William Blake (1757–1827). The Poetical Works. 1908.
Miscellaneous Epigrams
His whole life is an epigram, smart, smooth, and neatly penn’d
I
HIS1 whole life is an epigram smart, smooth and neatly penn’d,
Plaited quite neat to catch applause, with a hang-noose at the end.
Note 1. Miscellaneous Epigrams] All these (written circa 1807–9) are taken from the Rossetti MS., with the exception of no. XI, which is one of Blake’s marginalia in his copy of Reynolds’ Discourses. I 1 The first word, which is very indistinctly written, may be either ‘His’ or ‘Her’ ; all editors print the latter, but ‘His’ on the whole seems the more probable reading. The same words, it may be noted, are confused in the Song, ‘Love and Harmony combine’ (Poetical Sketches, p. 10 of this ed.). [back]
