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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..109c029 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #60448 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60448) diff --git a/old/60448-0.txt b/old/60448-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index b441107..0000000 --- a/old/60448-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,10191 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of William Blake, by Arthur Symons - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: William Blake - -Author: Arthur Symons - -Release Date: October 7, 2019 [EBook #60448] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WILLIAM BLAKE *** - - - - -Produced by Laura Natal Rodrigues at Free Literature - - - - - - -WILLIAM BLAKE - -BY - -ARTHUR SYMONS - -NEW YORK - -E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY - -1907 - - - -TO -AUGUSTE RODIN -whose work is the -marriage of -heaven and hell - - - - -CONTENTS - - -PREFACE - -PART I -INTRODUCTION -WILLIAM BLAKE - -PART II--RECORDS FROM CONTEMPORARY SOURCES -(I.) EXTRACTS FROM THE DIARY, LETTERS, AND REMINISCENCES OF HENRY -CRABB ROBINSON, TRANSCRIBED FROM THE ORIGINAL MSS. IN DR. WILLIAMS'S -LIBRARY (1810-1852) -(1) FROM CRABB ROBINSON'S DIARY -(2) FROM A LETTER OF CRABB ROBINSON TO DOROTHY WORDSWORTH -(3) FROM CRABB ROBINSON'S REMINISCENCES -(II.) FROM 'A FATHER'S MEMOIRS OF HIS CHILD,' BY BENJAMIN -HEATH MALKIN (1806) -(III.) FROM LADY CHARLOTTE BURY'S DIARY (1820) -(IV.) BLAKE'S HOROSCOPE (1825) -(V.) OBITUARY NOTICES IN THE LITERARY GAZETTE' AND 'GENTLEMAN'S -MAGAZINE' (1827) -(VI.) EXTRACT FROM VARLEY'S ZODIACAL PHYSIOGNOMY (1828) -(VII.) BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF BLAKE BY J. T. SMITH (1828) -(VIII.) LIFE OF BLAKE BY ALLAN CUNNINGHAM (1830) - - - - - -PREFACE - - -It was when Mr. Sampson's edition of Blake came into my hands in the -winter of 1905 that the idea of writing a book on Blake first presented -itself to me. From a boy he had been one of my favorite poets, and I -had heard a great deal about him from Mr. Yeats as long ago as 1893, the -year in which he and Mr. Ellis brought out their vast encyclopaedia, -_The Works of William Blake, Poetic, Symbolic, and Critical._ From -that time to this Blake has never been out of my mind, but I have always -hesitated to write down anything on a subject so great in itself, and -already handled by great poets. Things have been written about Blake by -Rossetti which no one will ever surpass; and in Mr. Swinburne's book -Blake himself seems to speak again, as through the mouth of a herald. -I read these, I read everything that had been written about him; gradually -I got to know all his work, in all its kinds; and when I found, in Mr. -Sampson's book, the rarest part of his genius, disentangled at last from -the confusions of the commentators, I caught some impulse--was -it from the careful enthusiasm of this editor, or perhaps straight from -Blake?--and began to write down what now filled and overflowed -my mind. Having begun on an impulse, I laid my plans as strictly as I -could, and decided to make a book which would be, in its way, complete. -There was to be, first, my own narrative, containing, as briefly as -possible, every fact of importance, with my own interpretation of what -I took to be Blake's achievements and intentions. But this was to be -followed by a verbatim reprint of documents. These documents were -the material of Gilchrist, but, even after Gilchrist's use of them, they -remain of primary and undiminished importance: they are the main -evidence in our case. - -The documents which form the second part of my book contain -every personal account of Blake which was printed during his lifetime, -and between the time of his death and the publication of Gilchrist's -_Life_ in 1863, together with the complete text of every reference -to Blake in the _Diary, Letters, and Reminiscences_ of Crabb -Robinson, transcribed for the first time from the original manuscripts. -All these I have given exactly as they stand, not correcting their errors, -for even errors have their value as evidence. The only other document -of the period which exists was written by Frederick Tatham, within two -years of the appearance of Cunningham's _Life_, and bound up -at the beginning of a colored copy of Blake's _Jerusalem_, now in -the possession of Captain Archibald Stirling. This manuscript was -consulted by Mr. Swinburne and afterwards by Mr. Ellis and Mr. Yeats; -but though many extracts have been made from it, it was printed for -the first time by Mr. Archibald G. B. Russell in his edition of _The -Letters of William Blake_ (Methuen, 1906). This very important -volume completes the task which I have here undertaken: the reprint -of every record of Blake from contemporary sources. - -The mere contact with Blake seems to awaken the natural generosity -of those who have concerned themselves with him. To Mr. John Sampson, -the editor of the only accurate edition of Blake's poems, I am indebted -for more help and encouragement than I can hope to express in detail; and -particularly for prompting me to a search among birth and marriage and -death registers, by which I have been enabled to settle several disputed -points of some interest. To Mr. A. G. B. Russell I owe constant personal -help, and the very generous loan of the proofs of his edition of Blake's -_Letters_, and of Tatham's _Life_, with free leave to use them -in the narrative which I was writing at a time when his book had not yet -appeared. Through this favour I have been able to take such facts as -Tatham is responsible for directly from Tatham, and not at secondhand. -I am also indebted to Mr. Russell for reading my proofs and saving me from -some errors of fact. I have to thank Mr. Buxton Forman for allowing me -to read and describe the unpublished manuscript in Blake's handwriting -in his possession. Finally, my particular thanks are due to the Librarian -of Dr. Williams's Library, Mr. Francis H. Jones, for permission to copy -and print the full text of all the references to Blake in the Crabb -Robinson Manuscripts. - - -LONDON, _April_ 1907. - - - - -LIST OF BOOKS CONSULTED - - -1. _Life of William Blake_. By ALEXANDER GILCHRIST. Two volumes. -Macmillan, 1863. New and enlarged edition, 1880. - -2. _William Blake: A Critical Essay_. By ALGERNON CHARLES -SWINBURNE. John Camden Hotten, 1868. New edition, Chatto & Windus, -1906. - -3. _The Poetical Works of William Blake_. Edited by W. M. -ROSSETTI. Aldine Edition. Bell & Sons, 1874. - -_4. The Life and Letters of Samuel Palmer_. By A. H. -Palmer. Seeley & Co., 1892. - -5. _The Life of John Linnell_. By ALFRED T. STORY. -Two volumes. Bentley, 1892. - -6. _A Memoir of Edward Calvert_. By his third son [SAMUEL -CALVERT]. S. LOW & Co., 1893. - -7. _The Works of William Blake: Poetic, Symbolic, and Critical_. -Edited, with lithographs of the illustrated Prophetic Books, and a Memoir -and Interpretation, by EDWIN JOHN ELLIS and WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS. -Three volumes. Quaritch, 1893. - -8. _The Poems of William Blake_. Edited by W. B. YEATS. -'The Muses' Library.' Lawrence & Bullen, 1893. - -9. _William Blake: his Life, Character, and Genius_. -By ALFRED T. STORY. Sonnenschein & Co., 1893. - -10. _William Blake: Painter and Poet_. By RICHARD GARNETT. -'Portfolio,' 1895. - -11. _Ideas of Good and Evil_. By W. B. YEATS. (William Blake -and the Imagination, William Blake and his Illustrations to the Divine -Comedy.) A. H. Bullen, 1903. - -12. _The Rossetti Papers_ (1862 _to_ 1870); a Compilation -by W. M. ROSSETTI. Sands & Co., 1903. - -13. _The Prophetic Books of William Blake: Jerusalem_. -Edited by E. R. D. MACLAGAN and A. G. B. RUSSELL. Bullen, 1904. - -14. _The Poetical Works of William Blake_. Edited by -JOHN SAMPSON. Oxford, 1905. - -15. _The Letters of William Blake_; together with a Life -by FREDERICK TATHAM. Edited by ARCHIBALD G. B. RUSSELL. Methuen, -1906. - -16. _The Poetical Works of William Blake_. Edited and annotated -by EDWIN J. ELLIS. Two volumes. Chatto & Windus, 1906. (The only edition -containing the Prophetic Books.) - -17. _William Blake_. Vol. I. Illustrations of the Book of Job, -with a general Introduction by LAURENCE BINYON. Methuen, 1906. - -18. _The Real Blake_. A Portrait Biography. By EDWIN J. ELLIS. -Chatto & Windus, 1907. - - - - -PART I - - - - -INTRODUCTION - - - - -I - - -When Blake spoke the first word of the nineteenth century there was -no one to hear it, and now that his message, the message of emancipation -from reality through the 'shaping spirit of imagination,' has penetrated -the world, and is slowly remaking it, few are conscious of the first -utterer, in modern times, of the message with which all are familiar. -Thought to-day, wherever it is most individual, owes either force or -direction to Nietzsche, and thus we see, on our topmost towers, the -Philistine armed and winged, and without the love or fear of God or -man in his heart, doing battle in Nietzsche's name against the ideas of -Nietzsche. No one can think, and escape Nietzsche; but Nietzsche has -come after Blake, and will pass before Blake passes. - -_The Marriage of Heaven and Hell_ anticipates Nietzsche -in his most significant paradoxes, and, before his time, exalts energy -above reason, and Evil, 'the active springing from energy' above Good, -'the passive that obeys reason.' Did not Blake astonish Crabb Robinson -by declaring that 'there was nothing in good and evil, the virtues and -vices'; that 'vices in the natural world were the highest sublimities in -the spiritual world'? 'Man must become better and wickeder,' says -Nietzsche in _Zarathustra_; and, elsewhere; 'Every man must -find his own virtue.' Sin, to Blake, is negation, is nothing; 'everything -is good in God's eyes'; it is the eating of the tree of the knowledge -of good and evil that has brought sin into the world: education, that -is, by which we are taught to distinguish between things that do not -differ. When Nietzsche says: 'Let us rid the world of the notion of sin, -and banish with it the idea of punishment,' he expresses one of Blake's -central doctrines, and he realizes the corollary, which, however, he does -not add. 'The Christian's soul,' he says, 'which has freed itself from -sin is in most cases ruined by the hatred against sin. Look at the faces -of great Christians. They are the faces of great haters.' Blake sums up -all Christianity as forgiveness of sin: - - -'Mutual forgiveness of each vice, -Such are the gates of Paradise.' - - -The doctrine of the Atonement was to him a 'horrible doctrine,' -because it seemed to make God a hard creditor, from whom pity -could be bought for a price. 'Doth Jehovah forgive a debt only on -condition that it shall be paid? ... That debt is not forgiven!' he says -in _Jerusalem._ To Nietzsche, far as he goes on the same road, -pity is 'a weakness, which increases the world's suffering'; but to -Blake, in the spirit of the French proverb, forgiveness is understanding. -'This forgiveness,' says Mr. Yeats, 'was not the forgiveness of the -theologian who has received a commandment from afar off, but of -the poet and artist, who believes he has been taught, in a mystical -vision, "that the imagination is the man himself," and believes he -has discovered in the practice of his art that without a perfect -sympathy there is no perfect imagination, and therefore no perfect -life.' He trusted the passions, because they were alive; and, like -Nietzsche, hated asceticism, because: - - -'Abstinence sows sand all over -The ruddy limbs and flaming hair, -But desire gratified -Plants fruits of life and beauty there.' - - -'Put off holiness,' he said, 'and put on intellect,' And 'the fool -shall not enter into heaven, let him be ever so holy.' Is not -this a heaven after the heart of Nietzsche? - -Nietzsche is a Spinoza à _rebours._ The essence of the -individual, says Spinoza, 'is the effort by which it endeavors to -persevere in its own being.' 'Will and understanding are one and -the same.' 'By virtue and power I understand the same thing.' -'The effort to understand is the first and sole basis of virtue.' So -far it might be Nietzsche who is speaking. Only, in Spinoza, this -affirmation of will, persistent egoism, power, hard understanding, -leads to a conclusion which is far enough from the conclusion of -Nietzsche. 'The absolute virtue of the mind is to understand; its -highest virtue, therefore, to understand or know God.' That, to -Nietzsche, is one of 'the beautiful words by which the conscience -is lulled to sleep.' 'Virtue is power,' Spinoza leads us to think, -because it is virtue; 'power is virtue,' affirms Nietzsche, because -it is power. And in Spinoza's profound heroism of the mind, really -a great humility, 'he who loves God does not desire that God should -love him in return.' Nietzsche would find the material for a kind of -desperate heroism, made up wholly of pride and defiance. - -To Blake, 'God-intoxicated' more than Spinoza, 'God only acts -and is, in existing beings and men,' as Spinoza might also have said; -to him, as to Spinoza, all moral virtue is identical with understanding, -and 'men are admitted into heaven, not because they have curbed and -governed their passions, but because they have cultivated their -understandings.' Yet to Blake Spinoza's mathematical approach to -truth would have been a kind of negation. Even an argument from -reason seemed to him atheistical: to one who had truth, as he -was assured, within him, reason was only 'the bound or outward -circumference of energy,' but 'energy is the only life,' and, as to -Nietzsche, is 'eternal delight.' - -Yet, to Nietzsche, with his strange, scientific distrust of the -imagination, of those who so 'suspiciously' say 'We see what others -do not see,' there comes distrust, hesitation, a kind of despair, -precisely at the point where Blake enters into his liberty. 'The habits -of our senses,' says Nietzsche, 'have plunged us into the lies and -deceptions of feeling.' 'Whoever believes in nature,' says Blake, -'disbelieves in God; for nature is the work of the Devil.' 'These -again,' Nietzsche goes on, 'are the foundations of all our judgments -and "knowledge," there is no escape whatever, no back-way or -by-way into the real world.' But the real world, to Blake, into which -he can escape at every moment, is the world of imagination, from -which messengers come to him, daily and nightly. - -Blake said 'The tigers of wrath are wiser than the horses of -instruction,' and it is partly in what they helped to destroy that -Blake and Nietzsche are at one; but destruction, with Blake, was -the gesture of a hand which brushes aside needless hindrances, -while to Nietzsche it was 'an intellectual thing,' the outer militant -part of 'the silent, self-sufficient man in the midst of a general -enslavement, who practices self-defense against the outside world, -and is constantly living in a state of supreme fortitude.' Blake rejoins -Nietzsche as he had rejoined Spinoza, by a different road, having -fewer devils to cast out, and no difficulty at all in maintaining his -spiritual isolation, his mental liberty, under all circumstances. -And to Blake, to be 'myself alone, shut up in myself,' was to be in no -merely individual but in a universal world, that world of imagination -whose gates seemed to him to be open to every human being. No -less than Nietzsche he says to every man: Be yourself, nothing else -matters or exists; but to be myself, to him, was to enter by the -imagination into eternity. - -The philosophy of Nietzsche was made out of his nerves and -was suffering, but to Blake it entered like sunlight into the eyes. -Nietzsche's mind is the most sleepless of minds; with him every -sensation turns instantly into the stuff of thought; he is terribly -alert, the more so because he never stops to systematize; he must -be for ever apprehending. He darts out feelers in every direction, -relentlessly touching the whole substance of the world. His apprehension -is minute rather than broad; he is content to seize one thing at a time, -and he is content if each separate thing remains separate; no theory ties -together or limits his individual intuitions. What we call his philosophy -is really no more than the aggregate of these intuitions coming to us -through the medium of a remarkable personality. His personality stands -to him in the place of a system. Speaking of Kant and Schopenhauer, -he says: 'Their thoughts do not constitute a passionate history of the -soul.' His thoughts are the passionate history of his soul. It is for this -reason that he is an artist among philosophers rather than a pure -philosopher. And remember that he is also not, in the absolute sense, -the poet, but the artist. He saw and dreaded the weaknesses of the -artist, his side-issues in the pursuit of truth. But in so doing he -dreaded one of his own weaknesses. - -Blake, on the other hand, receives nothing through his sensations, -suffers nothing through his nerves. 'I know of no other Christianity,' -he says, 'and of no other Gospel than the liberty both of body and -mind to exercise the divine arts of Imagination: Imagination, the real -and eternal world of which this vegetable universe is but a faint shadow, -and in which we shall live in our eternal or imaginative bodies, when -these vegetable mortal bodies are no more.' To Nietzsche the sense -of a divine haunting became too heavy a burden for his somewhat -inhuman solitude, the solitude of Alpine regions, with their steadfast -glitter, their thin, high, intoxicating air. 'Is this obtrusiveness of -heaven,' he cries, 'this inevitable superhuman neighbor, not enough -to drive one mad?' But Blake, when he says, 'I am under the direction -of messengers from heaven, daily and nightly,' speaks out of natural -joy, which is wholly humility, and it is only 'if we fear to do the -dictates of our angels, and tremble at the tasks set before us,' it is -only then that he dreads, as the one punishment, that 'every one in -eternity will leave him.' - - - - -II - - -'There are three powers in man of conversing with Paradise,' -said Blake, and he defined them as the three sons of Noah who -survived the flood, and who are Poetry, Painting, and Music. Through -all three powers, and to the last moments of his life on earth, Blake -conversed with Paradise. We are told that he used to sing his own -songs to his own music, and that, when he was dying, 'he composed -and uttered songs to his Maker,' and 'burst out into singing -of the things he saw in heaven.' And with almost the last strength -of his hands he had made a sketch of his wife before he 'made -the rafters ring,' as a bystander records, with the improvisation of -is last breath. - -Throughout life his desire had been, as he said, 'to converse -with my friends in eternity, see visions, dream dreams, and prophesy -and speak parables unobserved.' He says again: - - -'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.' - - -And, writing to the uncomprehending Hayley (who had called him -'gentle, visionary Blake'), he says again: 'I am really drunk with -intellectual vision whenever I take a pencil or graver into my hand.' -To the newspapers of his time, on the one or two occasions when they -mentioned his name, he was 'an unfortunate lunatic'; even to Lamb, -who looked upon him as 'one of the most extraordinary persons of -the age,' he was a man 'flown, whither I know not--to Hades or -a madhouse.' To the first editor of his collected poems there seemed -to be 'something in his mind not exactly sane'; and the critics of to-day -still discuss his sanity as a man and as a poet. - -It is true that Blake was abnormal; but what was abnormal in him -was his sanity. To one who believed that 'The ruins of Time build -mansions in eternity,' that 'imagination is eternity,' and that 'our -deceased friends are more really with us than when they were apparent -to our mortal part,' there could be none of that confusion at the edge -of mystery which makes a man mad because he is unconscious of the -gulf. No one was ever more conscious than Blake was of the limits of -that region which we call reality and of that other region which we call -imagination. It pleased him to reject the one and to dwell in the other, -and his choice was not the choice of most men, but of some of those -who have been the greatest saints and the greatest artists. And, like -the most authentic among them, he walked firmly among those realities -to which he cared to give no more than a side-glance from time to time; -he lived his own life quietly and rationally, doing always exactly what -he wanted to do, and with so fine a sense of the subtlety of mere worldly -manners, than when, at his one moment of worldly success, in 1793, he -refused the post of drawing-master to the royal family, he gave up all -his other pupils at the same time, lest the refusal should seem ungracious -on the part of one who had been the friend of revolutionaries. He saw -visions, but not as the spiritualists and the magicians have seen them. -These desire to quicken mortal sight until the soul limits itself again, -takes body, and returns to reality; but Blake, the inner mystic, desired -only to quicken that imagination which he knew to be more real than -the reality of nature. Why should he call up shadows when he could -talk in the spirit with spiritual realities? 'Then I asked,' he says in -_The Marriage of Heaven and Hell_, 'does a firm persuasion -that a thing is so, make it so?' He replied, "All poets believe that it -does." - -In the _Descriptive Catalogue_ to his exhibition of pictures -in 1809, Blake defines, more precisely than in any other place, what -vision was to him. He is speaking of his pictures, but it is a plea for -the raising of painting to the same 'sphere of invention and visionary -conception' as that which poetry and music inhabit. 'The Prophets,' -he says, 'describe what they saw in vision as real and existing men, -whom they saw with their imaginative and immortal organs; the -Apostles the same; the clearer the organ, the more distinct the -object. A spirit and a vision are not, as the modern philosophy -supposes, a cloudy vapor, or a nothing. They are organized and -minutely articulated beyond all that the mortal and perishing nature -can produce. He who does not imagine in stronger and better lineaments -and in stronger and better light than his perishing and mortal eye can -see, does not imagine at all. The painter of this work asserts that all -his imaginations appear to him infinitely more perfect and more -minutely organized than anything seen by his mortal eye.' 'Inspiration -and vision,' he says in one of the marginal notes to Reynolds's -_Discourses_, 'was then, and now is, and I hope will always -remain, my element, my eternal dwelling-place.' And 'God forbid,' -he says also, 'that Truth should be confined to mathematical -demonstration. He who does not know Truth at sight is not worthy -of her notice.' - -The mind of Blake lay open to eternity as a seed-plot lies open -to the sower. In 1802 he writes to Mr. Butts from Felpham: 'I -am not ashamed, afraid, or averse to tell you what ought to be -told--that I am under the direction of messengers from heaven, -daily and nightly.' 'I have written this poem,' he says of the -_Jerusalem_, 'from immediate dictation, twelve or sometimes -twenty or--thirty lines at a time, without premeditation, and even -against my will.' 'I may praise it,' he says in another letter, 'since -I dare not pretend to be any other than the secretary; the authors are -in eternity.' In these words, the most precise claim for direct -inspiration which Blake ever made, there is nothing different in kind, -only in degree, from what must be felt by every really creative artist -and by every profoundly and simply religious person. There can hardly -be a poet who is not conscious of how little his own highest powers are -under his own control. The creation of beauty is the end of art, but the -artist should rarely admit to himself that such is his purpose. A poem -is not written by the man who says: I will sit down and write a poem; -but rather by the man who, captured by rather than capturing an impulse, -hears a tune which he does not recognize, or sees a sight which he does -not remember, in some 'close corner of his brain,' and exerts the only -energy at his disposal in recording it faithfully, in the medium of his -particular art. And so in every creation of beauty, some obscure -desire stirred in the soul, not realized by the mind for what it was, and, -aiming at most other things in the world than pure beauty, produced it. -Now, to the critic this is not more important to remember than it is for -him to remember that the result, the end, must be judged, not by the -impulse which brought it into being, nor by the purpose which it sought -to serve, but by its success or failure in one thing: the creation of -beauty. To the artist himself this precise consciousness of what he -has done is not always given, any more than a precise consciousness -of what he is doing. Only in the greatest do we find vision and the -correction of vision equally powerful and equally constant. - -To Blake, as to some artists and to most devout people, there was -nothing in vision to correct, nothing even to modify. His language in -all his letters and in much of his printed work is identical with the -language used by the followers of Wesley and Whitefield at the time -in which he was writing. In Wesley's journal you will find the same -simple and immediate consciousness of the communion of the soul -with the world of spiritual reality: not a vague longing, like Shelley's, -for a principle of intellectual beauty, nor an unattained desire after -holiness, like that of the conventionally religious person, but a literal -'power of conversing with Paradise,' as Blake called it, and as many -Methodists would have been equally content to call it. And in Blake, -as in those whom the people of that age called 'enthusiasts' (that word -of reproach in the eighteenth century and of honor in all other -centuries), there was no confusion (except in brains where 'true -superstition,' as Blake said, was 'ignorant honesty, and this is beloved -of God and man') between the realities of daylight and these other -realities from the other side of day. Messrs. Ellis and Yeats quote a -mysterious note written in Blake's handwriting, with a reference -to Spurzheim, page 154. I find that this means Spurzheim's _Observations -on the Deranged Manifestations of the Mind, or Insanity_ (1817), -and the passage in the text is as follows: 'Religion is another fertile -cause of insanity. Mr. Haslam, though he declares it sinful to consider -religion as a cause of insanity, adds, however, that he would be -ungrateful, did he not avow his obligations to Methodism for its -supply of numerous cases. Hence the primitive feelings of religion may -be misled and produce insanity; that is what I would contend for, -and in that sense religion often leads to insanity.' Blake has written: -'Methodism, etc., p. 154. Cowper came to me and said: "Oh! that I -were insane, always. I will never rest. Can not you make me truly -insane? I will never rest till I am so. Oh! that in the bosom of God -I was hid. You retain health and yet are mad as any of us all-over -us all--mad as a refuge from unbelief--from Bacon, Newton, and -Locke."' What does this mean but that 'madness,' the madness of -belief in spiritual things, must be complete if it is to be effectual, -and that, once complete, there is no disturbance of bodily or mental -health, as in the doubting and distracted Cowper, who was driven mad, -not by the wildness of his belief, but by the hesitations of his doubt? - -Attempts have been made to claim Blake for an adept of magic. -But whatever cabbalistical terms he may have added to the somewhat -composite and fortuitous naming of his mythology ('all but names of -persons and places,' he says, 'is invention, both in poetry and -painting'), his whole mental attitude was opposed to that of the -practicers of magic. We have no record of his ever having evoked a -vision, but only of his accepting or enduring visions. Blake was, -above all, spontaneous: the practiser of magic is a deliberate craftsman -in the art of the soul. I can no more imagine Blake sitting down to juggle -with symbols or to gaze into a pool of ink than I can imagine him -searching out words that would make the best effects in his lyrics, -or fishing for inspiration, pen in hand, in his own ink-pot. A man does -not beg at the gate of dreams when he is the master for whose entrance -the gate stands open. - -Of the definite reality of Blake's visions there can be no question; -no question that, as he once wrote, 'nothing can withstand the fury -of my course among the stars of God, and in the abysses of the accuser.' -But imagination is not one, but manifold; and the metaphor, professing -to be no more than metaphor, of the poet, may be vision as essential as -the thing actually seen by the visionary. The difference between -imagination in Blake and in, say, Shakespeare, is that the one (himself -a painter) has a visual imagination and sees an image or metaphor as -a literal reality, while the other, seeing it not less vividly but in a -more purely mental way, adds a 'like' or an 'as,' and the image or -metaphor comes to you with its apology or attenuation, and takes you -less by surprise. But to Blake it was the universe that was a metaphor. - - - - -WILLIAM BLAKE - - - - -I - - -The origin of the family of William Blake has not yet been found; -and I can claim no more for the evidence that I have been able to gather -than that it settles us more firmly in our ignorance. But the names of his -brothers and sister, their dates and order of birth, and the date of his -wife's birth, have never, so far as I know, been correctly given. Even the -date of his own birth has been contested by Mr. Swinburne 'on good -MS. authority,' which we know to be that of Frederick Tatham, who -further asserts, wrongly, that James was younger than William, and -that John was 'the eldest son.' Gilchrist makes no reference to John, -but says, wrongly, that James was 'a year and a half William's senior,' -and that William had a sister 'nearly seven years younger than himself'; -of whom, says Mr. Yeats, we hear little, and among that little not -even her name.' Most of these problems can be settled by the entries -in parish registers, and I have begun with the registers of the church -of St. James, Westminster. - -I find by these entries that James Blake, the son of James and -Catherine Blake, was born July 10, and christened July 15, 1753; John -Blake ('son of John and Catherine,' says the register, by what is probably -a slip of the pen) was horn May 12, and christened June I, 1755; William -Blake was born November 28, and christened December 11, 1757; another -John Blake was born March 20, and christened March 30, 1760; Richard -Blake was born June 19, and christened July 11, 1762; and Catherine -Elizabeth Blake was born January 7, and christened January 28, 1764. -Here, where we find the daughter's name and the due order of births, -we find one perplexity in the name of Richard, whose date of birth fits -the date given by Gilchrist and others to Robert, William's favorite -brother, whose name he has engraved on a design of his 'spiritual form' -in _Milton_, whom he calls Robert in a letter to Butts, and whom -J. T. Smith recalls not only as Robert, but as 'Bob, as he was familiarly -called.' In the entry of 'John, son of John and Catherine Blake,' I can -easily imagine the clerk repeating by accident the name of the son -for the name of the father; and I am inclined to suppose that there -was a John who died before the age of five, and that his name was -given to the son next born. Precisely the same repetition of name is -found in the case of Lamb's two sisters christened Elizabeth, and -Shelley's two sisters christened Helen. 'My brother John, the evil one,' -would therefore be younger than William; but Tatham, in saying that -he was older, may have been misled by there having been two sons -christened John. - -There are two theories as to the origin of Blake's family; but neither -of them has yet been confirmed by the slightest documentary evidence. -Both of these theories were put forth in the same year, 1893, one by Mr. -Alfred T. Story in his _William Blake,_ the other by Messrs. Ellis -and Yeats in their _Works of William Blake_. According to Mr. Story, -Blake's family was connected with the Somerset family of the Admiral, -through a Wiltshire family of Blakes; but for this theory he gives merely -the report of 'two ladies, daughters of William John Blake, of -Southampton, who claim to be second cousins of William Blake,' -and in a private letter he tells me that he has not been able to procure -any documentary evidence of the statement. According to Messrs. Ellis -and Yeats, Blake's father was Irish, and was originally called O'Neil. His -father, John O'Neil, is supposed to have changed his name, on marrying -Ellen Blake, from O'Neil to Blake, and James O'Neil, his son by a previous -union, to have taken the same name, and to have settled in London, -while a younger son, the actual son of Ellen Blake, went to Malaga. This -statement rests entirely on the assertion of Dr. Carter Blake, who claimed -descent from the latter; and it has never been supported by documentary -evidence. In answer, to my inquiry, Mr. Martin J. Blake, the compiler of -two volumes of _Blake Family Records_ (first series, 1300-1600; -second series, 1600-1700), writes: 'Although I have made a special study -of the genealogies of the Blakes of Ireland, I have not come across any -Ellen Blake who married John O'Neil who afterwards (as is said by Messrs. -Ellis and Yeats) adopted the surname of Blake.' - -Mr. Sampson points out that Blakes father was certainly a Protestant. -He is sometimes described as a Swedenborgian, always as a Dissenter, -and it is curious that about half of the Blakes recorded in the -_Dictionary of National Biography_ were also conspicuous as -Puritans or Dissenters. Mr. Sampson further points out that Blake -in one of his poems speaks of himself as 'English Blake.' It is true that -he is contrasting himself with the German Klopstock; yet I scarcely think -an Irishman would have used the expression even for contrast. Blake -is nowhere referred to as having been in any way Irish, and the only -apparent exception to this is one which I am obliged to set up with one -hand and knock down with the other. In the index to Crabb Robinson's -_Diary_ one of the references to Blake shows us Mr. Sheil speaking -at the Academical Society while 'Blake, his countryman, kept watching -him to keep him in order.' That this does not refer to William Blake I -have found by tracking through the unpublished portions of the -_Diary_ in the original manuscript the numerous references to -'a Mr. Blake' who was accustomed to speak at the meetings of the -Academical Society. He is described as 'a Mr. Blake who spoke with -good sense on the Irish side, and argued from the Irish History and -the circumstances which attended the passing of the bills.' He afterwards -speaks 'sharply and coarsely,' and answers Mr. Robinson's hour-long -contention that the House of Commons should, or should not, 'possess -the power of imprisoning for a breach of privilege,' by 'opposing the -facts of Lord Melville's prosecution, the Be version Bill, etc., etc., and -Burke's Reform Bill'; returning, in short, 'my civility by incivility.' -This was not the learning, nor were these the manners, of William -Blake. - -I would again appeal to the evidence of the parish register. I find -Blakes in the parish of St. James, Westminster, from the beginning of -the eighteenth century, the first being a William Blake, the son of -Richard and Elizabeth, who was born March 19, 1700. Between the -years 1750 and 1767 (the time exactly parallel with the births of the -family of James and Catherine Blake) I find among the baptisms the -names of Frances, Daniel, Reuben, John Cartwright, and William -(another William) Blake; and I find among the marriages, between 1728 -and 1747, a Robert, a Thomas, a James, and a Richard Blake. The wife -of James, who was married on April 15, 1738, is called Elizabeth, a name -which we have already found as the name of a Mrs. Blake, and which we -find again as the second name of Catherine Elizabeth Blake (the sister of -William Blake), who was born in 1764. I find two Williams, two Richards, -and a John among the early entries, at the beginning of the eighteenth -century. It is impossible to say positively that any of these families, -not less than nine in number, all bearing the name of Blake, all living -in the same parish, within a space of less than forty years, were related -to one another; but it is easier to suppose so than to suppose that one -only out of the number, and one which had assumed the name, should have -found itself accidentally in the midst of all the others, to which the -name may be supposed to have more definitely belonged. - -All that we know with certainty of James Blake, the father, is that -he was a hosier ('of respectable trade and easy habits,' says Tatham; -'of fifty years' standing,' says Cunningham, at the time of his -death), that he was a Dissenter (a Swedenborgian, or inclined to -Swedenborgianism), and that he died in 1784 and was buried on July 4 -in Bunhill Fields. The burial register says: 'July 4, 1784. Mr. James -Blake from Soho Square in a grave, 13/6.' Of his wife Catherine all -that we know is that she died in 1792, and was also buried in Bunhill -Fields. The register says: 'Sept. 9, 1792. Catherine Blake; age 70; -brought from St. James, Westminster. Grave 9 feet; E. & W. 16; -N. & S. 42-43. 19/-.' Tatham says that 'even when a child, his mother -beat him for running and saying that he saw the prophet Ezekiel -under a tree in the fields.' At eight or ten he comes home from Peckham -Rye saying that he has seen a tree filled with angels; and his father is -going to beat him for telling a lie; but his mother intercedes. It was the -father, Tatham says, who, noticing to what great anger he was moved -by a blow, decided not to send him to school. - -The eldest son, James, Tatham tells us, 'having a saving, -somniferous mind, lived a yard and a half life, and pestered his brother -with timid sentences of bread and cheese advice.' On his father's death -in 1784 he carried on the business, and it was at his house that Blake -held his one exhibition of pictures in 1809. 'These paintings filled -several rooms of an ordinary dwelling-house,' says Crabb Robinson -in his _Reminiscences_; and, telling how he had bought four copies -of the catalogue, 'giving 10/-, I bargained that I should be at liberty -to go again. "Free! as long as you live!" said the brother, astonished -at such a liberality, which he had never experienced before nor I dare -say did afterwards.' Crabb Robinson had at first written 'as long as you -like,' and this he altered into 'as long as you live,' as if fancying, so -long afterwards as 1852, that he remembered the exact word; but -in the entry in the _Diary_, in 1810, we read 'Oh! as often as -you please!' so that we may doubt whether the 'honest, unpretending -shopkeeper,' who was looked upon by his neighbors, we are told, as -'a bit mad,' because he would 'talk Swedenborg,' can be credited with -all the enthusiasm of the later and more familiar reading. James and -William no longer spoke to one another when, after retiring from -business, James came to live in Cirencester Street, near Linnell. Tatham -tells us that 'he got together a little annuity, upon which he supported -his only sister, and vegetating to a moderate age, died about three years -before his brother William.' - -Of John we know only that he was something of a scapegrace -and the favorite son of his parents. He was apprenticed, at some cost, -to a candle-maker, but ran away, and, after some help from William, -enlisted in the army, lived wildly, and died young. Robert, the favorite -of William, also died young, at the age of twenty-five. He lived with -William and Catherine from 1784 to the time of his death in 1787, -at 27 Broad Street, helping in the print-shop of 'Parker and Blake,' -and learning from his brother to draw and engrave. One of his original -sketches, a stiff drawing of long, rigid, bearded figures staring in -terror, quite in his brother's manner, is in the Print Room of the -British Museum. A story is told of him by Gilchrist which gives us -the whole man, indeed the whole household, in brief. There had -been a dispute between him and Mrs. Blake. Blake suddenly interposed, -and said to his wife: 'Kneel down and beg Robert's pardon directly, -or you will never see my face again.' She knelt down (thinking -it, as she said afterwards, 'very hard,' for she felt herself to be in the -right) and said: 'Robert, I beg your pardon; I am in the wrong.' 'Young -woman, you lie,' said Robert, 'I am in the wrong.' - -Early in 1787 Robert fell ill, and during the last fortnight -William nursed him without taking rest by day or night, until, at -the moment of death, he saw his brother's soul rise through the -ceiling 'clapping its hands for joy'; whereupon he went to bed and -slept for three days and nights. Robert was buried in Bunhill Fields -on February 11. The register says: "Feb. 11, 1787. Mr. Robert Blake -from Golden Square in a grave, 13/6." But his spiritual presence was -never to leave the mind of William Blake, whom in 1800 we find -writing to Hayley: 'Thirteen years ago I lost a brother, and with his -spirit I converse daily and hourly in the spirit, and see him in -remembrance, in the regions of my imagination. I hear his advice, -and even now write from his dictate.' It was Robert whom he saw -in a dream, not long after his death, telling him the method by -which he was to engrave his poems and designs. The spiritual -forms of William and of Robert, in almost exact parallel, are -engraved on separate pages of the Prophetic Book of _Milton._ - -Of the sister, Catherine Elizabeth, we know only that she -lived with Blake and his wife at Felpham. He refers to her in -several letters, and in the poem sent to Butts on October 2, 1800, -he speaks of her as 'my sister and friend.' In another poem, -sent to Butts in a letter dated November 22, 1802, but written, he -explains, 'above a twelvemonth ago, while walking from Felpham -to Lavant to meet my sister,' he asks strangely: - - -'Must my wife live in my sister's bane, -Or my sister survive on my Love's pain?' - - -But from the context it is not clear whether this is meant -literally or figuratively. When Tatham was writing his life of Blake, -apparently in the year 1831, he refers to 'Miss Catherine' as still -living, 'having survived nearly all her relations.' Mrs. Gilchrist, in -a letter written to Mr. W. M. Rossetti in 1862, reports a rumour, -for which she gives no evidence, that 'she and Mrs. Blake got on -very ill together, and latterly never met at all,' and that she died -in extreme penury. - - - - -II - - -Of the childhood and youth of Blake we know little beyond -what Malkin and Smith have to tell us. From the age of ten to the -age of fourteen he studied at Pars' drawing-school in the Strand, -buying for himself prints after Raphael, Dürer, and Michelangelo -at the sale-rooms; at fourteen he was apprenticed to Basire, the -engraver, who lived at 31 Great Queen Street, and in his shop -Blake once saw Goldsmith. 'His love for art increasing,' says -Tatham, and the time of life having arrived when it was deemed -necessary to place him under some tutor, a painter of eminence was -proposed, and necessary applications were made; but from the huge -premium required, he requested, with his characteristic generosity, -that his father would not on any account spend so much money on -him, as he thought it would be an injustice to his brothers and -sisters. He therefore himself proposed engraving as being less -expensive, and sufficiently eligible for his future avocations. -Of Basire, therefore, for a premium of fifty guineas, he learnt the -art of engraving.' We are told that he was apprenticed, at his own -request, to Basire rather than to the more famous Ryland, the -engraver to the king, because, on being taken by his father to -Ryland's studio, he said: 'I do not like the man's face: it looks -as if he will live to be hanged.' Twelve years later Ryland was -hanged for forgery. - -Blake was with Basire for seven years, and for the last five -years much of his time was spent in making drawings of Gothic -monuments, chiefly in Westminster Abbey, until he came, says -Malkin, to be 'himself almost a Gothic monument.' Tatham tells -us that the reason of his being 'sent out drawing,' as he fortunately -was, instead of being kept at engraving, was 'for the circumstance -of his having frequent quarrels with his fellow--apprentices -concerning matters of intellectual argument.' - -It was in the Abbey that he had a vision of Christ and the -Apostles, and in the Abbey, too, that he flung an intrusive -Westminster schoolboy from the scaffolding, 'in the impetuosity -of his anger, worn out with interruption,' says Tatham, and then -laid a complaint before the Dean which has caused, to this day, -the exclusion of Westminster schoolboys from the precincts. - -It was at this time that Blake must have written the larger -part of the poems contained in the _Poetical Sketches_, printed -(we cannot say published) in 1783, for in the 'Advertisement' -at the beginning of the book we are told that the 'following Sketches -were the production of untutored youth, commenced in his twelfth, -and occasionally resumed by the author till his twentieth year,' that -is to say, between the years 1768 and 1777. The earliest were written -while Goldsmith and Gray were still living, the latest (if we may believe -these dates) after Chatterton's death, but before his poems had been -published. Ossian had appeared in 1760, Percy's _Reliques_ in -1765. The _Reliques_ probably had their influence on Blake, -Ossian certainly, an influence which returns much later, curiously mingled -with the influence of Milton, in the form taken by the Prophetic Books. -It has been suggested that some of Blake's mystical names, and his -'fiend in a cloud,' came from Ossian; and Ossian is very evident in the -metrical prose of such pieces as 'Samson,' and even in some of the -imagery ('Their helmed youth and aged warriors in dust together lie, -and Desolation spreads his wings over the land of Palestine'). But the -influence of Chatterton seems not less evident, an influence which could -hardly have found its way to Blake before the year 1777. In the fifth -chapter of the fantastic _Island in the Moon_ (probably written -about 1784) there is a long discussion on Chatterton, while in the seventh -chapter he is again discussed in company with Homer, Shakespeare, and -Milton. As late as 1826 Blake wrote on the margin of Wordsworth's preface -to the _Lyrical Ballads_: 'I believe both Macpherson and Chatterton -that what they say is ancient is so,' and on another page, 'I own myself -an admirer of Ossian equally with any poet whatever, of Rowley and -Chatterton also.' Whether it be influence or affinity, it is hard to say, -but if the 'Mad Song' of Blake has the hint of any predecessor in our -literature, it is to be found in the abrupt energy and stormy masculine -splendor of the High Priest's song in 'Aella,' 'Ye who his yn mokie ayre'; -and if, between the time of the Elizabethans and the time of 'My silks -and fine array' there had been any other song of similar technique and -similar imaginative temper, it was certainly the Minstrel's song in -'Aella,' 'O! synge untoe mie roundelaie.' - -Of the direct and very evident influence of the Elizabethans we -are told by Malkin, with his quaint preciseness: 'Shakespeare's -_Venus and Adonis_, _Tarquin and Lucrece,_ and his _Sonnets_... -poems, now little read, were favorite studies of Mr. Blake's early -days. So were Jonson's _Underwoods_ and his _Miscellanies._' -'My silks and fine array' goes past Jonson, and reaches Fletcher, if -not Shakespeare himself. And the blank verse of 'King Edward the -Third' goes straight to Shakespeare for its cadence, and for something -of its manner of speech. And there is other blank verse which, among -much not even metrically correct, anticipates something of the richness -of Keats. - -Some rags of his time did indeed cling about him, but only by -the edges; there is even a reflected ghost of the pseudo-Gothic -of Walpole in 'Fair Elenor,' who comes straight from the _Castle -of Otranto_, as 'Gwin, King of Norway,' takes after the Scandinavian -fashion of the day, and may have been inspired by 'The Fatal Sisters' or -'The Triumphs of Owen' of Gray. Blind-man's Buff,' too, is a piece of -eighteenth-century burlesque realism. But it is in the ode 'To the Muses' -that Blake for once accepts, and in so doing clarifies, the smooth -convention of eighteenth--century classicism, and, as he -reproaches it in its own speech, illuminates it suddenly with the light -it had rejected: - - -'How have you left the ancient love -That bards of old enjoyed in you! -The languid strings do scarcely move, -The sound is forced, the notes are few!' - - -In those lines the eighteenth century dies to music, and from this -time forward we find in the rest of Blake's work only a proof of his own -assertion, that 'the ages are all equal; but genius is above the age.' - -In 1778 Blake's apprenticeship to Basire came to an end, and for -a short time he studied in the Antique School at the newly founded -Royal Academy under Moser, the first keeper. In the Life of Reynolds -which prefaces the 1798 edition of the _Discourses_, Moser is -spoken of as one who 'might in every sense be called the Father of the -present race of Artists.' Blake has written against this in his copy: 'I -was once looking over the prints from Raphael and Michael Angelo -in the Library of the Royal Academy. Moser came to me and said, -"You should not study these old hard, stiff, and dry unfinished works -of art. Stay a little, and I will show you what you should study." He then -went and took down Le Brun's and Rubens' Galleries. How did I secretly -rage: I also spoke my mind. I said to Moser, "These things that you call -finished are not even begun: how can they then be finished? The man -who does not know the beginning never can know the end of art."' -Malkin tells us that Blake 'professed drawing from life always to have -been hateful to him; and speaks of it as looking more like death, or -smelling of mortality. Yet still he drew a good deal from life, both at -the Academy and at home.' A water-color drawing dating from this time, -'The Penance of Jane Shore,' was included by Blake in his exhibition of -1809. It is the last number in the catalogue, and has the note: 'This -Drawing was done above Thirty Years ago, and proves to the Author, -and he thinks will prove to any discerning eye, that the productions of -our youth and of our maturer age are equal in all essential respects.' He -also did engravings, during several years, for the booksellers, Harrison, -Johnson, and others, some of them after Stothard, who was then working -for the _Novelist's Magazine._ Blake met Stothard in 1780, and -Stothard introduced him to Flaxman, with whom he had himself just -become acquainted. In the same year Blake met Fuseli, who settled near -him in Broad Street, while Flaxman, on his marriage in 1781, came to -live near by, at 27 Wardour Street. Bartolozzi and John Yarley were -both, then or later, living in Broad Street, Angelica Kauffmann in Golden -Square. In 1780 (the year of the Gordon Biots, when Blake, carried along -by the crowd, saw the burning of Newgate) he had for the first time a -picture in the Royal Academy, the water-color of 'The Death of Earl -Godwin.' - -It was at this time, in his twenty-fourth year, that he fell in -love with 'a lively little girl' called Polly Wood. Tatham calls her -'a young woman, who by his own account, and according to his -own knowledge, was no trifler. He wanted to marry her, but she -refused, and was as obstinate as she was unkind.' Gilchrist says -that on his complaining to her that she had 'kept company' with -others besides himself, she asked him if he was a fool. 'That cured -me of jealousy,' he said afterwards, but the cure, according to Tatham, -made him so ill that he was sent for change of air to 'Kew, near Richmond' -(really to Battersea), to the house of 'a market-gardener whose name -was Boutcher.' While there, says Tatham, 'he was relating to the daughter, -a girl named Catherine, the lamentable story of Polly Wood, his implacable -lass, upon which Catherine expressed her deep sympathy, it is supposed, -in such a tender and affectionate manner, that it quite won him. He -immediately said, with the suddenness peculiar to him, "Do you pity -me? Yes, indeed I do," answered she. "Then I love you," said he again. -Such was their courtship. He was impressed by her tenderness of mind, -and her answer indicated her previous feeling for him: for she has often -said that upon her mother's asking her who among her acquaintances -she could fancy for a husband, she replied that she had not yet seen -the man, and she has further been heard to say that when she first came -into the room in which Blake sat, she instantly recognized (like Britomart -in Merlin's wondrous glass) her future partner, and was so near fainting -that she left his presence until she recovered.' Tatham tells us that Blake -'returned to his lodgings and worked incessantly' for a whole year, -resolving that he would not see her until he had succeeded' in making -enough money to be able to marry her. The marriage took place at -Battersea in August 1762. - -Gilchrist says that he has traced relatives of Blake to have been -living at Battersea at the time of his marriage. Of this he gives no -evidence; but I think I have found traces, in Blake's own parish, of -relatives of the Catherine Boucher whom he married at Battersea. -Tatham, as we have seen, says that she was the daughter of a -market-gardener at 'Kew, near Richmond,' called Boutcher, to whose -house Blake was sent for a change of air. Allan Cunningham says that -'she lived near his father's house.' I think I have found the reason for -Cunningham's mistake, and the probable occasion of Blake's visit to -the Bouchers at Battersea. I find by the birth register in St. Mary's, -Battersea, that Catherine Sophia, daughter of William and Ann Boucher, -was born April 25, and christened May 16, 1762. Four years after this, -another Catherine Boucher, daughter of Samuel and Betty, born March 28, -1766, was christened March 31, 1766, in the parish church of St. James, -Westminster; and in the same register I find the birth of Gabriel, son of -the same parents, born September 1, and christened September 20, 1767; -and of Ann, daughter of Thomas and Ann Boucher, born June 12, and -christened June 29, 1761. Is it not, therefore, probable that there were -Bouchers, related to one another, living in both parishes, and that -Blake's acquaintance with the family living near him led to his going -to stay with the family living at Battersea? - -The entry of Blake's marriage, in the register of St. Mary's Battersea, -gives the name as Butcher, and also describes Blake as 'of the parish -of Battersea,' by a common enough error. It is as follows:-- - - -1782. - -Banns of Marriage. - -No. 281 William Blake of the Parish of Battersea Batchelor and -Catherine Butcher of the same Parish Spinster were Married in this -Church by License this Eighteenth Day of August in the Year One -Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty two by me J. Gardnor Vicar. -This Marriage was solemnized between Us. - -William Blake -The mark of X Catherine Butcher. - -In the presence of Thomas Monger Butcher. - -Jas. Blake -Robt. Munday Parish Clerk. - - -I imagine that Thomas Monger Butcher was probably Catherine's -brother; there are other Mongers not far off in the register, as if the -name were a family name. His handwriting is mean and untidy, James -Blake's vague but fluent; Catherine makes her mark somewhat faintly. -As the register lies open there are entries of seven marriages; out of -these, no fewer than three of the brides have signed by making their -mark. The name William Blake stands out from these 'blotted and -blurred' signatures; the ink is very black, as if he had pressed hard -on the pen; and the name has a 'firm and determinate outline.' - -Gilchrist describes Catherine Boucher as 'a bright-eyed, dark-haired -brunette, with expressive features and a slim, graceful form.' This -seems to be merely a re-writing of Allan Cunningham's vague statement -that she 'was noticed by Blake for the whiteness of her hand, the -brightness of her eyes, and a slim and handsome shape, corresponding -with his own notions of sylphs and naiads.' But if a quaint and lovely -pencil sketch in the Rossetti MS., representing a man in bed and a -woman sitting on the side of the bed, beginning to dress, is really, as -it probably is, done from life, and meant for Mrs. Blake, we see at once -the model for his invariable type of woman, tall, slender, and with -unusually long legs. There is a drawing of her head by Blake in the -Rossetti MS. which, though apparently somewhat conventionalized, -shows a clear aquiline profile and very large eyes; still to be divined -in the rather painful head drawn by Tatham when she was an old woman, -a head in which there is still power and fixity. Crabb Robinson, who met -her in 1825, says that she had 'a good expression in her countenance, -and, with a dark eye, remains of beauty in her youth.' - -No man of genius ever had a better wife. To the last she called -him 'Mr. Blake,' while he, we are told, frequently spoke of her as 'his -beloved.' The most beautiful reference to her which I find in his letters -is one in a letter of September 16, 1800, to Hayley, where he calls her -'my dear and too careful and over-joyous woman,' and says 'Eartham -will be my first temple and altar; my wife is like a flame of many colours -of precious jewels whenever she hears it named.' He taught her to -write, and the copy-book titles to some of his water-colors are probably -hers; to draw, so that after his death she finished some of his designs; -and to help him in the printing and coloring of his engravings. A story -is told, on the authority of Samuel Palmer, that they would both look -into the flames of burning coals, and draw grotesque figures which they -saw there, hers quite unlike his. 'It is quite certain,' says Crabb -Robinson, 'that she believed in all his visions'; and he shows her to -us reminding her husband, 'You know, dear, the first time you saw -God was when you were four years old, and he put his head to the -window, and set you a-screaming,' She would walk with him into the -country, whole summer days, says Tatham, and far into the night. And -when he rose in the night, to write down what was 'dictated' to him, -she would rise and sit by him, and hold his hand. 'She would get up -in the night,' says the unnamed friend quoted by Gilchrist, 'when he -was under his very fierce inspirations, which were as if they would -tear him asunder, while he was yielding himself to the Muse, or -whatever else it could be called, sketching and writing. And so terrible -a task did this seem to be, that she had to sit motionless and silent; -only to stay him mentally, without moving hand or foot; this for hours, -and night after night.' 'His wife being to him a very patient woman,' -says Tatham, who speaks of Mrs. Blake as 'an irradiated saint,' 'he -fancied that while she looked on him as he worked, her sitting quite -still by his side, doing nothing, soothed his impetuous mind; and he -has many a time, when a strong desire presented itself to overcome -any difficulty in his plates or drawings, in the middle of the night, -risen, and requested her to get up with him, and sit by his side, in -which she as cheerfully acquiesced.' 'Rigid, punctual, firm, precise,' -she has been described; a good housewife and a good cook; refusing -to have a servant not only because of the cost, but because no servant -could be scrupulous enough to satisfy her. 'Finding,' says Tatham '(as -Mrs. Blake declared, and as every one else knows), the more service -the more inconvenience, she... did all the work herself, kept the house -clean and herself tidy, besides printing all Blake's numerous engravings, -which was a task sufficient for any industrious woman.' He tells us in -another place: 'it is a fact known to the writer, that Mrs. Blake's -frugality always kept a guinea or sovereign for any emergency, of which -Blake never knew, even to the day of his death.' - -Tatham says of Blake at the time of his marriage: 'Although not -handsome, he must have had a most noble countenance, full of -expression and animation; his hair was of a yellow brown, and curled -with the utmost crispness and luxuriance; his locks, instead of falling -down, stood up like a curling flame, and looked at a distance like -radiations, which with his fiery eye and expressive forehead, his -dignified and cheerful physiognomy, must have made his appearance -truly prepossessing.' In another place he says: 'William Blake in stature -was short [he was not quite five and a half feet in height], but well -made, and very well proportioned; so much so that West, the great -history painter, admired much the form of his limbs; he had a large -head and wide shoulders. Elasticity and promptitude of action were the -characteristics of his contour. His motions were rapid and energetic, -betokening a mind filled with elevated enthusiasm; his forehead was -very high and prominent over the frontals; his eye most unusually -large and glassy, with which he appeared to look into some other -world.' His eyes were prominent, 'large, dark, and expressive,' says -Allan Cunningham; the flashing of his eyes remained in the memory -of an old man who had seen him in court at Chichester in 1804. His -nose, though 'snubby,' as he himself describes it, had 'a little clenched -nostril, a nostril that opened as far as it could, but was tied down at -the end.' The mouth was large and sensitive; the forehead, larger -below than above, as he himself noted, was broad and high; and the -whole face, as one sees it in what is probably the best likeness we have, -Linnell's miniature of 1827, was full of irregular splendor, eager, -eloquent, ecstatic; eyes and mouth and nostrils all as if tense with a -continual suction, drinking up 'large draughts of intellectual day' with -impatient haste. 'Infinite impatience,' says Swinburne, 'as of a great -preacher or apostle--intense tremulous vitality, as of a great -orator--seem to me to give his face the look of one who can -do all things but hesitate.' - -After his marriage in August 1782 (which has been said to have -displeased his father, though Tatham says it was 'with the approbation -and consent of his parents'), Blake took lodgings at 23 Green Street, -Leicester Fields (now pulled down), which was only the square's length -away from Sir Joshua Reynolds. Flaxman had married in 1781, and had -taken a house at 27 Wardour Street and it was probably he who, about -this time, introduced Blake to 'the accomplished Mrs. Matthew,' whose -drawing-room in Rathbone Place was frequented by literary and artistic -people. Mr. Matthew, a clergyman of taste, who is said to have 'read the -church service more beautifully than any other clergyman in London,' -had discovered Flaxman, when a little boy, learning Latin behind the -counter in his father's shop. 'From this incident,' says J. T. Smith in -his notice of Flaxman, 'Mr. Matthew continued to notice him, and, as -he grew up, became his first and best friend. Later on, he was introduced -to Mrs. Matthew, who was so kind as to read Homer to him, whilst he -made designs on the same table with her at the time she was reading.' -It was apparently at the Matthews' house that Smith heard Blake sing -his own songs to his own music, and it was through Mrs. Matthew's -good opinion of these songs that she 'requested the Rev. Henry Matthew, -her husband, to join Mr. Flaxman in his truly kind offer of defraying -the expense of printing them': to which we owe the '_Poetical -Sketches_, by W. B.'; printed in 1783, and given to Blake to dispose -of as he thought fit. There is no publisher's name on the book, and -there is no reason to suppose that it was ever offered for sale. - -'With his usual urbanity,' Mr. Matthew had written a foolish -'Advertisement' to the book, saying that the author had 'been -deprived of the leisure requisite to such a revisal of these sheets, -as might have rendered them less unfit to meet the public eye,' 'his -talents having been wholly directed to the attainment of excellence -in his profession.' The book is by no means incorrectly printed, and it -is not probable that Blake would under any circumstances have given -his poems more 'revisal' than he did. He did at this time a good deal -of engraving, often after the designs of Stothard, whom he was afterwards -to accuse of stealing his ideas; and in 1784 he had two, and in 1785 -four, watercolor drawings at the Royal Academy. Fuseli, Stothard, and -Flaxman[1] seem to have been his chief friends, and it is probable -that he also knew Cosway, who practiced magic, and Cosway may have -told him about Paracelsus, or lent him Law's translation of Behmen, -while Flaxman, who was a Swedenborgian, may have brought him still -more closely under the influence of Swedenborg. - -In any case, he soon tired of the coterie of the Matthews, and we -are told that it soon ceased to relish his 'manly firmness of opinion.' -What he really thought of it we may know with some certainty from -the extravaganza, _An Island in the Moon_, which seems to -belong to 1784, and which is a light-hearted and incoherent satire, -derived, no doubt, from Sterne, and pointing, as Mr. Sampson justly -says, to Peacock. It is unfinished, and was not worth finishing, but it -contains the first version of several of the _Songs of Innocence_, -as well as the lovely song of Phoebe and Jellicoe. It has the further -interest of showing us Blake's first, wholly irresponsible attempt to -create imaginary worlds, and to invent grotesque and impossible -names. It shows us the first explosions of that inflammable part of -his nature, which was to burst through the quiet surface of his life -at many intervals, in righteous angers and irrational suspicions. It -betrays his deeply rooted dislike of science, and, here and there, -a literary preference, for Ossian or for Chatterton. The original MS. -is in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, and in this year, 1907, Mr. -Edwin J. Ellis has done Blake the unkindness of printing it for the first -time in full, in the pages of his _Real Blake._ Blake's satire is -only occasionally good, though occasionally it is supremely good; his -burlesque is almost always bad; and there is little probability that he -ever intended to publish any part of the prose and verse which he -threw off for the relief of personal irritations and spiritual -indignations. - -In _An Island in the Moon_ we see Blake casting off the -dust of the drawing-rooms, finally, so far as any mental obstruction was -concerned; but he does not seem to have broken wholly with the Matthews, -who, no doubt, were people of genuinely good intentions; and it is -through their help that we find him, in 1784, on the death of his father, -setting up as a print-seller, with his former fellow-apprentice, James -Parker, at No. 27 Broad Street, next door to the house and shop which -had been his fathers, and which were now taken on by his brother James. -Smith says that he took a shop and a first-floor; and here his brother -Robert came to live with him as his pupil, and remained with him till his -death in February 1787. - - - - -III - - -After Robert's death Blake gave up the print-shop and moved out of -Broad Street to Poland Street, a street running between it and Oxford -Street. He took No. 28, a house only a few doors down from Oxford -Street, and lived there for five years. Here, in 1789, he issued the -_Songs of Innocence_, the first of his books to be produced -by the method of his invention which he described as 'illuminated -printing.' According to Smith, it was Robert who 'stood before him in -one of his visionary imaginations, and directed him in the way in which -he ought to proceed.' The process is thus described by Mr. Sampson: -'The text and surrounding design were written in reverse, in a medium -impervious to acid, upon small copper-plates, which were then etched -in a bath of aqua-fortis until the work stood in relief as in a -stereotype. From these plates, which to economize copper were in -many cases engraved upon both sides, impressions were printed, -in the ordinary manner, in tints made to harmonise with the color -scheme afterwards applied in water-colors by the artist.' Gilchrist -tells an improbable story about Mrs. Blake going out with the last -half-crown in the house, and spending 1s 10d of it in the purchase -of 'the simple materials necessary.' But we know from a MS. note -of John Linnell, referring to a somewhat later date: 'The copper-plates -which Blake engraved to illustrate Hayley's life of Cowper were, as he -told me, printed entirely by himself and his wife in his own press--a -very good one which cost him forty pounds.' These plates were engraved -in 1803, but it is not likely that Blake was ever able to buy more than -one press. - -The problem of 'illuminated printing,' however definitely it may -have been solved by the dream in which Robert 'stood before him and -directed him,' was one which had certainly occupied the mind of Blake for -some years. A passage, unfortunately incomplete, in _An Island in the -Moon_, reads as follows: "Illuminating the Manuscript--Ay," -said she, "that would be excellent. Then," said he, "I would have all -the writing engraved instead of printed, and at every other leaf a high -finished print, all in three volumes folio, and sell them a hundred pounds -a piece. They would print off two thousand. Then," said she, "whoever -will not have them, will be ignorant fools and will not deserve to live."' -This is evidently a foreshadowing of the process which is described and -defended, with not less confident enthusiasm, in an engraved prospectus -issued from Lambeth in 1793. I give it in full:-- - - -_October_ 10, 1793. - -TO THE PUBLIC. - -The Labours of the Artist, the Poet, the Musician, have been -proverbially attended by poverty and obscurity; this was never the fault -of the Public, but was owing to a neglect of means to propagate such -works as have wholly absorbed the Man of Genius. Even Milton and -Shakespeare could not publish their own works. - -This difficulty has been obviated by the Author of the following -productions now presented to the Public; who has invented a method -of Printing both Letter-press and Engraving in a style more ornamental, -uniform, and grand, than any before discovered, while it produces works -at less than one-fourth of the expense. - -If a method of Printing which combines the Painter and the Poet -is a phenomenon worthy of public attention, provided that it exceeds -in elegance all former methods, the Author is sure of his reward. - -Mr. Blake's powers of invention very early engaged the attention of -many persons of eminence and fortune; by whose means he has been -regularly enabled to bring before the public works (he is not afraid to -say) of equal magnitude and consequence with the productions of any -age or country: among which are two large highly finished engravings -(and two more are nearly ready) which will commence a Series of subjects -from the Bible, and another from the History of England. - -The following are the Subjects of the several Works now published -and on Sale at Mr. Blake's, No. 13 Hercules Buildings, Lambeth:-- - -1. Job, a Historical Engraving. Size 1 ft. 7 1/2 in. by 1 ft. 2 in. -Price 12s. - -2. Edward and Elinor, a Historical Engraving. Size 1 ft. 6 1/2 in. by -1 ft. Price 10s. 6d. - -3. America, a Prophecy, in Illuminated Printing. Folio, with 18 -designs. Price 10s. 6d. - -4. Visions of the Daughters of Albion, in Illuminated Printing. Folio, -with 8 designs. Price 7s. 6d. - -5. The Book of Thel, a Poem in Illuminated Printing. Quarto, with 6 -designs. Price 3s. - -6. The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, in Illuminated Printing. Quarto, -with fourteen designs. Price 7s. 6d. - -7. Songs of Innocence, in Illuminated Printing. Octavo, with 25 -designs. Price 5 s. - -8. Songs of Experience, in Illuminated Printing. Octavo, with 25 -designs. Price 5s. - -9. The History of England, a small book of Engravings. Price 3 s. - -10. The Gates of Paradise, a small book of Engravings. Price 3 s. - -The Illuminated Books are Printed in Colors, and on the most beautiful -wove paper that could be procured. - -No Subscriptions for the numerous great works now in hand are asked, -for none are wanted; but the Author will produce his works, and offer them -to sale at a fair price. - - -By this invention (which it is absurd to consider, as some have -considered it, a mere makeshift, to which he had been driven by -the refusal of publishers to issue his poems and engravings according -to the ordinary trade methods) Blake was the first, and remains the only, -poet who has in the complete sense made his own books with his own -hands: the words, the illustrations, the engraving, the printing, the -coloring, the very inks and colors, and the stitching of the sheets into -boards. With Blake, who was equally a poet and an artist, words and -designs came together and were inseparable; and to the power of inventing -words and designs was added the skill of engraving, and thus of -interpreting them, without any mechanical interference from the outside. -To do this must have been, at some time or another, the ideal of every -poet who is a true artist, and who has a sense of the equal importance of -every form of art, and of every detail in every form. Only Blake has -produced a book of poems vital alike in inner and outer form, and, had -it not been for his lack of a technical knowledge of music, had he but -been able to write down his inventions in that art also, he would have -left us the creation of something like an universal art. That universal -art he did, during his own lifetime, create; for he sang his songs to his -own music; and thus, while he lived, he was the complete realization of -the poet in all his faculties, and the only complete realization that has -ever been known. - -To define the poetry of Blake one must find new definitions for -poetry; but, these definitions once found, he will seem to be the only -poet who is a poet in essence; the only poet who could, in his own words, -'enter into Noah's rainbow, and make a friend and companion of one of -these images of wonder, which always entreat him to leave mortal things.' -In this verse there is, if it is to be found in any verse, the 'lyrical -cry'; and yet, what voice is it that cries in this disembodied ecstasy? -The voice of desire is not in it, nor the voice of passion, nor the cry of -the heart, nor the cry of the sinner to God, nor of the lover of nature -to nature. It neither seeks nor aspires nor laments nor questions. It is -like the voice of wisdom in a child, who has not yet forgotten the world -out of which the soul came. It is as spontaneous as the note of a bird, -it is an affirmation of life; in its song, which seems mere music, it is -the mind which sings; it is lyric thought. What is it that transfixes one -in any couplet such as this: - - -'If the sun and moon should doubt -They'd immediately go out'? - - -It is no more than a nursery statement, there is not even an image -in it, and yet it sings to the brain, it cuts into the very flesh of the -mind, as if there were a great weight behind it. Is it that it is an -arrow, and that it comes from so far, and with an impetus gathered -from its speed out of the sky? - -The lyric poet, every lyric poet but Blake, sings of love; but -Blake sings of forgiveness: - - -'Mutual forgiveness of each vice, -Such are the gates of Paradise.' - - -Poets sing of beauty, but Blake says: - - -'Soft deceit and idleness, -These are Beauty's sweetest dress.' - - -They sing of the brotherhood of men, but Blake points to the 'divine -image': - - -'Cruelty has a human heart, -And Jealousy a human face; -Terror the human form divine, -And Secrecy the human dress.' - - -Their minds are touched by the sense of tears in human things, but -to Blake 'a tear is an intellectual thing.' They sing of 'a woman like a -dewdrop,' but Blake of 'the lineaments of gratified desire.' They shout -hymns to God over a field of battle or in the arrogance of material -empire; but Blake addresses the epilogue of his _Gates of Paradise_ -'to the Accuser who is the God of this world': - - -'Truly, my Satan, thou art but a dunce, -And dost not know the garment from the man; -Every harlot was a virgin once, -Nor canst thou ever change Kate into Nan. -Though thou art worshipped by the names divine -Of Jesus and Jehovah, thou art still -The son of morn in weary night's decline, -The lost traveller's dream under the hill.' - - -Other poets find ecstasy in nature, but Blake only in imagination. -He addresses the Prophetic Book of _The Ghost of Abel_ -'to Lord Byron in the wilderness,' and asks: 'What doest thou here, -Elijah? Can a poet doubt of the visions of Jehovah? Nature has no -outline, but Imagination has. Nature has no time, but Imagination has. -Nature has no supernatural, and dissolves. Imagination is eternity.' The -poetry of Blake is a poetry of the mind, abstract in substance, concrete -in form; its passion is the passion of the imagination, its emotion -is the emotion of thought, its beauty is the beauty of idea. When it is -simplest, its simplicity is that of some 'infant joy' too young to have -a name, or of some 'infant sorrow' brought aged out of eternity into -the 'dangerous world,' and there: - - -'Helpless, naked, piping loud, -Like a fiend hid in a cloud.' - - -There are no men and women in the world of Blake's poetry, only -primal instincts and the energies of the imagination. - -His work begins in the garden of Eden, or of the childhood of the -world, and there is something in it of the naïveté of beasts: the lines -gambol awkwardly, like young lambs. His utterance of the state of -innocence has in it something of the grotesqueness of babies, and -enchants the grown man, as they do. Humour exists unconscious of -itself, in a kind of awed and open-eyed solemnity. He stammers into -a speech of angels, as if just awakening out of Paradise. It is the -primal instincts that speak first, before riper years have added -wisdom to intuition. It is the supreme quality of this wisdom that -it has never let go of intuition. It is as if intuition itself ripened. -And so Blake goes through life with perfect mastery of the terms -of existence, as they present themselves to him: 'perfectly happy, -wanting nothing,' as he said, when he was old and poor; and able -in each stage of life to express in art the corresponding stage of -his own development. He is the only poet who has written the songs -of childhood, of youth, of mature years, and of old age; and he died -singing. - - - - -IV - - -Blake lived in Poland Street for five years, and issued from it the -_Songs of Innocence_ (1789), and, in the same year, _The Book -of Thel, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell_ in 1790, and, in 1791, -the first book of _The French Revolution: a Poem in Seven Books_, -which Gilchrist says was published anonymously, in ordinary type, -and without illustrations, by the bookseller Johnson. No copy of this -book is known to exist. At this time he was a fervent believer -in the new age which was to be brought about by the French Revolution, -and he was much in the company of revolutionaries and freethinkers, -and the only one among them who dared wear the 'bonnet rouge' in -the street. Some of these, Thomas Paine, Godwin, Holcroft, and others, -he met at Johnson's shop in St. Paul's Churchyard, where Fuseli and -Mary Wollstonecraft also came. It was at Johnson's, in 1792, that Blake -saved the life of Paine, by hurrying him off to France, with the warning, -'You must not go home, or you are a dead man,' at the very moment -when a warrant had been issued for his arrest. Johnson himself was in -1798 put into gaol for his republican sympathies, and continued to give -his weekly literary dinners in gaol. - -Blake's back-windows at Poland Street looked out on the yard of -Astley's circus, and Tatham tells a story of Blake's wonder, indignation, -and prompt action on seeing a wretched youth chained by the foot to a -horse's hobble. The neighbor whom he regarded as 'hired to depress -art,' Sir Joshua Reynolds, died in 1792. A friend quoted by Gilchrist -tells us: 'When a very young man he had called on Reynolds to show him -some designs, and had been recommended to work with less extravagance -and more simplicity, and to correct his drawing. This Blake seemed to -regard as an affront never to be forgotten. He was very indignant when -he spoke of it.' There is also a story of a meeting between Blake and -Reynolds, when each, to his own surprise, seems to have found the -other very pleasant. - -Blake's mother died in 1792, at the age of seventy, and was buried in -Bunhill Fields on September 9. In the following year he moved to 13 -Hercules Buildings, Lambeth,[2] where, during the next seven years, -he did engraving, both of his own designs and of those of others, and -published the engraved book of designs called _The Gates of Paradise_ -(1793), the poems and illustrations of the _Songs of Experience_ -(1794), and the greater part of the Prophetic Books, besides writing, -apparently in 1797, the vast and never really finished MS. of _The -Four Zoas._ This period was that of which we have the largest and -most varied result, in written and engraved work, together with a large -number of designs, including five hundred and thirty-seven done on the -margin of Young's _Night Thoughts_, and the earliest of the -color-prints. It was Blake's one period of something like prosperity, -as we gather from several stories reported by Tatham, who says that -during the absence of Blake and his wife on one of their long country -walks, which would take up a whole day, thieves broke into the house, -and 'carried away plate to the value of £60 and clothes to the amount -of £40 more.' Another £40 was lent by Blake to 'a certain freethinking -speculator, the author of many elaborate philosophical treatises,' who -complained that 'his children had not a dinner.' A few days afterwards -the Blakes went to see the destitute family, and the wife 'had the -audacity to ask Mrs. Blake's opinion of a very gorgeous dress, purchased -the day following Blake's compassionate gift.' Yet another story is of a -young art-student who used to pass the house every day carrying a -portfolio under his arm, and whom Blake pitied for his poverty and sickly -looks, and taught for nothing and looked after till he died. Blake had -other pupils too, among 'families of high rank,' but being 'aghast' at -the prospect of 'an appointment to teach drawing to the Royal Family,' -he gave up all his pupils, with his invariably exquisite sense of -manners, on refusing the royal offer. - -It was in 1799 that Blake found his first patron, and one of his -best friends, in Thomas Butts, 'that remarkable man--that -great patron of British genius,' as Samuel Palmer calls him, who, for -nearly thirty years, with but few intervals, continued to buy whatever -Blake liked to do for him, paying him a small but steady price, and -taking at times a drawing a week. A story which, as Palmer says, had -'grown in the memory,' connects him with Blake at this time, and may -be once more repeated, if only to be discredited. There was a -back-garden at the house in Hercules Buildings, and there were vines -in it, which Blake would never allow to be pruned, so that they grew -luxuriant in leaf and small and harsh in fruit. Mr. Butts, according to -Gilchrist, is supposed to have come one day into 'Blake's Arcadian -Arbour,' as Tatham calls it, and to have found Blake and his wife -sitting naked, reading out Milton's _Paradise Lost_ 'in character,' -and to have been greeted with: 'Come in, it is only Adam and Eve.' -John Linnell, in some notes written after reading Gilchrist, and quoted -in Story's _Life of Linnell_, writes with reason: 'I do not think -it possible. Blake was very unreserved in his narrations to me of all -his thoughts and actions, and I think if anything like this story had -been true, he would have told me of it. I am sure he would have -laughed heartily at it if it had been told of him or of anybody else, -for he was a hearty laugher at absurdities.' In such a matter, Linnell's -authority may well be final, if indeed any authority is required, beyond -a sense of humour, and the knowledge that Blake possessed it. - -Another legend of the period, which has at least more significance, -whether true or not, is referred to by both Swinburne and Mr. W. M. -Rossetti, on what authority I cannot discover, and is thus stated by -Messrs. Ellis and Yeats: 'It is said that Blake wished to add a concubine -to his establishment in the Old Testament manner, but gave up the -project because it made Mrs. Blake cry.' 'The element of fable,' they -add, 'lies in the implication that the woman who was to have wrecked -this household had a bodily existence.... There is a possibility that he -entertained mentally some polygamous project, and justified it on some -patriarchal theory. A project and theory are one thing, however, and a -woman is another; and though there is abundant suggestion of the -project and theory, there is no evidence at all of the woman.' I have -found in the unpublished part of Crabb Robinson's _Diary_ and -_Reminiscences_ more than a 'possibility' or even 'abundant -suggestion' that Blake accepted the theory as a theory. Crabb -Robinson himself was so frightened by it that he had to confide it -to his _Diary_ in the disguise of German, though, when he -came to compile his _Reminiscences_ many years later he -ventured to put it down in plain English which no editor has yet -ventured to print. Both passages will be found in their place in the -verbatim reprint given later; but I will quote the second here: - - -'13_th June_ (1826).--I saw him again in June. He -was as wild as ever, says my journal, but he was led to-day to make -assertions more palpably mischievous and capable of influencing other -minds, and immoral, supposing them to express the will of a responsible -agent, than anything he had said before. As for instance, that he had -learned from the Bible that wives should be in common. And when I -objected that Marriage was a Divine institution he referred to the Bible, -"that from the beginning it was not so." He affirmed that he had committed -many murders, and repeated his doctrine, that reason is the only Sin, and -that careless, gay people are better than those who think, etc., etc.' - -This passage leaves no doubt as to Blake's theoretical view of -marriage, but it brings us no nearer to any certainty as to his practical -action in the matter. With Blake, as with all wise men, a mental decision -in the abstract had no necessary influence on conduct. To have the -courage of your opinions is one thing, and Blake always had this; but -he was of all people least impelled to go and do a thing because he -considered the thing a permissible one to do. Throughout all his work -Blake affirms freedom as the first law of love; jealousy is to him the -great iniquity, the unforgivable selfishness. He has the frank courage -to praise in _The Visions of the Daughters of Albion_: - - -'Infancy, fearless, lustful, happy, nestling for delight -In laps of pleasure! Innocence, honest, open, seeking -The vigorous joys of morning light'; - - -And of woman he asks, 'Who taught thee modesty, subtle modesty?' -In the same book, which is Blake's Book of Love, Oothoon offers 'girls -of mild silver or of furious gold' to her lover; in the paradisal state of -_Jerusalem_ 'every female delights to give her maiden to her -husband.' All these things are no doubt symbols, but they are symbols -which meet us on every page of Blake, and I no not doubt that to him -they represented an absolute truth. Therefore I think it perfectly -possible that some 'mentally polygamous project' was at one time or -another entertained by him, and 'justified on some patriarchal theory.' -What I am sure of, however, is that a tear of Mrs. Blake ('for a tear is -an intellectual thing') was enough to wipe out project if not theory, -and that one to whom love was pity more than it was desire would have -given no nearer cause for jealousy than some unmortal Oothoon. - -It was in 1794 that Blake engraved the _Songs of Experience._ -Four of the Prophetic Books had preceded it, but here Blake returns to -the clear and simple form of the _Songs of Innocence_, deepening it -with meaning and heightening it with ardor. Along with this fierier art -the symbolic contents of what, in the _Songs of Innocence_, had -been hardly more than a child's strayings in earthly or divine Edens, -becomes angelic, and speaks with more deliberately hid or doubled -meanings. Even 'The Tiger,' by which Lamb was to know that here was -'one of the most extraordinary persons of the age,' is not only a sublime -song about a flame-like beast, but contains some hint that 'the tigers -of wrath are wiser than the horses of instruction.' In this book, and in -the poems which shortly followed it, in that MS. book whose contents -have sometimes been labelled, after a rejected title of Blake's, _Ideas -of Good and Evil_, we see Blake more wholly and more evenly himself -than anywhere else in his work. From these central poems we can -distinguish the complete type of Blake as a poet. - -Blake is the only poet who sees all temporal things under the -form of eternity. To him reality is merely a symbol, and he catches at -its terms, hastily and faultily, as he catches at the lines of the -drawing-master, to represent, as in a faint image, the clear and shining -outlines of what he sees with the imagination; through the eye, not with -it, as he says. Where other poets use reality as a spring-board into -space, he uses it as a foothold on his return from flight. Even Wordsworth -seemed to him a kind of atheist, who mistook the changing signs of -'vegetable nature' for the unchanging realities of the imagination. -'Natural objects,' he wrote in a copy of Wordsworth, 'always did and -now do weaken, deaden, and obliterate imagination in me. Wordsworth -must know that what he writes valuable is not to be found in nature.' -And so his poetry is the most abstract of all poetry, although in a sense -the most concrete. It is everywhere an affirmation, the register of -vision; never observation. To him observation was one of the daughters -of memory, and he had no use for her among his Muses, which were all -eternal, and the children of the imagination. 'Imagination,' he said, 'has -nothing to do with memory.' For the most part he is just conscious that -what he sees as 'an old man grey' is no more than a 'frowning thistle': - - -'For double the vision my eyes do see, -And a double vision is always with me. -With my inward eyes, 'tis an old man grey, -With my outward, a thistle across my way.' - - -In being so far conscious, he is only recognizing the symbol, not -admitting the reality. - -In his earlier work, the symbol still interests him, he accepts it -without dispute; with, indeed, a kind of transfiguring love. Thus he -writes of the lamb and the tiger, of the joy and sorrow of infants, of -the fly and the lily, as no poet of mere observation has ever written of -them, going deeper into their essence than Wordsworth ever went into -the heart of daffodils, or Shelley into the nerves of the sensitive plant. -He takes only the simplest flowers or weeds, and the most innocent or -most destroying of animals, and he uses them as illustrations of the -divine attributes. From the same flower and beast he can read contrary -lessons without change of meaning, by the mere transposition of qualities, -as in the poem which now reads: - - -'The modest rose puts forth a thorn, -The humble sheep a threatening horn; -While the lily white shall in love delight, -Nor a thorn, nor a threat, stain her beauty bright.' - - -Mr. Sampson tells us in his notes: Beginning by writing: - - -"The rose puts envious ..." - - -He felt that "envious," did not express his full meaning, and deleted -the last three words, writing above them "lustful rose," and finishing the -line with the words "puts forth a thorn." He then went on: - - -"The coward sheep a threatening horn; -While the lily white shall in love delight, -And the lion increase freedom and peace;" - - -At which point he drew a line under the poem to show that it was -finished. On a subsequent reading he deleted the last line, substituting -for it: - - -'"The priest loves war, and the soldier peace;" - - -But here, perceiving that his rhyme had disappeared, he cancelled -this line also, and gave the poem an entirely different turn by changing -the word "lustful" to "modest," and "coward" to "humble," and completing -the quatrain (as in the engraved version) by a fourth line simply -explanatory of the first three.' This is not merely obeying the idle -impulse of a rhyme, but rather a bringing of the mind's impulses -into that land where 'contraries mutually exist.' - -And when I say that he reads lessons, let it not be supposed -that Blake was ever consciously didactic. Conduct does not concern -him; not doing, but being. He held that education was the setting of -a veil between light and the soul. 'There is no good in education,' he -said. 'I hold it to be wrong. It is the great sin. It is eating of the -tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This was the fault of Plato. -He knew nothing but the virtues and vices, and good and evil. There -is nothing in all that. Everything is good in God's eyes.' And, as he -says with his excellent courage: 'When I tell the truth, it is not for -the sake of convincing those who do not know it, but for the sake -of defending those who do'; and, again, with still more excellent -and harder courage: 'When I am endeavoring to think rightly, I must -not regard my own any more than other people's weaknesses'; so, -in his poetry, there is no moral tendency, nothing that might not -be poison as well as antidote; nothing indeed but the absolute -affirmation of that energy which is eternal delight. He worshipped -energy as the wellhead or parent fire of life; and to him there was -no evil, only a weakness, a negation of energy, the ignominy of wings -that droop and are contented in the dust. - -And so, like Nietzsche, but with a deeper innocence, he finds -himself 'beyond good and evil,' in a region where the soul is naked -and its own master. Most of his art is the unclothing of the soul, -and when at last it is naked and alone, in that 'thrilling' region -where the souls of other men have at times penetrated, only to -shudder back with terror from the brink of eternal loneliness, then -only is this soul exultant with the supreme happiness. - - - - -V - - -It is to the seven years at Lambeth that what may be called the first -period of the Prophetic Books largely belongs, though it does not indeed -begin there. The roots of it are strongly visible in _The Marriage of -Heaven and Hell_, which was written at Poland Street, and they may -be traced even further back. Everything else, until we come to the last -or Felpham period, which has a new quality of its own, belongs to -Lambeth. - -In his earlier work Blake is satisfied with natural symbols, with -nature as symbol; in his later work, in the final message of the -Prophetic Books, he is no longer satisfied with what then seems to -him the relative truth of the symbols of reality. Dropping the tools -with which he has worked so well, he grasps with naked hands after -an absolute truth of statement, which is like his attempt in his -designs to render the outlines of vision literally, without translation -into the forms of human sight. He invents names harsh as triangles, -Enitharmon, Theotormon, Rintrah, for spiritual states and essences, -and he employs them as Wagner employed his leading motives, as a -kind of shorthand for the memory. His meaning is no longer apparent -in the ordinary meaning of the words he uses; we have to read him with -a key, and the key is not always in our hands; he forgets that he is -talking to men on the earth in some language which he has learnt in -heavenly places. He sees symbol within symbol, and as he tries to -make one clear to us, he does but translate it into another, perhaps -no easier, or more confusing. And it must be remembered, when -even interpreters like Mr. Ellis and Mr. Yeats falter, and confess 'There -is apparently some confusion among the symbols,' that after all we -have only a portion of Blake's later work, and that probably a far -larger portion was destroyed when the Peckham 'angel,' Mr. Tatham -(copartner in foolish wickedness with Warburton's cook), sat down -to burn the books which he did not understand. Blake's great system of -wheels within wheels remains no better than a ruin, and can but at -the best be pieced together tentatively by those who are able to trace -the connection of some of its parts. It is no longer even possible to -know how much consistency Blake was able to give to his symbols, -and how far he failed to make them visible in terms of mortal -understanding. As we have them, they evade us on every side, not -because they are meaningless, but because the secret of their meaning -is so closely kept. To Blake actual contemporary names meant even -more than they meant to Walt Whitman. 'All truths wait in all things,' -said Walt Whitman, and Blake has his own quite significant but -perplexing meaning when he writes: - - -'The corner of Broad Street weeps; Poland Street -languishes -To Great Queen Street and Lincoln's Inn: all is distress -and woe.' - - -He is concerned now only with his message, with the 'minutely -particular' statement of it; and as he has ceased to accept any mortal -medium, or to allow himself to be penetrated by the sunlight of earthly -beauty, he has lost the means of making that message visible to us. -It is a miscalculation of means, a contempt for possibilities; not, as -people were once hasty enough to assume, the irresponsible rapture -of madness. There is not even in these crabbed chronicles the wild -beauty of the madman's scattering brain; there is a concealed sanity, -a precise kind of truth, which, as Blake said of all truth, 'can never be -so told as to be understood, and not be believed.' - -Blake's form, or apparent formlessness, in the Prophetic Books, -was no natural accident, or unconsidered utterance of inspiration. -Addressing the public on the first plate of _Jerusalem_ he -says: 'When this verse was first dictated to me, I considered -a monotonous cadence like that used by Milton and Shakespeare -and all writers of English blank verse, derived from the bondage -of rhyming, to be a necessary and indispensable part of verse. -But I soon found that in the mouth of a true orator such monotony -was not only awkward, but as much a bondage as rhyme itself. I have -therefore produced a variety in every line, both of cadences and -number of syllables. Every word and every letter is studied and -put into its fit place; the terrific numbers are reserved for the terrific -parts, the mild and gentle for the mild and gentle parts, and the -prosaic for inferior parts; all are necessary to each other,' This desire -for variety at the expense of unity is illustrated in one of Blake's -marginal notes to Reynolds' _Discourses._ 'Such harmony -of coloring' (as that of Titian in the Bacchus and Ariadne) 'is -destructive of Art. One species of equal hue over all is the cursed -thing called harmony. It is the smile of a fool.' This is a carrying to -its extreme limit of the principle that 'there is no such thing as -softness in art, and that everything in art is definite and minute... -because vision is determinate and perfect'; and that 'coloring does -not depend on where the colors are put, but on where the lights and -darks are put, and all depends on form or outline, on where that is -put.' The whole aim of the Prophetic Books is to arrive at a style as -'determinate and perfect' as vision, unmodified by any of the -deceiving beauties of nature or of the distracting ornaments -of conventional form. What is further interesting in Blake's statement -is that he aimed, in the Prophetic Books, at producing the effect, not -of poetry but of oratory, and it is as oratory, the oratory of the -prophets, that the reader is doubtless meant to take them. - -'Poetry fettered,' he adds, 'fetters the human race,' and I doubt -not that he imagined, as Walt Whitman and later _vers-libristes_ -have imagined, that in casting off the form he had unfettered the spirit -of poetry. There seems never to have been a time when Blake did not -attempt to find for himself a freer expression than he thought verse -could give him, for among the least mature of the _Poetical Sketches_ -are poems written in rhythmical prose, in imitation partly of Ossian, -partly of the Bible. An early MS. called _Tiriel_, probably -of hardly later date, still exists, written in a kind of metre of fourteen -syllables, only slightly irregular in beat, but rarely fine in cadence. It -already hints, in a cloudy way, at some obscure mythology, into which -there already come incoherent names, of an Eastern color, Ijim and -Mnetha. Tiriel appears again in _The Book of Urizen_ as Urizen's -first-born, Thiriel, 'like a man from a cloud born.' Har and Heva reappear -in _The Song of Los. The Book of Thel_, engraved in 1789, -the year of the _Songs of Innocence_, is in the same metre of -fourteen syllables, but written with a faint and lovely monotony of -cadence, strangely fluid and flexible in that age of strong caesuras, -as in: - - -'Come forth, worm of the silent valley, to thy pensive -queen.' - - -The sentiment is akin to that of the _Songs of Innocence_, -and hardly more than a shadow of the mythology remains. It -sings or teaches the holiness and eternity of life in all things, the -equality of life in the flower, the cloud, the worm, and the -maternal clay of the grave; and it ends with the unanswered -question of death to life: why? why? In 1790 Blake engraved -in two forms, on six and ten infinitesimal plates, a tractate which -he called, _There is no Natural Religion._ They contain, the -one commenting on the other, a clear and concise statement of -many of Blake's fundamental beliefs; such as: 'That the poetic -Genius is the true Man, and that the Body or outward form of Man -is derived from the Poetic Genius.' 'As all men are alike in -outward form, so (and with the same infinite variety) all are alike -in the Poetic Genius.' 'Man's perceptions are not bounded by -organs of perception, he perceives more than sense (though ever -so acute) can discover.' Yet, since 'Man's desires are limited by his -perceptions, none can desire what he has not perceived.' 'Therefore -God becomes as we are, that we may become as he is.' - -In the same year, probably, was engraved _The Marriage of -Heaven and Hell_, a prose fantasy full of splendid masculine -thought, and of a diabolical or infernal humour, in which Blake, -with extraordinary boldness, glorifies, parodies, and renounces at -once the gospel of his first master in mysticism, 'Swedenborg, -strongest of men, the Samson shorn by the Churches,' as he was -to call him long afterwards, in _Milton._ Blake's attitude -towards Christianity might be roughly defined by calling him a -heretic of the heresy of Swedenborg. _The Marriage of Heaven -and Hell_ begins: 'As a new heaven is begun, and it is now -thirty-three years since its advent, the Eternal Hell revives. And -lo! Swedenborg is the Angel sitting on the tomb: his writings are the -linen clothes folded up.' Swedenborg himself, in a prophecy that -Blake must have heard in his childhood, had named 1757, the year -of Blake's birth, as the first of a new dispensation, the dispensation -of the spirit, and Blake's acceptance of the prophecy marks the date -of his escape from the too close influence of one of whom he said, -as late as 1825, 'Swedenborg was a divine teacher. Yet he was wrong -in endeavoring to explain to the rational faculty what reason cannot -comprehend.' And so we are warned, in _The Marriage of Heaven -and Hell_, against the 'confident insolence sprouting from -systematic reasoning. Thus Swedenborg boasts that what he writes is -new, though it is only the contents or index of already published -books.' And again: 'Any man of mechanical talents may from the -writings of Paracelsus or Jacob Behmen produce ten thousand -volumes of equal value with Swedenborg's, and from those of -Dante or Shakespeare an infinite number. But when he has done -this, let him not say that he knows better than his master, for he -only holds a candle in sunshine.' With Paracelsus it is doubtful if -Blake was ever more than slightly acquainted; the influence of -Behmen, whom he had certainly read in William Law's translation, -is difficult to define, and seems to have been of the most accidental or -partial kind, but Swedenborg had been a sort of second Bible to him -from childhood, and the influence even of his 'systematic reasoning' -remained with him as at least a sort of groundwork, or despised model; -'foundations for grand things,' as he says in the _Descriptive -Catalogue._ When Swedenborg says, 'Hell is divided into societies -in the same manner as heaven, and also into as many societies as -heaven; for every society in heaven has a society opposite to it in -hell, and this for the sake of equilibrium,' we see in this spirit of -meek order a matter-of-fact suggestion for Blake's 'enormous -wonders of the abysses,' in which heavens and hells change names -and alternate through mutual annihilations. - -The last note which Blake wrote on the margins of Swedenborg's -_Wisdom of Angels_ is this: 'Heaven and Hell are born together.' -The edition which he annotated is that of 1788, and the marginalia, -which are printed in Mr. Ellis's _Real Blake_, will show how -attentive, as late as two years before the writing of the book which -that note seems to anticipate, Blake had been to every shade of -meaning in one whom he was to deny with such bitter mockery. -But, even in these notes, Blake is attentive to one thing only, he -is reaching after a confirmation of his own sense of a spiritual -language in which man can converse with paradise and render the -thoughts of angels. He comments on nothing else, he seems to read -only to confirm his conviction; he is equally indifferent to -Swedenborg's theology and to his concern with material things; -his hells and heavens, 'uses,' and 'spiritual suns,' concern him only -in so far as they help to make clearer and more precise his notion of -the powers and activities of the spirit in man. To Blake, as he shows -us in _Milton_, Swedenborg's worst error was not even that -of 'systematic reasoning,' but that of: - - -'Showing the Transgressors in Hell: the proud -Warriors in Heaven: -Heaven as a Punisher and Hell as one under -Punishment.' - - -It is for this more than for any other error that Swedenborgs -'memorable relations' are tossed back to him as 'memorable fancies,' -in a solemn parody of his own manner; that his mill and vault and -cave are taken from him and used against him; and that one once -conversant with his heaven, and now weary of it, 'walks among the -fires of hell, delighted with the enjoyments of Genius, which to -Angels look like torments and insanity.' Blake shows us the energy of -virtue breaking the Ten Commandments, and declares: 'Jesus was -all virtue, and acted from impulse, not from rules.' Speaking through -'the voice of the Devil,' he proclaims that 'Energy is eternal delight,' -and that 'Everything that lives is holy.' And, in a last flaming paradox, -still mocking the manner of the analyst of heaven and hell, he bids us: -'Note. This Angel, who is now become a Devil, is my particular friend: -we often read the Bible together, in its infernal or diabolical sense, -which the world shall have if they behave well. I have also the Bible of -Hell, which the world shall have whether they will or no.' The Bible -of Hell is no doubt the Bible of Blake's new gospel, in which contraries -are equally true. We may piece it together out of many fragments, of -which the first perhaps is the sentence standing by itself at the bottom -of the page: 'One Law for the Lion and Ox is Oppression.' - -_The Marriage of Heaven and Hell_ is loud with 'the clangor -of the Arrows of Intellect,' each of the 'Proverbs of Hell' is a jewel of -concentrated wisdom, the whole book is Blake's clearest and most -vital statement of his new, his reawakened belief; it contains, as I -have intimated, all Nietzsche; yet something restless, disturbed, -uncouth, has come violently into this mind and art, wrenching it -beyond all known limits, or setting alight in it an illuminating, -devouring, and unquenchable flame. In common with Swedenborg, -Blake is a mystic who enters into no tradition, such as that tradition -of the Catholic Church which has a liturgy awaiting dreams. For -Saint John of the Cross and for Saint Teresa the words of the vision -are already there, perfectly translating ecstasy into familiar speech; -they have but to look and to speak. But to Blake, as to Swedenborg, -no tradition is sufficiently a matter of literal belief to be at hand with -its forms; new forms have to be made, and something of the crudity of -Swedenborg comes over him in his rejection of the compromise of -mortal imagery. - -_The Marriage of Heaven and Hell_ may be called or not -called a Prophetic Book, in the strict sense; with _The Visions of the -Daughters of Albion_, engraved at Lambeth in 1793, the series -perhaps more literally begins. Here the fine masculine prose of _The -Marriage of Heaven and Hell_ has given place to a metre vaguer -than the metre of _The Book of Thel_, and to a substance from -which the savor has not yet gone of the _Songs of Innocence_, -in such lines as: - - -'The new washed lamb tinged with the village smoke, -and the bright swan -By the red earth of our immortal river.' - - -It is Blake's book of love, and it defends the honesty of the natural -passions with unslackenning ardor. There is no mythology in it, beyond -a name or two, easily explicable. Oothoon, the virgin joy, oppressed by -laws and cruelties of restraint and jealousy, vindicates her right to the -freedom of innocence and to the instincts of infancy. - - -'And trees and birds and beasts and men behold their -eternal joy. -Arise, you little glancing wings, and sing your infant -joy: -Arise, and drink your bliss, for everything that lives -is holy!' - - -It is the gospel of _The Marriage of Heaven and Hell_, -and, as that proclaimed liberty for the mind, so this, with abundant -rhetoric, but with vehement conviction, proclaims liberty for the -body. In form it is still clear, its eloquence and imagery are partly -biblical, and have little suggestion of the manner of the later -Prophetic Books. - -_America_, written in the same year, in the same measure -as the _Visions of the Daughters of Albion_, is the most -vehement, wild, and whirling of all Blake's prophecies. It is a -prophecy of revolution, and it takes the revolt of America against -England both literally and symbolically, with names of 'Washington, -Franklin, Paine and Warren, Gates, Hancock and Green,' side by side with -Orc and the Angel of Albion; it preaches every form of bodily and -spiritual liberty in the terms of contemporary events, Boston's -Angel, London's Guardian, and the like, in the midst of cataclysms -of all nature, fires and thunders temporal and eternal. The world -for a time is given into the power of Orc, unrestrained desire, -which is to bring freedom through revolution and the destroying -of the bonds of good and evil. He is called 'Antichrist, Hater of -Dignities, lover of wild rebellion, and transgressor of God's Law.' -He is the Satan of _The Marriage of Heaven and Hell_, and -he also proclaims: - - -'For everything that lives is holy, life delights in -life; -Because the soul of sweet delight can never be -defil'd.' - - -As, in that book, Blake had seen 'the fiery limbs, the flaming -hair' of the son of fire 'spurning the clouds written with curses, -stamping the stony law to dust'; so, here, he hears the voice of -Orc proclaiming: - - -'The fierce joy, that Urizen perverted to ten commands, -What night he led the starry hosts through the wild -wilderness; -That stony law I stamp to dust: and scatter religion -abroad -To the four winds as a torn book, and none shall -gather the leaves.' - - -Liberty comes in like a flood bursting all barriers: - - -'The doors of marriage are open, and the Priests in -rustling scales -Rush into reptile coverts, hiding from the fires of -Orc, -That play around the golden roofs in wreaths of fierce -desire, -Leaving the females naked and glowing with the lusts -of youth. -For the female spirits of the dead pining in bonds of -religion -Run from their fetters reddening, and in long-drawn -arches sitting, -They feel the nerves of youth renew, and desires of -ancient times, -Over their pale limbs as a vine when the tender grape -appears.' - - -The world, in this regeneration through revolution (which seemed to -Blake, no doubt, a thing close at hand, in those days when France and -America seemed to be breaking down the old tyrannies), is to be no longer -a world laid out by convention for the untrustworthy; and he asks: - - -'Who commanded this? what God? what Angel? -To keep the generous from experience till the -ungenerous -Are unrestrained performers of the energies of -nature, -Till pity is become a trade, and generosity a science -That men get rich by.' - - -For twelve years, from the American to the French revolution, -'Angels and weak men' are to govern the strong, and then Europe -is to be overwhelmed by the fire that had broken out in the West, -though the ancient guardians of the five senses 'slow advance -to shut the five gates of their law-built houses.' - - -'But the gates were consumed, and their bolts and -hinges melted, -And the fierce flames burnt round the heavens, and -round the abode of men.' - - -Here the myth, though it is present throughout, is an undercurrent, -and the crying of the message is what is chiefly heard. In _Europe_ -(1794), which is written in lines broken up into frequent but not -very significant irregularities, short lines alternating with long ones, -in the manner of an irregular ode, the mythology is like a net or spiders -web over the whole text. Names not used elsewhere, or not in the -same form, are found: Manatha-Varcyon, Thiralatha, who in _Europe_ -is Diralada. The whole poem is an allegory of the sleep of Nature during -the eighteen hundred years of the Christian era, under bonds of narrow -religions and barren moralities and tyrannous laws, and of the awakening -to forgotten joy, when 'Nature felt through all her pores the enormous -revelry,' and the fiery spirit of Ore, beholding the morning in the east, -shot to the earth: - - -'And in the vineyards of red France appear'd the light -of his fury.' - - -It is another hymn of revolution, but this time an awakening -more wholly mental, with only occasional contemporary allusions -like that of the judge in Westminster whose wig grows to his scalp, -and who is seen 'groveling along Great George Street through the -Park gate.' 'Howlings and hissings, shrieks and groans, and voices of -despair,' are heard throughout; we see thought change the infinite -to a serpent: - - -'Then was the serpent temple formed, image of infinite -Shut up in finite revolutions, and man become an -angel; -Heaven a mighty circle turning; God a tyrant crown'd.' - - -The serpent temple shadows the whole island: - - -'Enitharmon laugh'd in her sleep to see (O woman's -triumph) -Every house a den, every man bound: the shadows -are filled -With spectres, and the windows wove over with curses -of iron: -Over the doors Thou shalt not: and over the chimneys -Fear is written: -With bands of iron round their necks fasten'd into the -walls -The citizens: in leaden gyves the inhabitants of -suburbs -Walk heavy: soft and bent are the bones of villagers.' - - -The whole book is a lament and protest, and it ends with -a call to spiritual battle. In a gay and naïve prologue, written -by Blake in a copy of _Europe_ in the possession of Mr. -Linnell, and quoted by Ellis and Yeats, Blake tells us that he -caught a fairy on a streaked tulip, and brought him home: - - -'As we went along -Wild flowers I gathered, and he show'd me each eternal -flower. -He laughed aloud to see them whimper because they -were pluck'd, -Then hover'd round me like a cloud of incense. When -I came -Into my parlour and sat down and took my pen to -write, -My fairy sat upon the table and dictated _Europe._ - - -_The First Book of Urizen_ (1794) is a myth, shadowed in -dark symbols, of the creation of mortal life and its severing from -eternity; the birth of Time out of the void and self-contemplating -shadow' of unimaginative Reason; the creation of the senses, each -a limiting of eternity, and the closing of the tent of heavenly knowledge, -so that Time and the creatures of Time behold eternity no more. -We see the birth of Pity and of Desire, woman the shadow and -desire the child of man. Reason despairs as it realizes that life -lives upon death, and the cold pity of its despair forms into a -chill shadow, which follows it like a spider's web, and freezes into -the net of religion, or the restraint of the activities. Under this -net the senses shrink inwards, and that creation which is 'the -body of our death' and our stationing in time and space is finished: - - -'Six days they shrank up from existence, -And on the seventh they rested -And they bless'd the seventh day, in sick hope, -And forgot their eternal life.' - - -Then the children of reason, now 'sons and daughters of sorrow,' - - -'Wept and built -Tombs in the desolate places, -And form'd laws of prudence and call'd them -The eternal laws of God.' - - -But Fuzon, the spirit of fire, forsook the 'pendulous earth' with -those children of Urizen who would still follow him. - -Here, crystallized in the form of a myth, we see many of Blake's -fundamental ideas. Some of them we have seen under other forms, -as statement rather than as image, in _The Marriage of Heaven -and Hell_ and _There is no Natural Religion._ We shall see -them again, developed, elaborated, branching out into infinite -side-issues, multiplying upon themselves, in the later Prophetic -Books, partly as myth, partly as statement; we shall see them in -many of the lyrical poems, transformed into song, but still never -varying in their message; and we shall see them, in the polemical -prose of all the remaining fragments, and in the private letters, -and in the annotations of Swedenborg, and in Crabb Robinson's -records of conversations. The _Book of Urizen_ is a sort of -nucleus, the germ of a system. - -Next to the _Book of Urizen_, if we may judge from the -manner of its engraving, came _The Song of Los_ (1795), -written in a manner of vivid declamation, the lines now lengthening, -now shrinking, without fixed beat or measure. It is the song of Time, -'the Eternal Prophet,' and tells the course of inspiration as it passes -from east to west, 'abstract philosophy' in Brahma, 'forms of dark -delusion' to Moses on Mount Sinai, the mount of law; 'a gospel from -wretched Theotormon' (distressed human love and pity) to Jesus, -'a man of sorrows'; the 'loose Bible' of Mahomet, setting free the -senses,'Odin's 'code of war.' - - -'These were the Churches, Hospitals, Castles, Palaces, -Like nets and gins and traps to catch the joys of -Eternity, -And all the rest a desart: -Till like a dream Eternity was obliterated and erased.' - - -'The vast of Nature' shrinks up before the 'shrunken eyes' -of men, till it is finally enclosed in the 'philosophy of the five -senses,' the philosophy of Newton and Locke. 'The Kings of Asia,' -the cruelties of the heathen, the ancient powers of evil, call on -'famine from the heath, pestilence from the fen:' - - -'To turn man from his path, -To restrain the child from the womb, -To cut off the bread from the city, -That the remnant may learn to obey, -That the pride of the heart may fail, -That the lust of the eyes may be quench'd, -That the delicate ear in its infancy -May be dull'd, and the nostrils clos'd up: -To teach mortal worms the path -That leads from the gates of the grave.' - - -But, in the darkness of their 'ancient woven dens,' they are startled -by 'the thick-flaming, thought-creating fires of Orc'; and at their cry -Urizen comes forth to meet and challenge the liberating spirit; he -thunders against the pillar of fire that rises out of the darkness of -Europe; and at the clash of their mutual onset 'the Grave shrieks -aloud.' But 'Urizen wept,' the cold pity of reason which, as we have -seen in the book named after him, freezes into nets of religion, -'twisted like to the human brain.' - -_The Book of Los_ (also dated 1795) is written in the short -lines of _Urizen_ and _Ahania_, a metre following a fixed, insistent -beat, as of Los's hammer on his anvil. It begins with the lament of -'Eno, aged Mother,' over the liberty of old times: - - -'O Times remote! -When Love and Joy were adoration, -And none impure were deem'd. -Not Eyeless Covet, -Nor Thin-lip'd Envy, -Nor Bristled Wrath, -Nor Curled Wantonness;' - - -None of these, that is, yet turned to evil, but still unfallen -energies. At this, flames of desire break out, 'living, intelligent,' and -Los, the spirit of Inspiration, divides the flames, freezes them into -solid darkness, and is imprisoned by them, and escapes, only in -terror, and falls through ages into the void ('Truth has bounds, -Error none'), until he has organized the void and brought into it -a light which makes visible the form of the void. He sees it as the -backbone of Urizen, the bony outlines of reason, and then begins, -for the first time in the Prophetic Books, that building of furnaces, -and wielding of hammer and anvil of which we are to hear so much -in _Jerusalem._ He forges the sun, and chains cold intellect -to vital heat, from whose torments: - - -'A twin -Was completed, a Human Illusion -In darkness and deep clouds involved.' - - -In _The Book of Los_ almost all relationship to poetry has -vanished; the myth is cloudier and more abstract. Scarcely less so is -_The Book of Ahania_ (1795), written in the same short lines, -hut in a manner occasionally more concrete and realizable. Like -_Urizen_, it is almost all myth. It follows Fuzon, 'son of -Urizen's silent burnings,' in his fiery revolt against: - - -'This cloudy God seated on waters, -Now seen, now obscured, king of Sorrows.' - - -From the stricken and divided Urizen is born Ahania ('so name -his parted soul'), who is 'his invisible lust,' whom he loves, hides, -and calls Sin. - - -'She fell down, a faint shadow wandering, -In chaos, and circling dark Urizen, -As the moon anguished circles the earth, -Hopeless, abhorred, a death shadow, -Unseen, unbodied, unknown, -The mother of Pestilence.' - - -But Urizen, recovering his strength, seizes the bright son of fire, his -energy or passion, and nails him to the dark 'religious' 'Tree -of Mystery,' from under whose shade comes the voice of Ahania, -'weeping upon the void,' lamenting her lost joys of love, and -the days when: - - -'Swelled with ripeness and fat with fatness, -Bursting on winds my odours, -My ripe figs and rich pomegranates, -In infant joy at my feet, -O Urizen, sported and sang.' - - -In _The Four Zoas_ Ahania is called 'the feminine indolent -bliss, the indulgent self of weariness.' 'One final glimpse,' says Mr. -Swinburne, 'we may take of Ahania after her division--the love -of God, as it were, parted from God, impotent therefore and a shadow, -if not rather a plague and blight; mercy severed from justice, and thus -made a worse thing than useless.' And her lament ends in this despair: - - -'But now alone over rocks, mountains, -Cast out from thy lovely bosom -Cruel jealousy, selfish fear, -Self-destroying; how can delight -Renew in these chains of darkness -Where bones of beasts are strown -On the bleak and snowy mountains, -Where bones from the birth are buried -Before they see the light.' - - -The mythology, of which parts are developed in each of these -books, is thrown together, in something more approaching a whole, -hut without apparent cohesion or consistency, in _The Four Zoas_, -which probably dates from 1797 and which exists in seventy sheets of -manuscript, of uncertain order, almost certainly in an unfinished -state, perhaps never intended for publication, but rather as a storehouse -of ideas. This manuscript, much altered, arranged in a conjectural order, -and printed with extreme incorrectness, was published by Messrs. Ellis -and Yeats in the third volume of their book on Blake, under the first, -rejected, title of _Vala._[3] They describe it as being in itself a -sort of compound of all Blake's other books, except _Milton_ and -_Jerusalem_, which are enriched by scraps taken from _Vala_, but -are not summarized in it. In the uncertain state in which we have -it, it is impossible to take it as a wholly authentic text; but it -is both full of incidental beauty and of considerable assistance -in unravelling many of the mysteries in _Milton_ and _Jerusalem_, -the books written at Felpham, both dated 1804, in which we find -the final development of the myth, or as much of that final -development as has come to us in the absence of the manuscripts -destroyed or disposed of by Tatham. Those two books indeed seem -to presuppose in their readers an acquaintance with many matters -told or explained in this, from which passages are taken bodily, -but with little apparent method. As it stands, _Vala_ is much more -of a poem than either _Milton_ or _Jerusalem_; the cipher -comes in at times, but between there are broad spaces of cloudy but not -wholly unlighted imagery. Blake still remembers that he is writing a poem, -earthly beauty is still divine beauty to him, and the message is not yet -so stringent as to forbid all lingering by the way. - -In some parts of the poem the manner is frankly biblical, and suggests -the book of Proverbs, as thus: - - -'What is the price of experience? Do men buy it for -a song, -Or wisdom for a dance in the street? No, it is bought -with the price -Of all that a man hath--his wife, his house, his -children. -Wisdom is sold in the desolate market where none -comes to buy, -And in the withered fields where the farmer ploughs -for bread in vain.' - - -Nature is still an image accepted as an adequate symbol, and we -get reminiscences here and there of the simpler, early work of -_Thel_, for instance, in such lines as: - - -'And as the little seed waits eagerly watching for its -flower and fruit, -Anxious its little soul looks out into the clear -expanse -To see if hungry winds are abroad with their invisible -array; -So man looks out in tree and herb, and fish and bird -and beast, -Collecting up the scattered portions of his immortal -body -Into the elemental forms of everything that grows.' - - -There are descriptions of feasts, of flames, of last judgments, of -the new Eden, which are full of color and splendor, passing without -warning into the 'material sublime' of Fuseli, as in the picture of Urizen -'stonied upon his throne' in the eighth 'Night.' In the passages which we -possess in the earlier and later version we see the myth of Blake -gradually crystallizing, the transposition of every intelligible symbol -into the secret cipher. Thus we find 'Mount Gilead' changed into -'Mount Snowdon,' 'Beth Peor' into 'Cosway Vale,' and a plain image -such as this: - - -'The Mountain called out to the Mountain, Awake, -oh brother Mountain,' - - -Is translated backwards into: - - -'Ephraim called out to Tiriel, Awake, oh brother -Mountain.' - - -Images everywhere are seen freezing into types; they stop half-way, -and have not yet abandoned the obscure poetry of the earlier Prophetic -Books for the harder algebra of _Milton_ and _Jerusalem._ - - - - -VI - - -The first statement by Blake of his aims and principles in art is -to be found in some letters to George Cumberland and to Dr. Trusler, -contained in the Cumberland Papers in the British Museum. These -letters were first printed by Dr. Garnett in the _Hampstead -Annual_ of 1903, but with many mistakes and omissions.[4] I have -recopied from the originals the text of such letters as I quote. -It appears that in the year 1799 Blake undertook, at the suggestion -of Cumberland, to do some drawings for a book by Dr. Trusler, -a sort of quack writer and publisher, who may be perhaps sufficiently -defined by the quotation of the title of one of his books, which -is _The Way to be Rich and Respectable._ On August 16, Blake -writes to say: 'I find more and more that my Style of Designing -is a Species by itself, and in this which I send you have been -compelled by my Genius or Angel to follow where he led; if I -were to act otherwise it would not fulfill the purpose for which -alone I live, which is in conjunction with such men as my friend -Cumberland to renew the lost Art of the Greeks.' He tells him that he -has attempted to 'follow his Dictate' every morning for a fortnight, but -'it was out of my power!' He then describes what he has done, and says: -'If you approve of my manner, and it is agreeable to you, I would rather -Paint Pictures in oil of the same dimensions than make Drawings, and -on the same terms. By this means you will have a number of Cabinet -pictures, which I flatter myself will not be unworthy of a Scholar of -Rembrandt and Teniers, whom I have Studied no less than Rafael and -Michaelangelo.' The next letter, which I will give in full, for it is a -document of great importance, is dated a week later, and the nature -of the reply which it answers can be gathered from Blake's comment -on the matter to Cumberland, three days later still. 'I have made him,' -he says, 'a Drawing in my best manner: he has sent it back with a Letter -full of Criticisms, in which he says It accords not with his Intentions, -which are, to Reject all Fancy from his Work. How far he expects to -please, I cannot tell. But as I cannot paint Dirty rags and old Shoes -where I ought to place Naked Beauty or simple ornament, I despair of -ever pleasing one Class of Men.' 