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The Divine Image

BY WILLIAM BLAKE

To Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love

All pray in their distress;

And to these virtues of delight

Return their thankfulness.

For Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love

Is God, our father dear,

And Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love

Is Man, his child and care.

For Mercy has a human heart,

Pity a human face,

And Love, the human form divine,

And Peace, the human dress.

Then every man, of every clime,

That prays in his distress,

Prays to the human form divine,

Love, Mercy, Pity, Peace.

And all must love the human form,

In heathen, Turk, or Jew;

Where Mercy, Love, and Pity dwell

There God is dwelling too.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/43656/the-divine-image

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I replied to TC on another thread with the song "People" and its lyrics from the 1964 Broadway musical "Funny Girl". Many tunes from the 1960s extolled togetherness, while the Empire did its utmost to sow division and still does.

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Oh yes. I have also found it — Google translation. But the book I was referring to is: Who is Charlie: Xenophobia and the New Middle Class

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I am reading Emmanuel Todd’s book and he used the last stanza from William Blake for his book. I thought it was timely to use it for your post.

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I was able to download an English translation of Todd's work but have yet to get to it along with so many others. I spend too much time dealing with current events that I find a difficult habit to break.

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When speaking of songs, Alan Parson project — Children of the Moon is a diagnosis of our predicament….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0IFg4i62RI

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IMO, although realist to a degree, it's defeatist--we've succumbed, there's "nothing to live or die for." Russians would reject that message.

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I would insist that not only Russians. And, yes, I agree we must reject this ‘ethos’. BTW, an interesting read of this song — I have always read it as critique of ‘nothing to live or die for’.

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After the wall came down the East Germans were visibly more public minded and are still keeping it up to this very day.

The common good. That word is around somewhere but has not been in much use recently.

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