# Poetical works of William Blake (Sampson, 1913)/The Book of Thel

Other versions: The Book of Thel
THE
BOOK OF THEL
(Engraved 1789)
Thel's Motto.
Does the Eagle know what is in the pit;
Or wilt thou go ask the Mole?
Can Wisdom be put in a silver rod,
Or Love in a golden bowl?
* I
* The daughters of [the] Seraphim led round their sunny flocks—5
* All but the youngest: she in paleness sought the secret air,
* To fade away like morning beauty from her mortal day:
* Down by the river of Adona her soft voice is heard,
* And thus her gentle lamentation falls like morning dew:—
* 'O life of this our spring! why fades the lotus of the water? 10
* Why fade these children of the spring, born but to smile and fall?
* Ah! Thel is like a wat'ry bow, and like a parting cloud;
* Like a reflection in a glass; like shadows in the water;
* Like dreams of infants, like a smile upon an infant's face;
* Like the dove's voice; like transient day; like music in the air. 15
* Ah! gentle may I lay me down, and gentle rest my head,
* And gentle sleep the sleep of death, and gentle hear the voice
* Of Him that walketh in the garden in the evening time.'
* The Lily of the Valley, breathing in the humble grass,
* Answerèd the lovely maid and said: 'I am a wat'ry weed, 20
* And I am very small, and love to dwell in lowly vales; ​So weak, the gilded butterfly scarce perches on my head.
* Yet I am visited from heaven, and He that smiles on all
* Walks in the valley, and each morn over me spreads His hand,
* Saying, "Rejoice, thou humble grass, thou new-born lily-flower, 25
* Thou gentle maid of silent valleys and of modest brooks;
* For thou shalt be clothed in light, and fed with morning manna,
* Till summer's heat melts thee beside the fountains and the springs,
* To flourish in eternal vales." Then why should Thel complain?
* Why should the mistress of the vales of Har utter a sigh?' 30
* She ceas'd, and smil'd in tears, then sat down in her silver shrine.
* Thel answer'd: 'O thou little Virgin of the peaceful valley,
* Giving to those that cannot crave, the voiceless, the o'ertired;
* Thy breath doth nourish the innocent lamb, he smells thy milky garments,
* He crops thy flowers while thou sittest smiling in his face, 35
* Wiping his mild and meeking mouth from all contagious taints.
* Thy wine doth purify the golden honey; thy perfume,
* Which thou dost scatter on every little blade of grass that springs,
* Revives the milked cow, and tames the fire-breathing steed.
* But Thel is like a faint cloud kindled at the rising sun: 40
* I vanish from my pearly throne, and who shall find my place?'
* 'Queen of the vales,' the Lily answer'd, 'ask the tender Cloud,
* And it shall tell thee why it glitters in the morning sky,
* And why it scatters its bright beauty thro' the humid air.
* Descend, O little Cloud, and hover before the eyes of Thel.' 45
* The Cloud descended, and the Lily bowed her modest head,
* And went to mind her numerous charge among the verdant grass.
* II
* 'O little Cloud,' the Virgin said, 'I charge thee tell to me
* Why thou complainest not, when in one hour thou fade away:
* Then we shall seek thee, but not find. Ah! Thel is like to thee
* I pass away; yet I complain, and no one hears my voice.' 51 ​The Cloud then show'd his golden head and his bright form emerg'd,
* Hovering and glittering on the air before the face of Thel.
* 'O Virgin, know'st thou not our steeds drink of the golden springs
* Where Luvah doth renew his horses? Look'st thou on my youth, 55
* And fearest thou, because I vanish and am seen no more,
* Nothing remains? O Maid, I tell thee, when I pass away,
* It is to tenfold life, to love, to peace, and raptures holy:
* Unseen descending, weigh my light wings upon balmy flowers,
* And court the fair-eyed dew, to take me to her shining tent: 60
* The weeping virgin, trembling, kneels before the risen sun,
* Till we arise link'd in a golden band and never part,
* But walk united, bearing food to all our tender flowers.'
