Contents
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Sam's Corner
1- All Religions are One
2 - Relief
Thor's day by Alex
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Sam's Corner
ALL RELIGIONS are ONE
The voice of one crying in the Wilderness
Genius? This issue is probably over my head, but I’m going to give it a shot. In the following passage, William Blake gives us a description on his take on man’s genius and religion. The document seems to be an argument for understanding of religion. I’m attempting to keep the editing as Blake wanted, as it looks like capitals are a major issue. Blake was obviously familiar with The Bible where capitals are reserved for divinity. In this work, Blake makes a point to capitalize Man, Poetic Genius, Nations, Philosophy, Ancients, and Religion (and ideas associated with religion). Blake was apparently educated at home by his mother. Wonder if she would approved of her son’s ideas. Also, my apologies to all women out there. Throughout this article, man should be interpreted as people, or men and women.
Here is the essay:
The Argument As the true method of knowledge is experiment the true faculty of knowing must be the faculty which experiences. This faculty I treat of.
Principle I That the Poetic Genius is the true Man - and that the body or outward form of Man is derived from the Poetic Genius. Likewise that the forms of all things are derived from the Poetic Genius. Likewise that the forms of all things are derived from their Genius - which by the Ancients was call’d an Angel & Spirit & Demon.
Principle 2 As all men are alike in outward form, so (and with the same infinite variety) are all alike in the Poetic Genius.
Principle 3 No man can think and write or speak from the his heart, but must intend truth. Thus all sects of Philosophy are from the Poetic Genius adapted to the weakness of every individual.
Principle 4 As none by traveling over known lands can find out the unknown: so from already acquired knowledge Man could not acquire more. Therefore an universal Poetic Genius exists.
Principle 5 The Religions of all Nations are derived from each Nation’s different reception of the Poetic Genius which every where call’d the Spirit of Prophesy.
Principle 6 The Jewish & Christian Testaments are An original derivation from the Poetic Genius. This is necessary from the confined nature of bodily sensation.
Principle 7 As all men are alike (tho’ infinitely various) - so all Religions & as all similars have one source.
The true Man is the source he being the Poetic Genius.
There we have it! So what is Blake really saying? Is Blake telling us God or Jesus is the Poetic Genius, or is he telling us that collectively - man, or Man, is the genius behind religion?
First I would point out that I did take some editorial liberties with punctuation. In cases where Blake ended with a full stop followed by a dependent sentence - I replaced the period with a hyphen or colon and lowered the case of the next letter. I didn’t update the unusual contractions of change the spelling on the plural similar. Otherwise all is as printed in my edition, including the lower case of man and men in principles 2 and 3. I believe Blake’s message is unchanged with the minor edits in place here.
Anyway! The argument is clear: in order to know things one must experiment. So in the remainder I would expect an experiment in logic.
Principal 1 looks like an assumption that the Man comes from the Poetic Genius and Poetic Genius is the ‘true’ Man. To me this statement looks like a definition of faith and belief, something not proven or justified by Blake. Surely in his time, the author was a Christian and was using this statement to justify his values. The last sentence seems to be “God created the heavens and the earth” with a little embellishment on how ancient people would have viewed it. In using “Genius” and “Ancient” rather than “Pure Genius” it seems possible that Blake may be telling us the “Pure” is meant for “The Savior” or Jesus, as the “Pure”, in the form of the miracle birth had not occurred.
Principle 2 seems straight forward and seems to be a restatement of “all are equal to the Lord.”
Principle 3 indicates all intellectual endeavors come from this Pure Genius and tailored to individual weaknesses.
Principle 4 says Man knows everything found on ‘known’ land is already ‘known’, and nobody can find more on ‘known’ land: therefore a “Poetic Genius” exists. This principle seems more like a definition to me. One could almost say that for this to be true, and if it was Jesus, then Jesus is the sum of all of man’s discoveries to date. He would in this sense seem to lack a divinity or past living state but be a collective knowledge - of man in general. Also, note a lack of discussion about the unknown, but one would be wise to note that, once a discovery is known, it would become the property in some way of the Poetic Genius. More collectivism.
Principle 5 states that nations may have their own religions based on their perception of the Poetic Genius.
Principle 6 says that the bible is “An” original derivation of the Poetic Genius. This statement implies there are others that are true. It may be a justification for other literature.
Principle 7 says that because all men are alike in terms of general form (and at the same time different - as in appearance) - then all religions have one source. In the biblical sense then it would be Jesus or God. In the collective sense of principle 4 though, it would seem more obvious - that religions come from the knowledge of man collectively as a species.
