Stille Nacht

Josef Mohr

1. Stille Nacht! Heil'ge Nacht!
Alles schläft; einsam wacht
Nur das traute hoch heilige Paar.
Holder Knab' im lockigen Haar,
|: Schlafe in himmlischer Ruh! :|



2. Stille Nacht! Heil'ge Nacht!
Gottes Sohn, o wie lacht
Lieb' aus deinem göttlichen Mund,
Da uns schlägt die rettende Stund'.
|: Jesus in deiner Geburt! :|

3. Stille Nacht! Heil'ge Nacht!
Die der Welt Heil gebracht,
Aus des Himmels goldenen Höhn,
Uns der Gnaden Fülle läßt sehn,
|: Jesum in Menschengestalt! :|

4. Stille Nacht! Heil'ge Nacht!
Wo sich heut alle Macht
Väterlicher Liebe ergoß,
Und als Bruder huldvoll umschloß
|: Jesus die Völker der Welt! :|

5. Stille Nacht! Heil'ge Nacht!
Lange schon uns bedacht,
Als der Herr vom Grimme befreit
In der Väter urgrauer Zeit
|: Aller Welt Schonung verhieß! :|

6. Stille Nacht! Heil'ge Nacht!
Hirten erst kundgemacht
Durch der Engel Alleluja,
Tönt es laut bei Ferne und Nah:
|: "Jesus der Retter ist da!" :|

Als sie mich holten

Martin Niemöller


Als die Nazis die Kommunisten holten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Kommunist.
Als sie die Sozialdemokraten einsperrten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Sozialdemokrat.
Als sie die Gewerkschafter holten,
habe ich nicht protestiert;
ich war ja kein Gewerkschafter.
Als sie die Juden holten,
habe ich geschwiegen;
ich war ja kein Jude.
Als sie mich holten,
gab es keinen mehr, der protestieren konnte.

Alegoría

Del griego “allegorein”, ‘hablar figuradamente’, recurso estilístico muy usado en la Edad Media y el Barroco que consiste en representar en forma humana o como objeto una idea abstracta.

Una mujer ciega con una balanza es alegoría de la justicia, y un esqueleto provisto de guadaña es alegoría de la muerte.
También se denomina así a un procedimiento retórico de más amplio alcance, en tanto que por él se crea un sistema extenso y subdividido de imágenes metafóricas que representa un pensamiento más complejo o una experiencia humana real, y en ese sentido puede constituir obras enteras, como el Roman de la rose; la alegoría se transforma entonces en un instrumento cognoscitivo y se asocia al razonamiento por analogías o analógico. Por ejemplo, Omar Khayyam afirma que la vida humana es como una partida de ajedrez, en la cual las casillas negras representan las noches y las blancas los días; en ella, el jugador es una pieza más en el tablero cósmico. Jorge Manrique, por otra parte, afirma, tomándolo del Eclesiastés, que nuestras vidas son ríos y como ellos sólo parecen diferentes en su curso y caudal, pero no en su final, que es el mar/la muerte: el final ha sido ya escrito, pero no el transcurso de la vida. Y Albertino Mussato escribe que los humanistas “son enanos a hombros de gigantes”, porque por nosotros mismos no podemos ver muy lejos, pero subidos a hombros del saber humanístico antiguo podemos ver incluso más de lo que vieron los grandes hombres del pasado.
El significado alegórico es también uno de los cuatro que es posible extraerle a las Sagradas Escrituras según los teólogos. Por otra parte, se conoce como alegórica-dantesca la poesía alegórica española del s. XV influenciada por la Divina commedia de Dante Alighieri. Los principales representantes fueron el Marqués de Santillana (Carrión de los Condes, 1398-1458) y Juan de Mena (Córdoba, 1411-1456).
El dramaturgo barroco Pedro Calderón de la Barca llevó a su perfección el subgénero dramático alegórico en un acto de tema eucarístico denominado auto sacramental, donde los personajes son en realidad alegorías de conceptos abstractos. En uno de ellos, define así la alegoría:
La alegoría no es más
que un espejo que traslada
lo que es con lo que no es,
y está toda su elegancia
en que salga parecida
tanto la copia en la tabla,
que el que está mirando a una
piense que está viendo a entrambas.

Imágenes y tropos

IMAGENES son en general todos los procedimientos que sirven para que el autor destaque el aspecto de la realidad que más le impresiona y nos ofrezca una representación de aquélla, tal como él la vio.

Estos procedimientos suelen ser:

1. LA ADJETIVACION. Por el uso de adjetivos y la naturaleza de los
mismos - de color, de sonido, psicológicos, etc. -, cambian totalmente los
efectos expresivos de una frase.

Entre estas dos frases:

Era una tarde tibia y luminosa
Era una tarde serena y apacíble

la primera nos habla a los sentidos; la segunda. subraya en el mismo hecho
- la tarde - el efecto moral que nos ha producido. Así, pues, por la selec-
ción de los adjetivos utilizados, descubrimos el punto de vista del que ha-
bla ante la realidad que describe, y el aspecto de ella que más le afecta.
O sea que, gracias a la imagen - aquí la adjetivación -, comprendemos
más profundamente el lenguaje del artista.

2. La COMPARACION o SIMIL, ya estudiada entre las figuras lógicas.

3.0 Los TROPOS. Consisten en designar a las cosas, no por su nombre
habitual, sino por otro en el que se refleje la visión personal del autor.
Así, por ejemplo, los pájaros, vistos por el poeta, son campanitas de platá
(si sólo se piensa en su canto), inquietas liras (si además alude al vuelo).
Lo que dicho en lenguaje normal nos dejaría indiferentes, gracias a esta
substitución, nos impresiona.
Obsérvese que los tropos se distinguen de las figuras porque en aqué-
llas a cada cosa se le da su propio nombre; en cambio, en los tropos hay
una substitución, pues a, unas cosas se les da el nombre de otras.

Los Tropos más frecuentes son: la Metáfora, la Alegoría y el Símbolo.
Pero existen además la Sinécdoque y la Metonímia.

La SINECDOQUE es un tropo en el que se intercambian dos palabras,
cuando la significación de una está comprendida en la de la otra: El inglés
es flemátíco (por los ingleses). Esta ciudad tiene veinte mil almas (por vein-
te mil habitantes).

La METONIMIA, en cambio, está basada en una relación de causalidad
o de sucesión, entre las dos palabras que se intercambian; es decir, que
la una significa el origen o la causa de la otra.

Tengo un Goya (por el cuadro que él pintó). Tú eres mi consuelo (por
quien me lo da). Tengo un Jerez estupendo (por la ciudad de donde pro-
cede este vino).

Estudio especial de la metáfora, la alegoría y el símbolo

La metáfora. - Es el tropo más común e importante. Consisté en subi-
tituir el nombre de una cosa por el de otra semejante en algún aspecto.
Llamar perlas a los dientes de una mujer es una metáfora.
En efecto, el color irisado de éstos hace pensar, por asociación de
ideas, en el matízado brillo de las perlas. Por eso, cuando el poeta se sintió
conmovido ante la belleza de unos dientes, pudo darles el nombre de
aquéllas.

El nombre metafórico - perlas - dado a la realidad - dientes muy be-
llos - es en este momento la única expresión posible para dar a entender
la sensación de extraordinaria belleza que el poeta pretende comunicarnos.
En este sentido, podemos afirmar que la metáfora no es un simple or-
narnento del estilo, sino una forma de expresión válida por sí misma.

