Quotes from The Complete Illuminated Books

William Blake ·  480 pages

Rating: (2.8K votes)


“none can desire what he has not perceiv'd.”
― William Blake, quote from The Complete Illuminated Books


“He who sees the Infinite in all things sees God. He who sees the Ratio only sees himself only.”
― William Blake, quote from The Complete Illuminated Books


“Man's desires are limited by his perceptions; none can desire what he has not perceiv'd.”
― William Blake, quote from The Complete Illuminated Books


“And what shoulder, & what art,
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand? & what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain,
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp,
Dare its deadly terrors clasp!

When the stars threw down their spears
And water'd heaven with their tears:
Did he smile his work to see?”
― William Blake, quote from The Complete Illuminated Books


“He who sees the Infinite in all things sees God. He who sees the Ratio only sees himself only. Therefore God becomes as we are, that we may be as he is.”
― William Blake, quote from The Complete Illuminated Books



“VI. If any could desire what he is incapable of possessing, despair must be his eternal lot.”
― William Blake, quote from The Complete Illuminated Books


About the author

William Blake
Born place: in Golden Square, London, England, The United Kingdom
Born date November 28, 1757
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“Schools teach exactly what they are intended to teach and they do it well: how to be a good Egyptian and remain in your place in the pyramid.”
― John Taylor Gatto, quote from Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Education


“A dinner invitation once accepted is a sacred obligation. If you die before the dinner takes place, your executor must attend.”
― quote from Fortune's Children: The Fall of the House of Vanderbilt


“Phil doesn't say yes, but he doesn't really say no. He's willing to ruin a person's life in order to keep her from being angry at him.”
― Nell Freudenberger, quote from The Dissident


“A little stupid is like a little forest fire. If you happen upon some stupid, please stomp it out before it spreads.”
― Quentin R. Bufogle, quote from Horse Latitudes


“You're brooding, Leonard, my friend. What's the problem?"
"I blew it with Fitzgerald."
"I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit. It was more like a nuclear disaster.”
― Joe R. Lansdale, quote from Mucho Mojo


Interesting books

Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life
(69.6K)
Born Standing Up: A...
by Steve Martin
The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar
(11.3K)
The Kitchen Boy: A N...
by Robert Alexander
My Soul to Keep
(3.5K)
My Soul to Keep
by Tananarive Due
Cloudsplitter
(3.6K)
Cloudsplitter
by Russell Banks
Endgame
(12.3K)
Endgame
by Samuel Beckett
Oathbreakers
(13.6K)
Oathbreakers
by Mercedes Lackey

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.