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Blake and Thomas TaylorAuthor(s): Frederick E. PierceSource: PMLA, Vol. 43, No. 4 (Dec., 1928), pp. 1121-1141Published by: Modern Language AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/457606 .

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LXIII

BLAKE AND THOMAS TAYLOR

THE mystical

philosophical

(or

pseudo-philosophical)

ten-

dencies

of

the

English

romantic

movement

probably

owed

a

good

deal

to

Thomas

Taylor.

From

the

publication

of

Cowper's

Task and

Burns'

Kilmarnock

poems

to

the

death

of

Shelley

and

Byron, Taylor

poured

out an

unceasing

stream

of

commentaries

and translations

elucidating

for

England

the doctrines

of

Plato

and

the

Neo-Platonists.

To be

sure,

his works had

very

limited

sale,

and

most

of one edition

was locked

up

for a lifetime

in

the

archives

of

the

rich nobleman

who financed

its

publication.

But

no man

could

print

so much and

receive

as

many

comments

as

he

did

without

having

a

definite effect.

Perhaps

his influence

worked more

strongly

on

William

Blake

than

on

any

other

poet.

They

were

strict

contemporaries,

Blake

being

about

a

year

the

elder;

and it is

probable,

though

not

certain,

that

they

knew each other

personally.

Whether

they

did

or not, the dates of their publications interlock so consistently,

and

the

Neo-Platonism

of

the

poet

so

consistently

develops

just

behind that

of

the

scholar,

that some form

of

influence

seems

almost

unquestionable.

Both were

mystics living

in

London:

both

knew

Flaxman,

Tom

Paine,

and other

common

friends;

directly

or

indirectly

there

must have been

some

transferring

of

ideas.1

In this

connection

a

dated

table

of

publications

is

illuminating.

The following list, though by no means complete,2 gives the more

important

works

of

both authors.

TAYLOR

BLAKE

1783. Poetical

Sketches

printed.

(nothing

mystical)

1787.

Hymns

of

Orpheus,

nd

sec-

tion

from

Plotinus

on

The Beauti-

ful.

1788-89.

Philosophical

nd Math-

1789.

Songs

of

Innocence

en-

ematicalCommentariesfProclus. graved.

1

Some

of

the more

obvious

likenesses

between

Taylor

and

Blake

have

been

pointed

out

by

Professor

Damon n

his

William

Blake.

2

For a

very

full

list

of

Taylor's

works

see Thomas

Taylor,

the

Platonist,

List

of

Original

Works

and

Translations,

repared

or

Newberry

Library

by

Ruth

Balch

of the

Library

Staff,

Chicago,

1917.

1121







Blake

and

Thomas

Taylor

TAYLOR

1790

or

1791.

Dissertation on

Eleusinian

and

Bacchic

mysteries.

1792.

Philosophical

and

Mathe-

matical Commentaries f

Proclus

(edition

n

Yale

Library).

1793.

Plato's

Cratylus, Phaedo,

Parmenidesand Timaeus.

1793.

Sallust on

the Gods and the

World.

1794. Five

books

of Plotinus

(in-

cluding

that on the descent

of

the

soul).

1804.

The Works

of Plato.

BLAKE

1789. Book of Thel engraved.

1793 ff.

Marriage

Hell

engraved.

of Heaven

and

1793. Visions of

Daughters

of

Albion

engraved.

1794. Books of Urizen

engraved.

1794.

Songs

of

Experience

en-

graved.

1797

ff.

The Four

Zoas

written.

1804

ff. Milton

engraved.

1804

ff.

Jerusalem

engraved.

Any

one

reading

these

books

in

chronological

sequence

will see

Blake's

Neo-Platonism

steadily

increasing

in

proportion

to what

he couldhaveamassed from

Taylor.

In some cases there may have

been other sources3

available,

in

some

there

certainly

were

not;

but for

all cases

under

discussion

Taylor

was

a

possible

source,

sometimes, apparently,

the

only

one.

Even

where

Blake could

have

drawn

from

other

writers,

it

seems

improbable

that he

did.

For

example,

the

creation

of

Urizen

in

The

Book

of

Urizen

shows

a marked likeness

to the creation

of man

in

Plato's

Timaeus.4

Taylor's

translation

of

the Timaeus was not the

only

version in

existence; but it is rather striking that it had appeared so shortly

before Blake's

poem.

A

comparison

of

Taylor's

translation

will

show how

direct

the

borrowing

from

Plato

was:

Blake's Book

of

Urizen194-205.

"Restless

urn'd

he

Immortal,

enchain'd,

Heavingdolorous,anguish'd,

unbearable;

Till

a

roof,

shaggy,

wild,

enclos'd

In

an orb

his fountain

of

thought.

In

a

horrible,

dreamful

slumber,

Like the linked infernal

chain,

A

vast

Spine

writh'd

n

torment

Upon

the

winds,

shooting

pain'd

31

have

made,

not

an exhaustive

earch,

but a

reasonably

horough

ne,

without

inding

uch

sources.

4

Firstnoticed

y

Professor

amon.

1122







Frederick E.

Pierce

Ribs,

like a

bending cavern;

And

bones of solidness

roze

Over all his

nerves of

joy."

Plato's Timaeus

Taylor's

rans. ed. of

1793,p.

525)5

"Employing

herefore

his

nature

of

bone,

he fashioned ike

one

work-

ing

with

a wheel

a

bony

sphere,

and

placed

it round the

brain;

eaving

a

narrow

passage

in

the

sphere

itself. And

besides

this,

forming

certain

vertebrae

rom

bone about

the marrowof

the neck and

back,

he extended

them

like

hinges,

commencing

rom the head

and

proceeding hrough

he

whole

cavity

of the

body.

And

thus he

preserved

ll the

seed,

by

fortifying

it

round

about with

a

stony

vestment."

Taylor's

works

are

so

rare

and

so

widely

scattered that

no

scholar has

yet

essayed

the Herculean

task

of

mastering

them all.

We

have

examined

those

obtainable,

and

among

them

found

five

which show

many

likenesses

to

Blake and

may

throw

some

light

on his

meaning.

The first is

The

Eleusinian

and Bacchic

Mysteries

in

the third

edition of

1875,

which

is

practically

a

reprint

of

the

first.6

This

is a small work.

The

second

is

The

Philosophical

and

Mathematical

Commentaries

of

Proclus

in

two

volumes,

London,

1792. It has the same title as the 1788-89 work, which we have

not

been able

to

examine.7

The

1792

edition

contains

long

dis-

cussions

on

Neo-Platonism

by Taylor,

brief

lives

of

Plotinus,

Porphyry,

Iamblicus,

and

Proclus,

the

commentaries

of Proclus

on

Euclid,

Proclus's

Theological

Elements,

etc.

