Proverbs of Hell 3

This is the third installment of my series on William Blake’s “Proverbs of Hell” please see this post for background and ground work and coffee grounds

Dip him in the river who loves water

I love this one, just placing the reason for “dipping” this guy in the river after the instruction gives it such a sardonic edge. It feels like the fanciest way to say “well why don’t you marry it then?” ever printed. As for advice, well life is all about dosages, and if you love something then too much of it is an important lesson. Maybe it could be an admonition about what to do with somebody who just won’t move off of a subject, but it just feels like a snotty remark.

A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees

This is a reminder that our perspectives are going to differ for a lot of reasons. This hypothetical fool may see a tree as an obstacle that sheds chores in the fall, while the theoretical wise man may see a resource, turning carbon dioxide into oxygen, nutrients into hard wood for harvest, shedding fruits for more trees and to feed local creatures and other plants. This advice is better than that though, because it does not make a judgment beyond the men’s relative positions on the fool spectrum. The fool is just as useful as the wise man because they see different trees, not a better and a worse tree. It would be more foolish of either of the two if they were to think the other one saw the same tree they did, so they must communicate about the tree to see the differences. They both should not assume their knowledge is complete.

He whose face gives no light, shall never become a star

Star symbolism is always so murky. The easiest interpretation is that a person who is never cheerful or smiling or pleasant will never become prominent or well liked. There is a little depth in the fact that a star can also be a guide so perhaps if you never teach or illuminate you’ll never be seen as an authority? This is an axiom on the level of “you’ll catch more flies with honey than vinegar,” important, but not complicated.

Music :