William Blake · The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
“No bird soars too high, if he soars with his own wings.”
| Source | William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (“Proverbs of Hell”), c. 1790 |
| Date | c. 1790 |
| Wording | No internal comma in the manuscript reading |
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About This Line
The line is one of Blake’s “Proverbs of Hell” — deliberate inversions written to upend polite wisdom while revolution was in the air across the Channel. Its claim is simple and defiant: height was never the danger. Borrowed wings are. Trust your own and there’s no such thing as too high.
Why We Carry This Line
The only permission you actually need, written two centuries before the self-help shelf. I read it and understood immediately. Go your own way. (A Fleetwood Mac hat tip)