Téngase en cuenta que esta revelación de la belleza de la realidad se
halla igualmente en el epíteto, en la comparación o en cualquiera de los
procedimientos estilísticos que utilice el autor.

La metáfora difiere de la comparación en que ésta ofrece juntos el
plano real y el evocado (sus dientes eran como perla); en cambio, la me-
táfora calla el tiempo real nombrando sólo el evocado (sus perlas).

CLASES DE METAFORAS. -Dependen de la naturaleza de los caracteres
que sirvan de enlace entre los dos planos: el real (dientes) y el metafórico,
figurado o evocado (perlas).

Metáforas basadas en una semejanza del carácter sensorial:

mejillas = rosas.

Metáforas basadas en la semejanza de una realidad psicológica con
algo material:

dolor = viento huracanado.

Metáforas basadas en la impresión que las cosas nos producen:

mujer = noche oscura.

En este ejemplo, un poeta moderno ha identificado a la mujer con la
noche, porque ambas están para él llenas de un extraño misterio.

Antiguamente, se usaban las metáforas basadas en la semejanza de
caracteres sensibles o morales. Solían ser perfectamente comprensibles,
puesto que la coincidencia entre los dos planos la veía y la sentía todo el
mundo por igual.

Pero en la poesía contemporánea se han introducido con frecuencia
muchas metáforas del último tipo, es decir, basadas en una impresión per-
sonal y subjetiva. Asi pues, no es de extrañar que resulten en gran parte
ininteligibles para muchos lectores, aunque tengan gran fuerza expresiva.
Las metáforas pueden ir dirigidas a fines totalmente diversos. Mientras
unas están hechas con la intención de embellecer la realidad -oro por
cabellos rubios -, otras veces el deseo del autor es el de aumentar la fuer-
za expresiva de sus palabras, prescindiendo por completo de la belleza:
bostezo de la tierra por cueva.

La alegoría. Es una metáfora compleja, en la que cada elemento del
plano real se corresponde con otro del plano evocado.

Por lo general, el plano real es aquí una idea abstracta; en cambio, el
plano evocado, es decir, el que nombramos en la alegoría, es siempre de
carácter sensible, concreto, material.

'El gran teatro del mundo' de Calderón de la Barca, encierra una
alegoría, porque en ella la vida humana se nos ofrece como una represen-
tación teatral, ya que los elementos que aparecen en ésta - el autor de la
obra, los actores, el papel que cada uno desempeña, los aplausos del pú-
blico... - tienen una exacta correspondencia con los de aquélla - el autor
de nuestra vida es Dios; los actores somos los hombres; los diversos pape-
les equivalen a la conducta de cada cual; el aplauso final significa el pre-
mio a nuestras buenas obras...

El Símbolo. Ya hemos, visto que la metáfora alude a una realidad de
tipo material - dientes - o psicológica - dolor -, y que la alegoría evoca
el conjunto de cualidades o circunstancias que caracterizan a una idea
abstracta -la vida hunwna -. Frente a ambas, el símbolo representa, me-
diante una imagen sensible, una realidad o una experiencia de tipo espiri-
tual elevadisimo - el amor de Dios, el ideal, la eternidad... - que por su
misteriosa profundidad no puede expresarse en términos claros y raciona-
les. La correspondencia entre el plano real y el evocado, que en la alego-
ría es siempre evidente, en el símbolo resulta borrosa, ya que, a menudo
éste parece damos a entender varias cosas a la vez.

En efecto, cuando Dante hace aparecer al final de la 'Divina Comedia'
a Beatriz, esta figura alcanza para nosotros la categoría de símbolo, puesto
que nos sugiere al mismo tiempo la belleza, el amor espiritual, todo lo
puro y elevado e incluso el atractivo del alma femenina.

Fear No More

William Shakespeare



Fear no more the heat o' the sun;
Nor the furious winter's rages,
Thou thy worldly task hast done,
Home art gone, and ta'en thy wages;
Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney sweepers come to dust.

Fear no more the frown of the great,
Thou art past the tyrant's stroke:
Care no more to clothe and eat;
To thee the reed is as the oak:
The sceptre, learning, physic, must
All follow this, and come to dust.

Fear no more the lightning-flash,
Nor the all-dread thunder-stone;
Fear not slander, censure rash;
Thou hast finished joy and moan;
All lovers young, all lovers must
Consign to thee, and come to dust.

No exorciser harm thee!
Nor no witchcraft charm thee!
Ghost unlaid forbear thee!
Nothing ill come near thee!
Quiet consummation have;
And renowned be thy grave!

ángeles

Cuando Lucifer cayó de la gracia divina, formó su ejército de más de 2 mil 400 legionarios, ángeles que se convirtieron en demonios.

El ejército de ángeles que se convirtieron en demonios, aumentó hasta alcanzar cifras estrepitosas como 6 millones 660 mil, comandados por 11 príncipes del infierno.
Los Comandos Infernales contra los Ángeles Celestiales y una guerra en el cielo... El cielo quedó reservado para los ángeles buenos...
Los ángeles malditos se establecieron, aquí, en la Tierra...

En el cielo había nueve órdenes celestiales de ángeles y sus líderes, respondían a los nombres de Serafín, Querubín, Trono, Demonio, Virtud, Poder, Principado, Arcángel y Ángel.

Pero el ángel Lucifer se hartó de todo y enfrentó la ira de Dios. Lucifer calentó los oídos de los líderes de ángeles en busca de seguidores y, les motivó a cambiar y a saborear las bajas pasiones. Al abandonar Lucifer el cielo, llegó a convivir con los humanos y encontró que algunos estaban protegidos por los ángeles buenos; se inició la famosa batalla del bien y del mal, la que en estos días cobra mucha fuerza y, nada más ve todo lo que ocurre en el desconcertante planeta Tierra: los huracanes con más fuerza que nunca, los poblados que desaparecen con los terremotos...

Lucifer estableció su reinado en la Tierra y, millones de demonios se le unieron... La misión de esos ángeles rebeldes: atormentar a la humanidad, castigarla con el dolor y enfrentarla al miedo.