'I could not help smiling,' he says -later, 'at the difference between the doctrines of Dr. Trusler and those -of Christ.' Here, then, is the letter in which Blake accounts for himself -to the quack doctor (who has docketed it: 'Blake, Dimd with -superstition'), as if to posterity:-- - - -REVD. SIR, - -I really am sorry that you are fallen out with the Spiritual World, -Especially if I should have to answer for it. I feel very sorry that your -Ideas and Mine on Moral Painting differ so much as to have made you -angry with my method of study. If I am wrong I am wrong in good -company. I had hoped your plan comprehended All Species of this Art, -and Especially that you would not regret that Species which gives -Existence to Every other, namely, Visions of Eternity. You say that I -want somebody to Elucidate my Ideas. But you ought to know that -what is Grand is necessarily obscure to Weak men. That which can be -made Explicit to the Ideot is not worth my care. The wisest of the -Ancients considered what is not too Explicit as the fittest for -Instruction, because it rouses the faculties to act. I name Moses, -Solomon, Esop, Homer, Plato. - -But as you have favored me with your remarks on my Design, -permit me in return to defend it against a mistaken one, which is, -That I have supposed Malevolence without a Cause. Is not Merit in -one a Cause of Envy in another, and Serenity and Happiness and -Beauty a Cause of Malevolence? But Want of Money and the Distress -of a Thief can never be alleged as the Cause of his Thievery, for many -honest people endure greater hardships with Fortitude. We must therefore -seek the Cause elsewhere than in the want of Money, for that is the -Miser's passion, not the Thief's. - -I have therefore proved your Reasonings I'll proportioned, which -you can never prove my figures to be. They are those of Michael Angelo, -Rafael and the Antique, and of the best living Models. I perceive that -your Eye is perverted by Caricature Prints, which ought not to abound -so much as they do. Fun I love, but too much Fun is of all things the -most loathsome. Mirth is better than Fun, and Happiness is better than -Mirth. I feel that a Man may be happy in This World, and I know that -This World is a World of Imagination and Vision. I see Everything I paint -In This World: but Every body 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. The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the Eyes -of others only a Green thing that stands in the way. Some see Nature -all Ridicule and Deformity, and by these I shall not regulate my -proportions; and some scarce see Nature at all. But to the Eyes of -the Man of Imagination, Nature is Imagination itself. As a Man is, -so he sees. As the Eye is formed, such are its Powers. You certainly -Mistake when you say that the Visions of Fancy are not to be found -in This World. To Me This World is all One continued Vision of Fancy -or Imagination, and I feel Flattered when I am told so. What is it sets -Homer, Virgil, and Milton in so high a rank of Art? Why is the Bible -more Entertaining and Instructive than any other book? Is it not -because they are addressed to the Imagination, which is Spiritual -Sensation, and but mediately to the Understanding or Reason? -Such is True Painting, and such was alone valued by the Greeks and -the best modern Artists. Consider what Lord Bacon says--'Sense -sends over to Imagination before Reason have judged, and Reason -sends over to Imagination before the Decree can be acted.' See -_Advancement of Learning_, Part 2, P. 47, of first Edition. - -But I am happy to find a Great Majority of Fellow Mortals who -can Elucidate My Visions, and Particularly they have been Elucidated -by Children, who have taken a greater delight in contemplating -my Pictures than I even hoped. Neither Youth nor Childhood is Folly -or Incapacity. Some Children are Fools, and so are some old Men. But -There is a vast Majority on the side of Imagination or Spiritual -Sensation. - -To Engrave after another Painter is infinitely more laborious -than to Engrave one's own Inventions. And of the size you require -my price has been Thirty Guineas, and I cannot afford to do it -for less. I had Twelve for the Head I sent you as a Specimen; but -after my own designs I could do at least Six times the quantity -of labour in the same time, which will account for the difference in -price, as also that Chalk Engraving is at least Six times as laborious -as Aqua tinta. I have no objection to Engraving after another Artist. -Engraving is the profession I was apprenticed to, and I should never -have attempted to live by any thing else If orders had not come in -for my Designs and Paintings, which I have the pleasure to tell you are -Increasing Every Day. Thus If I am a Painter it is not to be attributed -to Seeking after. But I am contented whether I live by Painting or -Engraving. - -I am, Revd. Sir, your very obedient Servant, - -WILLIAM BLAKE. - -13 Hercules Buildings, Lambeth, - -_August_ 23, 1799. - - -Blake tells Cumberland the whole story quite cheerfully, and -ends with these significant words, full of patience, courtesy, and -sad humour: 'As to Myself, about whom you are so kindly Interested, -I live by Miracle. I am Painting small Pictures from the Bible. For as -to Engraving, in which art I cannot reproach myself with any neglect, -yet I am laid by in a corner as if I did not exist, and since my Youngs -Night Thoughts have been published, even Johnson and Fuseli have -discarded my Graver. But as I know that He who works and has his -health cannot starve, I laugh at Fortune and Go on and on. I think -I foresee better Things than I have ever seen. My Work pleases my -employer, and I have an order for Fifty small Pictures at One Guinea -each, which is something better than mere copying after another -artist. But above all I feel myself happy and contented, let what -will come. Having passed now near twenty years in ups and downs, -I am used to them, and perhaps a little practice in them may turn -out to benefit. It is now exactly Twenty years since I was upon the -ocean of business, and tho I laugh at Fortune, I am persuaded that -She Alone is the Governor of Worldly Riches, and when it is Fit She -will call on me. Till then I wait with Patience, in hopes that She is -busied among my Friends.' - -The employer is, no doubt, Mr. Butts, for whom Blake had -already begun to work: we know some of the 'frescoes' and color-prints -which belong to this time; among them, or only just after, the -incomparable 'Crucifixion,' in which the soldiers cast lots in the -foreground and the crosses are seen from the back, against a -stormy sky and lances like Tintoretto's. But it was also the time -of all but the latest Prophetic Books (or of all but the latest of those -left to us), and we may pause here for a moment to consider some -of the qualities that Blake was by this time fully displaying in his -linear and colored inventions and 'Visions of Eternity.' - -It is by his energy and nobility of creation that Blake takes -rank among great artists, in a place apart from those who have -been content to study, to observe, and to copy. His invention of -living form is like nature's, unintermittent, but without the -measure and order of nature, and without complete command over -the material out of which it creates. In his youth he had sought after -prints of such inventive work as especially appealed to him, Michelangelo, -Raphael, Dürer; it is possible that, having had 'very early in life the -ordinary opportunities,' as Dr. Malkin puts it, 'of seeing pictures in -the houses of noblemen and gentlemen, and in the king's palaces,' -he had seen either pictures, or prints after pictures, of the Italian -Primitives, whose attitudes and composition he at times suggests; -and, to the end, he worked with Dürer's 'Melancholia' on his work-table -and Michelangelo's designs on his walls. It not infrequently happened -that a memory of form created by one of these great draughtsmen -presented itself as a sort of short cut to the statement of the form -which he was seeing or creating in his own imagination. A Devil's -Advocate has pointed out 'plagiarisms' in Blake's design, and would -dismiss in consequence his reputation for originality. Blake had not -sufficient mastery of technique to be always wholly original in design; -and it is to his dependence on a technique not as flexible as his -imagination was intense that we must attribute what is unsatisfying -in such remarkable inventions as 'The House of Death' (Milton's -lazar-house) in the Print Doom of the British Museum. Its appeal -to the imagination is partly in spite of what is 'organized and minutely -articulated beyond all that the mortal and perishing nature can -produce.' Death is a version of the Ancient of Days and of Urizen, -only his eyes are turned to blind terror and his beard to forked -flame; Despair, a statue of greenish bronze, is the Scofield of -_Jerusalem_; the limbs and faces rigid with agony are types -of strength and symbols of pain. Yet even here there is creation, -there is the energy of life, there is a spiritual awe. And wherever -Blake works freely, as in the regions of the Prophetic Books, wholly -outside time and space, appropriate form multiplies under his -creating hand, as it weaves a new creation of worlds and of spirits, -monstrous and angelical. - -Blake distinguished, as all great imaginative artists have -distinguished, between allegory, which is but realism's excuse for -existence, and symbol, which is none of the 'daughters of Memory,' -but itself vision or inspiration. He wrote in the MS. book: 'Vision or -imagination is a representation of what actually exists, really and -unchangeably. Fable or allegory is formed by the daughters of -Memory.' And thus in the designs which accompany the text of his -Prophetic Books there is rarely the mere illustration of those pages. -He does not copy in line what he has said in words, or explain in -words what he has rendered in line; a creation probably contemporary -is going on, and words and lines render between them, the one to -the eyes, the other to the mind, the same image of spiritual things, -apprehended by different organs of perception. - -And so in his pictures, what he gives us is not a picture after -a mental idea; it is the literal delineation of an imaginative -vision, of a conception of the imagination. He wrote: 'If you have -not nature before you for every touch, you cannot paint portrait; -and if you have nature before you at all, you cannot paint history.' -There is a water-color of Christ in the carpenter's shop: Christ, a -child, sets to the floor that compass which Blake saw more often -in the hands of God the Father, stooping out of heaven; his mother -and Joseph stand on each side of him, leaning towards him with -the stiff elegance of guardian angels on a tomb. That is how Blake -sees it, and not with the minute detail and the aim at local color with -which the Pre-Raphaelites have seen it; it is not Holman Hunt's -'Bethlehem' nor the little Italian town of Giotto; it is rendered -carefully after the visual imagination which the verses of the Bible -awakened in his brain. In one of those variations which he did on -the 'Flight into Egypt' (the 'Riposo,' as he called it), we have a -lovely and surprising invention of landscape, minute and impossible, -with a tree built up like a huge vegetable, and flowers growing out -of the bare rock, and a red and flattened sun going down behind -the hills; Joseph stands under the tree, nearly of the same -height, but grave and kindly, and the Mother and Child are mild -eighteenth-century types of innocence; the browsing donkey has -an engaging rough homeliness of hide and aspect. It is all as -unreal as you like, made up of elements not combined into any -faultless pattern; art has gone back further than Giotto, and is -careless of human individuality; but it is seen as it were with -faith, and it conveys to you precisely what the painter meant -to convey. So, in a lovely water-color of the creation of Eve, this -blue-haired doll of obviously rounded flesh has in her something -which is more as well as less than the appeal of bodily beauty, -some suggestion to the imagination which the actual technical -skill of Blake has put there. With less delicacy of color, and with -drawing in parts actually misleading, there is a strange intensity -of appeal, of realization not so much to the eyes as through them -to the imagination, in another water-color of the raising of Lazarus, -where the corpse swathed in grave-clothes floats sidelong upward -from the grave, the weight of mortality as if taken off, and an unearthly -lightness in its disimprisoned limbs, that have forgotten the laws -of mortal gravity. - -Yet, even in these renderings of what is certainly not meant -for reality, how abundantly nature comes into the design: mere -bright parrot-like birds in the branches of the tree of knowledge -of good and evil, the donkey of the 'Riposo,' the sheep's heads -woven into the almost decorative border. Blake was constantly -on his guard against the deceits of nature, the temptation of a -'facsimile representation of merely mortal and perishing substances.' -His dread of nature was partly the recoil of his love; he feared to be -entangled in the 'veils of Vala,' the seductive sights of the world -of the senses; and his love of natural things is evident on every -page of even the latest of the Prophetic Books. It is the natural -world, the idols of Satan, that creep in at every corner and border, -setting flowers to grow, and birds to fly, and snakes to glide -harmlessly around the edges of these hard and impenetrable pages. -The minute life of this 'vegetable world' is awake and in subtle -motion in the midst of these cold abstractions. 'The Vegetable -World opens like a flower from the Earth's centre, in which -is Eternity,' and it is this outward flowering of eternity in the -delicate living forms of time that goes on incessantly, as if by the -mere accident of the creative impulse, as Blake or Los builds -Golgonooza or the City of God out of the 'abstract void' and the -'indefiniteness of unimaginative existence.' It is, on every page, -the visible outer part of what, in the words, can hut speak a -language not even meant to be the language of the 'natural man.' - -In these symbolic notations of nature, or double language -of words and signs, these little figures of men and beasts that so -strangely and incalculably decorate so many of Blake's pages, -there is something Egyptian, which reminds me of those lovely -riddles on papyri and funeral tablets, where the images of real -things are used so decoratively, in the midst of a language itself all -pictures, with colours never seen in the things themselves, but given -to them for ornament. _The Marriage of Heaven and Hell_ is -filled with what seem like the hieroglyphics on an Egyptian tomb -or obelisk, little images which might well mean things as definite -as the images of Egyptian writing. They are still visible, sometimes -mere curves or twines, in the latest of the engraved work, and might -exist equally for some symbolic life which they contain, or for that -decorative life of design which makes them as expressive mosaics -of pattern as the hieroglyphics. I cannot hut think that it was partly -from what he had seen, in actual basalt, or in engravings after -ancient monuments which must have been about him at Basire the -engraver's, that Blake found the suggestion of his picture-writing -in the Prophetic Books. He believed that all Greek art was but a pale -copy of a lost art of Egypt, 'the greater works of the Asiatic -Patriarchs,' Apotheoses of Persian, Hindu, and Egyptian antiquity.' -In such pictures as 'The Spiritual Form of Pitt guiding Behemoth,' -he professed to be but 'applying to modern heroes, on a smaller -scale,' what he had seen in vision of these 'stupendous originals now -lost, or perhaps buried till some happier age.' Is it not likely therefore -that in his attempt to create the religious books of a new religion, -'the Everlasting Gospel' of 'the Poetic Genius, which is the Lord,' he -should have turned to the then unintelligible forms in which the -oldest of the religions had written itself down in a visible pictorial -message? - -But, whatever suggestions may have come to him from elsewhere, -Blake's genius was essentially Gothic, and took form, I doubt -not, during those six years of youth when he drew the monuments -in Westminster Abbey, and in the old churches about London. -He might have learned much from the tombs in the Abbey, and -from the brasses, and from the carved angels in the chapels, -and from the naïve groups on the screen in the chapel of Edward -the Confessor, and from the draped figures round the sarcophagus -of Aymer de Valence. There is often, in Blake's figures, something of the -monumental stiffness of Gothic stone, as there is in the minute yet -formal characterization of the faces. His rendering of terrible and evil -things, the animal beings who typify the passions and fierce distortions -of the soul, have the same childlike detail, content to be ludicrous if -it can only be faithful to a distinct conception, of the carvers of -gargoyles and of Last Judgments. Blake has, too, the same love of -pattern for its own sake, the same exuberance of ornament, always -living and organic, growing out of the structure of the design or out of -the form of the page, not added to it from without. Gothic art taught -him his hatred of vacant space, his love of twining and trailing foliage -and flame and water; and his invention of ornament is as unlimited as -theirs. A page of one of his illuminated books is like the carving on a -Gothic capital. Lines uncoil from a hidden centre and spread like -branches or burst into vast vegetation, emanating from leaf to limb, -and growing upward into images of human and celestial existence. -The snake is in all his designs; whether, in _Jerusalem_, rolled -into chariot-wheels and into the harness of a chariot drawn by hoofed -lions, and into the curled horns of the lions, and into the pointing -fingers of the horns; or, in _The Marriage of Heaven and Hell_, -a leviathan of the sea with open jaws, eyed and scaled with poisonous -jewels of purple and blood-red and corroded gold, swelling visibly -out of a dark sea that foams aside from its passage; or, curved above -the limbs and wound about the head of a falling figure in lovely -diminishing coils like a corkscrew which is a note of interrogation; -or, in mere unterrifying beauty, trailed like a branch of a bending -tree across the tops of pages; or, bitted and bridled and a thing of -blithe gaiety, ridden by little, naked, long-legged girls and boys in -the new paradise of an America of the future. The Gothic carvers -loved snakes, but hardly with the strange passion of Blake. They carved -the flames of hell and of earthly punishment with delight in the beauty -of their soaring and twisting lines; but no one has ever made of fire -such a plaything and ecstasy as Blake has made of it. In his paintings he -invents new colors to show forth the very soul of fire, a soul angrier -and more variable than opals; and in his drawings he shows us lines -and nooses of fire rushing upward out of the ground, and fire drifting -across the air like vapor, and fire consuming the world in the last chaos. -And everywhere there are gentle and caressing tongues and trails of fire, -hardly to be distinguished from branches of trees and blades of grass and -stems and petals of flowers. Water, which the Gothic carvers represented -in curving lines, as the Japanese do, is in Blake a not less frequent -method of decoration; wrapping frail human figures in wet caverns -under the depths of the sea, and destroying and creating worlds. - -Blake's color is unearthly, and is used for the most part rather -as a symbol of emotion than as a representation of fact. It is at -one time prismatic, and radiates in broad bands of pure color; at -another, and more often, is as inextricable as the veins in mineral, -and seems more like a natural growth of the earth than the creation of a -painter. In the smaller Book of Designs in the Print Room of the British -Museum the colors have moldered away, and blotted themselves -together in a sort of putrefaction which seems to carry the suggestions -of poisonous decay further than Blake carried them. This will be seen -by a comparison of the minutely drawn leviathan of _The Marriage -of Heaven and Hell_, with the colored print in the Book of Designs, in -which the outline of the folds melts and crumbles into a mere chaos -of horror. Color in Blake is never shaded, or, as he would have said, -blotted and blurred; it is always pure energy. In the faint coloring of -the _Book of Thel_ there is the very essence of gentleness; the -color is a faultless interpretation of the faint and lovely monotony of -the verse, and of its exquisite detail. Several of the plates recur -in the Book of Designs, colored at a different and, no doubt, much -later time; and while every line is the same the whole atmosphere -and mood of the designs is changed. Bright rich color is built up in -all the vacant spaces; and with the color there comes a new intensity; -each design is seen over again, in a new way. Here, the mood is a -wholly different mood, and this seeing by contraries is easier to -understand than when, as in the splendid design on the fourth -page of _The Book of Urizen_, repeated in the Book of Designs, -we see a parallel, yet different, vision, a new, yet not contrary, -aspect. In the one, the colors of the open book are like corroded -iron or rusty minerals; in the other, sharp blues, like the wings -of strange butterflies, glitter stormily under the red flashes -of a sunset. The vision is the same, but every color of the thing -seen is different. - -To Blake, color is the soul rather than the body of his figures, -and seems to clothe them like an emanation. What Behmen says -of the world itself might be said of Blake's rendering of the aspects -of the world and men. 'The whole outward visible World,' he tells -us, 'with all its Being is a Signature, or Figure of the inward spiritual -World; whatever is internally, and however its Operation is, so -likewise it has its Character externally; like as the Spirit of each -Creature sets forth and manifests the internal Form of its Birth, -by its Body, so does the Eternal Being also.' Just as he gives us a -naked Apollo for the 'spiritual form of Pitt' in the picture in the -National Gallery, where Pitt is seen guiding Behemoth, or the hosts -of evil, in a hell of glowing and obscure tumult, so he sees the -soul of a thing or being with no relation to its normal earthly color. -The colors of fire and of blood, an extra-lunar gold, putrescent -vegetable colors, and the stains in rocks and sunsets, he sees -everywhere, and renders with an ecstasy that no painter to whom -color was valuable for its own sake has ever attained. It is difficult not -to believe that he does not often use color with a definitely -musical sense of its harmonies, and that colour did not literally -sing to him, as it seems, at least in a permissible figure, to sing -to us out of his pages. - - - - -VII - - -At the end of September 1800 Blake left Lambeth, and took -a cottage at Felpham, near Bognor, at the suggestion of William -Hayley, the feeblest poet of his period, who imagined, with foolish -kindness, that he could become the patron of one whom he called -'my gentle visionary Blake.' Hayley was a rich man, and, as the author -of _The Triumphs of Temper_, was looked upon as a person of -literary importance. He did his best to give Blake opportunities of making -money, by doing engraving and by painting miniatures of the neighbors. -He read Greek with him and Klopstock. 'Blake is just become a Grecian, -and literally learning the language,' he says in one letter, and in -another: 'Read Klopstock into English to Blake.' The effect of Klopstock -on Blake is to be seen in a poem of ribald magnificence, which no one -has yet ventured to print in full. The effect of Blake on Hayley, and of -Hayley on Blake, can be realized from a few passages in the letters. -At first we read: 'Mr. Hayley acts like a prince.' Then: 'I find on all -hands great objections to my doing anything but the mere drudgery -of business, and intimations that, if I do not confine myself to this, -I shall not live.' Last: 'Mr. H. is as much averse to my poetry as he is -to a chapter in the Bible. He knows that I have writ it, for I have shown -it to him' (this is apparently the _Milton_ or the _Jerusalem_), -and he has read part by his own desire, and has looked with -sufficient contempt to enhance my opinion of it.... But Mr. H. approves -of my designs as little as he does of my poems, and I have been forced -to insist on his leaving me, in both, to my own self-will; for I am -determined to be no longer pestered with his genteel ignorance -and polite disapprobation. I know myself both poet and painter, -and it is not his affected contempt that can move to anything -but a more assiduous pursuit of both arts. Indeed, by my late firmness -I have brought down his affected loftiness, and he begins to -think that I have some genius: as if genius and assurance were the -same thing! But his imbecile attempts to depress me only deserve -laughter.' What laughter they produced, while Blake was still suffering -under them, can be seen by any one who turns to the epigrams on -H. in the note-book. But the letter goes on, with indignant seriousness: -'But I was commanded by my spiritual friends to bear all and be silent, -and to go through all without murmuring, and, in fine, hope till my -three years shall be accomplished; at which time I was set at liberty -to remonstrate against former conduct, and to demand justice and -truth; which I have done in so effectual a manner that my antagonist -is silenced completely, and I have compelled what should have been -of freedom--my just right as an artist and as a man.' - -In Blake's behavior towards Hayley, which has been criticized, -we can test his sincerity to himself under all circumstances: his -impeccable outward courtesy, his concessions, 'bearing insulting -benevolence' meekly, his careful kindness towards Hayley and hard -labour on his behalf, until the conviction was forced upon him from -within that 'corporeal friends were spiritual enemies,' and that Hayley -must be given up. - - -'Remembering the verses that Hayley sung -When my heart knocked against the roof of my tongue.' - - -Blake wrote down bitter epigrams, which were written down -for mere relief of mind, and certainly never intended for publication; -and I can see no contradiction between these inner revolts and an -outer politeness which had in it its due measure of gratitude. Both -were strictly true, and only in a weak and foolish nature can the -consciousness of kindness received distract or blot out the consciousness -of the intellectual imbecility which may lurk behind it. Blake said: - - -'I never made friends but by spiritual gifts, -By severe contentions of friendship and the burning -fire of thought.' - - -What least 'contention of friendship' would not have been too -much for the 'triumphs of temper' of 'Felpham's eldest son'? what -'fire of thought' could ever have enlightened his comfortable -darkness? And is it surprising that Blake should have written in -final desperation: - - -'Thy friendship oft has made my heart to ache: -Do be my enemy--for friendship's sake'? - - -He quarreled with many of his friends, with those whom he had -cared for most, like Stothard and Flaxman; but the cause was -always some moral indignation, which, just or unjust, was believed, -and which, being believed, could not have been acted upon. With Blake -belief and action were simultaneous. 'Thought is Act,' as he wrote on -the margin of Bacon's essays. - -I am inclined to attribute to this period the writing down of a -mysterious manuscript in the possession of Mr. Buxton Forman, -which has never been printed, but which, by his kind permission, -I have been allowed to read. This manuscript is headed in large -lettering: 'The Seven Days of the Created World,' above which is -written, as if by an afterthought, in smaller lettering: 'Genesis.' -It is written at the beginning of a blue-covered copy-book, of -which the paper is water-marked 1797. It consists of some two -hundred lines of blank verse, numbered by tens in the margin -up to one hundred and fifty, then follow over fifty more lines -without numberings, ending without a full stop or any apparent -reason for coming to an end. The handwriting is unmistakably -Blake's; on the first page or two it is large and careful; gradually -it gets smaller and seems more hurried or fatigued, as if it had -all been written at a single sitting. The earlier part goes on without -a break, but in the later part there are corrections; single words are -altered, sometimes as much as a line and a half is crossed out and -rewritten, the lines are sometimes corrected in the course of writing. -If it were not for these signs of correction I should find it difficult to -believe that Blake had actually composed anything so tamely regular -in metre or so destitute of imagination or symbol. It is an argument -or statement, written in the formal eighteenth-century manner, with -pious invocations, God being addressed as 'Sire,' and 'Wisdom -Supreme' as his daughter, epithets are inverted that they may fit the -better into a line, and geographical names heaped up in a scarcely -Miltonic manner, while Ixion strangely neighbors the 'press'd -African.' Nowhere is there any characteristic felicity, or any -recognizable sign of Blake. - -When I saw first the manuscript it occurred to me that it might -have been a fragment of translation from Klopstock, done at Felpham -under the immediate dictation of Hayley. 'Read Klopstock into English -to Blake' we have seen Hayley noting down. But I can find no original -for it in Klopstock. That Blake could have written it out of his own -head at any date after 1797 is incredible, even as an experiment in that -'monotonous cadence like that used by Milton and Shakespeare and -all writers of English blank verse, derived from the modern bondage -of rhyming,' which he tells us in the preface to _Jerusalem_ -he considered 'to be a necessary and indispensable part of verse,' -at the time 'when this verse was first dictated to me.' The only -resemblance which we find to it in Blake's published work is in an -occasional early fragment like that known as 'The Passions,' and -where it is so different from this or any of the early attempts at -blank verse is in the absolute regularity of the metre. All I can suggest -is that Blake may have written it at a very early age, and preserved -a rough draft, which Hayley may have induced him to make a clean -copy of, and that in the process of copying he may have touched up -the metre without altering the main substance. If this is so, I think -he stopped so abruptly because he would not, even to oblige Hayley, -go on any longer with so uncongenial a task. - -Blake's three years at Felpham (September 1800 to September -1803) were described by him as 'my three years' slumber on the -banks of ocean,' and there is no doubt that, in spite of the neighborhood -and kindly antagonism of Hayley, that 'slumber' was, for Blake, in a -sense an awakening. It was the only period of his life lived out of -London, and with Felpham, as he said in a letter to Flaxman, 'begins -a new life, because another covering of earth is shaken off.' The cottage -at Felpham is only a little way in from a seashore which is one of the -loveliest and most changing shores of the English coast. Whistler has -painted it, and it is always as full of faint and wandering color as a -Whistler. It was on this coast that Rossetti first learned to care for the -sea. To Blake it must have been the realization of much that he had -already divined in his imagination. There, as he wrote to Flaxman, -'heaven opens on all sides her golden gates; her windows are not -obstructed by vapors; voices of celestial inhabitants are more distinctly -heard and their forms more distinctly seen; and my cottage is also a -shadow of their houses.' He drew the cottage on one of the pages of -_Milton_, with a naked image of himself walking in the garden, -and the image of an angel about to alight on a tree. The cottage is -still, as he found it, 'a perfect model for cottages, and I think for -palaces of magnificence, only enlarging, not altering its proportions, -and adding ornaments and not principles'; and no man of imagination -could live there, under that thatched roof and with that marvelous sea -before him, and not find himself spiritually naked and within arm's -reach of the angels. - -The sea has the properties of sleep and of awakening, and -there can be no doubt that the sea had both those influences on Blake, -surrounding him for once with an atmosphere like that of his own -dreams. 'O lovely Felpham,' he writes, after he had left it, 'to thee -I am eternally indebted for my three years' rest from perturbation -and the strength I now enjoy.' Felpham represents a vivid pause, -in which he had leisure to return upon himself; and in one of his -letters he says: 'One thing of real consequence I have accomplished -by coming into the country, which is to me consolation enough, -namely, I have recollected all my scattered thoughts on art, and -resumed my primitive and original ways of execution in both -painting and engraving, which in the confusion of London I had -very much obliterated from my mind.' It is to this period, no doubt -(a period mentally overcome in the quiet of Felpham, but awaiting, -as we shall see, the electric spark of that visit to the Truchsessian -Gallery in London), that Blake refers in the _Descriptive Catalogue_, -when he speaks of the 'experiment pictures' which 'were the result -of temptations and perturbations, laboring to destroy imaginative -power, by means of that infernal machine, called Chiaro Oscuro, -in the hands of Venetian and Flemish demons,' such as the 'outrageous -demon,' Rubens, the 'soft and effeminate and cruel demon,' Correggio, -and, above all, Titian. 'The spirit of Titian,' we are told, in what is -really a confession of Blake's consciousness of the power of those -painters whose influence he dreaded, 'was particularly active -in raising doubts concerning the possibility of executing without -a model; and, when once he had raised the doubt, it became easy -for him to snatch away the vision time after time; for when the -artist took his pencil, to execute his ideas, his power of imagination -weakened so much, and darkened, that memory of nature and of -pictures of the various schools possessed his mind, instead of -appropriate execution, resulting from the inventions.' It was thus -at Felpham that he returned to himself in art, and it was at Felpham -also that he had what seems to have been the culminating outburst of -'prophetic' inspiration, writing from immediate dictation, he said, 'and -even against my will.' Visions came readily to him out of the sea, and -he saw them walk on the shore, 'majestic shadows, grey but luminous, -and superior to the common height of men.' - -It was at Felpham that Blake wrote the two last of the Prophetic -Books which remain to us, _Milton_ and _Jerusalem._ Both -bear the date of 1804 on the title-page, and this, no doubt, indicates -that the engraving was begun in that year. Yet it is not certain that the -engraved text of _Jerusalem_, at any rate, was formally published -till after 1809. Pages were certainly inserted between those two dates. -On p. 38 Blake says: - - -'I heard in Lambeth's shades: -In Felpham I heard and saw the Visions of Albion: -I write in South Molton Street, what I both see and -hear, -In regions of Humanity, in London's opening streets.' - - -That the main part was written in Felpham is evident from -more than one letter to Butts. In a letter dated April 25, 1803, -Blake says: 'But none can know the spiritual acts of my three -years' slumber on the banks of ocean, unless he has seen them -in the spirit, or unless he should read my long poem descriptive -of those acts; for I have in these years composed an immense -number of verses on one grand theme, similar to Homer's _Iliad_ -or Milton's _Paradise Lost_; the persons and machinery entirely -new to the inhabitants of earth (some of the persons excepted). I have -written the poems from immediate dictation, twelve or sometimes -twenty or thirty lines at a time, without premeditation, and even -against my will. The time it has taken in writing was thus rendered -non-existent, and an immense poem exists which seems to be the -labour of a long life, all produced without labour or study. I mention -this to show you what I think the grand reason of my being brought -down here.' The poem is evidently _Jerusalem_, for the address -'To the Public' on the first page begins: 'After my three years' slumber -on the banks of the Ocean, I again display my Giant forms to the Public.' -In the next letter, dated July 6, Blake again refers to the poem: 'Thus I -hope that all our three years' trouble ends in good-luck at last, and -shall be forgot by my affections, and only remembered by my -understanding, to be a memento in time to come, and to speak -to future generations by a sublime allegory, which is now perfectly -completed into a grand poem. I may praise it, since I dare not pretend -to be any other than the secretary; the authors are in eternity. I -consider it as the grandest poem that this world contains. Allegory -addressed to the intellectual powers, while it is altogether hidden -from the corporeal understanding, is my definition of the most -sublime poetry. It is somewhat in the same manner defined by Plato. -This poem shall, by divine assistance, be progressively printed and -ornamented with prints, and given to the public.' - -This I take to mean that before Blake's return to London in -1803 the letterpress of _Jerusalem_ was, as he imagined, -completely finished, but that the printing and illustration were not -yet begun. The fact of this delay, and the fact that pages written after -1803 were inserted here and there, must not lead us to think, as many -writers on Blake have thought, that there could be any allusion in -_Jerusalem_ to the attacks of the _Examiner_ of 1808 and -1809, or that 'Hand,' one of the wicked sons of Albion, could possibly -be, as Rossetti desperately conjectured, 'a hieroglyph for Leigh Hunt.' -The sons of Albion are referred to on quite a third of the pages of -_Jerusalem_, from the earliest to the latest, and must have been -part of the whole texture of the poem from the beginning. In a passage -of the 'Public Address,' contained in the Rossetti MS., Blake says: 'The -manner in which my character has been blasted these thirty years, -both as an artist and as a man, may be seen particularly in a Sunday paper -called the _Examiner_, published in Beaufort's Buildings; the -manner in which I have rooted out the nest of villains will be seen -in a poem concerning my three years' Herculean labours at Felpham, -which I shall soon publish.' Even if this is meant for _Jerusalem_, -as it may well be, Blake is far from saying that he has referred in the -poem to these particular attacks: 'the nest of villains' has undoubtedly -a much broader meaning, and groups together all the attacks of thirty -years, public or private, of which the _Examiner_ is but quoted -as a recent example. - -The chief reason for supposing that _Jerusalem_ may not -have been published till after the exhibition of 1809, is to be found in a -passage in the _Descriptive Catalogue_ which seems to summarize -the main subject of the poem, though it is quite possible that it may -refer to some MS. now lost. The picture of the Ancient Britons, says -Blake, represents three men who 'were originally one man who was -fourfold. He was self-divided, and his real humanity slain on the -stems of generation, and the form of the fourth was like the Son of -God. How he became divided is a subject of great sublimity and pathos. -The Artist has written it, under inspiration, and will, if God please, -publish it. It is voluminous, and contains the ancient history of Britain, -and the world of Satan and Adam.' 'All these things,' he has just said, -'are written in Eden.' And he says further: 'The British Antiquities are -now in the Artist's hands; all his visionary contemplations relating -to his own country and its ancient glory, when it was, as it again -shall be, the source of learning and inspiration.' 'Adam was a -Druid, and Noah.' In the description of his picture of the 'Last -Judgment' Blake indicates 'Albion, our ancestor, patriarch of -the Atlantic Continent, whose history preceded that of the Hebrews, -and in whose sleep, or chaos, creation began. The good woman is -Britannia, the wife of Albion. Jerusalem is their daughter.' - -We see here the symbols, partly Jewish and partly British, -into which Blake had gradually resolved his mythology. 'The -persons and machinery,' he said, were 'entirely new to the inhabitants -of earth (some of the persons excepted).' This has been usually, -but needlessly, supposed to mean that real people are introduced -under disguises. Does it not rather mean, what would be strictly -true, that the 'machinery' is here of a kind wholly new to the Prophetic -Books, while of the 'persons' some have already been met with, others -are now seen for the first time? It is all, in his own words, 'allegory -addressed to the intellectual powers, while it is altogether hidden -from the corporeal understanding,' and the allegory becomes harder -to read as it becomes more and more naked, concentrated, and -unexplained. _Milton_ seems to have arisen out of a symbol -which came visibly before Blake's eyes on his first waking in the -cottage at Felpham. 'Work will go on here with Godspeed,' he writes -to Butts. 'A roller and two harrows lie before my window. I met a -plough on my first going out at my gate the first morning after -my arrival, and the ploughboy said to the ploughman, "Father, -the gate is open."' At the beginning of his poem Blake writes: - - -'The Plow goes forth in tempests and lightnings and -the Harrow cruel -In blights of the east; the heavy Roller follows in -howlings;' - - -And the imagery returns at intervals, in the vision of 'the Last -Vintage,' the 'Great Harvest and Vintage of the Nations.' The personal -element comes in the continual references to the cottage at Felpham; - - -'He set me down in Felpham's Vale and prepared a -beautiful -Cottage for me that in three years I might write all -these Visions -To display Nature's cruel holiness: the deceits of -Natural Religion;' - - -And it is in the cottage near the sea that he sees the vision of -Milton, when he: - - -'Descended down a Paved work of all kinds of precious -stones -Out from the eastern sky; descending down into my -Cottage -Garden; clothed in black, severe and silent he -descended.' - - -He awakes from the vision to find his wife by his side: - - -'My bones trembled. I fell outstretched upon the -path -A moment, and my Soul returned into its mortal state -To Resurrection and Judgment in the Vegetable Body, -And my sweet Shadow of delight stood trembling by -my side.' - - -In the prayer to be saved from his friends ('Corporeal Friends -are Spiritual Enemies'), in the defense of wrath ('Go to thy labours -at the Mills and leave me to my wrath'), in the outburst: - - -'The idiot Reasoner laughs at the Man of Imagination -And from laughter proceeds to murder by undervaluing -calumny,' - - -It is difficult not to see some trace or transposition of the kind, -evil counsellor Hayley, a 'Satan' of mild falsehood in the sight of Blake. -But the main aim of the book is the assertion of the supremacy of the -imagination: - - -'The Imagination is not a State: it is the Human -Existence itself,' - - -And the putting off of the 'filthy garments,' of 'Rational -Demonstration,' of 'Memory,' of 'Bacon, Locke, and Newton,' the -clothing of oneself in imagination, - - -'To cast aside from Poetry, all that is not -Inspiration, -That it shall no longer dare to mock with the aspersion -of Madness. -Cast on the Inspired by the tame high finisher of -paltry Blots, -Indefinite or paltry Rhymes; or paltry harmonies.' - - -It is because 'Everything in Eternity shines by its own Internal -light,' and that jealousy and cruelty and hypocrisy are all darkenings -of that light, that Blake declares his purpose of: - - -'Opening to every eye -These wonders of Satan's holiness showing to the -Earth -The Idol Virtues of the Natural Heart, and Satan's -Seat -Explore in all its Selfish Natural Virtue, and put off -In Self-annihilation all that is not of God alone.' - - -Such meanings as these flare out from time to time with individual -splendors of phrase, like 'Time is the mercy of Eternity,' and the great -poetic epigram, 'O Swedenborg! strongest of men, the Samson shorn -by the Churches' (where, for a moment, a line falls into the regular -rhythm of poetry), and around them are deserts and jungles, fragments -of myth broken off and flung before us after this fashion: - - -'But Bahab and Tirzah pervert -Their mild influences, therefore the Seven Eyes of -God walk round -The Three Heavens of Ulro, where Tirzah and her -Sisters -Weave the black Woof of Death upon Entuthon -Benython -In the Vale of Surrey where Horeb terminates in -Rephaim.' - - -In _Jerusalem_, which was to have been 'the grandest poem -which the world contains,' there is less of the exquisite lyrical work -which still decorates many corners of _Milton_, but it is -Blake's most serious attempt to set his myth in order, and it contains -much of his deepest wisdom, with astonishing flashes of beauty. In -_Milton_ there was still a certain approximation to verse, most -of the lines had at least a beginning and an end, but in _Jerusalem_, -although he tells us that 'every word and every letter is studied and put -into its place,' I am by no means sure that Blake ever intended the -lines, as he wrote them, to be taken as metrical lines, or read very -differently from the prose of the English Bible, with its pause in the -sense at the end of each verse. A vague line, hesitating between six -and seven beats, does indeed seem from time to time to emerge from -chaos, and inversions are brought in at times to accentuate a cadence -certainly intended, as here: - - -'Why should Punishment Weave the Veil with Iron -Wheels of War, -When Forgiveness might it Weave with Wings of -Cherubim?' - - -But read the whole book as if it were prose, following the sense -for its own sake, and you will find that the prose, when it is not -a mere catalogue, has generally a fine biblical roll and swing in it, -a rhythm of fine oratory; while if you read each line as if it were meant -to be a metrical unit you will come upon such difficulties as this: - - -'Such is the Forgiveness of the Gods, the Moral Virtues -of the' - - -That is one line, and the next adds 'Heathen.' There may seem -to be small reason for such an arrangement of the lines if we read -_Jerusalem_ in the useful printed text of Mr. Russell and Mr. -Maclagan; but the reason will be seen if we turn to the original -engraved page, where we shall see that Blake had set down in the -margin a lovely little bird with outstretched wings, and that the tip -of the bird's wing almost touches the last letter of the 'the' and leaves -no room for another word. That such a line was meant to be metrical -is unthinkable, as unthinkable as that: - - -'Los stood and stamped the earth, then he threw down -his hammer in rage & -In fury' - - -Has any reason for existing in this form beyond the mere chance -of a hand that writes until all the space of a given line is filled. -Working as he did within those limits of his hand's space, he -would accustom himself to write for the most part, and and especially -when his imagination was most vitally awake, in lines that came -roughly within those limits. Thus it will often happen that the most -beautiful passages will have the nearest resemblance to a regular -metrical scheme, as in such lines as these: - - -In vain: he is hurried afar into an unknown Night. -He bleeds in torrents of blood, as he rolls thro' -heaven above, -He chokes up the paths of the sky: the Moon is -leprous as snow: -Trembling and descending down, seeking to rest on -high Mona: -Scattering her leprous snow in flakes of disease over -Albion. -The Stars flee remote: the heaven is iron, the earth -is sulphur, -And all the mountains and hills shrink up like a -withering gourd.' - - -Here the prophet is no longer speaking with the voice of the -orator, but with the old, almost forgotten voice of the poet, and with -something of the despised 'Monotonous Cadence.' - -Blake lived for twenty-three years after the date on the -title-page of _Jerusalem_, but, with the exception of the -two plates called _The Ghost of Abel_, engraved in 1822, -this vast and obscure encyclopaedia of unknown regions remains -his last gospel. He thought it his most direct message. Throughout -the Prophetic Books Blake has to be translated out of the unfamiliar -language into which he has tried to translate spiritual realities, -literally, as he apprehended them. Just as, in the designs which his -hand drew as best it could, according to its limited and partly false -knowledge, from the visions which his imagination saw with perfect -clearness, he was often unable to translate that vision into its real -equivalent in design, so in his attempts to put these other mental -visions into words he was hampered by an equally false method, -and often by reminiscences of what passed for 'picturesque' writing in -the work of his contemporaries. He was, after all, of his time, though -he was above it, and just as he only knew Michelangelo through bad -reproductions, and could never get his own design wholly free, malleable, -and virgin to his 'shaping spirit of imagination,' so, in spite of all his -marvelous lyrical discoveries, made when his mind was less burdened -by the weight of a controlling message, he found himself, when he -attempted to make an intelligible system out of the 'improvisations -of the spirit,' and to express that system with literal accuracy, the -half-helpless captive of formal words, conventional rhythms, a -language not drawn direct from its source. Thus we find, in the -Prophetic Books, neither achieved poems nor an achieved philosophy. -The philosophy has reached us only in splendid fragments (the -glimmering of stars out of separate corners of a dark sky), and we -shall never know to what extent these fragments were once parts -of a whole. Had they been ever really fused, this would have been the -only system of philosophy made entirely out of the raw material of -poetry. As it has come to us unachieved, the world has still to wait -for a philosophy untouched by the materialism of the prose -intelligence. - -In the Prophetic Books Blake labours at the creation of a myth, -which may be figured as the representation in space of a vast -spiritual tragedy. It is the tragedy of Man, a tragedy in which the first -act is creation. Milton was content to begin with 'Man's first -disobedience,' but Blake would track the human soul back into chaos, -and beyond. He knows, like Krishna, in the _Bhagavad Gita_, -that 'above this visible nature there exists another, unseen and -eternal, which, when all created things perish, does not perish'; -and he sees the soul's birth in that 'inward spiritual world,' from -which it falls to mortal life and the body, as into a death. He sees -its new, temporal life, hung round with fears and ambushes, out -of which, by a new death, the death of that mortal self which -separates it from eternity, it may reawaken, even in this life, -into the eternal life of imagination. The persons of the drama -are the powers and passions of Man, and the spiritual forces -which surround him, and are the 'states' through which he -passes. Man is seen, as Blake saw all things, fourfold: Man's -Humanity, his Spectre, who is Reason, his Emanation, who is -Imagination, his Shadow, who is Desire. And the states through -which Man passes, friendly or hostile, energies of good or of -evil, are also four: the Four Zoas, who are the Four Living -Creatures of Ezekiel, and are called Urizen, Luvah, Tharmas, -and Urthona (or, to mortals, Los). Each Zoa has his Emanation: -Ahania, who is the emanation of Intellect, and is named 'eternal -delight'; Vala, the emanation of Emotion, who is lovely deceit, -and the visible beauty of Nature; Enion, who is the emanation -of the Senses, and typifies the maternal instinct; Enitharmon, -who is the emanation of Intuition, and personifies spiritual beauty. -The drama is the division, death, and resurrection, in an eternal circle, -of the powers of man and of the powers in whose midst he fights -and struggles. Of this incommensurable action we are told only in -broken hints, as of a chorus crying outside doors where deeds are -being done in darkness. Images pass before us, make their gesture, -and are gone; the words spoken are ambiguous, and seem to have -an under meaning which it is essential for us to apprehend. We see -motions of building and of destruction, higher than the topmost -towers of the world, and deeper than the abyss of the sea; souls pass -through furnaces, and are remade by Time's hammer on the anvil of -space; there are obscure crucifixions, and Last Judgments return and -are re-enacted. - -To Blake, the Prophetic Books were to be the new religious books -of a religion which was not indeed new, for it was the Everlasting -Gospel' of Jesus, but, because it had been seen anew by Swedenborg -and by Wesley and by 'the gentle souls who guide the great wine-press -of Love,' among whom was Teresa, seemed to require a new interpretation -to the imagination. Blake wrote when the eighteenth century was -coming to an end; he announced the new dispensation which was to -come, Swedenborg had said, with the year (which was the year of Blake's -birth) 1757. He looked forward steadfastly to the time when 'Sexes must -vanish and cease to be,' when 'all their crimes, their punishments, their -accusations of sin, all their jealousies, revenges, murders, hidings -of cruelty in deceit, appear only on the outward spheres of visionary -Space and Time, in the shadows of possibility by mutual forgiveness -for evermore, and in the vision and the prophecy, that we may foresee -and avoid the terrors of Creation and Redemption and Judgment.' He -spoke to literalists, rationalists, materialists; to an age whose very -infidels doubted only facts, and whose deists affirmed no more than -that man was naturally religious. The rationalist's denial of everything -beyond the evidence of his senses seemed to him a criminal blindness; -and he has engraved a separate sheet with images and statements of -the affirmation: 'There is no Natural Religion.' To Blake the literal -meaning of things seemed to be of less than no importance. To -worship the 'Goddess Nature' was to worship the 'God of this World,' -and so to be an atheist, as even Wordsworth seemed to him to be. -Religion was asleep, with Art and Literature in its arms: Blake's was -the voice of the awakening angel. What he cried was that only eternal -and invisible things were true, and that visible temporal things were -a veil and a delusion. In this he knew himself to be on the side of -Wesley and Whitefield, and that Voltaire and Rousseau, the voices of -the passing age, were against him. He called them 'frozen sons of the -feminine Tabernacle of Bacon, Newton, and Locke.' Wesley and -Whitefield he calls the 'two servants' of God, his 'two witnesses.' - -But it seemed to him that he could go deeper into the Bible -than they, in their practical eagerness, had gone. 'What are -the treasures of Heaven,' he asked, 'that we are to lay up for -ourselves--are they any other than Mental Studies and Performances?' -'Is the Holy Ghost,' he asked, 'any other than an intellectual Fountain?' -It seemed to him that he could harmonise many things once held -to be discordant, and adjust the many varying interpretations of the -Bible and the other books of ancient religions by a universal -application of what had been taken in too personal a way. Hence -many of the puzzling 'correspondences' of English cities and the -tribe of Judah, of 'the Poetic Genius, which is the Lord.' - -There is an outcry in _Jerusalem_: - - -'No individual ought to appropriate to Himself -Or to his Emanation, any of the Universal -Characteristics -Of David or of Eve, of the Woman, of the Lord, -Of Reuben or of Benjamin, of Joseph or Judah or -Levi. -Those who dare appropriate to themselves Universal -Attributes -Are the Blasphemous Selfhoods and must be broken -asunder. -A Vegetable Christ and a Virgin Eve, are the -Hermaphroditic -Blasphemy: by his Maternal Birth he put off that -Evil One, -And his Maternal Humanity must be put off -Eternally, -Lest the Sexual Generation swallow up -Regeneration: -Come, Lord Jesus, take on Thee the Satanic Body of -Holiness!' - - -Exactly what is meant here will be seen more clearly if we -compare it with a much earlier statement of the same doctrine, in -the poem 'To Tirzah' in the _Songs of Experience_, and the -comparison will show us all the difference between the art of Blake -in 1794, and what seemed to him the needful manner of his message -ten years later. 'Tirzah' is Blake's name for Natural Religion. - - -'Whatever is Born of Mortal Birth -Must be consumed with the Earth, -To rise from Generation free: -Then what have I to do with thee? - -The Sexes sprung from Shame and Pride -Blow'd in the morn; in evening died; -But Mercy changed Death into Sleep; -The Sexes rose to work and weep. - -Thou Mother of my Mortal part -With cruelty didst mould my Heart, -And with false, self-deceiving Tears -Didst bind my Nostrils, Eyes, and Ears; - -Didst close my Tongue in senseless clay, -And me to Mortal Life betray: -The Death of Jesus set me free: -Then what have I to do with thee? - - -Here is expressed briefly and exquisitely a large part of the -foundation of Blake's philosophy: that birth into the world, -Christ's or ours, is a fall from eternal realities into the material -affections of the senses, which are deceptions, and bind us under -the bondage of nature, our 'Mother,' who is the Law; and that -true life is to be regained only by the death of that self which -cuts us off from our part in eternity, which we enter through the -eternal reality of the imagination. In the poem, the death of Jesus -symbolises that deliverance; in the passage from _Jerusalem_ -the Church's narrow conception of the mortal life of Jesus is -rebuked, and its universal significance indicated, but in how different, -how obscure, how distorted a manner. What has brought about this -new manner of saying the same thing? - -I think it is an endeavor to do without what had come to seem -to Blake the deceiving imageries of nature, to express the truth -of contraries at one and the same time, and to render spiritual -realities in a literal translation. What he had been writing was -poetry; now what he wrote was to be prophecy; or, as he says -in _Milton_: - - -'In fury of Poetic Inspiration, -To build the Universe Stupendous, Mental Forms -Creating.' - - -And, seeking always the 'Minute Particulars,' he would make -no compromise with earthly things, use no types of humanity, no -analogies from nature; for it was against all literal acceptance of -nature or the Bible or reason, of any apparent reality, that he -was appealing. Hence: - - -'All Human Forms identified, even Tree, Metal, Earth, -and Stone, all -Human Forms identified, living, going forth, and -returning wearied -Into the planetary lives of Years, Months, Days, and -Hours.' - - -Hence the affirmation: - - -'For all are Men in Eternity, Rivers, Mountains, -Cities, Villages;' - - -And the voice of London saying: - - -'My Streets are my Ideas of Imagination.' - - -Hence the parallels and correspondences, the names too well known -to have any ready-made meaning to the emotions (London or Bath), the -names so wholly unknown that they also could mean nothing to the -emotions or to the memory (Bowlahoola, Golgonooza), the whole inhuman -mythology, abstractions of frigid fire. In _Jerusalem_ Blake -interrupts himself to say: - - -'I call them by their English names; English, the -rough basement. -Los built the stubborn structure of the Language, -acting against -Albion's melancholy, who must else have been a -Dumb despair.' - - -In the Prophetic Books we see Blake laboring upon a 'rough -basement' of 'stubborn' English; is it, after all this 'consolidated -and extended work,' this 'energetic exertion of his talent,' a building -set up in vain, the attempt to express what must else have been, -and must now for ever remain, 'a dumb despair'? - -I think we must take the Prophetic Books not quite as Blake -would have had us take them. He was not a systematic thinker, -and he was not content to be a lyric poet. Nor indeed did he ever -profess to offer us a system, built on logic and propped by -reasoning, but a myth, which is a poetical creation. He said in -_Jerusalem_: - - -'I must Create a System, or be enslaved by another -Man's. -I will not Reason or Compare: my business is to -Create.' - - -To Blake each new aspect of truth came as a divine gift, -and between all his affirmations of truth there is no contradiction, -or no other than that vital contradiction of opposites equally true. -The difficulty lies in co-ordinating them into so minutely articulated -a myth, and the difficulty is increased when we possess, instead of the -whole body of the myth, only fragments of it. Of the myth itself it -must be said that, whether from defects inherent in it or from the -fragmentary state in which it comes to us, it can never mean anything -wholly definite or satisfying even to those minds best prepared to -receive mystical doctrine. We cannot read the Prophetic Books either -for their thought only or for their beauty only. Yet we shall find in -them both inspired thought and unearthly beauty. With these two -things, not always found together, we must be content. - -The Prophetic Books bear witness, in their own way, to that -great gospel of imagination which Blake taught and exemplified. -In _Jerusalem_ it is stated in a single sentence: 'I know of -no other Christianity and of no other Gospel than the liberty both -of body and mind to exercise the Divine Arts of Imagination: -Imagination, the real and eternal World of which this Vegetable -Universe is but a faint shadow, and in which we shall live in our -Eternal or Imaginative Bodies, when these Vegetable Mortal Bodies -are no more.' 'O Human Imagination, O Divine Body I have Crucified!' -he cries; and he sees continually: - - -'Abstract Philosophy warring in enmity against -Imagination, -Which is the Divine Body of the Lord Jesus, blessed -for ever.' - - -He finds the England of his time generalising Art and Science till -Art and Science is lost,' making: - - -'A pretence of Art, to destroy Art, a pretence of -Liberty -To destroy Liberty, a pretence of Religion to destroy -Religion.' - - -He sees that: - - -'The Visions of Eternity, by reason of narrowed -perceptions, -Are become weak visions of Time and Space, fix'd -into furrows of death.' - - -He sees everywhere 'the indefinite Spectre; who is the Rational -Power,' crying out: - - -'I am God, O Sons of Men! I am your Rational -Power! -Am I not Bacon and Newton and Locke who teach -Humility to Man? -Who teach Doubt and Experiment: and my two -kings, Voltaire, Rousseau.' - - -He sees this threefold spirit of doubt and negation overspreading -the earth, 'brooding Abstract Philosophy,' destroying Imagination; -and, as he looked about him: - - -'Every Universal Form was become barren mountains -of Moral -Virtue: and every Minute Particular harden'd into -grains of sand: -And all the tenderness of the soul cast forth as filth -and mire.' - - -It is against this spiritual deadness that he brings his protest, which -is to awaken Albion out of the sleep of death, 'his long and cold repose.' -'Therefore Los,' the spirit of prophecy, and thus Blake, who 'kept the -Divine Vision in time of trouble,' stands in London building Golgonooza, -'the spiritual fourfold London,' the divine City of God. Of the real or -earthly London he says in _Jerusalem_: - - -'I see London blind and age bent begging thro' the -Streets -Of Babylon, led by a child, his tears run down his -beard!' - - -Babylon, in Blake, means 'Rational Morality.' In the _Songs of -Innocence_ we shall see the picture, at the head of the poem -called 'London.' In that poem Blake numbers the cries which go up -in 'London's chartered streets,' the cry of the chimney-sweeper, -of the soldier, of the harlot; and he says: - - -'In every cry of every man, -In every infant's cry of fear, -In every voice, in every ban, -The mind-forged manacles I hear.' - - -Into these lines he condenses much of his gospel. What Blake -most hated on earth were 'mind-forged manacles.' Reason seemed -to him to have laid its freezing and fettering hand on every warm joy, -on every natural freedom, of body and soul; all his wrath went out -against the forgers and the binders of these fetters. In his earlier -poems he sings the instinctive joys of innocence; in his later, the -wise joys of experience; and all the Prophetic Books are so many -songs of mental liberty and invectives against every form of mental -oppression. 'And Jerusalem is called Liberty among the Children of -Albion.' One of the Prophetic Books, _Ahania_, can be condensed -into a single sentence, one of its lines: 'Truth has bounds; Error has -none.' Yet this must be understood to mean that error is the -'indefinite void 'and truth a thing minutely organized; not that truth -can endure bondage or limitation from without. He typifies Moral -Law by Rahab, the harlot of the Bible, a being of hidden, hypocritic -cruelty. Chastity is no more in itself than a lure of the harlot, -typifying unwilling restraint, a negation, and no personal form of -energy. - - -'No individual can keep the Laws, for they are death -To every energy of man, and forbid the springs -of life.' - - -It is energy that is virtue, and, above all, mental energy. 'The -treasures of heaven are not negations of passion, but realities -of intellect, from which all the passions emanate, uncurbed in their -eternal glory.' 'It was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil -that brought sin into the world by creating distinctions, by calling -this good and that evil.' Blake says in _Jerusalem_: - - -'And in this manner of the Sons of Albion in their -strength; -They take the Two Contraries which are called Qualities, -with which -Every Substance is clothed, they name them Good and -Evil, -From them they make an Abstract, which is a Negation -Not only of the Substance from which it is derived, -A murderer of its own Body: but also a murderer -Of every Divine Member: it is the Reasoning Power, -An Abstract objecting power, that Negatives -everything. -This is the Spectre of Man: the Holy Reasoning -Power, -And in its Holiness is closed the Abomination of -Desolation.' - - -The active form of sin is judgment, intellectual cruelty, -unforgivingness, punishment. 'In Hell is all self-righteousness; -there is no such thing as forgiveness of sins.' In his picture of -the 'Last Judgment' he represents the Furies by men, not women; -and for this reason: 'The spectator may suppose them clergymen -in the pulpit, scourging sin instead of forgiving it.' In _Jerusalem_ -he says: - - -'And the appearance of a Man was seen in the -Furnaces, -Saving those who have sinned from the punishment -of the Law -(In pity of the punisher whose state is eternal -death), -And keeping them from Sin by the mild counsels of -his love.' - - -And in his greatest paradox and deepest passion of truth, he -affirms: - - -'I care not whether a Man is Good or Evil; all that I -care -Is whether he is a Wise Man or a Fool. Go, put off -Holiness -And put on Intellect.' - - -That holiness may be added to wisdom Blake asks only that -continual forgiveness of sins which to him meant understanding, -and thus intellectual sympathy; and he sees in the death of Jesus -the supreme symbol of this highest mental state. - - -'And if God dieth not for Man and giveth not himself -Eternally for Man, Man could not exist, for Man is love, -As God is Love: every kindness to another is a little -Death -In the Divine Image, nor can Man exist but by -Brotherhood.' - - -Of Blake it may be said as he says of Albion: 'He felt that -Love and Pity are the same,' and to Love and Pity he gave -the ultimate jurisdiction over humanity. - -Blake's gospel of forgiveness rests on a very elaborate structure, -which he has built up in his doctrine of 'States.' At the head -of the address to the Deists in the third chapter of _Jerusalem_, -he has written: 'The Spiritual States of the Soul are all Eternal. -Distinguish between the Man and his present State.' Much of his -subtlest casuistry is expended on this distinction, and, as he makes -it, it is profoundly suggestive. Erin says, in _Jerusalem_: - - -'Learn therefore, O Sisters, to distinguish the Eternal -Human -That walks about among the stones of fire, in bliss -and woe -Alternate, from those States or Worlds in which the -Spirit travels: -This is the only means to Forgiveness of Enemies.' - - -The same image is used again: - - -'As the Pilgrim passes while the Country permanent -remains, -So Men pass on; but States remain permanent for -ever;' - - -And, again, in almost the same words, in the prose fragment on the -picture of the 'Last Judgment': 'Man passes on, but states remain for -ever; he passes through them like a traveller, who may as well suppose -that the places he has passed through exist no more, as a man may -suppose that the states he has passed through exist no more: -everything is eternal.' By states Blake means very much what we -mean by moods, which, in common with many mystics, he conceives -as permanent spiritual forces, through which what is transitory in man -passes, while man imagines that they, more transitory than himself, -are passing through him. It is from this conception of man as a traveller, -and of good and evil, the passions and virtues and sensations and ideas -of man, as spiritual countries, eternally remaining, through which he -passes, that Blake draws his inference: condemn, if you will, the state -which you call sin, but do not condemn the individual whose passage -through it may he a necessity of his journey. And his litany is: - - -'Descend, O Lamb of God, and take away the imputation -of Sin -By the creation of States and the deliverance of -Individuals evermore. Amen.... -Come then, O Lamb of God, and take away the -remembrance of Sin.' - - - - -VIII - - -Blake had already decided to leave Felpham, 'with the full -approbation of Mr. Hayley,' as early as April 1803.'But alas!' -he writes to Butts, 'now I may say to you--what perhaps I should -not dare to say to any one else--that I can alone carry on my -visionary studies in London unannoyed, and that I may converse -with my friends in eternity, see visions, dream dreams, and -prophesy, and speak parables unobserved, and at liberty from -the doubts of other mortals.' 'There is no medium or middle -state,' he adds, 'and if a man is the enemy of my spiritual -life while he pretends to be the friend of my corporeal, he is a real -enemy.' Hayley, once fully realized, had to be shaken off, and we -find Blake taking rooms on the first-floor at 17 South Molton -Street, and preparing to move to London, when an incident occurs -which leaves him, as he put it in a letter to Butts, 'in a bustle to -defend myself against a very unwarrantable warrant from a justice -of the peace in Chichester, which was taken out against me by a -private in Captain Leathes' troop of 1st or Royal Dragoon Guards, -for an assault and seditious words.' This was a soldier whom Blake -had turned out of his garden, 'perhaps foolishly and perhaps not,' -as he said, but with unquestionable vigor. 'It is certain,' he commented, -'that a too passive manner, inconsistent with my active physiognomy, -had done me much mischief.' The 'contemptible business' was tried at -Chichester on January 11, 1804, at the Quarter Sessions, and Blake -was acquitted of the charge of high treason; 'which so gratified the -auditory,' says the _Sussex Advertiser_ of the date, 'that the -court was, in defiance of all decency, thrown into an uproar by their -noisy exultations.' - -London, on his return to it, seemed to Blake as desirable as -Felpham had seemed after London; and he writes to Hayley: 'The -shops in London improve; everything is elegant, clean, and neat; -the streets are widened where they were narrow; even Snow Hill is -become almost level and is a very handsome street, and the narrow part -of the Strand near St. Clement's is widened and become very elegant.' -But there were other reasons for satisfaction. In a letter written before -he left Felpham, Blake said: 'What is very pleasant, every one who hears -of my going to London applauds it as the only course for the interest -of all concerned in my works; observing that I ought not to be away -from the opportunities London affords of seeing fine pictures, and the -various improvements in works of art going on in London.' In October -1804 he writes to Hayley, in the most ecstatic of his letters, recording -the miracle or crisis that has suddenly opened his eyes, vitalizing the -meditations of Felpham. 'Suddenly,' says the famous letter, 'on the -day after visiting the Truchsessian Gallery of pictures, I was again -enlightened with the light I enjoyed in my youth, and which has for -exactly twenty years been closed from me as by a door and by -window-shutters.... Dear Sir, excuse my enthusiasm, or rather -madness, for I am really drunk with intellectual vision whenever -I take a pencil or graver into my hand, even as I used to be in my -youth, and as I have not been for twenty dark, but very profitable -years.' Some of this new radiance may be seen in the water-color -of 'The River of Life,' which has been assigned by Mr. Russell to -this year; and in those 'Inventions' in illustration of Blair's -_Grave_, by which Blake was to make his one appeal to the -public of his time. - -That appeal he made through the treacherous services of a -sharper named Cromek, an engraver and publisher of prints, who -bought the twelve drawings for the price of twenty pounds, on the -understanding that they were to be engraved by their designer; -and thereupon handed them over to the fashionable Schiavonetti, -telling Blake 'your drawings have had the good fortune to be engraved -by one of the first artists in Europe.' He further caused a difference -between Blake and Stothard which destroyed a friendship of nearly -thirty years, never made up in the lifetime of either, though Blake -made two efforts to be reconciled. The story of the double commission -given by Cromek for a picture of Chaucer's _Canterbury Pilgrims_, -and of the twofold accusation of plagiarism, is told clearly enough in the -narrative of J. T. Smith (p. 368 below), while Cunningham does his -best to confuse the facts in the interests of Cromek. It has been -finally summed up by Mr. Swinburne, who comes to this reasonable -conclusion: 'It is probable that Stothard believed himself to be not -in the wrong; it is certain that Blake was in the right.' As for Cromek, -he has written himself down for all time in his true character, naked -and not ashamed, in a letter to Blake of May 1807, where the -false bargainer asserts: 'Herein I have been gratified; for I was -determined to bring you food as well as reputation, though, from -your late conduct, I have some reason to embrace your wild opinion, -that to manage genius, and to cause it to produce good things, it is -absolutely necessary to starve it; indeed, the opinion is considerably -heightened by the recollection that your best work, the illustrations -of _The Grave_, was produced when you and Mrs. Blake were -reduced so low as to be obliged to live on half a guinea a week.' Cromek -published the book by subscription in August 1808, with an 'advertisement' -invoking the approval of the drawings as 'a high and original effort -of genius' by eleven Royal Academicians, including Benjamin West, -Flaxman, Lawrence, and Stothard. 'To the elegant and classical taste -of Mr. Fuseli,' he tells us further, 'he is indebted for the excellent -remarks on the moral worth and picturesque dignity of the Designs -that accompany this Poem.' Fuseli praises pompously the 'genuine -and unaffected attitudes,' the 'simple graces which nature and the heart -alone can dictate, and only an eye inspired by both, discover,' though -finding the artist 'playing on the very verge of legitimate invention.' - -It is by the designs to Blair's _Grave_ that Blake is still -perhaps chiefly known, outside his own public; nor was he ever so clear, -or, in a literal way, so convincing in his rendering of imaginative -reality. Something formal tempers and makes the ecstasy explicit; -the drawing is inflexibly elegant; all the Gothic secrets that had been -learnt among the tombs in Westminster Abbey find their way into -these stony and yet strangely living death-beds and monuments -of death. No more vehement movement was ever perpetrated than -that leap together of the soul and body meeting as the grave opens. -If ever the soul was made credible to the mind through the eyes, -it is in these designs carved out of abstract form, and planned -according to a logic which is partly literal faith in imagination and -partly the curtailment of scholastic drawing. - -The book contains the names of more than five hundred subscribers, -but only one contemporary notice has been found, a notice of -two columns, mere drivel and mere raving, signed by the happily -undiscovered initials R. H., in the thirty-second number of -Leigh Hunt's paper, _The Examiner_ (August 7, 1808, pp. 509, -510). It is under the heading 'Fine Arts,' and is called 'Blake's -edition of Blair's _Grave._' The notice is rendered specially -grotesque by its serious air of arguing with what it takes to be -absurdity coupled with 'an appearance of libidinousness' which -'intrudes itself upon the holiness of our thoughts and counteracts -their impression.' Like most moralists of the press, this critic's -meaning is hard to get at. Here, however, is a specimen: 'But a -more serious censure attaches to two of these most heterogeneous -and serio-fantastic designs. At the awful day of judgment, before -the throne of God himself, a male and female figure are described in -most indecent attitudes. It is the same with the salutation of a man -and his wife meeting in the pure mansions of Heaven.' Thus sanctified -a voice was it that first croaked at Blake out of the 'nest of villains' -which he imagined that he was afterwards to 'root out' of _The -Examiner._ - -A quite different view of him is to be found in a book which -was published before the _Grave_ actually came out, though it -contains a reference to the designs and to the 'ardent and encomiastic -applause' of 'some of the first artists in the country.' The book, which -contained an emblematic frontispiece designed by Blake and engraved -by Cromek, was _A Father's Memoirs of his Child_, written by -Benjamin Heath Malkin, then headmaster of Bury Grammar School, -in which the father gives a minute and ingenuous account of his child, -a prodigy of precocious intellect, who died at the age of nearly seven -years. The child was accustomed to do little drawings, some of which -are reproduced in the book in facsimile, and the father, after giving -his own opinion of them, adds: 'Yet, as my panegyric on such a subject -can carry with it no recommendation, I subjoin the testimony of Mr. -Blake to this instance of peculiar ingenuity, who has given me his -opinion of these various performances in the following terms:-- - -'"They are all firm, determinate outlines, or identical form. Had -the hand which executed these little ideas been that of a plagiary, -who works only from the memory, we should have seen blots, called -masses; blots without form, and therefore without meaning. These -blots of light and dark, as being the result of labour, are always -clumsy and indefinite; the effect of rubbing out and putting in, like -the progress of a blind man, or of one in the dark, who feels his -way, but does not see it. These are not so. Even the copy of Raphael's -cartoon of St. Paul preaching is a firm, determinate outline, struck -at once, as Protogenes struck his line, when he meant to make himself -known to Apelles. The map of Allestone has the same character of the -firm and determinate. All his efforts prove this little boy to have had -that greatest of all blessings, a strong imagination, a clear idea, and -a determinate vision of things in his own mind.'" It is in the lengthy -dedication of the book to Thomas Johnes, the translator of Froissart, -that Dr. Malkin gives the very interesting personal account of Blake -which is reprinted on p. 307 below. - -It is not certain whether Blake had ever known little Thomas -Malkin, and it would be interesting to know whether it was through -any actual influence of his that the child had come to his curious -invention of an imaginary country. He drew the map of this country, -peopled with names (Nobblede and Bobblobb, Punchpeach and Closetha) -scarcely more preposterous than the names which Blake was just -then discovering for his own spiritual regions, wrote its chronicles, -and even made music for it. The child was born in 1795 and died in -1802, and Blake had been at Felpham since September 1800; but, -if they had met before that date, there was quite time for Blake's -influence to have shown itself. In 1799 the astonishing child -'could read, without hesitation, any English book. He could spell -any words.... He knew the Greek alphabet'; and on his fourth birthday, -in that year, he writes to his mother saying that he has got a Latin -grammar and English prints. In October 1800 he says: 'I know a deal -of Latin,' and in December he is reading Burns's poems, 'which I am -very fond of.' Influence or accident, the coincidence is singular, and -at least shows us something in Blake's brain working like the brain -of a precocious child. - -In 1806 Blake wrote a generous and vigorous letter to the -editor of the _Monthly Review_ (July 1, 1806) in reply to a -criticism which had appeared in _Bell's Weekly Messenger_ -on Fuseli's picture of Count Ugolino in the Royal Academy. In 1808 -he had himself, and for the fifth and last time, two pictures in the -Academy, and in that year he wrote the letter to Ozias Humphrey, -describing one of his many 'Last Judgments,' which is given, with -a few verbal errors, by J. T. Smith. In December he wrote to George -Cumberland, who had written to order for a friend 'a complete set of all -you have published in the way of books colored as mine are,' that -'new varieties, or rather new pleasures, occupy my thoughts; new -profits seem to arise before me so tempting that I have already -involved myself in engagements that preclude all possibility of -promising anything.' Does this refer to the success of Blair's -_Grave_, which had just been published? He goes on: 'I have, -however, the satisfaction to inform you that I have myself begun to -print an account of my various inventions in Art, for which I have -procured a publisher, and am determined to pursue the plan of -publishing, that I may get printed without disarranging my time, -which in future must alone be designing and painting.' To this -project, which was never carried out, he refers again in the -prospectus printed in anticipation of his exhibition, a copy of -which, given to Ozias Humphreys, exists with the date May 15, -1809. A second prospectus is given by Gilchrist as follows:-- - -'Blake's Chaucer, the Canterbury Pilgrims. This Fresco Picture, -representing Chaucer's Characters, painted by William Blake, as it -is now submitted to the public. - -'The designer proposes to engrave in a correct and finished -line manner of engraving, similar to those original copper-plates -of Albert Dürer, Lucas Van Leyden, Aldegrave, and the old original -engravers, who were great masters in painting and designing; whose -methods alone can delineate Character as it is in this Picture, where -all the lineaments are distinct. - -'It is hoped that the Painter will be allowed by the public -(notwithstanding artfully disseminated insinuations to the contrary) -to be better able than any other to keep his own characters and -expressions; having had sufficient evidence in the works of our own -Hogarth, that no other artist can reach the original spirit so well as -the Painter himself, especially as Mr. B. is an old, well-known, and -acknowledged graver. - -'The size of the engraving will be three feet one inch long by -one foot high. The artist engages to deliver it, finished, in one year -from September next. No work of art can take longer than a year: -it may be worked backwards and forwards without end, and last a -man's whole life; but he will, at length, only be forced to bring it -back to what it was, and it will be worse than it was at the end of -the first twelve months. The value of this artist's year is the criterion -of Society; and as it is valued, so does Society flourish or decay. - -'The price to Subscribers, Four Guineas; two to be paid at the -time of subscribing, the other two, on delivery of the print. - -'Subscriptions received at No. 28, corner of Broad Street, -Golden Square, where the Picture is now exhibiting, among other -works, by the same artist. - -'The price will be considerably raised to non-subscribers.' - -The exhibition thus announced was held at the house of James -Blake, and contained sixteen pictures, of which the first nine are -described as 'Frescoes' or 'experiment pictures,' and the remaining -seven as drawings,' that is, drawings in water-color. The Catalogue -(which was included in the entrance fee of half a crown) is Blake's -most coherent work in prose, and can be read in Gilchrist, ii. 139-163. -It is called 'A Descriptive Catalogue of Pictures, Poetical and Historical -Inventions, painted by William Blake, in Water-Colors, being the -ancient Method of Fresco Painting Restored; and Drawings, for Public -Inspection, and for Sale by Private Contract.' Crabb Robinson, from -whom we have the only detailed account of the exhibition, says -that the pictures filled 'several rooms of an ordinary dwelling-house' -(see p. "From Crabb Robinson's Reminiscences," below.) He mentions -Lamb's delight in the Catalogue,[5] and his declaring 'that Blake's -description was the finest criticism he had ever read of Chaucer's -poem.' In that letter to Bernard Barton (May 15, 1824), which is -full of vivid admiration for Blake ('I must look on him as one -of the most extraordinary persons of the age'), Lamb speaks -of the criticism as 'most spirited, but mystical and full of -vision,' and says: 'His pictures--one in particular, the "Canterbury -Pilgrims," (far above Stothard's)--have great merit, but hard, -dry, yet with grace.' Southey, we know from a sneer in _The -Doctor_ at 'that painter of great but insane genius, William Blake,' -also went to the exhibition, and found, he tells us, the picture -of 'The Ancient Britons,' 'one of the worst pictures, which is -saying much.' A note to Mr. Swinburne's _William Blake_ tells -us that in the competent opinion of Mr. Seymour Kirkup this -picture was 'the very noblest of all Blake's works.' It is now lost; -it was probably Blake's largest work, the figures, Blake asserts, -being 'full as large as life.' Of the other pictures the seventh, -eighth, ninth, tenth, and sixteenth are lost; the ninth exists -in a replica in 'fresco,' and the sixteenth in what is probably -a first sketch. - -Blake's reason for giving this exhibition was undoubtedly -indignation at what he took to be Stothard's treachery in the -matter of the 'Canterbury Pilgrims.' This picture (now in the -National Gallery, No. 1163) had been exhibited by Cromek throughout -the kingdom, and he had announced effusively, in a seven page -advertisement at the end of Blair's _Grave_, the issue of -'a print executed in the line manner of engraving, and in the -same excellent style as the portrait of Mr. William Blake, prefixed -to this work, by Louis Schiavonetti, Esq., V. A., the gentleman -who has etched the prints that at once illustrate and embellish -the present volume.' The _Descriptive Catalogue_ is full -of angry scorn of 'my rival,' as Blake calls Stothard, and of the -'dumb dollies' whom he has 'jumbled together' in his design, -and of Hoppner for praising them in the letter quoted in the -advertisement. 'If Mr. B.'s "Canterbury Pilgrims" had been done -by any other power than that of the poetic visionary, it would -have been as dull as his adversary's,' Blake assures us, and, no -doubt, justly. The general feeling of Blake's friends, I doubt -not, is summed up in an ill-spelled letter from young George -Cumberland to his father, written from the Pay Office, Whitehall, -October 14, 1809, which I copy in all its literal slovenliness from -the letter preserved in the Cumberland Papers: 'Blakes has published -a Catalogue of Pictures being the ancient method of Frescoe -Painting Restored you should tell Mr. Barry to get it, it may be -the means of serving your friend. It sells for 2/6 and may be -had of J. Blake, 28 Broad St., Golden Square, at his Brothers--the -Book is a great curiosity. He as given Stothard a complete set down.' - -The Catalogue is badly printed on poor paper in the form -of a small octavo hook of 66 pages. It is full of fierce, exuberant -wisdom, which plunges from time to time into a bright, demonstrative -folly; it is a confession, a criticism, and a kind of gospel of sanctity -and honesty and imagination in art. The whole thing is a thinking -aloud. One hears an impetuous voice as if saying: 'I have been -scorned long enough by these fellows, who owe to me all that -they possess; it shall be so no longer.' As he thinks, his pen -follows; he argues with foes actually visible to him; never does -he realize the indifferent public that may glance at what he has -written, and how best to interest or convince it if it does. He -throws down a challenge, and awaits an answer. - -What answer came is rememberable among the infamies of journalism. -Only one newspaper noticed the exhibition, and this was again -_The Examiner._ The notice appeared under the title 'Mr. -Blake's Exhibition' in No. 90, September 17, 1809, pp. 605-6, -where it fills two columns. It is unsigned, but there can be no -doubt that it was written by the R. H. of the former article. The -main part of it is taken up by extracts from the _Descriptive -Catalogue_, italicized and put into small capitals 'to amuse -the reader, and satisfy him of the truth of the foregoing remarks.' -This is all that need be quoted of the foregoing remarks: - -'But when the ebullitions of a distempered brain are mistaken -for the sallies of genius by those whose works have exhibited the -soundest thinking in art, the malady has indeed attained a pernicious -height, and it becomes a duty to endeavor to arrest its progress. -Such is the case with the productions and admirers of William -Blake, an unfortunate lunatic, whose personal inoffensiveness -secures him from confinement, and, consequently, of whom no -public notice would have been taken, if he was not forced on the -notice and animadversion of _The Examiner_, in having been -held up to public admiration by many esteemed amateurs and professors -as a genius in some respect original and legitimate. The praises which -these gentlemen bestowed last year on this unfortunate man's -illustrations to Blair's _Grave_ have, in feeding his vanity, -stimulated him to publish his madness more largely, and thus -again exposed him, if not to the derision, at least to the pity of -the public. - -...Thus encouraged, the poor man fancies himself a great master, -and has painted a few wretched pictures, some of which are unintelligible -allegory, others an attempt at sober character by caricature -representation, and the whole "blotted and blurred," and very badly -drawn. These he calls an Exhibition, of which he has published -a Catalogue, or rather a farrago of nonsense, unintelligibleness, -and egregious vanity, the wild effusions of a distempered brain. -One of the pictures represents Chaucer's Pilgrims, and is in every -respect a striking contrast to the admirable picture of the same -subject by Mr. Stothard, from which an exquisite print is forthcoming -from the hand of Schiavonetti.' - -The last great words of the Catalogue, 'If a man is master -of his profession, he cannot be ignorant that he is so; and, if -he is not employed by those who pretend to encourage art, he -will employ himself, and laugh in secret at the pretenses of the -ignorant, while he has every night dropped into his shoe, as -soon as he puts it off, and puts out the candle, and gets into -bed, a reward for the labours of the day such as the world cannot -give, and patience and time await to give him all that the world -can give': those noble, lovely, pathetic and prophetic words, are -quoted at the end of the article without comment, as if to quote -them was enough. It was. - -In 1803 William Blake sold to Thomas Butts eleven drawings -for fourteen guineas. In 1903 twelve water-color drawings in -illustration of L'_Allegro_ and _Il Penseroso_ were sold -for £1960, and the twenty-one water-color drawings for _Job_ -for £5600. These figures have their significance, but the significance -must not be taken to mean any improvement in individual taste. When -a selection from the pictures in the Butts collection was on view at -Sotheby's I heard a vulgar person with a loud voice, a dealer or -a dealer's assistant, say with a guffaw: 'It would make me sick to have -these things round my room.' That vulgar person represents the -eternal taste of the multitude; only, in the course of a hundred -years, a few men of genius have repeated after one another that -Blake was a man of genius, and their united voices have carried -further than the guffaws of vulgar persons, repeated generation -after generation. And so in due course, when Blake has been -properly dead long enough, there is a little public which, bidding -against itself, gambles cheerfully for the possession of the scraps -of paper on which he sent in his account, against the taste of his -age and the taste of all the ages. - -Blake himself had never any doubt of his own greatness as an -artist, and some of the proud or petulant things which he occasionally -wrote (the only outbreaks of impatience in a life wholly given up to -unceasing and apparently unrewarded labour) have been quoted -against him as petty or unworthy, partly because they are so incalculated -and so childlike. Blake 'bore witness,' as he might have said, that he -had done his duty: 'for that I cannot live without doing my duty, to -lay up treasures in heaven, is certain and determined,' he writes from -Felpham. And he asserted the truth of his own genius, its truth in the -spiritual sense, its divine origin, as directly and as emphatically as he -asserted everything which he had apprehended as truth. He is merely -stating what seems to him an obvious but overlooked fact when he -says: 'In Mr. B.'s Britons the blood is seen to circulate in their limbs: -he defies competition in coloring'; and again: 'I am, like other men, -just equal in invention and execution of my work,' All art, he had -realized, which is true art, is equal, as every diamond is a diamond. -There is only true and false art. Thus when he says in his prospectus -of 1793 that he has been 'enabled to bring before the Public works -(he is not afraid to say) of equal magnitude and consequence with -the productions of any age or country,' he means neither more nor -less than when he says in the _Descriptive Catalogue_ of 1809: -'He knows that what he does is not inferior to the grandest antiques. -Superior it cannot be, for human power cannot go beyond either -what he does or what they have done; it is the gift of God, it is -inspiration and vision. - -...The human mind cannot go beyond the gift of God, the Holy -Ghost.' It is in humility rather than in pride that he equals -himself with those who seemed to him the genuine artists, the -humility of a belief that all art is only a portion of that 'Poetic -Genius, which is the Lord,' offered up in homage by man, and -returning, in mere gratitude, to its origin. When he says, 'I do not -pretend to paint better than Rafael or Michael Angelo, or Julio -Romano, or Albert Dürer, but I do pretend to paint finer than Rubens, -or Rembrandt, or Titian, or Correggio,' he merely means, in that odd -coupling and contrasting of names, to assert his belief in the -supremacy of strong, clear, masculine execution over what seemed -to him (to his limited knowledge, not false instinct) the heresy -and deceit of 'soft and effeminate' execution, the 'broken lines, -broken masses, and broken colors' of the art which 'loses form.' -In standing up for his ideal of art, he stands up himself, like a -champion. 'I am hid,' he writes on the flyleaf of Reynolds's -_Discourses_, and, in the last sentence of that 'Public -Address' which was never printed, he declares: 'Resentment for -personal injuries has had some share in this public address, but -love to my art, and zeal for my country, a much greater.' And -in the last sentence of the _Descriptive Catalogue_, he sums -up the whole matter, so far as it concerned him, finally, and -with a 'sure and certain hope' which, now that it has been realized, -so long afterwards, comes to us like a reproach. - -'Shall Painting,' asks Blake in his _Descriptive Catalogue_, -'be confined to the sordid drudgery of facsimile representations of -merely mortal and perishing substances, and not be, as poetry and -music are, elevated into its own proper sphere of invention and -visionary conception? No, it shall not be so! Painting, as well as -poetry and music, exists and exults in immortal thoughts.' It -was to restore this conception of art to England that Blake devoted -his life. 'The Enquiry in England,' he said, in his marginalia to -Reynolds, 'is not whether a Man has Talents and Genius, but -whether he is Passive and Polite and a Virtuous Ass.' He says there: -'Ages are all Equal, but Genius is always above the Age.' He looks -on Bacon and Locke and Burke and Reynolds as men who 'mock Inspiration -and Vision.' 'Inspiration and Vision,' he says, 'was then, and now is, -and I hope will always Remain, my Element, my Eternal Dwelling-place.' -'The Ancients did not mean to Impose when they affirmed their belief -in Vision and Revelation. Plato was in Earnest. Milton was in Earnest. -They believed that God did visit Man Really and Truly.' Further, -'Knowledge of Ideal Beauty is not to be Acquired. It is born with us.... -Man is Born Like a Garden ready Planted and Sown. This World is -too poor to produce one Seed.' - -What Blake meant by vision, how significantly yet cautiously -he interchanged the words 'seen' and 'imagined,' has been already -noted in that passage of the _Descriptive Catalogue_, where -he answers his objectors: 'The connoisseurs and artists who have -made objections to Mr. B.'s mode of representing spirits with real -bodies would do well to consider that the Venus, the Minerva, the -Jupiter, the Apollo, which they admire in Greek statues are, all of them, -representations of spiritual existences, of Gods immortal, to the -ordinary perishing organ of sight; and yet they are embodied -and organized in solid marble. Mr. B. requires the same latitude, -and all is well.' Then comes the great definition, which I will not -repeat: 'He who does not imagine in stronger and better lineaments.' - -'The world of imagination,' he says elsewhere, 'is infinite and -eternal, whereas the world of generation or vegetation is finite -and temporal. There exist in that eternal world the eternal realities -of everything which we see reflected in this vegetable glass of nature.' -What is said here, transmuted by an instinct wholly an artist's into -a great defense of the reality of imagination in art, is a form of the -central doctrine of the mystics, formulated by Swedenborg in something -very like Blake's language, though with errors or hesitations which is -what Blake sets himself to point out in his marginalia to Swedenborg. -As, in those marginalia, we see Blake altering every allusion to -God into an allusion to 'the Poetic Genius,' so, always, we shall find -him understanding every promise of Christ, or Old Testament prophecy, -as equally translatable into terms of the imaginative life, into terms of -painting, poetry, or music. In the rendering of vision he required above -all things that fidelity which can only be obtained through 'minutely -particular' execution. 'Invention depends Altogether upon Execution -or Organisation; as that is right or wrong, so is the Invention perfect -or imperfect. Whoever is set to Undermine the Execution of Art is set -to destroy Art. Michael Angelo's Art depends on Michael Angelo's -Execution Altogether.... He who admires Rafael Must admire Rafael's -Execution. He who does not admire Rafael's Execution can not admire -Rafael.' Finally, 'the great and golden rule of art as well as of life,' -he says in the _Descriptive Catalogue_, 'is this: that the more -distinct, sharp, and wiry the bounding line, the more perfect the work -of art; and the less keen and sharp, the greater is the evidence of -weak imagination, plagiarism, and bungling.... What is it that -distinguishes honesty from knavery, but the hard and wiry line of -rectitude and certainty in the actions and intentions? Leave out -this line, and you leave out life itself. All is chance again, and the -line of the Almighty must be drawn out upon it again, before -man or beast can exist.' - -In Blake's work a great fundamental conception is rarely lacking, -and the conception is not, as it has often been asserted, a literary, -but always a pictorial, one. At times imagination and execution -are wholly untired, as in the splendid water-color of 'Death on -the Pale Horse,' in which not only every line and color is alive with -passionate idea, the implacable and eternal joy of destruction, -but also with a realized beauty, a fully grasped invention. No -detail has been slurred in vision, or in the setting down of the -vision: the crowned old man with the sword, the galloping horse, -the pestilential figure of putrid scales and flames below, and the -wide-armed angel with the scroll-above. In the vision of 'Fire' -there is grandeur and, along with it, something inadequately seen, -inadequately rendered. Flame and smoke embrace, coil, spire, -swell in bellying clouds, divide into lacerating tongues, tangle and -whirl ecstatically upward and onward, like a venomous joy in action, -painting the air with all the color of all the flowers of evil. But the -figures in the foreground are partly academic studies, partly -archaic dolls, in which only the intention is admirable. In 'Job -Confessing his Presumption to God' one sees all that is great -and all that is childish in Blake's genius. I have never seen so -sufficing a suggestion of disembodied divine forces as in this -whirling cloud of angels, cast out and swept round by the wind -of God's speed, like a cascade of veined and tapering wings, out -of which ecstatic and astonished heads leap forward. But in the -midst of the wheel a fierce old man, with outstretched arms -(who is an image of God certainly not corrected out of any authentic -vision), and, below, the extinguished figure of Job's friends, and -Job, himself one of Blake's gnome-like old men with a face of -rigid awe and pointing fingers of inarticulate terror, remain no -more than statements, literal statements, of the facts of the -imagination. They are summarized remembrances of vision, not -anything 'imagined in stronger and better lineaments, and in -stronger and better light, than the perishing mortal eye can see.' - -Or, might it not be said that it is precisely through this minute -accuracy to the detail of imagination that this visionary reality -comes to seem to us unreal? In Blake every detail is seen with -intensity, and with equal intensity. No one detail is subordinated -to another, every inch of his surface is equally important to him; and -from this unslackening emphasis come alike his arresting power and -the defect which leaves us, though arrested, often unconvinced. -In his most splendid things, as in 'Satan exulting over Job' and 'Cain -fleeing from the Grave of Abel,' which are painted on wood, as if -carved or graved, with a tumult of decorative color, detail literally -overpowers the sense of sight, like strong sunlight, and every outline -seizes and enters into you simultaneously. At times, as in 'The Bard -of Gray,' and 'The Spiritual Form of Pitt' in the National Gallery, he is -mysteriously lyrical in his paint, and creates a vague emotion out of a -kind of musical color, which is content to suggest. Still more rarely, -as in the ripe and admirable 'Canterbury Pilgrims,' which is a picture -in narrative, as like Chaucer as Chaucer himself, but unlike any other -picture, he gives us a vision of worldly reality; but it was of this -picture that he said: 'If Mr. B.'s "Canterbury Pilgrims" had been done -by any other power than that of the poetic visionary, it would have -been as dull as his adversary's.' Pure beauty and pure terror creep -and flicker in and out of all his pictures, with a child's innocence; -and he is unconscious of how far he is helped or hindered, as an -artist, by that burden of a divine message which is continually upon -him. He is unconscious that with one artist the imagination may -overpower the technique, as awe overpowers the senses, while to -another artist the imagination gives new life to the technique. -Blake did not understand Rembrandt, and imagined that he hated him; -but there are a few of his pictures in which Rembrandt is strangely -suggested. In 'The Adoration of the Three Kings' and in 'The Angel -appearing to Zacharias' there is a lovely depth of color, bright in -dimness, which has something of the warmth and mystery of Rembrandt, -and there are details in the design of 'The Three Kings' (the -door open on the pointing star in the sky and on the shadowy -multitude below) which are as fine in conception as anything in the -Munich 'Adoration of the Shepherds.' But in these, or in the almost -finer 'Christ in the Garden, sustained by an Angel' (fire flames about -the descending angel, and the garden is a forest of the night), -how fatal to our enjoyment is the thought of Rembrandt! To Rembrandt, -too, all things were visions, but they were visions that he saw with -unflinching eyes; he saw them with his hands; he saw them with -the faces and forms of men, and with the lines of earthly habitations. - -And, above all, Rembrandt, all the greatest painters, saw a picture -as a whole, composed every picture consciously, giving it unity -by his way of arranging what he saw. Blake was too humble towards -vision to allow himself to compose or arrange what he saw, and he saw -in detail, with an unparalleled fixity and clearness. Every picture of -Blake, quite apart from its meaning to the intelligence, is built up -in detail like a piece of decoration; and, widely remote as are -both intention and result, I am inclined to think he composed as -Japanese artists compose, bit by bit, as he saw his picture come -piece by piece before him. In every picture there is a mental idea, -and there is also a pictorial conception, working visually and -apart from the mental idea. In the greatest pictures (in the -tremendous invention, for instance, of the soldiers on Calvary -casting lots for the garments of Christ), the two are fused, with -overwhelming effect; but it happens frequently that the two -fail to unite, and we see the picture, and also the idea, but -not the idea embodied in the picture. - -Blake's passion for detail, and his refusal to subordinate -any detail for any purpose, is to be seen in all his figures, of -which the bodies seem to be copied from living statues, and in -which the faces are wrung into masks of moods which they are -too urgent to interpret. A world of conventional patterns, in which -all natural things are artificial and yet expressive, is peopled by -giants and dolls, muscular and foolish, in whom strength -becomes an insane gesture and beauty a formal prettiness. Not -a flower or beast has reality, as our eyes see it, yet every flower -and beast is informed by an almost human soul, not the mere -vitality of animal or vegetable, but a consciousness of its own -lovely or evil shape. His snakes are not only wonderful in their -coils and colors, but each has his individual soul, visible in -his eyes, and interpreting those coils and colors. And every leaf, -unnatural yet alive, and always a piece of decoration, peers with -some meaning of its own out of every corner, not content to -be forgotten, and so uneasily alive that it draws the eye to -follow it. 'As poetry,' he said, 'admits not a letter that is -insignificant, so painting admits not a grain of sand or a blade -of grass insignificant--much less an insignificant blur or -mark.' The stones with which Achan has been martyred live each -with a separate and evil life of its own, not less vivid and violent -than the clenched hands raised to hurl other stones; there is -menacing gesture in the cloud of dust that rises behind them. And -these human beings and these angels, and God (sometimes an old -bowed Jew, fitted into a square or lozenge of winged heads) are full -of the energy of a life which is betrayed by their bodies. Sometimes -they are mere child's toys, like a Lucifer of bright baubles, painted -chromatically, with pink hair and blushing wings, hung with bursting -stars that spill out animalculæ. Sometimes the whole man is a gesture -and convulses the sky; or he runs, and the earth vanishes under him. -But the gesture devours the man also; his force as a cipher -annihilates his very being. - -In greatness of conception Blake must be compared with the -greatest among artists, but the difference between Blake and -Michelangelo is the difference between the artist in whom imagination -overpowers technique, as awe overpowers the senses, and the artist -in whom imagination gives new life to technique. No one, as we have -seen, was more conscious of the identity which exists in the work of -the greatest artists between conception and execution. But in speaking -of invention and execution as equal, he is assuming, as he came to do, -the identity of art and inspiration, the sufficiency of first thoughts -in art. 'Be assured,' he writes to Mr. Butts from Felpham, 'that there is -not one touch in those drawings and pictures but what came from -my head and heart in unison.... If I were to do them over again, they -would lose as much as they gained, because they were done in the -heat of my spirit.' He was an inexhaustible fountain of first thoughts, -and to him first thoughts only were of importance. The one draughtsman -of the soul, he drew, no doubt, what he saw as he saw it; but he lacked -the patience which is a part of all supreme genius. Having seen his -vision, he is in haste to record what he has seen hastily; and he leaves -the first rough draft as it stands, not correcting it by a deliberate -seeing over again from the beginning, and a scrupulous translation -of the terms of eternity into the terms of time. I was once showing -Rodin some facsimiles of Blake's drawings, and telling him about -Blake, I said: 'He used to literally see these figures; they are not -mere inventions.' 'Yes,' said Rodin, 'he saw them once; he should -have seen them three or four times.' There, it seems to me, is the -fundamental truth about the art of Blake: it is a record of vision -which has not been thoroughly mastered even as vision. 'No man,' -said Blake, 'can improve an original invention; nor can an original -invention exist without execution organized, delineated, and articulated, -either by God or man.' And he said also: 'He who does not imagine -in stronger and better lineaments, and in stronger and better light, -than his perishing mortal eye can see, does not imagine at all.' But -Blake's imagination is in rebellion, not only against the limits of -reality, but against the only means by which he can make vision -visible to others. And thus he allows himself to be mastered by -that against which he rebels: that power of the hand by which -art begins where vision leaves off. - - - - -IX - - -Nothing is known of Blake's life between 1809, the date of -his exhibition, and 1818, when he met the chief friend and helper of -his later years, John Linnell. Everything leads us to believe that those -nine years were years of poverty and neglect. Between 1815 and 1817 -we find him doing engraver's task-work for Flaxman's _Hesiod_, -and for articles, probably written by Flaxman, on Armour and Sculpture -in Bees's _Encyclopoedia._ Gilchrist tells a story, on the authority -of Tatham, of Blake copying the cast of the Laocoon among the -students at the Royal Academy, and of Fuseli, then the keeper, -coming up with the just and pleasant remark that it was they who -should learn of him, not he of them. The _Milton_ and the -_Jerusalem_, both dated 1804, were printed at some time -during this period. Gilchrist suggests that the reason why Blake issued -no more engraved books from his press was probably his inability -to pay for the copper required in engraving; and his suggestion is -confirmed in a letter to Dawson Turner, a Norfolk antiquary, dated -June 9, 1818, a few days before the meeting with Linnell. Blake -writes: 'I send you a list of the different works you have done me the -honor to inquire after. They are unprofitable enough to me, though -expensive to the buyer. Those I printed for Mr. Humphry are a -selection from the different books of such as could be printed -without the writing, though to the loss of some of the best things; -for they, when printed perfect, accompany poetical personifications -and acts, without which poems they never could have been executed:-- - - - - _£_ _s._ _d._ -America, 18 prints folio, 5 5 0 -Europe, 17 do. do., 5 5 0 -Visions, 8 do. do., 3 3 0 -Thel, 6 do. quarto, 2 2 0 -Songs of Innocence, 28 prints -octavo, 3 3 0 -Songs of Experience, 26 do. -octavo, 3 3 0 -Urizen, 28 prints quarto, 5 5 0 -Milton, 50 do. do., 10 10 0 -12 large prints, size of each -about 2 ft. by 1 1/2 ft., -historical and poetical, -printed in colours, each 5 5 0 - - - -The last twelve prints are unaccompanied by any writing. The few I -have printed and sold are sufficient to have gained me great reputation -as an artist, which was the chief thing intended. But I have never been -able to produce a sufficient number for general sale by means of a -regular publisher. It is therefore necessary to me that any person -wishing to have any or all of them should send me their order to -print them on the above terms, and I will take care that they shall be -done at least as well as any I have yet produced.' - -If we compare this list with the printed list of twenty-five years -back (see above "William Blake, chapter III.") we shall see that the -prices are now half as many guineas as they were once shillings; -in a letter to Cumberland, nine years later, they have gone up by -one, two, or three guineas apiece, and Blake tells Cumberland -that 'having none remaining of all that I had printed, I cannot print -more except at a great loss. For at the time I printed these things -I had a little house to range in. Now I am shut up in a corner, -therefore I am forced to ask a price for them that I can scarce -expect to get from a stranger. I am now printing a set of the _Songs -of Innocence and Experience_ for a friend at ten guineas, which I -cannot do under six months consistent with my other work, so that -I have little hope of doing any more of such things. The last work is -a poem entitled _Jerusalem, the Emanation of the Giant Albion_, -but find that to print it will cost my time to the value of twenty -guineas. One I have finished. It contains 100 plates, but it is -not likely that I shall get a customer for it.'[6] - -Gilchrist tells us, by an error which was pointed out in the life -of Palmer by his son, in 1892, that Blake met Linn ell in 1813. -It was in 1818, and the first entry relating to Blake in Linnell's -journal is dated June 24. In a letter communicated to me by Mr. -Sampson, Mr. John Linnell, junior, states that his father took in -October or November 1817 the greater part of a house at 38 Rathbone -Place, where he lived till the end of 1818; he then took a house at -Cirencester Place, Fitzroy Square. Mr. Linnell gives the following -extract from his father's autobiographical notes: 'At Rathbone Place, -1818... here I first became acquainted with William Blake, to whom -I paid a visit in company with the younger Mr. Cumberland. Blake -lived then in South Molton Street, Oxford Street, second floor. We -soon became intimate, and I employed him to help me with an -engraving of my portrait of Mr. Upton, a Baptist preacher, which -he was glad to do, having scarcely enough employment to live by -at the prices he could obtain; everything in Art was at a low ebb -then.... I soon encountered Blake's peculiarities, and somewhat -taken aback by the boldness of some of his assertions, I never -saw anything the least like madness, for I never opposed him -spitefully, as many did, but being really anxious to fathom, if -possible, the amount of truth which might be in his most startling -assertions, generally met with a sufficiently rational explanation -in the most really friendly and conciliatory tone.' - -From 1818 Linnell became, in his own independent way, the -chief friend and disciple of Blake. Himself a man of narrow but -strong individuality, he realized and accepted Blake for what he -was, worked with him and for him, introduced him to rich and -appreciative buyers like Sir Thomas Lawrence, and gave him, out -of his own carefully controlled purse, a steady price for his work, -which was at least enough for Blake to live on. There are notes in his -journal of visits to picture-galleries together; to the Academy, the -British Gallery, the Water-Color Exhibition, the Spring Gardens -Exhibition; 'went with Mr. Blake to see Harlow's copy of the -Transfiguration' (August 20, 1819), 'went with Mr. Blake to British -Museum to see prints' (April 4 and 24, 1823). In 1820 there are -notes of two visits to Drury Lane Theatre. It was probably early in -1819 that Linnell introduced Blake to his friend John Varley, the -water-color painter and astrologer, for whom Blake did the famous -'visionary heads.' A vivid sketch of the two arguing, drawn by Linnell, -is given in Mr. Story's Life of Linnell. Varley, though an astrologer on -the mathematical side, was no visionary. He persuaded Blake to do a -series of drawings, naming historical or legendary people to him, and -carefully writing down name and date of the imaginary portraits which -Blake willingly drew, and believing, it has been said, in the reality of -Blake's visions more than Blake himself. Cunningham, in his farcical -way, tells the story as he may have got it from Varley (see "(VIII.) Life -of Blake by Allan Cunningham." below), for he claims in a letter -to Linnell to have 'received much valuable information from him.' -But the process has been described, more simply, by Varley himself -in his _Treatise of Zodiacal Physiognomy_ (1828), where the -'Ghost of a Flea' and the 'Constellation Cancer' are reproduced in -engraving. Some of the heads are finely symbolical, and I should -have thought the ghost of a flea, in the sketch, an invention -more wholly outside nature if I had not seen, in Rome and in -London, a man in whom it is impossible not to recognize the -type, modified to humanity, but scarcely by a longer distance than -the men from the animals in Giovanni della Porta's 'Fisonomia -dell' Huomo.' - -It was in 1820, the year in which Blake began his vast picture -of the 'Last Judgment,' only finished in the year of his death, that -he did the seventeen woodcuts to Thornton's _Virgil_, certainly -one of his greatest, his most wholly successful achievements. The book -was for boys' schools, and we find Blake returning without an effort to -the childlike mood of the _Songs of Innocence and Experience._ -The woodcuts have all the natural joy of those early designs, an equal -simplicity, but with what added depth, what richness, what passionate -strength! Blake was now engraving on wood for the first time, and he -had to invent his own way of working. Just what he did has never been -better defined than in an article which appeared in the _Athenaeum_ -of January 21, 1843, one of the very few intelligent references to -Blake which can be found in print between the time of his death and -the date of Gilchrist's _Life._ 'We hold it impossible,' says -the writer, 'to get a genuine work of art, unless it come pure and -unadulterated from the mind that conceived it.... Still more strongly -is the author's meaning marked in the few wood-engravings which -that wonderful man Blake cut himself for an edition of Thornton's -_Pastorals of Virgil._ In token of our faith in the principle -here announced, we have obtained the loan of one of Blake's -original blocks, from Mr. Linnell, who possesses the whole series, -to print, as an illustration of our argument, that, amid all drawbacks, -there exists a power in the work of the man of genius, which no one -but himself can utter fully. Side by side we have printed a copy of an -engraver's improved version of the same subject. When Blake had -produced his cuts, which were, however, printed with an apology, -a shout of derision was raised by the wood-engravers. "This will -never do!" said they; "we will show what it ought to be,"--that -is, what the public taste would like--and they produced -the above amendment! The engravers were quite right in their -estimate of public taste; and we dare say many will agree with -them even now: yet, to our minds, Blake's rude work, utterly -without pretension, too, as an engraving--the merest attempt -of a fresh apprentice--is a work of genius; whilst the latter -is but a piece of smooth, tame mechanism.' - -Blake lived at South Molton Street for seventeen years. In -1821, 'on his landlord's leaving off business, and retiring to France,' -says Linnell, he removed to Fountain Court, in the Strand, where -he took the first floor of 'a private house kept by Mr. Banes, whose -wife was a sister of Mrs. Blake.' Linnell tells us that he was at this -time 'in want of employment,' and, he says, 'before I knew his -distress he had sold all his collection of old prints to Messrs. -Colnaghi and Co.' Through Linnell's efforts, a donation of £25 -was about the same time sent to him from the Royal Academy. - -Fountain Court (the name is still perpetuated on a metal slab) -was called so until 1883, when the name was changed to Southampton -Buildings. It has all been pulled down and rebuilt, but I remember it -fifteen years ago, when there were lodging-houses in it, by the side -of the stage-door of Terry's Theatre. It was a narrow slit between the -Strand and the river, and, when I knew it, was dark and comfortless, -a blind alley. Gilchrist describes the two rooms on the first floor, -front and back, the front room used as a reception-room; a smaller -room opened out of it at the back, which was workroom, bedroom, -and kitchen in one. The side window looked down through an opening -between the houses, showing the river and the hills beyond; and Blake -worked at a table facing the window. There seems to be no doubt, from -the testimony of many friends, that Crabb Robinson's description, -which will be seen below, with fuller detail than has yet been -printed, conveys the prejudiced view of a fastidious person, and -Palmer, roused by the word 'squalor,' wrote to Gilchrist, asserting -'himself, his wife, and his rooms, were clean and orderly; everything -was in its place.' Tatham says that 'he fixed upon these lodgings -as being more congenial to his habits, as he was very much accustomed -to get out of his bed in the night to write for hours, and return to bed -for the rest of the night.' He rarely left the house, except to fetch -his pint of porter from the public-house at the corner of the Strand. -It was on one of these occasions that he is said to have been cut by a -Royal Academician whom he had recently met in society. Had not the -Royal Academy been founded (J. T. Smith tells us in his _Book for -a Rainy Day_, under date 1768) by 'members who had agreed to -withdraw themselves from various clubs, not only in order to be more -select as to talent, but perfectly correct as to gentlemanly conduct'? - -It was about this time that Blake was discovered, admired, -and helped by one who has been described as 'not merely a poet -and a painter, an art-critic, an antiquarian, and a writer of prose, -an amateur of beautiful things, and a dilettante of things delightful, -but also a forger of no mean or ordinary capabilities, and as a subtle -and secret poisoner almost without rival in this or any age.' This was -Lamb's 'kind, lighthearted Wainewright,' who in the intervals of his -strange crimes found time to buy a fine copy of the _Songs of -Innocence_ and to give a jaunty word of encouragement or -advertisement to _Jerusalem._ Palmer remembers Blake stopping -before one of Wainewright's pictures in the Academy and saying, 'Very -fine.' - -In 1820 Blake had carried out his last commission from Butts -in a series of twenty-one drawings in illustration of the Book of -Job. In the following year Linnell commissioned from him a duplicate -set, and in September 1821 traced them himself from Butts's -copies; they were finished, and in parts altered, by Blake. By an -agreement dated March 25, 1823, Blake undertook to engrave the -designs, which were to be published by Linnell, who gave £100 for -the designs and copyright, with the promise of another £100 out of -the profits on the sale. There were no profits, but Linnell gave -another £50, paying the whole sum of £150 in weekly sums of -£2 or £3. The plates are dated March 8, 1825, but they were not -published until the date given on the cover, March 1826. Gilchrist -intimates that 'much must be lost by the way' in the engraving of the -water-color drawings; but Mr. Russell, a better authority, says that -'marvelous as the original water-color drawings unquestionably -were, they are in every case inferior to the final version in the -engraving.' It is on these engravings that the fame of Blake as an -artist rests most solidly; invention and execution are here, as he -declared that they must always be in great art, equal; imagination -at its highest here finds adequate expression, without even the -lovely strangeness of a defect. They have been finally praised and -defined by Rossetti, in the pages contributed to Gilchrist's life -(i. 330-335), of which Mr. Swinburne has said, with little exaggeration, -that 'Blake himself, had he undertaken to write notes on his designs, -must have done them less justice than this.' - -Before Blake had finished engraving the designs to 'Job' he -had already begun a new series of illustrations to Dante, also a -commission from Linnell; and, with that passionate conscientiousness -which was part of the foundation of his genius, he set to work to -learn enough Italian to be able to follow the original with the help -of Cary's translation. Linnell not only let Blake do the work he -wanted to do, paying him for it as he did it, but he took him to see -people whom it might be useful for him to know, such as the Aders, -who had a house full of books and pictures, and who entertained -artists and men of letters. Mrs. Aders had a small amateur talent of her -own for painting, and from a letter of Carlyle's, which is preserved -among the Crabb Robinson papers, seems to have had literary knowledge -as well. 'Has not Mrs. Aders (the lady who lent me _Wilhelm Meister_) -great skill in, such things?' he asks in a letter full of minute inquiries -into German novels. Lamb and Coleridge went to the house, and it -was there that Crabb Robinson met Blake in December 1825. Mr. Story, -in his Life of Linnell, tells us that one of Linnell's 'most vivid -recollections of those days was of hearing Crabb Robinson recite -Blake's poem, "The Tiger," before a distinguished company gathered -at Mrs. Aders's table. It was a most impressive performance.' We -find Blake afterwards at a supper-party at Crabb Robinson's, with -Linnell, who notes in his journal going with Blake to Lady Ford's, to -see her pictures; in 1820 we find him at Lady Caroline Lamb's. - -Along with this general society Blake now gathered about him -a certain number of friends and disciples, Linnell being the -steadiest friend, and Samuel Palmer, Edward Calvert, and George -Richmond the chief disciples. To these must be added, in 1826, -Frederick Tatham, a young sculptor, who was to be the betrayer -among the disciples. They called Blake's house 'the House of the -Interpreter,' and in speaking of it afterwards speak of it always as -of holy ground. Thus we hear of Richmond, finding his invention -flag, going to seek counsel, and how Blake, who was sitting at tea -with his wife, turned to her and said: 'What do we do, Kate, when -the visions forsake us?' 'We kneel down and pray, Mr. Blake.' It is -Richmond who records a profoundly significant saying of Blake: -'I can look at a knot in a piece of wood till I am frightened at it.' -Palmer tells us that Blake and his wife would look into the fire -together and draw the figures they saw there, hers quite unlike -his, his often terrible. On Palmer's first meeting that Blake, on -October 9, 1824, he tells us how Blake fixed his eyes upon him -and said: 'Do you work with fear and trembling?' 'Yes, indeed,' -was the reply. 'Then,' said Blake, 'you'll do.' - -The friends often met at Hampstead, where Linnell had, in -1824, taken Collins's Farm, at North End, now again known by -its old name of 'Wyldes.' Blake disliked the air of Hampstead, -which he said always made him ill; but he often went there to -see Linnell, and loved the aspect from his cottage, and to sit -and hear Mrs. Linnell sing Scotch songs, and would sometimes -himself sing his own songs to tunes of his own making. The children -loved him, and would watch for him as he came, generally on -foot, and one of them says that she remembers 'the cold winter -nights when Blake was wrapped up in an old shawl by Mrs. Linnell, -and sent on his homeward way, with the servant, lantern in hand, -lighting him across the heath to the main road.' It is Palmers son -who reports it, and he adds: 'It is a matter of regret that the record -of these meetings and walks and conversations is so imperfect, -for in the words of one of Blake's disciples, to walk with him was -like "walking with the Prophet Isaiah."' Once when the Palmers -were staying at Shoreham, the whole party went down into the -country in a carrier's van drawn by eight horses: Calvert tells -the story, with picturesque details of Blake's second-sight, and -of the hunt with lanterns in Shoreham Castle after a ghost, who -turned out to be a snail tapping on the broken glass of the window. - -From the end of 1825 Blake's health began to fail, and most -of his letters to Linnell contain apologies for not coming to -Hampstead, as he is in bed, or is suffering from a cold in the -stomach. It was the beginning of that sickness which killed him, -described as the mixing of the gall with the blood. He worked -persistently, whether he was well or ill, at the Dante drawings, -which he made in a folio book given him by Linnell. There were -a hundred pages in the book, and he did a drawing on every page, -some completely finished, some a mere outline; of these he had -only engraved seven at the time of his death. He sat propped up in -bed, at work on his drawings, saying, 'Dante goes on the better, -which is all I care about.' In a letter to George Cumberland, on April -12, 1827, he writes: 'I have been very near the gates of death, -and have returned very weak and an old man, feeble and tottering, -but not in the spirit and life, not in the real man, the imagination, -which liveth for ever.' And indeed there is no sign of age or weakness -in these last great inventions of a dying man. 'Flaxman is gone,' -he adds, 'and we must soon follow, every one to his own eternal -house, leaving the delusive Goddess Nature to her laws, to get -into freedom from all law of the numbers, into the mind, in -which every one is king and priest in his own house. God send -it so on earth, as it is in heaven.' - -Blake died on August 12, 1827, and the ecstasy of his death -has been recorded by many witnesses. Tatham tells us how, as -he put the finishing touches to a design of 'The Ancient of Days' -which he had been coloring for him, he 'threw it down suddenly -and said: "Kate, you have been a good wife; I will draw your portrait." -She sat near his bed, and he made a drawing which, though not a -likeness, is finely touched and expressed. He then threw that down, -after having drawn for an hour, and began to sing Hallelujahs and -songs of joy and triumph which Mrs. Blake described as being truly -sublime in music and in verse.' Smith tells us that he said to his wife, -as she stood to hear him, 'My beloved, they are not mine, no, they -are not mine.' And a friend quoted by Gilchrist says: 'He died on -Sunday night, at six o'clock, in a most glorious manner. He said he was -going to that country he had all his life wished to see, and expressed -himself happy, hoping for salvation through Jesus Christ. Just before -he died his countenance became fair, his eyes brightened, and he -burst out into singing of the things he saw in heaven.' 'Perhaps,' he -had written not long before, 'and I verily believe it, every death is an -improvement of the state of the departed.' - -Blake was buried in Bunhill Fields, where all his family had been -buried before him, but with the rites of the Church of England, -and on August 17 his body was followed to the grave by Calvert, -Richmond, Tatham, and Tatham's brother, a clergyman. The burial -register reads: 'Aug. 17, 1827. William Blake. Age, 69 years. Brought -from Fountain Court, Strand. Grave, 9 feet; E. & W. 77: N. & S. 32. -19/' The grave, being a 'common grave,' was used again, and the -bones scattered; and this was the world's last indignity against -William Blake. - -Tatham tells us that, during a marriage of forty-five years, -Mrs. Blake had never been separated from her husband 'save for -a period that would make altogether about five weeks.' He does -not remind us, as Mr. Swinburne, on the authority of Seymour -Kirkup, reminds us, of Mrs. Blake's one complaint, that her husband -was incessantly away 'in Paradise.' Tatham adds: 'After the death -of her husband she resided for some time with the author of this, -whose domestic arrangements were entirely undertaken by her, -until such changes took place that rendered it impossible for -her strength to continue in this voluntary office of sincere -affection and regard.' Before going to Tatham's she had spent -nine months at Linnell's house in Cirencester Place, only leaving -it in the summer of 1828, when Linnell let the house. After -leaving Tatham she took lodgings in 17 Upper Charlotte Street, -Fitzroy Square, where she died at half-past seven on the morning -of October 18, 1831, four years after the death of her husband, -and within three months of his age. Tatham says: 'Her death not -being known but by calculation, sixty-five years were placed upon -her coffin,' and in the burial register at Bunhill Fields we read: -'Oct. 23, 1831. Catherine Sophia Blake. Age, 65 yrs. Brought -from Upper Charlotte Street, Fitzroy Square. Grave, 12 feet; -E. & W. 7: N. & S. 31, 32. £1, 5s.' She was born April 24, 1762, -and was thus aged sixty-nine years and six months. - -Mr. Swinburne tells us, on the authority of Seymour Kirkup, -that, after Blake's death, a gift of £100 was sent to his widow -by the Princess Sophia, which she gratefully returned, as not -being in actual need of it. Many friends bought copies of Blake's -engraved books, some of which Mrs. Blake colored, with the help -of Tatham. After her death all the plates and manuscripts passed -into Tatham's hands. In his memoir Tatham says that Blake on -his death-bed 'spoke of the writer of this as a likely person to -become the manager' of Mrs. Blake's affairs, and he says that -Mrs. Blake bequeathed to him 'all of his works that remained -unsold at his death, being writings, paintings, and a very great -number of copperplates, of whom impressions may be obtained.' -Linnell says that Tatham never showed anything in proof of his -assertion that they had been left to him. Tatham had passed -through various religious phases, and from being a Baptist, had -become an 'angel' of the Irvingite Church. He is supposed to -have destroyed the whole of the manuscripts and drawings in -his possession on account of religious scruples; and in the life of -Calvert by his son we read: 'Edward Calvert, fearing some fatal -_dénouement_, went to Tatham and implored him to reconsider -the matter and spare the good man's precious work; notwithstanding -which, blocks, plates, drawings, and MSS., I understand, were -destroyed.' - -Such is the received story, but is it strictly true? Did Tatham -really destroy these manuscripts for religious reasons, or did he -keep them and surreptitiously sell them for reasons of quite another -kind? In the _Rossetti Papers_ there is a letter from Tatham -to Mr. W. M. Rossetti, dated Nov. 6, 1862, in which he says: 'I have -sold Mr. Blake's works for thirty years'; and a footnote to Dr. Garnett's -monograph on Blake in the _The Portfolio_ of 1895 relates -a visit from Tatham which took place about 1860. Dr. Garnett told -me that Tatham had said, without giving any explanation, that he -had destroyed some of Blake's manuscripts and kept others by him, -which he had sold from time to time. Is there not therefore a -possibility that some of these lost manuscripts may still exist? -whether or not they may turn out to be, as Crabb Robinson tells -us that Blake told him, 'six or seven epic poems as long as Homer, -and twenty tragedies as long as _Macbeth._' - - - - -X - - -There are people who still ask seriously if Blake was mad. If -the mind of Lord Macaulay is the one and only type of sanity, -then Blake was mad. If imagination, and ecstasy, and disregard of -worldly things, and absorption in the inner world of the mind, and -a literal belief in those things which the whole 'Christian community' -professes from the tip of its tongue; if these are signs and suspicions -of madness, then Blake was certainly mad. His place is where he saw -Teresa, among 'the gentle souls who guide the great wine-press -of Love'; and, like her, he was 'drunk with intellectual vision.' That -drunkenness illuminated him during his whole life, yet without -incapacitating him from any needful attention to things by the way. -He lived in poverty because he did not need riches; but he died -without leaving a debt. He was a steady, not a fitful worker, and his -wife said of him that she never saw his hands still unless he was -reading or asleep. He was gentle and sudden; his whole nature -was in a steady heat which could blaze at any moment into a flame. -'A saint amongst the infidels and a heretic with the orthodox,' -he has been described by one who knew him best in his later years, -John Linnell; and Palmer has said of him: 'His love of art was so -great that he would see nothing but art in anything he loved; and -so, as he loved the Apostles and their divine Head (for so I believe -he did), he must needs say that they were all artists.' 'When opposed by -the superstitious, the crafty, or the proud,' says Linnell again, 'he -outraged all common-sense and rationality by the opinions he -advanced'; and Palmer gives an instance of it: 'Being irritated by the -exclusively scientific talk at a friend's house, which talk had turned -on the vastness of space, he cried out, "It is false. I walked the other -evening to the end of the heath, and touched the sky with my finger."' - -It was of the essence of Blake's sanity that he could always -touch the sky with his finger. 'To justify the soul's frequent joy -in what cannot be defined to the intellectual part, or to calculation': -that, which is Walt Whitman's definition of his own aim, defines -Blake's. Where others doubted he knew; and he saw where others -looked vaguely into the darkness. He saw so much further than -others into what we call reality, that others doubted his report, -not being able to check it for themselves; and when he saw truth -naked he did not turn aside his eyes. Nor had he the common -notion of what truth is, or why it is to be regarded. He said: 'When -I tell a truth it is not for the sake of convincing those who do not -know it, but for the sake of defending those who do.' And his -criterion of truth was the inward certainty of instinct or intuition, -not the outward certainty of fact. 