1.The Argument, Plate 2
Rintrah roars ＆ shakes his fires in the burden'd air;
Hungry clouds swag on the deep
Once meek, and in a perilous path,
The just man kept his course along
The vale of death.
Roses are planted where thorns grow.
And on the barren heath
Sing the honey bees.
Then the perilous path was planted：
And a river, and a spring
On every cliff and tomb;
And on the bleached bones
Red clay brought forth.
Till the villain left the paths of ease,
To walk in perilous paths, and drive
The just man into barren climes.
Now the sneaking serpent walks
In mild humility.
And the just man rages in the wilds
Where lions roam.
Rintrah roars ＆ shakes his fires in the burden'd air;
Hungry clouds swag on the deep.
2.Plate 3
As a new heaven is begun, and it is now thirty-three years since
its advent：the Eternal Hell revives. And lo! Swedenborg is the
Angel sitting at the tomb：his writings are the linen clothes
folded up. Now is the dominion of Edom, ＆ the return of Adam
into Paradise：
3.Plate 3, Following
Without contraries is no progression.
Attraction and repulsion, reason and energy,
love and hate, are necessary to human existence.
From these contraries spring what the religious call good ＆
evil.
Good is the passive that obeys reason.
Evil is the active springing from energy.
(Good is heaven, evil is hell)
4.The Voice Of The Devil, Plate 4
All bibles or sacred codes have been the causes of the following
errors：
1. that man has two real existing principles：viz：a body ＆ a soul
2. that energy call'd evil is alone from the body,＆ that reason,
call'd good, is alone from the soul.
3. that God will torment man in eternity for following his
energies.
But following contraries to these are true：
1. man has no body distinct from his soul; for that call'd body
is a portion
of soul discern'd by the five senses, the chief inlets of soul
in this age.
2. energy is the only life and is from the body
and reason is the bound and outward circumference of energy.
3. energy is eternal delight.
5.Plate 5-6
Those who restrain desire, do so because theirs is weak enough
to be
restrained; and the restrainer or reason usurps its place ＆
governs the
unwilling. And being restrain'd, it by degrees becomes passive,
till it is
only the shadow of desire. The history of this is written in
Paradise
Lost,＆ the governor or reason is call'd Messiah. and the
original
Archangel, or possessor of the command of heavenly host, is
call'd the
Devil or Satan, and his children are call'd Sin ＆ Death. But in
the book
of Job, Milton's Messiah is call'd Satan. For this history has
been
adopted by both parties. It indeed appear'd to reason as if
desire was
cast out, but the Devil's account is, that the Messiah fell ＆
formed a
heaven of what He stole from the abyss. This is shewn in the
gospel, where
He prays to the Father to send the comforter, or desire, that
reason may
have ideas to build on, the Jehovah of the bible being no other
than (the
Devil den). he who dwells in flaming fire, know that after
Christ's
death, he became Jehovah. But in Milton, the father is destiny,
the son, a
ratio of the five senses,＆ the holy-ghost, vacuum! Note： the
reason
Milton wrote in fetters when he wrote of angels ＆ God. And at
liberty when
of devils ＆ hell, is because he was a true poet and of the
Devil's party
without knowing it.
6.A Memorable Fancy, Plates 6-7
As I was walking among the fires of hell, delighted with the
enjoyments of Genius; which to Angels look like torment and
insanity, I collected some of their Proverbs; thinking that as
the sayings used in a nation, mark its character, so the
Proverbs of Hell, shew the nature in Infernal wisdom better than
any description of buildings or garments,
When I came home：on the abyss of the five senses, where a flat
sided steep frowns over the present world, I saw a mighty Devil
folded in black clouds, hovering on the sides of the rock, with
corroding fires he wrote the following sentence now percieved by
the minds of men, ＆ read by them on earth.
How do you know but ev'ry Bird that cuts the airy way,
Is an immense world of delight, clos'd by your senses five？
7.Proverbs Of Hell, Plates 7-10
In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy, drive
your cart and your plow
over the bones of the dead,
the road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom. Prudence is a
rich ugly old maid courted by incapacity.
He who desires but acts not, breeds pestilence.
The cut worm forgives the plow.
Dip him in the river who loves water.
A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees.
He whose face gives no light,
shall never become a star.
Eternity is in love with the productions of time.
The busy bee has no time for sorrow.
The hours of folly are measur'd by the clock;
but of wisdom, no clock can measure.
All wholsom food is caught without a net or a trap. Bring out
number,
weight ＆ measure in a year of dearth. No bird soars too high, if
he soars with his own wings. A dead body revenges not injuries.
The most sublime act is to set another before you.
