With  Myratana,  once  the  Queen  of  all  the  western  plains  j 
But  now  his  eyes  were  darkened,  and  his  wife  fading  in  death. 
They  stood  before  their  once  delightful  palace  ;  and  thus  the  voice 
Of  aged  Tiriel  arose,  that  his  sons  might  hear  in  their  gates  : —    5 

I  Accursed  race  of  Tiriel !  behold  your  father ; 

Come  forth  and  look  on  her  that  bore  you  !     Come,  you  accursed 

sons ! 
In  my  weak  arms  I  here  have  borne  your  dying  mother. 
Come  forth,  sons  of  the  Curse,   come  forth !   see  the  death  of 

Myratana ! ' 

His  sons  ran  from  their  gates,  and  saw  their  aged  parents  stand ; 
And  thus  the  eldest  son  of  Tiriel  rais'd  his  mighty  voice  : —        x  1 

'  Old  man  !  unworthy  to  be  call'd  the  father  of  Tiriel's  race  ! 
For  every  one  of  those  thy  wrinkles,  each  of  those  grey  hairs 
Are  cruel  as  death,  and  as  obdurate  as  the  devouring  pit ! 
Why  should  thy  sons  care  for  thy  curses,  thou  accursed  man  ?     15 
Were  we  not  slaves  till  we  rebell'd  ?     Who  cares  for  Tiriel's  curse  ? 
His  blessing  was  a  cruel  curse ;  his  curse  may  be  a  blessing.' 

He  ceas'd  :  the  aged  man  rais'd  up  his  right  hand  to  the  heavens, 
His  left  supported  Myratana,  shrinking  in  pangs  of  death  : 

1  Followed  in  the  MS.  by  a  del.  half-line  : 

But  dark  were  his  once  piercing  eyes  .  .  . 
blake  225  I 

Tiriel 

The  orbs  of  his  large  eyes  he  open'd,  and  thus  his  voice  went 
forth  : —  20 

'  Serpents,  not  sons,  wreathing  around  the  bones  of  Tiriel ! 
Ye  worms  of  death,  feasting  upon  your  aged  parent's  flesh  ! 
Listen  !  and  hear  your  mother's  groans  !     No  more  accursed  sons 
She  bears  ;  she  groans  not  at  the  birth  of  Heuxos  or  Yuva. 
These  are  the  groans  of  death,  ye  serpents  !  these  are  the  groans 

of  death  !  25 

Nourish'd  with  milk,  ye  serpents,  nourish'd  with  mother's  tears 

and  cares ! 
Look  at  my  eyes,  bfcnd  as  the  orbless  skull  among  the  stones  ! 
Look  at  my  bald  head  !     Hark  !  listen,  ye  serpents,  listen  !  .  .  , 
What,  Myratana  !    What,  my  wife  !    O  Soul!    O  Spirit !    O  Fire  ! 
What,  Myratana  !  art  thou  dead  ?     Look  here,  ye  serpents,  look  ! 
The  serpents  sprung  from  her  own  bowels  have  drain'd  her  dry 

as  this.  31 

Curse  on  your  ruthless  heads,  for  I  will  bury  her  even  here  ! ' 

So  saying,  he  began  to  dig  a  grave  with  his  aged  hands  ; 
But  Heuxos  call'd  a  son  of  Zazel  to  dig  their  mother  a  grave. 

(  Old  Cruelty,  desist !  and  let  us  dig  a  grave  for  thee.  35 

Thou  hast  refus'd  our  charity,  thou  hast  refus'd  our  food, 

Thou  hast  refus'd  our   clothes,   our  beds,  our   houses   for   thy 

dwelling, 
Choosing  to  wander  like  a  son  of  Zazel  in  the  rocks. 
Why  dost  thou  curse?      Is  not  the  curse  now  come  upon  your 

head  ?  39 

Was  it  not  you  enslav'd  the  sons  of  Zazel  ?     And  they  have  curs'd, 
And  now  you  feel  it.     Dig  a  grave,  and  let  us  bury  our  mother.' 

'  There,  take  the  body,  cursed  sons !  and  may  the  heavens  rain  wratl 
As  thick  as  northern  fogs,  around  your  gates,  to  choke  you  up ! 
That  you  may  lie  as  now  your  mother  lies,  like  dogs  cast  out, 
The  stink  of  your  dead  carcases  annoying  man  and  beast,  ^ 

Till  your  white  bones  are  bleach/d  with  age  for  a  memorial. 

226 

Tiriel 

\o  !  your  remembrance  shall  perish  ;  for,  when  your  carcases 
Lie  stinking  on  the  earth,  the  buriers  shall  arise  from  the  East, 
And  not  a  bone  of  all  the  sons  of  Tiriel  remain. 
Bury  your  mother  !  but  you  cannot  bury  the  curse  of  Tiriel.'       50 

He  ceas'd,  and  darkling  o'er  the  mountains  sought  his  pathless  \/ 
way.  hji^  ,  WW-*  • 

He  wander'd  day  and  night :    to  him  both  day  and  night  were 

dark. 
The  sun  he  felt,  but  the  bright  moon  was  now  a  useless  globe : 
O'er  mountains  and  thro'  vales  of  woe  the  blind  and  aged  man 
Wander'd,  till  he  that  leadeth  all  led  him  to  the  vales  of  Har.      55 

And  Har  and  Heva,  like  two  children,  sat  beneath  the  oak : 
Mnetha,  now  aged,  waited  on  them,  and  brought  them  food  and 

clothing  j 
But  they  were  as  the  shadow  of  Har,  and  as  the  years  forgotten. 
Playing  with  flowers  and  running  after  birds  they  spent  the  day, 
And  in  the  night  like  infants  slept,  delighted  with  infant  dreams. 

Soon  as  the  blind  wanderer  enter'd  the  pleasant  gardens  of  Har, 
They  ran  weeping,  like  frighted  infants,  for  refuge  in  Mnetha's 

arms.  62 

The  blind  man  felt  his  way,  and  cried :  '  Peace  to  these  open 

doors  ! 
Let  no  one  fear,  for  poor  blind  Tiriel  hurts  none  but  himself. 
Tell  me,  O  friends,  where  am~I  now,' and  in  what  pleasant  place?' 

'This  is  the  valley  of  Har,'  said  Mnetha,  'and  this  the  tent  of 
Har.  66 

Who  art  thou,  poor  blind  man,  that  takest  the  name  of  Tiriel  on 
thee? 

I  Tiriel  is  King  of  all  the  West.     Who  art  thou  ?     I  am  Mnetha ; 
And  this  is  Har  and  Heva,  trembling  like  infants  by  my  side.' 
227 

Tiriel 

'  I  know  Tiriel  is  King  of  the  West,  and  there  he  lives  in  joy.    70 
No  matter  who  I  am,  O  Mnetha !     If  thou  hast  any  food, 
Give  it  me ;  for  I  cannot  stay ;  my  journey  is  far  from  hence.' 

Then  Har  said :  '  O  my  mother  Mnetha,  venture  not  so  near  him  ; 
For  he  is  the  king  of  rotten  wood,  and  of  the  bones  of  death  ;  74 
He  wanders  without  eyes,  and  passes  thro'  thick  walls  and  doors. 
Thou  shalt  not  smite  my  mother  Mnetha,  O  thou  eyeless  man  ! ' 

'  A  wanderer,  I  beg  for  food  :  you  see  I  cannot  weep  : 
I  cast  away  my  staff,  the  kind  companion  of  my  travel, 
And  I  kneel  down  that  you  may  see  I  am  a  harmless  man.' 

He  kneeled  down.     And  Mnetha  said  :    '  Come,  Har  and  Heva, 
rise !  80 

He  is  an  innocent  old  man,  and  hungry  with  his  travel.' 

Then  Har  arose,  and  laid  his  hand  upon  old  Tiriel's  head. 

f  God  bless  thy  poor  bald  pate !     God  bless  thy  hollow  winking 

eyes ! 
God  bless  thy  shrivell'd  beard !     God  bless  thy  many-wrinkled 

forehead ! 
Thou  hast  no    teeth,  old  man  !  and  thus  I  kiss  thy  sleek  bald 

head.  85 

Heva,  come  kiss  his  bald  head,  for  he  will  not  hurt  us,  Heva. 

Then  Heva  came,  and  took  old  Tiriel  in  her  mother's  arms. 

'  Bless  thy  poor  eyes,  old  man,  and  bless  the  old  father  of  Tiriel ! 
Thou  art  my  Tiriel's  old  father ;  I  know  thee  thro'  thy  wrinkles, 
Because  thou  smellest  like  the  fig-tree,  thou  smellest  like  ripe 
figs. 

76  Followed  by  a  del.  line  : 

O  venerable,  O  most  piteous,  O  most  woeful  day ! 
78  Followed  by  a  del.  line  : 

But  I  can  kneel  down  at  your  door,  I  am  a  harmless  man. 
228 

Tiriel 

How  didst  thou  lose  thy  eyes,  old  Tiriel?     Bless  thy  wrinkled 
face ! '  91 

Mnetha  said  :  '  Come  in,  aged  wanderer !  tell  us  of  thy  name. 
Why  shouldest  thou  conceal  thyself  from   those  of  thine  own 
flesh  ? ' 

!  I  am  not  of  this  region,'  said  Tiriel  dissemblingly. 

'  I  am  an  aged  wanderer,  once  father  of  a  race  95 

Far  in  the  North  ;  but  they  were  wicked,  and  were  all  destroy'd, 

And  I  their  father  sent  an  outcast.     I  have  told  you  all. 

Ask  me  no  more,  I  pray,  for  grief  hath  seal'd  my  precious  sight.' 

'  O  Lord  ! '  said  Mnetha,  '  how  I  tremble !     Are  there  then  more 

people, 
More  human  creatures  on  this  earth,  beside  the  sons  of  Har  ?  ■ 

I  No  more,'  said  Tiriel,  '  but  I,  remain  on  all  this  globe ;  101 

And  I  remain  an  outcast.     Hast  thou  anything  to  drink  ? ' 

Then  Mnetha  gave  him  milk  and  fruits,  and   they   sat  down 
together. 

in 
They  sat  and  ate,  and  Har  and  Heva  smil'd  on  Tiriel. 

Thou  art  a  very  old  old  man,  but  I  am  older  than  thou.  105 

How  came  thine  hair  to  leave  thy  forehead  ?  how  came  thy  face  so 

brown  ? 
My  hair  is  very  long,  my  beard  doth  cover  all  my  breast. 

91  Followed  by  two  del.  lines  : 

The  aged  Tiriel  could  not  speak,  his  heart  was  full  of  grief ; 

He  strove  against  his  rising  passions,  but  still  he  could  not  speak. 
94  Followed  by  a  del.  line  : 

Fearing  to  tell  them  who  he  was,  because  of  the  weakness  of  Har. 
22g 

Tiriel 

God  bless  thy  piteous  face !     To  count  the  wrinkles  in  thy  face 
Would  puzzle  Mnetha.     Bless  thy  face  !  for  thou  art  Tiriel.' 

'  Tiriel  I  never  saw  but  once  :  I  sat  with  him  and  ate ;  no 

He  was  as  cheerful  as  a  prince,  and  gave  me  entertainment ; 
But  long  I  stay'd  not  at  his  palace,  for  I  am  forc'd  to  wander.' 

1  What !  wilt  thou  leave  us  too  ? '  said  Heva  :  '  thou  shalt  not  leave 

us  too, 
For  we  have  many  sports  to  show  thee,  and  many  songs  to  sing ; 
And  after  dinner  we  will  walk  into  the  cage  of  Har,  115 

And  thou  shalt  help  us  to  catch  birds,  and  gather  them  ripe 

cherries. 
Then  let  thy  name  be  Tiriel,  and  never  leave  us  more.' 

1  If  thou  dost  go,'  said  Har,  '  I  wish  thine  eyes  may  see  thy  folly. 
My  sons  have  left  me;  did  thine  leave  thee?    O,  'twas  very  cruel!' 

'  No  !  venerable  man,'  said  Tiriel,  '  ask  me  not  such  things,  120 
For  thou  dost  make  my  heart  to  bleed  :  my  sons  were  not  like  thine, 
But  worse.     O  never  ask  me  more,  or  I  must  flee  away ! 

'  Thou  shalt  not  go,'  said  Heva,  '  till  thou  hast  seen  our  singing- 
birds, 

And  heard  Har  sing  in  the  great  cage,  and  slept  upon  our  fleeces. 
Go  not !  for  thou  art  so  like  Tiriel  that  I  love  thine  head,  125 
'Tho'  it  is  wrinkled  like  the  earth  parch'd  with  the  summer  heat.' 

Then  Tiriel  rose  up  from  the  seat,  and  said:  'God  bless  these  tents! 
My  journey  is  o'er  rocks  and  mountains,  not  in  pleasant  vales  : 
I  must  not  sleep  nor  rest,  because  of  madness  and  dismay.' 

109  Followed  by  two  del.  lines  : 
Tiriel  could  scarce  dissemble  more,  and  his  tongue  could  scarce  refrain, 
But  still  he  fear'd  that  Har  and  Heva  would  die  of  joy  and  grief. 
127  Followed  by  a  del.  line  : 

God  bless  my  benefactors,  for  I  cannot  tarry  longer. 
129  Followed  by  a  del.  line  : 

Then  Mnetha  led  him  to  the  door  and  gave  to  him  his  staff. 
230 

Tiriel 

And  Mnetha  said  :  '  Thou  must  not  go  to  wander  dark,  alone ;  130 

But  dwell  with  us,  and  let  us  be  to  thee  instead  of  eyes, 

And  I  will  bring  thee  food,  old  man,  till  death  shall  call  thee  hence.' 

Then  Tiriel  frown'd,  and  answer'd :  '  Did  I  not  command  you, 

saying, 
"  Madness  and  deep  dismay  possess  the  heart  of  the  blind  man, 
The  wanderer  who  seeks  the  woods,  leaning  upon  his  staff?"'  135 

Then  Mnetha,  trembling  at  his  frowns,  led  him  to  the  tent  door, 
And  gave  to  him  his  staff,  and  bless'd  him.     He  went  on  his  way. 

But  Har  and  Heva  stood  and  watch'd  him  till  he  enter'd  the  wood ; 
And  then  they  went  and  wept  to  Mnetha :  but  they  soon  forgot 
their  tears. 

IV 

Over  the  weary  hills  the  blind  man  took  his  lonely  way;  140 

To  him  the  day  and  night  alike  was  dark  and  desolate ; 

But  far  he  had  not  gone  when  Ijim  from  his  woods  came  down, 
Met  him  at  entrance  of  the  forest,  in  a  dark  and  lonely  way. 

I  Who  art  thou,  eyeless  wretch,  that  thus  obstruct'st  the  lion's 

path  ? 
Ijim  shall  rend  thy  feeble  joints,  thou  tempter  of  dark  Ijim  !      145 
Thou  hast  the  form  of  Tiriel,  but  I  know  thee  well  enough. 
Stand  from  my  path,  foul  fiend  !     Is  this  the  last  of  thy  deceits, 
To  be  a  hypocrite,  and  stand  in  shape  of  a  blind  beggar  ?  ' 

The  blind  man  heard  his  brother's  voice,  and  kneel'd  down  on 
his  knee. 

'  0  brother  Ijim,  if  it  is  thy  voice  that  speaks  to  me,  150 

Smite  not  thy  brother  Tiriel,  tho'  weary  of  his  life. 
My  sons  have  smitten  me  already ;  and,  if  thou  smitest  me, 
The  curse  that  rolls  over  their  heads  will  rest  itself  on  thine. 
'Tis  now  seven  years  since  in  my  palace  I  beheld  thy  face.' 

154  Followed  by  a  del.  line  : 

Seven  years  of  sorrow  ;  then  the  curse  of  Zazel  .  .  . 
231 

Tiriel 

'  Come,  thou  dark  fiend,  I  dare  thy  cunning !  know  that  Ijim 
scorns  155 

To  smite  thee  in  the  form  of  helpless  age  and  eyeless  policy. 
Rise  up !  for  I  discern  thee,  and  I  dare  thy  eloquent  tongue. 
Come  !  I  will  lead  thee  on  thy  way,  and  use  thee  as  a  scoff.' 

'  O  brother  Ijim,  thou  beholdest  wretched  Tiriel : 

Kiss  me,  my  brother,  and  then  leave  me  to  wander  desolate ! '  160 

•  No  !  artful  fiend,  but  I  will  lead  thee ;  dost  thou  want  to  go  ? 
Reply  not,  lest  I  bind  thee  with  the  green  flags  of  the  brook. 
Aye !  now  thou  art  discover'd,  I  will  use  thee  like  a  slave.' 

When  Tiriel  heard  the  words  of  Ijim,  he  sought  not  to  reply : 
He  knew  'twas  vain,  for  Ijim's  words  were  as  the  voice  of  Fate. 

And  they  went  on  together,  over  hills,  thro'  woody  dales,  166 

Blind  to  the  pleasures  of  the  sight,  and  deaf  to  warbling  birds  : 
All  day  they  walk'd,  and  all  the  night  beneath  the  pleasant  moon, 
Westwardly  journeying,  till  Tiriel  grew  weary  with  his  travel. 

'O  Ijim,  I  am  faint  and  weary,  for  my  knees  forbid  170 

To  bear  me  further :  urge  me  not,  lest  I  should  die  with  travel. 

A  little  rest  I  crave,  a  little  water  from  a  brook, 

Or  I  shall  soon  discover  that  I  am  a  mortal  man, 

And  you  will  lose  your  once-lov'd  Tiriel.     Alas  !  how  faint  I  am  ! ' 

'  Impudent  fiend  ! '  said  Ijim,  '  hold  thy  glib  and  eloquent  tongue  ! 
Tiriel  is  a  king,  and  thou  the  tempter  of  dark  Ijim.  176 

Drink  of  this  running  brook,  and  I  will  bear  thee  on  my  shoulders.' 

He  drank  ;  and  Ijim  rais'd  him  up,  and  bore  him  on  his  shoulders  : 
All  day  he  bore  him  ;  and,  when  evening  drew  her  solemn  curtain, 
Enter'd  the  gates  of  Tiriel's  palace,  and  stood  and  call'd  aloud  : — 

1  Heuxos,  come  forth  !    I  here  have  brought  the  fiend  that  troubles 
Ijim.  181 

Look  !  know'st  thou  aught  of  this  grey  beard,  or  of  these  blinded 
eyes  ? ' 

232 

Tiriel 

Heuxos  and  Lotho  ran  forth  at  the  sound  of  Ijim's  voice, 
And  saw  their  aged  father  borne  upon  his  mighty  shoulders. 
Their  eloquent   tongues  were  dumb,  and  sweat  stood  on  their 

trembling  limbs :  185 

They  knew  'twas  vain  to  strive  with  Ijim.     They  bow'd  and  silent 

stood.  r  a.    -r   * 

'  What,  Heuxos !  call  thy  father,  for  I  mean  to  sport  to-night. 
This  is  the  hypocrite  that  sometimes  roars  a  dreadful  lion ; 
Then  I  have  rent  his  limbs,  and  left  him  rotting  in  the  forest 
For  birds  to  eat.    But  I  have  scarce  departed  from  the  place,    190 
But  like  a  tiger  he  would  come :  and  so  I  rent  him  too. 
Then  like  a  river  he  would  seek  to  drown  me  in  his  waves ; 
But  soon  I  buffeted  the  torrent :  anon  like  to  a  cloud 
Fraught  with  the  swords  of  lightning ;  but  I  brav'd  the  vengeance 

too. 
Then  he  would  creep  like  a  bright  serpent ;  till  around  my  neck, 
While  I  was  sleeping,  he  would  twine :  I  squeez'd  his  poisonous 

soul.  196 

Then  like  a  toad,  or  like  a  newt,  would  whisper  in  my  ears  ;  K.  ,  y£ 
Or  like  a  rock  stood  in  my  way,  or  like  a  poisonous  shrub. 
At  last  I  caught  him  in  the  form  of  Tiriel,  blind  and  old,  199 

And  so  I'll  keep  him  !     Fetch  your  father,  fetch  forth  Myratana  ! ' 

They  stood  confounded,  and  thus  Tiriel  rais'd  his  silver  voice  : — 

Serpents,  not  sons,  why  do  you  stand  ?     Fetch  hither  Tiriel ! 
Fetch  hither  Myratana  !  and  delight  yourselves  with  scoffs ; 
For  poor  blind  Tiriel  is  return'd,  and  this  much-injur'd  head 
Is    ready   for    your   bitter    taunts.      Come    forth,    sons    of   the 
Curse ! ' 

Meantime  the  other  sons  of  Tiriel  ran  around  their  father,         206 
onfounded  at  the  terrible  strength  of  Ijim  :    they  knew  'twas 
vain. 
Both  spear  and  shield  were  useless,  and  the  coat  of  iron  mail, 

233  13 

Tiriel 

When  Ijim  stretch'd  his  mighty  arm ;  the  arrow  from  his  limbs 
Rebounded,  and  the  piercing  sword  broke  on  his  naked  flesh.  210 

'  Then  is  it  true,  Heuxos,  that  thou  hast  turn'd  thy  aged  parent 

To  be  the  sport  of  wintry  winds  ? '  said  Ijim,  *  is  this  true  ? 

It  is  a  lie,  and  I  am  like  the  tree  torn  by  the  wind, 

Thou  eyeless  fiend,  and  you  dissemblers  !     Is  this  Tiriel's  house  ? 

It  is  as  false  as  Matha,  and  as  dark  as  vacant  Orcus.  215 

Escape,  ye  fiends  !  for  Ijim  will  not  lift  his  hand  against  ye.' 

So  saying,  Ijim  gloomy  turn'd  his  back,  and  silent  sought 
The  secret  forests,  and  all  night  wander'd  in  desolate  ways. 

v 
And  aged  Tiriel  stood  and  said  :  '  Where  does  the  thunder  sleep  ? 
Where  doth  he  hide  his  terrible  head  ?     And  his  swift  and  fiery 

daughters,  220 

Where  do  they  shroud  their  fiery  wings,  and  the  terrors  of  their 

hair? 
Earth,  thus  I  stamp  thy  bosom  !     Rouse  the  earthquake  from  his 

den, 
To  raise  his  dark  and  burning  visage  thro'  the  cleaving  ground, 
To  thrust  these  towers  with  his  shoulders !     Let  his  fiery  dogs 
Rise  from  the  centre,  belching  flames  and  roarings,  dark  smoke!  225 
Where  art  thou,  Pestilence,  that  bathest  in  fogs  and  standing  lakes  ? 

210  Followed  by  the  del.  lines  : 

Then  Ijim  said  :   'Lotho,  Clithyma,  Makuth,  fetch  your  father! 
Why  do  you  stand  confounded  thus?  Heuxos,  why  art  thou  silent?' 

'  O  noble  Ijim,  thou  hast  brought  our  father  to  our  eyes, 
That  we  may  tremble  and  repent  before  thy  mighty  knees. 
O  1  we  are  but  the  slaves  of  Fortune,  and  that  most  cruel  man 
Desires  our  deaths,  O  Ijim  !  .  .  . 

...  if  the  eloquent  voice  of  Tiriel 
Hath  work'd  our  ruin,  we  submit  nor  strive  against  stern  fate.' 

He  spoke,  kneel'd  upon  his  knee.     Then  Ijim  on  the  pavement 
Set  aged  Tiriel  in  deep  thought  whether  these  things  were  so. 

234 

Tiriel 

Rise  up  thy  sluggish  limbs,  and  let  the  loathsomest  of  poisons 
Drop  from  thy  garments  as  thou  walkest,  wrapp'd  in  yellow  clouds  ! 
Here  take  thy  seat  in  this  wide  court ;  let  it  be  strewn  with  dead ; 
And  sit  and  smile  upon  these  cursed  sons  of  Tiriel !  230 

Thunder,  and  fire,  and  pestilence,  hear  you  not  Tiriel's  curse  ? ' 
He  ceas'd.     The  heavy  clouds  confus'd   roll'd   round  the  lofty 

towers, 
Discharging  their  enormous  voices  at  the  father's  curse. 
The  earth  trembled ;  fires  belched  from  the  yawning  clefts ; 
And  when  the  shaking  ceas'd,  a  fog  possess'd  the  accursed  clime. 

The  cry  was  great  in  Tiriel's  palace  :  his  five  daughters  ran,       236 
And  caught  him  by  the  garments,  weeping  with  cries  of  bitter  woe. 

'Aye,  now  you  feel  the  curse,  you  cry  !  but  may  all  ears  be  deaf 

As  Tiriel's,  and  all  eyes  as  blind  as  Tiriel's  to  your  woes ! 

May  never  stars  shine  on  your  roofs  !  may  never  sun  nor  moon   240 

Visit  you,  but  eternal  fogs  hover  around  your  walls ! 

Hela,  my  youngest  daughter,  you  shall  lead  me  from  this  place ; 

And  let  the  curse  fall  on  the  rest,  and  wrap  them  up  together ! ' 

He  ceas'd  :  and  Hela  led  her  father  from  the  noisome  place. 
In  haste  they  fled ;  while  all  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Tiriel,  245 
Chain'd  in  thick  darkness,  uttered  cries  of  mourning  all  the  night. 
And  in  the  morning,  lo !  an  hundred  men  in  ghastly  death ! 
The  four  daughters,  stretch'd  on  the  marble  pavement,  silent  all, 
FalPn  by  the  pestilence  ! — the  rest  mop'd  round  in  guilty  fears; 
And  all  the  children  in  their  beds  were  cut  off  in  one  night.      250 
Thirty  of  Tiriel's  sons  remain'd,  to  wither  in  the  palace, 
Desolate,  loathed,  dumb,  astonish'd — waiting  for  black  death. 

VI 

And  Hela  led  her  father  thro'  the  silence  of  the  night, 
Astonish'd,  silent,  till  the  morning  beams  began  to  spring. 

I  Now,  Hela,  I  can  go  with  pleasure,  and  dwell  with  Har  and  Heva; 
Now  that  the  curse  shall  clean  devour  all  those  guilty  sons.       256 

235 

Tiriel 

This  is  the  right  and  ready  way ;  I  know  it  by  the  sound 

That  our  feet  make.     Remember,  Hela,  I  have  saved  thee  from 

death ; 
Then  be  obedient  to  thy  father,  for  the  curse  is  taken  off  thee. 
I  dwelt  with  Myratana  five  years  in  the  desolate  rock  j  260 

And  all  that  time  we  waited  for  the  fire  to  fall  from  heaven, 
Or  for  the  torrents  of  the  sea  to  overwhelm  you  all. 
But  now  my  wife  is  dead,  and  all  the  time  of  grace  is  past : 
You  see  the  parent's  curse.     Now  lead  me  where  I  have  com- 
manded.' 

'  O  leagued  with  evil  spirits,  thou  accursed  man  of  sin  !  265 

True,  I  was  born  thy  slave !     Who  ask'd  thee  to  save  me  from 

death  ? 
Twas  for  thyself,  thou  cruel  man,  because  thou  wantest  eyes.' 

'  True,  Hela,  this  is  the  desert  of  all  those  cruel  ones. 

Is  Tiriel  cruel  ?     Look  !  his  daughter,  and  his  youngest  daughter, 

Laughs  at  affection,  glories  in  rebellion,  scoffs  at  love.  270 

I  have  not  ate  these  two  days.     Lead  me  to  Har  and  Heva's  tent, 

Or  I  will  wrap  thee  up  in  such  a  terrible  father's  curse 

That  thou  shalt  feel  worms  in  thy  marrow  creeping   thro'  thy 

bones. 
Yet  thou  shalt  lead  me !    Lead  me,  I  command,  to  Har  and  Heva ! ' 

'O  cruel!  O  destroyer  !  O  consumer  !  O  avenger!  275 

To  Har  and  Heva  I  will  lead  thee :  then  would  that  they  would 

curse ! 
Then  would  they  curse  as  thou  hast  cursed  !     But  they  are  not 

like  thee  ! 
O !  they  are  holy  and  forgiving,  fill'd  with  loving  mercy, 
Forgetting  the  offences  of  their  most  rebellious  children, 
Or  else  thou  wouldest  not  have  liv'd  to  curse  thy  helpless  children.' 

1  Look  on  my  eyes,  Hela,  and  see,  for  thou  hast  eyes  to  see,      281 
The  tears  swell  from  my  stony  fountains.     Wherefore  do  I  weep  ? 

236 

Tiriel 

herefore  from  my  blind  orbs  art  thou  not  seiz'd  with  poisonous 

stings? 
ugh,  serpent,  youngest  venomous  reptile  of  the  flesh  of  Tiriel '. 
augh  !  for  thy  father  Tiriel  shall  give  thee  cause  to  laugh,        285 
Unless  thou  lead  me  to  the  tent  of  Har,  child  of  the  Curse  ! ' 

1  Silence  thy  evil  tongue,  thou  murderer  of  thy  helpless  children  ! 
I  lead  thee  to  the  tent  of  Har ;  not  that  I  mind  thy  curse, 
But  that  I  feel  they  will  curse  thee,  and  hang  upon  thy  bones 
Fell  shaking  agonies,  and  in  each  wrinkle  of  that  face  290 

Plant  worms  of  death  to  feast  upon  the  tongue  of  terrible  curses.' 

1  Hela,  my  daughter,  listen  !  thou  art  the  daughter  of  Tiriel. 
Thy  father  calls.     Thy  father  lifts  his  hand  unto  the  heavens, 
For  thou  hast  laughed  at  my  tears,  and  curs'd  thy  aged  father. 
Let  snakes  rise  from  thy  bedded  locks,   and  laugh  among  thy 
curls ! '  KscdjAO.  2% 

He    ceas'd.       Her    dark    hair    upright    stood,    while     snakes 

infolded  round 
Her  madding  brows  :  her  shrieks  appall'd  the  soul  of  Tiriel. 

