The Selfhood

First posted Jan 2010

Be ye therefore perfect. (Matthew 5:48)
Matthew 5
[29] And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
[30] And if thy right hand offend thee, cut if off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
...
[42] Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
[43] Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
[44] But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
[45] That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
[46] For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
[47] And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
[48] Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

In the Preface to The Great Divorce C. S. Lewis wrote:
"if we accept Heaven we shall not be able to retain even the smallest and most intimate souvenirs of Hell." We may have to give up our right hand or our right eye.

Egocentricity, Self-centeredness, Narcissism, Selfishness, Contempt for the 'neighbor', etc. etc! These are some of the attributes that Blake grouped together into the image of "The Selfhood". Blake saw these and other similar traits within himself; he saw them in others, and he saw them in the world.

For twenty years he fought injustice, greed, chicanery, deceit, exploitation; in all those things he was very much of a negative thinker. But at some point he turned: he was forgiven; he turned positive although he understood all too well that he, we, the world must annihilate the Selfhood in order to reach Eternity.

Blake also used the term 'Spectre'; it too was to be annihilated.
In the poem, Milton, we hear from the mouth of 'Milton' speaking to his Spectre:
"Such are the .......Laws of Eternity, that each shall mutually
Annihilate himself for others' good, as I for thee. . . .

In Self annihilation all that is not of God alone,
To put off Self and all I have, ever & ever . . ." (Milton, Plate 39; Erdman 139)

And "The Negation is the Spectre, the Reasoning Power in Man:
This is a false Body, an Incrustation over my Immortal
Spirit, a Selfhood which must be put off & annihilated alway. " (Milton, Plate 40; Erdman 142)

Wikipedia Commons
Jerusalem
Plate 8

RECONCILATION

Matthew: Chapter 1

[18] Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
[19] Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.
[20] But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
[21] And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
[22] Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
[23] Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
[24] Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
[25] And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

___________________________________________________________

Jerusalem, PLATE 61, (E 211)
"Behold: in the Visions of Elohim Jehovah, behold Joseph & Mary   
And be comforted O Jerusalem in the Visions of Jehovah Elohim

She looked & saw Joseph the Carpenter in Nazareth & Mary
His espoused Wife. And Mary said, If thou put me away from thee
Dost thou not murder me? Joseph spoke in anger & fury. Should I  
Marry a Harlot & an Adulteress? Mary answerd, Art thou more pure
Than thy Maker who forgiveth Sins & calls again Her that is Lost
Tho She hates. he calls her again in love. I love my dear Joseph
But he driveth me away from his presence. yet I hear the voice of God
In the voice of my Husband. tho he is angry for a moment, he will not      
Utterly cast me away. if I were pure, never could I taste the sweets
Of the Forgive[ne]ss of Sins! if I were holy! I never could behold the tears
Of love! of him who loves me in the midst of his anger in furnace of fire.

Ah my Mary: said Joseph: weeping over & embracing her closely in
His arms: Doth he forgive Jerusalem & not exact Purity from her who is
Polluted. I heard his voice in my sleep O his Angel in my dream:

Saying, Doth Jehovah Forgive a Debt only on condition that it shall
Be Payed? Doth he Forgive Pollution only on conditions of Purity
That Debt is not Forgiven! That Pollution is not Forgiven
Such is the Forgiveness of the Gods, the Moral Virtues of the    
Heathen, whose tender Mercies are Cruelty. But Jehovahs Salvation
Is without Money & without Price, in the Continual Forgiveness of Sins
In the Perpetual Mutual Sacrifice in Great Eternity! for behold!
There is none that liveth & Sinneth not! And this is the Covenant
Of Jehovah: If you Forgive one-another, so shall Jehovah Forgive You:    
That He Himself may Dwell among You. Fear not then to take
To thee Mary thy Wife, for she is with Child by the Holy Ghost

Then Mary burst forth into a Song! she flowed like a River of
Many Streams in the arms of Joseph & gave forth her tears of joy"

Philadelphia Museum

Nativity

Biblical Illustration for Thomas Butts

1799 or 1800

Second Corinthians: Chapter 5

[17] Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
[18] And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
[19] To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Reconcilation

 From Chapter Nine of Ram Horn'd with Gold by Larry Clayton

New York Public Library

Milton

Plate 25

For five plates in 'Milton' Blake extols

the World of Los, the sum total of imaginative creation, the art,
the culture, the decency that has raised mankind at times, if on-
ly momentarily, above the satanic level of a universe groaning in
travail.

Milton, Plate 26 [28], (E 123)

"These are the Sons of Los, & these the Labourers of the Vintage
Thou seest the gorgeous clothed Flies that dance & sport in summer
Upon the sunny brooks & meadows: every one the dance
Knows in its intricate mazes of delight artful to weave: 
Each one to sound his instruments of music in the dance,      
To touch each other & recede; to cross & change & return
These are the Children of Los; thou seest the Trees on mountains
The wind blows heavy, loud they thunder thro' the darksom sky
Uttering prophecies & speaking instructive words to the sons
Of men: These are the Sons of Los! These the Visions of Eternity 

But we see only as it were the hem of their garments
When with our vegetable eyes we view these wond'rous Visions

...And every Natural Effect has a Spiritual Cause, and Not
A Natural: for a Natural Cause only seems, it is a Delusion 
 Of Ulro: & a ratio of the perishing Vegetable Memory."

This brief description of 'Milton' has only touched on
a few of the most essential meanings of a poem that contains a
thousand facets. But one other thing needs to be said about
'Milton'. Among all the hidden riches to be sought out there
emerges the realization that 'Milton' also represents a beginning
of Blake's reconciliation with the Church that had suffered his
violent enmity through the years. 

Blake had held the Church in
low regard for two reasons: First, it had too much blood on its
hands; Second, he had always understood how far the Church had
failed to be what it was called to. John Milton had also refused
to affiliate with worldly (in Blake's terminology 'satanic') or-
ganizations which called themselves the Church. Still as spirit-
ual leader of the English people Milton represented the best of
the English Church. Reconciliation with him was for Blake (among
other things) a symbolic first step in forgiving "God's people" for
failing to be that in the truest sense. 

So he joined Milton in
confession, in self annihilation, in the forgiveness which had be-
come his new and only abiding concept of the meaning of God. Like
Milton he remained outside the established Church, but he chose to
be buried with the Anglican order of worship!