If the fool would persist in his folly,
he would become wise.
Folly is the cloke of knavery.
Shame is pride's cloke.
Prisons are built with stones of law,
brothels with bricks of religion.
The pride of the peacock is the glory of God.
The lust of the goat is the bounty of God.
The wrath of the lion is the wisdom of God.
The nakedness of woman is the work of God.
Excess of sorrow laughs.
Excess of joy weeps.
The roaring of lions,
the howling of wolves,
the raging of the stormy sea,
and the destructive sword,
are portions of eternity too great for the eye of man.
The fox condemns the trap, not himself.
Joys impregnate. Sorrows bring forth.
Let man wear the feel of the lion,
woman the fleece of the sheep.
The bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship.
The selfish smiling fool,＆ the sullen,
frowning fool shall be thought wise,
that they may be a rod.
What is now proved was only once imagin'd.
The rat, the mouse, the fox, the rabbet
watch the roots;
the lion the tyger, the horse, the elephant,
watch the fruits.
The cistern contains： the fountain overflows.
One thought fills immensity,
always be ready to speak your mind,
and a base man will avoid you.
Every thing possible to be beliv'd
is an image of truth.
The eagle never lost so much time,
as when he submitted to learn of the crow.
The fox provides for himself,
but God provides for the lion.
Think in the morning.
Act in the noon.
Eat in the evening.
Sleep in the night.
He who has suffer'd you to impose on him knows you.
As the plow follows words, so God rewards prayers.
The tygers of wrath are the wiser
than the horses of instruction.
Expect poison from the standing water.
You never know what is enough
unless you know what is more than enough.
Listen to the fool's reproach! It is a kingly title! The eyes of
fire,
the nostrils of air,
the mouth of water,
the beard of earth.
The weak in courage is strong in cunning.
The apple tree never asks the beech how he shall grow; nor the
lion, the horse, how he shall take his pray. The thankful
receiver bears a plentiful harvest.
If others had not been foolish, we should be so.
The soul of sweet delight can never be defil'd.
When thou seest an eagle,
thou seest a portion of genius;
lift up thy head!
As the caterpiller chooses
the fairest leaves to lay her eggs on.
So the priest lays his curse on the fairest joys.
To create a little flower is the labour of ages.
Damn braces： bless relaxes.
The best wine is the oldest,
the best water the newest.
Prayers plow not! Praises reap not!
Joys laugh not! Sorrows weep not!
The head sublime, the heart pathos, the genitals beauty, the
hands ＆ feet proportion.
As the air to bird or the sea to fish,
so is contempt to the contemptible.
The crow wish'd every thing was black,
the owl that every thing was white.
Exuberance is Beauty.
If the lion was advised by the fox,he would be cunning.
Improve (me) nt makes strait road;
but the crooked roads without improvement
are roads of genius.
Sooner murder an infant in its cradle
than nurse unacted desires.
Where man is not, nature is barren.
Truth can never be told so as to be understood,
and not be beliv'd.
Enough! Or too much.
8.Plate 11
The ancient Poets animated all sensible objects with Gods or
Geniuses, calling them by the names and adorning them with the
properties of woods, rivers, mountains, lakes, cities, nations,
and whatever their enlarged ＆ numerous senses could percieve.
And particularly they studied the genius of each city ＆ country,
placing it under its mental deity.
Till a system was formed, which some took advantage of ＆
enslav'd the vulgar by attempting to realize or abstract the
mental deities from their objects; thus began Priesthood.
Choosing forms of worship from poetic tales.
And a length they pronounc'd that the Gods had order'd such
things.
Thus men forgot that All deities reside in the human breast.
9.Intro
10.A Memorable Fancy, Plates 12-13
The Prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel dined with me, and I asked them
how they dared so roundly to assert, that God spoke to them; and
whether they did not think at the time, that they would be
misunderstood, ＆ so be the cause of imposition.
Isaiah answer'd, I saw no God, nor heard any, in a finite
organical perception; but my senses discover'd the infinite in
every thing, and as I was then perswaded, ＆ remain confirm'd;
that the voice of honest indignation is the voice of God, I
cared not for consequences but wrote.
Then I asked：does a firm perswasion that a thing is so, make it
so？
He replied, All poets that it does, ＆ in ages of imagination
this firm perswasion removed mountains; but many are not capable
of a firm perswasion of any thing.
