“The Human Abstract”
by William Blake
Pity would be no more,
If we did not make somebody Poor:
And Mercy no more could be,
If all were as happy as we;
And mutual fear brings peace;
Till the selfish loves increase.
Then Cruelty knits a snare,
And spreads his baits with care.
He sits down with holy fears,
And waters the ground with tears:
Then Humility takes its root
Underneath his foot.
Soon spreads the dismal shade
Of Mystery over his head;
And the Catterpillar and Fly,
Feed on the Mystery.
And it bears the fruit of Deceit,
Ruddy and sweet to eat;
And the Raven his nest has made
In its thickest shade.
The Gods of the earth and sea
Sought thro’ Nature to find this Tree
But their search was all in vain:
There grows one in the Human Brain
Biblioklept 
Man, I love this poem. Have always loved Blake, and recognize the illustration but honestly didn’t remember this poem. Thanks for posting. Every line is great.
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I love it too. I was reminded of it coming in to work this morning, when I heard a report on NPR about the UN’s (enormous) goals to make the world better:
http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2015/09/25/443149821/u-n-dreams-big-17-huge-new-goals-to-build-a-better-world
I think Blake’s realization is that our values rely on oppositions—on a marriage of heaven and hell.
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William Blake is my favourite poet for being simultaneously starkers, rebellious, yet plain-truth-speaking. This is the video we made introducing him – we tried to keep it short, but if I had written everything I wanted it would have been long enough to be a miniseries: http://bit.ly/1iAOcBL
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