BEATRICE & DANTE

Wikipedia Commons

Illustrations to Dante's Divine Comedy

Beatrice Addressing Dante

Dante stands on the right side of the Griffin which has the head and wings of an eagle, and the body of a lion. The Griffin represents the dual nature of Christ, man and God. The women represent the Christian virtues of hope (green), charity (red) and faith (white). The four encircled heads stand for the four gospel writers: Matthew the man, Mark the lion, Luke the ox, and John the eagle. Beatrice delivers her message from the chariot. In the Book of Ezekiel the four living creatures are covered with eyes all around. The Book of Revelation tells us:

4:8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. 

In this section Beatrice addresses Dante after his guide Virgil has been left behind.

Canto 29

50 “Dante, though Virgil’s leaving you, do not
yet weep, do not weep yet; you’ll need your tears
for what another sword must yet inflict.”

73 “Look here! For I am Beatrice, I am!
How were you able to ascend the mountain?
Did you not know that man is happy here?”

My lowered eyes caught sight of the clear stream,
but when I saw myself reflected there,
such shame weighed on my brow, my eyes drew back

and toward the grass; just as a mother seems
harsh to her child, so did she seem to me—
how bitter is the savor of stern pity!

100 Still standing motionless upon the left
side of the chariot, she then addressed
the angels who had been compassionate:

“You are awake in never—ending day,
and neither night nor sleep can steal from you
one step the world would take along its way;

therefore, I’m more concerned that my reply
be understood by him who weeps beyond,
so that his sorrow’s measure match his sin.

121 My countenance sustained him for a while;
showing my youthful eyes to him, I led
him with me toward the way of righteousness.

As soon as I, upon the threshold of
my second age, had changed my life, he took
himself away from me and followed after

another; when, from flesh to spirit, I
had risen, and my goodness and my beauty
had grown, I was less dear to him, less welcome:

he turned his footsteps toward an untrue path;
he followed counterfeits of goodness, which
will never pay in full what they have promised.

136 He fell so far there were no other means
to lead him to salvation, except this:
to let him see the people who were lost.

For this I visited the gateway of
the dead; to him who guided him above
my prayers were offered even as I wept.

The deep design of God would have been broken
if Lethe had been crossed and he had drunk
such waters but had not discharged the debt
of penitence that’s paid when tears are shed.”

---

This is what Blake has to say about sin, repentance, vengeance, and forgiveness.

Jerusalem, Plate 77, (E 232) 

"But Jesus is the bright Preacher of Life
Creating Nature from this fiery Law,
By self-denial & forgiveness of Sin.

Go therefore, cast out devils in Christs name
Heal thou the sick of spiritual disease           
Pity the evil, for thou art not sent
To smite with terror & with punishments
Those that are sick, like the Pharisees
Crucifying &,encompassing sea & land
For proselytes to tyranny & wrath,                
But to the Publicans & Harlots go!
Teach them True Happiness, but let no curse
Go forth out of thy mouth to blight their peace
For Hell is opend to heaven; thine eyes beheld
The dungeons burst & the Prisoners set free." 

Jerusalem, Plate 25, (E 170)

"Why did you take Vengeance O ye Sons of the mighty Albion?
Planting these Oaken Groves: Erecting these Dragon Temples
Injury the Lord heals but Vengeance cannot be healed:            
As the Sons of Albion have done to Luvah: so they have in him
Done to the Divine Lord & Saviour, who suffers with those that suffer:
For not one sparrow can suffer, & the whole Universe not suffer also,
In all its Regions, & its Father & Saviour not pity and weep.
But Vengeance is the destroyer of Grace & Repentance in the bosom
Of the Injurer: in which the Divine Lamb is cruelly slain:
Descend O Lamb of God & take away the imputation of Sin
By the Creation of States & the deliverance of Individuals Evermore Amen"

Jerusalem, Plate 61, (E 211)
"Behold: in the Visions of Elohim Jehovah, behold Joseph & Mary   
And be comforted O Jerusalem in the Visions of Jehovah Elohim

She looked & saw Joseph the Carpenter in Nazareth & Mary
His espoused Wife. And Mary said, If thou put me away from thee
Dost thou not murder me? Joseph spoke in anger & fury. Should I  
Marry a Harlot & an Adulteress? Mary answerd, Art thou more pure
Than thy Maker who forgiveth Sins & calls again Her that is Lost
Tho She hates. he calls her again in love. I love my dear Joseph
But he driveth me away from his presence. yet I hear the voice of God
In the voice of my Husband. tho he is angry for a moment, he will not      
Utterly cast me away. if I were pure, never could I taste the sweets
Of the Forgiveness of Sins! if I were holy! I never could behold the tears
Of love! of him who loves me in the midst of his anger in furnace of fire.

Ah my Mary: said Joseph: weeping over & embracing her closely in
His arms: Doth he forgive Jerusalem & not exact Purity from her who is
Polluted. I heard his voice in my sleep O his Angel in my dream:

Saying, Doth Jehovah Forgive a Debt only on condition that it shall
Be Payed? Doth he Forgive Pollution only on conditions of Purity
That Debt is not Forgiven! That Pollution is not Forgiven
Such is the Forgiveness of the Gods, the Moral Virtues of the    
Heathen, whose tender Mercies are Cruelty. But Jehovahs Salvation
Is without Money & without Price, in the Continual Forgiveness of Sins
In the Perpetual Mutual Sacrifice in Great Eternity! for behold!
There is none that liveth & Sinneth not! And this is the Covenant
Of Jehovah: If you Forgive one-another, so shall Jehovah Forgive You:    
That He Himself may Dwell among You. Fear not then to take
To thee Mary thy Wife, for she is with Child by the Holy Ghost

Then Mary burst forth into a Song! she flowed like a River of
Many Streams in the arms of Joseph & gave forth her tears of joy
Like many waters, and Emanating into gardens & palaces upon
Euphrates & to forests & floods & animals wild & tame from
Gihon to Hiddekel, & to corn fields & villages & inhabitants
Upon Pison & Arnon & Jordan. And I heard the voice among
The Reapers Saying, Am I Jerusalem the lost Adulteress? or am I
Babylon come up to Jerusalem? And another voice answerd Saying   

Does the voice of my Lord call me again? am I pure thro his Mercy
And Pity. Am I become lovely as a Virgin in his sight who am
Indeed a Harlot drunken with the Sacrifice of Idols does he
Call her pure as he did in the days of her Infancy when She
Was cast out to the loathing of her person. The Chaldean took
Me from my Cradle. The Amalekite stole me away upon his Camels
Before I had ever beheld with love the Face of Jehovah; or known
That there was a God of Mercy: O Mercy O Divine Humanity!
O Forgiveness & Pity & Compassion! If I were Pure I should never
Have known Thee; If I were Unpolluted I should never have        
Glorified thy Holiness, or rejoiced in thy great Salvation.

