"Thus men forgot that All deities reside in the human breast."
— Blake, William (1757-1827)
Author
Work Title
Publisher
William Blake
Date
1790, 1794, 1795, 1818, 1827
Metaphor
"Thus men forgot that All deities reside in the human breast."
Metaphor in Context
The ancient Poets animated all sensible objects with Gods or Geniuses, calling them by the names and adorning them with the properties of woods, rivers, mountains, lakes, cities, nations, and whatever their enlarged & numerous senses could percieve.
And particularly they studied the genius of each city & country. placing it under its mental deity.
Till a system was formed, which some took advantage of & enslav'd the vulgar by attempting to realize or abstract the mental dieties from their objects: thus began Priesthood.
Choosing forms of worship from poetic tales.
And at length they pronounced that the Gods had orderd such things.
Thus men forgot that All deities reside in the human breast.
(Plate 11)
And particularly they studied the genius of each city & country. placing it under its mental deity.
Till a system was formed, which some took advantage of & enslav'd the vulgar by attempting to realize or abstract the mental dieties from their objects: thus began Priesthood.
Choosing forms of worship from poetic tales.
And at length they pronounced that the Gods had orderd such things.
Thus men forgot that All deities reside in the human breast.
(Plate 11)
Categories
Provenance
Reading
Citation
Reading William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (New York: Dover, 1994).
Link to the William Blake Archive <Marriage of Heaven and Hell>
Link to the William Blake Archive <Marriage of Heaven and Hell>
Date of Entry
04/25/2013
