Page:The poetical works of William Blake; a new and verbatim text from the manuscript engraved and letterpress originals (1905).djvu/274

232 cxvii

O dear Mother Outline ! of wisdom most sage, What's the First Part of Painting; she said 'Patronage.' And what is the Second, to Please and Engage, She frowned h'ke a Fury, and said ' Patronage.' And what is the Third : she put off Old Age 5 And smil'd like a Syren and said ' Patronage.'

MS. Book, p. 6r. DGR, WMR (' Epig.' 2), EY (' Coupl." xxii). This is perhaps the continuation of the preceding epigram (cxvi).

cxviii

To Venetian Artists

That God is Colouring Newton does shew, And the devil is a black outline, all of us know. Perhaps this little P'able may make us merry : A dog went over the water without a wherry ; A bone which he had stolen he had in his mouth ; He cared not whether the wind was north or south. As he swam he saw the reflection of the bone. 'This is quite Perfection — one Generalizing Tone ! Outline ! There 's no outline, there 's no such thing : All is Chiaroscuro, Poco-Pen — it 's all Colouring ! ' Snap, snap ! He has lost shadow and substance too. He had them both before. ' Now how do ye do ? ' 'A great deal better than I was before: Those who taste colouring love it more and more.'

MS. Book, pp. 60, 61 : the first couplet with the catchwords ' Perhaps this little Fable, &c.' occurs at foot of p. 60, the rest, with the title, on p. 61. WMR ('Epig.'v), EY print first couplet ('Coupl.' xxiii) followed by the rest as a separate poem.

8 This. . . Tone] Here 's two for one, what a brilliant tone MS. Book 1st rdg. del. one] EY omit. 9, 10 Outline. . . Colouring] A marginal addi- tion ; EY omit. 11 He. . . too] and lost the shadow and the substance too EY. 12 them both] both these EY. do ye] d'ye EY. 13 A. .. before] EY omit. 14 taste] have tasted EY.

Cp. Blake's Descriptive Catalogue, pp. 63, 64. No. xv, ' Ruth a drawing' :