Mary leaned her side against Jerusalem, Jerusalem recieved
The Infant into her hands in the Visions of Jehovah. Times passed on
Jerusalem fainted over the Cross & Sepulcher She heard the voice
Wilt thou make Rome thy Patriarch Druid & the Kings of Europe his
Horsemen? Man in the Resurrection changes his Sexual Garments at will
Every Harlot was once a Virgin: every Criminal an Infant Love!

PLATE 62
Repose on me till the morning of the Grave. I am thy life."

13 QUOTES FORGIVENESS

Wikipedia
Song of Los 
Copy c, Frontispiece  

Jerusalem, Plate 49, (E 199) 

"Learn therefore O Sisters to distinguish the Eternal Human
That walks about among the stones of fire in bliss & woe
Alternate! from those States or Worlds in which the Spirit travels:
This is the only means to Forgiveness of Enemies"

* 

Jerusalem Plate 52, (E 201) 

"The Glory of Christianity is, To
Conquer by Forgiveness." 

* 

Milton, Plate 38 [43], (E 139) 

"Satan! my Spectre! I know my power thee to annihilate
And be a greater in thy place, & be thy Tabernacle               
A covering for thee to do thy will, till one greater comes
And smites me as I smote thee & becomes my covering.
Such are the Laws of thy false Heavns! but Laws of Eternity
Are not such: know thou: I come to Self Annihilation
Such are the Laws of Eternity that each shall mutually     
Annihilate himself for others good, as I for thee."  

* 

Jerusalem, Plate 22, (E 168) 

"Why should Punishment Weave the Veil with Iron Wheels of War
When Forgiveness might it Weave with Wings of Cherubim"

* 

Jerusalem, Plate 52, (E 201) 

"Friendship cannot exist without Forgiveness
of Sins continually."

* 

Jerusalem, Plate 53, (E 204) 

"In Great Eternity, every particular Form gives forth or Emanates
Its own peculiar Light, & the Form is the Divine Vision
And the Light is his Garment This is Jerusalem in every Man
A Tent & Tabernacle of Mutual Forgiveness Male & Female Clothings.
And Jerusalem is called Liberty among the Children of Albion"  

*

Jerusalem, Plate 61, (E 201) 

"But Jehovahs Salvation
Is without Money & without Price, in the Continual Forgiveness of Sins
In the Perpetual Mutual Sacrifice in Great Eternity! for behold!
There is none that liveth & Sinneth not! And this is the Covenant
Of Jehovah: If you Forgive one-another, so shall Jehovah Forgive You:    
That He Himself may Dwell among You."

*

Jerusalem, Plate 64, (E 215)

"Without Forgiveness of Sin Love is Itself Eternal Death"

*

Vision of Last Judgment, (E 564) 

   "Forgiveness of Sin is only at the Judgment Seat of Jesus the
Saviour where the Accuser is cast out. not because he Sins but
because he torments the Just & makes them do what he condemns as
Sin & what he knows is opposite to their own Identity" 

*

Annotations, Apology to Watson, (E 619) 

 "The Gospel is Forgiveness of Sins & has No Moral Precepts
these belong to Plato & Seneca & Nero"

*

Inscriptions, Illustrations to Dante (E 690) 

 "Whatever Book is for Vengeance for Sin & whatever Book is
Against the Forgiveness of Sins is not of the Father but of Satan
the Accuser & Father of Hell"

*

Everlasting Gospel, Textural Notes, Page 1,(E 875) 

"There is not one Moral Virtue that Jesus Inculcated but Plato &
Cicero did Inculcate before him what then did Christ Inculcate. 
Forgiveness of Sins This alone is the Gospel & this is the Life &
Immortality brought to light by Jesus." 

*

Everlasting Gospel, Textural  Notes, (E 876) 

"It was when Jesus said to Me
     Thy Sins are all forgiven thee
     The Christian trumpets loud proclaim
     Thro all the World in Jesus name
     Mutual forgiveness of each Vice
     And oped the Gates of Paradise"

CONTINUAL FORGIVENESS

First Posted Sept 2017.

Wikimedia Commons 

Songs of Innocence & of Experience 

Plate 49

Songs of Innocence & of Experience, (E 28)
SONGS 49 
"A POISON TREE.    

I was angry with my friend;
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.

And I waterd it in fears,
Night & morning with my tears:
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.

And it grew both day and night.
Till it bore an apple bright.
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine.

And into my garden stole,
When the night had veild the pole;
In the morning glad I see;
My foe outstretchd beneath the tree." 

Ephesians 4

[31] Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour,
and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
[32] And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving
    one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Luke 7
[47] Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
[48] And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.
 
Forgiveness is a two edged sword. One edge enables us to seek and accept forgiveness for the harm we do. The other edge enables us to forgive those who have done harm to us. In this world it is inadvertent that in our Selfhood we cause harm to come to others, but that we also endure the "slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" that Shakespeare eludes to in Hamlet. The irony is that if we hold onto consciousness of the injuries we endure, we cannot accept the forgiving healing from others for the harm we have done to them.

Matthew 5
[23] Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
[24] Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

Hamlet by William Shakespeare
"Whether 'tis  nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take Arms against a Sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them: to die, to sleep
No more; and by a sleep, to say we end
the heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks
that Flesh is heir to?"
 
The experience of forgiveness functions on two levels: between Man and Man and between God and Man. Forgiveness is essential to maintain the Brotherhood of Man by removing the barriers which grow because of the unhealed wounds which we endure and inflict on one another. It is essential too for maintaining an open channel between Man and the Divine; between the individual Soul and the Infinite Eternal Divine Presence in whom all live. Blake wrote "Throughout all Eternity I forgive you, You forgive me, So the dear redeemer said, This the wine & this the bread." This is a statement addressed to God, acknowledging that Man's suffering is not all because of his own or his Brothers' failing, but the suffering of Man results from how God has constructed the world. Blake's insight was that the process of forgiveness in Man's relationship with God, both giving and receiving it, fed the spiritual and physical needs of man.

