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JERUSALEM 


THE  PROPHETIC  BOOKS  OF  WILLIAM  BLAKE 

JERUSALEM 

EDITED  BY  E.  R.  D.  MACLAGAN  AND  A.  G.  B.  RUSSELL 


LONDON: 

A.  H.  BULLEN 

47,  GREAT  RUSSELL  STREET 

1904 


CHISWICK  PRESS  :    CHARLES  WHITTINGHAM  AND  CO. 
TOOKS  COURT,  CHANCERY  LANE,  LONDON, 


3V? 


TO 
ALGERNON  CHARLES  SWINBURNE 


PREFACE 

"  T  ERUSALEM,"  the  longest  and  the  most  splendid  of  the  Prophetical 
J  Books  engraved  by  WILLIAM  BLAKE,  was  first  published  in  the  form  of 
one  hundred  pages  of  text  and  illustrations,  dated  from  South  Molton  Street, 
1 804,  though  this  date  represents  rather  the  beginning  than  the  conclusion  of 
its  composition.  It  has  been  twice  reproduced  in  facsimile,  once  separately, 
and  once  (much  reduced),  in  the  three  volume  edition  of  Blake's  works  by 
Messrs.  Ellis  and  Yeats  in  1893,  but  it  has  never  hitherto  been  printed  in 
ordinary  type;  and  those  who  have  tried  to  study  the  Prophetical  Books  will 
realize  the  need  for  such  a  text  if  reading  and  reference  are  to  be  possible  with- 
out the  inordinate  strain  and  fatigue  involved  in  the  use  of  a.  facsimile.  It  is 
only  when  the  complete  works  of  Blake  are  readily  accessible  and  legible  that 
we  may  hope  that  the  greatest  of  English  mystics  will  be  adequately  studied 
and  appreciated;  and  if  this  is  to  be,  the  divorce  of  the  poem  from  its  illus- 
trations is  an  imperative,  though  none  the  less  regrettable  necessity. 

It  has  been  our  endeavour  in  the  present  edition  to  produce  a  text  which 
shall  be  above  all  else  scrupulously  faithful  to  the  original,  for  easy  reference 
to  which  we  have  retained  the  division  and  numbering  of  its  pages.  The  text, 
down  to  the  very  eccentricities  and  inconsistencies  of  Blake's  spelling,  is  as 
accurate  as  we  have  been  able  to  make  it.  In  the  very  few  instances  where 
we  have  inserted  a  necessary  word  or  letter  it  has  been  inclosed  in  square 
brackets;  while  the  accidental  repetitions  (marvellously  few,  when  we  consider 
the  difficulties  of  the  reversed  writing  entailed  by  Blake's  process)  have  been 
marked  by  round  brackets.  In  what  is  practically  the  editio  princefs  we  have 
felt  this  scrupulosity  to  be  essential,  even  at  the  risk  of  incurring  the  accusa- 
tion of  confusion  and  pedantry. 

We  would  acknowledge  our  indebtedness,  in  common  with  all  students  of 
Blake,  to  the  patient  and  sympathetic  labours  of  Messrs.  Ellis  and  Yeats,  and 
our  personal  obligation  to  the  latter  for  his  ready  help  and  kindness.  Our 
gratitude  to  Mr.  Swinburne  for  the  brilliant  essay  in  which  he  was  the  first  to 
divine  the  sanity  as  well  as  the  splendour  of  the  poet,  has  been  further  increased 
by  his  gracious  acceptance  of  the  dedication  of  this  book. 

E.  R.  D.  MACLAGAN. 
July,  1903.  A.  G.  B.  RUSSELL. 

vii  b 


219205 


INTRODUCTION. 

IT  would  obviously  be  impossible  to  explain  in  a  few  pages  so 
complex  a  symbolic  system  as  that  of  Blake's  works;  and  when 
it  is  remembered  that  any  explanation  has  to  be  gathered  from  the 
books  themselves,  with  no  further  key  than  their  casual  hints  afford, 
and  that  of  these  books  the  larger  part  has  been  destroyed  by  Tatham 
and  other  admirers  of  the  poet,  it  can  hardly  be  supposed  that  each 
line  of  the  Prophetical  books  will  ever  be  interpreted  in  a  manner 
entirely  satisfying.  Nor  can  a  simple  significance  be  attached  to 
each  symbol,  by  which  it  may  be  translated  in  whatever  context  it 
may  occur;  for  symbolism,  whether  it  be  that  of  Ezekiel  or  of  the 
Apocalypse,  of  Dante  or  of  Blake,  necessarily  deals  with  truths  too 
universal  to  be  comprehended  in  a  literal  formula,  and  confounds 
the  commentator  by  its  infinite  application.  But  it  may  be  useful 
to  put  together,  however  imperfectly,  some  of  the  clues  and  corre- 
spondences contained  in  "Jerusalem,"  reserving  for  a  further  volume 
which  the  editors  have  in  preparation  any  attempt  at  a  complete 
exposition  with  justificatory  references. 

Man  is  at  once  the  stage  and  the  protagonist  in  the  drama 
with  which  Blake  is  concerned, — the  Fourfold  Man,  called  sym- 
bolically by  the  name  of  Albion,  "  our  ancestor,  in  whose  sleep  or 
Chaos  creation  began,";  and  his  state  depends  on  the  union  and 
agreement  of  the  four  elements  that  are  met  in  him.  Beside  the 
Humanity,  or  central  personality  of  the  individual,  stand  the  Spectre, 
the  reasoning  power,  and  the  Emanation  (a  word  sometimes  abridged 
into  Eon,)  the  emotional  and  imaginative  life,  with  the  Shadow, 
which  seems  to  be  desire,  restrained  and  become  passive,  "  till  it  is 
only  the  shadow  of  desire."  When  these  are  united,  and  especially 
when  the  Spectre  and  the  Emanation,  contraries  in  whose  inter- 
action all  other  contraries  are  involved,  are  balanced  and  at  peace, 
Man  is  in  the  state  of  salvation,  which  Boehme  called  temperature  ; 
when  Spectre  and  Emanation  have  parted,  Man  is  in  a  fallen  state, 
and  can  only  be  redeemed  by  their  reconciliation.  This  fall  into 
divison,  and  resurrection  into  unity,  is  the  main  subject  of  "Jeru- 
salem "  and  indeed  of  most  of  the  Prophetical  books ;  for  the  part- 

ix 


ing  of  Reason  and  Imagination  is  the  great  tragedy,  through  which 
the  Spectre  becomes  cold  and  the  Emanation  weak,  the  Shadow 
turns  cruel,  and  the  Humanity  is  overcome  by  deadly  sleep  (15,  6). 
A  sleep,  too,  full  of  dreams,  in  which  Man  wavers  between  evil 
and  good,  drawn  alternately  by  the  male  Spectre  and  the  female 
Emanation,  and  so  called  by  Blake  hermaphroditic:  a  sleep  from 
which  only  Christ,  the  Divine  Imagination,  can  save  the  fallen 
Man,  by  reuniting  him  with  Jerusalem,  his  Emanation,  and  saving 
him  from  the  dominion  of  his  Spectre,  the  great  selfhood,  called 
Satan. 

But  man  is  not  left  to  struggle  unaided  or  unopposed;  around 
and  within  him  is  ranged  an  infinite  host  of  spiritual  powers,  headed 
by  the  four  Zoas,  the  living  creatures  in  the  vision  of  Ezekiel  and 
of  Saint  John,  who  are  the  chief  characters  in  Blake's  mythology, 
standing  somewhat  in  the  place  of  Boehme's  seven  Fountain-spirits. 
.These  are  named  Urizen,  Luvah,  Tharmas,  and  Urthona,  and  their 
influence  extends  through  a  vast  system  of  fourfold  correspondences 
in  macrocosm  and  microcosm  alike.  Urizen  is  the  Intellect;  he  is 
called  a  Ploughman,  and  rules  in  the  Zenith,  in  the  South,  in  Air, 
in  the  Head  and  Eyes  of  Man.  Luvah  is  the  Emotional  life ;  he 
is  called  a  Weaver,  and  rules  in  the  Centre,  in  the  East,  in  Fire, 
in  the  Heart  and  Nostrils:  when  "  generate  "  he  is  called  Ore,  the 
child  who  resumes  in  himself  all  children  born  in  the  myths  and 
shorter  poems.  Tharmas  is  the  life  of  the  Senses ;  he  is  called  a 
Shepherd  and  rules  in  the  Circumference,  in  the  West,  in  Water, 
in  the  Loins  and  Tongue:  in  his  region  is  the  door  of  perception, 
and  it  is  when  this  Western  gate  is  closed  that  man  believes  him- 
self to  have  a  body  apart  from  his  soul.  Urthona,  the  fourth  Zoa, 
is  that  power  known  in  its  highest  form  as  Inspiration  and  in  its 
lowest  as  Instinct;  he  is  called  a  Blacksmith,  and  rules  in  the  Nadir, 
in  the  North,  in  Earth,  in  the  Womb  and  Ears:  he  has  a  "  vehicular 
form  "  named  Los  (the  vehicle,  that  is,  of  inspiration),  the  spirit  of 
Prophecy,  and  in  a  certain  sense  the  prophet,  Blake,  himself.  But 
it  must  always  be  remembered  that  while  it  may  be  convenient  to 
set  down  the  four  Zoas  as  the  lords  of  intellectual,  emotional,  sen- 
sual, and  instinctive  life,  these  words  are  mere  shadows  of  their  true 
significance,  which  belongs  to  every  plane  of  interpretation:  so  that 


to  take  only  the  two  great  antagonists,  Urizen  and  Los,  in  art  they 
stand  for  the  naturalistic  and  symbolic  tendencies,  in  religion  for 
dogma  and  mysticism,  in  ethics  for  the  outer  rule  of  the  Law  and 
the  inner  rule  of  the  Gospel. 

Nor  is  it  possible  to  attribute  a  good  or  evil  character  abso- 
lutely to  any  of  the  Zoas  without  falling  into  the  error  of  Ulro, 
which  lies  in  attributing  good  or  evil  to  individuals  and  not  to 
states:  in  their  unfallen  state  all  are  good,  in  the  fallen  all  are  more 
or  less  evil  (cf.  43,  2).  For  like  men  they  are  liable  to  division  in 
the  parting  of  spectre  and  emanation,  each  Zoa  having  an  Eman- 
ation or  female  part  assigned  to  him;  these  are  named  Ahania, 
Vala,  Enion,  and  Enitharmon.  Ahania  is  the  Emanation  of  Urizen, 
his  "  eternal  delight,"  and  the  story  of  her  separation  from  him  is 
told  in  the  beautiful  book  named  after  her.  Vala,  the  Emanation 
of  Luvah,  fills  a  far  more  prominent  place,  and  gives  her  name  to 
a  long  book  which  Blake  never  engraved:  she  is  Nature  in  her 
sensual  beauty,  ever  weaving  her  veil  or  net  to  catch  the  souls  ot 
the  dead,  i.e.,  those  who  have  entered  into  bodily  life:  she  is  the 
false  system  of  religion,  the  shadow  of  the  true  Jerusalem:  she 
appears  sometimes  in  a  double  form,  as  Tirzah  the  lovely  with  her 
sisters,  and  as  Rahab,  who  binds  the  red  cord  of  blood  in  the  window 
of  the  eye:  she  is  Babylon,  the  mother  of  mystery,  the  harlot  of  the 
Apocalypse.  Enion  is  the  Emanation  of  Tharmas:  like  Ahania, 
she  plays  but  a  small  part  in  "Jerusalem,"  but  she  may  be  called 
the  typical  maternal  power,  as  Ore  is  the  child  and  Urizen  the 
father.  Enitharmon  is  the  Emanation  and  wife  of  Urthona-Los: 
we  are  told  that  where  Los  is  Time  she  is  Space,  in  one  of  the 
typical  pairs  of  contraries,  corresponding  to  Male  and  Female,  Soul 
and  Body:  and  we  might  compare  her  to  Shelley's  Intellectual 
Beauty,  in  distinction  to  the  body's  beauty  of  Vala,  as  Urthona  has 
been  compared  to  Shelley's  Demogorgon  by  Dr.  Rudolf  Kassner 
in  his  brilliant  and  suggestive  essay  on  Blake.1 

It  is  difficult  to  make  clear  the  exact  relation  of  the  Zoas  to 
their  several  regions:  these  are  not  altogether  identified  with  them, 
for  certain  of  the  Zoas  fall  from  their  own  region  into  that  of  an- 

1  In  "Die  Mystik,  die  Kiinstler,  und  das  Leben."    Leipzig,  1900. 

xi 


other  (59,  1 1),  and  yet  they  partake  of  their  nature.  The  Zoas  are 
"  eternal  States,"  the  cardinal  points,  the  regions  of  the  sky,  and  all 
the  chain  of  corresponding  Symbols  are  "  Spaces  "  :  and  State  and 
Space  form  once  more  a  parallel  to  Male  and  Female.  But  it  may 
generally  be  said  that  all  the  States  and  Spaces  ranged  under  Urizen, 
for  example,  in  the  table  to  be  found  at  the  end  of  the  Index,  par- 
take of  his  intellectual  nature. 

Not  only  are  there  innumerable  Spaces  to  be  occupied,  but  the 
Zoas  are  parents  of  many  children,  countless,  but  generally  reckoned 
as  sixteen.  Of  these  only  four  appear  much  in  "Jerusalem,"  the 
\  "  Sons  of  Los,"  Rintrah,  Palamabron,  Theotormon,  and  Bromion, 
who  correspond  in  a  lower  sphere  to  the  Zoas  in  their  regular  order: 
they  are  identified  in  the  book  of  "  Milton,"  in  which  they  play  a 
prominent  part,  with  different  forms  of  artistic  energy.  In  a  lower 
sphere  come  the  states  to  whom  Blake  assigned  the  names  of  the 
Twelve  Tribes  of  Israel  (cf.  preface  to  Chapter  II.) :  and  still  lower, 
in  Ulro  itself,  are  placed  the  Sons  and  Daughters  of  Albion  (the 
Twenty-four),  states  with  names  often  grotesque,  some  of  which 
contain  allusions  to  Blake's  earthly  friends  and  foes,  each  with  his 
own  Emanation.  These  may  be  taken  as  the  ideas  and  sensations, 
respectively,  of  Man:  belonging  particularly  in  this  poem  to  his 
fallen  state,  and  therefore  discordant  and  continually  endeavouring 
to  usurp  what  is  not  theirs  by  right.  The  Sons  of  Albion  with  their 
starry,  or  intellectual,  wheels  which  make  up  the  Mill  (Blake's  not 
inappropriate  symbol  for  Logic!)  form  at  last  the  great  Polypus  of 
rationalism:  the  Daughters,  who  may  be  combined  into  Tirzah  and 
Rahab,  and  so  represent  to  some  extent  the  power  of  Vala,  are  cruel 
and  drunken  with  blood,  eager  to  sacrifice  their  friends  in  the 
mistaken  morality  of  "  Druid  "  religion.  Against  these  Sons  Los 
labours  at  his  furnaces  of  Enthusiasm,  building  his  great  city  of 
Golgonooza,  "  Civitas  Dei,"  the  abode  of  spiritual  art  and  religion, 
with  its  sculptured  gates  opening  into  every  plane:  a  city  beautiful 
in  definite  and  minutely  organized  particulars,  though  set  in  the 
midst  of  Entuthon  Benython,  the  valley  of  abstract  philosophy,  and 
the  lake  of  Udan  Adan,  the  home  of  the  indefinite,  which  Blake, 
like  all  true  mystics,  hated  with  all  his  soul. 

The  Twelve  Tribes  and  the  Sons  of  Albion,  with  their  Eman- 


xu 


ations,  may  be  arranged  in  groups  of  three  under  the  Four  Zoas: 
and  in  each  case  one  brother  absorbs  his  brethren  (Reuben:  Hand). 
Both  orders  (who  are  little  heard  of  except  in  "Jerusalem")  have 
allotted  to  them  the  counties  of  Britain  in  two  elaborate  schemes, 
(pp.  1 6  and  72):  this  plan  of  correspondences  was  doubtless  fully 
worked  out  in  Blake's  mind,  and  may  have  been  used  in  some  of 
the  lost  books,  but  in  "Jerusalem"  it  has  not  much  real  import- 
ance, and  does  undoubtedly  present  some  serious  difficulties. 

Geographical  symbolism  in  general,  however,  and  to  a  certain 
extent  historical  symbolism  also,  is  of  great  importance  in  the  inter- 
pretation of  the  prophetical  books:  for  Blake,  like  the  prophets  of 
Israel,  saw  in  contemporary  events  such  as  the  French  Revolution 
and  the  American  war  of  Independence,  and  even  in  his  own  move- 
ments, types  of  eternal  things.  Four  continents,  four  countries  of 
Europe,  four  towns  of  Great  Britain,  were  seen  by  him  as  repre-  / 
sentatives  of  the  Zoas:  and  in  "Jerusalem"  he  makes  great  use  of  ' 
the  quarters  of  London,  Albion's  city,  as  symbols  of  the  "  regions 
of  humanity  "  in  the  mind  of  man  (38,  43).  It  is  well  to  remember 
that  the  position  of  any  places  named  must  be  calculated  with 
reference  to  the  London  of  1800:  the  points  actually  named  as 
South,  East,  West  and  North,  are  Norwood,  Blackheath,  Hounslow, 
and  Finchley.  Strange  as  the  use  of  such  familiar  and  commonplace 
names  may  seem  in  a  poem  of  profound  spiritual  significance,  it  is 
easy  for  us  to  forget  that  Edom  and  Ammon  and  Gilead  held  for 
the  contemporaries  of  Jeremiah  small  mystery  of  association,  but 
were  essentially  neighbouring  districts,  used  emblematically  in 
religious  poetry:  and  it  was  Blake's  deliberate  wish  to  parallel 
these  places  with  his  own  geographical  symbols  in  England,  as  may 
be  observed  from  the  way  in  which  the  two  are  often  coupled 
together. 

The  fourfold  system  here  briefly  indicated  extends  through 
many  other  spheres  of  correspondence;  it  is  also  connected  with 
Blake's  teaching  of  the  four  "  atmospheres,"  named  in  "Jerusalem," 
Eden,  Beulah,  Ulro,  and  Generation.  In  the  microcosm  of  man  the 
four  parts  are  often  reduced  to  three :  Head,  Heart,  and  Loins. 
It  will  be  noticed  in  "Jerusalem"  (42,  24),  that  the  fourth  Zoa, 
Urthona-Los,  speaks  of  Albion  as  having  slain,  that  is,  introduced 


Xlll 


into  corporeal  "  vegetated  "  life,  the  other  three  Zoas,  but  as  un- 
able to  kill  the  fourth:  and  this  may  be  compared  with  the  reduc- 
tion of  the  tetrad  to  the  triad  by  the  omission  of  the  fourth  member. 
Most  of  the  triads  in  Blake's  poems  will  be  found  to  correspond 
with  this  one:  e.g.,  Creation,  Redemption,  Judgment:  Mercy, 
Pity,  Peace. 

Such,  in  the  briefest  outline,  are  some  of  the  more  important 
points  in  the  symbolic  system.  The  application,  like  the  system 
itself,  is  inevitably  complex,  for  a  passage  has  often  many  different 
interpretations  in  different  spheres,  and  one  thread  of  meaning 
passes  imperceptibly  into  another.  For  it  must  continually  be  re- 
membered that  Blake  was  writing,  at  least  according  to  his  own 
belief,  an  account  of  actual  visionary  experiences:  and  even  if  we 
translate  vision  into  terms  of  the  subliminal  consciousness  the  result 
remains  unchanged,  though  its  value  may  be  affected.  If  Blake 
had  drawn  up  a  cipher  system,  and  translated  "  the  passions  "  into 
"  Luvah,"  the  method  would  have  been  absurd,  but  the  writing 
would  have  been  perfectly  lucid  to  anyone  possessed  of  the  key. 
The  seer  must  himself  interpret  his  visions,  as  much  as  his  readers. 
Careless  of  the  fate  of  his  works,  he  seldom  vouchsafed  the  explan- 
ations he  could  so  easily  have  given:  and  it  is  only  the  laborious 
analysis  of  his  two  latest  editors  that  has  opened  the  way  for  those 
who  care  to  follow  in  it.  But  when  once  the  main  principles  are 
grasped,  it  is  comparatively  easy  to  understand  the  greater  part 
of  the  prophetical  books,  though  passages  must  often  occur  which 
are  perplexing  even  to  an  experienced  reader,  and  there  are  many 
minor  symbols  with  perfectly  definite  meanings  (for  Blake  was 
never  vague),  which  are  difficult  to  explain  with  any  certainty. 

It  may  perhaps  be  helpful  to  give  a  very  brief  paraphrase  of 
the  beautiful  poem  contained  in  the  Preface  to  the  second  Chap- 
ter (To  the  Jews)  as  an  example  of  the  way  in  which  the  symbolism 
is  used:  the  poem  in  question  may  really  be  said  to  narrate  in  a 
condensed  form  the  main  story  of  "Jerusalem,"  though  it  begins 
at  an  earlier  point  than  the  whole  work,  telling  of  the  unfallen 
state  of  the  Man  who  is  represented  on  the  first  page  as  already 
fallen  or  about  to  fall. 

xiv 


In  this  unfallen  state  the  "  fields  "  in  the  north,  from  east  to 
west,  the  regions,  that  is,  of  instinctive  life  both  on  the  side  of 
emotion  and  on  that  of  sensual  perception,  were  the  supports  of  the 
holy  Imagination,  through  the  pillars  of  intellect  (gold  being  the 
metal  of  Urizen).  The  Imagination  was  the  Bride  of  the  Lamb  of 
God,  happy  in  many  lovely  and  innocent  ways,  and  every  idea  of 
man  was  the  "child  of  Jesus  and  his  Bride"  in  the  religion  of  for- 
giveness, refusing  to  impute  sin.  But  the  peace  is  broken:  the  in- 
tellectual powers  are  busied  with  the  western  region  of  bodily  things 
(and  in  particular  the  sense  of  the  Tongue,  through  which  came 
the  first  sin) :  and  man  falls  into  the  sleep  that  we  call  the  life  of 
the  body,  shadowed  by  the  tree  of  mystery,  and  passing  from  in- 
spired religion  to  that  false  faith  which  demands  bodily  instead  of 
mental  sacrifice.  He  enters  into  mortal  sorrow,  and  his  hard  rational 
power,  called  by  Blake  "  Satan,"  separates  itself  from  his  loins  (the 
place  of  judgment),  and  furiously  enforces  its  legal  morality.  By 
this  separation  the  imagination  also  is  forced  to  depart,  and  passing 
eastward  through  mere  emotionalism  it  is  lost  in  grief.  Further 
and  further  the  reason  asserts  its  dominion  over  the  emotional  life, 
and  the  happinesses  of  man  (rivers)  become  stained  with  sensual- 
ity: in  every  phase  of  mental  life  the  place  of  the  imagination  is 
restricted,  and  the  power  itself  is  forced  into  the  dark  land  of  cor- 
poreal life.  By  such  a  system  of  religion  man  is  convinced  of  his 
own  mortality,  equalling  himself  with  the  worms:  but  nothing  can 
wholly  obscure  the  glory  of  the  divine  within  him,  even  in  the 
weakness  and  transience  of  the  life  between  birth  and  death.  This 
state  is  common  to  all  mankind;  and  the  poet  identifies  himself 
with  the  man  whose  fall  he  has  narrated,  and  calls  on  the  Lamb  of 
God,  the  Divine  Image  whom  he  crucified,  but  who  still  makes 
his  perpetual  appeal  to  the  heart  of  man:  he  implores  him  to  mould 
the  spiritual  and  to  repress  the  merely  rational  life  with  the  love 
and  fear  of  God.  For  the  reason  is  to  be  mastered,  not  to  be 
abandoned;  in  all  its  selfish  cruelty  and  pride  of  intellectual  war  it 
is  still  a  true  part  of  man,  even  when  it  tries  to  claim  that  its  own 
children  (the  logical  ideas)  have  alone  the  right  to  exist,  though 
such  a  system  is  bound  at  last  to  be  its  own  destruction.  The  true 
life  knows  no  compulsion,  but  consists  in  mutual  acceptance  and 


xv 


forgiveness:    for  so  can   man  be  joined  with   man   to   build  up 
Christianity,  the  religion  of  the  Imagination. 

The  main  story  told  in  "Jerusalem"  itself  is  essentially  the 
same  as  this:  the  book  tells  of  the  separation  and  reunion  of  the 
fourfold  man,  and  of  the  cruel  rule  of  the  Speclre.  But  running 
parallel  with  the  myth  of  Albion  and  Jerusalem  is  the  myth  of  Los, 
who  himself  divides  as  a  result  of  the  division  of  Albion:  and  his 
story  sometimes  occupies  as  large  a  space  as  the  other,  e.g.,  in  the 
first  chapter,  which  is  concerned  with  Los  from  the  last  lines  of 
p.  5  to  those  of  p.  17,  though  the  two  myths  are  too  much  con- 
necled  to  be  absolutely  disentangled.  Other  stories  are  those  of 
Hand  as  the  typical  Son  of  Albion,  aud  Reuben  as  the  typical  Son 
of  Jacob  (pp.  34-36  and  elsewhere):  but  indeed  every  character  in 
the  great  myth  has  its  own  story  of  fall  and  redemption,  so  that 
even  to  enumerate  them  would  require  a  greater  space  than  this  brief 
Introduction  can  afford.  Nor  is  it  possible  to  give  a  page  for  page 
paraphrase  of  the  whole  book:  for,  apart  from  all  question  of  space, 
the  arrangement  of  "Jerusalem  "  is  far  more  confused  than  that  of 
any  other  of  the  engraved  books.  Blake  seems,  after  recording  the 
main  myth,  to  have  used  it  as  a  kind  of  storehouse  for  his  more 
important  visions:  pages  have  been  engraved  at  various  dates  and 
inserted,  till  the  whole  was  finally  arranged  in  four  chapters  of 
twenty-five  pages  each,  with  prefaces  and  separate  illustrations. 
This  method  naturally  involved  pages  being  put  in  to  make  up  the 
requisite  number,  or  taken  out  to  reduce  it:  and  such  separate 
visions  as  the  beautiful  and  very  late  p.  61  had  places,  more  or  less 
appropriate,  found  for  them.  But  the  extraordinary  splendour  of 
much  of  this  somewhat  chaotic  material  amply  compensates  for 
the  lack  of  the  more  methodical  arrangement  of  some  of  the  shorter 
Prophetical  books,  few  of  which  attain  to  the  magnificence  of  such 
passages  as  the  close  of  the  fourth  chapter  of  "Jerusalem." 

It  is  improbable  that  Blake  will  ever  be  found  an  easy  or  a 
popular  author:  the  elaborate  symbolism  will  deter  some  who  would 
otherwise  be  drawn  to  the  teaching  it  veils,  and  others  will  be  re- 
pelled by  a  hundred  vehement  rebellions  against  conventional  religion 
and  conventional  morality.  Rebels  the  mystics  have  often  been,  and 


xvi 


had  Blake  been  the  leader  of  a  school,  or  even  a  conforming  member 
of  a  strict  and  orthodox  church,  he  would  certainly  have  fallen  under 
the  censure  meted  out  to  his  great  predecessors,  John  Erigena  and 
Jacob  Boehme.  His  lot  has  been  the  harder  one  of  neglect;  negleft 
through  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  and  reading  his  books,  a  difficulty 
the  present  edition  may  help  to  remove;  neglect  too  through  the 
obscurity  of  his  utterances,  and  his  own  indifference  as  to  their 
fate.  But  it  is  not  those  who  have  read  his  works  that  have  called 
him  madman  or  blasphemer:  for  to  read  is,  in  some  measure  at 
least,  to  understand,  and  Truth,  as  he  himself  has  said,  can  never 
be  told  so  as  to  be  understood  and  not  be  believed. 


XVll 


Each  Man  is  in  his  Spectre's  power 
Untill  the  arrival  of  that  hour 
When  his  Humanity  awake 
And  cast  his  Spectre  into  the  Lake. 


P.   2 


JERUSALEM 


THE  EMANATION  OF  THE  GIANT  ALBION 


1804 

Printed  by  W.  Blake,  Sth  Molton  S* 


p.  3          Sheep  TO  THE  PUBLIC  Goats 

AFTER  my  three  years  slumber  on  the  banks  of  the  Ocean,  I  again 
display  my  Giant  forms  to  the  Public  :  My  former  Giants  &  Fairies 

having  receiv'd  the  highest  reward  possible,  the  ....  and 

of  those  with  whom  to  be  connected,  is  to  be :  I  cannot  doubt 

5  that    this   more    consolidated   &   extended   Work,   will    be   as   kindly 

recieved The   Enthusiasm  of  the   following  Poem,  the 

Author  hopes I  also 

hope  the  Reader  will  be  with  me,  wholly  One  in  Jesus  our  Lord,  who 

is  the  God and  Lord to  whom  the  Ancients  look'd 

10  and  saw  his  day  afar  off,  with  trembling  &  amazement. 

The  Spirit  of  Jesus  is  continual  forgiveness  of  Sin:  he  who  waits 
to  be  righteous  before  he  enters  into  the  Saviour's  kingdom,  the  Divine  t"" 
Body,  will  never  enter  there.  I  am  perhaps  the  most  sinful  of  men! 
I  pretend  not  to  holiness!  yet  I  pretend  to  love,  to  see,  to  converse  with 
15  daily,  as  man  with  man,  &  the  more  to  have  an  interest  in  the  Friend 
of  Sinners.  Therefore  .  .  .  Reader,  .  .  .  what  you  do  not  approve,  & 
me  for  this  energetic  exertion  of  my  talent, 

Reader!   .  .  .  of  books!  .   .   .  of  heaven, 

And  of  that  God  from  whom 

20  Who  in  mysterious  Sinai's  awful  cave, 

To  Man  the  wondrous  art  of  writing  gave. 

Again  he  speaks  in  thunder  and  in  fire! 

Thunder  of  Thought,  &  flames  of  fierce  desire: 

Even  from  the  depths  of  Hell  his  voice  I  hear, 
25  Within  the  unfathom'd  caverns  of  my  Ear. 

Therefore  I  print;  nor  vain  my  types  shall  be: 

Heaven,  Earth  &  Hell,  henceforth  shall  live  in  harmony. 

