ar30039 - history & theory
TRANSCRIPT
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Intimate Immensitydeveloping a reference point for architecture
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submitted for the assessment of module AR30039
History & Theory 4
by Alex Marlow, 22nd January 2010
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iii
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. william blake
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Contents
IntroductIon 1
Our traditional understanding of scale
Contradictions
Intimacy and Immensity
A flawed approach to architecture
Proposal
1-IntImateImmensIty 11
Poetic writing & Bachelards interpretation
hidden depths
2-archItecturalovervIew 16Critical view of the built environment
3-tadaoando 19
His work
Chapel on the WaterChildrens museum
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v
4-PhIlosoPhy 29
Man
Simplicity breeds complexity
Relative scale
conclusIon 37
Intimate immensity - parallels of
architecture and human nature
The danger of a transient raceEmbodiment of soul
A reflection of ourselves
notes 45
lIstofIllustratIons 49
references 51
Auguries of Innocence
William Blake
Leisure
W H Davies
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IntroductionourtradItIonal
understandIngofscale
The human race is obsessed withscale. Throughout history mansought to build the largest building to
honour his god. Scientific endeavours
pursue the smallest particles in order to
gain an understanding of the universe.
Ships, cars, aircraft - each generation
bigger, faster than the last. A never-
ending game of one-upmanship in a
world where numbers are King. In this
pursuit of record-book fame we have
sought to reduce the world to statistics,
where everything can be measured,
compared, and ultimately ranked
accordingly. In a basement underneath
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Paris, the references for these values
lie carefully protected by controlled
atmospheres and security clearances- an inauspicious lump of precious
metal and a rudimentary ruler1. History
marks each advance, and the human
race progresses.
contradIctIons
Yet there are phenomena that escapethe mundane restraints imposedby the modern world. Moreover there
are those that seem impossible to
measure, or that embody contradictoryvalues if we try. A quality referred to
by philosophers and poets as intimate
immensity. Consider the vista at
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the top of Mt. Everest. Quantitative
science would state that the altitude is
8952m, and that visual range extendsto approximately 300km before the
curvature of the Earth blocks the view.
Yet for those at the top, these values are
meaningless, irrelevant even, for they donothing to describe the experience. The
values would imply that the climbers
should feel exposed and helpless - no
shelter as far as the eye can see, and an
awfully long drop. But instead accounts
have been of exhilaration, wonder, and
tranquility2. Clearly there is more to the
world than can be measured and put in
a bar chart.
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IntImacyandImmensIty
To define immensity, then, is
as subjective as a definition of
intimacy. It relies upon surrounding
conditions, and a personal observation.
An authors studio tucked away at the
bottom of the garden may, to him,
be an immense space because of the
freedom it gives him to imagine. In
contrast, Westminster Abbey may be
considered a very intimate space to an
ageing acolyte, who has paced the aisles
for decades and experienced moments
of great emotion within its walls. Scale
is a more mysterious phenomenon thanour regular understanding of the word
would suggest.
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aflawedaPProachtoarchItecture
As a result of our attempts to
rationalise this concept of
scale, we live in a world which is
becoming increasingly disenchanted
with architecture. Thanks to the
proliferation of photography and
media coverage through the internet,
buildings are judged by the majority on
a few snapshots and a set of statistics.
Architects can pander to these, deliver
exciting visuals and futuristic forms
and the building will be judged a
success by all but those who visit it. To
compound matters, commercialisationmeans that the client who would prefer
a great building to a balanced ledger
is fast becoming a fictional character.
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Buildings are no longer things of value,
they are tools with which to do business,
and are tossed aside in the same mannerwhen the job is done.
ProPosal
Tadao Ando talks of the soullessnessof modern existence, whereconvenience is sought at the expense of
spiritual richness ... a trivialisation of
human existence.3
W
hen we build according to
quantitative rules, we only satisfy
the statisticians. Our current methods
are those of human proportions, yet
proportions tell nothing of our nature.