'God forbid,' he said, 'that Truth -should be confined to mathematical demonstration. He who does -not know Truth at sight is unworthy of her notice.' And he said: -'Error is created, truth is eternal. Error or creation will be burned -up, and then, not till then, truth or eternity will appear. It is burned -up the moment men cease to behold it.' - -It was this private certainty in regard to truth and all things -that Blake shared with the greatest minds of the world, and men -doubted him partly because he was content to possess that certainty -and had no desire to use it for any practical purpose, least of all to -convince others. He asked to be believed when he spoke, told the truth, -and was not concerned with argument or experiment, which seemed -to him ways of evasion. He said: - - -'It is easy to acknowledge a man to be great and good, -while we -Derogate from him in the trifles and small articles of -that goodness, -Those alone are his friends who admire his minutest -powers.' - - -He spoke naturally in terms of wisdom, and made no explanations, -bridged none of the gulfs which it seemed to him so easy to fly -over. Thus when he said that Ossian and Rowley were authentic, -and that what Macpherson and Chatterton said was ancient was -so, he did not mean it in a strictly literal sense, but in the sense -in which ancient meant authentic: true to ancient truth. Is a thing -true as poetry? then it is true in the minutest because the most -essential sense. On the other hand, in saying that part of -Wordsworth's Preface was written by another hand, he was merely -expressing in a bold figure a sane critical opinion. Is a thing false -among many true things? then it is not the true man who is writing -it, but some false section of his brain. It may be dangerous -practically to judge all things at an inner tribunal; but it is only by -such judgments that truth moves. - -And truth has moved, or we have. After _Zarathustra, Jerusalem_ -no longer seems a wild heresy. People were frightened because -they were told that Blake was mad, or a blasphemer. Nietzsche, -who has cleared away so many obstructions from thought, has -shamed us from hiding behind these treacherous and unavailing -defenses. We have come to realize, what Rossetti pointed out long -ago, that, as a poet, Blake's characteristic is above all things that -of 'pure perfection in _writing verse._' We no longer praise -his painting for its qualities as literature, or forget that his design -has greatness as design. And of that unique creation of an art out -of the mingling of many arts which we see in the 'illuminated printing' -of the engraved books, we have come to realize what Palmer meant -when he said long ago: 'As a picture has been said to be something -between a thing and a thought, so, in some of these type books over -which Blake had long brooded with his brooding of fire, the very -paper seems to come to life as you gaze upon it--not with -a mortal life, but an indestructible life.' And we have come to realize -what Blake meant by the humble and arrogant things which he said -about himself. 'I doubt not yet,' he writes in one of those gaieties -of speech which illuminate his letters, 'to make a figure in the great -dance of life that shall amuse the spectators in the sky.' If there are -indeed spectators there, amused by our motions, what dancer among -us are they more likely to have approved than this joyous, untired, -and undistracted dancer to the eternal rhythm? - - - - -[Footnote 1: Compare the lines written in 1800: - -'I bless thee, O Father of Heaven and Earth, that ever I saw -Flaxman's face. -Angels stand round my spirit in Heaven, the blessed of -Heaven are my friends upon Earth. -When Flaxman was taken to Italy, Fuseli was given to me -for a season ... -And my Angels have told me that seeing such visions, I -could not subsist on the Earth, -But by my conjunction with Flaxman, who knows to forgive -nervous fear.'] - -[Footnote 2: Gilchrist (I. 98) gives a long account of the house which -he took to be Blake's, and which he supposed to be on the west -side of Hercules Road. But it has been ascertained beyond a doubt, -on the authority of the Lambeth rate-books, confirmed by Norwood's -map of London at the end of the eighteenth century, that Blake's -house, then numbered 13 Hercules Buildings, was on the east side -of the road, and is the house now numbered 23 Hercules Road. -Before 1842 the whole road was renumbered, starting at the south -end of the western side and returning by the eastern side, so that -the house which Gilchrist saw in 1863 as 13 Hercules Buildings -was what afterwards became 70 Hercules Road, and is now pulled -down. The road was finally renumbered in 1890, and the house -became 23 Hercules Road.] - -[Footnote 3: The text of _Vala,_ with corrections and additional errors, -is now accessible in the second volume of Mr. Ellis' edition of Blake's -_Poetical Works._] - -[Footnote 4: They are now to be read in Mr. Russell's edition of _The -Letters of William Blake._] - -[Footnote 5: We know from Mr. Lucas's catalogue of Lamb's -library that Lamb bound it up in a thick 12mo volume with his own -_Confessions of a Drunkard_, Southey's _Wat Tyler_, and Lady -Winchilsea's and Lord Rochester's poems.] - -[Footnote 6: I take the text of this letter, not from Mr. Russell's -edition, but from the fuller text printed by Mr. Ellis in _The Real -Blake._] - - - - -PART II: RECORDS FROM CONTEMPORARY SOURCES - - - - -(I.) EXTRACTS FROM THE DIARY, LETTERS, AND REMINISCENCES OF HENRY CRABB -ROBINSON, TRANSCRIBED FROM THE ORIGINAL MSS. IN DR. WILLIAMS'S LIBRARY, -1810-1852 - - -'Of all the records of these his latter years,' says Mr. Swinburne in -his book on Blake, 'the most valuable, perhaps, are those furnished by -Mr. Crabb Robinson, whose cautious and vivid transcription of Blake's -actual speech is worth more than much vague remark, or than any -commentary now possible to give.' Through the kind permission of the -Librarian of Dr. Williams's Library, where the Crabb Robinson MSS. are -preserved, I am able to give, for the first time, an accurate and complete -text of every reference to Blake in the _Diary, Letters_, and -_Reminiscences_, which have hitherto been printed only in -part, and with changes as well as omissions. In an entry in his Diary -for May 13, 1848, Crabb Robinson says: 'It is strange that I, who have -no imagination, nor any power beyond that of a logical understanding, -should yet have great respect for the mystics.' This respect for the -mystics, to which we owe the notes on Blake, was part of an inexhaustible -curiosity in human things, and in things of the mind, which made of -Crabb Robinson the most searching and significant reporter of the -nineteenth century. Others may have understood Blake better than -he did, but no one else was so attentive to his speech, and thus so -faithful an interpreter of his meaning. - -In copying from the MS. I have followed the spelling, not however -preserving abbreviations such as 'Bl:' for 'Blake,' due merely to haste, -and I have modified the punctuation and added commas of quotation -only when the writer's carelessness in these matters was likely to be -confusing. Otherwise the transcript is literal and verbatim, and I have -added in footnotes any readings of possible interest which have been -crossed out in the manuscript. - - - - -(1) FROM CRABB ROBINSON'S DIARY - - -1825 - - -_December_ - - -10 ... Dined with Aders. A very remarkable and interesting evening. -The party _Blake_ the painter and Linnell--also a painter -and engraver--to dinner. In the evening came Miss Denman -and Miss Flaxman. - - - - -10_th December_ 1825 - - -BLAKE - - -I will put down as they occur to me without method all I can -recollect of the conversation of this remarkable man. Shall I call -him Artist or Genius--or Mystic--or Madman? Probably he -is all. He has a most interesting appearance. He is now old--pale -with a Socratic countenance, and an expression of great sweetness, but -bordering on weakness--except when his features are animated -by[1] expression, and then he has an air of inspiration about -him. The conversation was on art, and on poetry, and on religion; -but it was my object, and I was successful, in drawing him out, -and in so getting from him an avowal of his _peculiar_ sentiments. -I was aware before of the nature of his impressions, or I should -at times have been at a loss to understand him. He was shewn -soon after he entered the room some compositions of Mrs. Aders -which he cordially praised. And he brought with him an engraving -of his Canterbury Pilgrims for Aders. One of the figures resembled -one in one of Aders's pictures. 'They say I stole it from this -picture, but I did it 20 years before I knew of the picture--however, -in my youth I was always studying this kind of paintings. No -wonder there is a resemblance.' In this he seemed to explain -_humanly_ what he had done, but he at another time spoke of -his paintings as being what he had seen in his visions. And -when he said _my visions_ it was in the ordinary unemphatic -tone in which we speak of trivial matters that every one understands -and cares nothing about. In the same tone he said repeatedly, -the 'Spirit told me.' I took occasion to say--You use the same -word as Socrates used. What resemblance do you suppose is there -between your spirit and the spirit of Socrates? 'The same as -between our countenance.' He paused and added--'I was Socrates.' -And then, as if correcting himself, 'A sort of brother. I must -have had conversations with him. So I had with Jesus Christ. -I have an obscure recollection of having been with both of them.' - -It was before this, that I had suggested on very obvious philosophical -grounds the _impossibility_ of supposing an immortal being -created--an eternity _a parte post_ without an eternity -_a parte ante._ This is an obvious truth I have been many (perhaps -30) years fully aware of. His eye brightened on my saying this, -and he eagerly concurred--'To be sure it is impossible. We are -all co-existent with God--members of the Divine body. We are -all partakers of the Divine nature.' In this, by the bye, Blake has but -adopted an ancient Greek idea--query of Plato? As connected -with this idea I will mention here (though it formed part of our talk, -walking homeward) that on my asking in what light he viewed -the great question concerning the Divinity of Jesus Christ, he -said_--'He is the only God_.' But then he added--'And so am I -and so are you.' Now he had just before (and this occasioned -my question) been speaking of the errors of Jesus Christ--He -was wrong in suffering Himself to be crucified. He should not have -attacked the Government. He had no business with such matters. -On my inquiring how he reconciled this with the sanctity and divine -qualities of Jesus, he said He was not then become the Father. -Connecting as well as one can these fragmentary sentiments, it -would be hard to give Blake's station between Christianity, Platonism, -and Spinosism. Yet he professes to be very hostile to Plato, and -reproaches Wordsworth with being not a Christian but a Platonist. - -It is one of the subtle remarks of Hume on certain religious -speculations that the tendency of them is to make men indifferent -to whatever takes place by destroying all ideas of good and evil. I -took occasion to apply this remark to something Blake said. If so, -I said, there is no use in discipline or education, no difference -between good and evil. He hastily broke in on me--'There is -no use in education. I hold it wrong. It is the great sin.[2] -It is eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That was -the fault of Plato--he knew of nothing but of the virtues and vices -and good and evil There is nothing in all that. Every thing is good -in God's eyes.' On my putting the obvious question--Is there -nothing absolutely evil in what men do? 'I am no judge of that. -Perhaps not in God's Eyes.' Though on this and other occasions he -spoke as if he denied altogether the existence of evil, and as if we -had nothing to do with right and wrong. It being sufficient to consider -all things as alike the work of God. [I interposed with the German -word objectively, which he approved of.] Yet at other times he spoke -of error as being in heaven. I asked about the _moral_ character -of Dante in writing his Vision: was he pure? '_Pure_' said Blake. -'Do you think there is any purity in God's eyes? The angels in heaven -are no more so than we--"he chargeth his angels with folly."' -He afterwards extended this to the Supreme Being--he is -liable to error too. Did he not repent him that he had made Nineveh? - -It is easier to repeat the personal remarks of Blake than these -metaphysical speculations so nearly allied to the most opposite -systems. He spoke with seeming complacency of himself--said -he acted by command. The spirit said to him, 'Blake, be an artist -and nothing else.' In this there is felicity. His eye glistened while -he spoke of the joy of devoting himself solely to divine art. 'Art is -inspiration. When Michael Angelo or Raphael or Mr. Flaxman does -any of his fine things, he does them in the spirit.' Blake said, 'I -should be sorry if I had any earthly fame, for whatever natural -glory a man has is so much detracted from his spiritual glory. I -wish to do nothing for profit. I wish to live for art. I want nothing -whatever. I am quite happy.' - -Among the[3] unintelligible sentiments which he -was continually expressing is his distinction between the natural -and the spiritual world. The natural world must be consumed. Incidentally -_Swedenborg_ was spoken of. He was a divine teacher--he -has done much good, and will do much good--he has corrected -many errors of Popery, and also of Luther and Calvin. Yet he -also said that _Swedenborg_ was wrong in endeavoring to explain -to the _rational_ faculty what the reason cannot comprehend: he -should have left that. As Blake mentioned _Swedenborg_ and -_Dante_ together I wished to know whether he considered their -visions of the same kind. As far as I could collect, he does. _Dante_ -he said was the greater _poet._ He had _political_ objects. -Yet this, though wrong, does not appear in Blake's mind to affect the -truth of the vision. Strangely inconsistent with this was the language -of Blake about Wordsworth. Wordsworth he thinks is no Christian but a -Platonist. He asked me, 'Does he believe in the Scriptures?' On my -answering in the affirmative he said he had been much pained by -reading the introduction to the Excursion. It brought on a fit of illness. -The passage was produced and read: - - -'Jehovah--with his thunder, and the choir -Of shouting Angels, and the empyreal thrones, -I _pass_ them unalarmed.' - - -This _pass them unalarmed_ greatly offended Blake. 'Does -Mr. Wordsworth think his mind can _surpass_ Jehovah?' I tried -to twist this passage into a sense corresponding with Blake's own -theories, but filled [_sic_= failed], and Wordsworth was finally -set down as a pagan. But still with great praise as the greatest poet -of the age. - -Jacob Boehmen was spoken of as a divinely inspired man. Blake -praised, too, the figures in Law's translation as being very beautiful. -Michael Angelo could not have done better. Though he spoke of his -happiness, he spoke of past sufferings, and of sufferings as necessary. -'There is suffering in heaven, for where there is the capacity of -enjoyment, there is the capacity of pain.' - -I have been interrupted by a call from Talfourd in writing this -account--and I can not now recollect any distinct remarks--but -as Blake has invited me to go and see him I shall possibly have an -opportunity again of noting what he says, and I may be able hereafter -to throw connection, if not system, into what I have written above. - -I feel great admiration and respect for him--he is certainly -a most amiable man--a good creature--and of his poetical -and pictorial genius there is no doubt, I believe, in the minds of judges. -Wordsworth and Lamb like his poems, and the Aders his paintings. - - -A few other detached thoughts occur to me. _Bacon_, _Locke_, -and _Newton_ are the three great teachers of Atheism or of Satan's -doctrine. Every thing is _Atheism_ which assumes the reality of the -natural and unspiritual world. _Irving._ He is a highly gifted -man--he is a sent man--but they who are sent sometimes[4] -go further than they ought. - -_Dante_ saw Devils where I see none. I see only good. I saw -nothing but good in _Calvin's_ house--better than in Luther's; -he had harlots. - -_Swedenborg._ Parts of his scheme are dangerous. His sexual -religion is dangerous. - -I do not believe that the world is round. I believe it is quite flat. -I objected the circumnavigation. We were called to dinner at the -moment, and I lost the reply. - -The _Sun._ 'I have conversed with the Spiritual Sun--I saw -him on Primrose-hill. He said, "Do you take me for the Greek Apollo?" -"No," I said, "that," [and Blake pointed to the sky] "that is the Greek -Apollo. He is Satan."' - -'I know what is true by internal conviction. A doctrine is told -me--my heart says it must be true.' I corroborated this by -remarking on the impossibility of the unlearned man judging of -what are called the _external_ evidences of religion, in -which he heartily concurred. - -I regret that I have been unable to do more than set down these -seeming idle and rambling sentences. The tone and manner are -incommunicable. There is a natural sweetness and gentility about -Blake which are delightful. And when he is not referring to his -Visions he talks sensibly and acutely. - -His friend Linnel seems a great admirer. - -Perhaps the best thing he said was his comparison of moral -with natural evil. 'Who shall say what God thinks evil? That is a wise -tale of the Mahometans--of the Angel of the Lord that murdered -the infant' [alluding to the Hermit of Parnel, I suppose]. 'Is not every -infant that dies of disease in effect murdered by an angel?' - - -17_th December._ For the sake of connection I will here -insert a minute of a short call I this morning made on Blake. He -dwells in Fountain Court in the Strand. I found him in a small -room, which seems to be both a working-room and a bedroom. Nothing -could exceed the squalid air both of the apartment and his dress, -but in spite of dirt--I might say filth--an air of natural -gentility is diffused over him. And his wife, notwithstanding the same -offensive character of her dress and appearance, has a good expression -of countenance, so that I shall have a pleasure in calling on and -conversing with these worthy people. - -But I fear I shall not make any progress in ascertaining his opinions -and feelings--that there being really no system or connection in -his mind, all his future conversation will be but varieties of wildness -and incongruity. - -I found [_sic_] at work on Dante. The book (Cary) and his -sketches both before him. He shewed me his designs, of which I -have nothing to say but that they evince a power of grouping and -of throwing grace and interest over conceptions most monstrous and -disgusting, which I should not have anticipated. - -Our conversation began about Dante. 'He was an "Atheist," a -mere politician busied about this world as Milton was, till in his old -age he returned back to God whom he had had in his childhood.' - -I tried to get out from Blake that he meant this charge only in -a higher sense, and not using the word Atheism in its popular -meaning. But he would not allow this. Though when he in like -manner charged Locke with Atheism and I remarked that Locke -wrote on the evidences of piety and lived a virtuous life, he had -nothing to reply to me nor reiterated the charge of willful deception. -I admitted that Locke's doctrine leads to Atheism, and this seemed -to satisfy him. From this subject we passed over to that of good -and evil, in which he repeated his former assertions more decidedly. -He allowed, indeed, that there is error, mistake, etc., and if these -be evil--then there is evil, but these are only negations. -Nor would he admit that any education should be attempted except -that of cultivation of the imagination and fine arts. 'What are called -the vices in the natural world are the highest sublimities in the -spiritual world.' When I asked whether if he had been a father he -would not have grieved if his child had become vicious or a great -criminal, he answered, 'I must not regard when I am endeavoring -to think rightly my own any more than other people's weaknesses.' -And when I again remarked that this doctrine puts an end to all -exertion or even wish to change anything, he had no reply. We -spoke of the Devil, and I observed that when a child I thought the -Manichaean doctrine or that of the two principles a rational one. -He assented to this, and in confirmation asserted that he did -not believe in the _omnipotence_ of God. 'The language of -the Bible on that subject is only poetical or allegorical.' Yet soon -after he denied that the natural world is anything. 'It is all nothing, -and Satan's empire is the empire of nothing.' - -He reverted soon to his favorite expression, my Visions. 'I -saw Milton in imagination, and he told me to beware of being -misled by his Paradise Lost. In particular he wished me to show -the falsehood of his doctrine that the pleasures of _sex_ -arose from the fall. The fall could not produce any pleasure.' I -answered, the fall produced a state of _evil_ in which there -was a mixture of good or pleasure. And in that sense the fall -may be said to produce the pleasure. But he replied that the -fall produced only generation and death. And then he went off -upon a rambling state of a union of sexes in man as in Ovid, -an androgynous state, in which I could not follow him. - -As he spoke of Miltons appearing to him, I asked whether he -resembled the prints of him. He answered, 'All.' Of what age did -he appear to be? 'Various ages--sometimes a very old man.' -He spoke of Milton as being at one time a sort of classical Atheist, -and of Dante as being now with God. - -Of the faculty of Vision, he spoke as one he has had from early -infancy. He thinks all men partake of it, but it is lost by not being -cultivated. And he eagerly assented to a remark I made, that all men -have all faculties to a greater or less degree. I am to renew my visits, -and to read Wordsworth to him, of whom he seems to entertain a high idea. - -[Here B. has added _vide_ p. 174, _i.e._ Dec. 24, -below.] - - -_Sunday_ 11_th._ The greater part of the forenoon -was spent in writing the preceding account of my interview with Blake -in which I was interrupted by a call from Talfourd.... - - -17_th._ Made a visit to Blake of which I have written fully -in a preceding page. - - -20_th_... Hundleby took coffee with me _tête à tête._ -We talked of his personal concerns, of Wordsworth, whom I can't make -him properly enjoy; of Blake, whose peculiarities he can as little -relish.... - - -_Saturday_ 24_th._ A call on _Blake._ My third -interview. I read him Wordsworth's incomparable ode, which he heartily -enjoyed. The same half crazy crotchets about the two worlds--the -eternal repetition of what must in time become tiresome. Again he -repeated to day, 'I fear Wordsworth loves Nature--and Nature -is the work of the Devil. The Devil is in us, as far as we are Nature.' -On my enquiring whether the Devil would not be destroyed by God -as being of less power, he denied that God has any power--asserted -that the Devil is eternally created not by God, but by God's permission. -And when I objected that permission implies power to prevent, he did -not seem to understand me. It was remarked that the parts of Wordworth's -ode which he most enjoyed were the most obscure and those I the least -like and comprehend.... - - - - -_January_ 1826 - - -6_th._ A call on Blake. I hardly feel it worth while to write -down his conversation, it is so much a repetition of his former talk. -He was very cordial to-day. I had procured him two subscriptions -for his Job from Geo. Procter and Bas. Montague. I paid £1 on each. -This, probably, put him in spirits, more than he was aware of--he -spoke of his being richer than ever on having learned to know me, -and he told Mrs. A. he and I were nearly of an opinion. Yet I have -practized no deception intentionally, unless silence be so. He -renewed his complaints, blended with his admiration of Wordsworth. -The oddest thing he said was that he had been commanded to do certain -things, that is, to write about Milton, and that he was applauded for -refusing--he struggled with the Angels and was victor. His -wife joined in the conversation.... - - -8_th._ ... Then took tea with Basil Montague, Mrs. M. -there. A short chat about Coleridge, Irving, etc. She admires -Blake_--Encore une excellence là de plus._... - - -_February_ - - -18_th._ Jos. Wedd breakfasted with me. Then called on -_Blake._ An amusing chat with him, but still no novelty. -The same round of extravagant and mad doctrines, which I shall -not now repeat, but merely notice their application. - -He gave me, copied out by himself, Wordsworth's preface to -his Excursion. At the end he has added this note:-- - -'Solomon, when he married Pharaoh's daughter, became a convert -to the Heathen Mythology, talked exactly in this way of Jehovah -as a very inferior object of man's contemplations; he also passed him -by unalarmed, and was permitted. Jehovah dropped a tear and followed -him by his Spirit into the abstract void. It is called the divine Mercy. -Satan dwells in it, but mercy does not dwell in him.' - -Of Wordsworth he talked as before. Some of his writings proceed -from the Holy Ghost, but then others are the work of the Devil. -However, I found on this subject Blake's language more in conformity -with Orthodox Christianity than before. He talked of the being under -the direction of _Self_; and of _Reason_ as the creature -of man and opposed to God's grace. And warmly declared that all he -knew was in the Bible, but then he understands by the Bible the spiritual -sense. For as to the natural sense, that Voltaire was commissioned by -God to expose. 'I have had much intercourse with Voltaire, and he -said to me I blasphemed the Son of Man, and it shall be forgiven -me. But they (the enemies of Voltaire) blasphemed the Holy Ghost -in me, and it shall not be forgiven them.' I asked in what language -Voltaire spoke--he gave an ingenious answer. 'To my sensation -it was English. It was like the touch of a musical key. He touched it -probably French, but to my ear it became English.' I spoke again of -the _form_ of the persons who appear to him. Asked why he did -not _draw_ them, 'It is not worth while. There are so many, the -labour would be too great. Besides there would be no use. As to -Shakespeare, he is exactly like the _old_ engraving--which -is called a bad one. I think it very good.' - -I enquired about his writings. 'I have written more than Voltaire -or Rousseau--six or seven epic poems as long as Homer, and -20 tragedies as long as Macbeth.' He showed me his Vision (for so it -may be called) of Genesis--'as understood by a Christian -Visionary,' in which in a style resembling the Bible the spirit is given. -He read a passage at random. It was striking. He will not print any -more.[5] 'I write,' he says, 'when commanded by the spirits, -and the moment I have written I see the words fly about the -room in all directions. It is then published, and the spirits -can read. My MSS. of no further use. I have been tempted to -burn my MSS., but my wife won't let me.' She is right, said -I--and you have written these, not from yourself, but by a higher -order. The MSS. are theirs and your property. You cannot tell -what purpose they may answer--unforeseen to you. He liked this, -and said he would not destroy them. His philosophy he repeated--denying -causation, asserting everything to be the work of God or the -Devil--that there is a constant falling off from God--angels -becoming devils. Every man has a devil in him, and the conflict -is eternal between a man's self and God, etc. etc. etc. He told -me my copy of his songs would be 5 guineas, and was pleased -by my manner of receiving this information. He spoke of his -horror of money--of his turning pale when money had been -offered him, etc. etc. etc. - - -_May_ - - -_Thursday_ 11_th._ Calls this morning on Blake, on -Thornton [etc.] ... - -12_th._ ... Tea and supper at home. The Flaxmans, Masqueriers -(a Miss Forbes), Blake, and Sutton Sharpe. - -On the whole the evening went off tolerably. Masquerier not -precisely the man to enjoy Blake, who was, however, not in an -_exalted_ state. Allusions only to his particular notions -while Masquerier commented on his opinions as if they were those -of a man of ordinary notions. Blake asserted that the oldest painter -poets were the best. Do you deny all progression? says Masquerier. 'Oh -yes!' I doubt whether Flaxman sufficiently tolerates Blake. But Blake -appreciates Flaxman as he ought. Blake relished my Stone drawings. -They staid till eleven. - -Blake is more and more convinced that Wordsworth worships -_nature_ and is not a Bible Christian. I have sent him the -Sketches. We shall see whether they convert him. - - -_June_ - - -13_th._ Another idle day. Called early on Blake. He was -as wild as ever, with no great novelty, except that he confessed -a _practical_ notion which would do him more injury than any -other I have heard from him. He says that from the Bible he -has learned that _eine Gemeinschaft der Frauen statt finden -sollte._ When I objected that _Ehestand_ seems to be a divine -institution, he referred to the Bible--'that from the beginning -it was not so.' He talked as usual of the spirits, asserted -that he had committed many murders, that reason is the only evil -or sin, and that careless, gay people are better than those who -think, etc. etc. etc. - - -_December_ - - -_Thursday_ 7_th._ I sent Britt, to enquire after Mr. -Flaxman's health, etc., and was engaged looking over the Term -Reports while he was gone. On his return, he brought the melancholy -intelligence of his death early in the morning!!! The country has lost -one of its greatest and best of men. As an artist he has spread the -fame of the country beyond any others of his age. As a man he exhibited -a rare specimen of Christian and moral excellence. - -I walked out and called at Mr. Soane's. He was from home. I then -called on Blake, desirous to see how, with his peculiar feelings -and opinions, he would receive the intelligence. It was much -as I expected--he had himself been very ill during the summer, -and his first observation was with a smile--'I thought I -should have gone first.' He then said, 'I cannot consider death -as anything but[6] a removing from one room to another.' One -thing led to another, and he fell into his wild rambling way -of talk. 'Men are born with a devil and an angel,' but this -he himself interpreted body and soul. Of the Old Testament he -seemed to think not favorably. 'Christ,' said he, 'took much -after his mother (the law), and in that respect was one of the -worst of men.' On my requiring an explanation, he said, 'There -was his turning the money changers out of the Temple. He had -no right to do that.' Blake then declared against those who -sat in judgement on others. 'I have never known a very bad man -who had not something very good about him.' He spoke of the -Atonement. Said, 'It is a horrible doctrine. If another man pay your -debt, I do not forgive it,' etc. etc. etc. He produced _Sintram_ -by Fouqué--'This is better than my things.' - - - - -1827 - - -_February_ - - -_Friday_, 2_nd._ Götzenberger, the young painter from -Germany, called on me, and I accompanied him to Blake. We looked -over Blake's Dante. Götzenberger seemed highly gratified by the designs, -and Mrs. Aders says Götzenberger considers Blake, as the first -and Flaxman as the second man he had seen in England. The conversation -was slight--I was interpreter between them. And nothing -remarkable was said by Blake--he was interested apparently by -Götzenberger.... - - - - -1828 - - -_January_ - - -8_th._ Breakfasted with Shott--Talfourd and B. Field -there. Walked with Field to Mrs. Blake. The poor old lady was more -affected than I expected, yet she spoke of her husband as dying -like an angel. She is the housekeeper of Linnell the painter and -engraver, and at present her services might well pay for her hoard. -A few of her husband's works are all her property. We found that -the Job is Linnell's property, and the print of Chaucer's pilgrimage -hers. Therefore Field bought a proof and I two prints at 2 1/2 guineas -each. I mean one for Lamb. Mrs. Blake is to look out some engravings -for me hereafter.... - - - - -[Footnote 1: 'Any' crossed out.] - -[Footnote 2: 'By which evil' crossed out.] - -[Footnote 3: 'More remarkable' crossed out.] - -[Footnote 4: 'Exceed their commission' crossed out.] - -[Footnote 5: 'For the writer' crossed out.] - -[Footnote 6: 'A passage from' crossed out.] - - - - -(2) FROM A LETTER OF CRABB ROBINSON TO DOROTHY WORDSWORTH - - -In a letter to Dorothy Wordsworth, not dated, but bearing the -postmark of February 20, 1826, there is the following reference to -Blake. No earlier reference to him occurs in the letter, in spite of -the sentence which follows:-- - -'I have above mentioned _Blake._ I forget whether I ever -mentioned to you this very interesting man, with whom I am now -become acquainted. Were the "Memorials" at my hand, I should quote -a fine passage in the Sonnet on the Cologne Cathedral as applicable -to the contemplation of this singular being.' - -'I gave your brother some poems in MS. by him, and they interested -him--as well they might, for there is an affinity between them, -as there is between the regulated imagination of a wise poet and the -incoherent dreams of a poet. Blake is an engraver by trade, a -painter and a poet also, whose works have been subject of derision -to men in general; but he has a few admirers, and some of eminence -have eulogized his designs. He has lived in obscurity and poverty, -to which the constant hallucinations in which he lives have doomed -him. I do not mean to give you a detailed account of him. A few -words will suffice to inform you of what class he is. He is not so -much a disciple of Jacob Böhmen and Swedenborg as a fellow Visionary. -He lives, as they did, in a world of his own, enjoying constant -intercourse with the world of spirits. He receives visits from -Shakespeare, Milton, Dante, Voltaire, etc. etc. etc., and has given -me repeatedly their very words in their conversations. His paintings -are copies of what he saw in his Visions. His books (and his MSS. -are immense in quantity) are dictations from the spirits. He told -me yesterday that when he writes it is for the spirits only; he sees -the words fly about the room the moment he has put them on paper, -and his book is then published. A man so favoured, of course, has -sources of wisdom and truth peculiar to himself. I will not pretend to -give you an account of his religious and philosophical opinions. -They are a strange compound of Christianity, Spinozism, and -Platonism. I must confine myself to what he has said about your -brother's works, and[1] I fear this may lead me far enough to -fatigue you in following me. After what I have said, Mr. W. -will not be flattered by knowing that Blake deems him the _only -poet_ of the age, nor much alarmed by hearing that, like Muley -Moloch, Blake thinks that he is often in his works an _Atheist._ -Now, according to Blake, Atheism consists in worshipping the -natural world, which same natural world, properly speaking, is -nothing real, but a mere illusion produced by Satan. Milton -was for a great part of his life an Atheist, and therefore has -fatal errors in his Paradise Lost, which he has often begged -Blake to confute. Dante (though now with God) lived and died -an Atheist. He was the slave of the world and time. But Dante -and Wordsworth, in spite of their Atheism, were inspired by the -Holy Ghost. Indeed, all real poetry is the work of the Holy Ghost, -and Wordsworth's poems (a large proportion, at least) are the -work of divine inspiration. Unhappily he is left by God to his own -illusions, and then the Atheism is apparent. I had the pleasure of -reading to Blake in my best style (and you know I am vain on -that point, and think I read W.'s poems particularly well) the Ode -on Immortality. I never witnessed greater delight in any listener; -and in general Blake loves the poems. What appears to have disturbed -his mind, on the other hand, is the Preface to the Excursion. -He told me six months ago that it caused him a bowel complaint -which nearly killed him. I have in his hand a copy of the extract -[with the][2] following note at the end: "Solomon, when he -married Pharaoh's daughter and became a convert to the Heathen -Mythology, talked exactly in this way of Jehovah as a very inferior -object of man's contemplation; he also passed him by unalarmed, -and was permitted. Jehovah dropped a tear, and followed him by -his Spirit into the abstract void. It is called the divine mercy. Satan -dwells in it, but Mercy does not dwell in him, he knows not to forgive." -When I first saw Blake at Mrs. Aders's he very earnestly asked me, -"Is Mr. W. a sincere real Christian?" In reply to my answer he said, -"If so, what does he mean by 'the worlds to which the heaven of -heavens is but a veil,' and who is he that shall 'pass Jehovah -unalarmed'?" It is since then that I have lent Blake all the works -which he but imperfectly knew. I doubt whether what I have written -will excite your and Mr. W.'s curiosity; but there is something -so delightful about the man--though in great poverty, he -is so perfect a gentleman, with such genuine dignity and independence, -scorning presents, and of such native delicacy in words, etc. -etc. etc., that I have not scrupled promising introducing him -and Mr. W. together. He expressed his thanks strongly, saying, -"You do me honor, Mr. W. is a great man. Besides, he may convince -me I am wrong about him. I have been wrong before now," etc. -Coleridge has visited Blake, and, I am told, talks finely about -him. That I might not encroach on a third sheet I have compressed -what I had to say about Blake. You must _see_ him one of -these days and he will interest you at all events, whatever -character you give to his mind.' - -The main part of the letter is concerned with Wordsworth's -arrangement of his poems, which Crabb Robinson says that he -agrees with Lamb in disliking. He then says: 'It is a sort of intellectual -suicide in your brother not to have continued his admirable series -of poems "dedicated to liberty," he might add, "and public virtue." I -assure you it gives me real pain when I think that some future -commentator may possibly hereafter write, "This great poet survived -to the fifth decenary of the nineteenth century, but he appears to -have dyed in the year 1814 as far as life consisted in an active -sympathy with the temporary welfare of his fellow-creatures...." - -[More follows, and then] 'I had no intention, I assure you, to -make so long a parenthesis or indeed to advert to such a subject. -And I wish you not to read any part of this letter which might -be thought impertinent.... In favor of my affectionate attachment -to your brother's fame, do forgive me this digression, and, as I -said above, keep it to yourself.' - -[At the end he says] 'My best remembrances to Mr. W. And -recollect again that you are not to read _all_ this letter to -any one if it will offend, and you are yourself to forgive it as coming -from one who is affly your friend, - - -H. C. R.' - - -On April 6, Wordsworth answers the letter from Rydal Mount, -saying: 'My sister had taken flight for Herefordshire when your -letter, for such we guessed it to be, arrived--it was broken -open--(pray forgive the offense) and your charges of concealment -and reserve frustrated. We are all, at all times, so glad to hear -from you that we could not resist the temptation to purchase -the pleasure at the expense of the peccadillo, for which we beg -pardon with united voices. You are kind enough to mention my -poems.' - -[All the rest of the letter is taken up with them, and it ends, -with no mention of Blake] 'I can write no more. T. Clarkson is -going. Your supposed Biography entertained me much. I could -give you the other side. Farewell.' - -[There is no signature.] - - - - -[Footnote 1: 'And as I am requested to copy what he has written for -the purpose' crossed out.] - -[Footnote 2: The MS. is here torn.] - - - - -(3) FROM CRABB ROBINSON'S REMINISCENCES - - -1810 - - -I was amusing myself this spring by writing an account of the -insane poet, painter, and engraver, _Blake._ Perthes of Hamburg -had written to me asking me to send him an article for a new German -magazine, entitled Vaterländische Annalen, which he was about to -set up, and Dr. _Malkin_ having in his Memoirs of his son -given an account of this extraordinary genius with specimens of -his poems, I resolved out of these to compile a paper. And this I did,[1] -and the paper was translated by Dr. Julius, who, many years -afterwards, introduced himself to me as my translator. It appears -in the single number of the second volume of the Vaterländische -Annalen. For it was at this time that Buonaparte united Hamburg to -the French Empire, on which Perthes manfully gave up the magazine, -saying, as he had no longer a Vaterland, there could be no Vaterländische -Annalen. But before I drew up the paper, I went to see a gallery of -Blake's paintings, which were exhibited by his brother, a hosier in -Carnaby Market. The entrance was 2s. 6d., catalogue included. I was -deeply interested by the catalogue as well as the pictures. I took -4--telling the brother I hoped he would let me come in again. -He said, 'Oh! as often as you please.' I dare say such a thing had never -happened before or did afterwards. I afterwards became acquainted -with Blake, and will postpone till hereafter what I have to say of this -extraordinary character, whose life has since been written very -inadequately by Allan Cunningham in his _Lives of the English -Artists._ - -[At the side is written]--_N. B_. What I have written -about Blake will appear at the end of the year 1825. - - - - -1825 - - -WILLIAM BLAKE - - -19/02/52 - - -It was at the latter end of the year 1825 that I put in writing -my recollections of this most remarkable man. The larger portions -are under the date of the 18th of December. He died in the year -1827. I have therefore now revised what I wrote on the 10th of -December and afterwards, and without any attempt to reduce to -order, or make consistent the wild and strange rhapsodies uttered -by this insane man of genius, thinking it better to put down what -I find as it occurs, though I am aware of the objection that may -justly be made to the recording the ravings of insanity in which it -may be said there can be found no principle, as there is no -ascertainable law of mental association which is obeyed; and from -which therefore nothing can be learned. - -This would be perfectly true of _mere_ madness--but does not -apply to that form of insanity ordinarily called monomania, -and may be disregarded in a case like the present in which the -subject of the remark was unquestionably what a German would -call a _Verunglückter Genie_, whose theosophic dreams bear a -close resemblance to those of _Swedenborg_--whose genius as -an artist was praised by no less men than _Flaxman_ and _Fuseli_--and -whose poems were thought worthy republication by the biographer -of _Swedenborg_ (_Wilkinson_), and of which Wordsworth said -after reading a number--they were the 'Songs of Innocence and -Experience showing the two opposite sides of the human soul'--'There -is no doubt this poor man was mad, but there is something in -the madness of this man which interests me more than the sanity -of Lord Byron and Walter Scott!' The German painter _Götzenberger_ -(a man indeed who ought not to be named _after the others_ as -an authority for my writing about Blake) said, on his returning -to Germany about the time at which I am now arrived, 'I saw in -England many men of talents, but only three men of genius, Coleridge, -Flaxman, and Blake, and of these Blake was the greatest.' I do -not mean to intimate my assent to this opinion, nor to do more -than supply such materials as my intercourse with him furnish -to an uncritical narrative to which I shall confine myself. I -have written a few sentences in these reminiscences already, -those of the year 1810. I had not then begun the regular journal -which I afterwards kept. I will therefore go over the ground -again and introduce these recollections of 1825 by a reference to -the slight knowledge I had of him before, and what occasioned my -taking an interest in him, not caring to repeat what Cunningham has -recorded of him in the volume of his _Lives of the British Painters_, -etc. etc., except thus much. It appears that he was born... - -[The page ends here.] - -_Dr. Malkin_, our Bury Grammar School Headmaster, published -in the year 1806 a Memoir of a very precocious child who died... years -old, and he prefixed to the Memoir an account of Blake, and in the -volume he gave an account of Blake as a painter and poet, and printed -some specimens of his poems, viz. 'The Tyger,' and ballads and mystical -lyrical poems, all of a wild character, and M. gave an account of Visions -which Blake related to his acquaintance. I knew that Flaxman thought -highly of him, and though he did not venture to extol him as a genuine -seer, yet he did not join in the ordinary derision of him as a madman. -Without having seen him, yet I had already conceived a high opinion -of him, and thought he would furnish matter for a paper interesting -to Germans, and therefore when _Fred. Perthes_, the patriotic -publisher at Hamburg, wrote to me in 1810 requesting me to give him an -article for his Patriotische Annalen, I thought I could do no better than -send him a paper on Blake, which was translated into German by _Dr. -Julius_, filling, with a few small poems copied and translated, 24 -pages. These appeared in the first and last No. of volume 2 of the -Annals. The high-minded editor boldly declared that as the Emperor -of France had annexed Hamburg to France he had no longer a country, -and there could no longer be any patriotical Annals!!! Perthes' Life has -been written since, which I have riot seen. I am told there is in it a -civil mention of me. This _Dr. Julius_ introduced himself to -me as such translator a few years ago. He travelled as an Inspector of -Prisons for the Prussian Government into the United States of America. -In order to enable me to write this paper, which, by the bye, has nothing -in it of the least value, I went to see an exhibition of Blake's original -paintings in Carnaby Market, at a hosier's, Blake's brother. These -paintings filled several rooms of an ordinary dwelling-house, and -for the sight a half-crown was demanded of the visitor, for which he -had a catalogue. This catalogue I possess, and it is a very curious -exposure of the state of the artist's mind. I wished to send it to -Germany and to give a copy to Lamb and others, so I took four, -and giving 10s., bargained that I should be at liberty to go again. -'Free! as long as you live,'[2] said the brother, astonished -at such a liberality, which he had never experienced before, -nor I dare say did afterwards. _Lamb_ was delighted with the -catalogue, especially with the description of a painting afterwards -engraved, and connected with which is an anecdote that, unexplained, -would reflect discredit on a most amiable and excellent man, but -which Flaxman considered to have been not the willful act of -_Stodart_. It was after the friends of Blake had circulated -a subscription paper for an engraving of his _Canterbury Pilgrims_, -that _Stodart_ was made a party to an engraving of a painting -of the same subject by himself. Stodart's work is well known, -Blake's is known by very few. Lamb preferred it greatly to Stodart's, -and declared that Blake's description was the finest criticism he -had ever read of Chaucer's poem. - -In this catalogue Blake writes of himself in the most outrageous -language--says, 'This artist defies all competition in colouring'--that -none can beat him, for none can beat the Holy Ghost--that he -and Raphael and Michael Angelo were under divine influence--while -Corregio and Titian worshipped a lascivious and therefore cruel -deity--Reubens a proud devil, etc. etc. He declared, speaking -of color, Titian's men to be of leather and his women of chalk, -and ascribed his own perfection in coloring to the advantage -he enjoyed in seeing daily the primitive men walking in their -native nakedness in the mountains of Wales. There were about -thirty oil-paintings, the coloring excessively dark and high, -the veins black, and the color of the primitive men very like that -of the Red Indians. In his estimation they would probably be the -primitive men. Many of his designs were unconscious imitations. -This appears also in his published works--the designs of _Blair's -Grave_, which Fuseli and Schiavonetti highly extolled--and in -his designs to illustrate _Job_, published after his death for -the benefit of his widow. - - - - -23/2/52. - - -To this catalogue and in the printed poems, the small pamphlet -which appeared in 1783, the edition put forth by Wilkinson of -The Songs of Innocence,' and other works already mentioned, to -which I have to add the first four books of Young's Night Thoughts, -and Allan Cunningham's Life of him, I now refer, and will confine -myself to the memorandums I took of his conversation. I had -heard of him from Flaxman, and for the first time dined in his -company at the Aders'. _Linnell_ the painter also was there--an -artist of considerable talent, and who professed to take[3] -a deep interest in Blake and his work, whether of a perfectly -disinterested character may be doubtful, as will appear hereafter. -This was on the 10th of December. - -I was aware of his idiosyncrasies and therefore to a great -degree prepared for the sort of conversation which took place -at and after dinner, an altogether unmethodical rhapsody on art, -poetry, and religion--he saying the most strange things in the -most unemphatic manner, speaking of his _Visions_ as any -man would of the most ordinary occurrence. He was then 68 years -of age. He had a broad, pale face, a large full eye with a benignant -expression--at the same time a look of languor,[4] except when -excited, and then he had an air of inspiration. But not such -as without a previous acquaintance with him, or attending to -_what_ he said, would suggest the notion that he was insane. -There was nothing _wild_ about his look, and though very ready -to be drawn out to the assertion of his favorite ideas, yet with -no warmth as if he wanted to make proselytes. Indeed one of the -peculiar features of his scheme, as far as it was consistent, was -indifference and a very extraordinary degree of tolerance and -satisfaction with what had taken place.[5] A sort of pious and humble -optimism, not the scornful optimism of Candide. But at the same -time that he was very ready to praise he seemed incapable of envy, -as he was of discontent. He warmly praised some composition -of Mrs. Aders, and having brought for Aders an engraving of his -Canterbury Pilgrims, he remarked that one of the figures resembled -a figure in one of the works then in Aders's room, so that he had been -accused of having stolen from it. But he added that he had drawn the -figure in question 20 years before he had seen the _original_ -picture. However, there is 'no wonder in the resemblance, as in my -youth I was always studying that class of painting.' I have forgotten -what it was, but his taste was in close conformity with the old German -school. - -This was somewhat at variance with what he said both this day -and afterwards--implying that he copies his Visions. And it was -on this first day that, in answer to a question from me, he said, '_The -Spirits told me._' This lead me to say: Socrates used pretty much -the same language. He spoke of his Genius. Now, what affinity or -resemblance do you suppose was there between the _Genius_ -which inspired Socrates and your _Spirits?_ He smiled, and for -once it seemed to me as if he had a feeling of vanity gratified.[6] -'The same as in our countenances.' He paused and said, 'I was -Socrates'--and then as if he had gone too far in that--'or -a sort of brother. I must have had conversations with him. So I had -with Jesus Christ. I have an obscure recollection of having been with -both of them.' As I had for many years been familiar with the idea -that an eternity _a parte post_ was inconceivable without an -eternity _a parte ante_, I was naturally led to express that -thought on this occasion. His eye brightened on my saying this. -He eagerly assented: 'To be sure. We are all coexistent with God; -members of the Divine body, and partakers of the Divine nature.' -Blake's having adopted this Platonic idea led me on our _tête-à-tête_ -walk home at night to put the popular question to him, concerning -the imputed Divinity of Jesus Christ. He answered: 'He is the -only God'--but then he added--'And so am I and so are you.' -He had before said--and that led me to put the question--that -Christ ought not to have suffered himself to be crucified.' 'He should -not have attacked the Government. He had no business with such -matters.' On my representing this to be inconsistent with the sanctity -of divine qualities, he said Christ was not yet become the Father. It -is hard on bringing together these fragmentary recollections[7] -to fix Blake's position in relation to Christianity, Platonism, and -Spinozism. - -It is one of the subtle remarks of _Hume_ on the tendency -of certain religious notions to reconcile us to whatever occurs, as -God's will. And apply--this to something Blake said, and drawing -the inference that there is no use in education, he hastily rejoined: -'There _is_ no use in education. I hold it wrong. It is the great -Sin. It is eating of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil. That was -the fault of Plato: he knew of nothing but the Virtues and Vices. -There is nothing in all that. Everything is good in God's eyes.' On -my asking whether there is nothing absolutely evil in what man does, -he answered: 'I am no judge of that--perhaps not in God's -eyes.' Notwithstanding this, he, however, at the same time spoke -of error as being in heaven; for on my asking whether Dante was -pure in writing his _Vision_, 'Pure,' said Blake. 'Is there any -purity in God's eyes? No. "He chargeth his angels with folly.'" He even -extended this liability to error to the Supreme Being. 'Did he -not repent him that he had made Nineveh?' My journal here has -the remark that it is easier to retail his personal remarks than to -reconcile those which seemed to be in conformity with the most -opposed abstract systems. He spoke with seeming complacency -of his own life in connection with Art. In becoming an artist he -'acted by command.' The Spirits said to him, 'Blake, be an artist.' -His eye glistened while he spoke of the joy of devoting himself to -_divine art_ alone. 'Art is inspiration. When Michael Angelo -or Raphael, in their day, or Mr. Flaxman, does any of his fine things, -he does them in the Spirit.' Of fame he said: 'I should be sorry if -I had any earthly fame, for whatever natural glory a man has is so -much detracted from his spiritual glory. I wish to do nothing for -profit. I want nothing--I am quite happy.' This was confirmed -to me on my subsequent interviews with him. His distinction between -the Natural and Spiritual worlds was very confused. Incidentally, -Swedenborg was mentioned--he declared him to be a Divine -Teacher. He had done, and would do, much good. Yet he did wrong -in endeavoring to explain to the _reason_ what it could not -comprehend. He seemed to consider, but that was not clear, the -visions of Swedenborg and Dante as of the same kind. Dante was -the greater poet. He too was wrong in occupying his mind about -political objects. Yet this did not appear to affect his estimation of -Dante's genius, or his opinion of the truth of Dante's visions. Indeed, -when he even declared Dante to be an Atheist, it was accompanied -by expression of the highest admiration; though, said he, Dante -saw Devils where I saw none.[8] - -I put down in my journal the following insulated remarks. _Jacob -Böhmen_ was placed among the divinely inspired men. He praised -also the designs to Law's translation of Böhmen. Michael Angelo could -not have surpassed them. - -'_Bacon, Locke_, and _Newton_ are the three great -teachers of Atheism, or Satan's Doctrine,' he asserted. - -'_Irving_ is a highly gifted man--he is a _sent_ man; -but they who are sent sometimes go further than they ought.'[9] - -_Calvin_. I saw nothing but good in _Calvin's_ house. -In _Luther's_ there were _Harlots._ He declared his -opinion that the earth is flat, not round, and just as I had objected -the circumnavigation dinner was announced. But objections were -seldom of any use. The wildest of his assertions was made with the -veriest indifference of tone,[10] as if altogether insignificant. -It respected the natural and spiritual worlds. By way of example -of the difference between them, he said, '_You_ never saw the -spiritual Sun. I have. I saw him on Primrose Hill.' He said, -'Do you take me for the Greek Apollo?' 'No!' I said. '_That_ -(pointing to the sky) that is the Greek Apollo. He is Satan.' - -Not everything was thus absurd. There were glimpses and flashes -of truth and beauty: as when he compared moral with physical -evil. 'Who shall say what God thinks evil? That is a wise tale -of the Mahometans--of the Angel of the Lord who murdered -the Infant.'--The Hermit of Parnell, I suppose.--'Is not -every infant that dies of a natural death in reality slain by an Angel?' - -And when he joined to the assurance of his happiness, that of -his having suffered, and that it was necessary, he added, 'There is -suffering in Heaven; for where there is the capacity of enjoyment, -there is the capacity of pain.[11] - -I include among the glimpses of truth this assertion, 'I know -what is true by internal conviction. A doctrine is stated. My heart -tells me It _must_ be true.' I remarked, in confirmation of -it, that, to an unlearned man, what are called the _external_ -evidences of religion can carry no conviction with them; and this -he assented to. - -After my first evening with him at Aders's, I made the remark -in my journal, that his observations, apart from his Visions and -references to the spiritual world, were sensible and acute. In the -sweetness of his countenance and gentility of his manner he added -an indescribable grace to his conversation. I added my regret, -which I must now repeat, at my inability to give more than incoherent -thoughts. Not altogether my fault perhaps. - - - - -25/2/52. - - -On the 17th I called on him in his house in Fountain's Court -in the Strand. The interview was a short one, and what I saw was -more remarkable than what I heard. He was at work engraving in -a small bedroom, light, and looking out on a mean yard. Everything -in the room squalid and indicating poverty, except himself. And -there was a natural gentility about him, and an insensibility to the -seeming poverty, which quite removed the impression. Besides, -his linen was clean, his hand white, and his air quite unembarrassed -when he begged me to sit down as if he were in a palace. There was -but one chair in the room besides that on which he sat. On my -putting my hand to it, I found that it would have fallen to pieces -if I had lifted it, so, as if I had been a Sybarite, I said with a smile, -'Will you let me indulge myself?' and I sat on the bed, and near him,[12] -and during my short stay there was nothing in him that betrayed -that he was aware of what to other persons might have been even -offensive, not in his person, but in all about him. - -His wife I saw at this time, and she seemed to be the very -woman to make him happy. She had been formed by him. Indeed, -otherwise, she could not have lived with him. Notwithstanding her -dress, which was poor and dirty, she had a good expression in her -countenance, and, with a dark eye, had remains[13] of beauty -in her youth. She had that virtue of virtues in a wife, an implicit -reverence of her husband. It is quite certain that she believed -in all his visions. And on one occasion, not this day, speaking -of his Visions, she said, 'You know, dear, the first time you -saw God was when you were four years old, and he put his head -to the window and set you a-screaming.' In a word, she was formed -on the Miltonic model, and like the first Wife Eve worshipped -God in her husband. He being to her what God was to him. Vide -Milton's Paradise Lost--_passim_. - - - - -26/2/52. - - -He was making designs or engravings, I forget which. Carey's -Dante was before [_sic._] He showed me some of his designs -from Dante, of which I do not presume to speak. They were too -much above me. But Götzenberger, whom I afterwards took to see -them, expressed the highest admiration of them. They are in the -hands of _Linnell_ the painter, and, it has been suggested, are -reserved by him for publication when Blake may have become[14] an -object of interest to a greater number than he could be at this age. -_Dante_ was again the subject of our conversation. And Blake -declared him a mere politician and atheist, busied about this world's -affairs; as Milton was till, in his (M.'s) old age, he returned back -to the God he had abandoned in childhood.[15] I in vain endeavoured -to obtain from him a qualification of the term atheist, so as not to -include him in the ordinary reproach. And yet he afterwards spoke -of Dante's being _then_ with God. I was more successful when -he also called Locke an atheist, and imputed to him willful deception, -and seemed satisfied with my admission, that Locke's philosophy -led to the Atheism of the French school. He reiterated his former -strange notions on morals--would allow of no other education -than what lies in the cultivation of the fine arts and the imagination. -'What are called the Vices in the natural world, are the highest -sublimities in the spiritual world.' And when I supposed the case -of his being the father of a vicious son and asked him how he would -feel, he evaded the question by saying that in trying to think correctly -he must not regard his own weaknesses any more than other people's. -And he was silent to the observation that his doctrine denied evil. -He seemed not unwilling to admit the Manichaean doctrine of two -principles, as far as it is found in the idea of the Devil. And said -expressly said [_sic_] he did not believe in the omnipotence -of God. The language of the Bible is only poetical or allegorical on the -subject, yet he at the same time denied the _reality_ of the -natural world. Satan's empire is the empire of nothing. - -As he spoke of frequently seeing Milton, I ventured to ask, -half ashamed at the time, which of the three or four portraits -in _Hollis's_ Memoirs (vols. in 4to) is the most like. He -answered, 'They are all like, at different ages. I have seen him as -a youth and as an old man with a long flowing beard. He came -lately as an old man--he said he came to ask a favor of -me. He said he had committed an error in his Paradise Lost, -which he wanted me to correct, in a poem or picture; but I declined. -I said I had my own duties to perform.' It is a presumptuous -question, I replied--might I venture to ask--what that could be. -'He wished me to expose the falsehood of his doctrine, taught -in the Paradise Lost, that[16] sexual intercourse arose out -of the Fall. How that cannot be, for no good can spring out -of evil.' But, I replied, if the consequence were evil, mixed with -good, then the good might be ascribed to the common cause. To -this he answered by a reference to the _androgynous_ state, -in which I could not possibly follow him. At the time that he -asserted his own possession of this gift of Vision, he did not boast -of it as peculiar to himself; all men might have it if they would. - - - - -1826 - - -27/2/52. - - -On the 24th I called a second time on him. And on this occasion -it was that I read to him _Wordsworth's Ode_ on the supposed -pre-existent State, and the subject of Wordsworth's religious -character was discussed when we met on the 18th of Feb., and the -12th of May. I will here bring together Blake's declarations concerning -Wordsworth, and set down his marginalia in the 8vo. edit. A.D. 1815, -vol. I. I had been in the habit, when reading this marvelous Ode -to friends, to omit one or two passages, especially that beginning: - - -'But there's a Tree, of many one,' - - -Lest I should be rendered ridiculous, being unable to explain -precisely _what_ I admired. Not that I acknowledged this to -be a fair test. But with Blake I could fear nothing of the kind. And it -was this very stanza which threw him almost into a hysterical rapture. -His delight in Wordsworth's poetry was intense.[17] Nor did it seem less, -notwithstanding the reproaches he continually cast on Wordsworth -for his imputed worship of nature;[18] which in the mind -of Blake constituted Atheism [see "Introduction."]. - - - - -28/2/52. - - -The combination of the wannest praise with imputations which -from another would assume the most serious character, and the -liberty he took to interpret as he pleased, rendered it as difficult to -be offended as to reason with him. The eloquent descriptions of -Nature in Wordsworth's poems were conclusive proofs of atheism, -for whoever believes in Nature, said Blake, disbelieves in God. For -Nature is the work of the Devil. On my obtaining from him the -declaration that the Bible was the Word of God, I referred to the -commencement of Genesis--In the beginning God created the -Heavens and the Earth. But I gained nothing by this, for I was -triumphantly told that this God was not Jehovah, but the Elohim; -and the doctrine of the Gnostics repeated with sufficient consistency -to silence one so unlearned as myself. - -The Preface to the Excursion, especially the verses quoted -from book i. of the Recluse, so troubled him as to bring on a fit -of illness. These lines he singled out: - - -Jehovah with his thunder, and the Choir -Of shouting Angels, and the Empyreal throne, -I pass them unalarmed.' - - -Does Mr. Wordsworth think he can surpass Jehovah? There was -a copy of the whole passage in his own hand,[19] in the volume of -Wordsworth's poems sent to my chambers after his death. There -was this note at the end: 'Solomon, when he married Pharaoh's -daughter, and became a convert to the Heathen Mythology, talked -exactly in this way of Jehovah, as a very inferior object of Man's -contemplations; he also passed him unharmed, and was permitted. -Jehovah dropped a tear and followed him by his Spirit into the -abstract void. It is called the Divine Mercy. Sarah dwells in it, but -Mercy does not dwell in Him.' - -Some of Wordsworth's poems he maintained were from the Holy -Ghost, others from the Devil. I lent him the 8vo edition, two vols., -of Wordsworth's poems, which he had in his possession at the time -of his death. They were sent me then. I did not recognize the pencil -notes he made in them to be his for some time, and was on the point -of rubbing them out under that impression, when I made the discovery. - -The following are found in the 3rd vol., in the fly-leaf under -the words: Poems referring to the Period of Childhood. - - - - -29/2/52. - - -'I see in Wordsworth the Natural man rising up against the -Spiritual man continually, and then he is no poet, but a Heathen -Philosopher at Enmity against all true poetry or inspiration.' - -Under the first poem: - - -'And I could wish my days to be -Bound each to each by natural piety,' - - -He had written, 'There is no such thing as natural piety, because -the natural man is at enmity with God.' P. 43, under the Verses 'To -H. C., six years old'--'This is all in the highest degree -imaginative and equal to any poet, but not superior. I cannot -think that real poets have any competition. None are greatest -in the kingdom of heaven. It is so in poetry.' P. 44, 'On the -Influence of Natural Objects,' at the bottom of the page. 'Natural -objects always did and now do weaken, deaden, and obliterate -imagination in me. Wordsworth must know that what he writes -valuable is not to be found in Nature. Bead Michael Angelo's -sonnet, vol. iv. p. 179.' That is, the one beginning: - - -'No mortal object did these eyes behold -When first they met the placid light of thine.'[20] - - -It is remarkable that Blake, whose judgements were on most -points so very singular, on one subject closely connected with -Wordsworth's poetical reputation should have taken a very commonplace -view. Over the heading of the 'Essay Supplementary to the Preface' -at the end of the vol. he wrote, 'I do not know who wrote these -Prefaces; they are very mischievous, and direct contrary to -Wordsworth's own practice' (see "III. From Lady Charlotte Bury's Diary.") -This is not the defense of his own style in opposition to what is -called Poetic Diction, but a sort of historic vindication of the -_unpopular_ poets. On Macpherson, p. 364, Wordsworth wrote -with the severity with which all great writers have written of him. -Blake's comment below was, 'I believe both Macpherson and Chatterton, -that what they say is ancient is so.' And in the following page, 'I own -myself an admirer of Ossian equally with any other poet whatever. -Rowley and Chatterton also.' And at the end of this Essay he wrote, -'It appears to me as if the last paragraph beginning "Is it the spirit -of the whole," etc., was written by another hand and mind from -the rest of these Prefaces; they are the opinions of [ ] -landscape-painter. Imagination is the divine vision not of the world, -nor of man, nor from man as he is a natural man, but only as he -is a spiritual man. Imagination has nothing to do with memory.' - - - - -1826 - - -1/3/52. - - -_19th Feb._ It was this day in connection with the assertion -that[21] the Bible is the Word of God and all truth is to be -found in it, he using language concerning man's reason being -opposed to grace very like that used by the Orthodox Christian, -that he qualified, and as the same Orthodox would say utterly -nullified all he said by declaring that he understood the Bible -in a Spiritual sense. As to the natural sense, he said _Voltaire_ -was commissioned by God to expose that. 'I have had,' he said, -'much intercourse with Voltaire, and he said to me, "I blasphemed -the Son of Man, and it shall be forgiven me, but they (the enemies -of Voltaire) blasphemed the Holy Ghost in me, and it shall not -be forgiven to them." 'I ask him in what language Voltaire spoke. -His answer was ingenious and gave no encouragement to cross-questioning: -'To my sensations it was English. It was like the touch of a -musical key; he touched it probably French, but to my ear it -became English.' I also enquired as I had before about the form -of the persons[22] who appeared to him, and asked why he did -not _draw_ them. 'It is not worth while,' he said. 'Besides -there are so many that the labour would be too great. And there would -be no use in it.' In answer to an enquiry about Shakespeare, 'he is -exactly like the old engraving--which is said to be a bad one. -I think it very good.' I enquired about his own writings. 'I have -written,' he answered, 'more than Rousseau or Voltaire--six -or seven Epic poems as long as Homer and 20 Tragedies as long -as Macbeth.' He shewed me his 'Version of Genesis,'[23] for so it may -be called, as understood by a Christian Visionary. He read a -wild passage in a sort of Bible style. 'I shall print[24] no more,' -he said. 'When I am commanded by the Spirits, then I write, and -the moment I have written, I see the words fly about the room -in all directions. It is then published. The Spirits can read, and -my MS. is of no further use. I have been tempted to burn my MS., -but my wife won't let me.' She is right, I answered; you write not -from yourself but from higher order. The MSS. are their property, -not yours. You cannot tell what purpose they may answer. This -was addressed _ad hominem._ And it indeed amounted only to -a deduction from his own principles. He incidentally denied -_causation_, every thing being the work of God or Devil. -Every man has a Devil in himself, and the conflict between his -_Self_ and God is perpetually going on. I ordered of him -to-day a copy of his songs for 5 guineas. My[25] manner of -receiving his mention of price pleased him. He spoke of his horror -of money and of turning pale when it was offered him, and this -was certainly unfeigned. - -In the No. of the _Gents. Magazine_ for last Jan. there is -a letter by _Gromek_ to Blake printed in order to convict -Blake of selfishness. It cannot possibly be substantially true. I -may elsewhere notice it. - -13_th June._ I saw him again in June. He was as wild as -ever, says my journal, but he was led today to make assertions more -palpably mischievous, if capable of influencing other minds, and -immoral, supposing them to express the will[26] of a responsible -agent, than anything he had said before. As, for instance, that he -had learned from the Bible that Wives should be in common. And -when I objected that marriage was a Divine institution, he referred -to the Bible--'that from the beginning it was not so.' He -affirmed that he had committed many murders, and repeated his -doctrine, that reason is the only sin, and that careless, gay people -are better than those who think, etc. etc. - -It was, I believe, on the 7th of December that I saw him last. -I had just heard of the death of Flaxman, a man whom he professed -to admire, and was curious to know how he would receive the -intelligence. It was as I expected.[27] He had been ill during -the summer, and he said with a smile, 'I thought I should have -gone first.' He then said, 'I cannot think of death as more than -the going out of one room into another.' And Flaxman was no longer -thought of. He relapsed into his ordinary train of thinking. Indeed I -had by this time learned that there was nothing to be gained by -frequent intercourse. And therefore it was that after this interview -I was not anxious to be frequent in my visits. This day he said, 'Men -are born with an Angel and, a Devil.' This he himself interpreted as -Soul and Body, and as I have long since said of the strange sayings -of a man who enjoys a high reputation, 'it is more in the language -than the thought that this singularity is to be looked for.' And this -day he spoke of the Old Testament as if [_sic_] were the evil -element. Christ, he said, took much after his mother, and in so far -was one of the worst of men. On my asking him for an instance, he -referred to his turning the moneychangers out of the Temple--he -had no right to do that. He digressed into a condemnation of those -who sit in judgement on others. 'I have never known a very bad man -who had not something very good about him.' - -Speaking of the Atonement in the ordinary Calvinistic sense, -he said, 'It is a horrible doctrine; if another pay your debt, I do not -forgive it.' - -I have no account of any other call--but there is probably -an omission. I took Götzenberger to see him, and he met the -Masqueriers in my chambers. Masquerier was not the man to meet -him. He could not humour Blake nor understand the peculiar sense -in which he was to be received.[28] - - - - -1827 - - -My journal of this year contains nothing about Blake. But in -January 1828 Barron Field and myself called on Mrs. Blake. The -poor old lady was more affected than I expected she would be at -the sight of me. She spoke of her husband as dying like an angel. -She informed me that she was going to live with Linnell as his -housekeeper. And we understood that she would live with him, -and he, as it were, to farm her services and take all she had. The -engravings of Job were his already. Chaucer's Canterbury Pilgrims -were hers. I took two copies--one I gave to C. Lamb. Barron -Field took a proof. - -Mrs. Blake died within a few years, and since Blake's death -Linnell has not found the market I took for granted he would seek -for Blake's works. Wilkinson printed a small edition of his poems, -including the 'Songs of Innocence and Experience,'[29] a few years -ago, and Monkton Mylne talks of printing an edition. I have a few -colored engravings--but Blake is still an object of interest -exclusively to men of imaginative taste and psychological curiosity. -I doubt much whether these mems will be of any use to this small -class. I have been reading since the Life of Blake by Allan Cunningham, -vol. II. p. 143 of his Lives of the Painters. It recognizes more perhaps -of Blake's merit than might be expected of a _Scotch_ realist. - - -22/3/52. - - - - -[Footnote 1: The article appeared under the title: 'William Blake, -Künstler, Dichter und religiöser Schwärmer' (aus dem Englischen) on -pp. 107-131 of the _Vaterländisches Museum_, Zweiter Band, -Erstes Heft. Hamburg, bey Friedrich Perthes. 1811.' It has the motto: - - -'The lunatic, the lover, and the poet -Are of imagination all compact.' - - -SHAKESPEARE. - -Five of Blake's poems, 'To the Muse?, Piping down the valleys wild, -Holy Thursday, The Tyger, The Garden of Love,' together with ten -lines from the Prophetic Books, are quoted, with German versions in -the metres of the original by Dr. Julius, the translator of the article. -On p. 101 there is an article, 'Von der neuesten englischen Poesie,' -containing notices of 'Poems by W. Cowper' (1803), 'Works of R. -Burns,'and 'Southey's Poems' (1801) and 'Metrical Tales' (1803).] - -[Footnote 2: 'Like' is first written, and replaced by 'live.'] - -[Footnote 3: 'Took' crossed out.] - -[Footnote 4: 'With an air of feebleness' crossed out.] - -[Footnote 5: After 'indifference and' 'the entire absence of anything -like blame ['reproach' crossed out], and I do not think that I ever heard -him blame anything, then or afterwards crossed out.] - -[Footnote 6: 'Pretty much' crossed out.] - -[Footnote 7: 'Comparing these fragmentary memoranda' crossed out.] - -[Footnote 8: Crossed out: - -'Yet this did not appear to affect the truth of his Visions. -I could not reconcile this with his blaming Wordsworth for being a -Platonist--not a Christian. He asked whether Wordsworth -acknowledged the Scriptures as Divine, and declared on my answering -in the affirmative that the Introduction to the Excursion had troubled -him so as to bring on a fit of illness. The passage that offended Blake -was: - -'Jehovah with his thunder and the choir -Of shouting Angels and the empyreal throne, -I pass them unalarmed. - -"Does Mr. Wordsworth," said Blake, "think his mind can _surpass_ -Jehovah's." I tried in vain to rescue Wordsworth from the imputation -of being a Pagan or perhaps an Atheist, but this did not rob him of the -character of being the great poet. Indeed Atheism meant but little -in Blake's mind as will hereafter appear. Therefore when he declared -Dante to be an Atheist, etc.' - -In the margin: See of Wordsworth as Blake judged of him, -p. 46 _et seq_. (i.e. "1826, 27/2/52" below.)] - -[Footnote 9: 'Dante saw Devils where I saw none' crossed out.] - -[Footnote 10: 'Most unconscious simplicity' crossed out.] - -[Footnote 11: 'It was after my first interview with him that I expressed -what I must repeat now--my regret' crossed out.] - -[Footnote 12: 'He smiled' omitted.] - -[Footnote 13: 'Marks' crossed out.] - -[Footnote 14: 'More' crossed out.] - -[Footnote 15: 'And yet he afterwards said that he was _then_ with God' -crossed out.] - -[Footnote 16: 'The plea' crossed out.] - -[Footnote 17: 'And seemingly undisturbed by the' crossed out.] - -[Footnote 18: 'Which I have anticipated, and which he characterised as -Atheism, that is, in worshipping Nature. See page' crossed out.] - -[Footnote 19: 'He gave me a copy of these lines in his hand, with this -note at the end' crossed out.] - -[Footnote 20: 'An admirable assertion of the ideal' crossed out.] - -[Footnote 21: 'Some of Wordsworth's' crossed out.] - -[Footnote 22: 'Spirits' crossed out.] - -[Footnote 23: 'Vision of Genesis' crossed out.] - -[Footnote 24: 'Write' crossed out.] - -[Footnote 25: 'Immediate 'crossed out.] - -[Footnote 26: 'Character' crossed out.] - -[Footnote 27: 'As might have been expected' crossed out.] - -[Footnote 28: 'Understood' crossed out.] - -[Footnote 29: 'And some other poems' crossed out.] - - - - -(II.) FROM 'A FATHER'S MEMOIRS OF HIS CHILD,' BY BENJAMIN HEATH -MALKIN (1806) - - -[This, the first printed account of Blake, is taken from the -dedicatory epistle of 'A Father's Memoirs of his Child,' by Benj. -Heath Malkin, Esq., M.A., F.A.S. (London: Printed for Longmans, -Hurst, Rees, and Orme, Paternoster Row, by T. Bensley, Bolt -Court, Fleet Street, 1806), to Thomas Johnes, the translator of -Froissart. I have given everything that relates to Blake, with enough -of the remainder to explain the purpose of the dedication. Malkin -was himself, perhaps, already engaged on the translation of -_Gil Blas_, which he brought out in 1809. The frontispiece -to the Memoirs, designed by Blake, and engraved by Cromek, consists -of a portrait of little Malkin, from a miniature, surrounded by a -design of the child saying good-bye to his mother, and floating -up to heaven, hand in hand with an ample and benign angel.] - - - - -TO THOMAS JOHNES, OF HAFOD, ESQ., M.P., LORD LIEUTENANT OF -THE COUNTY OF CARDIGAN, ETC. ETC. ETC. - - -MY DEAR FRIEND, - - -I have been influenced by several motives, in prefixing your -name to the following pages. My pen seems destined to owe its -employment, in some shape or other, to Hafod.... - -You may perhaps recollect, that while I was staying with you -last summer, our conversations were nearly as rambling and as -various, as our rides over your new mountain-farms, or as the -subject matter of these preliminary remarks seems likely to be.... -It would have been unnatural, to have concealed the mark of an -afflicting dispensation, in society so capable of consoling the -survivor, and appreciating the merit of the departed. In the -interchange of our thoughts on this subject, the task of furnishing -the public with the following facts was urged upon me, at once as -a tribute to the latter, and a relief to the feelings of the former.... -On mentioning my design to some of my friends, they expressed -their regret, that I had not determined on it sooner.... In every -other respect, but that of catching attention while the object is -still before the eye, the interval must be considered as an -advantage.... I have been asked, 'How could you get over such -a loss?' I need not say, that this was not your question, for you -could never have found it on the list of possible interrogatories: -and to you, for that very reason, will I answer it. - -I got over this great loss, by considering at once what I had -left; how unavailing the lengthened and excessive indulgence of -grief would have been to myself, and how useless it would have -rendered me to others.... - -Besides this comparison of my own, with the probable or actual -circumstances of others, I bore my disappointment the better -for the recollection, that personal regards are selfish. If my -thoughts were disposed to dwell on the mortifying idea, that -society might have lost an ornament derived to it through me, -they were soon checked, and ashamed of their presumption. Topics -of private bewailing or condolence, of whatever magnitude they -may appear to the individual, can never be modestly transferred -to general interest. But it was my principal consolation, that the -change to him must have been for the better. Supposing the opinion -to have been rational and probable, that the promise of this child -would have ripened into something more than fair capacity and -marketable talent, the prolongation of life was to himself perhaps -the less desirable on that very account. It rarely happens, that the -world affords even the ordinary allowance of happiness to men -of transcendent faculties. Their merits are too frequently denied -the protection and encouragement, to which they feel themselves -entitled, from the private intimations of their own scrutinizing spirit. -When they are most successful, the composure of their minds does -not always keep pace with the prosperity of their fortunes. They -necessarily have but few companions; few, who are capable of -appreciating their high endowments, and entering into the grandeur -of their conceptions. Of these few, those who come the nearest -to their own rank and standard, those who might be the associates -of their inmost thoughts, and the partners of their dearest interests, -are too often envious of their fame. It is a common remark, that -great men are not gregarious. This is but too just; and so much -of man's happiness depends upon society, that the comparative -solitude, to which a commanding genius condemns its possessor, -detracts considerably from the sum of his personal enjoyment. - -While I am on this subject, I cannot forbear enlarging somewhat -on an instance the more apposite, as being casually connected with -the subsequent pages. Hitherto, it has confirmed the observation -just hazarded, on the probable fate of stubborn originality in human -life. There seems now indeed some prospect, that the current will -turn: and I shall be eager, on the evidence of the very first -deponent, to disencumber myself of an opinion, which pays so ill -a compliment to our nature. In the meantime, I am confident that -you, and my other readers of taste and feeling, will readily forgive -my travelling a little out of the record, for the purpose of -descanting on merit, which ought to be more conspicuous, and -which must have become so long since, but for opinions and habits -of an eccentric kind. - -It is, I hope, unnecessary to call your attention to the ornamental -device, round the portrait in this book; but I cannot so easily refrain -from introducing to you the designer. - -Mr. William Blake, very early in life, had the ordinary opportunities -of seeing pictures in the houses of noblemen and gentlemen, -and in the king's palaces. He soon improved such casual occasions -of study, by attending sales at Langford's, Christie's, and other -auction-rooms. At ten years of age he was put to Mr. Pars's -drawing-school in the Strand, where he soon attained the art of -drawing from casts in plaster of the various antiques. His father -bought for him the Gladiator, the Hercules, the Venus of Medicis, -and various heads, hands and feet. The same indulgent parent -soon supplied him with money to buy prints; when he immediately -began his collection, frequenting the shops of the print-dealers, -and the sales of the auctioneers. Langford called him his little -connoisseur; and often knocked down to him a cheap lot, with -friendly precipitation. He copied Raphael and Michael Angelo, -Martin Hemskerck and Albert Dürer, Julio Romano, and the rest -of the historic class, neglecting to buy any other prints, however -celebrated. His choice was for the most part contemned by his -youthful companions, who were accustomed to laugh at what they -called his mechanical taste. At the age of fourteen, he fixed on -the engraver of Stuart's Athens and West's Pylades and Orestes -for his master, to whom he served seven years' apprenticeship. -Basire, whose taste was like his own, approved of what he did. -Two years passed over smoothly enough, till two other apprentices -were added to the establishment, who completely destroyed its -harmony. Blake, not choosing to take part with his master against -his fellow apprentices, was sent out to make drawings. This -circumstance he always mentions with gratitude to Basire, who -said that he was too simple and they too cunning. - -He was employed in making drawings from old buildings and -monuments, and occasionally, especially in winter, in engraving -from those drawings. This occupation led him to an acquaintance -with those neglected works of art, called Gothic monuments. -There he found a treasure, which he knew how to value. He saw -the simple and plain road to the style of art at which he aimed, -unentangled in the intricate windings of modern practice. The -monuments of Kings and Queens in Westminster Abbey, which surround -the chapel of Edward the Confessor, particularly that of King -Henry the Third, the beautiful monument and figure of Queen Elinor, -Queen Philippa, King Edward the Third, King Richard the Second -and his Queen, were among his first studies. All these he drew -in every point he could catch, frequently standing on the monument, -and viewing the figures from the top. The heads he considered -as portraits; and all the ornaments appeared as miracles of art, -to his Gothicised imagination. He then drew Aymer de Valence's -monument, with his fine figure on the top. Those exquisite little -figures which surround it, though dreadfully mutilated, are still -models for the study of drapery. But I do not mean to enumerate -all his drawings, since they would lead me over all the old -monuments in Westminster Abbey, as well as over other churches -in and about London. - -Such was his employment at Basire's. As soon as he was out -of his time, he began to engrave two designs from the History of -England, after drawings which he had made in the holiday hours -of his apprenticeship. They were selected from a great number of -historical compositions, the fruits of his fancy. He continued making -designs for his own amusement, whenever he could steal a moment -from the routine of business; and began a course of study at the -Royal Academy, under the eye of Mr. Moser. Here he drew with -great care, perhaps all, or certainly nearly all the noble antique -figures in various views. But now his peculiar notions began to -intercept him in his career. He professes drawing from life always -to have been hateful to him; and speaks of it as looking more -like death, or smelling of mortality. Yet still he drew a good deal -from life, both at the academy and at home. In this manner has -he managed his talents, till he is himself almost become a Gothic -monument. On a view of his whole life, he still thinks himself -authorized to pronounce, that practice and opportunity very -soon teach the language of art: but its spirit and poetry, which -are seated in the imagination alone, never can be taught; and -these make an artist. - -Mr. Blake has long been known to the order of men among whom -he ranks; and is highly esteemed by those, who can distinguish -excellence under the disguise of singularity. Enthusiastic and -high-flown notions on the subject of religion have hitherto, as -they usually do, prevented his general reception, as a son of -taste and of the muses. The sceptic and the rational believer, -uniting their forces against the visionary, pursue and scare a -warm and brilliant imagination, with the hue and cry of madness. -Not contented with bringing down the reasonings of the mystical -philosopher, as they well may, to this degraded level, they apply -the test of cold calculation and mathematical proof to departments -of the mind, which are privileged to appeal from so narrow and -rigorous a tribunal. They criticize the representations of corporeal -beauty, and the allegoric emblems of mental perfections; the -image of the visible world, which appeals to the senses for a -testimony to its truth, or the type of futurity and the immortal -soul, which identifies itself with our hopes and with our hearts, -as if they were syllogisms or theorems, demonstrable propositions -or consecutive corollaries. By them have the higher powers of -this artist been kept from public notice, and his genius tied down, -as far as possible, to the mechanical department of his profession. By -them, in short, has he been stigmatized as an engraver, who might -do tolerably well, if he was not mad. But men, whose names will -bear them out, in what they affirm, have now taken up his cause. -On occasion of Mr. Blake engaging to illustrate the poem of The -Grave, some of the first artists in this country have stept forward, -and liberally given the sanction of ardent and encomiastic applause. -Mr. Fuseli, with a mind far superior to that jealousy above described, -has written some introductory remarks in the Prospectus of the -work. To these he has lent all the penetration of his understanding, -with all the energy and descriptive power characteristic of his style. -Mr. Hope and Mr. Locke have pledged their character as connoisseurs, -by approving and patronizing these designs. Had I been furnished -with an opportunity of showing them to you, I should, on Mr. Blake's -behalf, have requested your concurring testimony, which you would -not have refused me, had you viewed them in the same light. - -Neither is the capacity of this untutored proficient limited to -his professional occupation. He has made several irregular and -unfinished attempts at poetry. He has dared to venture on the -ancient simplicity; and feeling it in his own character and manners, -has succeeded better than those, who have only seen it through -a glass. His genius in this line assimilates more with the bold -and careless freedom, peculiar to our writers at the latter end -of the sixteenth, and former part of the seventeenth century, -than with the polished phraseology, and just, but subdued thought -of the eighteenth. As the public have hitherto had no opportunity -of passing sentence on his poetical powers, I shall trespass on -your patience, while I introduce a few specimens from a collection, -circulated only among the author's friends, and richly embellished -by his pencil. - - -LAUGHING SONG - - -When the green woods laugh with the voice of joy, -And the dimpling stream runs laughing by, -When the air does laugh with our merry wit, -And the green hill laughs with the noise of it, - -When the meadows laugh with lively green, -And the grasshopper laughs in this merry scene, -When Mary and Susan and Emily, -With their sweet round mouths, sing Ha, ha, he! - -When the painted birds laugh in the shade, -Where our table with cherries and nuts is spread, -Come live and be merry and join with me, -To sing the sweet chorus of Ha, ha, he! - - -The Fairy Glee of Oberon, which Stevens's exquisite music -has familiarized to modern ears, will immediately occur to the -reader of these laughing stanzas. We may also trace another less -obvious resemblance to Jonson, in an ode gratulatory to the -Right Honourable Hierome, Lord Weston, for his return from his -embassy, in the year 1632. The accord is to be found, not in the -words nor in the subject; for either would betray imitation: but -in the style of thought, and, if I may so term it, the date of the -expression. - - -Such pleasure as the teeming earth -Doth take in easy nature's birth, -When she puts forth the life of every thing: -And in a dew of sweetest rain, -She lies delivered without pain, -Of the prime beauty of the year, the spring. - -The rivers in their shores do run, -The clouds rack clear before the sun, -The rudest winds obey the calmest air: -Rare plants from every bank do rise, -And every plant the sense surprise, -Because the order of the whole is fair! - -The very verdure of her nest, -Wherein she sits so richly drest, -As all the wealth of season there was spread; -Doth show the graces and the hours -Have multiplied their arts and powers, -In making soft her aromatic bed. - -Such joys, such sweets, doth your return -Bring all your friends, fair lord, that burn -With love, to hear your modesty relate -The bus'ness of your blooming wit, -With all the fruit shall follow it, -Both to the honor of the king and state. - - -The following poem of Blake is in a different character. It -expresses with majesty and pathos the feelings of a benevolent -mind, on being present at a sublime display of national munificence -and charity. - - -HOLY THURSDAY - - -'Twas on a Holy Thursday, their innocent faces clean, -The children walking two and two, in red and blue and -green; -Grey-headed beadles walked before, with wands as white -as snow; -Till into the high dome of Paul's, they, like Thames' -waters, flow. - -Oh! What a multitude they seemed, these flowers of -London town! -Seated in companies they sit, with radiance all their own! -The hum of multitudes was there, but multitudes of lambs; -Thousands of little boys and girls, raising their innocent -hands. - -Now like a mighty wind they raise to heaven the voice -of song, -Or like harmonious thunderings, the seats of heaven -among! -Beneath them sit the aged men, wise guardians of the -poor: -Then cherish pity, lest you drive an angel from your door. - - -The book of Revelation, which may well be supposed to engross -much of Mr. Blake's study, seems to have directed him, in common -with Milton, to some of the foregoing images. 'And I heard as it were -the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and -as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord -God omnipotent reigneth.' Milton comprises the mighty thunderings -in the epithet 'loud,' and adopts the comparison of many waters, which -image our poet, having in the first stanza appropriated differently, to -their flow rather than to their sound, exchanges in the last for that -of a mighty wind. - - -He ended; and the heav'nly audience loud -Sung hallelujah, as the sound of sees, -Through multitude that sung. - - -_Paradise Lost_, Book X. 641. - - -It may be worth a moment's consideration, whether Dr. Johnson's -remarks on devotional poetry, though strictly just where he applies -them, to the artificial compositions of Waller and Watts, are universally -and necessarily true. Watts seldom rose above the level of a mere -versifier. Waller, though entitled to the higher appellation of poet, -had formed himself rather to elegance and delicacy, than to passionate -emotions or a lofty and dignified deportment. The devotional pieces -of the Hebrew bards are clothed in that simple language, to which -Johnson with justice ascribes the character of sublimity. There is no -reason therefore why the poets of other nations should not be equally -successful, if they think with the same purity, and express themselves -in the same unaffected terms. He says indeed with truth, that 'Repentance -trembling in the presence of the judge, is not at leisure for cadences -and epithets.' But though we should exclude the severer topics from our -catalogue, mercy and benevolence may be treated poetically, because -they are in unison with the mild spirit of poetry. They are seldom -treated successfully; but the fault is not in the subject. The mind of -the poet is too often at leisure for the mechanical prettinesses of -cadence and epithet, when it ought to be engrossed by higher thoughts. -Words and numbers present themselves unbidden, when the soul is -inspired by sentiment, elevated by enthusiasm, or ravished by devotion. -I leave it to the reader to determine, whether the following stanzas -have any tendency to vindicate this species of poetry; and whether -their simplicity and sentiment at all make amends for their unartificial -and unassuming construction. - - -THE DIVINE IMAGE - - -To Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love, -All pray in their distress, -And to these virtues of delight -Return their thankfulness. - -For Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love -Is God our Father dear: -And Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love, -Is man, his child and care. - -For Mercy has a human heart; -Pity, a human face; -And Love, the human form divine, -And Peace, the human dress. - -Then every man, of every clime, -That prays in his distress, -Prays to the human form divine, -Love, Mercy, Pity, Peace. - -And all must love the human form. -In Heathen, Turk, or Jew! -Where Mercy, Love, and Pity dwell, -There God is dwelling too. - - -Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis, Tarquin and Lucrece, and his Sonnets, -occasioned it to be said by a contemporary, that, 'As the soul of -Euphorbus was thought to live in Pythagoras, so the sweet witty -soul of Ovid lives in mellifluous honey-tongued Shakespeare.' These -poems, now little read, were favorite studies of Mr. Blake's early -days. So were Jonson's Underwoods and Miscellanies, and he seems -to me to have caught his manner, more than that of Shakespeare -in his trifles. The following song is a good deal in the spirit of the -Hue and Cry after Cupid, in the Masque on Lord Haddington's marriage. -It was written before the age of fourteen, in the heat of youthful fancy, -unchastized by judgment. The poet, as such, takes the very strong -liberty of equipping himself with wings, and thus appropriates his -metaphorical costume to his corporeal fashion and seeming. The -conceit is not unclassical; but Pindar and the ancient lyrics arrogated -to themselves the bodies of swans for their august residence. Our -Gothic songster is content to be encaged by Cupid; and submits, -like a young lady's favorite, to all the vagaries of giddy curiosity -and tormenting fondness. - - -How sweet I roamed from field to field, -And tasted all the summer's pride, -Till I the prince of love beheld, -Who in the sunny beams did glide! - -He showed me lilies for my hair, -And blushing roses for my brow; -He led me through his gardens fair, -Where all his golden pleasures grow. - -With sweet May dews my wings were wet, -And Phoebus fired my vocal rage; -He caught me in his silken net, -And shut me in his golden cage. - -He loves to sit and hear me sing, -Then, laughing, sports and plays with me; -Then stretches out my golden wing, -And mocks my loss of liberty. - - -The playful character ascribed to the prince of love, especially his -wanton and fantastic action while sporting with his captive, in the -two last stanzas, render it probable that the author had read the -Hue and Cry after Cupid. If so, it had made its impression; but the -lines could scarcely have been remembered at the time of writing, or -the resemblance would have been closer. The stanzas to which I -especially allude, are these. - - -Wings he hath, which though ye clip, -He will leap from lip to lip, -Over liver, lights, and heart, -But not stay in any part; -And, if chance his arrow misses, -He will shoot himself, in kisses. - -Idle minutes are his reign; -Then the straggler makes his gain, -By presenting maids with toys, -And would have ye think'em joys: -'Tis th' ambition of the elf, -To have all childish as himself. - - -The two following little pieces are added, as well by way of -contrast, as for the sake of their respective merits. In the first, -there is a simple and pastoral gaiety, which the poets of a refined -age have generally found much more difficult of attainment, than -the glitter of wit, or the affectation of antithesis. The second rises -with the subject. It wears that garb of grandeur, which the idea of -creation communicates to a mind of the higher order. Our bard, -having brought the topic he descants on from warmer latitudes -than his own, is justified in adopting an imagery, of almost oriental -feature and complexion. - - -SONG - - -I love the jocund dance, -The softly breathing song, -Where innocent eyes do glance, -And where lisps the maiden's tongue. - -I love the laughing gale, -I love the echoing hill, -Where mirth does never fail, -And the jolly swain laughs his fill. - -I love the pleasant cot, -I love the innocent bower, -Where white and brown is our lot, -Or fruit in the midday hour. - -I love the oaken seat, -Beneath the oaken tree, -Where all the old villagers meet, -And laugh our sports to see. - -I love our neighbors all, -But, Kitty, I better love thee; -And love them I ever shall; -But thou art all to me. - - -THE TIGER - - -Tiger, Tiger, burning bright, -In the forest of the right! -What immortal hand or eye -Could frame thy fearful symmetry? - -In what distant deeps or skies, -Burnt the fire of thine eyes? -On what wings dare he aspire? -What the hand dare seize the fire? - -And what shoulder, and what art, -Could twist the sinews of thy heart? -When thy heart began to beat, -What dread hand forged thy dread feet? - -What the hammer? What the chain? -In what furnace was thy brain? -What the anvil? What dread grasp -Dared its deadly terrors clasp? - -When the stars threw down their spears, -And watered heaven with their tears, -Did he smile his work to see? -Did he, who made the lamb, make thee? - -Tiger, tiger, burning bright, -In the forest of the night; -What immortal hand or eye -Dare frame thy fearful symmetry? - - -Besides these lyric compositions, Mr. Blake has given several -specimens of blank verse. Here, as might be expected, his personifications -are bold, his thoughts original, and his style of writing altogether epic -in its structure. The unrestrained measure, however, which should -warn the poet to restrain himself, has not infrequently betrayed -him into so wild a pursuit of fancy, as to leave harmony unregarded, -and to pass the line prescribed by criticism to the career of -imagination. - -But I have been leading you beside our subject, into a labyrinth -of poetical comment, with as little method or ceremony, as if we were -to have no witness of our correspondence. It is time we should return -from the masking regions of poetry, to the business with which -we set out. Donne, in his Anatomy of the World, remarks the -Egyptians to have acted wisely, in bestowing more cost upon -their tombs than on their houses. This example he adduces, to -justify his own Funeral Elegies: and I may perhaps be allowed -to adopt it, as an additional plea, should my former be of no avail, -for coming forward with this piece of almost infantine biography.... - -I regret, my dear friend, that it was not in my power to furnish -you and my readers with a portrait of a later date. We had often -talked of allowing ourselves that indulgence; but we were not privy -to the event, which was to have communicated to it an incalculable -value. The engraving here given, though it might well be taken to -represent a much older child, is from a very beautiful miniature, -painted by Paye, when Thomas was not quite two years old. He then -was only beginning to speak; but there was even at that early period -an intelligence in his eye, and an expression about his mouth, which -are, I hope, sufficiently characterized in the delineation to afford -no inadequate idea of his physiognomy.... - -At all events, this work, though it should escape censure, can -rank no higher than a trifle. What apology must I make for addressing -it to a fellow-laborer, who has accomplished the serious and -difficult task of giving an English dress to Froissart? I think it was -Gray who denominated your venerable original the Herodotus of -a barbarous age; But surely that age is entitled to a more respectful -epithet, when France could boast its Froissart, Italy its Petrarch, -England its Wickliffe, the father of our reformation, and Chaucer, the -father of our poetry. If I might slightly alter the designation of so -complete a critic, I would prefer calling this simple and genuine -historian, the Herodotus of chivalry. But by whatever title -we are to greet him, the interesting minuteness of his recital, -affording a strong pledge of its fidelity, the lively delineation of -manners, and the charm of unadulterated language, all conspire -to place him in the first rank of early writers. The public began -to revolt from that spirit of philosophizing on the most common -occasions, in consequence of which our modern historians seem -to be more ingenious in assigning causes and motives, than assiduous -to ascertain facts. We are returning home to plain tales and first-hand -authorities; and you will share the honor of pointing out the way. -Froissart, hitherto inaccessible to English readers in general, -from the obsolete garb both of the French and of Lord Berners's -translation, may now be read in such a form, as to unite a peculiar -thought and turn of the ancient with the intelligible phraseology -of modern times. With my best congratulations on your success, -and my earnest request to be forgiven for thus intruding on your -leisure, believe me to be, my dear friend, faithfully yours, - - -B. H. MALKIN. - - -HACKNEY, _January_ 4, 1806. - - - - -(III.) FROM LADY CHARLOTTE BURY'S DIARY (1820) - - -[This extract from the _Diary illustrative of the Times of George -the Fourth_, by Lady Charlotte Bury, afterwards Lady Charlotte -Campbell, published anonymously, and edited by John Galt, in four -volumes, in 1839, was first noticed by Mr. W. M. Rossetti, who printed -it in the _Athenaeum._ It is from vol. iii. pp. 345-318.] - - - - -FROM LADY CHARLOTTE BURY'S DIARY (1820) - - -_Tuesday_, _the_ 20_th of January_ [1820].--I -dined at Lady C. L----'s. She had collected a strange -party of artists and literati and one or two fine folks, who were very -ill assorted with the rest of the company, and appeared neither to give -nor receive pleasure from the society among whom they were mingled. -Sir T. Lawrence, next whom I sat at dinner, is as courtly as ever. His -conversation is agreeable, but I never feel as if he was saying what -he really thought.... - -Besides Sir T., there was also present of this profession Mrs. M., -the miniature painter, a modest, pleasing person; like the pictures she -executes, soft and sweet. Then there was another eccentric little -artist, by name Blake; not a regular professional painter, but one -of those persons who follow the art for its own sweet sake, and -derive their happiness from its pursuit. He appeared to me to be -full of beautiful imaginations and genius; but how far the execution -of his designs is equal to the conceptions of his mental vision, I -know not, never having seen them. _Main-d'oeuvre_ is frequently -wanting where the mind is most powerful Mr. Blake appears unlearned -in all that concerns this world, and, from what he said, I should fear -he is one of those whose feelings are far superior to his situation -in life. He looks care-worn and subdued; but his countenance -radiated as he spoke of his favorite pursuit, and he appeared -gratified by talking to a person who comprehended his feelings. -I can easily imagine that he seldom meets with any one who enters -into his views; for they are peculiar, and exalted above the common -level of received opinions. I could not help contrasting this humble -artist with the great and powerful Sir Thomas Lawrence, and thinking -that the one was fully if not more worthy of the distinction and the -fame to which the other has attained, but from which _he_ is -far removed. Mr. Blake, however, though he may have as much right, -from talent and merit, to the advantages of which Sir Thomas is -possessed, evidently lacks that worldly wisdom and that grace of -manner which make a man gain an eminence in his profession, -and succeed in society. Every word he uttered spoke the perfect -simplicity of his mind, and his total ignorance of all worldly -matters. He told me that Lady C---- L---- had been very kind -to him. 'Ah!' said he, 'there is a deal of kindness in that lady.' I -agreed with him, and though it was impossible not to laugh at the -strange manner in which she had arranged this party, I could not -help admiring the goodness of heart and discrimination of talent -which had made her patronize this unknown artist. Sir T. Lawrence -looked at me several times whilst I was talking with Mr. B., and I -saw his lips curl with a sneer, as if he despised me for conversing -with so insignificant a person.[1] It was very evident Sir Thomas -did not like the company he found himself in, though he was too -well-bred and too prudent to hazard a remark upon the subject. - -The literati were also of various degrees of eminence, beginning -with Lord B----, and ending with----. The grandees were Lord -L----, who appreciates talent, and therefore not so ill assorted -with the party as was Mrs. G----and Lady C----, who did nothing -but yawn the whole evening, and Mrs A----, who all looked with -evident contempt upon the surrounding company. - - -[Footnote 1: There is surely some mistake in this supposition, for Sir -T. Lawrence was, afterwards at least, one of Mr. Blake's great -patrons and admirers.] - - - - -(IV.) BLAKE'S HOROSCOPE (1825) - - -[Blake's horoscope was cast during his lifetime in _Urania_, -or, the Astrologer's Chronicle, and Mystical Magazine; edited by Merlinus -Anglicanus, jun., the Astrologer of the Nineteenth Century, assisted by -the Metropolitan Society of Occult Philosophers (No. I, London, 1825), -the first and only number of an astrological magazine, published under -the pseudonym of Merlinus Anglicanus by R. C. Smith, an astrologer -of the period, and it is highly probable, as Dr. Garnett suggests, that -the date (confirmed by the birth register at St. James's, Westminster) -was derived from Varley, who would have had it from Blake himself. -I give the map, not as it is printed in the book, but in the clearer and -simpler form in which it was copied and given to me by Dr. Garnett. -I am told that the most striking thing in the map, from an astrological -point of view, is the position and aspect of Uranus, the occult planet, -which indicate in the highest degree 'an inborn and supreme instinct -for things occult,' without showing the least tendency towards madness. -The 'Nativity of Mr. Blake' is the last entry, Footnote [2] in -"William Blake, chapter II."] - - -[Illustration 02] - - - - -NATIVITY OF MR. BLAKE, - -THE MYSTICAL ARTIST - - -[Illustration 03] - - -The above horoscope is calculated for the _estimate_ time -of birth, and Mr. Blake, the subject thereof, is well known amongst -scientific characters, as having a most peculiar and extraordinary -turn of genius and vivid imagination. His illustrations of the Book -of Job have met with much and deserved praise; indeed, in the line -which this artist has adopted, he is perhaps equalled by none of the -present day. Mr. Blake is no less peculiar and _outré_ in his -ideas, as he seems to have some curious intercourse with the invisible -world; and, according to his own account (in which he is certainly, -to all appearance, perfectly sincere), he is continually surrounded -by the spirits of the deceased of all ages, nations, and countries. -He has, so he affirms, held actual conversations with Michael Angelo, -Raphael, Milton, Dryden, and the worthies of antiquity. He has now -by him a long poem nearly finished, which he affirms was recited to -him by the spirit of Milton; and the mystical drawings of this -gentleman are no less curious and worthy of notice, by all those -whose minds soar above the cloggings of this terrestrial element, -to which we are most of us too fastly chained to comprehend the -nature and operations of the world of spirits. - -Mr. Blake's pictures of the last judgment, his profiles of Wallace, -Edward the Sixth, Harold, Cleopatra, and numerous others which -we have seen, are really wonderful for the spirit in which they are -delineated. We have been in company with this gentleman several -times, and have frequently been not only delighted with his conversation, -but also filled with feelings of wonder at his extraordinary faculties; -which, whatever some may say to the contrary, are by no means -tinctured with superstition, as he certainly believes what he -promulgates. Our limits will not permit us to enlarge upon this -geniture, which we merely give as an example worthy to be noticed -by the astrological student in his list of remarkable nativities. But it -is probable that the extraordinary faculties and eccentricities of -idea which this gentleman possesses, are the effects of the Moon -in Cancer in the twelfth house (both sign and house being mystical), -in trine to Herschell from the mystical sign Pisces, from the house -of science, and from the mundane trine to Saturn in the scientific -sign Aquarius, which latter planet is in square to Mercury in Scorpio, -and in quintile to the Sun and Jupiter, in the mystical sign Sagittarius. -The square of Mars and Mercury, from fixed signs, also, has a -remarkable tendency to sharpen the intellects, and lay the foundation -of extraordinary ideas. There are also many other reasons for the -strange peculiarities above noticed, but these the student will no -doubt readily discover. - - - - -(V.) OBITUARY NOTICES IN THE LITERARY GAZETTE' AND 'GENTLEMAN'S -MAGAZINE,' 1827. - - -[Obituary Notices of Blake appeared in the _Literary Gazette_ -of August 18, 1827 (pp. 540-41), the _Gentleman's Magazine_ of -October 1827 (pp. 377-8), and the _Annual Register_ of 1827, in its -Appendix of Deaths (pp. 253-4). The notice in the _Gentleman's -Magazine_ is largely condensed from that in the _Literary -Gazette_, but with a different opening, which I have given after -the notice in the _Literary Gazette._ The notice in the -_Annual Register_ is merely condensed from the _Gentleman's -Magazine._] - - - - -I - - -WILLIAM BLAKE - - -_The Illustrator of the Grave, etc._ - - -To those few who have sympathies for the ideal and (comparatively -speaking) the intellectual in art, the following notice is addressed. -Few persons of taste are unacquainted with the designs by Blake, -appended as illustrations to a 4to edition of Blair's Grave. It was -borne forth into the world on the warmest praises of all our prominent -artists, Hoppner, Phillips, Stothard, Flaxman, Opie, Tresham, -Westmacott, Beechey, Lawrence, West, Nollekins, Shee, Owen, Rossi, -Thomson, Cosway, and Soane; and doubly assured with a preface -by the learned and severe Fuseli, the latter part of which we -transcribe--'The author of the moral series before us has -endeavored to wake sensibility by touching our sympathies with -nearer, less ambiguous, and less ludicrous imagery, than what -mythology, Gothic superstition, or symbols as far-fetched as -inadequate could supply. His invention has been chiefly employed -to spread a familiar and domestic atmosphere round the most -important of all subjects--to connect the visible and the -invisible world, without provoking probability--and to lead -the eye from the milder light of time to the radiations of eternity. -Such is the plan and the moral part of the author's invention; the -technic part, and the execution of the artist, though to be examined -by other principles, and addressed to a narrower circle, equally claim -approbation, sometimes excite our wonder, and not seldom our fears, -when we see him play on the very verge of legitimate invention; -but wildness so picturesque in itself, so often redeemed by taste, -simplicity, and elegance--what child of fancy, what artist, -would wish to discharge? The groups and single figures, on their -own basis, abstracted from the general composition, and considered -without attention to the plan, frequently exhibit those genuine -and unaffected attitudes, those simple graces, which nature and -the heart alone can dictate, and only an eye inspired by both -discover. Every class of artists, in every stage of their progress -and attainments, from the student to the finished master, and -from the contriver of ornament to the painter of history, will here -find materials of art, and hints of improvement!' - -When it is stated, that the pure-minded Flaxman pointed out -to an eminent literary man the obscurity of Blake as a melancholy -proof of English apathy towards the grand, the philosophic, or -the enthusiastically devotional painter; and that he (Blake) has -been several times employed for that truly admirable judge of -art, Sir T. Lawrence, any further testimony to his extraordinary -powers is unnecessary. Yet has Blake been allowed to exist in -a penury which most artists[1]--beings necessarily of a sensitive -temperament--would deem intolerable. Pent, with his affectionate -wife, in a close back-room in one of the Strand courts, his -bed in one corner, his meagre dinner in another, a rickety table -holding his copper-plates in progress, his colors, books (among -which his Bible, a Sessi Velutello's Dante, and Mr. Carey's -translation, were at the top), his large drawings, sketches, -and MSS.;--his ankles frightfully swelled, his chest disordered, -old age striding on, his wants increased, but not his miserable -means and appliances: even yet was his eye undimmed, the fire -of his imagination unquenched, and the preternatural, never-resting -activity of his mind unflagging. He had not merely a calmly -resigned, but a cheerful and mirthful countenance; in short, -he was a living commentary on Jeremy Taylor's beautiful chapter -on Contentedness. He took no thought for his life, what he should -eat, or what he should drink; nor yet for his body, what he -should put on; but had a fearless confidence in that Providence -which had given him the vast range of the world for his recreation -and delight. - -_Blake died last Monday!_ Died as he lived! piously cheerful, -talking calmly, and finally resigning himself to his eternal rest, -like an infant to its sleep. He has left _nothing_ except some -pictures, copper-plates, and his principal work of a series of a hundred -large designs from Dante. - -William Blake was brought up under Basire, the eminent engraver. -He was active in mind and body, passing from one occupation to -another, without an intervening minute of repose. Of an ardent, -affectionate, and grateful temper, he was simple in manner and -address, and displayed an inbred courteousness, of the most -agreeable character. Next November he would have been _sixty-nine._ -At the age of sixty-six he commenced the study of Italian, for -the sake of reading Dante in the original, which he accomplished! - -His widow is left (we fear, from the accounts which have reached -us) in a very forlorn condition, Mr. Blake having latterly been much -indebted for succor and consolation to his friend Mr. Linnell, the -painter. We have no doubt but her cause will be taken up by the -distributors of those funds which are raised for the relief of distressed -artists, and also by the benevolence of private individuals. - -When further time has been allowed us for inquiry, we shall -probably resume this matter; at present (owing the above information -to the kindness of a correspondent) we can only record the death -of a singular and very able man. - - - - -II - - -MR. WILLIAM BLAKE - - -Aug. 13, aged 68, Mr. William Blake, an excellent, but eccentric, -artist. - -He was a pupil of the engraver Basire; and among his earliest -productions were eight beautiful plates in the Novelist's Magazine. -In 1793 he published in 12mo, 'The Gates of Paradise,' a very small -book for children, containing fifteen plates of emblems; and 'published -by W. B., 13 Hercules Buildings, Lambeth'; also about the same time, -'Songs of Experience, with plates'; 'America; a Prophecy,' folio, and -'Europe, a Prophecy,' 1794, folio. These are now become very scarce. -In 1797 he commenced, in large folio, an edition of Young's Night -Thoughts, of which every page was a design, but only one number -was published. In 1805 were produced in 8vo numbers, containing -five engravings by Blake, some ballads by Mr. Hayley, but which -also were abruptly discontinued. Few persons of taste are unacquainted -with the designs by Blake, engraved by Schiavonetti, as illustrations -to a 4to edition of Blair's Grave. They are twelve in number, and an -excellent portrait of Blake, from a picture by T. Phillips, R.A., is -prefixed. It was borne forth ... [Here follows the third sentence, -p. 345 above, to the end of the paragraph.] - -In 1809 was published in 12mo, 'A Descriptive Catalogue of -[sixteen] pictures, poetical and historical inventions, painted by -William Blake in watercolors, being the ancient method of fresco -painting restored, and drawings, for public inspection, and for -sale by private contract.' Among these was a design of Chaucer's -Pilgrimage to Canterbury, from which an etching has been published. -Mr. Blake's last publication is a set of engravings to illustrate the -Book of Job. To Fuseli's testimony of his merit above quoted, it -is sufficient to add, that he has been employed by that truly -admirable judge of art, Sir Thomas Lawrence; and that the pure-minded -Flaxman.... - -[The remainder is condensed from the _Literary Gazette_, -in "The Illustrator of the Grave," above, with the occasional change -of a word, or the order of a sentence.] - - - - -[Footnote 1: The term is employed in its generic and comprehensive -sense.] - - - - -(VI.) EXTRACT FROM VARLEY'S ZODIACAL PHYSIOGNOMY (1828) - - -[John Varley, astrologer and water-color painter, was introduced to -Blake by Linnell, and it was for him that Blake did the 'visionary heads' -described by Allan Cunningham. (see "VIII Life of Blake by Allan -Cunningham.") 'The Ghost of a Flea' exists in both forms described -by Varley, in a sketch of the head (which he reproduces, engraved by -Linnell, in a plate at the end of his book, together with two other -heads in outline), and in a full-length picture in tempera. The passage -which follows is taken from pp. 54, 55 of 'A Treatise on Zodiacal -Physiognomy; illustrated with engravings of heads and features: -accompanied by tables of the times of rising of the twelve signs of -the Zodiac; and containing also new and astrological explanation -of some remarkable portions of Ancient Mythological History.' By John -Varley. London: Printed for the Author, 1828.] - - - - -EXTRACT FROM VARLEY'S ZODIACAL PHYSIOGNOMY - - -With respect to the vision of the Ghost of the Flea, seen by -Blake, it agrees in countenance with one class of people under -Gemini, which sign is the significator of the Flea; whose brown color -is appropriate to the color of the eyes in some full-toned Gemini -persons. And the neatness, elasticity, and tenseness of the Flea -are significant of the elegant dancing and fencing sign Gemini. -This spirit visited his imagination in such a figure as he never -anticipated in an insect. As I was anxious to make the most correct -investigation in my power, of the truth of these visions, on hearing -of this spiritual apparition of a Flea, I asked him if he could draw -for me the resemblance of what he saw: he instantly said, 'I see him -now before me.' I therefore gave him paper and a pencil, with which -he drew the portrait, of which a facsimile is given in this number. I -felt convinced by his mode of proceeding that he had a real image -before him, for he left off, and began on another part of the paper -to make a separate drawing of the mouth of the Flea, which the -spirit having opened, he was prevented from proceeding with the -first sketch, till he had closed it. During the time occupied in -completing the drawing, the Flea told him that all fleas were -inhabited by the souls of such men as were by nature blood-thirsty -to excess, and were therefore providentially confined to the size -and form of insects; otherwise, were he himself, for instance, the -size of a horse, he would depopulate a great portion of the country. -He added, that if in attempting to leap from one island to another, -he should fall into the sea, he could swim, and should not be lost. -This spirit afterwards appeared to Blake, and afforded him a view -of his whole figure; an engraving of which I shall give in this work. - - - - -(VII.) BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF BLAKE BY J. T. SMITH (1828) - - -[The Memoir of Blake by John Thomas Smith, Keeper of the Prints -and Drawings in the British Museum, is the last of the 'Biographical -Sketches and Anecdotes of several Artists and others contemporary -with Nollekens,' contained in the second volume of 'Nollekens and -his Times: comprehending a Life of that celebrated Sculptor; and -Memoirs of several contemporary Artists, from the' time of Roubiliac, -Hogarth, and Reynolds, to that of Fuseli, Flaxman, and Blake.' (London: -Henry Colburn, New Burlington Street, 1828.) It contains more facts -at first hand than any other account of Blake, and is really the -foundation of all subsequent biographies. I have added a page, -which is not without its significance, from a later book by Smith, -'A Book for a Rainy Day; or, Recollections of the Events of the last -Sixty-five Years' (1845), where it occurs under date 1784, on -pp. 81, 82.] - - - - -BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF BLAKE - - -I believe it has been invariably the custom of every age, whenever -a man has been found to depart from the usual mode of thinking, to -consider him of deranged intellect, and not infrequently stark -staring mad; which judgment his calumniators would pronounce -with as little hesitation, as some of the uncharitable part of mankind -would pass sentence of death upon a poor half-drowned cur -who had lost his master, or one who had escaped hanging with a -rope about his neck. Cowper, in a letter to Lady Hesketh, dated -June 3, 1788, speaking of a dancing-master's advertisement, says, -'The author of it had the good hap to be crazed, or he had never -produced anything half so clever; for you will ever observe, that -they who are said to have lost their wits, have more than other -people.' - -Bearing this stigma of eccentricity, William Blake, with most -extraordinary zeal, commenced his efforts in Art under the roof -of No. 28 Broad Street, Carnaby Market; in which house he was -born, and where his father carried on the business of a hosier. -William, the subject of the following pages, who was his second -son, showing an early stretch of mind, and a strong talent for -drawing, being totally destitute of the dexterity of a London -shopman, so well described by Dr. Johnson, was sent away from -the counter as a booby, and placed under the late Mr. James -Basire, an artist well known for many years as engraver to the -Society of Antiquaries. From him he learned the mechanical -part of his art, and as he drew carefully, and copied faithfully, -his master frequently and confidently employed him to make drawings -from monuments to be engraved. - -After leaving his instructor, in whose house he had conducted -himself with the strictest propriety, he became acquainted with -Flaxman, the sculptor, through his friend Stothard, and was also -honored by an introduction to the accomplished Mrs. Mathew, -whose house, No. 27, in Rathbone Place, was then frequented by -most of the literary and talented people of the day. This lady--to -whom I also had the honor of being known, and whose door and -purse were constantly open and ready to cherish persons of genius -who stood in need of assistance in their learned and arduous -pursuits, worldly concerns, or inconveniences--was so extremely -zealous in promoting the celebrity of Blake, that upon hearing -him read some of his early efforts in poetry, she thought so well -of them, as to request the Bev. Henry Mathew, her husband, to -join Mr. Flaxman in his truly kind offer of defraying the expense -of printing them; in which he not only acquiesced, but, with his -usual urbanity, wrote the following advertisement, which precedes -the poems: - - -'The following sketches were the production of an untutored -youth, commenced in his twelfth, and occasionally resumed by the -author till his twentieth year; since which time, his talents having -been wholly directed to the attainment of excellence in his profession, -he has been deprived of the leisure requisite to such a revisal of -these sheets, as might have rendered them less unfit to meet the -public eye. - -'Conscious of the irregularities and defects to be found in almost -every page, his friends have still believed that they possessed a -poetical originality, which merited some respite from oblivion. These, -their opinions, remain, however, to be now reproved or confirmed by -a less partial public.' - - -The annexed Song is a specimen of the juvenile playfulness of -Blake's muse, copied from page 10 of these Poems.[1] - - -SONG - - -'How sweet I roam'd from field to field, -And tasted all the Summer's pride, -Till I the Prince of Love beheld, -Who in the sunny beams did glide! - -'He show'd me lilies for my hair, -And blushing roses for my brow; -He led me through his gardens fair, -Where all his golden pleasures grow. - -'With sweet May-dews my wings were wet, -And Phoebus fired my vocal rage; -He caught me in his silken net, -And shut me in his golden cage. - -'He loves to sit and hear me sing, -Then, laughing, sports and plays with me; -Then stretches out my golden wing, -And mocks my loss of liberty.' - - -But it happened, unfortunately, soon after this period, that in -consequence of his unbending deportment, or what his adherents -are pleased to call his manly firmness of opinion, which certainly -was not at all times considered pleasing by every one, his visits -were not so frequent. He, however, continued to benefit by Mrs. -Mathew's liberality, and was enabled to continue in partnership, -as a print-seller, with his fellow-pupil, Parker, in a shop, No. 27, -next door to his father's, in Broad Street; and being extremely partial -to Robert, his youngest brother, considered him as his pupil. Bob, -as he was familiarly called, was one of my playfellows, and much -beloved by all his companions. - -Much about this time, Blake wrote many other songs, to which -he also composed tunes. These he would occasionally sing to his -friends; and though, according to his confession, he was entirely -unacquainted with the science of music, his ear was so good, that -his tunes were sometimes most singularly beautiful, and were noted -down by musical professors. As for his later poetry, if it may be so -called, attached to his plates, though it was certainly in some parts -enigmatically curious as to its application, yet it was not always wholly -uninteresting; and I have unspeakable pleasure in being able to state, -that though I admit he did not for the last forty years attend any place -of Divine worship, yet he was not a Freethinker, as some invidious -detractors have thought proper to assert, nor was he ever in any -degree irreligious. Through life, his Bible was everything with him; -and as a convincing proof how highly he reverenced the Almighty, I -shall introduce the following lines with which he concludes his address -to the Deists: - - -'For a tear is an intellectual thing; -And a sigh is the sword of an Angel-King; -And the bitter groan of a Martyr's woe -Is an arrow from the Almighty's bow.' - - -Again, at page 77, in his address to the Christians: - - -'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.' - - -In his choice of subjects, and in his designs in Art, perhaps no -man had higher claim to originality, nor ever drew with a closer -adherence to his own conception; and from what I knew of him, -and have heard related by his friends, I most firmly believe few -artists have been guilty of less plagiarisms than he. It is true, -I have seen him admire and heard him expatiate upon the beauties -of Marc Antonio and of Albert Dürer; but I verily believe not with -any view of borrowing an idea; neither do I consider him at any -time dependent in his mode of working, which was generally with -the graver only; and as to printing, he mostly took off his own -impressions. - -After his marriage, which took place at Battersea, and which -proved a mutually happy one, he instructed his _beloved_, for -so he most frequently called his Kate,[2] and allowed her, till the last -moment of his practice, to take off his proof impressions and print -his works, which she did most carefully, and ever delighted in the -task: nay, she became a draughts-woman; and as a convincing proof -that she and her husband were born for each others comfort, she -not only entered cheerfully into his views, but, what is curious, -possessed a similar power of imbibing ideas, and has produced -drawings equally original and, in some respects, interesting. - -Blake's peace of mind, as well as that of his Catherine, was much -broken by the death of their brother Robert, who was a most amicable -link in their happiness; and, as a proof how much Blake respected him, -whenever he beheld him in his visions, he implicitly attended to his -opinion and advice as to his future projected works. I should have -stated, that Blake was supereminently endowed with the power of -disuniting all other thoughts from his mind, whenever he wished to -indulge in thinking of any particular subject; and so firmly did he -believe, by this abstracting power, that the objects of his compositions -were before him in his mind's eye, that he frequently believed them -to be speaking to him. This I shall now illustrate by the following -narrative. - -Blake, after deeply perplexing himself as to the mode of accomplishing -the publication of his illustrated songs, without their being subject -to the expense of letterpress, his brother Robert stood before him -in one of his visionary imaginations, and so decidedly directed him -in the way in which he ought to proceed, that he immediately followed -his advice, by writing his poetry, and drawing his marginal subjects of -embellishments in outline upon the copper-plate with an impervious -liquid, and then eating the plain parts or lights away with aqua-fortis -considerably below them, so that the outlines were left as a stereotype. -The plates in this state were then printed in any tint that he wished, -to enable him or Mrs. Blake to color the marginal figures up by hand -in imitation of drawings. - -The following are some of his works produced in this manner, viz.; -'Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, The Book of Jerusalem,' -consisting of an hundred plates, 'The Marriage of Heaven and Hell,' -'Europe and America'; and another work, which is now very uncommon, -a pretty little series of plates, entitled 'Gate of Paradise.' - -Blake, like those artists absorbed in a beloved study, cared not -for money beyond its use for the ensuing day; and indeed he and -his 'beloved' were so reciprocally frugal in their expenses, that, never -sighing for either gilded vessels, silver-laced attendants, or turtle's -livers, they were contented with the simplest repast, and a little -answered their purpose. Yet, notwithstanding all their economy, -Dame Fortune being, as it is pretty well known to the world, sometimes -a fickle jade, they, as well as thousands more, have had their -intercepting clouds. - -As it is not my intention to follow them through their lives, I -shall confine myself to a relation of a few other anecdotes of this -happy pair; and as they are connected with the Arts, in my opinion -they ought not to be lost, as they may be considered worthy the -attention of future biographers. - -For his marginal illustrations of 'Young's Night Thoughts,' which -possess a great power of imagination, he received so despicably -low a price, that Flaxman, whose heart was ever warm, was determined -to serve him whenever an opportunity offered itself; and with his usual -voice of sympathy, introduced him to his friend Hayley, with whom it -was no new thing to give pleasure, capricious as he was. This -gentleman immediately engaged him to engrave the plates for his -quarto edition of 'The Life of Cowper,' published in 1803-4; -and for this purpose he went down to Felpham, in order to be near -that highly respected _Hermit._ - -Here he took a cottage, for which he paid twenty pounds a year, -and was not, as has been reported, entertained in a house belonging -to Mr. Hayley rent-free. During his stay he drew several portraits, -and could have had full employment in that department of the Art; -but he was born to follow his own inclinations, and was willing -to rely upon a reward for the labours of the day. - -Mr. Flaxman, knowing me to be a collector of autographs, among -many others, gave me the following letter, which he received from -Blake immediately after his arrival at Felpham, in which he styles him. - - -'DEAR SCULPTOR OF ETERNITY, - -'We are safe arrived at our cottage, which is more beautiful than -I thought it, and more convenient. It is a perfect model for cottages, -and, I think, for palaces of magnificence; only enlarging, not altering, -its proportions, and adding ornaments and not principals. Nothing can -be more grand than its simplicity and usefulness. Simple without -intricacy, it seems to be the spontaneous effusion of humanity, congenial -to the wants of man. No other-formed house can ever please me so -well; nor shall I ever be persuaded, I believe, that it can be improved -either in beauty or use. - -'Mr. Hayley received us with his usual brotherly affection. I have -begun to work. Felpham is a sweet place for study, because it is more -spiritual than London. Heaven opens here on all sides her golden -gates; her windows are not obstructed by vapors; voices of celestial -inhabitants are more distinctly heard, and their forms more distinctly -seen, and my cottage is also a shadow of their houses. My wife and -sister are both well, courting Neptune for an embrace. - -'Our journey was very pleasant; and though we had a great deal -of luggage, no grumbling. All was cheerfulness and good-humour -on the road, and yet we could not arrive at our cottage before half-past -eleven at night, owing to the necessary shifting of our luggage from -one chaise to another; for we had seven different chaises, and -as many different drivers. We set out between six and seven in the -morning of Thursday, with sixteen heavy boxes, and portfolios full -of prints. - -'And now begins a new life, because another covering of earth -is shaken off. I am more famed in Heaven for my works than I could -well conceive. In my brain are studies and chambers filled with books -and pictures of old, which I wrote and painted in ages of eternity, -before my mortal life; and those works are the delight and study -of archangels. Why then should I be anxious about the riches or fame -of mortality? The Lord, our father, will do for us and with us according -to his Divine will for our good. - -'You, O dear Flaxman! are a sublime Archangel, my friend and -companion from eternity. In the Divine bosom is our dwelling-place. -I look back into the regions of reminiscence, and behold our ancient -days before this earth appeared in its vegetated mortality to my -mortal-vegetated eyes. I see our houses of eternity which can -never be separated, though our mortal vehicles should stand at the -remotest corners of Heaven from each other. - -'Farewell, my best friend! Remember me and my wife in love -and friendship to our dear Mrs. Flaxman, whom we ardently desire -to entertain beneath our thatched roof of rusted gold; and believe -me for ever to remain, - -'Your grateful and affectionate, - -'WILLIAM BLAKE. - -'Felpham, _Sept._ 21, 1800. - -'Sunday morning.' - - -In a copy of Hayley's 'Triumphs of Temper,' illustrated by Stothard, -which had been the one belonging to the Author's son, and which -he gave after his death to Blake, are these verses in MS. by the -hand of the donor: - - -'Accept, my gentle visionary, Blake, -Whose thoughts are fanciful and kindly mild; -Accept, and fondly keep for friendship's sake, -This favor'd vision, my poetic child. - -'Rich in more grace than fancy ever won, -To thy most tender mind this book will be, -For it belong'd to my departed son; -So from an angel it descends to thee. - -W. H. - -_July_, 1800.'