OF  THE  MEASURE,  IN  WHICH 
THE  FOLLOWING  PoEM  IS  WRITTEN 

. 

30            We  who  dwell  on  Earth  can  do  nothing  of  ourselves,  every  thing 
is  conducted  by  Spirits,  no  less  than  Digestion  or  Sleep 

.  .  .  When  this  Verse  was  first  dictated  to  me  I  consider'd  a  Monotonous 
Cadence  like  that  used  by  Milton  &  Shakspeare  &  all  writers  of  English  Blank 
Verse,  derived  from  the  modern  bondage  of  Rhyming,  to  be  a  necessary  and 
35  indispensable  part  of  Verse.  But  I  soon  found  that  in  the  mouth  of  a  true 
Orator  such  monotony  was  not  only  awkward,  but  as  much  a  bondage  as  rhyme 
itself.  I  therefore  have  produced  a  variety  in  every  line,  both  of  cadences  & 

xxi 


number  of  syllables.  Every  word  and  every  letter  is  studied  and  put  into  its 
fit  place;  the  terrific  numbers  are  reserved  for  the  terrific  parts,  the  mild  & 

40  gentle,  for  the  mild  &  gentle  parts,  and  the  prosaic,  for  inferior  parts,'  all  are 
necessary  to  each  other.  Poetry  Fetter'd,  Fetters  the  Human  Race.VNations 
are  Destroy'd,  or  Flourish,  in  proportion  as  Their  Poetry,  Painting  and  Music, 
are  Destroy'd,  or  Flourish!  The  Primeval  State  of  Man  was  Wisdom,  Art, 

44  and  Science. 


xxi  i 


Move?  o 

JERUSALEM 

CHAPTER  I 

OF  THE  SLEEP  OF   ULRo!    AND  OF  THE  PASSAGE  THROUGH 
ETERNAL  DEATH!    AND  OF  THE  AWAKING  TO  ETERNAL  LIFE. 

r  I  "'HIS  theme  calls  me  in  sleep  night  after  night,  &  ev'ry  morn 

Awakes  me  at  sun-rise,  then  I  see  the  Saviour  over  me 
5  Spreading  his  beams  of  love,  &  dictating  the  words  of  this  mild  song. 

Awake!  awake  O  sleeper  of  the  land  of  shadows,  wake!  expand! 

I  am  in  you  and  you  in  me,  mutual  in  love  divine: 

Fibres  of  love  from  man  to  man  thro'  Albion's  pleasant  land. 

In  all  the  dark  Atlantic  vale  down  from  the  hills  of  Surrey 
10  A  black  water  accumulates,  return  Albion!  return! 

Thy  brethren  call  thee,  and  thy  fathers,  and  thy  sons, 

Thy  nurses  and  thy  mothers,  thy  sisters  and  thy  daughters 

Weep  at  thy  soul's  disease,  and  the  Divine  Vision  is  darken'd : 

Thy  Emanation  that  was  wont  to  play  before  thy  face, 
15  Beaming  forth  with  her  daughters  into  the  Divine  bosom, 

Where  hast  thou  hidden  thy  Emanation  lovely  Jerusalem 

From  the  vision  and  fruition  of  the  Holy-one? 

I  am  not  a  God  afar  off,  I  am  a  brother  and  friend ; 

Within  your  bosoms  I  reside,  and  you  reside  in  me: 
20  Lo!  we  are  One;  forgiving  all  Evil;  Not  seeking  recompense; 

Ye  are  my  members  O  ye  sleepers  of  Beulah,  land  of  shades! 

But  the  perturbed  Man  away  turns  down  the  valleys  dark; 

Phantom  of  the  over  heated  brain!  shadow  of  immortality! 

Seeking  to  keep  my  soul  a  victim  to  thy  Love!  which  binds 
25  Man  the  enemy  of  man  into  deceitful  friendships: 

Jerusalem  is  not!   her  daughters  are  indefinite; 

By  demonstration  man  alone  can  live,  and  not  by  faith. 

My  mountains  are  my  own,  and  I  will  keep  them  to  myself: 

The  Malvern  and  the  Cheviot,  the  Wolds,  Plinlimmon  &  Snowdon 
30  Are  mine,  here  will  I  build  my  Laws  of  Moral  Virtue: 

Humanity  shall  be  no  more:  but  war  &  princedom  &  victory! 

So  spake  Albion  in  jealous  fears,  hiding  his  Emanation 
Upon  the  Thames  and  Medway,  rivers  of  Beulah:  dissembling 
34  His  jealousy  before  the  throne  divine,  darkening,  cold! 

I  B 


p.  5  THE  banks  of  the  Thames  are  clouded!  the  ancient  porches  of  Albion  are 
Darken'd!  they  are  drawn  thro'  unbounded  space,  scatter'd  upon 
The  Void  in  incoher(er)ent  despair!  Cambridge  &  Oxford  &  London, 
Are  driven  among  the  starry  Wheels,  rent  away  and  dissipated, 
5  In  Chasms  &  Abysses  of  sorrow,  enlarg'd  without  dimension,  terrible. 
Albion's  mountains  run  with  blood,  the  cries  of  war  &  of  tumult 
Resound  into  the  unbounded  night,  every  Human  perfection 
Of  mountain  &  river  &  city,  are  small  &  wither'd  &  darken'd. 
Cam  is  a  little  stream!  Ely  is  almost  swallowed  up! 

10  Lincoln  &  Norwich  stand  trembling  on  the  brink  of  Udan-Adan! 
Wales  and  Scotland  shrink  themselves  to  the  west  and  to  the  North! 
Mourning  for  fear  of  the  warriors  in  the  Vale  of  Entuthon-Benython 
~  Jerusalem  is  scatter'd  abroad  like  a  cloud  of  smoke  thro'  non-entity: 
Moab  &  Ammon  &  Amalek  &  Canaan  &  Egypt  &  Aram 

15  Recieve  her  little-ones  for  sacrifices  and  the  delights  of  cruelty. 

Trembling  I  sit  day  and  night,  my  friends  are  astonish'd  at  me, 
Yet  they  forgive  my  wanderings,  I  rest  not  from  my  great  task! 
To  open  the  Eternal  Worlds,  to  open  the  immortal  Eyes 
Of  Man  inwards  into  the  Worlds  of  Thought:  into  Eternity 

20  Ever  expanding  in  the  Bosom  of  God,  the  Human  Imagination. 
O  Saviour  pour  upon  me  thy  Spirit  of  meekness  &  love: 
Annihilate  the  Selfhood  in  me,  be  thou  all  my  life! 
Guide  thou  my  hand  which  trembles  exceedingly  upon  the  rock  of  ages, 
While  I  write  of  the  building  of  Golgonooza,  and  of  the  terrors  of  Entuthon: 

25  Of  Hand  &  Hyle  &  Coban,  of  Kwantok,  Peachey,  Brereton,  Slayd  &  Hutton: 
Of  the  terrible  sons  &  daughters  of  Albion,  and  their  Generations. 

Scofield,  Kox,  Kotope  and  Bowen,  revolve  most  mightily  upon 
The  Furnace  of  Los:  before  the  eastern  gate  bending  their  fury 
They  war,  to  destroy  the  Furnaces,  to  desolate  Golgonooza: 
30  And  to  devour  the  Sleeping  Humanity  of  Albion  in  rage  &  hunger. 

They  revolve  into  the  Furnaces  Southward  &  are  driven  forth  Northward, 

Divided  into  Male  and  Female  forms  time  after  time. 

From  these  Twelve  all  the  Families  of  England  spread  abroad. 

The  Male  is  a  Furnace  of  beryll;  the  Female  is  a  golden  Loom; 
35  I  behold  them  and  their  rushing  fires  overwhelm  my  Soul, 
In  London's  darkness;  and  my  tears  fall  day  and  night, 
Upon  the  Emanations  of  Albion's  Sons;  the  Daughters  of  Albion, 
Names  anciently  remember'd,  but  now  contemn'd  as  fictions ! 
Although  in  every  bosom  they  controll  our  Vegetative  powers. 

2 


40  These  are  united  into  Tirzah  and  her  Sisters,  on  Mount  Gilead, 
Cambel  &  Gwendolen  &  Conwenna  &  Cordelia  &  Ignoge. 
And  these  united  into  Rahab  in  the  Covering  Cherub  on  Euphrates, 
Gwiniverra  &  Gwinefred  &  Gonorill  &  Sabrina  beautiful, 
Estrild,  Mehetabel  &  Ragan,  lovely  Daughters  of  Albion, 

45  They  are  the  beautiful  Emanations  of  the  Twelve  Sons  of  Albion. 

The  Starry  Wheels  revolv'd  heavily  over  the  Furnaces: 
Drawing  Jerusalem  in  anguish  of  maternal  love, 
Eastward,  a  pillar  of  a  cloud  with  Vala  upon  the  mountains 
Howling  in  pain,  redounding  from  the  arms  of  Beulah's  Daughters, 
50  Out  from  the  Furnaces  of  Los  above  the  head  of  Los. 

A  pillar  of  smoke  writhing  afar  into  Non-Entity,  redounding 
Till  the  cloud  reaches  afar  outstretch'd  among  the  Starry  Wheels 
Which  revolve  heavily  in  the  mighty  Void  above  the  Furnaces. 

O  what  avail  the  loves  &  tears  of  Beulah's  lovely  Daughters? 

55  They  hold  the  Immortal  Form  in  gentle  bands  &  tender  tears, 
But  all  within  is  open'd  into  the  deeps  of  Entuthon  Benython 
A  dark  and  unknown  night,  indefinite,  unmeasurable,  without  end, 
Abstract  Philosophy  warring  in  enmity  against  Imagination 
(Which  is  the  Divine  Body  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  blessed  for  ever.) 

60  And  there  Jerusalem  wanders  with  Vala  upon  the  mountains. 
Attracted  by  the  revolutions  of  those  Wheels  the  Cloud  of  smoke 
Immense,  and  Jerusalem  &  Vala  weeping  in  the  Cloud, 
Wander  away  into  the  Chaotic  Void,  lamenting  with  her  Shadow 
Among  the  Daughters  of  Albion,  among  the  Starry  Wheels: 

65  Lamenting  for  her  children,  for  the  sons  &  daughters  of  Albion. 

Los  heard  her  lamentations  in  the  deeps  afar!  his  tears  fall 
Incessant  before  the  Furnaces,  and  his  Emanation  divided  in  pain, 
68  Eastward  toward  the  Starry  Wheels.    But  Westward  a  black  Horror, 

p.  6  HIS  Spectre  driv'n  by  the  Starry  Wheels  of  Albion's  sons,  black  and 
Opake  divided  from  his  back;  he  labours  and  he  mourns! 

For  as  his  Emanation  divided,  his  Spectre  also  divided 
In  terror  of  those  starry  wheels:  and  the  Spectre  stood  over  Los 
5  Howling  in  pain :  a  black'ning  Shadow,  black'ning  dark  &  opake 
Cursing  the  terrible  Los;  bitterly  cursing  him  for  his  friendship 
To  Albion,  suggesting  murderous  thoughts  against  Albion. 

Los  rag'd  and  stamp'd  the  earth  in  his  might  &  terrible  wrath! 
He  stood  and  stamp'd  the  earth ;  then  he  threw  down  his  hammer  in  rage  & 

3 


io  In  fury:  then  he  sat  down  and  wept,  terrified!  Then  arose 
And  chaunted  his  song,  labouring  with  the  tongs  and  hammer: 
But  still  the  Spectre  divided,  and  still  his  pain  increas'd! 

In  pain  the  Spectre  divided,  in  pain  of  hunger  and  thirst, 

14  To  devour  Los's  Human  Perfection,  but  when  he  saw  that  Los 

p.  7  WAS  living:  panting  like  a  frighted  wolf,  and  howling 
He  stood  over  the  Immortal,  in  the  solitude  and  darkness: 
Upon  the  dark'ning  Thames,  across  the  whole  Island  westward, 
A  horrible  Shadow  of  Death,  among  the  Furnaces :  beneath 
5  The  pillar  of  folding  smoke;  and  he  sought  by  other  means 
To  lure  Los:  by  tears,  by  arguments  of  science  &  by  terrors: 
Terrors  in  every  Nerve,  by  spasms  &  extended  pains: 
While  Los  answer'd  unterrified  to  the  opake  blackening  Fiend. 

And  thus  the  Spectre  spake:  Wilt  thou  still  go  on  to  destruction 
io  Till  thy  life  is  all  taken  away  by  this  deceitful  Friendship? 
He  drinks  thee  up  like  water:  like  wine  he  pours  thee 
Into  his  tuns:  thy  Daughters  are  trodden  in  his  vintage. 
He  makes  thy  Sons  the  trampling  of  his  bulls,  they  are  plow'd 
And  harrow'd  for  his  profit,  Io!  thy  stolen  Emanation 

15  Is  his  garden  of  pleasure!  all  the  Spectres  of  his  Sons  mock  thee; 
Look  how  they  scorn  thy  once  admired  palaces,  now  in  ruins 
Because  of  Albion;  because  of  deceit  and  friendship;  For  Lo! 
Hand  has  peopled  Babel  &  Nineveh;  Hyle,  Ashur  &  Aram: 
Cohan's  son  is  Nimrod:  his  son  Cush  is  adjoin'd  to  Aram, 

20  By  the  Daughter  of  Babel,  in  a  woven  mantle  of  pestilence  &  war. 
They  put  forth  their  spectrous  cloudy  sails;  which  drive  their  immense 
Constellations  over  the  deadly  deeps  of  indefinite  Udan-Adan. 
Kox  is  the  Father  of  Shem  &  Ham  &  Japheth,  he  is  the  Noah 
Of  the  Flood  of  Udan-Adan.    Hutn  is  the  Father  of  the  Seven 

25  From  Enoch  to  Adam:  Schofield  is  Adam  who  was  New- 
Created  in  Edom.    I  saw  it  indignant,  &  thou  art  not  moved! 
This  has  divided  thee  in  sunder:  and  wilt  thou  still  forgive? 
O!  thou  seest  not  what  I  see!  what  is  done  in  the  Furnaces. 
Listen,  I  will  tell  thee  what  is  done  in  moments  to  thee  unknown: 

30  Luvah  was  cast  into  the  Furnaces  of  affliction  and  sealed, 
And  Vala  fed,  in  cruel  delight,  the  Furnaces  with  fire: 
Stern  Urizen  beheld;  urg'd  by  necessity  to  keep 
The  evil  day  afar,  and  if  perchance  with  iron  power 
He  might  avert  his  own  despair:  in  woe  &  fear  he  saw 

35  Vala  incircle  round  the  Furnaces  where  Luvah  was  clos'd: 

4 


With  joy  she  heard  his  howlings,  &  forgot  he  was  her  Luvah, 
With  whom  she  liv'd  in  bliss  in  times  of  innocence  &  youth: 
Vala  comes  from  the  Furnace  in  a  cloud,  but  wretched  Luvah 
Is  howling  in  the  Furnaces,  in  flames  among  Albion's  Spectres, 

40  To  prepare  the  Spectre  of  Albion  to  reign  over  thee  O  Los, 
Forming  the  Spectres  of  Albion  according  to  his  rage: 
To  prepare  the  Spectre  sons  of  Adam,  who  is  Scofield:  the  Ninth 
Of  Albion's  sons,  &  the  father  of  all  his  brethren  in  the  Shadowy 
Generation.    Cambel  &  Gwendolen  wove  webs  of  war  &  of 

45   Religion,  to  involve  all  Albion's  sons,  and  when  they  had 
Involv'd  Eight,  their  webs  roll'd  outwards  into  darkness 
And  Scofield  the  Ninth  remain'd  on  the  outside  of  the  Eight, 
And  Kox,  Kotope,  &  Bowen,'  One  in  him,  a  Fourfold  Wonder, 
Involv'd  the  Eight.   Such  are  the  Generations  of  the  Giant  Albion, 

50  To  separate  a  Law  of  Sin,  to  punish  thee  in  thy  members. 

Los  answer'd.    Altho'  I  know  not  this!  I  know  far  worse  than  this: 
I  know  that  Albion  hath  divided  me,  and  that  thou  O  my  Spectre, 
Hast  just  cause  to  be  irritated:  but  look  stedfastly  upon  me: 
Comfort  thyself  in  my  strength;  the  time  will  arrive, 

55  When  all  Albion's  injuries  shall  cease,  and  when  we  shall 

Embrace  him  tenfold  bright,  rising  from  his  tomb  in  immortality. 
They  have  divided  themselves  by  Wrath,  they  must  be  united  by 
Pity:  let  us  therefore  take  example  &  warning  O  my  Spectre. 
O  that  I  could  abstain  from  wrath !  O  that  the  Lamb 

60  Of  God  would  look  upon  me  and  pity  me  in  my  fury. 
In  anguish  of  regeneration :  in  terrors  of  self  annihilation: 
Pity  must  join  together  those  whom  wrath  has  torn  in  sunder; 
And  the  Religion  of  Generation  which  was  meant  for  the  destruction 
Of  Jerusalem,  become  her  covering,  till  the  time  of  the  End. 

65  O  holy  Generation,  Image  of  regeneration ! 

O  point  of  mutual  forgiveness  between  Enemies ! 
Birthplace  of  the  Lamb  of  God  incomprehensible  ! 
The  Dead  despise  &  scorn  thee,  &  cast  thee  out  as  accursed: 
Seeing  the  Lamb  of  God  in  thy  gardens  &  thy  palaces, 

70  Where  they  desire  to  place  the  Abomination  of  Desolation. 
Hand  sits  before  his  furnace :  scorn  of  others  &  furious  pride, 
Freeze  round  him  to  bars  of  steel  &  to  iron  rocks  beneath 

73  His  feet:  indignant  self-righteousness  like  whirlwinds  of  the  north, 

p.  8  ROSE  up  against  me  thundering  from  the  Brook  of  Albion's  River, 
From  Ranelagh  &  Strumbolo,  from  Cromwell's  gardens  &  Chelsea 

5 


The  place  of  wounded  Soldiers;   but  when  he  saw  my  Mace 
Whirl'd  round  from  heaven  to  earth,  trembling  he  sat:  his  cold 
5   Poisons  rose  up:  &  his  sweet  deceits  cover'd  them  all  over 
With  a  tender  cloud.    As  thou  art  now,  such  was  he  O  Spectre. 
I  know  thy  deceit  &  thy  revenges,  and  unless  thou  desist 
I  will  certainly  create  an  eternal  Hell  for  thee.    Listen! 
Be  attentive!  be  obedient!  Lo  the  Furnaces  are  ready  to  recieve  thee. 

10  I  will  break  thee  into  shivers,  &  melt  thee  in  the  furnaces  of  death, 
I  will  cast  thee  into  forms  of  abhorrence  &  torment  if  thou 
Desist  not  from  thine  own  will,  &  obey  not  my  stern  command : 
I  am  clos'd  up  from  my  children:  my  Emanation  is  dividing 
And  thou  my  Spectre  art  divided  against  me.    But  mark, 

15   I  will  compell  thee  to  assist  me  in  my  terrible  labours.    To  beat 
These  hypocritic  Selfhoods  on  the  Anvils  of  bitter  Death. 
I  am  inspired:  I  act  not  for  myself:  for  Albion's  sake 
I  now  am  what  I  am!  a  horror  and  an  astonishment 
Shudd'ring  the  heavens  to  look  upon  me:  Behold  what  cruelties 

20  Are  practised  in  Babel  &  Shinar,  &  have  approach'd  to  Zion's  Hill. 

While  Los  spoke,  the  terrible  Spectre  fell  shudd'ring  before  him 
Watching  his  time  with  glowing  eyes  to  leap  upon  his  prey. 
Los  open'd  the  Furnaces  in  fear,  the  Spectre  saw  to  Babel  &  Shinar 
Across  all  Europe  &  Asia,  he  saw  the  tortures  of  the  Victims. 
25  He  saw  now  from  the  outside  what  he  before  saw  &  felt  from  within, 
He  saw  that  Los  was  the  sole,  uncontroll'd  Lord  of  the  Furnaces, 
Groaning  he  kneel'd  before  Los's  iron-shod  feet  on  London  Stone, 
Hung'ring  &  thirsting  for  Los's  life  yet  pretending  obedience, 
While  Los  pursu'd  his  speech  in  threat'nings  loud  &  fierce. 

30  Thou  art  my  Pride  &  Self-righteousness:  I  have  found  thee  out: 
Thou  art  reveal'd  before  me  in  all  thy  magnitude  &  power: 
Thy  Uncircumcised  pretences  to  Chastity  must  be  cut  in  sunder: 
Thy  holy  wrath  &  deep  deceit  cannot  avail  against  me, 
Nor  shalt  thou  ever  assume  the  triple-form  of  Albion's  Spectre, 

35   For  I  am  one  of  the  living:  dare  not  to  mock  my  inspired  fury. 

If  thou  wast  cast  forth  from  my  life:  if  I  was  dead  upon  the  mountains 
Thou  mightest  be  pitied  &  Jov'd:  but  now  I  am  living:  unless 
Thou  abstain  ravening  I  will  create  an  eternal  Hell  for  thee. 
Take  thou  this  Hammer  &  in  patience  heave  the  thundering  Bellows, 

40  Take  thou  these  Tongs:  strike  thou  alternate  with  me:  labour  obedient. 
Hand  &  Hyle  &  Koban:  Skofeld,  Kox  &  Kotope,  labour  mightily 
In  the  Wars  of  Babel  &  Shinar;  all  their  Emanations  were 

6 


Condens'd.    Hand  has  absorb'd  all  his  Brethren  in  his  might; 
44  All  the  infant  Loves  &  Graces  were  lost,  for  the  mighty  Hand 

p.  9  CONDENS'D  his  Emanations  into  hard  opake  substances, 
And  his  infant  thoughts  &  desires  into  cold,  dark,  cliffs  of  death. 
His  hammer  of  gold  he  siez'd;  and  his  anvil  of  adamant; 
He  siez'd  the  bars  of  condens'd  thoughts,  to  forge  them, 
5  Into  the  sword  of  war,  into  the  bow  and  arrow; 

Into  the  thundering  cannon  and  into  the  murdering  gun. 
I  saw  the  limbs  form'd  for  exercise,  contemn'd;  &  the  beauty  of 
Eternity,  look'd  upon  as  deformity,  &  loveliness  as  a  dry  tree: 
I  saw  disease  forming  a  Body  of  Death  around  the  Lamb 
10  Of  God,  to  destroy  Jerusalem,  &  to  devour  the  body  of  Albion 
By  war  and  stratagem  to  win  the  labour  of  the  husbandman. 

Awkwardness  arm'd  in  steel:  Folly  in  a  helmet  of  gold: 
Weakness  with  horns  &  talons:  ignorance  with  a  rav'ning  beak: 
Every  Emanative  joy  forbidden  as  a  Crime: 

15  And  the  Emanations  buried  alive  in  the  earth  with  pomp  of  religion: 
Inspiration  deny'd:  Genius  forbidden  by  laws  of  punishment: 
I  saw  terrified:  I  took  the  sighs  &  tears  &  bitter  groans: 
I  lifted  them  into  my  Furnaces,  to  form  the  spiritual  sword, 
That  lays  open  the  hidden  heart:  I  drew  forth  the  pang 

20  Of  sorrow  red  hot :  I  work'd  it  on  my  resolute  anvil : 
I  heated  it  in  the  flames  of  Hand,  &  Hyle,  &  Coban 
Nine  times;  Gwendolen  &  Cambel  &  Gwineverra 

Are  melted  into  the  gold,  the  silver,  the  liquid  ruby, 

The  crysolite,  the  topaz,  the  jacinth,  &  every  precious  stone. 

25   Loud  roar  my  Furnaces  and  loud  my  hammer  is  heard: 
I  labour  day  and  night.    I  behold  the  soft  affections 
Condense  beneath  my  hammer  into  forms  of  cruelty, 
But  still  I  labour  in  hope,  tho'  still  my  tears  flow  down, 
That  he  who  will  not  defend  Truth,  may  be  compell'd  to  defend 

30  A  Lie,  that  he  may  be  snared  and  caught  and  snared  and  taken, 
That  Enthusiasm  and  Life  may  not  cease:  arise  Spectre  arise! 

Thus  they  contended  among  the  Furnaces  with  groans  &c  tears; 
Groaning  the  Spectre  heav'd  the  billows,  obeying  Los's  frowns; 
Till  the  Spaces  of  Erin  were  perfected  in  the  furnaces 
35  Of  affliction,  and  Los  drew  them  forth,  compelling  the  harsh  Spectre 

p.  10  INTO  the  Furnaces  &  into  the  valleys  of  the  Anvils  of  Death, 
And  into  the  mountains  of  the  Anvils  &  of  the  heavy  Hammers, 

7 


Till  he  should  bring  the  Sons  &  Daughters  of  Jerusalem  to  be 
The  Sons  &  Daughters  of  Los,  that  he  might  protect  them  from 
5  Albion's  dread  Spectres:  storming,  loud,  thunderous  &  mighty 
The  Bellows  &  the  Hammers  move  compell'd  by  Los's  hand. 

And  this  is  the  manner  of  the  Sons  of  Albion  in  their  strength; 
They  take  the  Two  Contraries  which  are  calld  Qualities,  with  which 
Every  Substance  is  clothed,  they  name  them  Good  &  Evil, 

10  From  them  they  make  an  Abstract,  which  is  a  Negation 
Not  only  of  the  Substance  from  which  it  is  derived, 
A  murderer  of  its  own  Body :  but  also  a  murderer 
Of  every  Divine  Member:  it  is  the  Reasoning  Power, 
An  Abstract  objecting  power,  that  Negatives  every  thing. 

15  This  is  the  Spectre  of  Man:  the  Holy  Reasoning  Power, 
And  in  its  Holiness  is  closed  the  Abomination  of  Desolation. 

Therefore  Los  stands  in  London  building  Golgonooza, 
Compelling  his  Spectre  to  labours  mighty;  trembling  in  fear 
The  Spectre  weeps,  but  Los  unmov'd  by  tears  or  threats  remains. 

20  I  must  Create  a  System,  or  be  enslav'd  by  another  Man's 
I  will  not  Reason  &  Compare:  my  business  is  to  Create. 

So  Los,  in  fury  &  strength:  in  indignation  &  burning  wrath 
Shudd'ring  the  Spectre  howls,  his  howlings  terrify  the  night. 
He  stamps  around  the  Anvil,  beating  blows  of  stern  despair, 
25  He  curses  Heaven  &  Earth,  Day  &  Night  &  Sun  &  Moon, 
He  curses  Forest  Spring  &  River,  Desart  &  sandy  Waste, 
Cities  &  Nations,  Families  &  Peoples,  Tongues  &  Laws, 
Driven  to  desperation  by  Los's  terrors  &  threat'ning  fears. 

Los  cries,  Obey  my  voice  &  never  deviate  from  my  will 
30  And  I  will  be  merciful  to  thee:   be  thou  invisible  to  all 

To  whom  I  make  thee  invisible,  but  chief  to  my  own  Children, 
O  Spectre  of  Urthona:  Reason  not  against  their  dear  approach 
Nor  them  obstruct  with  thy  temptations  of  doubt  &  despair; 
O  Shame,  O  strong  &  mighty  Shame  I  break  thy  brazen  fetters; 
35   If  thou  refuse,  thy  present  torments  will  seem  southern  breezes 
To  what  thou  shalt  endure  if  thou  obey  not  my  great  will. 

The  Spectre  answer'd.    Art  thou  not  asham'd  of  those  thy  Sins 
That  thou  callest  thy  Children !  lo  the  Law  of  God  commands 
That  they  be  offered  upon  his  Altar:  O  cruelty  &  torment 
40  For  thine  are  also  mine!  I  have  kept  silent  hitherto, 

Concerning  my  chief  delight:  but  thou  hast  broken  silence; 

8 


Now  I  will  speak  my  mind!  Where  is  my  lovely  Enitharmon, 

0  thou  my  enemy,  where  is  my  Great  Sin?  She  is  also  thine. 

1  said:  now  is  my  grief  at  worst,  incapable  of  being 

45  Surpassed:  but  every  moment  it  accumulates  more  &  more, 
It  continues  accumulating  to  eternity:  the  joys  of  God  advance 
For  he  is  Righteous:  he  is  not  a  Being  of  Pity  &  Compassion, 
He  cannot  feel  Distress:  he  feeds  on  Sacrifice  &  Offering: 
Delighting  in  cries  &  tears  &  clothed  in  holiness  &  solitude; 

50  But  my  griefs  advance  also,  for  ever  &  ever  without  end. 
O  that  I  could  cease  to  be!  Despair!  I  am  Despair 
Created  to  be  the  great  example  of  horror  &  agony :  also  my 
Prayer  is  vain.    I  called  for  compassion :  compassion  mock'd, 
Mercy  &  pity  threw  the  grave  stone  over  me  &  with  lead 

55  And  iron,  bound  it  over  me  for  ever:  Life  lives  on  my 
Consuming:  &  the  Almighty  hath  made  me  his  Contrary, 
To  be  all  evil,  all  reversed  &  for  ever  dead:  knowing 
And  seeing  life,  yet  living  not:  how  can  I  then  behold 
And  not  tremble;  how  can  I  be  beheld  &  not  abhorr'd? 

60  So  spoke  the  Spectre  shudd'ring,  &  dark  tears  ran  down  his  shadowy  face 
Which  Los  wiped  off,  but  comfort  none  could  give,  or  beam  of  hope. 
Yet  ceas'd  he  not  from  labouring  at  the  roarings  of  his  Forge 
With  iron  &  brass  Building  Golgonooza  in  great  contendings, 
Till  his  Sons  &  Daughters  came  forth  from  the  Furnaces 

65  At  the  sublime  Labours,  for  Los  compell'd  the  invisible  Spectre 

p.  1 1   TO  labours  mighty,  with  vast  strength,  with  his  mighty  chains, 
In  pulsations  of  time,  &  extensions  of  space,  like  Urns  of  Beulah, 
With  great  labour  upon  his  anvils,  &  in  his  ladles  the  Ore 
He  lifted,  pouring  it  into  the  clay  ground  prepar'd  with  art: 
5  Striving  with  Systems  to  deliver  Individuals  from  those  Systems: 
That  whenever  any  Spectre  began  to  devour  the  Dead, 
He  might  feel  the  pain  as  if  a  man  gnaw'd  his  own  tender  nerves. 

