Allen’s analysis of Willam Blake’s “The Marriage Heaven and Hell” – continues from here
AG: Then, a nice series:
The pride of the peacock is the glory of God.
The lust of the goat is the bounty of God.
The wrath of the lion is the wisdom of God.
The nakedness of woman is the work of God
“The glory..” – Let’s see now. This would be interesting. Glory, bounty, wisdom, and work. There is some echo of Hebrew, Chochmah Binat Da’at. What is that? Glory, bounty, wisdom, work. What are the Hebrew virtues, the Hebrew succession? Chochmah Binat Da’at Wisdom, beauty, understanding. (to Student) – Do you know that, sir? Can you give us….
Student: (Well, these are related to the ten Sefirots ) obviously…
AG: No, but what are the Sefirot? The first, second, third. Are the Chochmah one? Is that right? Can you give us the names of those? In Hebrew and English.
Student: No.
AG: You don’t remember them?
Student: No.
AG: Well, Blake studied a lot of Hebrew, Kabbalah, Kabbalistic (texts), and I think this series is probably influenced by that. In Kabballah there is the Kabbalistic tree and there are different areas of the tree corresponding to areas of the Homunculus ( the human) and various words are used as central reference principles for human nature. And I think the first is Chochmah. And what is Chochmah?
Student: Wisdom.
AG: Wisdom. And Binat
Student: I think the next one is Da’at
AG: Da’at. What is that?
Student: Knowledge.
AG: And the.. Da’at?
Student: Pardon?
AG: Chochma, Da’at, and what is the third?
Student: (Binat), which means understanding.
AG: Okay, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding are the sort of classical triad that begin the Hebrew Tree of Life. And I think this is influenced by his reading in that. They might correlate to Bounty, Wisdom, Work. Work being Tharmas, Wisdom being Urizen, Bounty being Luvah, Emotion, and Glory being Imagination, Los. It’s a four-fold vision here. A four-fold division of beauties. Pride, lust. And then their opposites: pride, lust, wrath. Nakedness. Well, that’s the work.
to be continued