The final line ties it together for Blake. As per the definition in principle 1, the source of all religions is the Pure Genius - Jesus, or in any case God. But as discussed, 1 seems an unproven assumption to me, a leap of faith or a definition. If line 1 is not accepted as fact then Blake’s argument falls on its flimsy foundation, as to biblical proportions. If one accepts God and Jesus in a more collective sense, one in which the “Pure Genius” is the sum of all man’s knowledge, then most of the essay seems unnecessary and noonsupportive of the point in the title - all religions as being one.
ALL RELIGIONS are ONE, The Complete Poetry & Prose of William Blake, Edited by David V. Erdman, 1988, Anchor House, New York.
Relief
Jamie caught the anger and laughed, “I’m outta here! See ya.”
All Shawn could put out, with his red vein exposing face, were a few half mangled words. Along Shawn’s spine sweat collected and darkened clothes. Now the list would need to be reviewed again. Was something forgotten? What was missing? And, what happened?
Another promising day was ruined. What next?
If anything in life was a mystery to Shawn, anger was it. After all the careful planning and ritual, it always came down to a failure to meet expectations. What makes Jamie so special?
Maybe - there’s nothing like a little hole in the head!
What do these have in common, you might ask?
Well, lets add in two more objects that most would know. Namely, the sun and the moon. Lets place them in a certain order atop that. Perhaps....
Sun, Moon, Tyr, Odin, Thor, Freya, Saturn. Atop that, why not add day onto the end of each?
Sun day, Moon day, Tyr's day, Odin's day, Thor's day, Freya day, Saturn day.
Considering what's what, it's not difficult to believe these were what our weeks were named after.
1
In the end, they had more in common than different.
Both had been born in hospitals from healthy mothers. Both lived their lives with family and both finished school. Both loved music, laughter and friends.
But something was different between them: Jamie’s head had a hole in it.
Now, it might seem strange to walk around with an extra orifice. No, this wasn’t an extra eye or nostril - it was an irregularly shaped gash leading directly into the middle of Jamie’s brain. Nothing leaked or fell out. Most people didn’t even know it existed under the colorful layers packed on top.
“Shawn! Are you finished in the bathroom?”
And as normal for the friends on their way out, Jamie moves them along: “The band starts in 10 minutes, and I am stressed to think we will be late.”
But Shawn has a routine. If everything on the checklist isn’t perfectly completed then the evening will be a disaster. First would be bacteria, then odors, then clothes, hair and..., . Late is better than embarrassed.
“Shawn, seven minutes. It takes us five to get there. Can we leave now? I am excited to hear the first song.”
Shawn’s day didn’t go as planned when the power went out. First the alarms didn’t ring, then today’s ride left when they couldn’t wait. After a fitful bus tour, a minimal schedule was completed a few minutes late. All day long Shawn had been behind - and now was no different. It was time for perfection and time is what it would take.
“Shawn, it’s five till. I’m anxious. We have to leave now!”
“WILL YOU JUST SHUTUP!! WE WILL LEAVE WHEN I’M READY”
2
Jamie caught the anger and laughed, “I’m outta here! See ya.”
All Shawn could put out, with his red vein exposing face, were a few half mangled words. Along Shawn’s spine sweat collected and darkened clothes. Now the list would need to be reviewed again. Was something forgotten? What was missing? And, what happened?
Another promising day was ruined. What next?
If anything in life was a mystery to Shawn, anger was it. After all the careful planning and ritual, it always came down to a failure to meet expectations. What makes Jamie so special?
Maybe - there’s nothing like a little hole in the head!
***************************************************
Thor's day by Alex
September 16, 2010
In olden times, many cultures had many different religions. The Greeks recognized Cronus, who was later dubbed Saturn, as a god of the harvest. Norwegians worshiped Odin, leader of the gods, Thor, the god of lightning, Tyr, the god of victory, and Freya, the goddess of love.
What do these have in common, you might ask?
Well, lets add in two more objects that most would know. Namely, the sun and the moon. Lets place them in a certain order atop that. Perhaps....
Sun, Moon, Tyr, Odin, Thor, Freya, Saturn. Atop that, why not add day onto the end of each?
Sun day, Moon day, Tyr's day, Odin's day, Thor's day, Freya day, Saturn day.
Considering what's what, it's not difficult to believe these were what our weeks were named after.
