The Blake Way
I'm currently going through the works of William Blake for the first time.
Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker born in 1757. Central to his thinking were concepts concerning imagination and spirituality. He rejected materialism and what he saw as the corrupting influences of society, religious authority, and industry.
Multiple sources state that Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790s) is a good place to start.
In the work, Blake presents a non-traditional concept of Hell. It’s not a place of damnation, but rather a realm of passion, creativity, imagination, and energy. This is contrasted with Heaven, which is presented as a restrictive and passive place.
Core to Blake's argument is that without these two opposing realms, there can be no development. A line from the opening section of the work reads:
Without Contraries is no progression.
In Blake's view, good and evil are both necessary for human progress, and attempts to separate or suppress evil in our lives lead to stagnation, and perhaps a 'bursting out' of impulsive, unconscious behaviour. The Marriage of Heaven and Hell argues for an integration of these opposites.
The first element of the short work that really resonated with me is titled Proverbs of Hell. It's composed of fascinatingly provocative and contradictory maxims.
The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom.
I've considered the idea behind this line before. It highlights that even if your desires are egoic, excessive, possibly damaging, there may be a great deal to learn from the outcome of pursuing these desires, even if it ends negatively in the short term. The desire, good or ill, is something dwelling within you. And in order for it to be fully integrated, it must be given its due, i.e., brought to the level of conscious awareness, and experienced head-on.
It ties in with a number of other maxims in this section: You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough, and He who desires but acts not, breeds pestilence.
From this perspective, if I think back to some of my adversities, I quickly realise I am grateful for most; appreciative of the wisdom they imparted.
Blake's lines argue for pushing boundaries, for experiencing life fully, even to excess, as a means of gaining true understanding. It's a distinctly human, humble, and honest approach to life that I like to think of as ‘The Blake Way’.
This phrase "He who desires but acts not, breeds pestilence" resumes the contemporary road to anguish and sadness. The disconnection from the true self.
Beautiful. 🤩
You, my friend are always interesting. Excess leads to overkill, too much of a good thing, in many instances, leads to boredom and boredom can become contagious. Happens to me anyway. Love your posts. Charles