'  What  have  I  done,  Hela,  my  daughter  ?     Fear'st  thou  now  the 

curse, 
Or  wherefore  dost  thou  cry?      Ah,  wretch,   to  curse  thy  aged 

father  ! 
Lead  me  to  Har  and  Heva,  and  the  curse  of  Tiriel  300 

Shall  fail.     If  thou  refuse,  howl  in  the  desolate  mountains  ! ' 

VII 

She,  howling,  led  him  over  mountains  and  thro'  frighted  vales, 
Till  to  the  caves  of  Zazel  they  approach'd  at  eventide. 
Forth  from  their  caves  old  Zazel  and  his  sons  ran,  when  they  saw 
Their  tyrant  prince  blind,  and  his  daughter  howling  and  leading 
him.  305 

237 

Tiriel 

They  laugh'd  and  mocked;  some  threw  dirt  and  stones  as  they 

pass'd  by ; 
But  when  Tiriel  turn'd  around  and  rais'd  his  awful  voice, 
Some  fled  away;  but  Zazel  stood  still,  and  thus  begun  : — 

'  Bald  tyrant,  wrinkled  cunning,  listen  to  Zazel's  chains  ! 

'Twas  thou  that  chained  thy  brother  Zazel !     Where   are   now 

thine  eyes?  310 

Shout,  beautiful  daughter  of  Tiriel !  thou  singest  a  sweet  song  ! 
Where  are  you  going?     Come  and  eat  some  roots,  and  drink 

some  water. 
Thy  crown  is  bald,  old  man ;  the  sun  will  dry  thy  brains  away, 
And  thou  wilt  be  as  foolish  as  thy  foolish  brother  Zazel.' 

The   blind   man   heard,   and   smote   his   breast,   and   trembling 
passed  on.  315 

They  threw  dirt  after  them,  till  to  the  covert  of  a  wood 
The  howling  maiden  led  her  father,  where  wild  beasts  resort, 
Hoping  to  end  her  woes ;  but  from  her  cries  the  tigers  fled. 
All   night   they  wander'd   thro'  the  wood ;    and  when   the  sun 

arose, 
They  enter'd  on  the  mountains  of  Har :  at  noon  the  happy  tents 
Were  frighted  by  the  dismal  cries  of  Hela  on  the  mountains.     321 

But  Har  and  Heva  slept  fearless  as  babes  on  loving  breasts. 
Mnetha  awoke :  she  ran  and  stood  at  the  tent  door,  and  saw 
The  aged  wanderer  led  towards  the  tents ;  she  took  her  bow, 
And  chose  her  arrows,  then  advanc'd  to  meet  the  terrible  pair.  325 

vm 
And  Mnetha  hasted,  and  met  them  at  the  gate  of  the  lower 

garden. 
'  Stand  still,  or  from  my  bow  receive  a  sharp  and  winged  death  ! ' 

238 

Tiriel 

things  ? 
Lead  me  to  Har  and  Heva ;  I  am  Tiriel,  King  of  the  West.' 

And  Mnetha  led  them  to  the  tent  of  Har  j  and  Har  and  Heva 
Ran  to  the  door.     When  Tiriel  felt  the  ankles  of  aged  Har,      331 
He  said  :  '  0  weak  mistaken  father  of  a  lawless  race, 
Thy  laws,  0  Har,  and  Tiriel's  wisdom,  end  together  in  a  curse. 

Why  is  one  law  given  to  the  lion  and  the  patient  ox  ?  / 

And  why  men  bound  beneath  the  heavens  in  a  reptile  formf     335 
A  worm  of  sixty  winters  creeping  on  the  dusky  ground  ? 
The  child  springs  from  the  womb;  the  father  ready  stands  to  form 
The  infant  head,  while  the  mother  idle  plays  with  her  dog  on  her 

couch : 
The  young  bosom  is  cold  for  lack  of  mother's  nourishment,  and  milk 
Is  cut  off  from  the  weeping  mouth  with  difficulty  and  pain  :       340 
The  little  lids  are  lifted,  and  the  little  nostrils  open'd  : 
The  father  forms  a  whip  to  rouse  the  sluggish  senses  to  act, 
And  scourges  off  all  youthful  fancies  from  the  new-born  man. 
Then  walks  the  weak   infant  in  sorrow,  compell'd  to  number 

footsteps 
Upon  the  sand.     And  when  the  drone  has  reach'd  his  crawling 

length,  345 

333  Followed  by  a  del.  half-line  : 

Thy  God  of  Love,  thy  Heaven  of  Joy  .  .  . 

334  Followed  by  the  del.  lines  : 

Dost  thou  not  see  that  men  cannot  be  formed  all  alike, 
Some  nostril'd  wide,  breathing  out  blood ;  some  close  shut  up 
In  silent  deceit,  poisons  inhaling  from  the  morning  rose, 
With  daggers  hid  beneath  their  lips  and  poison  in  their  tongue ; 
Or  eyed  with  little  sparks  of  Hell,  or  with  infernal  brands, 
Flinging  flames  of  discontent  and  plagues  of  dark  despair  ; 
Or  those  whose  mouths  are  graves,  whose  teeth  the  gates  of  eternal  death. 
Can  wisdom  be  put  in  a  silver  rod,  or  love  in  a  golden  bowl? 
Is  the  sun  a  king,  warmed  without  wool  ?  or  does  he  cry  with  a  voice 
Of  thunder?     Does  he  look  upon  the  sun,  and  laugh  or  stretch 
His  little  hands  unto  the  depths  of  the  sea,  to  bring  forth 
The  deadly  cunning  of  the  scaly  tribe,  and  spread  it  to  the  morning? 

239 

Tiriel 

Black  berries  appear  that  poison  all  round  him.  Such  was  Tiriel, 
CompelPd  to  pray  repugnant,  and  to  humble  the  immortal  spirit ; 
Till  I  am  subtil  as  a  serpent  in  a  paradise, 

Consuming  all,  both  flowers  and  fruits,  insects  and  warbling  birds. 
And  now  my  paradise  is  fall'n,  and  a  drear  sandy  plain  350 

Returns  my  thirsty  hissings  in  a  curse  on  thee,  O  Har, 
Mistaken  father  of  a  lawless  race  ! — My  voice  is  past.' 

He  ceas'd,  outstretch'd  at  Har  and  Heva's  feet  in  awful  death. 

346  Followed  by  a  del.  line  :  • 

Hypocrisy,  the  idiot's  wisdom,  and  the  wise  man's  folly. 

240 

THE 
BOOK    OF    THE'L 

(Engraved  1789) 

Thel's  Motto.

Or  wilt  thou  go  ask  the  Mole  ? 
Can  Wisdom  be  put  in  a  silver  rod, 
Or  Love  in  a  golden  bowl  ? 

The  daughters  of  [the]  Seraphim  led  round  their  sunny  flocks —    5 
All  but  the  youngest :  she  in  paleness  sought  the  secret  air, 
To  fade  away  like  morning  beauty  from  her  mortal  day  : 
Down  by  the  river  of  Adona  her  soft  voice  is  heard, 
And  thus  her  gentle  lamentation  falls  like  morning  dew : — 

'  O  life  of  this  our  spring  !  why  fades  the  lotus  of  the  water  ?       10 
Why  fade  these  children  of  the  spring,  born  but  to  smile  and  fall  ? 
Ah  !  Thel  is  like  a  wat'ry  bow,  and  like  a  parting  cloud  ; 
Like  a  reflection  in  a  glass  ;  like  shadows  in  the  water  ; 
Like  dreams  of  infants,  like  a  smile  upon  an  infant's  face ; 
Like  the  dove's  voice ;  like  transient  day ;  like  music  in  the  air.  15 
Ah !  gentle  may  I  lay  me  down,  and  gentle  rest  my  head, 
And  gentle  sleep  the  sleep  of  death,  and  gentle  hear  the  voice 
Of  Him  that  walketh  in  the  garden  in  the  evening  time.' 

The  Lily  of  the  Valley,  breathing  in  the  humble  grass, 
Answered  the  lovely  maid  and  said  :  '  I  am  a  wat'ry  weed,  20 

And  I  am  very  small,  and  love  to  dwell  in  lowly  vales ; 

241 

The  Book  of  Thel 

So  weak,  the  gilded  butterfly  scarce  perches  on  my  head. 
Yet  I  am  visited  from  heaven,  and  He  that  smiles  on  all 
Walks  in  the  valley,  and  each  morn  over  me  spreads  His  hand, 
Saying,  "  Rejoice,  thou  humble  grass,  thou  new-born  lily-flower,  25 
Thou  gentle  maid  of  silent  valleys  and  of  modest  brooks  ; 
For  thou  shalt  be  clothed  in  light,  and  fed  with  morning  manna, 
Till  summer's  heat  melts  thee  beside  the  fountains  and  the  springs, 
To  flourish  in  eternal  vales."     Then  why  should  Thel  complain  ? 
Why  should  the  mistress  of  the  vales  of  Har  utter  a  sigh  ? '         30 

She  ceas'd,  and  smil'd  in  tears,  then  sat  down  in  her  silver  shrine. 

Thel  answer'd  :  '  O  thou  little  Virgin  of  the  peaceful  valley, 
Giving  to  those  that  cannot  crave,  the  voiceless,  the  o'ertired ; 
Thy  breath  doth  nourish  the  innocent  lamb,  he  smells  thy  milky 

garments, 
He  crops  thy  flowers  while  thou  sittest  smiling  in  his  face,  35 

Wiping  his  mild  and  meeking  mouth  from  all  contagious  taints. 
Thy  wine  doth  purify  the  golden  honey  ;  thy  perfume, 
Which  thou  dost  scatter  on  every  little  blade  of  grass  that  springs, 
Revives  the  milked  cow,  and  tames  the  fire-breathing  steed. 
But  Thel  is  like  a  faint  cloud  kindled  at  the  rising  sun  :  40 

I  vanish  from  my  pearly  throne,  and  who  shall  find  my  place  ? ' 

'Queen  of  the  vales,'  the  Lily  answer'd,  'ask  the  tender  Cloud, 
And  it  shall  tell  thee  why  it  glitters  in  the  morning  sky, 
And  why  it  scatters  its  bright  beauty  thro'  the  humid  air. 
Descend,  O  little  Cloud,  and  hover  before  the  eyes  of  Thel.'      45 

The  Cloud  descended,  and  the  Lily  bowed  her  modest  head, 
And  went  to  mind  her  numerous  charge  among  the  verdant  grass. 

11 

'  O  little  Cloud,'  the  Virgin  said,  '  I  charge  thee  tell  to  me 
Why  thou  complainest  not,  when  in  one  hour  thou  fade  away : 
Then  we  shall  seek  thee,  but  not  find.     Ah  !  Thel  is  like  to  thee 
I  pass  away  ;  yet  I  complain,  and  no  one  hears  my  voice.'  51 

242 

The  Book  of  Thel 

The  Cloud  then  show'd  his  golden  head  and  his  bright   form 

emerg'd, 
Hovering  and  glittering  on  the  air  before  the  face  of  Thel. 

1 0  Virgin,  know'st  thou  not  our  steeds  drink  of  the  golden  springs 
Where  Luvah  doth  renew  his  horses?  Look'st  thou  on  my  youth,  55 
And  fearest  thou,  because  I  vanish  and  am  seen  no  more, 
Nothing  remains  ?     O  Maid,  I  tell  thee,  when  I  pass  away, 
It  is  to  tenfold  life,  to  love,  to  peace,  and  raptures  holy  : 
Unseen  descending,  weigh  my  light  wings  upon  balmy  flowers, 
And  court  the  fair-eyed  dew,  to  take  me  to  her  shining  tent :      60 
The  weeping  virgin,  trembling,  kneels  before  the  risen  sun, 
Till  we  arise  link'd  in  a  golden  band  and  never  part, 
But  walk  united,  bearing  food  to  all  our  tender  flowers.' 

1  Dost  thou,  O  little  Cloud  ?     I  fear  that  I  am  not  like  thee, 
For  I  walk  thro'  the  vales  of  Har,  and  smell  the  sweetest  flowers, 
But  I  feed  not  the  little  flowers ;  I  hear  the  warbling  birds,         66 
But  I  feed  not  the  warbling  birds ;  they  fly  and  seek  their  food  : 
But  Thel  delights  in  these  no  more,  because  I  fade  away ; 
And  all  shall  say,  "  Without  a  use  this  shining  woman  liv'd, 
Or  did  she  only  live  to  be  at  death  the  food  of  worms  ?  " '  70 

The  Cloud  reclin'd  upon  his  airy  throne,  and  answer'd  thus  : — 

'Then  if  thou  art  the  food  of  worms,  O  Virgin  of  the  skies, 
How  great  thy  use,  how  great  thy  blessing  !     Everything  that  lives 
Lives  not  alone  nor  for  itself.     Fear  not,  and  I  will  call 
The  weak  Worm  from  its  lowly  bed,  and  thou  shalt  hear  its  voice. 
Come  forth,  Worm  of  the  silent  valley,  to  thy  pensive  Queen.'  76 

The  helpless  Worm  arose,  and  sat  upon  the  Lily's  leaf, 

And  the  bright  Cloud  sail'd  on,  to  find  his  partner  in  the  vale. 

in 
Then  Thel  astonish'd  view'd  the  Worm  upon  its  dewy  bed. 

'  Art  thou  a  Worm  ?     Image  of  weakness,  art  thou  but  a  Worm  ? 
I  see  thee  like  an  infant  wrapped  in  the  Lily's  leaf.  Si 

243 

The  Book  of  Thel 

Ah !  weep  not,  little  voice,  thou  canst  riot  speak,  but  thou  canst 

weep. 
Is  this  a  Worm  ?     I  see  thee  lay  helpless  and  naked,  weeping, 
And  none  to  answer,  none  to  cherish  thee  with  mother's  smiles.' 

The  Clod  of  Clay  heard  the  Worm's  voice  and  rais'd  her  pitying 
head :  85 

She  bow'd  over  the  weeping  infant,  and  her  life  exhal'd 
In  milky  fondness  :  then  on  Thel  she  fix'd  her  humble  eyes. 

1  0  Beauty  of  the  vales  of  Har  !  we  live  not  for  ourselves. 
Thou  seest  me,  the  meanest  thing,  and  so  I  am  indeed. 
My  bosom  of  itself  is  cold,  and  of  itself  is  dark ;  90 

But  He,  that  loves  the  lowly,  pours  His  oil  upon  my  head, 
And  kisses  me,  and  binds  His  nuptial  bands  around  my  breast, 
And  says  :  "  Thou  mother  of  my  children,  I  have  loved  thee, 
And  I  have  given  thee  a  crown  that  none  can  take  away." 
But  how  this  is,  sweet  Maid,  I  know  not,  and  I  cannot  know ;  95 
I  ponder,  and  I  cannot  ponder  ;  yet  I  live  and  love.' 

The  Daughter  of  Beauty  wip'd  her  pitying  tears  with  her  white 

veil, 
And  said  :  '  Alas  !  I  knew  not  this,  and  therefore  did  I  weep. 
That  God  would  love  a  worm  I  knew,  and  punish  the  evil  foot 
That  wilful  bruis'd  its  helpless  form  ;  but  that  He  cherish'd  it  100 
With  milk  and  oil  I  never  knew,  and  therefore  did  I  weep ; 
And  I  complain'd  in  the  mild  air,  because  I  fade  away, 
And  lay  me  down  in  thy  cold  bed,  and  leave  my  shining  lot.' 

'  Queen  of  the  vales,'  the  matron  Clay  answer'd,  '  I  heard  thy  sighs, 
And  all  thy  moans  flew  o'er  my  roof,  but  I  have  call'd  them  down. 
Wilt  thou,  O  Queen,  enter  my  house  ?  'Tis  given  thee  to  enter  106 
And  to  return  :  fear  nothing,  enter  with  thy  virgin  feet.' 

The  eternal  gates'  terrific  Porter  lifted  the  northern  bar : 
Thel  enter'd  in  and  saw  the  secrets  of  the  land  unknown. 
She  saw  the  couches  of  the  dead,  and  where  the  fibrous  roots   no 

244 

, 

The  Book  of  Thel 

f  every  heart  on  earth  infixes  deep  its  restless  twists : 
land  of  sorrows  and  of  tears  where  never  smile  was  seen,   y 

he  wander'd  in  the  land  of  clouds  thro'  valleys  dark,  list'ning 
olours  and  lamentations ;  waiting  oft  beside  a  dewy  grave 
e  stood  in  silence,  list'ning  to  the  voices  of  the  ground,  115 

Till  to  her  own  grave-plot  she  came,  and  there  she  sat  down, 
And  heard  this  voice  of  sorrow  breathed  from  the  hollow  pit. 

'  Why  cannot  the  Ear  be  closed  to  its  own  destruction  ? 

Or  the  glist'ning  Eye  to  the  poison  of  a  smile  ? 

Why  are  Eyelids  stor'd  with  arrows  ready  drawn,  1 20 

Where  a  thousand  fighting  men  in  ambush  lie, 

Or  an  Eye  of  gifts  and  graces  show'ring  fruits  and  coined  gold  ? 

Why  a  Tongue  impress'd  with  honey  from  every  wind  ? 

Why  an  Ear,  a  whirlpool  fierce  to  draw  creations  in  ? 

Why  a  Nostril  wide  inhaling  terror,  trembling,  and  affright  ?      125 

Why  a  tender  curb  upon  the  youthful,  burning  boy  ? 

Why  a  little  curtain  of  flesh  on  the  bed  of  our  desire  ? ' 

The  Virgin  started  from  her  seat,  and  with  a  shriek 
Fled  back  unhinder'd  till  she  came  into  the  vales  of  Har. 

THE   END. 

245 

THE   MARRIAGE 

OF 

HEAVEN   AND    HELL 

(Engraved  circa  1790) 
The  Argument 

Rintrah  roars,  and  shakes  his  fires  in  the  burden'd  air; 
Hungry  clouds ^vag  on  the  deep.

The  just  man  kept  his  course  along 

The  vale  of  death.  5 

Roses  are  planted  where  thorns  grow, 

And  on  the  barren  heath 

Sing  the  honey  bees. 

Then  the  perilous  path  was  planted, 

And  a  river  and  a  spring  ic 

On  every  cliff  and  tomb, 
And  on  the  bleached  bones 
,'     Red  clay  brought  forth ; . 

Till  the  villain  left  the  paths  of  ease, 

To  walk  in  perilous  paths,  and  drive  15 

The  just  man  into  barren  climes. 

Now  the  sneaking  serpent  walks 

In  mild  humility, 

And  the  just  man  rages  in  the  wilds 

Where  lions  roam.  20 

Rintrah  roars,  and  shakes  his  fires  in  the  burden'd  air ; 
Hungry  clouds  swag  on  the  deep. 

247 

The  Marriage 

As  a  new  heaven  is  begun,  and  it  is  now  thirty-three  years 
since  its  advent,  the  Eternal  Hell  revives.  And  lo  !  Swedenborg 
is  the  Angel  sitting  at  the  tomb  :  his  writings  are  the  linen  clothes 
folded  up.  Now  is  the  dominion  of  Edom,  and  the  return  of 
Adam  into  Paradise.     See  Isaiah  xxxiv  and  xxxv  chap. 

Without  Contraries  is  no  progression.  Attraction  and  Repul- 
sion, Reason  and  Energy,  Love  and  Hate,  are  necessary  to  Human 
existence. 

From  these  contraries  spring  what  the  religious  call  Good  and 
Evil.  Good  is  the  passive  that  obeys  Reason.  Evil  is  the  active 
springing  from  Energy. 

Good  is  Heaven.     Evil  is  Hell. 

The  Voice  of  the  Devil   t «       V#> 

e-C   VI    OAA 

All  Bibles  or  sacred  codes  have  been  the  causes  of  the  follow- 
ing Errors  : — 

i.  That  Man  has  two  real  existing  principles,  viz.  a  Body  and 
a  Soul. 

2.  That  Energy,  call'd  Evil,  is  alone  from  the  Body;  and  that 
Reason,  call'd  Good,  is  alone  from  the  Soul. 

3.  That  God  will  torment  Man  in  Eternity  for  following  his 
Energies. 

But  the  following  Contraries  to  these  are  True  : — 

1.  Man  has  no  Body  distinct  from  his  Soul;  for  that  call'd 
Body  is  a  portion  of  Soul  discern'd  by  the  five  Senses,  the  chief 
inlets  of  Soul  in  this  age. 

2.  Energy  is  the  only  life,  and  is  from  the  Body ;  and  Reason 
is  the  bound  or  outward  circumference  of  Energy. 

3.  Energy  is  Eternal  Delight. 

Those  who  restrain  Desire,  do  so  because  theirs  is  weak  enough 
to  be  restrained  ;  and  the  restrainer  or  Reason  usurps  its  place  and 
governs  the  unwilling. 

248 

of  Heaven  and  Hell 

And  being  restrained,  it  by  degrees  becomes  passive,  till  it  is 
only  the  shadow  of  Desire. 

The  history  of  this  is  written  in  Paradise  Lost,  and  the  Governor 
or  Reason  is  call'd  Messiah. 

And  the  original  Archangel,  or  possessor  of  the  command  of  the 
Heavenly  Host,  is  call'd  the  Devil  or  Satan,  and  his  children  are 
call'd  Sin  and  Death. 

But  in  the  Book  of  Job,  Milton's  Messiah  is  called  Satan. 

For  this  history  has  been  adopted  by  both  parties. 

It  indeed  appear'd  to  Reason  as  if  Desire  was  cast  out;  but 
the  Devil's  account  is,  that  the  Messiah  fell,  and  formed  a  Heaven 
of  what  he  stole  from  the  Abyss. 

This  is  shown  in  the  Gospel,  where  he  prays  to  the  Father  to 
send  the  Comforter,  or  Desire,  that  Reason  may  have  Ideas  to 
build  on ;  the  Jehovah  of  the  Bible  being  no  other  than  he  who 
dwells  in  flaming  fire. 

Know  that  after  Christ's  death,  he  became  Jehovah. 

But  in  Milton,  the  Father  is  Destiny,  the  Son  a  Ratio  of  the  five 
senses,  and  the  Holy-ghost  Vacuum  ! 

Note.  The  reason  Milton  wrote  in  fetters  when  he  wrote  of 
Angels  and  God,  and  at  liberty  when  of  Devils  and  Hell,  is  because 
he  was  a  true  Poet,  and  of  the  Devil's  party  without  knowing  it. 

A  Memorable  Fancy 

As  I  was  walking  among  the  fires  of  Hell,  delighted  with  the 
enjoyments  of  Genius,'  which  to  Angels  look  like  torment  and 
insanity,  I  collected  some  of  their  Proverbs ;  thinking  that  as  the 
sayings  used  in  a  nation  mark  its  character,  so  the  Proverbs  of 
Hell  show  the  nature  of  Infernal  wisdom  better  than  any  descrip- 
tion of  buildings  or  garments. 

"When  I  came  home,  on  the  abyss  of  the  five  senses,  where  a 
flat-sided  steep  frowns  over  the  present  world,  I  saw  a  mighty 
Devil,  folded  in  black  clouds,  hovering  on  the  sides  of  the  rock : 

249 

The  Marriage 

with  corroding  fires  he  wrote  the  following  sentence  now  perceived 
by  the  minds  of  men,  and  read  by  them  on  earth  : — 

How  do  you  know  but  ev'ry  Bird  that  cuts  the  airy  way, 
Is  an  immense  World  of  Delight,  closed  by  your  senses  five  ? 

Proverbs  of  Hell 

In  seed  time  learn,  in  harvest  teach,  in  winter  enjoy. 

Drive  your  cart  and  your  plough  over  the  bones  of  the  dead. 

The  road  of  excess  leads  to  the  palace  of  wisdom. 

Prudence  is  a  rich,  ugly  old  maid  courted  by  Incapacity. 

He  who  desires  but  acts  not,  breeds  pestilence. 

The  cut  worm  forgives  the  plough. 

Dip  him  in  the  river  who  loves  water. 

A  fool  sees  not  the  same  tree  that  a  wise  man  sees. 

He  whose  face  gives  no  light,  shall  never  become  a  star. 
/  Eternity  is  in  love  with  the  productions  of  time.  / 

The  busy  bee  has  no  time  for  sorrow. 

The  hours  of  folly  are  measured  by  the  clock ;  but  of  wisdom,  no 
clock  can  measure. 

Alt  wholesome  food  is  caught  without  a  net  or  a  trap. 

Bring  out  number,  weight,  and  measure  in  a  year  of  dearth. 

No  bird  soars  too  high,  if  he  soars  with  his  own  wings. 

A  dead  body  revenges  not  injuries. 

The  most  sublime  act  is  to  set  another  before  you. 

If  the  fool  would  persist  in  his  folly  heywould  become  wise. 

Folly  is  the  cloak  of  knavery. 

Shame  is  Pride's  cloak.  ^ 

Prisons  are  built  with  stones  of  Law,  brothels  with  bricks  of 
Religion. 

The  pride  of  the  peacock  is  the  glory  of  God. 

The  lust  of  the  goat  is  the  bounty  of  God. 

The  wrath  of  the  lion  is  the  ivisdom  of  God. 

The  nakedness  of  woman  is  the  ivork  of  God. 

250 

of  Heaven  and  Hell 

Excess  of  sorrow  laughs.     Excess  of  joy  zveeps. 

The  roaring  of  lions,  the  howling  of  wolves,  the  raging  of  the  stormy 
sea,  and  the  destructive  sword  are  portions  of  eternity  too  great  for 
the  eye  of  man. 

The  fox  condemns  the  trap,  not  himself 

Joys  impregnate.     Sorrows  bri?ig  forth. 

Let  man  wear  the  fell  of  the  lion,  woman  the  fleece  of  the  sheep. 

The  bird  a  nest,  the  spider  a  web,  man  friendship. 

The  selfish,  smiling  fool,  and  the  sullen,  frowning  fool  shall  be  both 
thought  wise,  that  they  may  be  a  rod. 

What  is  now  proved  was  once  only  imagined. 

The  rat,  the  mouse,  the  fox,  the  rabbit  watch  the  roots ;  the  lion, 
the  tiger,  the  horse,  the  elephant  watch  the  fruits. 

The  cistern  contains :  the  fountain  overflows. 

One  thought  fills  immensity. 

Always  be  ready  to  speak  your  mind,  and  a  base  man  will  avoid 
you. 

Everything  possible  to  be  believ'd  is  an  image  of  truth. 

The  eagle  never  lost  so  much  time  as  when  he  submitted  to  learn  of 
the  crow. 

The  fox  provides  for  himself;  but  God  provides  for  the  lion. 

Think  in  the  morning.  Act  in  the  noon.  Eat  in  the  evening. 
Sleep  in  the  night. 

He  who  has  suffer 'd  you  to  impose  on  him,  knows  you. 

As  the  plough  follows  words,  so  God  rewards  prayers. 

The  tigers  of  wrath  are  wiser  than  the  horses  of  instruction. 
^  Expect  poison  from  the  standing  water. 

You  never  know  what  is  enough  unless  you  know  what  is  more 
than  enough. 

Listen  to  the  fools  reproach  !  it  is  a  kingly  title  ! 

The  eyes  of  fire,  the  nostrils  of  air,  the  mouth  of  water,  the  beard 
of  earth. 

The  weak  in  courage  is  strong  in  cunning. 

The  apple  tree  never  asks  the  beech  how  he  shall  grow ;  nor  the 
lion,  the  horse,  how  he  shall  take  his  prey. 

The  thankful  receiver  bears  a  plentiful  harvest. 

251 

The  Marriage 

If  others  had  not  been  foolish,  we  should  be  so. 

The  soul  of  sweet  delight  can  never  be  defiFd. 

When  thou  seest  an  eagle,  thou  seest  a  portion  of  Genius ;  lift  up 
thy  head  / 

As  the  caterpillar  chooses  the  fairest  leaves  to  lay  her  eggs  on,  so 
the  priest  lays  his  curse  on  the  fairest  joys. 

To  create  a  little  flower  is  the  labour  of  ages. 

Damn  braces.     Bless  relaxes^. 

The  best  wine  is  the  oldest,  the  best  water  the  newest. 

Prayers  plough  not  I    Praises  reap  not } 

Joys  laugh  not !     Sorrows  weep  not  / 

The  head  Sublime,  the  heart  Pathos,  the  genitals  Beauty,  the 
hands  and  feet  Proportion. 

As  the  air  to  a  bird  or  the  sea  to  a  fish,  so  is  contempt  to  the  con- 
temptible. 

The  crow  wisKd  everything  was  black,  the  owl  that  everything  was 
white. 

Exuberance  is  Beauty. 

If  the  lion  was  advised  by  the  fox,  he  would  be  cunning. 

Improvement  makes  straight  roads  ;  but  the  crooked  roads  without 
improvement  are  roads  of  Genius. 

Sooner  murder  an  infant  in  its  cradle  than  nurse  unacted  desires. 

Where  man  is  not,  nature  is  barren. 

Truth  can  never  be  told  so  as  to  be  understood,  and  not  be  believ'd. 

Enough  !  or  Too  mtich. 

The  ancient  Poets  animated  all  sensible  objects  with  Gods  or 
Geniuses,  calling  them  by  the  names  and  adorning  them  with  the 
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 

252 

of  Heaven  and  Hell 

enslav'd  the  vulgar  by  attempting  to  realise  or  abstract  the  Mental 
Deities  from  their  objects — thus  began  Priesthood ; 

Choosing  forms  of  worship  from  poetic  tales. 

And  at  length  they  pronounc'd  that  the  Gods  had  order'd  such 
things. 

Thus  men  forgot  that  All  Deities  reside  in  the  Human  breast. 

A  Memorable  Fancy 

The  Prophets  Isaiah  and  Ezekiel  dined  with  me,  and  I  asked 
them  how  they  dared  so  roundly  to  assert  that  God  spoke  to  them  ; 
and  whether  they  did  not  think  at  the  time  that  they  would  be 
misunderstood,  and  so  be  the  cause  of  imposition. 