Songs & Ballads, (E 477)
"Throughout all Eternity    
I forgive you you forgive me
As our dear Redeemer said                                   
This the Wine & this the Bread    

Milton, Plate 26 [28], (E 124) 
"In Bowlahoola; & as the Spectres choose their affinities
So they are born on Earth, & every Class is determinate
But not by Natural but by Spiritual power alone, Because         
The Natural power continually seeks & tends to Destruction
Ending in Death: which would of itself be Eternal Death
And all are Class'd by Spiritual, & not by Natural power.

And every Natural Effect has a Spiritual Cause, and Not
A Natural: for a Natural Cause only seems, it is a Delusion      
Of Ulro: & a ratio of the perishing Vegetable Memory."

Jerusalem, Plate 3, (E 145)
"The Spirit of Jesus is continual forgiveness of Sin: he who
waits to be righteous before he enters into the Saviours kingdom,the Divine 
Body; will never enter there. I am perhaps the most sinful of men! I 
pretend not to holiness! yet I pretend to love, to see, to converse with 
daily, as man with man, & the more to have an interest in the Friend 
of Sinners. Therefore [Dear] Reader, [forgive] what you do not
approve, & [love] me for this energetic exertion of
my talent."

Jerusalem, Plate 49, (E 199)
"Remove from Albion, far remove these terrible surfaces.
They are beginning to form Heavens & Hells in immense

Circles: the Hells for food to the Heavens: food of torment,
Food of despair: they drink the condemnd Soul & rejoice
In cruel holiness, in their Heavens of Chastity & Uncircumcision
Yet they are blameless & Iniquity must be imputed only           
To the State they are enterd into that they may be deliverd:
Satan is the State of Death, & not a Human existence:
But Luvah is named Satan, because he has enterd that State.
A World where Man is by Nature the enemy of Man
Because the Evil is Created into a State. that Men               
May be deliverd time after time evermore. Amen.
Learn therefore O Sisters to distinguish the Eternal Human
That walks about among the stones of fire in bliss & woe
Alternate! from those States or Worlds in which the Spirit travels:
This is the only means to Forgiveness of Enemies[.]              
Therefore remove from Albion these terrible Surfaces.

Jerusalem, Plate 52, (E 201)
"Rousseau thought Men Good by Nature; he found them Evil
& found no friend.  Friendship cannot exist without Forgiveness
of Sins continually.  The Book written by Rousseau calld his
Confessions is an apology & cloke for his sin & not a confession.
  But you also charge the poor Monks & Religious with being the
causes of War: while you acquit & flatter the Alexanders &
Caesars, the Lewis's & Fredericks: who alone are its causes & its
actors.  But the Religion of Jesus, Forgiveness of Sin, can never
be the cause of a War nor of a single Martyrdom.
  Those who Martyr others or who cause War are Deists, but never
can be Forgivers of Sin.  The Glory of Christianity is, To
Conquer by Forgiveness.  All the Destruction therefore, in
Christian Europe has arisen from Deism, which is Natural
Religion." 

Jerusalem, Plate 61, (E 211)
"I heard his voice in my sleep O his Angel in my dream:
Saying, Doth Jehovah Forgive a Debt only on condition that it shall
Be Payed? Doth he Forgive Pollution only on conditions of Purity
That Debt is not Forgiven! That Pollution is not Forgiven
Such is the Forgiveness of the Gods, the Moral Virtues of the    
Heathen, whose tender Mercies are Cruelty. But Jehovahs Salvation
Is without Money & without Price, in the Continual Forgiveness of Sins
In the Perpetual Mutual Sacrifice in Great Eternity! for behold!
There is none that liveth & Sinneth not! And this is the Covenant
Of Jehovah: If you Forgive one-another, so shall Jehovah Forgive You:    
That He Himself may Dwell among You." 

From The Everlasting Mercy by John Masefield
 

"The corn that makes the holy bread   
By which the soul of man is fed,   
The holy bread, the food unpriced,   

Thy everlasting mercy, Christ." 

 

BLAKE'S UTOPIA

British Museum
A Pastoral Scene
c.1780-1785

From William Blake's Circle of Destiny, Milton O Percival, Page 290

"Urizen tried to build a paradise - the Mundane Shell - in which the selfish interests would be controlled by the moral law, but it fell to pieces. It must always be so. The reorganization of society on the basis of spiritual planning is better than the moral jungle of unmitigated selfhood, but it cannot provide the paradise of which Blake dreamed. The quality of mercy is not strained; if it does not fall like the gentle dew from heaven it has little reviving power. This truth separates Blake's Utopia from those of his and our time, and makes its realization theoretically possible but practically improbable. Though his faith looks forward to social regeneration, Blake is under no illusion concerning the magnitude of the task. Changes in the external situation are stopgaps at best. The Kingdom of Heaven is the sum of Christ-like individuals. It grows in exact proportion as they multiply...

Los cries: 'I care not whether a man is good or evil; all I care is whether he is a wise man or a fool.' If the eye is opened, the heart is more easily subdued. Under some great prophetic movement this indeterminate class of people might have their blind eyes opened, and their obdurate hearts broken. The crying need is for more prophets crying in the wilderness.

Finally, this God is inescapable. He is within the breast, however much obscured. Into whatever abyss of ignorance and selfishness and despair man may fall, this God falls with him, becoming as we are that we may be as his is. He is ever struggling to become manifest. Wherever Los lifts his hammer, there God is. He is the living God whom we may serve without hope of heaven as a reward or fear of hell as a punishment, but because to serve him is to participate in God."

---

I take the following passage to be saying that God has made both the heavenly realm and the earthly realm. These two worlds are interconnected although their characteristics differ. Those in either world are aware of those in the other world and their experiences are parallel. From the point of view of God the two worlds are working together. But something went wrong. When punishment for sins became the connecting link between God and man - between heaven and earth - the system broke down. Unless the Covenant with Jehovah incorporates Mutual Forgiveness, the Kingdoms of the World take charge. However when all the Living Creatures of the earth cry out from their true identities they will awake to Life in Immortality. 