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Identical twins share the same visual
identity, their individuality lies in their
personality; emotions, sensibilities,intellect. To create successful
architecture requires more than creative
use of anthropometric data, it requires
a deeper understanding of humannature. After all, the architecture we
create is a reflection of ourselves. Key
to an understanding of human nature
is an appreciation of the contradictory
concept of intimate immensity, and its
embodiment in the natural phenomena
that surround us. We must understand
that the world can be experienced on
more than a simply objective level.
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1 - Intimate Immensity
PoetIcwrItIng&Bachelards
InterPretatIon
One might say that immensity is a
philosophical category of daydream.Daydream undoubtedly feeds on all kinds
of sights, but through a sort of natural
inclination, it contemplates grandeur.
And this contemplation produces an
attitude that is so special, an innerstate that is so unlike any other, that
the daydream transports the dreamer
outside the immediate world to a world
that bears the mark of infinity.4
Thus starts Gaston Bachelardschapter entitled intimateimmensity. Not being restricted by
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functional requirements, other art
forms such as poetry, sculpture and
music are free to develop in these areasof ambiguity and intrigue. Many poetic
works delve into such contradictory
realms and our culture is the richer
for it. They encourage contemplation,daydreaming, as Bachelard describes it.
Yet this is not the idle dreaming begat
of a stuffy classroom on a summers
afternoon. Bachelard is writing of an
imagination removed from its earthly
surroundings, occupying the space of
elsewhere5. By escaping such trappings,
this leads to a deeper level of thought
where the corporeal world ceases to
exist and in its place are memories,
perceptions and pure thoughts. An
immense world where scale has no
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meaning, no relative marker. Intimacy
promotes such imaginings, and, as in
the case of the author in his studio,releases the mind.
hIddendePths
Intimacy and immensity appear to beintrinsically linked - to experience onerequires an acceptance or expectation of
the other. Key to the understanding of
immensity, is that everyday phenomena
have hidden depths, beyond that of
objective impressions. We experience
this world on more than one level
Architectural space has to be experienced:
It is touched, heard, smelled, tasted
and seen. The wind brings comfort, the
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sound of footsteps provides grounding.
The scent of wood transports us to
memory places, the taste of a madeline
fills the deepest desires, the soft
concentrated light gives assuring presence.
Architecture exists in its tangibility.6
The hidden depths of poetic worksserve to transport the reader intothe imagination of the author. It could
be argued that this is not required
of architecture - the building standstestament to the dreamings of the
architect - but it is in the nuances of the
design that the soul of the building
lies. Buildings do not sit as abstractforms in a landscape of white. As the
quote above concludes, they interact
with the surroundings, as we interact
with the building.
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2 - Architectural overview
crItIcalvIewofthe
BuIltenvIronment
...A poor life this, if full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.7
The greater proportion of our builtenvironment is gearing towardsa transient race. The opportunity tostop and relax seems to be a privilege
granted to few. And this is embodied
in the buildings we create. Transport
hubs, hot-desk office spaces, even theubiquitous coffee shop, whilst offering
an envied few a chance to sit, ultimately
all add to our to go culture.
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It is outside the scope of this essay tocriticise the work ethic of modernsociety. However, to pander to thisculture is to reduce architecture to
building, and to reduce buildings to little
more than tools with which to conduct
business. Like tools, architecture risksbeing tossed aside when a more efficient
method is found, or when the job is
complete.
Perhaps this stems from anincreasingly secular culture.Religious buildings have long been
the mainstay of subtlety and depth of
design. When the only higher order isthe hierarchy of company executives,
subtlety and depth have no worth.
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Yet there are still building typeswhich would support this levelof design. Notably cultural facilities- museums, libraries, concert halls
- buildings within which we are
expected to surrender our day-to-day
entanglements and open our mindsto the possibility of daydream. These
buildings, when successful, instil in us a
sense of hidden grandeur as the depth of
intellectual content they hold is married
with our own dreams and memories.
