A Memorable Fancy, Plates 6–7

(PLATES 6-7)

As I was walking among the fires of hell,

delighted with the enjoyment of genius,

which to angels look like torment and insanity,

I collected some of their proverbs:

thinking that as the saying used in a nation mark its character.

So the proverbs of hell shew the nature of infernal wisdom

better than any description of buildings or garments.

When I came home: on the abyss of the five senses,

where a flat sided steep frowns over the present world,

I saw a mighty Devil folded in black clouds,

hovering on the sides of rock, with corroding fires

He wrote the following sentence now perceived

by the minds of men & read by them on earth:

how do you know bu ev'ry bird that cuts the airy way,

is an immense world of delight, clos'd by your senses five?