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No one can go too far if they are moving by their own nature and their own powers.

William Blake · Căsătoria Cerului cu Infernul · 1793 · Proverbele Infernului1 minute readpublic domain
No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings.William Blake · Căsătoria Cerului cu Infernul · 1793 · Proverbele Infernului

Excess is dangerous only when the wings aren't yours.

Blake attacks the fear of excess. When energy comes from within, from one's own vision and will, it cannot become harmful merely by being large; it turns dangerous only when borrowed, imitated, or steered by others. A painter who works from inner necessity cannot paint too much. The limit appears only when the flight is carried on borrowed wings.

Why it mattersUseful when you doubt whether your ambition is too large: if it comes from a genuine calling, you need not shrink it to satisfy the cautious.

own wings:boundless flightborrowed wings:falling
The balance: one's own flight has no limit, borrowed flight collapses

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