The

third and

fourth. books

are

the

Cratylus,

etc.

and

the

Sallust,

both

read

in

the

1793

editions.

The fifth is The Works

of

Plato

in

the

vast,

five

volume

edition

of

1804. These

books

appeared just

as the

mystical

tendency in Blake's poetry was beginning to be obvious. We have

no

positive proof

that

he read

them;

but

it

seems

highly

im-

probable

that a

poet

so

eager

to

explore

mystic

thought

would

have left

such works

unperused,

and there

are

various

similar

passages

which

sound

as

if

the

poet

had

borrowed

material

from

the

scholar.

We

give

these

passages

below.

They

are

presented,

in

the

first

place,

as

evidence

that

Blake

probably

read

Taylor.

But,

much

more

important

than

that, they

are

brought together

in an effort

to

elucidate

Blake's

meaning.

Either

from

Taylor

or elsewhere

6

About

three-fourths

hrough

the

dialogue.

The likeness

was mentioned

by

Professor

Damon

in his

William

Blake.

6

I

have

compared

all

quoted

passages

with

the

anonymous

and

dateless

irst

edition

in

the

Boston

Public

Library

(Amsterdam

d.).

7

Miss

Balch

lists

a

copy

as

in

the

British

Museum.

1123







Blake

and

Thomas

Taylor

he must have

acquired

Neo-Platonic

ideas;

and a

great

deal in

his poetry which once seemed unintelligible nonsense can now be

explained

as

a modern

adaptation

of" ancient and once

highly

respected

systems

of

thought.

For our

text

of

Blake

we

have

used

Sampson's

ed. of

the shorter

poems8

(1913)

and

Sloss and Wallis's

edition9

of the

longer

works.

I

Blake's Jerusalem

(12, 61-13,

12)

"And

the North Gate of

Golgonooza

oward

Generation

Has four sculptur'dBulls terriblebeforethe Gate of iron ....

The

South,

a

golden

Gate,

has four

Lions, terrible,Living

....

The

Western

Gate,

fourfold,

s

clos'd; having

four Cherubim

...

The Eastern

Gate,

fourfold;

errible

and

deadly

its ornaments."

Commentaries

of

Proclus

(II,

279):

"But there

are two

gates:

one

towards the

north

gives

entrance

to

mortals

descending;

ut

the othertowards

he

south

which s more

divine,

is

impervious

to

mankind;

and alone

affords

a

passage

to

ascending

immortals."

The Cratylus, tc., 1793 (pp. 396-397):

"He

asserts,

therefore,

hat

this lowest

order

of

daemons

always

con-

tends

with

souls

in

their ascent and

descent,

especially

western

daemons

for,

according

o

the

Egyptians,

the

west

is accommodated

o

daemons

of

this

description."

II

Blake's

Jerusalem

53,

1-2):

"But

Los,

who

is

the Vehicular

Form

of

strong

Urthona,

Wept

vehemently

over Albion."

Commentariesof Proclus (II, 434, note):

"The

reader

must

observe that

these

vehicles

or divine

bodies,

the

first

participants

of their

correspondent

ouls,

are

no

other

than those

vehicles,

so

beautifully

described

by

Synesius."

(II,

435):

"Every

soul

possesses

an

eternal

body,

which is

the

first

participant

of

its

nature.

Hence

the

cause

of

every

particular

oul,

and

consequently

of its

vehicle,

is

immovable,

and on

this

account

super-mundane."

III

Blake's

adviceto a disciplewas: "Cultivate magination

o

the

point

of

vision."

His

wife

complained,

hat,

though

a

good

husband,

he was

too often

away

in

"eternity."

8

The

Poetical

Works

of

William

Blake,

ed.

by

John

Sampson,

London,

Oxford

Univ.

Press,

1913.

9 The

Prophetic

Writings

of

William

Blake,

ed.

by

D.

J.

Sloss

and

J.

P.

R.

Wallis,

Oxford,

1926.

1124







Frederick E.

Pierce

A similar attitude is found

in The

Commentaries

(I,

cxxviii):

"But

after the multitude belonging to souls, betake yourself to intellect, and the

intellectual

kingdoms,

that

you

may possess

the

unity

of

things.

There

remain

in

contemplation

of

a

nature ever

abiding

in

eternity,

of life

ever

flourishing,

intelligence

ever

vigilant,

to which no

perfection

of

being

is

wanting,

and which does not desire the chariot of

time,

for the

full

energy

of

its

essence."

Again

(II,

244):

"For

as he

who desires to know

in-

telligible essence,

then

only

perceives

what is above

sense,

when

he

possesses

no

image

of

a

sensible

object:

so he who desires to

contemplate

a

nature

superior

to

intelligible

essence,

will

enjoy

the ineffable

vision,

if

he

neglects everything intelligible,

while

merged

in

the most

profound

and

delightful

of all

contemplations." (II, 351,

note):

"So

that he

who

contracts the

difference, subsisting

in

things

which

are

many,

into

one

life

alone,

and

contemplates

an

unceasing

sameness of

energy,

never

passing

its

intelligence,

or

life,

from one

thing

into

another,

but

ever

abiding

in

the

same manner

in

itself,

far

remote

from all

distance; he,

I

say,

who

beholds

all

these,

contemplates

eternity, viewing

life

ever

possessing

a

present

whole,

where all

things

abide

together

in

sameness,

without the

order of first

and

last,

and

are

comprehended

in

an

indivisible

bond."

The

Cratylus, etc.,

1793

(p.

282):

"Eternity

is

nothing

else than

an

illumination

proceeding

from the

unity

connected

with

being."

IV

Blake

uses

the

word

"shadow"

repeatedly.

Numerous

examples

are

given

by

Sloss and

Wallis

(II,

222-225).

According

to

these

editors,

"The

symbol

is

used

in

reference to

matters

of

the

phenomenal

universe which

persist

because

they

are 'shadows' of the realities

in

the

spiritual

world."

InTaylor's

Commentaries

of

Proclus

wefind the

word used often

in

the

same

way (I,

xxviii):

"But we

cannot, by any

means,

attain to the

appre-

hension

of the

fifth,

unless

we have been first

accurately

conversant

with

the

rest;

for

from our

imperfect

condition we are

compelled

to rise from

difference to

identity,

from

multitude

to

unity,

and

from shadow to

substance."

(I, xxix):

"Because

we

speak

with

those,

who

are alone

con-

versant with

shadows,

and

are on this

account

derided

by

them,

when

they

find

that

our fifth

does

not, by any means,

accord

with material

resemblances,

which

they

consider as the

only

realities."