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3 - Tadao Ando
hIswork
The contemporary work whichseems to best follow this philosophyis that of Osaka born architect, TadaoAndo7. Unsurprisingly, for one whose
education stemmed from stolen hours
in a carpenters workshop, Andos
work displays an honesty to materialsand close attention to detail. Japanese
architecture bears a close link to nature,
and Andos is no exception. In contrast
to the western approach, where natureis, if not secondary to the architecture
it surrounds, then at least a distinct
element, Ando treats the landscape
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and building as a whole. Seasonal
changes affect the building as much
as the gardens in which it sits. Thisconnection, of building and landscape
as one, is tantamount to the success of
Andos projects.
Andos work aims to reconnect manwith man and man with nature, with
architecture as the intermediary.9
Through this connection, the earlier
themes of intimacy and immensity
become apparent in the building. The
connection the visitor feels with his
surroundings engenders relaxation and
depth of thought.
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chaPelonthewater
Andos Chapel on the Water,
Hokkaido (1988), is an incredibly
evocative piece of architecture,
seemingly formed of subtle changes
of light and intense reflections. The
concrete structure acts merely as a
muted backdrop against which the
drama of the surroundings unfolds.
...the landscape changes its appearancefrom moment to moment. Here, I
sought to create a place where man and
nature, through mutual sympathy, evolve
toward to the realm of the sacred.10
In this project, the building payshomage to its surroundings. It isintrinsically subservient, and therefore
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humbling to those occupying it. Here,
the mixture of awe and tranquillity
embodied in the idea of intimateimmensity is engendered by the
mutedness of the building and its, both
literal and metaphorical, reflection of
nature. There seems to be no distinctpoint where the building ends and
nature begins.
chIldrensmuseum
Of course, in the design of achapel it is easy to justify suchsimple, minimalist designs, as religiousbuildings are inherently spiritual and
warrant such ethereal treatment. Indeed,
one could argue that the building would
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have failed if it did not embody such
feelings.
Andos Childrens Museum, Himeji(1989), is an altogether differentbuilding type, and whilst it takes a
different approach in its form, many
of Andos philosophies perceived inthe Chapel are also evident here. The
building is not a slave to function, Ando
eschews that dictation of Modernism,
instead revelling in refined irrationality.However, irrationality does not in this
case imply random, nor superfluous.
His methods seek rather to challenge
our preconceptions of how man-madespace and the natural world interact.
W
ithin the central plaza of the
museum sits a grid of 9m high
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concrete posts. These posts serve no
structural function - they stand apart
from the main body of the building -yet they serve an architectural function
purely through being. They act as a
reference to the landscape, to recall
the quote from Tom Heneghan, witharchitecture as the intermediary.
The posts are read individually from
a human scale, each relating to its
immediate neighbours and the child
running between them. Yet on a greater
scale, the posts collect as one unit,
cuboid in form, as a challenge to the
landscape.
To the child, these posts areimmense, and can occupy spaceindividually. Yet to the wider landscape
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they are small, significant only in their
grouping. A simple example of how
elements can embody contradictoryparameters, depending on our point of
reference.
This notion of relative scale, asalluded to in an earlier chapter,is subject to intense philosophical
debate, and requires us to address the
fundamental reference point, ourselves.
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4 - Philosophy
man
Man is not a dualistic being in whom
spirit and flesh are essentially distinct,
but a living, corporeal being active inthe world ... The world that appears
to mans senses and the state of mans
body [are] interdependent ... The body
articulates the world. At the same time
the body is articulated by the world.11
Virtually every religion regards thehuman being as made up of threeseparate yet interwoven parts; body,mind and spirit. Andos philosophy is
there is no distinction between the three,
that it is through the combination that
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we perceive the world. To use only the
physical characteristics of the human
body in our understanding of the worldis an intrinsically flawed concept and
herein lies the reasoning. This tripartite
nature of our being lends itself to more
than a physical relationship with oursurroundings. Virays earlier quote
spoke of the five senses alone and how
each may promote an understanding of
our environment, and that is without
taking into consideration intellectual
impressions such as memory, or
imagination.
