Saturday 20 August 2016

The Fundamental Interconnectedness of All Things





"Let us think the unthinkable, let us do the undoable, let us prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all."


Auguries Of Innocence 
By 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 Red breast in a Cage 
Puts all Heaven in a Rage. 
A dove house fill'd with doves & Pigeons 
Shudders Hell thro' all its regions. 
A dog starv'd at his Master's Gate 
Predicts the ruin of the State. 
A Horse misus'd 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 clipp'd and arm'd for fight 
Does the Rising Sun affright. 
Every Wolf's & Lion's howl 
Raises from Hell a Human Soul. 
The wild deer, wand'ring here & 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 Catterpillar 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 & Widow's Cat, 
Feed them & thou wilt grow fat. 
The Gnat that sings his Summer's song 
Poison gets from Slander's tongue. 
The poison of the Snake & Newt 
Is the sweat of Envy's Foot. 
The poison of the Honey Bee 
Is the Artist's Jealousy. 
The Prince's Robes & Beggars' 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 & Woe; 
And when this we rightly know 
Thro' the World we safely go. 
Joy & Woe are woven fine, 
A Clothing for the Soul divine; 
Under every grief & pine 
Runs a joy with silken twine. 
The Babe is more than swadling Bands; 
Throughout all these Human Lands 
Tools were made, & born were hands, 
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 & 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 & 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 Labrer's hands 
Shall buy & sell the Miser's lands: 
Or, if protected from on high, 
Does that whole Nation sell & buy. 
He who mocks the Infant's Faith 
Shall be mock'd in Age & Death. 
He who shall teach the Child to Doubt 
The rotting Grave shall ne'er get out. 
He who respects the Infant's faith 
Triumph's over Hell & Death. 
The Child's Toys & 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 the Armour's iron brace. 
When Gold & 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 & 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 & 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 & Gambler, by the State
Licenc'd, 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 & every Morn 
Some to Misery are Born. 
Every Morn & every Night 
Some are Born to sweet Delight. 
Some ar 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 & God is Light 
To those poor Souls who dwell in the Night, 
But does a Human Form Display 
To those who Dwell in Realms of day.


"He died … in a most glorious manner. He said He was going to that Country he had all His life wished to see & expressed Himself Happy, hoping for Salvation through Jesus Christ – Just before he died His Countenance became fair. His eyes Brighten’d and he burst out Singing of the things he saw in Heaven"

"What was the Sherlock Holmes principle? 

'Once you have discounted the impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.'

I reject that entirely. The impossible often has a kind of integrity to it which the merely improbable lacks. 

How often have you been presented with an apparently rational explanation of something that works in all respects other than one, which is just that it is hopelessly improbable? 

Your instinct is to say 'Yes, but he or she simply wouldn't do that.' "

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