(I,

lxxxix):

"Since,

then,

there

is a

long

gradation

of

beings, proceeding

from

the first

being,

even to formless matter, which is nothing more than the dark shadow of

essence."

(I,

45, note):

"But

I

call

images

in

the

first

place,

shadows."

(II,

214):

"However,

though

the real

person

of

theology

was not

the

object

of

vulgar

inspection,

her shadow at

least was

beheld

by

the

be-

nighted

multitude,

and

became

the

subject

of

ridiculous

opinions,

and

idle

investigation."

(II, 227):

"It

is

one

thing

to

be modest

and another

to

be meek:

for

the

former is

the

shadow

attendant

on

genius."

1125







Blake

and

Thomas

Taylor

V

Blake's Preface to Milton:

"The Stolen and

Perverted

Writings

of

Homer

&

Ovid,

of

Plato

&

Cicero."

Taylor's

Commentaries

of

Proclus

(II,

216):

"We

are informed

by

Numenius,

the

Pythogorean,

that

Plato's suc-

cessors,

Speusippus,

Zenocrates,

and

Polemo, perverted

his

dogmata,

and

almost

entirely changed

the whole of his

philosophy."

VI

Blake

repeatedly

uses

"non-entity"

as

equivalent

to

delusion,

the

state of Ulro.

(See

Sloss and

Wallis, II,

239).

There is a

similar use

in The

Commentaries

of

Proclus.

(I, xxxi):

"On

the

former

system,

she is

on a

level

with the

most

degraded

natures,

the

receptacle

of

material

species,

and the

spectator

of

delusion and

non-

entity." (II, 348,

note):

"Body,

and

its

properties,

belong

to

the

region

of

non-entity."

(II, 349,

note):

"Whatever

becomes

corporeal

in

an

eminent

degree,

as

falling

fast into

non-entity,

has but

little

power

of

recalling

itself into one."

Cratylus, etc.,

1793

(p.

430):

"From

thence

they

verge

downwards

and extend to

perfect

non-entity,

or

the

last of

things-that is,

to

matter

itself."

VII

Blake's

"black water"

of Jerusalem

4.

10

is

explained

by

Professor

Damon'?

as

materialism-the

Sea of

Time and

Space.

But

how did

Blake

come

to

use that

peculiar

symbolism?

In

The

Commentaries

(II,

230)

occurs

the

phrase:

"By

which

we

may

safely

pass through

the

night

of

oblivion over the

dark

and

stormy

ocean of matter."

And

again

(II,

234):

"To shun the bitter stream of sanguine life." (II, 283): "The Stoics

assert that the sun

is

nourished

by

the exhalation

of

the

sea;

the moon

from

the effluvia

of fountains and

rivers;

but

the stars

from

the exhalation

of the earth ..... It is

necessary

therefore

that

souls,

whether

they

are

corporeal

or

incorporeal,

while

they

attract

bodies,

must

verge

to humid-

ity,

and be

incorporated

with

humid

natures, especially

such

souls,

as

from their

material

inclinations

ought

to

be united

with

blood,

and con-

fined

in

humid bodies as

in

a

watery

tegument."

(II,

294):

"Again,

according

to

Plato,

the

deep,

the

sea,

and a

tempest

are so

many

symbols

of the constitution of matter."

Eleusinian and Bacchic

Mysteries (p.

12):

"'The

Egyptians,'

says

Simplicius,

'called

matter,

which

they

symbolically

denominated

water,

the

dregs

or

sediment of the

first

life'."

The

Cratylus,

etc.,

1793

(p.

132):

"A

fish,

from its

residence

in

the

sea,

represents

a

life

merged

in

generation."

10

S.

F.

Damon,

William

Blake,

1924,

p.

435.

1126







Frederick E.

Pierce

1127

VIII

Blake's Jerusalem, 59, 26-48:

"And

one

Daughter

of

Los sat at

the

fiery Reel,

&

another

Sat at the

shining Loom,

with

her sisters

attending

round:

Terrible their

distress,

& their sorrow

cannot be

utter'd.

And another

Daughter

of Los sat at

the

Spinning

Wheel:

Endless their

labour,

with

bitter

food,

void of

sleep:

Tho'

hungry,

they

labour:

they

rouze

themselves, anxious,

Hour after hour

labouring

at the

whirling

Wheel ....

Other

Daughters

of

Los,

labouring

at Looms

less

fine,

Create the Silk-worm & the Spider & the Catterpillar

To

assist

in

their most

grievous

work of

pity

&

compassion.

And others

Create the

wooly

Lamb and

the

downy

Fowl."

Commentaries

of

Proclus

(II,

284):

"What

symbol

is more

proper

to souls

descending

into

generation,

and

the

tenacious

vestment

of

body,

than as the

poet says,

'Nymphs

weaving

on

stony

beams

purple

garments

wonderful

to

behold?' ....

The

purple

garments

plainly

appear

to

be the flesh with which we are

invested. ....

Thus

according

to

Orpheus, Proserpine,

who

presides

over

everything generated from seed, is represented weaving a web."

IX

In Blake's Jerusalem one

of the sons of

Albion

is named

Hyle.

Blake

may

have

got

this word from

Henry

More's

Psychozoia

of the seventeenth

century,

where

Hyle

is an

allegorical

character. But he

may

also

have

got

it

from

Taylor.

(Commentaries

of Proclus, II,

287,

note):

"But it

is

this

hyle

or matter which

composes

all

that

body

of the

world

which

we

everywhere

perceive

adorned with

impressions

of

forms."

Eleusinian and

Bacchic

Mysteries (23):

"Blessed thrice blessed

who,

with

winged

speed,

From

Hyle's

dread

voracious

barking

flies."

Sallust

(p. 124):

"The

raging uproar

lulls

Of

dire-resounding Hyle's

mighty

flood."

Sallust

(p.

136):

"And

lest

deep-merged

in

Hyle's

stormy

mire,

Her

powers

reluctant

suffer

tortures dire."

Sallust

(p.

155):

"And from Hyle's stormy main,

To her

father back

again,

To her

true immortal

goal

Lead

my

wand'ring,

weary

soul."

Sallust

(p. 157):

"Fraudful

Hyle

here

prepares

Me to

plunge

through magic

snares."







Blake

and Thomas

Taylor

x

Blake's Visions of the Daughtersof Albion, 89-94:

"Tell

me

where

dwell

the

thoughts

forgotten

till

thou call

them forth?

Tell me where dwell

the

joys

of

old,

&

where

the

ancient

loves,

And

when will

they

renew

again,

&

the

night

of

oblivion

past,

That

I

might

traverse times &

spaces

far

remote,

and

bring

Comforts into a

present

sorrow

and a

night

of

pain?