[3] - - -Upon his return from Felpham, he addressed the public, -in page 3 of his Book of Jerusalem, in these words, 'After my -three years' slumber on the banks of the ocean, I again display -my giant-forms to the public,' etc. - -Some of the 'giant-forms,' as he calls them, are mighty and -grand, and if I were to compare them to the style of any preceding -artist, Michel Angelo, Sir Joshua's favorite, would be the one; and -were I to select a specimen as a corroboration of this opinion, I -should instance the figure personifying the 'Ancient of Days,' the -frontispiece to his 'Europe, a Prophecy.' In my mind, his knowledge -of drawing, as well as design, displayed in this figure, must at once -convince the informed reader of his extraordinary abilities. - -I am now under the painful necessity of relating an event promulgated -in two different ways by two different parties; and as I entertain a high -respect for the talents of both persons concerned, I shall, in order to -steer clear of giving umbrage to the supporters of either, leave the -reader to draw his own conclusions, unbiassed by any insinuation -whatever of mine. - -An engraver of the name of Cromek, a man who endeavored to -live by speculating upon the talents of others, purchased a series -of drawings of Blake, illustrative of Blair's 'Grave,' which he had -begun with a view of engraving and publishing. These were sold -to Mr. Cromek for the insignificant sum of one guinea each, with -the promise, and indeed under the express agreement, that Blake -should be employed to engrave them; a task to which he looked -forward with anxious delight. Instead of this negotiation being -carried into effect, the drawings, to his great mortification, were put -into the hands of Schiavonetti. During the time this artist was thus -employed, Cromek had asked Blake--what work he had in mind -to execute next. The unsuspecting artist not only told him, but without -the least reserve showed him the designs sketched out for a fresco -picture; the subject Chaucer's 'Pilgrimage to Canterbury'; with which -Mr. Cromek appeared highly delighted. Shortly after this, Blake -discovered that Stothard, a brother-artist to whom he had been -extremely kind in early days, had been employed to paint a picture, -not only of the same subject, but in some instances similar to the -fresco sketch which he had shown to Mr. Cromek. The picture painted -by Stothard became the property of Mr. Cromek, who published -proposals for an engraving from it, naming Bromley as the engraver -to be employed. However, in a short time, that artist's name was -withdrawn, and Schiavonetti's substituted, who lived only to complete -the etching; the plate being finished afterwards by at least three -different hands. Blake, highly indignant at this treatment, immediately -set to work, and proposed an engraving from his fresco picture, which -he publicly exhibited in his brother James's shop-window, at the -corner of Broad Street, accompanied with an address to the public, -stating what he considered to be improper conduct. - -So much on the side of Blake.[4] On the part of -Stothard, the story runs thus. Mr. Cromek had agreed with that artist to -employ him upon a picture of the Procession of Chaucer's Pilgrimage -to Canterbury, for which he first agreed to pay him sixty guineas, but -in order to enable him to finish it in a more exquisite manner, promised -him forty more, with an intention of engaging Bromley to engrave it; but -in consequence of some occurrence, his name was withdrawn, and -Schiavonetti was employed. During the time Stothard was painting the -picture, Blake called to see it, and appeared so delighted with it, that -Stothard, sincerely wishing to please an old friend with whom he had -lived so cordially for many years, and from whose works he always most -liberally declared he had received much pleasure and edification, -expressed a wish to introduce his portrait as one of the party, as a -mark of esteem. - -Mr. Hoppner, in a letter to a friend, dated May 30, 1807, says -of it: - - -'This intelligent group is rendered still more interesting by the -charm of coloring, which though simple is strong, and most harmoniously -distributed throughout the picture. The landscape has a deep-toned -brightness that accords most admirably with the figures; and the -painter has ingeniously contrived to give a value to a common scene -and very ordinary forms, that would hardly be found, by unlearned eyes, -in the natural objects. He has expressed too, with great vivacity and -truth, the freshness of morning, at that season when Nature herself -is most fresh and blooming--the Spring; and it requires no -great stretch of fancy to imagine we perceive the influence of it -on the cheeks of the Fair Wife of Bath, and her rosy companions, -the Monk and Friar. - -'In respect of the execution of the various parts of this pleasing -design, it is not too much praise to say, that it is wholly free from -that vice which painters term _manner_; and it has this -peculiarity beside, which I do not remember to have seen in any -picture, ancient or modern, namely, that it bears no mark of the -period in which it was painted, but might very well pass for the -work of some able artist of the time of Chaucer. This effect is not, -I believe, the result of any association of ideas connected with the -costume, but appears in primitive simplicity, and the total absence -of all affectation, either of coloring or pencilling. - -'Having attempted to describe a few of the beauties of this -captivating performance, it remains only for me to mention one -great defect. The picture is, notwithstanding appearances, _a -modern one._ But if you can divest yourself of the general -prejudice that exists against contemporary talents, you will see -a work that would have done honor to any school, at any period.'[5] - - -In 1810, Stothard, to his great surprise, found that Blake had -engraved and published a plate of the same size, in some respects -bearing a similarity to his own.[6] Such are the outlines of this -controversy. - -Blake's ideas were often truly entertaining, and after he had -conveyed them to paper, his whimsical and novel descriptions -frequently surpassed his delineations; for instance, that of his -picture of the Transformation of the Flea to the form of a Man, -is extremely curious. This personification, which he denominated -a Cupper, or Blood-sucker, is covered with coat of armor, similar -to the case of the flea, and is represented slowly pacing in the night, -with a thorn attached to his right hand, and a cup in the other, as -if ready to puncture the first person whose blood he might fancy, like -Satan prowling about to seek whom he could devour. Blake said of -the flea, that were that lively little fellow the size of an elephant, -he was quite sure, from the calculations he had made of his wonderful -strength, that he could bound from Dover to Calais in one leap.[7] -Whatever may be the public opinion hereafter of Blake's talents, -when his enemies are dead, I will not presume to predict;[8] -but this I am certain of, that on the score of industry at least, -many artists must strike to him. Application was a faculty so -engendered in him that he took little bodily exercise to keep up -his health: he had few evening walks and little rest from labour, -for his mind was ever fixed upon his art, nor did he at any time -indulge in a game of chess, draughts, or backgammon; such -amusements, considered as relaxations by artists in general, -being to him distractions. His greatest pleasure was derived -from the Bible--a work ever at his hand, and which he often -assiduously consulted in several languages. Had he fortunately -lived till the next year's exhibition at Somerset House, the public -would then have been astonished at his exquisite finishing of a -Fresco picture of the Last Judgment, containing upwards of one -thousand figures, many of them wonderfully conceived and grandly -drawn. The lights of this extraordinary performance have the -appearance of silver and gold; but upon Mrs. Blake's assuring me -that there was no silver used, I found, upon a closer examination, -that a blue wash had been passed over those parts of the gilding -which receded, and the lights of the forward objects, which were -also of gold, were heightened with a warm color, to give the -appearance of the two metals. - -It is most certain, that the uninitiated eye was incapable of -selecting the beauties of Blake; his effusions were not generally -felt; and in this opinion I am borne out in the frequent assertions -of Fuseli and Flaxman. It would, therefore, be unreasonable to -expect the booksellers to embark in publications, not likely to -meet remuneration. Circumstanced, then, as Blake was, approaching -to threescore years and ten, in what way was he to persevere in his -labours? Alas, he knew not! until the liberality of Mr. Linnell, a -brother-artist of eminence, whose discernment could well appreciate -those parts of his designs which deserved perpetuity, enabled him -to proceed and execute in comfort a series of twenty-one plates, -illustrative of the Book of Job. This was the last work he completed, -upon the merits of which he received the highest congratulations -from the following Royal Academicians: Sir Thomas Lawrence, Mr. -Baily, Mr. Philips, Mr. Chantrey, Mr. James Ward, Mr. Arnald, Mr. -Collins, Mr. Westmacott, and many other artists of eminence. - -As to Blake's system of coloring, which I have not hitherto -noticed, it was in many instances most beautifully prismatic. In -this branch of the art he often acknowledged Apelles to have been -his tutor, who was, he said, so much pleased with his style, that -once when he appeared before him, among many of his observations, -he delivered the following:--'You certainly possess my system of -coloring; and I now wish you to draw my person, which has hitherto -been untruly delineated.' - -I must own that until I was favoured by Mr. Upcott with a sight -of some of Blake's works, several of which I had never seen, I was -not so fully aware of his great depth of knowledge in coloring. Of -these most interesting specimens of his art, which are now extremely -rare, and rendered invaluable by his death, as it is impossible for any -one to color them with his mind, should the plates remain, Mr. Richard -Thomson, another truly kind friend, has favoured me with the following -descriptive lists. - - -SONGS OF EXPERIENCE. The author and printer, W. Blake. Small -octavo; seventeen plates, including the title-page. Frontispiece, a -winged infant mounted on the shoulders of a youth. On the title-page, -two figures weeping over two crosses. - -_Introduction._ Four Stanzas on a cloud, with a night-sky -behind, and beneath, a figure of Earth stretched on a mantle. - -_Earths Answer._ Five Stanzas; a serpent on the ground -beneath. - -_The Clod, and the Pebble._ Three Stanzas; above, a -headpiece of four sheep and two oxen; beneath, a duck and reptiles. - -_A Poison Tree._ Four Stanzas: The tree stretches up the right -side of the page; and beneath, a dead body killed by its influence. - -_The Fly._ Five Stanzas. Beneath, a female figure with two -children. - -_Holy Thursday._ Four Stanzas. Head-piece, a female figure -discovering a dead child. On the right-hand margin a mother and two -children lamenting the loss of an infant which lies beneath. Perhaps this -is one of the most tasteful of the set. - -_The Chimney-Sweeper._ Three Stanzas. Beneath, a figure of -one walking in snow towards an open door. - -_London._ Four Stanzas. Above, a child leading an old man -through the street; on the right hand, a figure warming itself at a fire. -If in any instance Mr. Blake has copied himself, it is in the figure of -the old man upon this plate, whose position appears to have been a -favorite one with him. - -_The Tiger._ Six Stanzas. On the right-hand margin, the -trunk of a tree; and beneath, a tiger walking. - -_A Little Boy Lost._ Six Stanzas. Ivy-leaves on the right hand, -and beneath, weeping figure before a fire, in which the verses state that -the child had been burned by a Saint. - -_The Human Abstract._ Six Stanzas. The trunk of a tree on -the right-hand margin, and beneath, an old man in white drawing a veil -over his head. - -_The Angel._ Four Stanzas. Head-piece, a female figure lying -beneath a tree, and pushing from her a winged boy. - -_My Pretty Rose-Tree._ Two Stanzas: succeeded by a small -vignette, of a figure weeping, and another lying reclined at the foot of -a tree. Beneath, are two verses more, entitled, _Ah! Sun-Flower_; -and a single stanza, headed _The Lily._ - -_Nurse's Song._ Two Stanzas. Beneath, a girl with a youth -and a female child at a door surrounded by vine-leaves. - -_A Little Girl Lost._ Seven Stanzas; interspersed with birds -and leaves, the trunk of a tree on the right-hand margin. - -The whole of these plates are colored in imitation of fresco. The -poetry of these songs is wild, irregular, and highly mystical, but of no -great degree of elegance or excellence, and their prevailing feature is -a tone of complaint of the misery of mankind. - -AMERICA: _a Prophecy._ Lambeth: Printed by William Blake, -in the year 1793; folio; eighteen plates or twenty pages, including the -frontispiece and title-page. After a Preludium of thirty-seven lines -commences the Prophecy of 226, which are interspersed with numerous -headpieces, vignettes, and tail-pieces, usually stretching along the -left-hand margin and enclosing the text; which sometimes appears -written on a cloud, and at others environed by flames and water. Of -the latter subject a very fine specimen is shown upon page 13, where -the tail-piece represents the bottom of the sea, with various fishes -coming together to prey upon a dead body. The head-piece is another -dead body lying on the surface of the waters, with an eagle feeding -upon it with outstretched wings. Another instance of Mr. Blake's -favorite figure of the old man entering at Death's door, is contained -on page 12 of this poem. The subject of the text is a conversation -between the Angel of Albion, the Angels of the Thirteen States, -Washington, and some others of the American generals, and 'Red -Ore,' the spirit of war and evil. The verses are without rhyme, and most -resemble hexameters, though they are by no means exact; and the -expressions are mystical in a very high degree. - -EUROPE: _a Prophecy._ Lambeth: Printed by William Blake, -1794; folio; seventeen plates on the leaves, inclusive of the frontispiece -and title-page. Colored to imitate the ancient fresco painting. The -Preludium consists of thirty-three lines, in stanzas without rhyme, and -the Prophecy of two hundred and tight; the decorations to which are -larger than most of those in the former book, and approach nearest -to the character of paintings, since, in several instances, they occupy -the whole page. The frontispiece is an uncommonly fine specimen of -art, and approaches almost to the sublimity of Raffaelle or Michel -Angelo. It represents 'The Ancient of Days,' in an orb of light surrounded -by dark clouds, as referred to in Proverbs VIII. 27, stooping down with -an enormous pair of compasses to describe the destined orb of the -world,[9] 'when he set a compass upon the face of the earth.' - - -'In His hand -He took the golden compasses, prepar'd -In God's eternal store, to circumscribe -This universe, and all created things: -One foot he centred, and the other turn'd -Round through the vast profundity obscure; -And said, "Thus far extend, thus far thy bounds, -This be thy just circumference, O World!"' - -Paradise Lost, book VII. line 236. - - -Another splendid composition in this work are the two angels pouring -out the black-spotted plague upon England, on page 9; in which the -fore-shortening of the legs, the grandeur of their positions, and the -harmony with which they are adapted to each other and to their curved -trumpets, are perfectly admirable. The subject-matter of the work is -written in the same wild and singular measures as the preceding, and -describes, in mystical language, the terrors of plague and anarchy which -overspread England during the slumbers of Enitharmon for eighteen -hundred years; upon whose awaking, the ferocious spirit Ore burst into -flames 'in the vineyards of red France.' At the end of this poem are seven -separate engravings on folio pages, without letterpress, which are -colored like the former part of the work, with a degree of splendor and -force, as almost to resemble sketches in oil-colors. The finest of these -are a figure of an angel standing in the sun, a group of three furies -surrounded by clouds and fire, and a figure of a man sitting beneath -a tree in the deepest dejection; all of which are peculiarly remarkable -for their strength and splendor of coloring. Another publication by Mr. -Blake consisted only of a small quarto volume of twenty-three engravings -of various shapes and sizes, colored as before, some of which are -of extraordinary effect and beauty. The best plates in this series -are--the first of an aged man, with a white heard sweeping the -ground, and writing in a book with each hand, naked; a human figure -pressing out his brain through his ears; and the great sea-serpent; but -perhaps the best is a figure sinking in a stormy sea at sunset, the -splendid light of which, and the foam upon the black waves, are -almost magical effects of coloring. Beneath the first design is engraved -'_Lambeth, printed by W. Blake_, 1794.' - - -Blake's modes of preparing his ground, and laying them over -his panels for painting, mixing his colors, and manner of working, -were those which he considered to have been practized by the -earliest fresco painters, whose productions still remain, in numerous -instances, vivid and permanently fresh. His ground was a mixture -of whiting and carpenter's glue, which he passed over several times -in thin coatings: his colors he ground himself, and also united them -with the same sort of glue, but in a much weaker state. He would, in -the course of painting a picture, pass a very thin transparent wash -of glue-water over the whole of the parts he had worked upon, and -then proceed with his finishing.[10] - -This process I have tried, and find, by using my mixture warm, -that I can produce the same texture as possessed in Blake's pictures -of the Last Judgment, and others of his productions, particularly -in Varley's curious picture of the personified Flea. Blake preferred -mixing his colors with carpenter's glue, to gum, on account of the -latter cracking in the sun, and becoming humid in moist weather. -The glue-mixture stands the sun, and change of atmosphere has no -effect upon it. Every carpenter knows that if a broken piece of stick -be joined with good glue, the stick will seldom break again in the -glued parts. - -That Blake had many secret modes of working, both as a colorist -and an engraver, I have no doubt. His method of eating away the plain -copper, and leaving his drawn lines of his subjects and his words as -stereotype, is, in my mind, perfectly original. Mrs. Blake is in -possession of the secret, and she ought to receive something -considerable for its communication, as I am quite certain it may be -used to the greatest advantage both to artists and literary characters -in general. - -That Blake's colored plates have more effect than others where -gum has been used, is, in my opinion, the fact, and I shall rest my -assertion upon those beautiful specimens in the possession of Mr. -Upcott, colored purposely for that gentleman's godfather, Ozias -Humphrey, Esq., to whom Blake wrote the following interesting letter. - - -TO OZIAS HUMPHREY, ESQ. - - -'The design of The Last Judgment, which I have completed by -your recommendation for the Countess of Egremont, it is necessary -to give some account of; and its various parts ought to be described, -for the accommodation of those who give it the honor of their -attention. - -'Christ seated on the Throne of Judgment: the Heavens in clouds -rolling before him and around him, like a scroll ready to be consumed -in the fires of the Angels; who descend before his feet, with their four -trumpets sounding to the four winds. - -'Beneath, the Earth is convulsed with the labours of the Resurrection. -In the caverns of the earth is the Dragon with seven heads and ten -horns, chained by two Angels; and above his cavern, on the earth's -surface, is the Harlot, also seized and bound by two Angels with -chains, while her palaces are falling into ruins, and her counsellors and -warriors are descending into the abyss, in wailing and despair. - -'Hell opens beneath the harlot's seat on the left hand, into which -the wicked are descending. - -'The right hand of the design is appropriated to the Resurrection -of the Just: the left hand of the design is appropriated to the -Resurrection and Fall of the Wicked. - -'Immediately before the Throne of Christ are Adam and Eve, -kneeling in humiliation, as representatives of the whole human -race; Abraham and Moses kneel on each side beneath them; from -the cloud on which Eve kneels, and beneath Moses, and from the -tables of stone which utter lightning, is seen Satan wound round -by the Serpent, and falling headlong; the Pharisees appear on -the left hand pleading their own righteousness before the Throne -of Christ: The Book of Death is opened on clouds by two Angels; -many groups of figures are falling from before the throne, and -from the sea of fire, which flows before the steps of the throne; -on which are seen the seven Lamps of the Almighty, burning before -the throne. Many figures chained and bound together fall through the -air, and some are scourged by Spirits with flames of fire into the -abyss of Hell, which opens to receive them beneath, on the left hand -of the harlot's seat; where others are howling and descending into -the flames, and in the act of dragging each other into Hell, and of -contending in fighting with each other on the brink of perdition. - -'Before the Throne of Christ on the right hand, the Just, in -humiliation and in exultation, rise through the air, with their -Children and Families; some of whom are bowing before the Book -of Life, which is opened by two Angels on clouds: many groups -arise with exultation; among them is a figure crowned with stars, -and the moon beneath her feet, with six infants around her, she -represents the Christian Church. The green hills appear beneath; -with the graves of the blessed, which are seen bursting with their -births of immortality; parents and children embrace and arise -together, and in exulting attitudes tell each other that the New -Jerusalem is ready to descend upon earth; they arise upon the air -rejoicing; others newly awaked from the graves, stand upon the -earth embracing and shouting to the Lamb, who cometh in the -clouds with power and great glory. - -'The whole upper part of the design is a view of Heaven opened; -around the Throne of Christ, four living creatures filled with eyes, -attended by seven angels with seven vials of the wrath of God, and -above these seven Angels with the seven trumpets compose the -cloud, which by its rolling away displays the opening seats of the -Blessed, on the right and the left of which are seen the four-and-twenty -Elders seated on thrones to judge the dead. - -'Behind the seat and Throne of Christ appears the Tabernacle -with its veil opened, the Candlestick on the right, the Table with -Show-bread on the left, and in the midst, the Cross in place of the -Ark, with the two Cherubim bowing over it. - -'On the right hand of the Throne of Christ is Baptism, on his left -is the Lord's Supper--the two introducers into Eternal Life. -Women with infants approach the figure of an aged Apostle, which -represents Baptism; and on the left hand the Lord's Supper is -administered by Angels, from the hands of another aged Apostle; -these kneel on each side of the Throne, which is surrounded by -a glory: in the glory many infants appear, representing Eternal -Creation flowing from the Divine Humanity in Jesus; who opens -the Scroll of Judgment upon his knees before the living and the -dead. - -'Such is the design which you, my dear Sir, have been the cause -of my producing, and which, but for you, might have slept till the -Last Judgment. - -'WILLIAM BLAKE. - -'_January_ 18, 1808.' - - -Blake and his wife were known to have lived so happily together, -that they might unquestionably have been registered at Dunmow. -'Their hopes and fears were to each other known,' and their days -and nights were passed in each other's company, for he always -painted, drew, engraved, and studied, in the same room where -they grilled, boiled, stewed, and slept; and so steadfastly attentive -was he to his beloved tasks, that for the space of two years he had -never once been out of his house; and his application was often so -incessant, that in the middle of the night, he would, after thinking -deeply upon a particular subject, leap from his bed and write for -two hours or more; and for many years he made a constant practice -of lighting the fire, and putting on the kettle for breakfast before -his Kate awoke. - -During his last illness, which was occasioned by the gall mixing -with his blood, he was frequently bolstered-up in his bed to -complete his drawings, for his intended illustration of Dante; -an author so great a favorite with him, that though he agreed -with Fuseli and Flaxman, in thinking Carey's translation superior -to all others, yet, at the age of sixty-three years, he learned the -Italian language purposely to enjoy Dante in the highest possible -way. For this intended work, he produced seven engraved plates -of an imperial quarto size, and nearly one hundred finished drawings -of a size considerably larger; which will do equal justice to his -wonderful mind, and the liberal heart of their possessor, who -engaged him upon so delightful a task at a time when few persons -would venture to give him employment, and whose kindness softened, -for the remainder of his life, his lingering bodily sufferings, which -he was seen to support with the most Christian fortitude. - -On the day of his death, August 12,[11] 1827, he composed and -uttered songs to his Maker so sweetly to the ear of his Catherine, -that when she stood to hear him, he, looking upon her most affectionately, -said, 'My beloved, they are not mine--no--they are not mine.' -He expired at six in the evening, with the most cheerful serenity. -Some short time before his death, Mrs. Blake asked him where he -should like to be buried, and whether he would have the Dissenting -Minister, or the Clergyman of the Church of England, to read -the service: his answers were, that as far as his own feelings -were concerned, they might bury him where she pleased, adding, -that as his father, mother, aunt, and brother were buried in -Bunhill Bow, perhaps it would be better to lie there, but as -to service, he should wish for that of the Church of England. - -His hearse was followed by two mourning-coaches, attended by -private friends: Calvert, Richmond, Tatham, and his brother, promising -young artists, to whom he had given instructions in the Arts, were of -the number. Tatham, ill as he was, travelled ninety miles to attend the -funeral of one for whom, next to his own family, he held the highest -esteem. Blake died in his sixty-ninth year, in the back-room of the -first-floor of No. 3 Fountain Court, Strand, and was buried in Bunhill -Fields, on the 17th of August, at the distance of about twenty-five feet -from the north wall, numbered eighty. - -Limited as Blake was in his pecuniary circumstances, his beloved -Kate survives him clear of even a sixpenny debt; and in the fullest -belief that the remainder of her days will be rendered tolerable by the -sale of the few copies of her husband's works, which she will dispose -of at the original price of publication; in order to enable the collector -to add to the weight of his bookshelves, without being solicited to -purchase, out of compassion, those specimens of her husband's talents -which they ought to possess. - - -EXTRACT FROM 'A BOOK FOR A RAINY DAY' - - -[1784].--This year Mr. Flaxman, who then lived in Wardour -Street, introduced me to one of his early patrons, the Rev. Henry -Mathew, of Percy Chapel, Charlotte Street, which was built for him; -he was also afternoon preacher at Saint Martin's-in-the-Fields. At that -gentleman's house, in Rathbone Place, I became acquainted with -Mrs. Mathew and her son. At that lady's most agreeable conversaziones -I first met the late William Blake, the artist, to whom she and Mr. -Flaxman had been truly kind. There I have often heard him read -and sing several of his poems. He was listened to by the company with -profound silence, and allowed by most of the visitors to possess original -and extraordinary merit.'[12] - - - - -[Footnote 1: The whole copy of this little work, entitled 'Poetical -Sketches, by W. B.,' containing seventy pages, octavo, bearing -the date of 1783, was given to Blake to sell to friends, or publish, -as he might think proper.] - -[Footnote 2: A friend has favoured me with the following anecdotes, -which he received from Blake, respecting his courtship. He states -that 'Our Artist fell in love with a lively little girl, who allowed him -to say everything that was loving, but would not listen to his overtures -on the score of matrimony. He was lamenting this in the house of -a friend, when a generous-hearted lass declared that she pitied him -from her heart. "Do you pity me?" asked Blake. "Yes; I do, most -sincerely."--"Then," said he, "I love you for that."--"Well," -said the honest girl, "and I love you." The consequence was, they -were married, and lived the happiest of lives.'] - -[Footnote 3: I copied the above from the book now in the possession of -Mrs. Blake.] - -[Footnote 4: In 1809, Blake exhibited sixteen poetical and historical -inventions, in his brother's first-floor in Broad Street; eleven -pictures in fresco, professed to be painted according to the -ancient method, and seven drawings, of which an explanatory -catalogue was published, and is perhaps the most curious of its -kind ever written. At page 7, the description of his fresco -painting of Geoffrey Chaucer's Pilgrimage commences. This picture, -which is larger than the print, is now in the possession of Thomas -Butts, Esq., a gentleman friendly to Blake, and who is in possession -of a considerable number of his works.] - -[Footnote 5: See the 'Artist,' by Prince Hoare, Esq., No. 13, -vol. I. p. 13.] - -[Footnote 6: I must do Mr. Stothard the justice to declare, that the -very first time I saw him after he had read the announcement -of Blake's death, he spoke in the handsomest terms of his talents, -and informed me that Blake made a remarkably correct and fine -drawing of the head of Queen Philippa, from her monumental effigy -in Westminster Abbey, for Gough's Sepulchral Monuments, engraved -by Basire. The collectors of Stothard's numerous and elegant designs -will recollect the name of Blake as the engraver of several plates in -the Novelist's Magazine, the Poetical Magazine, and also others for -a work entitled the Wit's Magazine, from drawings produced by the -same artist. Trotter, the engraver, who received instructions from -Blake, and who was a pattern-draughtsman to the calico-printers, -introduced his friend Stothard to Blake, and their attachment for -each other coutinued most cordially to exist in the opinion of the -public, until they produced their rival pictures of Chaucer's Canterbury -Pilgrimage.] - -[Footnote 7: This interesting little picture is painted in fresco. It is -now the property of John Varley, the artist, whose landscapes -will ever be esteemed as some of the finest productions in Art, -and who may fairly be considered as one of the founders of the -Society of Artists in Water-Colors; the annual exhibitions of which -continue to surpass those of the preceding seasons.] - -[Footnote 8: Blake's talent is not to be seen in his engravings from the -designs of other artists, though he certainly honestly endeavored -to copy the beauties of Stothard, Flaxman, and those masters set -before him by the few publishers who employed him; but his own -engravings from his own mind are the productions which the man -of true feeling must ever admire, and the predictions of Fuseli and -Flaxman may hereafter be verified 'That a time will come when Blake's -finest works will be as much sought after and treasured up in the -portfolios of men of mind, as those of Michel Angelo are at -present.'] - -[Footnote 9: He was inspired with the splendid grandeur of this figure, -by the vision which he declared hovered over his head at the -top of his staircase; and he has been frequently heard to say, -that it made a more powerful impression upon his mind than all -he had ever been visited by. This subject was such a favorite with -him, that he always bestowed more time and enjoyed greater pleasure -when coloring the print, than anything he ever produced. - -Mr. F. Tatham employed him to tint an impression of it, for -which I have heard he paid him the truly liberal sum of three -guineas and a half. I say liberal, though the specimen is worth -any price, because the sum was so considerably beyond what Blake -generally had been accustomed to receive as a remuneration for -his extraordinary talents. Upon this truly inestimable impression, -which I have now before me, Blake worked when bolstered-up in -his bed only a few days before he died; and my friend F. Tatham -has just informed me, that after Blake had frequently touched -upon it, and had as frequently held it at a distance, he threw it -from him, and with an air of exulting triumph exclaimed, 'There, -that will do! I cannot mend it.' However, this was not his last -production; for immediately after he had made the above declaration -to his beloved Kate, upon whom his eyes were steadfastly fixed, -he vociferated, 'Stay! keep as you are! _you_ have ever been -an _angel_ to me, I will draw you'; and he actually made -a most spirited fineness of her, though within so short a period -of his earthly termination.] - -[Footnote 10: Loutherbourgh was also, in _his_ way, very ingenious in his -contrivances. To oblige his friend Garrick, he enriched a drama, -entitled '_The Christmas Tale_,' with scenery painted by himself, -and introduced such novelty and brilliancy of effect, as formed -a new era in that species of art. This he accomplished by means -of differently colored silks placed before the lamps at the front of -the stage, and by the lights behind the side scenes. The same -effects were used for distance and atmosphere. As for instance, -Harlequin in a fog was produced by tiffany hung between the -audience and himself. Mr. Seguire, the father of the Keeper of -the King's Pictures, and those of the National Gallery, purchased -of Mr. Loutherbourgh ten small designs for the scenery of Omiah, -for which scenes the manager paid him one thousand pounds. Mr. -Loutherbourgh never would leave any paper or designs at the -theatre, nor would he ever allow any one to see what he intended -to produce; as he secretly held small cards in his hand, which he -now and then referred to in order to assist him in his recollections -of his small drawings.] - -[Footnote 11: Not the 13th, as has been stated by several editors who -have noticed his death.] - -[Footnote 12: A time will come when the numerous, though now very -rare works of Blake (in consequence of his taking very few impressions -from the plates before they were rubbed out to enable him to use them -for other subjects), will be sought after with the most intense avidity. -He was considered by Stothard and Flaxman (and will be by those of -congenial minds, if we can reasonably expect such again) with their -highest admiration. These artists allowed him their utmost unqualified -praise, and were ever anxious to recommend him and his productions -to the patrons of the Arts; but, alas! they were not sufficiently -appreciated as to enable Blake, as every one could wish, to provide -an independence for his surviving partner, Kate, who adored his -memory.] - - - - -(VIII.) LIFE OF BLAKE -BY ALLAN CUNNINGHAM (1830) - - -[Allan Cunningham's Life of Blake occupies pp. 142-179 of the second -volume of his _Lives of the most eminent British Painters, Sculptors, -and Architects._ (London: John Murray, Albemarle Street, MDCCCXXX.) -It is largely indebted to Smith, but contains a few anecdotes not found -elsewhere, and probably derived from Varley and Linnell. In a letter to -Linnell, printed in Mr. Story's Life, Cunningham says that 'much -valuable information' has been received from Varley, and asks -for more, adding, with characteristic impertinence: 'I know Blake's -character, for I knew the man. I shall make a _judicious_ use of -my materials, and be merciful where sympathy is needed.' He reproduces -the Phillips portrait of Blake, which had been engraved by Schiavonetti -for Blair's _Grave_, in a less showy and more lifelike engraving -by W. C. Edwards.] - - - - -Painting, like poetry, has followers, the body of whose genius -is light compared to the length of its wings, and who, rising above -the ordinary sympathies of our nature, are, like Napoleon, betrayed -by a star which no eye can see save their own. To this rare class -belonged William Blake. - -He was the second son of James Blake and Catherine his wife, -and born on the 28th of November, 1757, in 28 Broad Street, -Carnaby Market, London. His father, a respectable hosier, caused -him to be educated for his own business, but the love of art came -early upon the boy; he neglected the figures of arithmetic for those of -Raphael and Reynolds; and his worthy parents often wondered how -a child of theirs should have conceived a love for such unsubstantial -vanities. The boy, it seems, was privately encouraged by his mother. -The love of designing and sketching grew upon him, and he desired -anxiously to be an artist. His father began to be pleased with the notice -which his son obtained--and to fancy that a painter's study -might after all be a fitter place than a hosier's shop for one who drew -designs on the backs of all the shop bills, and made sketches on the -counter. He consulted an eminent artist, who asked so large a sum -for instruction, that the prudent shopkeeper hesitated, and young -Blake declared he would prefer being an engraver--a profession -which would bring bread at least, and through which he would be -connected with painting. It was indeed time to dispose of him. -In addition to his attachment to art, he had displayed poetic -symptoms--scraps of paper and the blank leaves of books were -found covered with groups and stanzas. When his father saw sketches -at the top of the sheet and verses at the bottom, he took him away -to Basire, the engraver, in Green Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, and -bound him apprentice for seven years. He was then fourteen years old. - -It is told of Blake that at ten years of age he became an artist, -and at twelve a poet. Of his boyish pencillings I can find no -traces--but of his early intercourse with the Muse the proof -lies before me in seventy pages of verse, written, he says, between -his twelfth and his twentieth year, and published, by the advice of -friends, when he was thirty. There are songs, ballads, and a dramatic -poem; rude sometimes and melodious, but full of fine thought and -deep and peculiar feeling. To those who love poetry for the music -of its bells, these seventy pages will sound harsh and dissonant; but -by others they will be more kindly looked upon. John Flaxman, a judge -in all things of a poetic nature, was so touched with many passages, -that he not only counseled their publication, but joined with a gentleman -of the name of Matthews in the expense, and presented the printed -sheets to the artist to dispose of for his own advantage. One of these -productions is an address to the Muses--a common theme, but -sung in no common manner. - - -'Whether on Ida's shady brow, -Or in the chambers of the east, -The chambers of the sun, that now -From ancient melody have ceas'd; - -Whether in heaven ye wander fair, -Or the green corners of the earth, -Or the blue regions of the air, -Where the melodious winds have birth; - -Whether on crystal rocks ye rove, -Beneath the bosom of the sea, -Wandering in many a coral grove, -Fair Nine! forsaking poesie; - -How have ye left the ancient love, -That Bards of old enjoyed in you;-- -The languid strings now scarcely move, -The sound is forced--the notes are few.' - - -The little poem called 'The Tiger' has been admired for the -force and vigour of its thoughts by poets of high name. Many -could weave smoother lines--few could stamp such living images. - - -'Tiger! Tiger! burning bright -In the forest of the night, -What immortal hand or eye -Framed thy fearful symmetry? - -In what distant deeps or skies -Burned the fervour of thine eyes? -On what wings dare he aspire-- -What the hand dare seize the fire? - -And what shoulder and what art -Could twist the sinews of thy heart? -When thy heart began to beat, -What dread hand formed thy dread feet? - -What the hammer! what the chain! -Formed thy strength and forged thy brain? -What the anvil! What dread grasp -Dared thy deadly terrors clasp? - -When the stars threw down their spheres, -And sprinkled heaven with shining tears, -Did he smile, his work to see? -Did he who made the lamb make thee?' - - -In the dramatic poem of King Edward the Third there are many -nervous lines, and even whole passages of high merit. The structure -of the verse is often defective, and the arrangement inharmonious; -but before the ear is thoroughly offended, it is soothed by some touch -of deep melody and poetic thought. The princes and earls of England -are conferring together on the eve of the battle of Cressy--the -Black Prince takes Chandos aside, and says-- - - -'Now we're alone, John Chandos, I'll unburthen -And breathe my hopes into the burning air-- -Where thousand Deaths are posting up and down, -Commissioned to this fatal field of Cressy: -Methinks I see them arm my gallant soldiers, - -And gird the sword upon each thigh, and fit -The shining helm, and string each stubborn bow, -And dancing to the neighing of the steeds;--Methinks -the shout begins--the battle burns;--Methinks -I see them perch on English crests, -And breathe the wild flame of fierce war upon -The thronged enemy.' - - -In the same high poetic spirit Sir Walter Manny converses -with a genuine old English warrior, Sir Thomas Dagworth. - - -'O, Dagworth!--France is sick!--the very sky, -Though sunshine light, it seems to me as pale -As is the fainting man on his death-bed, -Whose face is shown by light of one weak taper-- -It makes me sad and sick unto the heart; -Thousands must fall to-day.' - - -Sir Thomas answers. - -'Thousands of souls must leave this prison-house -To be exalted to those heavenly fields -Where songs of triumph, psalms of victory, -Where peace, and joy, and love, and calm content -Sit singing on the azure clouds, and strew -The flowers of heaven upon the banquet table. -Bind ardent hope upon your feet, like shoes, -And put the robe of preparation on. -The table, it is spread in shining heaven. -Let those who fight, fight in good steadfastness; -And those who fall shall rise in victory.' - - -I might transcribe from these modest and unnoticed pages many -such passages. It would be unfair not to mention that the same -volume contains some wild and incoherent prose, in which we may -trace more than the dawning of those strange, mystical, and mysterious -fancies on which he subsequently misemployed his pencil. There -is much that is weak, and something that is strong, and a great deal -that is wild and mad, and all so strangely mingled, that no meaning -can be assigned to it; it seems like a lamentation over the disasters -which came on England during the reign of King John. - -Though Blake lost himself a little in the enchanted region of -song, he seems not to have neglected to make himself master of -the graver, or to have forgotten his love of designs and sketches. -He was a dutiful servant to Basire, and he studied occasionally under -Flaxman and Fuseli; but it was his chief delight to retire to the solitude -of his chamber, and there make drawings, and illustrate these with -verses, to be hung up together in his mother's chamber. He was -always at work; he called amusement idleness, sight-seeing vanity, -and money-making the ruin of all high aspirations. 'Were I to love -money,' he said, 'I should lose all power of thought! desire of gain -deadens the genius of man. I might roll in wealth and ride in a golden -chariot, were I to listen to the voice of parsimony. My business is -not to gather gold, but to make glorious shapes, expressing godlike -sentiments.' The day was given to the graver, by which he earned -enough to maintain himself respectably; and he bestowed his evenings -upon painting and poetry, and intertwined these so closely in his -compositions, that they cannot well be separated. - -When he was six-and-twenty years old, he married Katharine -Boutcher, a young woman of humble connections--the dark-eyed -Kate of several of his lyric poems. She lived near his father's house -and was noticed by Blake for the whiteness of her hand, the brightness -of her eyes, and a slim and handsome shape, corresponding with his -own notions of sylphs and naiads. As he was an original in all things, -it would have been out of character to fall in love like an ordinary -mortal; he was describing one evening in company the pains he -had suffered from some capricious lady or another, when Katharine -Boutcher said, 'I pity you from my heart.' 'Do you pity me?' said Blake, -'then I love you for that.' 'And I love you,' said the frank-hearted lass, -and so the courtship began. He tried how well she looked in a drawing, -then how her charms became verse; and finding moreover that she -had good domestic qualities, he married her. They lived together long -and happily. - -She seemed to have been created on purpose for Blake:--she -believed him to be the finest genius on earth; she believed in his -verse--she believed in his designs; and to the wildest flights -of his imagination she bowed the knee, and was a worshipper. She set -his house in good order, prepared his frugal meal, learned to think -as he thought, and, indulging him in his harmless absurdities, -became, as it were, bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh. -She learned--what a young and handsome woman is seldom apt -to learn--to despise gaudy dresses, costly meals, pleasant -company, and agreeable invitations--she found out the way -of being happy at home, living on the simplest of food, and contented -in the homeliest of clothing. It was no ordinary mind which could -do all this; and she whom Blake emphatically called his beloved,' -was no ordinary woman. She wrought off in the press the impressions -of his plates--she colored them with a light and neat hand--made -drawings much in the spirit of her husband's compositions, and almost -rivaled him in all things save in the power which he possessed of -seeing visions of any individual living or dead, whenever he chose -to see them. - -His marriage, I have heard, was not agreeable to his father; and -he then left his roof and resided with his wife in Green Street, Leicester -Fields. He returned to Broad Street, on the death of his father, a -devout man, and an honest shopkeeper, of fifty years' standing, took -a first-floor and a shop, and in company with one Parker, who had -been his fellow-apprentice, commenced print-seller. His wife attended -to the business, and Blake continued to engrave, and took Robert, his -favorite brother, for a pupil. This speculation did not succeed--his -brother too sickened and died; he had a dispute with Parker--the -shop was extinguished, and he removed to 28 Poland Street. Here he -commenced that series of works which give him a right to be numbered -among the men of genius of his country. In sketching designs, engraving -plates, writing songs, and composing music, he employed his time, with -his wife sitting at his side, encouraging him in all his undertakings. As -he drew the figure he meditated the song which was to accompany it, -and the music to which the verse was to be sung, was the offspring -too of the same moment. Of his music there are no specimens--he -wanted the art of noting it down--if it equalled many of his -drawings, and some of his songs, we have lost melodies of real value. - -The first fruits were the 'Songs of Innocence and Experience,' a -work original and natural, and of high merit, both in poetry and in -painting. It consists of some sixty-five or seventy scenes, presenting -images of youth and manhood--of domestic sadness, and fireside -joy--of the gaiety and innocence, and happiness of childhood. -Every scene has its poetical accompaniment, curiously interwoven -with the group or the landscape, and forming, from the beauty of the -color and the prettiness of the pencilling, a very fair picture of itself. -Those designs are in general highly poetical; more allied, however, to -heaven than to earth,--a kind of spiritual abstractions, and -indicating a better world and fuller happiness than mortals enjoy. -The picture of Innocence is introduced with the following sweet -verses. - - -'Piping down the valleys wild, -Piping songs of pleasant glee, -On a cloud I saw a child, -And he laughing said to me-- - -Pipe a song about a lamb; -So I piped with merry cheer. -Piper, pipe that song again-- -So I piped--he wept to hear. - -Drop thy pipe, thy happy pipe, -Sing thy songs of happy cheer-- -So I sung the same again, -While he wept with joy to hear. - -Piper, sit thee down and write -In a book that all may read-- -So he vanished from my sight: -And I plucked a hollow reed, - -And I made a rural pen, -And I stained the water clear, -And I wrote my happy songs, -Every child may joy to hear.' - - -In a higher and better spirit he wrought with his pencil. But -then he imagined himself under spiritual influences; he saw -the forms and listened to the voices of the worthies of other -days; the past and the future were before him, and he heard, -in imagination, even that awful voice which called on Adam amongst -the trees of the garden. In this kind of dreaming abstraction, he -lived much of his life; all his works are stamped with it; and though -they owe much of their mysticism and obscurity to the circumstance, -there can be no doubt that they also owe to it much of their singular -loveliness and beauty. It was wonderful that he could thus, month -after month, and year after year, lay down his graver after it had won -him his daily wages, and retire from the battle for bread, to disport his -fancy amid scenes of more than earthly splendor, and creatures -pure as unfalled dew. - -In this lay the weakness and the strength of Blake, and those -who desire to feel the character of his compositions, must be -familiar with his history and the peculiarities of his mind. He was -by nature a poet, a dreamer, and an enthusiast. The eminence -which it had been the first ambition of his youth to climb, was -visible before him, and he saw on its ascent or on its summit -those who had started earlier in the race of fame. He felt conscious -of his own merit, but w as not aware of the thousand obstacles -which were ready to interpose.' He thought that he had but to -sing songs and draw designs, and become great and famous. -The crosses which genius is heir to had been wholly unforeseen--and -they befell him early; he wanted the skill of hand, and fine tact -of fancy and taste, to impress upon the offspring of his thoughts -that popular shape, which gives such productions immediate circulation. -His works were looked coldly on by the world, and were only -esteemed by men of poetic minds, or those who were fond of -things out of the common way. He earned a little fame, but no -money by these speculations, and had to depend for bread on -the labours of the graver. - -All this neither crushed his spirit, nor induced him to work -more in the way of the world; but it had a visible influence upon -his mind. He became more seriously thoughtful, avoided the company -of men, and lived in the manner of a hermit, in that vast wilderness, -London. Necessity made him frugal, and honesty and independence -prescribed plain clothes, homely fare, and a cheap habitation. He was -thus compelled more than ever to retire to worlds of his own creating, -and seek solace in visions of paradise for the joys which the earth -denied him. By frequent indulgence in these imaginings, he gradually -began to believe in the reality of what dreaming fancy painted--the -pictured forms which swarmed before his eyes, assumed, in his -apprehension, the stability of positive revelations, and he mistook -the vivid figures, which his professional imagination shaped, for the -poets, and heroes, and princes of old. Amongst his friends, he at -length ventured to intimate that the designs on which he was -engaged were not from his own mind, but copied from grand works -revealed to him in visions; and those who believed that, would -readily lend an ear to the assurance that he was commanded to -execute his performances by a celestial tongue! - -Of these imaginary visitations he made good use, when he invented -his truly original and beautiful mode of engraving and tinting his -plates. He had made the sixty-five designs of his Days of Innocence, -and was meditating, he said, on the best means of multiplying their -resemblance in form and in hue; he felt sorely perplexed. At last -he was made aware that the spirit of his favorite brother Robert was -in the room, and to this celestial visitor he applied for counsel. -The spirit advised him at once: 'write,' he said, 'the poetry, and -draw the designs upon the copper with a certain liquid (which -he named, and which Blake ever kept a secret); then cut the -plain parts of the plate down with aqua-fortis, and this will give -the whole, both poetry and figures, in the manner of a stereotype.' -The plan recommended by this gracious spirit was adopted; the -plates were engraved, and the work printed off. The artist then -added a peculiar beauty of his own. He tinted both the figures -and the verse with a variety of colors, amongst which, while -yellow prevails, the whole has a rich and lustrous beauty, to -which I know little that can be compared. The size of these -prints is four inches and a half high by three inches wide. The -original genius of Blake was always confined, through poverty, -to small dimensions. Sixty-five plates of copper were an object -to him who had little money. The Gates of Paradise, a work of -sixteen designs, and those exceedingly small, was his next undertaking. -The meaning of the artist is not a little obscure; it seems to -have been his object to represent the innocence, the happiness, -and the upward aspirations of man. They bespeak one intimately -acquainted with the looks and the feelings of children. Over them -there is shed a kind of mysterious halo which raises feelings of -devotion. The Songs of Innocence, and the Gates of Paradise, -became popular among the collectors of prints. To the sketch -book and the cabinet the works of Blake are unfortunately confined. - -If there be mystery in the meaning of the Gates of Paradise, his -succeeding performance, by name Urizen, has the merit or the -fault of surpassing all human comprehension. The spirit which -dictated this strange work was undoubtedly a dark one; nor does -the strange kind of prose which is intermingled with the figures -serve to enlighten us. There are in all twenty-seven designs -representing beings human, demoniac, and divine, in situations -of pain and sorrow and suffering. One character--evidently -an evil spirit--appears in most of the plates; the horrors -of hell, and the terrors of darkness and divine wrath, seem his -sole portion. He swims in gulps of fire--descends in cataracts -of flame--holds combats with scaly serpents, or writhes in -anguish without any visible cause. One of his exploits is to chase -a female soul through 'a narrow gate and hurl her headlong down -into a darksome pit. The wild verses which are scattered here and -there, talk of the sons and the daughters of Urizen. He seems to -have extracted these twenty-seven scenes out of many visions--what -he meant by them even his wife declared she could not tell, though -she was sure they had a meaning and a fine one. Something like -the fall of Lucifer and the creation of Man is dimly visible in this -extravagant work; it is not a little fearful to look upon; a powerful, -dark, terrible though undefined and indescribable impression is -left on the mind--and it is in no haste to be gone. The size -of the designs is four inches by six; they bear date, 'Lambeth, -1794.' He had left Poland Street and was residing in Hercules -Buildings. - -The name of Blake began now to be known a little, and Edwards, -the bookseller, employed him to illustrate Young's Night Thoughts. -The reward in money was small, but the temptation in fame was -great: the work was performed something in the manner of old -books with illuminated margins. Along the ample margins which -the poetry left on the page the artist sketched his fanciful creations; -contracting or expanding them according to the space. Some of -those designs were in keeping with the poems, but there were -others which alarmed fastidious people: the serious and the -pious were not prepared to admire shapes trembling in nudity -round the verses of a grave divine. In the exuberance of Young -there are many fine figures; but they are figures of speech only, on -which art should waste none of its skill. This work was so much, -in many parts, to the satisfaction of Flaxman, that he introduced -Blake to Hayley the poet, who, in 1800, persuaded him to remove -to Felpham in Sussex, to make engravings for the Life of Cowper. -To that place he accordingly went with his wife and sister, and was -welcomed by Hayley with much affection. Of his journey and his -feelings he gives the following account to Flaxman, whom he -usually addressed thus, 'Dear Sculptor of Eternity.' - -'We are arrived safe at our cottage, which is more beautiful -than I thought it, and more convenient. It is a perfect model for -cottages, and I think for palaces of magnificence, only enlarging -and not altering its proportions, and adding ornaments and not -principals. Nothing can be more grand than its simplicity and -usefulness. Felpham is a sweet place for study, because it is more -spiritual than London. Heaven opens here on all sides her golden, -gates; her windows are not obstructed by vapors; voices of celestial -inhabitants are more distinctly heard, and their forms more distinctly -seen, and my cottage is also a shadow of their houses. My wife and -sister are both well, and are courting Neptune for an embrace.' - -Thus far had he written in the language and feelings of a -person of upper air; though some of the expressions are tinctured -with the peculiar enthusiasm of the man, they might find shelter -under the licence of figurative speech, and pass muster as the -poetic language of new-found happiness. Blake thus continues:-- - -'And now begins a new life, because another covering of earth -is shaken off. I am more famed in heaven for my works than I -could well conceive. In my brain are studies and chambers filled -with books and pictures of old, which I wrote and painted in ages -of eternity before my mortal life, and those works are the delight -and study of archangels. Why then should I be anxious about the -riches or fame of mortality? You, O dear Flaxman, are a sublime -archangel, my friend and companion from eternity. Farewell, my -dear friend, remember me and my wife in love and friendship to Mrs. -Flaxman, whom we ardently desire to entertain beneath our thatched -roof of russet gold.' - -This letter, written in the year 1800, gives the true twofold -image of the author's mind. During the day he was a man of sagacity -and sense, who handled his graver wisely, and conversed in a -wholesome and pleasant manner; in the evening, when he had done -his prescribed task, he gave a loose to his imagination. While -employed on those engravings which accompany the works of Cowper, -he saw such company as the country where he resided afforded, and -talked with Hayley about poetry with a feeling to which the author -of the Triumphs of Temper was an utter stranger; but at the close -of day away went Blake to the seashore to indulge in his own thoughts and: - - -'High converse with the dead to hold.' - - -Here he forgot the present moment and lived in the past; he -conceived, verily, that he had lived in other days, and had formed -friendships with Homer and Moses; with Pindar and Virgil; with -Dante and Milton. These great men, he asserted, appeared to him -in visions, and even entered into conversation. Milton, in a moment -of confidence, entrusted him with a whole poem of his, which the -world had never seen; but unfortunately the communication was oral, -and the poetry seemed to have lost much of its brightness in Blake's -recitation. When asked about the looks of those visions, he answered, -'They are all majestic shadows, gray but luminous, and superior to the -common height of men.' It was evident that the solitude of the country -gave him a larger swing in imaginary matters. His wife often accompanied -him to these strange interviews; she saw nothing and heard as -little, but she was certain that her husband both heard and saw. - -Blake's mind at all times resembled that first page in the magician's -book of gramoury, which made: - - -'The cobweb on the dungeon wall, -Seem tapestry in lordly hall.' - - -His mind could convert the most ordinary occurrence into something -mystical and supernatural. He often saw less majestic shapes than -those of the poets of old. 'Did you ever see a fairy's funeral, -madam?' he once said to a lady, who happened to sit by him in -company. 'Never, sir!' was the answer. 'I have,' said Blake, 'but not -before last night. I was walking alone in my garden, there was -great stillness among the branches and flowers and more than -common sweetness in the air; I heard a low and pleasant sound, -and I knew not whence it came. At last I saw the broad leaf of a -flower move, and underneath I saw a procession of creatures of -the size and color of green and gray grasshoppers, bearing a -body laid out on a rose leaf, which they buried with songs, and -then disappeared. It was a fairy funeral.' It would, perhaps, -have been better for his fame had he connected it more with the -superstitious beliefs of his country--amongst the elves -and fairies his fancy might have wandered at will--their -popular character would perhaps have kept him within the bounds -of traditionary belief, and the sea of his imagination might have -had a shore. - -After a residence of three years in his cottage at Felpham, he -removed to 17 South Molton Street, London, where he lived seventeen -years. He came back to town with a fancy not a little exalted by the -solitude of the country, and in this mood designed and engraved an -extensive and strange work which he entitled '_Jerusalem._' A -production so exclusively wild was not allowed to make its appearance -in an ordinary way: he thus announced it. 'After my three years' -slumber on the banks of the ocean, I again display my giant forms -to the public.' Of those designs there are no less than an hundred; -what their meaning is the artist has left unexplained. It seems of a -religious, political, and spiritual kind, and wanders from hell to -heaven and from heaven to earth; now glancing into the distractions -of our own days, and then making a transition to the antediluvians. -The crowning defect is obscurity; meaning seems now and then -about to dawn; you turn plate after plate and read motto after -motto, in the hope of escaping from darkness into light. But the -first might as well be looked at last; the whole seems a riddle -which no ingenuity can solve. Yet, if the work be looked at for -form and effect rather than for meaning, many figures may be -pronounced worthy of Michael Angelo. There is wonderful freedom of -attitude and position; men, spirits, gods, and angels, move with -an ease which makes one lament that we know not wherefore they -are put in motion. Well might Hayley call him his 'gentle visionary -Blake.' He considered the Jerusalem to be his greatest work, and -for a set of the tinted engravings he charged twenty-five guineas. -Few joined the artist in his admiration. The Jerusalem, with all -its giant forms, failed to force its way into circulation. - -His next work was the Illustrations of Blair's Grave, which -came to the world with the following commendation by Fuseli: -'The author of the moral series before us has endeavored to -awaken sensibility by touching our sympathies with nearer, less -ambiguous and less ludicrous imagery, than what mythology, Gothic -superstition, or symbols as far fetched as inadequate could supply. -His avocation has been chiefly employed to spread a familiar and -domestic atmosphere round the most important of all subjects, -to connect the visible and the invisible world without provoking -probability, and to lead the eye from the milder light of time to -the radiations of eternity.' For these twelve Inventions,' as he -called them, Blake received twenty guineas from Cromeck, the -engraver--a man of skill in art and taste in literature. The -price was little, but nevertheless it was more than what he usually -received for such productions; he also undertook to engrave them. -But Blake's mode of engraving was as peculiar as his style of -designing; it had little of that grace of execution about it, which -attracts customers, and the Inventions, after an experiment or two, -were placed under the fashionable graver of Louis Schiavonetti. -Blake was deeply incensed--he complained that he was deprived -of the profit of engraving his own designs, and, with even less -justice, that Schiavonetti was unfit for the task. - -Some of these twelve 'Inventions' are natural and poetic, others -exhibit laborious attempts at the terrific and the sublime. The old -Man at Death's Door is one of the best--in the Last Day -there are fine groups and admirable single figures--the Wise -Ones of the Earth pleading before the inexorable Throne, and -the Descent of the Condemned, are creations of a high order. -The Death of the Strong Wicked Man is fearful and extravagant, -and the flames in which the soul departs from the body have no -warrant in the poem or in belief. The Descent of Christ into the -Grave is formal and tame, and the hoary old Soul in the Death of -the Good Man, travelling heavenward between two orderly Angels, -required little outlay of fancy. The frontispiece--a naked -Angel descending headlong and rousing the Dead with the Sound -of the last Trumpet--alarmed the devout people of the north, -and made maids and matrons retire behind their fans. - -If the tranquillity of Blake's life was a little disturbed by the -dispute about the twelve Inventions,' it was completely shaken -by the controversy which now arose between him and Cromeck -respecting his Canterbury Pilgrimage. That two artists at one and -the same time should choose the same subject for the pencil, -seems scarcely credible--especially when such subject was -not of a temporary interest. The coincidence here was so close, -that Blake accused Stothard of obtaining knowledge of his design -through Cromeck, while Stothard with equal warmth asserted that -Blake had commenced his picture in rivalry of himself. Blake declared -that Cromeck had actually commissioned him to paint the Pilgrimage -before Stothard thought of his; to which Cromeck replied, that the -order had been given in a vision, for he never gave it. Stothard, a -man as little likely to be led aside from truth by love of gain as by -visions, added to Cromeck's denial the startling testimony that Blake -visited him during the early progress of his picture, and expressed -his approbation of it, in such terms, that he proposed to introduce -Blake's portrait in the procession, as a mark of esteem. It is probable -that Blake obeyed some imaginary revelation in this matter, and -mistook it for the order of an earthly employer; but whether -commissioned by a vision or by mortal lips, his Canterbury Pilgrimage -made its appearance in an exhibition of his principal works in the house -of his brother, in Broad Street, during the summer of 1809. - -Of original designs, this singular exhibition contained sixteen--they -were announced as chiefly 'of a spiritual and political nature'--but -then the spiritual works and political feelings of Blake were unlike -those of any other man. One piece represented 'The Spiritual Form -of Nelson guiding Leviathan.' Another, 'The Spiritual Form of -Seth guiding Behemoth.' This, probably, confounded both divines -and politicians; there is no doubt that plain men went wondering -away. The chief attraction was the Canterbury Pilgrimage, not -indeed from its excellence, but from the circumstance of its origin, -which was well known about town, and pointedly alluded to in -the catalogue. The picture is a failure. Blake was too great a -visionary for dealing with such literal wantons as the Wife of Bath -and her jolly companions. The natural flesh and blood of Chaucer -prevailed against him. He gives grossness of body for grossness -of mind,--tries to be merry and wicked--and in vain. - -Those who missed instruction in his pictures, found entertainment -in his catalogue, a wild performance, overflowing with the oddities -and dreams of the author--which may be considered as a kind -of public declaration of his faith concerning art and artists. His first -anxiety is about his colors. 'Colouring,' says this new lecturer on the -_Chiaroscuro_, 'does not depend on where the colours are -put, but on where the lights and darks are put, and all depends on -form or outline. Where that is wrong the coloring never can be right, -and it is always wrong in Titian and Corregio, Rubens and Rembrandt; -till we get rid of them we shall never equal Raphael and Albert Dürer, -Michael Angelo and Julio Romano. Clearness and precision have -been my chief objects in painting these pictures--clear colors -and firm determinate lineaments, unbroken by shadows--which -ought to display and not hide form, as in the practice of the later -schools of Italy and Flanders. The picture of the Spiritual Form of Pitt -is a proof of the power of colors unsullied with oil or with any cloggy -vehicle. Oil has been falsely supposed to give strength to colors, but -a little consideration must show the fallacy of this opinion. Oil will not -drink or absorb color enough to stand the test of any little time and -of the air. Let the works of artists since Rubens' time witness to the -villainy of those who first brought oil-painting into general opinion -and practice, since which we have never had a picture painted that -would show itself by the side of an earlier composition. This is an awful -thing to say to oil-painters; they may call it madness, but it is true. -All the genuine old little pictures are in fresco and not in oil.' - -Having settled the true principles and proper materials of color, -he proceeds to open up the mystery of his own productions. Those -who failed to comprehend the pictures on looking at them, had -only to turn to the following account of the Pitt and the Nelson. -'These two pictures,' he says, 'are compositions of a mythological -cast, similar to those Apotheoses of Persian, Hindoo, and Egyptian -antiquity, which are still preserved in rude monuments, being copies -from some stupendous originals now lost or perhaps buried to some -happier age. The artist having been taken, in vision, to the ancient -republics, monarchies, and patriarchates of Asia, has seen those -wonderful originals, called in the sacred Scriptures the cherubim, -which were painted and sculptured on the walls of temples, towns, -cities, palaces, and erected in the highly-cultivated states of Egypt, -Moab, and Edom, among the rivers of Paradise, being originals -from which the Greeks and Hetrurians copied Hercules, Venus, -Apollo, and all the groundworks of ancient art. They were executed -in a very superior style to those justly admired copies, being with their -accompaniments terrific and grand in the highest degree. The -artist has endeavored to emulate the grandeur of those seen in -his vision, and to apply it to modern times on a smaller scale. -The Greek Muses are daughters of Memory, and not of Inspiration -or Imagination, and therefore not authors of such sublime conceptions; -some of these wonderful originals were one hundred feet in height; -some were painted as pictures, some were carved as bass-relieves, -and some as groups of statues, all containing mythological and -recondite meaning. The artist wishes it was now the fashion to -make such monuments, and then he should not doubt of having -a national commission to execute those pictures of Nelson and -Pitt on a scale suitable to the grandeur of the nation who is the -parent of his heroes, in highly finished fresco, where the colors -would be as permanent as precious stones.' - -The man who could not only write down, but deliberately correct -the printer's sheets which recorded, matter so utterly wild and -mad, was at the same time perfectly sensible to the exquisite -nature of Chaucer's delineations, and felt rightly what sort of skill -his inimitable Pilgrims required at the hand of an artist. He who -saw visions in Coele-Syria and statues an hundred feet high, -wrote thus concerning Chaucer: 'The characters of his pilgrims -are the characters which compose all ages and nations: as one -age falls another rises, different to mortal sight, but to immortals -only the same: for we see the same characters repeated again and -again, in animals, in vegetables, and in men; nothing new occurs -in identical existence. Accident ever varies; substance can never -suffer change nor decay. Of Chaucer's characters, some of the -names or titles are altered by time, but the characters themselves -for ever remain unaltered, and consequently they are the physiognomies -of universal human life, beyond which nature never steps. Names -alter--things never alter; I have known multitudes of those -who would have been monks in the age of monkery, who in this -deistical age are deists. As Linnaeus numbered the plants, so Chaucer -numbered the classes of men.' - -His own notions and much of his peculiar practice in art are -scattered at random over the pages of this curious production. His -love of a distinct outline made him use close and clinging dresses; -they are frequently very graceful--at other times they are -constrained, and deform the figures which they so scantily cover. -'The great and golden rule of art (says he) is this:--that the -more distinct and sharp and wiry the bounding line, the more -perfect the work of art; and the less keen and sharp this external -line, the greater is the evidence of weak imitative plagiarism and -bungling: Protogenes and Apelles knew each other by this line. -How do we distinguish the oak from the beech; the horse from the -ox, but by the bounding outline? How do we distinguish one face -or countenance from another, but by the bounding line and its -infinite inflexions and movements? Leave out this line and you leave -out life itself: all is chaos again, and the line of the Almighty must -be drawn out upon it before man or beast can exist.' - -These abominations--concealed outline and tricks of colour--now -bring on one of those visionary fits to which Blake was so liable, -and he narrates with the most amusing wildness sundry revelations -made to him concerning them. He informs us that certain painters -were _demons_--let loose on earth to confound the 'sharp wiry -outline,' and fill men's minds with fears and perturbations. -He signifies that he himself was for some time a miserable instrument -in the hands of Chiaro-Scuro demons, who employed him in making -'experiment pictures in oil.' 'These pictures,' says he, 'were -the result of temptations and perturbations laboring to destroy -imaginative power by means of that infernal machine called Chiaro-Scuro, -in the hands of Venetian and Flemish demons, who hate the Roman -and Venetian schools. They cause that everything in art shall -become a machine; they cause that the execution shall be all -blocked up with brown shadows; they put the artist in fear and -doubt of his own original conception. The spirit of Titian was -particularly active in raising doubts concerning the possibility of -executing without a model. Rubens is a most outrageous demon, -and by infusing the remembrances of his pictures, and style of -execution, hinders all power of individual thought. Corregio is a -soft and effeminate, consequently a most cruel demon, whose -whole delight is to cause endless labour to whoever suffers him -to enter his mind.' When all this is translated into the language -of sublunary life, it only means that Blake was haunted with the -excellences of other men's works, and, finding himself unequal -to the task of rivaling the soft and glowing colors and singular -effects of light and shade of certain great masters, betook himself -to the study of others not less eminent, who happened to have -laid out their strength in outline. - -To describe the conversations which Blake held in prose with -demons and in verse with angels, would fill volumes, and an -ordinary gallery could not contain all the heads which he drew -of his visionary visitants. That all this was real, he himself most -sincerely believed; nay, so infectious was his enthusiasm, that -some acute and sensible persons who heard him expatiate, shook -their heads, and hinted that he was an extraordinary man, and -that there might be something in the matter. One of his brethren, -an artist of some note, employed him frequently in drawing the -portraits of those who appeared to him in visions. The most -propitious time for those 'angel-visits' was from nine at night -till five in the morning; and so docile were his spiritual sitters, -that they appeared at the wish of his friends. Sometimes, however, -the shape which he desired-to draw was long in appearing, and -he sat with his pencil and paper ready and his eyes idly roaming -in vacancy; all at once the vision came upon him, and he began -to work like one possess. - -He was requested to draw the likeness of Sir. William Wallace--the -eye of Blake sparkled, for he admired heroes. 'William Wallace!' -he exclaimed, 'I see him now--there, there, how noble he -looks--reach me my things!' Having drawn for some time, -with the same care of hand and steadiness of eye, as if a living -sitter had been before him, Blake stopped suddenly, and said, 'I -cannot finish him--Edward the First has stept in between -him and me.' 'That's lucky,' said his friend, 'for I want the portrait -of Edward too.' Blake took another sheet of paper, and sketched -the features of Plantagenet; upon which his majesty politely vanished, -and the artist finished the head of Wallace. 'And pray, sir,' said a -gentleman, who heard Blake's friend tell his story--'was -Sir William Wallace an heroic-looking man? And what sort of personage -was Edward?' The answer was: 'There they are, sir, both framed -and hanging on the wall behind you, judge for yourself.' 'I looked -(says my informant) and saw two warlike heads of the size of -common life. That of Wallace was noble and heroic, that of Edward -stern and bloody. The first had the front of a god, the latter the -aspect of a demon.' - -The friend who obliged me with these anecdotes, on observing -the interest which I took in the subject, said, 'I know much about -Blake--I was his companion for nine years. I have sat beside -him from ten at night till 'three in the morning, sometimes slumbering -and sometimes waking, but Blake never slept; he sat with a pencil -and paper drawing portraits of those whom I most desired to see. -I will show you, sir, some of these works.' He took out a large book -filled with drawings, opened it, and continued, 'Observe the poetic -fervor of that face--it is Pindar as he stood a conqueror in -the Olympic games. And this lovely creature is Corinna, who -conquered in poetry in the same place. That lady is Lais, the -courtesan--with the impudence which is part of her profession, -she stept in between Blake and Corinna, and he was obliged to paint -her to get her away. There! that is a face of a different stamp--can -you conjecture who he is?' 'Some scoundrel, I should think, sir.' -'There now--that is a strong proof of the accuracy of Blake--he -is a scoundrel indeed! The very individual task-master whom Moses -slew in Egypt. And who is this now--only imagine who this is?' -'Other than a good one, I doubt, sir.' 'You are right, it is the -Devil--he resembles, and this is remarkable, two men who -shall be nameless; one is a great lawyer, and the other--I -wish I durst name him--is a suborner of false witnesses. This -other head now?--this speaks for itself--it is the head -of Herod; how like an eminent officer in the army!' - -He closed the book, and taking out a small panel from a private -drawer, said, 'This is the last which I shall show you; but it is the -greatest curiosity of all. Only look at the splendor of the coloring -and the original character of the thing!' 'I see,' said I, 'a naked -figure with a strong body and a short neck--with burning -eyes which long for moisture, and a face worthy of a murderer, holding -a bloody cup in its clawed hands, out of which it seems eager to -drink. I never saw any shape so strange, nor did I ever see any coloring -so curiously splendid--a kind of glistening green and dusky -gold, beautifully varnished. But what in the world is it?' 'It is a ghost, -sir--the ghost of a flea--a spiritualisation of the thing!' -'He saw this in a vision then,' I said. 'I'll tell you all about it, sir. -I called on him one evening, and found Blake more than usually -excited. He told me he had seen a wonderful thing--the ghost -of a flea! And did you make a drawing of him? I inquired. No, indeed, -said he, I wish I had, but I shall, if he appears again! He -looked earnestly into a corner of the room, and then said, here -he is--reach me my things--I shall keep my eye on him. There he -comes! his eager tongue whisking out of his mouth, a cup in his -hand to hold blood and covered with a scaly skin of gold and -green;--as he described him so he drew him.' - -These stories are scarcely credible, yet there can be no doubt -of their accuracy. Another friend, on whose veracity I have the -fullest dependence, called one evening on Blake, and found him -sitting with a pencil and a panel, drawing a portrait with all the -seeming anxiety of a man who is conscious that he has got a -fastidious sitter; he looked and drew, and drew and looked, yet -no living soul was visible. 'Disturb me not,' said he, in a whisper, -'I have one sitting to me.' 'Sitting to you!' exclaimed his astonished -visitor, 'where is he, and what is he?--I see no one.' 'But I -see him, sir,' answered Blake haughtily, 'there he is, his name is -Lot--you may read of him in the Scripture. _He_ is sitting for -his portrait.' - -Had he always thought so idly, and wrought on such visionary -matters, this memoir would have been the story of a madman, -instead of the life of a man of genius, some of whose works are -worthy of any age or nation. Even while he was indulging in these -laughable fancies, and seeing visions at the request of his friends, -he conceived, and drew, and engraved, one of the noblest of all -his productions--the Inventions for the Book of Job. He -accomplished this series in a small room, which served him for -kitchen, bedchamber, and study, where he had no other companion -but his faithful Katherine, and no larger income than some seventeen -or eighteen shillings a week. Of these Inventions, as the artist loved -to call them, there are twenty-one, representing the Man of Uz -sustaining his dignity amidst the inflictions of Satan, the reproaches -of his friends, and the insults of his wife. It was in such things that -Blake shone; the Scripture overawed his imagination, and he was -too devout to attempt aught beyond a literal embodying of the -majestic scene. He goes step by step with the narrative; always -simple, and often sublime--never wandering from the subject, -nor overlaying the text with the weight of his own exuberant fancy. - -The passages, embodied, will show with what lofty themes he -presumed to grapple. 1. Thus did Job continually. 2. The Almighty -watches the good man's household. 3. Satan receiving power over -Job. 4. The wind from the wilderness destroying Job's children. 5. And -I alone am escaped to tell thee. 6. Satan smiting Job with sore boils. -7. Job's friends comforting him. 8. Let the day perish wherein I was -born. 9. Then a spirit passed before my face. 10. Job laughed to -scorn by his friends. 11. With dreams upon my bed thou scarest -me--thou affrightest me with visions. 12. I am young and -ye are old, wherefore I was afraid. 13. Then the Lord answered Job -out of the whirlwind. 14. When the morning stars sang together, -and the sons of God shouted for joy. 15. Behold now Behemoth, -which I made with thee. 16. Thou hast fulfilled the judgment of -the wicked. 17. I have heard thee with the hearing of my ear, but -now my eye rejoiceth in thee. 18. Also the Lord accepted Job. -19. Every one also gave him a piece of money. 20. There were not -found women fairer than the daughters of Job. 21. So the Lord -blessed the latter end of Job more than the beginning. - -While employed on these remarkable productions, he was made -sensible that the little approbation which the world had ever bestowed -on him was fast leaving him. The waywardness of his fancy, and the -peculiar execution of his compositions, were alike unadapted for -popularity; the demand for his works lessened yearly from the -time that he exhibited his Canterbury Pilgrimage; and he could -hardly procure sufficient to sustain life, when old age was creeping -upon him. Yet, poverty-stricken as he was, his cheerfulness never -forsook him--he uttered no complaint--he contracted no debt, and -continued to the last manly and independent. It is the fashion -to praise genius when it is gone to the grave--the fashion is -cheap and convenient. Of the existence of Blake few men of taste -could be ignorant--of his great merits multitudes knew, nor was -his extreme poverty any secret. Yet he was reduced--one of the -ornaments of the age--to a miserable garret and a crust of bread, -and would have perished from want, had not some friends, neither -wealthy nor powerful, averted this disgrace from coming upon -our country. One of these gentlemen, Mr. Linnell, employed Blake to -engrave his Inventions of the Book of Job; by this he earned money -enough to keep him living--for the good old man still labored -with all the ardor of the days of his youth, and with skill equal to his -enthusiasm. These engravings are very rare, very beautiful, and -very peculiar. They are in the earlier fashion of workmanship, and -bear no resemblance whatever to the polished and graceful style -which now prevails. I have never seen a tinted copy, nor am I sure -that tinting would accord with the extreme simplicity of the designs, -and the mode in which they are handled. The Songs of Innocence, and -these Inventions for Job, are the happiest of Blake's works, and ought -to be in the portfolios of all who are lovers of nature and -imagination. - -Two extensive works, bearing the ominous names of Prophecies, -one concerning America, the other Europe, next made their appearance -from his pencil and graver. The first contains eighteen and the other -seventeen plates, and both are plentifully seasoned with verse, without -the incumbrance of rhyme. It is impossible to give a satisfactory -description of these works; the frontispiece of the latter, representing -the Ancient of Days, in an orb of light, stooping into chaos, to measure -out the world, has been admired less for its meaning than for the grandeur -of its outline. A head and a tailpiece in the other have been much -noticed--one exhibits the bottom of the sea, with enormous -fishes preying on a dead body--the other, the surface, with a dead -body floating, on which an eagle with outstretched wings is feeding. -The two angels pouring out the spotted plague upon Britain--an -angel standing in the sun, attended by three furies--and several -other Inventions in these wild works, exhibit wonderful strength of -drawing and splendor of coloring. Of loose prints--but which -were meant doubtless to form part of some extensive work--one -of the most remarkable is the Great Sea Serpent; and a figure, sinking in -a stormy sea at sunset--the glow of which, with the foam upon -the dark waves, produces a magical effect. - -After a residence of seventeen years in South Molton Street, Blake -removed (not in consequence, alas! of any increase of fortune) to No. 3 -Fountain Court, Strand. This was in the year 1823. Here he engraved by -day and saw visions by night, and occasionally employed himself in -making Inventions for Dante; and such was his application that he -designed in all one hundred and two, and engraved seven. It was -publicly known that he was in a declining state of health; that old -age had come upon him, and that he was in want. Several friends, -and artists among the number, aided him a little, in a delicate way, -by purchasing his works, of which he had many copies. He sold -many of his Songs of Innocence, and also of Urizen, and he wrought -incessantly upon what he counted his masterpiece, the Jerusalem, -tinting and adorning it, with the hope that his favorite would find a -purchaser. No one, however, was found ready to lay out twenty-five -guineas on a work which no one could have any hope of comprehending, -and this disappointment sank to the old man's heart. - -He had now reached his seventy-first year, and the strength of -nature was fast yielding. Yet he was to the last cheerful and contented. -'I glory,' he said, 'in dying, and have no grief but in leaving you, -Katherine; we have lived happy, and we have lived long; we have been -ever together, but we shall be divided soon. Why should I fear death? -nor do I fear it. I have endeavored to live as Christ commands, -and have sought to worship. God truly--in my own house, when -I was not seen of men.' He grew weaker and weaker--he could -no longer sit upright; and was laid in his bed, with no one to watch -over him, save his wife, who, feeble and old herself, required help -in such a touching duty. - -The Ancient of Days was such a favorite with Blake, that three -days before his death, he sat bolstered up in bed, and tinted it -with his choicest colors and in his happiest style. He touched and -retouched it--held it at arm's-length, and then threw it from -him, exclaiming, 'There! that will do! I cannot mend it.' He saw -his wife in tears--she felt this was to be the last of his -works--'Stay, Kate! (cried Blake) keep just as you are--I -will draw your portrait--for you have ever been an angel to -me'--she obeyed, and the dying artist' made a fine likeness. - -The very joyfulness with which this singular man welcomed -the coming of death, made his dying moments intensely mournful. -He lay chanting songs, and the verses and the music were both the -offspring of the moment. He lamented that he could no longer -commit those inspirations, as he called them, to paper. 'Kate,' he -said, 'I am a changing man--I always rose and wrote down -my thoughts, whether it rained, snowed, or shone, and you arose -too and sat beside me--this can' be no longer.' He died on -the 12th of August, 1828, without any visible pain--his wife, -who sat watching him, did not perceive when he ceased breathing. - -William Blake was of low stature and slender make, with a high -pallid forehead, and eyes large, dark, and expressive. His temper -was touchy, and when moved, he spoke with an indignant eloquence, -which commanded respect. His voice, in general, was low and musical, -his manners gentle and unassuming, his conversation a singular -mixture of knowledge and enthusiasm. His whole life was one of -labour and privation,--he had never tasted the luxury of that -independence, which comes from professional profit. This untoward -fortune he endured with unshaken equanimity--offering himself, -in imagination, as a martyr in the great cause of poetic art;--_pitying_ -some of his more fortunate brethren for their inordinate love -of gain; and not doubting that whatever he might have won in -gold by adopting other methods, would have been a poor compensation -for the ultimate loss of fame. Under this agreeable delusion, -he lived all his life--he was satisfied when his graver gained -him a guinea a week--the greater the present denial, the surer -the glory hereafter. - -Though he was the companion of Flaxman and Fuseli, and sometimes -their pupil, he never attained that professional skill, without which -all genius is bestowed in vain. He was his own teacher chiefly; and -self-instruction, the parent occasionally of great beauties, seldom -fails to produce great deformities. He was a most splendid tinter, but -no colorist, and his works were all of small dimensions, and therefore -confined to the cabinet and the portfolio. His happiest flights, as well -as his wildest, are thus likely to remain shut up from the world. If we -look at the man through his best and most intelligible works, we shall -find that he who could produce the Songs of Innocence and Experience, -the Gates of Paradise, and the Inventions for Job, was the possessor -of very lofty faculties, with no common skill in art, and moreover -that, both in thought and mode of treatment, he was a decided original. -But should we, shutting our eyes to the merits of those works, -determine to weigh his worth by his Urizen, his Prophecies of Europe -and America, and his Jerusalem, our conclusion would be very -unfavorable; we would say that, with much freedom of composition -and boldness of posture, he was unmeaning, mystical, and extravagant, -and that his original mode of working out his conceptions was little -better than a brilliant way of animating absurdity. An overflow of -imagination is a failing uncommon in this age, and has generally -received of late little quarter from the critical portion of mankind. -Yet imagination is the life and spirit of all great works of genius -and taste; and, indeed, without it, the head thinks and the hand -labours in vain. Ten thousand authors and artists rise to the -proper, the graceful, and the beautiful, for ten who ascend -into 'the heaven of invention.' A work--whether from poet -or painter--conceived in the fiery ecstasy of imagination, -lives through every limb; while one elaborated out by skill and -taste only will look, in comparison, like a withered and sapless -tree beside one green and flourishing. Blake's misfortune was that -of possessing this precious gift in excess. His fancy overmastered -him--until he at length confounded 'the mind's eye' with -the corporeal organ, and dreamed himself out of the sympathies -of actual life. - -His method of coloring was a secret which he kept to himself, -or confided only to his wife; he believed that it was revealed in a -vision, and that he was bound in honor to conceal it from the -world. 'His modes of preparing his grounds,' says Smith, in his -Supplement to the Life of Nollekens, 'and laying them over his -panels for painting, mixing his colors, and manner of working, -were those which he considered to have been practized by the -early fresco painters, whose productions still remain in many -instances vividly and permanently fresh. His ground was a mixture -of whiting and carpenters' glue, which he passed over several -times in the coatings; his colors he ground himself, and also -united with them the same sort of glue, but in a much weaker -state. He would, in the course of painting a picture, pass a very -thin transparent wash of glue-water over the whole of the parts -he had worked upon, and then proceed with his finishing. He -had many secret modes of working, both as a colorist and an -engraver. His method of eating away the plain copper, and leaving -the lines of his subjects and his words as stereotype, is, in my -mind, perfectly original. Mrs. Blake is in possession of the secret, -and she ought to receive something considerable for its communication, -as I am quite certain it may be used to advantage, both to artists -and literary characters in general. The affection and fortitude -of this woman entitled her to much respect. She shared her husband's -lot without a murmur, set her heart solely upon his fame, and -soothed him in those hours of misgiving and despondency which -are not unknown to the strongest intellects. She still lives -to lament the loss of Blake--and _fell_ it.' - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of William Blake, by Arthur Symons - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WILLIAM BLAKE *** - -***** This file should be named 60448-0.txt or 60448-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/4/4/60448/ - -Produced by Laura Natal Rodrigues at Free Literature -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: William Blake - -Author: Arthur Symons - -Release Date: October 7, 2019 [EBook #60448] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WILLIAM BLAKE *** - - - - -Produced by Laura Natal Rodrigues at Free Literature - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"> -<img src="images/blake_cover.jpg" width="500" alt="" /> -</div> - -<h3>WILLIAM BLAKE</h3> - -<h4>BY</h4> - -<h3>ARTHUR SYMONS</h3> - -<h4>NEW YORK</h4> - -<h4>E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY</h4> - -<h4>1907</h4> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="center">TO<br /> -AUGUSTE RODIN<br /> -whose work is the<br /> -marriage of<br /> -heaven and hell</p> - -<hr class="r5" /> - - - -<p style="margin-left: 10%; font-weight: bold;"> -<a id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</p> - - -<p style="margin-left: 10%; font-size: 0.8em;"> -<a href="#PREFACE">PREFACE</a><br /> -<br /> -<a href="#PART_I">PART I</a><br /> -<a href="#INTRODUCTION">INTRODUCTION</a><br /> -<a href="#WILLIAM_BLAKE">WILLIAM BLAKE</a><br /> -<br /> -<a href="#PART_II-RECORDS_FROM_CONTEMPORARY_SOURCES">PART II - RECORDS FROM CONTEMPORARY SOURCES</a><br /> -<a href="#I._EXTRACTS_FROM_THE_DIARY_LETTERS_AND_REMINISCENCES_OF_HENRY_CRABB_ROBINSON_TRANSCRIBED_FROM_THE_ORIGINAL_MSS_IN_DR_WILLIAMSS_LIBRARY_1810-1852">(I.) EXTRACTS FROM THE DIARY, LETTERS, AND REMINISCENCES OF HENRY CRABB -ROBINSON, TRANSCRIBED FROM THE ORIGINAL MSS. IN DR. WILLIAMS'S LIBRARY (1810-1852)</a><br /> -<a href="#FROM_CRABB_ROBINSONS_DIARY">(1) FROM CRABB ROBINSON'S DIARY</a><br /> -<a href="#FROM_A_LETTER_OF_CRABB_ROBINSON_TO_DOROTHY_WORDSWORTH">(2) FROM A LETTER OF CRABB ROBINSON TO DOROTHY WORDSWORTH</a><br /> -<a href="#FROM_CRABB_ROBINSONS_REMINISCENCES">(3) FROM CRABB ROBINSON'S REMINISCENCES</a><br /> -<a href="#II._FROM_A_FATHERS_MEMOIRS_OF_HIS_CHILD_BY_BENJAMIN_HEATH_MALKIN_1806">(II.) FROM 'A FATHER'S MEMOIRS OF HIS CHILD,' BY BENJAMIN HEATH MALKIN (1806)</a><br /> -<a href="#III._FROM_LADY_CHARLOTTE_BURYS_DIARY_1820">(III.) FROM LADY CHARLOTTE BURY'S DIARY (1820)</a><br /> -<a href="#IV._BLAKES_HOROSCOPE_1825">(IV.) BLAKE'S HOROSCOPE (1825)</a><br /> -<a href="#V._OBITUARY_NOTICES_IN_THE_LITERARY_GAZETTE_AND_GENTLEMANS_MAGAZINE_1827">(V.) OBITUARY NOTICES IN THE LITERARY GAZETTE' AND 'GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE' (1827)</a><br /> -<a href="#VI._EXTRACT_FROM_VARLEYS_ZODIACAL_PHYSIOGNOMY_1828">(VI.) EXTRACT FROM VARLEY'S ZODIACAL PHYSIOGNOMY (1828)</a><br /> -<a href="#VII._BIOGRAPHICAL_SKETCH_OF_BLAKE_BY_J_T_SMITH_1828">(VII.) BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF BLAKE BY J. T. SMITH (1828)</a><br /> -<a href="#VIII._LIFE_OF_BLAKE_BY_ALLAN_CUNNINGHAM_1830">(VIII.) LIFE OF BLAKE BY ALLAN CUNNINGHAM (1830)</a><br /></p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - -<h4><a id="PREFACE">PREFACE</a></h4> - - -<p>It was when Mr. Sampson's edition of Blake came into my hands in the -winter of 1905 that the idea of writing a book on Blake first presented -itself to me. From a boy he had been one of my favorite poets, and I -had heard a great deal about him from Mr. Yeats as long ago as 1893, the -year in which he and Mr. Ellis brought out their vast encyclopaedia, -<i>The Works of William Blake, Poetic, Symbolic, and Critical.</i> From -that time to this Blake has never been out of my mind, but I have always -hesitated to write down anything on a subject so great in itself, and -already handled by great poets. Things have been written about Blake by -Rossetti which no one will ever surpass; and in Mr. Swinburne's book -Blake himself seems to speak again, as through the mouth of a herald. -I read these, I read everything that had been written about him; gradually -I got to know all his work, in all its kinds; and when I found, in Mr. -Sampson's book, the rarest part of his genius, disentangled at last from -the confusions of the commentators, I caught some impulse—was -it from the careful enthusiasm of this editor, or perhaps straight from -Blake?—and began to write down what now filled and overflowed -my mind. Having begun on an impulse, I laid my plans as strictly as I -could, and decided to make a book which would be, in its way, complete. -There was to be, first, my own narrative, containing, as briefly as -possible, every fact of importance, with my own interpretation of what -I took to be Blake's achievements and intentions. But this was to be -followed by a verbatim reprint of documents. These documents were -the material of Gilchrist, but, even after Gilchrist's use of them, they -remain of primary and undiminished importance: they are the main -evidence in our case.</p> - -<p>The documents which form the second part of my book contain -every personal account of Blake which was printed during his lifetime, -and between the time of his death and the publication of Gilchrist's -<i>Life</i> in 1863, together with the complete text of every reference -to Blake in the <i>Diary, Letters, and Reminiscences</i> of Crabb -Robinson, transcribed for the first time from the original manuscripts. -All these I have given exactly as they stand, not correcting their errors, -for even errors have their value as evidence. The only other document -of the period which exists was written by Frederick Tatham, within two -years of the appearance of Cunningham's <i>Life</i>, and bound up -at the beginning of a colored copy of Blake's <i>Jerusalem</i>, now in -the possession of Captain Archibald Stirling. This manuscript was -consulted by Mr. Swinburne and afterwards by Mr. Ellis and Mr. Yeats; -but though many extracts have been made from it, it was printed for -the first time by Mr. Archibald G. B. Russell in his edition of <i>The -Letters of William Blake</i> (Methuen, 1906). This very important -volume completes the task which I have here undertaken: the reprint -of every record of Blake from contemporary sources.</p> - -<p>The mere contact with Blake seems to awaken the natural generosity -of those who have concerned themselves with him. To Mr. John Sampson, -the editor of the only accurate edition of Blake's poems, I am indebted -for more help and encouragement than I can hope to express in detail; and -particularly for prompting me to a search among birth and marriage and -death registers, by which I have been enabled to settle several disputed -points of some interest. To Mr. A. G. B. Russell I owe constant personal -help, and the very generous loan of the proofs of his edition of Blake's -<i>Letters</i>, and of Tatham's <i>Life</i>, with free leave to use them -in the narrative which I was writing at a time when his book had not yet -appeared. Through this favour I have been able to take such facts as -Tatham is responsible for directly from Tatham, and not at secondhand. -I am also indebted to Mr. Russell for reading my proofs and saving me from -some errors of fact. I have to thank Mr. Buxton Forman for allowing me -to read and describe the unpublished manuscript in Blake's handwriting -in his possession. Finally, my particular thanks are due to the Librarian -of Dr. Williams's Library, Mr. Francis H. Jones, for permission to copy -and print the full text of all the references to Blake in the Crabb -Robinson Manuscripts.</p> - - -<p style="margin-left: 70%;">LONDON, <i>April</i> 1907.</p> - - - - -<hr class="r5" /> - - - - -<h4>LIST OF BOOKS CONSULTED</h4> - - -<p>1. <i>Life of William Blake</i>. By ALEXANDER GILCHRIST. Two volumes. -Macmillan, 1863. New and enlarged edition, 1880.</p> - -<p>2. <i>William Blake: A Critical Essay</i>. By ALGERNON CHARLES -SWINBURNE. John Camden Hotten, 1868. New edition, Chatto&Windus, -1906.</p> - -<p>3. <i>The Poetical Works of William Blake</i>. Edited by W. M. -ROSSETTI. Aldine Edition. Bell&Sons, 1874.</p> - -<p><i>4. The Life and Letters of Samuel Palmer</i>. By A. H. -Palmer. Seeley&Co., 1892.</p> - -<p>5. <i>The Life of John Linnell</i>. By ALFRED T. STORY. -Two volumes. Bentley, 1892.</p> - -<p>6. <i>A Memoir of Edward Calvert</i>. By his third son [SAMUEL -CALVERT]. S. LOW&Co., 1893.</p> - -<p>7. <i>The Works of William Blake: Poetic, Symbolic, and Critical</i>. -Edited, with lithographs of the illustrated Prophetic Books, and a Memoir -and Interpretation, by EDWIN JOHN ELLIS and WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS. -Three volumes. Quaritch, 1893.</p> - -<p>8. <i>The Poems of William Blake</i>. Edited by W. B. YEATS. -'The Muses' Library.' Lawrence&Bullen, 1893.</p> - -<p>9. <i>William Blake: his Life, Character, and Genius</i>. -By ALFRED T. STORY. Sonnenschein&Co., 1893.</p> - -<p>10. <i>William Blake: Painter and Poet</i>. By RICHARD GARNETT. -'Portfolio,' 1895.</p> - -<p>11. <i>Ideas of Good and Evil</i>. By W. B. YEATS. (William Blake -and the Imagination, William Blake and his Illustrations to the Divine -Comedy.) A. H. Bullen, 1903.</p> - -<p>12. <i>The Rossetti Papers</i> (1862 <i>to</i> 1870); a Compilation -by W. M. ROSSETTI. Sands&Co., 1903.</p> - -<p>13. <i>The Prophetic Books of William Blake: Jerusalem</i>. -Edited by E. R. D. MACLAGAN and A. G. B. RUSSELL. Bullen, 1904.</p> - -<p>14. <i>The Poetical Works of William Blake</i>. Edited by -JOHN SAMPSON. Oxford, 1905.</p> - -<p>15. <i>The Letters of William Blake</i>; together with a Life -by FREDERICK TATHAM. Edited by ARCHIBALD G. B. RUSSELL. Methuen, -1906.</p> - -<p>16. <i>The Poetical Works of William Blake</i>. Edited and annotated -by EDWIN J. ELLIS. Two volumes. Chatto&Windus, 1906. (The only edition -containing the Prophetic Books.)</p> - -<p>17. <i>William Blake</i>. Vol. I. Illustrations of the Book of Job, -with a general Introduction by LAURENCE BINYON. Methuen, 1906.</p> - -<p>18. <i>The Real Blake</i>. A Portrait Biography. By EDWIN J. ELLIS. -Chatto&Windus, 1907.</p> - - - - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - -<h4><a id="PART_I">PART I </a></h4> - - - - -<h4><a id="INTRODUCTION">INTRODUCTION</a></h4> - - - - -<h4>I</h4> - - -<p>When Blake spoke the first word of the nineteenth century there was -no one to hear it, and now that his message, the message of emancipation -from reality through the 'shaping spirit of imagination,' has penetrated -the world, and is slowly remaking it, few are conscious of the first -utterer, in modern times, of the message with which all are familiar. -Thought to-day, wherever it is most individual, owes either force or -direction to Nietzsche, and thus we see, on our topmost towers, the -Philistine armed and winged, and without the love or fear of God or -man in his heart, doing battle in Nietzsche's name against the ideas of -Nietzsche. No one can think, and escape Nietzsche; but Nietzsche has -come after Blake, and will pass before Blake passes.</p> - -<p><i>The Marriage of Heaven and Hell</i> anticipates Nietzsche -in his most significant paradoxes, and, before his time, exalts energy -above reason, and Evil, 'the active springing from energy' above Good, -'the passive that obeys reason.' Did not Blake astonish Crabb Robinson -by declaring that 'there was nothing in good and evil, the virtues and -vices'; that 'vices in the natural world were the highest sublimities in -the spiritual world'? 'Man must become better and wickeder,' says -Nietzsche in <i>Zarathustra</i>; and, elsewhere; 'Every man must -find his own virtue.' Sin, to Blake, is negation, is nothing; 'everything -is good in God's eyes'; it is the eating of the tree of the knowledge -of good and evil that has brought sin into the world: education, that -is, by which we are taught to distinguish between things that do not -differ. When Nietzsche says: 'Let us rid the world of the notion of sin, -and banish with it the idea of punishment,' he expresses one of Blake's -central doctrines, and he realizes the corollary, which, however, he does -not add. 'The Christian's soul,' he says, 'which has freed itself from -sin is in most cases ruined by the hatred against sin. Look at the faces -of great Christians. They are the faces of great haters.' Blake sums up -all Christianity as forgiveness of sin:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Mutual forgiveness of each vice,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Such are the gates of Paradise.'</span></p> - - -<p>The doctrine of the Atonement was to him a 'horrible doctrine,' -because it seemed to make God a hard creditor, from whom pity -could be bought for a price. 'Doth Jehovah forgive a debt only on -condition that it shall be paid? ... That debt is not forgiven!' he says -in <i>Jerusalem.</i> To Nietzsche, far as he goes on the same road, -pity is 'a weakness, which increases the world's suffering'; but to -Blake, in the spirit of the French proverb, forgiveness is understanding. -'This forgiveness,' says Mr. Yeats, 'was not the forgiveness of the -theologian who has received a commandment from afar off, but of -the poet and artist, who believes he has been taught, in a mystical -vision, "that the imagination is the man himself," and believes he -has discovered in the practice of his art that without a perfect -sympathy there is no perfect imagination, and therefore no perfect -life.' He trusted the passions, because they were alive; and, like -Nietzsche, hated asceticism, because:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Abstinence sows sand all over</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The ruddy limbs and flaming hair,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">But desire gratified</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Plants fruits of life and beauty there.'</span></p> - - -<p>'Put off holiness,' he said, 'and put on intellect,' And 'the fool -shall not enter into heaven, let him be ever so holy.' Is not -this a heaven after the heart of Nietzsche?</p> - -<p>Nietzsche is a Spinoza à <i> rebours.</i> The essence of the -individual, says Spinoza, 'is the effort by which it endeavors to -persevere in its own being.' 'Will and understanding are one and -the same.' 'By virtue and power I understand the same thing.' -'The effort to understand is the first and sole basis of virtue.' So -far it might be Nietzsche who is speaking. Only, in Spinoza, this -affirmation of will, persistent egoism, power, hard understanding, -leads to a conclusion which is far enough from the conclusion of -Nietzsche. 'The absolute virtue of the mind is to understand; its -highest virtue, therefore, to understand or know God.' That, to -Nietzsche, is one of 'the beautiful words by which the conscience -is lulled to sleep.' 'Virtue is power,' Spinoza leads us to think, -because it is virtue; 'power is virtue,' affirms Nietzsche, because -it is power. And in Spinoza's profound heroism of the mind, really -a great humility, 'he who loves God does not desire that God should -love him in return.' Nietzsche would find the material for a kind of -desperate heroism, made up wholly of pride and defiance.</p> - -<p>To Blake, 'God-intoxicated' more than Spinoza, 'God only acts -and is, in existing beings and men,' as Spinoza might also have said; -to him, as to Spinoza, all moral virtue is identical with understanding, -and 'men are admitted into heaven, not because they have curbed and -governed their passions, but because they have cultivated their -understandings.' Yet to Blake Spinoza's mathematical approach to -truth would have been a kind of negation. Even an argument from -reason seemed to him atheistical: to one who had truth, as he -was assured, within him, reason was only 'the bound or outward -circumference of energy,' but 'energy is the only life,' and, as to -Nietzsche, is 'eternal delight.'</p> - -<p>Yet, to Nietzsche, with his strange, scientific distrust of the -imagination, of those who so 'suspiciously' say 'We see what others -do not see,' there comes distrust, hesitation, a kind of despair, -precisely at the point where Blake enters into his liberty. 'The habits -of our senses,' says Nietzsche, 'have plunged us into the lies and -deceptions of feeling.' 'Whoever believes in nature,' says Blake, -'disbelieves in God; for nature is the work of the Devil.' 'These -again,' Nietzsche goes on, 'are the foundations of all our judgments -and "knowledge," there is no escape whatever, no back-way or -by-way into the real world.' But the real world, to Blake, into which -he can escape at every moment, is the world of imagination, from -which messengers come to him, daily and nightly.</p> - -<p>Blake said 'The tigers of wrath are wiser than the horses of -instruction,' and it is partly in what they helped to destroy that -Blake and Nietzsche are at one; but destruction, with Blake, was -the gesture of a hand which brushes aside needless hindrances, -while to Nietzsche it was 'an intellectual thing,' the outer militant -part of 'the silent, self-sufficient man in the midst of a general -enslavement, who practices self-defense against the outside world, -and is constantly living in a state of supreme fortitude.' Blake rejoins -Nietzsche as he had rejoined Spinoza, by a different road, having -fewer devils to cast out, and no difficulty at all in maintaining his -spiritual isolation, his mental liberty, under all circumstances. -And to Blake, to be 'myself alone, shut up in myself,' was to be in no -merely individual but in a universal world, that world of imagination -whose gates seemed to him to be open to every human being. No -less than Nietzsche he says to every man: Be yourself, nothing else -matters or exists; but to be myself, to him, was to enter by the -imagination into eternity.</p> - -<p>The philosophy of Nietzsche was made out of his nerves and -was suffering, but to Blake it entered like sunlight into the eyes. -Nietzsche's mind is the most sleepless of minds; with him every -sensation turns instantly into the stuff of thought; he is terribly -alert, the more so because he never stops to systematize; he must -be for ever apprehending. He darts out feelers in every direction, -relentlessly touching the whole substance of the world. His apprehension -is minute rather than broad; he is content to seize one thing at a time, -and he is content if each separate thing remains separate; no theory ties -together or limits his individual intuitions. What we call his philosophy -is really no more than the aggregate of these intuitions coming to us -through the medium of a remarkable personality. His personality stands -to him in the place of a system. Speaking of Kant and Schopenhauer, -he says: 'Their thoughts do not constitute a passionate history of the -soul.' His thoughts are the passionate history of his soul. It is for this -reason that he is an artist among philosophers rather than a pure -philosopher. And remember that he is also not, in the absolute sense, -the poet, but the artist. He saw and dreaded the weaknesses of the -artist, his side-issues in the pursuit of truth. But in so doing he -dreaded one of his own weaknesses.</p> - -<p>Blake, on the other hand, receives nothing through his sensations, -suffers nothing through his nerves. 'I know of no other Christianity,' -he says, 'and of no other Gospel than the liberty both of body and -mind to exercise the divine arts of Imagination: Imagination, the real -and eternal world of which this vegetable universe is but a faint shadow, -and in which we shall live in our eternal or imaginative bodies, when -these vegetable mortal bodies are no more.' To Nietzsche the sense -of a divine haunting became too heavy a burden for his somewhat -inhuman solitude, the solitude of Alpine regions, with their steadfast -glitter, their thin, high, intoxicating air. 'Is this obtrusiveness of -heaven,' he cries, 'this inevitable superhuman neighbor, not enough -to drive one mad?' But Blake, when he says, 'I am under the direction -of messengers from heaven, daily and nightly,' speaks out of natural -joy, which is wholly humility, and it is only 'if we fear to do the -dictates of our angels, and tremble at the tasks set before us,' it is -only then that he dreads, as the one punishment, that 'every one in -eternity will leave him.'</p> - - - - -<h4>II</h4> - - -<p>'There are three powers in man of conversing with Paradise,' -said Blake, and he defined them as the three sons of Noah who -survived the flood, and who are Poetry, Painting, and Music. Through -all three powers, and to the last moments of his life on earth, Blake -conversed with Paradise. We are told that he used to sing his own -songs to his own music, and that, when he was dying, 'he composed -and uttered songs to his Maker,' and 'burst out into singing -of the things he saw in heaven.' And with almost the last strength -of his hands he had made a sketch of his wife before he 'made -the rafters ring,' as a bystander records, with the improvisation of -is last breath.</p> - -<p>Throughout life his desire had been, as he said, 'to converse -with my friends in eternity, see visions, dream dreams, and prophesy -and speak parables unobserved.' He says again:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 13em;">'I rest not from my great task</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">To open the eternal worlds, to open the immortal</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 8em;">eyes</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Of Man inwards into the worlds of thought, into</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 8em;">eternity,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Ever expanding in the bosom of God, the human</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 8em;">imagination.'</span></p> - - -<p>And, writing to the uncomprehending Hayley (who had called him -'gentle, visionary Blake'), he says again: 'I am really drunk with -intellectual vision whenever I take a pencil or graver into my hand.' -To the newspapers of his time, on the one or two occasions when they -mentioned his name, he was 'an unfortunate lunatic'; even to Lamb, -who looked upon him as 'one of the most extraordinary persons of -the age,' he was a man 'flown, whither I know not—to Hades or -a madhouse.' To the first editor of his collected poems there seemed -to be 'something in his mind not exactly sane'; and the critics of to-day -still discuss his sanity as a man and as a poet.</p> - -<p>It is true that Blake was abnormal; but what was abnormal in him -was his sanity. To one who believed that 'The ruins of Time build -mansions in eternity,' that 'imagination is eternity,' and that 'our -deceased friends are more really with us than when they were apparent -to our mortal part,' there could be none of that confusion at the edge -of mystery which makes a man mad because he is unconscious of the -gulf. No one was ever more conscious than Blake was of the limits of -that region which we call reality and of that other region which we call -imagination. It pleased him to reject the one and to dwell in the other, -and his choice was not the choice of most men, but of some of those -who have been the greatest saints and the greatest artists. And, like -the most authentic among them, he walked firmly among those realities -to which he cared to give no more than a side-glance from time to time; -he lived his own life quietly and rationally, doing always exactly what -he wanted to do, and with so fine a sense of the subtlety of mere worldly -manners, than when, at his one moment of worldly success, in 1793, he -refused the post of drawing-master to the royal family, he gave up all -his other pupils at the same time, lest the refusal should seem ungracious -on the part of one who had been the friend of revolutionaries. He saw -visions, but not as the spiritualists and the magicians have seen them. -These desire to quicken mortal sight until the soul limits itself again, -takes body, and returns to reality; but Blake, the inner mystic, desired -only to quicken that imagination which he knew to be more real than -the reality of nature. Why should he call up shadows when he could -talk in the spirit with spiritual realities? 'Then I asked,' he says in -<i>The Marriage of Heaven and Hell</i>, 'does a firm persuasion -that a thing is so, make it so?' He replied, "All poets believe that it -does."</p> - -<p>In the <i>Descriptive Catalogue</i> to his exhibition of pictures -in 1809, Blake defines, more precisely than in any other place, what -vision was to him. He is speaking of his pictures, but it is a plea for -the raising of painting to the same 'sphere of invention and visionary -conception' as that which poetry and music inhabit. 'The Prophets,' -he says, 'describe what they saw in vision as real and existing men, -whom they saw with their imaginative and immortal organs; the -Apostles the same; the clearer the organ, the more distinct the -object. A spirit and a vision are not, as the modern philosophy -supposes, a cloudy vapor, or a nothing. They are organized and -minutely articulated beyond all that the mortal and perishing nature -can produce. He who does not imagine in stronger and better lineaments -and in stronger and better light than his perishing and mortal eye can -see, does not imagine at all. The painter of this work asserts that all -his imaginations appear to him infinitely more perfect and more -minutely organized than anything seen by his mortal eye.' 'Inspiration -and vision,' he says in one of the marginal notes to Reynolds's -<i>Discourses</i>, 'was then, and now is, and I hope will always -remain, my element, my eternal dwelling-place.' And 'God forbid,' -he says also, 'that Truth should be confined to mathematical -demonstration. He who does not know Truth at sight is not worthy -of her notice.'</p> - -<p>The mind of Blake lay open to eternity as a seed-plot lies open -to the sower. In 1802 he writes to Mr. Butts from Felpham: 'I -am not ashamed, afraid, or averse to tell you what ought to be -told—that I am under the direction of messengers from heaven, -daily and nightly.' 'I have written this poem,' he says of the -<i>Jerusalem</i>, 'from immediate dictation, twelve or sometimes -twenty or— thirty lines at a time, without premeditation, and even -against my will.' 'I may praise it,' he says in another letter, 'since -I dare not pretend to be any other than the secretary; the authors are -in eternity.' In these words, the most precise claim for direct -inspiration which Blake ever made, there is nothing different in kind, -only in degree, from what must be felt by every really creative artist -and by every profoundly and simply religious person. There can hardly -be a poet who is not conscious of how little his own highest powers are -under his own control. The creation of beauty is the end of art, but the -artist should rarely admit to himself that such is his purpose. A poem -is not written by the man who says: I will sit down and write a poem; -but rather by the man who, captured by rather than capturing an impulse, -hears a tune which he does not recognize, or sees a sight which he does -not remember, in some 'close corner of his brain,' and exerts the only -energy at his disposal in recording it faithfully, in the medium of his -particular art. And so in every creation of beauty, some obscure -desire stirred in the soul, not realized by the mind for what it was, and, -aiming at most other things in the world than pure beauty, produced it. -Now, to the critic this is not more important to remember than it is for -him to remember that the result, the end, must be judged, not by the -impulse which brought it into being, nor by the purpose which it sought -to serve, but by its success or failure in one thing: the creation of -beauty. To the artist himself this precise consciousness of what he -has done is not always given, any more than a precise consciousness -of what he is doing. Only in the greatest do we find vision and the -correction of vision equally powerful and equally constant.</p> - -<p>To Blake, as to some artists and to most devout people, there was -nothing in vision to correct, nothing even to modify. His language in -all his letters and in much of his printed work is identical with the -language used by the followers of Wesley and Whitefield at the time -in which he was writing. In Wesley's journal you will find the same -simple and immediate consciousness of the communion of the soul -with the world of spiritual reality: not a vague longing, like Shelley's, -for a principle of intellectual beauty, nor an unattained desire after -holiness, like that of the conventionally religious person, but a literal -'power of conversing with Paradise,' as Blake called it, and as many -Methodists would have been equally content to call it. And in Blake, -as in those whom the people of that age called 'enthusiasts' (that word -of reproach in the eighteenth century and of honor in all other -centuries), there was no confusion (except in brains where 'true -superstition,' as Blake said, was 'ignorant honesty, and this is beloved -of God and man') between the realities of daylight and these other -realities from the other side of day. Messrs. Ellis and Yeats quote a -mysterious note written in Blake's handwriting, with a reference -to Spurzheim, page 154. I find that this means Spurzheim's <i>Observations -on the Deranged Manifestations of the Mind, or Insanity</i> (1817), -and the passage in the text is as follows: 'Religion is another fertile -cause of insanity. Mr. Haslam, though he declares it sinful to consider -religion as a cause of insanity, adds, however, that he would be -ungrateful, did he not avow his obligations to Methodism for its -supply of numerous cases. Hence the primitive feelings of religion may -be misled and produce insanity; that is what I would contend for, -and in that sense religion often leads to insanity.' Blake has written: -'Methodism, etc., p. 154. Cowper came to me and said: "Oh! that I -were insane, always. I will never rest. Can not you make me truly -insane? I will never rest till I am so. Oh! that in the bosom of God -I was hid. You retain health and yet are mad as any of us all-over -us all—mad as a refuge from unbelief—from Bacon, -Newton, and Locke."' What does this mean but that 'madness,' the -madness of belief in spiritual things, must be complete if it is to be -effectual, and that, once complete, there is no disturbance of bodily -or mental health, as in the doubting and distracted Cowper, who was -driven mad, not by the wildness of his belief, but by the hesitations -of his doubt?</p> - -<p>Attempts have been made to claim Blake for an adept of magic. -But whatever cabbalistical terms he may have added to the somewhat -composite and fortuitous naming of his mythology ('all but names of -persons and places,' he says, 'is invention, both in poetry and -painting'), his whole mental attitude was opposed to that of the -practicers of magic. We have no record of his ever having evoked a -vision, but only of his accepting or enduring visions. Blake was, -above all, spontaneous: the practiser of magic is a deliberate craftsman -in the art of the soul. I can no more imagine Blake sitting down to juggle -with symbols or to gaze into a pool of ink than I can imagine him -searching out words that would make the best effects in his lyrics, -or fishing for inspiration, pen in hand, in his own ink-pot. A man does -not beg at the gate of dreams when he is the master for whose entrance -the gate stands open.</p> - -<p>Of the definite reality of Blake's visions there can be no question; -no question that, as he once wrote, 'nothing can withstand the fury -of my course among the stars of God, and in the abysses of the accuser.' -But imagination is not one, but manifold; and the metaphor, professing -to be no more than metaphor, of the poet, may be vision as essential as -the thing actually seen by the visionary. The difference between -imagination in Blake and in, say, Shakespeare, is that the one (himself -a painter) has a visual imagination and sees an image or metaphor as a -literal reality, while the other, seeing it not less vividly but in a more -purely mental way, adds a 'like' or an 'as,' and the image or metaphor -comes to you with its apology or attenuation, and takes you less by -surprise. But to Blake it was the universe that was a metaphor.</p> - - - - -<hr class="r5" /> - - - - -<h4><a id="WILLIAM_BLAKE">WILLIAM BLAKE</a></h4> - - - - -<h4>I</h4> - - -<p>The origin of the family of William Blake has not yet been found; -and I can claim no more for the evidence that I have been able to gather -than that it settles us more firmly in our ignorance. But the names of his -brothers and sister, their dates and order of birth, and the date of his -wife's birth, have never, so far as I know, been correctly given. Even the -date of his own birth has been contested by Mr. Swinburne 'on good -MS. authority,' which we know to be that of Frederick Tatham, who -further asserts, wrongly, that James was younger than William, and -that John was 'the eldest son.' Gilchrist makes no reference to John, -but says, wrongly, that James was 'a year and a half William's senior,' -and that William had a sister 'nearly seven years younger than himself'; -of whom, says Mr. Yeats, we hear little, and among that little not -even her name.' Most of these problems can be settled by the entries -in parish registers, and I have begun with the registers of the church -of St. James, Westminster.</p> - -<p>I find by these entries that James Blake, the son of James and -Catherine Blake, was born July 10, and christened July 15, 1753; John -Blake ('son of John and Catherine,' says the register, by what is probably -a slip of the pen) was horn May 12, and christened June I, 1755; William -Blake was born November 28, and christened December 11, 1757; another -John Blake was born March 20, and christened March 30, 1760; Richard -Blake was born June 19, and christened July 11, 1762; and Catherine -Elizabeth Blake was born January 7, and christened January 28, 1764. -Here, where we find the daughter's name and the due order of births, -we find one perplexity in the name of Richard, whose date of birth fits -the date given by Gilchrist and others to Robert, William's favorite -brother, whose name he has engraved on a design of his 'spiritual form' -in <i>Milton</i>, whom he calls Robert in a letter to Butts, and whom -J. T. Smith recalls not only as Robert, but as 'Bob, as he was familiarly -called.' In the entry of 'John, son of John and Catherine Blake,' I can -easily imagine the clerk repeating by accident the name of the son -for the name of the father; and I am inclined to suppose that there -was a John who died before the age of five, and that his name was -given to the son next born. Precisely the same repetition of name is -found in the case of Lamb's two sisters christened Elizabeth, and -Shelley's two sisters christened Helen. 