Isaiah  answer'd :  '  I  saw  no  God,  nor  heard  any,  in  a  finite 
organical  perception  ;  but  my  senses  discover'd  the  infinite  in 
everything,  and  as  I  was  then  persuaded,  and  remain  confirm 'd, 
that  the  voice  of  honest  indignation  is  the  voice  of  God,  I  cared 
not  for  consequences,  but  wrote/^" 

Then  I  asked  :  '  Does  a  firm  persuasion  that  a  thing  is  so,  make 
it  so  ? ' 

He  replied :  '  All  Poets  believe  that  it  does,  and  in  ages  of 
imagination  this  firm  persuasion  removed  mountains ;  but  many 
are  not  capable  of  a  firm  persuasion  of  anything.' 

Then  Ezekiel  said  :  '  The  philosophy  of  the  East  taught  the  first 
principles  of  rmman  perception.  Some  nations  held  one  principle 
for  the  origin,  and  some  another  :  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 

253 

The  Marriage 

these  opinions  the  vulgar  came  to  think  that  all  nations  would  at 
last  be  subject  to  the  Jews.' 

'  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  ? ' 

I  heard  this  with  some  wonder,  and  must  confess  my  own 
conviction.  After  dinner  I  ask'd  Isaiah  to  favour  the  world  with 
his  lost  works  ;  he  said  none  of  equal  value  was  lost.  Ezekiel  said 
the  same  of  his. 

I  also  asked  Isaiah  what  made  him  go  naked  and  barefoot  three 
years.  He  answer'd  :  '  The  same  that  made  our  friend  Diogenes, 
the  Grecian.' 

I  then  asked  Ezekiel  why  he  ate  dung,  and  lay  so  long  on  his 
right  and  left  side.  He  answer'd,  '  The  desire  of  raising  other  men 
into  a  perception  of  the  infinite :  this  the  North  American  tribes 
practise,  and  is  he  honest  who  resists  his  genius  or  conscience  only 
for  the  sake  of  present  ease  or  gratification  ?  ' 

The  ancient  tradition  that  the  world  will  be  consumed  in  fire  at 
the  end  of  six  thousand  years  is  true,  as  I  have  heard  from  Hell. 

For  the  cherub  with  his  flaming  sword  is  hereby  commanded  to 
leave  his  guard  at  tree  of  life;  and  when  he  does,  the  whole 
creation  will  be  consumed  and  appear  infinite  and  holy,  whereas 
it  now  appears  finite  and  corrupt. 

This  will  come  to  pass  by  an  improvement  of  sensual  enjoyment. 

But  first  the  notion  that  man  has  a  body  distinct  from  his  soul 
is  to  be  expunged;  this  I  shall  do  by  printing  in  the  infernal 
method,  by  corrosives,  which  in  Hell  are  salutary  and  medicinal, 
melting  apparent  surfaces  away,  and  displaying  the  infinite  which 
was  hid. 

If  the  doors  of  perception  were  cleansed  everything  would  appear 
to  man  as  it  is,  infinite. 

For  man  has  closed  himself  up  till  he  sees  all  things  thro'  narrow 
chinks  of  his  cavern. 

254 

of  Heaven  and  Hell 

A  Memorable  Fancy 

II  was  in  a  Printing-house  in  Hell,  and  saw  the  method  in  which 
nowledge  is  transmitted  from  generation  to  generation. 
In  the  first  chamber  was  a  Dragon-Man,   clearing  away  the 
ibbish  from  a  cave's  mouth ;  within,  a  number  of  Dragons  were 
ollowing  the  cave. 
In  the  second  chamber  was  a  Viper  folding  round  the  rock  and 
the  cave,  and  others  adorning  it  with  gold,  silver,  and  precious 
stones. 

In  the  third  chamber  was  an  Eagle  with  wings  and  feathers  of  air  : 

he  caused  the  inside  of  the  cave  to  be  infinite.     Around  were 

numbers  of  Eagle-like  men  who  built  palaces  in  the  immense  cliffs. 

In  the  fourth  chamber  were  Lions  of  flaming  fire,  raging  around 

and  melting  the  metals  into  living  fluids. 

In  the  fifth  chamber  were  Unnamed  forms,  which  cast  the  metals 
into  the  expanse. 

There  they  were  received  by  Men  who  occupied  the  sixth 
chamber,  and  took  the  forms  of  books  and  were  arranged  in 
libraries. 

The  Giants  who  formed  this  world  into  its  sensual  existence, 
and  now  seem  to  live  in  it  in  chains,  are  in  truth  the  causes  of  its 
life  and  the  sources  of  all  activity  ;  but  the  chains  are  the  cunning 
of  weak  and  tame  minds  which  have  power  to  resist  energy. 
According  to  the  proverb,  the  weak  in  courage  is  strong  in  cunning. 

Thus  one  portion  of  being  is  the  Prolific,  the  other  the 
Devouring.  To  the  Devourer  it  seems  as  if  the  producer  was  in  his 
chains ;  but  it  is  not  so,  he  only  takes  portions  of  existence  and 
fancies  that  the  whole. 

But  the  Prolific  would  cease  to  be  Prolific  unless  the  Devourer, 
as  a  sea,  received  the  excess  of  his  delights. 

Some  will  say  :  '  Is  not  God  alone  the  Prolific  ?  I  answer  : 
'  God  only  Acts  and  Is,  in  existing  beings  or  Men. 

255 

The  Marriage 

These  two  classes  of  men  are  always  upon  earth,  and  they 
should  be  enemies :  whoever  tries  to  reconcile  them  seeks  to 
destroy  existence. 

Religion  is  an  endeavour  to  reconcile  the  two. 

Note.  Jesus  Christ  did  not  wish  to  unite,  but  to  separate  them, 
as  in  the  Parable  of  sheep  and  goats  !  And  He  says  :  '  I  came  not 
to  send  Peace,  but  a  Sword.' 

Messiah  or  Satan  or  Tempter  was  formerly  thought  to  be  one 
of  the  Antediluvians  who  are  our  Energies. 

A  Memorable  Fancy 

An  Angel  came  to  me  and  said:  '  O  pitiable,  foolish  young  man  ! 
O  horrible  !  O  dreadful  state  !  Consider  the  hot,  burning  dungeon 
thou  art  preparing  for  thyself  to  all  Eternity,  to  which  thou  art 
going  in  such  career.' 

I  said  :  '  Perhaps  you  will  be  willing  to  show  me  my  eternal  lot, 
and  we  will  contemplate  together  upon  it,  and  see  whether  your 
lot  or  mine  is  most  desirable.' 

So  he  took  me  thro'  a  stable,  and  thro'  a  church,  and  down 
into  the  church  vault,  at  the  end  of  which  was  a  mill.  Thro'  the 
mill  we  went,  and  came  to  a  cave.  Down  the  winding  cavern 
we  groped  our  tedious  way,  till  a  void  boundless  as  a  nether  sky 
appear'd  beneath  us,  and  we  held  by  the  roots  of  trees,  and  hung 
over  this  immensity.  But  I  said  :  '  If  you  please,  we  will  commit 
ourselves  to  this  void,  and  see  whether  Providence  is  here  also. 
If  you  will  not,  I  will.'  But  he  answer'd :  '  Do  not  presume,  O  young 
man,  but  as  we  here  remain,  behold  thy  lot  which  will  soon  appear 
when  the  darkness  passes  away.' 

So  I  remain'd  with  him,  sitting  in  the  twisted  root  of  an  oak. 
He  was  suspended  in  a  fungus,  which  hung  with  the  head  down- 
ward into  the  deep. 

By  degrees  we  beheld  the  infinite  Abyss,  fiery  as  the  smoke  of 
a  burning  city ;  beneath  us,  at  an  immense  distance,  was  the  sun, 
black  but  shining ;  round  it  were  fiery  tracks  on  which  revolv'd 

256 

of  Heave?i  and  Hell 

o 

vast  spiders,  crawling  after  their  prey,  which  flew,  or  rather  swum, 
in  the  infinite  deep,  in  the  most  terrific  shapes  of  animals  sprung 
from  corruption  ;  and  the  air  was  full  of  them,  and  seem'd  composed 
of  them — these  are  Devils,  and  are  called  Powers  of  the  Air.  I 
now  asked  my  companion  which  was  my  eternal  lot  ?  He  said  ; 
1  Between  the  black  and  white  spiders.' 

■But  now,  from  between  the  black  and  white  spiders,  a  cloud 
d  fire  burst  and  rolled  thro'  the  deep,  blackening  all  beneath  ; 
that  the  nether  deep  grew  black  as  a  sea,  and  rolled  with 
a  terrible  noise.  Beneath  us  was  nothing  now  to  be  seen  but  a 
black  tempest,  till  looking  East  between  the  clouds  and  the  waves 
we  saw  a  cataract  of  blood  mixed  with  fire,  and  not  many  stones' 
throw  from  us  appear'd  and  sunk  again  the  scaly  fold  of  a  monstrous 
serpent.  At  last,  to  the  East,  distant  about  three  degrees,  appear'd 
a  fiery  crest  above  the  waves.  Slowly  it  reared  like  a  ridge  of 
golden  rocks,  till  we  discover'd  two  globes  of  crimson  fire,  from 
which  the  sea  fled  away  in  clouds  of  smoke ;  and  now  we  saw  it 
was  the  head  of  Leviathan.  His  forehead  was  divided  into  streaks 
of  green  and  purple  like  those  on  a  tiger's  forehead.  Soon  we  saw 
his  mouth  and  red  gills  hang  just  above  the  raging  foam,  tinging 
the  black  deep  with  beams  of  blood,  advancing  toward  us  with  all 
the  fury  of  a  Spiritual  Existence. 

My  friend  the  Angel  climb'd  up  from  his  station  into  the  mill : 
I  remain'd  alone,  and  then  this  appearance  was  no  more ;  but 
I  found  myself  sitting  on  a  pleasant  bank  beside  a  river,  by  moon- 
light, hearing  a  harper,  who  sung  to  the  harp ;  and  his  theme  was  : 
'  The  man  who  never  alters  his  opinion  is  like  standing  water,  and 
breeds  reptiles  of  the  mind.' 

But  I  arose  and  sought  for  the  mill,  and  there  I  found  my  Angel, 
who,  surprised,  asked  me  how  I  escaped. 

I  answer'd  :  '  All  that  we  saw  was  owing  to  your  metaphysics ; 
| for  when  you  ran  away,  I  found  myself  on  a  bank  by  moonlight 
| hearing  a  harper.     But  now  we  have  seen  my  eternal  lot,  shall  I 

BLAKE  257  K 

The  Marriage 

show  you  yours  ? '  He  laugh'd  at  my  proposal ;  but  I,  by  force, 
suddenly  caught  him  in  my  arms,  and  flew  westerly  thro'  the 
night,  till  we  were  elevated  above  the  earth's  shadow;  then  I 
flung  myself  with  him  directly  into  the  body  of  the  sun.  Here 
I  clothed  myself  in  white,  and  taking  in  my  hand  Swedenborg's 
volumes,  sunk  from  the  glorious  clime,  and  passed  all  the  planets 
till  we  came  to  Saturn.  Here  I  stay'd  to  rest,  and  then  leap'd  into 
the  void  between  Saturn  and  the  fixed  stars. 

'Here,'  said  I,  'is  your  lot,  in  this  space  — if  space  it  may  be 
call'd.'  Soon  we  saw  the  stable  and  the  church,  and  I  took  him 
to  the  altar  and  open'd  the  Bible,  and  lo  !  it  was  a  deep  pit,  into 
which  I  descended,  driving  the  Angel  before  me.  Soon  we  saw 
seven  houses  of  brick.  One  we  enter'd ;  in  it  were  a  number  of 
monkeys,  baboons,  and  all  of  that  species,  chain'd  by  the  middle, 
grinning  and  snatching  at  one  another,  but  withheld  by  the  short- 
ness of  their  chains.  However,  I  saw  that  they  sometimes  grew 
numerous,  and  then  the  weak  were  caught  by  the  strong,  and 
with  a  grinning  aspect,  first  coupled  with,  and  then  devour'd,  by 
plucking  off  first  one  limb  and  then  another,  till  the  body  was  left 
a  helpless  trunk.  This,  after  grinning  and  kissing  it  with  seeming 
fondness,  they  devour'd  too ;  and  here  and  there  I  saw  one 
savourily  picking  the  flesh  off  of  his  own  tail.  As  the  stench 
terribly  annoy'd  us  both,  we  went  into  the  mill,  and  I  in  my  hand 
brought  the  skeleton  of  a  body,  which  in  the  mill  was  Aristotle's 
Analytics. 

So  the  Angel  said  :  '  Thy  phantasy  has  imposed  upon  me,  and 
thou  oughtest  to  be  ashamed.' 

I  answer'd  :  'We  impose  on  one  another,  and  it  is  but  lost  time 
to  converse  with  you  whose  works  are  only  Analytics.' 

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. 

258 

of  Heaven  and  Hell 

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  show,  and  because  he  was 
a  little  wiser  than  the  monkey,  grew  vain,  and  conceiv'd  himself 
as  much  wiser  than  seven  men.  It  is  so  with  Swedenborg :  he 
shows  the  folly  of  churches,  and  exposes  hypocrites,  till  he  imagines 
that  all  are  religious,  and  himself  the  single  one  on  earth  that  ever 
broke  a  net. 

I  Now  hear  a  plain  fact :  Swedenborg  has  not  written  one  new 
nth.  Now  hear  another  :  he  has  written  all  the  old  falsehoods. 
And  now  hear  the  reason.  He  conversed  with  Angels  who  are 
I  religious,  and  conversed  not  with  Devils  who  all  hate  religion, 
r  he  was  incapable  thro'  his  conceited  notions. 
Thus  Svvedenborg's  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  Swedenborg's,  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. 

A  Memorable  Fancy- 
Once  I  saw  a  Devil  in  a  flame  of  fire,  who  arose  before  an  Angel 

that  sat  on  a  cloud,  and  the  Devil  utter'd  these  words  : — 

1  The  worship  of  God  is :  Honouring  his  gifts  in  other  men, 

each  according  to  his  genius,  and  loving  the  greatest  men  best : 

those  who  envy  or  calumniate  great  men  hate  God ;  for  there  is 

no  other  God.' 

The  Angel  hearing  this  became  almost  blue  ;   but  mastering 

himself  he  grew  yellow,  and  at  last  white,  pink,  and  smiling,  and 

then  replied  : — 

1  Thou  Idolater  !  is  not  God  One  ?  and  is  not  he  visible  in  Jesus 

Christ  ?  and  has  not  Jesus  Christ  given  his  sanction  to  the  law  of 

259 

♦  • 

The  Ma?~riage  of  Heaven  and  Hell 

ten  commandments  ?  and  are  not  all  other  men  fools,  sinners,  and 
nothings  ? ' 

The  Devil  answer'd:  'Bray  a  fool  in  a  mortar  with  wheat,  yet  shall 
not  his  folly  be  beaten  out  of  him.  If  Jesus  Christ  is  the  greatest 
man,  you  ought  to  love  Him  in  the  greatest  degree.  Now  hear 
how  He  has  given  His  sanction  to  the  law  of  ten  commandments. 
Did  He  not  mock  at  the  sabbath,  and  so  mock  the  sabbath's  God ; 
murder  those  who  were  murder'd  because  of  Him  ;  turn  away  the 
law  from  the  woman  taken  in  adultery  ;  steal  the  labour  of  others 
to  support  Him ;  bear  false  witness  when  He  omitted  making  a 
defence  before  Pilate  ;  covet  when  He  pray'd  for  His  disciples,  and 
when  He  bid  them  shake  off  the  dust  of  their  feet  against  such  as 
refused  to  lodge  them  ?  I  tell  you,  no  virtue  can  exist  without 
breaking  these  ten  commandments.  Jesus  was  all  virtue,  and 
acted  from  impulse,  not  from  rules.' 

AVhen  he  had  so  spoken,  I  beheld  the  Angel,  who  stretched  out 
his  arms,  embracing  the  flame  of  fire,  and  he  was  consumed,  and 
arose  as  Elijah. 

Note. — This  Angel,  who  is  now  become  a  Devil,  is  my  particular 
friend.  We  often  read  the  Bible  together  in  its  infernal  or 
diabolical  sense,  which  the  world  shall  have  if  they  behave  well. 

I  have  also  The  Bible  of  Hell,  which  the  world  shall  have 
whether  they  will  or  no. 

One  Law  for  the  Lion  and  Ox  is  Oppression. 

260 

T    H   E 

FRENCH   REVOLUTION. 

A  P         O         E         M, 

IN    SEVEN    BOOKS. 

B   O   ()   K     T   H   E      FIRS   T. 

LONDON: 

PRINTED    FOR    J.    JOHNSON,     n"     72,    ST    Paul's    CHURCH-YARD. 

MDC  CXCI. 

[PRICE    ONE    SHILLIN G  ] 

ADVERTISEMENT 

The  remaining  Books  of  this  Poem  are  finished,  and  will  be 
published  in  their  Order. 

262 

THE 

FRENCH    REVOLUTION 

BOOK  THE  FIRST 
(Printed  1 791)

cheerful  France; 
O  cloud   well  appointed  !    Sick,  sick,  the  Prince  on  his  couch  ! 

wreath'd  in  dim 
And   appalling   mist ;    his   strong  hand    outstretch'd,    from    his 

shoulder  down  the  bone, 
Runs  aching  cold  into  the  sceptre,  too  heavy  for  mortal  grasp — no 

more 
To  be  swayed  by  visible  hand,  nor  in  cruelty  bruise  the  mild 

flourishing  mountains.  5. 

Sick  the  mountains  !  and  all  their  vineyards  weep,  in  the  eyes  of 

the  kingly  mourner ; 
Pale  is  the   morning  cloud   in   his  visage.     Rise,   Ncekcr !    the 

ancient  dawn  calls  us 
To  awake  from  slumbers  of  five  thousand  years.     I  awake,  but  my 

soul  is  in  dreams ; 
From  my  window  I  see  the  old  mountains  of  France,  like  aged 

men,  fading  away. 

Troubled,  leaning  on  Necker,  descends  the  King  to  his  chamber 
of  council;  shady  mountains  10 

In  fear  utter  voices  of  thunder ;  the  woods  of  France  embosom 
the  sound  ; 

263 

The  French  Revolution 

Cloudsof  wisdom  prophetic  reply,  and  rolloverthe  palace  roof  heavy. 
Forty  men,  each  conversing  with  woes  in  the  infinite  shadows  of  his 

soul, 
Like  our  ancient  fathers  in  regions  of  twilight,  walk,  gathering 

round  the  King : 
Again  the  loud  voice  of  France  cries  to  the  morning ;  the  morning 

prophesies  to  its  clouds.  15 

For  the  Commons  convene  in  the  Hall  of  the  Nation.     France 

shakes  !     And  the  heavens  of  France 
Perplex'd  vibrate  round  each  careful  countenance !     Darkness  of 

old  times  around  them 
Utters  loud  despair,  shadowing  Paris ;  her  grey  towers  groan,  and 

the  Bastille  trembles. 
In  its  terrible  towers  the  Governor  stood,  in  dark  fogs  listening  the 

horror ; 
A  thousand  his  soldiers,  old  veterans  of  France,  breathing  red 

clouds  of  power  and  dominion.  20 

Sudden  seiz'd  with  howlings,  despair,  and  black  night,  he  stalk'd 

like  a  lion  from  tower 
To  tower ;  his  howlings  were  heard  in  the  Louvre ;  from  court  to 

court  restless  he  dragg'd 
His  strong  limbs ;  from  court  to  court  curs'd  the  fierce  torment 

unquell'd, 
Howling  and  giving  the  dark  command ;   in  his  soul  stood  the 

purple  plague, 
Tugging  his  iron  manacles,  and  piercing  thro'  the  seven  towers 

dark  and  sickly,  ?j 

Panting  over  the  prisoners  like  a  wolf  gorg'd.     And  the  den  nam'd 

Horror  held  a  man 
Chain'd  hand  and  foot;  round  his  neck  an  iron  band,  bound  to  the 

impregnable  wall ; 
In  his  soul  was  the  serpent  coil'd  round  in  his  heart,  hid  from  the 

light,  as  in  a  cleft  rock  : 
And  the  man  was  confin'd  for  a  writing  prophetic.     In  the  tower 

nam'd  Darkness  was  a  man 

264 

The  French  Revolution 

Pinion'd  down  to  the  stone  floor,  his  strong  bones  scarce  cover'd 

with  sinews ;  the  iron  rings  30 

Were  forg'd  smaller  as  the  flesh  decay'd  :  a  mask  of  iron  on  his  face 

hid  the  lineaments 
Of  ancient  Kings,  and  the  frown  of  the  eternal  lion  was  hid  from 

the  oppressed  earth. 
In  the  tower  named  Bloody,  a  skeleton  yellow  remained  in  its 

chains  on  its  couch 
Of  stone,  once  a  man  who  refus'd  to  sign  papers  of  abhorrence ; 

the  eternal  worm 
Crept  in  the  skeleton.     In  the  den  nam'd  Religion,  a  loathsome 

sick  woman  bound  down 
To  a  bed  of  straw ;  the  seven  diseases  of  earth,  like  birds  of  prey, 

stood  on  the  couch 
And  fed  on  the  body  :  she  refus'd  to  be  whore  to  the  Minister, 

and  with  a  knife  smote  him. 
In  the  tower  nam'd  Order,  an  old  man,  whose  white  beard  cover'd 

the  stone  floor  like  weeds 
On  margin  of  the  sea,  shrivell'd  up  by  heat  of  day  and  cold  of 

night ;  his  den  was  short 
And  narrow  as  a  grave  dug  for  a  child,  with  spiders'  webs  wove, 

and  with  slime  40 

Of  ancient  horrors   cover'd,   for   snakes   and  scorpions  are  his 

companions ;  harmless  they  breathe 
His  sorrowful  breath  :  he,  by  conscience  urg'd,  in  the  city  of  Paris 

rais'd  a  pulpit, 
And  taught  wonders  to  darken'd  souls.     In  the  den  nam'd  Destiny 

a  strong  man  sat, 
His  feet  and  hands  cut  off,  and  his  eyes  blinded  ;  round  his  middle 

a  chain  and  a  band 
Fasten'd  into  the  wall ;  fancy  gave  him  to  see  an  image  of  despair 

in  his  den,  45 

Eternally  rushing  round,  like  a  man  on  his  hands  and  knees,  day 

and  night  without  rest :  m 

He  was  friend  to  the  favourite.      In  the  seventh  tower,  nam'd 

the  tower  of  God,  was  a  man 

265  k  3 

The  French   Revolution 

Mad,  with  chains  loose,  which  he  dragg'd  up  and  down  ;  fed  with 

hopes  year  by  year,  he  pined 
For  liberty. — Vain  hopes !  his  reason  decay'd,  and  the  world  of 

attraction  in  his  bosom 
Centred,  and  the  rushing  of  chaos  overwhelm'd  his  dark  soul : 

he  was  confin'd  to 

For  a  letter  of  advice  to  a  King,  and  his  ravings  in  winds  are  heard 

over  Versailles. 

But  the  dens  shook  and  trembled :   the  prisoners  look  up  and 

assay  to  shout ;  they  listen, 
Then  laugh  in  the  dismal  den,  then  are  silent ;  and  a  light  walks 

round  the  dark  towers. 
For  the  Commons  convene  in  the  Hall  of  the  Nation ;  like  spirits 

of  fire  in  the  beautiful 
Porches  of  the  Sun,  to  plant  beauty  in  the  desert  craving  abyss, 

they  gleam  55 

On  the  anxious  city  :  all  children  new-born  first  behold  them, 

tears  are  fled, 
And  they  nestle  in  earth-breathing  bosoms.     So  the  city  of  Paris, 

their  wives  and  children, 
Look  up  to  the  morning  Senate,  and  visions  of  sorrow  leave  pensive 

streets. 

But  heavy-brow'd  jealousies  lour  o'er  the  Louvre ;  and  terrors  of 

ancient  Kings 
Descend  from  the  gloom  and  wander  thro'  the  palace,  and  weep 

round  the  King  and  his  Nobles ;  60 

While  loud  thunders  roll,  troubling  the  dead.     Kings  are  sick 

throughout  all  the  earth  ! 
The  voice  ceas'd :   the  Nation  sat ;  and  the  triple  forg'd  fetters  of 

times  were  unloos'd. 
The   voice  ceas'd :   the  Nation  sat ;  but  ancient  darkness  and 

trembling  wander  thro'  the  palace. 

As  in  day  of  havoc  and  routed  battle,  among  thick  shades  of  dis 
content, 

266 

The  Freiich  Revolution 

hi  the  soul-skirting  mountains  of  sorrow  cold  waving,  the  Nobles 
fold  round  the  King ;  65 

Each  stern  visage  lock'd  up  as  with  strong  bands  of  iron,  each 
strong  limb  bound  down  as  with  marble, 

In  flames  of  red  wrath  burning,  bound  in  astonishment  a  quarter 
of  an  hour. 

Then  the  King  glow'd  :  his  Nobles  fold  round,  like  the  sun  of  old 

time  quench'd  in  clouds ; 
In  their  darkness  the  King  stood ;  his  heart  flam'd,  and  utter'd  a 

with'ring  heat,  and  these  words  burst  forth : 

'  The  nerves  of  five  thousand  years'  ancestry  tremble,  shaking  the 

heavens  of  France  ;  70 

Throbs  of  anguish  beat  on  brazen  war  foreheads  \  they  descend 

and  look  into  their  graves. 
I  see  thro'  darkness,  thro'  clouds  rolling  round  me,  the  spirits  of 

ancient  Kings 
Shivering  over  their  bleached  bones ;  round  them  their  counsellors 

look  up  from  the  dust, 
Crying  :  "  Hide  from  the  living  !     Our  bonds  and  our  prisoners 

shout  in  the  open  field. 
Hide  in  the  nether  earth  !     Hide  in  the  bones !     Sit  obscured  in 

the  hollow  scull !  75 

Our  flesh  is  corrupted,  and  we  wear  away.     We  are  not  numbered 

among  the  living.     Let  us  hide 
In  stones,  among  roots  of  trees.     The  prisoners  have  burst  their 

dens. 
Let  us  hide !  let  us  hide  in  the  dust !  and  plague  and  wrath  and 

tempest  shall  cease." 

He  ceas'd,  silent  pond'ring j  his  brows  folded  heavy,  his  forehead 

was  in  affliction. 
Like  the  central  fire  from  the  window  he  saw  his  vast  armies 

spread  over  the  hills,  So 

Breathing  red  fires  from  man  to  man,  and  from  horse  to  horse  :  then 

his  bosom 

267 

The  French  Revolution 

Expanded  like  starry  heaven ;  he  sat  down  :  his  Nobles  took  their 
ancient  seats. 

Then  the  ancientest  Peer,   Duke  of  Burgundy,   rose  from   the 

Monarch's  right  hand,  red  as  wines 
From  his  mountains ;  an  odour  of  war,  like  a  ripe  vineyard,  rose 

from  his  garments, 
And  the  chamber  became  as  a  clouded  sky ;  o'er  the  Council  he 

stretch'd  his  red  limbs  85 

Cloth'd  in  flames  of  crimson  j  as  a  ripe  vineyard  stretches  over 

sheaves  of  corn, 
The  fierce  Duke  hung  over  the  Council;    around  him  crowd, 

weeping  in  his  burning  robe, 
A  bright  cloud  of  infant  souls :  his  words  fall  like  purple  autumn 

on  the  sheaves : 

'  Shall  this  marble-built  heaven  become  a  clay  cottage,  this  earth 

an  oak  stool,  and  these  mowers 
From  the  Atlantic  mountains  mow  down   all  this  great  starry 

harvest  of  six  thousand  years  ?  90 

And  shall  Necker,  the  hind  of  Geneva,  stretch  out  his  crook'd 

sickle  o'er  fertile  France, 
Till  our  purple  and  crimson  is  faded  to  russet,  and  the  kingdoms 

of  earth  bound  in  sheaves, 
And  the  ancient  forests  of  chivalry  hewn,  and  the  joys  of  the 

combat  burnt  for  fuel ; 
Till  the  power  and  dominion  is  rent  from  the  pole,  sword  and 

sceptre  from  sun  and  moon, 
The  law  and  gospel  from  fire  and  air,  and  eternal  reason  and 

science  95 

From  the  deep  and  the  solid,  and  man  lay  his  faded  head  down 

on  the  rock 
Of  eternity,  where  the  eternal  lion  and  eagle  remain  to  devour  ? 
This  to  prevent,  urg'd   by  cries  in  day,  and  prophetic  dreams 

hovering  in  night, 
To  enrich  the  lean  earth  that  craves,  furrow'd  with  ploughs,  whose 

seed  is  departing  from  her, 

268 

The  French   Revolutio?i 

Thy  Nobles  have  gather'd  thy  starry  hosts  round  this  rebellious 
city,  ico 

»To  rouse  up  the  ancient  forests  of  Europe,  with  clarions  of  cloud- 
breathing  war, 
To  hear  the  horse  neigh  to  the  drum  and  trumpet,    and   the 
trumpet  and  war  shout  reply, 
otretch  the  hand  that  beckons  the  eagles  of  heaven  :  they  cry  over 

Paris,  and  wait 
Till  Fayette  point  his  finger  to  Versailles — the  eagles  of  heaven 
must  have  their  prey  ! ' 

He  ceas'd,  and  burn'd  silent :  red  clouds  roll  round  Necker ;  a 

weeping  is  heard  o'er  the  palace.  105 

Like  a  dark  cloud  Necker  paus'd,  and  like  thunder  on  the  just 

man's  burial  day  he  paus'd. 
Silent  sit  the  winds,  silent  the  meadows ;  while  the  husbandman 

and  woman  of  weakness 
And  bright  children  look  after  him  into  the  grave,  and  water  his 

clay  with  love, 
Then  turn  towards  pensive  fields  :    so  Necker  paus'd,  and  his 

visage  was  cover'd  with  clouds. 

