by William Blake (1757 - 1827)
What shall I do! what could I do, if I...
Language: English
What shall I do! what could I do, if I could find these Criminals I could not dare to take vengeance; for all things are so constructed And builded by the Divine hand, that the sinner shall always escape, And he who takes vengeance alone is the criminal of Providence; If I should dare to lay my finger on a grain of sand In way of vengeance; I punish the already punishd; O whom Should I pity if I pity not the sinner who is gone astray: O Albion, if thou takest vengeance; if thou revengest thy wrongs Thou art for ever lost! What can I do to hinder the Sons Of Albion from taking vengeance? or how shall I them perswade.
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Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), no title, appears in Jerusalem, Chapter 2, Plate 31 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Jacob Avshalomov (b. 1919), "The grain of sand", published c1970 [SATB chorus a cappella], from the cantata Wonders, no. 2, NY : Duchess Music Corp / MCA (Belwin-Mills) [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2011-01-04
Line count: 10
Word count: 122