¿Quiénes fueron los principales ángeles que siguieron a Lucifer?
El ángel Abbadon, conocido como Destructor y que habita en el hoyo del infierno. Abbadon es el encargado de inspirar la anarquía en los gobernantes y el caos mundial. Abbadon es un ángel caído, representa la muerte y la destrucción. En el infierno, Abbadon es el jefe de los demonios.Abbadon puede tener un bello rostro humano, con cola de escorpión y cuerpo de caballo. Abbadon tiene una gran relación con Apollyon, el que tiene las llaves de los abismos. Hay un ángel maldito, Adramelech, el rey del fuego; quien originalmente ocupaba el trono de un ángel bueno y misericordioso, hasta que el gran ministro Belzebub le ordenó volar.
A partir de entonces, Adramelech se manifestó como una mula o como un pavo real, y fue derrocado por los ángeles Uriel y Raphael durante la batalla en el cielo. Adramelech corrió a los brazos de Lucifer, el que lo liberó y lo nombró patrón de la hipocresía. Otro socio de Lucifer, el ángel Asmodeus... Asmodeus, el patrón de las bajas pasiones, los placeres mundanos, la sensualidad, la lujuria. Asmodeus reina en los casinos y en las casas de apuestas. Puede aparecer muy hermoso (ya sea hombre o mujer) y tentar a sus víctimas con los caprichos, los antojos. Asmodeus es feliz cuando destruye matrimonios y los conduce al adulterio; a las relaciones peligrosas.
También se cuela en los monasterios y conventos para seducir a sus habitantes, dicen que su madre pudo haber sido humana y que se llama Lilith, pero que su padre era un ángel.
Cuando Asmodeus abandonó el cielo y llegó a la Tierra en su forma humana, se encontró con la pobreza, a la que detestó y le brotaron tres cabezas. Una cabeza de toro, otra de carnero y, finalmente, la de humano. Se dice que el inventó los carruseles, la música, la danza y el drama; que asume el gusto por las drogas. El adversario en el cielo de Asmodeus es Juan, el Bautista. El tesoro del infierno lo resguarda Astaroth... Astaroth está presente en los excesos de velocidad y, a veces se representa como un dragón. Es el encargado de dar energía al hablar con los recientes adoradores del Demonio, justo cuando ellos pierden su alma y aceptan sus posiciones diabólicas. Astaroth inspira la pereza, te hace llevar por la desocupación; su adversario en el cielo es Bartolomé. En la mitología islámica aparece Azazel...
Azazel líder de los demonios árabes e islámicos...
Azazel el ángel demoníaco que influye en los hombres que crean las armas y, en las mujeres que se maquillan. Azazel está representado con siete serpientes en la cabeza y tiene catorce rostros; doce alas. Se dice que Azazel fue uno de los primeros en hacerle reverencia a Adán, allá en el paraíso. Azazel es un portador del infierno. Belphegor, el ángel demoníaco de las fiestas... Belphegor se manifiesta como una atractiva mujer y fue, allá en el cielo, un príncipe de la orden de los principados; se estableció en París, donde encontró la manera licenciosa de tentar a los hombres.

THE MARRIAGE of HEAVEN and HELL

William Blake

^t143

ED; E33| Marriage of Heaven and Hell PLATE 2

MHH; E33| The Argument.

MHHArgument; E33| Rintrah roars & shakes his fires in the burdend air;
MHHArgument; E33| Hungry clouds swag on the deep

MHHArgument; E33| Once meek, and in a perilous path,
MHHArgument; E33| The just man kept his course along
MHHArgument; E33| The vale of death.
MHHArgument; E33| Roses are planted where thorns grow.
MHHArgument; E33| And on the barren heath
MHHArgument; E33| Sing the honey bees.

MHHArgument; E33| Then the perilous path was planted:
MHHArgument; E33| And a river, and a spring
MHHArgument; E33| On every cliff and tomb;
MHHArgument; E33| And on the bleached bones
MHHArgument; E33| Red clay brought forth.

MHHArgument; E33| Till the villain left the paths of ease,
MHHArgument; E33| To walk in perilous paths, and drive
MHHArgument; E33| The just man into barren climes.

MHHArgument; E33| Now the sneaking serpent walks
MHHArgument; E33| In mild humility.
MHHArgument; E33| And the just man rages in the wilds
MHHArgument; E33| Where lions roam.

MHHArgument; E33| Rintrah roars & shakes his fires in the burdend air;
MHHArgument; E33| Hungry clouds swag on the deep.
MHHArgument; E33| ____________________________________________

ED; E34| Marriage of Heaven and Hell PLATE 3
MHH3; E34| As a new heaven is begun, and it is now thirty-three years ^t144
MHH3; E34| since its advent: the Eternal Hell revives. And lo! Swedenborg is
MHH3; E34| the Angel sitting at the tomb; his writings are the linen clothes
MHH3; E34| folded up. Now is the dominion of Edom, & the return of Adam into
MHH3; E34| Paradise; see Isaiah XXXIV & XXXV Chap:
MHH3; E34| Without Contraries is no progression. Attraction and
MHH3; E34| Repulsion, Reason and Energy, Love and Hate, are necessary to
MHH3; E34| Human existence.
MHH3; E34| From these contraries spring what the religious call Good &
MHH3; E34| Evil. Good is the passive that obeys Reason[.] Evil is the active
MHH3; E34| springing from Energy.
MHH3; E34| Good is Heaven. Evil is Hell.

ED; E34| Marriage of Heaven and Hell PLATE 4
MHH4; E34| The voice of the Devil

MHH4; E34| All Bibles or sacred codes. have been the causes of the
MHH4; E34| following Errors.
MHH4; E34| 1. That Man has two real existing principles Viz: a Body & a
MHH4; E34| Soul.
MHH4; E34| 2 That Energy. calld Evil. is alone from the Body. & that
MHH4; E34| Reason. calld Good. is alone from the Soul.
MHH4; E34| 3. That God will torment Man in Eternity for following his
MHH4; E34| Energies.
MHH4; E34| But the following Contraries to these are True
MHH4; E34| 1 Man has no Body distinct from his Soul for that calld Body is
MHH4; E34| a portion of Soul discernd by the five Senses. the chief inlets
MHH4; E34| of Soul in this age
MHH4; E34| 2. Energy is the only life and is from the Body and Reason is
MHH4; E34| the bound or outward circumference of Energy.
MHH4; E34| 3 Energy is Eternal Delight

ED; E34| Marriage of Heaven and Hell PLATE 5
MHH5; E34| Those who restrain desire, do so because theirs is weak enough
MHH5; E34| to be restrained; and the restrainer or reason usurps its place &
MHH5; E34| governs the unwilling.
MHH5; E34| And being restraind it by degrees becomes passive till it is
MHH5; E34| only the shadow of desire.
MHH5; E34| The history of this is written in Paradise Lost. & the Governor
MHH5; E34| or Reason is call'd Messiah.
MHH5; E34| And the original Archangel or possessor of the command of the
MHH5; E34| heavenly host, is calld the Devil or Satan and his children are
MHH5; E34| call'd Sin & Death
MHH5; E34| But in the Book of Job Miltons Messiah is call'd Satan.
MHH5; E34| For this history has been adopted by both parties
MHH5; E34| It indeed appear'd to Reason as if Desire was cast out. but the

MHH5; E35| Devils account is, that the Messi[Marriage of Heaven and Hell PL 6]ah fell. & formed a heaven
MHH6; E35| of what he stole from the Abyss
MHH6; E35| This is shewn in the Gospel, where he prays to the Father to
MHH6; E35| send the comforter or Desire that Reason may have Ideas to build
MHH6; E35| on, the Jehovah of the Bible being no other than he, who dwells
MHH6; E35| in flaming fire. ^t145
MHH6; E35| Know that after Christs death, he became Jehovah.
MHH6; E35| But in Milton; the Father is Destiny, the Son, a Ratio of the
MHH6; E35| five senses. & the Holy-ghost, Vacuum!
MHH6; E35| Note. The reason Milton wrote in fetters when he wrote of
MHH6; E35| Angels & God, and at liberty when of Devils & Hell, is because he
MHH6; E35| was a true Poet and of the Devils party without knowing it

MHH6; E35| A Memorable Fancy.

MHH6; E35| As I was walking among the fires of hell, delighted with the
MHH6; E35| enjoyments of Genius; which to Angels look like torment and
MHH6; E35| insanity. I collected some of their Proverbs: thinking that as
MHH6; E35| the sayings used in a nation, mark its character, so the Proverbs
MHH6; E35| of Hell, shew the nature of Infernal wisdom better than any
MHH6; E35| description of buildings or garments.
MHH6; E35| When I came home; on the abyss of the five senses, where a
MHH6; E35| flat sided steep frowns over the present world. I saw a mighty
MHH6; E35| Devil folded in black clouds, hovering on the sides of the rock,
MHH6; E35| with cor[Marriage of Heaven and Hell PL 7]roding fires he wrote the following sentence now
MHH7; E35| percieved by the minds of men, & read by them on earth. ^t146

MHH7; E35| How do you know but ev'ry Bird that cuts the airy way,
MHH7; E35| Is an immense world of delight, clos'd by your senses five?