The  King  lean'd  on  his  mountains  ;  then  lifted  his  head  and  look'd 

on  his  armies,  that  shone  no 

Thro'  heaven,  tinging  morning  with  beams  of  blood  ;  then  turning 

to  Burgundy,  troubled  : — 
'  Burgundy,  thou  wast  born  a  lion !     My  soul  is  o'ergrown  with 

distress 
For  the  Nobles  of  France,  and  dark  mists  roll  round  me  and  blot 

the  writing  of  God 
Written  in  my  bosom.     Necker  rise  !  leave  the  kingdom,  thy  life 

is  surrounded  with  snares. 
We  have  call'd  an  Assembly,  but  not  to  destroy ;  we  have  given 

gifts,  not  to  the  weak ;  115 

I  hear  rushing  of  muskets  and  bright'ning  of  swords  j  and  visages, 

redd'ning  with  war, 

269 

The  French   Revolution 

Frowning   and    looking    up    from    brooding    villages    and    every 

dark'ning  city. 
Ancient  wonders  frown  over  the  kingdom,  and  cries  of  women  and 

babes  are  heard, 
And  tempests  of  doubt  roll  around  me,  and  fierce  sorrows,  because 

of  the  Nobles  of  France. 
Depart !  answer  not !  for  the  tempest  must  fall,  as  in  years  that  are 

passed  away.'  12  d 

Dropping  a  tear  the  old  man  his  place  left,  and  when  he  was  gone 

out 
He   set  his  face  toward  Geneva  to  flee;  and  the  women  and 

children  of  the  city 
Kneel'd  round  him  and  kissed  his  garments  and  wept :  he  stood 

a  short  space  in  the  street, 
Then  fled ;  and  the  whole  city  knew  he  was  fled  to  Geneva,  and 

the  Senate  heard  it. 

But  the  Nobles  burn'd  wrathful  at  Necker's  departure,  and  wreath'd 
their  clouds  and  waters  j  25 

In  dismal  volumes;  as,  risen  from  beneath,  the  Archbishop  of 
Paris  arose 

In  the  rushing  of  scales,  and  hissing  of  flames,  and  rolling  of 
sulphurous  smoke  : — 

'  Hearken,  Monarch  of  France,  to  the  terrors  of  heaven,  and  let 

thy  soul  drink  of  my  counsel ! 
Sleeping  at  midnight  in  my  golden  tower,  the  repose  of  the  labours 

of  men 
Wav'd  its  solemn  cloud  over  my  head.     I  awoke;  a  cold  hand 

passed  over  my  limbs,  and  behold  !  1  ?o 

An  aged  form,  white  as  snow,  hov'ring  in  mist,  weeping  in  the 

uncertain  light. 
Dim  the  form  almost  faded,  tears  fell  down  the  shady  cheeks  ;  at 

his  feet  many  cloth'd 
In  white  robes,  strewn  in  air  censers  and  harps,  silent  they  lay 

prostrated ; 

270 

The  French   Revolution 

Beneath,  in  the  awful  void,  myriads  descending  and  weeping  thro' 

dismal  winds ; 
Endless  the  shady  train  shiv'ring  descended,  from  the  gloom  where 

the  aged  form  wept.  135 

At  length,  trembling,  the  vision  sighing,  in  a  low  voice  like  the 

voice  of  the  grasshopper,  whisper'd  : 
"  My  groaning  is  heard  in  the  abbeys,  and  God,  so  long  worshipp'd, 

departs  as  a  lamp 
Without  oil ;  for  a  curse  is  heard  hoarse  thro'  the  land,  from  a 

godless  race 
Descending  to  beasts  ;  they  look  downward,  and  labour,  and  forget 

my  holy  law ; 
The  sound  of  prayer  fails  from  lips  of  flesh,  and  the  holy  hymn 

from  thicken'd  tongues  ;  140 

For  the  bars  of  Chaos  are  burst ;  her  millions  prepare  their  fiery 

way 
Thro'  the  orbed  abode  of  the  holy  dead,  to  root  up  and  pull  down 

and  remove, 
And  Nobles  and  Clergy  shall  fail  from  before  me,  and  my  cloud 

and  vision  be  no  more ; 
The  mitre  become  black,  the  crown  vanish,  and  the  sceptre  and 

ivory  staff 
Of  the  ruler  wither  among  bones  of  death ;  they  shall  consume 

from  the  thistly  field,  145 

And  the  sound  of  the  bell,  and  voice  of  the  sabbath,  and  singing 

of  the  holy  choir 
Is  turn'd  into  songs  of  the  harlot  in  day,  and  cries  of  the  virgin  in 

night. 
They  shall  drop  at  the  plough  and  faint  at  the  harrow,  unredeem'd, 

unconfess'd,  unpardon'd ; 
The  priest  rot  in  his  surplice  by  the  lawless  lover,  the  holy  beside 

the  accursed, 
The  King,  frowning  in  purple,  beside  the  grey  ploughman,  and 

their  worms  embrace  together."  150 

The  voice  ceas'd :  a  groan  shook  my  chamber.     I  slept,  for  the 

cloud  of  repose  returned  ; 

271 

The  French   Revolution 

But  morning  dawn'd  heavy  upon  me.     I  rose  to  bring  my  Prince 

heaven-utter'd  counsel. 
Hear  my  counsel,  O  King !    and  send  forth   thy  Generals  ;  the 

command  of  Heaven  is  upon  thee  ! 
Then  do  thou  command,  O  King  !  to  shut  up  this  Assembly  in 

their  final  home ; 
Let  thy  soldiers  possess  this  city  of  rebels,  that  threaten  to  bathe 

their  feet  .  ie$ 

In  the  blood  of  Nobility,  trampling  the  heart  and  the  head;  let 

the  Bastille  devour 
These  rebellious  seditious ;  seal  them  up,  O  Anointed !  in  ever- 
lasting chains.' 
He  sat  down  :  a  damp  cold  pervaded  the  Nobles,  and  monsters 

of  worlds  unknown 
Swam    round   them,   watching  to  be  delivered — when  Aumont, 

whose  chaos-born  soul 
Eternally  wand'ring,  a  comet  and  swift-falling  fire,  pale  enter'd 

the  chamber.  160 

Before  the  red  Council  he  stood,  like  a  man  that  returns  from 

hollow  graves  :  — 

1  Awe-surrounded,  alone  thro'  the  army,  a  fear  and   a  with'ring 

blight  blown  by  the  north, 
The  Abbe*  de  Sieyes  from  the  Nation's  Assembly,  O  Princes  and 

Generals  of  France, 
Unquestioned,  unhindered  !     Awe-struck  are  the  soldiers ;  a  dark 

shadowy  man  in  the  form 
Of  King  Henry  the  Fourth  walks  before  him  in  fires ;  the  captains 

like  men  bound  in  chains  163 

Stood  still  as  he  pass'd :  he  is  come  to  the  Louvre,  O  King,  with 

a  message  to  thee  ! 
The  strong  soldiers  tremble,  the  horses  their  manes  bow,  and  the 

guards  of  thy  palace  are  fled  ! ' 

Uprose  awful  in  his  majestic  beams  Bourbon's  strong  Duke ;  his 
proud  sword,  from  his  thigh 
272 

The  French  Revolution 

Drawn,  he  threw  on  the  earth:  the  Duke  of  Bretagne  and  the 

Karl  of  Bourgogne 
Rose  inflam'd,  to  and  fro  in  the  chamber,  like  thunder-clouds 

ready  to  burst.  ij-o 

'  What  damp  all  our  fires,  O  spectre  of  Henry  !'  said  Bourbon,  'and 
rend  the  flames 

From  the  head  of  our  King  ?  Rise,  Monarch  of  France !  com- 
mand me,  and  I  will  lead 

This  army  of  superstition  at  large,  that  the  ardour  of  noble  souls, 
quenchless, 

May  yet  burn  in  France,  nor  our  shoulders  be  plough'd  with  the 
furrows  of  poverty.' 

Then  Orleans,  generous  as  mountains,  arose  and  unfolded  his 

robe,  and  put  forth  175 

His  benevolent  hand,  looking  on  the  Archbishop,  who  changed  as 

pale  as  lead, 
Would  have  risen  but  could  not :  his  voice  issued  harsh  grating  • 

instead  of  words  harsh  hissings 
Shook  the  chamber ;   he  ceas'd  abash'd.     Then  Orleans  spoke ; 

all  was  silent. 
He  breath'd  on  them,  and  said  :   '  O  Princes  of  fire,  whose  flames 

are  for  growth,  not  consuming, 
Fear  not  dreams,   fear  not  visions,  nor  be  you  dismay'd  with 

sorrows  which  flee  at  the  morning  !  180  - 

Can  the  fires  of  Nobility  ever  be  quench'd,   or  the  stars  by  a 

stormy  night? 
Is  the  body  diseas'd  when  the  members  are  healthful  ?  can  the 

man  be  bound  in  sorrow 
Whose  ev'ry  function  is  fill'd  with  its  fiery  desire?  can  the  soul, 

whose  brain  and  heart 
Cast  their  rivers  in  equal  tides  thro'  the  great  Paradise,  languish 

because  the  feet, 
Hands,  head,  bosom,  and  parts  of  love  follow  their  high  breathing 

joy?  i8r, 

273 

The  French  Revolution 

And  can  Nobler;  be  bound  when  the  people  are  free,  or  God  weep 

when  his  children  are  happy  ? 
Have  you  never  seen  Fayette's  forehead,  or  Mirabeau's  eyes,  or  the 

shoulders  of  Target, 
Or  Bailly  the  strong  foot  of  France,  or  Clermont  the  terrible  voice, 

and  your  robes 
Still  retain  their  own  crimson? — Mine  never  yet.  faded,  for  fire 

delights  in  its  form  ! 
But  go,  merciless  man,  enter  into  the  infinite  labyrinth  of  another's 

brain  rrp 

Ere  thou  measure  the  circle  that  he  shall  run.     Go,  thou  cold 

recluse,  into  the  fires 
Of  another's  high  flaming  rich  bosom,  and  return  unconsum'd, 

and  write  laws. 
If  thou  canst  not  do  this,  doubt  thy  theories,  learn  to  consider  all 

men  as  thy  equals, 
Thy  brethren,  and  not  as  thy  foot  or  thy  hand,  unless  thou  first 

fearest  to  hurt  them.' 

The  Monarch  stood  up;  the  strong  Duke  his  sword  to  its  golden 
scabbard  return'd ;  •  195 

The  Nobles  sat  round  like  clouds  on  the  mountains,  when  the 
storm  is  passing  away  : — 

'  Let  the  Nation's  Ambassador  come  among  Nobles,  like  incense 
of  the  valley  ! ' 

Aumont  went  out  and  stood  in  the  hollow  porch,  his  ivory  wand 

in  his  hand  3 
A  cold  orb  of  disdain  revolv'd  round  him,  and  covered  his  soul 

with  snows  eternal. 
Great  Henry's  soul  shuddered,  a  whirlwind  and  fire  tore  furious 

from  his  angry  bosom  ;  200 

He  indignant  departed  on  horses  of  heav'n.     Then  the  Abbe  de 

Sieyes  rais'd  his  feet 
On  the  steps  of  the  Louvre ;  like  a  voice  of  God  following  a  storm, 

the  Abbe  follow'd 

274 

The  French   Revolution 

The  pale  fires  of  Aumont  into   the   chamber  :   as  a  father  that 

bows  to  his  son, 
Whose  rich  fields  inheriting  spread  their  old  glory,  so  the  voice 

of  the  people  bowed 
Before  the  ancient  seat  of  the  kingdom  and   mountains  to  be 

renewed.  205 

'  Hear,  O  heavens  of   France !    the  voice  of  the  people,  arising 

from  valley  and  hill, 
O'erclouded  with  power.     Hear  the  voice  of  valleys,  the  voice  of 

meek  cities, 
Mourning  oppressed  on  village  and  field,  till  the  village  and  field 

is  a  waste. 
For  the  husbandman  weeps  at  blights  of  the  fife,  and  blasting  of 

trumpets  consume 
The  souls  of  mild  France ;  the  pale  mother  nourishes  her  child  to 

the  deadly  slaughter.  210 

When  .the  heavens  were  seal'd  with  a  stone,  and  the  terrible  sun 

clos'd  in  an  orb,  and  the  moon 
Rent  from  the  nations,  and  each  star  appointed  for  watchers  of  night, 
The   millions   of  spirits   immortal   were  bound   in    the    ruins    of 

sulphur  heaven 
To  wander  enslav'd ;  black,  depress'd  in  dark  ignorance,  kept  in 

awe  with  the  whip 
To  worship  terrors,  bred  from  the  blood  of  revenge  and  breath  of 

desire  2 1 5 

In  bestial  forms,  or  more  terrible  men;  till  the   dawn   of  our 

peaceful  morning, 
Till  dawn,  till  morning,  till  the  breaking  of  clouds,  and  swelling  of 

winds,  and  the  universal  voice  ; 
Till  man  raise  his  darken'd  limbs  out  of  the  caves  of  night.     His 

eyes  and  his  heart 
Expand — Where  is  Space?  where,  O  Sun,  is  thy  dwelling?  where 

thy  tent,  O  faint  slumb'rous  Moon  ? 
Then  the  valleys  of  France  shall  cry  to  the  soldier  :  "  Throw  down 

thy  sword  and  musket,  220 

275 

The  French  Revolution 

And  run  and  embrace  the  meek  peasant."     Her  Nobles  shall  hear 

and  shall  weep,  and  put  off 
The  red  robe  of  terror,  the  crown  of  oppression,  the  shoes  of 

contempt,  and  unbuckle 
The  girdle  of  war  from  the  desolate  earth.     Then  the  Priest  in  his 

thund'rous  cloud 
Shall  weep,  bending  to  earth,  embracing  the  valleys,  and  putting 

his  hand  to  the  plough, 
Shall  say :  "  No  more  I  curse  thee ;  but  now  I  will  bless  thee :  no 

more  in  deadly  black  225 

Devour  thy  labour ;  nor  lift  up  a  cloud  in  thy  heavens,  O  laborious 

plough ; 
That  the  wild  raging  millions,  that  wander  in  forests,  and  howl  in 

law-blasted  wastes, 
Strength  madden'd  with  slavery,  honesty  bound  in  the  dens  of 

superstition, 
May  sing  in  the  village,  and  shout  in  the  harvest,  and  woo  in 

pleasant  gardens 
Their   once   savage  loves,   now  beaming  with   knowledge,   with 

gentle  awe  adorned  ;  230 

And  the  saw,  and  the  hammer,  the  chisel,  the  pencil,  the  pen,  and 

the  instruments 
Of  heavenly  song  sound  in  the  wilds  once  forbidden,  to  teach  the 

laborious  ploughman 
And  shepherd,  deliver'd  from  clouds  of  war,  from  pestilence,  from 

night-fear,  from  murder, 
From  falling,  from  stifling,  from  hunger,  from  cold,  from  slander, 

discontent  and  sloth, 
That  walk  in  beasts  and  birds  of  night,  driven  back  by  the  sandy 

desert,  235 

Like  pestilent  fogs  round  cities  of  men;  and  the  happy  earth  sing 

in  its  course, 
The  mild  peaceable  nations  be  opened  to  heav'n,  and  men  walk 

with  their  fathers  in  bliss." 
Then  hear  the  first  voice  of  the  morning :  "  Depart,  O  clouds  of 

night,  and  no  more 

276 

The  French  Revolution 

Return  ;  be  withdrawn  cloudy  war,  troops  of  warriors  depart,  nor 

around  our  peaceable  city 
Breathe  fires ;  but  ten  miles  from  Paris  let  all  be  peace,  nor  a 

soldier  be  seen  I "'  240 

He  ended :   the  wind  of  contention  arose,  and  the  clouds  cast 

their  shadows  ;  the  Princes 
Like  the  mountains  of  France,  whose  aged  trees  utter  an  awful 

voice,  and  their  branches 
Are  shattered ;  till  gradual  a  murmur  is  heard  descending  into  the 

valley, 
Like  a  voice  in  the  vineyards  of  Burgundy  when  grapes  are  shaken 

on  grass, 
Like  the  low  voice  of  the  labouring  man,  instead- of  the  shout  of 

joy ;  245 

(And  the  palace  appear'd  like  a  cloud  driven  abroad ;  blood  ran 
down  the  ancient  pillars. 
Thro'  the  cloud  a  deep  thunder,  the  Duke  of  Burgundy,  delivers 
the  King's  command  : — 

1  Seest  thou  yonder  dark  castle,  that  moated  around,  keeps  this 

city  of  Paris  in  awe  ? 
Go,  command  yonder  tower,  saying:   "Bastille,  depart!  and  take 

thy  shadowy  course  ; 
Overstep  the  dark  river,  thou  terrible  tower,  and  get  thee  up  into 

the  country  ten  miles.  250 

And  thou  black  southern  prison,  move  along  the  dusky  road  to 

Versailles ;  there 
Frown  on  the  gardens  " — and,  if  it  obey  and  depart,  then  the  King 

will  disband 
This  war-breathing  army  ;  but,  if  it  refuse,  let  the  Nation's  Assembly 

thence  learn 
That  this  army  of  terrors,  that  prison  of  horrors,  are  the  bands  of 

the  murmuring  kingdom.' 

Like  the  morning  star  arising  above  the  black  waves,  when  a  ship* 
wreck'd  soul  sighs  for  morning,  255 

277 

The  Fre?ich   Revolutio7i 

Thro'  the  ranks,  silent,  walk'd  the  Ambassador  back  to  the  Nation's 

Assembly,  and  told 
The  unwelcome  message.     Silent   they  heard ;   then   a  thunder 

roll'd  round  loud  and  louder  ; 
Like  pillars  of  ancient  halls  and  ruins  of  times  remote,  they  sat. 
Like  a  voice  from  the  dim  pillars  Mirabeau  rose ;  the  thunders 

subsided  away ; 
A  rushing  of  wings  around  him  was  heard  as  he  brighten'd,  and 

cried  out  aloud  :  26a 

'  Where  is  the  General  of  the  Nation  ? '     The  walls  re-echo'd  : 

'  Where  is  the  General  of  the  Nation  ? ' 

Sudden  as  the  bullet  wrapp'd  in  his  fire,  when  brazen  cannons  rage 

in  the  field, 
Fayette  sprung  from  his  seat  saying  '  Ready  ! '     Then  bowing  like 

clouds,  man  toward  man,  the  Assembly 
Like  a  Council  of  Ardours  seated  in  clouds,  bending  over  the  cities 

of  men, 
And  over  the  armies  of  strife,  where  their  children  are  marshall'd 

together  to  battle,  265 

They  murmuring  divide ;  while  the  wind  sleeps  beneath,  and  the 

numbers  are  counted  in  silence, 
While  they  vote  the  removal  of  War,  and  the  pestilence  weighs  his 

red  wings  in  the  sky. 

So  Fayette  stood  silent  among  the  Assembly,  and  the  votes  were 

given,  and  the  numbers  numb'red ; 
And  the  vote  was  that  Fayette  should  order  the  army  to  remove 

ten  miles  from  Paris. 

The  aged  Sun  rises  appalPd  from  dark  mountains,  and  gleams  a 
dusky  beam  270 

On  Fayette ;  but  on  the  whole  army  a  shadow,  for  a  cloud  on  the 
eastern  hills 

Hover'd,  and  stretch'd  across  the  city,  and  across  the  army,  and 
across  the  Louvre. 

278 

The  French   Revolution 

Like   a   flame   of  fire   he   stood   before  dark   ranks,   and  before 

expecting  captains  : 
On  pestilent  vapours  around  him  flow  frequent  spectres  of  religious 

men,  weeping 
In  winds;  driven  out  of  the  abbeys,  their  naked  souls  shiver  in 

keen  open  air;  275 

1  >riven  out  by  the  fiery  cloud  of  Voltaire,  and  thund'rous  rocks  of 

Rousseau, 
They  dash  like  foam  against  the  ridges  of  the  army,  uttering  a 

faint  feeble  cry. 

Gleams  of  fire  streak  the  heavens,  and  of  sulphur  the  earth,  from 

Fayette  as  he  lifted  his  hand  ; 
But  silent  he  stood,  till  all  the  officers  rush  round  him  like  waves 
Round  the  shore  of  France,  in  day  of  the  British  flag,  when  heavy 

cannons  2  So 

Affright  the  coasts,  and  the  peasant  looks  over  the  sea  and  wipes 

a  tear: 
Over  his  head  the  soul  of  Voltaire  shone  fiery  ;  and  over  the  army 

Rousseau  his  white  cloud 
Unfolded,  on  souls  of  war,  living  terrors,  silent  list'ning  toward 

Fayette. 
His  voice  loud  inspir'd  by  liberty,  and  by  spirits  of  the  dead,  thus 

thunder'd : — 

'The  Nation's  Assembly  command  that  the  Army  remove  ten 
miles  from  Paris ;  2 85 

Nor  a  soldier  be  seen  in  road  or  in  field,  till  the  Nation  command 
return.' 

Rushing  along  iron  ranks  glittering,  the  officers  each  to  his  station 
Depart,  and  the  stern  captain  strokes  his  proud  steed,  and  in  front 

of  his  solid  ranks 
Waits  the  sound  of  trumpet ;  captains  of  foot  stand  each  by  his 

cloudy  drum  : 
Then  the  drum  beats,  and  the  steely  ranks  move,  and  trumpets 

rejoice  in  the  sky.  290 

279 

The  French  Revolution 

Dark  cavalry,  like  clouds  fraught  with  thunder,  ascend  on  the  hills, 

and  bright  infantry,  rank 
Behind  rank,  to  the  soul-shaking  drum  and  shrill  fife,  along  the 

roads  glitter  like  fire. 

The  noise  of  trampling,  the  wind  of  trumpets,  smote  the  Palace 

walls  with  a  blast. 
Pale  and  cold  sat  the  King  in  midst  of  his  Peers,  and  his  noble 

heart  sunk,  and  his  pulses 
Suspended  their  motion ;  a  darkness  crept  over  his  eyelids,  and 

chill  cold  sweat  295 

Sat  round  his  brows  faded  in  faint  death ;   his  Peers   pale  like 

mountains  of  the  dead, 
Cover'd  with  dews  of  night,  groaning,  shaking  forests  and  floods. 

The  cold  newt, 
And  snake,  and  damp  toad  on  the  kingly  foot  crawl,  or  croak  on 

the  awful  knee, 
Shedding  their  slime ;   in  folds  of  the  robe  the  crown'd  adder 

builds  and  hisses 
From  stony  brows :  shaken  the  forests  of  France,  sick  the  kings 

of  the  nations,  300 

And  the  bottoms  of  the  world  were  open'd,  and  the  graves  of 

archangels  unseal'd  : 
The  enormous  dead  lift  up  their  pale  fires  and  look  over  the  rocky 

cliffs. 

A  faint  heat  from  their  fires  reviv'd  the  cold  Louvre ;  the  frozen 

blood  reflow'd. 
Awful  uprose  the  King ;  him  the  Peers  follow 'd  j  they  saw  the 

courts  of  the  Palace 
Forsaken,  and  Paris  without  a  soldier,  silent.     For  the  noise  was 

gone  up  305 

And  follow'd  the  army ;  and  the  Senate  in  peace  sat  beneath 

morning's  beam. 

END  OF  THE   FIRST   BOOK. 
280 

L 

A     S  O  N  G 

OF 

I     B     E     R     T     Y 

(Engraved  circa   1792) 

A    SONG    OF    LIBERTY

Earth.         , 

2.  Albion's  coast  is  sick,  silent.     The  American  meadows  faint ! 

3.  Shadows  of  Prophecy  shiver  along  by  the  lakes  and  the  rivers, 
and  mutter  across  the  ocean.     France,  rend  down  thy  dungeon ! 

4.  Golden  Spain,  burst  the  barriers  of  old  Rome  ! 

5.  Cast  thy  keys,  O  Rome  !  into  the  deep,  down  falling,  even 
to  eternity  down  falling, 

6.  And  weep. 

7.  In  her  trembling  hands  she  took  the  new-born  terror,  howling. 

8.  On  those  infinite  mountains  of  light,  now  barr'd  out  by  the 
Atlantic  sea,  the  new-born  fire  stood  before  the  starry  king  ! 

9.  Flagg'd  with  grey-brow'd  snows  and  thunderous  visages,  the 
jealous  wings  wav'd  over  the  deep. 

10.  The  speary  hand  burned  aloft,  unbuckled  was  the  shield; 
forth  went  the  hand  of  Jealousy  among  the  flaming  hair,  and  hurl'd 
the  new-born  wonder  thro'  the  starry  night. 

11.  The  fire,  the  fire,  is  falling  ! 

12.  Look  up!  look  up!  O  citizen  of  London,  enlarge  thy 
countenance !  O  Jew,  leave  counting  gold  !  return  to  thy  oil  and 
wine.  O  African  !  black  African !  Go,  winged  thought,  widen 
his  forehead  ! 

283 

A  Song  of  Liberty 

13.  The  fiery  limbs,  the  flaming  hair,  shot  like  the  sinking  sun 
into  the  western  sea. 

14.  Wak'd  from  his  eternal  sleep,  the  hoary  element,  roaring,  fled 
away. 

15.  Down  rush'd,  beating  his  wings  in  vain,  the  jealous  King; 
his  grey-brow'd  counsellors,  thunderous  warriors,  curl'd  veterans, 
among  helms,  and  shields,  and  chariots,  horses,  elephants,  banners, 
castles,  slings,  and  rocks, 

16.  Falling,  rushing,  ruining  !  buried  in  the  ruins,  on  Urthona's 
dens; 

17.  All  night  beneath  the  ruins;  then,  their  sullen  flames  faded, 
emerge  round  the  gloomy  King. 

18.  With  thunder  and  fire,  leading  his  starry  hosts  thro'  the  waste 
wilderness,  he  promulgates  his  ten  commands,  glancing  his  beamy 
eyelids  over  the  deep  in  dark  dismay, 

19.  Where  the  son  of  fire  in  his  eastern  cloud,  while  the  morning 
plumes  her  golden  breast, 

20.  Spurning  the  clouds  written  with  curses,  stamps  the  stony 
law  to  dust,  loosing  the  eternal  horses  from  the  dens  of  night, 
crying  :  Empire  is  no  more  !  and  now  the  Hon  and  wo/f  shall  cease. 

Chorus 

Let  the  Priests  of  the  Raven  of  dawn  no  longer,  in  deadly  black, 
with  hoarse  note  curse  the  sons  of  joy  !  Nor  his  accepted  brethren — 
whom,  tyrant,  he  calls  free — lay  the  bound  or  build  the  roof !  Nor 
pale  Religion's  lechery  call  that  Virginity  that  wishes  but  acts  not ! 

yj/or  everything  that  lives  is  Holy 

284 

VISIONS 

OF 

THE    DAUGHTERS    OF    ALBION 

(Engraved  1793) 

The  Argument

And  I  was  not  ashamed ; 
I  trembled  in  my  virgin  fears, 
And  I  hid  in  Leutha's  vale ! 

I  plucked  Leutha's  flower,  5 

And  I  rose  up  from  the  vale ; 
But  the  terrible  thunders  tore 
My  virgin  mantle  in  twain. 

Visions 

Enslav'd,  the  Daughters  of  Albion  weep  ;  a  trembling  lamentation 
Upon  their  mountains  •  in  their  valleys,  sighs  toward  America. 

For  the  soft  soul  of  America,  Oothoon,  wander'd  in  woe 

Along  the  vales  of  Leutha,  seeking  flowers  to  comfort  her ; 

And  thus  she  spoke  to  the  bright  Marigold  of  Leutha's  vale  : —    5 

•  Art  thou  a  flower  ?  art  thou  a  nymph  ?     I  see  thee  now  a  flower, 
Now  a  nymph  !    I  dare  not  pluck  thee  from  thy  dewy  bed  ! ' 

The  Golden  nymph  replied  :  '  Pluck  thou  my  flower,  Oothoon  the 
mild! 

285 

Visions  of  the  Daughters  of  Albion 

Another  flower  shall  spring,  because  the  soul  of  sweet  delight 
Can  never  pass  away.'    She  ceas'd,  and  clos'd  her  golden  shrine.   10 

Then  Oothoon  pluck'd  the  flower,  saying :  '  I  pluck  thee  from  thy 

bed, 
Sweet  flower,  and  put  thee  here  to  glow  between  my  breasts  ; 
And  thus  I  turn  my  face  to  where  my  whole  soul  seeks.' 

Over  the  waves  she  went  in  wing'd  exulting  swift  delight, 

And  over  Theotormon's  reign  took  her  impetuous  course.  15 

Bromion  rent  her  with  his  thunders ;  on  his  stormy  bed 

Lay  the  faint  maid,  and  soon  her  woes  appall'd  his  thunders  hoarse. 

Bromion  spoke  :  '  Behold  this  harlot  here  on  Bromion's  bed, 

And  let  the  jealous  dolphins  sport  around  the  lovely  maid  ! 

Thy  soft  American  plains  are  mine,  and  mine  thy  north  and 

south :  2  0 

Stamp'd  with  my  signet  are  the  swarthy  children  of  the  sun ; 
They  are  obedient,  they  resist  not,  they  obey  the  scourge  ; 
Their  daughters  Worship  terrors  and  obey  the  violent. 
Now  thou  may'st  marry  Bromion's  harlot,  and  protect  the  child 
Of  Bromion's  rage,  that  Oothoon  shall  put  forth  in  nine  moons' 

time.'  25 

Then  storms  rent  Theotormon's  limbs  :  he  roll'd  his  waves  around, 
And  folded  his  black  jealous  waters  round  the  adulterate  pair. 
Bound  back  to  back  in  Bromion's  caves,  terror  and  meekness  dwell : 

At  entrance  Theotormon  sits,  wearing  the  threshold  hard 

With  secret  tears ;    beneath  him  sound  like  waves  on  a  desert 

shore  30 

The  voice  of  slaves  beneath  the  sun,  and  children  bought  with 

money, 
That  shiver  in  religious  caves  beneath  the  burning  fires 
Of  lust,  that  belch  incessant  from  the  summits  of  the  earth. 