Then  Erin  came  forth  from  the  Furnaces,  &  all  the  Daughters  of  Beulah 
Came  from  the  Furnaces,  by  Los's  mighty  power  for  Jerusalem's 
10  Sake:  walking  up  and  down  among  the  Spaces  of  Erin: 

And  the  Sons  and  Daughters  of  Los  came  forth  in  perfection  lovely, 

And  the  Spaces  of  Erin  reach'd  from  the  starry  heighth  to  the  starry  depth. 

Los  wept  with  exceeding  joy  &  all  wept  with  joy  together: 
They  fear'd  they  never  more  should  see  their  Father,  who 
15  Was  built  in  from  Eternity,  in  the  Cliffs  of  Albion. 

9  c 


But  when  the  joy  of  meeting  was  exhausted  in  loving  embrace, 
Again  they  lament.    O  what  shall  we  do  for  lovely  Jerusalem? 
To  proted  the  Emanations  of  Albion's  mighty  ones  from  cruelty? 
Sabrina  &  Ignoge  begin  to  sharpen  their  beamy  spears 

20  Of  light  and  love:  their  little  children  stand  with  arrows  of  gold: 
Ragan  is  wholly  cruel,  Scofield  is  bound  in  iron  armour: 
He  is  like  a  mandrake  in  the  earth  before  Reuben's  gate: 
He  shoots  beneath  Jerusalem's  walls  to  undermine  her  foundations: 
Vala  is  but  thy  Shadow,  O  thou  loveliest  among  women: 

25  A  shadow  animated  by  thy  tears,  O  mournful  Jerusalem! 

p.  1 2  WHY  wilt  thou  give  to  her  a  Body  whose  life  is  but  a  Shade? 
Her  joy  and  love,  a  shade:  a  shade  of  sweet  repose: 
But  animated  and  vegetated,  she  is  a  devouring  worm: 
What  shall  we  do  for  thee,  O  lovely  mild  Jerusalem? 

5  And  Los  said,  I  behold  the  finger  of  God  in  terrors! 

Albion  is  dead!  his  Emanation  is  divided  from  him! 

But  I  am  living!  yet  I  feel  my  Emanation  also  dividing. 

Such  thing  was  never  known!  O  pity  me,  thou  all-piteous-one! 

What  shall  I  do!  or  how  exist,  divided  from  Enitharmon? 
10  Yet  why  despair?  I  saw  the  finger  of  God  go  forth 

Upon  my  Furnaces,  from  within  the  Wheels  of  Albion's  Sons ; 

Fixing  their  Systems,  permanent:  by  mathematic  power 

Giving  a  body  to  Falshood  that  it  may  be  cast  off  for  ever. 

With  Demonstrative  Science  piercing  Apollyon  with  his  own  bow : 
15  God  is  within,  &  without:  he  is  even  in  the  depths  of  Hell! 

Such  were  the  lamentations  of  the  Labourers  in  the  Furnaces! 

And  they  appear'd  within  &  without  incircling  on  both  sides 
The  Starry  Wheels  of  Albion's  Sons,  with  Spaces  for  Jerusalem, 
And  for  Vala  the  shadow  of  Jerusalem,  the  ever  mourning  Shade : 
20  On  both  sides,  within  &  without  beaming  gloriously: 

Terrified  at  the  sublime  Wonder,  Los  stood  before  his  Furnaces, 
And  they  stood  around,  terrified  with  admiration  at  Erin's  Spaces, 
For  the  Spaces  reach'd  from  the  starry  heighth,  to  the  starry  depth: 
And  they  builded  Golgonooza:  terrible  eternal  labour! 

25  What  are  those  golden  builders  doing?  where  was  the  burying-place 
Of  soft  Ethinthus?  near  Tyburn's  fatal  Tree?  is  that 
Mild  Zion's  hills,  most  ancient  promontory,  near  mournful 

10 


Ever  weeping  Paddington?  is  that  Calvary  and  Golgotha? 
Becoming  a  building  of  pity  and  compassion?  Lo! 

30  The  stones  are  pity,  and  the  bricks,  well  wrought  affections: 
Enamel'd  with  love  &  kindness,  &  the  tiles  engraven  gold, 
Labour  of  merciful  hands:  the  beams  &  rafters  are  forgiveness: 
The  mortar  &  cement  of  the  work,  tears  of  honesty:   the  nails 
And  the  screws  &  iron  braces,  are  well  wrought  blandishments, 

35  And  well  contrived  words,  firm  fixing,  never  forgotten, 
Always  comforting  the  remembrance:  the  floors,  humility: 
The  cielings,  devotion:  the  hearths,  thanksgiving. 
Prepare  the  furniture,  O  Lambeth,  in  thy  pitying  looms; 
The  curtains,  woven  tears  &  sighs,  wrought  into  lovely  forms 

40  For  comfort:  there  the  secret  furniture  of  Jerusalem's  chamber 
Is  wrought:  Lambeth!  the  Bride,  the  Lamb's  Wife,  loveth  thee: 
Thou  art  one  with  her  &  knowest  not  of  self  in  thy  supreme  joy. 
Go  on,  builders  in  hope :  tho'  Jerusalem  wanders  far  away, 
Without  the  gate  of  Los:  among  the  dark  Satanic  wheels. 

45   Fourfold  the  Sons  of  Los  in  their  divisions:  and  fourfold, 
The  great  City  of  Golgonooza :  fourfold  toward  the  north, 
And  toward  the  south  fourfold,  &  fourfold  toward  the  east  &  west, 
Each  within  other  toward  the  four  points:  that  toward 
Eden,  and  that  toward  the  World  of  Generation, 

50  And  that  toward  Beulah,  and  that  toward  Ulro: 

Ulro  is  the  space  of  the  terrible  starry  wheels  of  Albion's  sons: 
But  that  toward  Eden  is  walled  up,  till  time  of  renovation: 
Yet  it  is  perfect  in  its  building,  ornaments  &  perfection. 

And  the  Four  Points  are  thus  beheld  in  Great  Eternity: 
55  West,  the  Circumference:  South,  the  Zenith:  North, 

The  Nadir:  East,  the  Center,  unapproachable  for  ever. 

These  are  the  four  Faces  towards  the  Four  Worlds  of  Humanity 

In  every  Man.    Ezekiel  saw  them  by  Chebar's  flood. 

And  the  Eyes  are  the  South,  and  the  Nostrils  are  the  East, 
60  And  the  Tongue  is  the  West,  and  the  Ear  is  the  North. 

And  the  North  Gate  of  Golgonooza  toward  Generation, 
Has  four  sculptur'd  Bulls,  terrible,  before  the  Gate  of  iron, 
And  iron,  the  Bulls:  and  that  which  looks  toward  Ulro, 
Clay  bak'd  &  enamel'd,  eternal  glowing  as  four  furnaces: 

65  Turning  upon  the  Wheels  of  Albion's  sons  with  enormous  power. 

66  And  that  toward  Beulah  four,  gold,  silver,  brass,  &  iron: 

ii 


p.  13  AND  that  toward  Eden,  four,  form'd  of  gold,  silver,  brass,  &  iron. 

The  South,  a  golden  Gate,  has  four  Lions  terrible,  living: 
That  toward  Generation,  four,  of  iron  carv'd  wondrous: 
That  toward  Ulro,  four,  clay  bak'd,  laborious  workmanship : 
5  That  toward  Eden,  four,  immortal  gold,  silver,  brass  &  iron. 

The  Western  Gate  fourfold,  is  clos'd:  having  four  Cherubim 
Its  guards,  living,  the  work  of  elemental  hands,  laborious  task: 
Like  Men,  hermaphroditic,  each  winged  with  eight  wings. 
That  towards  Generation,  iron;  that  toward  Beulah,  stone: 
10  That  toward  Ulro,  clay;  that  toward  Eden,  metals: 

But  all  clos'd  up  till  the  last  day,  when  the  graves  shall  yield  their  dead. 

The  Eastern  Gate,  fourfold:  terrible  &  deadly  its  ornaments: 
Taking  their  forms  from  the  Wheels  of  Albion's  sons,  as  cogs 
Are  form'd  in  a  wheel,  to  fit  the  cogs  of  the  adverse  wheel. 

15  That  toward  Eden,  eternal  ice,  frozen  in  seven  folds 
Of  forms  of  death:  and  that  toward  Beulah,  stone: 
The  seven  diseases  of  the  earth  are  carved  terrible. 
And  that  toward  Ulro,  forms  of  war:  seven  enormities: 
And  that  toward  Generation,  seven  generative  forms. 

20  And  every  part  of  the  City  is  fourfold:  &  every  inhabitant,  fourfold. 
And  every  pot  &  vessel  &  garment  &  utensil  of  the  houses, 
And  every  house,  fourfold;  but  the  third  Gate  in  every  one 
Is  clos'd  as  with  a  threefold  curtain  of  ivory  &  fine  linen  &  ermine. 
And  Luban  stands  in  middle  of  the  City:  a  moat  of  fire, 

25  Surrounds  Luban,  Los's  Palace  &  the  golden  Looms  of  Cathedron. 

And  sixty-four  thousand  Genii,  guard  the  Eastern  Gate: 
And  sixty-four  thousand  Gnomes,  guard  the  Northern  Gate: 
And  sixty-four  thousand  Nymphs,  guard  the  Western  Gate: 
And  sixty-four  thousand  Fairies,  guard  the  Southern  Gate. 

30  Around  Golgonooza  lies  the  land  of  death  eternal:  a  Land 
Of  pain  and  misery  and  despair  and  ever  brooding  melancholy: 
In  all  the  Twenty-seven  Heavens,  numbered  from  Adam  to  Luther: 
From  the  blue  Mundane  Shell,  reaching  to  the  Vegetative  Earth. 

The  Vegetative  Universe  opens  like  a  flower  from  the  Earth's  center, 
35  In  which  is  Eternity.    It  expands  in  Stars  to  the  Mundane  Shell 
And  there  it  meets  Eternity  again,  both  within  and  without, 
And  the  abstract  Voids  between  the  Stars  are  the  Satanic  Wheels. 

12 


There  is  the  Cave;  the  Rock;  the  Tree:  the  Lake  of  Udan  Adan: 
The  Forest,  and  the  Marsh,  and  the  Pits  of  bitumen  deadly: 

40  The  Rocks  of  solid  fire:  the  Ice  valleys:  the  Plains 
Of  burning  sand;  the  rivers,  cataract  &  Lakes  of  Fire: 
The  Islands  of  the  fiery  Lakes:  the  Trees  of  Malice,  Revenge, 
And  black  Anxiety:  and  the  Cities  of  the  Salamandrine  men: 
(But  whatever  is  visible  to  the  Generated  Man, 

45  Is  a  Creation  of  mercy  &  love,  from  the  Satanic  Void.) 
The  land  of  darkness  flamed,  but  no  light,  &  no  repose: 
The  land  of  snows  of  trembling,  &  of  iron  hail  incessant: 
The  land  of  earthquakes:  and  the  land  of  woven  labyrinths: 
The  land  of  snares  &  traps  &  wheels  &  pit- falls  &  dire  mills: 

50  The  Voids,  the  Solids,  &  the  land  of  clouds  &  regions  of  waters, 

With  their  inhabitants:  in  the  Twenty-seven  Heavens  beneath  Beulah: 
Self- righteousnesses  conglomerating  against  the  Divine  Vision: 
A  Concave  Earth  wondrous,  Chasmal,  Abyssal,  Incoherent, 
Forming  the  Mundane  Shell:  above:  beneath:  on  all  sides  surrounding 

55  Golgonooza:  Los  walks  round  the  walls  night  and  day. 

He  views  the  City  of  Golgonooza,  &  its  smaller  Cities: 
The  Looms  &  Mills  &  Prisons  &  Work-houses  of  Og  &  Anak: 
The  Amalekite:  the  Canaanite:  the  Moabite:  the  Egyptian: 
And  all  that  has  existed  in  the  space  of  six  thousand  years: 
60  Permanent,  &  not  lost  (not  lost)  nor  vanish'd,  &  every  little  act, 
Word,  work,  &  wish,  that  has  existed,  all  remaining  still 
In  those  Churches  ever  consuming  &  ever  building,  by  the  Spectres 
Of  all  the  inhabitants  of  Earth,  wailing  to  be  Created: 
Shadowy  to  those  who  dwell  not  in  them,  meer  possibilities: 

65  But  to  those  who  enter  into  them  they  seem  the  only  substances, 

66  For  every  thing  exists  &  not  one  sigh  nor  smile  nor  tear, 

p.  14  ONE  hair  nor  particle  of  dust,  not  one  can  pass  away. 

He  views  the  Cherub  at  the  Tree  of  Life,  also  the  Serpent, 
Ore  the  first  born  coil'd  in  the  south:  the  Dragon  Urizen: 
Tharmas  the  Vegetated  Tongue,  even  the  Devouring  Tongue: 
5  A  threefold  region,  a  false  brain:  a  false  heart: 

And  false  bowels:  altogether  composing  the  False  Tongue, 
Beneath  Beulah:  as  a  wat'ry  flame  revolving  every  way, 
A.nd  as  dark  roots  and  stems:  a  Forest  of  affliction:  growing 
In  seas  of  sorrow.    Los  also  views  the  Four  Females: 
10  Ahania,  and  Enion,  and  Vala  and  Enitharmon  lovely, 

And  from  them  all  the  lovely  beaming  Daughters  of  Albion. 

13 


Ahania  &  Enion  &  Vala,  are  three  evanescent  shades: 

Enitharmon  is  a  vegetated  mortal  Wife  of  Los: 

His  Emanation,  yet  his  Wife  till  the  sleep  of  Death  is  past. 

15  Such  are  the  Buildings  of  Los:  &  such  are  the  Woofs  of  Enitharmon. 

And  Los  beheld  his  Sons,  and  he  beheld  his  Daughters: 
Every  one  a  translucent  Wonder:  a  Universe  within, 
Increasing  inwards,  into  length,  and  breadth,  and  heighth: 
Starry  &  glorious:  and  they,  every  one  in  their  bright  loins, 

20  Have  a  beautiful  golden  gate  which  opens  into  the  vegetative  world: 
And  every  one  a  gate  of  rubies  &  all  sorts  of  precious  stones 
In  their  translucent  hearts,  which  opens  into  the  vegetative  world: 
And  every  one  a  gate  of  iron  dreadful  and  wonderful 
In  their  translucent  heads,  which  opens  into  the  vegetative  world. 

25  And  every  one  has  the  three  regions  Childhood:   Manhood:  &  Age. 
But  the  gate  of  the  tongue,  the  western  gate  in  them  is  clos'd, 
Having  a  wall  builded  against  it :  and  thereby  the  gates 
Eastward  &  Southward  &  Northward,  are  incircled  with  flaming  fires. 
And  the  North  is  Breadth,  the  South  is  Heighth  &  Depth : 

30  The  East  is  Inwards :  &  the  West  is  Outwards  every  way. 

And  Los  beheld  the  mild  Emanation  Jerusalem  eastward  bending 
Her  revolutions  toward  the  Starry  Wheels  in  maternal  anguish, 
Like  a  pale  cloud  arising  from  the  arms  of  Beulah's  Daughters: 
34  In  Entuthon  Benython's  deep  Vales  beneath  Golgonooza. 

p.  15  AND  Hand  &  Hyle  rooted  into  Jerusalem  by  a  fibre 
Of  strong  revenge,  &  Scofeld  Vegetated  by  Reuben's  Gate 
In  every  Nation  of  the  Earth,  till  the  Twelve  Sons  of  Albion 
Enrooted  into  every  Nation :  a  mighty  Polypus  growing 
5  From  Albion  over  the  whole  Earth :  such  is  my  awful  Vision. 

I  see  the  Four-fold  Man.    The  Humanity  in  deadly  sleep, 
And  its  fallen  Emanation.    The  Spectre  &  its  cruel  Shadow. 
I  see  the  Past,  Present  &  Future,  existing  all  at  once 
Before  me;  O  Divine  Spirit  sustain  me  on  thy  wings! 
10  That  I  may  awake  Albion  from  his  long  &  cold  repose. 

For  Bacon  &  Newton  sheath'd  in  dismal  steel  their  terrors  hang 
Like  iron  scourges  over  Albion.    Reasonings  like  vast  Serpents 
Infold  around  my  limbs,  bruising  my  minute  articulations. 

I  turn  my  eyes  to  the  Schools  &  Universities  of  Europe, 
5  And  there  behold  the  Loom  of  Locke,  whose  Woof  rages  dire 

14 


Wash'd  by  the  Water-wheels  of  Newton:  black  the  cloth 
In  heavy  wreathes  folds  over  every  Nation:  cruel  Works 
Of  many  Wheels  I  view,  wheel  without  wheel,  with  cogs  tyrannic 
Moving  by  compulsion  each  other :  not  as  those  in  Eden,  which 
20  Wheel  within  Wheel  in  freedom  revolve  in  harmony  &  peace. 

I  see  in  deadly  fear  in  London  Los  raging  round  his  Anvil 
Of  death  :  forming  an  Ax  of  gold;  the  Four  Sons  of  Los 
Stand  round  him  cutting  the  Fibres  from  Albion's  hills, 
That  Albion's  Sons  may  roll  apart  over  the  Nations, 
25  While  Reuben  enroots  his  brethren  in  the  narrow  Canaanite 
From  the  Limit  Noah  to  the  Limit  Abram,  in  whose  Loins 
Reuben  in  his  Twelve-fold  majesty  &  beauty  shall  take  refuge, 
As  Abraham  flees  from  Chaldea  shaking  his  goary  locks. 
But  first  Albion  must  sleep,  divided  from  the  Nations. 

30  I  see  Albion  sitting  upon  his  Rock  in  the  first  Winter, 

And  thence  I  see  the  Chaos  of  Satan  &  the  World  of  Adam, 
When  the  Divine  Hand  went  forth  on  Albion  in  the  mid  Winter 
And  at  the  place  of  Death,  when  Albion  sat  in  Eternal  Death 

34  Among  the  Furnaces  of  Los  in  the  Valley  of  the  Son  of  Hinnom. 

p.  1 6  HAMPSTEAD,  Highgate,  Finchley,  Hendon,  Muswell  Hill,  rage  loud 
Before  Bromion's  iron  Tongs  &  glowing  Poker  reddening  fierce; 
Hertfordshire  glows  with  fierce  Vegetation;  in  the  Forests 
The  Oak  frowns  terrible,  the  Beech  &  Ash  &  Elm  enroot 
5  Among  the  Spiritual  fires :  loud  the  Corn-fields  thunder  along 
The  Soldier's  Fife,  the  Harlot's  shriek,  the  Virgin's  dismal  groan, 
The  Parent's  fear,  the  Brother's  jealousy,  the  Sister's  curse, 
Beneath  the  Storms  of  Theotormon,  &  the  thund'ring  Bellows 
Heaves  in  the  hand  of  Palamabron,  who  in  London's  darkness 

10  Before  the  Anvil  watches  the  bellowing  flames :  thundering 

The  Hammer  loud  rages  in  Rintrah's  strong  grasp,  swinging  loud 
Round  from  heaven  to  earth,  down  falling  with  heavy  blow 
Dead  on  the  Anvil,  where  the  red  hot  wedge  groans  in  pain. 
He  quenches  it  in  the  black  trough  of  his  Forge :  London's  River 

15  Feeds  the  dread  Forge,  trembling  &  shuddering  along  the  Valleys. 

Humber  &  Trent  roll  dreadful  before  the  Seventh  Furnace, 
And  Tweed  &  Tyne  anxious  give  up  their  souls  for  Albion's  sake. 
Lincolnshire,  Derbyshire,  Nottinghamshire,  Leicestershire, 
From  Oxfordshire  to  Norfolk  on  the  Lake  of  Udan  Adan 
20  Labour  within  the  Furnaces,  walking  among  the  Fires, 
With  Ladles  huge  &  iron  Pokers  over  the  Island  white. 


Scotland  pours  out  his  Sons  to  labour  at  the  Furnaces: 
Wales  gives  his  Daughters  to  the  Looms;  England,  nursing  Mothers 
Gives  to  the  Children  of  Albion  &  to  the  Children  of  Jerusalem. 
25   From  the  blue  Mundane  Shell  even  to  the  Earth  of  Vegetation, 
Throughout  the  whole  Creation  which  groans  to  be  deliver'd, 
Albion  groans  in  the  deep  slumbers  of  Death  upon  his  Rock. 

Here  Los  fix'd  down  the  Fifty-two  Counties  of  England  &  Wales, 
The  Thirty-six  of  Scotland,  &  the  Thirty-four  of  Ireland, 

30  With  mighty  power,  when  they  fled  out  at  Jerusalem's  Gates, 
Away  from  the  Conflict  of  Luvah  &  Urizen,  fixing  the  Gates 
In  the  Twelve  Counties  of  Wales,  &  thence  Gates  looking  every  way, 
To  the  Four  Points,  conduct  to  England  &  Scotland  &  Ireland, 
And  thence  to  all  the  Kingdoms  &  Nations  &  Families  of  the  Earth. 

35  The  Gate  of  Reuben  in  Carmarthenshire:  the  Gate  of  Simeon  in 
Cardiganshire :  &  the  Gate  of  Levi  in  Montgomeryshire  : 
The  Gate  of  Judah,  Merionethshire:  the  Gate  of  Dan,  Flintshire: 
The  Gate  of  Napthali,  Radnorshire :  the  Gate  of  Gad,  Pembrokeshire : 
The  Gate  of  Asher,  Carnarvonshire  :  the  Gate  of  Issachar,  Brecknokshire : 

40  The  Gate  of  Zebulun,  in  Anglesea  &  Sodor,  so  is  Wales  divided, 

The  Gate  of  Joseph,  Denbighshire:  the  Gate  of  Benjamin,  Glamorganshire: 
For  the  protection  of  the  Twelve  Emanations  of  Albion's  Sons. 

And  the  Forty  Counties  of  England  are  thus  divided  in  the  Gates: 

Of  Reuben,  Norfolk,  Suffolk,  Essex.    Simeon,  Lincoln,  York,  Lancashire. 
45  Levi,  Middlesex,  Kent,  Surrey.    Judah,  Somerset,  Glouster,  Wiltshire. 

Dan,  Cornwall,  Devon,  Dorset.    Napthali,  Warwick,  Leicester,  Worcester. 

Gad,  Oxford,  Bucks,  Harford.    Asher,  Sussex,  Hampshire,  Berkshire. 

Issachar,  Northampton,  Rutland,  Nottgham.    Zebulun,  Bedford,  Huntgn,  Camb. 

Joseph,  Stafford,  Shrops,  Heref.    Benjamin,  Derby,  Cheshire,  Monmouth. 
50  And  Cumberland,  Northumberland,  Westmoreland  &  Durham  are 

Divided  in  the  (the)  Gates  of  Reuben,  Judah,  Dan  &  Joseph. 

And  the  Thirty-six  Counties  of  Scotland,  divided  in  the  Gates : 

Of  Reuben,  Kincard,  Haddntn,  Forfar.    Simeon,  Ayr,  Argyll,  Banff. 

Levi,  Edinburh,  Roxbro,  Ross.    Judah,  Abrdeen,  Berwik,  Dumfries. 
55  Dan,  Bute,  Caitnes,  Clakmanan.    Napthali,  Nairn,  Invernes,  Linlithgo. 

Gad,  Peebles,  Perth,  Renfru.    Asher,  Sutherlan,  Stirling,  Wigtoun. 

Issachar,  Selkirk,  Dumbartn,  Glasgo.    Zebulun,  Orkney,  Shetland,  Skye. 

Joseph,  Elgin,  Lanerk,  Kinros.    Benjamin,  Kromarty,  Murra,  Kirkubriht. 

Governing  all  by  the  sweet  delights  of  secret  amorous  glances, 
60  In  Enitharmon's  Halls  builded  by  Los  &  his  mighty  Children. 

All  things  acted  on  Earth  are  seen  in  the  bright  Sculptures  of 

16 


Los's  Halls,  &  every  Age  renews  its  powers  from  these  Works, 
With  every  pathetic  story  possible  to  happen  from  Hate  or 
Wayward  Love,  &  every  sorrow  &  distress  is  carved  here, 

65  Every  Affinity  of  Parents,  Marriages  &  Friendships  are  here 
In  all  their  various  combinations  wrought  with  wondrous  Art, 
All  that  can  happen  to  Man  in  his  pilgrimage  of  seventy  years. 
Such  is  the  Divine  Written  Law  of  Horeb  &  Sinai : 

69  And  such  the  Holy  Gospel  of  Mount  Olivet  &  Calvary. 

p.  17   HIS  Spectre  divides  &  Los  in  fury  compells  it  to  divide: 
To  labour  in  the  fire,  in  the  water,  in  the  earth,  in  the  air, 
To  follow  the  Daughters  of  Albion  as  the  hound  follows  the  scent 
Of  the  wild  inhabitant  of  the  forest,  to  drive  them  from  his  own : 

5  To  make  a  way  for  the  Children  of  Los  to  come  from  the  Furnaces. 
But  Los  himself  against  Albion's  Sons  his  fury  bends,  for  he 
Dare  not  approach  the  Daughters  openly  lest  he  be  consumed 
In  the  fires  of  their  beauty  &  perfection  &  be  Vegetated  beneath 
Their  Looms,  in  a  Generation  of  death  &  resurrection  to  forgetfulness. 

10  They  wooe  Los  continually  to  subdue  his  strength:  he  continually 

Shews  them  his  Spectre;  sending  him  abroad  over  the  four  points  of  heaven 
In  the  fierce  desires  of  beauty  &  in  the  tortures  of  repulse :  He  is 
The  Spectre  of  the  Living  pursuing  the  Emanations  of  the  Dead. 
Shudd'ring  they  flee:  they  hide  in  the  Druid  Temples  in  cold  chastity: 

15  Subdued  by  the  Spectre  of  the  Living  &  terrified  by  undisguis'd  desire. 

For  Los  said :  Tho'  my  Spectre  is  divided,  as  I  am  a  Living  Man 
I  must  compell  him  to  obey  me  wholly:  that  Enitharmon  may  not 
Be  lost,  &  lest  he  should  devour  Enitharmon:  Ah  me! 
Piteous  image  of  my  soft  desires  &  loves:  O  Enitharmon! 
20  I  will  compell  my  Spectre  to  obey:  I  will  restore  to  thee  thy  Children. 
No  one  bruises  or  starves  himself  to  make  himself  fit  for  labour! 

Tormented  with  sweet  desire  for  these  beauties  of  Albion, 
They  would  never  love  my  power  if  they  did  not  seek  to  destroy 
Enitharmon:  Vala  would  never  have  sought  &  loved  Albion 
25  If  she  had  not  sought  to  destroy  Jerusalem:  such  is  that  false 
And  Generating  Love:  a  pretence  of  love  to  destroy  love: 
Cruel  hipocrisy  unlike  the  lovely  delusions  of  Beulah: 
And  cruel  forms,  unlike  the  merciful  forms  of  Beulah's  Night. 

They  know  not  why  they  love  nor  wherefore  they  sicken  &  die, 
30  Calling  that  Holy  Love,  which  is  Envy  Revenge  &  Cruelty, 

Which  separated  the  stars  from  the  mountains:  the  mountains  from  Man, 

I7  D 


And  left  Man,  a  little  grovelling  Root,  outside  of  Himself. 

Negations  are  not  Contraries:  Contraries  mutually  Exist: 

But  Negations  Exist  Not:  Exceptions  &  Objections  &  Unbeliefs 

35   Exist  not:  nor  shall  they  ever  be  Organized  for  ever  &  ever. 
If  thou  separate  from  me,  thou  art  a  Negation:  a  meer 
Reasoning  &  Derogation  from  me,  an  Objecting  &  cruel  Spite 
And  Malice  &  Envy:  but  my  Emanation,  Alas!  will  become 
My  Contrary.    O  thou  Negation,  I  will  continually  compell 

40  Thee  to  be  invisible  to  any  but  whom  I  please,  &  when 

And  where  &  how  I  please,  and  never!  never!  shalt  thou  be  Organized, 

But  as  a  distorted  &  reversed  Reflexion  in  the  Darkness 

And  in  the  Non  Entity:  nor  shall  that  which  is  above 

Ever  descend  into  thee :  but  thou  shalt  be  a  Non  Entity  for  ever. 

45  And  if  any  enter  into  thee,  thou  shalt  be  an  Unquenchable  Fire 
And  he  shall  be  a  never  dying  Worm,  mutually  tormented  by 
Those  that  thou  tormentest,  a  Hell  &  Despair  for  ever  &  ever. 

So  Los  in  secret  with  himself  communed  &  Enitharmon  heard 
In  her  darkness  &  was  comforted :  yet  still  she  divided  away 

50  In  gnawing  pain  from  Los's  bosom  in  the  deadly  Night; 
First  as  a  red  Globe  of  blood  trembling  beneath  his  bosom 
Suspended  over  her  he  hung :  he  infolded  her  in  his  garments 
Of  wool :  he  hid  her  from  the  Spectre,  in  shame  &  confusion  of 
Face;  in  terrors  &  pains  of  Hell  &  Eternal  Death,  the 

55  Trembling  Globe  shot  forth  Self-living  &  Los  howl'd  over  it: 
Feeding  it  with  his  groans  &  tears  day  &  night  without  ceasing: 
And  the  Spectrous  Darkness  from  his  back  divided  in  temptations, 
And  in  grinding  agonies,  in  threats,  stiflings,  &  direful  strugglings. 

Go  thou  to  Skofield :  ask  him  if  he  is  Bath  or  if  he  is  Canterbury. 

60  Tell  him  to  be  no  more  dubious:  demand  explicit  words. 
Tell  him:  I  will  dash  him  into  shivers,  where  &  at  what  time 
I  please:  tell  Hand  &  Skofield  they  are  my  ministers  of  evil 

63  To  those  I  hate:  for  I  can  hate  also  as  well  as  they! 

p.    1 8   FROM  every-one  of  the  Four  Regions  of  Human  Majesty 
There  is  an  Outside  spread  Without,  &  an  Outside  spread  Within, 
Beyond  the  Outline  of  Identity  both  ways,  which  meet  in  One: 
An  orbed  Void  of  doubt,  despair,  hunger  &  thirst  &  sorrow. 
5  Here  the  Twelve  Sons  of  Albion,  join'd  in  dark  Assembly, 
Jealous  of  Jerusalem's  children,  asham'd  of  her  little-ones, 
(For  Vala  produc'd  the  Bodies,  Jerusalem  gave  the  Souls) 
Became  as  Three  Immense  Wheels,  turning  upon  one-another 

18 


Into  Non-Entity,  and  their  thunders  hoarse  appall  the  Dead, 
10  To  murder  their  own  Souls,  to  build  a  Kingdom  among  the  Dead. 