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sImPlIcItyBreedscomPlexIty
The danger with this methodology
is concluding that complexity is
required to generate depth. Andos
projects rescind this theory, it is their
very simplicity that allows one to free
ones mind and relax into contemplation.
Being bombarded by visual complexity
hinders the other senses. However, these
notions of simplicity and complexity
are as intrinsically linked as those of
intimacy and immensity. Scientific
endeavours are constantly in pursuit of
empirical formulae to define the most
complex phenomena. This has cometo a head in the field of chaos theory
and the study of fractals. A simple
looking equation developed as an
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understanding of the patterns of coastal
erosion produces a graphic of infinite
complexity. An eternally repeatingarray of curves at ever decreasing or
increasing magnitudes.
Likewise, a subtly detailed design
can lend itself to extrapolation,wherein the extents of the surface, be it
a wall, do not end at the physical limits,
but can imply a connection to other
phenomena in its plane.
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relatIvescale
I could be bound within a nutshell and
count myself King of infinite space.12
Clearly, to interpret scale we requirea point of reference or else theimage is meaningless. The drawings ofPiranesi stand testament to this:
T
he myriad arches, statues, and
fallen carvings create an impossibly
vivid scene. Elements that appear in the
foreground might recede when another
catches the viewers eye, supplanting it.
Visual tricks that confuse the eye and
inhibit perspective, an approximate
scale is guessed at, until a human figure
is identified in the background, and the
scene expands ten-fold.
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Likewise, the expanse of ocean seenfrom a ship on a clear calm dayis unintelligible until a distant tankercomes into view, silhouetted against
the horizon. Yet the view without the
tanker is somehow more meaningful.
Without a reference point, the oceancould stretch to infinity, or drop off
the edge of the world fifty metres away.
The expanse once more encourages that
special state of daydream.
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Conclusion
IntImateImmensIty-Parallelsof
archItectureandhumannature
Scale then, is subjective. Our
perception of the world aroundus relies on more than our objective
impressions of space. If human nature
is to be understood as multifaceted,
several parts all woven into one being,then the architecture that we create
must relate to each of these levels. As
long as architecture is created purely
for visual perception, we are clearlygoing to live in a world of soulless
buildings. If instead we can instil within
these places an essence of interwoven
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intimacy and grandeur, a hint of higher
orders, hidden depths, they can awaken
in us a will to reconnect. To ourselvesand to the world around us.
thedangerofatransIentrace
The danger of our current state isan obsession with time, whereconvenience is more highly prized
than spiritual richness13. The buildings
we produce naturally reflect this state,
superficial forms created to satisfy a
consumerist culture. By prioritising
as such, placing speed before quality,valuing time spent producing rather
than time spent developing, we devalue
our very nature. To readdress this
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balance we must open our minds to the
creation of buildings that satisfy our
inner longings for grandeur.
emBodImentofsoul
In certain almost supernatural inner
states, the depth of life is entirely
revealed in the spectacle, however
ordinary, that we have before our eyes,
and which becomes a symbol of it.14
The worst examples of architectureare typically described as soulless.Simply speaking, they are purely three-
dimensional, built on a whim of form.
Little more than sculpture, they exist
as a shell, ignorant of the life around
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them. But that is to do an injustice to
sculpture, which at its best captivates
us, and hurls us into the imaginationof its creator. Architecture should seek
to emulate this. As Baudelaire here
intimates, the richness of architecture is
in its ability to reflect and amplify lifearound it. Architecture that displays the
philosophies of its creator allows us to
perceive these deeper levels.
areflectIonofourselves
Atruer appreciation of immensity
is necessary to reveal the depthsof humanity. However, immensity does
not require great scale, in the same way
that intimacy must not imply smallness.
