How to know Love from Deceit

From Notebook, p. 107-106, reversed. See also Songs and Ballads.

1543446Notebook 29. How to know Love from DeceitWilliam Blake

________ </poem>

Notebook 29-a - How to know Love from Deceit
Notebook 29-b - How to know Love from Deceit

1st reading:[1]

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[How to know Love from Deceit del.]

Love to faults is always blind,
Always is to joy inclin'd,
[Always del.] Lawless wing'd, & unconfin'd,
And breaks all chains from every mind

Deceit to secrecy [inclind del.] confin'd,
[Modest prudish & confind del.]
Lawful cautious [word del.] & refind;
[Never is to del.] To every thing but interest blind
[And chains in fetters every mind del.]
And forges fetters for the mind.

2nd reading:[2]

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[HOW TO KNOW LOVE FROM DECEIT]

Love to faults is always blind
Always is to joy inclind
[Always] Lawless wingd, & unconfind,
And breaks all chains from every mind

Deceit to secrecy [inclind] confind,
[Modest prudish & confind]
Lawful cautious [changeful and] & refind
[Never is to] To every thing but interest blind
[And chains in fetters every mind]
And forges fetters for the mind
________

3rd reading:[3]

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[How to know Love from Deceit]

Love to faults is always blind
Always is to joy inclind
Lawless wingd & unconfind
And breaks all chains from every mind

Deceit to secresy confind
Lawful cautious & refind
To every thing but interest blind
And forges fetters for the mind[4]

Wikisource notes

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  1. "Blake Complete Writings", ed. Geoffrey Keynes, pub. OUP 1966/85, p. 174.
  2. William Blake The Complete Poems", ed. Alicia Ostriker, Penguin Books 1977, p. 147-148.
  3. "The Complete Poetry & Prose of William Blake", ed. by David V. Erdman, Anchor Books, 1988, p. 472
  4. How to know Love from Deceit N 107-106 rev
    Blake may only tentatively have considered these two stanzas, written on separate pages, as one poem; he added the title after composition and later deleted it.
    3 Lawless] Always 1st rdg del
    5 confind] inclind 1st rdg del
    6 Lawful … refind] Modest prudish & confind 1st rdg del & refind] 2nd rdg del
    7 To every thing but] Never is to 1st rdg del
    8 And … mind] And chains & fetters every mind 1st rdg del