The Human Abstract
The Human Abstract - context Summary
Songs of Experience (1794)
Published in Songs of Experience (1794), Blake’s "The Human Abstract" presents a skeptical, psychological account of supposedly moral qualities. It argues that pity, mercy, humility and mystery grow from social inequality and self-interest rather than from divine goodness. Imagery of a sinister Tree that bears deceit and shelters the raven culminates in Blake’s claim that this corrupting principle does not grow in nature but in the human brain.
Read Complete AnalysesPity would be no more If we did not make somebody Poor; And Mercy no more could be If all were as happy as we. And mutual fear brings peace, Till the selfish loves increase: Then Cruelty knits a snare, And spreads his baits with care. He sits down with holy fears, And waters the grounds with tears; Then Humility takes its root Underneath his foot. Soon spreads the dismal shade Of Mystery over his head; And the Caterpillar and Fly Feed on the Mystery. And it bears the fruit of Deceit, Ruddy and sweet to eat; And the Raven his nest has made In its thickest shade. The Gods of the earth and sea Sought thro' Nature to find this Tree; But their search was all in vain: There grows one in the Human Brain.
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