* Dost thou, O little Cloud? I fear that I am not like thee,
* For I walk thro' the vales of Har, and smell the sweetest flowers,
* But I feed not the little flowers; I hear the warbling birds, 66
* But I feed not the warbling birds; they fly and seek their food:
* But Thel delights in these no more, because I fade away;
* And all shall say, "Without a use this shining woman liv'd,
* Or did she only live to be at death the food of worms?"' 70
* The Cloud reclin'd upon his airy throne, and answer'd thus:—
* 'Then if thou art the food of worms, O Virgin of the skies,
* How great thy use, how great thy blessing! Everything that lives
* Lives not alone nor for itself. Fear not, and I will call
* The weak Worm from its lowly bed, and thou shalt hear its voice.
* Come forth, Worm of the silent valley, to thy pensive Queen.' 76
* The helpless Worm arose, and sat upon the Lily's leaf,
* And the bright Cloud sail'd on, to find his partner in the vale.
* III
* Then Thel astonish'd view'd the Worm upon its dewy bed.
* 'Art thou a Worm? Image of weakness, art thou but a Worm?
* I see thee like an infant wrapped in the Lily's leaf. 81 ​Ah! weep not, little voice, thou canst not speak, but thou canst weep.
* Is this a Worm? I see thee lay helpless and naked, weeping,
* And none to answer, none to cherish thee with mother's smiles.'
* The Clod of Clay heard the Worm's voice and rais'd her pitying head: 85
* She bow'd over the weeping infant, and her life exhal'd
* In milky fondness: then on Thel she fix'd her humble eyes.
* 'O Beauty of the vales of Har! we live not for ourselves.
* Thou seest me, the meanest thing, and so I am indeed.
* My bosom of itself is cold, and of itself is dark; 90
* But He, that loves the lowly, pours His oil upon my head,
* And kisses me, and binds His nuptial bands around my breast,
* And says: "Thou mother of my children, I have lovèd thee,
* And I have given thee a crown that none can take away."
* But how this is, sweet Maid, I know not, and I cannot know; 95
* I ponder, and I cannot ponder; yet I live and love.'
* The Daughter of Beauty wip'd her pitying tears with her white veil,
* And said: 'Alas! I knew not this, and therefore did I weep.
* That God would love a worm I knew, and punish the evil foot
* That wilful bruis'd its helpless form; but that He cherish'd it 100
* With milk and oil I never knew, and therefore did I weep;
* And I complain'd in the mild air, because I fade away,
* And lay me down in thy cold bed, and leave my shining lot.'
* 'Queen of the vales,' the matron Clay answer'd, 'I heard thy sighs,
* And all thy moans flew o'er my roof, but I have call'd them down.
* Wilt thou, O Queen, enter my house? 'Tis given thee to enter 106
* And to return: fear nothing, enter with thy virgin feet.'
* IV
* The eternal gates' terrific Porter lifted the northern bar:
* Thel enter'd in and saw the secrets of the land unknown.
* She saw the couches of the dead, and where the fibrous roots 110 ​Of every heart on earth infixes deep its restless twists:
* A land of sorrows and of tears where never smile was seen,
* She wander'd in the land of clouds thro' valleys dark, list'ning
* Dolours and lamentations; waiting oft beside a dewy grave
* She stood in silence, list'ning to the voices of the ground, 115
* Till to her own grave-plot she came, and there she sat down,
* And heard this voice of sorrow breathed from the hollow pit.
* 'Why cannot the Ear be closed to its own destruction?
* Or the glist'ning Eye to the poison of a smile?
* Why are Eyelids stor'd with arrows ready drawn, 120
* Where a thousand fighting men in ambush lie,
* Or an Eye of gifts and graces show'ring fruits and coined gold?
* Why a Tongue impress'd with honey from every wind?
* Why an Ear, a whirlpool fierce to draw creations in?
* Why a Nostril wide inhaling terror, trembling, and affright? 125
* Why a tender curb upon the youthful, burning boy?
* Why a little curtain of flesh on the bed of our desire?'
* The Virgin started from her seat, and with a shriek
* Fled back unhinder'd till she came into the vales of Har.
THE END.