MHH7; E35| Proverbs of Hell. ^t147

MHH7; E35| In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.

MHH7; E35| Drive your cart and your plow over the bones of the dead.
MHH7; E35| The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom.

MHH7; E35| Prudence is a rich ugly old maid courted by Incapacity.
MHH7; E35| He who desires but acts not, breeds pestilence.

MHH7; E35| The cut worm forgives the plow.

MHH7; E35| Dip him in the river who loves water.

MHH7; E35| A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees.
MHH7; E35| He whose face gives no light, shall never become a star.

MHH7; E36| Eternity is in love with the productions of time.
MHH7; E36| The busy bee has no time for sorrow.
MHH7; E36| The hours of folly are measur'd by the clock, but of wisdom: no clock can
MHH7; E36| measure.

MHH7; E36| All wholsom food is caught without a net or a trap.
MHH7; E36| Bring out number weight & measure in a year of dearth.

MHH7; E36| No bird soars too high. if he soars with his own wings.

MHH7; E36| A dead body. revenges not injuries.

MHH7; E36| The most sublime act is to set another before you.

MHH7; E36| If the fool would persist in his folly he would become wise
MHH7; E36| Folly is the cloke of knavery.

MHH7; E36| Shame is Prides cloke.

ED; E36| Marriage of Heaven and Hell PLATE 8
MHH8; E36| Prisons are built with stones of Law, Brothels with bricks of Religion.
MHH8; E36| The pride of the peacock is the glory of God.
MHH8; E36| The lust of the goat is the bounty of God.
MHH8; E36| The wrath of the lion is the wisdom of God.
MHH8; E36| The nakedness of woman is the work of God.

MHH8; E36| Excess of sorrow laughs. Excess of joy weeps.

MHH8; E36| The roaring of lions, the howling of wolves, the raging of the
MHH8; E36| stormy sea, and the destructive sword. are portions of
MHH8; E36| eternity too great for the eye of man.

MHH8; E36| The fox condemns the trap, not himself.
MHH8; E36| Joys impregnate. Sorrows bring forth.

MHH8; E36| Let man wear the fell of the lion. woman the fleece of the sheep.

MHH8; E36| The bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship.

MHH8; E36| The selfish smiling fool. & the sullen frowning fool. shall be
MHH8; E36| both thought wise. that they may be a rod.

MHH8; E36| What is now proved was once, only imagin'd.
MHH8; E36| The rat, the mouse, the fox, the rabbet; watch the roots, the lion, the tyger,
MHH8; E36| the horse, the elephant, watch the fruits.

MHH8; E36| The cistern contains: the fountain overflows
MHH8; E36| One thought. fills immensity.
MHH8; E36| Always be ready to speak your mind, and a base man will avoid you.

MHH8; E37| Every thing possible to be believ'd is an image of truth.

MHH8; E37| The eagle never lost so much time, as when he submitted to learn of the crow.

ED; E37| Marriage of Heaven and Hell PLATE 9
MHH9; E37| The fox provides for himself. but God provides for the lion.
MHH9; E37| Think in the morning, Act in the noon, Eat in the evening, Sleep in the night.
MHH9; E37| He who has sufferd you to impose on him knows you.
MHH9; E37| As the plow follows words, so God rewards prayers.

MHH9; E37| The tygers of wrath are wiser than the horses of instruction

MHH9; E37| Expect poison from the standing water.

MHH9; E37| You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough.

MHH9; E37| Listen to the fools reproach! it is a kingly title!

MHH9; E37| The eyes of fire, the nostrils of air, the mouth of water, the beard of earth.

MHH9; E37| The weak in courage is strong in cunning.
MHH9; E37| The apple tree never asks the beech how he shall grow, nor the lion. the horse;
MHH9; E37| how he shall take his prey.
MHH9; E37| The thankful reciever bears a plentiful harvest.

MHH9; E37| If others had not been foolish. we should be so.
MHH9; E37| The soul of sweet delight. can never be defil'd,

MHH9; E37| When thou seest an Eagle, thou seest a portion of Genius. lift up thy head!
MHH9; E37| As the catterpiller chooses the fairest leaves to lay her eggs on, so the priest
MHH9; E37| lays his curse on the fairest joys.

MHH9; E37| To create a little flower is the labour of ages.

MHH9; E37| Damn. braces: Bless relaxes.

MHH9; E37| The best wine is the oldest. the best water the newest.
MHH9; E37| Prayers plow not! Praises reap not!
MHH9; E37| Joys laugh not! Sorrows weep not!

ED; E37| Marriage of Heaven and Hell PLATE 10
MHH10; E37| The head Sublime, the heart Pathos, the genitals Beauty, the hands & feet
MHH10; E37| Proportion.

MHH10; E38| As the air to a bird or the sea to a fish, so is contempt to the contemptible.
MHH10; E38| The crow wish'd every thing was black, the owl, that every thing was white.

MHH10; E38| Exuberance is Beauty.

MHH10; E38| If the lion was advised by the fox. he would be cunning.

MHH10; E38| Improvement makes strait roads, but the crooked roads without
MHH10; E38| Improvement, are roads of Genius. ^t148

MHH10; E38| Sooner murder an infant in its cradle than nurse unacted desires

MHH10; E38| Where man is not nature is barren.

MHH10; E38| Truth can never be told so as to be understood, and not be believ'd.

MHH10; E38| Enough! or Too much

ED; E38| Marriage of Heaven and Hell PLATE 11

MHH11; E38| The ancient Poets animated all sensible objects with Gods or
MHH11; E38| Geniuses calling them by the names and adorning them with the
MHH11; E38| properties of woods, rivers, mountains, lakes, cities, nations,
MHH11; E38| and whatever their enlarged & numerous senses could percieve.
MHH11; E38| And particularly they studied the genius of each city &
MHH11; E38| country. placing it under its mental deity.
MHH11; E38| Till a system was formed, which some took advantage of &
MHH11; E38| enslav'd the vulgar by attempting to realize or abstract the
MHH11; E38| mental deities from their objects: thus began Priesthood.
MHH11; E38| Choosing forms of worship from poetic tales.
MHH11; E38| And at length they pronounced that the Gods had orderd such
MHH11; E38| things.
MHH11; E38| Thus men forgot that All deities reside in the human breast.
ED; E38| Marriage of Heaven and Hell PLATE 12
MHH12; E38| A Memorable Fancy.