Oothoon  weeps  not ;  she  cannot  weep,  her  tears  are  locked  up ; 
But  she  can  howl  incessant,  writhing  her  soft  snowy  limbs,  35 

And  calling  Theotormon's  Eagles  to  prey  upon  her  flesh. 

286 

Visions  of  the  Daughte?~s  of  Albioii 

1 1  call  with  holy  voice  !    Kings  of  the  sounding  air,    . 

Rend  away  this  defiled  bosom  that  I  may  reflect 

The  image  of  Theotormon  on  my  pure  transparent  breast.' 

The  Eagles  at  her  call  descend  and  rend  their  bleeding  prey  :    40 
Theotormon  severely  smiles  ;  her  soul  reflects  the  smile, 
As  the  clear  spring,  muddied  with  feet  of  beasts,  grows  pure  and 
smiles. 

The  Daughters  of  Albion  hear  her  woes,  and  echo  back  her  sighs. 

'  Why  does  my  Theotormon  sit  weeping  upon  the  threshold, 

Ami  Oothoon  hovers  by  his  side,  persuading  him  in  vain  ?  4; 

I  cry :  Arise,  O  Theotormon  !  for  the  village  dog 

Barks  at  the  breaking  day ;  the  nightingale  has  done  lamenting ; 

The  lark  does  rustle  in  the  ripe  corn,  and  the  eagle  returns    -W 

From  nightly  prey,  and  lifts  his  golden  beak  to  the  pure  east, 

Shaking  the  dust  from  his  immortal  pinions'  to  awake  50 

The  sun  that  sleeps  too  long.     Arise,  my  Theotormon  !  lam  pure, 

Because  the  night  is  gone  that  clos'd  me  in  its  deadly  black. 

They  told  me  that  the  night  and  day  were  all  that  I  could  see ; 

They  told  me  that  I  had  five  senses  to  enclose  me  up ; 

And  they  enclosed,  my  infinite  brain  into  a  narrow  circle,  55 

And  sunk  my  heart  into  the  Abyss,  a  red,  round  globe,  hot  burning, 

Till  all  from  life  I  was  obliterated  and  erased. 

Instead  of  morn  arises  a  bright  shadow,  like  an  eye 

In  the  eastern  cloud  ;  Instead  of  night  a  sickly  charnel-house, 

That  Theotormon  hears  me  not.     To  him  the  night  and  morn  6c 

Are  both  alike  ;  a  night  of  sighs,  a  morning  of  fresh  tears ; 

And  none  but  Bromion  can  hear  my  lamentations. 

I  With  what  sense  is  it  that  the  chicken  shuns  the  ravenous  hawk  ? 
With  what  sense  does  the  tame  pigeon  measure  out  the  expanse  ? 
With  what  sense  does  the  bee  form  cells  ?     Have  not  the  mouse 
and  frog  65 

Eyes  and  ears  and  sense  of  touch  ?  Yet  are  their  habitations 
And  their  pursuits  as  different  as  their  forms  and  as  their  joys. 
Ask  the  wild  ass  why  he  refuses  burdens,  and  the  meek  camel 

287 

Visions  of  the  Daughters  of  Albion 

Why  he  loves  man.     Is  it  because  of  eye,  ear,  mouth,  or  skin, 
Or  breathing  nostrils?     No  !  for  these  the  wolf  and  tiger  have.  73 
Ask  the  blind  worm  the  secrets  of  the  grave,  and  why  her  spires 
Love  to  curl  round  the  bones  of  death  ;  and  ask  the  rav'nous  snake 
Where  she  gets  poison,  andthewing'd  eagle  why  he  loves  the  sun; 
And  then  tell  me  the  thoughts  of  man,  that  have  been  hid  of  old. 

'  Silent  I  hover  all  the  night,  and  all  day  could  be  silent,  75 

If  Theotormon  once  would  turn  his  loved  eyes  upon  inc. 

How  can  I  be  defil'd  when  I  reflect  thy  image  pure  ? 

Sweetest  the  fruit  that  the  worm  feeds  on,  and  the  soul  prey'd  on 

by  woe, 
The  new-wash'd '  lamb  ting'd  with  the  village  smoke,  and   the 

bright  swan 
By  the  red  earth  of  our  immortal  river.     I  bathe  my  wings,        6 
And  I  am  white  and  pure  to  hover  round  Theotormon's  breast' 

Then  Theotormon  broke  his  silence,  and  he  answered  : — 

1  Tell  me  what  is  the  night  or  day  to  one  o'erflow'd  with  woe  ? 
Tell  me  what  is  a  thought,  and  of  what  substance  is  it  made  ? 
Tell  me  what  is  a  joy,  and  in  what  gardens  do  joys  grow  ?  8 

And  in  what  rivers  swim  the  sorrows  ?    And  upon  what  mountains 
Wave  shadows  of  discontent  ?     And  in  what  houses  dwell    the 

wretched, 
Drunken  with  woe,  forgotten,  and  shut  up  from  cold  despair  ? 

'  Tell  me  where  dwell  the  thoughts,  forgotten  till  thou  call  them 
forth  ?  89 

Tell  me  where  dwell  the  joys  of  old,  and  where  the  ancient  loves, 
And  when  will  they  renew  again,  and  the  night  of  oblivion  past, 
That  I  might  traverse  times  and  spaces  far  remote,  and  bring 
Comforts  into  a  present  sorrow  and  a  night  of  pain  ? 
Where  goest  thou,  O  thought  ?  to  what  remote  land  is  thy  flight  ? 
If  thou  returnest  to  the  present  moment  of  affliction,  95 

Wilt  thou  bring  comforts  on  thy  wings,  and  dews  and  honey  and 

balm, 
Or  poison  from  the  desert  wilds,  from  the  eyes  of  the  envier?' 

288 

Visions  of  the  Daughters  of  Albion 

Then  Bromion  said,  and  shook  the  cavern  with  his  lamentation  : — 

1  Thou  knowest  that  the  ancient  trees  seen  by  thine  eyes  have  fruit ; 

But  knowest  thou  that  trees  and  fruits  flourish  upon  the  earth   ioo 

To  gratify  senses  unknown — trees,  beasts,  and  birds  unknown  ; 

Unknown,  not  unperceiv'd,  spread  in  the  infinite  microscope, 

In  places  ye.:  unvisited  by  the  voyager,  and  in  worlds 

Over  another  kind  of  seas,  and  in  atmospheres  unknown? 

Ah  !  are  there  other  wars,  beside  the  wars  of  sword  and  fire?    105 

And  are  there  other  sorrows  beside  the  sorrows  of  poverty  ? 

And  are  there  other  joys  beside  the  joys  of  riches  and  ease  ? 

And  is  there  not  one  law  for  both  the  lion  and  the  ox? 

And  is  there  not  eternal  fire,  and  eternal  chains 

To  bind  the  phantoms  of  existence  from  eternal  life  ? '  no 

Then  Oothoon  waited  silent  all  the  day  and  all  the  night ; 

But  when  the  morn  arose,  her  lamentation  renew'd  : 

The  Daughters  of  Albion  hear  her  woes,  and  echo  back  her  sighs. 

\  O  Urizen  !  Creator  of  men  !  mistaken  Demon  of  heaven  ! 
Thy  joys  are  tears,  thy  labour  vain  to  form  men  to  thine  image. 
How  can  one  joy  absorb  another  ?    Are  not  different  joys  1 16 

Holy,  eternal,  infinite  ?  and  each  joy  is  a  Love. 

1  Does  not  the  great  mouth  laugh  at  a  gift,  and  the  narrow  eyelids 
mock 

IAt  the  labour  that  is  above  payment  ?  And  wilt  thou  take  the  ape 
For  thy  counsellor,  or  the  dog  for  a  schoolmaster  to  thy  children  ? 
Does  he  who  contemns  poverty,  and  he  who  turns  with  abhorrence 
From  usury  feel  the  same  passion,  or  are  they  moved  alike  ? 
How  can  the  giver  of  gifts  experience  the  delights  of  the  merchant  ? 
How  the  industrious  citizen  the  pains  of  the  husbandman  ? 
How  different  far  the  fat  fed  hireling  with  hollow  drum,  125 

Who  buys  whole  corn-fields  into  wastes,  and  sings  upon  the  heath  ! 
I  How  different  their  eye  and  ear  !  How  different  the  world  to  them  ! 
With  what  sense  does  the  parson  claim  the  labour  of  the  farmer? 

I'1  What  are  his  nets  and  gins  and  traps  ;  and  how  does  he  surround 
him 

Visions  of  the  Daughters  of  Alhio?i 

With  cold  floods  of  abstraction,  and  with  forests  of  solitude,      130 
To  build  him  castles  and  high  spires,  where  kings  and  priests 

may  dwell ; 
Till  she  who  burns  with  youth,  and  knows  no  fixed  lot,  is  bound 
In  spells  of  law  to  one  she  loathes  ?  And  must  she  drag  the  chain 
Of  life  in  weary  lust?    Must  chilling,  murderous  thoughts  obscure 
The  clear  heaven  of  her  eternal  spring ;  to  bear  the  wintry  rage 
Of  a  harsh  terror,  driv'n  to  madness,  bound  to  hold  a  rod         136 
Over  her  shrinking  shoulders  all  the  day,  and  all  the  night 
To  turn  the  wheel  of  false  desire,  and  longings  that  wake  her  womb 
To  the  abhorred  birth  of  cherubs  in  the  human  form, 
That  live  a  pestilence  and  die  a  meteor,  and  are  no  more ;        140 
Till  the  child  dwell  with  one  he  hates,  and  do  the  deed  he  loathes, 
And  the  impure  scourge  force  his  seed  into  its  unripe  birth, 
Ere  yet  his  eyelids  can  behold  the  arrows  of  the  day  ? 

1  Does  the  whale  worship  at  thy  footsteps  as  the  hungry  dog  ; 

Or  does  he  scent  the  mountain  prey  because  his  nostrils  wide  145 

Draw  in  the  ocean  ?    Does  his  eye  discern  the  flying  cloud 

As  the  raven's  eye ;    or  does  he  measure  the  expanse  like  the 

vulture  ? 
Does  the  still  spider  view  the  cliffs  where  eagles  hide  their  young ; 
Or  does  the  fly  rejoice  because  the  harvest  is  brought  in  ? 
Does  not  the  eagle  scorn  the  earth,  and  despise  the  treasures 

beneath  ?  1 50 

But  the  mole  knoweth  what  is  there,  and  the  worm  shall  tell  it 

thee. 
Does  not  the  worm  erect  a  pillar  in  the  mouldering  churchyard 
And  a  palace  of  eternity  in  the  jaws  of  the  hungry  grave  ? 
Over  his  porch  these  words  are  written  :  "  Take  thy  bliss,  O  Man  ! 
And  sweet  shall  be  thy  taste,  and  sweet  thy  infant  joys  renew  !  "  155 

'  Infancy  !  fearless,  lustful,  happy,  nestling  for  delight 
In  laps  of  pleasure  :  Innocence  !  honest,  open,  seeking 
The  vigorous  joys  of  morning  light,  open  to  virgin  bliss, 
Who  taught   thee  modesty,   subtil   modesty,  child  of  night  and 
sleep  ? 

290 

. 

Visions  of  the  Daughters  of  Albio7t 

When  thou  awakest  wilt  thou  dissemble  all  thy  secret  joys,         160 
Or  wert  thou  not  awake  when  all  this  mystery  was  disclos'd  ? 
Then  com'st  thou  forth  a  modest  virgin  knowing  to  dissemble, 
With  nets  found  under  thy  night  pillow,  to  catch  virgin  joy 
And  brand  it  with  the  name  of  whore,  and  sell  it  in  the  night 
In  silence,  ev'n  without  a  whisper,  and  in  seeming  sleep.  165 

Religious  dreams  and  holy  vespers  light  thy  smoky  fires  : 
Once  were  thy  fires  lighted  by  the  eyes  of  honest  morn. 
And  does  my  Theotormon  seek  this  hypocrite  modesty, 
This  knowing,  artful,  secret,  fearful,  cautious,  trembling  hypocrite  ? 
Then  is  Oothoon  a  whore  indeed  !  and  all  the  virgin  joys  1 70 

Of  life  are  harlots  ;  and  Theotormon  is  a  sick  man's  dream  ; 
And  Oothoon  is  the  crafty  slave  of  selfish  holiness. 

I  But  Oothoon  is  not  so,  a  virgin  fill'd  with  virgin  fancies, 
Open  to  joy  and  to  delight  wherever  beauty  appears  : 
If  in  the  morning  sun  I  find  it,  there  my  eyes  are  fix'd  175 

In  happy  copulation ;  if  in  evening  mild,  wearied  with  work, 
Sit  on  a  bank  and  draw  the  pleasures  of  this  free-born  joy. 

'  The  moment  of  desire  !  the  moment  of  desire  !  The  virgin 
That  pines  for  man  shall  awaken  her  womb  to  enormous  joys 
In  the  secret  shadows  of  her  chamber  :  the  youth  shut  up  from   ;So 
The  lustful  joy  shall  forget  to  generate,  and  create  an  amorous 

image 
In  the  shadows  of  his  curtains  and  in  the  folds  of  his  silent  pillow 
Are  not  these  the  places  of  religion,  the  rewards  of  continence, 
The  self-enjoyings  of  self-denial  ?     Why  dost  thou  seek  religion  ? 
Is  it  because  acts  are  not  lovely  that  thou  seekest  solitude,        185 
Where  the  horrible  darkness  is  impressed  with  reflections  of  desire  ? 

'  Father  of  Jealousy,  be  thou  accursed  from  the  earth  ! 
Why  hast  thou  taught  my  Theotormon  this  accursed  thing, 
Till  beauty  fades  from  off  my  shoulders,  darken'd  and  cast  out, 
A  solitary  shadow  wailing  on  the  margin  of  nonentity?  -90 

i'I  cry:    Love!    Love!    Love!    happy  happy  Love!    free  as  the 
mountain  wind  ! 

291 

Visions  of  the  Daughters  of  Albion 

Can  that  be  Love,  that  drinks  another  as  a  sponge  drinks  water, 

That  clouds  with  jealousy  his  nights,  with  weepings  all  the  day, 

To  spin  a  web  of  age  around  him,  grey  and  hoary,  dark ; 

Till  his  eyes  sicken  at  the  fruit  that  hangs  before  his  sight?       195 

Such  is  self-love  that  envies  all,  a  creeping  skeleton, 

With  lamplike  eyes  watching  around  the  frozen  marriage  bed ! 

'  But  silken  nets  and  traps  of  adamant  will  Oothoon  spread, 

And  catch  for  thee  girls  of  mild  silver,  or  of  furious  gold. 

I'll  lie  beside  thee  on  a  bank,  and  view  their  wanton  play  200 

In  lovely  copulation,  bliss  on  bliss,  with  Theotormon  : 

Red  as  the  rosy  morning,  lustful  as  the  first-born  beam, 

Oothoon  shall  view  his  dear  delight ;  nor  e'er  with  jealous  cloud 

Come  in  the  heaven  of  generous  love,  nor  selfish  blightings  bring. 

'  Doss  the  sun  walk,  in  glorious  raiment,  on  the  secret  floor      205 
Where  the  cold  miser  spreads  his  gold ;  or  does  the  bright  cloud 

drop 

On  his  stone  threshold  ?  Does  his  eye  behold  the  beam  that  brings 
Expansion  to  the  eye  of  pity  :  or  will  he  bind  himself 
Beside  the  ox  to  thy  hard  furrow  ?  Does  not  that  mild  beam  blot 
The  bat,  the  owl,  the  glowing  tiger,  and  the  king  of  night  ?  : 
The  sea-fowl  takes  the  wintry  blast  for  a  cov'ring  to  her  limbs, 
And  the  wild  snake  the  pestilence  to  adorn  him  with  gems  and 

gold; 

And  trees,  and  birds,  and  beasts,  and  men  behold  their  eternal  joy. 
Arise,  you  little  glancing  wings,  and  sing  your  infant  joy  ! 
Arise,  and  drink  your  bliss,  for  everything  that  lives  is  holy  ! '    21  j 

Thus  every  morning  wails  Oothoon ;   but  Theotormon  sits 
Upon  the  margin'd  ocean  conversing  with  shadows  dire. 

The  Daughters  of  Albion  hear  her  woes,  and  echo  back  her  sighs 

THE  END 

292 

AMERICA 

A   PROPHECY 

(Engraved  1793) 

Preludium

When  fourteen  suns  had  faintly  journey'd  o'er  his  dark  abode  : 
His  food  she  brought  in  iron  baskets,  his  drink  in  cups  of  iron. 
Crown'd  with  a  helmet  and  dark  hair  the  nameless  Female  stood  j 
A  quiver  with  its  burning  stores,  a  bow  like  that  of  night,  5 

When  pestilence  is  shot  from  heaven — no  other  arms  she  need ! 
Invulnerable  tho'  naked,  save  where  clouds  roll  round  her  loins 
Their  awful  folds  in  the  dark  air :  silent  she  stood  as  night ; 
For  never  from  her  iron  tongue  could  voice  or  sound  arise, 
But  dumb  till  that  dread  day  when  Ore  assay'd  his  fierce  embrace. 

'  Dark  Virgin,'  said  the  hairy  Youth, '  thy  father  stern,  abhorr'd,   1  r 
Rivets  my  tenfold  chains,  while  still  on  high  my  spirit  soars ; 
Sometimes  an  eagle  screaming  in  the  sky,  sometimes  a  lion 
Stalking  upon  the  mountains,  and  sometimes  a  whale,  I  lash 
The  raging  fathomless  abyss;  anon  a  serpent  folding  15 

Around  the  pillars  of  Urthona,  and  round  thy  dark  limbs 
On  the  Canadian  wilds  I  fold ;  feeble  my  spirit  folds ; 
For  chain'd  beneath  I  rend  these  caverns :  when  thou  bringest 

food 
I  howl  my  joy,  and  my  red  eyes  seek  to  behold  thy  face — 
In  vain  !  these  clouds  roll  to  and  fro,  and  hide  thee  from  my  sight. 

Silent  as  despairing  love,  and  strong  as  jealousy,  2t 

The  hairy  shoulders  rend  the  links ;  free  are  the  wrists  of  fire ; 

293 

America 

Round  the  terrific  loins  he  seiz'd  the  panting,  struggling  womb ; 
It  joy'd  :  she  put  aside  her  clouds  and  smiled  her  first-born  smile, 
As  when  a  black  cloud  shows  its  lightnings  to  the  silent  deep.     25 

Soon  as  she  saw  the  Terrible  Boy,  then  burst  the  virgin  cry : — 

'  I  know  thee,  I  have  found  thee,  and  I  will  not  let  thee  go_: 

Thou  art  the  image  of  God  who  dwells  in  darkness  of  Africa, 

And  thou  art  fall'n  to  give  me  life  in  regions  of  dark  death. 

On  my  American  plains  I  feel  the  struggling  afflictions  30 

Endur'd  by  roots  that  writhe  their  arms  into  the  nether  deep. 

I  see  a  Serpent  in  Canada  who  courts  me  to  his  love, 

In  Mexico  an  Eagle,  and  a  Lion  in  Peru ; 

I  see  a  Whale  in  the  South  Sea,  drinking  my  soul  away. 

O  what  limb-rending  pains  I  feel !  thy  fire  and  my  frost  35 

Mingle  in  howling  pains,  in  furrows  by  thy  lightnings  rent. 

This  is  Eternal  Death,  and  this  the  torment  long  foretold  ! ' 

A  Prophecy 

The  Guardian  Prince  of  Albion  burns  in  his  nightly  tent : 
Sullen  fires  across  the  Atlantic  glow  to  America's  shore, 
Piercing  the  souls  of  warlike  men  who  rise  in  silent  night. 
Washington,  Franklin,  Paine,  and  Warren,  Gates,  Hancock,  and 

Green 
Meet  on  the  coast  glowing  with  blood  from  Albion's  fiery  Prince. 

Washington  spoke  :  '  Friends  of  America  !  look  over  the  Atlantic 

sea; 
A  bended  bow  is  lifted  in  Heaven,  and  a  heavy  iron  chain 
Descends,  link  by  link,  from  Albion's  cliffs  across  the  sea,  to  bind 
Brothers  and  sons  of  America ;  till  our  faces  pale  and  yellow, 
Heads  depress'd,  voices  weak,  eyes  downcast,  hands  work-bruis'd,  ic 
Feet  bleeding  on  the  sultry  sands,  and  the  furrows  of  the  whip 
Descend  to  generations,  that  in  future  times  forget.' 

The  strong  voice  ceas'd ;  for  a  terrible  blast  swept  over  the  heaviri 
sea : 

294 

America 

The    eastern   cloud    rent :  on   his  cliffs   stood  Albion's  wrathful 

Prince, 
A  dragon  form,  clashing  his  scales :  at  midnight  he  arose,  15 

And  flam'd  red  meteors  round  the  land  of  Albion  beneath  ; 
His  voice,  his  locks,  his  awful  shoulders,  and  his  glowing  eyes 
Appear  to  the  Americans  upon  the  cloudy  night. 

Solemn  heave  the  Atlantic  waves  between  the  gloomy  nations, 
Swelling,  belching  from  its  deeps  red  clouds  and  raging  fires.       20 
Albion  is  sick  !  America  faints  !     Enrag'd  the  Zenith  grew. 
As  human  blood  shooting  its  veins  all  round  the  orbed  heaven, 
Red  rose  the  clouds  from  the  Atlantic  in  vast  wheels  of  blood, 
And  in  the  red  clouds  rose  a  Wonder  o'er  the  Atlantic  sea — 
Intense  !  naked!  a  Human  fire,  fierce  glowing,  as  the  wedge      25 
Of  iron  heated  in  the  furnace ;  his  terrible  limbs  were  fire, 
With  myriads  of  cloudy  terrors,  banners  dark,  and  towers 
Surrounded :  heat  but  not  light  went  thro'  the  murky  atmosphere. 

The  King  of  England  16oking  westward  trembles  at  the  vision. 

Albion's  Angel  stood  beside  the  Stone  of  Night,  and  saw  30 

The  Terror  like  a  comet,  or  more  like  the  planet  red, 
That  once  enclos'd  the  terrible  wandering  comets  in  its  sphere. 
Then,  Mars,  thou  wast  our  centre,  and  the  planets  three  flew 

round        . 
Thy  crimson  disk ;  so,  ere  the  Sun  was  rent  from  thy  red  sphere, 
The  Spectre  glow'd,  his  horrid  length  staining  "the  temple  long   35 
With  beams  of  blood  ;  and  thus  a  voice  came  forth,  and  shook  the 

temple  : — 

1  The  morning  comes,  the  night  decays,  the  watchmen  leave  their 

stations  ; 
The  grave  is  burst,  the  spices  shed,  the  linen  wrapped  up ; 
The  bones  of  death,  the  cov 'ring  elay,  the  sinews  shrunk  and  dry'd 
Reviving  shake,  inspiring  move,  breathing,  awakening,  40 

Spring  like  redeemed  captives,  when  their  bonds  and  bars  are  burst. 
Let  the  slave  grinding  at  the  mill  run  out  into  the  field, 
Let  him  look  up  into  the  heavens  and  laugh  in  the  bright  air , 

295 

America 

Let  the  enchained  soul,  shut  up  in  darkness  and  in  sighing, 
Whose  face  has  never  seen  a  smile  in  thirty  weary  years,  45 

Rise  and  look  out ;  his  chains  are  loose,  his  dungeon  doors  are 

open ; 
And  let  his  wife  and  children  return  from  the  oppressor's  scourge. 
They  look  behind  at  every  step,  and  believe  it  is  a  dream, 
Singing  :  "  The  Sun  has  left  his  blackness,  and  has  found  a  fresher 

morning, 
And  the  fair  Moon  rejoices  in  the  clear  and  cloudless  night ;      50 
For  Empire  is  no  more,  and  now  the  Lion  and  Wolf  shall  cease." ' 

In  thunders  ends  the  voice.  Then  Albion's  Angel  wrathful  burnt 
Beside  the  Stone  of  Night ;  and,  like  the  Eternal  Lion's  howl 
In  famine  and  war,  reply'd  :  '  Art  thou  not  Qxc,  who  serpent-form'd 
Stands  at  the  gate  of  Ehitharmon  to  devouTher  children?  55 

Blasphemous  Demon,  Antichrist,  hater  of  Dignities, 
Lover  of  wild  rebellion,  and  transgressor  of  God's  Law,  »^ 
Why  dost  thou  come  to  Angel's  eyes  in  this  terrific  form  ? ' 

The  Terror  answer'd :   '  I  am  Ore,  wreath'd  round  the  accursed 

tree  : 
The  times  are  ended  ;  shadows  pass,  the  morning  'gins  to  break  | 
The  fiery  joy,  that  Urizen  perverted  to  ten  commands,  61 

What  night  he  led  the  starry  hosts  thro'  the  wide  wilderness, 
That  stony  Law  I  stamp  to  dust ;  and  scatter  ReligiorLabroad 
To  the  four  winds  as  a  torn  book,  and  none  shall  gather  the  leaves ; 
But  they  shall  rot  on  desert  sands,  and  consume  in  bottomless 

deeps,  65 

To  make  the  deserts  blossom,  and   the   deeps  shrink  to   their 

fountains, 
And  to  renew  the  fiery  joy,  and  burst  the  stony  roof; 
That  pale  religious  lechery,  seeking  Virginity, 
May  find  it  in  a  harlot,  and  in  coarse-clad  honesty 
The  undefil'd,  tho'  ravish'd  in  her  cradle  night  and  morn ;  70 

For  everything  that  lives  is  holy,  life  delights  in  life ; 
Because  the  soul  of  sweet  delight  can  never  be  defil'd. 
Fires  enwrap  the  earthly  globe,  yet  Man  is  not  consum'd ; 

296 

America 

Amidst  the  lustful  fires  he  walks  ;  his  feet  become  like  brass, 
His  knees  and  thighs  like  silver,  and  his  breast  and  head  like 

gold.  75 

'  Sound  !   sound  !  my  loud  war-trumpets,  and  alarm  my  Thirteen 

Angels ! 
Loud  howls  the  Eternal  Wolf !  the  Eternal  Lion  lashes  his  tail ! 
America  is  dark'ned  ;  and  my  punishing  Demons,  terrified, 
Crouch  howling  before  their  caverm;  deep,  like  skins  dry'd  in  the 

wind. .  79 

They  cannot  smite  the  wheat,  nor  quench  the  fatness  of  the  earth  ; 
They  cannot  smite  with  sorrows,  nor  subdue  the  plough  and  spade  ; 
They  cannot  wall  the  city,  nor  moat  round  the  castle  of  princes ; 
They  cannot  bring  the  stubbed  oak  to  overgrow  the  hills  ; 
For  terrible  men  stand  on  the  shores,  and  in  their  robes  I  see 
Children  take  shelter  from  the  lightnings  :  there  stands  Washington, 
And  Paine,  and  Warren,  with  their  foreheads  rear'd  toward  the 

East —  86 

But  clouds  obscure  my  aged  sight.     A  vision  from  afar  ! 
Sound !   sound !   my  loud  war-trumpets,  and  alarm  my  Thirteen 

Angels  ! 
Ah,  vision  from  afar  !     Ah,  rebel  form  that  rent  the  ancient 
Heavens  !  Eternal  Viper  self-renew'd,  rolling  in  clouds,  90 

I  see  thee  in  thick  clouds  and  darkness  on  America's  shore, 
Writhing  in  pangs  of  abhorred  birth ;    red  flames  the  crest  re- 
bellious 
And  eyes  of  death ;  the  harlot  womb,  oft  opened  in  vain, 
Heaves  in  enormous  circles  :  now  the  times  are  return'd  upon  thee, 
Devourer  of  thy  parent,  now  thy  unutterable  torment  renews.     95 
Sound !  sound  !   my  loud  war-trumpets,  and  alarm  my  Thirteen 

Angels  ! 
Ah,  terrible  birth  !  a  young  one  bursting !  Where  is  the  weeping 

mouth, 
And  where  the  mother's  milk  ?     Instead,  those  ever-hissing  jaws 
And  parched  lips  drop  with  fresh  gore  :  now  roll  thou  in  the  clouds  ; 
Thy  mother  lays  her  length  outstretch'd  upon  the  shore  beneath. 

297  l  3 

America 

Sound !   sound !  my  loud  war-trumpets,  and  alarm  my  Thirteen 
Angels !  101 

Loud  howls  the  Eternal  Wolf !  the  Eternal  Lion  lashes  his  tail ! ' 

Thus  wept  the  Angel  voice,  and  as  he  wept  the  terrible  blasts 
Of  trumpets  blew  a  loud  alarm  across  the  Atlantic  deep. 
No  trumpets  answer ;  no  reply  of  clarions  or  of  fifes  :  105 

Silent  the  Colonies  remain  and  refuse  the  loud  alarm. 

On  those  vast  shady  hills  between  America  and  Albion's  shore, 
Now  barr'd  out  by  the  Atlantic  sea,  call'd  Atlantean  hills, 
Because  from  their  bright  summits  you  may  pass  to  the  Golden 

World, 
An  ancient  palace,  archetype  of  mighty  Emperies,  no 

Rears  its  immortal  pinnacles,  built  in  the  forest  of  God 
By  Ariston,  the  King  of  Beauty,  for  his  stolen  bride. 

Here  on  their  magic  seats  the  Thirteen  Angels  sat  perturb'd, 
For  clouds  from  the  Atlantic  hover  o'er  the  solemn  roof. 