Cast!  Cast  ye  Jerusalem  forth!  The  Shadow  of  delusions! 
The  Harlot  daughter!  Mother  of  pity  and  dishonourable  forgiveness! 
Our  Father  Albion's  sin  and  shame!  But  father  now  no  more! 
Nor  sons,  nor  hateful  peace  &  love,  nor  soft  complacencies 

15  With  transgressors  meeting  in  brotherhood  around  the  table, 
Or  in  the  porch  or  garden.    No  more  the  sinful  delights 
Of  age  and  youth,  and  boy  and  girl,  and  animal  and  herb, 
And  river  and  mountain,  and  city  &  village,  and  house  &  family, 
Beneath  the  Oak  &  Palm,  beneath  the  Vine  and  Fig-tree, 

20  In  self-denial ! — But  War  and  deadly  contention,  Between 
Father  and  Son,  and  light  and  love!  All  bold  asperities 
Of  Haters  met  in  deadly  strife,  rending  the  house  &  garden, 
The  unforgiving  porches,  the  tables  of  enmity,  and  beds 
And  chambers  of  trembling  &  suspition,  hatreds  of  age  &  youth, 

25  And  boy  &  girl,  &  animal  &  herb,  &  river  &  mountain, 
And  city  &  village,  and  house  &  family.    That  the  Perfect 
May  live  in  glory,  redeem'd  by  Sacrifice  of  the  Lamb 
And  of  his  children,  before  sinful  Jerusalem.    To  build 
Babylon  the  City  of  Vala,  the  Goddess  Virgin-Mother. 

30  She  is  our  Mother!   Nature!  Jerusalem  is  our  Harlot-Sister 
Return'd  with  Children  of  pollution,  to  defile  our  House 
With  Sin  and  Shame.    Cast!  Cast  her  into  the  Potter's  field. 
Her  little-ones,  She  must  slay  upon  our  Altars:  and  her  aged 
Parents  must  be  carried  into  captivity,  to  redeem  her  Soul, 

35  To  be  for  a  Shame  &  a  Curse,  and  to  be  our  Slaves  for  ever. 

So  cry  Hand  &  Hyle  the  eldest  of  the  fathers  of  Albion's 
Little-ones:  to  destroy  the  Divine  Saviour,  the  Friend  of  Sinners; 
Building  Castles  in  desolated  places,  and  strong  Fortifications. 
Soon  Hand  mightily  devour'd  &  absorb'd  Albion's  Twelve  Sons. 
40  Out  from  his  bosom  a  mighty  Polypus,  vegetating  in  darkness. 
And  Hyle  &  Coban  were  his  two  chosen  ones,  for  Emissaries 
In  War:  forth  from  his  bosom  they  went  and  return'd, 
Like  Wheels  from  a  great  Wheel  reflected  in  the  Deep. 
Hoarse  turn'd  the  Starry  Wheels,  rending  a  way  in  Albion's  Loins 

45  Beyond  the  Night  of  Beulah.    In  a  dark  &  unknown  Night, 

46  Outstretch'd  his  Giant  beauty  on  the  ground  in  pain  &  tears. 

p.  19  HIS  Children  exil'd  from  his  breast,  pass  to  and  fro  before  him, 
His  birds  are  silent  on  his  hills,  flocks  die  beneath  his  branches, 

'9 


His  tents  are  fall'n:  his  trumpets,  and  the  sweet  sound  of  his  harp, 
Are  silent  on  his  clouded  hills,  that  belch  forth  storms  &  fire. 

5  His  milk  of  Cows  &  honey  of  Bees,  &  fruit  of  golden  harvest, 
Is  gather'd  in  the  scorching  heat,  &  in  the  driving  rain: 
Where  once  he  sat  he  weary  walks  in  misery  and  pain, 
His  Giant  beauty  and  perfection  fallen  into  dust: 
Till  from  within  his  wither'd  breast  grown  narrow  with  his  woes, 

10  The  corn  is  turn'd  to  thistles  &  the  apples  into  poison: 

The  birds  of  song  to  murderous  crows,  his  joys  to  bitter  groans: 
The  voices  of  children  in  his  tents  to  cries  of  helpless  infants: 
And  self-exiled  from  the  face  of  light  &  shine  of  morning. 
In  the  dark  world,  a  narrow  house!  he  wanders  up  and  down, 

15  Seeking  for  rest  and  finding  none!   and  hidden  far  within, 
His  Eon  weeping  in  the  cold  and  desolated  Earth. 

All  his  Affections  now  appear  withoutside:  all  his  Sons, 

Hand,  Hyle  &  Coban,  Guantok,  Peachey,  Brereton,  Slayd  &  Hutton, 

Scofeld,  Kox,  Kotope  &  Bowen;  his  Twelve  Sons:  Satanic  Mill: 

20  Who  are  the  Spectres  of  the  Twenty-four,  each  Double-form'd, 
Revolve  upon  his  mountains  groaning  in  pain:  beneath 
The  dark,  incessant  sky  seeking  for  rest  and  finding  none: 
Raging  against  their  Human  natures,  rav'ning  to  gormandize 
The  Human  majesty  and  beauty  of  the  Twenty-four, 

25  Condensing  them  into  solid  rocks  with  cruelty  and  abhorrence. 
Suspition  &  revenge,  &  the  seven  diseases  of  the  Soul 
Settled  around  Albion  and  around  Luvah  in  his  secret  cloud. 
Willing  the  Friends  endur'd,  for  Albion's  sake,  and  for 
Jerusalem  his  Emanation  shut  within  his  bosom, 

30   Which  harden'd  against  them  more  and  more:  as  he  builded  onwards 
On  the  Gulph  of  Death  in  self-righteousness,  that  roll'd 
Before  his  awful  feet,  in  pride  of  virtue  for  victory: 
And  Los  was  roof'd  in  from  Eternity  in  Albion's  Cliffs 
Which  stand  upon  the  ends  of  Beulah,  and  withoutside,  all 

35  Appear'd  a  rocky  form  against  the  Divine  Humanity. 

Albion's  Circumference  was  clos'd:  his  Center  began  dark'ning 

Into  the  Night  of  Beulah,  and  the  Moon  of  Beulah  rose 

Clouded  with  storms:  Los  his  strong  Guard  walk'd  round  beneath  the  Moon, 

And  Albion  fled  inward  among  the  currents  of  his  rivers. 

40  He  found  Jerusalem  upon  the  River  of  his  City  soft  repos'd 
In  the  arms  of  Vala,  assimilating  in  one  with  Vala, 
The  Lilly  of  Havilah:  and  they  sang  soft  thro'  Lambeth's  vales, 

20 


In  a  sweet  moony  night  &  silence  that  they  had  created, 
With  a  blue  sky  spread  over  with  wings  and  a  mild  moon, 

45  Dividing  &  uniting  into  many  female  forms:  Jerusalem 
Trembling;  then  in  one  comingling  in  eternal  tears, 

47  Sighing  to  melt  his  Giant  beauty,  on  the  moony  river. 

p.  20  BUT  when  they  saw  Albion  fall'n,  upon  mild  Lambeth's  vale: 
Astonish'd,  Terrified,  they  hover'd  over  his  Giant  limbs. 
Then  thus  Jerusalem  spoke,  while  Vala  wove  the  veil  of  tears: 
Weeping  in  pleadings  of  Love,  in  the  web  of  despair. 

5  Wherefore  hast  thou  shut  me  into  the  winter  of  human  life, 
And  clos'd  up  the  sweet  regions  of  youth  and  virgin  innocence, 
Where  we  live,  forgetting  error,  not  pondering  on  evil, 
Among  my  lambs  &  brooks  of  water,  among  my  warbling  birds: 
Where  we  delight  in  innocence  before  the  face  of  the  Lamb, 
10  Going  in  and  out  before  him  in  his  love  and  sweet  affection. 

Vala  replied  weeping  &  trembling,  hiding  in  her  veil. 

When  winter  rends  the  hungry  family  and  the  snow  falls 

Upon  the  ways  of  men  hiding  the  paths  of  man  and  beast, 

Then  mourns  the  wanderer:  then  he  repents  his  wanderings  &  eyes 

15  The  distant  forest:  then  the  slave  groans  in  the  dungeon  of  stone, 
The  captive  in  the  mill  of  the  stranger,  sold  for  scanty  hire. 
They  view  their  former  life:  they  number  moments  over  and  over: 
Stringing  them  on  their  remembrance  as  on  a  thread  of  sorrow. 
Thou  art  my  sister  and  my  daughter:  thy  shame  is  mine  also: 

20  Ask  me  not  of  my  griefs!  thou  knowest  all  my  griefs. 

Jerusalem  answer'd  with  soft  tears  over  the  valleys. 

0  Vala  what  is  Sin?  that  thou  shudderest  and  weepest 

At  sight  of  thy  once  lov'd  Jerusalem!  What  is  Sin  but  a  little 
Error  &  fault  that  is  soon  forgiven;  but  mercy  is  not  a  Sin 
25  Nor  pity  nor  love  nor  kind  forgiveness:  O!  if  I  have  Sinned 
Forgive  &  pity  me!  O!  unfold  thy  Veil  in  mercy  &  love! 
Slay  not  my  little  ones,  beloved  Virgin  daughter  of  Babylon, 
Slay  not  my  infant  loves  &  graces,  beautiful  daughter  of  Moab. 

1  cannot  put  off  the  human  form,  I  strive  but  strive  in  vain. 
30  When  Albion  rent  thy  beautiful  net  of  gold  and  silver  twine, 

Thou  hadst  woven  it  with  art,  thou  hadst  caught  me  in  the  bands 
Of  love:  thou  refusedst  to  let  me  go:  Albion  beheld  thy  beauty, 

21 


Beautiful  thro'  our  Love's  comeliness,  beautiful  thro'  pity. 

The  Veil  shone  with  thy  brightness  in  the  eyes  of  Albion, 
35  Because  it  inclos'd  pity  &  love;  because  we  lov'd  one-another. 

Albion  lov'd  thee:  he  rent  thy  Veil:  he  embrac'd  thee:  he  lov'd  thee! 

Astonish'd  at  his  beauty  &  perfection,  thou  forgavest  his  furious  love: 

I  redounded  from  Albion's  bosom  in  my  virgin  loveliness : 

The  Lamb  of  God  reciev'd  me  in  his  arms,  he  smil'd  upon  us: 
40  He  made  me  his  Bride  &  Wife:  he  gave  thee  to  Albion. 

Then  was  a  time  of  love:  O  why  is  it  passed  away! 

42   Then  Albion  broke  silence  and  with  groans  reply'd. 

p.  21   O  Vala!  O  Jerusalem!  do  you  delight  in  my  groans! 
You  O  lovely  forms,  you  have  prepared  my  death-cup: 
The  disease  of  Shame  covers  me  from  head  to  feet:  I  have  no  hope. 
Every  boil  upon  my  body  is  a  separate  &  deadly  Sin. 
5  Doubt  first  assail'd  me,  then  Shame  took  possession  of  me: 
Shame  divides  Families,  Shame  hath  divided  Albion  in  sunder: 
First  fled  my  Sons,  &  then  my  Daughters,  then  my  Wild  Animations, 
My  Cattle  next,  last  ev'n  the  Dog  of  my  Gate;  the  Forests  fled, 
The  Corn-fields,  &  the  breathing  Gardens  outside  separated, 

10  The  Sea:  the  Stars:  the  Sun:  the  Moon:  driv'n  forth  by  my  disease. 
All  is  Eternal  Death  unless  you  can  weave  a  chaste 
Body  over  an  unchaste  Mind!   Vala!  O  that  thou  wert  pure! 
That  the  deep  wound  of  Sin  might  be  clos'd  up  with  the  Needle, 
And  with  the  Loom:  to  cover  Gwendolen  &  Ragan  with  costly  Robes 

15  Of  Natural  Virtue,  for  their  Spiritual  forms  without  a  Veil 
Wither  in  Luvah's  Sepulchre.    I  thrust  him  from  my  presence 
And  all  my  Children  follow'd  his  loud  howlings  into  the  Deep. 
Jerusalem!  dissembler  Jerusalem!  I  look  into  thy  bosom: 
I  discover  thy  secret  places.    Cordelia!  I  behold 

20  Thee  whom  I  thought  pure  as  the  heavens  in  innocence  &  fear: 
Thy  Tabernacle  taken  down,  thy  secret  Cherubim  disclosed. 
Art  thou  broken?  Ah  me,  Sabrina,  running  by  my  side: 
In  childhood  what  wert  thou?  unutterable  anguish!  Conwenna! 
Thy  cradled  infancy  is  most  piteous.    O  hide,  O  hide! 

25  Their  secret  gardens  were  made  paths  to  the  traveller: 
I  knew  not  of  their  secret  loves  with  those  I  hated  most, 
Nor  that  their  every  thought  was  Sin  &  secret  appetite. 
Hyle  sees  in  fear,  he  howls  in  fury  over  them.    Hand  sees 
In  jealous  fear:  in  stern  accusation  with  cruel  stripes 

30  He  drives  them  thro'  the  Streets  of  Babylon  before  my  face: 

22 


Because  they  taught  Luvah  to  rise  into  my  clouded  heavens. 
Battersea  and  Chelsea  mourn  for  Cambel  &  Gwendolen: 
Hackney  and  Holloway  sicken  for  Estrild  &  Ignoge: 
Because  the  Peak,  Malvern  &  Cheviot  Reason  in  Cruelty, 

35   Penmaenmawr  &  Dhinas-bran  Demonstrate  in  Unbelief, 

Manchester  &  Liverpool  are  in  tortures  of  Doubt  and  Despair, 
Maiden  &  Colchester  Demonstrate:  I  hear  my  Children's  voices, 
I  see  their  piteous  faces  gleam  out  upon  the  cruel  winds 
From  Lincoln  &  Norwich,  from  Edinburgh  &  Monmouth: 

40  I  see  them  distant  from  my  bosom  scourg'd  along  the  roads, 
Then  lost  in  clouds;  I  hear  their  tender  voices!  clouds  divide: 
I  see  them  die  beneath  the  whips  of  the  Captains;  they  are  taken 
In  solemn  pomp  into  Chaldea  across  the  bredths  of  Europe; 
Six  months  they  lie  embalm'd  in  silent  death:  worshipped, 

45  Carried  in  Arks  of  Oak  before  the  armies  in  the  spring. 
Bursting  their  Arks  they  rise  again  to  life:  they  play  before 
The  Armies:  I  hear  their  loud  cymbals  &  their  deadly  cries. 
Are  the  Dead  cruel?  are  those  who  are  infolded  in  moral  Law 
Revengeful?  O  that  Death  &  Annihilation  were  the  same! 

50  Then  Vala  answer'd  spreading  her  scarlet  Veil  over  Albion. 

p.  22  ALBION  thy  fear  has  made  me  tremble;  thy  terrors  have  surrounded  me: 
Thy  Sons  have  nail'd  me  on  the  Gates,  piercing  my  hands  &  feet: 
Till  Scofield's  Nimrod  the  mighty  Huntsman  [before]  Jehovah  came, 
With  Cush  his  Son  &  took  me  down.    He  in  a  golden  Ark, 

5  Bears  me  before  his  Armies  tho'  my  shadow  hovers  here. 
The  flesh  of  multitudes  fed  &  nouris'd  me  in  my  childhood, 
My  morn  &  evening  food  were  prepar'd  in  Battles  of  Men. 
Great  is  the  cry  of  the  Hounds  of  Nimrod  along  the  Valley 
Of  Vision,  they  scent  the  odor  of  War  in  the  Valley  of  Vision. 

10  All  Love  is  lost!  terror  succeeds  &  Hatred  instead  of  Love, 
And  stern  demands  of  Right  &  Duty  instead  of  Liberty. 
Once  thou  wast  to  me  the  loveliest  Son  of  heaven:  but  now 
Where  shall  I  hide  from  thy  dread  countenance  &  searching  eyes? 
I  have  looked  into  the  secret  Soul  of  him  I  loved 

15  And  in  the  dark  recesses  found  Sin  &  can  never  return. 

Albion  again  utter'd  his  voice  beneath  the  silent  Moon. 

I  brought  Love  into  light  of  day  to  pride  in  chaste  beauty, 
I  brought  Love  into  light  &  fancied  Innocence  is  no  more. 

Then  spake  Jerusalem.    O  Albion!  my  Father  Albion! 

23 


20  Why  wilt  them  number  every  little  fibre  of  my  Soul, 

Spreading  them  out  before  the  Sun  like  stalks  of  flax  to  dry? 
The  Infant  Joy  is  beautiful,  but  its  anatomy 
Horrible,  ghast  &  deadly:  nought  shalt  thou  find  in  it 
But  dark  despair  &  everlasting  brooding  melancholy! 

25  Then  Albion  turn'd  his  face  toward  Jerusalem  &  spake. 

Hide  thou,  Jerusalem,  in  empalpable  voidness,  not  to  be 
Touch'd  by  the  hand  nor  seen  with  the  eye:   O  Jerusalem, 
Would  thou  wert  not  &  that  thy  place  might  never  be  found. 
But  come,  O  Vala.,,  with  knife  &  cup:  drain  my  blood 
30  To  the  last  drop:  then  hide  me  in  thy  Scarlet  Tabernacle. 
For  I  see  Luvah  whom  I  slew,  I  behold  him  in  my  Spectre, 
As  I  behold  Jerusalem  in  thee,  O  Vala  dark  and  cold. 

Jerusalem  then  stretch'd  her  hand  toward  the  Moon  &  spoke. 

Why  should  Punishment  Weave  the  Veil  with  Iron  Wheels  of  War, 

35  When  Forgiveness  might  it  Weave  with  Wings  of  Cherubim? 

36  Loud  groan'd  Albion  from  mountain  to  mountain  &  replied. 

p.  23  JERUSALEM!  Jerusalem!  deluding  shadow  of  Albion! 
Daughter  of  my  phantasy!  unlawful  pleasure!   Albion's  curse! 
I  came  here  with  intention  to  annihilate  thee;  But 
My  soul  is  melted  away,  inwoven  within  the  Veil. 
5   Hast  thou  again  knitted  the  Veil  of  Vala,  which  I  for  thee 
Pitying  rent  in  ancient  times.    I  see  it  whole  and  more 
Perfect:  and  shining  with  beauty!   But  thou!  O  wretched  Father! 

Jerusalem  reply'd,  like  a  voice  heard  from  a  sepulcher: 
Father!  once  piteous!  Is  Pity  a  Sin?  Embalm'd  in  Vala's  bosom     . 
10  In  an  Eternal  Death  for  Albion's  sake,  our  best  beloved. 

Thou  art  my  Father  &  my  Brother:  Why  hast  thou  hidden  me, 
Remote  from  the  divine  Vision,  my  Lord  &  Saviour? 

Trembling  stood  Albion  at  her  words  in  jealous  dark  despair, 
He  felt  that  Love  and  Pity  are  the  same;  a  soft  repose: 
15  Inward  complacency  of  Soul:  a  Self-annihilation. 

I  have  erred!   I  am  ashamed!  and  will  never  return  more: 
I  have  taught  my  children  sacrifices  of  cruelty:  what  shall  I  answer? 
I  will  hide  it  from  Eternals!  I  will  give  myself  for  my  Children! 
Which  way  soever  I  turn,  I  behold  Humanity  and  Pity! 

24 


20  He  recoil'd:  he  rush'd  outwards:  he  bore  the  Veil  whole  away. 
His  fires  redound  from  his  Dragon  Altars  in  Errors  returning. 
He  drew  the  Veil  of  Moral  Virtue,  woven  for  Cruel  Laws, 
And  cast  it  into  the  Atlantic  Deep,  to  catch  the  Souls  of  the  Dead. 
He  stood  between  the  Palm  tree  &  the  Oak  of  weeping 

25   Which  stand  upon  the  edge  of  Beulah:  and  there  Albion  sunk 
Down  in  sick  pallid  languor:  These  were  his  last  words,  relapsing 
Hoarse  from  his  rocks,  from  caverns  of  Derbyshire  &  Wales 
And  Scotland,  utter'd  from  the  Circumference  into  Eternity. 

Blasphemous  Sons  of  Feminine  delusion!  God  in  the  dreary  Void 
30  Dwells  from  Eternity,  wide  separated  from  the  Human  Soul. 
But  thou,  deluding  Image,  by  whom  imbu'd  the  Veil  I  rent, 
Lo  here  is  Vala's  Veil  whole,  for  a  Law,  a  Terror  &  a  Curse! 
And  therefore  God  takes  vengeance  on  me:  from  my  clay-cold  bosom 
My  children  wander,  trembling  victims  of  his  Moral  Justice. 
35   His  snows  fall  on  me  and  cover  me,  while  in  the  Veil  I  fold 
My  dying  limbs.    Therefore  O  Manhood,  if  thou  art  aught 
But  a  meer  Phantasy,  hear  dying  Albion's  Curse! 
May  God,  who  dwells  in  this  dark  Ulro  &  voidness,  vengeance  take, 
And  draw  thee  down  into  this  Abyss  of  sorrow  and  torture, 
40  Like  me  thy  Victim.    O  that  Death  &  Annihilation  were  the  same! 

p.  24  WHAT  have  I  said?  What  have  I  done?  O  all-powerful  Human  Words! 
You  recoil  back  upon  me  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  slain  in  his  Children: 
Two  bleeding  Contraries,  equally  true,  are  his  Witnesses  against  me. 
We  reared  mighty  Stones:  we  danced  naked  around  them: 

5  Thinking  to  bring  Love  into  light  of  day,  to  Jerusalem's  shame: 
Displaying  our  Giant  limbs  to  all  the  winds  of  heaven:  sudden 
Shame  siez'd  us,  we  could  not  look  on  one-another  for  abhorrence:  the  Blue 
Of  our  immortal  Veins  &  all  their  Hosts  fled  from  our  Limbs, 
And  wander'd  distant  in  a  dismal  Night  clouded  &  dark: 

10  The  Sun  fled  from  the  Briton's  forehead:  the  Moon  from  his  mighty  loins: 
Scandinavia  fled  with  all  his  mountains  fill'd  with  groans. 

O  what  is  Life  &  what  is  Man?  O  what  is  Death?  Wherefore 
Are  you  my  Children,  natives  in  the  Grave  to  where  I  go? 
Or  are  you  born  to  feed  the  hungry  ravenings  of  Destruction, 
15  To  be  the  sport  of  Accident!  to  waste  in  Wrath  &  Love,  a  weary 
Life,  in  brooding  cares  &  anxious  labours,  that  prove  but  chaff. 
O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  I  have  forsaken  thy  Courts, 
Thy  Pillars  of  ivory  &  gold:  thy  Curtains  of  silk  &  fine 

25  E 


Linen:  thy  Pavements  of  precious  stones:  thy  Walls  of  pearl 
20  And  gold,  thy  Gates  of  Thanksgiving,  thy  Windows  of  Praise: 
Thy  Clouds  of  Blessing,  thy  Cherubims  of  Tender-mercy 
Stretching  their  Wings  sublime  over  the  Little-ones  of  Albion! 

0  Human  Imagination,  O  Divine  Body  I  have  Crucified, 

1  have  turned  my  back  upon  thee  into  the  Wastes  of  Moral  Law: 

25  There  Babylon  is  builded  in  the  Waste,  founded  in  Human  desolation. 
O  Babylon,  thy  Watchman  stands  over  thee  in  the  night, 
Thy  severe  Judge  all  the  day  long  proves  thee,  O  Babylon, 
With  provings  of  destruction,  with  giving  thee  thy  hearts  desire. 
But  Albion  is  cast  forth  to  the  Potter,  his  Children  to  the  Builders, 

30  To  build  Babylon  because  they  have  forsaken  Jerusalem. 

The  Walls  of  Babylon  are  Souls  of  Men:  her  Gates  the  Groans 
Of  Nations:  her  Towers  are  the  Miseries  of  once  happy  Families. 
Her  Streets  are  paved  with  Destruction,  her  Houses  built  with  Death, 
Her  Palaces  with  Hell  &  the  Grave;  her  Synagogues  with  Torments 

35  Of  ever-hardening  Despair,  squar'd  &  polish'd  with  cruel  skill. 
Yet  thou  wast  lovely  as  the  summer  cloud  upon  my  hills 
When  Jerusalem  was  thy  heart's  desire  in  times  of  youth  &  love. 
Thy  Sons  came  to  Jerusalem  with  gifts.    She  sent  them  away 
With  blessings  on  their  hands  &  on  their  feet,  blessings  of  gold, 

40  And  pearl  &  diamond:  thy  Daughters  sang  in  her  Courts: 
They  came  up  to  Jerusalem:  they  walked  before  Albion. 
In  the  Exchanges  of  London  every  Nation  walk'd, 
And  London  walk'd  in  every  Nation,  mutual  in  love  &  harmony. 
Albion  cover'd  the  whole  Earth,  England  encompass'd  the  Nations, 

45   Mutual  each  within  other's  bosom  in  Visions  of  Regeneration: 
Jerusalem  cover'd  the  Atlantic  Mountains  &  the  Erythrean, 
From  bright  Japan  &  China  to  Hesperia,  France  &  England. 
Mount  Zion  lifted  his  head  in  every  Nation  under  heaven: 
And  the  Mount  of  Olives  was  beheld  over  the  whole  Earth. 

50  The  footsteps  of  the  Lamb  of  God  were  there:  but  now  no  more, 
No  more  shall  I  behold  him,  he  is  clos'd  in  Luvah's  Sepulcher. 
Yet  why  these  smitings  of  Luvah,  the  gentlest  mildest  Zoa? 
If  God  was  Merciful  this  could  not  be:  O  Lamb  of  God, 
Thou  art  a  delusion  and  Jerusalem  is  my  Sin!  O  my  Children, 

55  I  have  educated  you  in  the  crucifying  cruelties  of  Demonstration 
Till  you  have  assum'd  the  Providence  of  God  &  slain  your  Father. 
Dost  thou  appear  before  me  who  liest  dead  in  Luvah's  Sepulcher? 
Dost  thou  forgive  me?  thou  who  wast  Dead  &  art  Alive? 
Look  not  so  merciful  upon  me,  O  thou  Slain  Lamb  of  God! 

60  I  die!  I  die  in  thy  arms  tho'  Hope  is  banish'd  from  me. 

26 


Thund'ring  the  Veil  rushes  from  his  hand,  Vegetating  Knot  by 
Knot,  Day  by  Day,  Night  by  Night:  loud  roll  the  indignant  Atlantic 
63  Waves  &  the  Erythrean,  turning  up  the  bottoms  of  the  Deeps. 

p.  25  AND  there  was  heard  a  great  lamenting  in  Beulah:  all  the  Regions 
Of  Beulah  were  moved  as  the  tender  bowels  are  moved:  &  they  said: 

Why  did  you  take  Vengeance,  O  ye  Sons  of  the  mighty  Albion? 
Planting  these  Oaken  Groves:   Erecting  these  Dragon  Temples. 
5  Injury  the  Lord  heals  but  Vengeance  cannot  be  healed: 

As  the  Sons  of  Albion  have  done  to  Luvah:  so  they  have  in  him 
Done  to  the  Divine  Lord  &  Saviour,  who  suffers  with  those  that  suffer. 
For  not  one  sparrow  can  suffer,  &  the  whole  Universe  not  suffer  also, 
In  all  its  Regions,  &  its  Father  &  Saviour  not  pity  and  weep. 
10  But  Vengeance  is  the  destroyer  of  Grace  &  Repentence  in  the  bosom 
Of  the  Injurer:  in  which  the  Divine  Lamb  is  cruelly  slain! 
Descend,  O  Lamb  of  God,  &  take  away  the  imputation  of  Sin 
By  the  Creation  of  States  &  the  deliverance  of  Individuals  Evermore.    Amen. 

Thus  wept  they  in  Beulah  over  the  Four  Regions  of  Albion : 

15  But  many  doubted  &  despair 'd  &  imputed  Sin  &  Righteousness 

1 6  To  Individuals  &  not  to  States,  and  these  Slept  in  Ulro. 


P.  27  TO  THE  JEWS. 

JERUSALEM  the  Emanation  of  the  Giant  Albion!  Can  it  be?  Is  it  a 
Truth  that  the  Learned  have  explored?  Was  Britain  the  Primitive  Seat  of 
the  Patriarchal  Religion?  If  it  is  true,  my  title-page  is  also  True,  that 
Jerusalem  was  &  is  the  Emanation  of  the  Giant  Albion.  It  is  True,  and 
5  cannot  be  controverted.  Ye  are  united,  O  ye  Inhabitants  of  Earth,  in  One 
Religion:  The  Religion  of  Jesus:  the  most  Ancient,  the  Eternal  &  the 
Everlasting  Gospel.  The  Wicked  will  turn  it  to  Wickedness,  the  Righteous 
to  Righteousness.  Amen!  Huzza!  Selah! 
"  All  things  Begin  &  End  in  Albion's  Ancient  Druid  Rocky  Shore." 

ib  Your  Ancestors  derived  their  origin  from  Abraham,  Heber,  Shem,  and 

C    Noah,  who  were  Druids:  as  the  Druid  Temples  (which  are  the  Patriarchal 
^"Pillars  &  Oak  Groves)  over  the  whole  Earth  witness  to  this  day. 

You  have  a  tradition,  that  Man  anciently  contain'd  in  his  mighty  limbs 
all  things  in  Heaven  &  Earth:  this  you  recieved  from  the  Druids. 
15  "  But  now  the  Starry  Heavens  are  fled  from  the  mighty  limbs  of  Albion." 

Albion  was  the  Parent  of  the  Druids:  &  in  his  Chaotic  State  of  Sleep 
17  Satan  &  Adam  &  the  whole  World  was  Created  by  the  Elohim. 

The  fields  from  Islington  to  Marybone, 
To  Primrose  Hill  and  Saint  John's  Wood, 
20  Were  builded  over  with  pillars  of  gold, 
And  there  Jerusalem's  pillars  stood. 

Her  Little-ones  ran  on  the  fields, 
The  Lamb  of  God  among  them  seen, 
And  fair  Jerusalem  his  Bride, 
25  Among  the  little  meadows  green. 