Where

goest thou,

O

thought?

to what

remote land

is

thy flight?"

Commentaries

of Proclus,

II,

230:

"The

mathematical

sciences are

indeed

the

proper

means of

acquiring

wisdom, but they ought never to be considered as its end. They are the

bridge

as it

were

between

sense

and

intellect

by

which we

may

safely

pass

through

the

night

of

oblivion over the

dark and

stormy

ocean of

matter,

to

the lucid

regions

of the

intelligible

world;

and he who

is desirous of

returning

to

his true

country

will

speedily pass

over

this

bridge,

without

making

any

needless

delays

in

his

passage."

(II,

276):

"The

mathematical

science; by

whose

assistance,

we first

recognize

the

glimmerings

of

truth,

and discover the

dawning

beams

of

intellect

emerging,

as it

were,

from the

night

of

oblivion."

XI

With the

main

thesis

of Blake's

Songs

of

Innocence and

Experience

compare

the

following

(Commentaries

of

Proclus, I,

ci):

"But

in

the

third

place,

being

elevated

to

supernal

natures,

and

judging

these to be

alone

true, they

affirm themselves to

be

ignorant

of

all

they formerly

imagined

themselves to

know;

in which

degree

Socrates

professed

to

find

himself,

when he

said,

this

one

thing

I

know,

that

I

know

nothing;

an

ignorance

preferable

to

all the

knowledge gained

by

the

most

unwearied

experimental enquiries."

XII

Blake

uses

"generation"

in

the Neo-Platonic sense

as

meaning

birth

into material

life,

putting

on

the

garment

of

flesh.

For

examples

see

Sloss

and

Wallis,

II,

162-163.

Similarly

the

Commentaries

of

Proclus

(I,

xci)

read:

"For

true

being,

according

to

the

Platonists,

is

without

generation,

because

it

has

an

infinite

power

of

being totally

present

at the

same

time:

and

body

is said

to be

generated,

because

it

always

possesses

in

itself

an

infinite

flowing

power,

which it cannot at once

totally

receive."

XIII

Blake's

Jerusalem,

38,

16-21:

"Mutual in

one

another's love and wrath

all

renewing,

We

live as

One

Man:

for,

contracting

our

infinite

senses,

We

behold

multitude; or, expanding,

we

behold

as

one,

1128







Frederick

E. Pierce

As

One Man all the

Universal

Family;

and that

One

Man

We call Jesus the Christ: and he in us and we in him

Live

in

perfect

harmony

in

Eden,

the land

of

life."

Commentaries

of

Proclus

(I,

x):

"Will it

not, therefore,

be

proper,

in the first

place,

to

enquire,

with

the

great

Plotinus,

whether

multitude is not a

departure

and

distance

from

one,

so that

infinity

itself

is a

separation

from

unity

in the

extreme,

because it

is

no other than innumerable

multitude;

that on this

account

it

becomes

evil;

and

that

we

contract a similar nature when

departing

from intellectual

unity,

we

are divided

by

sensible multitude."

XIV

Blake's

peculiar

use

of

the word

"Spectre"

to

represent

"the

reasoning

power"

with

its false

picture

of

life,

is

well

known.

Examples

can be

found

in

Sloss and Wallis

(II,

226-233).

The word occurs

in

a

sense

resembling

Blake's

in

The Commentaries

(I,

53):

"For the

conjectural

power

knows

the

spectres

of sensible

forms,

while

they

are beheld

in

water and

other

bodies,

which

perspicuously

represent

their

image."

XV

Blake repeatedly uses the figure of the "Wine-press," often with great

lack

of clearness. See Sloss

and

Wallis, II,

254-256.

At

times,

at

least,

he

may

have had in mind

the

following

passage

from

The

Eleusinian and Bacchic

Mysteries

(p.

144):

"The

pressing

of

grapes

is as evident

a

symbol

of

dispersion

as the

tearing

of

wool;

and

this circumstance was doubtless one

principal

reason

why

grapes

were

consecrated

to Bacchus:

for

a

grape,

previous

to its

pressure, aptly

repre-

sents that which

is collected

into

one;

and

when

it

is

pressed

into

juice,

it

no

less

aptly

represents

the

diffusion of that which

was

before

collected

and entire."

XVI

Repeatedly

in

Jerusalem Blake

speaks

of

the

starry

wheels of

Albion's

sons, meaning

apparently,

mistaken

systems

of

thought.

An

example

is Jerusalem

5,

3-5:

"Cambridge

&

Oxford

&

London

Are driven

among

the

starry

Wheels,

rent

away

and

dissipated

In

Chasms

&

Abysses

of Sorrow."

Compare

The

Eleusinian

and

Bacchic

Mysteries

(p.

142):

"In the first place, then, with respect to the wheel, since Dionysus,

as

we have

already

explained,

is the

mundane

intellect,

and

intellect is of

an

elevating

and

convertive

nature,

nothing

can

be

a

more

apt

symbol

of

intellectual

action than a wheel

or

sphere."

Also Sallust

(p.

34):

"But of the bodies

contained

in

the

world,

some

imitate

intellect,

and revolve

in

a

circle;

but

others

soul,

and are moved

in

a

right

line."

1129







1130

Blake and

Thomas

Taylor

XVII

The Four Zoas (end of Night V):

"The Woes of

Urizen,

shut

up

in

the

deep

dens of Urthona

....

I

will

arise, explore

these

dens,

and

find that

deep

pulsation

That shakes

my

caverns

with

strong

shudders:

perhaps

this

is the

night

Of

Prophecy,

and

Luvah

hath

burst

his

way

from Enitharmon."

Eleusinian

and

Bacchic

Mysteries (pp.

103-104):

"The reader

may

observe

how

Proserpina,

being represented

as

con-

fined in the dark recess

of a

prison

and

bound

with

fetters,

confirms

the

explanation of the fable here given as symbolical of the descent of the

soul ....

What emblem

can more

beautifully

represent

the evolutions

and

outgoings

of an intellectual

nature

into the

regions

of sense than

the

wanderings

of Ceres

by

the

light

of torches

through

the

darkness of

night,

and

continuing

the

pursuit

still she

proceeds

into the

depths

of Hades

itself?"

XVIII1

Visions

of

the

Daughters of

Albion-Argument:

"I

pluck6d

Leutha's

flower,

And I rose up from the vale;

But the

terrible

thunders

tore

My virgin

mantle

in

twain."

Eleusinian

and

Bacchic

Mysteries

(p.

99):

"Proserpina,

therefore,

or the

soul,

at the

very

instant

of her descent

into

matter,

is,

with

the

utmost

propriety,

represented

as

eagerly engaged

in

plucking

this fatal

flower;

for her faculties

at

this

period

are

entirely

occupied

with

a

life

divided about

the

fluctuating

condition

of

body.