Fiery  the  Angels  rose,  and  as  they  rose  deep  thunder  roll'd       115 
Around  their  shores,  indignant  burning  with  the  fires  of  Ore  ;     - 
And  Boston's  Angel  cried  aloud  as  they  flew  thro'  the  dark  night. 

He  cried  :  '  Why  trembles  honesty ;  and,  like  a  murderer, 
Why  seeks  he  refuge  from  the  frowns  of  his  immortal  station  ? 
Must  the  generous  tremble,  and  leave  his  joy  to  the  idle,  to  the 
pestilence      /  1 20 

That  mock  him  ?  Who  commanded  this  ?  What  God  ?  What  Angel  ? 
To  keep  the  gen'rous  from  experience  till  the  ungenerous 
Are  unrestrain'd  performers  of  the  energies  of  nature ; 
Till  pity  is  become  a  trade,  and  generosity  a  science  1 24 

That  men  get  rich  by;  and  the  sandy  desert  is  giv'n  to  the  strong? 
What  God  is  he  writes  laws  of  peace,  and  clothes  him  in  a  tempest  ? 
What  pitying  Angel  lusts  for  tears,  and  fans  himself  with  sighs  ? 
What  crawling  villain  preaches  abstinence  and  wraps  himself 
In  fat  of  lambs?     No  more  I  follow,  no  more  obedience  pay  ! 

298 

America 

So  cried  he,  rending  off  his  robe  and  throwing  down  his  sceptre 
In  sight  of  Albion's  Guardian  ;  and  all  the  Thirteen  Angels       131 
Rent  off  their  robes  to  the  hungry  wind,  and  threw  their  golden 

sceptres 
Down  on  the  land  of  America  ;  indignant  they  descended 
Headlong  from  out  their  heav'nly  heights,  descending  swift  as  fires 
Over  the  land;  naked  and  flaming  are  their  lineaments  seen     135 
In  the  deep  gloom ;  by  Washington  and  Paine  and  Warren  they 

stood ; 
And  the  flame  folded,  roaring  fierce  within  the  pitchy  night, 
Before  the  Demon  red,  who  burnt  towards  America, 
In  black  smoke,  thunders,  and  loud  winds,  rejoicing  in  its  terror, 
Breaking  in  smoky  wreaths  from  the  wild  deep,  and  gath'ring  thick 
In  flames  as  of  a  furnace  on  the  land  from  North  to  South,        141 
What  time  the  Thirteen  Governors,  that  England  sent,  convene 
In  Bernard's  house.     The  flames  cover'd  the  land ;  they  rouse ; 

they  cry ; 
Shaking  their  mental  chains,  they  rush  in  fury  to  the  sea 
To  quench  their  anguish  ;  at  the  feet  of  Washington  down  fall'n 
They  grovel  on  the  sand  and  writhing  lie,  while  all  146 

The  British  soldiers  thro'  the  Thirteen  States  sent  up  a  howl 
Of  anguish,  threw  their  swords  and  muskets  to  the  earth,  and  run 
From  their  encampments  and  dark  castles,  seeking  where  to  hide 
From  the  grim  flames,  and  from  the  visions  of  Ore,  in  sight      150 
Of  Albion's  Angel ;  who,  enrag'd,  his  secret  clouds  open'd 
From  North  to  South,  and  burnt  outstretch'd  on  wings  of  wrath, 

cov'ring 
The  eastern  sky,  spreading  his  awful  wings  across  the  heavens. 
Beneath  him  roll'd  his  num'rous  hosts,  all  Albion's  Angels  camp'd 
Darken'd  the  Atlantic  mountains ;  and  their  trumpets  shook  the 

valleys,  155 

Arrn'd  with  diseases  of  the  earth  to  cast  upon  the  Abyss — 
Their  numbers  forty  millions,  must'ring  in  the  eastern  sky, 

In  the  flames  stood  and  view'd  the  armies  drawn  out  in  the  sky, 
Washington,  Franklin,  Paine,  and  Warren,  Allen,  Gates,  and  Lee, 

299 

America 

And  heard  the  voice  of  Albion's   Angel   give   the   thunderous 
command;  160 

His  plagues,  obedient  to  his  voice,  flew  forth  out  of  their  clouds, 
Falling  upon  America,  as  a  storm  to  cut  them  off, 
As  a  blight  cuts  the  tender  corn  when  it  begins  to  appear. 
Dark  is  the  heaven  above,  and  cold  and  hard  the  earth  beneath : 
And,  as  a  plague-wind,  fill'd  with  insects,  cuts  off  man  and  beast, 
And,  as  a  sea  o'erwhelms  a  land  in  the  day  of  an  earthquake,    166 
Fury,  rage,  madness,  in  a  wind  swept  through  America ; 
And  the  red  flames  of  Ore,  that  folded  roaring,  fierce,  around 
The  angry  shores;  and  the  fierce  rushing  of  th'  inhabitants  together ! 
The  citizens  of  New  York  close  their  books  and  lock  their  chests ; 
The  mariners  of  Boston  drop  their  anchors  and  unlade;  171 

The  scribe  of  Pennsylvania  casts  his  pen  upon  the  earth  ; 
The  builder  of  Virginia  throws  his  hammer  down  in  fear. 

Then  had  America  been  lost,  o'erwhelm'd  by  the  Atlantic, 

And  Earth  had  lost  another  portion  of  the  Infinite ;  175 

But  all  rush  together  in  the  night  in  wrath  and  raging  fire. 

The  red  fires  rag'd  !     The  plagues   recoil'd !     Then   roll'd   they 

back  with  fury 
On  Albion's  Angels  :  then  the  Pestilence  began  in  streaks  of  red 
Across  the  limbs  of  Albion's  Guardian ;  the  spotted  plague  smote 

Bristol's, 
And  the  Leprosy  London's  Spirit,  sickening  all  their  bands :     180 
The  millions   sent  up   a  howl   of  anguish  and  threw  off  their 

hammer'd  mail, 
And  cast  their  swords  and  spears  to  earth,  and  stood,  a  naked 

multitude  : 
Albion's  Guardian  writhed  in  torment  on  the  eastern  sky, 
Pale,    quiv'ring    toward    the   brain    his    glimmering    eyes,    teeth 

chattering, 
Howling  and  shuddering,  his  legs  quivering,  convuls'd  each  muscle 

and  sinew  :  1S5 

Sick'ning  lay  London's  Guardian,  and  the  ancient  mitred  York, 
Their  heads  on  snowy  hills,  their  ensigns  sick'ning  in  the  sky. 

300 

America 

The  plagues  creep  on  the  burning  winds,  driven  by  flames  of  Ore, 
And  by  the  fierce  Americans  rushing  together  in  the  night, 
Driven  o'er  the  Guardians  of  Ireland,  and  Scotland  and  Wales. 
They,   spotted   with   plagues,   forsook   the   frontiers ;    and   their 

banners,  sear'd  191 

With  fires  of  hell,  deform  their  ancient  Heavens  with  shame  and 

woe. 
Hid  in  his  caves  the  Bard  of  Albion  felt  the  enormous  plagues, 
And  a  cowl  of  flesh  grew  o'er  his  head,  and  scales  on  his  back 

and  ribs ; 
And,  rough  with  black  scales,  all  his  Angels  fright  their  ancient 

heavens.  195 

The  doors  of  marriage  are  open,  and  the  Priests,  in  rustling  scales, 
Rush  into  reptile  coverts,  hiding  from  the  fires  of  Ore, 
That  play  around  the  golden  roofs  in  wreaths  of  fierce  desire, 
Leaving  the  Females  naked  and  glowing  with  the  lusts  of  youth. 

For  the  Female  Spirits  of  the  dead,  pining  in  bonds  of  religion,  200 
Run  from  their  fetters ;  reddening,  and  in  long-drawn  arches  sitting, 
They  feel  the  nerves  of  youth  renew,  and  desires  of  ancient  times 
Over  their  pale  limbs,  as  a  vine  when  the  tender  grape  appears. 

Over  the  hills,  the  vales,  the  cities  rage  the  red  flames  fierce :    204 
The  Heavens  melted  from  North  to  South  ;  and  Urizen,  who  sat 
Above  all  heavens,  in  thunders  wrapp'd,  emerg'd  his  leprous  head 
From  out  his  holy  shrine,  his  tears  in  deluge  piteous 
Falling  into  the  deep  sublime  ;  flagg'd  with  grey-brow'd  snows 
And  thunderous  visages,  his  jealous  wings  wav'd  over  the  deep ; 
Weeping  in  dismal  howling  woe,  he  dark  descended,  howling    210 

\round   the   smitten    bands,    clothed    in    tears    and    trembling, 

shudd'ring,  cold. 
His  stored  snows  he  poured  forth,  and  his  icy  magazine^ 
He  open'd  on  the  deep,  and  on  the  Atlantic  sea,  white,  shiv'ring ; 
iLeprous  his  limbs,  all  over  white,  and  hoary  was  his  visage ; 
cping  in  dismal  howlings  before  the  stern  Americans,  215 

Hiding  the  Demon  red  with  clouds  and  cold  mists  from  the  earth  ; 

.301 

America 

Till  Angels  and  weak  men  twelve  years  should  govern  o'er  the 

strong ; 
And  then  their   end   should   come,  when    France   receiv'd   the 

Demon's  light. 

Stiff  shudderings  shook  the   heav'nly  thrones !     France,   Spain, 

and  Italy 

In  terror  view'd  the  bands  of  Albion,  and  the  ancient  Guardians, 
Fainting  upon  the  elements,  smitten  with  their  own  plagues  ! 
They  slow  advance  to  shut  the  five  gates  of  their  law-built  Heaven, 
filled  with  blasting  fancies  and  with  mildews  of  despair, 
With  fierce  disease  and  lust,  unable  to  stem  the  fires  of  Ore. 
But  the  five  gates  were  consum'd,  and  their  bolts  and  hinges 

melted;  .  225 

And  the  fierce  flames  burnt  round  the  heavens,  and  round  the 

abodes  of  men. 

FINIS 

302 

EUROPE 

A   PROPHECY 
(Engraved  1794)

air; 
Thro'  one  hears  music  of  the  spheres  ;  thro'  one  the  Eternal  Vine 
Flourishes,  that  he  may  receive  the  grapes  ;  thro'  one  can  look 
And  see  small  portions  of  the  Eternal  World  that  ever  groweth ; 
Thro'  one  himself  pass  out  what  time  he  please,  but  he  will  not ; 
For  stolen  joys  are  sweet,  and  bread  eaten  in  secret  pleasant.'      6 

So  sang  a  Fairy,  mocking,  as  he  sat  on  a  streak'd  tulip, 
Thinking  none  saw  him  :  when  he  ceas'd  I  started  from  the  trees, 
And  caught  him  in  my  hat,  as  boys  knock  down  a  butterfly. 
'  How  know  you  this,'  said  I,  •  small  Sir  ?  where  did  you  learn  this 
song?'  10 

Seeing  himself  in  my  possession,  thus  he  answer'd  me  : 
'  My  Master,  I  am  yours  !  command  me,  for  I  must  obey.' 

',  Then  tell  me,  what  is  the  Material  World,  and  is  it  dead  ? ' 

He,  laughing,  answer'd  :  '  I  will  write  a  book  on  leaves  of  flowers, 

If  you  will  feed  me  on  love-thoughts,  and  give  me  now  and  then 

A  cup  of  sparkling  poetic  fancies  ;  so,  when  I  am  tipsy,  16 

I'll  sing  to  you  to  this  soft  lute,  and  show  you  all  alive 

The  World,  when  every  particle  of  dust  breathes  forth  its  joy.' 

I  took  him  home  in  my  warm  bosom  :  as  we  went  along  19 

Wild  flowers  I  gathered  ;  and  he  show'd  me  each  Eternal  Flower  ; 
He  laugh'd  aloud  to  see  them  whimper  because  they  were  pluck'd. 
They  hover'd  round  me  like  a  cloud  of  incense.     When  I  came 
Into  my  parlour  and  sat  down,  and  took  my  pen  to  write, 
My  Fairy  sat  upon  the  table,  and  dictated  Europe. 

These  introductory  lines,  which  Blake  engraved  as  part  of  the  poem,  are 
found,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  only  in  the  copy  of  Europe  in  the  possession  of 
the  Linnell  family,  where  it  follows  the  frontispiece  and  tille-page,  and  pre- 
Cedea  the  Preludium. 

3°5 

EUROPE:    A  PROPHECY 

Preludium 

The  nameless  Shadowy  Female  rose  from  out  the  breast  of  Ore, 
Her  snaky  hair  brandishing  in  the  winds  of  Enitharmon  ; 
And  thus  her  voice  arose  : — 

'  O  mother  Enitharmon,  wilt  thou  bring  forth  other  sons, 

To  cause  my  name  to  vanish,  that  my  place  may  not  be  found  ?  5 

For  I  am  faint  with  travel, 

Like  the  dark  cloud  disburden'd  in  the  day  of  dismal  thunder. 

-My  roots  are  brandish'd  in  the  heavens,  my  fruits  in  earth  beneath 
Surge,  foam,  and  labour  into  life,  first  born  and  first  consum'd  ! 
Consumed  and  consuming  !  10 

Then  why  shouldst  thou,  Accursed  Mother,  bring  me  into  life  ? 

•  I  wrap  my  turban  of  thick  clouds  around  my  lab'ring  head, 

And  fold  the  sheety  waters  as  a  mantle  round  my  limbs ; 

Yet  the  red  sun  and  moon 

And  all  the  overflowing  stars  rain  down  prolific  pains.  15 

'  Unwilling  I  look  up  to  heaven,  unwilling  count  the  stars  : 

Sitting  in  fathomless  abyss  of  my  immortal  shrine 

I  seize  their  burning  power, 

And  bring  forth  howling  terrors,  all-devouring  fiery  kings, 

'  Devouring  and  devoured,  roaming  on  dark  and  desolate  mountains. 
In  forests  of  Eternal  Death,  shrieking  in  hollow  trees.  21 

Ah,  mother  Enitharmon  ! 
Stamp  not  with  solid  form  this  vig'rous  progeny  of  fires. 

'  I  bring  forth  from  my  teeming  bosom  myriads  of  flames, 
And  thou  dost  stamp  them  with  a  signet ;  then  they  roam  abroad, 
And  leave  me  void  as  death.  26 

Ah  !  T  am  drown'd  in  shady  woe  and  visionary  joy. 

3°4 

Europt 

'  And  who  shall  bind  the  Infinite  with  an  eternal  band 
To  compass  it  with  swaddling  bands?  and  who  shall  cherish  it 
With  milk  and  honey?  30 

I  see  it  smile,  and  I  roll  inward,  and  my  voice  is  past' 

She  ceas'd,  and  roll'd  her  shady  clouds 
Into  the  secret  place. 

A  Prophecy 

The  deep  of  winter  came, 

What  time  the  Secret  Child 

Descended  through  the  orient  gates  of  the  Eternal  day  : 

War  ceas'd,  and  all  the  troops  like  shadows  fled  to  their  abodes. 

Then  Enitharmon  saw  her  sons  and  daughters  rise  around ;  5 

Like  pearly  clouds  they  meet  together  in  the  crystal  house  ; 
And  Los,  possessor  of  the  Moon,  joy'd  in  the  peaceful  night, 
Thus  speaking,  while  his  num'rous  sons  shook  their  bright  fiery 
wings  :— 

'  Again  the  night  is  come, 

That  strong  Urthona  takes  his  rest ;  10 

And  Urizen,  unloos'd  from  chains, 

Glows  like  a  meteor  in  the  distant  North. 

Stretch  forth  your  hands  and  strike  the  elemental  strings  ! 

Awake  the  thunders  of  the  deep  ! 

'The  shrill  winds  wake,  15 

Till  all  the  sons  of  Urizen  look  out  and  envy  Los. 
Seize  all  the  spirits  of  life,  and  bind 
Their  warbling  joys  to  our  loud  strings  ! 
Bind  all  the  nourishing  sweets  of  earth 

To  give  us  bliss,  that  we  may  drink  the  sparkling  wine  of  Los  !  20 
And  let  us  laugh  at  war, 
Despising  toil  and  care, 

Because  the  days  and  nights  of  joy  in  lucky  hours  renew. 

305 

Europe 

/ 

Arise,  O  Ore,  from  thy  deep  den  ! 

First-born  of  Enitharmon,  rise  !  25 

And  we  will  crown  thy  head  with  garlands  of  the  ruddy  vine; 
For  now  thou  art  bound, 
And  I  may  see  thee  in  the  hour  of  bliss,  my  eldest-born.' 

The  horrent  Demon  rose,  surrounded  with  red  stars  of  fire, 
Whirling  about  in  furious  circles  round  the  Immortal  Fiend.       30 

Then  Enitharmon  down  descended  into  his  red  light, 
And  thus  her  voice  rose   to  her  children  :  the  distant  heavens 
reply  : — 

'  Now  comes  the  night  of  Enitharmon's  joy  ! 

Who  shall  I  call  ?     Who  shall  I  send, 

That  Woman,  lovely  Woman,  may  have  dominion  ?  35 

Arise,  O  Rintrah  !  thee  I  call,  and  Palamabron,  thee  ! 

Go  !  tell  the  Human  race  that  Woman's  love  is  Sin ; 

That  an  Eternal  life  awaits  the  worms  of  sixty  winters, 

In  an  allegorical  abode,  where  existence  hath  never  come. 

Forbid  all  Joy ;  and,  from  her  childhood,  shall  the  little  Female  40 

Spread  nets  in  every  secret  path. 

'  My  weary  eyelids  draw  towards  the  evening ;  my  bliss  is  yet  but 
new. 

'  Arise  !  O  Rintrah,  eldest-born,  second  to  none  but  Ore  ! 

O  lion  Rintrah,  raise  thy  fury  from  thy  forests  black  ! 

Bring  Palamabron,  horned  priest,  skipping  upon  the  mountains, 

And  silent  Elynittria,  the  silver-bowed  queen.  46 

Rintrah,  where  hast  thou  hid  thy  bride  ? 

Weeps  she  in  desert  shades  ? 

Alas  !  my  Rintrah,  bring  the  lovely  jealous  Ocalythron. 

'  Arise,  my  son  !  bring  all  thy  brethren,  O  thou  King  of  Fire  !    50 
Prince  of  the  Sun  !  I  see  thee  with  thy  innumerable  race, 
Thick  as  the  summer  stars ; 
But  each,  ramping,  his  golden  mane  shakes, 
And  thine  eyes  rejoice  because  of  strength,  O  Rintrah,  furious 
King ! ' 

306 

Europe 

Enitharmon  slept  55 

Eighteen  hundred  years.     Man  was  a  dream, 
The  night  of  Nature  and  their  harps  unstrung  ! 
She  slept  in  middle  of  her  nightly  song 
Eighteen  hundred  years,  a  Female  dream. 

Shadows  of  men  in  fleeting  bands  upon  the  winds  60 

Divide  the  heavens  of  Europe ; 

Till  Albion's  Angel,  smitten  with  his  own  plagues,  fled  with  his 

bands. 
The  cloud  bears  hard  on  Albion's  shore, 
Fill'd  with  immortal  Demons  of  futurity  : 

In  council  gather  the  smitten  Angels  of  Albion  j  65 

The  cloud  bears  hard  upon  the  council-house,  down  rushing 
On  the  heads  of  Albion's  Angels. 

One  hour  they  lay  buried  beneath  the  ruins  of  that  hall ; 

But  as  the  stars  rise  from  the  Salt  Lake,  they  arise  in  pain,         69 

In  troubled  mists,  o'erclouded  by  the  terrors  of  struggling  times. 

In  thoughts   perturb'd   they  rose  from   the    bright  ruins,    silent 

following 
The  fiery  King,  who  sought  his  ancient  temple,  serpent-form'd, 
That  stretches  out  its  shady  length  along  the  Island  white. 
Round  him  roll'd  his  clouds  of  war ;  silent  the  Angel  went 
Along  the  infinite  shores  of  Thames  to  golden  Verulam.  75 

There  stand  the  venerable  porches,  that  high-towering  rear 
Their  oak-surrounded  pillars,  form'd  of  massy  stones,  uncut 
With  tool,  stones  precious  ! — such  eternal  in  the  heavens, 
Of  colours  twelve  (few  known  on  earth)  give  light  in  the  opaque, 
Plac'd  in  the  order  of  the  stars ;  when  the  five  senses  whelm'd    80 
In  deluge  o'er  the  earth-born  man,  then  turn'd  the  fluxile  eyes 
Into  two  stationary  orbs,  concentrating  all  things  : 
The  ever-varying  spiral  ascents  to  the  Heavens  of  Heavens 
Were  bended  downward,  and  the  nostrils'  golden  gates  shut, 
Turn'd  outward,  barr'd,  and  petrify'd  against  the  Infinite.  85 

Thought  chang'd  the  Infinite  to  a  Serpent,  that  which  pitieth 
To  a  devouring  flame ;  and  Man  fled  from  its  face  and  hid 

3°7 

Europe 

In  forests  of  night :  then  all  the  eternal  forests  were  divided 
Into  earths,  rolling  in  circles  of  Space,  that  like  an  ocean  rush'd 
And  overwhelmed  all  except  this  finite  wall  of  flesh.  90 

Then  was  the  Serpent  temple  form'd,  image  of  Infinite, 
Shut  up  in  finite  revolutions,  and  Man  became  an  Angel, 
Heaven  a  mighty  circle  turning,  God  a  tyrant  crown'd. 

Now  arriv'd  the  ancient  Guardian  at  the  southern  porch, 
That  planted  thick  with  trees  of  blackest  leaf,  and  in  a  vale        95 
Obscure  enclos'd  the  Stone  of  Night ;  oblique  it  stood,  o'erhung 
With  purple  flowers  and  berries  red,  image  of  that  sweet  South, 
Once  open  to  the  heavens,  and  elevated  on  the  human  neck, 
Now  overgrown  with  hair,  and  cover'd  with  a  stony  roof. 
Downward  'tis  sunk  beneath  th'  attractive  North,  that  round  the 
feet,  100 

A  raging  whirlpool,  draws  the-dizzy  enquirer  to  his  grave. 

Albion's  Angel  rose  upon  the  Stone  of  Night. 

He  saw  Urizen  on  the  Atlantic ; 

And  his  brazen  Book, 

That  Kings  and  Priests  had  copied  on  Earth,  105 

Expanded  from  North  to  South. 

And  the  clouds  and  fires  pale  roll'd  round  in  the  night  of  Eni- 

tharrrjory 
Round  Albion's  cliffs  and  London's  walls  :  still  Enitharmon  slept. 
Rolling  volumes  of  grey  mist  involve  Churches,  Palaces,  Towers  ; 
For  Urizen  unclasp'd  his  Book,  feeding  his  soul  with  pity.  1 10 

The  youth  of  England,  hid  in  gloom,  curse  the  pain'd  heavens, 

compell'd 
Into  the  deadly  night  to  see  the  form  of  Albion's  Angel. 
Their  parents  brought  them  forth,  and  Aged  Ignorance  preaches, 

canting^_ 
On  a  vast  rock,  perceiv'd  by  those  senses  that  are  clos'd  from 

thought 

Bleak,  dark,  abrupt  it  stands,  and  overshadows  London  city.    115 
They  saw  his  bony  feet  on  the  rock,  the  flesh  consum'd  in  flames  ■ 

308 

Europe 

They  saw  the  Serpent  temple  lifted  above,  shadowing  the  Island 

white  ; 
They  heard   the  voice  of  Albion's  Angel,  howling  in  flames  of 

Ore, 
Seeking  the  trump  of  the  Last  Doom. 

Above  the  rest  the  howl  was  heard  from  Westminster,  louder  and 
louder:  120 

The  Guardian  of  the  secret  codes  forsook  his  ancient  mansion, 
Driven  out  by  the  flames  of  Ore ;  his  furr'd  robes  and  false  locks 
Adhered~^noT~grew~one  vvith  his  flesh  and  nerves,  and  veins  shot 

thro'  them. 
With  dismal  torment  sick,  hanging  upon  the  wind,  he  fled 
Grovelling,  along  Great  George  Street,  thro'  the  Park  gate :   all 
the  soldiers  125 

Fled  from  his  sight :  he  dragg'd  his  torments  to  the  wilderness. 

Thus  was  the  howl  thro'  Europe  ! 

For  Ore  rejoie'd  to  hear  the  howling  shadows ; 

But  Palamabron  shot  his  lightnings,  trenching  down  his  wide  back; 

And  Rintrah  hung  with  all  his  legions  in  the  nether  deep.         130 

Enitharmon  laugh'd  in  her  sleep  to  see  (O  woman's  triumph  !) 
Every  house  a  den,  every  man  bound :  the  shadows  are  fill'd 
With  spectres,  and  the  windows~wove^  over  with  curses  of  iron  : 
Over  the  doors  '  Thou  shalt  not ',  and  over  the  chimneys  '  Fear 

is  written : 
With  bands  of  iron  round  their  necks  fasten'd  into  the  walls      135 
The  citizens,  in  leaden  gyves  the  inhabitants  of  suburbs 
Walk  heavy  ;  soft  and  bent  are  the  bones  of  villagers. 

Between  the  clouds  of  Urizen  the  flames  of  Ore  roll  heavy 
Around  the  limbs  of  Albion's  Guardian,  his  flesh  consuming  : 
Howlings  and  hissings,  shrieks  and  groans,  and  voices  of  despair 
Arise  around  him  in  the  cloudy  heavens  of  Albion.    Furious,    141 
The  red-limb'd  Angel  seiz'd  in  horror  and  torment 
The  trump  of  the  Last  Doom ;  but  he  could  not  blow  the  iron  tube  ! 
Thrice  he  assay'd  presumptuous  to  awake  the  dead  to  Judgement.  \/ 

3°9 

Europe 

A  mighty  Spirit  leap'd  from  the  land  of  Albion,  145 

Nam'd  Newton :  he  seiz'd  the  trump,  and  blow'd  the  enormous 

blast! 
Yellow  as  leaves  of  autumn,  the  myriads  of  Angelic  hosts 
Fell  thro'  the  wintry  skies,  seeking  their  graves, 
!  Rattling  their  hollow  bones  in  howling  and  lamentation. 

Then  Enitharmon  woke,  nor  knew  that  she  had  slept;  150 

And  eighteen  hundred  years  were  fled 
As  if  they  had  not  been. 
She  call'd  her  sons  and  daughters 
To  the  sports  of  night 

Within  her  crystal  house,  155 

And  thus  her  song  proceeds : — 

'  Arise,  Ethinthus  !  tbo'  the  earth-worm  call, 

Let  him  call  in  vain, 

Till  the  night  of  holy  shadows 

And  human  solitude  is  past !  160 

'  Ethinthus,  Queen  of  Waters,  how  thou  shinest  in  the  sky  ! 
My  daughter,  how  do  I  rejoice  !  for  thy  children  flock  around, 
Like  the  gay  fishes  on  the  wave,  when  the  cold  moon  drinks  the  dew. 
Ethinthus !  thou  art  sweet  as  comforts  to  my  fainting  soul, 
For  now  thy  waters  warble  round  the  feet  of  Enitharmon.         165 

'  Manatha-Varcyon  !  I  behold  thee  flaming  in  my  halls. 

Light  of  thy  mother's  soul !  I  see  thy  lovely  eagles  round  j 

Thy  golden  wings  are  my  delight,  and  thy  flames  of  soft  delusion. 

'  Where  is  my  luring  bird  of  Eden  ?     Leutha,  silent  love  ! 

Leutha,  the  many-colour'd  bow  delights  upon  thy  wings !  170 

Soft  soul  of  flowers,  Leutha  ! 

Sweet  smiling  Pestilence  !  I  see  thy  blushing  light  ; 

Thy  daughters,  many  changing, 

Revolve  like  sweet  perfumes  ascending,  O  Leutha,  Silken  Queen  ! 

'  Where  is  the  youthful  Antamon,  Prince  of  the  Pearly  Dew  ?    175 
O  Antamon !  why  wilt  thou  leave  thy  mother  Enitharmon  ? 

310 

Europe 

I  one  I  see  thee,  crystal  form, 
oating  upon  the  bosom'd  air, 
with  lineaments  of  gratified  desire. 
My  Antamon  !  the  seven  churches  of  Leutha  seek  thy  love.       iSo 

'  I  hear  the  soft  Oothoon  in  Enitharmon's  tents  ; 

W hy  wilt  thou  give  up  woman's  secrecy,  my  melancholy  child  ? 

Between  two  moments  Bliss  is  ripe. 

O  Theotormon  !  robb'd  of  joy,  I  see  thy  salt  tears  flow 

Down  the  steps  of  my  crystal  house.  185 

'Sotha  and  Thiralatha  !  secret  dwellers  of  dreamful  caves, 
Arise  and  please  the  horrent  Fiend  with  your  melodious  songs ; 
Still  all  your  thunders,  golden-hoof'd,  and  bind  your  horses  black. 
Ore  !  smile  upon  my  children, 

Smile,  son  of  my  afflictions  !  190 

Arise,  O  Ore,  and  give  our  mountains  joy  of  thy  red  light ! 

She  ceas:d ;  for  all  were  forth  at  sport  beneath  the  solemn  moon 

■\Yaking  the  stars  of  Urizen  with  their  immortal  songs  ; 

That  Nature  felt  thro'  all  her  pores  the  enormous  revelry, 

Till  Morning  oped  the  eastern  gate;  195 

Then  every  one  fled  to  his  station,  and  Enitharmon  wept. 

But  terrible  Ore,  when  he  beheld  the  morning  in  the  East, 

Shot  from  the  heights  of  Enitharmon, 

And  in  the  vineyards  of  red  France  appear'd  the  light  of  his  fury, 

The  Sun  glow'd  fiery  red  !  200 

The  furious  Terrors  flew  around 

On  golden  chariots,  raging  with  red  wheels,  dropping  with  blood ! 