Pancrass  &  Kentish-town  repose 
Among  her  golden  pillars  high: 
Among  her  golden  arches  which 
Shine  upon  the  starry  sky. 

30  The  Jew's-harp-house  &  the  Green  Man, 
The  Ponds  where  Boys  to  bathe  delight, 
The  fields  of  Cows  by  William's  farm, 
Shine  in  Jerusalem's  pleasant  sight. 

She  walks  upon  our  meadows  green: 
35  The  Lamb  of  God  walks  by  her  side: 
And  every  English  Child  is  seen, 
Children  of  Jesus  &  his  Bride. 

28 


Forgiving  trespasses  and  sins 
Lest  Babylon  with  cruel  Og, 
40  With  Moral  &  Self-righteous  Law, 
Should  Crucify  in  Satan's  Synagogue! 

What  are  those  golden  Builders  doing 
Near  mournful  ever-weeping  Paddington, 
Standing  above  that  mighty  Ruin 
45  Where  Satan  the  first  victory  won, 

Where  Albion  slept  beneath  the  Fatal  Tree, 

And  the  Druids'  golden  Knife 

Rioted  in  human  gore, 

In  Offerings  of  Human  Life? 

50  They  groan'd  aloud  on  London  Stone, 
They  groan'd  aloud  on  Tyburn's  Brook, 
Albion  gave  his  deadly  groan, 
And  all  the  Atlantic  Mountains  shook. 

Albion's  Spectre  from  his  Loins, 
55  Tore  forth  in  all  the  pomp  of  War: 
Satan  his  name:  in  flames  of  fire 
He  stretch'd  his  Druid  Pillars  far. 

Jerusalem  fell  from  Lambeth's  Vale, 
Down  thro'  Poplar  &  Old  Bow; 
60  Thro'  Maiden  &  acros  the  Sea, 
In  War  &  howling,  death  &  woe. 

The  Rhine  was  red  with  human  blood; 
The  Danube  roll'd  a  purple  tide ; 
On  the  Euphrates  Satan  stood, 
65  And  over  Asia  stretch'd  his  pride. 

He  wither'd  up  sweet  Zion's  Hill, 
From  every  Nation  of  the  Earth; 
He  wither'd  up  Jerusalem's  Gates, 
And  in  a  dark  Land  gave  her  birth. 

70  He  wither'd  up  the  Human  Form, 
By  laws  of  sacrifice  for  sin, 
Till  it  became  a  Mortal  Worm; 
But  O!  translucent  all  within. 

29 


The  Divine  Vision  still  was  seen, 

75  Still  was  the  Human  Form  Divine, 

Weeping  in  weak  &  mortal  clay, 

0  Jesus,  still  the  Form  was  thine. 

And  thine  the  Human  Face,  &  thine 
The  Human  Hands  &  Feet  &  Breath, 
80  Entering  thro'  the  Gates  of  Birth, 
And  passing  thro'  the  Gates  of  Death. 

And  O  thou  Lamb  of  God,  whom  I 
Slew  in  my  dark  self-righteous  pride, 
Art  thou  return'd  to  Albion's  Land? 
85   And  is  Jerusalem  thy  Bride? 

Come  to  my  arms  &  never  more 
Depart;  but  dwell  for  ever  here: 
Create  my  Spirit  to  thy  Love: 
Subdue  my  Spectre  to  thy  Fear. 

90  Spectre  of  Albion!  warlike  Fiend! 
In  clouds  of  blood  &  ruin  roll'd: 

1  here  reclaim  thee  as  my  own, 

My  Self-hood!  Satan!  arm'd  in  gold. 

Is  this  thy  soft  Family-Love, 
95  Thy  cruel  Patriarchal  pride, 
Planting  thy  Family  alone, 
Destroying  all  the  World  beside? 

A  man's  worst  enemies  are  those 
Of  his  own  house  &  family; 
ioo  And  he  who  makes  his  law  a  curse, 
By  his  own  hand  shall  surely  die. 

In  my  Exchanges  every  Land 
Shall  walk,  &  mine  in  every  Land, 
Mutual,  shall  build  Jerusalem; 
105  Both  heart  in  heart  &  hand  in  hand. 

If  Humility  is  Christianity,  you,  O  Jews,  are  the  true  Christians;   If 
your  tradition  that  Man  contained  in  his  Limbs  all  Animals  is  True  & 
they  were  separated  from  him  by  cruel  Sacrifices;  and  when  compulsory 
cruel  Sacrifices  had  brought  Humanity  into  a  Feminine  Tabernacle,  in  the 
no  loins  of  Abraham  &  David,  the  Lamb  of  God,  the  Saviour  became  appar- 
ent on  Earth  as  the  Prophets  had  foretold !   The  Return  of  Israel  is  a  Return 
112  to  Mental  Sacrifice  &  War.    Take  up  the  Cross,  O  Israel,  &  follow  Jesus. 

30 


P.  28  CHAPTER  II. 

EVERY  ornament  of  perfection,  and  every  labour  of  love, 
In  all  the  Garden  of  Eden,  &  in  all  the  golden  mountains, 
Was  become  an  envied  horror,  and  a  remembrance  of  jealousy: 
And  every  Act  a  Crime,  and  Albion  the  punisher  &  judge. 

5  And  Albion  spoke  from  his  secret  seat  and  said: 

All  these  ornaments  are  crimes,  they  are  made  by  the  labours 
Of  loves:  of  unnatural  consanguinities  and  friendships, 
Horrid  to  think  of  when  enquired  deeply  into:  and  all 
These  hills  &  valleys  are  accursed  witnesses  of  Sin. 
10  I  therefore  condense  them  into  solid  rocks,  stedfast: 
A  foundation  and  certainty  and  demonstrative  truth: 
That  Man  be  separate  from  Man,  &  here  I  plant  my  seat. 

Cold  snows  drifted  around  him :  ice  cover'd  his  loins  around. 
He  sat  by  Tyburn's  brook,  and  underneath  his  heel  shot  up 
15  A  deadly  Tree:  he  nam'd  it  Moral  Virtue,  and  the  Law 
Of  God  who  dwells  in  Chaos  hidden  from  the  human  sight. 

The  Tree  spread  over  him  its  cold  shadows,  (Albion  groan'd) 
They  bent  down,  they  felt  the  earth  and  again  enrooting 
Shot  into  many  a  Tree:  an  endless  labyrinth  of  woe! 

20  From  willing  sacrifice  of  Self,  to  sacrifice  of  (miscall'd)  Enemies 
For  Atonement:  Albion  began  to  erect  twelve  Altars, 
Of  rough  unhewn  rocks,  before  the  Potter's  Furnace. 
He  nam'd  them  Justice,  and  Truth.    And  Albion's  Sons 
Must  have  become  the  first  Victims,  being  the  first  transgressors: 

25   But  they  fled  to  the  mountains  to  seek  ransom :  building  A  Strong 
Fortification  against  the  Divine  Humanity  and  Mercy, 

27  In  Shame  &  Jealousy  to  annihilate  Jerusalem! 

p.  29  THEN  the  Divine  Vision  like  a  silent  Sun  appear'd  above 
Albion's  dark  rocks:  setting  behind  the  Gardens  of  Kensington 
On  Tyburn's  River:  in  clouds  of  blood:  where  was  mild  Zion  Hill's 
Most  ancient  promontory:  and  in  the  Sun,  a  Human  Form  appear'd, 
5  And  thus  the  Voice  Divine  went  forth  upon  the  rocks  of  Albion. 

I  elected  Albion  for  my  glory:  I  gave  to  him  the  Nations 
Of  the  whole  Earth.    He  was  the  Angel  of  my  Presence:  and  all 
The  Sons  of  God  were  Albion's  Sons :  and  Jerusalem  was  my  joy. 
The  Reactor  hath  hid  himself  thro'  envy.    I  behold  him, 


io  But  you  cannot  behold  him  till  he  be  reveal'd  in  his  System. 

Albion's  Reactor  must  have  a  Place  prepar'd.    Albion  must  Sleep 

The  Sleep  of  Death,  till  the  Man  of  Sin  &  Repentance  be  reveal'd. 

Hidden  in  Albion's  Forests  he  lurks :  he  admits  of  no  Reply 

From  Albion:  but  hath  founded  his  Reaction  into  a  Law 
15  Of  Adion,  for  Obedience  to  destroy  the  Contraries  of  Man. 

He  hath  compell'd  Albion  to  become  a  Punisher  &  hath  possess'd 

Himself  of  Albion's  Forests  &  Wilds:  and  Jerusalem  is  taken, 

The  City  of  the  Woods  in  the  Forest  of  Ephratah  is  taken! 

London  is  a  stone  of  her  ruins:  Oxford  is  the  dust  of  her  walls: 
20  Sussex  &  Kent  are  her  scatter 'd  garments:  Ireland  her  holy  place: 

And  the  murder'd  bodies  of  her  little  ones  are  Scotland  and  Wales. 

The  Cities  of  the  Nations  are  the  smoke  of  her  consummation, 

The  Nations  are  her  dust,  ground  by  the  chariot  wheels 

Of  her  lordly  conquerors,  her  palaces  levell'd  with  the  dust. 
25  I  come  that  I  may  find  a  way  for  my  banished  ones  to  return. 

Fear  not,  O  little  Flock,  I  come:  Albion  shall  rise  again. 

So  saying,  the  mild  Sun  inclos'd  the  Human  Family. 

Forthwith  from  Albion's  darkning  locks  came  two  Immortal  forms, 
Saying:  We  alone  are  escaped,  O  merciful  Lord  and  Saviour, 
30  We  flee  from  the  interiors  of  Albion's  hills  and  mountains; 
From  his  Valleys  Eastward;  from  Amalek,  Canaan  &  Moab; 
Beneath  his  vast  ranges  of  hills  surrounding  Jerusalem. 

Albion  walk'd  on  the  steps  of  fire  before  his  Halls, 

And  Vala  walk'd  with  him  in  dreams  of  soft  deluding  slumber. 

35  He  looked  up  &  saw  the  Prince  of  Light  with  splendor  faded. 
Then  Albion  ascended  mourning  into  the  porches  of  his  Palace: 
Above  him  rose  a  Shadow  from  his  wearied  intellect 
Of  living  gold,  pure,  perfect,  holy ;  in  white  linen  pure  he  hover'd, 
A  sweet  entrancing  self-delusion,  a  wat'ry  vision  of  Albion, 

40  Soft  exulting  in  existence;  all  the  Man  absorbing. 

Albion  fell  upon  his  face  prostrate  before  the  wat'ry  Shadow, 

Saying:  O  Lord  whence  is  this  change?  thou  knowest  I  am  nothing! 

And  Vala  trembled  &  cover'd  her  face ;  &  her  locks  were  spread  on  the  pavemen  t. 

We  heard  astonish'd  at  the  Vision  &  our  hearts  trembled  within  us; 
45  We  heard  the  voice  of  slumberous  Albion,  and  thus  he  spake, 
Idolatrous  to  his  own  Shadow  words  of  eternity  uttering: 

O  I  am  nothing  when  I  enter  into  judgment  with  thee! 
If  thou  withdraw  thy  breath  I  die  &  vanish  into  Hades, 


If  thou  dost  lay  thine  hand  upon  me,  behold  I  am  silent: 
50  If  thou  withhold  thine  hand,  I  perish  like  a  fallen  leaf. 
O  I  am  nothing:  and  to  nothing  must  return  again: 
If  thou  withdraw  thy  breath,  Behold  I  am  oblivion. 

He  ceas'd;  the  shadowy  voice  was  silent:  but  the  cloud  hover'd  over  their  heads 
In  golden  wreathes,  the  sorrow  of  Man;  &  the  balmy  drops  fell  down. 
55  And  lo!  that  son  of  Man,  that  Shadowy  Spirit  of  mild  Albion, 
Luvah  descended  from  the  cloud:  in  terror  Albion  rose: 
Indignant  rose  the  awful  Man,  &  turn'd  his  back  on  Vala. 

We  heard  the  voice  of  Albion  starting  from  his  sleep: 

Whence  is  this  voice  crying,  Enion!  that  soundeth  in  my  ears? 
60  O  cruel  pity!  O  dark  deceit!  can  love  seek  for  dominion? 

And  Luvah  strove  to  gain  dominion  over  Albion: 

They  strove  together  above  the  Body  where  Vala  was  inclos'd, 

And  the  dark  Body  of  Albion  left  prostrate  upon  the  crystal  pavement: 

Cover'd  with  boils  from  head  to  foot:  the  terrible  smitings  of  Luvah. 

65  Then  frown'd  the  fallen  Man,  and  put  forth  Luvah  from  his  presence, 
Saying,  Go  and  Die  the  Death  of  Man,  for  Vala  the  sweet  wanderer. 
I  will  turn  the  volutions  of  your  ears  outward,  and  bend  your  nostrils 
Downward,  and  your  fluxile  eyes  englob'd  roll  round  in  fear; 
Your  with'ring  lips  and  tongue  shrink  up  into  a  narrow  circle, 

70  Till  into  narrow  forms  you  creep:  go  take  your  fiery  way: 

And  learn  what  'tis  to  absorb  the  Man,  you  Spirits  of  Pity  &  Love. 

They  heard  the  voice  and  fled  swift  as  the  winter's  setting  sun. 

And  now  the  human  blood  foam'd  high,  the  Spirits  Luvah  &  Vala 

Went  down  the  Human  Heart  where  Paradise  &  its  joys  abounded, 
75  In  jealous  fears  &  fury  &  rage,  &  flames  roll  round  their  fervid  feet: 

And  the  vast  form  of  Nature  like  a  serpent  play'd  before  them. 

And  as  they  fled  in  folding  fires  &  thunders  of  the  deep, 

Vala  shrunk  in  like  the  dark  sea  that  leaves  its  slimy  banks, 

And  from  her  bosom  Luvah  fell  far  as  the  east  and  West. 
80  And  the  vast  form  of  Nature  like  a  serpent  roll'd  between, 

Whether  of  Jerusalem's  or  Vala's  ruins  congenerated  we  know  not: 

All  is  confusion:  all  is  tumult,  &  we  alone  are  escaped. 
83  So  spoke  the  fugitives;  they  join'd  the  Divine  Family,  trembling. 

p.  30  AND  the  Two  that  escaped  were  the  Emanation  of  Los  &  his 
Spectre:  for  where  ever  the  Emanation  goes,  the  Spectre 
Attends  her  as  her  Guard,  &  Los's  Emanation  is  named 

33  F 


Enitharmon,  &  his  Spectre  is  named  Urthona:  they  knew 
5  Not  where  to  flee:  they  had  been  on  a  visit  to  Albion's  Children: 
And  they  strove  to  weave  a  Shadow  of  the  Emanation 
To  hide  themselves:  weeping  &  lamenting  for  the  Vegetation 
Of  Albion's  Children;  fleeing  thro  Albion's  vales  in  streams  of  gore. 

Being  not  irritated  by  insult,  bearing  insulting  benevolences, 
10  They  percieved  that  corporeal  friends  are  spiritual  enemies : 
They  saw  the  Sexual  Religion  in  its  embryon  Uncircumcision. 
And  the  Divine  hand  was  upon  them  bearing  them  thro'  darkness, 
Back  safe  to  their  Humanity  as  doves  to  their  windows: 
Therefore  the  Sons  of  Eden  praise  Urthona's  Spectre  in  Songs 
15  Because  he  kept  the  Divine  Vision  in  time  of  trouble. 

They  wept  &  trembled:  &  Los  put  forth  his  hand,  &  took  them  in, 
Into  his  Bosom;  from  which  Albion  shrunk  in  dismal  pain; 
Bending  the  fibres  of  Brotherhood,  &  in  Feminine  Allegories 
Inclosing  Los;  but  the  Divine  Vision  appear'd  with  Los, 
20  Following  Albion  into  his  Central  Void  among  his  Oaks. 

And  Los  prayed  and  said,  O  Divine  Saviour  arise 
Upon  the  Mountains  of  Albion  as  in  ancient  time.    Behold! 
The  Cities  of  Albion  seek  thy  face,  London  groans  in  pain 
From  Hill  to  Hill  &  the  Thames  laments  along  the  Valleys: 

25  The  little  Villages  of  Middlesex  &  Surrey  hunger  &  thirst: 
The  Twenty -eight  Cities  of  Albion  stretch  their  hands  to  thee, 
Because  of  the  Opressors  of  Albion  in  every  City  &  Village: 
They  mock  at  the  Labourer's  limbs!   they  mock  at  his  starv'd  Children. 
They  buy  his  Daughters  that  they  may  have  power  to  sell  his  Sons; 

30  They  compell  the  Poor  to  live  upon  a  crust  of  bread  by  soft  mild  arts; 
They  reduce  the  Man  to  want,  then  give  with  pomp  &  ceremony. 
The  praise  of  Jehovah  is  chaunted  from  lips  of  hunger  &  thirst. 
Humanity  knows  not  of  Sex:  wherefore  are  Sexes  in  Beulah? 
In  Beulah  the  Female  lets  down  her  beautiful  Tabernacle, 

35  Which  the  Male  enters  magnificent  between  her  Cherubim, 
And  becomes  One  with  her,  mingling,  condensing  in  Self-love, 
The  Rocky  law  of  Condemnation  &  double  Generation,  &  Death. 
Albion  hath  enter 'd  the  Loins,  the  place  of  the  Last  Judgment: 
And  Luvah  hath  drawn  the  Curtains  around  Albion  in  Vala's  bosom. 

40  The  Dead  awake  to  Generation!  Arise  O  Lord,  &  rend  the  Veil! 

41  So  Los  in  lamentations  follow'd  Albion.    Albion  cover'd 

34 


p.  3 1   HIS  western  heaven  with  rocky  clouds  of  death  &  despair. 

Fearing  that  Albion  should  turn  his  back  against  the  Divine  Vision 
Los  took  his  globe  of  fire  to  search  the  interiors  of  Albion's 
Bosom,  in  all  the  terrors  of  friendship,  entering  the  caves 
5  Of  despair  &  death,  to  search  the  tempters  out,  walking  among 
Albion's  rocks  &  precipices:  caves  of  solitude  &  dark  despair. 
And  saw  every  Minute  Particular  of  Albion  degraded  &  murder'd, 
But  saw  not  by  whom;  they  were  hidden  within  in  the  minute  particulars 
Of  which  they  had  possess'd  themselves:  and  there  they  take  up 

10  The  articulations  of  a  man's  soul,  and  laughing  throw  it  down 

Into  the  frame,  then  knock  it  out  upon  the  plank,  &  souls  are  bak'd 

In  bricks  to  build  the  pyramids  of  Heber  &  Terah.    But  Los 

Search'd  in  vain;  clos'd  from  the  minutia  he  walk'd,  difficult 

He  came  down  from  Highgate  thro'  Hackney  &  Holloway  towards  London, 

15   Till  he  came  to  old  Stratford  &  thence  to  Stepney  &  the  Isle 
Of  Leutha's  Dogs,  thence  thro'  the  narrows  of  the  River's  side 
And  saw  every  minute  particular,  the  jewels  of  Albion,  running  down 
The  kennels  of  the  streets  &  lanes  as  if  they  were  abhorr'd. 
Every  Universal  Form  was  become  barren  mountains  of  Moral 

20  Virtue;  and  every  Minute  Particular  harden'd  into  grains  of  sand: 
And  all  the  tendernesses  of  the  soul  cast  forth  as  filth  &  mire. 
Among  the  winding  places  of  deep  contemplation  intricate, 
To  where  the  Tower  of  London  frown'd  dreadful  over  Jerusalem; 
A  building  of  Luvah  builded  in  Jerusalem's  eastern  gate  to  be 

25  His  secluded  Court:  thence  to  Bethlehem  where  was  builded 
Dens  of  despair  in  the  house  of  bread ;  enquiring  in  vain 
Of  stones  and  rocks  he  took  his  way,  for  human  form  was  none: 
And  thus  he  spoke,  looking  on  Albion's  City  with  many  tears. 

What  shall  I  do?  what  could  I  do,  if  I  could  find  these  Criminals? 

30  I  could  not  dare  to  take  vengeance:  for  all  things  are  so  constructed 
And  builded  by  the  Divine  hand  that  the  sinner  shall  always  escape, 
And  he  who  takes  vengeance  alone  is  the  criminal  of  Providence: 
If  I  should  dare  to  lay  my  finger  on  a  grain  of  sand 
In  way  of  vengeance,  I  punish  the  already  punish'd;  O  whom 

35  Should  I  pity  if  I  pity  not  the  sinner  who  is  gone  astray? 

O  Albion,  if  thou  takest  vengeance,  if  thou  revengest  thy  wrongs, 

Thou  art  for  ever  lost !  What  can  I  do  to  hinder  the  Sons 

Of  Albion  from  taking  vengeance  ?  or  how  shall  I  them  perswade  ? 

So  spoke  Los,  travelling  thro'  darkness  &  horrid  solitude : 
40  And  he  beheld  Jerusalem  in  Westminster  &  Marybone, 

35 


Among  the  ruins  of  the  Temple;  and  Vala  who  is  her  Shadow. 
Jerusalem's  Shadow  bent  northward  over  the  Island  white. 
At  length  he  sat  on  London  Stone,  &  heard  Jerusalem's  voice. 

Albion,  I  cannot  be  thy  Wife,  thine  own  Minute  Particulars 
45  Belong  to  God  alone,  and  all  thy  little  ones  are  holy, 

They  are  of  Faith  &  not  of  Demonstration:  wherefore  is  Vala 
Cloth'd  in  black  mourning  upon  my  river's  currents?  Vala  awake! 
I  hear  thy  shuttles  sing  in  the  sky,  and  round  my  limbs 
I  feel  the  iron  threads  of  love  &  jealousy  &  despair. 

50  Vala  reply'd.    Albion  is  mine!   Luvah  gave  me  to  Albion, 
And  now  recieves  reproach  &  hate.    Was  it  not  said  of  old, 
Set  your  Son  before  a  man  &  he  shall  take  you  &  your  sons 
For  slaves;  but  set  your  Daughter  before  a  man  &  She 
Shall  make  him  &  his  sons  &  daughters  your  slaves  for  ever. 

55  And  is  this  Faith?  Behold  the  strife  of  Albion  &  Luvah 

Is  great  in  the  east,  their  spears  of  blood  rage  in  the  eastern  heaven. 
Urizen  is  the  champion  of  Albion,  they  will  slay  my  Luvah: 
And  thou,  O  harlot  daughter,  daughter  of  despair,  art  all 
This  cause  of  these  shakings  of  my  towers  on  Euphrates. 

60  Here  is  the  House  of  Albion,  &  here  is  thy  secluded  place, 
And  here  we  have  found  thy  sins;  &  hence  we  turn  thee  forth, 
For  all  to  avoid  thee;  to  be  astonish'd  at  thee  for  thy  sins; 
Because  thou  art  the  impurity  &  the  harlot;  &  thy  children, 
Children  of  whoredoms;  born  for  Sacrifice,  for  the  meat  &  drink 

65  Offering:  to  sustain  the  glorious  combat  &  the  battle  &  war, 
That  Man  may  be  purified  by  the  death  of  thy  delusions. 

So  saying  she  her  dark  threads  cast  over  the  trembling  River, 
And  over  the  valleys;  from  the  hills  of  Hertfordshire  to  the  hills 
Of  Surrey  across  Middlesex,  &  across  Albion's  House 
70  Of  Eternity;  pale  stood  Albion  at  his  eastern  gate, 

p.  32  LEANING  against  the  pillars,  &  his  disease  rose  from  his  skirts: 
Upon  the  Precipice  he  stood;  ready  to  fall  into  Non-Entity. 

Los  was  all  astonishment  &  terror;  he  trembled  sitting  on  the  Stone 
Of  London;  but  the  interiors  of  Albion's  fibres  &  nerves  were  hidden 
5   From  Los;  astonish'd  he  beheld  only  the  petrified  surfaces; 

And  saw  his  Furnaces  in  ruins,  for  Los  is  the  Demon  of  the  Furnaces. 
He  saw  also  the  Four  Points  of  Albion  revers'd  inwards: 
He  siez'd  his  Hammer  &  Tongs,  his  iron  Poker  &  his  Bellows, 
Upon  the  valleys  of  Middlesex,  Shouting  loud  for  aid  Divine. 

36 


io  In  stern  defiance  came  from  Albion's  bosom  Hand,  Hyle,  Koban, 
Gwantolc,  Peachey,  Brertun,  Slaid,  Huttn,  Skofeld,  Kock,  Kotope, 
Bowen;  Albion's  Sons;  they  bore  him  a  golden  couch  into  the  porch, 
And  on  the  Couch  repos'd  his  limbs,  trembling  from  the  bloody  field, 
Rearing  their  Druid  Patriarchal  rocky  Temples  around  his  limbs. 

15  (All  thing[s]  begin  &  end,  in  Albion's  Ancient  Druid  Rocky  Shore.) 

p.  33  TURNING  his  back  to  the  Divine  Vision,  his  Spectrous 
Chaos  before  his  face  appear'd;  an  Unformed  Memory! 

Then  spoke  the  Spectrous  Chaos  to  Albion,  dark'ning,  cold, 
From  the  back  &  loins  where  dwell  the  Spectrous  Dead : 

5  I  am  your  Rational  Power,  O  Albion,  &  that  Human  Form 
You  call  Divine,  is  but  a  Worm  seventy  inches  long 
That  creeps  forth  in  a  night  &  is  dried  in  the  morning  sun, 
In  fortuitous  concourse  of  memorys  accumulated  &  lost. 
It  plows  the  Earth  in  its  own  conceit,  it  overwhelms  the  Hills 

io  Beneath  its  winding  labyrinths,  till  a  stone  of  the  brook 
Stops  it  in  midst  of  its  pride  among  its  hills  &  rivers. 
Battersea  &  Chelsea  mourn,  London  &  Canterbury  tremble, 
Their  place  shall  not  be  found  as  the  wind  passes  over. 
The  ancient  Cities  of  the  Earth  remove  as  a  traveller, 

15  And  shall  Albion's  Cities  remain  when  I  pass  over  them, 
With  my  deluge  of  forgotten  remembrances  over  the  tablet? 

So  spoke  the  Spectre  to  Albion,  he  is  the  Great  Selfhood 
Satan,  Worship'd  as  God  by  the  Mighty  Ones  of  the  Earth, 
Having  a  white  Dot  call'd  a  Center  from  which  branches  out 
20  A  Circle  in  continual  gyrations:  this  became  a  Heart 

From  which  sprang  numerous  branches  varying  their  motions, 
Producing  many  Heads,  three  or  seven  or  ten,  &  hands  &  feet, 
Innumerable  at  will  of  the  unfortunate  contemplator 
Who  becomes  his  food:  such  is  the  way  of  the  Devouring  Power. 

25   And  this  is  the  cause  of  the  appearance  in  the  frowning  Chaos: 
Albion's  Emanation  which  he  had  hidden  in  Jealousy 
Appear'd  now  in  the  frowning  Chaos,  prolific  upon  the  Chaos, 
Reflecting  back  to  Albion  in  Sexual  Reasoning,  Hermaphroditic. 

Albion  spoke.    Who  art  thou  that  appearest  in  gloomy  pomp, 
30  Involving  the  Divine  Vision  in  colours  of  autumn  ripeness? 
I  never  saw  thee  till  this  time,  nor  beheld  life  abstracted 
Nor  darkness  immingled  with  light  on  my  furrow'd  field. 

37 


Whence  earnest  thou?  who  art  thou,  O  loveliest?  the  Divine  Vision 
Is  as  nothing  before  thee,  faded  is  all  life  and  joy. 

35  Vala  replied  in  clouds  of  tears  Albion's  garment  embracing. 

I  was  a  City  &  a  Temple  built  by  Albion's  Children! 
I  was  a  Garden  planted  with  beauty,  I  allured  on  hill  &  valley 
The  River  of  Life  to  flow  against  my  walls  &  among  my  trees. 
Vala  was  Albion's  Bride  &  Wife  in  great  Eternity: 

40  The  loveliest  of  the  daughters  of  Eternity,  when  in  day-break 
I  emanated  from  Luvah  over  the  Towers  of  Jerusalem, 
And  in  her  Courts  among  her  little  Children,  offering  up 
The  Sacrifice  of  fanatic  love!  why  loved  I  Jerusalem? 
Why  was  I  one  with  her  embracing  in  the  Vision  of  Jesus? 

45  Wherefore  did  I  loving  create  love,  which  never  yet 

Immingled  God  &  Man,  when  thou  &  I  hid  the  Divine  Vision 
In  cloud  of  secret  gloom  which  behold  involve  me  round  about? 
Know  me  now  Albion:  look  upon  me,  I  alone  am  Beauty: 
The  Imaginative  Human  Form  is  but  a  breathing  of  Vala: 

50  I  breathe  him  forth  into  the  Heaven  from  my  secret  Cave, 

Born  of  the  Woman  to  obey  the  Woman,  O  Albion  the  mighty, 

52  For  the  Divine  appearance  is  Brotherhood,  but  I  am  Love 

p.  34  ELEVATE  into  the  Region  of  Brotherhood  with  my  red  fires. 

Art  thou  Vala?  replied  Albion,  image  of  my  repose! 

O  how  I  tremble!  how  my  members  pour  down  milky  fear! 

A  dewy  garment  covers  me  all  over,  all  manhood  is  gone! 
5   At  thy  word  &  at  thy  look  death  enrobes  me  about 

From  head  to  feet,  a  garment  of  death  &  eternal  fear. 

Is  not  that  Sun  thy  husband  &  that  Moon  thy  glimmering  Veil  ? 

Are  not  the  Stars  of  heaven  thy  Children?  art  thou  not  Babylon? 

Art  thou  Nature  Mother  of  all  ?  is  Jerusalem  thy  Daughter? 
10  Why  have  thou  elevate  inward,  O  dweller  of  outward  chambers, 

From  grot  &  cave  beneath  the  Moon,  dim  region  of  death, 

Where  I  laid  my  Plow  in  the  hot  noon,  where  my  hot  team  fed, 

Where  implements  of  War  are  forged,  the  Plow  to  go  over  the  Nations, 

In  pain  girding  me  round  like  a  rib  of  iron  in  heaven:  O  Vala! 
15  In  Eternity  they  neither  marry  nor  are  given  in  marriage. 

Albion  the  high  Cliff  of  the  Atlantic  is  become  a  barren  Land. 