After

this,

Pluto,

forcing

his

passage

through

the

earth,

seizes

on

Proserpina."

XIX

Blake

repeatedly

speaks

of the

union or reunion

of the

soul

with the

body

as

"death" and of

people

absorbed

in

material affairs

as

"dead."

Examples

may

be

found

in Sloss and

Wallis,

II,

147.

Eleusinian and

Bacchic

Mysteries

(p.

5):

"That

the

soul, indeed,

till

purified

by

philosophy,

suffers death

through

its

union

with the

body,

was

obvious

to the

philologist

Macrobius

....

The

death

of

the

soul

was

nothing

more

than

a

profound

union with

the

ruinous

bonds

of

the

body."

XX

Jerusalem

(33, 35-34,

11):

"Vala

replied

in

clouds

of

tears,

Albion's

garment

embracing:

'I was

a

City

&

a

Temple

built

by

Albion's

Children.

11

Pointed

out

by

Professor

Damon.







Blake

and Thomas

Taylor

being

laid

asleep,

as it

were,

were

only engaged

in

the delusions of

dreams'."

Blake,

as

the context shows felt

more

compassion

than

Ficinus

for

the

dreamers

of

dreams,

but was

equally

clear

that their

attitude was not

one for

a

noble

soul.

XXIII

The

symbolism

of

Urizen's book of brass

may

be clearer

in

the

light

of

the

following passage:

Cratylus, etc.,

1793

(p.

132):

"Brass,

from its

resisting

nature,

is

an

apt

emblem

of

body,

and con-

sequently

of the realms

of

generation,

in which

body

predominates."

XXIV

Blake's

pairing

off

of

male

and

female

symbolic

figures might

easily

have

received an

impetus

from

the

following

passage:

Cratylus, etc.,

1793

(p.

43,

note):

"It is

necessary

to

observe,

that

this

mutual communication of

energies

among

the

gods

was called

by

ancient

theologists

lpos

y7<los,

a

sacred

marriage;

concerning

which

Proclus .... remarks

as follows:

....

'Theologists at one time considered this communion of the

gods,

in

divinities co-ordinate with

each

other;

and then

they

called it

the

marriage

of

Jupiter

and

Juno,

of

Heaven and

Earth,

of Saturn

and

Rhea.

But at

another time

they

considered

it

as

subsisting

between subordinate

and

superior

divinities;

and

then

they

called it

the

marriage

of

Jupiter

and

Ceres. But at

another

time,

on

the

contrary,

they

beheld

it

as

subsisting

between

superior

and

subordinate

divinities;

and

then

they

called

it

the

marriage

of

Jupiter

and

Proserpine

....

It is

necessary

to understand

the

idiom

of

each,

and to transfer a

conjunction

of this

kind from the

gods, to the communion of ideas with each other'."

XXV

Blake's

character

Enion,

the venerable Earth

Mother,

whose

name

suggests

a

derivation from the Latin

Ens,

resembles the Neo-Platonic

conception

of

Vesta.

Cratylus, etc.,

1793

(p.

41,

note):

"The

goddess

Vesta has a

manifest

agreement

with

essence,

because

she

preserves

the

being

of

things

in

a state

of

purity,

and

contains

the

summits of the wholes from which the universe consists. For being is the

most ancient of

all

things,

after the first

cause,

who

is

truly

superessential;

and

Earth,

which

among

mundane divinities

is

Vesta,

is

said

by

Plato,

in

the

Timaeus,

to be the most ancient of all the

gods

in

heaven.....

Hence

every

thing

which is

stable,

immutable,

and

which

always

subsists

in

the same

manner,

descends to

all mundane

natures

from

this

super-

celestial

Vesta."

1132







Frederick

E.

Pierce

XXVI

Blake's hostile, or at least distrustful, attitude toward Nature might

easily

have

been

inspired

by Taylor's

Introduction to the Timaeus.

Cratylus,

etc.,

1793

(p.

375):

"With

respect

to the

term

nature,

which is

differently

defined

by

different

philosophers,

it is

necessary

to inform the

reader,

that Plato does

not consider either matter

or

material

form,

or

body,

or natural

powers,

as

worthy

to be

called

nature; though

nature has been thus denominated

by

others.

Nor does

he think

proper

to

call

it

soul;

but

establishing

its

essence between

soul and

corporeal powers,

he

considers it as inferior to

the former through its being divided about bodies, and its incapacity of

conversion

to

itself,

but

as

surpassing

the latter

through

its

containing

the

reasons

of all

things,

and

generating

and

vivifying

every part

of the

visible

world. For nature

verges

toward

bodies,

and

is

inseparable

from

their

fluctuating

empire."

XXVII

Taylor,

like

Blake,

uses the word

"abyss"

to

symbolize

matter

or

materialism:

Sallust (p. 128):

"Nor e'er

remember

in

the

dark

abyss

The

splendid

palace

of their

sire sublime."

XXVIII

Blake's

Book

of

Ahania

(Ch.

V):

"The

lamenting

voice

of

Ahania,

Weeping upon

the Void

And round the

Tree of

Fuzon,

Distant

in

solitary

night,

Her voice was heard, but no form

Had

she;

but her tears from

clouds

Eternal

fell

round

the

Tree.

And

the voice

cried:

'Ah

Urizen Love

Flower

of the

morning

I

weep

on

the

verge

Of

Nonentity -how

wide

the

Abyss

Between

Ahania and thee'

...."

Taylor's

Sallust

(pp.

165-166) (To Vesta):

"While

on

Hyle's stormy sea,

Wide I roam in search of thee,

Graciously

thine

arm

extend,

And

my

soul

from all

defend:....

And soon cut the fatal folds

Through

which

guileful

nature holds

Me

indignant

from

thy

sight

Exil'd

in

the realms

of

night,

1133







Blake

and

Thomas

Taylor

From

my

father's

bosom

torn,

Wand'ring weary and forlorn,

That

my

soul with

rapid

wing,

From

Oblivion's coast

may

spring,

May

once more

triumphant

gain

Truth's

immortal,

shining plain."

XXIX

In 1793

Blake

engraved

The

Visions

of

the

Daughters

of

Albion

and

named

the

villain of the

poem

Bromion.

In

the

same

year

Taylor

published

his

Sallust, etc., containing

the

line,

"Jove

all-seeing,

Bromius

strong."

The

epithet

Bromius

was,

of

course,

common in

Greek

mythology;

but

the

coincidence

in

dates

seems

worth

recording.

