How appropriate,in the life of a Christian like William Blake,there is
no difference between a poet and a prophet as they have the intuitive
eye to see into things that is denied those who live by the surface
intelligence alone and as can be seen here day in a day
out,intelligence can be eroded to the point where it ceases to
function,except maybe the ability to type words.Blake saw what was
ahead ,he did not know the technical details of exactly what went
wrong but he sensed the gist of the toxic strain of empiricism that
most here are part of -
"O Divine Spirit sustain me on thy wings!That
I may awake Albion from His long & cold repose.
For Bacon & Newton sheathd in dismal steel, their terrors hang
Like iron scourges over Albion, Reasonings like vast Serpents
Infold around my limbs, bruising my minute articulations
I turn my eyes to the Schools & Universities of Europe
And there behold the Loom of Locke whose Woof rages dire
Washd by the Water-wheels of Newton. black the cloth
In heavy wreathes folds over every Nation; cruel Works
Of many Wheels I View, wheel without wheel, with cogs tyrannic
Moving by compulsion each other:" William Blake
I too have seen the horror but have done something more,I have met it
head on and righted things because as much as an astronomer is a
practical person,he also has the same intuitive eye as the poet.In the
poem where he talks about England's 'green and pleasant lands' he took
from Numbers -
"Now two men, one named Eldad and the other Medad, were not in the
gathering but had been left in the camp. They too had been on the
list, but had not gone out to the tent; yet the spirit came to rest on
them also, and they prophesied in the camp.So, when a young man
quickly told Moses, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the
camp,"Joshua, son of Nun, who from his youth had been Moses' aide,
said, "Moses, my lord, stop them."But Moses answered him, "Are you
jealous for my sake? Would that all the people of the Lord were
prophets! Would that the Lord might bestow his spirit on them all!"
Numbers 11
You are slaves to history rather than inheritors of the great
astronomical heritage so it will always be a case of finding people
with talent and courage who can survey all details of creation and
make the best of these things as they can.