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Both are human appropriations
based upon a limited understanding
of human nature. When we begin tounderstand, as Bachelard writes, that
immensity is within ourselves15, we
begin to understand that the spaces we
create exist not only through objectiveobservations, but instead are perceived
through the many different states of
our being. With an appreciation of this,
we can start to create architecture that
encourages the reconnection of man
with man, man with nature.
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Immensity is within ourselves. It is
attached to a sort of expansion of
being that life curbs and cautionarrests, but which starts again when
we are alone. As soon as we become
motionless, we are eleswhere;
we are dreaming in a world that
is immense. Indeed, immensityis the movement of motionless
man. It is one of the dynamic
characteristics of daydreaming.gaston bachelard
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Notes
iii Blake, W., Auguries of Innocence
[excerpt] full text on p52.1. Nowadays only the lump remains - the
International Prototype Kilogram madeof platinum-iridium. The ruler was aplatinum-iridium bar with two notchesdenoting one metre length. The metre
was redefined in 1983 as a function of thespeed of light in free space.
2. Personal recollection of accounts fromschool alumnus who climbed Everest in2009.
3. Heneghan, T., Tadao Ando | The Coloursof Light, 1996. p16
4. Bachelard, G., The Poetics of Space, p183
5. Ibid,
6. Viray, E., 10x10_2, p415 [essay - TenThoughts on Architecture]
7. Davies, W. H., Leisure[excerpt] full texton p59.
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8. Osaka is Japans third largest city, longthe commercial capital of the country.
9. Heneghan, T., Op cit. p.13
10. Ando, T., The Yale Studio & CurrentWorks, p 88
11. Ando, T., Architecture and Body, Precis,(New York, 1988)
From an essay originally written by Ando in 1986
discussing shintai, a word denoting the sentient beingaround whom his architecture is formed - Heneghan, T.
12. Shakespeare, Hamlet
13. Heneghan, T., Tadao Ando | The Colours
of Light, 1996. p1614. Baudelaire, Fuses et journaux intimes,
p29Referenced by Bachelard in The Poetics of Space, p192
15. Bachelard, G., Poetics of Space, p184
p43 Ibid.
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List of Illustrations
p3 View from Everest(www.flickr.com/3289/ 2405242110_6b78e96c6b_o.jpg)
p6 Rouen Cathedral(www.flickr.com/photos/oliviamair/4199900900/)
p7 Bookshelves(www.flickr.com/3139/ 2593182303_2b404da2eb_o.jpg)
p22 Chapel on the waterPare, R. The Colours of Light, p133
p26-7 Museum
Pare, R. The Colours of Light, p112-3
p32 Mandelbrot model(img26.imageshack.us/img26/8478/outputxl4.jpg)
p35 Carcieri dInvenzione II
Piranesi, G. [Glancey, J.], Lost Buildings, p237
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References
The following, whilst not explicitly cited in the
essay, were useful in provoking thought andrefining ideas.
1. Bachelard, G., The Poetics of Reverie(1969)
Not as relevant to the topic as his first book, nonetheless,Poetics of Reveriedevelops a number of Bachelards ideasfurther, exploring the nature of memories and dreams.
2. Gribbin, J., Deep Simplicity(2004)An extremely easy-to-read introduction to the world ofchaos theory.
3. Merleau-Ponty, M., The World of
Perception (2004)A collection of seven lectures orignally broadcast onFrench national radio in 1948. A good introduction tophenomenology.
4. Frayn, M., The Human Touch (2006)A heavy read, but worth persevering for the insights into
human nature and its struggle finding place in the cosmos.
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augurIesofInnocence
wIllIamBlake
To see a world in a grain of sand,And heaven in a wild flowerHold infinty in the palm of your handAnd eternity in an hour
A robin redbreast in a cagePuts all heaven in a rage.
