You Don't Believe (你不信)

William Blake (1757 – 1827) is a poet I like. He was an art engraver, copper plate etching artist, painter and print maker who did lots of Bible illustrations. He paints with light colours and flowing lines, long before Matisse. But above all, he is known as a poet. He longed for revolutionary changes and actually joined an abortive one. He was home taught and read widely on subjects which interested him. In his own way, he believed in the reality of the human body which he thought must be perfected with spirituality. In his own way, he was a deeply religious man who claimed to have visions of God, who appeared to man in the form of his imagination but was opposed to all forms of organized religion. I like his Songs and Innocence and Songs of Experience.

You Don’t Believe You don’t believe—I won’t attempt to make ye: You are asleep—I won’t attempt to wake ye. Sleep on! Sleep on! While in your pleasant dreams Of Reason you may drink of Life’s clear streams. Reason and Newton, they are quite two things; For so the swallow and the sparrow sings. Reasons says, “Miracle”; Newton says “Doubt.” Aye! That’s the way to make all Nature out. “Doubt, doubt, and don’t believe without experiment”: That is the very thing Jesus meant, When he said, “Only believe! believe and try! Try, try, and never mind the reason why!” William Blake

你不信 你不信--我不會令你 你睡著--我不會叫你 睡吧！睡吧！在你愉快的理性夢中 你會喝到生命的清溪。 理性與牛頓，是兩樣頗不同的東西； 因燕子及喜鵲是這樣唱的。 理性說：「奇蹟」；牛頓說：「質疑」。 是的！就這麼理解整個大自然。 「質疑，質疑，沒實驗不信」： 耶穌的意思剛好是這般 他說：「只用信！信和試！ 試試，不用理甚麼因由！」 威廉·布萊克  譯: 艾梳羅