MHH12; E38| The Prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel dined with me, and I asked
MHH12; E38| them how they dared so roundly to assert. that God spake to them;
MHH12; E38| and whether they did not think at the time, that they would be
MHH12; E38| misunderstood, & so be the cause of imposition.
MHH12; E38| Isaiah answer'd. I saw no God. nor heard any, in a finite
MHH12; E38| organical perception; but my senses discover'd the infinite in
MHH12; E38| every thing, and as I was then perswaded. & remain confirm'd;
MHH12; E38| that the voice of honest indignation is the voice of God, I cared
MHH12; E38| not for consequences but wrote.
MHH12; E38| Then I asked: does a firm perswasion that a thing is so, make it so?
MHH12; E38| He replied. All poets believe that it does, & in ages of imagination

MHH12; E39| this firm perswasion removed mountains; but many are not capable
MHH12; E39| of a firm perswasion of any thing.
MHH12; E39| Then Ezekiel said. The philosophy of the east taught the first
MHH12; E39| principles of human perception some nations held one
MHH12; E39| principle for the origin & some another, we of Israel taught
MHH12; E39| that the Poetic Genius (as you now call it) was the first
MHH12; E39| principle and all the others merely derivative, which was the
MHH12; E39| cause of our despising the Priests & Philosophers of other
MHH12; E39| countries, and propheying that all Gods
ED; E39| [Marriage of Heaven and Hell PL 13] would at last be
MHH13; E39| proved. to originate in ours & to be the tributaries of the
MHH13; E39| Poetic Genius, it was this. that our great poet King David
MHH13; E39| desired so fervently & invokes so patheticly, saying by this he
MHH13; E39| conquers enemies & governs kingdoms; and we so loved our God.
MHH13; E39| that we cursed in his name all the deities of surrounding
MHH13; E39| nations, and asserted that they had rebelled; from these opinions
MHH13; E39| the vulgar came to think that all nations would at last be
MHH13; E39| subject to the jews.
MHH13; E39| This said he, like all firm perswasions, is come to pass, for all
MHH13; E39| nations believe the jews code and worship the jews god, and what
MHH13; E39| greater subjection can be
MHH13; E39| I heard this with some wonder, & must confess my own
MHH13; E39| conviction. After dinner I ask'd Isaiah to favour the world with
MHH13; E39| his lost works, he said none of equal value was lost. Ezekiel
MHH13; E39| said the same of his.
MHH13; E39| I also asked Isaiah what made him go naked and barefoot three
MHH13; E39| years? he answerd, the same that made our friend Diogenes the Grecian.
MHH13; E39| I then asked Ezekiel. why he eat dung, & lay so long on his
MHH13; E39| right & left side? he answerd. the desire of raising other men
MHH13; E39| into a perception of the infinite this the North American tribes
MHH13; E39| practise. & is he honest who resists his genius or conscience.
MHH13; E39| only for the sake of present ease or gratification?
ED; E39| Marriage of Heaven and Hell PLATE 14
MHH14; E39| The ancient tradition that the world will be consumed in fire
MHH14; E39| at the end of six thousand years is true. as I have heard from Hell.
MHH14; E39| For the cherub with his flaming sword is hereby commanded to
MHH14; E39| leave his guard at the tree of life, and when he does, the whole ^t149
MHH14; E39| creation will be consumed, and appear infinite. and holy whereas
MHH14; E39| it now appears finite & corrupt.
MHH14; E39| This will come to pass by a improvement of sensual enjoyment.
MHH14; E39| But first the notion that man has a body distinct from his
MHH14; E39| soul, is to be expunged; this I shall do, by printing in the
MHH14; E39| infernal method, by corrosives, which in Hell are salutary and
MHH14; E39| medicinal, melting apparent surfaces away, and displaying the
MHH14; E39| infinite which was hid.
MHH14; E39| If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would
MHH14; E39| appear to man as it is: infinite.
MHH14; E39| For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro'
MHH14; E39| narrow chinks of his cavern.

ED; E39| Marriage of Heaven and Hell PLATE 15
MHH15; E40| A Memorable Fancy

MHH15; E40| I was in a Printing house in Hell & saw the method in which
MHH15; E40| knowledge is transmitted from generation to generation.
MHH15; E40| In the first chamber was a Dragon-Man, clearing away the
MHH15; E40| rubbish from a caves mouth; within, a number of Dragons were
MHH15; E40| hollowing the cave,
MHH15; E40| In the second chamber was a Viper folding round the rock & the
MHH15; E40| cave, and others adorning it with gold silver and precious stones.
MHH15; E40| In the third chamber was an Eagle with wings and feathers of
MHH15; E40| air, he caused the inside of the cave to be infinite, around were
MHH15; E40| numbers of Eagle like men, who built palaces in the immense cliffs.
MHH15; E40| In the fourth chamber were Lions of flaming fire raging around
MHH15; E40| & melting the metals into living fluids.
MHH15; E40| In the fifth chamber were Unnam'd forms, which cast the metals
MHH15; E40| into the expanse.
MHH15; E40| There they were reciev'd by Men who occupied the sixth
MHH15; E40| chamber, and took the forms of books & were arranged in libraries.

ED; E40| Marriage of Heaven and Hell PLATE 16
MHH16; E40| The Giants who formed this world into its sensual existence
MHH16; E40| and now seem to live in it in chains; are in truth. the causes
MHH16; E40| of its life & the sources of all activity, but the chains are,
MHH16; E40| the cunning of weak and tame minds. which have power to resist
MHH16; E40| energy. according to the proverb, the weak in courage is strong
MHH16; E40| in cunning.
MHH16; E40| Thus one portion of being, is the Prolific. the other, the
MHH16; E40| Devouring: to the devourer it seems as if the producer was in
MHH16; E40| his chains, but it is not so, he only takes portions of existence
MHH16; E40| and fancies that the whole.
MHH16; E40| But the Prolific would cease to be Prolific unless the
MHH16; E40| Devourer as a sea recieved the excess of his delights.
MHH16; E40| Some will say, Is not God alone the Prolific? I answer, God
MHH16; E40| only Acts & Is, in existing beings or Men.
MHH16; E40| These two classes of men are always upon earth, & they should
MHH16; E40| be enemies; whoever tries
MHH; E40| [Marriage of Heaven and Hell PL 17] to reconcile them seeks to destroy existence.
MHH17; E40| Religion is an endeavour to reconcile the two.
MHH17; E40| Note. Jesus Christ did not wish to unite but to seperate
MHH17; E40| them, as in the Parable of sheep and goats! & he says I came not
MHH17; E40| to send Peace but a Sword.
MHH17; E40| Messiah or Satan or Tempter was formerly thought to be one of
MHH17; E40| the Antediluvians who are our Energies.