Then Ezekiel said, The philosophy of the east taught the first
principles of human perception： some nations held one principle
for the origin ＆ some another; we of Israel taught that the
Poetic Genius (as you now call it) was the first principle and
all other others merely derivative, which was the cause of our
despising the priests ＆ Philosophers of other countries, and
prophecying that all Gods would at last be proved to originate
in ours ＆ to be the tributaries of the Poetic Genius; it was
this that our great poet King David desired so fervently ＆
invokes so patheticly, saying by this he conquers enemies ＆
governs kingdoms; and we so loved our God, that we cursed in his
name all deities of surrounding nations, and asserted that they
had rebelled; from these opinions the vulgar came to think that
all nations would at last be subject to the jews.
This said he, like all firm perswasions, is come to pass, for
all nations believe the jews code and worship the jews god, and
what greater subjection can be？
I heard this with some wonder, ＆ must confess my own conviction.
After dinner I ask'd Isaiah to favour the world with his lost
works, he said none of equal value was lost. Ezekiel said the
same of his.
I also asked Isaiah what made him go naked and barefoot three
years？ he answer'd, the same that made our friend Diogenes the
Grecian.
I then asked Ezekiel, why he eat dung, ＆ lay so long on his
right ＆ left side？ he answer'd, the desire of raising other men
into a perception of the infinite; this the North American
tribes practise, ＆ is he honest who resists his genius or
conscience only for the sake of present ease or gratification？
11.Plate 14
The ancient tradition that the world will be consumed in fire at
the end of six thousand years is true, as I have heard from
Hell.
For the cherub with his flaming sword is hereby commanded to
leave his guard at tree of life, and when he does, the whole
creation will be consumed, and appear infinite, and holy whereas
it now appears finite ＆ corrupt.
This will come to pass by an improvement of sensual enjoyment.
But first the notion that man has a body distinct from his soul,
is to be expunged： this I shall do, by printing in the infernal
method, by corrosives, which in Hell are salutary and medicinal,
melting apparent surfaces away, and displaying the infinite
which was hid.
If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would
appear to man as it is, infinite.
For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thro'
narrow chinks of his cavern.
12.A Memorable Fancy, Plate 15
I was in a Printing house in Hell ＆ saw the method in which
knowledge is transmitted from generation to generation.
In the first chamber was a Dragon-Man, clearing away the rubbish
from a caves moth; within, a number of Dragons were hollowing
the cave.
In the second chamber was a Viper folding round the rock ＆ the
cave, and others adorning it with gold, silver and precious
stones.
In the third chamber was an Eagle with wings and feathers of
air; he caused the inside of the cave to be infinite; around
were numbers of Eagle like men, who built palaces in the immense
cliffs.
In the fourth chamber were Lions of flaming fire raging around ＆
melting the metals into living fluids.
In the fifth chamber were Unnam'd forms, which cast the metals
into the expanse.
There they were reciev'd by Men who occupied the sixth chamber,
and took the forms of books ＆ were arranged in libraries.
13.Plates 16-17
The Giants who formed this world into its sensual existence and
now seem to live in it in chains, are in truth, the causes of
its life ＆ the sources of all activity; but the chains are, the
cunning of weak and tame minds, which have power to resist
energy, according to the proverb, the weak in courage is strong
in cunning.
Thus one portion of being, is the Prolific, the other, the
Devouring：to the devourer it seems as if the producer was in his
chains, but it is not so; he only takes portions of existence
and fancies that the whole.
But the Prolific would cease to be Prolific unless the Devourer
as a sea recieved the excess of his delights.
Some will say, Is not God alone the Prolific？ I answer, God only
Acts ＆ Is, in existing beings or Men.
These two classes of men are always upon earth, ＆ they should be
enemies; whoever tries to reconcile them seeks to destroy
existence.
Religion is an endeavour to reconcile the two.
Note. Jesus Christ did not wish to unit but to seperate them, as
in the Parable of sheep and goats! ＆ he says I came not to send
Peace but a Sword.
Messiah or Satan or Tempter was formerly thought to be one of
the Antediluvians who are our Energies.
14.A Memorable Fancy , Plates 17-20
An Angel came to me and said O pitiable foolish young man! O
horrible! O dreadful state! consider the hot burning dungeon
thou art preparing for thyself to all eternity, to which thou
art going in such career.
I said, perhaps you will be willing to shew me my eternal lot ＆
we will contemplate together upon it and see whether your lot or
mine is most desirable.
So he took me thro' a stable ＆ thro' a church ＆ down into the
church vault at the end of which was a mill：thro' the mill we
went, and came to a cave, down the winding cavern we groped our
tedious way till a void boundless as a nether sky appear'd
beneath us, ＆ we held by the roots of trees and hung over this
immensity, but I said, if you please we will commit ourselves to
this void, and see whether providence is here also, if you will
not, I will？ but he answer'd, do not presume O young-man but as
we here remain behold thy lot which will soon appear when the
darkness passes away.
