Auguries of Innocenceby
William Blake
To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour.
A Robin Red breast in a Cage
Puts all Heaven in a Rage.
A dove house fill'd with doves & Pigeons
Shudders Hell thro' all its regions.
A dog starv'd at his Master's Gate
Predicts the ruin of the State.
A Horse misus'd upon the Road
Calls to Heaven for Human blood.
Each outcry of the hunted Hare
A fibre from the Brain does tear.
A Skylark wounded in the wing,
A Cherubim does cease to sing.
The Game Cock clipp'd and arm'd for fight
Does the Rising Sun affright.
Every Wolf's & Lion's howl
Raises from Hell a Human Soul.
The wild deer, wand'ring here & there,
Keeps the Human Soul from Care.
The Lamb misus'd breeds public strife
And yet forgives the Butcher's Knife.
The Bat that flits at close of Eve
Has left the Brain that won't believe.
The Owl that calls upon the Night
Speaks the Unbeliever's fright.
He who shall hurt the little Wren
Shall never be belov'd by Men.
He who the Ox to wrath has mov'd
Shall never be by Woman lov'd.
The wanton Boy that kills the Fly
Shall feel the Spider's enmity.
He who torments the Chafer's sprite
Weaves a Bower in endless Night.
The Caterpillar on the Leaf
Repeats to thee thy Mother's grief.
Kill not the Moth nor Butterfly,
For the Last Judgement draweth nigh.
He who shall train the Horse to War
Shall never pass the Polar Bar.
The Beggar's Dog & Widow's Cat,
Feed them & thou wilt grow fat.
The Gnat that sings his Summer's song
Poison gets from Slander's tongue.
The poison of the Snake & Newt
Is the sweat of Envy's Foot.
The poison of the Honey Bee
Is the Artist's Jealousy.
The Prince's Robes & Beggars' Rags
Are Toadstools on the Miser's Bags.
A truth that's told with bad intent
Beats all the Lies you can invent.
It is right it should be so;
Man was made for Joy & Woe;
And when this we rightly know
Thro' the World we safely go.
Joy & Woe are woven fine,
A Clothing for the Soul divine;
Under every grief & pine
Runs a joy with silken twine.
The Babe is more than swaddling Bands;
Throughout all these Human Lands
Tools were made, & born were hands,
Every Farmer Understands.
Every Tear from Every Eye
Becomes a Babe in Eternity.
This is caught by Females bright
And return'd to its own delight.
The Bleat, the Bark, Bellow & Roar
Are Waves that Beat on Heaven's Shore.
The Babe that weeps the Rod beneath
Writes Revenge in realms of death.
The Beggar's Rags, fluttering in Air,
Does to Rags the Heavens tear.
The Soldier arm'd with Sword & Gun,
Palsied strikes the Summer's Sun.
The poor Man's Farthing is worth more
Than all the Gold on Afric's Shore.
One Mite wrung from the Labrer's hands
Shall buy & sell the Miser's lands:
Or, if protected from on high,
Does that whole Nation sell & buy.
He who mocks the Infant's Faith
Shall be mock'd in Age & Death.
He who shall teach the Child to Doubt
The rotting Grave shall ne'er get out.
He who respects the Infant's faith
Triumph's over Hell & Death.
The Child's Toys & the Old Man's Reasons
Are the Fruits of the Two seasons.
The Questioner, who sits so sly,
Shall never know how to Reply.
He who replies to words of Doubt
Doth put the Light of Knowledge out.
The Strongest Poison ever known
Came from Caesar's Laurel Crown.
Nought can deform the Human Race
Like the Armour's iron brace.
When Gold & Gems adorn the Plow
To peaceful Arts shall Envy Bow.
A Riddle or the Cricket's Cry
Is to Doubt a fit Reply.
The Emmet's Inch & Eagle's Mile
Make Lame Philosophy to smile.
He who Doubts from what he sees
Will ne'er believe, do what you Please.
If the Sun & Moon should doubt
They'd immediately Go out.
To be in a Passion you Good may do,
But no Good if a Passion is in you.
The Whore & Gambler, by the State
Licenc'd, build that Nation's Fate.
The Harlot's cry from Street to Street
Shall weave Old England's winding Sheet.
The Winner's Shout, the Loser's Curse,
Dance before dead England's Hearse.
Every Night & every Morn
Some to Misery are Born.
Every Morn & every Night
Some are Born to sweet Delight.
Some are Born to sweet Delight,
Some are born to Endless Night.
We are led to Believe a Lie
When we see not Thro' the Eye
Which was Born in a Night to Perish in a Night
When the Soul Slept in Beams of Light.
God Appears & God is Light
To those poor Souls who dwell in the Night,
But does a Human Form Display
To those who Dwell in Realms of day.
