Proverbs of Hell 13

This is the unlucky numberth entry in my series on William Blake’s “Proverbs of Hell” please see this post for context.

Every thing possible to be believ’d is an image of truth.

This is one of those simple insights where if you attempt to unpack it too much everyone gets really touchy. However, the nature of our reality, as best as I understand it, is that we are all comparing notes on what might as well be different experiences. Everyone’s life is as unique as their mind’s methods of adapting to it. Like it or not, the only real evidence any of us has that there are even really other beings out there is our sense of touch which can be affected by what otherwise may be illusions. Maybe ol’ Thomas was onto something.

I like to think of this proverb as a simple reminder that no matter how wild a perspective is, somebody out there genuinely thinks it’s the only rational response to the world around them. Their minds are just as sure as ours. So their perspective on the truth, whatever it may be, has as much inherent value as our own, even if they think highways are made of burnt brownies. It’s a terrifying thought to a certain sort of person, but it remains a fact as real as gravity. This proverb offers the perspective that no matter how different or useless that perspective may seem, even a mouse contains a unique understanding of Truth worth appreciating.

The eagle never lost so much time, as when he submitted to learn of the crow. ~

This one stands in almost complete contrast to the previous proverb. This seems to advocate that learning about another’s nature and habits is not useful to someone who will not need them. I was talking big game about animal metaphors earlier in this series but this one feels less savory to me.

In the 18th-19th centuries, an eagle would have been bound up in the symbology of imperial authority. Napoleon hadn’t come along yet, but there’s a reason that we have records of a debate about whether the bald eagle was an appropriate official animal for a young democracy. Franklin’s advocacy for the humble turkey feels like a quaint old piece of American mythology now, but eagles are a symbol of monarchic oppression on the level of the fasces or the laurel wreaths of the Roman Emperors. Personally, I think the weird old guy had a point, I just wished he’d picked a better bird. Eagles are on the levels of tigers and sharks in visceral appeal and no one is ever bummed about getting that result on a What Animal Are You? test. Blake would have seen the eagle as a symbol of authority, maybe not literally royalty who would be lions, but especially martial authority.

In contrast, the humble crow has never had a good reputation. If pigeons are the rats of birds, then crows are the raccoons. On a symbolic level, crows are bound up in mystery and secrets, and at this time pagan and shamanic implications. Crows are symbols of secret intelligence while also being public nuisances and active participants in urban life. The Raven is the one bound up in Celtic and Norse mythologies so I would wager that to Blake, a crow would be more like a particularly mean neighbor than a mysterious presence.

I could probably quibble about the “lost so much time” being ambiguously negative or gripe about the verb “submitted” as a way to really crank the dial towards the eagle. To save time, I think the point here could be charitably read as “Mind your own work” because other’s expertise will seldom be useful in your own circumstances. The crow and the eagle have fundamentally different approaches to every problem they have because they have different problems, and knowing how to solve a problem you don’t have isn’t spontaneously rewarding.

New page! Not much to say about this one other than I appreciate the contrasting yellow and blue background, it feels so simple but adds so much visual appeal. I don’t know what to make of the ethereal figures in the bottom right. They seem like pleasant doodles.

The fox provides for himself, but God provides for the lion.

Blake will make me regret my earlier embrace of animal symbols.

I mentioned the lion as a figure of royalty before, and I think the fox as a symbol of individualistic wit and agency through guile is pretty common. When it appeared earlier, the fox had a prey aspect to it as fox hunting was a common pass time back in those days, so there is possibly an element of class critique at work here. The humble fox has the ability to struggle, so the world allows it to struggle and eke out it’s tentative existence as fits its abilities.

The lion is a creature of regal ease, harvesting the hard grown efforts of other creatures who have lived to an age where the lionesses can take them down and feed the pride. It cannot exist otherwise, for in a one to one comparison, the huntresses of the prides can’t compete against other feline predators for speed or survival. Lions exist off of the protein of large mammals like wolves do in less equatorial climates, and rely on their mastery of their environment, camouflage, and teamwork. It’s a different kind of guile that rewards patience and consistency rather than adaptation and flight.

The thudding rhythm of the line and the inclusion of the Big G, make this feel resolute. Just because something sounds like a lost eleventh commandment doesn’t mean it’s anything other than a statement. Just saying “God” provides for the lion erases the contributions of the antelope while draping the lion in a heavenly raiment for doing its damn job. Like a gold plated envelope, containing a silk slip covered plate of silver, with etched letters on it: “run.”

We can’t ignore that the fox is equally deceived, for while a fox cloaks its actions in self dependency, it too survives off the quail and rabbits that have lived and grown so that it might eat. The fox lives without the appearance of ease and assured communal authority that the lion wields, but still possesses the same needs and goals. It comforts itself with self assurance and personal authority while it hustles for fractions of what the lion passively enjoys.

Spring is here, the wind is swirling the pollen and everyone is carrying jackets. Breathe it in.

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