Los  stood  at  his  Anvil:  he  heard  the  contentions  of  Vala, 
He  heav'd  his  thund'ring  Bellows  upon  the  valleys  of  Middlesex, 
He  open'd  his  Furnaces  before  Vala;  then  Albion  frown'd  in  anger 

38 


20  On  his  Rock,  ere  yet  the  Starry  Heavens  were  fled  away 
From  his  awful  Members;  and  thus  Los  cried  aloud 
To  the  Sons  of  Albion  &  to  Hand  the  eldest  Son  of  Albion. 

I  hear  the  screech  of  Childbirth  loud  pealing,  &  the  groans 

Of  Death,  in  Albion's  clouds  dreadful  utter 'd  over  all  the  Earth. 
25   What  may  Man  be?  who  can  tell!  but  what  may  Woman  be, 

To  have  power  over  Man  from  Cradle  to  corruptible  Grave  ? 

There  is  a  Throne  in  every  Man,  it  is  the  Throne  of  God, 

This  Woman  has  claim'd  as  her  own  &  Man  is  no  more! 

Albion  is  the  Tabernacle  of  Vala  &  her  Temple, 
30  And  not  the  Tabernacle  &  Temple  of  the  Most  High. 

O  Albion  why  wilt  thou  Create  a  Female  Will? 

To  hide  the  most  evident  God  in  a  hidden  covert,  even 

In  the  shadows  of  a  Woman,  &  a  secluded  Holy  Place, 

That  we  may  pry  after  him  as  after  a  stolen  treasure, 
35  Hidden  among  the  Dead  &  mured  up  from  the  paths  of  life. 

Hand!  art  thou  not  Reuben  enrooting  thyself  into  Bashan, 

Till  thou  remainest  a  vaporous  Shadow  in  a  Void?  O  Merlin! 

Unknown  among  the  Dead  where  never  before  Existence  came, 

Is  this  the  Female  Will  O  ye  lovely  Daughters  of  Albion,  To 
40  Converse  concerning  Weight  &  Distance  in  the  Wilds  of  Newton  &  Locke? 

So  Los  spoke  standing  on  Mam-Tor,  looking  over  Europe  &  Asia: 
The  Graves  thunder  beneath  his  feet  from  Ireland  to  Japan. 

Reuben  slept  in  Bashan  like  one  dead,  in  the  Valley, 

Cut  off  from  Albion's  mountains  &  from  all  the  Earth's  summits, 

45  Between  Succoth  &  Zaretan  beside  the  Stone  of  Bohan ; 

While  the  Daughters  of  Albion  divided  Luvah  into  three  Bodies. 
Los  bended  his  Nostrils  down  to  the  Earth,  then  sent  him  over 
Jordan  to  the  Land  of  the  Hittite;  every-one  that  saw  him 
Fled!  they  fled  at  his  horrible  Form;  they  hid  in  caves 

50  And  dens,  they  looked  on  one-another  &  became  what  they  beheld. 

Reuben  return'd  to  Bashan,  in  despair  he  slept  on  the  Stone. 
Then  Gwendolen  divided  into  Rahab  &  Tirza  in  Twelve  Portions 
Los  rolled  his  Eyes  into  two  narrow  circles,  then  sent  him 
Over  Jordan;  all  terrified  fled;  they  became  what  they  beheld. 

55  If  Perceptive  Organs  vary:  Objects  of  Perception  seem  to  vary: 
If  the  Perceptive  Organs  close :  their  Objects  seem  to  close  also. 
Consider  this,  O  mortal  Man:  O  worm  of  sixty  winters,  said  Los, 

58  Consider  Sexual  Organization  &  hide  thee  in  the  dust. 

39 


p.  35  THEN  the  Divine  hand  found  the  Two  Limits,  Satan  and  Adam, 

In  Albion's  bosom;  for  in  every  Human  bosom  those  Limits  stand. 

And  the  Divine  voice  came  from  the  Furnaces,  as  multitudes  without 

Number!  the  voices  of  the  innumerable  multitudes  of  Eternity: 

And  the  appearance  of  a  Man  was  seen  in  the  Furnaces, 

Saving  those  who  have  sinned  from  the  punishment  of  the  Law, 

(In  pity  of  the  punisher  whose  state  is  eternal  death,) 

And  keeping  them  from  Sin  by  the  mild  counsels  of  his  love. 

Albion  goes  to  Eternal  Death:  In  Me  all  Eternity 
10  Must  pass  thro'  condemnation,  and  awake  beyond  the  Grave: 
individual  can  keep  these  Laws,  for  they  are  death 

To  every  energy  of  man,  and  forbid  the  springs  of  life. 

Albion  hath  enter'd  the  State  Satan!  Be  permanent  O  State! 

And  be  thou  for  ever  accursed!  that  Albion  may  arise  again. 
15  And  be  thou  created  into  a  State!  I  go  forth  to  Create 

States!  to  deliver  Individuals  evermore !  Amen. 

17  So  spoke  the  voice  from  the  Furnaces,  descending  into  Non-Entity. 

p.  36   REUBEN  return'd  to  his  place,  in  vain  he  sought  beautiful  Tirzah, 
For  his  Eyelids  were  narrow'd,  &  his  Nostrils  scented  the  ground. 
And  Sixty  Winters  Los  raged  in  the  Divisions  of  Reuben, 
Building  the  Moon  of  Ulro,  plank  by  plank  &  rib  by  rib. 
5   Reuben  slept  in  the  Cave  of  Adam,  and  Los  folded  his  Tongue 
Between  Lips  of  mire  &  clay,  then  sent  him  forth  over  Jordan. 
In  the  love  of  Tirzah  he  said:  Doubt  is  my  food  day  &  night. 
All  that  beheld  him  fled  howling  and  gnawed  their  tongues 
For  pain:  they  became  what  they  beheld.    In  reasonings  Reuben  returned 
10  To  Heshbon:  disconsolate  he  walk'd  thro'  Moab  &  he  stood 
Before  the  Furnaces  of  Los  in  a  horrible  dreamful  slumber, 
On  Mount  Gilead  looking  toward  Gilgal :  and  Los  bended 
His  Ear  in  a  spiral  circle  outward;  then  sent  him  over  Jordan. 

The  Seven  Nations  fled  before  him,  they  became  what  they  beheld: 
15  Hand,  Hyle  &  Coban  fled;  they  became  what  they  beheld: 

Gwantock  &  Peachey  hid  in  Damascus  beneath  Mount  Lebanon, 

Brereton  &  Slade  in  Egypt,  Hutton  &  Skofeld  &  Kox 

Fled  over  Chaldea  in  terror,  in  pains  in  every  nerve, 

Kotope  &  Bowen  became  what  they  beheld,  fleeing  over  the  Earth: 
20  And  the  Twelve  Female  Emanations  fled  with  them  agonizing. 

Jerusalem  trembled  seeing  her  Children  driv'n  by  Los's  Hammer, 
In  the  visions  of  the  dreams  of  Beulah,  on  the  edge  of  Non-Entity. 

40 


Hand  stood  between  Reuben  &  Merlin,  as  the  Reasoning  Spectre 
Stands  between  the  Vegetative  Man  &  his  Immortal  Imagination. 

25  And  the  Four  Zoas  clouded  rage,  East  &  West  &  North  &  South: 
They  change  their  situations,  in  the  Universal  Man. 
Albion  groans,  he  sees  the  Elements  divide  before  his  face, 
And  England,  who  is  Brittannia,  divided  into  Jerusalem  &  Vala : 
And  Urizen  assumes  the  East,  Luvah  assumes  the  South, 

30  Is  his  dark  Spectre  ravening  from  his  open  Sepulcher. 

And  the  Four  Zoas,  who  are  the  Four  Eternal  Senses  of  Man, 
Became  Four  Elements  separating  from  the  Limbs  of  Albion: 
These  are  their  names  in  the  Vegetative  Generation. 

And  Accident  &  Chance  were  found  hidden  in  Length,  Bredth  &  Highth: 

35  And  they  divided  into  Four  ravening  deathlike  Forms, 
Fairies  &  Genii  &  Nymphs  &  Gnomes  of  the  Elements: 
These  are  States  Permanently  Fixed  by  the  Divine  Power. 
The  Atlantic  Continent  sunk  round  Albion's  cliffy  shore, 
And  the  Sea  poured  in  amain  upon  the  Giants  of  Albion, 

40  As  Los  bended  the  Senses  of  Reuben.    Reuben  is  Merlin 

Exploring  the  Three  States  of  Ulro;  Creation,  Redemption,  &  Judgment. 

And  many  of  the  Eternal  Ones  laughed  after  their  manner: 

Have  you  known  the  Judgment  that  is  arisen  among  the 
Zoas  of  Albion;  where  a  Man  dare  hardly  to  embrace 

45  His  own  Wife,  for  the  terrors  of  Chastity  that  they  call 
By  the  name  of  Morality;  their  Daughters  govern  all 
In  hidden  deceit!  they  are  Vegetable,  only  fit  for  burning. 
Art  &  Science  cannot  exist  but  by  Naked  Beauty  display 'd. 
Then  those  in  Great  Eternity  who  contemplate  on  Death 

50  Said  thus,  What  seems  to  Be;  Is;  To  those  to  whom 
It  seems  to  Be,  &  is  productive  of  the  most  dreadful 
Consequences  to  those  to  whom  it  seems  to  Be ;  even  of 
Torments,  Despair,  Eternal  Death;  but  the  Divine  Mercy 
Steps  beyond  and  Redeems  Man  in  the  Body  of  Jesus.    Amen. 

55  And  Length,  Bredth,  Highth  again  Obey  the  Divine  Vision.    Hallelujah. 

p.  37  AND  One  stood  forth  from  the  Divine  family  &  said: 
I  feel  my  Spectre  rising  upon  me!  Albion!  arouze  thyself! 
Why  dost  thou  thunder  with  frozen  Spectrous  wrath  against  us? 
The  Spectre  is,  in  Giant  Man,  insane,  and  most  deform'd. 
5  Thou  wilt  certainly  provoke  my  Spectre  against  thine  in  fury! 
He  has  a  Sepulcher  hewn  out  of  a  Rock  ready  for  thee: 

41  G 


And  a  Death  of  Eight  thousand  years  forg'd  by  thyself,  upon 
The  point  of  his  Spear!  if  thou  persistest  to  forbid  with  Laws 
Our  Emanations,  and  to  attack  our  secret  supreme  delights. 

10  So  Los  spoke:  But  when  he  saw  blue  death  in  Albion's  feet 

Again  he  join'd  the  Divine  Body,  following,  merciful, 
12  While  Albion  fled  more  indignant:  revengeful  covering 

p.  38  HIS  face  and  bosom  with  petrific  hardness,  and  his  hands 
And  feet,  lest  any  should  enter  his  bosom  &  embrace 
His  hidden  heart:  his  Emanation  wept  &  trembled  within  him: 
Uttering  not  his  jealousy,  but  hiding  it  as  with 

5  Iron  and  steel,  dark  and  opake,  with  clouds  &  tempests  brooding: 
His  strong  limbs  shudder'd  upon  his  mountains  high  and  dark. 

Turning  from  Universal  Love  petrific  as  he  went, 
His  cold  against  the  warmth  of  Eden  rag'd  with  loud 
Thunders  of  deadly  war  (the  fever  of  the  human  soul) 
10  Fires  and  clouds  of  rolling  smoke!  but,  mild,  the  Saviour  follow'd  him, 
Displaying  the  Eternal  Vision,  the  Divine  Similitude, 
In  loves  and  tears  of  brothers,  sisters,  sons,  fathers  and  friends, 
Which  if  Man  ceases  to  behold,  he  ceases  to  exist : 

/  Saying,  Albion!  Our  wars  are  wars  of  life,  &  wounds  of  love, 
15  With  intellectual  spears,  &  long  winged  arrows  of  thought: 
Mutual  in  one  another's  love  and  wrath  all  renewing 
We  live  as  One  Man:  for  contracting  our  infinite  senses 
We  behold  multitude:  or  expanding,  we  behold  as  one. 
As  One  Man  all  the  Universal  Family:  and  that  One  Man 
20  We  call  Jesus  the  Christ:  and  he  in  us,  and  we  in  him, 
Live  in  perfect  harmony  in  Eden  the  land  of  life, 
Giving,  recieving,  and  forgiving  each  other's  trespasses. 
He  is  the  Good  shepherd,  he  is  the  Lord  and  master: 
He  is  the  Shepherd  of  Albion,  he  is  all  in  all, 
25  In  Eden:  in  the  garden  of  God:  and  in  heavenly  Jerusalem. 
If  we  have  offended,  forgive  us,  take  not  vengeance  against  us. 

Thus  speaking,  the  Divine  Family  follow  Albion: 

I  see  them  in  the  Vision  of  God  upon  my  pleasant  valleys. 

I  behold  London ;  a  Human  awful  wonder  of  God ! 
30  He  says,  Return,  Albion,  return!  I  give  myself  for  thee: 
My  Streets  are  my  Ideas  of  Imagination. 
Awake  Albion,  awake!  and  let  us  awake  up  together. 

42 


My  Houses  are  Thoughts;  my  Inhabitants,  Affections, 
The  children  of  my  thoughts,  walking  within  my  blood-vessels, 
35  Shut  from  my  nervous  form  which  sleeps  upon  the  verge  of  Beulah, 
In  dreams  of  darkness,  while  my  vegetating  blood,  in  veiny  pipes, 
Rolls  dreadful  thro'  the  Furnaces  of  Los,  and  the  Mills  of  Satan. 
For  Albion's  sake,  and  for  Jerusalem  thy  Emanation 
I  give  myself,  and  these  my  brethren  give  themselves  for  Albion. 

40  So  spoke  London,  immortal  Guardian!  I  heard  in  Lambeth's  shades: 
In  Felpham  I  heard  and  saw  the  Visions  of  Albion: 
I  write  in  South  Molton  Street,  what  I  both  see  and  hear, 
In  regions  of  Humanity,  in  London's  opening  streets. 

I  see  thee,  awful  Parent  Land,  in  light,  behold  I  see! 

45  Verulam!  Canterbury!  venerable  parent  of  men, 
^Generous  immortal  Guardian  golden  clad!  for  Cities 
Are  Men,  fathers  of  multitudes,  and  Rivers  &  Mountains 
Are  also  Men;  every  thing  is  Human,  mighty!  sublime! 
In  every  bosom  a  Universe  expands,  as  wings 

50  Let  down  at  will  around,  ahd  call'd  the  Universal  Tent. 
York,  crown'd  with  loving  kindness:  Edinburgh,  cloth'd 
With  fortitude  as  with  a  garment  of  immortal  texture, 
Woven  in  looms  of  Eden,  in  spiritual  deaths  of  mighty  men 
Who  give  themselves,  in  Golgotha,  Victims  to  Justice;  where 

55  There  is  in  Albion  a  Gate  of  precious  stones  and  gold, 
Seen  only  by  Emanations,  by  vegetations,  viewless, 
Bending  across  the  road  of  Oxford  Street;  it  from  Hyde  Park 
To  Tyburn's  deathful  shades,  admits  the  wandering  souls 

59  Of  multitudes  who  die  from  Earth :  this  Gate  cannot  be  found 

p.  39  BY  Satan's  Watch-fiends:  tho'  they  search  numbering  every  grain 
Of  sand  on  Earth  every  night,  they  never  find  this  Gate. 
It  is  the  Gate  of  Los.    Withoutside  is  the  Mill,  intricate,  dreadful 
And  fill'd  with  cruel  tortures:  but  no  mortal  man  can  find  the  Mill 
5  Of  Satan  in  his  mortal  pilgrimage  of  seventy  years, 

For  Human  beauty  knows  it  not:  nor  can  Mercy  find  it!  But 
In  the  Fourth  region  of  Humanity,  Urthona  nam'd, 
Mortality  begins  to  roll  the  billows  of  Eternal  Death 
Before  the  Gate  of  Los:  Urthona  here  is  named  Los, 
10  And  here  begins  the  System  of  Moral  Virtue,  named  Rahab. 
Albion  fled  thro'  the  Gate  of  Los,  and  he  stood  in  the  Gate. 

Los  was  the  friend  of  Albion  who  most  lov'd  him.    In  Cambridgeshire 

43 


His  eternal  station,  he  is  the  twenty-eighth,  &  is  four-fold. 
Seeing  Albion  had  turn'd  his  back  against  the  Divine  Vision, 
15   Los  said  to  Albion.    Whither  fleest  thou?   Albion  reply'd. 

I  die!  I  go  to  Eternal  Death!  the  shades  of  death 
Hover  within  me  &  beneath,  and  spreading  themselves  outside 
Like  rocky  clouds,  build  me  a  gloomy  monument  of  woe: 
Will  none  accompany  me  in  my  death?  or  be  a  Ransom  for  me 

20  In  that  dark  Valley?  I  have  girded  round  my  cloke,  and  on  my  feet 
Bound  these  black  shoes  of  death,  &  on  my  hands,  death's  iron  gloves. 
God  hath  forsaken  me,  &  my  friends  are  become  a  burden, 
A  weariness  to  me,  &  the  human  footstep  is  a  terror  to  me. 

^S 

Los  answered,  troubled,  and  his  soul  was  rent  in  twain : 

25   Must  the  Wise  die  for  an  Atonement?  does  Mercy  endure  Atonement? 

No!  It  is  Moral  Severity,  &  destroys  Mercy  in  its  Victim. 
27  So  speaking  not  yet  infected  with  the  Error  &  Illusion 

p.  40  LOS  shudder'd  at  beholding  Albion,  for  his  disease 
Arose  upon  him  pale  and  ghastly:  and  he  call'd  around 
The  friends  of  Albion:  trembling  at  the  sight  of  Eternal  Death 
The  four  appear'd  with  their  Emanations  in  fiery 

5  Chariots:  black  their  fires  roll,  beholding  Albion's  House  of  Eternity. 
Damp  couch  the  flames  beneath,  and  silent,  sick,  stand  shuddering 
Before  the  Porch  of  sixteen  pillars:  weeping  every  one 
Descended  and  fell  down  upon  their  knees  round  Albion's  knees, 
Swearing  the  Oath  of  God!  with  awful  voice  of  thunders  round 
10  Upon  the  hills  &  valleys,  and  the  cloudy  Oath  roll'd  far  and  wide. 

Albion  is  sick!  said  every  Valley,  every  mournful  Hill 

And  every  River:  our  brother  Albion  is  sick  to  death. 

He  hath  leagued  himself  with  robbers:  he  hath  studied  the  arts 

Of  unbelief:  Envy  hovers  over  him:  his  Friends  are  his  abhorrence: 
15  Those  who  give  their  lives  for  him  are  despised: 

Those  who  devour  his  soul,  are  taken  into  his  bosom: 

To  destroy  his  Emanation  is  their  intention. 

Arise!  awake,  O  Friends  of  the  Giant  Albion! 

They  have  perswaded  him  of  horrible  falshoods: 
20  They  have  sown  errors  over  all  his  fruitful  fields! 

The  Twenty-four  heard!  they  came  trembling  on  wat'ry  chariots, 
Borne  by  the  Living  Creatures  of  the  third  procession 
Of  Human  Majesty:  the  Living  Creatures  wept  aloud  as  they 
Went  along  Albion's  roads,  till  they  arriv'd  at  Albion's  House. 

44 


25  O!  how  the  torments  of  Eternal  Death  waited  on  Man: 
And  the  loud-rending  bars  of  the  Creation  ready  to  burst: 
That  the  wide  world  might  fly  from  its  hinges,  &  the  immortal  mansion 
Of  Man  for  ever  be  possess'd  by  monsters  of  the  deeps: 
And  Man  himself  become  a  Fiend,  wrap'd  in  an  endless  curse, 

30  Consuming  and  consum'd  for-ever  in  flames  of  Moral  Justice. 

For  had  the  Body  of  Albion  fall'n  down,  and  from  its  dreadful  ruins 
Let  loose  the  enormous  Spectre  on  the  darkness  of  the  deep, 
At  enmity  with  the  Merciful  &  fill'd  with  devouring  fire, 
A  nether-world  must  have  recieved  the  foul  enormous  spirit, 

35  Under  pretence  of  Moral  Virtue,  fill'd  with  Revenge  and  Law. 
There  to  eternity  chain'd  down,  and  issuing  in  red  flames 
And  curses,  with  his  mighty  arms  brandish'd  against  the  heavens: 
Breathing  cruelty  blood  &  vengeance,  gnashing  his  teeth  with  pain, 
Torn  with  black  storms,  &  ceaseless  torrents  of  his  own  consuming  fire: 

40  Within  his  breast  his  mighty  Sons  chain'd  down  &  fill'd  with  cursings: 
And  his  dark  Eon,  that  once  fair  crystal  form  divinely  clear, 
Within  his  ribs  producing  serpents  whose  souls  are  flames  of  fire. 
But,  glory  to  the  Merciful  One,  for  he  is  of  tender  mercies! 
And  the  Divine  Family  wept  over  him  as  One  Man. 

45  And  these  the  Twenty-four  in  whom  the  Divine  Family 
Appear'd;  and  they  were  One  in  Him.    A  Human  Vision! 
Human  Divine,  Jesus  the  Saviour,  blessed  for  ever  and  ever. 

Selsey,  true  friend!  who  afterwards  submitted  to  be  devotir'd 
By  the  waves  of  Despair,  whose  Emanation  rose  above 
50  The  flood,  and  was  nam'd  Chichester,  lovely  mild  &  gentle!   Lo! 
Her  lambs  bleat  to  the  sea- fowls'  cry,  lamenting  still  for  Albion. 

Submitting  to  be  call'd  the  son  of  Los  the  terrible  vision, 
Winchester  stood  devoting  himself  for  Albion:  his  tents 
Outspread  with  abundant  riches,  and  his  Emanations 
55  Submitting  to  be  call'd  Enitharmon's  daughters,  and  be  born 
In  vegetable  mould :  created  by  the  Hammer  and  Loom 
In  Bowlahoola  &  Allamanda  where  the  Dead  wail  night  &  day. 

(I  call  them  by  their  English  names;   English,  the  rough  basement. 
Los  built  the  stubborn  structure  of  the  Language,  acting  against 

60  Albion's  melancholy,  who  must  else  have  been  a  Dumb  despair.) 

6 1  Gloucester  and  Exeter  and  Salisbury  and  Bristol;  and  benevolent  Bath, 

p.  41  BATH  who  is  Legions;  he  is  the  Seventh,  the  physician  and 

45 


The  poisoner;  the  best  and  worst  in  Heaven  and  Hell; 
Whose  Spectre  first  assimilated  with  Luvah  in  Albion's  mountains. 
A  triple  octave  he  took,  to  reduce  Jerusalem  to  twelve, 
5  To  cast  Jerusalem  forth  upon  the  wilds  to  Poplar  &  Bow, 
To  Maiden  &  Canterbury  in  the  delights  of  cruelty: 
The  Shuttles  of  death  sing  in  the  sky  to  Islington  &  Pancrass, 
Round  Marybone  to  Tyburn's  River,  weaving  black  melancholy  as  a  net, 
And  despair  as  meshes  closely  wove  over  the  west  of  London, 
10  Where  mild  Jerusalem  sought  to  repose  in  death  &  be  no  more. 
She  fled  to  Lambeth's  mild  Vale  and  hid  herself  beneath 
The  Surrey  Hills  where  Rephaim  terminates;  her  Sons  are  siez'd 
For  victims  of  sacrifice;  but  Jerusalem  cannot  be  found;  Hid 
By  the  Daughters  of  Beulah,  gently  snatch'd  away,  and  hid  in  Beulah. 

15  There  is  a  Green  of  Sand  in  Lambeth  that  Satan  cannot  find, 

Nor  can  his  Watch  Fiends  find  it;  'tis  translucent  &  has  many  Angles, 

But  he  who  finds  it  will  find  Oothoon's  palace,  for  within, 

Opening  into  Beulah,  every  angle  is  a  lovely  heaven. 

But  should  the  Watch  Fiends  find  it,  they  would  call  it  Sin, 

20  And  lay  its  Heavens  &  their  inhabitants  in  blood  of  punishment. 
Here  Jerusalem  &  Vala  were  hid  in  soft  slumberous  repose, 
Hid  from  the  terrible  East,  shut  up  in  the  South  &  West. 

The  Twenty-eight  trembled  in  Death's  dark  caves,  in  cold  despair 
They  kneel'd  around  the  Couch  of  Death  in  deep  humiliation 
25  And  tortures  of  self  condemnation  while  their  Spectres  rag'd  within. 
The  Four  Zoas  in  terrible  combustion  clouded  rage, 
Drinking  the  shuddering  fears  &  loves  of  Albion's  Families, 
Destroying  by  selfish  affections  the  things  that  they  most  admire, 
Drinking  &  eating,  &  pitying  &  weeping,  as  at  a  tragic  scene, 

30  The  soul  drinks  murder  &  revenge,  &  applauds  its  own  holiness. 

31  They  saw  Albion  endeavouring  to  destroy  their  Emanations. 

p.  42  THUS  Albion  sat,  studious  of  others  in  his  pale  disease; 
Brooding  on  evil;  but  when  Los  open'd  the  Furnaces  before  him, 
He  saw  that  the  accursed  things  were  his  own  affections, 
And  his  own  beloveds:  then  he  turn'd  sick:  his  soul  died  within  him. 
5  Also  Los  sick  &  terrified  beheld  the  Furnaces  of  Death, 
And  must  have  died,  but  the  Divine  Saviour  descended 
Among  the  infant  loves  &  affections,  and  the  Divine  Vision  wept 
Like  evening  dew  on  every  herb  upon  the  breathing  ground. 

Albion  spoke  in  his  dismal  dreams :  O  thou  deceitful  friend, 

46 


io  Worshipping  mercy  &  beholding  thy  friend  in  such  affliction: 
Los !  thou  now  discoverest  thy  turpitude  to  the  heavens. 
I  demand  righteousness  &  justice.    O  thou  ingratitude! 
Give  me  my  Emanations  back,  food  for  my  dying  soul: 
My  daughters  are  harlots:  my  sons  are  accursed  before  me. 

15   Enitharmon  is  my  daughter:  accursed  with  a  father's  curse: 

O!  I  have  utterly  been  wasted:  I  have  given  my  daughters  to  devils. 

So  spoke  Albion  in  gloomy  majesty,  and  deepest  night 
Of  Ulro  roll'd  round  his  skirts  from  Dover  to  Cornwall. 

Los  answer'd.    Righteousness  &  justice  I  give  thee  in  return 
20  For  thy  righteousness;  but  I  add  mercy  also,  and  bind 

Thee  from  destroying  these  little  ones;  am  I  to  be  only 

Merciful  to  thee  and  cruel  to  all  that  thou  hatest? 

Thou  wast  the  Image  of  God  surrounded  by  the  Four  Zoas. 

Three  thou  hast  slain:  I  am  the  Fourth,  thou  canst  not  destroy  me. 
25  Thou  art  in  Error;  trouble  me  not  with  thy  righteousness. 

I  have  innocence  to  defend  and  ignorance  to  instruct: 

I  have  no  time  for  seeming,  and  little  arts  of  compliment, 

In  morality  and  virtue:  in  self-glorying  and  pride. 

There  is  a  limit  of  Opakeness,  and  a  limit  of  Contraction ; 
30  In  every  Individual  Man,  and  the  limit  of  Opakeness, 

Is  named  Satan;  and  the  limit  of  Contraction  is  named  Adam. 

But  when  Man  sleeps  in  Beulah,  the  Saviour  in  Mercy  takes 

Contraction's  Limit,  and  of  the  Limit  he  forms  Woman;  That 

Himself  may  in  process  of  time  be  born  Man  to  redeem. 
35  But  there  is  no  Limit  of  Expansion;  there  is  no  Limit  of  Translucence, 

In  the  bosom  of  Man  for  ever  from  eternity  to  eternity. 

Therefore  I  break  thy  bonds  of  righteousness;  I  crush  thy  messengers; 

That  they  may  not  crush  me  and  mine;  do  thou  be  righteous, 

And  I  will  return  it;  otherwise  I  defy  thy  worst  revenge; 
40  Consider  me  as  thine  enemy:  on  me  turn  all  thy  fury: 

But  destroy  not  these  little  ones,  nor  mock  the  Lord's  anointed: 

Destroy  not,  by  Moral  Virtue,  the  little  ones  whom  he  hath  chosen; 

The  little  ones  whom  he  hath  chosen  in  preference  to  thee. 

He  hath  cast  thee  off  for  ever;  the  little  ones  he  hath  anointed! 
45  Thy  Selfhood  is  for  ever  accursed  from  the  Divine  presence. 

So  Los  spoke:  then  turn'd  his  face  &  wept  for  Albion. 

Albion  replied.    Go,  Hand  &  Hyle!  sieze  the  abhorred  friend: 
As  you  have  siez'd  the  Twenty-four  rebellious  ingratitudes: 
To  atone  for  you,  for  spiritual  death ;  Man  lives  by  deaths  of  Men. 

47 


50  Bring  him  to  justice  before  heaven  here  upon  London  stone, 

Between  Blackheath  &  Hounslow,  between  Norwood  &  Finchley. 

All  that  they  have  is  mine:  from  my  free  gen'rous  gift, 

They  now  hold  all  they  have;  ingratitude  to  me, 

To  me  their  benefactor  calls  aloud  for  vengeance  deep. 

55  Los  stood  before  his  Furnaces  awaiting  the  fury  of  the  Dead; 
And  the  Divine  hand  was  upon  him,  strengthening  him  mightily. 

The  Spectres  of  the  Dead  cry  out  from  the  deeps  beneath 
Upon  the  hills  of  Albion;  Oxford  groans  in  his  iron  furnace, 
Winchester  in  his  den  &  cavern:  they  lament  against 
60  Albion;  they  curse  their  human  kindness  &  affection, 
They  rage  like  wild  beasts  in  the  forests  of  affliction, 
In  the  dreams  of  Ulro  they  repent  of  their  human  kindness. 

Come  up,  build  Babylon,  Rahab  is  ours  &  all  her  multitudes 
With  her,  in  pomp  and  glory  of  victory.    Depart, 
65  Ye  twenty-four,  into  the  deeps;  let  us  depart  to  glory! 

Their  Human  majestic  Forms  sit  up  upon  their  Couches 
Of  death:  they  curb  their  Spectres  as  with  iron  curbs: 
They  enquire  after  Jerusalem  in  the  regions  of  the  dead, 
With  the  voices  of  dead  men,  low,  scarcely  articulate, 
70  And  with  tears  cold  on  their  cheeks  they  weary  repose. 