The  Lions  lash  their  wrathful  tails  ! 

The  Tigers  couch  upon  the  prey  and  suck  the  ruddy  tide ; 

And  Enitharmon  groans  and  cries  in  anguish  and  dismay,          205 

Then  Los  arose :  his  head  he  rear'd,  in  snaky  thunders  clad ; 
And  with  a  cry  that  shook  all  Nature  to  the  utmost  pole, 
CalPd  all  his  sons  to  the  strife  of  blood. 

FINIS 
3" 

THE 

I  BOOK 

OF 

I  U     R     I     Z     E    N 

(Engraved  1794) 

THE  [FIRST]   BOOK   OF   URIZEN 

Preludium  to  the  First  Book  of  Urizen

When  Eternals  spurn'd  back  his  Religion, 
And  gave  him  a  place  in  the  North, 
Obscure,  shadowy,  void,  solitary. 

Eternals  !   I  hear  your  call  gladly. 
Dictate  swift  winged  words,  and  fear  not 
To  unfold  your  dark  visions  of  torment. 

3i3 

The  Book  of  Urizen 

Chap.  I 

i.   Lo,  a  Shadow  of  horror  is  risen 
In  Eternity  !  unknown,  unprolific, 
Self-clos'd,  all-repelling.     What  Demon 
Hath  form'd  this  abominable  Void, 
This  soul-shudd'ring  Vacuum  ?     Some  said 
It  is  Urizen.     But  unknown,  abstracted, 
Brooding,  secret,  the  dark  Power  hid. 

2.  Times  on  times  he  divided,  and  measur'd 
Space  by  space  in  his  ninefold  darkness, 

Unseen,  unknown ;  changes  appear'd  10 

Like  desolate  mountains,  rifted  furious 
By  the  black  winds  of  perturbation. 

3.  For  he  strove  in  battles  dire, 

In  unseen  confiictions  with  Shapes, 

Bred  from  his  forsaken  wilderness,  15 

Of  beast,  bird,  fish,  serpent,  and  element, 

Combustion,  blast,  vapour,  and  cloud. 

4.  Dark,  revolving  in  silent  activity, 
Unseen  in  tormenting  passions, 

An  Activity  unknown  and  horrible,  20 

A  self-contemplating  Shadow, 
In  enormous  labours  occupied. 

5.  But  Eternals  beheld  his  vast  forests; 
Ages  on  ages  he  lay,  dos'd,  unknown, 
Brooding,  shut  in  the  deep ;  all  avoid 
The  petrific,  abominable  ChaosT 

6.  His  cold  horrors,  silent,  dark  Urizen 
Prepar'd  ;  his  ten  thousands  of  thunders, 
Rang'd  in  gloom'd  array,  stretch  out  across 
The  dread  world  ;  and  the  rolling  of  wheels, 
As  of  swelling  seas,  sound  in  his  clouds, 

3M 

The   Book  of  Urizen 

In  his  hills  of  stor'd  snows,  in  his  mountains 

Of  hail  and  ice ;  voices  of  terror 

Are-  heard,  like  thunders  of  autumn, 

When  the  cloud  blazes  over  the  harvests.  35 

Chap.  II 

1.  Earth  was  not,  nor  globes  of  attraction  ; 
The  will  of  the  Immortal  expanded 

Or  contracted  his  all-flexible  senses ; 
Death  was  not,  but  Eternal  life  sprung. 

2.  The  sound  of  a  trumpet  the  heavens  40 
Awoke,  and  vast  clouds  of  blood  roll'd 

Round  the  dim  rocks  of  Urizen,  so  nam'd 
That  solitary  one  in  Immensity. 

3.  Shrill  the  trumpet !  and  myriads  of  Eternity 

Muster  around  the  bleak  deserts,  45 

Now  fill'd  with  clouds,  darkness,  and  waters, 
That  roll'd  perplex'd,  lab'ring ;  and  utter'd 
Words  articulate,  bursting  in  thunders, 
That  roll'd  on  the  tops  of  his  mountains  : — 

4.  ■  From  the  depths  of  dark  solitude,  from  50 
The  Eternal  abode  in  my  Holiness, 

Hidden,  set  apart,  in  my  stern  counsels, 

Reserv'd  for  the  days  of  futurity, 

I  have  sought  for  a  joy  without  pain, 

For  a  solid  without  fluctuation.  55 

Why  will  you  die,  O  Eternals? 

Why  live  in  unquenchable  burnings  ? 

5.  '  First  I  fought  with  the  fire,  consum'd 
Inwards  into  a  deep  world  within, 

A  Void  immense,  wild,  dark  and  deep,  60 

Where  nothing  was — Nature's  wide  womb, 
315 

The  Book  of  Urizen 

And  self-balanc'd,  stretch'd  o'er  the  void, 

I  alone,  even  I  !  the  winds  merciless 

Bound ;  but  condensing  in  torrents 

They  fall  and  fall ;   strong  I  repell'd  65 

The  vast  waves,  and  arose  on  the  waters 

A  wide  World  of  solid  obstruction. 

6.  '  Here  alone  I,  in  books  form'd  of  metals, 
Have  written  the  secrets  of  Wisdom, 
The  secrets  of  dark  Contemplation,  70 
By  fightings  and  conflicts  dire 
With  terrible  monsters  sin-bred, 
Which  the  bosoms  of  all  inhabit — 

Seven  deadly  Sins  of  the  Soul.. 

7.  'Lo!  I  unfold  my  darkness,  and  on  75 
This  rock  place,  with  strong  hand,  the  Book  - 

Of  Eternal  brass,  written  in  my  solitude  : 

8.  '  Laws  of  peace,  of  love,  of  unity, 
Of  pity,  compassion,  forgiveness ; 

Let  each  choose  one  habitation,  80 

His  ancient  infinite  mansion, 
■  One  command,  one  joy,  one  desire,     A-r 
One  curse,  one  weight,  one  measure,  pf 
One  King,  one  God,  one  Law.' 

Chap.  Ill 

io  The  voice  ended:  they  saw  his  pale  visage  85 

Emerge  from  the  darkness,  his  hand 

On  the  rock  of  Eternity  unclasping 

The  Book  of  brass.     Rage  seiz'd  the  strong  — 

2.  Rage,  fury,  intense  indignation, 
In  cataracts  of  fire,  blood,  and  gall, 
In  whirlwinds  of  sulphurous  smoke, 
And  enormous  forms  of  energy, 
316 

The  Book  of  Urizen 

In  living  creations  appcar'd, 
In  the  flames  of  eternal  fury. 

3.  Sund'ring,  dark'ning,  thund'ring,  95 
Rent  away  with  a  terrible  crash, 

Eternity  roll'd  wide  apart, 

Wide  asunder  rolling ; 

Mountainous,  all  around 

Departing,  departing,  departing,  100 

Leaving  ruinous  fragments  of  life, 

Hanging,  frowning  cliffs,  and,  all  between, 

An  Ocean  of  voidness  unfathomable. 

4.  The  roaring  fires  ran  o'er  the  heav'ns 

In  whirlwinds  and  cataracts  of  blood,  105 

And  o'er  the  dark  deserts  of  Urizen 
Fires  pour  thro'  the  void,  on  all  sides, 
On  Urizen's  self-begotten  armies. 

5.  But  no  light  from  the  fires  !  all  was  darkness 

In  the  flames  of  Eternal  fury.  no 

6.  In  fierce  anguish  and  quenchless  flames 
To"die~oreseft"s  and  rocks  he  ran  racing. 
To  hide  ;  but  he  could  not.     Combining, 
He  dug  mountains  and  hills  in  vast  strengih, 

He  piled  them  in  incessant  labour,  115 

In  howlings  and  pangs  and  fierce  madness, 
Long  periods  in  burning  fires  labouring ; 
Till  hoary,  and  age-broke,  and  aged, 
In  despair  and  the  shadows  of  death. 

7.  And  a  roof  vast,  petrific,  around  120 
On  all  sides  he  fram'd,  like  a  womb, 

Where  thousands  of  rivers,  in  veins 
Of  blood,  pour  down  the  mountains  to  cool 
The  eternal  fires,  beating  without 

From  Eternals;  and  like  a  black  Globe,  125 

3i7 

The  Book  of  Urizen 

View'd  by  sons  of  Eternity,  standing 
On  the  shore  of  the  infinite  ocean, 
Like  a  human  heart,  struggling  and  beating, 
The  vast  world  of  Urizen  appear'd. 

8.  And  Los,  round  the  dark  globe  of  Urizen,  130 
Kept  watch  for  Eternals  to  confine 

The  obscure  separation  alone  ; 
For  Eternity  stood  wide  apart, 
As  the  stars  are  apart  from  the  earth, 

9.  Los  wept,  howling  around  the  dark  Demon,  135 
And  cursing  his  lot ;  for  in  anguish 

Urizen  was  rent  from  his  side, 
And  a  fathomless  Void  for  his  feet, 
And  intense  fires  for  his  dwelling. 

10.  But  Urizen,  laid  in  a  stony  sleep,  140 
Unorganiz'd,  rent  from  Eternity. 

11.  The  Eternals  said  :   '  What  is  this ?     Death? 
Urizen  is  a  clod  of  clay  ! ' 

12.  Los  howl'd  in  a  dismal  stupor, 

Groaning,  gnashing,  groaning,  T45 

Till  the  wrenching  apart  was  healed. 

13.  But  the  wrenching  of  Urizen  heal'd  not. 
Cold,  featureless,  flesh  or  clay, 

Rifted  with  direful  changes, 

He  lay  in  a  dreamless  night,  150 

14.  Till  Los  rous'd  his  fires,  affrighted 
At  the  formless,  unmeasurable  Death. 

Chap.  IV 

1.  Los,  smitten  with  astonishment, 
Frighten'd  at  the  hurtling  bones 
3i8 

The  Book   of  Urizen 

2.  And  at  the  surging,  sulphureous,  155 
Perturbed,  immortal,  mad  raging 

3.  In  whirlwinds,  and  pitch,  and  nitre 
Round  the  furious  limbs  of  Los. 

4.  And  Los  formed  nets  and  gins, 

And  threw  the  nets  round  about.  160 

5.  He  watch'd  in  shudd'ring  fear 

The  dark  changes,  and  bound  every  change 
With  rivets  of  iron  and  brass. 

6.  And  these  were  the  changes  of  Urizen  : — 

Chap.  IV  [a] 

1.  Ages  on  ages  roll'd  over  him  ;  165 
In  stony  sleep  ages  roll'd  over  him, 

Like  a  dark  waste  stretching,  changeable, 

By  earthquakes  riv'n,  belching  sullen  fires  : 

On  ages  roll'd  ages  in  ghastly 

Sick  torment ;  around  him  in  whirlwinds  170 

Of  darkness  the  Eternal  Prophet  howl'd,  '  u 

Beating  still  on  his  rivets  of  iron,  #yjO>+  •' ?<V 

Pouring  solder  of  iron  ;  dividing 

The  horrible  night  into  watches. 

2.  And  Urizen  (so  his  eternal  name)  175 
His  prolific  delight  obscur'd  more  and  more, 

In  dark  secrecy  hiding  in  surging 

Sulphureous  fluid  his  phantasies. 

The  Eternal  Prophet  heav'd  the  dark  bellows, 

And  turn'd  restless  the  tongs,  and  the  hammer    t  180 

Incessant  beat,  forging  chajns  new  and  new, 

Numb'ring  with  links  hours,  days,  and  years. 

3.  The  Eternal  mind,  bounded^  began  to  roll 
Eddies  of  wrath,  ceaseless,  round  and  round, 

And  the  sulphureous  foam,  surging  thick,  185 

319 

The  Book  of  Urizen 

Settled,  a  lake,  bright  and  shining  clear, 
White  as  the  snow  on  the  mountains  cold. 

4.  Forgetfulness,  dumbness,  necessity, 
In  chains  of  the  mind  locked  up, 
Like  fetters  of  ice  shrinking  together,, 
Disorganiz'd,  rent  from  Eternity,         • 
Los  beat  on  his  fetters  of  iron  ; 

And  heated  his  furnaces,  and  pour'd 
Iron  solder  and  solder  of  brass. 

5.  Restless  turn'd  the  Immortal,  enchain'd, 
Heaving  dolorous,  anguish'd,  unbearable ; 
Till  a  roof,  shaggy,  wild,  enclos'd 

In  an  orb  his  fountain  of  thought. 

6.  In  a  horrible,  dreamful  slumber, 
Like  the  linked  infernal  chain, 

A  vast  Spine  writh'd  in  torment 
Upon  the  winds,  shooting  pain'd 
Ribs,  like  a  bending  cavern ; 
And  bones  of  solidness  froze 
Over  all  his  nerves  of  joy— 
And  a  first  Age  passed  over, 
And  a  state  of  dismal  woe. 

7.  From  the  caverns  of  his  jointed  Spine 
Down  sunk  with  fright  a  red 

Round  Globe,  hot,  burning,  deep, 
Deep  down  into  the  Abyss ; 
Panting,  conglobing,  trembling, 
Shooting  out  ten  thousand  branches 
Around  his  solid  bones — 
And  a  second  Age  passed  over, 
And  a  state  of  dismal  woe. 

8.  In  harrowing  fear  rolling  round, 
His  nervous  Brain  shot  branches 

320 

The  Book  of  Urizen 

Round  the  branches  of  his  Heart, 

On  high,  into  two  little  orbs,  220 

And  fixed  in  two  little  caves, 

Hiding  carefully  from  the  wind, 

His  Eyes  beheld  the  deep —    .. 

And  a  third  Age  passed  over, 

And  a  state  of  dismal  woe.  225 

«r    b&  f 

} 

9.  The  pangs  of  hope  began. 

In  heavy  pain,  striving,  struggling,         ,** 

Two  Ears,  in  close  volutions, 

From  beneath  his  orbs  "f '"'"'"Ijl-r 

Shot  spiring  out,  and  petrified    P<*  230 

As  thev  grew — And  a  fourth  Age  passed, 

And  a  state  of  dismal  woe. 

10.  In  ghastly  torment  sick, 
Hanging  upon  the  wind, 
Two  Nostrils  bent  down  to  the  deep-A^f  235 

And  a  fifth  Age  passed  over. 
And  a  state  of  dismal  woe. 

11.  In  ghastly  torment  sick, 

Within  his  ribs  bloated  round 

A  craving,  hungry  Cavern ;  240 

Thence  arose  his  channell'd  Throat,      '  *<0* 

And,  like  a  red  flame,  a  Tongue 

Of  thirst  and  of  hunger  appear'd — ■ 

And  a  sixth  Age  passed  over, 

And  a  state  of  dismal  woe.  245 

12.  Enraged  and  stifled  with  torment, 
He  threw  his  right  Arm  to  the  North, 
His  left  Arm  to  the  South, 
Shooting  out  in  anguish  deep, 
And  his  Feet  stamp'd  the  nether  Abyss  250 

In  trembling  and  howling  and  dismay — 
1  321  m 

The  Book  of  Urizen 

And  a  [seventh]  Age  passed  over, 
And  a  state  of  dismal  woe. 

Chap.  V 

1.  In  terrors  Los  shrunk  from  his  task : 

His  great  hammer  fell  from  his  hand  ;  255 

His  fires  beheld,  and  sickening 

Hid  their  strong  limbs  in  smoke  ; 

For  with  noises,  ruinous,  loud, 

With  hurtlings  and  clashings  and  groans, 

The  Immortal  endur'd  his  chains,  260 

Tho'  bound  in  a  deadly  sleep. 

2.  All  the  myriads  of  Eternity, 
All  the  wisdom  and  joy  of  life 
Roll  like  a  sea  around  him  ; 
Except  what  his  little  orbs  265 
Of  sight  by  degrees  unfold. 

3.  And  now  his  Eternal  life, 
Like  a  dream,  was  obliterated. 

4.  Shudd'ring,  the  Eternal  Prophet  smote 
With  a  stroke  from  his  North  to  South  region. 
The  bellows  and  hammer  are  silent  now ; 
A  nerveless  silence  his  prophetic  voice 
Selz'd ;  a  cold  Solitude  and  dark  Void 

KThe  Eternal  Prophet  and  Urizen  clos'd. 

5.  Ages  on  ages  roll'd  over  them, 
Cut  off  from  life  and  light,  frozen 

I  Jfoto  horrible  forms  of  deformityt<7jf 
Los  suffer'dhis  fires  to  decay ;      ^ 

252  seventh]  second  in  the  engraved  original,  but  corrected  to  seventh  in 
The  Four  Zoas,  Night  IV,  11.  208-45  ;  where  the  ivhole  of  this  passage  from\ 
stanza  3  to  the  end  of  the  chapter  is  rewritten  in  a  slightly  altered  form. 

322 

. 

The  Book  of  Urizen 

Then  he  look'd  back  with  anxious  desire, 

But  the  Space,  undivided  by  existence,  280 

Struck  horror  into  his  soul. 

6.  Los  wept,  obscur'd  with  mourning, 
His  bosom  earthquak'd  with  sighs ; 
He  saw  Urizen,  deadly,  black, 
In  his  chains  bound ;  and  Pity  began,  <  285 

7.  In  anguish  dividing  and  dividing — 
For  Pity  divides  the  soul — 

In  pangs,  Eternity  on  Eternity, 

Life  in  cataracts  pour'd  down  his  cliffs. 

The  Void  shrunk  the  lymph  into  Nerves^-  290 

Wand'ring  wide  on  the  bosom  of  night, 

And  left  a  round  globe  of  blood 

Trembling  upon  the  Void. 

Thus  the  Eternal  Prophet  was  divided 

Before  the  death  image  of  Urizen  ;  295 

For  in  changeable  clouds  and  darkness, 

In  a  winterly  night  beneath, 

The  Abyss  of  Los  stretch'd  immense ; 

And  now  seen,  now  obscur'd,  to  the  eyes 

Of  Eternals  the  visions  remote  300 

Of  the  dark  separation  appear'd  : 

As  glasses  discover  Worlds  .. 

In  the  endless  Abyss  of  space, 

So  the  expanding  eyes  of  Immortals 

Beheld  the  dark  visions  of  Los,  305 

And  the  globe  of  life-blood  trembling. 

8.  The  globe  of  life-blood  trembled, 
Branching  out  into  roots, 
Fibrous,  writhing  upon  the  winds, 

Fibres  of  blood,  milk,  and  tears,  310 

In  pangs,  Eternity  on  Eternity. 
At  length  in  tears  and  cries  embodied, 
323 

The  Book  of  Urizen 

A  Female  form,  trembling  and  pale, 
Waves  before  his  deathy  face. 

9.  All  Eternity  shudder'd  at  sight  315 
Of  the  first  Female,  now  separate, 

Pale  as  a  cloud  of  snow, 
Waving  before  the  face  of  Los. 

10.  Wonder,  awe,  fear,  astonishment 

Petrify  the  Eternal  myriads  320 

At  the  first  Female  form  now  separate. 
They  call'd  her  Pity,  and  fled. 

11.  'Spread  a  Tent  with  strong  curtains  around  them  ! 
Let  cords  and  stakes  bind  in  the  Void, 
That  Eternals  may  no  more  behold  them.' 

12.  They  began  to  weave  curtains  of  darkness, 
They  erected  large  pillars  round  the  Void, 
With  golden  hooks  fasten'd  in  the  pillarsj 
With  infinite  labour  the  Eternals 
A  woof  wove,  and  called  it  Science. 

ro^  "  tL;«u 

Chap.  VI 

1.  But  Los  saw  the  Female,  and  pitied ; 
He  embrac'd  her ;  she  wept,  she  refus'd ; 

\In  perverse  and  cruel  delight 

[she  fled  from  his  arms,  yet  he  follow'd. 

2.  Eternity  shudder'd  when  they  saw 
Man  begetting  his  likeness 
On  his  own  Divided  Image  ! 

3.  A  time  passed  over  :  the  Eternals 
Began  to  erect  the  tent, 
When  Enitharmon,  sick, 
Felt  a  Worm  within  her  womb. 

324 

The  Book  of  Urizen 

4.  Yet  helpless  it  lay,  like  a  Worm 
In  the  trembling  womb, 

To  be  moulded  into  existence. 

5.  All  day  the  Worm  lay  on  her  bosom ;  345 
All  night  within  her  womb 

The  Worm  lay  till  it  grew  to  a  Serpent, 
With  dolorous  hissings  and  poisons 
Round  Enitharmon's  loins  folding. 

6.  Coil'd  within  Enitharmon's  womb  350 
The  Serpent  grew,  casting  its  scales ; 

With  sharp  pangs  the  hissings  began 

To  change  to  a  grating  cry — 

Many  sorrows  and  dismal  throes, 

Many  forms  of  fish,  bird,  and  beasts  355 

Brought  forth  an  Infant  form       /  '. 

Where  was  a  Worm  before.        ^y 

7.  The  Eternals  their  tent  finished, 
Alarm'd  with  these  gloomy  visions, 

When  Enitharmon,  groaning,  r^&  36° 

jfr 

oftc 

Produc'd  a  Man-Child  Jo  the  light, 

8.  A  shriek  ran  thro'  Eternity, 
And  a  paralytic  stroke, 
At  the  birth  of  the  Human  Shadow. 

9.  Delving  earth  in  his  resistless  way,  365 
Howling,  the  Child  with  fierce  flames 
Issu'd  from  Enitharmon. 

10.  The  Eternals  closed  the  tent; 

They  beat  down  the  stakes,  the  cords      >" 

Stretch'd  for  a  work  of  Eternity —      S  370 

No  more  Los  beheld  Eternity ! 

11.  In  his  hands  he  seiz'd  the  Infant, 
Hejbathed  him  in  springs  of  sorrow, 
tie  gave  him  to  Enitharmon. 

325 

The  Book  of  Urizen 

Chap.  VII 

i.  They  named  the  child  Ore;  he  grew,  375 

Fed  with  milk  of  Enitharmon. 

2    Los  awoke  her.     O  sorrow  and  pain  ! 

A  tight'ning  girdle  grew 

Around  his  bosom.     In  sobbings 

He  burst  the  girdle  in  twain  ;  380 

But  still  another  girdle 

Oppress'd  his  bosom.     In  sobbings 

Again  he  burst  it.     Again 

Another  girdle  succeeds. 

The  girdle  was  form'd  by  day ;  385 

By  night  was  burst  in  twain. 

3.  These  falling  down  on  the  Rock 
Into  an  iron  Chain, 
In  each  other  link  by  link  lock'd. 

4.  They  took  Ore  to  the  top  of  a  mountain. 
1  O  how  Enitharmon  wept ! 

.They  chain'd  his  young  limbs  to  the  Rock 
/  With  the  Chain  of  Jealousy, 
I    Beneath  Urizen's  deathful  Shadow. 

5.  The  Dead  heard  the  voice  of  the  Child,  39.' 
nd  began  to  awake  from  sleep ; 

All  things  heard  the  voice  of  the  Child, 
And  began  to  awake  to  life. 

6.  And  Urizen,  craving  with  hunger, 
Stung  with  the  odours  of  Nature,  40c 
Explor'd  his  dens  around. 

7.  He  form'd  a  line  and  a  plummet 

To'divide  the  Abyss  beneath  ; 
He  form'd  a  dividing  rule  ; 
326 

The   Book   of  Urizen 

8.  He  formed  scales  to  weigh,  405 
He  formed  massy  weights  ; 
He  formed  a  brazen  quadrant ; 
He  formed  golden  compasses, 
And  began  to  explore  the  Abyss ; 
And  he  planted  a  garden  of  fruits.                                     410 

9.  But  Los  encircled  Enitharmon 
With  fires  of  Prophecy 
From  the  sight  of  Urizen  and  Ore. 

10.  And  she  bore  an  enormous  race. 

on 

Chap.  VIII 

r.  Urizen  explor'd  his  dens,  41- 

Mountain,  moor,  and  wilderness, 

With  a  globe  of  fire  lighting  his  journey — 

A  fearful  journey,  annoy'd 

By  cruel  enormities,  forms 

Of  life  on  his  forsaken  mountains.  420 

2.  And  his  World  teem'd  vast  enormities, 
Fright'ning,  faithless,  fawning, 
Portions  of  life,  similitudes 

Of  a  foot,  or  a  hand,  or  a  head, 

Or  a  heart,  or  an  eye  ;  they  swam  mischievous,  425 

Dread  terrors,  delighting  in  blood  ! 

3.  Most  Urizen  sicken'd  to  see 
His  eternal  creations  appear, 

Sons  and  daughters  of  sorrow,  on  mountains,  y'    « 
Weeping,  wailing.     First  Thiriel  appear'd,  430 

Astonish'd  at  his  own  existence, 
Like  a  man  from  a  cloud  born  ;  and  Utha, 
From  the  waters  emerging,  laments  ; 
Grodna  rent  the  deep  earth,  howling, 
Amaz'd ;  his  heavens  immense  crack  435 

327 

The  Book  of  Urizen 

Like  the  ground  parch'd  with  heat ;  then  Fuzon 

Flam'd  out,  first  begotten,  last  born  ; 

All  his  Eternal  sons  in  like  manner ; 

His  daughters,  from  green  herbs  and  cattle, 

From  monsters  and  worms  of  the  pit.  440 

4.  He  in  darkness  clos'd  view'd  all  his  race, 
And  his  soul  sicken'd  !     He  curs'd 
Both  sons  and  daughters  ;  for  he  saw 

hat  no  flesh  nor  spirit  could  keep 
His  iron  laws  one  moment.  .  445 

5.  For  he  saw  that  Life  liv'd  upon  Death 
The  Ox  in  the  slaughter-house  moans ; 
The  Dog  at  the  wintry  door ; 
And  he  wept,  and  he  called  it  Pity, 

'^And  his  tears  flowred  down  on  the  winds.  450 

6.  Cold  he  wander'd  on  high,  over  their  Cities, 
In  weeping  and  pain  and  woe ; 
And  wherever  he  wander'd,  in  sorrows 
Upon  the  aged  Heavens, 
A  cold  Shadow  follow'd  behind  him 
Like  a  spider's  web,  moist,  cold,  and  dim, 
Drawing  out  from  his  sorrowing  soul, 

The  dungeon-like  heaven  dividing, 

Wherever  the  footsteps  of  Urizen 

Walked  over  the  cities  in  sorrow ;  46° 

7.  Till  a  Web,  dark  and  cold,  throughout  all 
The  tormented  element  stretch'd 

From  the  sorrows  of  Urizen's  soul. 

And  the  Web  is  a  Female  in  embryo ; 

None  could  break  the  Web,  no  wings  of  fire,  46= 

8.  So  twisted  the  cords,  and  so  knotted 
The  meshes,  twisted  like  to  the  human  brain. 

9.  And  all  call'd  it  the  Net  of  Religion. 

328 

The  Book  of  Urizen 

Chap.  IX 

i .  Then  the  Inhabitants  of  those  Cities 

Felt  their  Nerves  change  into  Marrow,  470 

And  hardening  Bones  began 

In  swift  diseases  and  torments, 

In  throbbings  and  shootings  and  grindings, 

Thro'  all  the  coasts ;  till  weaken'd 

The  Senses  inward  rush'd,  shrinking A  475 

Beneath  the  dark  Net  of  infection  ; 

2.  Till  the  shrunken  eyes,  clouded  over, 
Discern'd  not  the  woven  Hypocrisy ; 
But  the  streaky  slime  in  their  heavens, 

Brought  together  by  narrowing  perceptions,  480 

Appear'd  transparent  air ;  for  their  eyes 
Grew  small  like  the  eyes  of  a  man, 
And,  in  reptile  forms  shrinking  together, 
Of  seven  feet  stature  they  remain'd. 

3.  Six  days  they  shrunk  up  from  existence,  485 
And  on  the  seventh  day  they  rested,                          . 

And  they  bless'd  the  seventh  day,  in  sick  hope, 
md  forgot  their  Eternal  life. 

4.  And  their  Thirty  Cities  divided 

In  form  of  a  Human  Heart.  490 

No  more  could  they  rise  at  will  » 

In  the  infinite  Void,  but  bound  down 

To  earth  by  their  narrowing  perceptions 

They  lived  a  period  of  years  ;  %^\ 

Then  left  a  noisome  body  495 

To  the  jaws  of  devouring  darkness. 

5.  And  their  children  wept,  and  built 
Tombs  in  the  desolate  places, 
And  form'd  Laws  of  Prudence,  and  call'd  them 
The  Eternal  Laws  of  God. 

329 

The  Book  of  Urizen 

6.  And  the  Thirty  Cities  remain'd, 
Surrounded  by  salt  floods,  now  call'd 
Africa :  its  name  was  then  Egypt. 

7.  The  remaining  sons  of  Urizen 

Beheld  their  brethren  shrink  together  505 

Beneath  the  Net  of  Urizen. 

Persuasion  was  in  vain  ; 

For  the  ears  of  the  inhabitants 

Were  wither'd  and  deafen'd  and  cold, 

And  their  eyes  could  not  discern  5 10 

Their  brethren  of  other  cities. 

8.  So  Fuzon  call'd  all  together 
The  remaining  children  of  Urizen, 
And  they  left  the  pendulous  earth. 

They  called  it  Egypt,  and  left  it.  5«5 

9.  And  the  salt  Ocean  rolled  englob'd. 

THE  END  OF  THE  FIRST  BOOK  OF  URIZEN 

33° 

THE 

SONG   OF   LOS 

(Engraved  1795) 

Africa

He  sung  it  to  four  harps,  at  the  tables  of  Eternity, 

In  heart-formed  Africa. 
Urizen  faded!  A  r is  ton  shudder 'd  / 

And  thus  the  Song  began  : —  5 

Adam  stood  in  the  garden  of  Eden, 
And  Noah  on  the  mountains  of  Ararat ; 
They  saw  Urizen  give  his  Laws  to  the  Nations 
By  the  hands  of  the  children  of  Los. 