'My brother John, the evil one,' -would therefore be younger than William; but Tatham, in saying that -he was older, may have been misled by there having been two sons -christened John.</p> - -<p>There are two theories as to the origin of Blake's family; but neither -of them has yet been confirmed by the slightest documentary evidence. -Both of these theories were put forth in the same year, 1893, one by Mr. -Alfred T. Story in his <i>William Blake,</i> the other by Messrs. Ellis -and Yeats in their <i>Works of William Blake</i>. According to Mr. Story, -Blake's family was connected with the Somerset family of the Admiral, -through a Wiltshire family of Blakes; but for this theory he gives merely -the report of 'two ladies, daughters of William John Blake, of -Southampton, who claim to be second cousins of William Blake,' -and in a private letter he tells me that he has not been able to procure -any documentary evidence of the statement. According to Messrs. Ellis -and Yeats, Blake's father was Irish, and was originally called O'Neil. His -father, John O'Neil, is supposed to have changed his name, on marrying -Ellen Blake, from O'Neil to Blake, and James O'Neil, his son by a previous -union, to have taken the same name, and to have settled in London, -while a younger son, the actual son of Ellen Blake, went to Malaga. This -statement rests entirely on the assertion of Dr. Carter Blake, who claimed -descent from the latter; and it has never been supported by documentary -evidence. In answer, to my inquiry, Mr. Martin J. Blake, the compiler of -two volumes of <i>Blake Family Records</i> (first series, 1300-1600; -second series, 1600-1700), writes: 'Although I have made a special study -of the genealogies of the Blakes of Ireland, I have not come across any -Ellen Blake who married John O'Neil who afterwards (as is said by Messrs. -Ellis and Yeats) adopted the surname of Blake.'</p> - -<p>Mr. Sampson points out that Blakes father was certainly a Protestant. -He is sometimes described as a Swedenborgian, always as a Dissenter, -and it is curious that about half of the Blakes recorded in the -<i>Dictionary of National Biography</i> were also conspicuous as -Puritans or Dissenters. Mr. Sampson further points out that Blake -in one of his poems speaks of himself as 'English Blake.' It is true that -he is contrasting himself with the German Klopstock; yet I scarcely think -an Irishman would have used the expression even for contrast. Blake -is nowhere referred to as having been in any way Irish, and the only -apparent exception to this is one which I am obliged to set up with one -hand and knock down with the other. In the index to Crabb Robinson's -<i>Diary</i> one of the references to Blake shows us Mr. Sheil speaking -at the Academical Society while 'Blake, his countryman, kept watching -him to keep him in order.' That this does not refer to William Blake I -have found by tracking through the unpublished portions of the -<i>Diary</i> in the original manuscript the numerous references to -'a Mr. Blake' who was accustomed to speak at the meetings of the -Academical Society. He is described as 'a Mr. Blake who spoke with -good sense on the Irish side, and argued from the Irish History and -the circumstances which attended the passing of the bills.' He afterwards -speaks 'sharply and coarsely,' and answers Mr. Robinson's hour-long -contention that the House of Commons should, or should not, 'possess -the power of imprisoning for a breach of privilege,' by 'opposing the -facts of Lord Melville's prosecution, the Be version Bill, etc., etc., and -Burke's Reform Bill'; returning, in short, 'my civility by incivility.' -This was not the learning, nor were these the manners, of William -Blake.</p> - -<p>I would again appeal to the evidence of the parish register. I find -Blakes in the parish of St. James, Westminster, from the beginning of -the eighteenth century, the first being a William Blake, the son of -Richard and Elizabeth, who was born March 19, 1700. Between the -years 1750 and 1767 (the time exactly parallel with the births of the -family of James and Catherine Blake) I find among the baptisms the -names of Frances, Daniel, Reuben, John Cartwright, and William -(another William) Blake; and I find among the marriages, between 1728 -and 1747, a Robert, a Thomas, a James, and a Richard Blake. The wife -of James, who was married on April 15, 1738, is called Elizabeth, a name -which we have already found as the name of a Mrs. Blake, and which we -find again as the second name of Catherine Elizabeth Blake (the sister of -William Blake), who was born in 1764. I find two Williams, two Richards, -and a John among the early entries, at the beginning of the eighteenth -century. It is impossible to say positively that any of these families, -not less than nine in number, all bearing the name of Blake, all living -in the same parish, within a space of less than forty years, were related -to one another; but it is easier to suppose so than to suppose that one -only out of the number, and one which had assumed the name, should have -found itself accidentally in the midst of all the others, to which the -name may be supposed to have more definitely belonged.</p> - -<p>All that we know with certainty of James Blake, the father, is that -he was a hosier ('of respectable trade and easy habits,' says Tatham; -'of fifty years' standing,' says Cunningham, at the time of his -death), that he was a Dissenter (a Swedenborgian, or inclined to -Swedenborgianism), and that he died in 1784 and was buried on July 4 -in Bunhill Fields. The burial register says: 'July 4, 1784. Mr. James -Blake from Soho Square in a grave, 13/6.' Of his wife Catherine all -that we know is that she died in 1792, and was also buried in Bunhill -Fields. The register says: 'Sept. 9, 1792. Catherine Blake; age 70; -brought from St. James, Westminster. Grave 9 feet; E.&W. 16; -N.&S. 42-43. 19/-.' Tatham says that 'even when a child, his mother -beat him for running and saying that he saw the prophet Ezekiel -under a tree in the fields.' At eight or ten he comes home from Peckham -Rye saying that he has seen a tree filled with angels; and his father is -going to beat him for telling a lie; but his mother intercedes. It was the -father, Tatham says, who, noticing to what great anger he was moved -by a blow, decided not to send him to school.</p> - -<p>The eldest son, James, Tatham tells us, 'having a saving, -somniferous mind, lived a yard and a half life, and pestered his brother -with timid sentences of bread and cheese advice.' On his father's death -in 1784 he carried on the business, and it was at his house that Blake -held his one exhibition of pictures in 1809. 'These paintings filled -several rooms of an ordinary dwelling-house,' says Crabb Robinson -in his <i>Reminiscences</i>; and, telling how he had bought four copies -of the catalogue, 'giving 10/-, I bargained that I should be at liberty -to go again. "Free! as long as you live!" said the brother, astonished -at such a liberality, which he had never experienced before nor I dare -say did afterwards.' Crabb Robinson had at first written 'as long as you -like,' and this he altered into 'as long as you live,' as if fancying, so -long afterwards as 1852, that he remembered the exact word; but -in the entry in the <i>Diary</i>, in 1810, we read 'Oh! as often as -you please!' so that we may doubt whether the 'honest, unpretending -shopkeeper,' who was looked upon by his neighbors, we are told, as -'a bit mad,' because he would 'talk Swedenborg,' can be credited with -all the enthusiasm of the later and more familiar reading. James and -William no longer spoke to one another when, after retiring from -business, James came to live in Cirencester Street, near Linnell. Tatham -tells us that 'he got together a little annuity, upon which he supported -his only sister, and vegetating to a moderate age, died about three years -before his brother William.'</p> - -<p>Of John we know only that he was something of a scapegrace -and the favorite son of his parents. He was apprenticed, at some cost, -to a candle-maker, but ran away, and, after some help from William, -enlisted in the army, lived wildly, and died young. Robert, the favorite -of William, also died young, at the age of twenty-five. He lived with -William and Catherine from 1784 to the time of his death in 1787, -at 27 Broad Street, helping in the print-shop of 'Parker and Blake,' -and learning from his brother to draw and engrave. One of his original -sketches, a stiff drawing of long, rigid, bearded figures staring in -terror, quite in his brother's manner, is in the Print Room of the -British Museum. A story is told of him by Gilchrist which gives us -the whole man, indeed the whole household, in brief. There had -been a dispute between him and Mrs. Blake. Blake suddenly interposed, -and said to his wife: 'Kneel down and beg Robert's pardon directly, -or you will never see my face again.' She knelt down (thinking -it, as she said afterwards, 'very hard,' for she felt herself to be in the -right) and said: 'Robert, I beg your pardon; I am in the wrong.' 'Young -woman, you lie,' said Robert, 'I am in the wrong.'</p> - -<p>Early in 1787 Robert fell ill, and during the last fortnight -William nursed him without taking rest by day or night, until, at -the moment of death, he saw his brother's soul rise through the -ceiling 'clapping its hands for joy'; whereupon he went to bed and -slept for three days and nights. Robert was buried in Bunhill Fields -on February 11. The register says: "Feb. 11, 1787. Mr. Robert Blake -from Golden Square in a grave, 13/6." But his spiritual presence was -never to leave the mind of William Blake, whom in 1800 we find -writing to Hayley: 'Thirteen years ago I lost a brother, and with his -spirit I converse daily and hourly in the spirit, and see him in -remembrance, in the regions of my imagination. I hear his advice, -and even now write from his dictate.' It was Robert whom he saw -in a dream, not long after his death, telling him the method by -which he was to engrave his poems and designs. The spiritual -forms of William and of Robert, in almost exact parallel, are -engraved on separate pages of the Prophetic Book of <i>Milton.</i></p> - -<p>Of the sister, Catherine Elizabeth, we know only that she -lived with Blake and his wife at Felpham. He refers to her in -several letters, and in the poem sent to Butts on October 2, 1800, -he speaks of her as 'my sister and friend.' In another poem, -sent to Butts in a letter dated November 22, 1802, but written, he -explains, 'above a twelvemonth ago, while walking from Felpham -to Lavant to meet my sister,' he asks strangely:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Must my wife live in my sister's bane,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Or my sister survive on my Love's pain?'</span></p> - - -<p>But from the context it is not clear whether this is meant -literally or figuratively. When Tatham was writing his life of Blake, -apparently in the year 1831, he refers to 'Miss Catherine' as still -living, 'having survived nearly all her relations.' Mrs. Gilchrist, in -a letter written to Mr. W. M. Rossetti in 1862, reports a rumour, -for which she gives no evidence, that 'she and Mrs. Blake got on -very ill together, and latterly never met at all,' and that she died -in extreme penury.</p> - - - - -<h4>II</h4> - - -<p>Of the childhood and youth of Blake we know little beyond -what Malkin and Smith have to tell us. From the age of ten to the -age of fourteen he studied at Pars' drawing-school in the Strand, -buying for himself prints after Raphael, Dürer, and Michelangelo -at the sale-rooms; at fourteen he was apprenticed to Basire, the -engraver, who lived at 31 Great Queen Street, and in his shop -Blake once saw Goldsmith. 'His love for art increasing,' says -Tatham, and the time of life having arrived when it was deemed -necessary to place him under some tutor, a painter of eminence was -proposed, and necessary applications were made; but from the huge -premium required, he requested, with his characteristic generosity, -that his father would not on any account spend so much money on -him, as he thought it would be an injustice to his brothers and -sisters. He therefore himself proposed engraving as being less -expensive, and sufficiently eligible for his future avocations. -Of Basire, therefore, for a premium of fifty guineas, he learnt the -art of engraving.' We are told that he was apprenticed, at his own -request, to Basire rather than to the more famous Ryland, the -engraver to the king, because, on being taken by his father to -Ryland's studio, he said: 'I do not like the man's face: it looks -as if he will live to be hanged.' Twelve years later Ryland was -hanged for forgery.</p> - -<p>Blake was with Basire for seven years, and for the last five -years much of his time was spent in making drawings of Gothic -monuments, chiefly in Westminster Abbey, until he came, says -Malkin, to be 'himself almost a Gothic monument.' Tatham tells -us that the reason of his being 'sent out drawing,' as he fortunately -was, instead of being kept at engraving, was 'for the circumstance -of his having frequent quarrels with his fellow—apprentices -concerning matters of intellectual argument.'</p> - -<p>It was in the Abbey that he had a vision of Christ and the -Apostles, and in the Abbey, too, that he flung an intrusive -Westminster schoolboy from the scaffolding, 'in the impetuosity -of his anger, worn out with interruption,' says Tatham, and then -laid a complaint before the Dean which has caused, to this day, -the exclusion of Westminster schoolboys from the precincts.</p> - -<p>It was at this time that Blake must have written the larger -part of the poems contained in the <i>Poetical Sketches</i>, printed -(we cannot say published) in 1783, for in the 'Advertisement' -at the beginning of the book we are told that the 'following Sketches -were the production of untutored youth, commenced in his twelfth, -and occasionally resumed by the author till his twentieth year,' that -is to say, between the years 1768 and 1777. The earliest were written -while Goldsmith and Gray were still living, the latest (if we may believe -these dates) after Chatterton's death, but before his poems had been -published. Ossian had appeared in 1760, Percy's <i>Reliques</i> in -1765. The <i>Reliques</i> probably had their influence on Blake, -Ossian certainly, an influence which returns much later, curiously mingled -with the influence of Milton, in the form taken by the Prophetic Books. -It has been suggested that some of Blake's mystical names, and his -'fiend in a cloud,' came from Ossian; and Ossian is very evident in the -metrical prose of such pieces as 'Samson,' and even in some of the -imagery ('Their helmed youth and aged warriors in dust together lie, -and Desolation spreads his wings over the land of Palestine'). But the -influence of Chatterton seems not less evident, an influence which could -hardly have found its way to Blake before the year 1777. In the fifth -chapter of the fantastic <i>Island in the Moon</i> (probably written -about 1784) there is a long discussion on Chatterton, while in the seventh -chapter he is again discussed in company with Homer, Shakespeare, and -Milton. As late as 1826 Blake wrote on the margin of Wordsworth's preface -to the <i>Lyrical Ballads</i>: 'I believe both Macpherson and Chatterton -that what they say is ancient is so,' and on another page, 'I own myself -an admirer of Ossian equally with any poet whatever, of Rowley and -Chatterton also.' Whether it be influence or affinity, it is hard to say, -but if the 'Mad Song' of Blake has the hint of any predecessor in our -literature, it is to be found in the abrupt energy and stormy masculine -splendor of the High Priest's song in 'Aella,' 'Ye who his yn mokie ayre'; -and if, between the time of the Elizabethans and the time of 'My silks -and fine array' there had been any other song of similar technique and -similar imaginative temper, it was certainly the Minstrel's song in -'Aella,' 'O! synge untoe mie roundelaie.'</p> - -<p>Of the direct and very evident influence of the Elizabethans we -are told by Malkin, with his quaint preciseness: 'Shakespeare's -<i>Venus and Adonis</i>, <i>Tarquin and Lucrece,</i> and his <i>Sonnets</i>... -poems, now little read, were favorite studies of Mr. Blake's early -days. So were Jonson's <i>Underwoods</i> and his <i>Miscellanies.</i>' -'My silks and fine array' goes past Jonson, and reaches Fletcher, if -not Shakespeare himself. And the blank verse of 'King Edward the -Third' goes straight to Shakespeare for its cadence, and for something -of its manner of speech. And there is other blank verse which, among -much not even metrically correct, anticipates something of the richness -of Keats.</p> - -<p>Some rags of his time did indeed cling about him, but only by -the edges; there is even a reflected ghost of the pseudo-Gothic -of Walpole in 'Fair Elenor,' who comes straight from the <i>Castle -of Otranto</i>, as 'Gwin, King of Norway,' takes after the Scandinavian -fashion of the day, and may have been inspired by 'The Fatal Sisters' or -'The Triumphs of Owen' of Gray. Blind-man's Buff,' too, is a piece of -eighteenth-century burlesque realism. But it is in the ode 'To the Muses' -that Blake for once accepts, and in so doing clarifies, the smooth -convention of eighteenth—century classicism, and, as he -reproaches it in its own speech, illuminates it suddenly with the light -it had rejected:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'How have you left the ancient love</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">That bards of old enjoyed in you!</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The languid strings do scarcely move,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">The sound is forced, the notes are few!'</span></p> - - -<p>In those lines the eighteenth century dies to music, and from this -time forward we find in the rest of Blake's work only a proof of his own -assertion, that 'the ages are all equal; but genius is above the age.'</p> - -<p>In 1778 Blake's apprenticeship to Basire came to an end, and for -a short time he studied in the Antique School at the newly founded -Royal Academy under Moser, the first keeper. In the Life of Reynolds -which prefaces the 1798 edition of the <i>Discourses</i>, Moser is -spoken of as one who 'might in every sense be called the Father of the -present race of Artists.' Blake has written against this in his copy: 'I -was once looking over the prints from Raphael and Michael Angelo -in the Library of the Royal Academy. Moser came to me and said, -"You should not study these old hard, stiff, and dry unfinished works -of art. Stay a little, and I will show you what you should study." He then -went and took down Le Brun's and Rubens' Galleries. How did I secretly -rage: I also spoke my mind. I said to Moser, "These things that you call -finished are not even begun: how can they then be finished? The man -who does not know the beginning never can know the end of art."' -Malkin tells us that Blake 'professed drawing from life always to have -been hateful to him; and speaks of it as looking more like death, or -smelling of mortality. Yet still he drew a good deal from life, both at -the Academy and at home.' A water-color drawing dating from this time, -'The Penance of Jane Shore,' was included by Blake in his exhibition of -1809. It is the last number in the catalogue, and has the note: 'This -Drawing was done above Thirty Years ago, and proves to the Author, -and he thinks will prove to any discerning eye, that the productions of -our youth and of our maturer age are equal in all essential respects.' He -also did engravings, during several years, for the booksellers, Harrison, -Johnson, and others, some of them after Stothard, who was then working -for the <i>Novelist's Magazine.</i> Blake met Stothard in 1780, and -Stothard introduced him to Flaxman, with whom he had himself just -become acquainted. In the same year Blake met Fuseli, who settled near -him in Broad Street, while Flaxman, on his marriage in 1781, came to -live near by, at 27 Wardour Street. Bartolozzi and John Yarley were -both, then or later, living in Broad Street, Angelica Kauffmann in Golden -Square. In 1780 (the year of the Gordon Biots, when Blake, carried along -by the crowd, saw the burning of Newgate) he had for the first time a -picture in the Royal Academy, the water-color of 'The Death of Earl -Godwin.'</p> - -<p>It was at this time, in his twenty-fourth year, that he fell in -love with 'a lively little girl' called Polly Wood. Tatham calls her -'a young woman, who by his own account, and according to his -own knowledge, was no trifler. He wanted to marry her, but she -refused, and was as obstinate as she was unkind.' Gilchrist says -that on his complaining to her that she had 'kept company' with -others besides himself, she asked him if he was a fool. 'That cured -me of jealousy,' he said afterwards, but the cure, according to Tatham, -made him so ill that he was sent for change of air to 'Kew, near Richmond' -(really to Battersea), to the house of 'a market-gardener whose name -was Boutcher.' While there, says Tatham, 'he was relating to the daughter, -a girl named Catherine, the lamentable story of Polly Wood, his implacable -lass, upon which Catherine expressed her deep sympathy, it is supposed, -in such a tender and affectionate manner, that it quite won him. He -immediately said, with the suddenness peculiar to him, "Do you pity -me? Yes, indeed I do," answered she. "Then I love you," said he again. -Such was their courtship. He was impressed by her tenderness of mind, -and her answer indicated her previous feeling for him: for she has often -said that upon her mother's asking her who among her acquaintances -she could fancy for a husband, she replied that she had not yet seen -the man, and she has further been heard to say that when she first came -into the room in which Blake sat, she instantly recognized (like Britomart -in Merlin's wondrous glass) her future partner, and was so near fainting -that she left his presence until she recovered.' Tatham tells us that Blake -'returned to his lodgings and worked incessantly' for a whole year, -resolving that he would not see her until he had succeeded' in making -enough money to be able to marry her. The marriage took place at -Battersea in August 1762.</p> - -<p>Gilchrist says that he has traced relatives of Blake to have been -living at Battersea at the time of his marriage. Of this he gives no -evidence; but I think I have found traces, in Blake's own parish, of -relatives of the Catherine Boucher whom he married at Battersea. -Tatham, as we have seen, says that she was the daughter of a -market-gardener at 'Kew, near Richmond,' called Boutcher, to whose -house Blake was sent for a change of air. Allan Cunningham says that -'she lived near his father's house.' I think I have found the reason for -Cunningham's mistake, and the probable occasion of Blake's visit to -the Bouchers at Battersea. I find by the birth register in St. Mary's, -Battersea, that Catherine Sophia, daughter of William and Ann Boucher, -was born April 25, and christened May 16, 1762. Four years after this, -another Catherine Boucher, daughter of Samuel and Betty, born March 28, -1766, was christened March 31, 1766, in the parish church of St. James, -Westminster; and in the same register I find the birth of Gabriel, son of -the same parents, born September 1, and christened September 20, 1767; -and of Ann, daughter of Thomas and Ann Boucher, born June 12, and -christened June 29, 1761. Is it not, therefore, probable that there were -Bouchers, related to one another, living in both parishes, and that -Blake's acquaintance with the family living near him led to his going -to stay with the family living at Battersea?</p> - -<p>The entry of Blake's marriage, in the register of St. Mary's Battersea, -gives the name as Butcher, and also describes Blake as 'of the parish -of Battersea,' by a common enough error. It is as follows:—</p> - - -<p class="center">1782.</p> - -<p class="center">Banns of Marriage.</p> - -<p>No. 281 William Blake of the Parish of Battersea Batchelor and -Catherine Butcher of the same Parish Spinster were Married in this -Church by License this Eighteenth Day of August in the Year One -Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty two by me J. Gardnor Vicar. -This Marriage was solemnized between Us.</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 30%;">William Blake</p> -<p style="margin-left: 30%;">The mark of X Catherine Butcher.</p> - -<p>In the presence of Thomas Monger Butcher.</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 35%;">Jas. Blake</p> -<p style="margin-left: 35%;">Robt. Munday Parish Clerk.</p> - - -<p>I imagine that Thomas Monger Butcher was probably Catherine's -brother; there are other Mongers not far off in the register, as if the -name were a family name. His handwriting is mean and untidy, James -Blake's vague but fluent; Catherine makes her mark somewhat faintly. -As the register lies open there are entries of seven marriages; out of -these, no fewer than three of the brides have signed by making their -mark. The name William Blake stands out from these 'blotted and -blurred' signatures; the ink is very black, as if he had pressed hard -on the pen; and the name has a 'firm and determinate outline.'</p> - -<p>Gilchrist describes Catherine Boucher as 'a bright-eyed, dark-haired -brunette, with expressive features and a slim, graceful form.' This -seems to be merely a re-writing of Allan Cunningham's vague statement -that she 'was noticed by Blake for the whiteness of her hand, the -brightness of her eyes, and a slim and handsome shape, corresponding -with his own notions of sylphs and naiads.' But if a quaint and lovely -pencil sketch in the Rossetti MS., representing a man in bed and a -woman sitting on the side of the bed, beginning to dress, is really, as -it probably is, done from life, and meant for Mrs. Blake, we see at once -the model for his invariable type of woman, tall, slender, and with -unusually long legs. There is a drawing of her head by Blake in the -Rossetti MS. which, though apparently somewhat conventionalized, -shows a clear aquiline profile and very large eyes; still to be divined -in the rather painful head drawn by Tatham when she was an old woman, -a head in which there is still power and fixity. Crabb Robinson, who met -her in 1825, says that she had 'a good expression in her countenance, -and, with a dark eye, remains of beauty in her youth.'</p> - -<p>No man of genius ever had a better wife. To the last she called -him 'Mr. Blake,' while he, we are told, frequently spoke of her as 'his -beloved.' The most beautiful reference to her which I find in his letters -is one in a letter of September 16, 1800, to Hayley, where he calls her -'my dear and too careful and over-joyous woman,' and says 'Eartham -will be my first temple and altar; my wife is like a flame of many colours -of precious jewels whenever she hears it named.' He taught her to -write, and the copy-book titles to some of his water-colors are probably -hers; to draw, so that after his death she finished some of his designs; -and to help him in the printing and coloring of his engravings. A story -is told, on the authority of Samuel Palmer, that they would both look -into the flames of burning coals, and draw grotesque figures which they -saw there, hers quite unlike his. 'It is quite certain,' says Crabb -Robinson, 'that she believed in all his visions'; and he shows her to -us reminding her husband, 'You know, dear, the first time you saw -God was when you were four years old, and he put his head to the -window, and set you a-screaming,' She would walk with him into the -country, whole summer days, says Tatham, and far into the night. And -when he rose in the night, to write down what was 'dictated' to him, -she would rise and sit by him, and hold his hand. 'She would get up -in the night,' says the unnamed friend quoted by Gilchrist, 'when he -was under his very fierce inspirations, which were as if they would -tear him asunder, while he was yielding himself to the Muse, or -whatever else it could be called, sketching and writing. And so terrible -a task did this seem to be, that she had to sit motionless and silent; -only to stay him mentally, without moving hand or foot; this for hours, -and night after night.' 'His wife being to him a very patient woman,' -says Tatham, who speaks of Mrs. Blake as 'an irradiated saint,' 'he -fancied that while she looked on him as he worked, her sitting quite -still by his side, doing nothing, soothed his impetuous mind; and he -has many a time, when a strong desire presented itself to overcome -any difficulty in his plates or drawings, in the middle of the night, -risen, and requested her to get up with him, and sit by his side, in -which she as cheerfully acquiesced.' 'Rigid, punctual, firm, precise,' -she has been described; a good housewife and a good cook; refusing -to have a servant not only because of the cost, but because no servant -could be scrupulous enough to satisfy her. 'Finding,' says Tatham '(as -Mrs. Blake declared, and as every one else knows), the more service -the more inconvenience, she... did all the work herself, kept the house -clean and herself tidy, besides printing all Blake's numerous engravings, -which was a task sufficient for any industrious woman.' He tells us in -another place: 'it is a fact known to the writer, that Mrs. Blake's -frugality always kept a guinea or sovereign for any emergency, of which -Blake never knew, even to the day of his death.'</p> - -<p>Tatham says of Blake at the time of his marriage: 'Although not -handsome, he must have had a most noble countenance, full of -expression and animation; his hair was of a yellow brown, and curled -with the utmost crispness and luxuriance; his locks, instead of falling -down, stood up like a curling flame, and looked at a distance like -radiations, which with his fiery eye and expressive forehead, his -dignified and cheerful physiognomy, must have made his appearance -truly prepossessing.' In another place he says: 'William Blake in stature -was short [he was not quite five and a half feet in height], but well -made, and very well proportioned; so much so that West, the great -history painter, admired much the form of his limbs; he had a large -head and wide shoulders. Elasticity and promptitude of action were the -characteristics of his contour. His motions were rapid and energetic, -betokening a mind filled with elevated enthusiasm; his forehead was -very high and prominent over the frontals; his eye most unusually -large and glassy, with which he appeared to look into some other -world.' His eyes were prominent, 'large, dark, and expressive,' says -Allan Cunningham; the flashing of his eyes remained in the memory -of an old man who had seen him in court at Chichester in 1804. His -nose, though 'snubby,' as he himself describes it, had 'a little clenched -nostril, a nostril that opened as far as it could, but was tied down at -the end.' The mouth was large and sensitive; the forehead, larger -below than above, as he himself noted, was broad and high; and the -whole face, as one sees it in what is probably the best likeness we have, -Linnell's miniature of 1827, was full of irregular splendor, eager, -eloquent, ecstatic; eyes and mouth and nostrils all as if tense with a -continual suction, drinking up 'large draughts of intellectual day' with -impatient haste. 'Infinite impatience,' says Swinburne, 'as of a great -preacher or apostle—intense tremulous vitality, as of a great -orator—seem to me to give his face the look of one who can -do all things but hesitate.'</p> - -<p>After his marriage in August 1782 (which has been said to have -displeased his father, though Tatham says it was 'with the approbation -and consent of his parents'), Blake took lodgings at 23 Green Street, -Leicester Fields (now pulled down), which was only the square's length -away from Sir Joshua Reynolds. Flaxman had married in 1781, and had -taken a house at 27 Wardour Street and it was probably he who, about -this time, introduced Blake to 'the accomplished Mrs. Matthew,' whose -drawing-room in Rathbone Place was frequented by literary and artistic -people. Mr. Matthew, a clergyman of taste, who is said to have 'read the -church service more beautifully than any other clergyman in London,' -had discovered Flaxman, when a little boy, learning Latin behind the -counter in his father's shop. 'From this incident,' says J. T. Smith in -his notice of Flaxman, 'Mr. Matthew continued to notice him, and, as -he grew up, became his first and best friend. Later on, he was introduced -to Mrs. Matthew, who was so kind as to read Homer to him, whilst he -made designs on the same table with her at the time she was reading.' -It was apparently at the Matthews' house that Smith heard Blake sing -his own songs to his own music, and it was through Mrs. Matthew's -good opinion of these songs that she 'requested the Rev. Henry Matthew, -her husband, to join Mr. Flaxman in his truly kind offer of defraying -the expense of printing them': to which we owe the '<i>Poetical -Sketches</i>, by W. B.'; printed in 1783, and given to Blake to dispose -of as he thought fit. There is no publisher's name on the book, and -there is no reason to suppose that it was ever offered for sale.</p> - -<p>'With his usual urbanity,' Mr. Matthew had written a foolish -'Advertisement' to the book, saying that the author had 'been -deprived of the leisure requisite to such a revisal of these sheets, -as might have rendered them less unfit to meet the public eye,' 'his -talents having been wholly directed to the attainment of excellence -in his profession.' The book is by no means incorrectly printed, and it -is not probable that Blake would under any circumstances have given -his poems more 'revisal' than he did. He did at this time a good deal -of engraving, often after the designs of Stothard, whom he was afterwards -to accuse of stealing his ideas; and in 1784 he had two, and in 1785 -four, watercolor drawings at the Royal Academy. Fuseli, Stothard, and -Flaxman<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> seem to have been his chief friends, and it is probable -that he also knew Cosway, who practiced magic, and Cosway may have -told him about Paracelsus, or lent him Law's translation of Behmen, -while Flaxman, who was a Swedenborgian, may have brought him still -more closely under the influence of Swedenborg.</p> - -<p>In any case, he soon tired of the coterie of the Matthews, and we -are told that it soon ceased to relish his 'manly firmness of opinion.' -What he really thought of it we may know with some certainty from -the extravaganza, <i>An Island in the Moon</i>, which seems to -belong to 1784, and which is a light-hearted and incoherent satire, -derived, no doubt, from Sterne, and pointing, as Mr. Sampson justly -says, to Peacock. It is unfinished, and was not worth finishing, but it -contains the first version of several of the <i>Songs of Innocence</i>, -as well as the lovely song of Phoebe and Jellicoe. It has the further -interest of showing us Blake's first, wholly irresponsible attempt to -create imaginary worlds, and to invent grotesque and impossible -names. It shows us the first explosions of that inflammable part of -his nature, which was to burst through the quiet surface of his life -at many intervals, in righteous angers and irrational suspicions. It -betrays his deeply rooted dislike of science, and, here and there, -a literary preference, for Ossian or for Chatterton. The original MS. -is in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, and in this year, 1907, Mr. -Edwin J. Ellis has done Blake the unkindness of printing it for the first -time in full, in the pages of his <i>Real Blake.</i> Blake's satire is -only occasionally good, though occasionally it is supremely good; his -burlesque is almost always bad; and there is little probability that he -ever intended to publish any part of the prose and verse which he -threw off for the relief of personal irritations and spiritual -indignations.</p> - -<p>In <i>An Island in the Moon</i> we see Blake casting off the -dust of the drawing-rooms, finally, so far as any mental obstruction was -concerned; but he does not seem to have broken wholly with the Matthews, -who, no doubt, were people of genuinely good intentions; and it is -through their help that we find him, in 1784, on the death of his father, -setting up as a print-seller, with his former fellow-apprentice, James -Parker, at No. 27 Broad Street, next door to the house and shop which -had been his fathers, and which were now taken on by his brother James. -Smith says that he took a shop and a first-floor; and here his brother -Robert came to live with him as his pupil, and remained with him till his -death in February 1787.</p> - - - - -<h4>III</h4> - - -<p>After Robert's death Blake gave up the print-shop and moved out of -Broad Street to Poland Street, a street running between it and Oxford -Street. He took No. 28, a house only a few doors down from Oxford -Street, and lived there for five years. Here, in 1789, he issued the -<i>Songs of Innocence</i>, the first of his books to be produced -by the method of his invention which he described as 'illuminated -printing.' According to Smith, it was Robert who 'stood before him in -one of his visionary imaginations, and directed him in the way in which -he ought to proceed.' The process is thus described by Mr. Sampson: -'The text and surrounding design were written in reverse, in a medium -impervious to acid, upon small copper-plates, which were then etched -in a bath of aqua-fortis until the work stood in relief as in a -stereotype. From these plates, which to economize copper were in -many cases engraved upon both sides, impressions were printed, -in the ordinary manner, in tints made to harmonise with the color -scheme afterwards applied in water-colors by the artist.' Gilchrist -tells an improbable story about Mrs. Blake going out with the last -half-crown in the house, and spending 1s 10d of it in the purchase -of 'the simple materials necessary.' But we know from a MS. note -of John Linnell, referring to a somewhat later date: 'The copper-plates -which Blake engraved to illustrate Hayley's life of Cowper were, as he -told me, printed entirely by himself and his wife in his own press—a -very good one which cost him forty pounds.' These plates were engraved -in 1803, but it is not likely that Blake was ever able to buy more than -one press.</p> - -<p>The problem of 'illuminated printing,' however definitely it may -have been solved by the dream in which Robert 'stood before him and -directed him,' was one which had certainly occupied the mind of Blake for -some years. A passage, unfortunately incomplete, in <i>An Island in the -Moon</i>, reads as follows: "Illuminating the Manuscript—Ay," -said she, "that would be excellent. Then," said he, "I would have all -the writing engraved instead of printed, and at every other leaf a high -finished print, all in three volumes folio, and sell them a hundred pounds -a piece. They would print off two thousand. Then," said she, "whoever -will not have them, will be ignorant fools and will not deserve to live."' -This is evidently a foreshadowing of the process which is described and -defended, with not less confident enthusiasm, in an engraved prospectus -issued from Lambeth in 1793. I give it in full:—</p> - - -<p style="margin-left: 70%;"><i>October</i> 10, 1793.</p> - -<p class="center">TO THE PUBLIC.</p> - -<p>The Labours of the Artist, the Poet, the Musician, have been -proverbially attended by poverty and obscurity; this was never the fault -of the Public, but was owing to a neglect of means to propagate such -works as have wholly absorbed the Man of Genius. Even Milton and -Shakespeare could not publish their own works.</p> - -<p>This difficulty has been obviated by the Author of the following -productions now presented to the Public; who has invented a method -of Printing both Letter-press and Engraving in a style more ornamental, -uniform, and grand, than any before discovered, while it produces works -at less than one-fourth of the expense.</p> - -<p>If a method of Printing which combines the Painter and the Poet -is a phenomenon worthy of public attention, provided that it exceeds -in elegance all former methods, the Author is sure of his reward.</p> - -<p>Mr. Blake's powers of invention very early engaged the attention of -many persons of eminence and fortune; by whose means he has been -regularly enabled to bring before the public works (he is not afraid to -say) of equal magnitude and consequence with the productions of any -age or country: among which are two large highly finished engravings -(and two more are nearly ready) which will commence a Series of subjects -from the Bible, and another from the History of England.</p> - -<p>The following are the Subjects of the several Works now published -and on Sale at Mr. Blake's, No. 13 Hercules Buildings, Lambeth:—</p> - -<p>1. Job, a Historical Engraving. Size 1 ft. 7 1/2 in. by 1 ft. 2 in. -Price 12s.</p> - -<p>2. Edward and Elinor, a Historical Engraving. Size 1 ft. 6 1/2 in. by -1 ft. Price 10s. 6d.</p> - -<p>3. America, a Prophecy, in Illuminated Printing. Folio, with 18 -designs. Price 10s. 6d.</p> - -<p>4. Visions of the Daughters of Albion, in Illuminated Printing. Folio, -with 8 designs. Price 7s. 6d.</p> - -<p>5. The Book of Thel, a Poem in Illuminated Printing. Quarto, with 6 -designs. Price 3s.</p> - -<p>6. The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, in Illuminated Printing. Quarto, -with fourteen designs. Price 7s. 6d.</p> - -<p>7. Songs of Innocence, in Illuminated Printing. Octavo, with 25 -designs. Price 5 s.</p> - -<p>8. Songs of Experience, in Illuminated Printing. Octavo, with 25 -designs. Price 5s.</p> - -<p>9. The History of England, a small book of Engravings. Price 3 s.</p> - -<p>10. The Gates of Paradise, a small book of Engravings. Price 3 s.</p> - -<p>The Illuminated Books are Printed in Colors, and on the most beautiful -wove paper that could be procured.</p> - -<p>No Subscriptions for the numerous great works now in hand are asked, -for none are wanted; but the Author will produce his works, and offer them -to sale at a fair price.</p> - - -<p>By this invention (which it is absurd to consider, as some have -considered it, a mere makeshift, to which he had been driven by -the refusal of publishers to issue his poems and engravings according -to the ordinary trade methods) Blake was the first, and remains the only, -poet who has in the complete sense made his own books with his own -hands: the words, the illustrations, the engraving, the printing, the -coloring, the very inks and colors, and the stitching of the sheets into -boards. With Blake, who was equally a poet and an artist, words and -designs came together and were inseparable; and to the power of inventing -words and designs was added the skill of engraving, and thus of -interpreting them, without any mechanical interference from the outside. -To do this must have been, at some time or another, the ideal of every -poet who is a true artist, and who has a sense of the equal importance of -every form of art, and of every detail in every form. Only Blake has -produced a book of poems vital alike in inner and outer form, and, had -it not been for his lack of a technical knowledge of music, had he but -been able to write down his inventions in that art also, he would have -left us the creation of something like an universal art. That universal -art he did, during his own lifetime, create; for he sang his songs to his -own music; and thus, while he lived, he was the complete realization of -the poet in all his faculties, and the only complete realization that has -ever been known.</p> - -<p>To define the poetry of Blake one must find new definitions for -poetry; but, these definitions once found, he will seem to be the only -poet who is a poet in essence; the only poet who could, in his own words, -'enter into Noah's rainbow, and make a friend and companion of one of -these images of wonder, which always entreat him to leave mortal things.' -In this verse there is, if it is to be found in any verse, the 'lyrical -cry'; and yet, what voice is it that cries in this disembodied ecstasy? -The voice of desire is not in it, nor the voice of passion, nor the cry of -the heart, nor the cry of the sinner to God, nor of the lover of nature -to nature. It neither seeks nor aspires nor laments nor questions. It is -like the voice of wisdom in a child, who has not yet forgotten the world -out of which the soul came. It is as spontaneous as the note of a bird, -it is an affirmation of life; in its song, which seems mere music, it is -the mind which sings; it is lyric thought. What is it that transfixes one -in any couplet such as this:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'If the sun and moon should doubt</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">They'd immediately go out'?</span></p> - - -<p>It is no more than a nursery statement, there is not even an image -in it, and yet it sings to the brain, it cuts into the very flesh of the -mind, as if there were a great weight behind it. Is it that it is an -arrow, and that it comes from so far, and with an impetus gathered -from its speed out of the sky?</p> - -<p>The lyric poet, every lyric poet but Blake, sings of love; but -Blake sings of forgiveness:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Mutual forgiveness of each vice,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Such are the gates of Paradise.'</span></p> - - -<p>Poets sing of beauty, but Blake says:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Soft deceit and idleness,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">These are Beauty's sweetest dress.'</span></p> - - -<p>They sing of the brotherhood of men, but Blake points to the 'divine -image':</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Cruelty has a human heart,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">And Jealousy a human face;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Terror the human form divine,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">And Secrecy the human dress.'</span></p> - - -<p>Their minds are touched by the sense of tears in human things, but -to Blake 'a tear is an intellectual thing.' They sing of 'a woman like a -dewdrop,' but Blake of 'the lineaments of gratified desire.' They shout -hymns to God over a field of battle or in the arrogance of material -empire; but Blake addresses the epilogue of his <i>Gates of Paradise</i> -'to the Accuser who is the God of this world':</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Truly, my Satan, thou art but a dunce,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">And dost not know the garment from the man;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Every harlot was a virgin once,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Nor canst thou ever change Kate into Nan.</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Though thou art worshipped by the names divine</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Of Jesus and Jehovah, thou art still</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The son of morn in weary night's decline,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">The lost traveller's dream under the hill.'</span></p> - - -<p>Other poets find ecstasy in nature, but Blake only in imagination. -He addresses the Prophetic Book of <i>The Ghost of Abel</i> -'to Lord Byron in the wilderness,' and asks: 'What doest thou here, -Elijah? Can a poet doubt of the visions of Jehovah? Nature has no -outline, but Imagination has. Nature has no time, but Imagination has. -Nature has no supernatural, and dissolves. Imagination is eternity.' The -poetry of Blake is a poetry of the mind, abstract in substance, concrete -in form; its passion is the passion of the imagination, its emotion -is the emotion of thought, its beauty is the beauty of idea. When it is -simplest, its simplicity is that of some 'infant joy' too young to have -a name, or of some 'infant sorrow' brought aged out of eternity into -the 'dangerous world,' and there:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Helpless, naked, piping loud,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Like a fiend hid in a cloud.'</span></p> - - -<p>There are no men and women in the world of Blake's poetry, only -primal instincts and the energies of the imagination.</p> - -<p>His work begins in the garden of Eden, or of the childhood of the -world, and there is something in it of the naïveté of beasts: the lines -gambol awkwardly, like young lambs. His utterance of the state of -innocence has in it something of the grotesqueness of babies, and -enchants the grown man, as they do. Humour exists unconscious of -itself, in a kind of awed and open-eyed solemnity. He stammers into -a speech of angels, as if just awakening out of Paradise. It is the -primal instincts that speak first, before riper years have added -wisdom to intuition. It is the supreme quality of this wisdom that -it has never let go of intuition. It is as if intuition itself ripened. -And so Blake goes through life with perfect mastery of the terms -of existence, as they present themselves to him: 'perfectly happy, -wanting nothing,' as he said, when he was old and poor; and able -in each stage of life to express in art the corresponding stage of -his own development. He is the only poet who has written the songs -of childhood, of youth, of mature years, and of old age; and he died -singing.</p> - - - - -<h4>IV</h4> - - -<p>Blake lived in Poland Street for five years, and issued from it the -<i>Songs of Innocence</i> (1789), and, in the same year, <i>The Book -of Thel, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell</i> in 1790, and, in 1791, -the first book of <i>The French Revolution: a Poem in Seven Books</i>, -which Gilchrist says was published anonymously, in ordinary type, -and without illustrations, by the bookseller Johnson. No copy of this -book is known to exist. At this time he was a fervent believer -in the new age which was to be brought about by the French Revolution, -and he was much in the company of revolutionaries and freethinkers, -and the only one among them who dared wear the 'bonnet rouge' in -the street. Some of these, Thomas Paine, Godwin, Holcroft, and others, -he met at Johnson's shop in St. Paul's Churchyard, where Fuseli and -Mary Wollstonecraft also came. It was at Johnson's, in 1792, that Blake -saved the life of Paine, by hurrying him off to France, with the warning, -'You must not go home, or you are a dead man,' at the very moment -when a warrant had been issued for his arrest. Johnson himself was in -1798 put into gaol for his republican sympathies, and continued to give -his weekly literary dinners in gaol.</p> - -<p>Blake's back-windows at Poland Street looked out on the yard of -Astley's circus, and Tatham tells a story of Blake's wonder, indignation, -and prompt action on seeing a wretched youth chained by the foot to a -horse's hobble. The neighbor whom he regarded as 'hired to depress -art,' Sir Joshua Reynolds, died in 1792. A friend quoted by Gilchrist -tells us: 'When a very young man he had called on Reynolds to show him -some designs, and had been recommended to work with less extravagance -and more simplicity, and to correct his drawing. This Blake seemed to -regard as an affront never to be forgotten. He was very indignant when -he spoke of it.' There is also a story of a meeting between Blake and -Reynolds, when each, to his own surprise, seems to have found the -other very pleasant. - -Blake's mother died in 1792, at the age of seventy, and was buried in -Bunhill Fields on September 9. In the following year he moved to 13 -Hercules Buildings, Lambeth,<a name="FNanchor_2_1" id="FNanchor_2_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_1" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> where, during the next seven years, -he did engraving, both of his own designs and of those of others, and -published the engraved book of designs called <i>The Gates of Paradise</i> -(1793), the poems and illustrations of the <i>Songs of Experience</i> -(1794), and the greater part of the Prophetic Books, besides writing, -apparently in 1797, the vast and never really finished MS. of <i>The -Four Zoas.</i> This period was that of which we have the largest and -most varied result, in written and engraved work, together with a large -number of designs, including five hundred and thirty-seven done on the -margin of Young's <i>Night Thoughts</i>, and the earliest of the -color-prints. It was Blake's one period of something like prosperity, -as we gather from several stories reported by Tatham, who says that -during the absence of Blake and his wife on one of their long country -walks, which would take up a whole day, thieves broke into the house, -and 'carried away plate to the value of £60 and clothes to the amount -of £40 more.' Another £40 was lent by Blake to 'a certain freethinking -speculator, the author of many elaborate philosophical treatises,' who -complained that 'his children had not a dinner.' A few days afterwards -the Blakes went to see the destitute family, and the wife 'had the -audacity to ask Mrs. Blake's opinion of a very gorgeous dress, purchased -the day following Blake's compassionate gift.' Yet another story is of a -young art-student who used to pass the house every day carrying a -portfolio under his arm, and whom Blake pitied for his poverty and sickly -looks, and taught for nothing and looked after till he died. Blake had -other pupils too, among 'families of high rank,' but being 'aghast' at -the prospect of 'an appointment to teach drawing to the Royal Family,' -he gave up all his pupils, with his invariably exquisite sense of -manners, on refusing the royal offer.</p> - -<p>It was in 1799 that Blake found his first patron, and one of his -best friends, in Thomas Butts, 'that remarkable man—that -great patron of British genius,' as Samuel Palmer calls him, who, for -nearly thirty years, with but few intervals, continued to buy whatever -Blake liked to do for him, paying him a small but steady price, and -taking at times a drawing a week. A story which, as Palmer says, had -'grown in the memory,' connects him with Blake at this time, and may -be once more repeated, if only to be discredited. There was a -back-garden at the house in Hercules Buildings, and there were vines -in it, which Blake would never allow to be pruned, so that they grew -luxuriant in leaf and small and harsh in fruit. Mr. Butts, according to -Gilchrist, is supposed to have come one day into 'Blake's Arcadian -Arbour,' as Tatham calls it, and to have found Blake and his wife -sitting naked, reading out Milton's <i>Paradise Lost</i> 'in character,' -and to have been greeted with: 'Come in, it is only Adam and Eve.' -John Linnell, in some notes written after reading Gilchrist, and quoted -in Story's <i>Life of Linnell</i>, writes with reason: 'I do not think -it possible. Blake was very unreserved in his narrations to me of all -his thoughts and actions, and I think if anything like this story had -been true, he would have told me of it. I am sure he would have -laughed heartily at it if it had been told of him or of anybody else, -for he was a hearty laugher at absurdities.' In such a matter, Linnell's -authority may well be final, if indeed any authority is required, beyond -a sense of humour, and the knowledge that Blake possessed it.</p> - -<p>Another legend of the period, which has at least more significance, -whether true or not, is referred to by both Swinburne and Mr. W. M. -Rossetti, on what authority I cannot discover, and is thus stated by -Messrs. Ellis and Yeats: 'It is said that Blake wished to add a concubine -to his establishment in the Old Testament manner, but gave up the -project because it made Mrs. Blake cry.' 'The element of fable,' they -add, 'lies in the implication that the woman who was to have wrecked -this household had a bodily existence.... There is a possibility that he -entertained mentally some polygamous project, and justified it on some -patriarchal theory. A project and theory are one thing, however, and a -woman is another; and though there is abundant suggestion of the -project and theory, there is no evidence at all of the woman.' I have -found in the unpublished part of Crabb Robinson's <i>Diary</i> and -<i>Reminiscences</i> more than a 'possibility' or even 'abundant -suggestion' that Blake accepted the theory as a theory. Crabb -Robinson himself was so frightened by it that he had to confide it -to his <i>Diary</i> in the disguise of German, though, when he -came to compile his <i>Reminiscences</i> many years later he -ventured to put it down in plain English which no editor has yet -ventured to print. Both passages will be found in their place in the -verbatim reprint given later; but I will quote the second here:</p> - - -<p>'13<i>th June</i> (1826).—I saw him again in June. He -was as wild as ever, says my journal, but he was led to-day to make -assertions more palpably mischievous and capable of influencing other -minds, and immoral, supposing them to express the will of a responsible -agent, than anything he had said before. As for instance, that he had -learned from the Bible that wives should be in common. And when I -objected that Marriage was a Divine institution he referred to the Bible, -"that from the beginning it was not so." He affirmed that he had committed -many murders, and repeated his doctrine, that reason is the only Sin, and -that careless, gay people are better than those who think, etc., etc.'</p> - -<p>This passage leaves no doubt as to Blake's theoretical view of -marriage, but it brings us no nearer to any certainty as to his practical -action in the matter. With Blake, as with all wise men, a mental decision -in the abstract had no necessary influence on conduct. To have the -courage of your opinions is one thing, and Blake always had this; but -he was of all people least impelled to go and do a thing because he -considered the thing a permissible one to do. Throughout all his work -Blake affirms freedom as the first law of love; jealousy is to him the -great iniquity, the unforgivable selfishness. He has the frank courage -to praise in <i>The Visions of the Daughters of Albion</i>:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Infancy, fearless, lustful, happy, nestling for delight</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In laps of pleasure! Innocence, honest, open, seeking</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The vigorous joys of morning light';</span></p> - - -<p>And of woman he asks, 'Who taught thee modesty, subtle modesty?' -In the same book, which is Blake's Book of Love, Oothoon offers 'girls -of mild silver or of furious gold' to her lover; in the paradisal state of -<i>Jerusalem</i> 'every female delights to give her maiden to her -husband.' All these things are no doubt symbols, but they are symbols -which meet us on every page of Blake, and I no not doubt that to him -they represented an absolute truth. Therefore I think it perfectly -possible that some 'mentally polygamous project' was at one time or -another entertained by him, and 'justified on some patriarchal theory.' -What I am sure of, however, is that a tear of Mrs. Blake ('for a tear is -an intellectual thing') was enough to wipe out project if not theory, -and that one to whom love was pity more than it was desire would have -given no nearer cause for jealousy than some unmortal Oothoon.</p> - -<p>It was in 1794 that Blake engraved the <i>Songs of Experience.</i> -Four of the Prophetic Books had preceded it, but here Blake returns to -the clear and simple form of the <i>Songs of Innocence</i>, deepening it -with meaning and heightening it with ardor. Along with this fierier art -the symbolic contents of what, in the <i>Songs of Innocence</i>, had -been hardly more than a child's strayings in earthly or divine Edens, -becomes angelic, and speaks with more deliberately hid or doubled -meanings. Even 'The Tiger,' by which Lamb was to know that here was -'one of the most extraordinary persons of the age,' is not only a sublime -song about a flame-like beast, but contains some hint that 'the tigers -of wrath are wiser than the horses of instruction.' In this book, and in -the poems which shortly followed it, in that MS. book whose contents -have sometimes been labelled, after a rejected title of Blake's, <i>Ideas -of Good and Evil</i>, we see Blake more wholly and more evenly himself -than anywhere else in his work. From these central poems we can -distinguish the complete type of Blake as a poet.</p> - -<p>Blake is the only poet who sees all temporal things under the -form of eternity. To him reality is merely a symbol, and he catches at -its terms, hastily and faultily, as he catches at the lines of the -drawing-master, to represent, as in a faint image, the clear and shining -outlines of what he sees with the imagination; through the eye, not with -it, as he says. Where other poets use reality as a spring-board into -space, he uses it as a foothold on his return from flight. Even Wordsworth -seemed to him a kind of atheist, who mistook the changing signs of -'vegetable nature' for the unchanging realities of the imagination. -'Natural objects,' he wrote in a copy of Wordsworth, 'always did and -now do weaken, deaden, and obliterate imagination in me. Wordsworth -must know that what he writes valuable is not to be found in nature.' -And so his poetry is the most abstract of all poetry, although in a sense -the most concrete. It is everywhere an affirmation, the register of -vision; never observation. To him observation was one of the daughters -of memory, and he had no use for her among his Muses, which were all -eternal, and the children of the imagination. 'Imagination,' he said, 'has -nothing to do with memory.' For the most part he is just conscious that -what he sees as 'an old man grey' is no more than a 'frowning thistle':</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'For double the vision my eyes do see,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And a double vision is always with me.</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">With my inward eyes, 'tis an old man grey,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">With my outward, a thistle across my way.'</span></p> - - -<p>In being so far conscious, he is only recognizing the symbol, not -admitting the reality.</p> - -<p>In his earlier work, the symbol still interests him, he accepts it -without dispute; with, indeed, a kind of transfiguring love. Thus he -writes of the lamb and the tiger, of the joy and sorrow of infants, of -the fly and the lily, as no poet of mere observation has ever written of -them, going deeper into their essence than Wordsworth ever went into -the heart of daffodils, or Shelley into the nerves of the sensitive plant. -He takes only the simplest flowers or weeds, and the most innocent or -most destroying of animals, and he uses them as illustrations of the -divine attributes. From the same flower and beast he can read contrary -lessons without change of meaning, by the mere transposition of qualities, -as in the poem which now reads:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'The modest rose puts forth a thorn,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The humble sheep a threatening horn;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">While the lily white shall in love delight,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Nor a thorn, nor a threat, stain her beauty bright.'</span></p> - - -<p>Mr. Sampson tells us in his notes: Beginning by writing:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">"The rose puts envious ..."</span></p> - - -<p>He felt that "envious," did not express his full meaning, and deleted -the last three words, writing above them "lustful rose," and finishing the -line with the words "puts forth a thorn." He then went on:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">"The coward sheep a threatening horn;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">While the lily white shall in love delight,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And the lion increase freedom and peace;"</span></p> - - -<p>At which point he drew a line under the poem to show that it was -finished. On a subsequent reading he deleted the last line, substituting -for it:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'"The priest loves war, and the soldier peace;"</span></p> - - -<p>But here, perceiving that his rhyme had disappeared, he cancelled -this line also, and gave the poem an entirely different turn by changing -the word "lustful" to "modest," and "coward" to "humble," and completing -the quatrain (as in the engraved version) by a fourth line simply -explanatory of the first three.' This is not merely obeying the idle -impulse of a rhyme, but rather a bringing of the mind's impulses -into that land where 'contraries mutually exist.'</p> - -<p>And when I say that he reads lessons, let it not be supposed -that Blake was ever consciously didactic. Conduct does not concern -him; not doing, but being. He held that education was the setting of -a veil between light and the soul. 'There is no good in education,' he -said. 'I hold it to be wrong. It is the great sin. It is eating of the -tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This was the fault of Plato. -He knew nothing but the virtues and vices, and good and evil. There -is nothing in all that. Everything is good in God's eyes.' And, as he -says with his excellent courage: 'When I tell the truth, it is not for -the sake of convincing those who do not know it, but for the sake -of defending those who do'; and, again, with still more excellent -and harder courage: 'When I am endeavoring to think rightly, I must -not regard my own any more than other people's weaknesses'; so, -in his poetry, there is no moral tendency, nothing that might not -be poison as well as antidote; nothing indeed but the absolute -affirmation of that energy which is eternal delight. He worshipped -energy as the wellhead or parent fire of life; and to him there was -no evil, only a weakness, a negation of energy, the ignominy of wings -that droop and are contented in the dust.</p> - -<p>And so, like Nietzsche, but with a deeper innocence, he finds -himself 'beyond good and evil,' in a region where the soul is naked -and its own master. Most of his art is the unclothing of the soul, -and when at last it is naked and alone, in that 'thrilling' region -where the souls of other men have at times penetrated, only to -shudder back with terror from the brink of eternal loneliness, then -only is this soul exultant with the supreme happiness.</p> - - - - -<h4>V</h4> - - -<p>It is to the seven years at Lambeth that what may be called the first -period of the Prophetic Books largely belongs, though it does not indeed -begin there. The roots of it are strongly visible in <i>The Marriage of -Heaven and Hell</i>, which was written at Poland Street, and they may -be traced even further back. Everything else, until we come to the last -or Felpham period, which has a new quality of its own, belongs to -Lambeth.</p> - -<p>In his earlier work Blake is satisfied with natural symbols, with -nature as symbol; in his later work, in the final message of the -Prophetic Books, he is no longer satisfied with what then seems to -him the relative truth of the symbols of reality. Dropping the tools -with which he has worked so well, he grasps with naked hands after -an absolute truth of statement, which is like his attempt in his -designs to render the outlines of vision literally, without translation -into the forms of human sight. He invents names harsh as triangles, -Enitharmon, Theotormon, Rintrah, for spiritual states and essences, -and he employs them as Wagner employed his leading motives, as a -kind of shorthand for the memory. His meaning is no longer apparent -in the ordinary meaning of the words he uses; we have to read him with -a key, and the key is not always in our hands; he forgets that he is -talking to men on the earth in some language which he has learnt in -heavenly places. He sees symbol within symbol, and as he tries to -make one clear to us, he does but translate it into another, perhaps -no easier, or more confusing. And it must be remembered, when -even interpreters like Mr. Ellis and Mr. Yeats falter, and confess 'There -is apparently some confusion among the symbols,' that after all we -have only a portion of Blake's later work, and that probably a far -larger portion was destroyed when the Peckham 'angel,' Mr. Tatham -(copartner in foolish wickedness with Warburton's cook), sat down -to burn the books which he did not understand. Blake's great system of -wheels within wheels remains no better than a ruin, and can but at -the best be pieced together tentatively by those who are able to trace -the connection of some of its parts. It is no longer even possible to -know how much consistency Blake was able to give to his symbols, -and how far he failed to make them visible in terms of mortal -understanding. As we have them, they evade us on every side, not -because they are meaningless, but because the secret of their meaning -is so closely kept. To Blake actual contemporary names meant even -more than they meant to Walt Whitman. 'All truths wait in all things,' -said Walt Whitman, and Blake has his own quite significant but -perplexing meaning when he writes:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'The corner of Broad Street weeps; Poland Street</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">languishes</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">To Great Queen Street and Lincoln's Inn: all is distress</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">and woe.'</span></p> - - -<p>He is concerned now only with his message, with the 'minutely -particular' statement of it; and as he has ceased to accept any mortal -medium, or to allow himself to be penetrated by the sunlight of earthly -beauty, he has lost the means of making that message visible to us. -It is a miscalculation of means, a contempt for possibilities; not, as -people were once hasty enough to assume, the irresponsible rapture -of madness. There is not even in these crabbed chronicles the wild -beauty of the madman's scattering brain; there is a concealed sanity, -a precise kind of truth, which, as Blake said of all truth, 'can never be -so told as to be understood, and not be believed.'</p> - -<p>Blake's form, or apparent formlessness, in the Prophetic Books, -was no natural accident, or unconsidered utterance of inspiration. -Addressing the public on the first plate of <i>Jerusalem</i> he -says: 'When this verse was first dictated to me, I considered -a monotonous cadence like that used by Milton and Shakespeare -and all writers of English blank verse, derived from the bondage -of rhyming, to be a necessary and indispensable part of verse. -But I soon found that in the mouth of a true orator such monotony -was not only awkward, but as much a bondage as rhyme itself. I have -therefore produced a variety in every line, both of cadences and -number of syllables. Every word and every letter is studied and -put into its fit place; the terrific numbers are reserved for the terrific -parts, the mild and gentle for the mild and gentle parts, and the -prosaic for inferior parts; all are necessary to each other,' This desire -for variety at the expense of unity is illustrated in one of Blake's -marginal notes to Reynolds' <i>Discourses.</i> 'Such harmony -of coloring' (as that of Titian in the Bacchus and Ariadne) 'is -destructive of Art. One species of equal hue over all is the cursed -thing called harmony. It is the smile of a fool.' This is a carrying to -its extreme limit of the principle that 'there is no such thing as -softness in art, and that everything in art is definite and minute... -because vision is determinate and perfect'; and that 'coloring does -not depend on where the colors are put, but on where the lights and -darks are put, and all depends on form or outline, on where that is -put.' The whole aim of the Prophetic Books is to arrive at a style as -'determinate and perfect' as vision, unmodified by any of the -deceiving beauties of nature or of the distracting ornaments -of conventional form. What is further interesting in Blake's statement -is that he aimed, in the Prophetic Books, at producing the effect, not -of poetry but of oratory, and it is as oratory, the oratory of the -prophets, that the reader is doubtless meant to take them.</p> - -<p>'Poetry fettered,' he adds, 'fetters the human race,' and I doubt -not that he imagined, as Walt Whitman and later <i>vers-libristes</i> -have imagined, that in casting off the form he had unfettered the spirit -of poetry. There seems never to have been a time when Blake did not -attempt to find for himself a freer expression than he thought verse -could give him, for among the least mature of the <i>Poetical Sketches</i> -are poems written in rhythmical prose, in imitation partly of Ossian, -partly of the Bible. An early MS. called <i>Tiriel</i>, probably -of hardly later date, still exists, written in a kind of metre of fourteen -syllables, only slightly irregular in beat, but rarely fine in cadence. It -already hints, in a cloudy way, at some obscure mythology, into which -there already come incoherent names, of an Eastern color, Ijim and -Mnetha. Tiriel appears again in <i>The Book of Urizen</i> as Urizen's -first-born, Thiriel, 'like a man from a cloud born.' Har and Heva reappear -in <i>The Song of Los. The Book of Thel</i>, engraved in 1789, -the year of the <i>Songs of Innocence</i>, is in the same metre of -fourteen syllables, but written with a faint and lovely monotony of -cadence, strangely fluid and flexible in that age of strong caesuras, -as in:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Come forth, worm of the silent valley, to thy pensive</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">queen.'</span></p> - - -<p>The sentiment is akin to that of the <i>Songs of Innocence</i>, -and hardly more than a shadow of the mythology remains. It -sings or teaches the holiness and eternity of life in all things, the -equality of life in the flower, the cloud, the worm, and the -maternal clay of the grave; and it ends with the unanswered -question of death to life: why? why? In 1790 Blake engraved -in two forms, on six and ten infinitesimal plates, a tractate which -he called, <i>There is no Natural Religion.</i> They contain, the -one commenting on the other, a clear and concise statement of -many of Blake's fundamental beliefs; such as: 'That the poetic -Genius is the true Man, and that the Body or outward form of Man -is derived from the Poetic Genius.' 'As all men are alike in -outward form, so (and with the same infinite variety) all are alike -in the Poetic Genius.' 'Man's perceptions are not bounded by -organs of perception, he perceives more than sense (though ever -so acute) can discover.' Yet, since 'Man's desires are limited by his -perceptions, none can desire what he has not perceived.' 'Therefore -God becomes as we are, that we may become as he is.'</p> - -<p>In the same year, probably, was engraved <i>The Marriage of -Heaven and Hell</i>, a prose fantasy full of splendid masculine -thought, and of a diabolical or infernal humour, in which Blake, -with extraordinary boldness, glorifies, parodies, and renounces at -once the gospel of his first master in mysticism, 'Swedenborg, -strongest of men, the Samson shorn by the Churches,' as he was -to call him long afterwards, in <i>Milton.</i> Blake's attitude -towards Christianity might be roughly defined by calling him a -heretic of the heresy of Swedenborg. <i>The Marriage of Heaven -and Hell</i> begins: 'As a new heaven is begun, and it is now -thirty-three years since its advent, the Eternal Hell revives. And -lo! Swedenborg is the Angel sitting on the tomb: his writings are the -linen clothes folded up.' Swedenborg himself, in a prophecy that -Blake must have heard in his childhood, had named 1757, the year -of Blake's birth, as the first of a new dispensation, the dispensation -of the spirit, and Blake's acceptance of the prophecy marks the date -of his escape from the too close influence of one of whom he said, -as late as 1825, 'Swedenborg was a divine teacher. Yet he was wrong -in endeavoring to explain to the rational faculty what reason cannot -comprehend.' And so we are warned, in <i>The Marriage of Heaven -and Hell</i>, against the 'confident insolence sprouting from -systematic reasoning. Thus Swedenborg boasts that what he writes is -new, though it is only the contents or index of already published -books.' And again: 'Any man of mechanical talents may from the -writings of Paracelsus or Jacob Behmen produce ten thousand -volumes of equal value with Swedenborg's, and from those of -Dante or Shakespeare an infinite number. But when he has done -this, let him not say that he knows better than his master, for he -only holds a candle in sunshine.' With Paracelsus it is doubtful if -Blake was ever more than slightly acquainted; the influence of -Behmen, whom he had certainly read in William Law's translation, -is difficult to define, and seems to have been of the most accidental or -partial kind, but Swedenborg had been a sort of second Bible to him -from childhood, and the influence even of his 'systematic reasoning' -remained with him as at least a sort of groundwork, or despised model; -'foundations for grand things,' as he says in the <i>Descriptive -Catalogue.</i> When Swedenborg says, 'Hell is divided into societies -in the same manner as heaven, and also into as many societies as -heaven; for every society in heaven has a society opposite to it in -hell, and this for the sake of equilibrium,' we see in this spirit of -meek order a matter-of-fact suggestion for Blake's 'enormous -wonders of the abysses,' in which heavens and hells change names -and alternate through mutual annihilations.</p> - -<p>The last note which Blake wrote on the margins of Swedenborg's -<i>Wisdom of Angels</i> is this: 'Heaven and Hell are born together.' -The edition which he annotated is that of 1788, and the marginalia, -which are printed in Mr. Ellis's <i>Real Blake</i>, will show how -attentive, as late as two years before the writing of the book which -that note seems to anticipate, Blake had been to every shade of -meaning in one whom he was to deny with such bitter mockery. -But, even in these notes, Blake is attentive to one thing only, he -is reaching after a confirmation of his own sense of a spiritual -language in which man can converse with paradise and render the -thoughts of angels. He comments on nothing else, he seems to read -only to confirm his conviction; he is equally indifferent to -Swedenborg's theology and to his concern with material things; -his hells and heavens, 'uses,' and 'spiritual suns,' concern him only -in so far as they help to make clearer and more precise his notion of -the powers and activities of the spirit in man. To Blake, as he shows -us in <i>Milton</i>, Swedenborg's worst error was not even that -of 'systematic reasoning,' but that of:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Showing the Transgressors in Hell: the proud</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Warriors in Heaven:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Heaven as a Punisher and Hell as one under</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Punishment.'</span></p> - - -<p>It is for this more than for any other error that Swedenborgs -'memorable relations' are tossed back to him as 'memorable fancies,' -in a solemn parody of his own manner; that his mill and vault and -cave are taken from him and used against him; and that one once -conversant with his heaven, and now weary of it, 'walks among the -fires of hell, delighted with the enjoyments of Genius, which to -Angels look like torments and insanity.' Blake shows us the energy of -virtue breaking the Ten Commandments, and declares: 'Jesus was -all virtue, and acted from impulse, not from rules.' Speaking through -'the voice of the Devil,' he proclaims that 'Energy is eternal delight,' -and that 'Everything that lives is holy.' And, in a last flaming paradox, -still mocking the manner of the analyst of heaven and hell, he bids us: -'Note. This Angel, who is now become a Devil, is my particular friend: -we often read the Bible together, in its infernal or diabolical sense, -which the world shall have if they behave well. I have also the Bible of -Hell, which the world shall have whether they will or no.' The Bible -of Hell is no doubt the Bible of Blake's new gospel, in which contraries -are equally true. We may piece it together out of many fragments, of -which the first perhaps is the sentence standing by itself at the bottom -of the page: 'One Law for the Lion and Ox is Oppression.'</p> - -<p><i>The Marriage of Heaven and Hell</i> is loud with 'the clangor -of the Arrows of Intellect,' each of the 'Proverbs of Hell' is a jewel of -concentrated wisdom, the whole book is Blake's clearest and most -vital statement of his new, his reawakened belief; it contains, as I -have intimated, all Nietzsche; yet something restless, disturbed, -uncouth, has come violently into this mind and art, wrenching it -beyond all known limits, or setting alight in it an illuminating, -devouring, and unquenchable flame. In common with Swedenborg, -Blake is a mystic who enters into no tradition, such as that tradition -of the Catholic Church which has a liturgy awaiting dreams. For -Saint John of the Cross and for Saint Teresa the words of the vision -are already there, perfectly translating ecstasy into familiar speech; -they have but to look and to speak. But to Blake, as to Swedenborg, -no tradition is sufficiently a matter of literal belief to be at hand with -its forms; new forms have to be made, and something of the crudity of -Swedenborg comes over him in his rejection of the compromise of -mortal imagery.</p> - -<p><i>The Marriage of Heaven and Hell</i> may be called or not -called a Prophetic Book, in the strict sense; with <i>The Visions of the -Daughters of Albion</i>, engraved at Lambeth in 1793, the series -perhaps more literally begins. Here the fine masculine prose of <i>The -Marriage of Heaven and Hell</i> has given place to a metre vaguer -than the metre of <i>The Book of Thel</i>, and to a substance from -which the savor has not yet gone of the <i>Songs of Innocence</i>, -in such lines as:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'The new washed lamb tinged with the village smoke,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">and the bright swan</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">By the red earth of our immortal river.'</span></p> - - -<p>It is Blake's book of love, and it defends the honesty of the natural -passions with unslackenning ardor. There is no mythology in it, beyond -a name or two, easily explicable. Oothoon, the virgin joy, oppressed by -laws and cruelties of restraint and jealousy, vindicates her right to the -freedom of innocence and to the instincts of infancy.</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'And trees and birds and beasts and men behold their</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">eternal joy.</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Arise, you little glancing wings, and sing your infant</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">joy:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Arise, and drink your bliss, for everything that lives</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">is holy!'</span></p> - - -<p>It is the gospel of <i>The Marriage of Heaven and Hell</i>, -and, as that proclaimed liberty for the mind, so this, with abundant -rhetoric, but with vehement conviction, proclaims liberty for the -body. In form it is still clear, its eloquence and imagery are partly -biblical, and have little suggestion of the manner of the later -Prophetic Books.</p> - -<p><i>America</i>, written in the same year, in the same measure -as the <i>Visions of the Daughters of Albion</i>, is the most -vehement, wild, and whirling of all Blake's prophecies. It is a -prophecy of revolution, and it takes the revolt of America against -England both literally and symbolically, with names of 'Washington, -Franklin, Paine and Warren, Gates, Hancock and Green,' side by side with -Orc and the Angel of Albion; it preaches every form of bodily and -spiritual liberty in the terms of contemporary events, Boston's -Angel, London's Guardian, and the like, in the midst of cataclysms -of all nature, fires and thunders temporal and eternal. The world -for a time is given into the power of Orc, unrestrained desire, -which is to bring freedom through revolution and the destroying -of the bonds of good and evil. He is called 'Antichrist, Hater of -Dignities, lover of wild rebellion, and transgressor of God's Law.' -He is the Satan of <i>The Marriage of Heaven and Hell</i>, and -he also proclaims:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'For everything that lives is holy, life delights in</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">life;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Because the soul of sweet delight can never be</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">defil'd.'</span></p> - - -<p>As, in that book, Blake had seen 'the fiery limbs, the flaming -hair' of the son of fire 'spurning the clouds written with curses, -stamping the stony law to dust'; so, here, he hears the voice of -Orc proclaiming:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'The fierce joy, that Urizen perverted to ten commands,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">What night he led the starry hosts through the wild</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">wilderness;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">That stony law I stamp to dust: and scatter religion</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">abroad</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">To the four winds as a torn book, and none shall</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">gather the leaves.'</span></p> - - -<p>Liberty comes in like a flood bursting all barriers:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'The doors of marriage are open, and the Priests in</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">rustling scales</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Rush into reptile coverts, hiding from the fires of</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Orc,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">That play around the golden roofs in wreaths of fierce</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">desire,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Leaving the females naked and glowing with the lusts</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">of youth.</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">For the female spirits of the dead pining in bonds of</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">religion</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Run from their fetters reddening, and in long-drawn</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">arches sitting,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">They feel the nerves of youth renew, and desires of</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">ancient times,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Over their pale limbs as a vine when the tender grape</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">appears.'</span></p> - - -<p>The world, in this regeneration through revolution (which seemed to -Blake, no doubt, a thing close at hand, in those days when France and -America seemed to be breaking down the old tyrannies), is to be no longer -a world laid out by convention for the untrustworthy; and he asks:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Who commanded this? what God? what Angel?</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">To keep the generous from experience till the</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">ungenerous</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Are unrestrained performers of the energies of</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">nature,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Till pity is become a trade, and generosity a science</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">That men get rich by.'</span></p> - - -<p>For twelve years, from the American to the French revolution, -'Angels and weak men' are to govern the strong, and then Europe -is to be overwhelmed by the fire that had broken out in the West, -though the ancient guardians of the five senses 'slow advance -to shut the five gates of their law-built houses.'</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'But the gates were consumed, and their bolts and</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">hinges melted,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And the fierce flames burnt round the heavens, and</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">round the abode of men.'</span></p> - - -<p>Here the myth, though it is present throughout, is an undercurrent, -and the crying of the message is what is chiefly heard. In <i>Europe</i> -(1794), which is written in lines broken up into frequent but not -very significant irregularities, short lines alternating with long ones, -in the manner of an irregular ode, the mythology is like a net or spiders -web over the whole text. Names not used elsewhere, or not in the -same form, are found: Manatha-Varcyon, Thiralatha, who in <i>Europe</i> -is Diralada. The whole poem is an allegory of the sleep of Nature during -the eighteen hundred years of the Christian era, under bonds of narrow -religions and barren moralities and tyrannous laws, and of the awakening -to forgotten joy, when 'Nature felt through all her pores the enormous -revelry,' and the fiery spirit of Ore, beholding the morning in the east, -shot to the earth:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'And in the vineyards of red France appear'd the light</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">of his fury.'</span></p> - - -<p>It is another hymn of revolution, but this time an awakening -more wholly mental, with only occasional contemporary allusions -like that of the judge in Westminster whose wig grows to his scalp, -and who is seen 'groveling along Great George Street through the -Park gate.' 'Howlings and hissings, shrieks and groans, and voices of -despair,' are heard throughout; we see thought change the infinite -to a serpent:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Then was the serpent temple formed, image of infinite</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Shut up in finite revolutions, and man become an</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">angel;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Heaven a mighty circle turning; God a tyrant crown'd.'</span></p> - - -<p>The serpent temple shadows the whole island:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Enitharmon laugh'd in her sleep to see (O woman's</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">triumph)</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Every house a den, every man bound: the shadows</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">are filled</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">With spectres, and the windows wove over with curses</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">of iron:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Over the doors Thou shalt not: and over the chimneys</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Fear is written:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">With bands of iron round their necks fasten'd into the</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">walls</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The citizens: in leaden gyves the inhabitants of</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">suburbs</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Walk heavy: soft and bent are the bones of villagers.'</span></p> - - -<p>The whole book is a lament and protest, and it ends with -a call to spiritual battle. In a gay and naïve prologue, written -by Blake in a copy of <i>Europe</i> in the possession of Mr. -Linnell, and quoted by Ellis and Yeats, Blake tells us that he -caught a fairy on a streaked tulip, and brought him home:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 16em;">'As we went along</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Wild flowers I gathered, and he show'd me each eternal</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">flower.</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">He laughed aloud to see them whimper because they</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">were pluck'd,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Then hover'd round me like a cloud of incense. When</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">I came</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Into my parlour and sat down and took my pen to</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">write,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">My fairy sat upon the table and dictated <i>Europe.</i></span></p> - - -<p><i>The First Book of Urizen</i> (1794) is a myth, shadowed in -dark symbols, of the creation of mortal life and its severing from -eternity; the birth of Time out of the void and self-contemplating -shadow' of unimaginative Reason; the creation of the senses, each -a limiting of eternity, and the closing of the tent of heavenly knowledge, -so that Time and the creatures of Time behold eternity no more. -We see the birth of Pity and of Desire, woman the shadow and -desire the child of man. Reason despairs as it realizes that life -lives upon death, and the cold pity of its despair forms into a -chill shadow, which follows it like a spider's web, and freezes into -the net of religion, or the restraint of the activities. Under this -net the senses shrink inwards, and that creation which is 'the -body of our death' and our stationing in time and space is finished:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Six days they shrank up from existence,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And on the seventh they rested</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And they bless'd the seventh day, in sick hope,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And forgot their eternal life.'</span></p> - - -<p>Then the children of reason, now 'sons and daughters of sorrow,'</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 10em;">'Wept and built</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Tombs in the desolate places,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And form'd laws of prudence and call'd them</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The eternal laws of God.'</span></p> - - -<p>But Fuzon, the spirit of fire, forsook the 'pendulous earth' with -those children of Urizen who would still follow him.</p> - -<p>Here, crystallized in the form of a myth, we see many of Blake's -fundamental ideas. Some of them we have seen under other forms, -as statement rather than as image, in <i>The Marriage of Heaven -and Hell</i> and <i>There is no Natural Religion.</i> We shall see -them again, developed, elaborated, branching out into infinite -side-issues, multiplying upon themselves, in the later Prophetic -Books, partly as myth, partly as statement; we shall see them in -many of the lyrical poems, transformed into song, but still never -varying in their message; and we shall see them, in the polemical -prose of all the remaining fragments, and in the private letters, -and in the annotations of Swedenborg, and in Crabb Robinson's -records of conversations. The <i>Book of Urizen</i> is a sort of -nucleus, the germ of a system.</p> - -<p>Next to the <i>Book of Urizen</i>, if we may judge from the -manner of its engraving, came <i>The Song of Los</i> (1795), -written in a manner of vivid declamation, the lines now lengthening, -now shrinking, without fixed beat or measure. It is the song of Time, -'the Eternal Prophet,' and tells the course of inspiration as it passes -from east to west, 'abstract philosophy' in Brahma, 'forms of dark -delusion' to Moses on Mount Sinai, the mount of law; 'a gospel from -wretched Theotormon' (distressed human love and pity) to Jesus, -'a man of sorrows'; the 'loose Bible' of Mahomet, setting free the -senses,'Odin's 'code of war.'</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'These were the Churches, Hospitals, Castles, Palaces,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Like nets and gins and traps to catch the joys of</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Eternity,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And all the rest a desart:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Till like a dream Eternity was obliterated and erased.'</span></p> - - -<p>'The vast of Nature' shrinks up before the 'shrunken eyes' -of men, till it is finally enclosed in the 'philosophy of the five -senses,' the philosophy of Newton and Locke. 'The Kings of Asia,' -the cruelties of the heathen, the ancient powers of evil, call on -'famine from the heath, pestilence from the fen:'</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'To turn man from his path,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">To restrain the child from the womb,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">To cut off the bread from the city,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">That the remnant may learn to obey,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">That the pride of the heart may fail,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">That the lust of the eyes may be quench'd,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">That the delicate ear in its infancy</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">May be dull'd, and the nostrils clos'd up:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">To teach mortal worms the path</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">That leads from the gates of the grave.'</span></p> - - -<p>But, in the darkness of their 'ancient woven dens,' they are startled -by 'the thick-flaming, thought-creating fires of Orc'; and at their cry -Urizen comes forth to meet and challenge the liberating spirit; he -thunders against the pillar of fire that rises out of the darkness of -Europe; and at the clash of their mutual onset 'the Grave shrieks -aloud.' But 'Urizen wept,' the cold pity of reason which, as we have -seen in the book named after him, freezes into nets of religion, -'twisted like to the human brain.'</p> - -<p><i>The Book of Los</i> (also dated 1795) is written in the short -lines of <i>Urizen</i> and <i>Ahania</i>, a metre following a -fixed, insistent beat, as of Los's hammer on his anvil. It begins -with the lament of 'Eno, aged Mother,' over the liberty of old times:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'O Times remote!</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">When Love and Joy were adoration,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And none impure were deem'd.</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Not Eyeless Covet,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Nor Thin-lip'd Envy,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Nor Bristled Wrath,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Nor Curled Wantonness;'</span></p> - - -<p>None of these, that is, yet turned to evil, but still unfallen -energies. At this, flames of desire break out, 'living, intelligent,' and -Los, the spirit of Inspiration, divides the flames, freezes them into -solid darkness, and is imprisoned by them, and escapes, only in -terror, and falls through ages into the void ('Truth has bounds, -Error none'), until he has organized the void and brought into it -a light which makes visible the form of the void. He sees it as the -backbone of Urizen, the bony outlines of reason, and then begins, -for the first time in the Prophetic Books, that building of furnaces, -and wielding of hammer and anvil of which we are to hear so much -in <i>Jerusalem.</i> He forges the sun, and chains cold intellect -to vital heat, from whose torments:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 15em;">'A twin</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Was completed, a Human Illusion</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In darkness and deep clouds involved.'</span></p> - - -<p>In <i>The Book of Los</i> almost all relationship to poetry has -vanished; the myth is cloudier and more abstract. Scarcely less so is -<i>The Book of Ahania</i> (1795), written in the same short lines, -hut in a manner occasionally more concrete and realizable. Like -<i>Urizen</i>, it is almost all myth. It follows Fuzon, 'son of -Urizen's silent burnings,' in his fiery revolt against:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'This cloudy God seated on waters,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Now seen, now obscured, king of Sorrows.'</span></p> - - -<p>From the stricken and divided Urizen is born Ahania ('so name -his parted soul'), who is 'his invisible lust,' whom he loves, hides, -and calls Sin.</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'She fell down, a faint shadow wandering,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In chaos, and circling dark Urizen,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">As the moon anguished circles the earth,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Hopeless, abhorred, a death shadow,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Unseen, unbodied, unknown,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The mother of Pestilence.'</span></p> - - -<p>But Urizen, recovering his strength, seizes the bright son of fire, his -energy or passion, and nails him to the dark 'religious' 'Tree -of Mystery,' from under whose shade comes the voice of Ahania, -'weeping upon the void,' lamenting her lost joys of love, and -the days when:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Swelled with ripeness and fat with fatness,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Bursting on winds my odours,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">My ripe figs and rich pomegranates,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In infant joy at my feet,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">O Urizen, sported and sang.'</span></p> - - -<p>In <i>The Four Zoas</i> Ahania is called 'the feminine indolent -bliss, the indulgent self of weariness.' 'One final glimpse,' says Mr. -Swinburne, 'we may take of Ahania after her division—the love -of God, as it were, parted from God, impotent therefore and a shadow, -if not rather a plague and blight; mercy severed from justice, and thus -made a worse thing than useless.' And her lament ends in this despair:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'But now alone over rocks, mountains,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Cast out from thy lovely bosom</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Cruel jealousy, selfish fear,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Self-destroying; how can delight</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Renew in these chains of darkness</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Where bones of beasts are strown</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">On the bleak and snowy mountains,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Where bones from the birth are buried</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Before they see the light.'</span></p> - - -<p>The mythology, of which parts are developed in each of these -books, is thrown together, in something more approaching a whole, -hut without apparent cohesion or consistency, in <i>The Four Zoas</i>, -which probably dates from 1797 and which exists in seventy sheets of -manuscript, of uncertain order, almost certainly in an unfinished -state, perhaps never intended for publication, but rather as a storehouse -of ideas. This manuscript, much altered, arranged in a conjectural order, -and printed with extreme incorrectness, was published by Messrs. Ellis -and Yeats in the third volume of their book on Blake, under the first, -rejected, title of <i>Vala.</i><a name="FNanchor_3_1" id="FNanchor_3_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_1" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> They describe it as -being in itself a sort of compound of all Blake's other books, except -<i>Milton</i> and <i>Jerusalem</i>, which are enriched by scraps -taken from <i>Vala</i>, but are not summarized in it. In the uncertain -state in which we have it, it is impossible to take it as a wholly -authentic text; but it is both full of incidental beauty and of -considerable assistance in unravelling many of the mysteries -in <i>Milton</i> and <i>Jerusalem</i>, the books written at Felpham, -both dated 1804, in which we find the final development of the myth, -or as much of that final development as has come to us in the absence -of the manuscripts destroyed or disposed of by Tatham. Those two books -indeed seem to presuppose in their readers an acquaintance with many -matters told or explained in this, from which passages are taken bodily, -but with little apparent method. As it stands, <i>Vala</i> is much more -of a poem than either <i>Milton</i> or <i>Jerusalem</i>; the cipher -comes in at times, but between there are broad spaces of cloudy but not -wholly unlighted imagery. Blake still remembers that he is writing a poem, -earthly beauty is still divine beauty to him, and the message is not yet -so stringent as to forbid all lingering by the way.</p> - -<p>In some parts of the poem the manner is frankly biblical, and suggests -the book of Proverbs, as thus:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'What is the price of experience? Do men buy it for</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">a song,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Or wisdom for a dance in the street? No, it is bought</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">with the price</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Of all that a man hath—his wife, his house, his</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">children.</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Wisdom is sold in the desolate market where none</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">comes to buy,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And in the withered fields where the farmer ploughs</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">for bread in vain.'</span></p> - - -<p>Nature is still an image accepted as an adequate symbol, and we -get reminiscences here and there of the simpler, early work of -<i>Thel</i>, for instance, in such lines as:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'And as the little seed waits eagerly watching for its</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">flower and fruit,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Anxious its little soul looks out into the clear</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">expanse</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">To see if hungry winds are abroad with their invisible</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">array;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">So man looks out in tree and herb, and fish and bird</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">and beast,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Collecting up the scattered portions of his immortal</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">body</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Into the elemental forms of everything that grows.'</span></p> - - -<p>There are descriptions of feasts, of flames, of last judgments, of -the new Eden, which are full of color and splendor, passing without -warning into the 'material sublime' of Fuseli, as in the picture of Urizen -'stonied upon his throne' in the eighth 'Night.' In the passages which we -possess in the earlier and later version we see the myth of Blake -gradually crystallizing, the transposition of every intelligible symbol -into the secret cipher. Thus we find 'Mount Gilead' changed into -'Mount Snowdon,' 'Beth Peor' into 'Cosway Vale,' and a plain image -such as this:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'The Mountain called out to the Mountain, Awake,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">oh brother Mountain,'</span></p> - - -<p>Is translated backwards into:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Ephraim called out to Tiriel, Awake, oh brother</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Mountain.'</span></p> - - -<p>Images everywhere are seen freezing into types; they stop half-way, -and have not yet abandoned the obscure poetry of the earlier Prophetic -Books for the harder algebra of <i>Milton</i> and <i>Jerusalem.</i></p> - - - - -<h4>VI</h4> - - -<p>The first statement by Blake of his aims and principles in art is -to be found in some letters to George Cumberland and to Dr. Trusler, -contained in the Cumberland Papers in the British Museum. These -letters were first printed by Dr. Garnett in the <i>Hampstead -Annual</i> of 1903, but with many mistakes and omissions.<a name="FNanchor_4_1" id="FNanchor_4_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_1" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> I have -recopied from the originals the text of such letters as I quote. -It appears that in the year 1799 Blake undertook, at the suggestion -of Cumberland, to do some drawings for a book by Dr. Trusler, -a sort of quack writer and publisher, who may be perhaps sufficiently -defined by the quotation of the title of one of his books, which -is <i>The Way to be Rich and Respectable.</i> On August 16, Blake -writes to say: 'I find more and more that my Style of Designing -is a Species by itself, and in this which I send you have been -compelled by my Genius or Angel to follow where he led; if I -were to act otherwise it would not fulfill the purpose for which -alone I live, which is in conjunction with such men as my friend -Cumberland to renew the lost Art of the Greeks.' He tells him that he -has attempted to 'follow his Dictate' every morning for a fortnight, but -'it was out of my power!' He then describes what he has done, and says: -'If you approve of my manner, and it is agreeable to you, I would rather -Paint Pictures in oil of the same dimensions than make Drawings, and -on the same terms. By this means you will have a number of Cabinet -pictures, which I flatter myself will not be unworthy of a Scholar of -Rembrandt and Teniers, whom I have Studied no less than Rafael and -Michaelangelo.' The next letter, which I will give in full, for it is a -document of great importance, is dated a week later, and the nature -of the reply which it answers can be gathered from Blake's comment -on the matter to Cumberland, three days later still. 'I have made him,' -he says, 'a Drawing in my best manner: he has sent it back with a Letter -full of Criticisms, in which he says It accords not with his Intentions, -which are, to Reject all Fancy from his Work. How far he expects to -please, I cannot tell. But as I cannot paint Dirty rags and old Shoes -where I ought to place Naked Beauty or simple ornament, I despair of -ever pleasing one Class of Men.' 'I could not help smiling,' he says -later, 'at the difference between the doctrines of Dr. Trusler and those -of Christ.' Here, then, is the letter in which Blake accounts for himself -to the quack doctor (who has docketed it: 'Blake, Dimd with -superstition'), as if to posterity:—</p> - - -<p>REVD. SIR,</p> - -<p>I really am sorry that you are fallen out with the Spiritual World, -Especially if I should have to answer for it. I feel very sorry that your -Ideas and Mine on Moral Painting differ so much as to have made you -angry with my method of study. If I am wrong I am wrong in good -company. I had hoped your plan comprehended All Species of this Art, -and Especially that you would not regret that Species which gives -Existence to Every other, namely, Visions of Eternity. You say that I -want somebody to Elucidate my Ideas. But you ought to know that -what is Grand is necessarily obscure to Weak men. That which can be -made Explicit to the Ideot is not worth my care. The wisest of the -Ancients considered what is not too Explicit as the fittest for -Instruction, because it rouses the faculties to act. I name Moses, -Solomon, Esop, Homer, Plato.</p> - -<p>But as you have favored me with your remarks on my Design, -permit me in return to defend it against a mistaken one, which is, -That I have supposed Malevolence without a Cause. Is not Merit in -one a Cause of Envy in another, and Serenity and Happiness and -Beauty a Cause of Malevolence? But Want of Money and the Distress -of a Thief can never be alleged as the Cause of his Thievery, for many -honest people endure greater hardships with Fortitude. We must therefore -seek the Cause elsewhere than in the want of Money, for that is the -Miser's passion, not the Thief's.</p> - -<p>I have therefore proved your Reasonings I'll proportioned, which -you can never prove my figures to be. They are those of Michael Angelo, -Rafael and the Antique, and of the best living Models. I perceive that -your Eye is perverted by Caricature Prints, which ought not to abound -so much as they do. Fun I love, but too much Fun is of all things the -most loathsome. Mirth is better than Fun, and Happiness is better than -Mirth. I feel that a Man may be happy in This World, and I know that -This World is a World of Imagination and Vision. I see Everything I paint -In This World: but Every body 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. The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the Eyes -of others only a Green thing that stands in the way. Some see Nature -all Ridicule and Deformity, and by these I shall not regulate my -proportions; and some scarce see Nature at all. But to the Eyes of -the Man of Imagination, Nature is Imagination itself. As a Man is, -so he sees. As the Eye is formed, such are its Powers. You certainly -Mistake when you say that the Visions of Fancy are not to be found -in This World. To Me This World is all One continued Vision of Fancy -or Imagination, and I feel Flattered when I am told so. What is it sets -Homer, Virgil, and Milton in so high a rank of Art? Why is the Bible -more Entertaining and Instructive than any other book? Is it not -because they are addressed to the Imagination, which is Spiritual -Sensation, and but mediately to the Understanding or Reason? -Such is True Painting, and such was alone valued by the Greeks and -the best modern Artists. Consider what Lord Bacon says—'Sense -sends over to Imagination before Reason have judged, and Reason -sends over to Imagination before the Decree can be acted.' See -<i>Advancement of Learning</i>, Part 2, P. 47, of first Edition.</p> - -<p>But I am happy to find a Great Majority of Fellow Mortals who -can Elucidate My Visions, and Particularly they have been Elucidated -by Children, who have taken a greater delight in contemplating -my Pictures than I even hoped. Neither Youth nor Childhood is Folly -or Incapacity. Some Children are Fools, and so are some old Men. But -There is a vast Majority on the side of Imagination or Spiritual -Sensation.</p> - -<p>To Engrave after another Painter is infinitely more laborious -than to Engrave one's own Inventions. And of the size you require -my price has been Thirty Guineas, and I cannot afford to do it -for less. I had Twelve for the Head I sent you as a Specimen; but -after my own designs I could do at least Six times the quantity -of labour in the same time, which will account for the difference in -price, as also that Chalk Engraving is at least Six times as laborious -as Aqua tinta. I have no objection to Engraving after another Artist. -Engraving is the profession I was apprenticed to, and I should never -have attempted to live by any thing else If orders had not come in -for my Designs and Paintings, which I have the pleasure to tell you are -Increasing Every Day. Thus If I am a Painter it is not to be attributed -to Seeking after. But I am contented whether I live by Painting or -Engraving.</p> - -<p>I am, Revd. Sir, your very obedient Servant,</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 60%;">WILLIAM BLAKE.</p> - -<p>13 Hercules Buildings, Lambeth,</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 10%;"><i>August</i> 23, 1799.</p> - - -<p>Blake tells Cumberland the whole story quite cheerfully, and -ends with these significant words, full of patience, courtesy, and -sad humour: 'As to Myself, about whom you are so kindly Interested, -I live by Miracle. I am Painting small Pictures from the Bible. For as -to Engraving, in which art I cannot reproach myself with any neglect, -yet I am laid by in a corner as if I did not exist, and since my Youngs -Night Thoughts have been published, even Johnson and Fuseli have -discarded my Graver. But as I know that He who works and has his -health cannot starve, I laugh at Fortune and Go on and on. I think -I foresee better Things than I have ever seen. My Work pleases my -employer, and I have an order for Fifty small Pictures at One Guinea -each, which is something better than mere copying after another -artist. But above all I feel myself happy and contented, let what -will come. Having passed now near twenty years in ups and downs, -I am used to them, and perhaps a little practice in them may turn -out to benefit. It is now exactly Twenty years since I was upon the -ocean of business, and tho I laugh at Fortune, I am persuaded that -She Alone is the Governor of Worldly Riches, and when it is Fit She -will call on me. Till then I wait with Patience, in hopes that She is -busied among my Friends.'</p> - -<p>The employer is, no doubt, Mr. Butts, for whom Blake had -already begun to work: we know some of the 'frescoes' and color-prints -which belong to this time; among them, or only just after, the -incomparable 'Crucifixion,' in which the soldiers cast lots in the -foreground and the crosses are seen from the back, against a -stormy sky and lances like Tintoretto's. But it was also the time -of all but the latest Prophetic Books (or of all but the latest of those -left to us), and we may pause here for a moment to consider some -of the qualities that Blake was by this time fully displaying in his -linear and colored inventions and 'Visions of Eternity.'</p> - -<p>It is by his energy and nobility of creation that Blake takes -rank among great artists, in a place apart from those who have -been content to study, to observe, and to copy. His invention of -living form is like nature's, unintermittent, but without the -measure and order of nature, and without complete command over -the material out of which it creates. In his youth he had sought after -prints of such inventive work as especially appealed to him, Michelangelo, -Raphael, Dürer; it is possible that, having had 'very early in life the -ordinary opportunities,' as Dr. Malkin puts it, 'of seeing pictures in -the houses of noblemen and gentlemen, and in the king's palaces,' -he had seen either pictures, or prints after pictures, of the Italian -Primitives, whose attitudes and composition he at times suggests; -and, to the end, he worked with Dürer's 'Melancholia' on his work-table -and Michelangelo's designs on his walls. It not infrequently happened -that a memory of form created by one of these great draughtsmen -presented itself as a sort of short cut to the statement of the form -which he was seeing or creating in his own imagination. A Devil's -Advocate has pointed out 'plagiarisms' in Blake's design, and would -dismiss in consequence his reputation for originality. Blake had not -sufficient mastery of technique to be always wholly original in design; -and it is to his dependence on a technique not as flexible as his -imagination was intense that we must attribute what is unsatisfying -in such remarkable inventions as 'The House of Death' (Milton's -lazar-house) in the Print Doom of the British Museum. Its appeal -to the imagination is partly in spite of what is 'organized and minutely -articulated beyond all that the mortal and perishing nature can -produce.' Death is a version of the Ancient of Days and of Urizen, -only his eyes are turned to blind terror and his beard to forked -flame; Despair, a statue of greenish bronze, is the Scofield of -<i>Jerusalem</i>; the limbs and faces rigid with agony are types -of strength and symbols of pain. Yet even here there is creation, -there is the energy of life, there is a spiritual awe. And wherever -Blake works freely, as in the regions of the Prophetic Books, wholly -outside time and space, appropriate form multiplies under his -creating hand, as it weaves a new creation of worlds and of spirits, -monstrous and angelical.</p> - -<p>Blake distinguished, as all great imaginative artists have -distinguished, between allegory, which is but realism's excuse for -existence, and symbol, which is none of the 'daughters of Memory,' -but itself vision or inspiration. He wrote in the MS. book: 'Vision or -imagination is a representation of what actually exists, really and -unchangeably. Fable or allegory is formed by the daughters of -Memory.' And thus in the designs which accompany the text of his -Prophetic Books there is rarely the mere illustration of those pages. -He does not copy in line what he has said in words, or explain in -words what he has rendered in line; a creation probably contemporary -is going on, and words and lines render between them, the one to -the eyes, the other to the mind, the same image of spiritual things, -apprehended by different organs of perception.</p> - -<p>And so in his pictures, what he gives us is not a picture after -a mental idea; it is the literal delineation of an imaginative -vision, of a conception of the imagination. He wrote: 'If you have -not nature before you for every touch, you cannot paint portrait; -and if you have nature before you at all, you cannot paint history.' -There is a water-color of Christ in the carpenter's shop: Christ, a -child, sets to the floor that compass which Blake saw more often -in the hands of God the Father, stooping out of heaven; his mother -and Joseph stand on each side of him, leaning towards him with -the stiff elegance of guardian angels on a tomb. That is how Blake -sees it, and not with the minute detail and the aim at local color with -which the Pre-Raphaelites have seen it; it is not Holman Hunt's -'Bethlehem' nor the little Italian town of Giotto; it is rendered -carefully after the visual imagination which the verses of the Bible -awakened in his brain. In one of those variations which he did on -the 'Flight into Egypt' (the 'Riposo,' as he called it), we have a -lovely and surprising invention of landscape, minute and impossible, -with a tree built up like a huge vegetable, and flowers growing out -of the bare rock, and a red and flattened sun going down behind -the hills; Joseph stands under the tree, nearly of the same -height, but grave and kindly, and the Mother and Child are mild -eighteenth-century types of innocence; the browsing donkey has -an engaging rough homeliness of hide and aspect. It is all as -unreal as you like, made up of elements not combined into any -faultless pattern; art has gone back further than Giotto, and is -careless of human individuality; but it is seen as it were with -faith, and it conveys to you precisely what the painter meant -to convey. So, in a lovely water-color of the creation of Eve, this -blue-haired doll of obviously rounded flesh has in her something -which is more as well as less than the appeal of bodily beauty, -some suggestion to the imagination which the actual technical -skill of Blake has put there. With less delicacy of color, and with -drawing in parts actually misleading, there is a strange intensity -of appeal, of realization not so much to the eyes as through them -to the imagination, in another water-color of the raising of Lazarus, -where the corpse swathed in grave-clothes floats sidelong upward -from the grave, the weight of mortality as if taken off, and an unearthly -lightness in its disimprisoned limbs, that have forgotten the laws -of mortal gravity.</p> - -<p>Yet, even in these renderings of what is certainly not meant -for reality, how abundantly nature comes into the design: mere -bright parrot-like birds in the branches of the tree of knowledge -of good and evil, the donkey of the 'Riposo,' the sheep's heads -woven into the almost decorative border. Blake was constantly -on his guard against the deceits of nature, the temptation of a -'facsimile representation of merely mortal and perishing substances.' -His dread of nature was partly the recoil of his love; he feared to be -entangled in the 'veils of Vala,' the seductive sights of the world -of the senses; and his love of natural things is evident on every -page of even the latest of the Prophetic Books. It is the natural -world, the idols of Satan, that creep in at every corner and border, -setting flowers to grow, and birds to fly, and snakes to glide -harmlessly around the edges of these hard and impenetrable pages. -The minute life of this 'vegetable world' is awake and in subtle -motion in the midst of these cold abstractions. 'The Vegetable -World opens like a flower from the Earth's centre, in which -is Eternity,' and it is this outward flowering of eternity in the -delicate living forms of time that goes on incessantly, as if by the -mere accident of the creative impulse, as Blake or Los builds -Golgonooza or the City of God out of the 'abstract void' and the -'indefiniteness of unimaginative existence.' It is, on every page, -the visible outer part of what, in the words, can hut speak a -language not even meant to be the language of the 'natural man.'</p> - -<p>In these symbolic notations of nature, or double language -of words and signs, these little figures of men and beasts that so -strangely and incalculably decorate so many of Blake's pages, -there is something Egyptian, which reminds me of those lovely -riddles on papyri and funeral tablets, where the images of real -things are used so decoratively, in the midst of a language itself all -pictures, with colours never seen in the things themselves, but given -to them for ornament. <i>The Marriage of Heaven and Hell</i> is -filled with what seem like the hieroglyphics on an Egyptian tomb -or obelisk, little images which might well mean things as definite -as the images of Egyptian writing. They are still visible, sometimes -mere curves or twines, in the latest of the engraved work, and might -exist equally for some symbolic life which they contain, or for that -decorative life of design which makes them as expressive mosaics -of pattern as the hieroglyphics. I cannot hut think that it was partly -from what he had seen, in actual basalt, or in engravings after -ancient monuments which must have been about him at Basire the -engraver's, that Blake found the suggestion of his picture-writing -in the Prophetic Books. He believed that all Greek art was but a pale -copy of a lost art of Egypt, 'the greater works of the Asiatic -Patriarchs,' Apotheoses of Persian, Hindu, and Egyptian antiquity.' -In such pictures as 'The Spiritual Form of Pitt guiding Behemoth,' -he professed to be but 'applying to modern heroes, on a smaller -scale,' what he had seen in vision of these 'stupendous originals now -lost, or perhaps buried till some happier age.' Is it not likely therefore -that in his attempt to create the religious books of a new religion, -'the Everlasting Gospel' of 'the Poetic Genius, which is the Lord,' he -should have turned to the then unintelligible forms in which the -oldest of the religions had written itself down in a visible pictorial -message?</p> - -<p>But, whatever suggestions may have come to him from elsewhere, -Blake's genius was essentially Gothic, and took form, I doubt -not, during those six years of youth when he drew the monuments -in Westminster Abbey, and in the old churches about London. -He might have learned much from the tombs in the Abbey, and -from the brasses, and from the carved angels in the chapels, -and from the naïve groups on the screen in the chapel of Edward -the Confessor, and from the draped figures round the sarcophagus -of Aymer de Valence. There is often, in Blake's figures, something of the -monumental stiffness of Gothic stone, as there is in the minute yet -formal characterization of the faces. His rendering of terrible and evil -things, the animal beings who typify the passions and fierce distortions -of the soul, have the same childlike detail, content to be ludicrous if -it can only be faithful to a distinct conception, of the carvers of -gargoyles and of Last Judgments. Blake has, too, the same love of -pattern for its own sake, the same exuberance of ornament, always -living and organic, growing out of the structure of the design or out of -the form of the page, not added to it from without. Gothic art taught -him his hatred of vacant space, his love of twining and trailing foliage -and flame and water; and his invention of ornament is as unlimited as -theirs. A page of one of his illuminated books is like the carving on a -Gothic capital. Lines uncoil from a hidden centre and spread like -branches or burst into vast vegetation, emanating from leaf to limb, -and growing upward into images of human and celestial existence. -The snake is in all his designs; whether, in <i>Jerusalem</i>, rolled -into chariot-wheels and into the harness of a chariot drawn by hoofed -lions, and into the curled horns of the lions, and into the pointing -fingers of the horns; or, in <i>The Marriage of Heaven and Hell</i>, -a leviathan of the sea with open jaws, eyed and scaled with poisonous -jewels of purple and blood-red and corroded gold, swelling visibly -out of a dark sea that foams aside from its passage; or, curved above -the limbs and wound about the head of a falling figure in lovely -diminishing coils like a corkscrew which is a note of interrogation; -or, in mere unterrifying beauty, trailed like a branch of a bending -tree across the tops of pages; or, bitted and bridled and a thing of -blithe gaiety, ridden by little, naked, long-legged girls and boys in -the new paradise of an America of the future. The Gothic carvers -loved snakes, but hardly with the strange passion of Blake. They carved -the flames of hell and of earthly punishment with delight in the beauty -of their soaring and twisting lines; but no one has ever made of fire -such a plaything and ecstasy as Blake has made of it. In his paintings he -invents new colors to show forth the very soul of fire, a soul angrier -and more variable than opals; and in his drawings he shows us lines -and nooses of fire rushing upward out of the ground, and fire drifting -across the air like vapor, and fire consuming the world in the last chaos. -And everywhere there are gentle and caressing tongues and trails of fire, -hardly to be distinguished from branches of trees and blades of grass and -stems and petals of flowers. Water, which the Gothic carvers represented -in curving lines, as the Japanese do, is in Blake a not less frequent -method of decoration; wrapping frail human figures in wet caverns -under the depths of the sea, and destroying and creating worlds.</p> - -<p>Blake's color is unearthly, and is used for the most part rather -as a symbol of emotion than as a representation of fact. It is at -one time prismatic, and radiates in broad bands of pure color; at -another, and more often, is as inextricable as the veins in mineral, -and seems more like a natural growth of the earth than the creation of a -painter. In the smaller Book of Designs in the Print Room of the British -Museum the colors have moldered away, and blotted themselves -together in a sort of putrefaction which seems to carry the suggestions -of poisonous decay further than Blake carried them. This will be seen -by a comparison of the minutely drawn leviathan of <i>The Marriage -of Heaven and Hell</i>, with the colored print in the Book of Designs, in -which the outline of the folds melts and crumbles into a mere chaos -of horror. Color in Blake is never shaded, or, as he would have said, -blotted and blurred; it is always pure energy. In the faint coloring of -the <i>Book of Thel</i> there is the very essence of gentleness; the -color is a faultless interpretation of the faint and lovely monotony of -the verse, and of its exquisite detail. Several of the plates recur -in the Book of Designs, colored at a different and, no doubt, much -later time; and while every line is the same the whole atmosphere -and mood of the designs is changed. Bright rich color is built up in -all the vacant spaces; and with the color there comes a new intensity; -each design is seen over again, in a new way. Here, the mood is a -wholly different mood, and this seeing by contraries is easier to -understand than when, as in the splendid design on the fourth -page of <i>The Book of Urizen</i>, repeated in the Book of -Designs, we see a parallel, yet different, vision, a new, yet -not contrary, aspect. In the one, the colors of the open book are -like corroded iron or rusty minerals; in the other, sharp blues, like -the wings of strange butterflies, glitter stormily under the red flashes -of a sunset. The vision is the same, but every color of the thing -seen is different.</p> - -<p>To Blake, color is the soul rather than the body of his figures, -and seems to clothe them like an emanation. What Behmen says -of the world itself might be said of Blake's rendering of the aspects -of the world and men. 'The whole outward visible World,' he tells -us, 'with all its Being is a Signature, or Figure of the inward spiritual -World; whatever is internally, and however its Operation is, so -likewise it has its Character externally; like as the Spirit of each -Creature sets forth and manifests the internal Form of its Birth, -by its Body, so does the Eternal Being also.' Just as he gives us a -naked Apollo for the 'spiritual form of Pitt' in the picture in the -National Gallery, where Pitt is seen guiding Behemoth, or the hosts -of evil, in a hell of glowing and obscure tumult, so he sees the -soul of a thing or being with no relation to its normal earthly color. -The colors of fire and of blood, an extra-lunar gold, putrescent -vegetable colors, and the stains in rocks and sunsets, he sees -everywhere, and renders with an ecstasy that no painter to whom -color was valuable for its own sake has ever attained. It is difficult not -to believe that he does not often use color with a definitely -musical sense of its harmonies, and that colour did not literally -sing to him, as it seems, at least in a permissible figure, to sing -to us out of his pages.</p> - - - - -<h4>VII</h4> - - -<p>At the end of September 1800 Blake left Lambeth, and took -a cottage at Felpham, near Bognor, at the suggestion of William -Hayley, the feeblest poet of his period, who imagined, with foolish -kindness, that he could become the patron of one whom he called -'my gentle visionary Blake.' Hayley was a rich man, and, as the author -of <i>The Triumphs of Temper</i>, was looked upon as a person of -literary importance. He did his best to give Blake opportunities of making -money, by doing engraving and by painting miniatures of the neighbors. -He read Greek with him and Klopstock. 