Jerusalem, Plate 98, (E 257)

"The Four Living Creatures Chariots of Humanity Divine Incomprehensible 
In beautiful Paradises expand These are the Four Rivers of Paradise   
And the Four Faces of Humanity fronting the Four Cardinal Points
Of Heaven going forward forward irresistible from Eternity to Eternity

And they conversed together in Visionary forms dramatic which bright
Redounded from their Tongues in thunderous majesty, in Visions
In new Expanses, creating exemplars of Memory and of Intellect  
Creating Space, Creating Time according to the wonders Divine
Of Human Imagination, throughout all the Three Regions immense
Of Childhood, Manhood & Old Age[;] & the all tremendous unfathomable Non Ens
Of Death was seen in regenerations terrific or complacent varying                                                    t
According to the subject of discourse & every Word & Every Character
Was Human according to the Expansion or Contraction, the Translucence or
Opakeness of Nervous fibres such was the variation of Time & Space
Which vary according as the Organs of Perception vary & they walked
To & fro in Eternity as One Man reflecting each in each & clearly seen
And seeing: according to fitness & order. And I heard Jehovah speak 
Terrific from his Holy Place & saw the Words of the Mutual Covenant Divine
On Chariots of gold & jewels with Living Creatures starry & flaming
With every Colour, Lion, Tyger, Horse, Elephant, Eagle Dove, Fly, Worm,
And the all wondrous Serpent clothed in gems & rich array Humanize
In the Forgiveness of Sins according to the Covenant of Jehovah. 
Where is the Covenant of Priam, the Moral Virtues of the Heathen
Where is the Tree of Good & Evil that rooted beneath the cruel heel
Of Albions Spectre the Patriarch Druid! where are all his Human Sacrifices
For Sin in War & in the Druid Temples of the Accuser of Sin: beneath
The Oak Groves of Albion that coverd the whole Earth beneath his Spectre
Where are the Kingdoms of the World & all their glory that grew on Desolation
The Fruit of Albions Poverty Tree when the Triple Headed Gog-Magog Giant
Of Albion Taxed the Nations into Desolation & then gave the Spectrous Oath

Such is the Cry from all the Earth from the Living Creatures of the Earth
And from the great City of Golgonooza in the Shadowy Generation 
And from the Thirty-two Nations of the Earth among the Living Creatures
Plate 99
All Human Forms identified even Tree Metal Earth & Stone. all
Human Forms identified, living going forth & returning wearied
Into the Planetary lives of Years Months Days & Hours reposing
And then Awaking into his Bosom in the Life of Immortality."

 Milton, Plate 11, [12],(E 105)

"And it was enquir'd: Why in a Great Solemn Assembly           
The Innocent should be condemn'd for the Guilty? Then an Eternal rose

Saying. If the Guilty should be condemn'd, he must be an Eternal Death
And one must die for another throughout all Eternity.
Satan is fall'n from his station & never can be redeem'd
But must be new created continually moment by moment          
And therefore the Class of Satan shall be calld the Elect, & those
Of Rintrah. the Reprobate, & those of Palamabron the Redeem'd
For he is redeem'd from Satans Law, the wrath falling on Rintrah,
And therefore Palamabron dared not to call a solemn Assembly
Till Satan had assum'd Rintrahs wrath in the day of mourning   
In a feminine delusion of false pride self-deciev'd.
So spake the Eternal and confirm'd it with a thunderous oath"

Milton, Plate 14 [15], (E 108)

"Then Milton rose up from the heavens of Albion ardorous!         
The whole Assembly wept prophetic, seeing in Miltons face
And in his lineaments divine the shades of Death & Ulro
He took off the robe of the promise, & ungirded himself from the oath of God

And Milton said, I go to Eternal Death! The Nations still
Follow after the detestable Gods of Priam; in pomp               
Of warlike selfhood, contradicting and blaspheming.
When will the Resurrection come; to deliver the sleeping body
From corruptibility: O when Lord Jesus wilt thou come?
Tarry no longer; for my soul lies at the gates of death.
I will arise and look forth for the morning of the grave.       
I will go down to the sepulcher to see if morning breaks!
I will go down to self annihilation and eternal death,
Lest the Last Judgment come & find me unannihilate
And I be siez'd & giv'n into the hands of my own Selfhood
The Lamb of God is seen thro' mists & shadows, hov'ring          
Over the sepulchers in clouds of Jehovah & winds of Elohim
A disk of blood, distant; & heav'ns & earth's roll dark between
What do I here before the Judgment? without my Emanation?
With the daughters of memory, & not with the daughters inspiration?
I in my Selfhood am that Satan: I am that Evil One!              
He is my Spectre! in my obedience to loose him from my Hells
To claim the Hells, my Furnaces, I go to Eternal Death." 

Jerusalem, Plate 36 [40], (E 181)
"Los shudder'd at beholding Albion, for his disease
Arose upon him pale and ghastly: and he call'd around
The Friends of Albion: trembling at the sight of Eternal Death
The four appear'd with their Emanations in fiery
Chariots: black their fires roll beholding Albions house of Eternity               
Damp couch the flames beneath and silent, sick, stand shuddering
Before the Porch of sixteen pillars: weeping every one
Descended and fell down upon their knees round Albions knees,
Swearing the Oath of God! with awful voice of thunders round
Upon the hills & valleys, and the cloudy Oath roll'd far and wide

Albion is sick! said every Valley, every mournful Hill
And every River: our brother Albion is sick to death.
He hath leagued himself with robbers! he hath studied the arts
Of unbelief! Envy hovers over him! his Friends are his abhorrence!
Those who give their lives for him are despised!                 
Those who devour his soul, are taken into his bosom!
To destroy his Emanation is their intention:
Arise! awake O Friends of the Giant Albion
They have perswaded him of horrible falshoods!
They have sown errors over all his fruitful fields!              

The Twenty-four heard! they came trembling on watry chariots.
Borne by the Living Creatures of the third procession
Of Human Majesty, the Living Creatures wept aloud as they
Went along Albions roads, till they arriv'd at Albions House.

