The ancient poets animated all 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 perceive. 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 at length they pronounc'd that the Gods had order'd such things. Thus men forgot that all deities reside in the human breast.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Ancient poets saw divinity in nature, but later systems abstracted this to control people.
- In plain terms
- Poets saw gods in nature, but priests took those ideas to control others.
- What can you take from it?
- Remember that divinity lives within humans, not just abstract systems.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How does organized religion affect your view of divinity?
- Where do you find the divine in nature?
Another view
The critique of priesthood overlooks how communities find meaning in structure.
More from William Blake
Enough! or too much.
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