'Blake is just become a Grecian, -and literally learning the language,' he says in one letter, and in -another: 'Read Klopstock into English to Blake.' The effect of Klopstock -on Blake is to be seen in a poem of ribald magnificence, which no one -has yet ventured to print in full. The effect of Blake on Hayley, and of -Hayley on Blake, can be realized from a few passages in the letters. -At first we read: 'Mr. Hayley acts like a prince.' Then: 'I find on all -hands great objections to my doing anything but the mere drudgery -of business, and intimations that, if I do not confine myself to this, -I shall not live.' Last: 'Mr. H. is as much averse to my poetry as he is -to a chapter in the Bible. He knows that I have writ it, for I have shown -it to him' (this is apparently the <i>Milton</i> or the <i>Jerusalem</i>), -and he has read part by his own desire, and has looked with -sufficient contempt to enhance my opinion of it.... But Mr. H. approves -of my designs as little as he does of my poems, and I have been forced -to insist on his leaving me, in both, to my own self-will; for I am -determined to be no longer pestered with his genteel ignorance -and polite disapprobation. I know myself both poet and painter, -and it is not his affected contempt that can move to anything -but a more assiduous pursuit of both arts. Indeed, by my late firmness -I have brought down his affected loftiness, and he begins to -think that I have some genius: as if genius and assurance were the -same thing! But his imbecile attempts to depress me only deserve -laughter.' What laughter they produced, while Blake was still suffering -under them, can be seen by any one who turns to the epigrams on -H. in the note-book. But the letter goes on, with indignant seriousness: -'But I was commanded by my spiritual friends to bear all and be silent, -and to go through all without murmuring, and, in fine, hope till my -three years shall be accomplished; at which time I was set at liberty -to remonstrate against former conduct, and to demand justice and -truth; which I have done in so effectual a manner that my antagonist -is silenced completely, and I have compelled what should have been -of freedom—my just right as an artist and as a man.'</p> - -<p>In Blake's behavior towards Hayley, which has been criticized, -we can test his sincerity to himself under all circumstances: his -impeccable outward courtesy, his concessions, 'bearing insulting -benevolence' meekly, his careful kindness towards Hayley and hard -labour on his behalf, until the conviction was forced upon him from -within that 'corporeal friends were spiritual enemies,' and that Hayley -must be given up.</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Remembering the verses that Hayley sung</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">When my heart knocked against the roof of my tongue.'</span></p> - - -<p>Blake wrote down bitter epigrams, which were written down -for mere relief of mind, and certainly never intended for publication; -and I can see no contradiction between these inner revolts and an -outer politeness which had in it its due measure of gratitude. Both -were strictly true, and only in a weak and foolish nature can the -consciousness of kindness received distract or blot out the consciousness -of the intellectual imbecility which may lurk behind it. Blake said:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 8em;">'I never made friends but by spiritual gifts,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">By severe contentions of friendship and the burning</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">fire of thought.'</span></p> - - -<p>What least 'contention of friendship' would not have been too -much for the 'triumphs of temper' of 'Felpham's eldest son'? what -'fire of thought' could ever have enlightened his comfortable -darkness? And is it surprising that Blake should have written in -final desperation:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Thy friendship oft has made my heart to ache:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Do be my enemy—for friendship's sake'?</span></p> - - -<p>He quarreled with many of his friends, with those whom he had -cared for most, like Stothard and Flaxman; but the cause was -always some moral indignation, which, just or unjust, was believed, -and which, being believed, could not have been acted upon. With Blake -belief and action were simultaneous. 'Thought is Act,' as he wrote on -the margin of Bacon's essays.</p> - -<p>I am inclined to attribute to this period the writing down of a -mysterious manuscript in the possession of Mr. Buxton Forman, -which has never been printed, but which, by his kind permission, -I have been allowed to read. This manuscript is headed in large -lettering: 'The Seven Days of the Created World,' above which is -written, as if by an afterthought, in smaller lettering: 'Genesis.' -It is written at the beginning of a blue-covered copy-book, of -which the paper is water-marked 1797. It consists of some two -hundred lines of blank verse, numbered by tens in the margin -up to one hundred and fifty, then follow over fifty more lines -without numberings, ending without a full stop or any apparent -reason for coming to an end. The handwriting is unmistakably -Blake's; on the first page or two it is large and careful; gradually -it gets smaller and seems more hurried or fatigued, as if it had -all been written at a single sitting. The earlier part goes on without -a break, but in the later part there are corrections; single words are -altered, sometimes as much as a line and a half is crossed out and -rewritten, the lines are sometimes corrected in the course of writing. -If it were not for these signs of correction I should find it difficult to -believe that Blake had actually composed anything so tamely regular -in metre or so destitute of imagination or symbol. It is an argument -or statement, written in the formal eighteenth-century manner, with -pious invocations, God being addressed as 'Sire,' and 'Wisdom -Supreme' as his daughter, epithets are inverted that they may fit the -better into a line, and geographical names heaped up in a scarcely -Miltonic manner, while Ixion strangely neighbors the 'press'd -African.' Nowhere is there any characteristic felicity, or any -recognizable sign of Blake.</p> - -<p>When I saw first the manuscript it occurred to me that it might -have been a fragment of translation from Klopstock, done at Felpham -under the immediate dictation of Hayley. 'Read Klopstock into English -to Blake' we have seen Hayley noting down. But I can find no original -for it in Klopstock. That Blake could have written it out of his own -head at any date after 1797 is incredible, even as an experiment in that -'monotonous cadence like that used by Milton and Shakespeare and -all writers of English blank verse, derived from the modern bondage -of rhyming,' which he tells us in the preface to <i>Jerusalem</i> -he considered 'to be a necessary and indispensable part of verse,' -at the time 'when this verse was first dictated to me.' The only -resemblance which we find to it in Blake's published work is in an -occasional early fragment like that known as 'The Passions,' and -where it is so different from this or any of the early attempts at -blank verse is in the absolute regularity of the metre. All I can suggest -is that Blake may have written it at a very early age, and preserved -a rough draft, which Hayley may have induced him to make a clean -copy of, and that in the process of copying he may have touched up -the metre without altering the main substance. If this is so, I think -he stopped so abruptly because he would not, even to oblige Hayley, -go on any longer with so uncongenial a task.</p> - -<p>Blake's three years at Felpham (September 1800 to September -1803) were described by him as 'my three years' slumber on the -banks of ocean,' and there is no doubt that, in spite of the neighborhood -and kindly antagonism of Hayley, that 'slumber' was, for Blake, in a -sense an awakening. It was the only period of his life lived out of -London, and with Felpham, as he said in a letter to Flaxman, 'begins -a new life, because another covering of earth is shaken off.' The cottage -at Felpham is only a little way in from a seashore which is one of the -loveliest and most changing shores of the English coast. Whistler has -painted it, and it is always as full of faint and wandering color as a -Whistler. It was on this coast that Rossetti first learned to care for the -sea. To Blake it must have been the realization of much that he had -already divined in his imagination. There, as he wrote to Flaxman, -'heaven opens on all sides her golden gates; her windows are not -obstructed by vapors; voices of celestial inhabitants are more distinctly -heard and their forms more distinctly seen; and my cottage is also a -shadow of their houses.' He drew the cottage on one of the pages of -<i>Milton</i>, with a naked image of himself walking in the garden, -and the image of an angel about to alight on a tree. The cottage is -still, as he found it, 'a perfect model for cottages, and I think for -palaces of magnificence, only enlarging, not altering its proportions, -and adding ornaments and not principles'; and no man of imagination -could live there, under that thatched roof and with that marvelous sea -before him, and not find himself spiritually naked and within arm's -reach of the angels.</p> - -<p>The sea has the properties of sleep and of awakening, and -there can be no doubt that the sea had both those influences on Blake, -surrounding him for once with an atmosphere like that of his own -dreams. 'O lovely Felpham,' he writes, after he had left it, 'to thee -I am eternally indebted for my three years' rest from perturbation -and the strength I now enjoy.' Felpham represents a vivid pause, -in which he had leisure to return upon himself; and in one of his -letters he says: 'One thing of real consequence I have accomplished -by coming into the country, which is to me consolation enough, -namely, I have recollected all my scattered thoughts on art, and -resumed my primitive and original ways of execution in both -painting and engraving, which in the confusion of London I had -very much obliterated from my mind.' It is to this period, no doubt -(a period mentally overcome in the quiet of Felpham, but awaiting, -as we shall see, the electric spark of that visit to the Truchsessian -Gallery in London), that Blake refers in the <i>Descriptive Catalogue</i>, -when he speaks of the 'experiment pictures' which 'were the result -of temptations and perturbations, laboring to destroy imaginative -power, by means of that infernal machine, called Chiaro Oscuro, -in the hands of Venetian and Flemish demons,' such as the 'outrageous -demon,' Rubens, the 'soft and effeminate and cruel demon,' Correggio, -and, above all, Titian. 'The spirit of Titian,' we are told, in what is -really a confession of Blake's consciousness of the power of those -painters whose influence he dreaded, 'was particularly active -in raising doubts concerning the possibility of executing without -a model; and, when once he had raised the doubt, it became easy -for him to snatch away the vision time after time; for when the -artist took his pencil, to execute his ideas, his power of imagination -weakened so much, and darkened, that memory of nature and of -pictures of the various schools possessed his mind, instead of -appropriate execution, resulting from the inventions.' It was thus -at Felpham that he returned to himself in art, and it was at Felpham -also that he had what seems to have been the culminating outburst of -'prophetic' inspiration, writing from immediate dictation, he said, 'and -even against my will.' Visions came readily to him out of the sea, and -he saw them walk on the shore, 'majestic shadows, grey but luminous, -and superior to the common height of men.'</p> - -<p>It was at Felpham that Blake wrote the two last of the Prophetic -Books which remain to us, <i>Milton</i> and <i>Jerusalem.</i> Both -bear the date of 1804 on the title-page, and this, no doubt, indicates -that the engraving was begun in that year. Yet it is not certain that the -engraved text of <i>Jerusalem</i>, at any rate, was formally published -till after 1809. Pages were certainly inserted between those two dates. -On p. 38 Blake says:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 10em;">'I heard in Lambeth's shades:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In Felpham I heard and saw the Visions of Albion:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">I write in South Molton Street, what I both see and</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">hear,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In regions of Humanity, in London's opening streets.'</span></p> - - -<p>That the main part was written in Felpham is evident from -more than one letter to Butts. In a letter dated April 25, 1803, -Blake says: 'But none can know the spiritual acts of my three -years' slumber on the banks of ocean, unless he has seen them -in the spirit, or unless he should read my long poem descriptive -of those acts; for I have in these years composed an immense -number of verses on one grand theme, similar to Homer's <i>Iliad</i> -or Milton's <i>Paradise Lost</i>; the persons and machinery entirely -new to the inhabitants of earth (some of the persons excepted). I have -written the poems from immediate dictation, twelve or sometimes -twenty or thirty lines at a time, without premeditation, and even -against my will. The time it has taken in writing was thus rendered -non-existent, and an immense poem exists which seems to be the -labour of a long life, all produced without labour or study. I mention -this to show you what I think the grand reason of my being brought -down here.' The poem is evidently <i>Jerusalem</i>, for the address -'To the Public' on the first page begins: 'After my three years' slumber -on the banks of the Ocean, I again display my Giant forms to the Public.' -In the next letter, dated July 6, Blake again refers to the poem: 'Thus I -hope that all our three years' trouble ends in good-luck at last, and -shall be forgot by my affections, and only remembered by my -understanding, to be a memento in time to come, and to speak -to future generations by a sublime allegory, which is now perfectly -completed into a grand poem. I may praise it, since I dare not pretend -to be any other than the secretary; the authors are in eternity. I -consider it as the grandest poem that this world contains. Allegory -addressed to the intellectual powers, while it is altogether hidden -from the corporeal understanding, is my definition of the most -sublime poetry. It is somewhat in the same manner defined by Plato. -This poem shall, by divine assistance, be progressively printed and -ornamented with prints, and given to the public.'</p> - -<p>This I take to mean that before Blake's return to London in -1803 the letterpress of <i>Jerusalem</i> was, as he imagined, -completely finished, but that the printing and illustration were not -yet begun. The fact of this delay, and the fact that pages written after -1803 were inserted here and there, must not lead us to think, as many -writers on Blake have thought, that there could be any allusion in -<i>Jerusalem</i> to the attacks of the <i>Examiner</i> of 1808 and -1809, or that 'Hand,' one of the wicked sons of Albion, could possibly -be, as Rossetti desperately conjectured, 'a hieroglyph for Leigh Hunt.' -The sons of Albion are referred to on quite a third of the pages of -<i>Jerusalem</i>, from the earliest to the latest, and must have been -part of the whole texture of the poem from the beginning. In a passage -of the 'Public Address,' contained in the Rossetti MS., Blake says: 'The -manner in which my character has been blasted these thirty years, -both as an artist and as a man, may be seen particularly in a Sunday paper -called the <i>Examiner</i>, published in Beaufort's Buildings; the -manner in which I have rooted out the nest of villains will be seen -in a poem concerning my three years' Herculean labours at Felpham, -which I shall soon publish.' Even if this is meant for <i>Jerusalem</i>, -as it may well be, Blake is far from saying that he has referred in the -poem to these particular attacks: 'the nest of villains' has undoubtedly -a much broader meaning, and groups together all the attacks of thirty -years, public or private, of which the <i>Examiner</i> is but quoted -as a recent example.</p> - -<p>The chief reason for supposing that <i>Jerusalem</i> may not -have been published till after the exhibition of 1809, is to be found in a -passage in the <i>Descriptive Catalogue</i> which seems to summarize -the main subject of the poem, though it is quite possible that it may -refer to some MS. now lost. The picture of the Ancient Britons, says -Blake, represents three men who 'were originally one man who was -fourfold. He was self-divided, and his real humanity slain on the -stems of generation, and the form of the fourth was like the Son of -God. How he became divided is a subject of great sublimity and pathos. -The Artist has written it, under inspiration, and will, if God please, -publish it. It is voluminous, and contains the ancient history of Britain, -and the world of Satan and Adam.' 'All these things,' he has just said, -'are written in Eden.' And he says further: 'The British Antiquities are -now in the Artist's hands; all his visionary contemplations relating -to his own country and its ancient glory, when it was, as it again -shall be, the source of learning and inspiration.' 'Adam was a -Druid, and Noah.' In the description of his picture of the 'Last -Judgment' Blake indicates 'Albion, our ancestor, patriarch of -the Atlantic Continent, whose history preceded that of the Hebrews, -and in whose sleep, or chaos, creation began. The good woman is -Britannia, the wife of Albion. Jerusalem is their daughter.'</p> - -<p>We see here the symbols, partly Jewish and partly British, -into which Blake had gradually resolved his mythology. 'The -persons and machinery,' he said, were 'entirely new to the inhabitants -of earth (some of the persons excepted).' This has been usually, -but needlessly, supposed to mean that real people are introduced -under disguises. Does it not rather mean, what would be strictly -true, that the 'machinery' is here of a kind wholly new to the Prophetic -Books, while of the 'persons' some have already been met with, others -are now seen for the first time? It is all, in his own words, 'allegory -addressed to the intellectual powers, while it is altogether hidden -from the corporeal understanding,' and the allegory becomes harder -to read as it becomes more and more naked, concentrated, and -unexplained. <i>Milton</i> seems to have arisen out of a symbol -which came visibly before Blake's eyes on his first waking in the -cottage at Felpham. 'Work will go on here with Godspeed,' he writes -to Butts. 'A roller and two harrows lie before my window. I met a -plough on my first going out at my gate the first morning after -my arrival, and the ploughboy said to the ploughman, "Father, -the gate is open."' At the beginning of his poem Blake writes:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'The Plow goes forth in tempests and lightnings and</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">the Harrow cruel</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In blights of the east; the heavy Roller follows in</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">howlings;'</span></p> - - -<p>And the imagery returns at intervals, in the vision of 'the Last -Vintage,' the 'Great Harvest and Vintage of the Nations.' The personal -element comes in the continual references to the cottage at Felpham;</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'He set me down in Felpham's Vale and prepared a</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">beautiful</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Cottage for me that in three years I might write all</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">these Visions</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">To display Nature's cruel holiness: the deceits of</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Natural Religion;'</span></p> - - -<p>And it is in the cottage near the sea that he sees the vision of -Milton, when he:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Descended down a Paved work of all kinds of precious</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">stones</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Out from the eastern sky; descending down into my</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Cottage</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Garden; clothed in black, severe and silent he</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">descended.'</span></p> - - -<p>He awakes from the vision to find his wife by his side:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'My bones trembled. I fell outstretched upon the</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">path</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">A moment, and my Soul returned into its mortal state</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">To Resurrection and Judgment in the Vegetable Body,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And my sweet Shadow of delight stood trembling by</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">my side.'</span></p> - - -<p>In the prayer to be saved from his friends ('Corporeal Friends -are Spiritual Enemies'), in the defense of wrath ('Go to thy labours -at the Mills and leave me to my wrath'), in the outburst:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'The idiot Reasoner laughs at the Man of Imagination</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And from laughter proceeds to murder by undervaluing</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">calumny,'</span></p> - - -<p>It is difficult not to see some trace or transposition of the kind, -evil counsellor Hayley, a 'Satan' of mild falsehood in the sight of Blake. -But the main aim of the book is the assertion of the supremacy of the -imagination:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'The Imagination is not a State: it is the Human</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Existence itself,'</span></p> - - -<p>And the putting off of the 'filthy garments,' of 'Rational -Demonstration,' of 'Memory,' of 'Bacon, Locke, and Newton,' the -clothing of oneself in imagination:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'To cast aside from Poetry, all that is not</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Inspiration,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">That it shall no longer dare to mock with the aspersion</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">of Madness.</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Cast on the Inspired by the tame high finisher of</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">paltry Blots,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Indefinite or paltry Rhymes; or paltry harmonies.'</span></p> - - -<p>It is because 'Everything in Eternity shines by its own Internal -light,' and that jealousy and cruelty and hypocrisy are all darkenings -of that light, that Blake declares his purpose of:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 13em;">'Opening to every eye</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">These wonders of Satan's holiness showing to the</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Earth</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The Idol Virtues of the Natural Heart, and Satan's</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Seat</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Explore in all its Selfish Natural Virtue, and put off</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In Self-annihilation all that is not of God alone.'</span></p> - - -<p>Such meanings as these flare out from time to time with individual -splendors of phrase, like 'Time is the mercy of Eternity,' and the great -poetic epigram, 'O Swedenborg! strongest of men, the Samson shorn -by the Churches' (where, for a moment, a line falls into the regular -rhythm of poetry), and around them are deserts and jungles, fragments -of myth broken off and flung before us after this fashion:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 10em;">'But Bahab and Tirzah pervert</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Their mild influences, therefore the Seven Eyes of</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">God walk round</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The Three Heavens of Ulro, where Tirzah and her</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Sisters</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Weave the black Woof of Death upon Entuthon</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Benython</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In the Vale of Surrey where Horeb terminates in</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Rephaim.'</span></p> - - -<p>In <i>Jerusalem</i>, which was to have been 'the grandest poem -which the world contains,' there is less of the exquisite lyrical work -which still decorates many corners of <i>Milton</i>, but it is -Blake's most serious attempt to set his myth in order, and it contains -much of his deepest wisdom, with astonishing flashes of beauty. In -<i>Milton</i> there was still a certain approximation to verse, most -of the lines had at least a beginning and an end, but in <i>Jerusalem</i>, -although he tells us that 'every word and every letter is studied and put -into its place,' I am by no means sure that Blake ever intended the -lines, as he wrote them, to be taken as metrical lines, or read very -differently from the prose of the English Bible, with its pause in the -sense at the end of each verse. A vague line, hesitating between six -and seven beats, does indeed seem from time to time to emerge from -chaos, and inversions are brought in at times to accentuate a cadence -certainly intended, as here:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Why should Punishment Weave the Veil with Iron</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Wheels of War,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">When Forgiveness might it Weave with Wings of</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Cherubim?'</span></p> - - -<p>But read the whole book as if it were prose, following the sense -for its own sake, and you will find that the prose, when it is not -a mere catalogue, has generally a fine biblical roll and swing in it, -a rhythm of fine oratory; while if you read each line as if it were meant -to be a metrical unit you will come upon such difficulties as this:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Such is the Forgiveness of the Gods, the Moral Virtues</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">of the'</span></p> - - -<p>That is one line, and the next adds 'Heathen.' There may seem -to be small reason for such an arrangement of the lines if we read -<i>Jerusalem</i> in the useful printed text of Mr. Russell and Mr. -Maclagan; but the reason will be seen if we turn to the original -engraved page, where we shall see that Blake had set down in the -margin a lovely little bird with outstretched wings, and that the tip -of the bird's wing almost touches the last letter of the 'the' and leaves -no room for another word. That such a line was meant to be metrical -is unthinkable, as unthinkable as that:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Los stood and stamped the earth, then he threw down</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">his hammer in rage&</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In fury'</span></p> - - -<p>Has any reason for existing in this form beyond the mere chance -of a hand that writes until all the space of a given line is filled. -Working as he did within those limits of his hand's space, he -would accustom himself to write for the most part, and and especially -when his imagination was most vitally awake, in lines that came -roughly within those limits. Thus it will often happen that the most -beautiful passages will have the nearest resemblance to a regular -metrical scheme, as in such lines as these:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">In vain: he is hurried afar into an unknown Night.</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">He bleeds in torrents of blood, as he rolls thro'</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">heaven above,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">He chokes up the paths of the sky: the Moon is</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">leprous as snow:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Trembling and descending down, seeking to rest on</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">high Mona:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Scattering her leprous snow in flakes of disease over</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Albion.</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The Stars flee remote: the heaven is iron, the earth</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">is sulphur,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And all the mountains and hills shrink up like a</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">withering gourd.'</span></p> - - -<p>Here the prophet is no longer speaking with the voice of the -orator, but with the old, almost forgotten voice of the poet, and with -something of the despised 'Monotonous Cadence.'</p> - -<p>Blake lived for twenty-three years after the date on the -title-page of <i>Jerusalem</i>, but, with the exception of the -two plates called <i>The Ghost of Abel</i>, engraved in 1822, -this vast and obscure encyclopaedia of unknown regions remains -his last gospel. He thought it his most direct message. Throughout -the Prophetic Books Blake has to be translated out of the unfamiliar -language into which he has tried to translate spiritual realities, -literally, as he apprehended them. Just as, in the designs which his -hand drew as best it could, according to its limited and partly false -knowledge, from the visions which his imagination saw with perfect -clearness, he was often unable to translate that vision into its real -equivalent in design, so in his attempts to put these other mental -visions into words he was hampered by an equally false method, -and often by reminiscences of what passed for 'picturesque' writing in -the work of his contemporaries. He was, after all, of his time, though -he was above it, and just as he only knew Michelangelo through bad -reproductions, and could never get his own design wholly free, malleable, -and virgin to his 'shaping spirit of imagination,' so, in spite of all his -marvelous lyrical discoveries, made when his mind was less burdened -by the weight of a controlling message, he found himself, when he -attempted to make an intelligible system out of the 'improvisations -of the spirit,' and to express that system with literal accuracy, the -half-helpless captive of formal words, conventional rhythms, a -language not drawn direct from its source. Thus we find, in the -Prophetic Books, neither achieved poems nor an achieved philosophy. -The philosophy has reached us only in splendid fragments (the -glimmering of stars out of separate corners of a dark sky), and we -shall never know to what extent these fragments were once parts -of a whole. Had they been ever really fused, this would have been the -only system of philosophy made entirely out of the raw material of -poetry. As it has come to us unachieved, the world has still to wait -for a philosophy untouched by the materialism of the prose -intelligence.</p> - -<p>In the Prophetic Books Blake labours at the creation of a myth, -which may be figured as the representation in space of a vast -spiritual tragedy. It is the tragedy of Man, a tragedy in which the first -act is creation. Milton was content to begin with 'Man's first -disobedience,' but Blake would track the human soul back into chaos, -and beyond. He knows, like Krishna, in the <i>Bhagavad Gita</i>, -that 'above this visible nature there exists another, unseen and -eternal, which, when all created things perish, does not perish'; -and he sees the soul's birth in that 'inward spiritual world,' from -which it falls to mortal life and the body, as into a death. He sees -its new, temporal life, hung round with fears and ambushes, out -of which, by a new death, the death of that mortal self which -separates it from eternity, it may reawaken, even in this life, -into the eternal life of imagination. The persons of the drama -are the powers and passions of Man, and the spiritual forces -which surround him, and are the 'states' through which he -passes. Man is seen, as Blake saw all things, fourfold: Man's -Humanity, his Spectre, who is Reason, his Emanation, who is -Imagination, his Shadow, who is Desire. And the states through -which Man passes, friendly or hostile, energies of good or of -evil, are also four: the Four Zoas, who are the Four Living -Creatures of Ezekiel, and are called Urizen, Luvah, Tharmas, -and Urthona (or, to mortals, Los). Each Zoa has his Emanation: -Ahania, who is the emanation of Intellect, and is named 'eternal -delight'; Vala, the emanation of Emotion, who is lovely deceit, -and the visible beauty of Nature; Enion, who is the emanation -of the Senses, and typifies the maternal instinct; Enitharmon, -who is the emanation of Intuition, and personifies spiritual beauty. -The drama is the division, death, and resurrection, in an eternal circle, -of the powers of man and of the powers in whose midst he fights -and struggles. Of this incommensurable action we are told only in -broken hints, as of a chorus crying outside doors where deeds are -being done in darkness. Images pass before us, make their gesture, -and are gone; the words spoken are ambiguous, and seem to have -an under meaning which it is essential for us to apprehend. We see -motions of building and of destruction, higher than the topmost -towers of the world, and deeper than the abyss of the sea; souls pass -through furnaces, and are remade by Time's hammer on the anvil of -space; there are obscure crucifixions, and Last Judgments return and -are re-enacted.</p> - -<p>To Blake, the Prophetic Books were to be the new religious books -of a religion which was not indeed new, for it was the Everlasting -Gospel' of Jesus, but, because it had been seen anew by Swedenborg -and by Wesley and by 'the gentle souls who guide the great wine-press -of Love,' among whom was Teresa, seemed to require a new interpretation -to the imagination. Blake wrote when the eighteenth century was -coming to an end; he announced the new dispensation which was to -come, Swedenborg had said, with the year (which was the year of Blake's -birth) 1757. He looked forward steadfastly to the time when 'Sexes must -vanish and cease to be,' when 'all their crimes, their punishments, their -accusations of sin, all their jealousies, revenges, murders, hidings -of cruelty in deceit, appear only on the outward spheres of visionary -Space and Time, in the shadows of possibility by mutual forgiveness -for evermore, and in the vision and the prophecy, that we may foresee -and avoid the terrors of Creation and Redemption and Judgment.' He -spoke to literalists, rationalists, materialists; to an age whose very -infidels doubted only facts, and whose deists affirmed no more than -that man was naturally religious. The rationalist's denial of everything -beyond the evidence of his senses seemed to him a criminal blindness; -and he has engraved a separate sheet with images and statements of -the affirmation: 'There is no Natural Religion.' To Blake the literal -meaning of things seemed to be of less than no importance. To -worship the 'Goddess Nature' was to worship the 'God of this World,' -and so to be an atheist, as even Wordsworth seemed to him to be. -Religion was asleep, with Art and Literature in its arms: Blake's was -the voice of the awakening angel. What he cried was that only eternal -and invisible things were true, and that visible temporal things were -a veil and a delusion. In this he knew himself to be on the side of -Wesley and Whitefield, and that Voltaire and Rousseau, the voices of -the passing age, were against him. He called them 'frozen sons of the -feminine Tabernacle of Bacon, Newton, and Locke.' Wesley and -Whitefield he calls the 'two servants' of God, his 'two witnesses.'</p> - -<p>But it seemed to him that he could go deeper into the Bible -than they, in their practical eagerness, had gone. 'What are -the treasures of Heaven,' he asked, 'that we are to lay up for -ourselves—are they any other than Mental Studies and Performances?' -'Is the Holy Ghost,' he asked, 'any other than an intellectual Fountain?' -It seemed to him that he could harmonise many things once held -to be discordant, and adjust the many varying interpretations of the -Bible and the other books of ancient religions by a universal -application of what had been taken in too personal a way. Hence -many of the puzzling 'correspondences' of English cities and the -tribe of Judah, of 'the Poetic Genius, which is the Lord.'</p> - -<p>There is an outcry in <i>Jerusalem</i>:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'No individual ought to appropriate to Himself</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Or to his Emanation, any of the Universal</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Characteristics</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Of David or of Eve, of the Woman, of the Lord,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Of Reuben or of Benjamin, of Joseph or Judah or</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Levi.</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Those who dare appropriate to themselves Universal</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Attributes</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Are the Blasphemous Selfhoods and must be broken</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">asunder.</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">A Vegetable Christ and a Virgin Eve, are the</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Hermaphroditic</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Blasphemy: by his Maternal Birth he put off that</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Evil One,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And his Maternal Humanity must be put off</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Eternally,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Lest the Sexual Generation swallow up</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Regeneration:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Come, Lord Jesus, take on Thee the Satanic Body of</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Holiness!'</span></p> - - -<p>Exactly what is meant here will be seen more clearly if we -compare it with a much earlier statement of the same doctrine, in -the poem 'To Tirzah' in the <i>Songs of Experience</i>, and the -comparison will show us all the difference between the art of Blake -in 1794, and what seemed to him the needful manner of his message -ten years later. 'Tirzah' is Blake's name for Natural Religion.</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Whatever is Born of Mortal Birth</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Must be consumed with the Earth,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">To rise from Generation free:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Then what have I to do with thee?</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The Sexes sprung from Shame and Pride</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Blow'd in the morn; in evening died;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">But Mercy changed Death into Sleep;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The Sexes rose to work and weep.</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Thou Mother of my Mortal part</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">With cruelty didst mould my Heart,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And with false, self-deceiving Tears</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Didst bind my Nostrils, Eyes, and Ears;</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Didst close my Tongue in senseless clay,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And me to Mortal Life betray:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The Death of Jesus set me free:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Then what have I to do with thee?</span></p> - - -<p>Here is expressed briefly and exquisitely a large part of the -foundation of Blake's philosophy: that birth into the world, -Christ's or ours, is a fall from eternal realities into the material -affections of the senses, which are deceptions, and bind us under -the bondage of nature, our 'Mother,' who is the Law; and that -true life is to be regained only by the death of that self which -cuts us off from our part in eternity, which we enter through the -eternal reality of the imagination. In the poem, the death of Jesus -symbolises that deliverance; in the passage from <i>Jerusalem</i> -the Church's narrow conception of the mortal life of Jesus is -rebuked, and its universal significance indicated, but in how different, -how obscure, how distorted a manner. What has brought about this -new manner of saying the same thing?</p> - -<p>I think it is an endeavor to do without what had come to seem -to Blake the deceiving imageries of nature, to express the truth -of contraries at one and the same time, and to render spiritual -realities in a literal translation. What he had been writing was -poetry; now what he wrote was to be prophecy; or, as he says -in <i>Milton</i>:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 11em;">'In fury of Poetic Inspiration,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">To build the Universe Stupendous, Mental Forms</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Creating.'</span></p> - - -<p>And, seeking always the 'Minute Particulars,' he would make -no compromise with earthly things, use no types of humanity, no -analogies from nature; for it was against all literal acceptance of -nature or the Bible or reason, of any apparent reality, that he -was appealing. Hence:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'All Human Forms identified, even Tree, Metal, Earth,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">and Stone, all</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Human Forms identified, living, going forth, and</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">returning wearied</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Into the planetary lives of Years, Months, Days, and</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Hours.'</span></p> - - -<p>Hence the affirmation:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'For all are Men in Eternity, Rivers, Mountains,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Cities, Villages;'</span></p> - - -<p>And the voice of London saying:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 6em;">'My Streets are my Ideas of Imagination.'</span></p> - - -<p>Hence the parallels and correspondences, the names too well known -to have any ready-made meaning to the emotions (London or Bath), the -names so wholly unknown that they also could mean nothing to the -emotions or to the memory (Bowlahoola, Golgonooza), the whole inhuman -mythology, abstractions of frigid fire. In <i>Jerusalem</i> Blake -interrupts himself to say:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'I call them by their English names; English, the</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">rough basement.</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Los built the stubborn structure of the Language,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">acting against</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Albion's melancholy, who must else have been a</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Dumb despair.'</span></p> - - -<p>In the Prophetic Books we see Blake laboring upon a 'rough -basement' of 'stubborn' English; is it, after all this 'consolidated -and extended work,' this 'energetic exertion of his talent,' a building -set up in vain, the attempt to express what must else have been, -and must now for ever remain, 'a dumb despair'?</p> - -<p>I think we must take the Prophetic Books not quite as Blake -would have had us take them. He was not a systematic thinker, -and he was not content to be a lyric poet. Nor indeed did he ever -profess to offer us a system, built on logic and propped by -reasoning, but a myth, which is a poetical creation. He said in -<i>Jerusalem</i>:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'I must Create a System, or be enslaved by another</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Man's.</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">I will not Reason or Compare: my business is to</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Create.'</span></p> - - -<p>To Blake each new aspect of truth came as a divine gift, -and between all his affirmations of truth there is no contradiction, -or no other than that vital contradiction of opposites equally true. -The difficulty lies in co-ordinating them into so minutely articulated -a myth, and the difficulty is increased when we possess, instead of the -whole body of the myth, only fragments of it. Of the myth itself it -must be said that, whether from defects inherent in it or from the -fragmentary state in which it comes to us, it can never mean anything -wholly definite or satisfying even to those minds best prepared to -receive mystical doctrine. We cannot read the Prophetic Books either -for their thought only or for their beauty only. Yet we shall find in -them both inspired thought and unearthly beauty. With these two -things, not always found together, we must be content.</p> - -<p>The Prophetic Books bear witness, in their own way, to that -great gospel of imagination which Blake taught and exemplified. -In <i>Jerusalem</i> it is stated in a single sentence: 'I know of -no other Christianity and of no other Gospel than the liberty both -of body and mind to exercise the Divine Arts of Imagination: -Imagination, the real and eternal World of which this Vegetable -Universe is but a faint shadow, and in which we shall live in our -Eternal or Imaginative Bodies, when these Vegetable Mortal Bodies -are no more.' 'O Human Imagination, O Divine Body I have Crucified!' -he cries; and he sees continually:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Abstract Philosophy warring in enmity against</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Imagination,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Which is the Divine Body of the Lord Jesus, blessed</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">for ever.'</span></p> - - -<p>He finds the England of his time generalising Art and Science till -Art and Science is lost,' making:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'A pretence of Art, to destroy Art, a pretence of</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Liberty</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">To destroy Liberty, a pretence of Religion to destroy</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Religion.'</span></p> - - -<p>He sees that:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'The Visions of Eternity, by reason of narrowed</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">perceptions,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Are become weak visions of Time and Space, fix'd</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">into furrows of death.'</span></p> - - -<p>He sees everywhere 'the indefinite Spectre; who is the Rational -Power,' crying out:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'I am God, O Sons of Men! I am your Rational</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Power!</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Am I not Bacon and Newton and Locke who teach</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Humility to Man?</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Who teach Doubt and Experiment: and my two</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">kings, Voltaire, Rousseau.'</span></p> - - -<p>He sees this threefold spirit of doubt and negation overspreading -the earth, 'brooding Abstract Philosophy,' destroying Imagination; -and, as he looked about him:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Every Universal Form was become barren mountains</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">of Moral</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Virtue: and every Minute Particular harden'd into</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">grains of sand:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And all the tenderness of the soul cast forth as filth</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">and mire.'</span></p> - - -<p>It is against this spiritual deadness that he brings his protest, which -is to awaken Albion out of the sleep of death, 'his long and cold repose.' -'Therefore Los,' the spirit of prophecy, and thus Blake, who 'kept the -Divine Vision in time of trouble,' stands in London building Golgonooza, -'the spiritual fourfold London,' the divine City of God. Of the real or -earthly London he says in <i>Jerusalem</i>:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'I see London blind and age bent begging thro' the</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Streets</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Of Babylon, led by a child, his tears run down his</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">beard!'</span></p> - - -<p>Babylon, in Blake, means 'Rational Morality.' In the <i>Songs of -Innocence</i> we shall see the picture, at the head of the poem -called 'London.' In that poem Blake numbers the cries which go up -in 'London's chartered streets,' the cry of the chimney-sweeper, -of the soldier, of the harlot; and he says:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'In every cry of every man,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In every infant's cry of fear,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In every voice, in every ban,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The mind-forged manacles I hear.'</span></p> - - -<p>Into these lines he condenses much of his gospel. What Blake -most hated on earth were 'mind-forged manacles.' Reason seemed -to him to have laid its freezing and fettering hand on every warm joy, -on every natural freedom, of body and soul; all his wrath went out -against the forgers and the binders of these fetters. In his earlier -poems he sings the instinctive joys of innocence; in his later, the -wise joys of experience; and all the Prophetic Books are so many -songs of mental liberty and invectives against every form of mental -oppression. 'And Jerusalem is called Liberty among the Children of -Albion.' One of the Prophetic Books, <i>Ahania</i>, can be condensed -into a single sentence, one of its lines: 'Truth has bounds; Error has -none.' Yet this must be understood to mean that error is the -'indefinite void 'and truth a thing minutely organized; not that truth -can endure bondage or limitation from without. He typifies Moral -Law by Rahab, the harlot of the Bible, a being of hidden, hypocritic -cruelty. Chastity is no more in itself than a lure of the harlot, -typifying unwilling restraint, a negation, and no personal form of -energy.</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'No individual can keep the Laws, for they are death</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">To every energy of man, and forbid the springs</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">of life.'</span></p> - - -<p>It is energy that is virtue, and, above all, mental energy. 'The -treasures of heaven are not negations of passion, but realities -of intellect, from which all the passions emanate, uncurbed in their -eternal glory.' 'It was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil -that brought sin into the world by creating distinctions, by calling -this good and that evil.' Blake says in <i>Jerusalem</i>:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'And in this manner of the Sons of Albion in their</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">strength;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">They take the Two Contraries which are called Qualities,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">with which</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Every Substance is clothed, they name them Good and</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Evil,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">From them they make an Abstract, which is a Negation</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Not only of the Substance from which it is derived,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">A murderer of its own Body: but also a murderer</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Of every Divine Member: it is the Reasoning Power,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">An Abstract objecting power, that Negatives</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">everything.</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">This is the Spectre of Man: the Holy Reasoning</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Power,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And in its Holiness is closed the Abomination of</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Desolation.'</span></p> - - -<p>The active form of sin is judgment, intellectual cruelty, -unforgivingness, punishment. 'In Hell is all self-righteousness; -there is no such thing as forgiveness of sins.' In his picture of -the 'Last Judgment' he represents the Furies by men, not women; -and for this reason: 'The spectator may suppose them clergymen -in the pulpit, scourging sin instead of forgiving it.' In <i>Jerusalem</i> -he says:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'And the appearance of a Man was seen in the</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Furnaces,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Saving those who have sinned from the punishment</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">of the Law</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">(In pity of the punisher whose state is eternal</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">death),</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And keeping them from Sin by the mild counsels of</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">his love.'</span></p> - - -<p>And in his greatest paradox and deepest passion of truth, he -affirms:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'I care not whether a Man is Good or Evil; all that I</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">care</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Is whether he is a Wise Man or a Fool. Go, put off</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Holiness</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And put on Intellect.'</span></p> - - -<p>That holiness may be added to wisdom Blake asks only that -continual forgiveness of sins which to him meant understanding, -and thus intellectual sympathy; and he sees in the death of Jesus -the supreme symbol of this highest mental state.</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'And if God dieth not for Man and giveth not himself</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Eternally for Man, Man could not exist, for Man is love,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">As God is Love: every kindness to another is a little</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Death</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In the Divine Image, nor can Man exist but by</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Brotherhood.'</span></p> - - -<p>Of Blake it may be said as he says of Albion: 'He felt that -Love and Pity are the same,' and to Love and Pity he gave -the ultimate jurisdiction over humanity.</p> - -<p>Blake's gospel of forgiveness rests on a very elaborate structure, -which he has built up in his doctrine of 'States.' At the head -of the address to the Deists in the third chapter of <i>Jerusalem</i>, -he has written: 'The Spiritual States of the Soul are all Eternal. -Distinguish between the Man and his present State.' Much of his -subtlest casuistry is expended on this distinction, and, as he makes -it, it is profoundly suggestive. Erin says, in <i>Jerusalem</i>:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Learn therefore, O Sisters, to distinguish the Eternal</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Human</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">That walks about among the stones of fire, in bliss</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">and woe</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Alternate, from those States or Worlds in which the</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Spirit travels:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">This is the only means to Forgiveness of Enemies.'</span></p> - - -<p>The same image is used again:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'As the Pilgrim passes while the Country permanent</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">remains,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">So Men pass on; but States remain permanent for</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">ever;'</span></p> - - -<p>And, again, in almost the same words, in the prose fragment on the -picture of the 'Last Judgment': 'Man passes on, but states remain for -ever; he passes through them like a traveller, who may as well suppose -that the places he has passed through exist no more, as a man may -suppose that the states he has passed through exist no more: -everything is eternal.' By states Blake means very much what we -mean by moods, which, in common with many mystics, he conceives -as permanent spiritual forces, through which what is transitory in man -passes, while man imagines that they, more transitory than himself, -are passing through him. It is from this conception of man as a traveller, -and of good and evil, the passions and virtues and sensations and ideas -of man, as spiritual countries, eternally remaining, through which he -passes, that Blake draws his inference: condemn, if you will, the state -which you call sin, but do not condemn the individual whose passage -through it may he a necessity of his journey. And his litany is:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Descend, O Lamb of God, and take away the imputation</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">of Sin</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">By the creation of States and the deliverance of</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Individuals evermore. Amen....</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Come then, O Lamb of God, and take away the</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">remembrance of Sin.'</span></p> - - - - -<h4>VIII</h4> - - -<p>Blake had already decided to leave Felpham, 'with the full -approbation of Mr. Hayley,' as early as April 1803.'But alas!' -he writes to Butts, 'now I may say to you—what perhaps I should -not dare to say to any one else—that I can alone carry on my -visionary studies in London unannoyed, and that I may converse -with my friends in eternity, see visions, dream dreams, and -prophesy, and speak parables unobserved, and at liberty from -the doubts of other mortals.' 'There is no medium or middle -state,' he adds, 'and if a man is the enemy of my spiritual -life while he pretends to be the friend of my corporeal, he is a real -enemy.' Hayley, once fully realized, had to be shaken off, and we -find Blake taking rooms on the first-floor at 17 South Molton -Street, and preparing to move to London, when an incident occurs -which leaves him, as he put it in a letter to Butts, 'in a bustle to -defend myself against a very unwarrantable warrant from a justice -of the peace in Chichester, which was taken out against me by a -private in Captain Leathes' troop of 1st or Royal Dragoon Guards, -for an assault and seditious words.' This was a soldier whom Blake -had turned out of his garden, 'perhaps foolishly and perhaps not,' -as he said, but with unquestionable vigor. 'It is certain,' he commented, -'that a too passive manner, inconsistent with my active physiognomy, -had done me much mischief.' The 'contemptible business' was tried at -Chichester on January 11, 1804, at the Quarter Sessions, and Blake -was acquitted of the charge of high treason; 'which so gratified the -auditory,' says the <i>Sussex Advertiser</i> of the date, 'that the -court was, in defiance of all decency, thrown into an uproar by their -noisy exultations.'</p> - -<p>London, on his return to it, seemed to Blake as desirable as -Felpham had seemed after London; and he writes to Hayley: 'The -shops in London improve; everything is elegant, clean, and neat; -the streets are widened where they were narrow; even Snow Hill is -become almost level and is a very handsome street, and the narrow part -of the Strand near St. Clement's is widened and become very elegant.' -But there were other reasons for satisfaction. In a letter written before -he left Felpham, Blake said: 'What is very pleasant, every one who hears -of my going to London applauds it as the only course for the interest -of all concerned in my works; observing that I ought not to be away -from the opportunities London affords of seeing fine pictures, and the -various improvements in works of art going on in London.' In October -1804 he writes to Hayley, in the most ecstatic of his letters, recording -the miracle or crisis that has suddenly opened his eyes, vitalizing the -meditations of Felpham. 'Suddenly,' says the famous letter, 'on the -day after visiting the Truchsessian Gallery of pictures, I was again -enlightened with the light I enjoyed in my youth, and which has for -exactly twenty years been closed from me as by a door and by -window-shutters.... Dear Sir, excuse my enthusiasm, or rather -madness, for I am really drunk with intellectual vision whenever -I take a pencil or graver into my hand, even as I used to be in my -youth, and as I have not been for twenty dark, but very profitable -years.' Some of this new radiance may be seen in the water-color -of 'The River of Life,' which has been assigned by Mr. Russell to -this year; and in those 'Inventions' in illustration of Blair's -<i>Grave</i>, by which Blake was to make his one appeal to the -public of his time.</p> - -<p>That appeal he made through the treacherous services of a -sharper named Cromek, an engraver and publisher of prints, who -bought the twelve drawings for the price of twenty pounds, on the -understanding that they were to be engraved by their designer; -and thereupon handed them over to the fashionable Schiavonetti, -telling Blake 'your drawings have had the good fortune to be engraved -by one of the first artists in Europe.' He further caused a difference -between Blake and Stothard which destroyed a friendship of nearly -thirty years, never made up in the lifetime of either, though Blake -made two efforts to be reconciled. The story of the double commission -given by Cromek for a picture of Chaucer's <i>Canterbury Pilgrims</i>, -and of the twofold accusation of plagiarism, is told clearly enough in the -narrative of J. T. Smith (p. 368 below), while Cunningham does his -best to confuse the facts in the interests of Cromek. It has been -finally summed up by Mr. Swinburne, who comes to this reasonable -conclusion: 'It is probable that Stothard believed himself to be not -in the wrong; it is certain that Blake was in the right.' As for Cromek, -he has written himself down for all time in his true character, naked -and not ashamed, in a letter to Blake of May 1807, where the -false bargainer asserts: 'Herein I have been gratified; for I was -determined to bring you food as well as reputation, though, from -your late conduct, I have some reason to embrace your wild opinion, -that to manage genius, and to cause it to produce good things, it is -absolutely necessary to starve it; indeed, the opinion is considerably -heightened by the recollection that your best work, the illustrations -of <i>The Grave</i>, was produced when you and Mrs. Blake were -reduced so low as to be obliged to live on half a guinea a week.' Cromek -published the book by subscription in August 1808, with an 'advertisement' -invoking the approval of the drawings as 'a high and original effort -of genius' by eleven Royal Academicians, including Benjamin West, -Flaxman, Lawrence, and Stothard. 'To the elegant and classical taste -of Mr. Fuseli,' he tells us further, 'he is indebted for the excellent -remarks on the moral worth and picturesque dignity of the Designs -that accompany this Poem.' Fuseli praises pompously the 'genuine -and unaffected attitudes,' the 'simple graces which nature and the heart -alone can dictate, and only an eye inspired by both, discover,' though -finding the artist 'playing on the very verge of legitimate invention.'</p> - -<p>It is by the designs to Blair's <i>Grave</i> that Blake is still -perhaps chiefly known, outside his own public; nor was he ever so clear, -or, in a literal way, so convincing in his rendering of imaginative -reality. Something formal tempers and makes the ecstasy explicit; -the drawing is inflexibly elegant; all the Gothic secrets that had been -learnt among the tombs in Westminster Abbey find their way into -these stony and yet strangely living death-beds and monuments -of death. No more vehement movement was ever perpetrated than -that leap together of the soul and body meeting as the grave opens. -If ever the soul was made credible to the mind through the eyes, -it is in these designs carved out of abstract form, and planned -according to a logic which is partly literal faith in imagination and -partly the curtailment of scholastic drawing.</p> - -<p>The book contains the names of more than five hundred subscribers, -but only one contemporary notice has been found, a notice of -two columns, mere drivel and mere raving, signed by the happily -undiscovered initials R. H., in the thirty-second number of -Leigh Hunt's paper, <i>The Examiner</i> (August 7, 1808, pp. 509, -510). It is under the heading 'Fine Arts,' and is called 'Blake's -edition of Blair's <i>Grave.</i>' The notice is rendered specially -grotesque by its serious air of arguing with what it takes to be -absurdity coupled with 'an appearance of libidinousness' which -'intrudes itself upon the holiness of our thoughts and counteracts -their impression.' Like most moralists of the press, this critic's -meaning is hard to get at. Here, however, is a specimen: 'But a -more serious censure attaches to two of these most heterogeneous -and serio-fantastic designs. At the awful day of judgment, before -the throne of God himself, a male and female figure are described in -most indecent attitudes. It is the same with the salutation of a man -and his wife meeting in the pure mansions of Heaven.' Thus sanctified -a voice was it that first croaked at Blake out of the 'nest of villains' -which he imagined that he was afterwards to 'root out' of <i>The -Examiner.</i></p> - -<p>A quite different view of him is to be found in a book which -was published before the <i>Grave</i> actually came out, though it -contains a reference to the designs and to the 'ardent and encomiastic -applause' of 'some of the first artists in the country.' The book, which -contained an emblematic frontispiece designed by Blake and engraved -by Cromek, was <i>A Father's Memoirs of his Child</i>, written by -Benjamin Heath Malkin, then headmaster of Bury Grammar School, -in which the father gives a minute and ingenuous account of his child, -a prodigy of precocious intellect, who died at the age of nearly seven -years. The child was accustomed to do little drawings, some of which -are reproduced in the book in facsimile, and the father, after giving -his own opinion of them, adds: 'Yet, as my panegyric on such a subject -can carry with it no recommendation, I subjoin the testimony of Mr. -Blake to this instance of peculiar ingenuity, who has given me his -opinion of these various performances in the following terms:—</p> - -<p>'"They are all firm, determinate outlines, or identical form. Had -the hand which executed these little ideas been that of a plagiary, -who works only from the memory, we should have seen blots, called -masses; blots without form, and therefore without meaning. These -blots of light and dark, as being the result of labour, are always -clumsy and indefinite; the effect of rubbing out and putting in, like -the progress of a blind man, or of one in the dark, who feels his -way, but does not see it. These are not so. Even the copy of Raphael's -cartoon of St. Paul preaching is a firm, determinate outline, struck -at once, as Protogenes struck his line, when he meant to make himself -known to Apelles. The map of Allestone has the same character of the -firm and determinate. All his efforts prove this little boy to have had -that greatest of all blessings, a strong imagination, a clear idea, and -a determinate vision of things in his own mind.'" It is in the lengthy -dedication of the book to Thomas Johnes, the translator of Froissart, -that Dr. Malkin gives the very interesting personal account of Blake -which is reprinted on p. 307 below.</p> - -<p>It is not certain whether Blake had ever known little Thomas -Malkin, and it would be interesting to know whether it was through -any actual influence of his that the child had come to his curious -invention of an imaginary country. He drew the map of this country, -peopled with names (Nobblede and Bobblobb, Punchpeach and Closetha) -scarcely more preposterous than the names which Blake was just -then discovering for his own spiritual regions, wrote its chronicles, -and even made music for it. The child was born in 1795 and died in -1802, and Blake had been at Felpham since September 1800; but, -if they had met before that date, there was quite time for Blake's -influence to have shown itself. In 1799 the astonishing child -'could read, without hesitation, any English book. He could spell -any words.... He knew the Greek alphabet'; and on his fourth birthday, -in that year, he writes to his mother saying that he has got a Latin -grammar and English prints. In October 1800 he says: 'I know a deal -of Latin,' and in December he is reading Burns's poems, 'which I am -very fond of.' Influence or accident, the coincidence is singular, and -at least shows us something in Blake's brain working like the brain -of a precocious child.</p> - -<p>In 1806 Blake wrote a generous and vigorous letter to the -editor of the <i>Monthly Review</i> (July 1, 1806) in reply to a -criticism which had appeared in <i>Bell's Weekly Messenger</i> -on Fuseli's picture of Count Ugolino in the Royal Academy. In 1808 -he had himself, and for the fifth and last time, two pictures in the -Academy, and in that year he wrote the letter to Ozias Humphrey, -describing one of his many 'Last Judgments,' which is given, with -a few verbal errors, by J. T. Smith. In December he wrote to George -Cumberland, who had written to order for a friend 'a complete set of all -you have published in the way of books colored as mine are,' that -'new varieties, or rather new pleasures, occupy my thoughts; new -profits seem to arise before me so tempting that I have already -involved myself in engagements that preclude all possibility of -promising anything.' Does this refer to the success of Blair's -<i>Grave</i>, which had just been published? He goes on: 'I have, -however, the satisfaction to inform you that I have myself begun to -print an account of my various inventions in Art, for which I have -procured a publisher, and am determined to pursue the plan of -publishing, that I may get printed without disarranging my time, -which in future must alone be designing and painting.' To this -project, which was never carried out, he refers again in the -prospectus printed in anticipation of his exhibition, a copy of -which, given to Ozias Humphreys, exists with the date May 15, -1809. A second prospectus is given by Gilchrist as follows:—</p> - -<p>'Blake's Chaucer, the Canterbury Pilgrims. This Fresco Picture, -representing Chaucer's Characters, painted by William Blake, as it -is now submitted to the public.</p> - -<p>'The designer proposes to engrave in a correct and finished -line manner of engraving, similar to those original copper-plates -of Albert Dürer, Lucas Van Leyden, Aldegrave, and the old original -engravers, who were great masters in painting and designing; whose -methods alone can delineate Character as it is in this Picture, where -all the lineaments are distinct.</p> - -<p>'It is hoped that the Painter will be allowed by the public -(notwithstanding artfully disseminated insinuations to the contrary) -to be better able than any other to keep his own characters and -expressions; having had sufficient evidence in the works of our own -Hogarth, that no other artist can reach the original spirit so well as -the Painter himself, especially as Mr. B. is an old, well-known, and -acknowledged graver.</p> - -<p>'The size of the engraving will be three feet one inch long by -one foot high. The artist engages to deliver it, finished, in one year -from September next. No work of art can take longer than a year: -it may be worked backwards and forwards without end, and last a -man's whole life; but he will, at length, only be forced to bring it -back to what it was, and it will be worse than it was at the end of -the first twelve months. The value of this artist's year is the criterion -of Society; and as it is valued, so does Society flourish or decay.</p> - -<p>'The price to Subscribers, Four Guineas; two to be paid at the -time of subscribing, the other two, on delivery of the print.</p> - -<p>'Subscriptions received at No. 28, corner of Broad Street, -Golden Square, where the Picture is now exhibiting, among other -works, by the same artist.</p> - -<p>'The price will be considerably raised to non-subscribers.'</p> - -<p>The exhibition thus announced was held at the house of James -Blake, and contained sixteen pictures, of which the first nine are -described as 'Frescoes' or 'experiment pictures,' and the remaining -seven as drawings,' that is, drawings in water-color. The Catalogue -(which was included in the entrance fee of half a crown) is Blake's -most coherent work in prose, and can be read in Gilchrist, ii. 139-163. -It is called 'A Descriptive Catalogue of Pictures, Poetical and Historical -Inventions, painted by William Blake, in Water-Colors, being the -ancient Method of Fresco Painting Restored; and Drawings, for Public -Inspection, and for Sale by Private Contract.' Crabb Robinson, from -whom we have the only detailed account of the exhibition, says -that the pictures filled 'several rooms of an ordinary dwelling-house' -(see p. "From Crabb Robinson's Reminiscences," below.) He mentions -Lamb's delight in the Catalogue,<a name="FNanchor_5_1" id="FNanchor_5_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_1" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> and his declaring 'that Blake's -description was the finest criticism he had ever read of Chaucer's -poem.' In that letter to Bernard Barton (May 15, 1824), which is -full of vivid admiration for Blake ('I must look on him as one -of the most extraordinary persons of the age'), Lamb speaks -of the criticism as 'most spirited, but mystical and full of -vision,' and says: 'His pictures—one in particular, the "Canterbury -Pilgrims," (far above Stothard's)—have great merit, but hard, -dry, yet with grace.' Southey, we know from a sneer in <i>The -Doctor</i> at 'that painter of great but insane genius, William Blake,' -also went to the exhibition, and found, he tells us, the picture -of 'The Ancient Britons,' 'one of the worst pictures, which is -saying much.' A note to Mr. Swinburne's <i>William Blake</i> tells -us that in the competent opinion of Mr. Seymour Kirkup this -picture was 'the very noblest of all Blake's works.' It is now lost; -it was probably Blake's largest work, the figures, Blake asserts, -being 'full as large as life.' Of the other pictures the seventh, -eighth, ninth, tenth, and sixteenth are lost; the ninth exists -in a replica in 'fresco,' and the sixteenth in what is probably -a first sketch.</p> - -<p>Blake's reason for giving this exhibition was undoubtedly -indignation at what he took to be Stothard's treachery in the -matter of the 'Canterbury Pilgrims.' This picture (now in the -National Gallery, No. 1163) had been exhibited by Cromek throughout -the kingdom, and he had announced effusively, in a seven page -advertisement at the end of Blair's <i>Grave</i>, the issue of -'a print executed in the line manner of engraving, and in the -same excellent style as the portrait of Mr. William Blake, prefixed -to this work, by Louis Schiavonetti, Esq., V. A., the gentleman -who has etched the prints that at once illustrate and embellish -the present volume.' The <i>Descriptive Catalogue</i> is full -of angry scorn of 'my rival,' as Blake calls Stothard, and of the -'dumb dollies' whom he has 'jumbled together' in his design, -and of Hoppner for praising them in the letter quoted in the -advertisement. 'If Mr. B.'s "Canterbury Pilgrims" had been done -by any other power than that of the poetic visionary, it would -have been as dull as his adversary's,' Blake assures us, and, no -doubt, justly. The general feeling of Blake's friends, I doubt -not, is summed up in an ill-spelled letter from young George -Cumberland to his father, written from the Pay Office, Whitehall, -October 14, 1809, which I copy in all its literal slovenliness from -the letter preserved in the Cumberland Papers: 'Blakes has published -a Catalogue of Pictures being the ancient method of Frescoe -Painting Restored you should tell Mr. Barry to get it, it may be -the means of serving your friend. It sells for 2/6 and may be -had of J. Blake, 28 Broad St., Golden Square, at his Brothers—the -Book is a great curiosity. He as given Stothard a complete set down.'</p> - -<p>The Catalogue is badly printed on poor paper in the form -of a small octavo hook of 66 pages. It is full of fierce, exuberant -wisdom, which plunges from time to time into a bright, demonstrative -folly; it is a confession, a criticism, and a kind of gospel of sanctity -and honesty and imagination in art. The whole thing is a thinking -aloud. One hears an impetuous voice as if saying: 'I have been -scorned long enough by these fellows, who owe to me all that -they possess; it shall be so no longer.' As he thinks, his pen -follows; he argues with foes actually visible to him; never does -he realize the indifferent public that may glance at what he has -written, and how best to interest or convince it if it does. He -throws down a challenge, and awaits an answer.</p> - -<p>What answer came is rememberable among the infamies of journalism. -Only one newspaper noticed the exhibition, and this was again -<i>The Examiner.</i> The notice appeared under the title 'Mr. -Blake's Exhibition' in No. 90, September 17, 1809, pp. 605-6, -where it fills two columns. It is unsigned, but there can be no -doubt that it was written by the R. H. of the former article. The -main part of it is taken up by extracts from the <i>Descriptive -Catalogue</i>, italicized and put into small capitals 'to amuse -the reader, and satisfy him of the truth of the foregoing remarks.' -This is all that need be quoted of the foregoing remarks:</p> - -<p>'But when the ebullitions of a distempered brain are mistaken -for the sallies of genius by those whose works have exhibited the -soundest thinking in art, the malady has indeed attained a pernicious -height, and it becomes a duty to endeavor to arrest its progress. -Such is the case with the productions and admirers of William -Blake, an unfortunate lunatic, whose personal inoffensiveness -secures him from confinement, and, consequently, of whom no -public notice would have been taken, if he was not forced on the -notice and animadversion of <i>The Examiner</i>, in having been -held up to public admiration by many esteemed amateurs and professors -as a genius in some respect original and legitimate. The praises which -these gentlemen bestowed last year on this unfortunate man's -illustrations to Blair's <i>Grave</i> have, in feeding his vanity, -stimulated him to publish his madness more largely, and thus -again exposed him, if not to the derision, at least to the pity of -the public.</p> - -<p>...Thus encouraged, the poor man fancies himself a great master, -and has painted a few wretched pictures, some of which are unintelligible -allegory, others an attempt at sober character by caricature -representation, and the whole "blotted and blurred," and very badly -drawn. These he calls an Exhibition, of which he has published -a Catalogue, or rather a farrago of nonsense, unintelligibleness, -and egregious vanity, the wild effusions of a distempered brain. -One of the pictures represents Chaucer's Pilgrims, and is in every -respect a striking contrast to the admirable picture of the same -subject by Mr. Stothard, from which an exquisite print is forthcoming -from the hand of Schiavonetti.'</p> - -<p>The last great words of the Catalogue, 'If a man is master -of his profession, he cannot be ignorant that he is so; and, if -he is not employed by those who pretend to encourage art, he -will employ himself, and laugh in secret at the pretenses of the -ignorant, while he has every night dropped into his shoe, as -soon as he puts it off, and puts out the candle, and gets into -bed, a reward for the labours of the day such as the world cannot -give, and patience and time await to give him all that the world -can give': those noble, lovely, pathetic and prophetic words, are -quoted at the end of the article without comment, as if to quote -them was enough. It was.</p> - -<p>In 1803 William Blake sold to Thomas Butts eleven drawings -for fourteen guineas. In 1903 twelve water-color drawings in -illustration of L'<i>Allegro</i> and <i>Il Penseroso</i> were sold -for £1960, and the twenty-one water-color drawings for <i>Job</i> -for £5600. These figures have their significance, but the significance -must not be taken to mean any improvement in individual taste. When -a selection from the pictures in the Butts collection was on view at -Sotheby's I heard a vulgar person with a loud voice, a dealer or -a dealer's assistant, say with a guffaw: 'It would make me sick to have -these things round my room.' That vulgar person represents the -eternal taste of the multitude; only, in the course of a hundred -years, a few men of genius have repeated after one another that -Blake was a man of genius, and their united voices have carried -further than the guffaws of vulgar persons, repeated generation -after generation. And so in due course, when Blake has been -properly dead long enough, there is a little public which, bidding -against itself, gambles cheerfully for the possession of the scraps -of paper on which he sent in his account, against the taste of his -age and the taste of all the ages.</p> - -<p>Blake himself had never any doubt of his own greatness as an -artist, and some of the proud or petulant things which he occasionally -wrote (the only outbreaks of impatience in a life wholly given up to -unceasing and apparently unrewarded labour) have been quoted -against him as petty or unworthy, partly because they are so incalculated -and so childlike. Blake 'bore witness,' as he might have said, that he -had done his duty: 'for that I cannot live without doing my duty, to -lay up treasures in heaven, is certain and determined,' he writes from -Felpham. And he asserted the truth of his own genius, its truth in the -spiritual sense, its divine origin, as directly and as emphatically as he -asserted everything which he had apprehended as truth. He is merely -stating what seems to him an obvious but overlooked fact when he -says: 'In Mr. B.'s Britons the blood is seen to circulate in their limbs: -he defies competition in coloring'; and again: 'I am, like other men, -just equal in invention and execution of my work,' All art, he had -realized, which is true art, is equal, as every diamond is a diamond. -There is only true and false art. Thus when he says in his prospectus -of 1793 that he has been 'enabled to bring before the Public works -(he is not afraid to say) of equal magnitude and consequence with -the productions of any age or country,' he means neither more nor -less than when he says in the <i>Descriptive Catalogue</i> of 1809: -'He knows that what he does is not inferior to the grandest antiques. -Superior it cannot be, for human power cannot go beyond either -what he does or what they have done; it is the gift of God, it is -inspiration and vision.</p> - -<p>...The human mind cannot go beyond the gift of God, the Holy -Ghost.' It is in humility rather than in pride that he equals -himself with those who seemed to him the genuine artists, the -humility of a belief that all art is only a portion of that 'Poetic -Genius, which is the Lord,' offered up in homage by man, and -returning, in mere gratitude, to its origin. When he says, 'I do not -pretend to paint better than Rafael or Michael Angelo, or Julio -Romano, or Albert Dürer, but I do pretend to paint finer than Rubens, -or Rembrandt, or Titian, or Correggio,' he merely means, in that odd -coupling and contrasting of names, to assert his belief in the -supremacy of strong, clear, masculine execution over what seemed -to him (to his limited knowledge, not false instinct) the heresy -and deceit of 'soft and effeminate' execution, the 'broken lines, -broken masses, and broken colors' of the art which 'loses form.' -In standing up for his ideal of art, he stands up himself, like a -champion. 'I am hid,' he writes on the flyleaf of Reynolds's -<i>Discourses</i>, and, in the last sentence of that 'Public -Address' which was never printed, he declares: 'Resentment for -personal injuries has had some share in this public address, but -love to my art, and zeal for my country, a much greater.' And -in the last sentence of the <i>Descriptive Catalogue</i>, he sums -up the whole matter, so far as it concerned him, finally, and -with a 'sure and certain hope' which, now that it has been realized, -so long afterwards, comes to us like a reproach.</p> - -<p>'Shall Painting,' asks Blake in his <i>Descriptive Catalogue</i>, -'be confined to the sordid drudgery of facsimile representations of -merely mortal and perishing substances, and not be, as poetry and -music are, elevated into its own proper sphere of invention and -visionary conception? No, it shall not be so! Painting, as well as -poetry and music, exists and exults in immortal thoughts.' It -was to restore this conception of art to England that Blake devoted -his life. 'The Enquiry in England,' he said, in his marginalia to -Reynolds, 'is not whether a Man has Talents and Genius, but -whether he is Passive and Polite and a Virtuous Ass.' He says there: -'Ages are all Equal, but Genius is always above the Age.' He looks -on Bacon and Locke and Burke and Reynolds as men who 'mock Inspiration -and Vision.' 'Inspiration and Vision,' he says, 'was then, and now is, -and I hope will always Remain, my Element, my Eternal Dwelling-place.' -'The Ancients did not mean to Impose when they affirmed their belief -in Vision and Revelation. Plato was in Earnest. Milton was in Earnest. -They believed that God did visit Man Really and Truly.' Further, -'Knowledge of Ideal Beauty is not to be Acquired. It is born with us.... -Man is Born Like a Garden ready Planted and Sown. This World is -too poor to produce one Seed.'</p> - -<p>What Blake meant by vision, how significantly yet cautiously -he interchanged the words 'seen' and 'imagined,' has been already -noted in that passage of the <i>Descriptive Catalogue</i>, where -he answers his objectors: 'The connoisseurs and artists who have -made objections to Mr. B.'s mode of representing spirits with real -bodies would do well to consider that the Venus, the Minerva, the -Jupiter, the Apollo, which they admire in Greek statues are, all of them, -representations of spiritual existences, of Gods immortal, to the -ordinary perishing organ of sight; and yet they are embodied -and organized in solid marble. Mr. B. requires the same latitude, -and all is well.' Then comes the great definition, which I will not -repeat: 'He who does not imagine in stronger and better lineaments.'</p> - -<p>'The world of imagination,' he says elsewhere, 'is infinite and -eternal, whereas the world of generation or vegetation is finite -and temporal. There exist in that eternal world the eternal realities -of everything which we see reflected in this vegetable glass of nature.' -What is said here, transmuted by an instinct wholly an artist's into -a great defense of the reality of imagination in art, is a form of the -central doctrine of the mystics, formulated by Swedenborg in something -very like Blake's language, though with errors or hesitations which is -what Blake sets himself to point out in his marginalia to Swedenborg. -As, in those marginalia, we see Blake altering every allusion to -God into an allusion to 'the Poetic Genius,' so, always, we shall find -him understanding every promise of Christ, or Old Testament prophecy, -as equally translatable into terms of the imaginative life, into terms of -painting, poetry, or music. In the rendering of vision he required above -all things that fidelity which can only be obtained through 'minutely -particular' execution. 'Invention depends Altogether upon Execution -or Organisation; as that is right or wrong, so is the Invention perfect -or imperfect. Whoever is set to Undermine the Execution of Art is set -to destroy Art. Michael Angelo's Art depends on Michael Angelo's -Execution Altogether.... He who admires Rafael Must admire Rafael's -Execution. He who does not admire Rafael's Execution can not admire -Rafael.' Finally, 'the great and golden rule of art as well as of life,' -he says in the <i>Descriptive Catalogue</i>, 'is this: that the more -distinct, sharp, and wiry the bounding line, the more perfect the work -of art; and the less keen and sharp, the greater is the evidence of -weak imagination, plagiarism, and bungling.... What is it that -distinguishes honesty from knavery, but the hard and wiry line of -rectitude and certainty in the actions and intentions? Leave out -this line, and you leave out life itself. All is chance again, and the -line of the Almighty must be drawn out upon it again, before -man or beast can exist.'</p> - -<p>In Blake's work a great fundamental conception is rarely lacking, -and the conception is not, as it has often been asserted, a literary, -but always a pictorial, one. At times imagination and execution -are wholly untired, as in the splendid water-color of 'Death on -the Pale Horse,' in which not only every line and color is alive with -passionate idea, the implacable and eternal joy of destruction, -but also with a realized beauty, a fully grasped invention. No -detail has been slurred in vision, or in the setting down of the -vision: the crowned old man with the sword, the galloping horse, -the pestilential figure of putrid scales and flames below, and the -wide-armed angel with the scroll-above. In the vision of 'Fire' -there is grandeur and, along with it, something inadequately seen, -inadequately rendered. Flame and smoke embrace, coil, spire, -swell in bellying clouds, divide into lacerating tongues, tangle and -whirl ecstatically upward and onward, like a venomous joy in action, -painting the air with all the color of all the flowers of evil. But the -figures in the foreground are partly academic studies, partly -archaic dolls, in which only the intention is admirable. In 'Job -Confessing his Presumption to God' one sees all that is great -and all that is childish in Blake's genius. I have never seen so -sufficing a suggestion of disembodied divine forces as in this -whirling cloud of angels, cast out and swept round by the wind -of God's speed, like a cascade of veined and tapering wings, out -of which ecstatic and astonished heads leap forward. But in the -midst of the wheel a fierce old man, with outstretched arms -(who is an image of God certainly not corrected out of any authentic -vision), and, below, the extinguished figure of Job's friends, and -Job, himself one of Blake's gnome-like old men with a face of -rigid awe and pointing fingers of inarticulate terror, remain no -more than statements, literal statements, of the facts of the -imagination. They are summarized remembrances of vision, not -anything 'imagined in stronger and better lineaments, and in -stronger and better light, than the perishing mortal eye can see.'</p> - -<p>Or, might it not be said that it is precisely through this minute -accuracy to the detail of imagination that this visionary reality -comes to seem to us unreal? In Blake every detail is seen with -intensity, and with equal intensity. No one detail is subordinated -to another, every inch of his surface is equally important to him; and -from this unslackening emphasis come alike his arresting power and -the defect which leaves us, though arrested, often unconvinced. -In his most splendid things, as in 'Satan exulting over Job' and 'Cain -fleeing from the Grave of Abel,' which are painted on wood, as if -carved or graved, with a tumult of decorative color, detail literally -overpowers the sense of sight, like strong sunlight, and every outline -seizes and enters into you simultaneously. At times, as in 'The Bard -of Gray,' and 'The Spiritual Form of Pitt' in the National Gallery, he is -mysteriously lyrical in his paint, and creates a vague emotion out of a -kind of musical color, which is content to suggest. Still more rarely, -as in the ripe and admirable 'Canterbury Pilgrims,' which is a picture -in narrative, as like Chaucer as Chaucer himself, but unlike any other -picture, he gives us a vision of worldly reality; but it was of this -picture that he said: 'If Mr. B.'s "Canterbury Pilgrims" had been done -by any other power than that of the poetic visionary, it would have -been as dull as his adversary's.' Pure beauty and pure terror creep -and flicker in and out of all his pictures, with a child's innocence; -and he is unconscious of how far he is helped or hindered, as an -artist, by that burden of a divine message which is continually upon -him. He is unconscious that with one artist the imagination may -overpower the technique, as awe overpowers the senses, while to -another artist the imagination gives new life to the technique. -Blake did not understand Rembrandt, and imagined that he hated him; -but there are a few of his pictures in which Rembrandt is strangely -suggested. In 'The Adoration of the Three Kings' and in 'The Angel -appearing to Zacharias' there is a lovely depth of color, bright in -dimness, which has something of the warmth and mystery of Rembrandt, -and there are details in the design of 'The Three Kings' (the -door open on the pointing star in the sky and on the shadowy -multitude below) which are as fine in conception as anything in the -Munich 'Adoration of the Shepherds.' But in these, or in the almost -finer 'Christ in the Garden, sustained by an Angel' (fire flames about -the descending angel, and the garden is a forest of the night), -how fatal to our enjoyment is the thought of Rembrandt! To Rembrandt, -too, all things were visions, but they were visions that he saw with -unflinching eyes; he saw them with his hands; he saw them with -the faces and forms of men, and with the lines of earthly habitations.</p> - -<p>And, above all, Rembrandt, all the greatest painters, saw a picture -as a whole, composed every picture consciously, giving it unity -by his way of arranging what he saw. Blake was too humble towards -vision to allow himself to compose or arrange what he saw, and he saw -in detail, with an unparalleled fixity and clearness. Every picture of -Blake, quite apart from its meaning to the intelligence, is built up -in detail like a piece of decoration; and, widely remote as are -both intention and result, I am inclined to think he composed as -Japanese artists compose, bit by bit, as he saw his picture come -piece by piece before him. In every picture there is a mental idea, -and there is also a pictorial conception, working visually and -apart from the mental idea. In the greatest pictures (in the -tremendous invention, for instance, of the soldiers on Calvary -casting lots for the garments of Christ), the two are fused, with -overwhelming effect; but it happens frequently that the two -fail to unite, and we see the picture, and also the idea, but -not the idea embodied in the picture.</p> - -<p>Blake's passion for detail, and his refusal to subordinate -any detail for any purpose, is to be seen in all his figures, of -which the bodies seem to be copied from living statues, and in -which the faces are wrung into masks of moods which they are -too urgent to interpret. A world of conventional patterns, in which -all natural things are artificial and yet expressive, is peopled by -giants and dolls, muscular and foolish, in whom strength -becomes an insane gesture and beauty a formal prettiness. Not -a flower or beast has reality, as our eyes see it, yet every flower -and beast is informed by an almost human soul, not the mere -vitality of animal or vegetable, but a consciousness of its own -lovely or evil shape. His snakes are not only wonderful in their -coils and colors, but each has his individual soul, visible in -his eyes, and interpreting those coils and colors. And every leaf, -unnatural yet alive, and always a piece of decoration, peers with -some meaning of its own out of every corner, not content to -be forgotten, and so uneasily alive that it draws the eye to -follow it. 'As poetry,' he said, 'admits not a letter that is -insignificant, so painting admits not a grain of sand or a blade -of grass insignificant—much less an insignificant blur or -mark.' The stones with which Achan has been martyred live each -with a separate and evil life of its own, not less vivid and violent -than the clenched hands raised to hurl other stones; there is -menacing gesture in the cloud of dust that rises behind them. And -these human beings and these angels, and God (sometimes an old -bowed Jew, fitted into a square or lozenge of winged heads) are full -of the energy of a life which is betrayed by their bodies. Sometimes -they are mere child's toys, like a Lucifer of bright baubles, painted -chromatically, with pink hair and blushing wings, hung with bursting -stars that spill out animalculæ. Sometimes the whole man is a gesture -and convulses the sky; or he runs, and the earth vanishes under him. -But the gesture devours the man also; his force as a cipher -annihilates his very being.</p> - -<p>In greatness of conception Blake must be compared with the -greatest among artists, but the difference between Blake and -Michelangelo is the difference between the artist in whom imagination -overpowers technique, as awe overpowers the senses, and the artist -in whom imagination gives new life to technique. No one, as we have -seen, was more conscious of the identity which exists in the work of -the greatest artists between conception and execution. But in speaking -of invention and execution as equal, he is assuming, as he came to do, -the identity of art and inspiration, the sufficiency of first thoughts -in art. 'Be assured,' he writes to Mr. Butts from Felpham, 'that there is -not one touch in those drawings and pictures but what came from -my head and heart in unison.... If I were to do them over again, they -would lose as much as they gained, because they were done in the -heat of my spirit.' He was an inexhaustible fountain of first thoughts, -and to him first thoughts only were of importance. The one draughtsman -of the soul, he drew, no doubt, what he saw as he saw it; but he lacked -the patience which is a part of all supreme genius. Having seen his -vision, he is in haste to record what he has seen hastily; and he leaves -the first rough draft as it stands, not correcting it by a deliberate -seeing over again from the beginning, and a scrupulous translation -of the terms of eternity into the terms of time. I was once showing -Rodin some facsimiles of Blake's drawings, and telling him about -Blake, I said: 'He used to literally see these figures; they are not -mere inventions.' 'Yes,' said Rodin, 'he saw them once; he should -have seen them three or four times.' There, it seems to me, is the -fundamental truth about the art of Blake: it is a record of vision -which has not been thoroughly mastered even as vision. 'No man,' -said Blake, 'can improve an original invention; nor can an original -invention exist without execution organized, delineated, and articulated, -either by God or man.' And he said also: 'He who does not imagine -in stronger and better lineaments, and in stronger and better light, -than his perishing mortal eye can see, does not imagine at all.' But -Blake's imagination is in rebellion, not only against the limits of -reality, but against the only means by which he can make vision -visible to others. And thus he allows himself to be mastered by -that against which he rebels: that power of the hand by which -art begins where vision leaves off.</p> - - - - -<h4>IX</h4> - - -<p>Nothing is known of Blake's life between 1809, the date of -his exhibition, and 1818, when he met the chief friend and helper of -his later years, John Linnell. Everything leads us to believe that those -nine years were years of poverty and neglect. Between 1815 and 1817 -we find him doing engraver's task-work for Flaxman's <i>Hesiod</i>, -and for articles, probably written by Flaxman, on Armour and Sculpture -in Bees's <i>Encyclopoedia.</i> Gilchrist tells a story, on the authority -of Tatham, of Blake copying the cast of the Laocoon among the -students at the Royal Academy, and of Fuseli, then the keeper, -coming up with the just and pleasant remark that it was they who -should learn of him, not he of them. The <i>Milton</i> and the -<i>Jerusalem</i>, both dated 1804, were printed at some time -during this period. Gilchrist suggests that the reason why Blake issued -no more engraved books from his press was probably his inability -to pay for the copper required in engraving; and his suggestion is -confirmed in a letter to Dawson Turner, a Norfolk antiquary, dated -June 9, 1818, a few days before the meeting with Linnell. Blake -writes: 'I send you a list of the different works you have done me the -honor to inquire after. They are unprofitable enough to me, though -expensive to the buyer. Those I printed for Mr. Humphry are a -selection from the different books of such as could be printed -without the writing, though to the loss of some of the best things; -for they, when printed perfect, accompany poetical personifications -and acts, without which poems they never could have been executed:—</p> - - -<div> -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 20em;"><i>£</i></span> <i>s.</i> <i>d.</i></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 1em;">America, 18 prints folio,</span></td><td align="right">5 5 0</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Europe, 17 do. do.,</span></td><td align="right">5 5 0</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Visions, 8 do. do.,</span></td><td align="right">3 3 0</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thel, 6 do. quarto,</span></td><td align="right">2 2 0</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Songs of Innocence, 28 prints octavo,</span></td><td align="right">3 3 0</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Songs of Experience, 26 do. octavo,</span></td><td align="right">3 3 0</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Urizen, 28 prints quarto,</span></td><td align="right">5 5 0</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 1em;">Milton, 50 do. do.,</span></td><td align="right">10 10 0</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 1em;">12 large prints, size of each about 2 ft.</span></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 1em;">by 1 1/2 ft., historical and poetical,</span></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><span style="margin-left: 1em;">printed in colours, each</span></td><td align="right">5 5 0</td></tr> -</table></div> - - -<p>The last twelve prints are unaccompanied by any writing. The few I -have printed and sold are sufficient to have gained me great reputation -as an artist, which was the chief thing intended. But I have never been -able to produce a sufficient number for general sale by means of a -regular publisher. It is therefore necessary to me that any person -wishing to have any or all of them should send me their order to -print them on the above terms, and I will take care that they shall be -done at least as well as any I have yet produced.'</p> - -<p>If we compare this list with the printed list of twenty-five years -back (see above "William Blake, chapter III.") we shall see that the -prices are now half as many guineas as they were once shillings; -in a letter to Cumberland, nine years later, they have gone up by -one, two, or three guineas apiece, and Blake tells Cumberland -that 'having none remaining of all that I had printed, I cannot print -more except at a great loss. For at the time I printed these things -I had a little house to range in. Now I am shut up in a corner, -therefore I am forced to ask a price for them that I can scarce -expect to get from a stranger. I am now printing a set of the <i>Songs -of Innocence and Experience</i> for a friend at ten guineas, which I -cannot do under six months consistent with my other work, so that -I have little hope of doing any more of such things. The last work is -a poem entitled <i>Jerusalem, the Emanation of the Giant Albion</i>, -but find that to print it will cost my time to the value of twenty -guineas. One I have finished. It contains 100 plates, but it is -not likely that I shall get a customer for it.'<a name="FNanchor_6_1" id="FNanchor_6_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_1" class="fnanchor">[6]</a></p> - -<p>Gilchrist tells us, by an error which was pointed out in the life -of Palmer by his son, in 1892, that Blake met Linn ell in 1813. -It was in 1818, and the first entry relating to Blake in Linnell's -journal is dated June 24. In a letter communicated to me by Mr. -Sampson, Mr. John Linnell, junior, states that his father took in -October or November 1817 the greater part of a house at 38 Rathbone -Place, where he lived till the end of 1818; he then took a house at -Cirencester Place, Fitzroy Square. Mr. Linnell gives the following -extract from his father's autobiographical notes: 'At Rathbone Place, -1818... here I first became acquainted with William Blake, to whom -I paid a visit in company with the younger Mr. Cumberland. Blake -lived then in South Molton Street, Oxford Street, second floor. We -soon became intimate, and I employed him to help me with an -engraving of my portrait of Mr. Upton, a Baptist preacher, which -he was glad to do, having scarcely enough employment to live by -at the prices he could obtain; everything in Art was at a low ebb -then.... I soon encountered Blake's peculiarities, and somewhat -taken aback by the boldness of some of his assertions, I never -saw anything the least like madness, for I never opposed him -spitefully, as many did, but being really anxious to fathom, if -possible, the amount of truth which might be in his most startling -assertions, generally met with a sufficiently rational explanation -in the most really friendly and conciliatory tone.'</p> - -<p>From 1818 Linnell became, in his own independent way, the -chief friend and disciple of Blake. Himself a man of narrow but -strong individuality, he realized and accepted Blake for what he -was, worked with him and for him, introduced him to rich and -appreciative buyers like Sir Thomas Lawrence, and gave him, out -of his own carefully controlled purse, a steady price for his work, -which was at least enough for Blake to live on. There are notes in his -journal of visits to picture-galleries together; to the Academy, the -British Gallery, the Water-Color Exhibition, the Spring Gardens -Exhibition; 'went with Mr. Blake to see Harlow's copy of the -Transfiguration' (August 20, 1819), 'went with Mr. Blake to British -Museum to see prints' (April 4 and 24, 1823). In 1820 there are -notes of two visits to Drury Lane Theatre. It was probably early in -1819 that Linnell introduced Blake to his friend John Varley, the -water-color painter and astrologer, for whom Blake did the famous -'visionary heads.' A vivid sketch of the two arguing, drawn by Linnell, -is given in Mr. Story's Life of Linnell. Varley, though an astrologer on -the mathematical side, was no visionary. He persuaded Blake to do a -series of drawings, naming historical or legendary people to him, and -carefully writing down name and date of the imaginary portraits which -Blake willingly drew, and believing, it has been said, in the reality of -Blake's visions more than Blake himself. Cunningham, in his farcical -way, tells the story as he may have got it from Varley (see "(VIII.) Life -of Blake by Allan Cunningham." below), for he claims in a letter -to Linnell to have 'received much valuable information from him.' -But the process has been described, more simply, by Varley himself -in his <i>Treatise of Zodiacal Physiognomy</i> (1828), where the -'Ghost of a Flea' and the 'Constellation Cancer' are reproduced in -engraving. Some of the heads are finely symbolical, and I should -have thought the ghost of a flea, in the sketch, an invention -more wholly outside nature if I had not seen, in Rome and in -London, a man in whom it is impossible not to recognize the -type, modified to humanity, but scarcely by a longer distance than -the men from the animals in Giovanni della Porta's 'Fisonomia -dell' Huomo.'</p> - -<p>It was in 1820, the year in which Blake began his vast picture -of the 'Last Judgment,' only finished in the year of his death, that -he did the seventeen woodcuts to Thornton's <i>Virgil</i>, certainly -one of his greatest, his most wholly successful achievements. The book -was for boys' schools, and we find Blake returning without an effort to -the childlike mood of the <i>Songs of Innocence and Experience.</i> -The woodcuts have all the natural joy of those early designs, an equal -simplicity, but with what added depth, what richness, what passionate -strength! Blake was now engraving on wood for the first time, and he -had to invent his own way of working. Just what he did has never been -better defined than in an article which appeared in the <i>Athenaeum</i> -of January 21, 1843, one of the very few intelligent references to -Blake which can be found in print between the time of his death and -the date of Gilchrist's <i>Life.</i> 'We hold it impossible,' says -the writer, 'to get a genuine work of art, unless it come pure and -unadulterated from the mind that conceived it.... Still more strongly -is the author's meaning marked in the few wood-engravings which -that wonderful man Blake cut himself for an edition of Thornton's -<i>Pastorals of Virgil.</i> In token of our faith in the principle -here announced, we have obtained the loan of one of Blake's -original blocks, from Mr. Linnell, who possesses the whole series, -to print, as an illustration of our argument, that, amid all drawbacks, -there exists a power in the work of the man of genius, which no one -but himself can utter fully. Side by side we have printed a copy of an -engraver's improved version of the same subject. When Blake had -produced his cuts, which were, however, printed with an apology, -a shout of derision was raised by the wood-engravers. "This will -never do!" said they; "we will show what it ought to be,"—that -is, what the public taste would like—and they produced -the above amendment! The engravers were quite right in their -estimate of public taste; and we dare say many will agree with -them even now: yet, to our minds, Blake's rude work, utterly -without pretension, too, as an engraving—the merest attempt -of a fresh apprentice—is a work of genius; whilst the latter -is but a piece of smooth, tame mechanism.'</p> - -<p>Blake lived at South Molton Street for seventeen years. In -1821, 'on his landlord's leaving off business, and retiring to France,' -says Linnell, he removed to Fountain Court, in the Strand, where -he took the first floor of 'a private house kept by Mr. Banes, whose -wife was a sister of Mrs. Blake.' Linnell tells us that he was at this -time 'in want of employment,' and, he says, 'before I knew his -distress he had sold all his collection of old prints to Messrs. -Colnaghi and Co.' Through Linnell's efforts, a donation of £25 -was about the same time sent to him from the Royal Academy.</p> - -<p>Fountain Court (the name is still perpetuated on a metal slab) -was called so until 1883, when the name was changed to Southampton -Buildings. It has all been pulled down and rebuilt, but I remember it -fifteen years ago, when there were lodging-houses in it, by the side -of the stage-door of Terry's Theatre. It was a narrow slit between the -Strand and the river, and, when I knew it, was dark and comfortless, -a blind alley. Gilchrist describes the two rooms on the first floor, -front and back, the front room used as a reception-room; a smaller -room opened out of it at the back, which was workroom, bedroom, -and kitchen in one. The side window looked down through an opening -between the houses, showing the river and the hills beyond; and Blake -worked at a table facing the window. There seems to be no doubt, from -the testimony of many friends, that Crabb Robinson's description, -which will be seen below, with fuller detail than has yet been -printed, conveys the prejudiced view of a fastidious person, and -Palmer, roused by the word 'squalor,' wrote to Gilchrist, asserting -'himself, his wife, and his rooms, were clean and orderly; everything -was in its place.' Tatham says that 'he fixed upon these lodgings -as being more congenial to his habits, as he was very much accustomed -to get out of his bed in the night to write for hours, and return to bed -for the rest of the night.' He rarely left the house, except to fetch -his pint of porter from the public-house at the corner of the Strand. -It was on one of these occasions that he is said to have been cut by a -Royal Academician whom he had recently met in society. Had not the -Royal Academy been founded (J. T. Smith tells us in his <i>Book for -a Rainy Day</i>, under date 1768) by 'members who had agreed to -withdraw themselves from various clubs, not only in order to be more -select as to talent, but perfectly correct as to gentlemanly conduct'?</p> - -<p>It was about this time that Blake was discovered, admired, -and helped by one who has been described as 'not merely a poet -and a painter, an art-critic, an antiquarian, and a writer of prose, -an amateur of beautiful things, and a dilettante of things delightful, -but also a forger of no mean or ordinary capabilities, and as a subtle -and secret poisoner almost without rival in this or any age.' This was -Lamb's 'kind, lighthearted Wainewright,' who in the intervals of his -strange crimes found time to buy a fine copy of the <i>Songs of -Innocence</i> and to give a jaunty word of encouragement or -advertisement to <i>Jerusalem.</i> Palmer remembers Blake stopping -before one of Wainewright's pictures in the Academy and saying, 'Very -fine.'</p> - -<p>In 1820 Blake had carried out his last commission from Butts -in a series of twenty-one drawings in illustration of the Book of -Job. In the following year Linnell commissioned from him a duplicate -set, and in September 1821 traced them himself from Butts's -copies; they were finished, and in parts altered, by Blake. By an -agreement dated March 25, 1823, Blake undertook to engrave the -designs, which were to be published by Linnell, who gave £100 for -the designs and copyright, with the promise of another £100 out of -the profits on the sale. There were no profits, but Linnell gave -another £50, paying the whole sum of £150 in weekly sums of -£2 or £3. The plates are dated March 8, 1825, but they were not -published until the date given on the cover, March 1826. Gilchrist -intimates that 'much must be lost by the way' in the engraving of the -water-color drawings; but Mr. Russell, a better authority, says that -'marvelous as the original water-color drawings unquestionably -were, they are in every case inferior to the final version in the -engraving.' It is on these engravings that the fame of Blake as an -artist rests most solidly; invention and execution are here, as he -declared that they must always be in great art, equal; imagination -at its highest here finds adequate expression, without even the -lovely strangeness of a defect. They have been finally praised and -defined by Rossetti, in the pages contributed to Gilchrist's life -(i. 330-335), of which Mr. Swinburne has said, with little exaggeration, -that 'Blake himself, had he undertaken to write notes on his designs, -must have done them less justice than this.'</p> - -<p>Before Blake had finished engraving the designs to 'Job' he -had already begun a new series of illustrations to Dante, also a -commission from Linnell; and, with that passionate conscientiousness -which was part of the foundation of his genius, he set to work to -learn enough Italian to be able to follow the original with the help -of Cary's translation. Linnell not only let Blake do the work he -wanted to do, paying him for it as he did it, but he took him to see -people whom it might be useful for him to know, such as the Aders, -who had a house full of books and pictures, and who entertained -artists and men of letters. Mrs. Aders had a small amateur talent of her -own for painting, and from a letter of Carlyle's, which is preserved -among the Crabb Robinson papers, seems to have had literary knowledge -as well. 'Has not Mrs. Aders (the lady who lent me <i>Wilhelm Meister</i>) -great skill in, such things?' he asks in a letter full of minute inquiries -into German novels. Lamb and Coleridge went to the house, and it -was there that Crabb Robinson met Blake in December 1825. Mr. Story, -in his Life of Linnell, tells us that one of Linnell's 'most vivid -recollections of those days was of hearing Crabb Robinson recite -Blake's poem, "The Tiger," before a distinguished company gathered -at Mrs. Aders's table. It was a most impressive performance.' We -find Blake afterwards at a supper-party at Crabb Robinson's, with -Linnell, who notes in his journal going with Blake to Lady Ford's, to -see her pictures; in 1820 we find him at Lady Caroline Lamb's.</p> - -<p>Along with this general society Blake now gathered about him -a certain number of friends and disciples, Linnell being the -steadiest friend, and Samuel Palmer, Edward Calvert, and George -Richmond the chief disciples. To these must be added, in 1826, -Frederick Tatham, a young sculptor, who was to be the betrayer -among the disciples. They called Blake's house 'the House of the -Interpreter,' and in speaking of it afterwards speak of it always as -of holy ground. Thus we hear of Richmond, finding his invention -flag, going to seek counsel, and how Blake, who was sitting at tea -with his wife, turned to her and said: 'What do we do, Kate, when -the visions forsake us?' 'We kneel down and pray, Mr. Blake.' It is -Richmond who records a profoundly significant saying of Blake: -'I can look at a knot in a piece of wood till I am frightened at it.' -Palmer tells us that Blake and his wife would look into the fire -together and draw the figures they saw there, hers quite unlike -his, his often terrible. On Palmer's first meeting that Blake, on -October 9, 1824, he tells us how Blake fixed his eyes upon him -and said: 'Do you work with fear and trembling?' 'Yes, indeed,' -was the reply. 'Then,' said Blake, 'you'll do.'</p> - -<p>The friends often met at Hampstead, where Linnell had, in -1824, taken Collins's Farm, at North End, now again known by -its old name of 'Wyldes.' Blake disliked the air of Hampstead, -which he said always made him ill; but he often went there to -see Linnell, and loved the aspect from his cottage, and to sit -and hear Mrs. Linnell sing Scotch songs, and would sometimes -himself sing his own songs to tunes of his own making. The children -loved him, and would watch for him as he came, generally on -foot, and one of them says that she remembers 'the cold winter -nights when Blake was wrapped up in an old shawl by Mrs. Linnell, -and sent on his homeward way, with the servant, lantern in hand, -lighting him across the heath to the main road.' It is Palmers son -who reports it, and he adds: 'It is a matter of regret that the record -of these meetings and walks and conversations is so imperfect, -for in the words of one of Blake's disciples, to walk with him was -like "walking with the Prophet Isaiah."' Once when the Palmers -were staying at Shoreham, the whole party went down into the -country in a carrier's van drawn by eight horses: Calvert tells -the story, with picturesque details of Blake's second-sight, and -of the hunt with lanterns in Shoreham Castle after a ghost, who -turned out to be a snail tapping on the broken glass of the window.</p> - -<p>From the end of 1825 Blake's health began to fail, and most -of his letters to Linnell contain apologies for not coming to -Hampstead, as he is in bed, or is suffering from a cold in the -stomach. It was the beginning of that sickness which killed him, -described as the mixing of the gall with the blood. He worked -persistently, whether he was well or ill, at the Dante drawings, -which he made in a folio book given him by Linnell. There were -a hundred pages in the book, and he did a drawing on every page, -some completely finished, some a mere outline; of these he had -only engraved seven at the time of his death. He sat propped up in -bed, at work on his drawings, saying, 'Dante goes on the better, -which is all I care about.' In a letter to George Cumberland, on April -12, 1827, he writes: 'I have been very near the gates of death, -and have returned very weak and an old man, feeble and tottering, -but not in the spirit and life, not in the real man, the imagination, -which liveth for ever.' And indeed there is no sign of age or weakness -in these last great inventions of a dying man. 'Flaxman is gone,' -he adds, 'and we must soon follow, every one to his own eternal -house, leaving the delusive Goddess Nature to her laws, to get -into freedom from all law of the numbers, into the mind, in -which every one is king and priest in his own house. God send -it so on earth, as it is in heaven.'</p> - -<p>Blake died on August 12, 1827, and the ecstasy of his death -has been recorded by many witnesses. Tatham tells us how, as -he put the finishing touches to a design of 'The Ancient of Days' -which he had been coloring for him, he 'threw it down suddenly -and said: "Kate, you have been a good wife; I will draw your portrait." -She sat near his bed, and he made a drawing which, though not a -likeness, is finely touched and expressed. He then threw that down, -after having drawn for an hour, and began to sing Hallelujahs and -songs of joy and triumph which Mrs. Blake described as being truly -sublime in music and in verse.' Smith tells us that he said to his wife, -as she stood to hear him, 'My beloved, they are not mine, no, they -are not mine.' And a friend quoted by Gilchrist says: 'He died on -Sunday night, at six o'clock, in a most glorious manner. He said he was -going to that country he had all his life wished to see, and expressed -himself happy, hoping for salvation through Jesus Christ. Just before -he died his countenance became fair, his eyes brightened, and he -burst out into singing of the things he saw in heaven.' 'Perhaps,' he -had written not long before, 'and I verily believe it, every death is an -improvement of the state of the departed.'</p> - -<p>Blake was buried in Bunhill Fields, where all his family had been -buried before him, but with the rites of the Church of England, -and on August 17 his body was followed to the grave by Calvert, -Richmond, Tatham, and Tatham's brother, a clergyman. The burial -register reads: 'Aug. 17, 1827. William Blake. Age, 69 years. Brought -from Fountain Court, Strand. Grave, 9 feet; E.&W. 77: N.&S. 32. -19/' The grave, being a 'common grave,' was used again, and the -bones scattered; and this was the world's last indignity against -William Blake.</p> - -<p>Tatham tells us that, during a marriage of forty-five years, -Mrs. Blake had never been separated from her husband 'save for -a period that would make altogether about five weeks.' He does -not remind us, as Mr. Swinburne, on the authority of Seymour -Kirkup, reminds us, of Mrs. Blake's one complaint, that her husband -was incessantly away 'in Paradise.' Tatham adds: 'After the death -of her husband she resided for some time with the author of this, -whose domestic arrangements were entirely undertaken by her, -until such changes took place that rendered it impossible for -her strength to continue in this voluntary office of sincere -affection and regard.' Before going to Tatham's she had spent -nine months at Linnell's house in Cirencester Place, only leaving -it in the summer of 1828, when Linnell let the house. After -leaving Tatham she took lodgings in 17 Upper Charlotte Street, -Fitzroy Square, where she died at half-past seven on the morning -of October 18, 1831, four years after the death of her husband, -and within three months of his age. Tatham says: 'Her death not -being known but by calculation, sixty-five years were placed upon -her coffin,' and in the burial register at Bunhill Fields we read: -'Oct. 23, 1831. Catherine Sophia Blake. Age, 65 yrs. Brought -from Upper Charlotte Street, Fitzroy Square. Grave, 12 feet; -E.&W. 7: N.&S. 31, 32. £1, 5s.' She was born April 24, 1762, -and was thus aged sixty-nine years and six months.</p> - -<p>Mr. Swinburne tells us, on the authority of Seymour Kirkup, -that, after Blake's death, a gift of £100 was sent to his widow -by the Princess Sophia, which she gratefully returned, as not -being in actual need of it. Many friends bought copies of Blake's -engraved books, some of which Mrs. Blake colored, with the help -of Tatham. After her death all the plates and manuscripts passed -into Tatham's hands. In his memoir Tatham says that Blake on -his death-bed 'spoke of the writer of this as a likely person to -become the manager' of Mrs. Blake's affairs, and he says that -Mrs. Blake bequeathed to him 'all of his works that remained -unsold at his death, being writings, paintings, and a very great -number of copperplates, of whom impressions may be obtained.' -Linnell says that Tatham never showed anything in proof of his -assertion that they had been left to him. Tatham had passed -through various religious phases, and from being a Baptist, had -become an 'angel' of the Irvingite Church. He is supposed to -have destroyed the whole of the manuscripts and drawings in -his possession on account of religious scruples; and in the life of -Calvert by his son we read: 'Edward Calvert, fearing some fatal -<i>dénouement</i>, went to Tatham and implored him to reconsider -the matter and spare the good man's precious work; notwithstanding -which, blocks, plates, drawings, and MSS., I understand, were -destroyed.'</p> - -<p>Such is the received story, but is it strictly true? Did Tatham -really destroy these manuscripts for religious reasons, or did he -keep them and surreptitiously sell them for reasons of quite another -kind? In the <i>Rossetti Papers</i> there is a letter from Tatham -to Mr. W. M. Rossetti, dated Nov. 6, 1862, in which he says: 'I have -sold Mr. Blake's works for thirty years'; and a footnote to Dr. Garnett's -monograph on Blake in the <i>The Portfolio</i> of 1895 relates -a visit from Tatham which took place about 1860. Dr. Garnett told -me that Tatham had said, without giving any explanation, that he -had destroyed some of Blake's manuscripts and kept others by him, -which he had sold from time to time. Is there not therefore a -possibility that some of these lost manuscripts may still exist? -whether or not they may turn out to be, as Crabb Robinson tells -us that Blake told him, 'six or seven epic poems as long as Homer, -and twenty tragedies as long as <i>Macbeth.</i>'</p> - - - - -<h4>X</h4> - - -<p>There are people who still ask seriously if Blake was mad. If -the mind of Lord Macaulay is the one and only type of sanity, -then Blake was mad. If imagination, and ecstasy, and disregard of -worldly things, and absorption in the inner world of the mind, and -a literal belief in those things which the whole 'Christian community' -professes from the tip of its tongue; if these are signs and suspicions -of madness, then Blake was certainly mad. His place is where he saw -Teresa, among 'the gentle souls who guide the great wine-press -of Love'; and, like her, he was 'drunk with intellectual vision.' That -drunkenness illuminated him during his whole life, yet without -incapacitating him from any needful attention to things by the way. -He lived in poverty because he did not need riches; but he died -without leaving a debt. He was a steady, not a fitful worker, and his -wife said of him that she never saw his hands still unless he was -reading or asleep. He was gentle and sudden; his whole nature -was in a steady heat which could blaze at any moment into a flame. -'A saint amongst the infidels and a heretic with the orthodox,' -he has been described by one who knew him best in his later years, -John Linnell; and Palmer has said of him: 'His love of art was so -great that he would see nothing but art in anything he loved; and -so, as he loved the Apostles and their divine Head (for so I believe -he did), he must needs say that they were all artists.' 'When opposed by -the superstitious, the crafty, or the proud,' says Linnell again, 'he -outraged all common-sense and rationality by the opinions he -advanced'; and Palmer gives an instance of it: 'Being irritated by the -exclusively scientific talk at a friend's house, which talk had turned -on the vastness of space, he cried out, "It is false. I walked the other -evening to the end of the heath, and touched the sky with my finger."'</p> - -<p>It was of the essence of Blake's sanity that he could always -touch the sky with his finger. 'To justify the soul's frequent joy -in what cannot be defined to the intellectual part, or to calculation': -that, which is Walt Whitman's definition of his own aim, defines -Blake's. Where others doubted he knew; and he saw where others -looked vaguely into the darkness. He saw so much further than -others into what we call reality, that others doubted his report, -not being able to check it for themselves; and when he saw truth -naked he did not turn aside his eyes. Nor had he the common -notion of what truth is, or why it is to be regarded. He said: 'When -I tell a truth it is not for the sake of convincing those who do not -know it, but for the sake of defending those who do.' And his -criterion of truth was the inward certainty of instinct or intuition, -not the outward certainty of fact. 'God forbid,' he said, 'that Truth -should be confined to mathematical demonstration. He who does -not know Truth at sight is unworthy of her notice.' And he said: -'Error is created, truth is eternal. Error or creation will be burned -up, and then, not till then, truth or eternity will appear. It is burned -up the moment men cease to behold it.'</p> - -<p>It was this private certainty in regard to truth and all things -that Blake shared with the greatest minds of the world, and men -doubted him partly because he was content to possess that certainty -and had no desire to use it for any practical purpose, least of all to -convince others. He asked to be believed when he spoke, told the truth, -and was not concerned with argument or experiment, which seemed -to him ways of evasion. He said:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'It is easy to acknowledge a man to be great and good,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">while we</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Derogate from him in the trifles and small articles of</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">that goodness,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Those alone are his friends who admire his minutest</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">powers.'</span></p> - - -<p>He spoke naturally in terms of wisdom, and made no explanations, -bridged none of the gulfs which it seemed to him so easy to fly -over. Thus when he said that Ossian and Rowley were authentic, -and that what Macpherson and Chatterton said was ancient was -so, he did not mean it in a strictly literal sense, but in the sense -in which ancient meant authentic: true to ancient truth. Is a thing -true as poetry? then it is true in the minutest because the most -essential sense. On the other hand, in saying that part of -Wordsworth's Preface was written by another hand, he was merely -expressing in a bold figure a sane critical opinion. Is a thing false -among many true things? then it is not the true man who is writing -it, but some false section of his brain. It may be dangerous -practically to judge all things at an inner tribunal; but it is only by -such judgments that truth moves.</p> - -<p>And truth has moved, or we have. After <i>Zarathustra, Jerusalem</i> -no longer seems a wild heresy. People were frightened because -they were told that Blake was mad, or a blasphemer. Nietzsche, -who has cleared away so many obstructions from thought, has -shamed us from hiding behind these treacherous and unavailing -defenses. We have come to realize, what Rossetti pointed out long -ago, that, as a poet, Blake's characteristic is above all things that -of 'pure perfection in <i>writing verse.</i>' We no longer praise -his painting for its qualities as literature, or forget that his design -has greatness as design. And of that unique creation of an art out -of the mingling of many arts which we see in the 'illuminated printing' -of the engraved books, we have come to realize what Palmer meant -when he said long ago: 'As a picture has been said to be something -between a thing and a thought, so, in some of these type books over -which Blake had long brooded with his brooding of fire, the very -paper seems to come to life as you gaze upon it—not with -a mortal life, but an indestructible life.' And we have come to realize -what Blake meant by the humble and arrogant things which he said -about himself. 'I doubt not yet,' he writes in one of those gaieties -of speech which illuminate his letters, 'to make a figure in the great -dance of life that shall amuse the spectators in the sky.' If there are -indeed spectators there, amused by our motions, what dancer among -us are they more likely to have approved than this joyous, untired, -and undistracted dancer to the eternal rhythm?</p> - -<hr class="r5" /> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a>Compare the lines written in 1800:</p> - -<p><span style="margin-left: 1em;">'I bless thee, O Father of Heaven and Earth, that ever I saw</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Flaxman's face.</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Angels stand round my spirit in Heaven, the blessed of</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Heaven are my friends upon Earth.