| A Memorable Fancy |
| | (PLATES 6-7) As I was walking among the fires of hell, delighted with the
enjoyment of genius, which to angels look like torment and insanity, I
collected some of their proverbs: thinking that as the saying used in a nation
mark its character. So the proverbs of hell shew the nature of infernal wisdom
better than any description of buildings or garments. When I came home: on the
abyss of the five senses, where a flat sided steep frowns over the present
world, I saw a mighty Devil folded in black clouds, hovering on the sides of
rock, with corroding fires He wrote the following sentence now perceived by
the minds of men & read by them on earth: how do you know bu ev'ry bird that
cuts the airy way, is an immense world of delight, clos'd by your senses five?
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