O  when  shall  the  morning  of  the  grave  appear,  and  when 
Shall  our  salvation  come?  we  sleep  upon  our  watch, 
We  cannot  awake;  and  our  Spectres  rage  in  the  forests, 
O  God  of  Albion  where  art  thou;  pity  the  watchers! 

75  Thus  mourn  they.    Loud  the  Furnaces  of  Los  thunder  upon 
The  clouds  of  Europe  &  Asia,  among  the  Serpent  Temples. 

And  Los  drew  his  Seven  Furnaces  around  Albion's  Altars: 

And  as  Albion  built  his  frozen  Altars,  Los  built  the  Mundane  Shell, 

In  the  Four  Regions  of  Humanity,  East  &  West  &  North  &  South, 

80  Till  Norwood  &  Finchley  &  Blackheath  &  Hounslow, cover' d  the  whole  Earth. 

81  This  is  the  Net  &  Veil  of  Vala,  among  the  Souls  of  the  Dead. 

p.  43  THEY  saw  their  Wheels  rising  up  poisonous  against  Albion. 
Urizen,  cold  &  scientific;  Luvah,  pitying  &  weeping; 
Tharmas,  indolent  &  sullen;  Urthona,  doubting  &  despairing; 
Victims  to  one  another  &  dreadfully  plotting  against  each  other 
5  To  prevent  Albion  walking  about  in  the  Four  Complexions. 

48 


They  saw  America  clos'd  out  by  the  Oaks  of  the  western  shore: 

And  Tharmas  dash'd  on  the  Rocks  of  the  Altars  of  Victims  in  Mexico. 

If  we  are  wrathful  Albion  will  destroy  Jerusalem  with  rooty  Groves, 


If  we  are  merciful,  ourselves  must  suffer  destruction  on  his  Oaks: 
Why  should  we  enter  into  our  Spectres,  to  behold  our  own  corruptions? 
O  God  of  Albion,  descend!  deliver  Jerusalem  from  the  Oaken  Groves! 


Then  Los  grew  furious  raging:   Why  stand  we  here  trembling  around 
Calling  on  God  for  help;  and  not  ourselves  in  whom  God  dwells 
Stretching  a  hand  to  save  the  falling  Man:  are  we  not  Four 

15  Beholding  Albion  upon  the  Precipice  ready  to  fall  into  Non-Entity: 

Seeing  these  Heavens  &  Hells  conglobing  in  the  Void.    Heavens  over  Hells 
Brooding  in  holy  hypocritic  lust,  drinking  the  cries  of  pain 
From  howling  victims  of  Law:  building  Heavens  Twenty-seven-fold. 
Swell'd  &  bloated  General  Forms,  repugnant  to  the  Divine- 

20  Humanity,  who  is  the  Only  General  and  Universal  Form, 
To  which  all  Lineaments  tend  &  seek  with  love  &  sympathy, 
All  broad  &  general  principles  belong  to  benevolence, 
Who  protects  minute  particulars,  every  one  in  their  own  identity. 
But  here  the  affectionate  touch  of  the  tongue  is  clos'd  in  by  deadly  teeth, 

25  And  the  soft  smile  of  friendship  &  the  open  dawn  of  benevolence 
Become  a  net  &  a  trap,  &  every  energy  render'd  cruel, 
Till  the  existence  of  friendship  &  benevolence  is  denied: 
The  wine  of  the  Spirit  &  the  vineyards  of  the  Holy-One 
Here  turn  into  poisonous  stupor  &  deadly  intoxication, 

30  That  they  may  be  condemn'd  by  Law  &  the  Lamb  of  God  be  slain. 
And  the  two  Sources  of  Life  in  Eternity,  Hunting  and  War, 
Are  become  the  Sources  of  dark  &  bitter  Death  &  of  corroding  Hell: 
The  open  heart  is  shut  up  in  integuments  of  frozen  silence 
That  the  spear  that  lights  it  forth  may  shatter  the  ribs  &  bosom. 

35  A  pretence  of  Art,  to  destroy  Art,  a  pretence  of  Liberty 

To  destroy  Liberty,  a  pretence  of  Religion  to  destroy  Religion. 
Oshea  and  Caleb  fight:  they  contend  in  the  valleys  of  (of)  Peor, 
In  the  terrible  Family  Contentions  of  those  who  love  each  other: 
The  Armies  of  Balaam  weep — no  women  come  to  the  field : 

40  Dead  corses  lay  before  them,  &  not  as  in  Wars  of  old. 

For  the  Soldier  who  fights  for  Truth,  calls  his  enemy  his  brother: 

They  fight  &  contend  for  life,  &  not  for  eternal  death! 

But  here  the  Soldier  strikes,  &  a  dead  corse  falls  at  his  feet, 

Nor  Daughter  nor  Sister  nor  Mother  come  forth  to  embosom  the  Slain ! 

45  But  Death!  Eternal  Death!  remains  in  the  Valleys  of  Peor. 
The  English  are  scatter'd  over  the  face  of  the  Nations:  are  these 

49  » 


Jerusalem's  children?  Hark!  hear  the  Giants  of  Albion  cry  at  night. 

We  smell  the  blood  of  the  English!  we  delight  in  their  blood  on  our  Altars: 

The  living  &  the  dead  shall  be  ground  in  our  rumbling  Mills 

50  For  bread  of  the  Sons  of  Albion:  of  the  Giants  Hand  &  Scofield. 
Scofeld  &  Kox  are  let  loose  upon  my  Saxons!  they  accumulate 
A  World  in  which  Man  is  by  his  Nature  the  Enemy  of  Man, 
In  pride  of  Selfhood  unwieldy  stretching  out  into  Non  Entity, 
Generalizing  Art  &  Science  till  Art  &  Science  is  lost. 

55  Bristol  &  Bath,  listen  to  my  words,  &  ye  Seventeen:  give  ear! 
It  is  easy  to  acknowledge  a  man  to  be  great  &  good  while  we 
Derogate  from  him  in  the  trifles  &  small  articles  of  that  goodness: 
Those  alone  are  his  friends,  who  admire  his  minutest  powers. 
Instead  of  Albion's  lovely  mountains  &  the  curtains  of  Jerusalem, 

60  I  see  a  Cave,  a  Rock,  a  Tree  deadly  and  poisonous,  unimaginative: 
Instead  of  the  Mutual  Forgivenesses,  the  Minute  Particulars,  I  see 
Pits  of  bitumen  ever  burning,  artificial  Riches  of  the  Canaanite 
Like  Lakes  of  liquid  lead,  instead  of  heavenly  Chapels,  built 
By  our  dear  Lord:  I  see  Worlds  crusted  with  snows  &  ice: 

65  I  see  a  Wicker  Idol  woven  round  Jerusalem's  children.    I  see 
The  Canaanite,  the  Amalekite,  the  Moabite,  the  Egyptian: 
By  Demonstrations  the  cruel  Sons  of  Quality  &  Negation, 
Driven  on  the  Void  in  incoherent  despair  into  Non  Entity. 
I  see  America  clos'd  apart,  &  Jerusalem  driven  in  terror 

70  Away  from  Albion's  mountains,  far  away  from  London's  spires: 
I  will  not  endure  this  thing:  I  alone  withstand  to  death, 
This  outrage!  Ah  me!  how  sick  &  pale  you  all  stand  round  me! 
Ah  me!  pitiable  ones!  do  you  also  go  to  death's  vale? 
All  you  my  Friends  &  Brothers,  all  you  my  beloved  Companions: 

75   Have  you  also  caught  the  infection  of  Sin  &  stern  Repentance? 
I  see  Disease  arise  upon  you!  yet  speak  to  me  and  give 
Me  some  comfort!  why  do  you  all  stand  silent?  I  alone 
Remain  in  permanent  strength.    Or  is  all  this  goodness  &  pity,  only 
That  you  may  take  the  greater  vengeance  in  your  Sepulcher? 

80  So  Los  spoke.    Pale  they  stood  around  the  House  of  Death : 

In  the  midst  of  temptations  &  despair:  among  the  rooted  Oaks: 
82  Among  reared  Rocks  of  Albion's  Sons:  at  length  they  rose 

p.  44  WITH  one  accord  in  love  sublime,  &  as  on  Cherubs'  wings 
They  Albion  surround  with  kindest  violence  to  bear  him  back 
Against  his  will  thro'  Los's  Gate  to  Eden :   Four-fold,  loud, 
Their  Wings  waving  over  the  bottomless  Immense:  to  bear 

5° 


5  Their  awful  charge  back  to  his  native  home:  but  Albion,  dark, 
Repugnant,  roll'd  his  Wheels  backward  into  Non-Entity. 
Loud  roll  the  Starry  Wheels  of  Albion  into  the  World  of  Death: 
And  all  the  Gate  of  Los,  clouded  with  clouds  redounding  from 
Albion's  dread  Wheels,  stretching  out  spaces  immense  between, 

10  That  every  little  particle  of  light  &  air  became  Opake, 
Black  &  immense,  a  Rock  of  difficulty  &  a  Cliff 
Of  black  despair:  that  the  immortal  Wings  labour'd  against 
Cliff  after  Cliff,  &  over  Valleys  of  despair  &  death: 
The  narrow  Sea  between  Albion  &  the  Atlantic  Continent, 

15   Its  waves  of  pearl  became  a  boundless  Ocean  bottomless, 

Of  grey  obscurity,  fill'd  with  clouds  &  rocks  &  whirling  waters, 
And  Albion's  Sons  ascending  &  descending  in  the  horrid  Void. 

But  as  the  Will  must  not  be  bended  but  in  the  day  of  Divine 
Power:  silent  calm  &  motionless,  in  the  mid-air  sublime, 
20  The  Family  Divine  hover  around  the  darkened  Albion. 

Such  is  the  nature  of  the  Ulro :  that  whatever  enters, 
Becomes  Sexual,  &  is  Created,  and  Vegetated,  and  Born. 
From  Hyde  Park  spread  their  vegetating  roots  beneath  Albion, 
In  dreadful  pain  the  Spectrous  Uncircumcised  Vegetation, 

25   Forming  a  Sexual  Machine,  an  Aged  Virgin  Form, 

In  Erin's  Land  toward  the  north,  joint  after  joint,  &  burning 

In  love  &  jealousy  immingled  &  calling  it  Religion. 

And  feeling  the  damps  of  death  they  with  one  accord  delegated  Los, 

Conjuring  him  by  the  Highest  that  he  should  watch  over  them 

30  Till  Jesus  shall  appear:  &  they  gave  their  power  to  Los 
Naming  him  the  Spirit  of  Prophecy,  calling  him  Elijah. 

Strucken  with  Albion's  disease  they  become  what  they  behold: 
They  assimilate  with  Albion  in  pity  &  compassion: 
Their  Emanations  return  not:  their  Spectres  rage  in  the  Deep. 
35  The  Slumbers  of  Death  came  over  them  around  the  Couch  of  Death, 
Before  the  Gate  of  Los  &  in  the  depths  of  Non  Entity, 
Among  the  Furnaces  of  Los:  among  the  Oaks  of  Albion. 

Man  is  adjoin'd  to  Man  by  his  Emanative  portion, 
Who  is  Jerusalem  in  every  individual  Man:  and  her 
40  Shadow  is  Vala,  builded  by  the  Reasoning  power  in  Man. 

O  search  &  see ;  turn  your  eyes  upward :  open,  O  thou  World 
Of  Love  &  Harmony  in  Man:  expand  thy  ever  lovely  Gates. 

They  wept  into  the  deeps  a  little  space:  at  length  was  heard 

51 


45  The  voice  of  Bath,  faint  as  the  voice  of  the  Dead  in  the  House  of  Death, 

p.  45  BATH,  healing  City!  whose  wisdom,  in  midst  of  Poetic 
Fervor,  mild  spoke  thro'  the  Western  Porch,  in  soft  gentle  tears. 

O  Albion,  mildest  Son  of  Eden!  clos'd  is  thy  Western  Gate. 

Brothers  of  Eternity:  this  Man  whose  great  example 
5  We  all  admir'd  &  lov'd,  whose  all  benevolent  countenance,  seen 

In  Eden,  in  lovely  Jerusalem,  drew  even  from  envy 

The  tear:  and  the  confession  of  honesty,  open  &  undisguis'd, 

From  mistrust  and  suspition.    The  Man  is  himself  become 

A  piteous  example  of  oblivion.    To  teach  the  Sons 
10  Of  Eden,  that  however  great  and  glorious,  however  loving 

And  merciful  the  Individuality;  however  high 

Our  palaces  and  cities,  and  however  fruitful  are  our  fields 

In  Selfhood,  we  are  nothing:  but  fade  away  in  morning's  breath. 

Our  mildness  is  nothing:  the  greatest  mildness  we  can  use 
15  Is  incapable  and  nothing:  none  but  the  Lamb  of  God  can  heal 

This  dread  disease:  none  but  Jesus:  O  Lord,  descend  and  save. 

Albion's  Western  Gate  is  clos'd:  his  death  is  coming  apace: 

Jesus  alone  can  save  him:  for  alas,  we  none  can  know 
^How  soon  his  lot  may  be  our  own.    When  Africa  in  sleep 
20  Rose  in  the  night  of  Beulah,  and  bound  down  the  Sun  &  Moon, 

His  friends  cut  his  strong  chains,  &  overwhelm'd  his  dark 

Machines  in  fury  &  destruction,  and  the  Man  reviving  repented. 

He  wept  before  his  wrathful  brethren,  thankful  &  considerate 

For  their  well  timed  wrath.    But  Albion's  sleep  is  not 
25  Like  Africa's:  and  his  machines  are  woven  with  his  life. 
/'Nothing  but  mercy  can  save  him!  nothing  but  mercy,  interposing 

Lest  he  should  slay  Jerusalem  in  his  fearful  jealousy. 

O  God,  descend!  gather  our  brethren,  deliver  Jerusalem! 

But  that  we  may  omit  no  office  of  the  friendly  spirit, 
30  Oxford,  take  thou  these  leaves  of  the  Tree  of  Life:  with  eloquence, 

That  thy  immortal  tongue  inspires,  present  them  to  Albion: 

Perhaps  he  may  recieve  them,  offer 'd  from  thy  loved  hands. 
S" 

So  spoke,  unheard  by  Albion,  the  merciful  Son  of  Heaven 

To  those  whose  Western  Gates  were  open,  as  they  stood  weeping 
35  Around  Albion:  but  Albion  heard  him  not:  obdurate,  hard, 

He  frown'd  on  all  his  Friends,  counting  them  enemies  in  his  sorrow. 

And  the  Seventeen  conjoining  with  Bath,  the  Seventh, 
In  whom  the  other  Ten  shone  manifest,  a  Divine  Vision! 


39  Assimilated  and  embrac'd  Eternal  Death  for  Albion's  sake. 

40  And  these  the  names  of  the  Eighteen  combining  with  those  Ten. 

p.  46  BATH,  mild  Physician  of  Eternity,  mysterious  power 
Whose  springs  are  unsearchable  &  knowledge  infinite. 
Hereford,  ancient  Guardian  of  Wales,  whose  hands 
Builded  the  mountain  palaces  of  Eden,  stupendous  works! 
5  Lincoln,  Durham  &  Carlisle,  Councellors  of  Los, 
And  Ely,  Scribe  of  Los,  whose  pen  no  other  hand 
Dare  touch:  Oxford,  immortal  Bard;  with  eloquence 
Divine,  he  wept  over  Albion,  speaking  the  words  of  God 
In  mild  perswasion :  bringing  leaves  of  the  Tree  of  Life. 

10  Thou  art  in  Error,  Albion,  the  Land  of  Ulro: 

One  Error  not  remov'd,  will  destroy  a  human  Soul. 

Repose  in  Beulah's  night,  till  the  Error  is  remov'd: 

Reason  not  on  both  sides.    Repose  upon  our  bosoms 

Till  the  Plow  of  Jehovah,  and  the  Harrow  of  Shaddai, 
15  Have  passed  over  the  Dead,  to  awake  the  Dead  to  Judgment. 

But  Albion  turn'd  away  refusing  comfort. 

Oxford  trembled  while  he  spoke,  then  fainted  in  the  arms 
Of  Norwich,  Peterboro,  Rochester,  Chester  awful,  Worcester, 
Litchfield,  Saint  David's,  Landaff,  Asaph,  Bangor,  Sodor, 
20  Bowing  their  heads  devoted:  and  the  Furnaces  of  Los 
Began  to  rage,  thundering  loud  the  storms  began  to  roar 
Upon  the  Furnaces,  and  loud  the  Furnaces  rebellow  beneath. 

And  these  the  Four  in  whom  the  twenty-four  appear'd  four- fold: 
Verulam,  London,  York,  Edinburgh,  mourning  one  towards  another. 

25  Alas! — The  time  will  come,  when  a  man's  worst  enemies 
Shall  be  those  of  his  own  house  and  family:  in  a  Religion 
Of  Generation,  to  destroy  by  Sin  and  Atonement  happy  Jerusalem, 

28  The  Bride  and  Wife  of  the  Lamb.    O  God,  thou  art  Not  an  Avenger! 

p.  47   FROM  Camberwell  to  Highgate  where  the  mighty  Thames  shudders  along, 
Where  Los's  Furnaces  stand,  where  Jerusalem  &  Vala  howl: 
Luvah  tore  forth  from  Albion's  Loins,  in  fibrous  veins,  in  rivers 
Of  blood  over  Europe:  a  Vegetating  Root  in  grinding  pain, 
5  Animating  the  Dragon  Temples  soon  to  become  that  Holy  Fiend 
The  Wicker  Man  of  Scandinavia,  in  which  cruelly  consumed 
The  Captives  rear'd  to  heaven  howl  in  flames  among  the  stars. 
Loud  the  cries  of  War  on  the  Rhine  &  Danube,  with  Albion's  Sons. 

53 


Away  from  Beulah's  hills  &  vales  break  forth  the  Souls  of  the  Dead, 
10  With  cymbal,  trumpet,  clarion,  &  the  scythed  chariots  of  Britain. 

And  the  Veil  of  Vala  is  composed  of  the  Spectres  of  the  Dead. 

Hark!  the  mingling  cries  of  Luvah  with  the  Sons  of  Albion. 

Hark!  &  Record  the  terrible  wonder!  that  the  Punisher 

Mingles  with  his  Victim's  Spectre,  enslaved  &  tormented 
15  To  him  whom  he  has  murder'd,  bound  in  vengeance  &  enmity. 

Shudder  not,  but  Write,  &  the  hand  of  God  will  assist  you ! 
17  Therefore  I  write  Albion's  last  words.    Hope  is  banish'd  from  me. 

p.  48  THESE  were  his  last  words,  and  the  merciful  Saviour  in  his  arms 
Reciev'd  him,  in  the  arms  of  tender  mercy,  and  repos'd 
The  pale  limbs  of  his  Eternal  Individuality 
Upon  the  Rock  of  Ages.    Then,  surrounded  with  a  Cloud, 
5  In  silence  the  Divine  Lord  builded,  with  immortal  labour, 
Of  gold  &  jewels  a  sublime  Ornament,  a  Couch  of  repose, 
With  Sixteen  pillars:  canopied  with  emblems  &  written  verse, 
Spiritual  Verse,  order'd  &  measur'd,  from  whence  time  shall  reveal 
The  Five  books  of  the  Decalogue,  the  books  of  Joshua  &  Judges, 
10  Samuel,  a  double  book,  &  Kings,  a  double  book,  the  Psalms  &  Prophets, 
The  Four-fold  Gospel,  and  the  Revelations  everlasting. 
Eternity  groan'd  &  was  troubled,  at  the  image  of  Eternal  Death! 

Beneath  the  bottoms  of  the  Graves,  which  is  Earth's  central  joint, 
There  is  a  place  where  Contrarieties  are  equally  true: 

15   (To  protect  from  the  Giant  blows  in  the  sports  of  intellect, 
Thunder  in  the  midst  of  kindness,  &  love  that  kills  its  beloved: 
Because  Death  is  for  a  period,  and  they  renew  tenfold,) 
From  this  sweet  Place  Maternal  Love  awoke  Jerusalem: 
With  pangs  she  forsook  Beulah's  pleasant  lovely  shadowy  Universe 

20  Where  no  dispute  can  come:  created  for  those  who  Sleep. 

Weeping  was  in  all  Beulah,  and  all  the  Daughters  of  Beulah 
Wept  for  their  Sister  the  Daughter  of  Albion,  Jerusalem: 
When  out  of  Beulah  the  Emanation  of  the  Sleeper  descended, 
With  solemn  mourning  out  of  Beulah's  moony  shades  and  hills, 
25  Within  the  Human  Heart,  whose  Gates  closed  with  solemn  sound. 

And  this  the  manner  of  the  terrible  Separation. 
The  Emanations  of  the  grievously  afflicted  Friends  of  Albion 
Concenter  in  one  Female  form,  an  Aged  pensive  Woman. 
Astonish'd,  lovely,  embracing  the  sublime  shade,  the  Daughters  of  Beulah 

54 


30  Beheld  her  with  wonder!  With  awful  hands  she  took 

A  Moment  of  Time,  drawing  it  out  with  many  tears  &  afflictions 
And  many  sorrows:  oblique  across  the  Atlantic  Vale, 
Which  is  the  Vale  of  Rephaim  dreadful  from  East  to  West, 
Where  the  Human  Harvest  waves  abundant  in  the  beams  of  Eden: 

35  Into  a  Rainbow  of  jewels  and  gold,  a  mild  Reflection  from 
Albion's  dread  Tomb.    Eight  thousand  and  five  hundred  years 
In  its  extension.    Every  two  hundred  years  has  a  door  to  Eden. 
She  also  took  an  Atom  of  Space,  with  dire  pain  opening  it  a  Center 
Into  Beulah:  trembling  the  Daughters  of  Beulah  dried 

40  Her  tears,  she  ardent  embrac'd  her  sorrows,  occupied  in  labours 
Of  sublime  mercy  in  Rephaim's  Vale.    Perusing  Albion's  Tomb 
She  sat:  she  walk'd  among  the  ornaments  solemn  mourning. 
The  Daughters  attended  her  shudderings,  wiping  the  death  sweat. 
Los  also  saw  her  in  his  seventh  Furnace,  he  also  terrified 

45  Saw  the  finger  of  God  go  forth  upon  his  seventh  Furnace, 
Away  from  the  Starry  Wheels  to  prepare  Jerusalem  a  place. 
When  with  a  dreadful  groan  the  Emanation  mild  of  Albion 
Burst  from  his  bosom  in  the  Tomb  like  a  pale  snowy  cloud, 
Female  and  lovely,  struggling  to  put  off  the  Human  form, 

50  Writhing  in  pain.    The  Daughters  of  Beulah  in  kind  arms  reciev'd 
Jerusalem:  weeping  over  her  among  the  Spaces  of  Erin, 
In  the  Ends  of  Beulah,  where  the  Dead  wail  night  &  day. 

And  thus  Erin  spoke  to  the  Daughters  of  Beulah,  in  soft  tears. 

Albion  the  Vortex  of  the  Dead!  Albion  the  Generous! 
55   Albion  the  mildest  son  of  Heaven!  The  Place  of  Holy  Sacrifice! 

Where  Friends  Die  for  each  other:  will  become  the  Place 

Of  Murder,  &  Unforgiving,  Never-awaking  Sacrifice  of  Enemies. 

The  Children  must  be  sacrific'd!  (a  horror  never  known 

Till  now  in  Beulah,)  unless  a  Refuge  can  be  found 
60  To  hide  them  from  the  wrath  of  Albion's  Law  that  freezes  sore 

Upon  his  Sons  &  Daughters,  self-exiled  from  his  bosom. 

Draw  ye  Jerusalem  away  from  Albion's  Mountains 

To  give  a  Place  for  Redemption,  let  Sihon  and  Og 
64  Remove  Eastward  to  Bashan  and  Gilead,  and  leave 

p.  49  THE  secret  coverts  of  Albion  &  the  hidden  places  of  America. 
Jerusalem!  Jerusalem  1  why  wilt  thou  turn  away? 
Come  ye  O  Daughters  of  Beulah,  lament  for  Og  &  Sihon, 
Upon  the  Lakes  of  Ireland  from  Rathlen  to  Baltimore: 
5  Stand  ye  upon  the  Dargle  from  Wicklow  to  Drogheda, 

55 


Come  &  mourn  over  Albion  the  White  Cliff  of  the  Atlantic, 
The  Mountain  of  Giants:  all  the  Giants  of  Albion  are  become 
Weak,  wither'd,  darken'd:  &  Jerusalem  is  cast  forth  from  Albion. 
They  deny  that  they  ever  knew  Jerusalem,  or  ever  dwelt  in  Shiloh. 

10  The  Gigantic  roots  &  twigs  of  the  vegetating  Sons  of  Albion 

Fill'd  with  the  little-ones  are  consumed  in  the  Fires  of  their  Altars. 
The  vegetating  Cities  are  burned  &  consumed  from  the  Earth. 
And  the  Bodies  in  which  all  Animals  &  Vegetations,  the  Earth  &  Heaven, 
Were  contain'd  in  All  Glorious  Imagination  are  wither'd  &  darken'd: 

15  The  golden  Gate  of  Havilah,  and  all  the  Garden  of  God, 
Was  caught  up  with  the  Sun  in  one  day  of  fury  and  war: 
The  Lungs,  the  Heart,  the  Liver,  shrunk  away  far  distant  from  Man 
And  left  a  little  slimy  substance  floating  upon  the  tides. 
In  one  night  the  Atlantic  Continent  was  caught  up  with  the  Moon, 

20  And  became  an  Opake  Globe  far  distant  clad  with  moony  beams. 
The  Visions  of  Eternity,  by  reason  of  narrowed  perceptions, 
Are  become  weak  Visions  of  Time  &  Space,  fix'd  into  furrows  of  death: 
Till  deep  dissimulation  is  the  only  defence  an  honest  man  has  left. 
O  Polypus  of  Death,  O  Speclre  over  Europe  and  Asia, 

25  Withering  the  Human  Form  by  Laws  of  Sacrifice  for  Sin, 
By  Laws  of  Chastity  &  Abhorrence  I  am  wither'd  up, 
Striving  to  Create  a  Heaven  in  which  all  shall  be  pure  &  holy 
In  their  Own  Selfhoods,  in  Natural  Selfish  Chastity:  to  banish  Pity 
And  dear  Mutual  Forgiveness:  &  to  become  One  Great  Satan 

30  Inslav'd  to  the  most  powerful  Selfhood:  to  murder  the  Divine  Humanity 
In  whose  sight  all  are  as  the  dust  &  who  chargeth  his  Angels  with  folly! 
Ah!  weak  &.  wide  astray!  Ah  shut  in  narrow  doleful  form! 
-^Creeping  in  reptile  flesh  upon  the  bosom  of  the  ground! 
The  Eye  of  Man,  a  little  narrow  orb,  clos'd  up  &  dark, 

35  Scarcely  beholding  the  Great  Light,  conversing  with  the  ground: 
The  Ear,  a  little  shell,  in  small  volutions  shutting  out 
True  Harmonies,  &  comprehending  great,  as  very  small: 
The  Nostrils,  bent  down  to  the  earth  &  clos'd  with  senseless  flesh, 
That  odours  cannot  them  expand,  nor  joy  on  them  exult: 

40  The  Tongue,  a  little  moisture  fills,  a  little  food  it  cloys, 
A  little  sound  it  utters,  &  its  cries  are  faintly  heard, 
"icrefore  they  are  removed:  therefore  they  have  taken  root 
In  Egypt  &  Philistea:  in  Moab  &  Edom  &  Aram: 
In  the  Erythrean  Sea  their  Uncircumcision  in  Heart  &  Loins 

45  Be  lost  for  ever  &  ever,  then  they  shall  arise  from  Self 
By  Self  Annihilation  into  Jerusalem's  Courts  &  into  Shiloh, 
Shiloh,  the  Masculine  Emanation  among  the  flowers  of  Beulah 

56 


Lo,  Shiloh  dwells  over  France,  as  Jerusalem  dwells  over  Albion. 
Build  &  prepare  a  Wall  &  Curtain  for  America's  shore! 

50  Rush  on!   Rush  on!  Rush  on!  ye  vegetating  Sons  of  Albion ! 
The  Sun  shall  go  before  you  in  Day:  the  Moon  shall  go 
Before  you  in  Night.    Come  on!  Come  on!  Come  on!  The  Lord 
Jehovah  is  before,  behind,  above,  beneath,  around. 
He  has  builded  the  arches  of  Albion's  Tomb,  binding  the  Stars 

55  In  merciful  Order,  bending  the  Laws  of  Cruelty  to  Peace. 

He  hath  placed  Og  &  Anak,  the  Giants  of  Albion,  for  their  Guards: 
Building  the  Body  of  Moses  in  the  Valley  of  Peor:  the  Body 
Of  Divine  Analogy :  and  Og  &  Sihon  in  the  tears  of  Balaam, 
The  Son  of  Beor,  have  given  their  power  to  Joshua  &  Caleb. 

60  Remove  from  Albion,  far  remove  these  terrible  surfaces. 
They  are  beginning  to  form  Heavens  &  Hells  in  immense 
Circles:  the  Hells  for  food  to  the  Heavens:  food  of  torment, 
Food  of  despair:  they  drink  the  condemnd  Soul  &  rejoice 
In  cruel  holiness,  in  their  Heavens  of  Chastity  &  Uncircumcision. 

65  Yet  they  are  blameless  &  Iniquity  must  be  imputed  only 
To  the  State  they  are  enter'd  into  that  they  may  be  deliver 'd: 
Satan  is  the  State  of  Death,  &  not  a  Human  existence: 
But  Luvah  is  named  Satan,  because  he  has  enter'd  that  State. 
A  World  where  Man  is  by  Nature  the  Enemy  of  Man, 

70   Because  the  Evil  is  Created  into  a  State,  that  Men 
May  be  deliver'd  time  after  time,  evermore.    Amen. 
Learn  therefore,  O  Sisters,  to  distinguish  the  Eternal  Human 
That  walks  about  among  the  stones  of  fire,  in  bliss  &  woe 
Alternate,  from  those  States  or  Worlds  in  which  the  Spirit  travels: 

75  This  is  the  only  means  to  Forgiveness  of  Enemies. 
Therefore  remove  from  Albion  these  terrible  Surfaces 

77  And  let  wild  seas  &  rocks  close  up  Jerusalem  away  from 

p.  50  THE  Atlantic  Mountains  where  Giants  dwelt  in  Intellect: 
Now  given  to  stony  Druids,  and  Allegoric  Generation, 
To  the  Twelve  Gods  of  Asia,  the  Spectres  of  those  who  Sleep: 
Sway'd  by  a  Providence  oppos'd  to  the  Divine  Lord  Jesus: 
5  A  murderous  Providence!  A  Creation  that  groans,  living  on  Death, 
Where  Fish  &  Bird  &  Beast  &  Man  &  Tree  &  Metal  &  Stone 
Live  by  Devouring,  going  into  Eternal  Death  continually! 
Albion  is  now  possess'd  by  the  War  of  Blood!  the  Sacrifice 
Of  envy  Albion  is  become,  and  his  Emanation  cast  out: 
10  Come  Lord  Jesus,  Lamb  of  God  descend!  for  if,  O  Lord! 
If  thou  hadst  been  here,  our  brother  Albion  had  not  died. 