So I remain'd with him sitting in the twisted root of an oak; he
was suspended in a fungus, which hung with the head downward
into the deep.
By degrees we beheld the infinite Abyss, fiery as the smoke of a
burning city; beneath us at an immense distance was the sun,
black but shining; round it were fiery tracks on which revolv'd
vast spiders, crawling after their prey; which flew or rather
swum in the infinite deep, in the most terrific shapes of
animals sprung from corruption, ＆ the air was full of them, ＆
seem'd composed of them; these are Devils, and arc called Powers
of the air. I now asked my companion which was my eternal lot？
he said, between the black ＆ white spiders.
But now, from between the black ＆ white spiders, a cloud and
fire burst and rolled thro' the deep, blackning all beneath, so
that the nether deep grew black as a sea ＆ rolled with a
terrible noise; beneath us was nothing now to be seen but a
black tempest, till looking east between the clouds ＆ the waves,
we saw a cataract of blood mixed with fire, and not many stones
throw from us appear'd and sunk again the scaly fold of a
monstrous serpent; at last to the east, distant about three
degrees appear'd a fiery crest above the waves; slowly it reared
like a ridge of golden rocks till we discover'd two globes of
crimson fire, from which the sea fled away in clouds of smoke,
and now we saw, it was the head of Leviathan; his forehead was
divided into streaks of green ＆ purple like those on a tygers
forehead： soon we saw his mouth ＆ red gills hang just above the
raging foam tinging the black deep with beams of blood,
advancing toward us with all the fury of a spiritual existence.
My friend the Angel climb'd up from his station into the mill; I
remain'd alone, ＆ then this appearance was no more, but I found
myself sitting on a pleasant bank beside a river by moonlight
hearing a harper who sung to the harp, ＆ his theme was, The man
who never alters his opinion is like standing water, ＆ breeds
reptiles of the mind.
But I arose, and sought for the mill ＆ there I found my Angel,
who surprised asked me how I escaped？
I answer'd, All that we saw was owing to your metaphysics; for
when you ran away, I found myself on a bank by moonlight hearing
a harper. But now we have seen my eternal lot, shall I shew you
yours？ he laugh'd at my proposal; but I by force suddenly caught
him in my arms, ＆ flew westerly thro' the night, till we were
elevated above the earths shadow; then I flung myself with him
directly into the body of the sun; here I clothed myself in
white, ＆ taking in my hand Swedenborgs volumes, sunk from the
glorious clime, and passed all the planets till we came to
saturn; here I staid to rest, ＆ then leap'd into the void,
between saturn ＆ the fixed stars.
Here, said I! is your lot, in this space, if space it may be
call'd. Soon we saw the stable and the church, ＆ I took him to
the altar and open'd the Bible, and lo! it was a deep pit, into
which I descended driving the Angel before me; soon we saw seven
houses of brick; one we enter'd; in it were a number of monkeys,
baboons, ＆ all of that species, chain'd by the middle, grinning
and snatching at one another, but witheld by the shortness of
their chains; however I saw that they sometimes grew numerous,
and then the weak were caught by the strong, and with a grinning
aspect, first coupled with ＆ then devour'd, by plucking off
first one limb and then another till the body was left a
helpless trunk; this after grinning ＆ kissing it with seeming
fondness they devour'd too; and here ＆ there I saw one savourily
picking the flesh off of his own tail; as the stench terribly
annoy'd us both we went into the mill, ＆ I in my hand brought
the skeleton of a body, which in the mill was Aristotles
Analytics.
So the Angel said： thy phantasy has imposed upon me ＆ thou
oughtest to be ashamed.
I answer'd： we impose on one another, ＆ it is but lost time to
converse with you whose works are only Analytics.
Opposition is true Friendship.
15.Plates 21-22
I have always found that Angels have the vanity to speak of
themselves as the only wise; this they do with a confident
insolence sprouting from systematic reasoning：
Thus Swedenborg boasts that what he writes is new; tho' it is
only the Contents or Index of already publish'd books.
A man carried a monkey about for a shew, ＆ because he was a
little wiser than the monkey, grew vain, and conciev'd himself
as much wiser than seven men. It is so with Swedenborg; he shews
the folly of churches ＆ exposes hypocrites, till he imagines
that all are religious, ＆ himself the single one on earth that
ever broke a net.
Now hear a plain fact： Swedenborg has not written one new truth：
Now hear another： he has written all the old falshoods.
And now hear the reason. He conversed with Angels who are all
religious, ＆ conversed not with Devils who all hate religion,
for he was incapable thro' his conceited notions.