O! how the torments of Eternal Death, waited on Man:     
And the loud-rending bars of the Creation ready to burst:
That the wide world might fly from its hinges, & the immortal mansion
Of Man, for ever be possess'd by monsters of the deeps:
And Man himself become a Fiend, wrap'd in an endless curse,
Consuming and consum'd for-ever in flames of Moral Justice." 

Ghost of Abel, Plate 2, (E 271) 

"The Elohim of the Heathen Swore Vengeance for Sin! Then Thou stoodst
Forth O Elohim Jehovah! in the midst of the darkness of the Oath! All Clothed
In Thy Covenant of the Forgiveness of Sins: Death O Holy! Is this Brotherhood
The Elohim saw their Oath Eternal Fire; they rolled apart trembling over The
Mercy Seat: each in his station fixt in the Firmament by Peace Brotherhood and Love." 

Four Zoas, Night II, PAGE 35, (E 324)
"I am made to sow the thistle for wheat; the nettle for a nourishing dainty
I have planted a false oath in the earth, it has brought forth a poison tree
I have chosen the serpent for a councellor & the dog
For a schoolmaster to my children"

Everlasting Gospel, (E 521)

"Thou Angel of the Presence Divine
That didst create this Body of Mine   
Wherefore has[t] thou writ these Laws
And Created Hells dark jaws
My Presence I will take from thee
A Cold Leper thou shalt be
Tho thou wast so pure & bright    
That Heaven was Impure in thy Sight 
Tho thy Oath turnd Heaven Pale
Tho thy Covenant built Hells Jail
Tho thou didst all to Chaos roll
With the Serpent for its soul     
Still the breath Divine does move
And the breath Divine is Love" 

Blake's Utopia depends on Mutual Forgiveness, Brotherhood, Inclusiveness, and Respect for the Presence of God in All.

MARY PONDERS

Wikipedia Commons

Milton's Paradise Regained

Plate 4

Blake's Illustration to Milton's Paradise Regained includes this image of Mary, the mother of Jesus, being looked over by angels. In Luke's gospel we read of the role which angels played in announcing the birth of Jesus. The angel Gabriel informed Mary that the Holy Ghost would come upon her and that her child would be called the Son of God.

When Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth who was to become the mother of John, she was moved to praise God for his blessings to his people. The gospel of Luke later tells us that "Mary kept all these things, [concerning the birth of Jesus] and pondered them in her heart."   

Blake used the story of the conception of Jesus to discuss the necessity of forgiveness to take place between Joseph and Mary. Blake is developing the theme that Jehovah's forgiveness is freely given with love. No qualification is required and no payment is expected. Blake saw this as the essential message Jesus delivered.

In Milton's Paradise Regained the narrative touched on Mary's reflections while Jesus was in the wilderness being tempted by Satan. Her thoughts went to the incident in the temple when Jesus was twelve years old. Even them his spiritual understanding astonished the teachers.

Luke 1

[37] For with God nothing shall be impossible.
[38] And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
[39] And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;
[40] And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.
[41] And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
[42] And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
[43] And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
[44] For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
[45] And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
[46] And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
[47] And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
[48] For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
[49] For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
[50] And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
[51] He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
[52] He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
[53] He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
[54] He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
[55] As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever. 

Luke 2

[45] And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.
[46] And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.
[47] And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers.

Jerusalem, Plate 61,(E 211)
"Behold: in the Visions of Elohim Jehovah, behold Joseph & Mary   
And be comforted O Jerusalem in the Visions of Jehovah Elohim

She looked & saw Joseph the Carpenter in Nazareth & Mary
His espoused Wife. And Mary said, If thou put me away from thee
Dost thou not murder me? Joseph spoke in anger & fury. Should I  
Marry a Harlot & an Adulteress? Mary answerd, Art thou more pure
Than thy Maker who forgiveth Sins & calls again Her that is Lost
Tho She hates. he calls her again in love. I love my dear Joseph
But he driveth me away from his presence. yet I hear the voice of God
In the voice of my Husband. tho he is angry for a moment, he will not      
Utterly cast me away. if I were pure, never could I taste the sweets
Of the Forgiveness of Sins! if I were holy! I never could behold the tears
Of love! of him who loves me in the midst of his anger in furnace of fire.

Ah my Mary: said Joseph: weeping over & embracing her closely in
His arms: Doth he forgive Jerusalem & not exact Purity from her who is
Polluted. I heard his voice in my sleep O his Angel in my dream:

Saying, Doth Jehovah Forgive a Debt only on condition that it shall
Be Payed? Doth he Forgive Pollution only on conditions of Purity
That Debt is not Forgiven! That Pollution is not Forgiven
Such is the Forgiveness of the Gods, the Moral Virtues of the    
Heathen, whose tender Mercies are Cruelty. But Jehovahs Salvation
Is without Money & without Price, in the Continual Forgiveness of sins
In the Perpetual Mutual Sacrifice in Great Eternity! for behold!
There is none that liveth & Sinneth not! And this is the Covenant
Of Jehovah: If you Forgive one-another, so shall Jehovah Forgive You:    
That He Himself may Dwell among You. Fear not then to take
To thee Mary thy Wife, for she is with Child by the Holy Ghost

Then Mary burst forth into a Song! she flowed like a River of
Many Streams in the arms of Joseph & gave forth her tears of joy"

Paradise Regained, Book 2, by John Milton

"Thus Mary pondering oft, and oft to mind [ 105 ]
Recalling what remarkably had pass'd
Since first her Salutation heard, with thoughts
Meekly compos'd awaited the fulfilling:
The while her Son tracing the Desert wild,
Sole but with holiest Meditations fed, [ 110 ]
Into himself descended, and at once
All his great work to come before him set;
How to begin, how to accomplish best
His end of being on Earth, and mission high:
For Satan with slye preface to return [ 115 ]
Had left him vacant, and with speed was gon
Up to the middle Region of thick Air,
Where all his Potentates in Council sate;
There without sign of boast, or sign of joy,
Sollicitous and blank he thus began. [ 120 ]

Book 4

To contemplation and profound dispute,
As by that early action may be judg'd, [ 215 ]
When slipping from thy Mothers eye thou went'st
Alone into the Temple; there was found
Among the gravest Rabbies disputant
On points and questions fitting Moses Chair,
Teaching not taught; the childhood shews the man, [ 220 ]
As morning shews the day. Be famous then
By wisdom; as thy Empire must extend,
So let extend thy mind o're all the world,
In knowledge, all things in it comprehend,
All knowledge is not couch't in Moses Law, [ 225]

_____________________ 

Hail Son of the most High, heir of both worlds,
Queller of Satan, on thy glorious work
Now enter, and begin to save mankind. [ 635 ]

Thus they the Son of God our Saviour meek
Sung Victor, and, from Heavenly Feast refresht
Brought on his way with joy; hee unobserv'd
Home to his Mothers house private return'd."

