| William Blake (1757–1827). The Poetical Works. 1908. | | | | Poems from the Rossetti MS.: Later Poems | | You don’t believe |
| | | YOU 1 don’t believe—I won’t attempt to make ye: | |
| You are asleep—I won’t attempt to wake ye. | |
| Sleep on! sleep on! while in your pleasant dreams | |
| Of Reason you may drink of Life’s clear streams. | |
| Reason and Newton, they are quite two things; | 5 |
| For so the swallow and the sparrow sings. | |
| Reason says ‘Miracle’: Newton says ‘Doubt.’ | |
| Aye! that’s the way to make all Nature out. | |
| ‘Doubt, doubt, and don’t believe without experiment’: | |
| That is the very thing that Jesus meant, | 10 |
| When He said ‘Only believe! believe and try! | |
| Try, try, and never mind the reason why!’ | |
| | | Note 1. 1 You don’t believe I would attempt to make ye. MS. 1st rdg. del. [back] | | |
|
|
|