Thus Swedenborgs writings are a recapitulation of all
superficial, opinions, and an analysis of the more sublime, but
no further.
Have now another plain fact： Any man of mechanical talents may
from the writings of Paracelsus or Jacob Behmen, produce ten
thousand volumes of equal value with Swedenborgs, and from those
of Dante or Shakespear, an infinite number.
But when he has done this, let him not say that he knows better
than his master, for he only holds a candle in sunshine.
16.A Memorable Fancy, Plates 22-24
Once I saw a Devil in a flame of fire, who arose before an Angel
that sat on a cloud, and the Devil utter'd these words.
The worship of God is, Honouring his gifts in other men each
according to his genius, and loving the greatest men best; those
who envy or calumniate great men hate God, for there is no other
God.
The Angel hearing this became almost blue, but mastering himself
he grew yellow, ＆ at last white pink ＆ smiling, and then
replied,
Thou Idolater, is not God One？ ＆ is not he visible in Jesus
Christ？ and has not Jesus Christ given his sanction to the law
often commandments, and are not all other men fools, sinners, ＆
nothings？
The Devil answer'd： bray a fool in a morter with wheat, yet
shall not his folly be beaten out of him; if Jesus Christ is the
greatest man, you ought to love him in the greatest degree; now
hear how he has given his sanction to the law of ten
commandments： did he not mock at the sabbath, and so mock the
sabbaths God？ murder those who were murder'd because of him？
turn away the law from the woman taken in adultery？ steal the
labor of others to support him？ bear false witness when he
omitted making a defence before Pilate？ covet when he pray'd for
his disciples, and when he bid them shake off the dust of their
feet against such as refused to lodge them？ I tell you, no
virtue can exist without breaking these ten commandments; Jesus
was all virtue, and acted from impulse, not from rules.
When he had so spoken： I beheld the Angel who stretched out his
arms embracing the flame of fire, ＆ he was consumed and arose as
Elijah.
Note. This Angel, who is now become a Devil, is my particular
friend; we often read the Bible together in its infernal or
diabolical sense which the world shall have if they behave well.
I have also： The Bible of Hell： which the world shall have
whether they will or no.
One Law for the Lion ＆ Ox is Oppression.
17.A Song Of Liberty, Plates 25-27
1. The Eternal Female groan'd! it was heard over all the Earth：
2. Albions coast is sick silent; the American meadows faint!
3. Shadows of Prophecy shiver along by the lakes and the rivers
and mutter across the ocean. France rend down thy dungeon;
4. Golden Spain burst the barriers of old Rome;
5. Cast thy keys O Rome into the deep down falling, even to
eternity down falling,
6. And weep.
7. In her trembling hands she took the new born terror howling;
8. On those infinite mountains of light, now barr'd out by the
atlantic sea, the new born fire stood before the starry king!
9. Flag'd with grey brow'd snows and thunderous visages the
jealous wings wav'd over the deep.
10. The speary hand burned aloft, unbuckled was the shield,
forth went the hand of jealousy among the flaming hair, and
hurl'd the new born wonder thro' the starry night.
11. The fire, the fire, is falling!
12. Look up! look up! O citizen of London, enlarge thy
countenance; O Jew, leave counting gold! return to thy oil and
wine; O African! black African! (go, winged thought, widen his
forehead.)
13. The fiery limbs, the flaming hair, shot like the sinking sun
into the western sea.
14 Wak'd from his eternal sleep, the hoary element roaring fled
away;
15. Down rush'd beating his wings in vain the jealous king; his
grey brow'd councellors, thunderous warriors, curl'd veterans,
among helms, and shields, and chariots, horses, elephants：
banners, castles, slings, and rocks,
16. Falling, rushing, ruining! buried in the ruins, on Urthona's
dens;
17. All night beneath the ruins, then their sullen flames faded
emerge round the gloomy King.
18. With thunder and fire： leading his starry hosts thro' the
waste wilderness, he promulgates his ten commands, glancing： his
beamy eyelids over the deep in dark dismay,
19. Where the son of fire in his eastern cloud, while the
morning plumes her Golden breast,
20. Spurning the clouds written with curses, stamps the stony
law to dust, loosing： the eternal horses from the dens of night,
crying,
Empire is no more! and now the lion ＆ wolf shall cease
Chorus
Let the Priests of the Raven of dawn, no longer in deadly black,
with hoarse note curse the sons of joy. Nor his accepted
brethren, whom tyrant, he calls free： lay the bound or build the
roof. Nor pale religious letchery call that virginity, that
wishes but acts not!
For every thing that lives is Holy.
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