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To Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love
All pray in their distress
And to those virtues of delight
Return their thankfulness.
For Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love
Is You, our God most dear;
And Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love
Is Man, Your child and care.
For Mercy has a human heart,
Pity, a human face;
And Love, the human form divine,
And Peace, the human dress.
Then ev’ry one, of ev’ry clime,
That prays in true distress,
Prays to the human form divine:
Love, Mercy, Pity, Peace.
And all must love the human form
In heathen, Turk or Jew;
Where Mercy, Love, and Pity dwell,
There You are dwelling too.
William Blake (1757-1827) was an English mystic, poet, painter and printmaker, known for the philosophical and prophetic visions that informed his work. Although Blake objected to the established church, he had deep respect for religious experience, mythology, and scripture.