MHH17; E41| A Memorable Fancy

MHH17; E41| An Angel came to me and said. O pitiable foolish young man!
MHH17; E41| O horrible! O dreadful state! consider the hot burning dungeon
MHH17; E41| thou art preparing for thyself to all eternity, to which thou art
MHH17; E41| going in such career.
MHH17; E41| I said. perhaps you will be willing to shew me my eternal
MHH17; E41| lot & we will contemplate together upon it and see whether your
MHH17; E41| lot or mine is most desirable
MHH17; E41| So he took me thro' a stable & thro' a church & down into
MHH17; E41| the church vault at the end of which was a mill: thro' the mill
MHH17; E41| we went, and came to a cave. down the winding cavern we groped
MHH17; E41| our tedious way till a void boundless as a nether sky appeard
MHH17; E41| beneath us & we held by the roots of trees and hung over this
MHH17; E41| immensity; but I said, if you please we will commit ourselves
MHH17; E41| to this void and see whether providence is here also, if you
MHH17; E41| will not I will? but he answerd. do not presume O young-man but
MHH17; E41| as we here remain behold thy lot which will soon appear when the
MHH17; E41| darkness passes away
MHH17; E41| So I remaind with him sitting in the twisted [Marriage of Heaven and Hell PL 18] root of
MHH18; E41| an oak. he was suspended in a fungus which hung with the head
MHH18; E41| downward into the deep:
MHH18; E41| By degrees we beheld the infinite Abyss, fiery as the smoke
MHH18; E41| of a burning city; beneath us at an immense distance was the sun,
MHH18; E41| black but shining[;] round it were fiery tracks on which revolv'd
MHH18; E41| vast spiders, crawling after their prey; which flew or rather
MHH18; E41| swum in the infinite deep, in the most terrific shapes of animals
MHH18; E41| sprung from corruption. & the air was full of them, & seemd
MHH18; E41| composed of them; these are Devils. and are called Powers of the
MHH18; E41| air, I now asked my companion which was my eternal lot? he said,
MHH18; E41| between the black & white spiders
MHH18; E41| But now, from between the black & white spiders a cloud and
MHH18; E41| fire burst and rolled thro the deep blackning all beneath, so
MHH18; E41| that the nether deep grew black as a sea & rolled with a terrible
MHH18; E41| noise: beneath us was nothing now to be seen but a black tempest,
MHH18; E41| till looking east between the clouds & the waves, we saw a
MHH18; E41| cataract of blood mixed with fire and not many stones throw from
MHH18; E41| us appeard and sunk again the scaly fold of a monstrous serpent.
MHH18; E41| at last to the east, distant about three degrees appeard a fiery
MHH18; E41| crest above the waves slowly it reared like a ridge of golden
MHH18; E41| rocks till we discoverd two globes of crimson fire. from which
MHH18; E41| the sea fled away in clouds of smoke, and now we saw, it was the
MHH18; E41| head of Leviathan. his forehead was divided into streaks of green
MHH18; E41| & purple like those on a tygers forehead: soon we saw his mouth &
MHH18; E41| red gills hang just above the raging foam tinging the black deep
MHH18; E41| with beams of bood, advancing toward [Marriage of Heaven and Hell PL 19] us with all the
MHH19; E41| fury of a spiritual existence.
MHH19; E41| My friend the Angel climb'd up from his station into the mill;
MHH19; E41| I remain'd alone, & then this appearance was no more, but I found

MHH19; E42| myself sitting on a pleasant bank beside a river by moon light
MHH19; E42| hearing a harper who sung to the harp. & his theme was, The man
MHH19; E42| who never alters his opinion is like standing water, & breeds
MHH19; E42| reptiles of the mind.
MHH19; E42| But I arose, and sought for the mill, & there I found my
MHH19; E42| Angel, who surprised asked me, how I escaped?
MHH19; E42| I answerd. All that we saw was owing to your metaphysics: for
MHH19; E42| when you ran away, I found myself on a bank by moonlight hearing
MHH19; E42| a harper, But now we have seen my eternal lot, shall I shew you
MHH19; E42| yours? he laughd at my proposal: but I by force suddenly caught
MHH19; E42| him in my arms, & flew westerly thro' the night, till we were
MHH19; E42| elevated above the earths shadow: then I flung myself with him
MHH19; E42| directly into the body of the sun, here I clothed myself in
MHH19; E42| white, & taking in my hand Swedenborgs volumes sunk from the
MHH19; E42| glorious clime, and passed all the planets till we came to
MHH19; E42| saturn, here I staid to rest & then leap'd into the void, between
MHH19; E42| saturn & the fixed stars.
MHH19; E42| Here said I! is your lot, in this space, if space it may be
MHH19; E42| calld, Soon we saw the stable and the church, & I took him to the
MHH19; E42| altar and open'd the Bible, and lo! it was a deep pit, into which
MHH19; E42| I descended driving the Angel before me, soon we saw seven houses
MHH19; E42| of brick, one we enterd; in it were a
MHH19; E42| [Marriage of Heaven and Hell PL 20] number of monkeys,
MHH20; E42| baboons, & all of that species chaind by the middle, grinning and
MHH20; E42| snatching at one another, but witheld by the shortness of their
MHH20; E42| chains: however I saw that they sometimes grew numerous, and then
MHH20; E42| the weak were caught by the strong and with a grinning aspect,
MHH20; E42| first coupled with & then devourd, by plucking off first one limb
MHH20; E42| and then another till the body was left a helpless trunk. this
MHH20; E42| after grinning & kissing it with seeming fondness they devourd
MHH20; E42| too; and here & there I saw one savourily picking the flesh off
MHH20; E42| of his own tail; as the stench terribly annoyd us both we went
MHH20; E42| into the mill, & I in my hand brought the skeleton of a body,
MHH20; E42| which in the mill was Aristotles Analytics.
MHH20; E42| So the Angel said: thy phantasy has imposed upon me & thou
MHH20; E42| oughtest to be ashamed.
MHH20; E42| I answerd: we impose on one another, & it is but lost time
MHH20; E42| to converse with you whose works are only Analytics.

MHH20; E42| Opposition is true Friendship. ^t150

ED; E42| Marriage of Heaven and Hell PLATE 21
MHH21; E42| I have always found that Angels have the vanity to speak of
MHH21; E42| themselves as the only wise; this they do with a confident
MHH21; E42| insolence sprouting from systematic reasoning:
MHH21; E42| Thus Swedenborg boasts that what he writes is new; tho' it
MHH21; E42| is only the Contents or Index of already publish'd books
MHH21; E42| A man carried a monkey about for a shew, & because he was a
MHH21; E42| little wiser than the monkey, grew vain, and conciev'd himself as much

MHH21; E43| wiser than seven men. It is so with Swedenborg; he shews the
MHH21; E43| folly of churches & exposes hypocrites, till he imagines that all
MHH21; E43| are religious. & himself the single
MHH22; E43| [Marriage of Heaven and Hell PL 22] one on earth that ever broke a net.
MHH22; E43| Now hear a plain fact: Swedenborg has not written one new
MHH22; E43| truth: Now hear another: he has written all the old falshoods.
MHH22; E43| And now hear the reason. He conversed with Angels who are
MHH22; E43| all religious, & conversed not with Devils who all hate religion,
MHH22; E43| for he was incapable thro' his conceited notions.
MHH22; E43| Thus Swedenborgs writings are a recapitulation of all
MHH22; E43| superficial opinions, and an analysis of the more sublime, but no further.
MHH22; E43| Have now another plain fact: Any man of mechanical talents
MHH22; E43| may from the writings of Paracelsus or Jacob Behmen, produce ten
MHH22; E43| thousand volumes of equal value with Swedenborg's.
MHH22; E43| and from those of Dante or Shakespear, an infinite number.
MHH22; E43| But when he has done this, let him not say that he knows
MHH22; E43| better than his master, for he only holds a candle in sunshine.

