Page:The poetical works of William Blake; a new and verbatim text from the manuscript engraved and letterpress originals (1905).djvu/278

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236
Rossetti MS.

cxxv

Since all the Riches of this World
May be gifts from the Devil & Earthly Kings,
I should suspect that I worship'd the Devil
If I thank'd my God for worldly things.

MS. Book, p. 73 (reversed) in pencil. All add. follow DGR in printing
as first stanza of xxx ; DGR, WMR and EY with title ' Riches,' WBY with
title ' The Two Kinds of Riches.'
4 my God] WBY omits my.


cxxvi

To Chloe's breast young Cupid slily stole,
But he crept in at Myra's pocket-hole.


MS. Book, p. 78. DGR, WMR, EY (' Coupl.' iv), WBY (' Coupl.' 5).
1 breast] heart R1


cxxvii

1 'Now Art has lost its mental Charms
France shall subdue the World in Arms.'
So spoke an Angel at my birth ;
Then said ' Descend thou upon earth ;
5 Renew the Arts on Britain's shore,
And France shall fall down & adore.
With works of Art their Armies meet
And War shall sink beneath thy feet.


MS. Book, p. 79. Lines 13, 14 are apparently the beginning of a second
stanza which was left unfinished. Only in EY i. 227. Cp. Advertisement
(MS. Book, p. 66): 'Let us teach Buonaparte and whomsoever else it
may concern that it is not Arts that follow & attend upon Empire, but
Empire that attends upon & follows The Arts.' Also Blake's notes to
Reynolds' Works (vol. i, p. [cxxv]), ' The Foundation of Empire is Art
& Science. Remove them, or Degrade them, & the Empire is No More.
Empire follows Art, & not Vice Versa as Englishmen suppose.'
4 upon] on the EY. 7 their] her EY.