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The Human Abstract
by: William Blake (1757-1827)
Pity
would be no more
If we did not make somebody poor,
And
Mercy
no more could be
If all were as happy as we.
And mutual fear brings
Peace
,
Till the selfish loves increase;
Then Cruelty knits a snare,
And spreads his baits with care.
He sits down with his holy fears,
And waters the ground with tears;
Then
Humility
takes its root
Underneath his foot.
Soon spreads the dismal shade
Of Mystery over his head,
And the caterpillar and fly
Feed on the Mystery.
And it bears the fruit of Deceit,
Ruddy and sweet to eat,
And the raven his nest has made
In its thickest shade.
The gods of the earth and sea
Sought through nature to find this
tree
,
But their search was all in vain:
There grows one in the human Brain.
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poems by William Blake