MHH22; E43| A Memorable Fancy

MHH22; E43| Once I saw a Devil in a flame of fire. who arose before an
MHH22; E43| Angel that sat on a cloud. and the Devil utterd these words.
MHH22; E43| The worship of God is. Honouring his gifts in other men
MHH22; E43| each according to his genius. and loving the
MHH23; E43| [Marriage of Heaven and Hell PL 23]greatest men
MHH23; E43| best, those who envy or calumniate great men hate God, for there
MHH23; E43| is no other God.
MHH23; E43| The Angel hearing this became almost blue but mastering
MHH23; E43| himself he grew yellow, & at last white pink & smiling, and then replied,
MHH23; E43| Thou Idolater, is not God One? & is not he visible in Jesus
MHH23; E43| Christ? and has not Jesus Christ given his sanction to the law of
MHH23; E43| ten commandments and are not all other men fools, sinners, & nothings?
MHH23; E43| The Devil answer'd; bray a fool in a morter with wheat. yet
MHH23; E43| shall not his folly be beaten out of him: if Jesus Christ is the
MHH23; E43| greatest man, you ought to love him in the greatest degree; now
MHH23; E43| hear how he has given his sanction to the law of ten
MHH23; E43| commandments: did he not mock at the sabbath, and so mock the
MHH23; E43| sabbaths God? murder those who were murderd because of him? turn
MHH23; E43| away the law from the woman taken in adultery? steal the labor of
MHH23; E43| others to support him? bear false witness when he omitted making
MHH23; E43| a defence before Pilate? covet when he pray'd for his disciples,
MHH23; E43| and when he bid them shake off the dust of their feet against
MHH23; E43| such as refused to lodge them? I tell you, no virtue can exist
MHH23; E43| without breaking these ten commandments: Jesus was all virtue,
MHH23; E43| and acted from im[Marriage of Heaven and Hell PL 24]pulse: not from rules.
MHH24; E43| When he had so spoken: I beheld the Angel who stretched out
MHH24; E43| his arms embracing the flame of fire & he was consumed and arose
MHH24; E43| as Elijah.

MHH24; E44| Note. This Angel, who is now become a Devil, is my
MHH24; E44| particular friend: we often read the Bible together in its
MHH24; E44| infernal or diabolical sense which the world shall have if they
MHH24; E44| behave well
MHH24; E44| I have also: The Bible of Hell: which the world shall have
MHH24; E44| whether they will or no.

MHH24; E44| One Law for the Lion & Ox is Oppression

ED; E44| Marriage of Heaven and Hell PLATE 25
MHH25; E44| A Song of Liberty

MHH25; E44| 1. The Eternal Female groand! it was heard over all the Earth:
MHH25; E44| 2. Albions coast is sick silent; the American meadows faint!
MHH25; E44| 3 Shadows of Prophecy shiver along by the lakes and the rivers
MHH25; E44| and mutter across the ocean! France rend down thy dungeon;
MHH25; E44| 4. Golden Spain burst the barriers of old Rome;
MHH25; E44| 5. Cast thy keys O Rome into the deep down falling, even to
MHH25; E44| eternity down falling,
MHH25; E44| 6. And weep! ^t151
MHH25; E44| 7. In her trembling hands she took the new, born terror howling;
MHH25; E44| 8. On those infinite mountains of light now barr'd out by the
MHH25; E44| atlantic sea, the new born fire stood before the starry king!
MHH25; E44| 9. Flag'd with grey brow'd snows and thunderous visages the
MHH25; E44| jealous wings wav'd over the deep.
MHH25; E44| 10. The speary hand burned aloft, unbuckled was the shield,
MHH25; E44| forth went the hand of jealousy among the flaming hair, and
MHH; E44| [Marriage of Heaven and Hell PL 26] hurl'd the new born wonder thro' the starry night.
MHH26; E44| 11. The fire, the fire, is falling!
MHH26; E44| 12. Look up! look up! O citizen of London. enlarge thy
MHH26; E44| countenance; O Jew, leave counting gold! return to thy oil and
MHH26; E44| wine; O African! black African! (go. winged thought widen his forehead.)
MHH26; E44| 13. The fiery limbs, the flaming hair,shot like the sinking sun
MHH26; E44| into the western sea.
MHH26; E44| 14. Wak'd from his eternal sleep, the hoary, element roaring fled away:
MHH26; E44| 15. Down rushd beating his wings in vain the jealous king: his
MHH26; E44| grey brow'd councellors, thunderous warriors, curl'd veterans,
MHH26; E44| among helms, and shields, and chariots horses, elephants:
MHH26; E44| banners, castles, slings and rocks,
MHH26; E44| 16. Falling, rushing, ruining! buried in the ruins, on Urthona's dens.
MHH26; E44| 17. All night beneath the ruins, then their sullen flames faded
MHH26; E44| emerge round the gloomy king,
MHH26; E44| 18. With thunder and fire: leading his starry hosts thro' the waste wilderness
MHH; E44| [Marriage of Heaven and Hell PL 27] he promulgates his ten commands,
MHH27; E44| glancing his beamy eyelids over the deep in dark dismay,

MHH27; E45| 19. Where the son of fire in his eastern cloud, while the
MHH27; E45| morning plumes her golden breast,
MHH27; E45| 20. Spurning the clouds written with curses, stamps the stony
MHH27; E45| law to dust, loosing the eternal horses from the dens of night, crying

MHH27; E45| Empire is no more! and now the lion & wolf shall cease.

MHH27; E45| Chorus

MHH27; E45| Let the Priests of the Raven of dawn, no longer in deadly
MHH27; E45| black, with hoarse note curse the sons of joy. Nor his accepted
MHH27; E45| brethren whom, tyrant, he calls free; lay the bound or build the
MHH27; E45| roof. Nor pale religious letchery call that virginity, that
MHH27; E45| wishes but acts not!
MHH27; E45| For every thing that lives is Holy

The Ecchoing Green

William Blake -

The Sun does arise,
And make happy the skies.
The merry bells ring,
To welcome the Spring.
The sky-lark and thrush,
The birds of the bush,
Sing louder around,
To the bells chearful sound,
While our sports shall be seen
On the Ecchoing Green.



Old John with white hair
Does laugh away care,
Sitting under the oak,
Among the old folk.
They laugh at our play,
And soon they all say,
Such such were the joys,
When we were all girls & boys,
In our youth time were seen,
On the Ecchoing Green.

Till the little ones weary
No more can be merry
The sun does descend,
And our sports have an end:
Round the laps of their mothers,
Many sisters and brothers,
Like birds in their nest,
Are ready for rest:
And sport no more seen,
On the darkening Green.

The Tyger

William Blake -

Tyger, Tyger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
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, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears
And water'd heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

Tyger, Tyger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

Olvido

No temas ni a la sombra ni al olvido
algún día el Sol besará tu frente
y de la espada rota del vencido
se forjará la espada del valiente.

¡QUE LÁSTIMA!

Al poeta Alberto López Arguello, tan amigo.
tan buen amigo siempre, baje o suba la rueda.

León Felipe



¡Que lástima
que yo no pueda cantar a la usanza
de este tiempo lo mismo que los poetas de hoy cantan!

¡Que lástima
que yo no pueda entonar con una voz engolada
esas brillantes romanzas
a las glorias de la patria!

¡Que lástima
que yo no tenga una patria!

Sé que la historia es la misma, la misma siempre, que pasa
desde una tierra a otra tierra, desde una raza
a otra raza,
como pasan
esas tormentas de estío desde esta a aquella comarca.

¡Que lástima
que yo no tenga comarca,
patria chica, tierra provinciana!

Debí nacer en la entraña
de la estepa castellana
y fui a nacer en un pueblo del que no recuerdo nada:
pasé los días azules de mi infancia en Salamanca,
y mi juventud, una juventud sombría, en la Montaña.

Después... ya no he vuelto a echar el ancla,
y ninguna de estas tierras me levanta
ni me exalta
para poder cantar siempre en la misma tonada
al mismo río que pasa
rodando las mismas aguas,
al mismo cielo, al mismo campo y en la misma casa.

¡Que lástima que yo no tenga una casa!

Una casa solariega y blasonada,
una casa
en que guardara,
a mas de otras cosas raras,
un sillón viejo de cuero, una mesa apolillada
y el retrato de un mi abuelo que ganara
una batalla.