SIN & FORGIVENESS

First posted December 2010

Yale Center for British Art

Young's Night Thoughts

Page 73

 

Listen to Blake and the Bible commenting on Jesus, Sin, Error, Forgiveness, Satan and Judgment. These quotes from the two sources allow us to compare New Testament concepts and how similar ideas appear in Blake:

1)Jesus not the accuser (Satan) is our judge.

1John.2
[1] My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

Vision of the Last Judgment, (E 565)
"Forgiveness of Sin is only at the Judgment Seat of Jesus the
Saviour where the Accuser is cast out. not because he Sins but
because he torments the Just & makes them do what he condemns as
Sin & what he knows is opposite to their own Identity"

2) The accuser has no power over us.

Rev.12
[10] And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

Vision of the Last Judgment,(E 564)
"Christ comes
as he came at first to deliver those who were bound under the
Knave not to deliver the Knave He Comes to Deliver Man the
[Forgiven] not Satan the Accuser we do not
find any where that Satan is Accused of Sin he is only accused of
Unbelief & thereby drawing Man into Sin that he may accuse him.
Such is the Last Judgment a Deliverance from Satans Accusation
Satan thinks that Sin is displeasing to God he ought to know that
Nothing is displeasing to God but Unbelief & Eating of the Tree
of Knowledge of Good & Evil"

3) The light of Truth leads us to the new creation.

Acts.26
[18] To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. [PAUL]

Vision of the Last Judgment, (E 565)
"I will not Flatter them Error is
Created Truth is Eternal [,] Error or Creation will be Burned Up &
then & not till then Truth or Eternity will appear It is Burnt up
the Moment Men cease to behold it I assert for My self that I do
not behold the Outward Creation & that to me it is hindrance &
not Action it is as the Dirt upon my feet No part of Me."

4) Forgiveness of sins is God's will.

Matt.9
[2] And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.
[5] For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?
[6] But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.

Jerusalem, Plate 20, (E 165)
"Jerusalem answer'd with soft tears over the valleys.

O Vala what is Sin? that thou shudderest and weepest
At sight of thy once lov'd Jerusalem! What is Sin but a little
Error & fault that is soon forgiven; but mercy is not a Sin
Nor pity nor love nor kind forgiveness! O! if I have Sinned
Forgive & pity me! O! unfold thy Veil in mercy & love!
Slay not my little ones, beloved Virgin daughter of Babylon
Slay not my infant loves & graces, beautiful daughter of Moab"

5) The religion of Jesus practices mercy not vengeance.

Matt.23
[23] Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

Jerusalem, Plate 52, (E 201)
"Man must & will have Some Religion; if he has not the Religion
of Jesus, he will have the Religion of Satan, & will erect the
Synagogue of Satan. calling the Prince of this World, God; and
destroying all who do not worship Satan under the Name of God.
Will any one say: Where are those who worship Satan under the
Name of God! Where are they? Listen! Every Religion that Preaches
Vengeance for Sins the Religion of the Enemy & Avenger; and not
the Forgiver of Sin, and their God is Satan, Named by the Divine
Name Your Religion O Deists: Deism, is the Worship of the God
of this World by the means of what you call Natural Religion and
Natural Philosophy, and of Natural Morality or
Self-Righteousness, the Selfish Virtues of the Natural Heart.
This was the Religion of the Pharisees who murderd Jesus. Deism
is the same & ends in the same."

6) Practicing Forgiveness builds the Kingdom of God

Matthew 18
[21] Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
[22] Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

Jerusalem, Plate 77, (E 232)
"And remember: He who despises & mocks a Mental Gift in another;
calling it pride & selfishness & sin; mocks Jesus the giver of
every Mental Gift, which always appear to the ignorance-loving
Hypocrite, as Sins. but that which is a Sin in the sight of cruel
Man, is not so in the sight of our kind God.
Let every Christian as much as in him lies engage himself
openly & publicly before all the World in some Mental pursuit for
the Building up of Jerusalem "

The influence that the Bible had on shaping the mind of Blake led him to become a religious poet. He used the Christian metaphors in unique ways but always with the goal of opening the minds of men to the 'perception of the Infinite'.

 

FORGIVENESS OF SINS

William's book Forgiveness of Sins can be download along with He Came Down from Heaven from the site Faded Page. 

Charles Williams, a friend of C.S.Lewis, wrote a short book named The Forgiveness of Sins. In his chapter Forgiveness and Reconciliation he quoted passages from Blake to demonstrate the distinction between "the state of union to which forgiveness is a means and the opposite state." Although Williams agreed with Blake on many points, he seemed to disagree where Blake deviated from some orthodox church teachings, particularly in regard to complete absolution for the sinner.

I have added the locations where Blake's statements can be found in Erdman's The Complete Poetry and Prose of William Blake.

Charles Williams Wrote:

Jerusalem, Plate 34 [38], (E 179)

"the Eternal Vision, the Divine Similitude,
In loves and tears of brothers, sisters, sons, fathers, and friends,
Which if Man ceases to behold, he ceases to exist.
. . . Our wars are wars of life and wounds of love,
With intellectual spears and long winged arrows of thought."

We may or may not suffer from exterior things; from this
interior thing we must all suffer—or almost all. It is certainly
possible that a few holy souls may have been born already so
disposed to sanctity that their effort is natural and their growth
instinctive; they move happily into goodness, and their
regeneration seems to have been one with their generation;
but even they may have suffered more than they chose
or indeed were able to communicate. Their wounds were
hidden; their sensitiveness bled privately; they appeased
the rage of their companions in their own quietude, and no one
has done more than envy a celsitude more painful than anyone
knew. But for the rest of us, the ‘wounds of love’ mean a
sudden or a lingering death. The second death itself is indeed
but a choice in time; if we prefer it before our natural death, we
are taught that it may be salvation; if after, that it may be
eternal loss. The death of our Lord introduced that choice. He
who died in his natural life brought into our natural life the
possibility of the choice of a supernatural death and therefore
of a supernatural life; this is the life of faith.