XXX

The

hint

of the

falls of Urizen

and

Los

may

be

found in

Taylor's

Sallust

(p.

159):

"Staggering

and

oppress'd

with

sleep,

Thro' dark

Hyle's stormy deep,

Headlong

borne with

forceful

sway,

And

unconscious

of

the

way,

Far

I

fell,

mid

dire

uproar,

Till I

touch'd

this

gloomy

shore.

But

my soul,

now

rous'd

by

thee,

And

enabled

truth

to

see,

Scorns

her

fetters,

and

aspires,

Borne on

wings

of

pure desires,

To

thy

meadows full of

light,

Fill'd

with

fountains of

delight.

Arbiter

of

mental

life,

Thro'

these realms of

endless

strife,

Thro' earth's dark

Tartarian

tomb,

May thy

light my steps illume;

And

disclose the

arduous

way

To

the coasts of mental

day."

XXXI

Blake's Jerusalem (31, 15-16):

"Till he

came to old

Stratford &

thence

to

Stepney

&

the

Isle

Of

Leutha's

Dogs."

Sallust

(p.

127,

note):

"For

evil

daemons,

as I

have shown

in

my

Dissertation

on

the

Mysteries,

appear

in

the

shape

of

dogs."

Sallust

(p.

157):

1134







Frederick E. Pierce

"Daemons from

my

life

expel,

That

in

matter's

darkness

dwell;

Noxious to the human

race,

Dogs

of

hell, terrific,

base."

XXXII

Blake's

general

attitude

in

telling

his obscure

philosophic myths

might

easily

have been

inspired

by Taylor.

Sallust

(p.

10):

"As

the

gods

impart

the

goods

of sensible natures

in

common

to

all

things, but the goods resulting from intelligibles to the wise alone, so

fables

assert

to all men that there

are

gods;

but

who

they

are,

and of

what

kind,

they

alone manifest to such

as are

capable

of

so

exalted

a

knowledge.

In fables

too,

the

energies

of the

gods

are

imitated;

for the

world

may

very

properly

be called a

fable,

since

bodies,

and the

corporeal

possessions

which it

contains,

are

apparent,

but

souls

and intellects are

occult and

invisible.

Besides,

to inform

all men of the

truth

concerning

the

gods,

produces

contempt

in

the

unwise,

from

their

incapacity

of

learning,

and

negligence

in

the

studious;

but

concealing

truth

in

fables,

prevents

the

contempt

of the

former,

and

compels

the latter

to

philosophize.

But

you

will ask

why

adulteries,

thefts,

paternal

bonds,

and

other

unworthy

actions

are celebrated

in

fables?

Nor

is

this

unworthy

of

admiration,

that where

there

is

an

apparent absurdity,

the soul

immediately

conceiving

these

discourses

to

be

concealments, may

understand

that

the

truth which

they

contain is to be involved

in

profound

and occult silence."

XXXIII

Sloss

and Wallis

(II,

194)

in

discussing

the sons of

Los,

say

that one

class

of them

were "never

generated,"

a

phrase

of

Blake's which

"eludes

interpretation."

But it

does

not

elude

interpretation

after

one

has

read

Taylor's

Sallust

(p.

5):

"The essences

of the

gods

are neither

generated;

for eternal

natures

are

without

generation;

and

those

beings

are eternal

who

possess

a first

power,

and

are

naturally

void

of

passivity."

XXXIV

Blake's

Jerusalem

(27,

35-36):

"Albion gave his deadly groan,

And

all

the Atlantic Mountains

shook."

Cratylus, etc.,

1793

(p.

399),

Introduction

to Timaeus:

"According

to the

saying

of

Heraclitus,

he

who

passes

through

a

very

profound region

will

arrive at the

Atlantic

mountain,

whose

magnitude

is

such,

according

to the

relation

of

the

Aethiopian

historians,

that

it

touches

the

aether,

and casts a shadow

of five

thousand

stadia

in

extent."

1135







Blake

and

Thomas

Taylor

XXXV

In Blake's Milton, p. 32 (and reproduced there in the Quaritch ed. of

1893)

is

a

diagram

by

Blake of a vast

egg.

It

contains the names of

Adam

and

Satan,

surrounded

by

the four

intersecting

circles of the Four

Zoas.

Apparently

it

is Blake's chart of that

mental universe

through

which

Milton took his course.

This

may

have been

suggested by

the

Cratylus

of

1793

(p.

286):

"Time

is

symbolically

placed

for

the one

principle

of

the

universe;

but aether

and

chaos,

for the two

posterior

to

this one: and

being,

simply

considered,

is

represented

under the

symbol

of an

egg."

And

five or six

pages later: "The egg itself is heaven: from the bursting of which into

two

parts,

the sections are said to

have become heaven and earth."

This chart

of

Blake's was his

drawing

of

what he called

"the

mundane

shell." The

phrase

was

probably

suggested

by Taylor's

work,

for,

though

its exact form does

not

appear

there,

the

adjective

"mundane" is con-

stantly

used

in

ways

that would

suggest

it. We

quote

a few

examples:

Cratylus,

etc.

(p. 56,

note):

"mundane

gods"-"mundane

natures"

(p. 61,

note):

"mundane subsistence"-"mundane

intellect"-"mundane

soul";

(p.

63,

note):

"mundane

establishment"-"mundane

concerns";

(p. 70, note): "mundane idiom"; (p. 372): "mundane animal."

(p.

372)

(Introduction

to

Timaeus):

"The

whole mundane animal too is connected

together,

according

to

the united

comprehension

which subsists

in

the

intelligible

world;

and

the

parts

which it

contains

are distributed so

as to harmonize with the

whole,

both such as are

corporeal

and such as are vital. For

partial

souls are

introduced into

its

spacious receptacle,

are

placed

about the

mundane

gods,

and become mundane

through

the luciform vehicles with which

they

are connected."

Sallust

(p. 133, note) speaks

of

"the mundane order."

Sallust

(p.

156):

"Of the mundane

gods

the

king."

Sallust

(p.

162):

"Thy power exempt

from mundane forms

we see."

XXXVI

The

following passage

from Blake's

Four

Zoas

(IX,

478-482)

may

be

simply

a bit of

idyllic

poetry:

"And

on

the

river's

margin

she

ungirded

her

golden girdle;

She stood

in

the river & view'd

herself

within

the

wat'ry

glass,

And

her

bright

hair was wet with the

waters.

She

rose

up

from

the

river,

And

as

she

rose,

her

Eyes

were

open'd

to the

world

of

waters:

She saw Tharmas

sitting

upon

the rocks beside the

wavy

Sea."

