How we cite our quotes: (Section.Paragraph)
Quote #4
The ancient poets animated all sensible objects with Gods or Geniuses, calling them by the names and adorning them with properties of woods, rivers, mountains, lakes, cities, nations, and whatever their enlarged and numerous senses could perceive. And particularly they studied the Genius of each city and country, placing it under its mental deity. Till a system was formed, which some took advantage of and enslaved the vulgar by attempting to realize or abstract the mental deities from their objects. Thus began Priesthood. Choosing forms of worship from poetic tales. And at length they pronounced that the Gods had ordered such things. Thus men forgot that all deities reside in the human breast. (4.71)
Have you thanked a poet today? If you like religion, then Blake thinks you should. Here he argues that all religion began as poetry. It was originally poets who took on the task of naming and organizing the world into words. Then priests came along and gave the credit for all that to the gods. Wrong-o, says Blake. The impulses for these gods began in the minds (or "breast") of human beings.
Quote #5
We of Israel taught that the Poetic Genius (as you now call it) was the first principle, and all the others merely derivative, which was the cause of our despising the Priests and Philosophers of other countries, and prophesying that all Gods would at last be proved to originate in ours, and to be the tributaries of the Poetic Genius. It was this that our great poet King David desired so fervently, and invokes so pathetically, saying by this he conquers enemies and governs kingdoms; and we so loved our God that we cursed in His name all the deities of surrounding nations, and asserted that they had rebelled. From these opinions the vulgar came to think that all nations would at last be subject to the Jews. (5.5)
Again, poets are the reason for the season—in Blake's eyes anyway. Through this explanation by Isaiah, we see that the Judeo-Christian religion owes its energy to poetry. Coming from a poet like Blake, you might be forgiven if you take this idea with a huge grain of salt. At the same time, we see how this energy quickly translated into a steadfast faith that supported the rise and spread of religion.
Quote #6
"This," said he, "like all firm persuasions, is come to pass, for all nations believe the Jews' code, and worship the Jews' God; and what greater subjection can be?" (5.6)
Even though it has its roots in poetry, we see here that Blake's not a huge fan of what religion turned out to be. He sees the spread of the Judeo-Christian religion as a kind of subjugation, taking over the world and enslaving—in a sense—its peoples and their beliefs.