Jerusalem, Plate 96, (E 256)

"Wouldst thou love one who never died
For thee, or ever die for one who had not died for thee?
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."

‘Man is Love.’ I do not remember the divine epigram
elsewhere. It is this which is the original part of all our life; to
divide it into natural and supernatural is a schism inevitable to
us, but an inevitability only as a means to unite or disunite the
common, the public thing. It is in our most private hearts that
the Republic is established, but our private hearts can force
themselves out of the Republic. We can refuse the maternity of
Love, the protectorate of Grace: intolerable and too certain
concession! and then? 

Jerusalem, Plate 47, (E 196)

"Hark! and Record the terrible wonder, that the Punisher
Mingles with his Victim’s Spectre, enslaved and tormented
To him whom he has murder’d, bound in vengeance and enmity.
Shudder not, but Write, and the hand of God will assist you."

The Sinner is for ever justified? no; perhaps Blake was indeed
heretical. Certainly the Republic is ambiguous, but the
humanitarian terror of punishment will not be more than a
Precursor, a Saint John Baptist there. It is the fashion
nowadays among many Christians to sneer at
humanitarianism and liberalism (in the political sense),
and this is natural because of the undue trust that has been
reposed in them. But ‘the lights of nature and faith’, wrote
John Donne, ‘are subordinate John Baptists to Christ’;
humanitarianism is a formula of prophecy. Pity is still half a
pagan virtue; compassion a Christian. To forgive is indeed
compassion, the suffering with another. To refuse to forgive is
to refuse that other as himself or herself; it is to prefer the
spectre of him, and to prefer a spectre is to be for ever lost. 

Jerusalem, Plate 45 [31], ( E 194)

"All things are so constructed
And builded by the Divine hand that the sinner shall always escape;
And he who takes vengeance alone is the criminal of Providence.
O Albion! If thou takest vengeance, if thou revengest thy wrongs,
Thou art for ever lost! What can I do to hinder the Sons
Of Albion from taking vengeance or how shall I them
persuade?"

To say that the sinner shall always escape is a rash definition.
Our Lord did not say so. But he did say that even the collection
of our just human debts was a very dangerous business; he did
say that we were to pray to be forgiven as—precisely as—we
forgive; he did say that the debts forgiven us reduced to
nonsense the debts owed to us. It is not therefore to read the
New Testament too rashly to see in it rather more than a
suggestion that, as far as we humanly are concerned, the sinner
will always escape. The Church may blame; it does not
condemn—at most it does but relegate the sinner to the Mercy
of God. The Republic may condemn; it must not blame
—the judge has no business to do more than pronounce
a sentence. We are not yet—perhaps in this world we shall
never be—in that ‘state’ when the judges themselves may
descend to be substitutes for the condemned and to endure in
their own persons the sentences they impose. But something
like this is already the habit of the Church, for the Church
mystically shares the vicarious sufferings of Christ. ‘The state
of the punisher is eternal death.’ In the Church this is so, for in
the Church he who takes vengeance is indeed already lost; he
is outside the Church, ‘outside which is no salvation’; he is
outside the City, where as Saint John saw, are dogs and
sorcerers and whoremongers, ‘and whoever loveth and maketh
a lie’. In the Church there is no punishment except when it is
invoked and as long as it is invoked; there is no punishment
except through and because of pardon. There indeed the holy
soul, aware at once of pardon and celestial vengeance, may
sigh: ‘Both! both!’—too far beyond our vision to be more than
momently comprehensible, and only at moments desirable. But
it has been declared that the scars of Christ, the wounds of
Love, are glorious in heaven; and the justice of God glorifies
the scars of Man who is also Love. The alternative?

Jerusalem, Plate 38 [43], (E 185)

"Instead of the Mutual Forgiveness, the Minute Particulars, I see
Pits of bitumen ever burning, artificial riches of the Canaanite
Like Lakes of liquid lead; instead of heavenly Chapels, built
By our dear Lord, I see Worlds crusted with snows and ice.
I see a Wicker Idol woven round Jerusalem’s children. I see
The Canaanite, the Amalekite, the Moabite, the Egyptian . . .
Driven on the Void in incoherent despair into Non Entity."

Blake put the same vision more positively and more simply in
one of the shorter poems:

Songs and Ballads, My Spectre, (E 476)

"Thus through all eternity
I forgive you, you forgive me:
As our dear Redeemer said:
This the Wine and this the Bread."

The orthodox Christian need not reject that quatrain. If our
Lord was indeed the very Person of forgiveness, then
certainly it is the very passion of forgiveness which is
communicated in the Eucharist; it is a mutuality between God
and man which is also expressed between man and man. To
feed on that with a grudge or a resentment present in the brain,
or still lingering in the blood below the brain, is to reject the
divine Food that is swallowed; it is not only to set schism
between the body and the soul but literally in the body itself.
All things are finally worked out in the body; all mysteries are
there manifested, even if still as mysteries. It is the only
crucible of the great experiment; its innocent, even if debased,
purity endures the most difficult transmutations of the soul. 
...
The whole state of forgiveness must be whole; it is a state of
being into which we grow and not a series of acts which we
exercise, though (to repeat) we must exercise those acts in
faith. Say, 'Do not do;' and add, 'And then do.' The
supernatural is the birth of action in the death of action.

"O point of mutual forgiveness between enemies,
Birthplace of the Lamb of God incomprehensible!" 

End for passages from Charles Williams. 

_____________________

Yale Center for British Art

Jerusalem

Plate 87

Jerusalem, Plate 7, (E 150)

"O that I could abstain from wrath! O that the Lamb
Of God would look upon me and pity me in my fury.                
In anguish of regeneration! in terrors of self annihilation:
Pity must join together those whom wrath has torn in sunder,
And the Religion of Generation which was meant for the destruction
Of Jerusalem, become her covering, till the time of the End.
O holy Generation! [Image] of regeneration!  
O point of mutual forgiveness between Enemies!
Birthplace of the Lamb of God incomprehensible!
The Dead despise & scorn thee, & cast thee out as accursed:
Seeing the Lamb of God in thy gardens & thy palaces:
Where they desire to place the Abomination of Desolation."