Plates 21-22
Ulver Lyrics


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I have always found that Angels have the vanity to speak of themselves as the only wise; this they do with a confident insolence sprouting from systematic reasoning:

Thus Swedenborg boasts that what he writes is new; tho' it is only the Contents or Index of already publish'd books.

A man carried a monkey about for a shew, & because he was a little wiser than the monkey, grew vain, and conciev'd himself as much wiser than seven men. It is so with Swedenborg; he shews the folly of churches & exposes hypocrites, till he imagines that all are religious, & himself the single one on earth that ever broke a net.

Now hear a plain fact: Swedenborg has not written one new truth:
Now hear another: he has written all the old falshoods.

And now hear the reason. He conversed with Angels who are all religious, & conversed not with Devils who all hate religion, for he was incapable thro' his conceited notions.

Thus Swedenborgs writings are a recapitulation of all superficial, opinions, and an analysis of the more sublime, but no further.

Have now another plain fact: Any man of mechanical talents may from the writings of Paracelsus or Jacob Behmen, produce ten thousand volumes of equal value with Swedenborgs, and from those of Dante or Shakespear, an infinite number.





But when he has done this, let him not say that he knows better than his master, for he only holds a candle in sunshine.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Ulver's "Plates 21-22" are actually taken from a letter written by the famous poet and artist William Blake. The lyrics themselves are a critique of the 18th-century Swedish scientist, philosopher, and theologian, Emanuel Swedenborg. In the letter, Blake attacks Swedenborg's claim that his writings are new, instead asserting that they are simply a compilation of old falsehoods and superficial opinions.


Blake cites Swedenborg's lack of experience with devils, whom he claims would provide a valuable counterbalance to the exclusively religious perspective of the angels he claimed to have spoken with. Thus, Blake argues that Swedenborg's writings can only provide a limited analysis of religious matters.


In the final lines, Blake suggests that anyone with sufficient knowledge could produce the same writings as Swedenborg, but should not consider themselves superior to him. Instead, he likens the person who does so to someone who holds a candle in sunlight - illuminating nothing new or original.


Overall, "Plates 21-22" is a reflective and critical examination of the limitations and shortcomings of organized religion, as well as a call for a more nuanced and balanced perspective on spiritual matters.


Line by Line Meaning

I have always found that Angels have the vanity to speak of themselves as the only wise; this they do with a confident insolence sprouting from systematic reasoning:
In my observation, angels tend to be vain in claiming themselves to be the only wise ones, and this arrogance is rooted in their systematic way of thinking.


Thus Swedenborg boasts that what he writes is new; tho' it is only the Contents or Index of already publish'd books.
Swedenborg takes pride in his writing, claiming it to be new, yet it's merely the summary or index of previously published books.


A man carried a monkey about for a shew, & because he was a little wiser than the monkey, grew vain, and conciev'd himself as much wiser than seven men. It is so with Swedenborg; he shews the folly of churches & exposes hypocrites, till he imagines that all are religious, & himself the single one on earth that ever broke a net.
There was a man who carried around a monkey for show, and because he was slightly more knowledgeable than the monkey, he became arrogant and believed himself to be wiser than seven men. Swedenborg does the same by pointing out the foolishness of churches and unmasking hypocrites which leads him to believe that everyone is religious, and he's the only one who's ever broken free from it.


Now hear a plain fact: Swedenborg has not written one new truth:
Let me make it clear: Swedenborg hasn't written a single new truth.


Now hear another: he has written all the old falshoods.
Here's another fact: Swedenborg has only written about old falsehoods.


And now hear the reason. He conversed with Angels who are all religious, & conversed not with Devils who all hate religion, for he was incapable thro' his conceited notions.
The reason for this is that he only talked to religious angels and not those who hate religion like devils, mainly because he was too engrossed in his own conceited ideas.


Thus Swedenborgs writings are a recapitulation of all superficial, opinions, and an analysis of the more sublime, but no further.
Therefore, Swedenborg's writings only summarize shallow viewpoints and provide further insights into more profound ones without going any deeper.


Have now another plain fact: Any man of mechanical talents may from the writings of Paracelsus or Jacob Behmen, produce ten thousand volumes of equal value with Swedenborgs, and from those of Dante or Shakespear, an infinite number.
Here's one more clear fact: any person with mechanical skills can produce ten thousand volumes from the writings of Paracelsus or Jacob Behmen, which are equally valuable to Swedenborg's, and an infinite number from those of Dante or Shakespeare.


But when he has done this, let him not say that he knows better than his master, for he only holds a candle in sunshine.
However, even when a person achieves this, they should not claim to know more than their teacher, for they are merely providing additional insights to what the teacher has already taught, which is like holding a candle in broad daylight.




Contributed by Liam G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

Arturo Fabián

I have always found that Angels have the vanity to speak of themselves as the only wise; this they do with a confident insolence sprouting from systematic reasoning:

Thus Swedenborg boasts that what he writes is new; tho' it is only the Contents or Index of already publish'd books

A man carried a monkey about for a shew, & because he was a little wiser than the monkey, grew vain, and conciev'd himself as much wiser than seven men. It is so with Swedenborg; he shews the folly of churches & exposes hypocrites, till he imagines that all are religious, & himself the single one on earth that ever broke a net

Now hear a plain fact: Swedenborg has not written one new truth:
Now hear another: he has written all the old falshoods

And now hear the reason. He conversed with Angels who are all religious, & conversed not with Devils who all hate religion, for he was incapable thro' his conceited notions

Thus Swedenborgs writings are a recapitulation of all superficial, opinions, and an analysis of the more sublime, but no further

Have now another plain fact: Any man of mechanical talents may from the writings of Paracelsus or Jacob Behmen, produce ten thousand volumes of equal value with Swedenborgs, and from those of Dante or Shakespear, an infinite number

But when he has done this, let him not say that he knows better than his master, for he only holds a candle in sunshine



All comments from YouTube:

darksunwithin

The synth swells throughout, coupled with the vocal delivery give a nostalgic but also kinda soul crushing vibe. Makes me think of how it was in '98.

slither1933

they never played this song live. right? i love this song and would die to see it live

Bam pire

I have this CD. <3 Ulver.

Syrax2Beta FPV

Love this track! Going to Ulver concert @Pstereo Festival in Trondheim 21.08.09 its their first live prformence in 15 years !!! cant wait :)

Twigget

Amazing. Simply amazing.

sakemmat

I totally agree with you on that! An amazing track...

David Bergman

I would kill to hear this song live.

Decrystallized

my fav. track also... obsessional

sakemmat

Really? Ulver performing live? : D

sakemmat

...now hear a plain fact:

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