Adam  shudder'd  !  Noah  faded  !  Black  grew  the  sunny  African  10 
When  Rintrah  gave  Abstract  Philosophy  to  Brahma  in  the  East. 
(Night  spoke  to  the  Cloud : 

'  Lo  !  these  Human-form'd  spirits,  in  smiling  hypocrisy,-  war 
Against  one  another ;    so  let  them  war  on,  slaves  to  the  eternal 

elements.') 
Noah  shrunk  beneath  the  waters  ;  15 

Abram  fled  in  fires  from  Chaldaea ; 
Moses  beheld  upon  Mount  Sinai  forms  of  dark  delusion. 

To  Trismegistus,  Palamabron  gave  an  abstract  Law ; 
To  Pythagoras,  Socrates,  and  Plato. 

Times  rolled  on  o'er  all  the  sons  of  Har  :  time  after  time  20 

331 

The  Song  of  Los 

Ore  on  Mount  Atlas  howl'd,  chain'd  down  with  the  Chain  of 

Jealousy ; 
Then  Oothoon  hover'd  over  Judah  and  Jerusalem, 
And  Jesus  heard  her  voice— a  Man  of  Sorrows  ! — He  receiv'd 
A  Gospel  from  wretched  Theotormon. 

The  human  race  began  to  wither ;  for  the  healthy  built  35 

Secluded  places,  fearing  the  joys  of  Love, 

And  the  diseased  only  propagated. 

So  Antamon  call'd  up  Leutha  from  her  valleys  of  delight, 

And  to  Mahomet  a  loose  Bible  gave ; 

But  in  the  North,  to  Odin,  Sotha  gave  a  Code  of  War,  30 

Because  of  Diralada,  thinking  to  reclaim  his  joy. 

These  were  the  Churches,  Hospitals,  Castles,  Palaces, 
Like  nets  and  gins  and  traps,  to  catch  the  joys  of  Eternity, 

And  all  the  rest  a  desert ; 
Till,  like  a  dream,  Eternity  was  obliterated  and  erased,  35 

Since  that  dread  day  when  Har  and  Heva  fled, 

Because  their  brethren  and  sisters  liv'd  in  War  and  Lust ; 

And,  as  they  fled,  they  shrunk 

Into  two  narrow  doleful  forms, 

Creeping  in  reptile  flesh  upon  40 

The  bosom  of  the  ground ; 

And  all  the  vast  of  Nature  shrunk 

Before  their  shrunken  eyes. 

Thus  the  terrible  race  of  Los  and  Enitharmon  gave 

Laws  and  Religions  to  the  sons  of  Har,  binding  them  more        45 

And  more  to  Earth,  closing  and  restrainirig7~ 

Till  a  Philosophy  of  Five  Senses  was  complete  : 

Urizen  wept,  and  gave  it  into  the  hands  of  Newton  and  Locke. 

Clouds  roll  heavy  upon  the  Alps  round  Rousseau  and  Voltaire, 
And  on  the  mountains  of  Lebanon  round  the  deceased  Gods      50 
Of  Asia,  and  on  the  deserts  of  Africa  round  the  Fallen  Angels. 
The  Guardian  Prince  of  Albion  burns  in  his  nightly  tent. 

332 

5ia 

r 

The  Song  of  Los 

The  Kings  of  Asia  heard 

The  howl  rise  up  from  Europe, 

And  each  ran  out  from  his  Web, 

From  his  ancient  woven  Den  ; 

For  the  darkness  of  Asia  was  startled 

At  the  thick-flaming,  thought-creating  fires  of  Ore. 

And  the  Kings  of  Asia  stood 
And  cried  in  bitterness  ot  soul  : — 

'  Shall  not  the  King  call  for  famine  from  the  heath, 

Nor  the  Priest  for  Pestilence  from  the  fen, 

To  restrain,  to  dismay v  to  thin 

The  inhabitants  of  mountain  and  plain, 

In  the  day  of  full-feeding  prosperity 

And  the  night  of  delicious  songs  ? 

Shall  not  the  Counsellor  throw  his  curb 
Of  Poverty  on  the  laborious, 
To  fix  the  price  of  labour, 
To  invent  allegoric  riches  ? 

And  the  privy  admonishers  of  men 

Call  for  Fires  in  the  City, 

For  heaps  of  smoking  ruins, 

In  the  night  of  prosperity  and  wantonness, 

To  turn  man  from  his  path, 
To  restrain  the  child  from  the  womb, 
To  cut  off  the  bread  from  the  city ; 
That  the  remnant  may  learn  to  obey, 

That  the  pride  of  the  heart  may  fail, 
That  the  lust  of  the  eyes  may  be  quench'd, 
That  the  delicate  ear  in  its  infancy 
May  be  dull'd,  and  the  nostrils  clos'd  up, 
To  teach  Mortal  Worms  the  path 
That  leads  from  the  gates  of  the  Grave  ? ; 
333 

15 

20 

25 

30 

The  Song  of  Los 

Urizen  heard  them  cry, 

And  his  shudd'ring,  waving  wings 

Went  enormous  above  the  red  flames,  35 

Drawing  clouds  of  despair  thro'  the  Heavens 

Of  Europe  as  he  went. 

And  his  Books  of  brass,  iron,  and  gold 

Melted  over  the  land  as  he  flew, 

Heavy-waving,  howling,  weeping.  40 

And  he  stood  over  Judaea, 

And  stay'd  in  his  ancient  place,  4 

And  stretch'd  his  clouds  over  Jerusalem  ; 

For  Adam,  a  mouldering  skeleton, 

Lay  bleach'd  on  the  garden  of  Eden  ;  45 

And  Noah,  as  white  as  snow, 

On  the  mountains  of  Ararat. 

Then  the  thunders  of  Urizen  bellow'd  aloud 

From  his  woven  darkness  above. 

Ore,  raging  in  European  darkness,  50 

Arose  like  a  pillar  of  fire  above  the  Alps, 

Like  a  serpent  of  fiery  flame  ! 

The  sullen  Earth 

Shrunk  ! 

Forth  from  the  dead  dust,  rattling  bones  to  bones  55 

Join.     Shaking,  convuls'd,  the  shiv'ring  Clay  breathes, 
And  all  Flesh  naked  stands  :  Fathers  and  Friends, 
Mothers  and  Infants,  Kings  and  Warriors. 

The  Grave  shrieks  with  delight,  and  shakes 

Her  hollow  womb,  and  clasps  the  solid  stem  :  60 

Her  bosom  swells  with  wild  desire  ; 

And  milk  and  blood  and  glandous  wine 

In  rivers  rush,  and  shout  and  dance, 

On  mountain,  dale,  and  plain. 

THE   SONG   OF   LOS   IS   ENDED 

Urizen  Wept 
334 

^i% 

THE 

BOOK  OF  LOS 

(Engraved  1795) 

Chap.  I

Who  the  chariot  of  Leutha  guides, 
Since  the  day  of  thunders  in  old  time, 

2.  Sitting  beneath  the  eternal  Oak, 

Trembled  and  shook  the  steadfast  Earth,  5 

And  thus  her  speech  broke  forth  : — 

3.  '  O  Times  remote  ! 

When  Love  and  Joy  were  adoration, 

And  none  impure  were  deem'd, 

Not  eyeless  Covet,  10 

Nor  thin-lipp'd  Envy, 

Nor  bristled  Wrath, 

Nor  Curled  Wantonness ; 

4.  '  But  Covet  was  poured  full, 

Envy  fed  with  fat  of  lambs,  15 

Wrath  with  lion's  gore, 
Wantonness  lull'd  to  sleep 
With  the  virgin's  lute, 
Or  sated  with  her  love ; 

5.  '  Till  Covet  broke  his  locks  and  bars,  ?p 
And  slept  with  open  doors ; 

Envy  sung  at  the  rich  man's  feast ; 
Wrath  was  follow'd  up  and  down 
335 

The  Book  of  Los 

By  a  little  ewe  lamb  ; 

And  Wantonness  on  his  own  true  love  25 

Begot  a  giant  race. 

6.  Raging  furious,  the  flames  of  desire 
Ran  thro'  heaven  and  earth,  living  flames, 
Intelligent,  organiz'd,  arm'd 

With  destruction  and  plagues.     In  the  midst  30 

The  Eternal  Prophet,  bound  in  a  chain, 
Compell'd  to  watch  Urizen's  shadow, 

7.  Rag'd  with  curses  and  sparkles  of  fury  : 
Round  the  flames  roll,  as  Los  hurls  his  chains, 
Mounting  up  from  his  fury,  condens'd,  35 
Rolling  round  and  round,  mounting  on  high 

Into  Vacuum,  into  nonentity, 

Where  nothing  was ;  dash'd  wide  apart, 

His  feet  stamp  the  eternal  fierce-raging 

Rivers  of  wide  flame ;  they  roll  round  40 

And  round  on  all  sides,  making  their  way 

Into  darkness  and  shadowy  obscurity. 

8.  Wide  apart  stood  the  fires :  Los  remain'd 
In  the  Void  between  fire  and  fire : 

In  trembling  and  horror  they  beheld  him  ;  45 

They  stood  wide  apart,  driv'n  by  his  hands 
And  his  feet,  which  the  nether  Abyss 
Stamp'd  in  fury  and  hot  indignation. 

9.  But  no  light  from  the  fires  !  all  was 

Darkness  round  Los :  heat  was  not ;  for  bound  up       50 

Into  fiery  spheres  from  his  fury, 

The  gigantic  flames  trembled  and  hid. 

10.  Coldness,  darkness,  obstruction,  a  Solid 
Without  fluctuation,  hard  as  adamant, 

Black  as  marble  of  Egypt,  impenetrable,  55 

Bound  in  the  fierce  raging  Immortal ; 
And  the  separated  fires,  froze  in 
336 

The  Book  of  Los 

A  vast  Solid,  without  fluctuation, 
Bound  in  his  expanding  clear  senses. 

Chap.  II 

r.  The  Immortal  stood  frozen  amidst  60 

The  vast  Rock  of  Eternity,  times 
And  times,  a  night  of  vast  durance, 
Impatient,  stifled,  stiffen'd,  hard'ned  ; 

2.  Till  impatience  no  longer  could  bear 

The  hard  bondage :  rent,  rent,  the  vast  Solid,  65 

With  a  crash  from  Immense  to  Immense, 

3.  Crack'd  across  into  numberless  fragments. 
The  Prophetic  wrath,  struggling  for  vent, 
Hurls  apart,  stamping  furious  to  dust, 

And  crumbling  with  bursting  sobs,  heaves  70 

The  black  marble  on  high  into  fragments. 

4.  Hurl'd  apart  on  all  sides  as  a  falling 
Rock,  the  innumerable  fragments  away 
Fell  asunder ;  and  horrible  Vacuum 

Beneath  him,  and  on  all  sides  round,  75 

5.  •  Falling  !  falling  !  Los  fell  and  fell, 
Sunk  precipitant,  heavy,  down  !  down  ! 
Times  on  times,  night  on  night,  day  on  day — 
Truth  has  bounds,  Error  none — falling,  falling, 

Years  on  years,  and  ages  on  ages ;  80 

Still  he  fell  thro'  the  Void,  still  a  Void 

Found  for  falling,  day  and  night  without  end ; 

For  tho'  day  or  night  was  not,  their  spaces 

Were  measur'd  by  his  incessant  whirls 

In  the  horrid  Vacuity  bottomless.  85 

6.  The  Immortal  revolving,  indignant, 
First  in  wrath  threw  his  limbs,  like  the  babe 

337 

The  Book  of  Los 

New-born  into  our  world :  wrath  subsided, 

And  contemplative  thoughts  first  arose  ; 

Then  aloft  his  head  rear'd  in  the  Abyss,  9° 

And  his  downward-borne  fall  chang'd  oblique. 

7.  Many  ages  of  groans  !  till  there  grew 
Branchy  forms,  organizing  the  Human 
Into  finite  inflexible  organs  ; 

8.  Till  in  process  from  falling  he  bore  95 
Sidelong  on  the  purple  air,  wafting 

The  weak  breeze  in  efforts  o'erwearied  : 

9.  Incessant  the  falling  Mind  labour'd, 
Organizing  itself,  till  the  Vacuum 

Became  Element,  pliant  to  rise,  100 

Or  to  fall,  or  to  swim,  or  to  fly, 
With  ease  searching  the  dire  Vacuity. 

Chap.  Ill 

1.  The  Lungs  heave  incessant,  dull,  and  heavy; 
For  as  yet  were  all  other  parts  formless, 
Shiv'ring,  clinging  around  like  a  cloud, 
Dim  and  glutinous  as  the  white  Polypus, 
Driv'n  by  waves  and  englob'd  on  the  tide. 

2.  And  the  unformed  part  crav'd  repose ; 
Sleep  began;  the  Lungs  heave  on  the  wave  : 
Weary,  overweigh'd,  sinking  beneath  no 
In  a  stifling  black  fluid,  he  woke. 

3.  He  arose  on  the  waters  ;  but  soon 
Heavy  falling,  his  organs  like  roots 
Shooting  out  from  the  seed,  shot  beneath, 
And  a  vast  World  of  Waters  around  him 
In  furious  torrents  began. 

338 

The  Book  of  Los 

4.  Then  he  sunk,  and  around  his  spent  Lungs 
Began  intricate  pipes  that  drew  in 

The  spawn  of  the  waters,  outbranching 

An  immense  Fibrous  Form,  stretching  out  120 

Thro'  the  bottoms  of  Immensity  :  raging. 

5.  He  rose  on  the  floods  ;  then  he  smote 
The  wild  deep  with  his  terrible  wrath, 
Separating  the  heavy  and  thin. 

6.  Down  the  heavy  sunk,  cleaving  around  125 
To  the  fragments  of  Solid  :  uprose 

The  thin,  flowing  round  the  fierce  fires 
That  glow'd  furious  in  the  Expanse. 

Chap.  IV 

1.  Then  Light  first  began  :  from  the  fires, 

Beams,  conducted  by  fluid  so  pure,  130 

Flowed  around  the  Immense.     Los  beheld 

Forthwith,  writhing  upon  the  dark  Void, 

The  Backbone  of  Urizen  appear, 

Hurtling  upon  the  wind, 

Like  a  serpent,  like  an  iron  chain,  135 

Whirling  about  in  the  Deep, 

2.  Upfolding  his  Fibres  together 
To  a  Form  of  impregnable  strength, 
Los,  astonish'd  and  terrified,  built 

Furnaces  ;  he  formed  an  Anvil,  140 

A  Hammer  of  adamant :  then  began 
The  binding  of  Urizen  day  and  night. 

3.  Circling  round  the  dark  Demon  with  howlings, 
Dismay,  and  sharp  blightings,  the  Prophet 

Of  Eternity  beat  on  his  iron  links.  145 

4.  And  first  from  those  Infinite  fires, 
The  light  that  flow'd  down  on  the  winds 

339 

The  Book  of  Los 

He  seiz'd,  beating  incessant,  condensing 
The  subtil  particles  in  an  Orb. 

5.  Roaring  indignant,  the  bright  sparks  150 
Endur'd  the  vast  Hammer;  but  unwearied 

Los  beat  on  the  Anvil,  till  glorious 
An  immense  Orb  of  fire  he  fram'd. 

6.  Oft  he  quench'd  it  beneath  in  the  Deeps  ; 

Then  survey'd  the  all-bright  mass.     Again  155 

Seizing  fires  from  the  terrific  Orbs, 

He  heated  the  round  Globe,  then  beat ; 

While,  roaring,  his  Furnaces  endur'd 

The  chain'd  Orb  in  their  infinite  wombs. 

7.  Nine  ages  completed  their  circles, 
When  Los  heated  the  glowing  mass,  casting 
It  down  into  the  Deeps  :  the  Deeps  fled 
Away  in  redounding  smoke  :  the  Sun 
Stood  self-balanc'd.     And  Los  smil'd  with  joy : 
He  the  vast  Spine  of  Urizen  seiz'd,  165 
And  bound  down  to  the  glowing  Illusion. 

8.  But  no  light !  for  the  Deep  fled  away 
On  all  sides,  and  left  an  unform'd 
Dark  Vacuity  :  here  Urizen  lay 

In  fierce  torments  on  his  glowing  bed  ;  170 

9.  Till  his  Brain  in  a  rock,  and  his  Heart 
In  a  fleshy  slough,  formed  four  rivers, 
Obscuring  the  immense  Orb  of  fire, 
Flowing  down  into  night ;  till  a  Form 
Was  completed,  a  Human  Illusion,  175 
In  darkness  and  deep  clouds  involv'd. 

THE  END  OF  THE  BOOK  OF  LOS 

34o 

THE 
BOOK    OF    AHANIA 

(Engraved  1795) 

Chap.  I

On  spiked  flames  rose ;  his  hot  visage 
Flam'd  furious  ;  sparkles  his  hair  and  beard 
Shot  down  his  wide  bosom  and  shoulders. 

On  clouds  of  smoke  rages  his  chariot,  5 

And  his  right  hand  burns  red  in  its  cloud, 
Moulding  into  a  vast  Globe  his  wrath, 
As  the  thunder-stone  is  moulded, 
Son  of  Urizen's  silent  burnings. 

2.  '  Shall  we  worship  this  Demon  of  smoke,'  10 
Said  Fuzon,  '  this  abstract  Nonentity, 

This  cloudy  God  seated  on  waters, 

Now  seen,  now  obscur'd,  King  of  Sorrow  ? ' 

3.  So  he  spoke  in  a  fiery  flame, 

On  Urizen  frowning  indignant,  15 

The  Globe  of  wrath  shaking  on  high. 

Roaring  with  fury,  he  threw 

The  howling  Globe ;  burning  it  flew, 

Length'ning  into  a  hungry  beam.     Swiftly 

4.  Oppos'd  to  the  exulting  flam'd  beam,  20 
The  broad  Disk  of  Urizen  upheav'd 

Across  the  Void  many  a  mile. 

5.  It  was  forg'd  in  mills  where  the  winter 
Beats  incessant :  ten  winters  the  disk, 
Unremitting,  endur'd  the  cold  hammer.  25 

34i 

The  Book  of  Ahania 

6.  But  the  strong  arm  that  sent  it  remember'd 
The  sounding  beam  :  laughing,  it  tore  through 
That  beaten  mass,  keeping  its  direction, 

The  cold  loins  of  Urizen  dividing. 

7.  Dire  shriek'd  his  invisible  Lust !  30 
Deep  groan'd  Urizen  ;  stretching  his  awful  hand, 
Ahania  (so  name  his  parted  Soul) 

He  seiz'd  on  his  mountains  of  Jealousy. 

He  groan'd,  anguish'd,  and  called  her  Sin, 

Kissing  her  and  weeping  over  her ;  35 

Then  hid  her  in  darkness,  in  silence, 

Jealous,  tho'  she  was  invisible. 

8.  She  fell  down,  a  faint  Shadow,  wand'ring 
In  Chaos,  and  circling  dark  Urizen, 

As  the  moon,  anguish'd,  circles  the  earth,  40 

Hopeless  !  abhorr'd  !  a  death-shadow, 
Unseen,  unbodied,  unknown, 
The  mother  of  Pestilence  ! 

9.  But  the  fiery  beam  of  Fuzon 

Was  a  pillar  of  fire  to  Egypt,  45 

Five  hundred  years  wand'ring  on  earth, 
Till  Los  seiz'd  it,  and  beat  in  a  mass 
With  the  body  of  the  sun. 

Chap.  II 

1.  But  the  forehead  of  Urizen  gathering, 
And  his  eyes  pale  with  anguish,  his  lips 
Blue  and  changing,  in  tears  and  bitter 
Contrition  he  prepar'd  his  Bow, 

2.  Form'd  of  Ribs,  that  in  his  dark  solitude, 
When  obscur'd  in  his  forests,  fell  monsters 

34* 

The  Book  of  Ahania 

Arose.     For  his  dire  Contemplations  55 

Rush'd  down  like  floods  from  his  mountains, 

In  torrents  of  mud  settling  thick, 

With  eggs  of  unnatural  production  : 

Forthwith  hatching,  some  howl'd  on  his  hills, 

Some  in  vales,  some  aloft  flew  in  air.  60 

3.  Of  these,  an  enormous  dread  Serpent, 
Scaled  and  poisonous,  horned, 
Approach'd  Urizen,  even  to  his  knees, 
As  he  sat  on  his  dark-rooted  Oak. 

4.  With  his  horns  he  push'd  furious  :  65 
Great  the  conflict  and  great  the  jealousy 

In  cold  poisons  ;  but  Urizen  smote  him  ! 

5.  First  he  poison'd  the  rocks  with  his  blood, 
Then  polish'd  his  ribs,  and  his  sinews 

Dried,  laid  them  apart  till  winter ;  70 

Then  a  Bow  black  prepar'd  :  on  this  Bow 
A  poisoned  Rock  plac'd  in  silence. 
He  utter'd  these  words  to  the  Bow : — 

6.  '  O  Bow  of  the  clouds  of  Secrecy  ! 

O  nerve  of  that  lust-form'd  monster !  75 

Send  this  Rock  swift,  invisible,  thro' 

The  black  clouds  on  the  bosom  of  Fuzon.' 

7.  So  saying,  in  torment  of  his  wounds 
He  bent  the  enormous  ribs  slowly — 

A  circle  of  darkness  ! — then  fixed  80 

The  sinew  in  its  rest ;  then  the  Rock, 
Poisonous  source,  plac'd  with  art,  lifting  difficult 
Its  weighty  bulk.     Silent  the  Rock  lay, 

8.  While  Fuzon,  his  tigers  unloosing, 

Thought  Urizen  slain  by  his  wrath.  85 

1 1  am  God  ! '  said  he,  '  eldest  of  things.' 
343 

The  Book  of  Ahania 

9.  Sudden  sings  the  Rock ;  swift  and  invisible 
On  Fuzon  flew,  enter'd  his  bosom  ; 

His  beautiful  visage,  his  tresses, 

That  gave  light  to  the  mornings  of  heaven,  90 

Were  smitten  with  darkness,  deform'd, 

And  outstretch'd  on  the  edge  of  the  forest. 

10.  But  the  Rock  fell  upon  the  Earth, 
Mount  Sinai,  in  Arabia. 

Chap.  Ill 

1.  The  Globe  shook,  and  Urizen,  seated  95 
On  black  clouds,  his  sore  wound  anointed ; 

The  ointment  flow'd  down  on  the  Void 

Mix'd  with  blood — here  the  snake  gets  her  poison ! 

2.  With  difficulty  and  great  pain  Urizen 

Lifted  on  high  the  dead  corse  :  100 

On  his  shoulders  he  bore  it  to  where 
A  Tree  hung  over  the  Immensity. 

3 .  For  when  Urizen  shrunk  away 
From  Eternals,  he  sat  on  a  Rock, 

Barren — a  Rock  which  himself,  105 

From  redounding  fancies,  had  petrified. 
Many  tears  fell  on  the  Rock, 
Many  sparks  of  vegetation. 
Soon  shot  the  pained  root 

Of  Mystery  under  his  heel :  no 

It  grew  a  thick  tree  :  he  wrote 
In  silence  his  Book  of  Iron ; 
Till  the  horrid  plant  bending  its  boughs. 
Grew  to  roots  when  it  felt  the  earth, 

And  again  sprung  to  many  a  tree,  115 

344 

The .  Book  of  Ahania 

4.  Amaz'd  started  Urizen  when 

He  beheld  himself  compassed  round 

And  high-roofed  over  with  trees. 

He  arose,  but  the  stems  stood  so  thick, 

He  with  difficulty  and  great  pain  iao 

Brought  his  Books — all  but  the  Book 

Of  Iron — from  the  dismal  shade. 

5.  The  Tree  still  grows  over  the  Void, 
Enrooting  itself  all  around, 

An  endless  labyrinth  of  woe  !  125 

6.  The  corse  of  his  first  begotten 
On  the  accursed  Tree  of  Mystery, 
On  the  topmost  stem  of  this  Tree 
Urizen  nail'd  Fuzon's  corse. 

Chap.  IV 

i.  Forth  flew  the  arrows  of  Pestilence  130 

Round  the  pale  living  Corse  on  the  Tree. 

2.  For  in  Urizen's  slumbers  of  abstraction, 
In  the  infinite  ages  of  Eternity, 

When  his  Nerves  of  Joy  melted  and  flow'd, 

A  white  Lake  on  the  dark  blue  air,  135 

In  perturb'd  pain  and  dismal  torment, 

Now  stretching  out,  now  swift  conglobing, 

3.  Effluvia  vapour'd  above 

In  noxious  clouds ;  these  hover'd  thick 

Over  the  disorganiz'd  Immortal,  140 

Till  petrific  pain  scurfd  o'er  the  Lakes, 

As  the  bones  of  Man,  solid  and  dark. 

4.  The  clouds  of  Disease  hover'd  wide 
Around  the  Immortal  in  torment, 

345 

The  Book  of  Ahania 

Perching  around  the  hurtling  bones —  145 

Disease  on  disease,  shape  on  shape, 
Winged,  screaming  in  blood  and  torment ! 

5.  The  Eternal  Prophet  beat  on  his  Anvils, 
Enrag'd  in  the  desolate  darkness ; 

He  forg'd  Nets  of  iron  around,  15° 

And  Los  threw  them  around  the  bones. 

6.  The  Shapes,  screaming,  flutter'd  vain  : 
Some  combin'd  into  muscles  and  glands, 
Some  organs  for  craving  and  lust ; 

Most  remain'd  on  the  tormented  Void-  155 

Urizen's  army  of  horrors  ! 

7.  Round  the  pale  living  Corse  on  the  Tree, 
Forty  years,  flew  the  arrows  of  Pestilence. 

8.  Wailing  and  terror  and  woe 
Ran  thro'  all  his  dismal  world ;  160 
Forty  years  all  his  sons  and  daughters 

Felt  their  skulls  harden ;  then  Asia 
Arose  in  the  pendulous  deep. 

9.  They  reptilize  upon  the  Earth. 

io<  Fuzon  groan'd  on  the  Tree.  '65 

Chap.  V 

1.  The  lamenting  voice  of  Ahania, 
Weeping  upon  the  Void  ! 

And  round  the  Tree  of  Fuzon, 

Distant  in  solitary  night, 

Her  voice  was  heard,  but  no  form  17° 

Had  she ;  but  her  tears  from  clouds 

Eternal  fell  round  the  Tree. 

2.  And  the  voice  cried:  'Ah,  Urizen !  Love! 

346 

The  Book  of  Ahania 

Flower  of  morning !  I  weep  on  the  verge 

Of  Nonentity — how  wide  the  Abyss  175 

Between  Ahania  and  thee  ! 

3.  '  I  lie  on  the  verge  of  the  deep ; 
I  see  thy  dark  clouds  ascend ; 

I  see  thy  black  forests  and  floods, 

A  horrible  waste  to  my  eyes !  180 

4.  '  Weeping  I  walk  over  rocks, 
Over  dens,  and  thro'  ■valleys  of  death. 
Why  didst  thou  despise  Ahania, 

To  cast  me  from  thy  bright  presence 

Into  the  World  of  Loneness  ?  185 

5.  'I  cannot  touch  his  hand, 
Nor  weep  on  his  knees,  nor  hear 
His  voice  and  bow,  nor  see  his  eyes 
And  joy  ;  nor  hear  his  footsteps,  and 

My  heart  leap  at  the  lovely  sound  !  190 

I  cannot  kiss  the  place 

Whereon  his  bright  feet  have  trod ; 

But  I  wander  on  the  rocks 

With  hard  necessity. 

6.  'Where  is  my  golden  palace?  195 
Where  my  ivory  bed  ? 

Where  the  joy  of  my  morning  hour  ? 
Where  the  Sons  of  Eternity  singing, 

7.  '  To  awake  bright  Urizen,  my  King, 

To  arise  to  the  mountain  sport,  200 

To  the  bliss  of  eternal  valleys  ; 

8.  '  To  awake  my  King  in  the  morn, 
To  embrace  Ahania's  joy 

On  the  breath  of  his  open  bosom, 

From  my  soft  cloud  of  dew  to  fall  205 

In  showers  of  life  on  his  harvests  ? 
347 

The  Book  of  Ahania 

g.  '  When  he  gave  my  happy  soul 

To  the  Sons  of  Eternal  Joy  ; 

When  he  took  the  Daughters  of  Life 

Into  my  chambers  of  love ;  210 

10.  'When  I  found  Babes  of  bliss  on  my  beds, 
And  bosoms  of  milk  in  my  chambers, 

Fill'd  with  eternal  seed — 

O  !  eternal  births  sung  round  Ahania, 

In  interchange  sweet  of  their  joys  !  215 

11.  'Swell'd  with  ripeness  and  fat  with  fatness, 
Bursting  on  winds,  my  odours, 

My  ripe  figs  and  rich  pomegranates, 

In  infant  joy  at  thy  feet, 

O  Urizen  !  sported  and  sang.  220 

12.  'Then  thou  with  thy  lap  full  of  seed, 
With  thy  hand  full  of  generous  fire, 
Walked  forth  from  the  clouds  of  morning ; 
On  the  virgins  of  springing  joy, 

On  the  Human  soul  to  cast  225 

The  seed  of  eternal  Science. 

13.  'The  sweat  poured  down  thy  temples, 
To  Ahania  retum'd  in  evening ; 

The  moisture  awoke  to  birth 

My  mother's  joys,  sleeping  in  bliss.  230 

14.  'But  now  alone!  over  rocks,  mountains, 
Cast  out  from  thy  lovely  bosom  ! 

Cruel  Jealousy,  selfish  Fear, 
Self-destroying  !  how  can  delight 

Renew  in  these  chains  of  darkness,  235 

!  Where  bones  of  beasts  are  strown 
On  the  bleak  and  snowy  mountains, 
Where  bones  from  the  birth  are  buried 
Before  they  see  the  light  ? ' 

FINIS 

348 

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