But if this

passage

has a

symbolic

meaning,

it

may

be

explained

by

the

following

excerpt

from The

Works

of

Plato

(II,

514):

"For,

as if

some one

standing

on the

margin

of

a river should behold

the

image

and form of

himself

in

the

floating stream,

he indeed

will

pre-

1136







Frederick

E.

Pierce

serve

his face

unchanged,

but the stream

being

all-variously

moved

will

change the image.

....

After

the same manner

the

soul, beholding

the

image

of

herself

in

body,

borne

along

in the river of

generation,

and

variously disposed

at different

times, through

inward

passions

and

ex-

ternal

impulses,

is

indeed herself

impassive,

but

thinks that

she

suffers,

and,

being

ignorant

of,

and

mistaking

her

image

for,

herself,

is

disturbed,

astonished,

and

perplexed."

XXVII

Blake's

Milton

(16,

21-26):

"The

Mundane

Shell

is a

vast Concave

Earth,

an immense

Harden'd shadow of all

things upon

our

Vegetated

Earth,

Enlarg'd

into dimension

&

deform'd

into

indefinite

space

In

Twenty-seven

Heavens

and

all

their

Hells,

with Chaos

And

Ancient

Night

&

Purgatory.

It is a cavernous

Earth

Of

labyrinthine intricacy, twenty-seven

folds

of

opakeness."

Blake's

Jerusalem

(75,

10):

"And these the names

of the

Twenty-seven

Heavens

&

their

Churches:"

Works

of

Plato

(II,

629):

"But

Timaeus,

in

what

he here

says,

converting

things

last to

such

as

are

first,

and the terminations of the soul to its summit establishes this

to be

octuple,

and

that

twenty-seventimes,

the

first." Also on the

pre-

ceding

page

Taylor

has

the

footnote:

"Let

it be

remembered

that the first

numbers

of

the

soul

are,

as

we have

observed

in

the

Introduction

to this

Dialogue,

1, 2, 3,

4,

9,

8,

27."

These

passages

are

part

of a discussion

on

the

mystic properties

of

numbers,

which

might

easily

have left

with Blake

the

impression

that

27

was

the

supreme

Platonic

number,

as

3

was the

supreme

number

of

the Trinitarians.

XXXVIII

Blake's Jerusalem

(98,

7-8):

"At the

clangor

of

the Arrows of Intellect

The innumerable

Chariots of

the

Almighty appear'd

in

Heaven."

Works

of

Plato'3

(II, 283):

"Intellect,

possessing

its life

in

eternity,

and

in

an essence

ever

in

energy,

and

fixing

all its

intelligence

collectively

in

itself,

is

perfectly

divine."

(II,

475,

note): "Intellect, therefore,

is

alone

unconquerable;

but

science and scientific

reasoning

are

vanquished

by intellect,

according

to the knowledge of being." (V, 523, note): "His [Apollo's] emission of

arrows is

the

symbol

of

his

destroying everything

inordinate,

wandering,

and immoderate

in

the

world."

13

Quotations

hroughout

his

essay

from The

Works

of

Plato

are

almost

wholly

from

Taylor's

vast

mass

of

editorial

matter,

not from the Platonic

dialogues

themselves.

1137







1138

Blake and Thomas

Taylor

XXXIX

Blake's Milton (23, 72):

"Time is the

mercy

of

Eternity."

Works

of

Plato

(II,

279):

"Time

is the

image

of

eternity."

XL

Blake's

Four Zoas

(IX,

616-619):

"The

feast

was

spread

in

the

bright

South,

&

the

Eternal

Man

Sat at the feast

rejoicing,

&

the wine

of

Eternity

Was serv'd round by the flames of Luvah all day & all the night.

And

many

Eternal Men sat

at the

golden

feast."

Works

of

Plato

(II, 578,

note):

"According

to the

theology

of

Plato,

there

is

not one

father

of

the

universe

only,

one

providence,

and

one divine

law,

but

many

fathers

subordinate

to

the one

first father."

XLI

With

the

wanderings

of

Blake's

Urizen

in The

Four

Zoas,

Night

VI

compare Worksof Plato (II, 506, note): "But the fourth and last genus is

that which

abundantly

wanders,

which descends

as

far

as to

Tartarus,

and is

again

excited

from

its dark

profundities,

evolving

all-various

forms

of

life,

employing

various

manners,

and at

different

times

different

passions.

It

also obtains various

forms

of

animals,

daemoniacal,

human,

irrational,

but

is

at

the same

time corrected

by

Justice,

returns from

earth

to

heaven,

and is

circularly

led

from matter

to

intellect,

according

to

certain

orderly

periods

of wholes."

XLII

For Blake's

use of the

symbolic

"veil

of

Vala"

see

Sloss

and

Wallis,

II,

251.

The

conception

may

have

been

suggested

by

such

passages

as the

following

in The

Works

of

Plato:

(I,

520),

"The

veil of

Minerva

is

an

emblem

of

that

one

life

or nature

of the

universe,

which the

goddess

weaves

by

those intellectual vital

powers

which she

contains."

(II,

487,

note):

"Hence

soul'4

is said ....

to extend

itself

to

the extremities

of

heaven,

as

vivifying

it on

all

sides;

and

to

invest

the

universe

as

with a

veil,

as

possessing powers

exempt

from divisible

bulk."

Cratylus, etc., 1793 (p. xvi):

"Men

who

are

ignorantly

called

men

of

learning....

who,

like

Homer's

mice,

impiously

nibble

the veil of

Wisdom,

and

would

willingly

destroy

the

work

of her

celestial

hands."

14

Remember

hat

"soul" is

used

here in

the Neo-Platonic

ense

as

something

inferior

o

intellect.







Frederick

E. Pierce

XLIII

Blake's Songs of Innocence ("Night")15:

"When

wolves and

tigers

howl

for

prey,

They pitying

stand

and

weep."

Works

of

Plato

(I,

501):

"Why

therefore should

you

wonder that

many according

to

life

are

wolves,

many

are

swine,

and

many

are invested

with

some other

form of

irrational animals?"

XLIV

Blake's

Jerusalem

(opening):

"Of the Sleep of Ulro and of the

passage through

Eternal Death and

of the

awaking

to

Eternal

Life."

Works

of

Plato

(I,

493):

"As

they

advance

however

in

perfection,

are

excited

from

body,

and

collect their

powers

from

matter,

they

become

more

prolific,

and

more

inventive of the

things

about

which

they

were before

unprolific

and

dubious,

through

the

sluggishness

and

privation

of life

proceeding

from

matter,

and

the

sleep

of

generation." (Invert

the order

of

one

of the

above

sentences,

and

you

find

both

running parallel

in

thought

throughout.)

