Let the Day perish wherein I was Born
Title:Let the Day perish wherein I was Born
Artist:William Blake
Date:1825
Creation Place:Europe, England
Credit Line:The William Hood Dunwoody Fund
Accession Number:P.5,870
The seven days of silent mourning are now over and a new cycle begins. Now Job reacts against his woes. His proverbial patience has ended; he ceases to endure passively his misfortunes. His wrath emerges in a turning point of revolution. He no longer sits beneath the stone cross; it is gone forever. Now he questions his situation and the justice of his disasters, and by this questioning eventually finds the true God. Meanwhile the cross stands above his friends, who remain in error. Ultimately, Job comes to the realization that his great wealth never brought him the happiness of security. He questions the former purpose of his whole life. In the margins, clouds release rain drops upon toadstools, briars and thistles.