The poem
You don't believe -- I won't attempt to make ye: You are asleep -- I won't attempt to wake ye. Sleep on! sleep on! while in your pleasant dreams Of Reason you may drink of Life's clear streams. Reason and Newton, they are quite two things; For so the swallow and the sparrow sings.
Reason says `Miracle': Newton says `Doubt.' Aye! that's the way to make all Nature out. `Doubt, doubt, and don't believe without experiment': That is the very thing that Jesus meant, When He said `Only believe! believe and try! Try, try, and never mind the reason why!'
nobodaddy c.1793, William Blake's derisive name for the anthropomorphic God of Christianity. This poem is from the private musings of Blake, known as the Notebook, or the "Rossetti Manuscript". This poem presents science and Faith (Reason) on opposite sides. What's interesting is that Jesus is quoted; "Only believe! Believe and try!" At first glance, the meaning is--hey, continue to be asleep and be lulled by what…
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c.1793, William Blake's derisive name for the anthropomorphic God of Christianity. This poem is from the private musings of Blake, known as the Notebook, or the "Rossetti Manuscript". This poem presents science and Faith (Reason) on opposite sides. What's interesting is that Jesus is quoted; "Only believe! Believe and try!" At first glance, the meaning is--hey, continue to be asleep and be lulled by what science is trying to make you believe, and yet, with further reading,I began to wonder--is faith really lacking if one wants to question/doubt something? Blake rebels against the established religion of the time, and considers himself the "voice of reason" through his words and illustrations. He is a seer, a prophet. So, is this poem encouraging the questioning of what is "common knowledge"? "That is the very thing that Jesus meant" is what got me. On the surface the birds (swallow and the sparrow) sing that Reason and Newton are "quite two things", yet, Jesus meant...what? Jesus, in his earthly mission, divided religous beliefs by preaching and teaching in a revoluntionary method--he performed miracles, he took time to explain what God's intent was, and he demonstated that life is possible after death (resurrection). Blake could be having fun with the reader by masking his real meaning--yes, use Science to prove Reason. In the end, "that's the way to try all Nature out."