Worksof Plato (II, 459):

"As this

introduction

and

the

following

translations

were the result

of

no moderate

labour

and

perseverance,

I

earnestly hope they

may

be

the

means

of

awakening

some

few at least

from

the

sleep of

oblivion."

XLV

Blake's

["To

Thomas

Butts"]'6:

"With

my

inward

eye,

'tis an old man

grey,

With

my

outward,

a Thistle across

my

way."

Works of P7lato I, 66, note):

"But

sometimes

one

herb,

or

one

stone,

is sufficient to

a

divine

opera-

tion.

Thus,

a thistle

is sufficient to

procure

the sudden

appearance

of

some

superior

power."

XLVI

Blake's Four

Zoas

(V,

164-165):

"Nor

all

the

power

of

Luvah's

Bulls,

Tho

they

each

morning

drag

the

unwilling

Sun out

of the

deep."

Works

of

Plato

(IV,

449,

note):

"But

they

say

that the moon

is drawn

by

two

bulls."

15

This

was

written

before

The

Works

of

Platowas even

planned.

But

the

like-

ness

may

represent

ome common

ource,

now

lost,

and so

help

to

interpret

Blake.

16

According

o

Sampson

(Poetical

Works

of

Wm.

Blake,

p.

187 of 1913

ed.),

this

was

writtensome

two

years

beforeTheWorks

of

Plato

appeared.

But there

s

the

possibility

of

personal

contact between Blake and

Taylor.

1139







Blake

and

Thomas

Taylor

XLVII

For Blake's use of the "polypus" see Sloss and Wallis, II, 207. In

The Works

of

Plato

(III,

478),

the editor translates

a

passage

from "The

Banquet"

as

follows:

"So that

every

one

of

us

at

present

is

but the

tally

of

a

human

creature;

which

has

been cut

like a

polypus,

and

out of

one

made

two."

Of

this

passage

the

editor

says

in

the footnote:

"Under this

difficulty

of

ascertaining

what

animal

is meant

by

the

/'TTrra

mentioned

here

by Plato,

we

have

translated

it

a

polypus,

because

the

wonderful

property

ascribed here

to the

,Vrlrra

s the same

with

that

in

the

polypus,

which a few

years

since

afforded

great

entertainment

to

the

virtuosi

in

many parts of Europe."

XLVIII

Blake's

Jerusalem

(99,

1-4):

"All

Human

Forms

identified,

even

Tree, Metal,

Earth,

&

Stone;

all

Human

Forms

identified, living, going

forth

&

returning-wearied

Into

the

Planetary

lives of

Years,

Months,

Days

&

Hours;

reposing,

And

then

Awaking

into his Bosom

in

the

Life

of

Immortality."

Works

of

Plato

(I, 64,

note):

"Hence we

may

behold

the sun

and

moon

in

the

earth,

but

according

to a terrene

quality;

but in the celestial

regions,

all

plants,

and

stones,

and

animals, possessing

an intellectual

life

according

to

a celestial

nature."

XLIX

Blake's

Jerusalem

(p.

77):

"Is the

Holy

Ghost

any

other than an

Intellectual

Fountain?"

Works

of

Plato

(I,

Ixxxiii):

"That vast

whole of

wholes,

in

which

all other

wholes are

centered

and

rooted,

and which is

no other

than

the

principle

of

all

principles,

and the fountain of deity itself."

L

Blake's

Songs of

Experience'7:

"Ah

Sunflower

weary

of

time,

Who countest

the

steps

of the

sun;

Seeking

after

the

sweet

golden

clime,

Where

the traveller's

journey

is

done."

Works

of

Plato

(I, 64,

note):

"Hence the

sun-flower,

as far

as it is

able,

moves

in

a

circular

dance

toward the

sun;

so

that,

if

any

one could

hear the

pulsation

made

by

its

circuit

in

the

air,

he

would

perceive

something

composed

by

a

sound

of

this

kind,

in

honour of

its

king,

such

as

a

plant

is

capable

of

framing."

17

The

Songs

of

Experience ppeared

en

years

before

The Works

of

Plato.

But

there

is

the

possibility

hat

Blake

knew

Taylor

personally,

and

got

ideas

from

him

long

before

they appeared

n

print.

1140







Frederick E. Pierce

LI

Blake's Jerusalem (p. 77):

"I

give

you

the end of

a

golden

string;

Only

wind it into a

ball,

It

will

lead

you

in at

Heaven's

gate,

Built

in

Jerusalem's

wall."

Works

of

Plato

(I,

lvix):

"Having

thus

taken

a

general

survey

of

the

great

world,

and descended

from

the

intelligible

to the sensible

universe,

let us

still, adhering

to

that

golden

chainl8 which is bound round the summit

of

Olympus,

and

from

which all things are suspended, descend to the microcosm man." Ibid.

(I,

lxxxvii):

"By

these

men

[Plotinus,

Porphyry, Iamblichus,

etc.],

who

were

truly

links

of the

golden

chain

of

deity,

all

that

is

sublime,

all

that

is

mystic

in

the doctrines

of Plato .... was freed from

its

obscurity

and

unfolded into

the most

pleasing

and admirable

light."

(If

Blake

had this

passage

in

mind

in

the above

stanza,

he would

be

referring

to himself

as

the last link

in

the

golden

chain of

Neo-Platonic thinkers. This

belief

is

strengthened

by

the

following

passage:

Works

of

Plato

(I,

xc):

"Por-

phyry

being

let down

to

men like a mercurial

chain,

through

his various

erudition,

unfolded

everything

into

perspicuity

and

purity."

Such

is

the evidence. It

probably

shows

that

Blake read these

particular

works of

Taylor. But,

more

important

than

that,

it

shows

that much

of

his

thought

was drawn

in

some

way

from

Neo-

Platonic sources

and

can

be

given

a

dignified

and

poetical

inter-

pretation

in

the

light

of

Neo-Platonic

teaching.

FREDERICK

E.

PIERCE

Yale

University

18

The

phrase

"golden

chain"

s

found

in

Homer

and

Milton,

but neitheruses

it

to

symbolize

a

continuous

ystem

of

thought.

Since Prof.

Lowes,

n his Road

o

Xanadu,

has shown

that

Coleridge

read

Taylor enthusiastically,

he

following

quotation

from

Coleridge's

rose may

be

in

point:

"From the

time

of Honorius

to

the

destruction

of

Constantinople

... there was

a continued

succession

of

individual

ntellects;

he

golden

chainwas

never

wholly

broken, hough

he

connect-

ing

linkswereoften of

baser

metal"

(The

Complete

Works

f

Samuel

Taylor

Coleridge,

ed.

by

Prof.

Shedd,

New

York, 1853,

IV, 30.)

1141

blake taylor

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