Poetry  |  William Blake  |  Rossetti Manuscript  |  Motto to the Songs of Innocence and of Experience

Rossetti Manuscript — Motto to the Songs of Innocence and of Experience

The Good are attracted by men's perceptions,
And think not for themselves;
Till Experience teaches them to catch
And to cage the fairies and elves.

And then the Knave begins to snarl,
And the Hypocrite to howl;
And all his good friends show their private ends,
And the eagle is known from the owl.