cxii
For this is being a Friend just in the nick,1
Not when he's well, but waiting till he's sick ;
He calls you to his help ; be you not mov'd
Until, by being sick, his wants are prov'd.
You see him spend his Soul in Prophecy: 5
Do you believe it a confounded lie,
Till some Bookseller, & the Public Fame,
Prove there is truth in his extravagant claim.
For 'tis atrocious in a Friend you love 9
To tell you anything that he can't prove,
And 'tis most wicked in a Christian Nation
For any man to pretend to Inspiration.
MS. Book, p. 50. This is probably the continuation of the erased stanza, referred to in note to cxi, and was therefore written before the preceding piece. Only in WMR (' Coupl.' xix) with title ' Blake's Friends.'
9 atrocious] most wicked MS. Book 1st rdg. del.12 man] one WMR.11, 12] Cp. Notes to Reynolds' Discourses, p. 5 : 'Reynolds' Opinion was That Genius May be Taught, & that all Pretence to Inspiration is a Lie & a Deceit, to say the least of it. For if it is a Deceit the whole Bible is Madness. This Opinion originates in the Greeks calling the Muse[s] Daughters of Memory.
'The Enquiry in England is not whether a Man has Talents & Genius! But whether he is Passive & Polite & a Virtuous Ass, & obedient to Noblemen's Opinions in Art & Science. If he is, he is a Good Man. If Not, he must be Starved.'
cxiii
I will tell you what Joseph of Arimathea 1
Said to my Fairy : was not it very queer ?
Priestly & Bacon ! What, are you here ?
Come before Joseph of Arimathea.
Listen patient, & when Joseph has done 5
I will make a fool laugh, & a Fairy fun.
MS. Book, p. 52. Only in EY i. 225. For Joseph cp. Gil. i. 19 : for the Fairy see footnote to ' Poems from Jerusalem,' iv.
2 was . . . queer] was it not queer EY.3 Priestly & Bacon] Priestly—Bacon EY.5 & . . . done] when Joseph is done EY.6 I will] Not legibly written, perhaps 'Twill; I'll EY. & a Fairy] at a Fairy's EY.