¡Que lastima
que yo no tenga un abuelo que ganara
una batalla,
retratado con una mano cruzada
en el pecho, y la otra mano en el puño de la espada!

Y, ¡que lastima
que yo no tenga siquiera una espada!

Porque..., ¿que voy a cantar si no tengo ni una patria,
ni una tierra provinciana,
ni una casa
solariega y blasonada,
ni el retrato de un mi abuelo que ganara
una batalla,
ni un sillón viejo de cuero, ni una mesa, ni una espada?

¡Que voy a cantar si soy un paria que apenas tiene una capa!



Sin embargo...

en esta tierra de España
y en un pueblo de la Alcarria
hay una casa
en la que estoy de posada
y donde tengo, prestadas,
una mesa de pino y una silla de paja.

Un libro tengo también. Y todo mi ajuar se halla
en una sala
muy amplia
y muy blanca
que esta en la parte mas baja
y mas fresca de la casa.

Tiene una luz muy clara
esta sala
tan amplia
y tan blanca...

Una luz muy clara
que entra por una ventana
que da a una calle muy ancha.

Y a la luz de esta ventana
vengo todas las mañanas.

Aqui me siento sobre mi silla de paja
y venzo las horas largas
leyendo en mi libro y viendo cómo pasa
la gente al través de la ventana.

Cosas de poca importancia
parecen un libro y el cristal de una ventana
en un pueblo de la Alcarria,
y, sin embargo, le basta
para sentir todo el ritmo de la vida a mi alma.

Que todo el ritmo del mundo por estos cristales pasa
cuando pasan
ese pastor que va detrás de las cabras
con una enorme cayada,
esa mujer agobiada
con una carga de leña en la espalda,
esos mendigos que vienen arrastrando sus miserias de Pastrana
y esa niña que va a la escuela de tan mala gana.

!Oh, esa niña! Hace un alto en mi ventana
siempre y se queda a los cristales pegada
como si fuera una estampa.

¡Que gracia
tiene su cara
en el cristal aplastada
con la barbilla sumida y la naricilla chata!

Yo me río mucho mirándola
y la digo que es una niña muy guapa...

Ella entonces me llama ¡tonto!, y se marcha.

¡Pobre niña! Ya no pasa
por esta calle tan ancha
caminando hacia la escuela de muy mala gana,
ni se para
en mi ventana,
ni se queda a los cristales pegada
como si fuera una estampa.

Que un día se puso mala,
muy mala
y otro día doblaron por ella a muerto las campanas.



Y en una tarde muy clara,
por esta calle tan ancha,
al través de la ventana,
vi como se la llevaban
en una caja muy blanca...

En una caja
muy blanca
que tenia un cristalito en la tapa.

Por aquel cristal se le veía la cara
lo mismo que cuando estaba
pegadita al cristal de mi ventana...

Al cristal de esta ventana
que ahora me recuerda siempre al cristalito de
aquella caja
tan blanca.

Todo el ritmo de la vida pasa
por este cristal de mi ventana...

¡Y la muerte también pasa!



¡Que lástima
que no pudiendo cantar otras hazañas,
porque no tengo una patria,
ni una tierra provinciana,
ni una casa
solariega y blasonada,
ni el retrato de un mi abuelo que ganara
una batalla
ni un sillón viejo de cuero, ni una mesa, ni una espada,
y soy un paria
que apenas tiene una capa...

venga, forzado, a cantar cosas de poca importancia!

Auguries of Innocence

William Blake


To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.

A robin redbreast in a cage
Puts all heaven in a rage.

A dove-house fill'd with doves and pigeons
Shudders hell thro' all its regions.
A dog starv'd at his master's gate
Predicts the ruin of the state.

A horse misused upon the road
Calls to heaven for human blood.
Each outcry of the hunted hare
A fibre from the brain does tear.

A skylark wounded in the wing,
A cherubim does cease to sing.
The game-cock clipt and arm'd for fight
Does the rising sun affright.

Every wolf's and lion's howl
Raises from hell a human soul.

The wild deer, wand'ring here and there,
Keeps the human soul from care.
The lamb misus'd breeds public strife,
And yet forgives the butcher's knife.

The bat that flits at close of eve
Has left the brain that won't believe.
The owl that calls upon the night
Speaks the unbeliever's fright.

He who shall hurt the little wren
Shall never be belov'd by men.
He who the ox to wrath has mov'd
Shall never be by woman lov'd.

The wanton boy that kills the fly
Shall feel the spider's enmity.
He who torments the chafer's sprite
Weaves a bower in endless night.

The caterpillar on the leaf
Repeats to thee thy mother's grief.
Kill not the moth nor butterfly,
For the last judgement draweth nigh.

He who shall train the horse to war
Shall never pass the polar bar.
The beggar's dog and widow's cat,
Feed them and thou wilt grow fat.

The gnat that sings his summer's song
Poison gets from slander's tongue.
The poison of the snake and newt
Is the sweat of envy's foot.

The poison of the honey bee
Is the artist's jealousy.

The prince's robes and beggar's rags
Are toadstools on the miser's bags.
A truth that's told with bad intent
Beats all the lies you can invent.

It is right it should be so;
Man was made for joy and woe;
And when this we rightly know,
Thro' the world we safely go.

Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine.
Under every grief and pine
Runs a joy with silken twine.

The babe is more than swaddling bands;
Every farmer understands.
Every tear from every eye
Becomes a babe in eternity;

This is caught by females bright,
And return'd to its own delight.
The bleat, the bark, bellow, and roar,
Are waves that beat on heaven's shore.

The babe that weeps the rod beneath
Writes revenge in realms of death.
The beggar's rags, fluttering in air,
Does to rags the heavens tear.

The soldier, arm'd with sword and gun,
Palsied strikes the summer's sun.
The poor man's farthing is worth more
Than all the gold on Afric's shore.

One mite wrung from the lab'rer's hands
Shall buy and sell the miser's lands;
Or, if protected from on high,
Does that whole nation sell and buy.

He who mocks the infant's faith
Shall be mock'd in age and death.
He who shall teach the child to doubt
The rotting grave shall ne'er get out.

He who respects the infant's faith
Triumphs over hell and death.
The child's toys and the old man's reasons
Are the fruits of the two seasons.

The questioner, who sits so sly,
Shall never know how to reply.
He who replies to words of doubt
Doth put the light of knowledge out.

The strongest poison ever known
Came from Caesar's laurel crown.
Nought can deform the human race
Like to the armour's iron brace.

When gold and gems adorn the plow,
To peaceful arts shall envy bow.
A riddle, or the cricket's cry,
Is to doubt a fit reply.

The emmet's inch and eagle's mile
Make lame philosophy to smile.
He who doubts from what he sees
Will ne'er believe, do what you please.

If the sun and moon should doubt,
They'd immediately go out.
To be in a passion you good may do,
But no good if a passion is in you.

The whore and gambler, by the state
Licensed, build that nation's fate.
The harlot's cry from street to street
Shall weave old England's winding-sheet.

The winner's shout, the loser's curse,
Dance before dead England's hearse.

Every night and every morn
Some to misery are born,
Every morn and every night
Some are born to sweet delight.

Some are born to sweet delight,
Some are born to endless night.

We are led to believe a lie
When we see not thro' the eye,
Which was born in a night to perish in a night,
When the soul slept in beams of light.

God appears, and God is light,
To those poor souls who dwell in night;
But does a human form display
To those who dwell in realms of day.