosom of God. the Human Imagination — William Blake - Jerusalem The Emanation of The Giant Albion
Let the inchaind soul shut up in darkness & in sighing
Whose face has never seen a smile in thirty weary years
Rise & look out his chains are loose his dungeon doors are open
And let his wife & children return from the opressors scourge
They look behind at every step & believe it is a dream
Are these the Slaves that groand along the streets of Mystery
Where are your bonds & task masters are these the prisoners
Where are your chains where are your tears why do you look around
If you are thirsty there is the river go bathe your parched limbs
The good of all the Land is before you for Mystery is no more — William Blake - Vala, Night the Ninth
Humanity shall be no more: but war & princedom & victory! — William Blake - Jerusalem
Sooner strangle an infant in its cradle than nurse unacted desires. — Blake
Means either: you must gratify your desires regardless of the harm you cause to other people. Or: kill off your evil desires and do not encourage them, however attached you are to them. — Cuthbert
Means either: you must gratify your desires regardless of the harm you cause to other people.
Or: kill off your evil desires and do not encourage them, however attached you are to them. — Cuthbert
2. Energy is the only life, and is from the Body; and Reason is the bound or outward circumference of Energy. — William Blake - The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
In other words the body is no fool - the label of unreason applied to it reflects ignorance rather than knowledge. — Agent Smith
"If the fool would persist in his folly he would become wise". — Janus
Blake, like Shakespeare, seems to appear out of nowhere: — Janus
the chief inlets of Soul in this age — William Blake - The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
PROVERBS OF HELL
In seed-time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.
Drive your cart and your plough 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.
The cut worm forgives the plough.
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 measured by the clock, but of wisdom no clock can measure.
All wholesome food is caught without a net or a trap.
Bring out number, weight, and 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. — Ibid
Traditionally wisdom was seen as the ruling of the passions by reason; Blake presents a different vision as portrayed in his well known aphorism "If the fool would persist in his folly he would become wise". — Janus
The "very good reasons" are emotional reasons are they not? Reason (logic) itself pertains to the form (coherency, consistency and validity) of thought and has nothing to say about content, as I understand it. — Janus
As to lineage I see something like: Isaiah (and friends) to Milton to Swedenborg to Blake — ZzzoneiroCosm
Bunyan? Rabelais? Shall I stop naming people with idiosyncratic and prophetic imaginations and then putting a question mark after each name? Or not? I might be able to think of a couple more. — Cuthbert
Drive your cart and your plough over the bones of the dead. — Ibid
The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom. — Ibid
A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees. — Ibid
Eternity is in love with the productions of time. — Ibid
The hours of folly are measured by the clock, but of wisdom no clock can measure. — Ibid
The most sublime act is to set another before you. — Ibid
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