A dove-house filld with dove and pigeonsShudders hell thro all its regions.A dog starvd at his masters gate
Predicts the ruin of the state.
A horse misused upon the roadCalls to heaven for human blood.Each outcry of the hunted hareA fibre from the brain does tear.
A skylark wounded in the wing,A cherubim does cease to sing.The game-cock clipt and armd for fightDoes the rising sun affright.
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Every wolfs and lions howlRises from hell a human soul.
The wild deer, wandring here and there,Keeps the human sould from care.The lamb misusd breeds public strife,And yet forgives the butchers knife.
The bat that flits at close of eveHas left the brain that wont believe.The wol that calls upon the nightSpeaks the unbelievers fright.
He who shall hurt the little wrenShall never be belovd by men.He who the ox to wrath has movd
Shall never be by woman lovd
The wanton boy that kills the flyShall feel the spiders enmity.He who torments the chafers spriteWeaves a bower in endless night.
The caterpillar on the leafRepeats to thee thy mothers grief.Kill no the moth nor butterfly,For the last judgement draweth nigh.
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He who shall train the horse to warShall never pass the polar bar.The beggars dog and widows cat,Feed them and thou wilt grow fat.
The gnat that sings his summers songPoison gets from slanders tongue.The poison of the snake and newtIs the sweat of envys foot.
The poison of the honey beeIs the artists jealousy.
The princes robes and beggars ragsAre toadstools on the misers bags.A truth thats told with bad intent
Beats all the lies you can invent.
It is right it should be so;Man was made for joy and woe;And when this we rightly know,Thro the world we safely go.
Joy and woe are woven fine,A clothing for the soul divine.Under every grief and pineRuns a joy with silken twine.
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The babe is more than swaddling bands;Every farmer understands.Every tear from every eyeBecomes a babe in eternity;
This is caught by females bright,And returnd to its own delight.The bleat, the bark, bellow, and roar,Are waves that beat on heavens shore.
The babe that weeps the rod beneathWrites revenge in realms of death.The beggars rags, fluttering in air,Does to rags the heavens tear.
The soldier, armd with sword and gun,
Palsied strikes the summers sun.The poor mans farthing is worth moreThan all the gold on Africs shore.
One mite wrung from the labrers handsShall buy and sell the misers lands;
Or, if protected from on high,Does that whole nation sell and buy.
He who mocks the infants faithShall be mockd in age and death.He who shall teach the child to doubt
The rotting grave shall neer get out.
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He who respects the infants faithTriumphs over hell and death.The childs toys and the old mans reasonsAre the fruits of the two seasons.
The questioner, who sits so sly,Shall never know how to reply.He who replies to words of doubtDoth put the light of knowledge out.
The strongest poison ever knownCame from Caesars laurel crown.Nought can deform the human raceLike to the armours iron brace.
When gold and gems adorn the plow,
To peaceful arts shall envy bow.A riddle, or the crickets cry,Is to doubt a fit reply.
The emmets inch and eagles mileMake lame philosophy to smile.
He who doubts from what he seesWill neer believe, do what you please.
If the sun and moon should doubt,Theyd immediately go out.To be in a passion you good may do,
But no good if a passion is in you.
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The whore and gambler, by the stateLicensed, build that nations fate.The harlots cry from street to streetShall weave old Englands winding-sheet.
The winners shout, the losers curse,Dance before dead Englands hearse.
Every night and every mornSome to misery are born,Every morn and every nightSome are born to sweet delight.
Some are born to sweet delight,Some are born to endless night.
We are led to believe a lieWhen 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, and God is light,
To those poor souls who dwell in night;But does a human form displayTo those who dwell in realms of day.
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leIsure
whdavIes
What is this life, if full of care,We have no time to stand and stare
No time to stand beneath the boughsAnd stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beautys glance,And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth canEnrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this, if full of care,We have no time to stand and stare.
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