</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When Flaxman was taken to Italy, Fuseli was given to me</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">for a season ...</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And my Angels have told me that seeing such visions, I</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">could not subsist on the Earth,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But by my conjunction with Flaxman, who knows to forgive</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 2em;">nervous fear.'</span></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_2_1" id="Footnote_2_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_1"><span class="label">[2]</span></a>Gilchrist (I. 98) gives a long account of the house which -he took to be Blake's, and which he supposed to be on the west -side of Hercules Road. But it has been ascertained beyond a doubt, -on the authority of the Lambeth rate-books, confirmed by Norwood's -map of London at the end of the eighteenth century, that Blake's -house, then numbered 13 Hercules Buildings, was on the east side -of the road, and is the house now numbered 23 Hercules Road. -Before 1842 the whole road was renumbered, starting at the south -end of the western side and returning by the eastern side, so that -the house which Gilchrist saw in 1863 as 13 Hercules Buildings -was what afterwards became 70 Hercules Road, and is now pulled -down. The road was finally renumbered in 1890, and the house -became 23 Hercules Road.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_3_1" id="Footnote_3_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_1"><span class="label">[3]</span></a>The text of <i>Vala,</i> with corrections and additional errors, -is now accessible in the second volume of Mr. Ellis' edition of Blake's -<i>Poetical Works.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_4_1" id="Footnote_4_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_1"><span class="label">[4]</span></a>They are now to be read in Mr. Russell's edition of <i>The -Letters of William Blake.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_5_1" id="Footnote_5_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_1"><span class="label">[5]</span></a>We know from Mr. Lucas's catalogue of Lamb's -library that Lamb bound it up in a thick 12mo volume with his own -<i>Confessions of a Drunkard</i>, Southey's <i>Wat Tyler</i>, and Lady -Winchilsea's and Lord Rochester's poems.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_6_1" id="Footnote_6_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_1"><span class="label">[6]</span></a>I take the text of this letter, not from Mr. Russell's -edition, but from the fuller text printed by Mr. Ellis in <i>The -Real Blake.</i></p></div> - - - - - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - -<h4><a id="PART_II-RECORDS_FROM_CONTEMPORARY_SOURCES">PART II - RECORDS FROM CONTEMPORARY SOURCES</a></h4> - - - - -<h4><a id="I._EXTRACTS_FROM_THE_DIARY_LETTERS_AND_REMINISCENCES_OF_HENRY_CRABB_ROBINSON_TRANSCRIBED_FROM_THE_ORIGINAL_MSS_IN_DR_WILLIAMSS_LIBRARY_1810-1852">(I.) EXTRACTS FROM THE DIARY, LETTERS, AND REMINISCENCES OF HENRY CRABB -ROBINSON, TRANSCRIBED FROM THE ORIGINAL MSS. IN DR. WILLIAMS'S LIBRARY, -1810-1852</a></h4> - - -<p>'Of all the records of these his latter years,' says Mr. Swinburne in -his book on Blake, 'the most valuable, perhaps, are those furnished by -Mr. Crabb Robinson, whose cautious and vivid transcription of Blake's -actual speech is worth more than much vague remark, or than any -commentary now possible to give.' Through the kind permission of the -Librarian of Dr. Williams's Library, where the Crabb Robinson MSS. are -preserved, I am able to give, for the first time, an accurate and complete -text of every reference to Blake in the <i>Diary, Letters</i>, and -<i>Reminiscences</i>, which have hitherto been printed only in -part, and with changes as well as omissions. In an entry in his Diary -for May 13, 1848, Crabb Robinson says: 'It is strange that I, who have -no imagination, nor any power beyond that of a logical understanding, -should yet have great respect for the mystics.' This respect for the -mystics, to which we owe the notes on Blake, was part of an inexhaustible -curiosity in human things, and in things of the mind, which made of -Crabb Robinson the most searching and significant reporter of the -nineteenth century. Others may have understood Blake better than -he did, but no one else was so attentive to his speech, and thus so -faithful an interpreter of his meaning.</p> - -<p>In copying from the MS. I have followed the spelling, not however -preserving abbreviations such as 'Bl:' for 'Blake,' due merely to haste, -and I have modified the punctuation and added commas of quotation -only when the writer's carelessness in these matters was likely to be -confusing. Otherwise the transcript is literal and verbatim, and I have -added in footnotes any readings of possible interest which have been -crossed out in the manuscript.</p> - - - - -<hr class="r5" /> - - - - -<h4><a id="FROM_CRABB_ROBINSONS_DIARY">(1) FROM CRABB ROBINSON'S DIARY</a></h4> - - -<h5>1825</h5> - - -<h5><i>December</i></h5> - - -<p>10 ... Dined with Aders. A very remarkable and interesting evening. -The party <i>Blake</i> the painter and Linnell—also a painter -and engraver—to dinner. In the evening came Miss Denman -and Miss Flaxman.</p> - - - - -<h5>10<i>th December</i> 1825</h5> - - -<h5>BLAKE</h5> - - -<p>I will put down as they occur to me without method all I can -recollect of the conversation of this remarkable man. Shall I call -him Artist or Genius—or Mystic—or Madman? Probably he -is all. He has a most interesting appearance. He is now old—pale -with a Socratic countenance, and an expression of great sweetness, but -bordering on weakness—except when his features are animated -by<a name="FNanchor_1_2" id="FNanchor_1_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_2" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> expression, and then he has an air of inspiration about -him. The conversation was on art, and on poetry, and on religion; -but it was my object, and I was successful, in drawing him out, -and in so getting from him an avowal of his <i>peculiar</i> sentiments. -I was aware before of the nature of his impressions, or I should -at times have been at a loss to understand him. He was shewn -soon after he entered the room some compositions of Mrs. Aders -which he cordially praised. And he brought with him an engraving -of his Canterbury Pilgrims for Aders. One of the figures resembled -one in one of Aders's pictures. 'They say I stole it from this -picture, but I did it 20 years before I knew of the picture—however, -in my youth I was always studying this kind of paintings. No -wonder there is a resemblance.' In this he seemed to explain -<i>humanly</i> what he had done, but he at another time spoke of -his paintings as being what he had seen in his visions. And -when he said <i>my visions</i> it was in the ordinary unemphatic -tone in which we speak of trivial matters that every one understands -and cares nothing about. In the same tone he said repeatedly, -the 'Spirit told me.' I took occasion to say—You use the same -word as Socrates used. What resemblance do you suppose is there -between your spirit and the spirit of Socrates? 'The same as -between our countenance.' He paused and added—'I was Socrates.' -And then, as if correcting himself, 'A sort of brother. I must -have had conversations with him. So I had with Jesus Christ. -I have an obscure recollection of having been with both of them.'</p> - -<p>It was before this, that I had suggested on very obvious philosophical -grounds the <i>impossibility</i> of supposing an immortal being -created—an eternity <i>a parte post</i> without an eternity -<i>a parte ante.</i> This is an obvious truth I have been many (perhaps -30) years fully aware of. His eye brightened on my saying this, -and he eagerly concurred—'To be sure it is impossible. We are -all co-existent with God—members of the Divine body. We are -all partakers of the Divine nature.' In this, by the bye, Blake has but -adopted an ancient Greek idea—query of Plato? As connected -with this idea I will mention here (though it formed part of our talk, -walking homeward) that on my asking in what light he viewed -the great question concerning the Divinity of Jesus Christ, he -said<i>—'He is the only God</i>.' But then he added—'And -so am I and so are you.' Now he had just before (and this occasioned -my question) been speaking of the errors of Jesus Christ—He -was wrong in suffering Himself to be crucified. He should not have -attacked the Government. He had no business with such matters. -On my inquiring how he reconciled this with the sanctity and divine -qualities of Jesus, he said He was not then become the Father. -Connecting as well as one can these fragmentary sentiments, it -would be hard to give Blake's station between Christianity, Platonism, -and Spinosism. Yet he professes to be very hostile to Plato, and -reproaches Wordsworth with being not a Christian but a Platonist.</p> - -<p>It is one of the subtle remarks of Hume on certain religious -speculations that the tendency of them is to make men indifferent -to whatever takes place by destroying all ideas of good and evil. I -took occasion to apply this remark to something Blake said. If so, -I said, there is no use in discipline or education, no difference -between good and evil. He hastily broke in on me—'There is -no use in education. I hold it wrong. It is the great sin.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> -It is eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That was -the fault of Plato—he knew of nothing but of the virtues and vices -and good and evil There is nothing in all that. Every thing is good -in God's eyes.' On my putting the obvious question—Is there -nothing absolutely evil in what men do? 'I am no judge of that. -Perhaps not in God's Eyes.' Though on this and other occasions he -spoke as if he denied altogether the existence of evil, and as if we -had nothing to do with right and wrong. It being sufficient to consider -all things as alike the work of God. [I interposed with the German -word objectively, which he approved of.] Yet at other times he spoke -of error as being in heaven. I asked about the <i>moral</i> character -of Dante in writing his Vision: was he pure? '<i>Pure</i>' said Blake. -'Do you think there is any purity in God's eyes? The angels in heaven -are no more so than we—"he chargeth his angels with folly."' -He afterwards extended this to the Supreme Being—he is -liable to error too. Did he not repent him that he had made Nineveh?</p> - -<p>It is easier to repeat the personal remarks of Blake than these -metaphysical speculations so nearly allied to the most opposite -systems. He spoke with seeming complacency of himself—said -he acted by command. The spirit said to him, 'Blake, be an artist -and nothing else.' In this there is felicity. His eye glistened while -he spoke of the joy of devoting himself solely to divine art. 'Art is -inspiration. When Michael Angelo or Raphael or Mr. Flaxman does -any of his fine things, he does them in the spirit.' Blake said, 'I -should be sorry if I had any earthly fame, for whatever natural -glory a man has is so much detracted from his spiritual glory. I -wish to do nothing for profit. I wish to live for art. I want nothing -whatever. I am quite happy.'</p> - -<p>Among the<a name="FNanchor_3_2" id="FNanchor_3_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_2" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> unintelligible sentiments which he -was continually expressing is his distinction between the natural -and the spiritual world. The natural world must be consumed. Incidentally -<i>Swedenborg</i> was spoken of. He was a divine teacher—he -has done much good, and will do much good—he has corrected -many errors of Popery, and also of Luther and Calvin. Yet he -also said that <i>Swedenborg</i> was wrong in endeavoring to explain -to the <i>rational</i> faculty what the reason cannot comprehend: he -should have left that. As Blake mentioned <i>Swedenborg</i> and -<i>Dante</i> together I wished to know whether he considered their -visions of the same kind. As far as I could collect, he does. <i>Dante</i> -he said was the greater <i>poet.</i> He had <i>political</i> objects. -Yet this, though wrong, does not appear in Blake's mind to affect the -truth of the vision. Strangely inconsistent with this was the language -of Blake about Wordsworth. Wordsworth he thinks is no Christian but a -Platonist. He asked me, 'Does he believe in the Scriptures?' On my -answering in the affirmative he said he had been much pained by -reading the introduction to the Excursion. It brought on a fit of illness. -The passage was produced and read:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Jehovah—with his thunder, and the choir</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Of shouting Angels, and the empyreal thrones,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">I <i>pass</i> them unalarmed.'</span></p> - - -<p>This <i>pass them unalarmed</i> greatly offended Blake. 'Does -Mr. Wordsworth think his mind can <i>surpass</i> Jehovah?' I tried -to twist this passage into a sense corresponding with Blake's own -theories, but filled [<i>sic</i>= failed], and Wordsworth was finally -set down as a pagan. But still with great praise as the greatest poet -of the age.</p> - -<p>Jacob Boehmen was spoken of as a divinely inspired man. Blake -praised, too, the figures in Law's translation as being very beautiful. -Michael Angelo could not have done better. Though he spoke of his -happiness, he spoke of past sufferings, and of sufferings as necessary. -'There is suffering in heaven, for where there is the capacity of -enjoyment, there is the capacity of pain.'</p> - -<p>I have been interrupted by a call from Talfourd in writing this -account—and I can not now recollect any distinct remarks—but -as Blake has invited me to go and see him I shall possibly have an -opportunity again of noting what he says, and I may be able hereafter -to throw connection, if not system, into what I have written above.</p> - -<p>I feel great admiration and respect for him—he is certainly -a most amiable man—a good creature—and of his poetical -and pictorial genius there is no doubt, I believe, in the minds of judges. -Wordsworth and Lamb like his poems, and the Aders his paintings.</p> - - -<p>A few other detached thoughts occur to me. <i>Bacon</i>, <i>Locke</i>, -and <i>Newton</i> are the three great teachers of Atheism or of Satan's -doctrine. Every thing is <i>Atheism</i> which assumes the reality of the -natural and unspiritual world. <i>Irving.</i> He is a highly gifted -man—he is a sent man—but they who are sent sometimes<a name="FNanchor_4_2" id="FNanchor_4_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_2" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> -go further than they ought.</p> - -<p><i>Dante</i> saw Devils where I see none. I see only good. I saw -nothing but good in <i>Calvin's</i> house—better than in Luther's; -he had harlots.</p> - -<p><i>Swedenborg.</i> Parts of his scheme are dangerous. His sexual -religion is dangerous.</p> - -<p>I do not believe that the world is round. I believe it is quite flat. -I objected the circumnavigation. We were called to dinner at the -moment, and I lost the reply.</p> - -<p>The <i>Sun.</i> 'I have conversed with the Spiritual Sun—I saw -him on Primrose-hill. He said, "Do you take me for the Greek Apollo?" -"No," I said, "that," [and Blake pointed to the sky] "that is the Greek -Apollo. He is Satan."'</p> - -<p>'I know what is true by internal conviction. A doctrine is told -me—my heart says it must be true.' I corroborated this by -remarking on the impossibility of the unlearned man judging of -what are called the <i>external</i> evidences of religion, in -which he heartily concurred.</p> - -<p>I regret that I have been unable to do more than set down these -seeming idle and rambling sentences. The tone and manner are -incommunicable. There is a natural sweetness and gentility about -Blake which are delightful. And when he is not referring to his -Visions he talks sensibly and acutely.</p> - -<p>His friend Linnel seems a great admirer.</p> - -<p>Perhaps the best thing he said was his comparison of moral -with natural evil. 'Who shall say what God thinks evil? That is a wise -tale of the Mahometans—of the Angel of the Lord that murdered -the infant' [alluding to the Hermit of Parnel, I suppose]. 'Is not every -infant that dies of disease in effect murdered by an angel?'</p> - - -<p>17<i>th December.</i> For the sake of connection I will here -insert a minute of a short call I this morning made on Blake. He -dwells in Fountain Court in the Strand. I found him in a small -room, which seems to be both a working-room and a bedroom. Nothing -could exceed the squalid air both of the apartment and his dress, -but in spite of dirt—I might say filth—an air of natural -gentility is diffused over him. And his wife, notwithstanding the same -offensive character of her dress and appearance, has a good expression -of countenance, so that I shall have a pleasure in calling on and -conversing with these worthy people.</p> - -<p>But I fear I shall not make any progress in ascertaining his opinions -and feelings—that there being really no system or connection in -his mind, all his future conversation will be but varieties of wildness -and incongruity.</p> - -<p>I found [<i>sic</i>] at work on Dante. The book (Cary) and his -sketches both before him. He shewed me his designs, of which I -have nothing to say but that they evince a power of grouping and -of throwing grace and interest over conceptions most monstrous and -disgusting, which I should not have anticipated.</p> - -<p>Our conversation began about Dante. 'He was an "Atheist," a -mere politician busied about this world as Milton was, till in his old -age he returned back to God whom he had had in his childhood.'</p> - -<p>I tried to get out from Blake that he meant this charge only in -a higher sense, and not using the word Atheism in its popular -meaning. But he would not allow this. Though when he in like -manner charged Locke with Atheism and I remarked that Locke -wrote on the evidences of piety and lived a virtuous life, he had -nothing to reply to me nor reiterated the charge of willful deception. -I admitted that Locke's doctrine leads to Atheism, and this seemed -to satisfy him. From this subject we passed over to that of good -and evil, in which he repeated his former assertions more decidedly. -He allowed, indeed, that there is error, mistake, etc., and if these -be evil—then there is evil, but these are only negations. -Nor would he admit that any education should be attempted except -that of cultivation of the imagination and fine arts. 'What are called -the vices in the natural world are the highest sublimities in the -spiritual world.' When I asked whether if he had been a father he -would not have grieved if his child had become vicious or a great -criminal, he answered, 'I must not regard when I am endeavoring -to think rightly my own any more than other people's weaknesses.' -And when I again remarked that this doctrine puts an end to all -exertion or even wish to change anything, he had no reply. We -spoke of the Devil, and I observed that when a child I thought the -Manichaean doctrine or that of the two principles a rational one. -He assented to this, and in confirmation asserted that he did -not believe in the <i>omnipotence</i> of God. 'The language of -the Bible on that subject is only poetical or allegorical.' Yet soon -after he denied that the natural world is anything. 'It is all nothing, -and Satan's empire is the empire of nothing.'</p> - -<p>He reverted soon to his favorite expression, my Visions. 'I -saw Milton in imagination, and he told me to beware of being -misled by his Paradise Lost. In particular he wished me to show -the falsehood of his doctrine that the pleasures of <i>sex</i> -arose from the fall. The fall could not produce any pleasure.' I -answered, the fall produced a state of <i>evil</i> in which there -was a mixture of good or pleasure. And in that sense the fall -may be said to produce the pleasure. But he replied that the -fall produced only generation and death. And then he went off -upon a rambling state of a union of sexes in man as in Ovid, -an androgynous state, in which I could not follow him.</p> - -<p>As he spoke of Miltons appearing to him, I asked whether he -resembled the prints of him. He answered, 'All.' Of what age did -he appear to be? 'Various ages—sometimes a very old man.' -He spoke of Milton as being at one time a sort of classical Atheist, -and of Dante as being now with God.</p> - -<p>Of the faculty of Vision, he spoke as one he has had from early -infancy. He thinks all men partake of it, but it is lost by not being -cultivated. And he eagerly assented to a remark I made, that all men -have all faculties to a greater or less degree. I am to renew my visits, -and to read Wordsworth to him, of whom he seems to entertain a high idea.</p> - -<p>[Here B. has added <i>vide</i> p. 174, <i>i.e.</i> Dec. 24, -below.]</p> - - -<p><i>Sunday</i> 11<i>th.</i> The greater part of the forenoon -was spent in writing the preceding account of my interview with Blake -in which I was interrupted by a call from Talfourd....</p> - - -<p>17<i>th.</i> Made a visit to Blake of which I have written fully -in a preceding page.</p> - - -<p>20<i>th</i>... Hundleby took coffee with me <i>tête à tête.</i> -We talked of his personal concerns, of Wordsworth, whom I can't make -him properly enjoy; of Blake, whose peculiarities he can as little -relish....</p> - - -<p><i>Saturday</i> 24<i>th.</i> A call on <i>Blake.</i> My third -interview. I read him Wordsworth's incomparable ode, which he heartily -enjoyed. The same half crazy crotchets about the two worlds—the -eternal repetition of what must in time become tiresome. Again he -repeated to day, 'I fear Wordsworth loves Nature—and Nature -is the work of the Devil. The Devil is in us, as far as we are Nature.' -On my enquiring whether the Devil would not be destroyed by God -as being of less power, he denied that God has any power—asserted -that the Devil is eternally created not by God, but by God's permission. -And when I objected that permission implies power to prevent, he did -not seem to understand me. It was remarked that the parts of Wordworth's -ode which he most enjoyed were the most obscure and those I the least -like and comprehend....</p> - - - - -<hr class="r5" /> - - - - -<h5><i>January</i> 1826</h5> - - -<p>6<i>th.</i> A call on Blake. I hardly feel it worth while to write -down his conversation, it is so much a repetition of his former talk. -He was very cordial to-day. I had procured him two subscriptions -for his Job from Geo. Procter and Bas. Montague. I paid £1 on each. -This, probably, put him in spirits, more than he was aware of—he -spoke of his being richer than ever on having learned to know me, -and he told Mrs. A. he and I were nearly of an opinion. Yet I have -practized no deception intentionally, unless silence be so. He -renewed his complaints, blended with his admiration of Wordsworth. -The oddest thing he said was that he had been commanded to do certain -things, that is, to write about Milton, and that he was applauded for -refusing—he struggled with the Angels and was victor. His -wife joined in the conversation....</p> - - -<p>8<i>th.</i> ... Then took tea with Basil Montague, Mrs. M. -there. A short chat about Coleridge, Irving, etc. She admires -Blake<i>—Encore une excellence là de plus.</i>...</p> - - -<h5><i>February</i></h5> - - -<p>18<i>th.</i> Jos. Wedd breakfasted with me. Then called on -<i>Blake.</i> An amusing chat with him, but still no novelty. -The same round of extravagant and mad doctrines, which I shall -not now repeat, but merely notice their application.</p> - -<p>He gave me, copied out by himself, Wordsworth's preface to -his Excursion. At the end he has added this note:—</p> - -<p>'Solomon, when he married Pharaoh's daughter, became a convert -to the Heathen Mythology, talked exactly in this way of Jehovah -as a very inferior object of man's contemplations; he also passed him -by unalarmed, and was permitted. Jehovah dropped a tear and followed -him by his Spirit into the abstract void. It is called the divine Mercy. -Satan dwells in it, but mercy does not dwell in him.'</p> - -<p>Of Wordsworth he talked as before. Some of his writings proceed -from the Holy Ghost, but then others are the work of the Devil. -However, I found on this subject Blake's language more in conformity -with Orthodox Christianity than before. He talked of the being under -the direction of <i>Self</i>; and of <i>Reason</i> as the creature -of man and opposed to God's grace. And warmly declared that all he -knew was in the Bible, but then he understands by the Bible the spiritual -sense. For as to the natural sense, that Voltaire was commissioned by -God to expose. 'I have had much intercourse with Voltaire, and he -said to me I blasphemed the Son of Man, and it shall be forgiven -me. But they (the enemies of Voltaire) blasphemed the Holy Ghost -in me, and it shall not be forgiven them.' I asked in what language -Voltaire spoke—he gave an ingenious answer. 'To my sensation -it was English. It was like the touch of a musical key. He touched it -probably French, but to my ear it became English.' I spoke again of -the <i>form</i> of the persons who appear to him. Asked why he did -not <i>draw</i> them, 'It is not worth while. There are so many, the -labour would be too great. Besides there would be no use. As to -Shakespeare, he is exactly like the <i>old</i> engraving—which -is called a bad one. I think it very good.'</p> - -<p>I enquired about his writings. 'I have written more than Voltaire -or Rousseau—six or seven epic poems as long as Homer, and -20 tragedies as long as Macbeth.' He showed me his Vision (for so it -may be called) of Genesis—'as understood by a Christian -Visionary,' in which in a style resembling the Bible the spirit is given. -He read a passage at random. It was striking. He will not print any -more.<a name="FNanchor_5_2" id="FNanchor_5_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_2" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> 'I write,' he says, 'when commanded by the spirits, -and the moment I have written I see the words fly about the -room in all directions. It is then published, and the spirits -can read. My MSS. of no further use. I have been tempted to -burn my MSS., but my wife won't let me.' She is right, said -I—and you have written these, not from yourself, but by a higher -order. The MSS. are theirs and your property. You cannot tell -what purpose they may answer—unforeseen to you. He liked this, -and said he would not destroy them. His philosophy he repeated—denying - causation, asserting everything to be -the work of God or the Devil—that there is a constant falling -off from God—angels becoming devils. Every man has a devil -in him, and the conflict is eternal between a man's self and God, etc. -etc. etc. He told me my copy of his songs would be 5 guineas, and -was pleased by my manner of receiving this information. He spoke of -his horror of money—of his turning pale when money had been -offered him, etc. etc. etc.</p> - - -<h5><i>May</i></h5> - - -<p><i>Thursday</i> 11<i>th.</i> Calls this morning on Blake, on -Thornton [etc.] ...</p> - -<p>12<i>th.</i> ... Tea and supper at home. The Flaxmans, Masqueriers -(a Miss Forbes), Blake, and Sutton Sharpe.</p> - -<p>On the whole the evening went off tolerably. Masquerier not -precisely the man to enjoy Blake, who was, however, not in an -<i>exalted</i> state. Allusions only to his particular notions -while Masquerier commented on his opinions as if they were those -of a man of ordinary notions. Blake asserted that the oldest painter -poets were the best. Do you deny all progression? says Masquerier. 'Oh -yes!' I doubt whether Flaxman sufficiently tolerates Blake. But Blake -appreciates Flaxman as he ought. Blake relished my Stone drawings. -They staid till eleven.</p> - -<p>Blake is more and more convinced that Wordsworth worships -<i>nature</i> and is not a Bible Christian. I have sent him the -Sketches. We shall see whether they convert him.</p> - - -<h5><i>June</i></h5> - - -<p>13<i>th.</i> Another idle day. Called early on Blake. He was -as wild as ever, with no great novelty, except that he confessed -a <i>practical</i> notion which would do him more injury than any -other I have heard from him. He says that from the Bible he -has learned that <i>eine Gemeinschaft der Frauen statt finden -sollte.</i> When I objected that <i>Ehestand</i> seems to be a divine -institution, he referred to the Bible—'that from the beginning -it was not so.' He talked as usual of the spirits, asserted -that he had committed many murders, that reason is the only evil -or sin, and that careless, gay people are better than those who -think, etc. etc. etc.</p> - - -<h5><i>December</i></h5> - - -<p><i>Thursday</i> 7<i>th.</i> I sent Britt, to enquire after Mr. -Flaxman's health, etc., and was engaged looking over the Term -Reports while he was gone. On his return, he brought the melancholy -intelligence of his death early in the morning!!! The country has lost -one of its greatest and best of men. As an artist he has spread the -fame of the country beyond any others of his age. As a man he exhibited -a rare specimen of Christian and moral excellence.</p> - -<p>I walked out and called at Mr. Soane's. He was from home. I then -called on Blake, desirous to see how, with his peculiar feelings -and opinions, he would receive the intelligence. It was much -as I expected—he had himself been very ill during the summer, -and his first observation was with a smile—'I thought I -should have gone first.' He then said, 'I cannot consider death -as anything but<a name="FNanchor_6_2" id="FNanchor_6_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_2" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> a removing from one room to another.' One -thing led to another, and he fell into his wild rambling way -of talk. 'Men are born with a devil and an angel,' but this -he himself interpreted body and soul. Of the Old Testament he -seemed to think not favorably. 'Christ,' said he, 'took much -after his mother (the law), and in that respect was one of the -worst of men.' On my requiring an explanation, he said, 'There -was his turning the money changers out of the Temple. He had -no right to do that.' Blake then declared against those who -sat in judgement on others. 'I have never known a very bad man -who had not something very good about him.' He spoke of the -Atonement. Said, 'It is a horrible doctrine. If another man pay your -debt, I do not forgive it,' etc. etc. etc. He produced <i>Sintram</i> -by Fouqué—'This is better than my things.'</p> - - - - -<hr class="r5" /> - - - - -<h5>1827</h5> - - -<h5><i>February</i></h5> - - -<p><i>Friday</i>, 2<i>nd.</i> Götzenberger, the young painter from -Germany, called on me, and I accompanied him to Blake. We looked -over Blake's Dante. Götzenberger seemed highly gratified by the designs, -and Mrs. Aders says Götzenberger considers Blake, as the first -and Flaxman as the second man he had seen in England. The conversation -was slight—I was interpreter between them. And nothing -remarkable was said by Blake—he was interested apparently by -Götzenberger....</p> - - - - -<hr class="r5" /> - - - - -<h5>1828</h5> - - -<h5><i>January</i></h5> - - -<p>8<i>th.</i> Breakfasted with Shott—Talfourd and B. Field -there. Walked with Field to Mrs. Blake. The poor old lady was more -affected than I expected, yet she spoke of her husband as dying -like an angel. She is the housekeeper of Linnell the painter and -engraver, and at present her services might well pay for her hoard. -A few of her husband's works are all her property. We found that -the Job is Linnell's property, and the print of Chaucer's pilgrimage -hers. Therefore Field bought a proof and I two prints at 2 1/2 guineas -each. I mean one for Lamb. Mrs. Blake is to look out some engravings -for me hereafter....</p> - - - - -<hr class="r5" /> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_2" id="Footnote_1_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_2"><span class="label">[1]</span></a>'Any' crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a>'By which evil' crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_3_2" id="Footnote_3_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_2"><span class="label">[3]</span></a>'More remarkable' crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_4_2" id="Footnote_4_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_2"><span class="label">[4]</span></a>'Exceed their commission' crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_5_2" id="Footnote_5_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_2"><span class="label">[5]</span></a>'For the writer' crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_6_2" id="Footnote_6_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_2"><span class="label">[6]</span></a>'A passage from' crossed out.</p></div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - -<h4><a id="FROM_A_LETTER_OF_CRABB_ROBINSON_TO_DOROTHY_WORDSWORTH">(2) FROM A LETTER OF CRABB ROBINSON TO DOROTHY WORDSWORTH</a></h4> - - -<p>In a letter to Dorothy Wordsworth, not dated, but bearing the -postmark of February 20, 1826, there is the following reference to -Blake. No earlier reference to him occurs in the letter, in spite of -the sentence which follows:—</p> - -<p>'I have above mentioned <i>Blake.</i> I forget whether I ever -mentioned to you this very interesting man, with whom I am now -become acquainted. Were the "Memorials" at my hand, I should quote -a fine passage in the Sonnet on the Cologne Cathedral as applicable -to the contemplation of this singular being.'</p> - -<p>'I gave your brother some poems in MS. by him, and they interested -him—as well they might, for there is an affinity between them, -as there is between the regulated imagination of a wise poet and the -incoherent dreams of a poet. Blake is an engraver by trade, a -painter and a poet also, whose works have been subject of derision -to men in general; but he has a few admirers, and some of eminence -have eulogized his designs. He has lived in obscurity and poverty, -to which the constant hallucinations in which he lives have doomed -him. I do not mean to give you a detailed account of him. A few -words will suffice to inform you of what class he is. He is not so -much a disciple of Jacob Böhmen and Swedenborg as a fellow Visionary. -He lives, as they did, in a world of his own, enjoying constant -intercourse with the world of spirits. He receives visits from -Shakespeare, Milton, Dante, Voltaire, etc. etc. etc., and has given -me repeatedly their very words in their conversations. His paintings -are copies of what he saw in his Visions. His books (and his MSS. -are immense in quantity) are dictations from the spirits. He told -me yesterday that when he writes it is for the spirits only; he sees -the words fly about the room the moment he has put them on paper, -and his book is then published. A man so favoured, of course, has -sources of wisdom and truth peculiar to himself. I will not pretend to -give you an account of his religious and philosophical opinions. -They are a strange compound of Christianity, Spinozism, and -Platonism. I must confine myself to what he has said about your -brother's works, and<a name="FNanchor_1_3" id="FNanchor_1_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_3" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> I fear this may lead me far enough to -fatigue you in following me. After what I have said, Mr. W. -will not be flattered by knowing that Blake deems him the <i>only -poet</i> of the age, nor much alarmed by hearing that, like Muley -Moloch, Blake thinks that he is often in his works an <i>Atheist.</i> -Now, according to Blake, Atheism consists in worshipping the -natural world, which same natural world, properly speaking, is -nothing real, but a mere illusion produced by Satan. Milton -was for a great part of his life an Atheist, and therefore has -fatal errors in his Paradise Lost, which he has often begged -Blake to confute. Dante (though now with God) lived and died -an Atheist. He was the slave of the world and time. But Dante -and Wordsworth, in spite of their Atheism, were inspired by the -Holy Ghost. Indeed, all real poetry is the work of the Holy Ghost, -and Wordsworth's poems (a large proportion, at least) are the -work of divine inspiration. Unhappily he is left by God to his own -illusions, and then the Atheism is apparent. I had the pleasure of -reading to Blake in my best style (and you know I am vain on -that point, and think I read W.'s poems particularly well) the Ode -on Immortality. I never witnessed greater delight in any listener; -and in general Blake loves the poems. What appears to have disturbed -his mind, on the other hand, is the Preface to the Excursion. -He told me six months ago that it caused him a bowel complaint -which nearly killed him. I have in his hand a copy of the extract -[with the][<a name="FNanchor_2_3" id="FNanchor_2_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_3" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> following note at the end: "Solomon, when he -married Pharaoh's daughter and became a convert to the Heathen -Mythology, talked exactly in this way of Jehovah as a very inferior -object of man's contemplation; he also passed him by unalarmed, -and was permitted. Jehovah dropped a tear, and followed him by -his Spirit into the abstract void. It is called the divine mercy. Satan -dwells in it, but Mercy does not dwell in him, he knows not to forgive." -When I first saw Blake at Mrs. Aders's he very earnestly asked me, -"Is Mr. W. a sincere real Christian?" In reply to my answer he said, -"If so, what does he mean by 'the worlds to which the heaven of -heavens is but a veil,' and who is he that shall 'pass Jehovah -unalarmed'?" It is since then that I have lent Blake all the works -which he but imperfectly knew. I doubt whether what I have written -will excite your and Mr. W.'s curiosity; but there is something -so delightful about the man—though in great poverty, he -is so perfect a gentleman, with such genuine dignity and independence, -scorning presents, and of such native delicacy in words, etc. -etc. etc., that I have not scrupled promising introducing him -and Mr. W. together. He expressed his thanks strongly, saying, -"You do me honor, Mr. W. is a great man. Besides, he may convince -me I am wrong about him. I have been wrong before now," etc. -Coleridge has visited Blake, and, I am told, talks finely about -him. That I might not encroach on a third sheet I have compressed -what I had to say about Blake. You must <i>see</i> him one of -these days and he will interest you at all events, whatever -character you give to his mind.'</p> - -<p>The main part of the letter is concerned with Wordsworth's -arrangement of his poems, which Crabb Robinson says that he -agrees with Lamb in disliking. He then says: 'It is a sort of intellectual -suicide in your brother not to have continued his admirable series -of poems "dedicated to liberty," he might add, "and public virtue." I -assure you it gives me real pain when I think that some future -commentator may possibly hereafter write, "This great poet survived -to the fifth decenary of the nineteenth century, but he appears to -have dyed in the year 1814 as far as life consisted in an active -sympathy with the temporary welfare of his fellow-creatures...."</p> - -<p>[More follows, and then] 'I had no intention, I assure you, to -make so long a parenthesis or indeed to advert to such a subject. -And I wish you not to read any part of this letter which might -be thought impertinent.... In favor of my affectionate attachment -to your brother's fame, do forgive me this digression, and, as I -said above, keep it to yourself.'</p> - -<p>[At the end he says] 'My best remembrances to Mr. W. And -recollect again that you are not to read <i>all</i> this letter to -any one if it will offend, and you are yourself to forgive it as coming -from one who is affly your friend,</p> - - -<p style="margin-left: 60%;">H. C. R.'</p> - - -<p>On April 6, Wordsworth answers the letter from Rydal Mount, -saying: 'My sister had taken flight for Herefordshire when your -letter, for such we guessed it to be, arrived—it was broken -open—(pray forgive the offense) and your charges of concealment -and reserve frustrated. We are all, at all times, so glad to hear -from you that we could not resist the temptation to purchase -the pleasure at the expense of the peccadillo, for which we beg -pardon with united voices. You are kind enough to mention my -poems.'</p> - -<p>[All the rest of the letter is taken up with them, and it ends, -with no mention of Blake] 'I can write no more. T. Clarkson is -going. Your supposed Biography entertained me much. I could -give you the other side. Farewell.'</p> - -<p>[There is no signature.]</p> - - - - -<hr class="r5" /> - - - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_3" id="Footnote_1_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_3"><span class="label">[1]</span></a>'And as I am requested to copy what he has written for -the purpose' crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_2_3" id="Footnote_2_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_3"><span class="label">[2]</span></a>The MS. is here torn.</p></div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - -<h4><a id="FROM_CRABB_ROBINSONS_REMINISCENCES">(3) FROM CRABB ROBINSON'S REMINISCENCES</a></h4> - - -<h4>1810</h4> - - -<p>I was amusing myself this spring by writing an account of the -insane poet, painter, and engraver, <i>Blake.</i> Perthes of Hamburg -had written to me asking me to send him an article for a new German -magazine, entitled Vaterländische Annalen, which he was about to -set up, and Dr. <i>Malkin</i> having in his Memoirs of his son -given an account of this extraordinary genius with specimens of -his poems, I resolved out of these to compile a paper. And this I did,<a name="FNanchor_1_4" id="FNanchor_1_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_4" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> -and the paper was translated by Dr. Julius, who, many years -afterwards, introduced himself to me as my translator. It appears -in the single number of the second volume of the Vaterländische -Annalen. For it was at this time that Buonaparte united Hamburg to -the French Empire, on which Perthes manfully gave up the magazine, -saying, as he had no longer a Vaterland, there could be no Vaterländische -Annalen. But before I drew up the paper, I went to see a gallery of -Blake's paintings, which were exhibited by his brother, a hosier in -Carnaby Market. The entrance was 2s. 6d., catalogue included. I was -deeply interested by the catalogue as well as the pictures. I took -4—telling the brother I hoped he would let me come in again. -He said, 'Oh! as often as you please.' I dare say such a thing had never -happened before or did afterwards. I afterwards became acquainted -with Blake, and will postpone till hereafter what I have to say of this -extraordinary character, whose life has since been written very -inadequately by Allan Cunningham in his <i>Lives of the English -Artists.</i></p> - -<p>[At the side is written]—<i>N. B.</i> What I have written -about Blake will appear at the end of the year 1825.</p> - - - - -<hr class="r5" /> - - - - -<h5>1825</h5> - - -<h5>WILLIAM BLAKE</h5> - - -<p style="margin-left: 70%;">19/02/52</p> - - -<p>It was at the latter end of the year 1825 that I put in writing -my recollections of this most remarkable man. The larger portions -are under the date of the 18th of December. He died in the year -1827. I have therefore now revised what I wrote on the 10th of -December and afterwards, and without any attempt to reduce to -order, or make consistent the wild and strange rhapsodies uttered -by this insane man of genius, thinking it better to put down what -I find as it occurs, though I am aware of the objection that may -justly be made to the recording the ravings of insanity in which it -may be said there can be found no principle, as there is no -ascertainable law of mental association which is obeyed; and from -which therefore nothing can be learned.</p> - -<p>This would be perfectly true of <i>mere</i> madness—but does not -apply to that form of insanity ordinarily called monomania, -and may be disregarded in a case like the present in which the -subject of the remark was unquestionably what a German would -call a <i>Verunglückter Genie</i>, whose theosophic dreams bear a -close resemblance to those of <i>Swedenborg</i>—whose genius as -an artist was praised by no less men than <i>Flaxman</i> and -<i>Fuseli</i>—and whose poems were thought worthy republication -by the biographer of <i>Swedenborg</i> (<i>Wilkinson</i>), and of -which Wordsworth said after reading a number—they were the -'Songs of Innocence and Experience showing the two opposite sides -of the human soul'—'There is no doubt this poor man was -mad, but there is something in the madness of this man which interests -me more than the sanity of Lord Byron and Walter Scott!' The German -painter <i>Götzenberger</i> (a man indeed who ought not to be -named <i>after the others</i> as an authority for my writing about -Blake) said, on his returning to Germany about the time at which I -am now arrived, 'I saw in England many men of talents, but only -three men of genius, Coleridge, Flaxman, and Blake, and of these -Blake was the greatest.' I do not mean to intimate my assent to this -opinion, nor to do more than supply such materials as my intercourse -with him furnish to an uncritical narrative to which I shall confine -myself. I have written a few sentences in these reminiscences -already, those of the year 1810. I had not then begun the regular -journal which I afterwards kept. I will therefore go over the ground -again and introduce these recollections of 1825 by a reference to -the slight knowledge I had of him before, and what occasioned my -taking an interest in him, not caring to repeat what Cunningham has -recorded of him in the volume of his <i>Lives of the British Painters</i>, -etc. etc., except thus much. It appears that he was born...</p> - -<p>[The page ends here.]</p> - -<p><i>Dr. Malkin</i>, our Bury Grammar School Headmaster, published -in the year 1806 a Memoir of a very precocious child who died... years -old, and he prefixed to the Memoir an account of Blake, and in the -volume he gave an account of Blake as a painter and poet, and printed -some specimens of his poems, viz. 'The Tyger,' and ballads and mystical -lyrical poems, all of a wild character, and M. gave an account of Visions -which Blake related to his acquaintance. I knew that Flaxman thought -highly of him, and though he did not venture to extol him as a genuine -seer, yet he did not join in the ordinary derision of him as a madman. -Without having seen him, yet I had already conceived a high opinion -of him, and thought he would furnish matter for a paper interesting -to Germans, and therefore when <i>Fred. Perthes</i>, the patriotic -publisher at Hamburg, wrote to me in 1810 requesting me to give him an -article for his Patriotische Annalen, I thought I could do no better than -send him a paper on Blake, which was translated into German by <i>Dr. -Julius</i>, filling, with a few small poems copied and translated, 24 -pages. These appeared in the first and last No. of volume 2 of the -Annals. The high-minded editor boldly declared that as the Emperor -of France had annexed Hamburg to France he had no longer a country, -and there could no longer be any patriotical Annals!!! Perthes' Life has -been written since, which I have riot seen. I am told there is in it a -civil mention of me. This <i>Dr. Julius</i> introduced himself to -me as such translator a few years ago. He travelled as an Inspector of -Prisons for the Prussian Government into the United States of America. -In order to enable me to write this paper, which, by the bye, has nothing -in it of the least value, I went to see an exhibition of Blake's original -paintings in Carnaby Market, at a hosier's, Blake's brother. These -paintings filled several rooms of an ordinary dwelling-house, and -for the sight a half-crown was demanded of the visitor, for which he -had a catalogue. This catalogue I possess, and it is a very curious -exposure of the state of the artist's mind. I wished to send it to -Germany and to give a copy to Lamb and others, so I took four, -and giving 10s., bargained that I should be at liberty to go again. -'Free! as long as you live,'<a name="FNanchor_2_4" id="FNanchor_2_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_4" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> said the brother, astonished -at such a liberality, which he had never experienced before, -nor I dare say did afterwards. <i>Lamb</i> was delighted with the -catalogue, especially with the description of a painting afterwards -engraved, and connected with which is an anecdote that, unexplained, -would reflect discredit on a most amiable and excellent man, but -which Flaxman considered to have been not the willful act of -<i>Stodart</i>. It was after the friends of Blake had circulated -a subscription paper for an engraving of his <i>Canterbury Pilgrims</i>, -that <i>Stodart</i> was made a party to an engraving of a painting -of the same subject by himself. Stodart's work is well known, -Blake's is known by very few. Lamb preferred it greatly to Stodart's, -and declared that Blake's description was the finest criticism he -had ever read of Chaucer's poem.</p> - -<p>In this catalogue Blake writes of himself in the most outrageous -language—says, 'This artist defies all competition in -colouring'—that none can beat him, for none can beat the Holy -Ghost—that he and Raphael and Michael Angelo were under -divine influence—while Corregio and Titian worshipped a -lascivious and therefore cruel deity—Reubens a proud devil, -etc. etc. He declared, speaking of color, Titian's men to be of leather -and his women of chalk, and ascribed his own perfection in coloring -to the advantage he enjoyed in seeing daily the primitive men walking -in their native nakedness in the mountains of Wales. There were about -thirty oil-paintings, the coloring excessively dark and high, -the veins black, and the color of the primitive men very like that -of the Red Indians. In his estimation they would probably be the -primitive men. Many of his designs were unconscious imitations. -This appears also in his published works—the designs of <i>Blair's -Grave</i>, which Fuseli and Schiavonetti highly extolled—and in -his designs to illustrate <i>Job</i>, published after his death for -the benefit of his widow.</p> - - - - -<p style="margin-left: 70%;">23/2/52.</p> - - -<p>To this catalogue and in the printed poems, the small pamphlet -which appeared in 1783, the edition put forth by Wilkinson of -The Songs of Innocence,' and other works already mentioned, to -which I have to add the first four books of Young's Night Thoughts, -and Allan Cunningham's Life of him, I now refer, and will confine -myself to the memorandums I took of his conversation. I had -heard of him from Flaxman, and for the first time dined in his -company at the Aders'. <i>Linnell</i> the painter also was there—an -artist of considerable talent, and who professed to take<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> -a deep interest in Blake and his work, whether of a perfectly -disinterested character may be doubtful, as will appear hereafter. -This was on the 10th of December.</p> - -<p>I was aware of his idiosyncrasies and therefore to a great -degree prepared for the sort of conversation which took place -at and after dinner, an altogether unmethodical rhapsody on art, -poetry, and religion—he saying the most strange things in the -most unemphatic manner, speaking of his <i>Visions</i> as any -man would of the most ordinary occurrence. He was then 68 years -of age. He had a broad, pale face, a large full eye with a benignant -expression—at the same time a look of languor,<a name="FNanchor_4_3" id="FNanchor_4_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_3" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> except when -excited, and then he had an air of inspiration. But not such -as without a previous acquaintance with him, or attending to -<i>what</i> he said, would suggest the notion that he was insane. -There was nothing <i>wild</i> about his look, and though very ready -to be drawn out to the assertion of his favorite ideas, yet with -no warmth as if he wanted to make proselytes. Indeed one of the -peculiar features of his scheme, as far as it was consistent, was -indifference and a very extraordinary degree of tolerance and -satisfaction with what had taken place.<a name="FNanchor_5_3" id="FNanchor_5_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_3" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> A sort of pious and humble -optimism, not the scornful optimism of Candide. But at the same -time that he was very ready to praise he seemed incapable of envy, -as he was of discontent. He warmly praised some composition -of Mrs. Aders, and having brought for Aders an engraving of his -Canterbury Pilgrims, he remarked that one of the figures resembled -a figure in one of the works then in Aders's room, so that he had been -accused of having stolen from it. But he added that he had drawn the -figure in question 20 years before he had seen the <i>original</i> -picture. However, there is 'no wonder in the resemblance, as in my -youth I was always studying that class of painting.' I have forgotten -what it was, but his taste was in close conformity with the old German -school.</p> - -<p>This was somewhat at variance with what he said both this day -and afterwards—implying that he copies his Visions. And it was -on this first day that, in answer to a question from me, he said, '<i>The -Spirits told me.</i>' This lead me to say: Socrates used pretty much -the same language. He spoke of his Genius. Now, what affinity or -resemblance do you suppose was there between the <i>Genius</i> -which inspired Socrates and your <i>Spirits?</i> He smiled, and for -once it seemed to me as if he had a feeling of vanity gratified.<a name="FNanchor_6_3" id="FNanchor_6_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_3" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> -'The same as in our countenances.' He paused and said, 'I was -Socrates'—and then as if he had gone too far in that—'or -a sort of brother. I must have had conversations with him. So I had -with Jesus Christ. I have an obscure recollection of having been with -both of them.' As I had for many years been familiar with the idea -that an eternity <i>a parte post</i> was inconceivable without an -eternity <i>a parte ante</i>, I was naturally led to express that -thought on this occasion. His eye brightened on my saying this. -He eagerly assented: 'To be sure. We are all coexistent with God; -members of the Divine body, and partakers of the Divine nature.' -Blake's having adopted this Platonic idea led me on our <i>tête-à-tête</i> -walk home at night to put the popular question to him, concerning -the imputed Divinity of Jesus Christ. He answered: 'He is the -only God'—but then he added—'And so am I and so are you.' -He had before said—and that led me to put the question—that -Christ ought not to have suffered himself to be crucified.' 'He should -not have attacked the Government. He had no business with such -matters.' On my representing this to be inconsistent with the sanctity -of divine qualities, he said Christ was not yet become the Father. It -is hard on bringing together these fragmentary recollections<a name="FNanchor_7_1" id="FNanchor_7_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_1" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> -to fix Blake's position in relation to Christianity, Platonism, and -Spinozism.</p> - -<p>It is one of the subtle remarks of <i>Hume</i> on the tendency -of certain religious notions to reconcile us to whatever occurs, as -God's will. And apply—this to something Blake said, and drawing -the inference that there is no use in education, he hastily rejoined: -'There <i>is</i> no use in education. I hold it wrong. It is the great -Sin. It is eating of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil. That was -the fault of Plato: he knew of nothing but the Virtues and Vices. -There is nothing in all that. Everything is good in God's eyes.' On -my asking whether there is nothing absolutely evil in what man does, -he answered: 'I am no judge of that—perhaps not in God's -eyes.' Notwithstanding this, he, however, at the same time spoke -of error as being in heaven; for on my asking whether Dante was -pure in writing his <i>Vision</i>, 'Pure,' said Blake. 'Is there any -purity in God's eyes? No. "He chargeth his angels with folly.'" He even -extended this liability to error to the Supreme Being. 'Did he -not repent him that he had made Nineveh?' My journal here has -the remark that it is easier to retail his personal remarks than to -reconcile those which seemed to be in conformity with the most -opposed abstract systems. He spoke with seeming complacency -of his own life in connection with Art. In becoming an artist he -'acted by command.' The Spirits said to him, 'Blake, be an artist.' -His eye glistened while he spoke of the joy of devoting himself to -<i>divine art</i> alone. 'Art is inspiration. When Michael Angelo -or Raphael, in their day, or Mr. Flaxman, does any of his fine things, -he does them in the Spirit.' Of fame he said: 'I should be sorry if -I had any earthly fame, for whatever natural glory a man has is so -much detracted from his spiritual glory. I wish to do nothing for -profit. I want nothing—I am quite happy.' This was confirmed -to me on my subsequent interviews with him. His distinction between -the Natural and Spiritual worlds was very confused. Incidentally, -Swedenborg was mentioned—he declared him to be a Divine -Teacher. He had done, and would do, much good. Yet he did wrong -in endeavoring to explain to the <i>reason</i> what it could not -comprehend. He seemed to consider, but that was not clear, the -visions of Swedenborg and Dante as of the same kind. Dante was -the greater poet. He too was wrong in occupying his mind about -political objects. Yet this did not appear to affect his estimation of -Dante's genius, or his opinion of the truth of Dante's visions. Indeed, -when he even declared Dante to be an Atheist, it was accompanied -by expression of the highest admiration; though, said he, Dante -saw Devils where I saw none.<a name="FNanchor_8_1" id="FNanchor_8_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_1" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p> - -<p>I put down in my journal the following insulated remarks. <i>Jacob -Böhmen</i> was placed among the divinely inspired men. He praised -also the designs to Law's translation of Böhmen. Michael Angelo could -not have surpassed them.</p> - -<p>'<i>Bacon, Locke</i>, and <i>Newton</i> are the three great -teachers of Atheism, or Satan's Doctrine,' he asserted.</p> - -<p>'<i>Irving</i> is a highly gifted man—he is a <i>sent</i> man; -but they who are sent sometimes go further than they ought.'<a name="FNanchor_9_1" id="FNanchor_9_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_1" class="fnanchor">[9]</a></p> - -<p><i>Calvin</i>. I saw nothing but good in <i>Calvin's</i> house. -In <i>Luther's</i> there were <i>Harlots.</i> He declared his -opinion that the earth is flat, not round, and just as I had objected -the circumnavigation dinner was announced. But objections were -seldom of any use. The wildest of his assertions was made with the -veriest indifference of tone,<a name="FNanchor_10_1" id="FNanchor_10_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_1" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> as if altogether insignificant. -It respected the natural and spiritual worlds. By way of example -of the difference between them, he said, '<i>You</i> never saw the -spiritual Sun. I have. I saw him on Primrose Hill.' He said, -'Do you take me for the Greek Apollo?' 'No!' I said. '<i>That</i> -(pointing to the sky) that is the Greek Apollo. He is Satan.'</p> - -<p>Not everything was thus absurd. There were glimpses and flashes -of truth and beauty: as when he compared moral with physical -evil. 'Who shall say what God thinks evil? That is a wise tale -of the Mahometans—of the Angel of the Lord who murdered -the Infant.'—The Hermit of Parnell, I suppose.—'Is not -every infant that dies of a natural death in reality slain by an -Angel?'</p> - -<p>And when he joined to the assurance of his happiness, that of -his having suffered, and that it was necessary, he added, 'There is -suffering in Heaven; for where there is the capacity of enjoyment, -there is the capacity of pain.<a name="FNanchor_11_1" id="FNanchor_11_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_1" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></p> - -<p>I include among the glimpses of truth this assertion, 'I know -what is true by internal conviction. A doctrine is stated. My heart -tells me It <i>must</i> be true.' I remarked, in confirmation of -it, that, to an unlearned man, what are called the <i>external</i> -evidences of religion can carry no conviction with them; and this -he assented to.</p> - -<p>After my first evening with him at Aders's, I made the remark -in my journal, that his observations, apart from his Visions and -references to the spiritual world, were sensible and acute. In the -sweetness of his countenance and gentility of his manner he added -an indescribable grace to his conversation. I added my regret, -which I must now repeat, at my inability to give more than incoherent -thoughts. Not altogether my fault perhaps.</p> - - -<p style="margin-left: 70%;">25/2/52.</p> - - -<p>On the 17th I called on him in his house in Fountain's Court -in the Strand. The interview was a short one, and what I saw was -more remarkable than what I heard. He was at work engraving in -a small bedroom, light, and looking out on a mean yard. Everything -in the room squalid and indicating poverty, except himself. And -there was a natural gentility about him, and an insensibility to the -seeming poverty, which quite removed the impression. Besides, -his linen was clean, his hand white, and his air quite unembarrassed -when he begged me to sit down as if he were in a palace. There was -but one chair in the room besides that on which he sat. On my -putting my hand to it, I found that it would have fallen to pieces -if I had lifted it, so, as if I had been a Sybarite, I said with a smile, -'Will you let me indulge myself?' and I sat on the bed, and near him,<a name="FNanchor_12_1" id="FNanchor_12_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_1" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> -and during my short stay there was nothing in him that betrayed -that he was aware of what to other persons might have been even -offensive, not in his person, but in all about him.</p> - -<p>His wife I saw at this time, and she seemed to be the very -woman to make him happy. She had been formed by him. Indeed, -otherwise, she could not have lived with him. Notwithstanding her -dress, which was poor and dirty, she had a good expression in her -countenance, and, with a dark eye, had remains<a name="FNanchor_13_1" id="FNanchor_13_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_1" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> of beauty -in her youth. She had that virtue of virtues in a wife, an implicit -reverence of her husband. It is quite certain that she believed -in all his visions. And on one occasion, not this day, speaking -of his Visions, she said, 'You know, dear, the first time you -saw God was when you were four years old, and he put his head -to the window and set you a-screaming.' In a word, she was formed -on the Miltonic model, and like the first Wife Eve worshipped -God in her husband. He being to her what God was to him. Vide -Milton's Paradise Lost—<i>passim</i>.</p> - - - - -<p style="margin-left: 70%;">26/2/52.</p> - - -<p>He was making designs or engravings, I forget which. Carey's -Dante was before [<i>sic.</i>] He showed me some of his designs -from Dante, of which I do not presume to speak. They were too -much above me. But Götzenberger, whom I afterwards took to see -them, expressed the highest admiration of them. They are in the -hands of <i>Linnell</i> the painter, and, it has been suggested, are -reserved by him for publication when Blake may have become<a name="FNanchor_14_1" id="FNanchor_14_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_1" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> an -object of interest to a greater number than he could be at this age. -<i>Dante</i> was again the subject of our conversation. And Blake -declared him a mere politician and atheist, busied about this world's -affairs; as Milton was till, in his (M.'s) old age, he returned back -to the God he had abandoned in childhood.<a name="FNanchor_15_1" id="FNanchor_15_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_1" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> I in vain endeavoured -to obtain from him a qualification of the term atheist, so as not to -include him in the ordinary reproach. And yet he afterwards spoke -of Dante's being <i>then</i> with God. I was more successful when -he also called Locke an atheist, and imputed to him willful deception, -and seemed satisfied with my admission, that Locke's philosophy -led to the Atheism of the French school. He reiterated his former -strange notions on morals—would allow of no other education -than what lies in the cultivation of the fine arts and the imagination. -'What are called the Vices in the natural world, are the highest -sublimities in the spiritual world.' And when I supposed the case -of his being the father of a vicious son and asked him how he would -feel, he evaded the question by saying that in trying to think correctly -he must not regard his own weaknesses any more than other people's. -And he was silent to the observation that his doctrine denied evil. -He seemed not unwilling to admit the Manichaean doctrine of two -principles, as far as it is found in the idea of the Devil. And said -expressly said [<i>sic</i>] he did not believe in the omnipotence -of God. The language of the Bible is only poetical or allegorical on the -subject, yet he at the same time denied the <i>reality</i> of the -natural world. Satan's empire is the empire of nothing.</p> - -<p>As he spoke of frequently seeing Milton, I ventured to ask, -half ashamed at the time, which of the three or four portraits -in <i>Hollis's</i> Memoirs (vols. in 4to) is the most like. He -answered, 'They are all like, at different ages. I have seen him as -a youth and as an old man with a long flowing beard. He came -lately as an old man—he said he came to ask a favor of -me. He said he had committed an error in his Paradise Lost, -which he wanted me to correct, in a poem or picture; but I declined. -I said I had my own duties to perform.' It is a presumptuous -question, I replied—might I venture to ask—what that could be. -'He wished me to expose the falsehood of his doctrine, taught -in the Paradise Lost, that<a name="FNanchor_16_1" id="FNanchor_16_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_1" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> sexual intercourse arose out -of the Fall. How that cannot be, for no good can spring out -of evil.' But, I replied, if the consequence were evil, mixed with -good, then the good might be ascribed to the common cause. To -this he answered by a reference to the <i>androgynous</i> state, -in which I could not possibly follow him. At the time that he -asserted his own possession of this gift of Vision, he did not boast -of it as peculiar to himself; all men might have it if they would.</p> - - - - -<hr class="r5" /> - - - - -<h5>1826</h5> - - -<p style="margin-left: 70%;">27/2/52.</p> - - -<p>On the 24th I called a second time on him. And on this occasion -it was that I read to him <i>Wordsworth's Ode</i> on the supposed -pre-existent State, and the subject of Wordsworth's religious -character was discussed when we met on the 18th of Feb., and the -12th of May. I will here bring together Blake's declarations concerning -Wordsworth, and set down his marginalia in the 8vo. edit. A.D. 1815, -vol. I. I had been in the habit, when reading this marvelous Ode -to friends, to omit one or two passages, especially that beginning:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'But there's a Tree, of many one,'</span></p> - - -<p>Lest I should be rendered ridiculous, being unable to explain -precisely <i>what</i> I admired. Not that I acknowledged this to -be a fair test. But with Blake I could fear nothing of the kind. And it -was this very stanza which threw him almost into a hysterical rapture. -His delight in Wordsworth's poetry was intense.<a name="FNanchor_17_1" id="FNanchor_17_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_1" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> Nor did it seem less, -notwithstanding the reproaches he continually cast on Wordsworth -for his imputed worship of nature;<a name="FNanchor_18_1" id="FNanchor_18_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_1" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> which in the mind -of Blake constituted Atheism [see "Introduction."].</p> - - -<p style="margin-left: 70%;">28/2/52.</p> - - -<p>The combination of the wannest praise with imputations which -from another would assume the most serious character, and the -liberty he took to interpret as he pleased, rendered it as difficult to -be offended as to reason with him. The eloquent descriptions of -Nature in Wordsworth's poems were conclusive proofs of atheism, -for whoever believes in Nature, said Blake, disbelieves in God. For -Nature is the work of the Devil. On my obtaining from him the -declaration that the Bible was the Word of God, I referred to the -commencement of Genesis—In the beginning God created the -Heavens and the Earth. But I gained nothing by this, for I was -triumphantly told that this God was not Jehovah, but the Elohim; -and the doctrine of the Gnostics repeated with sufficient consistency -to silence one so unlearned as myself.</p> - -<p>The Preface to the Excursion, especially the verses quoted -from book i. of the Recluse, so troubled him as to bring on a fit -of illness. These lines he singled out:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">Jehovah with his thunder, and the Choir</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Of shouting Angels, and the Empyreal throne,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">I pass them unalarmed.'</span> </p> - - -<p>Does Mr. Wordsworth think he can surpass Jehovah? There was -a copy of the whole passage in his own hand,<a name="FNanchor_19_1" id="FNanchor_19_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_1" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> in the volume of -Wordsworth's poems sent to my chambers after his death. There -was this note at the end: 'Solomon, when he married Pharaoh's -daughter, and became a convert to the Heathen Mythology, talked -exactly in this way of Jehovah, as a very inferior object of Man's -contemplations; he also passed him unharmed, and was permitted. -Jehovah dropped a tear and followed him by his Spirit into the -abstract void. It is called the Divine Mercy. Sarah dwells in it, but -Mercy does not dwell in Him.'</p> - -<p>Some of Wordsworth's poems he maintained were from the Holy -Ghost, others from the Devil. I lent him the 8vo edition, two vols., -of Wordsworth's poems, which he had in his possession at the time -of his death. They were sent me then. I did not recognize the pencil -notes he made in them to be his for some time, and was on the point -of rubbing them out under that impression, when I made the discovery.</p> - -<p>The following are found in the 3rd vol., in the fly-leaf under -the words: Poems referring to the Period of Childhood.</p> - - -<p style="margin-left: 70%;">29/2/52.</p> - - -<p>'I see in Wordsworth the Natural man rising up against the -Spiritual man continually, and then he is no poet, but a Heathen -Philosopher at Enmity against all true poetry or inspiration.'</p> - -<p>Under the first poem:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'And I could wish my days to be</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Bound each to each by natural piety,'</span></p> - - -<p>He had written, 'There is no such thing as natural piety, because -the natural man is at enmity with God.' P. 43, under the Verses 'To -H. C., six years old'—'This is all in the highest degree -imaginative and equal to any poet, but not superior. I cannot -think that real poets have any competition. None are greatest -in the kingdom of heaven. It is so in poetry.' P. 44, 'On the -Influence of Natural Objects,' at the bottom of the page. 'Natural -objects always did and now do weaken, deaden, and obliterate -imagination in me. Wordsworth must know that what he writes -valuable is not to be found in Nature. Bead Michael Angelo's -sonnet, vol. iv. p. 179.' That is, the one beginning:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'No mortal object did these eyes behold</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">When first they met the placid light of thine.'</span><a name="FNanchor_20_1" id="FNanchor_20_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_1" class="fnanchor">[20]</a></p> - - -<p>It is remarkable that Blake, whose judgements were on most -points so very singular, on one subject closely connected with -Wordsworth's poetical reputation should have taken a very commonplace -view. Over the heading of the 'Essay Supplementary to the Preface' -at the end of the vol. he wrote, 'I do not know who wrote these -Prefaces; they are very mischievous, and direct contrary to -Wordsworth's own practice' (see "III. From Lady Charlotte Bury's Diary.") -This is not the defense of his own style in opposition to what is -called Poetic Diction, but a sort of historic vindication of the -<i>unpopular</i> poets. On Macpherson, p. 364, Wordsworth wrote -with the severity with which all great writers have written of him. -Blake's comment below was, 'I believe both Macpherson and Chatterton, -that what they say is ancient is so.' And in the following page, 'I own -myself an admirer of Ossian equally with any other poet whatever. -Rowley and Chatterton also.' And at the end of this Essay he wrote, -'It appears to me as if the last paragraph beginning "Is it the spirit -of the whole," etc., was written by another hand and mind from -the rest of these Prefaces; they are the opinions of [ ] -landscape-painter. Imagination is the divine vision not of the world, -nor of man, nor from man as he is a natural man, but only as he -is a spiritual man. Imagination has nothing to do with memory.'</p> - - - - -<hr class="r5" /> - - - - -<h5>1826</h5> - - -<p style="margin-left: 70%;">1/3/52.</p> - - -<p><i>19th Feb.</i> It was this day in connection with the assertion -that<a name="FNanchor_21_1" id="FNanchor_21_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_1" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> the Bible is the Word of God and all truth is to be -found in it, he using language concerning man's reason being -opposed to grace very like that used by the Orthodox Christian, -that he qualified, and as the same Orthodox would say utterly -nullified all he said by declaring that he understood the Bible -in a Spiritual sense. As to the natural sense, he said <i>Voltaire</i> -was commissioned by God to expose that. 'I have had,' he said, -'much intercourse with Voltaire, and he said to me, "I blasphemed -the Son of Man, and it shall be forgiven me, but they (the enemies -of Voltaire) blasphemed the Holy Ghost in me, and it shall not -be forgiven to them." 'I ask him in what language Voltaire spoke. -His answer was ingenious and gave no encouragement to cross-questioning: -'To my sensations it was English. It was like the touch of a -musical key; he touched it probably French, but to my ear it -became English.' I also enquired as I had before about the form -of the persons<a name="FNanchor_22_1" id="FNanchor_22_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_1" class="fnanchor">[22]</a> who appeared to him, and asked why he did -not <i>draw</i> them. 'It is not worth while,' he said. 'Besides -there are so many that the labour would be too great. And there would -be no use in it.' In answer to an enquiry about Shakespeare, 'he is -exactly like the old engraving—which is said to be a bad one. -I think it very good.' I enquired about his own writings. 'I have -written,' he answered, 'more than Rousseau or Voltaire—six -or seven Epic poems as long as Homer and 20 Tragedies as long -as Macbeth.' He shewed me his 'Version of Genesis,'<a name="FNanchor_23_1" id="FNanchor_23_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_1" class="fnanchor">[23]</a> for so it may -be called, as understood by a Christian Visionary. He read a -wild passage in a sort of Bible style. 'I shall print<a name="FNanchor_24_1" id="FNanchor_24_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_1" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> no more,' -he said. 'When I am commanded by the Spirits, then I write, and -the moment I have written, I see the words fly about the room -in all directions. It is then published. The Spirits can read, and -my MS. is of no further use. I have been tempted to burn my MS., -but my wife won't let me.' She is right, I answered; you write not -from yourself but from higher order. The MSS. are their property, -not yours. You cannot tell what purpose they may answer. This -was addressed <i>ad hominem.</i> And it indeed amounted only to -a deduction from his own principles. He incidentally denied -<i>causation</i>, every thing being the work of God or Devil. -Every man has a Devil in himself, and the conflict between his -<i>Self</i> and God is perpetually going on. I ordered of him -to-day a copy of his songs for 5 guineas. My<a name="FNanchor_25_1" id="FNanchor_25_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_1" class="fnanchor">[25]</a> manner of -receiving his mention of price pleased him. He spoke of his horror -of money and of turning pale when it was offered him, and this -was certainly unfeigned.</p> - -<p>In the No. of the <i>Gents. Magazine</i> for last Jan. there is -a letter by <i>Gromek</i> to Blake printed in order to convict -Blake of selfishness. It cannot possibly be substantially true. I -may elsewhere notice it.</p> - -<p>13<i>th June.</i> I saw him again in June. He was as wild as -ever, says my journal, but he was led today to make assertions more -palpably mischievous, if capable of influencing other minds, and -immoral, supposing them to express the will<a name="FNanchor_26_1" id="FNanchor_26_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_1" class="fnanchor">[26]</a> of a responsible -agent, than anything he had said before. As, for instance, that he -had learned from the Bible that Wives should be in common. And -when I objected that marriage was a Divine institution, he referred -to the Bible—'that from the beginning it was not so.' He -affirmed that he had committed many murders, and repeated his -doctrine, that reason is the only sin, and that careless, gay people -are better than those who think, etc. etc.</p> - -<p>It was, I believe, on the 7th of December that I saw him last. -I had just heard of the death of Flaxman, a man whom he professed -to admire, and was curious to know how he would receive the -intelligence. It was as I expected.<a name="FNanchor_27_1" id="FNanchor_27_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_1" class="fnanchor">[27]</a> He had been ill during -the summer, and he said with a smile, 'I thought I should have -gone first.' He then said, 'I cannot think of death as more than -the going out of one room into another.' And Flaxman was no longer -thought of. He relapsed into his ordinary train of thinking. Indeed I -had by this time learned that there was nothing to be gained by -frequent intercourse. And therefore it was that after this interview -I was not anxious to be frequent in my visits. This day he said, 'Men -are born with an Angel and, a Devil.' This he himself interpreted as -Soul and Body, and as I have long since said of the strange sayings -of a man who enjoys a high reputation, 'it is more in the language -than the thought that this singularity is to be looked for.' And this -day he spoke of the Old Testament as if [<i>sic</i>] were the evil -element. Christ, he said, took much after his mother, and in so far -was one of the worst of men. On my asking him for an instance, he -referred to his turning the moneychangers out of the Temple—he -had no right to do that. He digressed into a condemnation of those -who sit in judgement on others. 'I have never known a very bad man -who had not something very good about him.'</p> - -<p>Speaking of the Atonement in the ordinary Calvinistic sense, -he said, 'It is a horrible doctrine; if another pay your debt, I do not -forgive it.'</p> - -<p>I have no account of any other call—but there is probably -an omission. I took Götzenberger to see him, and he met the -Masqueriers in my chambers. Masquerier was not the man to meet -him. He could not humour Blake nor understand the peculiar sense -in which he was to be received.<a name="FNanchor_28_1" id="FNanchor_28_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_1" class="fnanchor">[28]</a></p> - - - - -<hr class="r5" /> - - - - -<h5>1827</h5> - - -<p>My journal of this year contains nothing about Blake. But in -January 1828 Barron Field and myself called on Mrs. Blake. The -poor old lady was more affected than I expected she would be at -the sight of me. She spoke of her husband as dying like an angel. -She informed me that she was going to live with Linnell as his -housekeeper. And we understood that she would live with him, -and he, as it were, to farm her services and take all she had. The -engravings of Job were his already. Chaucer's Canterbury Pilgrims -were hers. I took two copies—one I gave to C. Lamb. Barron -Field took a proof.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Blake died within a few years, and since Blake's death -Linnell has not found the market I took for granted he would seek -for Blake's works. Wilkinson printed a small edition of his poems, -including the 'Songs of Innocence and Experience,'<a name="FNanchor_29_1" id="FNanchor_29_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_1" class="fnanchor">[29]</a> a few years -ago, and Monkton Mylne talks of printing an edition. I have a few -colored engravings—but Blake is still an object of interest -exclusively to men of imaginative taste and psychological curiosity. -I doubt much whether these mems will be of any use to this small -class. I have been reading since the Life of Blake by Allan Cunningham, -vol. II. p. 143 of his Lives of the Painters. It recognizes more perhaps -of Blake's merit than might be expected of a <i>Scotch</i> realist.</p> - - -<p style="margin-left: 70%;">22/3/52.</p> - - - - -<hr class="r5" /> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_4" id="Footnote_1_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_4"><span class="label">[1]</span></a>The article appeared under the title: 'William Blake, -Künstler, Dichter und religiöser Schwärmer' (aus dem Englischen) on -pp. 107-131 of the <i>Vaterländisches Museum</i>, Zweiter Band, -Erstes Heft. Hamburg, bey Friedrich Perthes. 1811.' It has the motto:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 1em;">'The lunatic, the lover, and the poet</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Are of imagination all compact.'</span></p> - - -<p style="margin-left: 60%;">SHAKESPEARE.</p> - -<p>Five of Blake's poems, 'To the Muse?, Piping down the valleys wild, -Holy Thursday, The Tyger, The Garden of Love,' together with ten -lines from the Prophetic Books, are quoted, with German versions in -the metres of the original by Dr. Julius, the translator of the article. -On p. 101 there is an article, 'Von der neuesten englischen Poesie,' -containing notices of 'Poems by W. Cowper' (1803), 'Works of R. -Burns,'and 'Southey's Poems' (1801) and 'Metrical Tales' (1803).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_2_4" id="Footnote_2_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_4"><span class="label">[2]</span></a>'Like' is first written, and replaced by 'live.'</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a>'Took' crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_4_3" id="Footnote_4_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_3"><span class="label">[4]</span></a>'With an air of feebleness' crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_5_3" id="Footnote_5_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_3"><span class="label">[5]</span></a>After 'indifference and' 'the entire absence of anything -like blame ['reproach' crossed out], and I do not think that I ever heard -him blame anything, then or afterwards crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_6_3" id="Footnote_6_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_3"><span class="label">[6]</span></a>'Pretty much' crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_7_1" id="Footnote_7_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_1"><span class="label">[7]</span></a>'Comparing these fragmentary memoranda' crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_8_1" id="Footnote_8_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_1"><span class="label">[8]</span></a>Crossed out:</p> - -<p>'Yet this did not appear to affect the truth of his Visions. -I could not reconcile this with his blaming Wordsworth for being a -Platonist—not a Christian. He asked whether Wordsworth -acknowledged the Scriptures as Divine, and declared on my answering -in the affirmative that the Introduction to the Excursion had troubled -him so as to bring on a fit of illness. The passage that offended Blake -was:</p> - -<p><span style="margin-left: 1em;">'Jehovah with his thunder and the choir</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of shouting Angels and the empyreal throne,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I pass them unalarmed.</span></p> - -<p>"Does Mr. Wordsworth," said Blake, "think his mind can <i>surpass</i> -Jehovah's." I tried in vain to rescue Wordsworth from the imputation -of being a Pagan or perhaps an Atheist, but this did not rob him of the -character of being the great poet. Indeed Atheism meant but little -in Blake's mind as will hereafter appear. Therefore when he declared -Dante to be an Atheist, etc.'</p> - -<p>In the margin: See of Wordsworth as Blake judged of him, -p. 46 <i>et seq</i>. (i.e. "1826, 27/2/52," below.)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_9_1" id="Footnote_9_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_1"><span class="label">[9]</span></a>'Dante saw Devils where I saw none' crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_10_1" id="Footnote_10_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_1"><span class="label">[10]</span></a>'Most unconscious simplicity' crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_11_1" id="Footnote_11_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_1"><span class="label">[11]</span></a>'It was after my first interview with him that I expressed -what I must repeat now—my regret' crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_12_1" id="Footnote_12_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_1"><span class="label">[12]</span></a>'He smiled' omitted.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_13_1" id="Footnote_13_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_1"><span class="label">[13]</span></a>'Marks' crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_14_1" id="Footnote_14_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_1"><span class="label">[14]</span></a>'More' crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_15_1" id="Footnote_15_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_1"><span class="label">[15]</span></a>'And yet he afterwards said that he was <i>then</i> with God' -crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_16_1" id="Footnote_16_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_1"><span class="label">[16]</span></a>'The plea' crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_17_1" id="Footnote_17_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_1"><span class="label">[17]</span></a>'And seemingly undisturbed by the' crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_18_1" id="Footnote_18_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_1"><span class="label">[18]</span></a>'Which I have anticipated, and which he characterised as -Atheism, that is, in worshipping Nature. See page' crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_19_1" id="Footnote_19_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_1"><span class="label">[19]</span></a>'He gave me a copy of these lines in his hand, with this -note at the end' crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_20_1" id="Footnote_20_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_1"><span class="label">[20]</span></a>'An admirable assertion of the ideal' crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_21_1" id="Footnote_21_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_1"><span class="label">[21]</span></a>'Some of Wordsworth's' crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_22_1" id="Footnote_22_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_1"><span class="label">[22]</span></a>'Spirits' crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_23_1" id="Footnote_23_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_1"><span class="label">[23]</span></a>'Vision of Genesis' crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_24_1" id="Footnote_24_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_1"><span class="label">[24]</span></a>'Write' crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_25_1" id="Footnote_25_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_1"><span class="label">[25]</span></a>'Immediate 'crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_26_1" id="Footnote_26_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_1"><span class="label">[26]</span></a>'Character' crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_27_1" id="Footnote_27_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_1"><span class="label">[27]</span></a>'As might have been expected' crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_28_1" id="Footnote_28_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_1"><span class="label">[28]</span></a>'Understood' crossed out.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_29_1" id="Footnote_29_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_1"><span class="label">[29]</span></a>'And some other poems' crossed out.</p></div> - - - - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - -<h4><a id="II._FROM_A_FATHERS_MEMOIRS_OF_HIS_CHILD_BY_BENJAMIN_HEATH_MALKIN_1806">(II.) FROM 'A FATHER'S MEMOIRS OF HIS CHILD,' BY BENJAMIN HEATH -MALKIN (1806)</a></h4> - - -<p>[This, the first printed account of Blake, is taken from the -dedicatory epistle of 'A Father's Memoirs of his Child,' by Benj. -Heath Malkin, Esq., M.A., F.A.S. (London: Printed for Longmans, -Hurst, Rees, and Orme, Paternoster Row, by T. Bensley, Bolt -Court, Fleet Street, 1806), to Thomas Johnes, the translator of -Froissart. I have given everything that relates to Blake, with enough -of the remainder to explain the purpose of the dedication. Malkin -was himself, perhaps, already engaged on the translation of -<i>Gil Blas</i>, which he brought out in 1809. The frontispiece -to the Memoirs, designed by Blake, and engraved by Cromek, consists -of a portrait of little Malkin, from a miniature, surrounded by a -design of the child saying good-bye to his mother, and floating -up to heaven, hand in hand with an ample and benign angel.]</p> - - - - -<hr class="r5" /> - - - - -<p>TO THOMAS JOHNES, OF HAFOD, ESQ., M.P., LORD LIEUTENANT OF -THE COUNTY OF CARDIGAN, ETC. ETC. ETC.</p> - - -<p>MY DEAR FRIEND,</p> - - -<p>I have been influenced by several motives, in prefixing your -name to the following pages. My pen seems destined to owe its -employment, in some shape or other, to Hafod....</p> - -<p>You may perhaps recollect, that while I was staying with you -last summer, our conversations were nearly as rambling and as -various, as our rides over your new mountain-farms, or as the -subject matter of these preliminary remarks seems likely to be.... -It would have been unnatural, to have concealed the mark of an -afflicting dispensation, in society so capable of consoling the -survivor, and appreciating the merit of the departed. In the -interchange of our thoughts on this subject, the task of furnishing -the public with the following facts was urged upon me, at once as -a tribute to the latter, and a relief to the feelings of the former.... -On mentioning my design to some of my friends, they expressed -their regret, that I had not determined on it sooner.... In every -other respect, but that of catching attention while the object is -still before the eye, the interval must be considered as an -advantage.... I have been asked, 'How could you get over such -a loss?' I need not say, that this was not your question, for you -could never have found it on the list of possible interrogatories: -and to you, for that very reason, will I answer it.</p> - -<p>I got over this great loss, by considering at once what I had -left; how unavailing the lengthened and excessive indulgence of -grief would have been to myself, and how useless it would have -rendered me to others....</p> - -<p>Besides this comparison of my own, with the probable or actual -circumstances of others, I bore my disappointment the better -for the recollection, that personal regards are selfish. If my -thoughts were disposed to dwell on the mortifying idea, that -society might have lost an ornament derived to it through me, -they were soon checked, and ashamed of their presumption. Topics -of private bewailing or condolence, of whatever magnitude they -may appear to the individual, can never be modestly transferred -to general interest. But it was my principal consolation, that the -change to him must have been for the better. Supposing the opinion -to have been rational and probable, that the promise of this child -would have ripened into something more than fair capacity and -marketable talent, the prolongation of life was to himself perhaps -the less desirable on that very account. It rarely happens, that the -world affords even the ordinary allowance of happiness to men -of transcendent faculties. Their merits are too frequently denied -the protection and encouragement, to which they feel themselves -entitled, from the private intimations of their own scrutinizing spirit. -When they are most successful, the composure of their minds does -not always keep pace with the prosperity of their fortunes. They -necessarily have but few companions; few, who are capable of -appreciating their high endowments, and entering into the grandeur -of their conceptions. Of these few, those who come the nearest -to their own rank and standard, those who might be the associates -of their inmost thoughts, and the partners of their dearest interests, -are too often envious of their fame. It is a common remark, that -great men are not gregarious. This is but too just; and so much -of man's happiness depends upon society, that the comparative -solitude, to which a commanding genius condemns its possessor, -detracts considerably from the sum of his personal enjoyment.</p> - -<p>While I am on this subject, I cannot forbear enlarging somewhat -on an instance the more apposite, as being casually connected with -the subsequent pages. Hitherto, it has confirmed the observation -just hazarded, on the probable fate of stubborn originality in human -life. There seems now indeed some prospect, that the current will -turn: and I shall be eager, on the evidence of the very first -deponent, to disencumber myself of an opinion, which pays so ill -a compliment to our nature. In the meantime, I am confident that -you, and my other readers of taste and feeling, will readily forgive -my travelling a little out of the record, for the purpose of -descanting on merit, which ought to be more conspicuous, and -which must have become so long since, but for opinions and habits -of an eccentric kind.</p> - -<p>It is, I hope, unnecessary to call your attention to the ornamental -device, round the portrait in this book; but I cannot so easily refrain -from introducing to you the designer.</p> - -<p>Mr. William Blake, very early in life, had the ordinary opportunities -of seeing pictures in the houses of noblemen and gentlemen, -and in the king's palaces. He soon improved such casual occasions -of study, by attending sales at Langford's, Christie's, and other -auction-rooms. At ten years of age he was put to Mr. Pars's -drawing-school in the Strand, where he soon attained the art of -drawing from casts in plaster of the various antiques. His father -bought for him the Gladiator, the Hercules, the Venus of Medicis, -and various heads, hands and feet. The same indulgent parent -soon supplied him with money to buy prints; when he immediately -began his collection, frequenting the shops of the print-dealers, -and the sales of the auctioneers. Langford called him his little -connoisseur; and often knocked down to him a cheap lot, with -friendly precipitation. He copied Raphael and Michael Angelo, -Martin Hemskerck and Albert Dürer, Julio Romano, and the rest -of the historic class, neglecting to buy any other prints, however -celebrated. His choice was for the most part contemned by his -youthful companions, who were accustomed to laugh at what they -called his mechanical taste. At the age of fourteen, he fixed on -the engraver of Stuart's Athens and West's Pylades and Orestes -for his master, to whom he served seven years' apprenticeship. -Basire, whose taste was like his own, approved of what he did. -Two years passed over smoothly enough, till two other apprentices -were added to the establishment, who completely destroyed its -harmony. Blake, not choosing to take part with his master against -his fellow apprentices, was sent out to make drawings. This -circumstance he always mentions with gratitude to Basire, who -said that he was too simple and they too cunning.</p> - -<p>He was employed in making drawings from old buildings and -monuments, and occasionally, especially in winter, in engraving -from those drawings. This occupation led him to an acquaintance -with those neglected works of art, called Gothic monuments. -There he found a treasure, which he knew how to value. He saw -the simple and plain road to the style of art at which he aimed, -unentangled in the intricate windings of modern practice. The -monuments of Kings and Queens in Westminster Abbey, which surround -the chapel of Edward the Confessor, particularly that of King -Henry the Third, the beautiful monument and figure of Queen Elinor, -Queen Philippa, King Edward the Third, King Richard the Second -and his Queen, were among his first studies. All these he drew -in every point he could catch, frequently standing on the monument, -and viewing the figures from the top. The heads he considered -as portraits; and all the ornaments appeared as miracles of art, -to his Gothicised imagination. He then drew Aymer de Valence's -monument, with his fine figure on the top. Those exquisite little -figures which surround it, though dreadfully mutilated, are still -models for the study of drapery. But I do not mean to enumerate -all his drawings, since they would lead me over all the old -monuments in Westminster Abbey, as well as over other churches -in and about London.</p> - -<p>Such was his employment at Basire's. As soon as he was out -of his time, he began to engrave two designs from the History of -England, after drawings which he had made in the holiday hours -of his apprenticeship. They were selected from a great number of -historical compositions, the fruits of his fancy. He continued making -designs for his own amusement, whenever he could steal a moment -from the routine of business; and began a course of study at the -Royal Academy, under the eye of Mr. Moser. Here he drew with -great care, perhaps all, or certainly nearly all the noble antique -figures in various views. But now his peculiar notions began to -intercept him in his career. He professes drawing from life always -to have been hateful to him; and speaks of it as looking more -like death, or smelling of mortality. Yet still he drew a good deal -from life, both at the academy and at home. In this manner has -he managed his talents, till he is himself almost become a Gothic -monument. On a view of his whole life, he still thinks himself -authorized to pronounce, that practice and opportunity very -soon teach the language of art: but its spirit and poetry, which -are seated in the imagination alone, never can be taught; and -these make an artist.</p> - -<p>Mr. Blake has long been known to the order of men among whom -he ranks; and is highly esteemed by those, who can distinguish -excellence under the disguise of singularity. Enthusiastic and -high-flown notions on the subject of religion have hitherto, as -they usually do, prevented his general reception, as a son of -taste and of the muses. The sceptic and the rational believer, -uniting their forces against the visionary, pursue and scare a -warm and brilliant imagination, with the hue and cry of madness. -Not contented with bringing down the reasonings of the mystical -philosopher, as they well may, to this degraded level, they apply -the test of cold calculation and mathematical proof to departments -of the mind, which are privileged to appeal from so narrow and -rigorous a tribunal. They criticize the representations of corporeal -beauty, and the allegoric emblems of mental perfections; the -image of the visible world, which appeals to the senses for a -testimony to its truth, or the type of futurity and the immortal -soul, which identifies itself with our hopes and with our hearts, -as if they were syllogisms or theorems, demonstrable propositions -or consecutive corollaries. By them have the higher powers of -this artist been kept from public notice, and his genius tied down, -as far as possible, to the mechanical department of his profession. By -them, in short, has he been stigmatized as an engraver, who might -do tolerably well, if he was not mad. But men, whose names will -bear them out, in what they affirm, have now taken up his cause. -On occasion of Mr. Blake engaging to illustrate the poem of The -Grave, some of the first artists in this country have stept forward, -and liberally given the sanction of ardent and encomiastic applause. -Mr. Fuseli, with a mind far superior to that jealousy above described, -has written some introductory remarks in the Prospectus of the -work. To these he has lent all the penetration of his understanding, -with all the energy and descriptive power characteristic of his style. -Mr. Hope and Mr. Locke have pledged their character as connoisseurs, -by approving and patronizing these designs. Had I been furnished -with an opportunity of showing them to you, I should, on Mr. Blake's -behalf, have requested your concurring testimony, which you would -not have refused me, had you viewed them in the same light.</p> - -<p>Neither is the capacity of this untutored proficient limited to -his professional occupation. He has made several irregular and -unfinished attempts at poetry. He has dared to venture on the -ancient simplicity; and feeling it in his own character and manners, -has succeeded better than those, who have only seen it through -a glass. His genius in this line assimilates more with the bold -and careless freedom, peculiar to our writers at the latter end -of the sixteenth, and former part of the seventeenth century, -than with the polished phraseology, and just, but subdued thought -of the eighteenth. As the public have hitherto had no opportunity -of passing sentence on his poetical powers, I shall trespass on -your patience, while I introduce a few specimens from a collection, -circulated only among the author's friends, and richly embellished -by his pencil.</p> - - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;">LAUGHING SONG</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">When the green woods laugh with the voice of joy,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And the dimpling stream runs laughing by,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">When the air does laugh with our merry wit,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And the green hill laughs with the noise of it,</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">When the meadows laugh with lively green,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And the grasshopper laughs in this merry scene,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">When Mary and Susan and Emily,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">With their sweet round mouths, sing Ha, ha, he!</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">When the painted birds laugh in the shade,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Where our table with cherries and nuts is spread,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Come live and be merry and join with me,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">To sing the sweet chorus of Ha, ha, he!</span></p> - - -<p>The Fairy Glee of Oberon, which Stevens's exquisite music -has familiarized to modern ears, will immediately occur to the -reader of these laughing stanzas. We may also trace another less -obvious resemblance to Jonson, in an ode gratulatory to the -Right Honourable Hierome, Lord Weston, for his return from his -embassy, in the year 1632. The accord is to be found, not in the -words nor in the subject; for either would betray imitation: but -in the style of thought, and, if I may so term it, the date of the -expression.</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 6em;">Such pleasure as the teeming earth</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Doth take in easy nature's birth,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">When she puts forth the life of every thing:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">And in a dew of sweetest rain,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">She lies delivered without pain,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Of the prime beauty of the year, the spring.</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">The rivers in their shores do run,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">The clouds rack clear before the sun,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The rudest winds obey the calmest air:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Rare plants from every bank do rise,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">And every plant the sense surprise,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Because the order of the whole is fair!</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">The very verdure of her nest,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Wherein she sits so richly drest,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">As all the wealth of season there was spread;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Doth show the graces and the hours</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Have multiplied their arts and powers,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In making soft her aromatic bed.</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Such joys, such sweets, doth your return</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Bring all your friends, fair lord, that burn</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">With love, to hear your modesty relate</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">The bus'ness of your blooming wit,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">With all the fruit shall follow it,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Both to the honor of the king and state.</span></p> - - -<p>The following poem of Blake is in a different character. It -expresses with majesty and pathos the feelings of a benevolent -mind, on being present at a sublime display of national munificence -and charity.</p> - - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;">HOLY THURSDAY</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Twas on a Holy Thursday, their innocent faces clean,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The children walking two and two, in red and blue and</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">green;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Grey-headed beadles walked before, with wands as white</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">as snow;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Till into the high dome of Paul's, they, like Thames'</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">waters, flow.</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Oh! What a multitude they seemed, these flowers of</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">London town!</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Seated in companies they sit, with radiance all their own!</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The hum of multitudes was there, but multitudes of lambs;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Thousands of little boys and girls, raising their innocent</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">hands.</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Now like a mighty wind they raise to heaven the voice</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">of song,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Or like harmonious thunderings, the seats of heaven</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">among!</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Beneath them sit the aged men, wise guardians of the</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">poor:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Then cherish pity, lest you drive an angel from your door.</span></p> - - -<p>The book of Revelation, which may well be supposed to engross -much of Mr. Blake's study, seems to have directed him, in common -with Milton, to some of the foregoing images. 'And I heard as it were -the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and -as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord -God omnipotent reigneth.' Milton comprises the mighty thunderings -in the epithet 'loud,' and adopts the comparison of many waters, which -image our poet, having in the first stanza appropriated differently, to -their flow rather than to their sound, exchanges in the last for that -of a mighty wind.</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">He ended; and the heav'nly audience loud</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Sung hallelujah, as the sound of sees,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Through multitude that sung.</span></p> - -<p style="margin-left: 50%;"><i>Paradise Lost</i>, Book X. 641.</p> - - -<p>It may be worth a moment's consideration, whether Dr. Johnson's -remarks on devotional poetry, though strictly just where he applies -them, to the artificial compositions of Waller and Watts, are universally -and necessarily true. Watts seldom rose above the level of a mere -versifier. Waller, though entitled to the higher appellation of poet, -had formed himself rather to elegance and delicacy, than to passionate -emotions or a lofty and dignified deportment. The devotional pieces -of the Hebrew bards are clothed in that simple language, to which -Johnson with justice ascribes the character of sublimity. There is no -reason therefore why the poets of other nations should not be equally -successful, if they think with the same purity, and express themselves -in the same unaffected terms. He says indeed with truth, that 'Repentance -trembling in the presence of the judge, is not at leisure for cadences -and epithets.' But though we should exclude the severer topics from our -catalogue, mercy and benevolence may be treated poetically, because -they are in unison with the mild spirit of poetry. They are seldom -treated successfully; but the fault is not in the subject. The mind of -the poet is too often at leisure for the mechanical prettinesses of -cadence and epithet, when it ought to be engrossed by higher thoughts. -Words and numbers present themselves unbidden, when the soul is -inspired by sentiment, elevated by enthusiasm, or ravished by devotion. -I leave it to the reader to determine, whether the following stanzas -have any tendency to vindicate this species of poetry; and whether -their simplicity and sentiment at all make amends for their unartificial -and unassuming construction.</p> - - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;">THE DIVINE IMAGE</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">To Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">All pray in their distress,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And to these virtues of delight</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Return their thankfulness.</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">For Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Is God our Father dear:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Is man, his child and care.</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">For Mercy has a human heart;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Pity, a human face;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And Love, the human form divine,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And Peace, the human dress.</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Then every man, of every clime,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">That prays in his distress,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Prays to the human form divine,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Love, Mercy, Pity, Peace.</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And all must love the human form.</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In Heathen, Turk, or Jew!</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Where Mercy, Love, and Pity dwell,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">There God is dwelling too.</span></p> - - -<p>Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis, Tarquin and Lucrece, and his Sonnets, -occasioned it to be said by a contemporary, that, 'As the soul of -Euphorbus was thought to live in Pythagoras, so the sweet witty -soul of Ovid lives in mellifluous honey-tongued Shakespeare.' These -poems, now little read, were favorite studies of Mr. Blake's early -days. So were Jonson's Underwoods and Miscellanies, and he seems -to me to have caught his manner, more than that of Shakespeare -in his trifles. The following song is a good deal in the spirit of the -Hue and Cry after Cupid, in the Masque on Lord Haddington's marriage. -It was written before the age of fourteen, in the heat of youthful fancy, -unchastized by judgment. The poet, as such, takes the very strong -liberty of equipping himself with wings, and thus appropriates his -metaphorical costume to his corporeal fashion and seeming. The -conceit is not unclassical; but Pindar and the ancient lyrics arrogated -to themselves the bodies of swans for their august residence. Our -Gothic songster is content to be encaged by Cupid; and submits, -like a young lady's favorite, to all the vagaries of giddy curiosity -and tormenting fondness.</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">How sweet I roamed from field to field,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">And tasted all the summer's pride,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Till I the prince of love beheld,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Who in the sunny beams did glide!</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">He showed me lilies for my hair,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">And blushing roses for my brow;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">He led me through his gardens fair,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Where all his golden pleasures grow.</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">With sweet May dews my wings were wet,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">And Phoebus fired my vocal rage;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">He caught me in his silken net,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">And shut me in his golden cage.</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">He loves to sit and hear me sing,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Then, laughing, sports and plays with me;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Then stretches out my golden wing,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">And mocks my loss of liberty.</span></p> - - -<p>The playful character ascribed to the prince of love, especially his -wanton and fantastic action while sporting with his captive, in the -two last stanzas, render it probable that the author had read the -Hue and Cry after Cupid. If so, it had made its impression; but the -lines could scarcely have been remembered at the time of writing, or -the resemblance would have been closer. The stanzas to which I -especially allude, are these.</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">Wings he hath, which though ye clip,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">He will leap from lip to lip,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Over liver, lights, and heart,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">But not stay in any part;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">And, if chance his arrow misses,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">He will shoot himself, in kisses.</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Idle minutes are his reign;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Then the straggler makes his gain,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">By presenting maids with toys,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">And would have ye think'em joys:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">'Tis th' ambition of the elf,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">To have all childish as himself.</span></p> - - -<p>The two following little pieces are added, as well by way of -contrast, as for the sake of their respective merits. In the first, -there is a simple and pastoral gaiety, which the poets of a refined -age have generally found much more difficult of attainment, than -the glitter of wit, or the affectation of antithesis. The second rises -with the subject. It wears that garb of grandeur, which the idea of -creation communicates to a mind of the higher order. Our bard, -having brought the topic he descants on from warmer latitudes -than his own, is justified in adopting an imagery, of almost oriental -feature and complexion.</p> - - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;">SONG</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">I love the jocund dance,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The softly breathing song,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Where innocent eyes do glance,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">And where lisps the maiden's tongue.</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">I love the laughing gale,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">I love the echoing hill,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Where mirth does never fail,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">And the jolly swain laughs his fill.</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">I love the pleasant cot,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">I love the innocent bower,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Where white and brown is our lot,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Or fruit in the midday hour.</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">I love the oaken seat,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Beneath the oaken tree,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Where all the old villagers meet,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">And laugh our sports to see.</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">I love our neighbors all,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">But, Kitty, I better love thee;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And love them I ever shall;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">But thou art all to me.</span></p> - - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;">THE TIGER</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">Tiger, Tiger, burning bright,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In the forest of the right!</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">What immortal hand or eye</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Could frame thy fearful symmetry?</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In what distant deeps or skies,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Burnt the fire of thine eyes?</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">On what wings dare he aspire?</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">What the hand dare seize the fire?</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And what shoulder, and what art,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Could twist the sinews of thy heart?</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">When thy heart began to beat,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">What dread hand forged thy dread feet?</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">What the hammer? What the chain?</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In what furnace was thy brain?</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">What the anvil? What dread grasp</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Dared its deadly terrors clasp?</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">When the stars threw down their spears,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And watered heaven with their tears,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Did he smile his work to see?</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Did he, who made the lamb, make thee?</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Tiger, tiger, burning bright,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In the forest of the night;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">What immortal hand or eye</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?</span></p> - - -<p>Besides these lyric compositions, Mr. Blake has given several -specimens of blank verse. Here, as might be expected, his personifications -are bold, his thoughts original, and his style of writing altogether epic -in its structure. The unrestrained measure, however, which should -warn the poet to restrain himself, has not infrequently betrayed -him into so wild a pursuit of fancy, as to leave harmony unregarded, -and to pass the line prescribed by criticism to the career of -imagination.</p> - -<p>But I have been leading you beside our subject, into a labyrinth -of poetical comment, with as little method or ceremony, as if we were -to have no witness of our correspondence. It is time we should return -from the masking regions of poetry, to the business with which -we set out. Donne, in his Anatomy of the World, remarks the -Egyptians to have acted wisely, in bestowing more cost upon -their tombs than on their houses. This example he adduces, to -justify his own Funeral Elegies: and I may perhaps be allowed -to adopt it, as an additional plea, should my former be of no avail, -for coming forward with this piece of almost infantine biography...</p> - -<p>I regret, my dear friend, that it was not in my power to furnish -you and my readers with a portrait of a later date. We had often -talked of allowing ourselves that indulgence; but we were not privy -to the event, which was to have communicated to it an incalculable -value. The engraving here given, though it might well be taken to -represent a much older child, is from a very beautiful miniature, -painted by Paye, when Thomas was not quite two years old. He then -was only beginning to speak; but there was even at that early period -an intelligence in his eye, and an expression about his mouth, which -are, I hope, sufficiently characterized in the delineation to afford -no inadequate idea of his physiognomy....</p> - -<p>At all events, this work, though it should escape censure, can -rank no higher than a trifle. What apology must I make for addressing -it to a fellow-laborer, who has accomplished the serious and -difficult task of giving an English dress to Froissart? I think it was -Gray who denominated your venerable original the Herodotus of -a barbarous age; But surely that age is entitled to a more respectful -epithet, when France could boast its Froissart, Italy its Petrarch, -England its Wickliffe, the father of our reformation, and Chaucer, the -father of our poetry. If I might slightly alter the designation of so -complete a critic, I would prefer calling this simple and genuine -historian, the Herodotus of chivalry. But by whatever title -we are to greet him, the interesting minuteness of his recital, -affording a strong pledge of its fidelity, the lively delineation of -manners, and the charm of unadulterated language, all conspire -to place him in the first rank of early writers. The public began -to revolt from that spirit of philosophizing on the most common -occasions, in consequence of which our modern historians seem -to be more ingenious in assigning causes and motives, than assiduous -to ascertain facts. We are returning home to plain tales and first-hand -authorities; and you will share the honor of pointing out the way. -Froissart, hitherto inaccessible to English readers in general, -from the obsolete garb both of the French and of Lord Berners's -translation, may now be read in such a form, as to unite a peculiar -thought and turn of the ancient with the intelligible phraseology -of modern times. With my best congratulations on your success, -and my earnest request to be forgiven for thus intruding on your -leisure, believe me to be, my dear friend, faithfully yours,</p> - - -<p style="margin-left: 60%;">B. H. MALKIN.</p> - - -<p>HACKNEY, <i>January</i> 4, 1806.</p> - - - - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - -<h4><a id="III._FROM_LADY_CHARLOTTE_BURYS_DIARY_1820">(III.) FROM LADY CHARLOTTE BURY'S DIARY (1820)</a></h4> - - -<p>[This extract from the <i>Diary illustrative of the Times of George -the Fourth</i>, by Lady Charlotte Bury, afterwards Lady Charlotte -Campbell, published anonymously, and edited by John Galt, in four -volumes, in 1839, was first noticed by Mr. W. M. Rossetti, who printed -it in the <i>Athenaeum.</i> It is from vol. iii. pp. 345-318.]</p> - - - - -<hr class="r5" /> - - - - -<h4>FROM LADY CHARLOTTE BURY'S DIARY (1820)</h4> - - -<p><i>Tuesday</i>, <i>the</i> 20<i>th of January</i> [1820].—I -dined at Lady C. L——'s. She had collected a strange -party of artists and literati and one or two fine folks, who were very -ill assorted with the rest of the company, and appeared neither to give -nor receive pleasure from the society among whom they were mingled. -Sir T. Lawrence, next whom I sat at dinner, is as courtly as ever. His -conversation is agreeable, but I never feel as if he was saying what -he really thought....</p> - -<p>Besides Sir T., there was also present of this profession Mrs. M., -the miniature painter, a modest, pleasing person; like the pictures she -executes, soft and sweet. Then there was another eccentric little -artist, by name Blake; not a regular professional painter, but one -of those persons who follow the art for its own sweet sake, and -derive their happiness from its pursuit. He appeared to me to be -full of beautiful imaginations and genius; but how far the execution -of his designs is equal to the conceptions of his mental vision, I -know not, never having seen them. <i>Main-d'oeuvre</i> is frequently -wanting where the mind is most powerful Mr. Blake appears unlearned -in all that concerns this world, and, from what he said, I should fear -he is one of those whose feelings are far superior to his situation -in life. He looks care-worn and subdued; but his countenance -radiated as he spoke of his favorite pursuit, and he appeared -gratified by talking to a person who comprehended his feelings. -I can easily imagine that he seldom meets with any one who enters -into his views; for they are peculiar, and exalted above the common -level of received opinions. I could not help contrasting this humble -artist with the great and powerful Sir Thomas Lawrence, and thinking -that the one was fully if not more worthy of the distinction and the -fame to which the other has attained, but from which <i>he</i> is -far removed. Mr. Blake, however, though he may have as much right, -from talent and merit, to the advantages of which Sir Thomas is -possessed, evidently lacks that worldly wisdom and that grace of -manner which make a man gain an eminence in his profession, -and succeed in society. Every word he uttered spoke the perfect -simplicity of his mind, and his total ignorance of all worldly matters. -He told me that Lady C—— L—— had been very kind -to him. 'Ah!' said he, 'there is a deal of kindness in that lady.' I -agreed with him, and though it was impossible not to laugh at the -strange manner in which she had arranged this party, I could not -help admiring the goodness of heart and discrimination of talent -which had made her patronize this unknown artist. Sir T. Lawrence -looked at me several times whilst I was talking with Mr. B., and I -saw his lips curl with a sneer, as if he despised me for conversing -with so insignificant a person.<a name="FNanchor_1_5" id="FNanchor_1_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_5" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> It was very evident Sir Thomas -did not like the company he found himself in, though he was too -well-bred and too prudent to hazard a remark upon the subject.</p> - -<p>The literati were also of various degrees of eminence, beginning -with Lord B——, and ending with——. The -grandees were Lord L——, who appreciates talent, -and therefore not so ill assorted with the party as was Mrs. -G——and Lady C——, who did nothing but -yawn the whole evening, and Mrs A——, who all looked -with evident contempt upon the surrounding company.</p> - - - - -<hr class="r5" /> - - - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_5" id="Footnote_1_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_5"><span class="label">[1]</span></a>There is surely some mistake in this supposition, for Sir -T. Lawrence was, afterwards at least, one of Mr. Blake's great -patrons and admirers.</p></div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - -<h4><a id="IV._BLAKES_HOROSCOPE_1825">(IV.) BLAKE'S HOROSCOPE (1825)</a></h4> - - - - -<p>[Blake's horoscope was cast during his lifetime in <i>Urania</i>, -or, the Astrologer's Chronicle, and Mystical Magazine; edited by Merlinus -Anglicanus, jun., the Astrologer of the Nineteenth Century, assisted by -the Metropolitan Society of Occult Philosophers (No. I, London, 1825), -the first and only number of an astrological magazine, published under -the pseudonym of Merlinus Anglicanus by R. C. Smith, an astrologer -of the period, and it is highly probable, as Dr. Garnett suggests, that -the date (confirmed by the birth register at St. James's, Westminster) -was derived from Varley, who would have had it from Blake himself. -I give the map, not as it is printed in the book, but in the clearer and -simpler form in which it was copied and given to me by Dr. Garnett. -I am told that the most striking thing in the map, from an astrological -point of view, is the position and aspect of Uranus, the occult planet, -which indicate in the highest degree 'an inborn and supreme instinct -for things occult,' without showing the least tendency towards madness. -The 'Nativity of Mr. Blake' is the last entry, Footnote [2] in -"William Blake, chapter II."]</p> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/blake01.jpg" width="350" alt="350" /> -</div> - - - - -<hr class="r5" /> - - - - - -<h4>NATIVITY OF MR. BLAKE,</h4> - -<h4>THE MYSTICAL ARTIST</h4> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 350px;"> -<img src="images/blake02.jpg" width="350" alt="350" /> -</div> - - -<p>The above horoscope is calculated for the <i>estimate</i> time -of birth, and Mr. Blake, the subject thereof, is well known amongst -scientific characters, as having a most peculiar and extraordinary -turn of genius and vivid imagination. His illustrations of the Book -of Job have met with much and deserved praise; indeed, in the line -which this artist has adopted, he is perhaps equalled by none of the -present day. Mr. Blake is no less peculiar and <i>outré</i> in his -ideas, as he seems to have some curious intercourse with the invisible -world; and, according to his own account (in which he is certainly, -to all appearance, perfectly sincere), he is continually surrounded -by the spirits of the deceased of all ages, nations, and countries. -He has, so he affirms, held actual conversations with Michael Angelo, -Raphael, Milton, Dryden, and the worthies of antiquity. He has now -by him a long poem nearly finished, which he affirms was recited to -him by the spirit of Milton; and the mystical drawings of this -gentleman are no less curious and worthy of notice, by all those -whose minds soar above the cloggings of this terrestrial element, -to which we are most of us too fastly chained to comprehend the -nature and operations of the world of spirits.</p> - -<p>Mr. Blake's pictures of the last judgment, his profiles of Wallace, -Edward the Sixth, Harold, Cleopatra, and numerous others which -we have seen, are really wonderful for the spirit in which they are -delineated. We have been in company with this gentleman several -times, and have frequently been not only delighted with his conversation, -but also filled with feelings of wonder at his extraordinary faculties; -which, whatever some may say to the contrary, are by no means -tinctured with superstition, as he certainly believes what he -promulgates. Our limits will not permit us to enlarge upon this -geniture, which we merely give as an example worthy to be noticed -by the astrological student in his list of remarkable nativities. But it -is probable that the extraordinary faculties and eccentricities of -idea which this gentleman possesses, are the effects of the Moon -in Cancer in the twelfth house (both sign and house being mystical), -in trine to Herschell from the mystical sign Pisces, from the house -of science, and from the mundane trine to Saturn in the scientific -sign Aquarius, which latter planet is in square to Mercury in Scorpio, -and in quintile to the Sun and Jupiter, in the mystical sign Sagittarius. -The square of Mars and Mercury, from fixed signs, also, has a -remarkable tendency to sharpen the intellects, and lay the foundation -of extraordinary ideas. There are also many other reasons for the -strange peculiarities above noticed, but these the student will no -doubt readily discover.