Thou art a man God is no more Thy own humanity Learn to adore
William BlakeRead
Every harlot was a virgin once.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that everyone has a past that may not define their present circumstances.
William Blake's quote highlights the idea that every person starts from a place of innocence and potential before their life experiences shape who they become. It serves as a reminder that past actions or statuses should not solely define a person's identity or worth, and that transformation is always possible.
In practice
In a discussion about personal growth, one might quote Blake to emphasize that everyone has had a time of purity.
Thou art a man God is no more Thy own humanity Learn to adore
In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.
O thou who passest through our valleys in Thy strength, curb thy fierce steeds, allay the heat That flames from their large nostrils! Thou, O Summer, Oft pitchest here thy golden tent, and oft Beneath our oaks hast slept, while we beheld With joy thy ruddy limbs and flourishing hair.
Every Night and every Morn Some to Misery are born. Every Morn and every Night Some are born to Sweet Delight, Some are born to Endless Night.
As the caterpillar chooses the fairest leaves to lay her eggs on, so the priest lays his curse on the fairest joys.
He who would do good to another must do it in minute particulars.
Freeing oneself from words is liberation.
Become aware, awake. Then you will see that everything comes and goes, all things come and pass. Life is a flux. Your consciousness is the only thing that is immovable, that is eternal. To attain it is freedom. To attain it is the goal of life. If you miss it you have missed your life and you have missed a tremendously great gift, a great opportunity.
...And then, just when everything is bearing down on us to such an extent that we can scarcely withstand it, the Christmas message comes to tell us that all our ideas are wrong, and that what we take to be evil and dark is really good and light because it comes from God. Our eyes are at fault, that is all.
Two prisoners whose cells adjoin communicate with each other by knocking on the wall. The wall is the thing which separates them but is also their means of communication. It is the same with us and God. Every separation is a link.
This is an execution, not surgery. Where does that come from, that you must find the method of execution that causes the least pain?
In such a fearful world, we need a fearless church
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