這首詩前四句有多種譯法
壹顆沙裏看出壹個世界，
壹朵野花裏壹座天堂，
把無限放在妳的手掌上，
永恒在壹剎那裏收藏。
——梁宗岱 譯
在壹顆沙粒中見壹個世界，
在壹朵鮮花中見壹片天空，
在妳的掌心裏把握無限，
在壹個鐘點裏把握無窮。
——張熾恒 譯
從壹粒沙看世界，
從壹朵花看天堂，
把永恒納進壹個時辰，
把無限握在自己手心。
——王佐良 譯
壹花壹世界，壹沙壹天國，
君掌盛無邊，剎那含永劫。
——宗白華 譯
壹沙壹世界，壹花壹天堂。
無限掌中置，剎那成永恒。
——徐誌摩 譯
現在大多用下面的譯法
壹沙壹世界，
壹花壹天堂。
雙手握無限，
剎那是永恒。
壹沙壹世界，
壹花壹天堂，
壹樹壹菩提，
壹葉壹如來。
天真的預言，
參悟千年的偈語。
威廉·布萊克是十九世紀英國浪漫派詩人，主要詩作有詩集《天真之歌》、《經驗之歌》等。 早期作品簡潔明快，中後期作品趨向玄妙晦澀，充滿神秘色彩。 威廉·布萊克(William Blake)的壹生極其簡單，也沒有什麽大書特寫之處，只有壹些壹直延續的簡單事實和緊迫的藝術創作活動。1757年，他出生於倫敦壹個貧寒的襪商家庭。由於個性過於獨特，不喜歡正統學校的壓抑氣氛拒絕入學，因而沒有受過正規教育。他從小就喜歡繪畫和詩歌。11歲起就進入繪畫學校學習了三年並表現出非凡的藝術才能。其父有意讓他師從壹位著名的畫家繼續深造，但他為了家庭及弟妹的前途而主動放棄了這次機會，去雕版印刷作坊當了壹名學徒。他的壹生便是壹方面與妻子相依為命靠繪畫和雕版的勞酬清貧為生，壹方面繼續從事12歲就開始的詩歌創作並配上自己的插圖出版。直到1827年8月去世前的幾天，他仍然在工作，“叫人用最後的幾個先令去買碳筆”，畫完最後壹幅畫把它放下，說道“我已經盡力而為了”。
談論威廉．布萊克必然要澄清有關對他的諸多猜測與指責，有人說他是瘋子和魔鬼信仰的杜撰和散播者，像倫敦夜間人們能夠聽到的墓地裏走出的勾小孩子靈魂的新年老人，當然，布萊克不可能如拉伯雷與阿萊丁諾壹樣對世俗做徹底的思考或澄清，也許他是信仰的迷霧，但那也是飽蘸著痛苦和愛的“紫霧”，布萊克開創了壹種藉想象力促成的幻覺而進行的思考，從這壹點上看，他啟發了愛米莉迪金森和迪蘭·托馬斯，甚至阿爾蒂爾·蘭波。布萊克是想象力的先知，和經驗的忠實記錄者，我們寧願把他看成從 “魔鬼作坊”裏沖出來的最優秀的凈化知覺的學徒。
布萊克最被人們引用和傳誦的，也是後代文學大家反復贊美的幾首詩歌如《擦煙囪的少年》、《保姆之歌》、《病玫瑰》、《老虎的贊美詩》，皆可以看作構築布萊克之“天國原形”的壹部分，這個自比為以西結的少年，四歲就看到了宗教幻象，並且可以用壹種親喃的語言和“白色諸神”寂靜的交談，盡管世風低落，文途滯澀，但布萊克懷著極大的天真和壯麗的想象力與戰鬥力，投入了類似班揚和馬婁的“世俗反諷”運動中。
這種文藝復興是旨在和針對於時弊而進行的抒情與想象力神話的回歸，這些人對美大加贊美，並加之比喻為自己的面具，而對塵世中的人的命運卻大加傷感，並認為他們破壞了作家的“美”的面具。於是拉伯雷戴上了諷刺，班揚戴上了布道，馬婁戴上了戲擬與誇張，當然還有壹種驚人的反諷，而布萊克則戴上了天真。
布萊克在和他相伴壹生的鄉村姑娘凱瑟琳的邂逅與***處中，獲悉了平民心中的童話與貞潔，並以此與自身的經驗和想象作為對比，參照了很多從中世紀就開始進行和流傳的童話寓言式寫作，並加上了自己獨壹無二的意象創造力，布萊克為我們留下了最重要的18世紀詩集《天國與地獄的婚姻—想象力的贊美詩》和《天真與經驗之歌》，如果說前者是為結婚後守教的人看的，那麽後者更多是小學生們的新年讀物，或者聖誕老人給大家的金黃色的發光玩具。但我寧願認為，布萊克構築了我們世界的宏偉與莊嚴教堂的頂層，在那裏，理想與現實的箴言熠熠閃光，時時為我們提醒著聖母般的潔凈與肅穆。
布萊克從不否認自己是壹個藉天真想象而進行創作的人，但同時代的人除了為他的怪異舉止和熱情四溢的精力而感到困惑外，還為他的面貌的高深與可敬而感到迷惑。布萊克顯然不是為屬他的身體命運的那個時代寫作的作家壹樣，同阿蒂爾蘭博壹樣，他藉壹種基於神秘與夢幻經驗而“對感官不同程度”的擾亂，找到了壹條通向自由和贊美的 “天國詩歌”的歸依與信仰。也許，這就是布萊克為我們留下的最重要的經驗與價值，布萊克“玫瑰的哭嚎”和“真理總是隱藏在瘋狂的暮靄中”的大膽語句，為我們找到了些許從“黑暗的煙囪”延伸到“玫瑰色天國”的神秘體驗路途。