</p> - - - - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<h4><a id="V._OBITUARY_NOTICES_IN_THE_LITERARY_GAZETTE_AND_GENTLEMANS_MAGAZINE_1827">(V.) OBITUARY NOTICES IN -THE LITERARY GAZETTE' AND 'GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE,' 1827.</a></h4> - - -<p>[Obituary Notices of Blake appeared in the <i>Literary Gazette</i> -of August 18, 1827 (pp. 540-41), the <i>Gentleman's Magazine</i> of -October 1827 (pp. 377-8), and the <i>Annual Register</i> of 1827, in its -Appendix of Deaths (pp. 253-4). The notice in the <i>Gentleman's -Magazine</i> is largely condensed from that in the <i>Literary -Gazette</i>, but with a different opening, which I have given after -the notice in the <i>Literary Gazette.</i> The notice in the -<i>Annual Register</i> is merely condensed from the <i>Gentleman's -Magazine.</i>]</p> - - - - -<hr class="r5" /> - - - - -<h4>I</h4> - - -<h4>WILLIAM BLAKE</h4> - - -<h4><i>The Illustrator of the Grave, etc.</i></h4> - - -<p>To those few who have sympathies for the ideal and (comparatively -speaking) the intellectual in art, the following notice is addressed. -Few persons of taste are unacquainted with the designs by Blake, -appended as illustrations to a 4to edition of Blair's Grave. It was -borne forth into the world on the warmest praises of all our prominent -artists, Hoppner, Phillips, Stothard, Flaxman, Opie, Tresham, -Westmacott, Beechey, Lawrence, West, Nollekins, Shee, Owen, Rossi, -Thomson, Cosway, and Soane; and doubly assured with a preface -by the learned and severe Fuseli, the latter part of which we -transcribe—'The author of the moral series before us has -endeavored to wake sensibility by touching our sympathies with -nearer, less ambiguous, and less ludicrous imagery, than what -mythology, Gothic superstition, or symbols as far-fetched as -inadequate could supply. His invention has been chiefly employed -to spread a familiar and domestic atmosphere round the most -important of all subjects—to connect the visible and the -invisible world, without provoking probability—and to lead -the eye from the milder light of time to the radiations of eternity. -Such is the plan and the moral part of the author's invention; the -technic part, and the execution of the artist, though to be examined -by other principles, and addressed to a narrower circle, equally claim -approbation, sometimes excite our wonder, and not seldom our fears, -when we see him play on the very verge of legitimate invention; -but wildness so picturesque in itself, so often redeemed by taste, -simplicity, and elegance—what child of fancy, what artist, -would wish to discharge? The groups and single figures, on their -own basis, abstracted from the general composition, and considered -without attention to the plan, frequently exhibit those genuine -and unaffected attitudes, those simple graces, which nature and -the heart alone can dictate, and only an eye inspired by both -discover. Every class of artists, in every stage of their progress -and attainments, from the student to the finished master, and -from the contriver of ornament to the painter of history, will here -find materials of art, and hints of improvement!'</p> - -<p>When it is stated, that the pure-minded Flaxman pointed out -to an eminent literary man the obscurity of Blake as a melancholy -proof of English apathy towards the grand, the philosophic, or -the enthusiastically devotional painter; and that he (Blake) has -been several times employed for that truly admirable judge of -art, Sir T. Lawrence, any further testimony to his extraordinary -powers is unnecessary. Yet has Blake been allowed to exist in -a penury which most artists<a name="FNanchor_1_6" id="FNanchor_1_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_6" class="fnanchor">[1]</a>—beings necessarily of a sensitive -temperament—would deem intolerable. Pent, with his affectionate -wife, in a close back-room in one of the Strand courts, his -bed in one corner, his meagre dinner in another, a rickety table -holding his copper-plates in progress, his colors, books (among -which his Bible, a Sessi Velutello's Dante, and Mr. Carey's -translation, were at the top), his large drawings, sketches, -and MSS.;—his ankles frightfully swelled, his chest disordered, -old age striding on, his wants increased, but not his miserable -means and appliances: even yet was his eye undimmed, the fire -of his imagination unquenched, and the preternatural, never-resting -activity of his mind unflagging. He had not merely a calmly -resigned, but a cheerful and mirthful countenance; in short, -he was a living commentary on Jeremy Taylor's beautiful chapter -on Contentedness. He took no thought for his life, what he should -eat, or what he should drink; nor yet for his body, what he -should put on; but had a fearless confidence in that Providence -which had given him the vast range of the world for his recreation -and delight.</p> - -<p><i>Blake died last Monday!</i> Died as he lived! piously cheerful, -talking calmly, and finally resigning himself to his eternal rest, -like an infant to its sleep. He has left <i>nothing</i> except some -pictures, copper-plates, and his principal work of a series of a hundred -large designs from Dante.</p> - -<p>William Blake was brought up under Basire, the eminent engraver. -He was active in mind and body, passing from one occupation to -another, without an intervening minute of repose. Of an ardent, -affectionate, and grateful temper, he was simple in manner and -address, and displayed an inbred courteousness, of the most -agreeable character. Next November he would have been <i>sixty-nine.</i> -At the age of sixty-six he commenced the study of Italian, for -the sake of reading Dante in the original, which he accomplished!</p> - -<p>His widow is left (we fear, from the accounts which have reached -us) in a very forlorn condition, Mr. Blake having latterly been much -indebted for succor and consolation to his friend Mr. Linnell, the -painter. We have no doubt but her cause will be taken up by the -distributors of those funds which are raised for the relief of distressed -artists, and also by the benevolence of private individuals.</p> - -<p>When further time has been allowed us for inquiry, we shall -probably resume this matter; at present (owing the above information -to the kindness of a correspondent) we can only record the death -of a singular and very able man.</p> - - - - -<h4>II</h4> - - -<h4>MR. WILLIAM BLAKE</h4> - - -<p>Aug. 13, aged 68, Mr. William Blake, an excellent, but eccentric, -artist.</p> - -<p>He was a pupil of the engraver Basire; and among his earliest -productions were eight beautiful plates in the Novelist's Magazine. -In 1793 he published in 12mo, 'The Gates of Paradise,' a very small -book for children, containing fifteen plates of emblems; and 'published -by W. B., 13 Hercules Buildings, Lambeth'; also about the same time, -'Songs of Experience, with plates'; 'America; a Prophecy,' folio, and -'Europe, a Prophecy,' 1794, folio. These are now become very scarce. -In 1797 he commenced, in large folio, an edition of Young's Night -Thoughts, of which every page was a design, but only one number -was published. In 1805 were produced in 8vo numbers, containing -five engravings by Blake, some ballads by Mr. Hayley, but which -also were abruptly discontinued. Few persons of taste are unacquainted -with the designs by Blake, engraved by Schiavonetti, as illustrations -to a 4to edition of Blair's Grave. They are twelve in number, and an -excellent portrait of Blake, from a picture by T. Phillips, R.A., is -prefixed. It was borne forth ... [Here follows the third sentence, -p. 345 above, to the end of the paragraph.]</p> - -<p>In 1809 was published in 12mo, 'A Descriptive Catalogue of -[sixteen] pictures, poetical and historical inventions, painted by -William Blake in watercolors, being the ancient method of fresco -painting restored, and drawings, for public inspection, and for -sale by private contract.' Among these was a design of Chaucer's -Pilgrimage to Canterbury, from which an etching has been published. -Mr. Blake's last publication is a set of engravings to illustrate the -Book of Job. To Fuseli's testimony of his merit above quoted, it -is sufficient to add, that he has been employed by that truly -admirable judge of art, Sir Thomas Lawrence; and that the pure-minded -Flaxman....</p> - -<p>[The remainder is condensed from the <i>Literary Gazette</i>, -in "The Illustrator of the Grave," above, with the occasional change -of a word, or the order of a sentence.]</p> - - - - -<hr class="r5" /> - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_6" id="Footnote_1_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_6"><span class="label">[1]</span></a>The term is employed in its generic and comprehensive -sense.</p></div> - - - - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - - -<h4><a id="VI._EXTRACT_FROM_VARLEYS_ZODIACAL_PHYSIOGNOMY_1828">(VI.) EXTRACT FROM VARLEY'S -ZODIACAL PHYSIOGNOMY (1828)</a></h4> - - -<p>[John Varley, astrologer and water-color painter, was introduced to -Blake by Linnell, and it was for him that Blake did the 'visionary heads' -described by Allan Cunningham. (see "VIII Life of Blake by Allan -Cunningham.") 'The Ghost of a Flea' exists in both forms described -by Varley, in a sketch of the head (which he reproduces, engraved by -Linnell, in a plate at the end of his book, together with two other -heads in outline), and in a full-length picture in tempera. The passage -which follows is taken from pp. 54, 55 of 'A Treatise on Zodiacal -Physiognomy; illustrated with engravings of heads and features: -accompanied by tables of the times of rising of the twelve signs of -the Zodiac; and containing also new and astrological explanation -of some remarkable portions of Ancient Mythological History.' By John -Varley. London: Printed for the Author, 1828.]</p> - - - - -<hr class="r5" /> - - - - -<h4>EXTRACT FROM VARLEY'S ZODIACAL PHYSIOGNOMY</h4> - - -<p>With respect to the vision of the Ghost of the Flea, seen by -Blake, it agrees in countenance with one class of people under -Gemini, which sign is the significator of the Flea; whose brown color -is appropriate to the color of the eyes in some full-toned Gemini -persons. And the neatness, elasticity, and tenseness of the Flea -are significant of the elegant dancing and fencing sign Gemini. -This spirit visited his imagination in such a figure as he never -anticipated in an insect. As I was anxious to make the most correct -investigation in my power, of the truth of these visions, on hearing -of this spiritual apparition of a Flea, I asked him if he could draw -for me the resemblance of what he saw: he instantly said, 'I see him -now before me.' I therefore gave him paper and a pencil, with which -he drew the portrait, of which a facsimile is given in this number. I -felt convinced by his mode of proceeding that he had a real image -before him, for he left off, and began on another part of the paper -to make a separate drawing of the mouth of the Flea, which the -spirit having opened, he was prevented from proceeding with the -first sketch, till he had closed it. During the time occupied in -completing the drawing, the Flea told him that all fleas were -inhabited by the souls of such men as were by nature blood-thirsty -to excess, and were therefore providentially confined to the size -and form of insects; otherwise, were he himself, for instance, the -size of a horse, he would depopulate a great portion of the country. -He added, that if in attempting to leap from one island to another, -he should fall into the sea, he could swim, and should not be lost. -This spirit afterwards appeared to Blake, and afforded him a view -of his whole figure; an engraving of which I shall give in this work.</p> - - - - -<hr class="chap" /> - - - -<h4><a id="VII._BIOGRAPHICAL_SKETCH_OF_BLAKE_BY_J_T_SMITH_1828">(VII.) BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH -OF BLAKE BY J. T. SMITH (1828)</a></h4> - - -<p>[The Memoir of Blake by John Thomas Smith, Keeper of the Prints -and Drawings in the British Museum, is the last of the 'Biographical -Sketches and Anecdotes of several Artists and others contemporary -with Nollekens,' contained in the second volume of 'Nollekens and -his Times: comprehending a Life of that celebrated Sculptor; and -Memoirs of several contemporary Artists, from the' time of Roubiliac, -Hogarth, and Reynolds, to that of Fuseli, Flaxman, and Blake.' (London: -Henry Colburn, New Burlington Street, 1828.) It contains more facts -at first hand than any other account of Blake, and is really the -foundation of all subsequent biographies. I have added a page, -which is not without its significance, from a later book by Smith, -'A Book for a Rainy Day; or, Recollections of the Events of the last -Sixty-five Years' (1845), where it occurs under date 1784, on -pp. 81, 82.]</p> - - - - -<hr class="r5" /> - - - - -<h4>BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF BLAKE</h4> - - -<p>I believe it has been invariably the custom of every age, whenever -a man has been found to depart from the usual mode of thinking, to -consider him of deranged intellect, and not infrequently stark -staring mad; which judgment his calumniators would pronounce -with as little hesitation, as some of the uncharitable part of mankind -would pass sentence of death upon a poor half-drowned cur -who had lost his master, or one who had escaped hanging with a -rope about his neck. Cowper, in a letter to Lady Hesketh, dated -June 3, 1788, speaking of a dancing-master's advertisement, says, -'The author of it had the good hap to be crazed, or he had never -produced anything half so clever; for you will ever observe, that -they who are said to have lost their wits, have more than other -people.'</p> - -<p>Bearing this stigma of eccentricity, William Blake, with most -extraordinary zeal, commenced his efforts in Art under the roof -of No. 28 Broad Street, Carnaby Market; in which house he was -born, and where his father carried on the business of a hosier. -William, the subject of the following pages, who was his second -son, showing an early stretch of mind, and a strong talent for -drawing, being totally destitute of the dexterity of a London -shopman, so well described by Dr. Johnson, was sent away from -the counter as a booby, and placed under the late Mr. James -Basire, an artist well known for many years as engraver to the -Society of Antiquaries. From him he learned the mechanical -part of his art, and as he drew carefully, and copied faithfully, -his master frequently and confidently employed him to make drawings -from monuments to be engraved.</p> - -<p>After leaving his instructor, in whose house he had conducted -himself with the strictest propriety, he became acquainted with -Flaxman, the sculptor, through his friend Stothard, and was also -honored by an introduction to the accomplished Mrs. Mathew, -whose house, No. 27, in Rathbone Place, was then frequented by -most of the literary and talented people of the day. This lady—to -whom I also had the honor of being known, and whose door and -purse were constantly open and ready to cherish persons of genius -who stood in need of assistance in their learned and arduous -pursuits, worldly concerns, or inconveniences—was so extremely -zealous in promoting the celebrity of Blake, that upon hearing -him read some of his early efforts in poetry, she thought so well -of them, as to request the Bev. Henry Mathew, her husband, to -join Mr. Flaxman in his truly kind offer of defraying the expense -of printing them; in which he not only acquiesced, but, with his -usual urbanity, wrote the following advertisement, which precedes -the poems:</p> - - -<p>'The following sketches were the production of an untutored -youth, commenced in his twelfth, and occasionally resumed by the -author till his twentieth year; since which time, his talents having -been wholly directed to the attainment of excellence in his profession, -he has been deprived of the leisure requisite to such a revisal of -these sheets, as might have rendered them less unfit to meet the -public eye.</p> - -<p>'Conscious of the irregularities and defects to be found in almost -every page, his friends have still believed that they possessed a -poetical originality, which merited some respite from oblivion. These, -their opinions, remain, however, to be now reproved or confirmed by -a less partial public.'</p> - - -<p>The annexed Song is a specimen of the juvenile playfulness of -Blake's muse, copied from page 10 of these Poems.<a name="FNanchor_1_7" id="FNanchor_1_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_7" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p> - - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;">SONG</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'How sweet I roam'd from field to field,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">And tasted all the Summer's pride,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Till I the Prince of Love beheld,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Who in the sunny beams did glide!</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">'He show'd me lilies for my hair,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">And blushing roses for my brow;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">He led me through his gardens fair,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Where all his golden pleasures grow.</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">'With sweet May-dews my wings were wet,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">And Phoebus fired my vocal rage;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">He caught me in his silken net,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">And shut me in his golden cage.</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">'He loves to sit and hear me sing,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Then, laughing, sports and plays with me;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Then stretches out my golden wing,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">And mocks my loss of liberty.'</span></p> - - -<p>But it happened, unfortunately, soon after this period, that in -consequence of his unbending deportment, or what his adherents -are pleased to call his manly firmness of opinion, which certainly -was not at all times considered pleasing by every one, his visits -were not so frequent. He, however, continued to benefit by Mrs. -Mathew's liberality, and was enabled to continue in partnership, -as a print-seller, with his fellow-pupil, Parker, in a shop, No. 27, -next door to his father's, in Broad Street; and being extremely partial -to Robert, his youngest brother, considered him as his pupil. Bob, -as he was familiarly called, was one of my playfellows, and much -beloved by all his companions.</p> - -<p>Much about this time, Blake wrote many other songs, to which -he also composed tunes. These he would occasionally sing to his -friends; and though, according to his confession, he was entirely -unacquainted with the science of music, his ear was so good, that -his tunes were sometimes most singularly beautiful, and were noted -down by musical professors. As for his later poetry, if it may be so -called, attached to his plates, though it was certainly in some parts -enigmatically curious as to its application, yet it was not always wholly -uninteresting; and I have unspeakable pleasure in being able to state, -that though I admit he did not for the last forty years attend any place -of Divine worship, yet he was not a Freethinker, as some invidious -detractors have thought proper to assert, nor was he ever in any -degree irreligious. Through life, his Bible was everything with him; -and as a convincing proof how highly he reverenced the Almighty, I -shall introduce the following lines with which he concludes his address -to the Deists:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'For a tear is an intellectual thing;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And a sigh is the sword of an Angel-King;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And the bitter groan of a Martyr's woe</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Is an arrow from the Almighty's bow.'</span></p> - - -<p>Again, at page 77, in his address to the Christians:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'I give you the end of a golden string;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Only wind it into a ball,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">It will lead you in at Heaven's gate,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Built in Jerusalem's wall.'</span></p> - - -<p>In his choice of subjects, and in his designs in Art, perhaps no -man had higher claim to originality, nor ever drew with a closer -adherence to his own conception; and from what I knew of him, -and have heard related by his friends, I most firmly believe few -artists have been guilty of less plagiarisms than he. It is true, -I have seen him admire and heard him expatiate upon the beauties -of Marc Antonio and of Albert Dürer; but I verily believe not with -any view of borrowing an idea; neither do I consider him at any -time dependent in his mode of working, which was generally with -the graver only; and as to printing, he mostly took off his own -impressions.</p> - -<p>After his marriage, which took place at Battersea, and which -proved a mutually happy one, he instructed his <i>beloved</i>, for -so he most frequently called his Kate,<a name="FNanchor_2_5" id="FNanchor_2_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_5" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> and allowed her, till the last -moment of his practice, to take off his proof impressions and print -his works, which she did most carefully, and ever delighted in the -task: nay, she became a draughts-woman; and as a convincing proof -that she and her husband were born for each others comfort, she -not only entered cheerfully into his views, but, what is curious, -possessed a similar power of imbibing ideas, and has produced -drawings equally original and, in some respects, interesting.</p> - -<p>Blake's peace of mind, as well as that of his Catherine, was much -broken by the death of their brother Robert, who was a most amicable -link in their happiness; and, as a proof how much Blake respected him, -whenever he beheld him in his visions, he implicitly attended to his -opinion and advice as to his future projected works. I should have -stated, that Blake was supereminently endowed with the power of -disuniting all other thoughts from his mind, whenever he wished to -indulge in thinking of any particular subject; and so firmly did he -believe, by this abstracting power, that the objects of his compositions -were before him in his mind's eye, that he frequently believed them -to be speaking to him. This I shall now illustrate by the following -narrative.</p> - -<p>Blake, after deeply perplexing himself as to the mode of accomplishing -the publication of his illustrated songs, without their being subject -to the expense of letterpress, his brother Robert stood before him -in one of his visionary imaginations, and so decidedly directed him -in the way in which he ought to proceed, that he immediately followed -his advice, by writing his poetry, and drawing his marginal subjects of -embellishments in outline upon the copper-plate with an impervious -liquid, and then eating the plain parts or lights away with aqua-fortis -considerably below them, so that the outlines were left as a stereotype. -The plates in this state were then printed in any tint that he wished, -to enable him or Mrs. Blake to color the marginal figures up by hand -in imitation of drawings.</p> - -<p>The following are some of his works produced in this manner, viz.; -'Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, The Book of Jerusalem,' -consisting of an hundred plates, 'The Marriage of Heaven and Hell,' -'Europe and America'; and another work, which is now very uncommon, -a pretty little series of plates, entitled 'Gate of Paradise.'</p> - -<p>Blake, like those artists absorbed in a beloved study, cared not -for money beyond its use for the ensuing day; and indeed he and -his 'beloved' were so reciprocally frugal in their expenses, that, never -sighing for either gilded vessels, silver-laced attendants, or turtle's -livers, they were contented with the simplest repast, and a little -answered their purpose. Yet, notwithstanding all their economy, -Dame Fortune being, as it is pretty well known to the world, sometimes -a fickle jade, they, as well as thousands more, have had their -intercepting clouds.</p> - -<p>As it is not my intention to follow them through their lives, I -shall confine myself to a relation of a few other anecdotes of this -happy pair; and as they are connected with the Arts, in my opinion -they ought not to be lost, as they may be considered worthy the -attention of future biographers.</p> - -<p>For his marginal illustrations of 'Young's Night Thoughts,' which -possess a great power of imagination, he received so despicably -low a price, that Flaxman, whose heart was ever warm, was determined -to serve him whenever an opportunity offered itself; and with his usual -voice of sympathy, introduced him to his friend Hayley, with whom it -was no new thing to give pleasure, capricious as he was. This -gentleman immediately engaged him to engrave the plates for his -quarto edition of 'The Life of Cowper,' published in 1803-4; -and for this purpose he went down to Felpham, in order to be near -that highly respected <i>Hermit.</i></p> - -<p>Here he took a cottage, for which he paid twenty pounds a year, -and was not, as has been reported, entertained in a house belonging -to Mr. Hayley rent-free. During his stay he drew several portraits, -and could have had full employment in that department of the Art; -but he was born to follow his own inclinations, and was willing -to rely upon a reward for the labours of the day.</p> - -<p>Mr. Flaxman, knowing me to be a collector of autographs, among -many others, gave me the following letter, which he received from -Blake immediately after his arrival at Felpham, in which he styles him.</p> - - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;">'DEAR SCULPTOR OF ETERNITY,</p> - -<p>'We are safe arrived at our cottage, which is more beautiful than -I thought it, and more convenient. It is a perfect model for cottages, -and, I think, for palaces of magnificence; only enlarging, not altering, -its proportions, and adding ornaments and not principals. Nothing can -be more grand than its simplicity and usefulness. Simple without -intricacy, it seems to be the spontaneous effusion of humanity, congenial -to the wants of man. No other-formed house can ever please me so -well; nor shall I ever be persuaded, I believe, that it can be improved -either in beauty or use.</p> - -<p>'Mr. Hayley received us with his usual brotherly affection. I have -begun to work. Felpham is a sweet place for study, because it is more -spiritual than London. Heaven opens here on all sides her golden -gates; her windows are not obstructed by vapors; voices of celestial -inhabitants are more distinctly heard, and their forms more distinctly -seen, and my cottage is also a shadow of their houses. My wife and -sister are both well, courting Neptune for an embrace.</p> - -<p>'Our journey was very pleasant; and though we had a great deal -of luggage, no grumbling. All was cheerfulness and good-humour -on the road, and yet we could not arrive at our cottage before half-past -eleven at night, owing to the necessary shifting of our luggage from -one chaise to another; for we had seven different chaises, and -as many different drivers. We set out between six and seven in the -morning of Thursday, with sixteen heavy boxes, and portfolios full -of prints.</p> - -<p>'And now begins a new life, because another covering of earth -is shaken off. I am more famed in Heaven for my works than I could -well conceive. In my brain are studies and chambers filled with books -and pictures of old, which I wrote and painted in ages of eternity, -before my mortal life; and those works are the delight and study -of archangels. Why then should I be anxious about the riches or fame -of mortality? The Lord, our father, will do for us and with us according -to his Divine will for our good.</p> - -<p>'You, O dear Flaxman! are a sublime Archangel, my friend and -companion from eternity. In the Divine bosom is our dwelling-place. -I look back into the regions of reminiscence, and behold our ancient -days before this earth appeared in its vegetated mortality to my -mortal-vegetated eyes. I see our houses of eternity which can -never be separated, though our mortal vehicles should stand at the -remotest corners of Heaven from each other.</p> - -<p>'Farewell, my best friend! Remember me and my wife in love -and friendship to our dear Mrs. Flaxman, whom we ardently desire -to entertain beneath our thatched roof of rusted gold; and believe -me for ever to remain,</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 60%;">'Your grateful and affectionate,</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 65%;">'WILLIAM BLAKE.</p> - -<p>'Felpham, <i>Sept.</i> 21, 1800.</p> - -<p>'Sunday morning.'</p> - - -<p>In a copy of Hayley's 'Triumphs of Temper,' illustrated by Stothard, -which had been the one belonging to the Author's son, and which -he gave after his death to Blake, are these verses in MS. by the -hand of the donor:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Accept, my gentle visionary, Blake,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Whose thoughts are fanciful and kindly mild;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Accept, and fondly keep for friendship's sake,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">This favor'd vision, my poetic child.</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Rich in more grace than fancy ever won,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">To thy most tender mind this book will be,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">For it belong'd to my departed son;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">So from an angel it descends to thee.</span></p> - -<p style="margin-left: 45%;">W. H.</p> - -<p><i>July</i>, 1800.'<a name="FNanchor_3_4" id="FNanchor_3_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_4" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p> - - -<p>Upon his return from Felpham, he addressed the public, -in page 3 of his Book of Jerusalem, in these words, 'After my -three years' slumber on the banks of the ocean, I again display -my giant-forms to the public,' etc.</p> - -<p>Some of the 'giant-forms,' as he calls them, are mighty and -grand, and if I were to compare them to the style of any preceding -artist, Michel Angelo, Sir Joshua's favorite, would be the one; and -were I to select a specimen as a corroboration of this opinion, I -should instance the figure personifying the 'Ancient of Days,' the -frontispiece to his 'Europe, a Prophecy.' In my mind, his knowledge -of drawing, as well as design, displayed in this figure, must at once -convince the informed reader of his extraordinary abilities.</p> - -<p>I am now under the painful necessity of relating an event promulgated -in two different ways by two different parties; and as I entertain a high -respect for the talents of both persons concerned, I shall, in order to -steer clear of giving umbrage to the supporters of either, leave the -reader to draw his own conclusions, unbiassed by any insinuation -whatever of mine.</p> - -<p>An engraver of the name of Cromek, a man who endeavored to -live by speculating upon the talents of others, purchased a series -of drawings of Blake, illustrative of Blair's 'Grave,' which he had -begun with a view of engraving and publishing. These were sold -to Mr. Cromek for the insignificant sum of one guinea each, with -the promise, and indeed under the express agreement, that Blake -should be employed to engrave them; a task to which he looked -forward with anxious delight. Instead of this negotiation being -carried into effect, the drawings, to his great mortification, were put -into the hands of Schiavonetti. During the time this artist was thus -employed, Cromek had asked Blake—what work he had in mind -to execute next. The unsuspecting artist not only told him, but without -the least reserve showed him the designs sketched out for a fresco -picture; the subject Chaucer's 'Pilgrimage to Canterbury'; with which -Mr. Cromek appeared highly delighted. Shortly after this, Blake -discovered that Stothard, a brother-artist to whom he had been -extremely kind in early days, had been employed to paint a picture, -not only of the same subject, but in some instances similar to the -fresco sketch which he had shown to Mr. Cromek. The picture painted -by Stothard became the property of Mr. Cromek, who published -proposals for an engraving from it, naming Bromley as the engraver -to be employed. However, in a short time, that artist's name was -withdrawn, and Schiavonetti's substituted, who lived only to complete -the etching; the plate being finished afterwards by at least three -different hands. Blake, highly indignant at this treatment, immediately -set to work, and proposed an engraving from his fresco picture, which -he publicly exhibited in his brother James's shop-window, at the -corner of Broad Street, accompanied with an address to the public, -stating what he considered to be improper conduct.</p> - -<p>So much on the side of Blake.<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> On the part of -Stothard, the story runs thus. Mr. Cromek had agreed with that artist to -employ him upon a picture of the Procession of Chaucer's Pilgrimage -to Canterbury, for which he first agreed to pay him sixty guineas, but -in order to enable him to finish it in a more exquisite manner, promised -him forty more, with an intention of engaging Bromley to engrave it; but -in consequence of some occurrence, his name was withdrawn, and -Schiavonetti was employed. During the time Stothard was painting the -picture, Blake called to see it, and appeared so delighted with it, that -Stothard, sincerely wishing to please an old friend with whom he had -lived so cordially for many years, and from whose works he always most -liberally declared he had received much pleasure and edification, -expressed a wish to introduce his portrait as one of the party, as a -mark of esteem.</p> - -<p>Mr. Hoppner, in a letter to a friend, dated May 30, 1807, says -of it:</p> - - -<p>'This intelligent group is rendered still more interesting by the -charm of coloring, which though simple is strong, and most harmoniously -distributed throughout the picture. The landscape has a deep-toned -brightness that accords most admirably with the figures; and the -painter has ingeniously contrived to give a value to a common scene -and very ordinary forms, that would hardly be found, by unlearned eyes, -in the natural objects. He has expressed too, with great vivacity and -truth, the freshness of morning, at that season when Nature herself -is most fresh and blooming—the Spring; and it requires no -great stretch of fancy to imagine we perceive the influence of it -on the cheeks of the Fair Wife of Bath, and her rosy companions, -the Monk and Friar.</p> - -<p>'In respect of the execution of the various parts of this pleasing -design, it is not too much praise to say, that it is wholly free from -that vice which painters term <i>manner</i>; and it has this -peculiarity beside, which I do not remember to have seen in any -picture, ancient or modern, namely, that it bears no mark of the -period in which it was painted, but might very well pass for the -work of some able artist of the time of Chaucer. This effect is not, -I believe, the result of any association of ideas connected with the -costume, but appears in primitive simplicity, and the total absence -of all affectation, either of coloring or pencilling.</p> - -<p>'Having attempted to describe a few of the beauties of this -captivating performance, it remains only for me to mention one -great defect. The picture is, notwithstanding appearances, <i>a -modern one.</i> But if you can divest yourself of the general -prejudice that exists against contemporary talents, you will see -a work that would have done honor to any school, at any period.'<a name="FNanchor_5_4" id="FNanchor_5_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_4" class="fnanchor">[5]</a></p> - - -<p>In 1810, Stothard, to his great surprise, found that Blake had -engraved and published a plate of the same size, in some respects -bearing a similarity to his own.<a name="FNanchor_6_4" id="FNanchor_6_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_4" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> Such are the outlines of this -controversy.</p> - -<p>Blake's ideas were often truly entertaining, and after he had -conveyed them to paper, his whimsical and novel descriptions -frequently surpassed his delineations; for instance, that of his -picture of the Transformation of the Flea to the form of a Man, -is extremely curious. This personification, which he denominated -a Cupper, or Blood-sucker, is covered with coat of armor, similar -to the case of the flea, and is represented slowly pacing in the night, -with a thorn attached to his right hand, and a cup in the other, as -if ready to puncture the first person whose blood he might fancy, like -Satan prowling about to seek whom he could devour. Blake said of -the flea, that were that lively little fellow the size of an elephant, -he was quite sure, from the calculations he had made of his wonderful -strength, that he could bound from Dover to Calais in one leap.<a name="FNanchor_7_2" id="FNanchor_7_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_2" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> -Whatever may be the public opinion hereafter of Blake's talents, -when his enemies are dead, I will not presume to predict;<a name="FNanchor_8_2" id="FNanchor_8_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_2" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> -but this I am certain of, that on the score of industry at least, -many artists must strike to him. Application was a faculty so -engendered in him that he took little bodily exercise to keep up -his health: he had few evening walks and little rest from labour, -for his mind was ever fixed upon his art, nor did he at any time -indulge in a game of chess, draughts, or backgammon; such -amusements, considered as relaxations by artists in general, -being to him distractions. His greatest pleasure was derived -from the Bible—a work ever at his hand, and which he often -assiduously consulted in several languages. Had he fortunately -lived till the next year's exhibition at Somerset House, the public -would then have been astonished at his exquisite finishing of a -Fresco picture of the Last Judgment, containing upwards of one -thousand figures, many of them wonderfully conceived and grandly -drawn. The lights of this extraordinary performance have the -appearance of silver and gold; but upon Mrs. Blake's assuring me -that there was no silver used, I found, upon a closer examination, -that a blue wash had been passed over those parts of the gilding -which receded, and the lights of the forward objects, which were -also of gold, were heightened with a warm color, to give the -appearance of the two metals.</p> - -<p>It is most certain, that the uninitiated eye was incapable of -selecting the beauties of Blake; his effusions were not generally -felt; and in this opinion I am borne out in the frequent assertions -of Fuseli and Flaxman. It would, therefore, be unreasonable to -expect the booksellers to embark in publications, not likely to -meet remuneration. Circumstanced, then, as Blake was, approaching -to threescore years and ten, in what way was he to persevere in his -labours? Alas, he knew not! until the liberality of Mr. Linnell, a -brother-artist of eminence, whose discernment could well appreciate -those parts of his designs which deserved perpetuity, enabled him -to proceed and execute in comfort a series of twenty-one plates, -illustrative of the Book of Job. This was the last work he completed, -upon the merits of which he received the highest congratulations -from the following Royal Academicians: Sir Thomas Lawrence, Mr. -Baily, Mr. Philips, Mr. Chantrey, Mr. James Ward, Mr. Arnald, Mr. -Collins, Mr. Westmacott, and many other artists of eminence.</p> - -<p>As to Blake's system of coloring, which I have not hitherto -noticed, it was in many instances most beautifully prismatic. In -this branch of the art he often acknowledged Apelles to have been -his tutor, who was, he said, so much pleased with his style, that -once when he appeared before him, among many of his observations, -he delivered the following:—'You certainly possess my system of -coloring; and I now wish you to draw my person, which has hitherto -been untruly delineated.'</p> - -<p>I must own that until I was favoured by Mr. Upcott with a sight -of some of Blake's works, several of which I had never seen, I was -not so fully aware of his great depth of knowledge in coloring. Of -these most interesting specimens of his art, which are now extremely -rare, and rendered invaluable by his death, as it is impossible for any -one to color them with his mind, should the plates remain, Mr. Richard -Thomson, another truly kind friend, has favoured me with the following -descriptive lists.</p> - - -<p>SONGS OF EXPERIENCE. The author and printer, W. Blake. Small -octavo; seventeen plates, including the title-page. Frontispiece, a -winged infant mounted on the shoulders of a youth. On the title-page, -two figures weeping over two crosses.</p> - -<p><i>Introduction.</i> Four Stanzas on a cloud, with a night-sky -behind, and beneath, a figure of Earth stretched on a mantle.</p> - -<p><i>Earths Answer.</i> Five Stanzas; a serpent on the ground -beneath.</p> - -<p><i>The Clod, and the Pebble.</i> Three Stanzas; above, a -headpiece of four sheep and two oxen; beneath, a duck and reptiles.</p> - -<p><i>A Poison Tree.</i> Four Stanzas: The tree stretches up the right -side of the page; and beneath, a dead body killed by its influence.</p> - -<p><i>The Fly.</i> Five Stanzas. Beneath, a female figure with two -children.</p> - -<p><i>Holy Thursday.</i> Four Stanzas. Head-piece, a female figure -discovering a dead child. On the right-hand margin a mother and two -children lamenting the loss of an infant which lies beneath. Perhaps this -is one of the most tasteful of the set.</p> - -<p><i>The Chimney-Sweeper.</i> Three Stanzas. Beneath, a figure of -one walking in snow towards an open door.</p> - -<p><i>London.</i> Four Stanzas. Above, a child leading an old man -through the street; on the right hand, a figure warming itself at a fire. -If in any instance Mr. Blake has copied himself, it is in the figure of -the old man upon this plate, whose position appears to have been a -favorite one with him.</p> - -<p><i>The Tiger.</i> Six Stanzas. On the right-hand margin, the -trunk of a tree; and beneath, a tiger walking.</p> - -<p><i>A Little Boy Lost.</i> Six Stanzas. Ivy-leaves on the right hand, -and beneath, weeping figure before a fire, in which the verses state that -the child had been burned by a Saint.</p> - -<p><i>The Human Abstract.</i> Six Stanzas. The trunk of a tree on -the right-hand margin, and beneath, an old man in white drawing a veil -over his head.</p> - -<p><i>The Angel.</i> Four Stanzas. Head-piece, a female figure lying -beneath a tree, and pushing from her a winged boy.</p> - -<p><i>My Pretty Rose-Tree.</i> Two Stanzas: succeeded by a small -vignette, of a figure weeping, and another lying reclined at the foot of -a tree. Beneath, are two verses more, entitled, <i>Ah! Sun-Flower</i>; -and a single stanza, headed <i>The Lily.</i></p> - -<p><i>Nurse's Song.</i> Two Stanzas. Beneath, a girl with a youth -and a female child at a door surrounded by vine-leaves.</p> - -<p><i>A Little Girl Lost.</i> Seven Stanzas; interspersed with birds -and leaves, the trunk of a tree on the right-hand margin.</p> - -<p>The whole of these plates are colored in imitation of fresco. The -poetry of these songs is wild, irregular, and highly mystical, but of no -great degree of elegance or excellence, and their prevailing feature is -a tone of complaint of the misery of mankind.</p> - -<p>AMERICA: <i>a Prophecy.</i> Lambeth: Printed by William Blake, -in the year 1793; folio; eighteen plates or twenty pages, including the -frontispiece and title-page. After a Preludium of thirty-seven lines -commences the Prophecy of 226, which are interspersed with numerous -headpieces, vignettes, and tail-pieces, usually stretching along the -left-hand margin and enclosing the text; which sometimes appears -written on a cloud, and at others environed by flames and water. Of -the latter subject a very fine specimen is shown upon page 13, where -the tail-piece represents the bottom of the sea, with various fishes -coming together to prey upon a dead body. The head-piece is another -dead body lying on the surface of the waters, with an eagle feeding -upon it with outstretched wings. Another instance of Mr. Blake's -favorite figure of the old man entering at Death's door, is contained -on page 12 of this poem. The subject of the text is a conversation -between the Angel of Albion, the Angels of the Thirteen States, -Washington, and some others of the American generals, and 'Red -Ore,' the spirit of war and evil. The verses are without rhyme, and most -resemble hexameters, though they are by no means exact; and the -expressions are mystical in a very high degree.</p> - -<p>EUROPE: <i>a Prophecy.</i> Lambeth: Printed by William Blake, -1794; folio; seventeen plates on the leaves, inclusive of the frontispiece -and title-page. Colored to imitate the ancient fresco painting. The -Preludium consists of thirty-three lines, in stanzas without rhyme, and -the Prophecy of two hundred and tight; the decorations to which are -larger than most of those in the former book, and approach nearest -to the character of paintings, since, in several instances, they occupy -the whole page. The frontispiece is an uncommonly fine specimen of -art, and approaches almost to the sublimity of Raffaelle or Michel -Angelo. It represents 'The Ancient of Days,' in an orb of light surrounded -by dark clouds, as referred to in Proverbs VIII. 27, stooping down with -an enormous pair of compasses to describe the destined orb of the -world,<a name="FNanchor_9_2" id="FNanchor_9_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_2" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> 'when he set a compass upon the face of the earth.'</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 13em;">'In His hand</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">He took the golden compasses, prepar'd</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In God's eternal store, to circumscribe</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">This universe, and all created things:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">One foot he centred, and the other turn'd</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Round through the vast profundity obscure;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And said, "Thus far extend, thus far thy bounds,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">This be thy just circumference, O World!"'</span></p> - -<p style="margin-left: 25%;">Paradise Lost, book VII. line 236.</p> - - -<p>Another splendid composition in this work are the two angels pouring -out the black-spotted plague upon England, on page 9; in which the -fore-shortening of the legs, the grandeur of their positions, and the -harmony with which they are adapted to each other and to their curved -trumpets, are perfectly admirable. The subject-matter of the work is -written in the same wild and singular measures as the preceding, and -describes, in mystical language, the terrors of plague and anarchy which -overspread England during the slumbers of Enitharmon for eighteen -hundred years; upon whose awaking, the ferocious spirit Ore burst into -flames 'in the vineyards of red France.' At the end of this poem are seven -separate engravings on folio pages, without letterpress, which are -colored like the former part of the work, with a degree of splendor and -force, as almost to resemble sketches in oil-colors. The finest of these -are a figure of an angel standing in the sun, a group of three furies -surrounded by clouds and fire, and a figure of a man sitting beneath -a tree in the deepest dejection; all of which are peculiarly remarkable -for their strength and splendor of coloring. Another publication by Mr. -Blake consisted only of a small quarto volume of twenty-three engravings -of various shapes and sizes, colored as before, some of which are -of extraordinary effect and beauty. The best plates in this series -are—the first of an aged man, with a white heard sweeping the -ground, and writing in a book with each hand, naked; a human figure -pressing out his brain through his ears; and the great sea-serpent; but -perhaps the best is a figure sinking in a stormy sea at sunset, the -splendid light of which, and the foam upon the black waves, are -almost magical effects of coloring. Beneath the first design is engraved -'<i>Lambeth, printed by W. Blake</i>, 1794.'</p> - - -<p>Blake's modes of preparing his ground, and laying them over -his panels for painting, mixing his colors, and manner of working, -were those which he considered to have been practized by the -earliest fresco painters, whose productions still remain, in numerous -instances, vivid and permanently fresh. His ground was a mixture -of whiting and carpenter's glue, which he passed over several times -in thin coatings: his colors he ground himself, and also united them -with the same sort of glue, but in a much weaker state. He would, in -the course of painting a picture, pass a very thin transparent wash -of glue-water over the whole of the parts he had worked upon, and -then proceed with his finishing.<a name="FNanchor_10_2" id="FNanchor_10_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_2" class="fnanchor">[10]</a></p> - -<p>This process I have tried, and find, by using my mixture warm, -that I can produce the same texture as possessed in Blake's pictures -of the Last Judgment, and others of his productions, particularly -in Varley's curious picture of the personified Flea. Blake preferred -mixing his colors with carpenter's glue, to gum, on account of the -latter cracking in the sun, and becoming humid in moist weather. -The glue-mixture stands the sun, and change of atmosphere has no -effect upon it. Every carpenter knows that if a broken piece of stick -be joined with good glue, the stick will seldom break again in the -glued parts.</p> - -<p>That Blake had many secret modes of working, both as a colorist -and an engraver, I have no doubt. His method of eating away the plain -copper, and leaving his drawn lines of his subjects and his words as -stereotype, is, in my mind, perfectly original. Mrs. Blake is in -possession of the secret, and she ought to receive something -considerable for its communication, as I am quite certain it may be -used to the greatest advantage both to artists and literary characters -in general.</p> - -<p>That Blake's colored plates have more effect than others where -gum has been used, is, in my opinion, the fact, and I shall rest my -assertion upon those beautiful specimens in the possession of Mr. -Upcott, colored purposely for that gentleman's godfather, Ozias -Humphrey, Esq., to whom Blake wrote the following interesting letter.</p> - - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;">TO OZIAS HUMPHREY, ESQ.</p> - - -<p>'The design of The Last Judgment, which I have completed by -your recommendation for the Countess of Egremont, it is necessary -to give some account of; and its various parts ought to be described, -for the accommodation of those who give it the honor of their -attention.</p> - -<p>'Christ seated on the Throne of Judgment: the Heavens in clouds -rolling before him and around him, like a scroll ready to be consumed -in the fires of the Angels; who descend before his feet, with their four -trumpets sounding to the four winds.</p> - -<p>'Beneath, the Earth is convulsed with the labours of the Resurrection. -In the caverns of the earth is the Dragon with seven heads and ten -horns, chained by two Angels; and above his cavern, on the earth's -surface, is the Harlot, also seized and bound by two Angels with -chains, while her palaces are falling into ruins, and her counsellors and -warriors are descending into the abyss, in wailing and despair.</p> - -<p>'Hell opens beneath the harlot's seat on the left hand, into which -the wicked are descending.</p> - -<p>'The right hand of the design is appropriated to the Resurrection -of the Just: the left hand of the design is appropriated to the -Resurrection and Fall of the Wicked.</p> - -<p>'Immediately before the Throne of Christ are Adam and Eve, -kneeling in humiliation, as representatives of the whole human -race; Abraham and Moses kneel on each side beneath them; from -the cloud on which Eve kneels, and beneath Moses, and from the -tables of stone which utter lightning, is seen Satan wound round -by the Serpent, and falling headlong; the Pharisees appear on -the left hand pleading their own righteousness before the Throne -of Christ: The Book of Death is opened on clouds by two Angels; -many groups of figures are falling from before the throne, and -from the sea of fire, which flows before the steps of the throne; -on which are seen the seven Lamps of the Almighty, burning before -the throne. Many figures chained and bound together fall through the -air, and some are scourged by Spirits with flames of fire into the -abyss of Hell, which opens to receive them beneath, on the left hand -of the harlot's seat; where others are howling and descending into -the flames, and in the act of dragging each other into Hell, and of -contending in fighting with each other on the brink of perdition.</p> - -<p>'Before the Throne of Christ on the right hand, the Just, in -humiliation and in exultation, rise through the air, with their -Children and Families; some of whom are bowing before the Book -of Life, which is opened by two Angels on clouds: many groups -arise with exultation; among them is a figure crowned with stars, -and the moon beneath her feet, with six infants around her, she -represents the Christian Church. The green hills appear beneath; -with the graves of the blessed, which are seen bursting with their -births of immortality; parents and children embrace and arise -together, and in exulting attitudes tell each other that the New -Jerusalem is ready to descend upon earth; they arise upon the air -rejoicing; others newly awaked from the graves, stand upon the -earth embracing and shouting to the Lamb, who cometh in the -clouds with power and great glory.</p> - -<p>'The whole upper part of the design is a view of Heaven opened; -around the Throne of Christ, four living creatures filled with eyes, -attended by seven angels with seven vials of the wrath of God, and -above these seven Angels with the seven trumpets compose the -cloud, which by its rolling away displays the opening seats of the -Blessed, on the right and the left of which are seen the four-and-twenty -Elders seated on thrones to judge the dead.</p> - -<p>'Behind the seat and Throne of Christ appears the Tabernacle -with its veil opened, the Candlestick on the right, the Table with -Show-bread on the left, and in the midst, the Cross in place of the -Ark, with the two Cherubim bowing over it.</p> - -<p>'On the right hand of the Throne of Christ is Baptism, on his left -is the Lord's Supper—the two introducers into Eternal Life. -Women with infants approach the figure of an aged Apostle, which -represents Baptism; and on the left hand the Lord's Supper is -administered by Angels, from the hands of another aged Apostle; -these kneel on each side of the Throne, which is surrounded by -a glory: in the glory many infants appear, representing Eternal -Creation flowing from the Divine Humanity in Jesus; who opens -the Scroll of Judgment upon his knees before the living and the -dead.</p> - -<p>'Such is the design which you, my dear Sir, have been the cause -of my producing, and which, but for you, might have slept till the -Last Judgment.</p> - -<p style="margin-left: 60%;">'WILLIAM BLAKE.</p> - -<p>'<i>January</i> 18, 1808.'</p> - - -<p>Blake and his wife were known to have lived so happily together, -that they might unquestionably have been registered at Dunmow. -'Their hopes and fears were to each other known,' and their days -and nights were passed in each other's company, for he always -painted, drew, engraved, and studied, in the same room where -they grilled, boiled, stewed, and slept; and so steadfastly attentive -was he to his beloved tasks, that for the space of two years he had -never once been out of his house; and his application was often so -incessant, that in the middle of the night, he would, after thinking -deeply upon a particular subject, leap from his bed and write for -two hours or more; and for many years he made a constant practice -of lighting the fire, and putting on the kettle for breakfast before -his Kate awoke.</p> - -<p>During his last illness, which was occasioned by the gall mixing -with his blood, he was frequently bolstered-up in his bed to -complete his drawings, for his intended illustration of Dante; -an author so great a favorite with him, that though he agreed -with Fuseli and Flaxman, in thinking Carey's translation superior -to all others, yet, at the age of sixty-three years, he learned the -Italian language purposely to enjoy Dante in the highest possible -way. For this intended work, he produced seven engraved plates -of an imperial quarto size, and nearly one hundred finished drawings -of a size considerably larger; which will do equal justice to his -wonderful mind, and the liberal heart of their possessor, who -engaged him upon so delightful a task at a time when few persons -would venture to give him employment, and whose kindness softened, -for the remainder of his life, his lingering bodily sufferings, which -he was seen to support with the most Christian fortitude.</p> - -<p>On the day of his death, August 12,<a name="FNanchor_11_2" id="FNanchor_11_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_2" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> 1827, he composed and -uttered songs to his Maker so sweetly to the ear of his Catherine, -that when she stood to hear him, he, looking upon her most affectionately, -said, 'My beloved, they are not mine—no—they are not mine.' -He expired at six in the evening, with the most cheerful serenity. -Some short time before his death, Mrs. Blake asked him where he -should like to be buried, and whether he would have the Dissenting -Minister, or the Clergyman of the Church of England, to read -the service: his answers were, that as far as his own feelings -were concerned, they might bury him where she pleased, adding, -that as his father, mother, aunt, and brother were buried in -Bunhill Bow, perhaps it would be better to lie there, but as -to service, he should wish for that of the Church of England.</p> - -<p>His hearse was followed by two mourning-coaches, attended by -private friends: Calvert, Richmond, Tatham, and his brother, promising -young artists, to whom he had given instructions in the Arts, were of -the number. Tatham, ill as he was, travelled ninety miles to attend the -funeral of one for whom, next to his own family, he held the highest -esteem. Blake died in his sixty-ninth year, in the back-room of the -first-floor of No. 3 Fountain Court, Strand, and was buried in Bunhill -Fields, on the 17th of August, at the distance of about twenty-five feet -from the north wall, numbered eighty.</p> - -<p>Limited as Blake was in his pecuniary circumstances, his beloved -Kate survives him clear of even a sixpenny debt; and in the fullest -belief that the remainder of her days will be rendered tolerable by the -sale of the few copies of her husband's works, which she will dispose -of at the original price of publication; in order to enable the collector -to add to the weight of his bookshelves, without being solicited to -purchase, out of compassion, those specimens of her husband's talents -which they ought to possess.</p> - - -<p style="margin-left: 20%;">EXTRACT FROM 'A BOOK FOR A RAINY DAY'</p> - - -<p>[1784].—This year Mr. Flaxman, who then lived in Wardour -Street, introduced me to one of his early patrons, the Rev. Henry -Mathew, of Percy Chapel, Charlotte Street, which was built for him; -he was also afternoon preacher at Saint Martin's-in-the-Fields. At that -gentleman's house, in Rathbone Place, I became acquainted with -Mrs. Mathew and her son. At that lady's most agreeable conversaziones -I first met the late William Blake, the artist, to whom she and Mr. -Flaxman had been truly kind. There I have often heard him read -and sing several of his poems. He was listened to by the company with -profound silence, and allowed by most of the visitors to possess original -and extraordinary merit.'<a name="FNanchor_12_2" id="FNanchor_12_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_2" class="fnanchor">[12]</a></p> - - - - -<hr class="r5" /> - - - - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_7" id="Footnote_1_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_7"><span class="label">[1]</span></a>The whole copy of this little work, entitled 'Poetical -Sketches, by W. B.,' containing seventy pages, octavo, bearing -the date of 1783, was given to Blake to sell to friends, or publish, -as he might think proper.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_2_5" id="Footnote_2_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_5"><span class="label">[2]</span></a>A friend has favoured me with the following anecdotes, -which he received from Blake, respecting his courtship. He states -that 'Our Artist fell in love with a lively little girl, who allowed him -to say everything that was loving, but would not listen to his overtures -on the score of matrimony. He was lamenting this in the house of -a friend, when a generous-hearted lass declared that she pitied him -from her heart. "Do you pity me?" asked Blake. "Yes; I do, most -sincerely."—"Then," said he, "I love you for that."—"Well," -said the honest girl, "and I love you." The consequence was, they -were married, and lived the happiest of lives.'</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_3_4" id="Footnote_3_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_4"><span class="label">[3]</span></a>I copied the above from the book now in the possession of -Mrs. Blake.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a>In 1809, Blake exhibited sixteen poetical and historical -inventions, in his brother's first-floor in Broad Street; eleven -pictures in fresco, professed to be painted according to the -ancient method, and seven drawings, of which an explanatory -catalogue was published, and is perhaps the most curious of its -kind ever written. At page 7, the description of his fresco -painting of Geoffrey Chaucer's Pilgrimage commences. This picture, -which is larger than the print, is now in the possession of Thomas -Butts, Esq., a gentleman friendly to Blake, and who is in possession -of a considerable number of his works.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_5_4" id="Footnote_5_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_4"><span class="label">[5]</span></a>See the 'Artist,' by Prince Hoare, Esq., No. 13, -vol. I. p. 13.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_6_4" id="Footnote_6_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_4"><span class="label">[6]</span></a>I must do Mr. Stothard the justice to declare, that the -very first time I saw him after he had read the announcement -of Blake's death, he spoke in the handsomest terms of his talents, -and informed me that Blake made a remarkably correct and fine -drawing of the head of Queen Philippa, from her monumental effigy -in Westminster Abbey, for Gough's Sepulchral Monuments, engraved -by Basire. The collectors of Stothard's numerous and elegant designs -will recollect the name of Blake as the engraver of several plates in -the Novelist's Magazine, the Poetical Magazine, and also others for -a work entitled the Wit's Magazine, from drawings produced by the -same artist. Trotter, the engraver, who received instructions from -Blake, and who was a pattern-draughtsman to the calico-printers, -introduced his friend Stothard to Blake, and their attachment for -each other coutinued most cordially to exist in the opinion of the -public, until they produced their rival pictures of Chaucer's Canterbury -Pilgrimage.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_7_2" id="Footnote_7_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_2"><span class="label">[7]</span></a>This interesting little picture is painted in fresco. It is -now the property of John Varley, the artist, whose landscapes -will ever be esteemed as some of the finest productions in Art, -and who may fairly be considered as one of the founders of the -Society of Artists in Water-Colors; the annual exhibitions of which -continue to surpass those of the preceding seasons.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_8_2" id="Footnote_8_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_2"><span class="label">[8]</span></a>Blake's talent is not to be seen in his engravings from the -designs of other artists, though he certainly honestly endeavored -to copy the beauties of Stothard, Flaxman, and those masters set -before him by the few publishers who employed him; but his own -engravings from his own mind are the productions which the man -of true feeling must ever admire, and the predictions of Fuseli and -Flaxman may hereafter be verified 'That a time will come when Blake's -finest works will be as much sought after and treasured up in the -portfolios of men of mind, as those of Michel Angelo are at -present.'</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_9_2" id="Footnote_9_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_2"><span class="label">[9]</span></a>He was inspired with the splendid grandeur of this figure, -by the vision which he declared hovered over his head at the -top of his staircase; and he has been frequently heard to say, -that it made a more powerful impression upon his mind than all -he had ever been visited by. This subject was such a favorite with -him, that he always bestowed more time and enjoyed greater pleasure -when coloring the print, than anything he ever produced.</p> - -<p>Mr. F. Tatham employed him to tint an impression of it, for -which I have heard he paid him the truly liberal sum of three -guineas and a half. I say liberal, though the specimen is worth -any price, because the sum was so considerably beyond what Blake -generally had been accustomed to receive as a remuneration for -his extraordinary talents. Upon this truly inestimable impression, -which I have now before me, Blake worked when bolstered-up in -his bed only a few days before he died; and my friend F. Tatham -has just informed me, that after Blake had frequently touched -upon it, and had as frequently held it at a distance, he threw it -from him, and with an air of exulting triumph exclaimed, 'There, -that will do! I cannot mend it.' However, this was not his last -production; for immediately after he had made the above declaration -to his beloved Kate, upon whom his eyes were steadfastly fixed, -he vociferated, 'Stay! keep as you are! <i>you</i> have ever been -an <i>angel</i> to me, I will draw you'; and he actually made -a most spirited fineness of her, though within so short a period -of his earthly termination.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_10_2" id="Footnote_10_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_2"><span class="label">[10]</span></a>Loutherbourgh was also, in <i>his</i> way, very ingenious in his -contrivances. To oblige his friend Garrick, he enriched a drama, -entitled '<i>The Christmas Tale</i>,' with scenery painted by himself, -and introduced such novelty and brilliancy of effect, as formed -a new era in that species of art. This he accomplished by means -of differently colored silks placed before the lamps at the front of -the stage, and by the lights behind the side scenes. The same -effects were used for distance and atmosphere. As for instance, -Harlequin in a fog was produced by tiffany hung between the -audience and himself. Mr. Seguire, the father of the Keeper of -the King's Pictures, and those of the National Gallery, purchased -of Mr. Loutherbourgh ten small designs for the scenery of Omiah, -for which scenes the manager paid him one thousand pounds. Mr. -Loutherbourgh never would leave any paper or designs at the -theatre, nor would he ever allow any one to see what he intended -to produce; as he secretly held small cards in his hand, which he -now and then referred to in order to assist him in his recollections -of his small drawings.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_11_2" id="Footnote_11_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_2"><span class="label">[11]</span></a>Not the 13th, as has been stated by several editors who -have noticed his death.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_12_2" id="Footnote_12_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_2"><span class="label">[12]</span></a>A time will come when the numerous, though now very -rare works of Blake (in consequence of his taking very few impressions -from the plates before they were rubbed out to enable him to use them -for other subjects), will be sought after with the most intense avidity. -He was considered by Stothard and Flaxman (and will be by those of -congenial minds, if we can reasonably expect such again) with their -highest admiration. These artists allowed him their utmost unqualified -praise, and were ever anxious to recommend him and his productions -to the patrons of the Arts; but, alas! they were not sufficiently -appreciated as to enable Blake, as every one could wish, to provide -an independence for his surviving partner, Kate, who adored his -memory.</p></div> - - - - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<h4><a id="VIII._LIFE_OF_BLAKE_BY_ALLAN_CUNNINGHAM_1830">(VIII.) LIFE OF BLAKE -BY ALLAN CUNNINGHAM (1830)</a></h4> - - -<p>[Allan Cunningham's Life of Blake occupies pp. 142-179 of the second -volume of his <i>Lives of the most eminent British Painters, Sculptors, -and Architects.</i> (London: John Murray, Albemarle Street, MDCCCXXX.) -It is largely indebted to Smith, but contains a few anecdotes not found -elsewhere, and probably derived from Varley and Linnell. In a letter to -Linnell, printed in Mr. Story's Life, Cunningham says that 'much -valuable information' has been received from Varley, and asks -for more, adding, with characteristic impertinence: 'I know Blake's -character, for I knew the man. I shall make a <i>judicious</i> use of -my materials, and be merciful where sympathy is needed.' He reproduces -the Phillips portrait of Blake, which had been engraved by Schiavonetti -for Blair's <i>Grave</i>, in a less showy and more lifelike engraving -by W. C. Edwards.]</p> - - - - -<hr class="r5" /> - - - - -<p>Painting, like poetry, has followers, the body of whose genius -is light compared to the length of its wings, and who, rising above -the ordinary sympathies of our nature, are, like Napoleon, betrayed -by a star which no eye can see save their own. To this rare class -belonged William Blake.</p> - -<p>He was the second son of James Blake and Catherine his wife, -and born on the 28th of November, 1757, in 28 Broad Street, -Carnaby Market, London. His father, a respectable hosier, caused -him to be educated for his own business, but the love of art came -early upon the boy; he neglected the figures of arithmetic for those of -Raphael and Reynolds; and his worthy parents often wondered how -a child of theirs should have conceived a love for such unsubstantial -vanities. The boy, it seems, was privately encouraged by his mother. -The love of designing and sketching grew upon him, and he desired -anxiously to be an artist. His father began to be pleased with the notice -which his son obtained—and to fancy that a painter's study -might after all be a fitter place than a hosier's shop for one who drew -designs on the backs of all the shop bills, and made sketches on the -counter. He consulted an eminent artist, who asked so large a sum -for instruction, that the prudent shopkeeper hesitated, and young -Blake declared he would prefer being an engraver—a profession -which would bring bread at least, and through which he would be -connected with painting. It was indeed time to dispose of him. -In addition to his attachment to art, he had displayed poetic -symptoms—scraps of paper and the blank leaves of books were -found covered with groups and stanzas. When his father saw sketches -at the top of the sheet and verses at the bottom, he took him away -to Basire, the engraver, in Green Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, and -bound him apprentice for seven years. He was then fourteen years old.</p> - -<p>It is told of Blake that at ten years of age he became an artist, -and at twelve a poet. Of his boyish pencillings I can find no -traces—but of his early intercourse with the Muse the proof -lies before me in seventy pages of verse, written, he says, between -his twelfth and his twentieth year, and published, by the advice of -friends, when he was thirty. There are songs, ballads, and a dramatic -poem; rude sometimes and melodious, but full of fine thought and -deep and peculiar feeling. To those who love poetry for the music -of its bells, these seventy pages will sound harsh and dissonant; but -by others they will be more kindly looked upon. John Flaxman, a judge -in all things of a poetic nature, was so touched with many passages, -that he not only counseled their publication, but joined with a gentleman -of the name of Matthews in the expense, and presented the printed -sheets to the artist to dispose of for his own advantage. One of these -productions is an address to the Muses—a common theme, but -sung in no common manner.</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Whether on Ida's shady brow,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Or in the chambers of the east,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The chambers of the sun, that now</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">From ancient melody have ceas'd;</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Whether in heaven ye wander fair,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Or the green corners of the earth,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Or the blue regions of the air,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Where the melodious winds have birth;</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Whether on crystal rocks ye rove,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Beneath the bosom of the sea,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Wandering in many a coral grove,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Fair Nine! forsaking poesie;</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">How have ye left the ancient love,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">That Bards of old enjoyed in you;—</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The languid strings now scarcely move,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">The sound is forced—the notes are few.'</span></p> - - -<p>The little poem called 'The Tiger' has been admired for the -force and vigour of its thoughts by poets of high name. Many -could weave smoother lines—few could stamp such living images.</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Tiger! Tiger! burning bright</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In the forest of the night,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">What immortal hand or eye</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Framed thy fearful symmetry?</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">In what distant deeps or skies</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Burned the fervour of thine eyes?</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">On what wings dare he aspire—</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">What the hand dare seize the fire?</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And what shoulder and what art</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Could twist the sinews of thy heart?</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">When thy heart began to beat,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">What dread hand formed thy dread feet?</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">What the hammer! what the chain!</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Formed thy strength and forged thy brain?</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">What the anvil! What dread grasp</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Dared thy deadly terrors clasp?</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">When the stars threw down their spheres,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And sprinkled heaven with shining tears,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Did he smile, his work to see?</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Did he who made the lamb make thee?'</span></p> - - -<p>In the dramatic poem of King Edward the Third there are many -nervous lines, and even whole passages of high merit. The structure -of the verse is often defective, and the arrangement inharmonious; -but before the ear is thoroughly offended, it is soothed by some touch -of deep melody and poetic thought. The princes and earls of England -are conferring together on the eve of the battle of Cressy—the -Black Prince takes Chandos aside, and says—</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Now we're alone, John Chandos, I'll unburthen</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And breathe my hopes into the burning air—</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Where thousand Deaths are posting up and down,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Commissioned to this fatal field of Cressy:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Methinks I see them arm my gallant soldiers,</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And gird the sword upon each thigh, and fit</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The shining helm, and string each stubborn bow,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And dancing to the neighing of the steeds;—Methinks</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">the shout begins—the battle burns;—Methinks</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">I see them perch on English crests,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And breathe the wild flame of fierce war upon</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The thronged enemy.'</span></p> - - -<p>In the same high poetic spirit Sir Walter Manny converses -with a genuine old English warrior, Sir Thomas Dagworth.</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'O, Dagworth!—France is sick!—the very sky,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Though sunshine light, it seems to me as pale</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">As is the fainting man on his death-bed,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Whose face is shown by light of one weak taper—</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">It makes me sad and sick unto the heart;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Thousands must fall to-day.'</span></p> - - -<p>Sir Thomas answers.</p> - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Thousands of souls must leave this prison-house</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">To be exalted to those heavenly fields</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Where songs of triumph, psalms of victory,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Where peace, and joy, and love, and calm content</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Sit singing on the azure clouds, and strew</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The flowers of heaven upon the banquet table.</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Bind ardent hope upon your feet, like shoes,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And put the robe of preparation on.</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">The table, it is spread in shining heaven.</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Let those who fight, fight in good steadfastness;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And those who fall shall rise in victory.'</span></p> - - -<p>I might transcribe from these modest and unnoticed pages many -such passages. It would be unfair not to mention that the same -volume contains some wild and incoherent prose, in which we may -trace more than the dawning of those strange, mystical, and mysterious -fancies on which he subsequently misemployed his pencil. There -is much that is weak, and something that is strong, and a great deal -that is wild and mad, and all so strangely mingled, that no meaning -can be assigned to it; it seems like a lamentation over the disasters -which came on England during the reign of King John.</p> - -<p>Though Blake lost himself a little in the enchanted region of -song, he seems not to have neglected to make himself master of -the graver, or to have forgotten his love of designs and sketches. -He was a dutiful servant to Basire, and he studied occasionally under -Flaxman and Fuseli; but it was his chief delight to retire to the solitude -of his chamber, and there make drawings, and illustrate these with -verses, to be hung up together in his mother's chamber. He was -always at work; he called amusement idleness, sight-seeing vanity, -and money-making the ruin of all high aspirations. 'Were I to love -money,' he said, 'I should lose all power of thought! desire of gain -deadens the genius of man. I might roll in wealth and ride in a golden -chariot, were I to listen to the voice of parsimony. My business is -not to gather gold, but to make glorious shapes, expressing godlike -sentiments.' The day was given to the graver, by which he earned -enough to maintain himself respectably; and he bestowed his evenings -upon painting and poetry, and intertwined these so closely in his -compositions, that they cannot well be separated.</p> - -<p>When he was six-and-twenty years old, he married Katharine -Boutcher, a young woman of humble connections—the dark-eyed -Kate of several of his lyric poems. She lived near his father's house -and was noticed by Blake for the whiteness of her hand, the brightness -of her eyes, and a slim and handsome shape, corresponding with his -own notions of sylphs and naiads. As he was an original in all things, -it would have been out of character to fall in love like an ordinary -mortal; he was describing one evening in company the pains he -had suffered from some capricious lady or another, when Katharine -Boutcher said, 'I pity you from my heart.' 'Do you pity me?' said Blake, -'then I love you for that.' 'And I love you,' said the frank-hearted lass, -and so the courtship began. He tried how well she looked in a drawing, -then how her charms became verse; and finding moreover that she -had good domestic qualities, he married her. They lived together long -and happily.</p> - -<p>She seemed to have been created on purpose for Blake:—she -believed him to be the finest genius on earth; she believed in his -verse—she believed in his designs; and to the wildest flights -of his imagination she bowed the knee, and was a worshipper. She set -his house in good order, prepared his frugal meal, learned to think -as he thought, and, indulging him in his harmless absurdities, -became, as it were, bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh. -She learned—what a young and handsome woman is seldom apt -to learn—to despise gaudy dresses, costly meals, pleasant -company, and agreeable invitations—she found out the way -of being happy at home, living on the simplest of food, and contented -in the homeliest of clothing. It was no ordinary mind which could -do all this; and she whom Blake emphatically called his beloved,' -was no ordinary woman. She wrought off in the press the impressions -of his plates—she colored them with a light and neat hand—made -drawings much in the spirit of her husband's compositions, and almost -rivaled him in all things save in the power which he possessed of -seeing visions of any individual living or dead, whenever he chose -to see them.</p> - -<p>His marriage, I have heard, was not agreeable to his father; and -he then left his roof and resided with his wife in Green Street, Leicester -Fields. He returned to Broad Street, on the death of his father, a -devout man, and an honest shopkeeper, of fifty years' standing, took -a first-floor and a shop, and in company with one Parker, who had -been his fellow-apprentice, commenced print-seller. His wife attended -to the business, and Blake continued to engrave, and took Robert, his -favorite brother, for a pupil. This speculation did not succeed—his -brother too sickened and died; he had a dispute with Parker—the -shop was extinguished, and he removed to 28 Poland Street. Here he -commenced that series of works which give him a right to be numbered -among the men of genius of his country. In sketching designs, engraving -plates, writing songs, and composing music, he employed his time, with -his wife sitting at his side, encouraging him in all his undertakings. As -he drew the figure he meditated the song which was to accompany it, -and the music to which the verse was to be sung, was the offspring -too of the same moment. Of his music there are no specimens—he -wanted the art of noting it down—if it equalled many of his -drawings, and some of his songs, we have lost melodies of real value.</p> - -<p>The first fruits were the 'Songs of Innocence and Experience,' a -work original and natural, and of high merit, both in poetry and in -painting. It consists of some sixty-five or seventy scenes, presenting -images of youth and manhood—of domestic sadness, and fireside -joy—of the gaiety and innocence, and happiness of childhood. -Every scene has its poetical accompaniment, curiously interwoven -with the group or the landscape, and forming, from the beauty of the -color and the prettiness of the pencilling, a very fair picture of itself. -Those designs are in general highly poetical; more allied, however, to -heaven than to earth,—a kind of spiritual abstractions, and -indicating a better world and fuller happiness than mortals enjoy. -The picture of Innocence is introduced with the following sweet -verses.</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'Piping down the valleys wild,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Piping songs of pleasant glee,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">On a cloud I saw a child,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">And he laughing said to me—</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Pipe a song about a lamb;</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">So I piped with merry cheer.</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Piper, pipe that song again—</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">So I piped—he wept to hear.</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Drop thy pipe, thy happy pipe,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Sing thy songs of happy cheer—</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">So I sung the same again,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">While he wept with joy to hear.</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Piper, sit thee down and write</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">In a book that all may read—</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">So he vanished from my sight:</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">And I plucked a hollow reed,</span><br /> -<br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And I made a rural pen,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">And I stained the water clear,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">And I wrote my happy songs,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 6em;">Every child may joy to hear.'</span></p> - - -<p>In a higher and better spirit he wrought with his pencil. But -then he imagined himself under spiritual influences; he saw -the forms and listened to the voices of the worthies of other -days; the past and the future were before him, and he heard, -in imagination, even that awful voice which called on Adam amongst -the trees of the garden. In this kind of dreaming abstraction, he -lived much of his life; all his works are stamped with it; and though -they owe much of their mysticism and obscurity to the circumstance, -there can be no doubt that they also owe to it much of their singular -loveliness and beauty. It was wonderful that he could thus, month -after month, and year after year, lay down his graver after it had won -him his daily wages, and retire from the battle for bread, to disport his -fancy amid scenes of more than earthly splendor, and creatures -pure as unfalled dew.</p> - -<p>In this lay the weakness and the strength of Blake, and those -who desire to feel the character of his compositions, must be -familiar with his history and the peculiarities of his mind. He was -by nature a poet, a dreamer, and an enthusiast. The eminence -which it had been the first ambition of his youth to climb, was -visible before him, and he saw on its ascent or on its summit -those who had started earlier in the race of fame. He felt conscious -of his own merit, but w as not aware of the thousand obstacles -which were ready to interpose.' He thought that he had but to -sing songs and draw designs, and become great and famous. -The crosses which genius is heir to had been wholly unforeseen—and -they befell him early; he wanted the skill of hand, and fine tact -of fancy and taste, to impress upon the offspring of his thoughts -that popular shape, which gives such productions immediate circulation. -His works were looked coldly on by the world, and were only -esteemed by men of poetic minds, or those who were fond of -things out of the common way. He earned a little fame, but no -money by these speculations, and had to depend for bread on -the labours of the graver.</p> - -<p>All this neither crushed his spirit, nor induced him to work -more in the way of the world; but it had a visible influence upon -his mind. He became more seriously thoughtful, avoided the company -of men, and lived in the manner of a hermit, in that vast wilderness, -London. Necessity made him frugal, and honesty and independence -prescribed plain clothes, homely fare, and a cheap habitation. He was -thus compelled more than ever to retire to worlds of his own creating, -and seek solace in visions of paradise for the joys which the earth -denied him. By frequent indulgence in these imaginings, he gradually -began to believe in the reality of what dreaming fancy painted—the -pictured forms which swarmed before his eyes, assumed, in his -apprehension, the stability of positive revelations, and he mistook -the vivid figures, which his professional imagination shaped, for the -poets, and heroes, and princes of old. Amongst his friends, he at -length ventured to intimate that the designs on which he was -engaged were not from his own mind, but copied from grand works -revealed to him in visions; and those who believed that, would -readily lend an ear to the assurance that he was commanded to -execute his performances by a celestial tongue!</p> - -<p>Of these imaginary visitations he made good use, when he invented -his truly original and beautiful mode of engraving and tinting his -plates. He had made the sixty-five designs of his Days of Innocence, -and was meditating, he said, on the best means of multiplying their -resemblance in form and in hue; he felt sorely perplexed. At last -he was made aware that the spirit of his favorite brother Robert was -in the room, and to this celestial visitor he applied for counsel. -The spirit advised him at once: 'write,' he said, 'the poetry, and -draw the designs upon the copper with a certain liquid (which -he named, and which Blake ever kept a secret); then cut the -plain parts of the plate down with aqua-fortis, and this will give -the whole, both poetry and figures, in the manner of a stereotype.' -The plan recommended by this gracious spirit was adopted; the -plates were engraved, and the work printed off. The artist then -added a peculiar beauty of his own. He tinted both the figures -and the verse with a variety of colors, amongst which, while -yellow prevails, the whole has a rich and lustrous beauty, to -which I know little that can be compared. The size of these -prints is four inches and a half high by three inches wide. The -original genius of Blake was always confined, through poverty, -to small dimensions. Sixty-five plates of copper were an object -to him who had little money. The Gates of Paradise, a work of -sixteen designs, and those exceedingly small, was his next undertaking. -The meaning of the artist is not a little obscure; it seems to -have been his object to represent the innocence, the happiness, -and the upward aspirations of man. They bespeak one intimately -acquainted with the looks and the feelings of children. Over them -there is shed a kind of mysterious halo which raises feelings of -devotion. The Songs of Innocence, and the Gates of Paradise, -became popular among the collectors of prints. To the sketch -book and the cabinet the works of Blake are unfortunately confined.</p> - -<p>If there be mystery in the meaning of the Gates of Paradise, his -succeeding performance, by name Urizen, has the merit or the -fault of surpassing all human comprehension. The spirit which -dictated this strange work was undoubtedly a dark one; nor does -the strange kind of prose which is intermingled with the figures -serve to enlighten us. There are in all twenty-seven designs -representing beings human, demoniac, and divine, in situations -of pain and sorrow and suffering. One character—evidently -an evil spirit—appears in most of the plates; the horrors -of hell, and the terrors of darkness and divine wrath, seem his -sole portion. He swims in gulps of fire—descends in cataracts -of flame—holds combats with scaly serpents, or writhes in -anguish without any visible cause. One of his exploits is to chase -a female soul through 'a narrow gate and hurl her headlong down -into a darksome pit. The wild verses which are scattered here and -there, talk of the sons and the daughters of Urizen. He seems to -have extracted these twenty-seven scenes out of many visions—what -he meant by them even his wife declared she could not tell, though -she was sure they had a meaning and a fine one. Something like -the fall of Lucifer and the creation of Man is dimly visible in this -extravagant work; it is not a little fearful to look upon; a powerful, -dark, terrible though undefined and indescribable impression is -left on the mind—and it is in no haste to be gone. The size -of the designs is four inches by six; they bear date, 'Lambeth, -1794.' He had left Poland Street and was residing in Hercules -Buildings.</p> - -<p>The name of Blake began now to be known a little, and Edwards, -the bookseller, employed him to illustrate Young's Night Thoughts. -The reward in money was small, but the temptation in fame was -great: the work was performed something in the manner of old -books with illuminated margins. Along the ample margins which -the poetry left on the page the artist sketched his fanciful creations; -contracting or expanding them according to the space. Some of -those designs were in keeping with the poems, but there were -others which alarmed fastidious people: the serious and the -pious were not prepared to admire shapes trembling in nudity -round the verses of a grave divine. In the exuberance of Young -there are many fine figures; but they are figures of speech only, on -which art should waste none of its skill. This work was so much, -in many parts, to the satisfaction of Flaxman, that he introduced -Blake to Hayley the poet, who, in 1800, persuaded him to remove -to Felpham in Sussex, to make engravings for the Life of Cowper. -To that place he accordingly went with his wife and sister, and was -welcomed by Hayley with much affection. Of his journey and his -feelings he gives the following account to Flaxman, whom he -usually addressed thus, 'Dear Sculptor of Eternity.'</p> - -<p>'We are arrived safe at our cottage, which is more beautiful -than I thought it, and more convenient. It is a perfect model for -cottages, and I think for palaces of magnificence, only enlarging -and not altering its proportions, and adding ornaments and not -principals. Nothing can be more grand than its simplicity and -usefulness. Felpham is a sweet place for study, because it is more -spiritual than London. Heaven opens here on all sides her golden, -gates; her windows are not obstructed by vapors; voices of celestial -inhabitants are more distinctly heard, and their forms more distinctly -seen, and my cottage is also a shadow of their houses. My wife and -sister are both well, and are courting Neptune for an embrace.'</p> - -<p>Thus far had he written in the language and feelings of a -person of upper air; though some of the expressions are tinctured -with the peculiar enthusiasm of the man, they might find shelter -under the licence of figurative speech, and pass muster as the -poetic language of new-found happiness. Blake thus continues:—</p> - -<p>'And now begins a new life, because another covering of earth -is shaken off. I am more famed in heaven for my works than I -could well conceive. In my brain are studies and chambers filled -with books and pictures of old, which I wrote and painted in ages -of eternity before my mortal life, and those works are the delight -and study of archangels. Why then should I be anxious about the -riches or fame of mortality? You, O dear Flaxman, are a sublime -archangel, my friend and companion from eternity. Farewell, my -dear friend, remember me and my wife in love and friendship to Mrs. -Flaxman, whom we ardently desire to entertain beneath our thatched -roof of russet gold.'</p> - -<p>This letter, written in the year 1800, gives the true twofold -image of the author's mind. During the day he was a man of sagacity -and sense, who handled his graver wisely, and conversed in a -wholesome and pleasant manner; in the evening, when he had done -his prescribed task, he gave a loose to his imagination. While -employed on those engravings which accompany the works of Cowper, -he saw such company as the country where he resided afforded, and -talked with Hayley about poetry with a feeling to which the author -of the Triumphs of Temper was an utter stranger; but at the close -of day away went Blake to the seashore to indulge in his own -thoughts and:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'High converse with the dead to hold.'</span></p> - - -<p>Here he forgot the present moment and lived in the past; he -conceived, verily, that he had lived in other days, and had formed -friendships with Homer and Moses; with Pindar and Virgil; with -Dante and Milton. These great men, he asserted, appeared to him -in visions, and even entered into conversation. Milton, in a moment -of confidence, entrusted him with a whole poem of his, which the -world had never seen; but unfortunately the communication was oral, -and the poetry seemed to have lost much of its brightness in Blake's -recitation. When asked about the looks of those visions, he answered, -'They are all majestic shadows, gray but luminous, and superior to the -common height of men.' It was evident that the solitude of the country -gave him a larger swing in imaginary matters. His wife often accompanied -him to these strange interviews; she saw nothing and heard as -little, but she was certain that her husband both heard and saw.</p> - -<p>Blake's mind at all times resembled that first page in the magician's -book of gramoury, which made:</p> - - -<p><span style="margin-left: 5em;">'The cobweb on the dungeon wall,</span><br /> -<span style="margin-left: 5em;">Seem tapestry in lordly hall.'</span></p> - - -<p>His mind could convert the most ordinary occurrence into something -mystical and supernatural. He often saw less majestic shapes than -those of the poets of old. 'Did you ever see a fairy's funeral, -madam?' he once said to a lady, who happened to sit by him in -company. 'Never, sir!' was the answer. 'I have,' said Blake, 'but not -before last night. I was walking alone in my garden, there was -great stillness among the branches and flowers and more than -common sweetness in the air; I heard a low and pleasant sound, -and I knew not whence it came. At last I saw the broad leaf of a -flower move, and underneath I saw a procession of creatures of -the size and color of green and gray grasshoppers, bearing a -body laid out on a rose leaf, which they buried with songs, and -then disappeared. It was a fairy funeral.' It would, perhaps, -have been better for his fame had he connected it more with the -superstitious beliefs of his country—amongst the elves -and fairies his fancy might have wandered at will—their -popular character would perhaps have kept him within the bounds -of traditionary belief, and the sea of his imagination might have -had a shore.</p> - -<p>After a residence of three years in his cottage at Felpham, he -removed to 17 South Molton Street, London, where he lived seventeen -years. He came back to town with a fancy not a little exalted by the -solitude of the country, and in this mood designed and engraved an -extensive and strange work which he entitled '<i>Jerusalem.</i>' A -production so exclusively wild was not allowed to make its appearance -in an ordinary way: he thus announced it. 'After my three years' -slumber on the banks of the ocean, I again display my giant forms -to the public.' Of those designs there are no less than an hundred; -what their meaning is the artist has left unexplained. It seems of a -religious, political, and spiritual kind, and wanders from hell to -heaven and from heaven to earth; now glancing into the distractions -of our own days, and then making a transition to the antediluvians. -The crowning defect is obscurity; meaning seems now and then -about to dawn; you turn plate after plate and read motto after -motto, in the hope of escaping from darkness into light. But the -first might as well be looked at last; the whole seems a riddle -which no ingenuity can solve. Yet, if the work be looked at for -form and effect rather than for meaning, many figures may be -pronounced worthy of Michael Angelo. There is wonderful freedom of -attitude and position; men, spirits, gods, and angels, move with -an ease which makes one lament that we know not wherefore they -are put in motion. Well might Hayley call him his 'gentle visionary -Blake.' He considered the Jerusalem to be his greatest work, and -for a set of the tinted engravings he charged twenty-five guineas. -Few joined the artist in his admiration. The Jerusalem, with all -its giant forms, failed to force its way into circulation.</p> - -<p>His next work was the Illustrations of Blair's Grave, which -came to the world with the following commendation by Fuseli: -'The author of the moral series before us has endeavored to -awaken sensibility by touching our sympathies with nearer, less -ambiguous and less ludicrous imagery, than what mythology, Gothic -superstition, or symbols as far fetched as inadequate could supply. -His avocation has been chiefly employed to spread a familiar and -domestic atmosphere round the most important of all subjects, -to connect the visible and the invisible world without provoking -probability, and to lead the eye from the milder light of time to -the radiations of eternity.' For these twelve Inventions,' as he -called them, Blake received twenty guineas from Cromeck, the -engraver—a man of skill in art and taste in literature. The -price was little, but nevertheless it was more than what he usually -received for such productions; he also undertook to engrave them. -But Blake's mode of engraving was as peculiar as his style of -designing; it had little of that grace of execution about it, which -attracts customers, and the Inventions, after an experiment or two, -were placed under the fashionable graver of Louis Schiavonetti. -Blake was deeply incensed—he complained that he was deprived -of the profit of engraving his own designs, and, with even less -justice, that Schiavonetti was unfit for the task.</p> - -<p>Some of these twelve 'Inventions' are natural and poetic, others -exhibit laborious attempts at the terrific and the sublime. The old -Man at Death's Door is one of the best—in the Last Day -there are fine groups and admirable single figures—the Wise -Ones of the Earth pleading before the inexorable Throne, and -the Descent of the Condemned, are creations of a high order. -The Death of the Strong Wicked Man is fearful and extravagant, -and the flames in which the soul departs from the body have no -warrant in the poem or in belief. The Descent of Christ into the -Grave is formal and tame, and the hoary old Soul in the Death of -the Good Man, travelling heavenward between two orderly Angels, -required little outlay of fancy. The frontispiece—a naked -Angel descending headlong and rousing the Dead with the Sound -of the last Trumpet—alarmed the devout people of the north, -and made maids and matrons retire behind their fans.</p> - -<p>If the tranquillity of Blake's life was a little disturbed by the -dispute about the twelve Inventions,' it was completely shaken -by the controversy which now arose between him and Cromeck -respecting his Canterbury Pilgrimage. That two artists at one and -the same time should choose the same subject for the pencil, -seems scarcely credible—especially when such subject was -not of a temporary interest. The coincidence here was so close, -that Blake accused Stothard of obtaining knowledge of his design -through Cromeck, while Stothard with equal warmth asserted that -Blake had commenced his picture in rivalry of himself. Blake declared -that Cromeck had actually commissioned him to paint the Pilgrimage -before Stothard thought of his; to which Cromeck replied, that the -order had been given in a vision, for he never gave it. Stothard, a -man as little likely to be led aside from truth by love of gain as by -visions, added to Cromeck's denial the startling testimony that Blake -visited him during the early progress of his picture, and expressed -his approbation of it, in such terms, that he proposed to introduce -Blake's portrait in the procession, as a mark of esteem. It is probable -that Blake obeyed some imaginary revelation in this matter, and -mistook it for the order of an earthly employer; but whether -commissioned by a vision or by mortal lips, his Canterbury Pilgrimage -made its appearance in an exhibition of his principal works in the house -of his brother, in Broad Street, during the summer of 1809.</p> - -<p>Of original designs, this singular exhibition contained -sixteen—they were announced as chiefly 'of a spiritual and -political nature'—but then the spiritual works and political -feelings of Blake were unlike those of any other man. One piece -represented 'The Spiritual Form of Nelson guiding Leviathan.' -Another, 'The Spiritual Form of Seth guiding Behemoth.' This, -probably, confounded both divines and politicians; there is no -doubt that plain men went wondering away. The chief attraction -was the Canterbury Pilgrimage, not indeed from its excellence, but -from the circumstance of its origin, which was well known about -town, and pointedly alluded to in the catalogue. The picture is a -failure. Blake was too great a visionary for dealing with such -literal wantons as the Wife of Bath and her jolly companions. -The natural flesh and blood of Chaucer prevailed against him. -He gives grossness of body for grossness of mind,—tries -to be merry and wicked—and in vain.</p> - -<p>Those who missed instruction in his pictures, found entertainment -in his catalogue, a wild performance, overflowing with the oddities -and dreams of the author—which may be considered as a kind -of public declaration of his faith concerning art and artists. His first -anxiety is about his colors. 'Colouring,' says this new lecturer on the -<i>Chiaroscuro</i>, 'does not depend on where the colours are -put, but on where the lights and darks are put, and all depends on -form or outline. Where that is wrong the coloring never can be right, -and it is always wrong in Titian and Corregio, Rubens and Rembrandt; -till we get rid of them we shall never equal Raphael and Albert Dürer, -Michael Angelo and Julio Romano. Clearness and precision have -been my chief objects in painting these pictures—clear colors -and firm determinate lineaments, unbroken by shadows—which -ought to display and not hide form, as in the practice of the later -schools of Italy and Flanders. The picture of the Spiritual Form of Pitt -is a proof of the power of colors unsullied with oil or with any cloggy -vehicle. Oil has been falsely supposed to give strength to colors, but -a little consideration must show the fallacy of this opinion. Oil will not -drink or absorb color enough to stand the test of any little time and -of the air. Let the works of artists since Rubens' time witness to the -villainy of those who first brought oil-painting into general opinion -and practice, since which we have never had a picture painted that -would show itself by the side of an earlier composition. This is an awful -thing to say to oil-painters; they may call it madness, but it is true. -All the genuine old little pictures are in fresco and not in oil.'</p> - -<p>Having settled the true principles and proper materials of color, -he proceeds to open up the mystery of his own productions. Those -who failed to comprehend the pictures on looking at them, had -only to turn to the following account of the Pitt and the Nelson. -'These two pictures,' he says, 'are compositions of a mythological -cast, similar to those Apotheoses of Persian, Hindoo, and Egyptian -antiquity, which are still preserved in rude monuments, being copies -from some stupendous originals now lost or perhaps buried to some -happier age. The artist having been taken, in vision, to the ancient -republics, monarchies, and patriarchates of Asia, has seen those -wonderful originals, called in the sacred Scriptures the cherubim, -which were painted and sculptured on the walls of temples, towns, -cities, palaces, and erected in the highly-cultivated states of Egypt, -Moab, and Edom, among the rivers of Paradise, being originals -from which the Greeks and Hetrurians copied Hercules, Venus, -Apollo, and all the groundworks of ancient art. They were executed -in a very superior style to those justly admired copies, being with their -accompaniments terrific and grand in the highest degree. The -artist has endeavored to emulate the grandeur of those seen in -his vision, and to apply it to modern times on a smaller scale. -The Greek Muses are daughters of Memory, and not of Inspiration -or Imagination, and therefore not authors of such sublime conceptions; -some of these wonderful originals were one hundred feet in height; -some were painted as pictures, some were carved as bass-relieves, -and some as groups of statues, all containing mythological and -recondite meaning. The artist wishes it was now the fashion to -make such monuments, and then he should not doubt of having -a national commission to execute those pictures of Nelson and -Pitt on a scale suitable to the grandeur of the nation who is the -parent of his heroes, in highly finished fresco, where the colors -would be as permanent as precious stones.'</p> - -<p>The man who could not only write down, but deliberately correct -the printer's sheets which recorded, matter so utterly wild and -mad, was at the same time perfectly sensible to the exquisite -nature of Chaucer's delineations, and felt rightly what sort of skill -his inimitable Pilgrims required at the hand of an artist. He who -saw visions in Coele-Syria and statues an hundred feet high, -wrote thus concerning Chaucer: 'The characters of his pilgrims -are the characters which compose all ages and nations: as one -age falls another rises, different to mortal sight, but to immortals -only the same: for we see the same characters repeated again and -again, in animals, in vegetables, and in men; nothing new occurs -in identical existence. Accident ever varies; substance can never -suffer change nor decay. Of Chaucer's characters, some of the -names or titles are altered by time, but the characters themselves -for ever remain unaltered, and consequently they are the physiognomies -of universal human life, beyond which nature never steps. Names -alter—things never alter; I have known multitudes of those -who would have been monks in the age of monkery, who in this -deistical age are deists. As Linnaeus numbered the plants, so Chaucer -numbered the classes of men.'</p> - -<p>His own notions and much of his peculiar practice in art are -scattered at random over the pages of this curious production. His -love of a distinct outline made him use close and clinging dresses; -they are frequently very graceful—at other times they are -constrained, and deform the figures which they so scantily cover. -'The great and golden rule of art (says he) is this:—that the -more distinct and sharp and wiry the bounding line, the more -perfect the work of art; and the less keen and sharp this external -line, the greater is the evidence of weak imitative plagiarism and -bungling: Protogenes and Apelles knew each other by this line. -How do we distinguish the oak from the beech; the horse from the -ox, but by the bounding outline? How do we distinguish one face -or countenance from another, but by the bounding line and its -infinite inflexions and movements? Leave out this line and you leave -out life itself: all is chaos again, and the line of the Almighty must -be drawn out upon it before man or beast can exist.'</p> - -<p>These abominations—concealed outline and tricks of -colour—now bring on one of those visionary fits to which -Blake was so liable, and he narrates with the most amusing wildness -sundry revelations made to him concerning them. He informs us that -certain painters were <i>demons</i>—let loose on earth to -confound the 'sharp wiry outline,' and fill men's minds with fears -and perturbations. He signifies that he himself was for some time -a miserable instrument in the hands of Chiaro-Scuro demons, who -employed him in making 'experiment pictures in oil.' 'These pictures,' -says he, 'were the result of temptations and perturbations laboring to -destroy imaginative power by means of that infernal machine called -Chiaro-Scuro, in the hands of Venetian and Flemish demons, who -hate the Roman and Venetian schools. They cause that everything -in art shall become a machine; they cause that the execution shall -be all blocked up with brown shadows; they put the artist in fear -and doubt of his own original conception. The spirit of Titian was -particularly active in raising doubts concerning the possibility of -executing without a model. Rubens is a most outrageous demon, -and by infusing the remembrances of his pictures, and style of -execution, hinders all power of individual thought. Corregio is a -soft and effeminate, consequently a most cruel demon, whose -whole delight is to cause endless labour to whoever suffers him -to enter his mind.' When all this is translated into the language -of sublunary life, it only means that Blake was haunted with the -excellences of other men's works, and, finding himself unequal -to the task of rivaling the soft and glowing colors and singular -effects of light and shade of certain great masters, betook himself -to the study of others not less eminent, who happened to have -laid out their strength in outline.</p> - -<p>To describe the conversations which Blake held in prose with -demons and in verse with angels, would fill volumes, and an -ordinary gallery could not contain all the heads which he drew -of his visionary visitants. That all this was real, he himself most -sincerely believed; nay, so infectious was his enthusiasm, that -some acute and sensible persons who heard him expatiate, shook -their heads, and hinted that he was an extraordinary man, and -that there might be something in the matter. One of his brethren, -an artist of some note, employed him frequently in drawing the -portraits of those who appeared to him in visions. The most -propitious time for those 'angel-visits' was from nine at night -till five in the morning; and so docile were his spiritual sitters, -that they appeared at the wish of his friends. Sometimes, however, -the shape which he desired-to draw was long in appearing, and -he sat with his pencil and paper ready and his eyes idly roaming -in vacancy; all at once the vision came upon him, and he began -to work like one possess.</p> - -<p>He was requested to draw the likeness of Sir. William Wallace—the -eye of Blake sparkled, for he admired heroes. 'William Wallace!' -he exclaimed, 'I see him now—there, there, how noble he -looks—reach me my things!' Having drawn for some time, -with the same care of hand and steadiness of eye, as if a living -sitter had been before him, Blake stopped suddenly, and said, 'I -cannot finish him—Edward the First has stept in between -him and me.' 'That's lucky,' said his friend, 'for I want the portrait -of Edward too.' Blake took another sheet of paper, and sketched -the features of Plantagenet; upon which his majesty politely vanished, -and the artist finished the head of Wallace. 'And pray, sir,' said a -gentleman, who heard Blake's friend tell his story—'was -Sir William Wallace an heroic-looking man? And what sort of personage -was Edward?' The answer was: 'There they are, sir, both framed -and hanging on the wall behind you, judge for yourself.' 'I looked -(says my informant) and saw two warlike heads of the size of -common life. That of Wallace was noble and heroic, that of Edward -stern and bloody. The first had the front of a god, the latter the -aspect of a demon.'</p> - -<p>The friend who obliged me with these anecdotes, on observing -the interest which I took in the subject, said, 'I know much about -Blake—I was his companion for nine years. I have sat beside -him from ten at night till 'three in the morning, sometimes slumbering -and sometimes waking, but Blake never slept; he sat with a pencil -and paper drawing portraits of those whom I most desired to see. -I will show you, sir, some of these works.' He took out a large book -filled with drawings, opened it, and continued, 'Observe the poetic -fervor of that face—it is Pindar as he stood a conqueror in -the Olympic games. And this lovely creature is Corinna, who -conquered in poetry in the same place. That lady is Lais, the -courtesan—with the impudence which is part of her profession, -she stept in between Blake and Corinna, and he was obliged to paint -her to get her away. There! that is a face of a different stamp—can -you conjecture who he is?' 'Some scoundrel, I should think, sir.' -'There now—that is a strong proof of the accuracy of Blake—he -is a scoundrel indeed! The very individual task-master whom Moses -slew in Egypt. And who is this now—only imagine who this is?' -'Other than a good one, I doubt, sir.' 'You are right, it is the -Devil—he resembles, and this is remarkable, two men who -shall be nameless; one is a great lawyer, and the other—I -wish I durst name him—is a suborner of false witnesses. This -other head now?—this speaks for itself—it is the head -of Herod; how like an eminent officer in the army!'</p> - -<p>He closed the book, and taking out a small panel from a private -drawer, said, 'This is the last which I shall show you; but it is the -greatest curiosity of all. Only look at the splendor of the coloring -and the original character of the thing!' 'I see,' said I, 'a naked -figure with a strong body and a short neck—with burning -eyes which long for moisture, and a face worthy of a murderer, holding -a bloody cup in its clawed hands, out of which it seems eager to -drink. I never saw any shape so strange, nor did I ever see any coloring -so curiously splendid—a kind of glistening green and dusky -gold, beautifully varnished. But what in the world is it?' 'It is a ghost, -sir—the ghost of a flea—a spiritualisation of the thing!' -'He saw this in a vision then,' I said. 'I'll tell you all about it, sir. -I called on him one evening, and found Blake more than usually -excited. He told me he had seen a wonderful thing—the ghost -of a flea! And did you make a drawing of him? I inquired. No, indeed, -said he, I wish I had, but I shall, if he appears again! He -looked earnestly into a corner of the room, and then said, here -he is—reach me my things—I shall keep my eye on -him. There he comes! his eager tongue whisking out of his mouth, -a cup in his hand to hold blood and covered with a scaly skin of -gold and green;—as he described him so he drew him.'</p> - -<p>These stories are scarcely credible, yet there can be no doubt -of their accuracy. Another friend, on whose veracity I have the -fullest dependence, called one evening on Blake, and found him -sitting with a pencil and a panel, drawing a portrait with all the -seeming anxiety of a man who is conscious that he has got a -fastidious sitter; he looked and drew, and drew and looked, yet -no living soul was visible. 'Disturb me not,' said he, in a whisper, -'I have one sitting to me.' 'Sitting to you!' exclaimed his astonished -visitor, 'where is he, and what is he?—I see no one.' 'But I -see him, sir,' answered Blake haughtily, 'there he is, his name is -Lot—you may read of him in the Scripture. <i>He</i> is -sitting for his portrait.'</p> - -<p>Had he always thought so idly, and wrought on such visionary -matters, this memoir would have been the story of a madman, -instead of the life of a man of genius, some of whose works are -worthy of any age or nation. Even while he was indulging in these -laughable fancies, and seeing visions at the request of his friends, -he conceived, and drew, and engraved, one of the noblest of all -his productions—the Inventions for the Book of Job. He -accomplished this series in a small room, which served him for -kitchen, bedchamber, and study, where he had no other companion -but his faithful Katherine, and no larger income than some seventeen -or eighteen shillings a week. Of these Inventions, as the artist loved -to call them, there are twenty-one, representing the Man of Uz -sustaining his dignity amidst the inflictions of Satan, the reproaches -of his friends, and the insults of his wife. It was in such things that -Blake shone; the Scripture overawed his imagination, and he was -too devout to attempt aught beyond a literal embodying of the -majestic scene. He goes step by step with the narrative; always -simple, and often sublime—never wandering from the subject, -nor overlaying the text with the weight of his own exuberant fancy.</p> - -<p>The passages, embodied, will show with what lofty themes he -presumed to grapple. 1. Thus did Job continually. 2. The Almighty -watches the good man's household. 3. Satan receiving power over -Job. 4. The wind from the wilderness destroying Job's children. 5. And -I alone am escaped to tell thee. 6. Satan smiting Job with sore boils. -7. Job's friends comforting him. 8. Let the day perish wherein I was -born. 9. Then a spirit passed before my face. 10. Job laughed to -scorn by his friends. 11. With dreams upon my bed thou scarest -me—thou affrightest me with visions. 12. I am young and -ye are old, wherefore I was afraid. 13. Then the Lord answered Job -out of the whirlwind. 14. When the morning stars sang together, -and the sons of God shouted for joy. 15. Behold now Behemoth, -which I made with thee. 16. Thou hast fulfilled the judgment of -the wicked. 17. I have heard thee with the hearing of my ear, but -now my eye rejoiceth in thee. 18. Also the Lord accepted Job. -19. Every one also gave him a piece of money. 20. There were not -found women fairer than the daughters of Job. 21. So the Lord -blessed the latter end of Job more than the beginning.</p> - -<p>While employed on these remarkable productions, he was made -sensible that the little approbation which the world had ever bestowed -on him was fast leaving him. The waywardness of his fancy, and the -peculiar execution of his compositions, were alike unadapted for -popularity; the demand for his works lessened yearly from the -time that he exhibited his Canterbury Pilgrimage; and he could -hardly procure sufficient to sustain life, when old age was creeping -upon him. Yet, poverty-stricken as he was, his cheerfulness never -forsook him—he uttered no complaint—he contracted -no debt, and continued to the last manly and independent. It is the -fashion to praise genius when it is gone to the grave—the -fashion is cheap and convenient. Of the existence of Blake few -men of taste could be ignorant—of his great merits multitudes -knew, nor was his extreme poverty any secret. Yet he was reduced—one -of the ornaments of the age—to a miserable garret and a crust -of bread, and would have perished from want, had not some friends, -neither wealthy nor powerful, averted this disgrace from coming upon -our country. One of these gentlemen, Mr. Linnell, employed Blake to -engrave his Inventions of the Book of Job; by this he earned money -enough to keep him living—for the good old man still labored -with all the ardor of the days of his youth, and with skill equal to his -enthusiasm. These engravings are very rare, very beautiful, and -very peculiar. They are in the earlier fashion of workmanship, and -bear no resemblance whatever to the polished and graceful style -which now prevails. I have never seen a tinted copy, nor am I sure -that tinting would accord with the extreme simplicity of the designs, -and the mode in which they are handled. The Songs of Innocence, and -these Inventions for Job, are the happiest of Blake's works, and ought -to be in the portfolios of all who are lovers of nature and -imagination.</p> - -<p>Two extensive works, bearing the ominous names of Prophecies, -one concerning America, the other Europe, next made their appearance -from his pencil and graver. The first contains eighteen and the other -seventeen plates, and both are plentifully seasoned with verse, without -the incumbrance of rhyme. It is impossible to give a satisfactory -description of these works; the frontispiece of the latter, representing -the Ancient of Days, in an orb of light, stooping into chaos, to measure -out the world, has been admired less for its meaning than for the grandeur -of its outline. A head and a tailpiece in the other have been much -noticed—one exhibits the bottom of the sea, with enormous -fishes preying on a dead body—the other, the surface, with a dead -body floating, on which an eagle with outstretched wings is feeding. -The two angels pouring out the spotted plague upon Britain—an -angel standing in the sun, attended by three furies—and several -other Inventions in these wild works, exhibit wonderful strength of -drawing and splendor of coloring. Of loose prints—but which -were meant doubtless to form part of some extensive work—one -of the most remarkable is the Great Sea Serpent; and a figure, sinking in -a stormy sea at sunset—the glow of which, with the foam upon -the dark waves, produces a magical effect.</p> - -<p>After a residence of seventeen years in South Molton Street, Blake -removed (not in consequence, alas! of any increase of fortune) to No. 3 -Fountain Court, Strand. This was in the year 1823. Here he engraved by -day and saw visions by night, and occasionally employed himself in -making Inventions for Dante; and such was his application that he -designed in all one hundred and two, and engraved seven. It was -publicly known that he was in a declining state of health; that old -age had come upon him, and that he was in want. Several friends, -and artists among the number, aided him a little, in a delicate way, -by purchasing his works, of which he had many copies. He sold -many of his Songs of Innocence, and also of Urizen, and he wrought -incessantly upon what he counted his masterpiece, the Jerusalem, -tinting and adorning it, with the hope that his favorite would find a -purchaser. No one, however, was found ready to lay out twenty-five -guineas on a work which no one could have any hope of comprehending, -and this disappointment sank to the old man's heart.</p> - -<p>He had now reached his seventy-first year, and the strength of -nature was fast yielding. Yet he was to the last cheerful and contented. -'I glory,' he said, 'in dying, and have no grief but in leaving you, -Katherine; we have lived happy, and we have lived long; we have been -ever together, but we shall be divided soon. Why should I fear death? -nor do I fear it. I have endeavored to live as Christ commands, and -have sought to worship. God truly—in my own house, when -I was not seen of men.' He grew weaker and weaker—he could -no longer sit upright; and was laid in his bed, with no one to watch -over him, save his wife, who, feeble and old herself, required help -in such a touching duty.</p> - -<p>The Ancient of Days was such a favorite with Blake, that three -days before his death, he sat bolstered up in bed, and tinted it -with his choicest colors and in his happiest style. He touched and -retouched it—held it at arm's-length, and then threw it from -him, exclaiming, 'There! that will do! I cannot mend it.' He saw -his wife in tears—she felt this was to be the last of his -works—'Stay, Kate! (cried Blake) keep just as you are—I -will draw your portrait—for you have ever been an angel to -me'—she obeyed, and the dying artist' made a fine likeness.</p> - -<p>The very joyfulness with which this singular man welcomed -the coming of death, made his dying moments intensely mournful. -He lay chanting songs, and the verses and the music were both the -offspring of the moment. He lamented that he could no longer -commit those inspirations, as he called them, to paper. 'Kate,' he -said, 'I am a changing man—I always rose and wrote down -my thoughts, whether it rained, snowed, or shone, and you arose -too and sat beside me—this can' be no longer.' He died on -the 12th of August, 1828, without any visible pain—his wife, -who sat watching him, did not perceive when he ceased breathing.</p> - -<p>William Blake was of low stature and slender make, with a high -pallid forehead, and eyes large, dark, and expressive. His temper -was touchy, and when moved, he spoke with an indignant eloquence, -which commanded respect. His voice, in general, was low and musical, -his manners gentle and unassuming, his conversation a singular -mixture of knowledge and enthusiasm. His whole life was one of -labour and privation,—he had never tasted the luxury of that -independence, which comes from professional profit. This untoward -fortune he endured with unshaken equanimity—offering -himself, in imagination, as a martyr in the great cause of poetic -art;—<i>pitying</i> some of his more fortunate brethren -for their inordinate love of gain; and not doubting that whatever -he might have won in gold by adopting other methods, would have -been a poor compensation for the ultimate loss of fame. Under -this agreeable delusion, he lived all his life—he was satisfied -when his graver gained him a guinea a week—the greater the -present denial, the surer the glory hereafter.</p> - -<p>Though he was the companion of Flaxman and Fuseli, and sometimes -their pupil, he never attained that professional skill, without which -all genius is bestowed in vain. He was his own teacher chiefly; and -self-instruction, the parent occasionally of great beauties, seldom -fails to produce great deformities. He was a most splendid tinter, but -no colorist, and his works were all of small dimensions, and therefore -confined to the cabinet and the portfolio. His happiest flights, as well -as his wildest, are thus likely to remain shut up from the world. If we -look at the man through his best and most intelligible works, we shall -find that he who could produce the Songs of Innocence and Experience, -the Gates of Paradise, and the Inventions for Job, was the possessor -of very lofty faculties, with no common skill in art, and moreover -that, both in thought and mode of treatment, he was a decided original. -But should we, shutting our eyes to the merits of those works, -determine to weigh his worth by his Urizen, his Prophecies of Europe -and America, and his Jerusalem, our conclusion would be very -unfavorable; we would say that, with much freedom of composition -and boldness of posture, he was unmeaning, mystical, and extravagant, -and that his original mode of working out his conceptions was little -better than a brilliant way of animating absurdity. An overflow of -imagination is a failing uncommon in this age, and has generally -received of late little quarter from the critical portion of mankind. -Yet imagination is the life and spirit of all great works of genius -and taste; and, indeed, without it, the head thinks and the hand -labours in vain. Ten thousand authors and artists rise to the -proper, the graceful, and the beautiful, for ten who ascend -into 'the heaven of invention.' A work—whether from poet -or painter—conceived in the fiery ecstasy of imagination, -lives through every limb; while one elaborated out by skill and -taste only will look, in comparison, like a withered and sapless -tree beside one green and flourishing. Blake's misfortune was that -of possessing this precious gift in excess. His fancy overmastered -him—until he at length confounded 'the mind's eye' with -the corporeal organ, and dreamed himself out of the sympathies -of actual life.</p> - -<p>His method of coloring was a secret which he kept to himself, -or confided only to his wife; he believed that it was revealed in a -vision, and that he was bound in honor to conceal it from the -world. 'His modes of preparing his grounds,' says Smith, in his -Supplement to the Life of Nollekens, 'and laying them over his -panels for painting, mixing his colors, and manner of working, -were those which he considered to have been practized by the -early fresco painters, whose productions still remain in many -instances vividly and permanently fresh. His ground was a mixture -of whiting and carpenters' glue, which he passed over several -times in the coatings; his colors he ground himself, and also -united with them the same sort of glue, but in a much weaker -state. He would, in the course of painting a picture, pass a very -thin transparent wash of glue-water over the whole of the parts -he had worked upon, and then proceed with his finishing. He -had many secret modes of working, both as a colorist and an -engraver. His method of eating away the plain copper, and leaving -the lines of his subjects and his words as stereotype, is, in my -mind, perfectly original. Mrs. Blake is in possession of the secret, -and she ought to receive something considerable for its communication, -as I am quite certain it may be used to advantage, both to artists -and literary characters in general. The affection and fortitude -of this woman entitled her to much respect. She shared her husband's -lot without a murmur, set her heart solely upon his fame, and -soothed him in those hours of misgiving and despondency which -are not unknown to the strongest intellects. She still lives -to lament the loss of Blake—and <i>fell</i> it.'</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of William Blake, by Arthur Symons - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WILLIAM BLAKE *** - -***** This file should be named 60448-h.htm or 60448-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/0/4/4/60448/ - -Produced by Laura Natal Rodrigues at Free Literature -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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