To F[laxman] and S[tothard]: I found them blind: I taught them how to see. On Friends and Foes. William Blake. 1908. The Poetical Works

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William Blake (1757–1827). The Poetical Works. 1908.

On Friends and Foes

To F[laxman] and S[tothard]: I found them blind: I taught them how to see


XIII I FOUND 1 them blind: I taught them how to see;
And now they know neither themselves nor me.
’Tis excellent to turn a thorn to a pin,
A fool to a bolt, a knave to a glass of gin.

Note 1. XIII Title] The words ‘and S.’ are an addition. I them] him MS. 1st rdg. del. 2 they know … themselves] he knows … himself MS. 1st rdg. del. Blake introduces this couplet into his Descriptive Catalogue (1809). [back]

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