Decoding The Voice of the Devil

The Voice of the Devil in “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” consist of very interesting view points that were uncommon among Europeans. What does Blake mean by his convictions upon the Bible or “sacred codes” having errors mean? His view of religion and God were based off his feelings and understandings of the Bible.

To understand what he is trying to mean in The Voice of the Devil I went line by line finding what he could have meant by them. He writes errors with in the Bible include three tings. One: man has two real existing principles: a body and a soul. Two: energy, called evil, is alone from the body and that reason, called good, is alone from the soul. Three: God will torment Man in eternity for following his energies. Breaking down this three topics I came up the conclusions that, first of all, the only reason why men are alive is because they have a body and soul, second energy, or evil, is not with the body and reason, or good, is not with the soul, third if men follow his energy God will torment them in eternity. Then he writes contraries that are true. One: Man has no body distinct from his soul for that called body is a portion of soul discerned by the five senses, the chef inlets of soul in this age. Two: energy is the only life and is from the body and reason is the bound or outward circumference of energy. Three: Energy is eternal delight. In other words, one: men have no difference between their body or soul because the body is apart of the soul due to the five senses and the body allows senses into his soul in the body form. Second: from the body comes energy or evil, and around that energy is reason or good. Third: energy or evil is endless pleasure.

In “Those who restrain desire…” paragraph Blake explains how one can restrain desire and that is because their desire is weak enough to restrain. The restrainer or reason soon takes control and allows the unwilling. Restraining desire by divisions will lack energy until it is only a small shadow of what it once was. Blake then refers to the Archangel of possessing as the Devil or Satan. His children being Sin and Death. Blake told how reason saw desire banished and the Devils account for Messiah to fall and form a heaven that he had taken from the abyss, or endless hole. In the last part of The Voice of the Devil starting at “This is shewn in the Gospel,…” Blake expresses how he, the Devil, had prayed to “the Father” to give him desire that reason might have ideas to build on. Blake says Father is destiny the son of the five senses and the Holy-ghost working could cause the absence of matter!