57 


Arise  sisters!  Go  ye  &  meet  the  Lord,  while  I  remain. 
Behold  the  foggy  mornings  of  the  Dead  on  Albion's  cliffs: 
Ye  know  that  if  the  Emanation  remains  in  them 
15  She  will  become  an  Eternal  Death,  an  Avenger  of  Sin, 

A  Self-righteousness:  the  proud  Virgin-Harlot!   Mother  of  War! 
And  we  also,  &  all  Beulah,  consume  beneath  Albion's  curse. 

So  Erin  spoke  to  the  Daughters  of  Beulah.    Shuddering 
With  their  wings  they  sat  in  the  Furnace,  in  a  night 
20  Of  stars,  for  all  the  Sons  of  Albion  appear'd  distant  stars, 
Ascending  and  descending  into  Albion's  sea  of  death. 
And  Erin's  lovely  Bow  enclos'd  the  Wheels  of  Albion's  Sons. 

Expanding  on  wing,  the  Daughters  of  Beulah  replied  in  sweet  response. 

Come,  O  thou  Lamb  of  God,  and  take  away  the  remembrance  of  Sin. 

25  To  Sin  &  to  hide  the  Sin  in  sweet  deceit,  is  lovely! 
To  Sin  in  the  open  face  of  day  is  cruel  &  pitiless!  But 
To  record  the  Sin  for  a  reproach:  to  let  the  Sun  go  down 
In  a  remembrance  of  the  Sin;  is  a  Woe  &  a  Horror, 
A  brooder  of  an  Evil  Day,  and  a  Sun  rising  in  blood! 

30  Come  then,  O  Lamb  of  God,  and  take  away  the  remembrance  of  Sin. 

END  OF  CHAPTER  II. 


p.  52  (The  Spiritual  States  of 

Rahab  is  an]  ^^  T^TTC   r»T7TCTc    ]  the  Soul  are  all  Eternal: 
—  ,  „.        }-   1 U    1  rial,   JJlilo  1  o.  -(  -r*. .  ..        -77  , 

Eternal  State. }  \Distingutsn  between  the 

[Man,  &f  his  present  State. 

HE  never  can  be  a  Friend  to  the  Human  Race  who  is  the  Preacher  of 
Natural  Morality  or  Natural  Religion,  he  is  a  flatterer  who  means  to  betray, 
to  perpetuate  Tyrant  Pride  &  the  Laws  of  that  Babylon  which  he  foresees 
shall  shortly  be  destroyed,  with  the  Spiritual  and  not  the  Natural  Sword :  He 
5  is  in  the  State  named  Rahab:  which  State  must  be  put  off  before  he  can  be 
the  Friend  of  Man. 

You,  O  Deists,  profess  yourselves  the  Enemies  of  Christianity:  and 
you  are  so:  you  are  also  the  Enemies  of  the  Human  Race  &  of  Uni- 
versal Nature.  Man  is  born  a  Spectre  or  Satan,  &  is  altogether  an  Evil, 

10  &  requires  a  New  Selfhood  continually,  &  must  continually  be  changed 
into  his  direct  Contrary.  But  your  Greek  Philosophy  (which  is  a  rem- 
nant of  Druidism)  teaches  that  Man  is  Righteous  in  his  Vegetated  Spectre: 
an  Opinion  of  fatal  &  accursed  consequence  to  Man,  as  the  Ancients 
saw  plainly  by  Revelation,  to  the  intire  abrogation  of  Experimental  Theory, 

15  and  many  believed  what  they  saw,  and  Prophecied  of  Jesus. 

Man  must  &  will  have  Some  Religion:  if  he  has  not  the  Religion  of 
Jesus,  he  will  have  the  Religion  of  Satan,  &  will  erect  the  Synagogue  of 
Satan,  calling  the  Prince  of  this  World,  God:  and  destroying  all  who  do  not 
worship  Satan  under  the  Name  of  God.  Will  any  one  say,  Where  are  those 

20  who  worship  Satan  under  the  Name  of  God?  Where  are  they?  Listen! 
Every  Religion  that  Preaches  Vengeance  for  Sin  is  the  Religion  of  the 
Enemy  &  Avenger:  and  not  of  the  Forgiver  of  Sin:  and  their  God  is 
Satan,  Named  by  the  Divine  Name.  Your  Religion,  O  Deists!  Deism, 
is  the  Worship  of  the  God  of  this  World  by  the  means  of  what  you  call 

25  Natural  Religion  and  Natural  Philosophy,  and  of  Natural  Morality  or  Self- 
Righteousness,  the  Selfish  Virtues  of  the  Natural  Heart.  This  was  the 
Religion  of  the  Pharisees  who  murder'd  Jesus.  Deism  is  the  same  &  ends  in 
the  same.  . 

Voltaire,  Rousseau,  Gibbon,  Hume,  charge  the  Spiritually  Religious  with 

30  Hypocrisy!  but  how  a  Monk,  or  a  Methodist  either,  can  be  a  Hypocrite,  I 
cannot  conceive.  We  are  Men  of  like  passions  with  others  &  pretend  not  to 
be  holier  than  others:  therefore,  when  a  Religious  Man  falls  into  Sin,  he 
ought  not  to  be  call'd  a  Hypocrite;  this  title  is  more  properly  to  be  given  to 
a  Player  who  falls  into  Sin;  whose  profession  is  Virtue  &  Morality  &  the 

35  making  Men  Self-Righteous.  Foote  in  calling  Whitefield,  Hypocrite,  was 
himself  one:  for  Whitefield  pretended  not  to  be  holier  than  others:  but 
confessed  his  Sins  before  all  the  World.  Voltaire!  Rousseau!  You  cannot 

59 


escape  my  charge  that  you  are  Pharisees  &  Hypocrites,  for  you  are  con- 
stantly talking  of  the  Virtues  of  the  Human  Heart,   and  particularly  of 

40  your  own,  that  you  may  accuse  others  &  especially  the  Religious,  whose 
errors  you,  by  this  display  of  pretended  Virtue,  chiefly  design  to  expose. 
Rousseau  thought  Men  Good  by  Nature:  he  found  them  Evil  &  found  no 
friend.  Friendship  cannot  exist  without  forgiveness  of  sins  continually.  The 
Book  written  by  Rousseau  call'd  his  Confessions  is  an  apology  &  cloke  for  his 

45  sin  &  not  a  confession. 

But  you  also  charge  the  poor  Monks  &  Religious  with  being  the  causes 
of  War;  while  you  acquit  &  flatter  the  Alexanders  &  Caesars,  the  Lewis's 
&•  Fredericks,  who  alone  are  its  causes  &  its  actors.  But  the  Religion  of 
Jesus,  Forgiveness  of  Sin,  can  never  be  the  cause  of  a  War  nor  of  a  single 

50  Martyrdom. 

Those  who  Martyr  others  or  who  cause  War  are  Deists,  but  never  can 
be  Forgivers  of  Sin.  The  Glory  of  Christianity  is,  To  Conquer  by  Forgiveness. 
All  the  Destruction,  therefore,  in  Christian  Europe  has  arisen  from  Deism, 

54  which  is  Natural  Religion. 

55  I  saw  a  Monk  of  Charlemaine 
Arise  before  my  sight: 

I  talk'd  with  the  Grey  Monk  as  we  stood 
In  beams  of  infernal  light. 

Gibbon  arose  with  a  lash  of  steel, 
60  And  Voltaire  with  a  wracking  wheel : 
The  Schools  in  clouds  of  learning  roll'd 
Arose  with  War  in  iron  &  gold. 

Thou  lazy  Monk,  they  sound  afar, 

In  vain  condemning  glorious  War, 

65  And  in  your  Cell  you  shall  ever  dwell: 

Rise,  War,  &  bind  him  in  his  Cell. 

The  blood  red  ran  from  the  Grey  Monk's  side, 
His  hands  &  feet  were  wounded  wide, 
His  body  bent,  his  arms  &  knees 
70  Like  to  the  roots  of  ancient  trees. 

When  Satan  first  the  black  bow  bent 
And  the  Moral  Law  from  the  Gospel  rent, 
He  forg'd  the  Law  into  a  Sword 
And  spill'd  the  blood  of  mercy's  Lord. 

60 


7s  Titus!  Constantine!  Charlemaine! 
O  Voltaire!  Rousseau!  Gibbon!  Vain 
Your  Grecian  Mocks  &  Roman  Sword 
Against  this  image  of  his  Lord! 

For  a  Tear  is  an  Intellectual  thing: 
80  And  a  Sigh  is  the  Sword  of  an  Angel  King : 

And  the  bitter  groan  of  a  Martyr's  woe 
82  Is  an  Arrow  from  the  Almightie's  Bow. 


61 


p.  53  CHAPTER  III 

BUT  Los,  who  is  the  Vehicular  Form  of  strong  Urthona, 
Wept  vehemently  over  Albion  where  Thames'  currents  spring 
From  the  rivers  of  Beulah;  pleasant  river!  soft,  mild,  parent  stream. 
And  the  roots  of  Albion's  Tree  enter'd  the  Soul  of  Los 
5  As  he  sat  before  his  Furnaces  clothed  in  sackcloth  of  hair, 
In  gnawing  pain  dividing  him  from  his  Emanation: 
Inclosing  all  the  Children  of  Los  time  after  time, 
Their  Giant  forms  condensing  into  Nations  &  Peoples  &  Tongues. 
Translucent  the  Furnaces  of  Beryll  &  Emerald  immortal: 
10  And  Seven-fold  each  within  other:  incomprehensible 

To  the  Vegetated  Mortal  Eye's  perverted  &  single  vision. 
The  Bellows  are  the  Animal  Lungs,  the  Hammers,  the  Animal  Heart 
The  Furnaces,  the  Stomach  for  Digestion;  terrible  their  fury 
Like  seven  burning  heavens  rang'd  from  South  to  North. 

15  Here,  on  the  banks  of  the  Thames,  Los  builded  Golgonooza, 
Outside  of  the  Gates  of  the  Human  Heart  beneath  Beulah 
In  the  midst  of  the  rocks  of  the  Altars  of  Albion.    In  fears 
He  builded  it,  in  rage  &  in  fury.    It  is  the  Spiritual  Fourfold 
London:  continually  building  &  continually  decaying  desolate! 

20  In  eternal  labours:  loud  the  Furnaces  &  loud  the  Anvils 
Of  Death  thunder  incessant  around  the  flaming  Couches  of 
The  Twenty-four  Friends  of  Albion,  and  round  the  awful  Four, 
For  the  protection  of  the  Twelve  Emanations  of  Albion's  Sons, 
The  Mystic  Union  of  the  Emanation  in  the  Lord;  Because 

25  Man  divided  from  his  Emanation  is  a  dark  Spectre, 
His  Emanation  is  an  ever-weeping  melancholy  Shadow: 
But  she  is  made  receptive  of  Generation  thro'  mercy 
In  the  Potters  Furnace,  among  the  Funeral  Urns  of  Beulah, 

29  From  Surrey  hills,  thro'  Italy  and  Greece,  to  Hinnom's  vale. 

p.  54  IN  Great  Eternity,  every  particular  Form  gives  forth  or  Emanates 
Its  own  peculiar  Light,  &  the  Form  is  the  Divine  Vision, 
And  the  Light  is  his  Garment.    This  is  Jerusalem  in  every  Man, 
A  Tent  &  Tabernacle  of  Mutual  Forgiveness,  Male  &  Female  Clothings. 
5  And  Jerusalem  is  called  Liberty  among  the  Children  of  Albion. 

But  Albion  fell  down,  a  Rocky  fragment  from  Eternity  hurl'd 
By  his  own  Spectre,  who  is  the  Reasoning  Power  in  every  Man, 
Into  his  own  Chaos  which  is  the  Memory  between  Man  &  Man. 

62 


The  silent  broodings  of  deadly  revenge,  springing  from  the 
10  All  powerful  parental  affection,  fills  Albion  from  head  to  foot: 
Seeing  his  sons  assimilate  with  Luvah,  bound  in  the  bonds 
Of  Spiritual  Hate,  from  which  springs  Sexual  Love  as  iron  chains, 
He  tosses  like  a  cloud  outstretch'd  among  Jerusalem's  Ruins 
Which  overspread  all  the  Earth,  he  groans  among  his  ruin'd  porches. 

15  But  the  Spectre  like  a  hoar  frost  &  a  Mildew  rose  over  Albion, 

Saying,  I  am  God,  O  Sons  of  Men!  I  am  your  Rational  Power! 

Am  I  not  Bacon  &  Newton  &  Locke  who  teach  Humility  to  Man? 

Who  teach  Doubt  &  Experiment:  &  my  two  Wings  Voltaire,  Rousseau. 

Where  is  that  Friend  of  Sinners?   that  Rebel  against  my  Laws? 
20  Who  teaches  Belief  to  the  Nations,  &  an  unknown  Eternal  Life. 

Come  hither  into  the  Desart  &  turn  these  stones  to  bread. 

Vain  foolish  Man!  wilt  thou  believe  without  Experiment? 

And  build  a  World  of  Phantasy  upon  my  Great  Abyss? 

A  World  of  Shapes  in  craving  lust  &  devouring  appetite. 

25  So-.spoke  the  hard  cold  constructive  Spectre:  he  is  named  Arthur: 

Constructing  into  Druid  Rocks  round  Canaan,  Agag  &  Aram  &  Pharoh. 

Then  Albion  drew  England  into  his  bosom  in  groans  &  tears, 
But  she  stretch'd  out  her  starry  Night  in  Spaces  against  him  like 
A  long  Serpent,  in  the  Abyss  of  the  Spectre  which  augmented 

30  The  Night  with  Dragon  wings,  cover'd  with  stars,  &  in  the  Wings 
Jerusalem  &  Vala  appear 'd:  &  above,  between  the  Wings,  magnificent, 

32  The  Divine  Vision  dimly  appear'd  in  clouds  of  blood  weeping. 

p.  55  WHEN  those  who  disregard  all  Mortal  Things,  saw  a  Mighty-One 
Among  the  Flowers  of  Beulah  still  retain  his  awful  strength, 
They  wonder'd,  checking  their  wild  flames,  &  Many  gathering 
Together  into  an  Assembly,  they  said,  let  us  go  down 
5  And  see  these  changes;  Others  said,  If  you  do  so,  prepare 

For  being  driven  from  our  fields:  what  have  we  to  do  with  the  Dead? 
To  be  their  inferiors  or  superiors  we  equally  abhor : 
Superior,  none  we  know:  inferior,  none:  all  equal  share 
Divine  Benevolence  &  Joy,  for  the  Eternal  Man 
10  Walketh  among  us,  calling  us  his  Brothers  &  his  Friends: 

Forbidding  us  that  Veil  which  Satan  puts  between  Eve  &  Adam, 
By  which  the  Princes  of  the  Dead  enslave  their  Votaries, 
Teaching  them  to  form  the  Serpent  of  precious  stones  &  gold, 
To  sieze  the  Sons  of  Jerusalem  &  plant  them  in  One  Man's  Loins: 

63 


is  To  make  One  Family  of  Contraries:  that  Joseph  may  be  sold 
Into  Egypt;  for  Negation:  a  Veil  the  Saviour  born  &  dying  rends. 

But  others  said:  Let  us  to  him  who  only  Is,  &  who 
Walketh  among  us,  give  decision:  bring  forth  all  your  fires! 

So  saying,  an  eternal  deed  was  done:  in  fiery  flames 
20  The  Universal  Concave  raged,  such  thunderous  sounds  as  never 
Were  sounded  from  a  mortal  cloud,  nor  on  Mount  Sinai  old, 
Nor  in  Havilah  where  the  Cherub  roll'd  his  redounding  flame. 

Loud!  loud!  the  Mountains  lifted  up  their  voices,  loud  the  Forests, 
Rivers  thunder'd  against  their  banks,  loud  Winds  furious  fought: 
25  Cities  &  Nations  contended  in  fires  &  clouds  &  tempests, 
The  Seas  rais'd  up  their  voices  &  lifted  their  hands  on  high, 
The  Stars  in  their  courses  fought,  the  Sun,  Moon,  Heaven,  Earth, 
Contending  for  Albion  &  for  Jerusalem  his  Emanation, 
And  for  Shiloh,  the  Emanation  of  France,  &  for  lovely  Vala. 

30  Then  far  the  greatest  number  were  about  to  make  a  Separation, 
And  they  Elected  Seven,  call'd  the  Seven  Eyes  of  God, 
Lucifer,  Molech,  Elohim,  Shaddai,  Pahad,  Jehovah,  Jesus. 
They  nam'd  the  Eighth,  he  came  not,  he  hid  in  Albion's  Forests. 
But  first  they  said:  (&  their  Words  stood  in  Chariots  in  array, 

35  Curbing  their  Tygers  with  golden  bits  &  bridles  of  silver  &  ivory) 

Let  the  Human  Organs  be  kept  in  their  perfect  Integrity, 
At  will  Contracting  into  Worms,  or  Expanding  into  Gods, 
And  then,  behold!  what  are  these  Ulro  Visions  of  Chastity? 
Then  as  the  moss  upon  the  tree:  or  dust  upon  the  plow: 

40  Or  as  the  sweat  upon  the  labouring  shoulder:  or  as  the  chaff 
Of  the  wheat-floor  or  as  the  dregs  of  the  sweet  wine-press: 
Such  are  these  Ulro  Visions,  for  tho'  we  sit  down  within 
The  plowed  furrow,  list'ning  to  the  weeping  clods,  till  we 
Contract  or  Expand  Space  at  will:  or  if  we  raise  ourselves 

45   Upon  the  chariots  of  the  morning,  Contracting  or  Expanding  Time: 
Every  one  knows,  we  are  One  Family:  One  Man  blessed  for  ever. 

Silence  remain'd  &  every  one  resum'd  his  Human  Majesty, 
And  many  conversed  on  these  things  as  they  labour'd  at  the  furrow, 
Saying:  It  is  better  to  prevent  misery,  than  to  release  from  misery: 
50  It  is  better  to  prevent  error,  than  to  forgive  the  criminal: 
Labour  well  the  Minute  Particulars,  attend  to  the  Little-ones : 
And  those  who  are  in  misery  cannot  remain  so  long, 
If  we  do  but  our  duty:  labour  well  the  teeming  Earth. 

64 


They  Plow'd  in  tears,  the  trumpets  sounded  before  the  golden  Plow, 
55   And  the  voices  of  the  Living  Creatures  were  heard  in  the  clouds  of  heaven, 
Crying:  Compell  the  Reasoner  to  Demonstrate  with  unhewn  Demonstrations, 
Let  the  Indefinite  be  explored,  and  let  every  Man  be  Judged 
By  his  own  Works.    Let  all  Indefinites  be  thrown  into  Demonstrations 
To  be  pounded  to  dust  &  melted  in  the  Furnaces  of  Affliction : 
60  He  who  would  do  good  to  another,  must  do  it  in  Minute  Particulars, 
General  Good  is  the  plea  of  the  scoundrel,  hypocrite  &  flatterer: 
For  Art  &  Science  cannot  exist  but  in  minutely  organized  Particulars, 
And  not  in  generalizing  Demonstrations  of  the  Rational  Power. 
The  Infinite  alone  resides  in  Definite  &  Determinate  Identity, 
65  Establishment  of  Truth  depends  on  destruction  of  Falshood  continually, 
On  Circumcision:  not  on  Virginity,  O  Reasoners  of  Albion! 

So  cried  they  at  the  Plow.    Albion's  Rock  frowned  above, 
And  the  Great  Voice  of  Eternity  rolled  above  terrible  in  clouds, 
69  Saying,  Who  will  go  forth  for  us:  &  Who  shall  we  send  before  our  face? 

p.  56  THEN  Los  heaved  his  thund'ring  Bellows  on  the  Valley  of  Middlesex 
And  thus  he  chaunted  his  Song:  the  Daughters  of  Albion  reply. 

What  may  Man  be?  who  can  tell!  But  what  may  Woman  be? 
To  have  power  over  Man  from  Cradle  to  corruptible  Grave. 

5   He  who  is  an  Infant,  and  whose  Cradle  is  a  Manger, 

Knoweth  the  Infant  sorrow :  whence  it  came,  and  where  it  goeth : 
And  who  weave  it  a  Cradle  of  the  grass  that  withereth  away. 
This  World  is  all  a  Cradle  for  the  erred  wandering  Phantom, 
Rock'd  by  Year,  Month,  Day  &  Hour;  and  every  two  Moments 

10  Between,  dwells  a  Daughter  of  Beulah,  to  feed  the  Human  Vegetable. 
Entune,  Daughters  of  Albion,  your  hymning  Chorus  mildly: 
Cord  of  affection  thrilling  extatic  on  the  iron  Reel : 
To  the  golden  Loom  of  Love!  to  the  moth-labour'd  Woof! 
A  Garment  and  Cradle  weaving  for  the  infantine  Terror: 

15  For  fear,  at  entering  the  gate  into  our  World  of  cruel 

Lamentation,  it  flee  back  and  hide  in  Non-Entity's  dark  wild, 
Where  dwells  the  Spectre  of  Albion:  destroyer  of  Definite  Form. 
The  Sun  shall  be  a  Scythed  Chariot  of  Britain:  the  Moon,  a  Ship 
In  the  British  Ocean!  Created  by  Los's  Hammer:  measured  out 

20  Into  Days  &  Nights  &  Years  &  Months,  to  travel  with  my  feet 
Over  these  desolate  rocks  of  Albion:  O  daughters  of  despair! 
Rock  the  Cradle,  and  in  mild  melodies  tell  me  where  [you]  found 
What  you  have  en  woven  with  so  much  tears  &  care!  so  much 

65 


Tender  artifice!  to  laugh,  to  weep,  to  learn,  to  know: 
25  Remember!  recollect!  what  dark  befel  in  wintry  days. 

O  it  was  lost  for  ever!  and  we  found  it  not:  it  came 

And  wept  at  our  wintry  Door:   Look!  look!  behold!   Gwendolen 

Is  become  a  Clod  of  Clay!  Merlin  is  a  Worm  of  the  Valley! 

Then  Los  uttered  with  Hammer  &  Anvil:  Chaunt!  revoice! 

30  I  mind  not  your  laugh:  and  your  frown  I  not  fear:  and 

You  must  my  dictate  obey  from  your  gold-beam'd  Looms:  trill 
Gentle  to  Albion's  Watchman,  on  Albion's  mountains:  reeccho, 
And  rock  the  Cradle  while!   Ah  me!  of  that  Eternal  Man, 
And  of  the  cradle'd  Infancy  in  his  bowels  of  compassion, 

35  Who  fell  beneath  his  instruments  of  husbandry  &  became 
Subservient  to  the  clods  of  the  furrow:  the  cattle  and  even 
The  emmet  and  earth-worm  are  his  superiors  &  his  lords. 

Then  the  response  came  warbling  from  trilling  Looms  in  Albion. 

We  Women  tremble  at  the  light  therefore:  hiding  fearful, 
40  The  Divine  Vision  with  Curtain  &  Veil  &  fleshly  Tabernacle. 

Los  utter'd,  swift  as  the  rattling  thunder  upon  the  mountains : 

Look  back  into  the  Church  Paul!   Look!  Three  Women  around 
43  The  Cross!  O  Albion  why  didst  thou  a  Female  Will  Create? 

p.  57  AND  the  voices  of  Bath  &  Canterbury  &  York  &  Edinburgh,  Cry 
Over  the  Plow  of  Nations  in  the  strong  hand  of  Albion,  thundering  along 
Among  the  Fires  of  the  Druid  &  the  deep  black  rethundering  Waters 
Of  the  Atlantic  which  poured  in  impetuous  loud,  loud,  louder  &  louder. 
5  And  the  Great  Voice  of  the  Atlantic  howled  over  the  Druid  Altars: 
Weeping  over  his  Children  in  Stone-henge,  in  Maiden  &  Colchester, 
Round  the  Rocky  Peak  of  Derbyshire,  London  Stone  &  Rosamond's  Bower. 

What  is  a  Wife  &  what  is  a  Harlot?  What  is  a  Church?  &  What 
Is  a  Theatre?  are  they  Two  &  not  One?  can  they  Exist  Separate? 
10  Are  not  Religion  &  Politics  the  Same  Thing?  Brotherhood  is  Religion, 
O  Demonstrations  of  Reason,  Dividing  Families  in  Cruelty  &  Pride! 

But  Albion  fled  from  the  Divine  Vision  with  the  Plow  of  Nations  enflaming, 
The  Living  Creatures  madden'd  and  Albion  fell  into  the  Furrow,  and 
The  Plow  went  over  him  &  the  Living  was  Plowed  in  among  the  Dead: 
15  But  his  Spectre  rose  over  the  starry  Plow.   Albion  fled  beneath  the  Plow 
Till  he  came  to  the  Rock  of  Ages,  &  he  took  his  Seat  upon  the  Rock. 

Wonder  siez'd  all  in  Eternity :  to  behold  the  Divine  Vision  open 
18  The  Center  into  an  Expanse,  &  the  Center  rolled  out  into  an  Expanse. 

66 


p.  5 8  IN  beauty  the  Daughters  of  Albion  divide  &  unite  at  will: 
Naked  &  drunk  with  blood  Gwendolen  dancing  to  the  timbrel 
Of  War:  reeling  up  the  Street  of  London  she  divides  in  twain, 
Among  the  Inhabitants  of  Albion:  the  People  fall  around 

5  The  Daughters  of  Albion,  divide  &  unite  in  jealousy  &  cruelty. 
The  Inhabitants  of  Albion  at  the  Harvest  &  the  Vintage 
Feel  their  Brain  cut  round  beneath  the  temples  shrieking, 
Bonifying  into  a  Scull,  the  Marrow  exuding  in  dismal  path. 
They  flee  over  the  rocks  bonifying:  Horses,  Oxen,  feel  the  knife. 

10  And  while  the  Sons  of  Albion,  by  severe  War  &  Judgment,  bonify, 
The  Hermaphroditic  Condensations  are  divided  by  the  Knife, 
The  obdurate  Forms  are  cut  asunder  by  Jealousy  &  Pity. 

Rational  Philosophy  and  Mathematic  Demonstration 
Is  divided  in  the  intoxications  of  pleasure  &  affection : 

15  Two  Contraries  War  against  each  other  in  fury  &  blood. 
And  Los  fixes  them  on  his  Anvil,  incessant  his  blows: 
He  fixes  them  with  strong  blows,  placing  the  stones  &  timbers 
To  Create  a  World  of  Generation  from  the  World  of  Death : 
Dividing  the  Masculine  &  Feminine:  for  the  comingling 

20  Of  Albion's  &  Luvah's  Spectres  was  Hermaphroditic. 

Urizen  wrathful  strode  above  directing  the  awful  Building, 
As  a  Mighty  Temple:  delivering  Form  out  of  confusion. 
Jordan  sprang  beneath  its  threshold  bubbling  from  beneath 
Its  pillars:   Euphrates  ran  under  its  arches:  white  sails 

25   And  silver  oars  reflect  on  its  pillars,  &  sound  on  its  ecchoing 

Pavements:  where  walk  the  Sons  of  Jerusalem  who  remain  Ungenerate. 

But  the  revolving  Sun  and  Moon  pass  thro  its  porticoes. 

Day  &  night,  in  sublime  majesty  &  silence  they  revolve 

And  shine  glorious  within:   Hand  &  Koban  arch'd  over  the  Sun 

30  In  the  hot  noon,  as  he  travel'd  thro  his  journey :  Hyle  &  Skofield 
Arch'd  over  the  Moon  at  midnight,  &  Los  fix'd  them  there, 
With  his  thunderous  Hammer:  terrified  the  Spectres  rage  &  flee. 
Canaan  is  his  portico:  Jordan  is  a  fountain  in  his  porch, 
A  fountain  of  milk  &  wine  to  relieve  the  traveller: 

35  Egypt  is  the  eight  steps  within,  Ethiopia  supports  his  pillars : 
Lybia  &  the  Lands  unknown  are  the  ascent  without: 
Within  is  Asia  &  Greece,  ornamented  with  exquisite  art: 
Persia  &  Media  are  his  halls:  his  inmost  hall  is  Great  Tartary: 
China  &  India  &  Siberia  are  his  temples  for  entertainment: 

40  Poland  &  Russia  &  Sweden,  his  soft  retired  chambers: 

France  &  Spain  &  Italy  &  Denmark  &  Holland  &  Germany 

67 


Are  the  temples  among  his  pillars,  Britain  is  Los's  Forge: 
America  North  &  South  are  his  baths  of  living  waters. 

Such  is  the  Ancient  World  of  Urizen  in  the  Satanic  Void, 
45  Created  from  the  Valley  of  Middlesex  by  London's  River. 

From  Stone-henge  and  from  London  Stone,  from  Cornwall  to  Cathnes, 
The  Four  Zoas  rush  around  on  all  sides  in  dire  ruin. 
Furious  in  pride  of  Selfhood  the  terrible  Spectres  of  Albion 
Rear  their  dark  Rocks  among  the  Stars  of  God:  stupendous 

50  Works!  A  World  of  Generation  continually  Creating,  out  of 

51  The  Hermaphroditic  Satanic  World  of  rocky  destiny, 

p.  59  AND  formed  into  Four  precious  stones,  for  enterance  from  Beulah. 

For  the  Veil  of  Vala,  which  Albion  cast  into  the  Atlantic  Deep 
To  catch  the  Souls  of  the  Dead,  began  to  Vegetate  &  Petrify 
Around  the  Earth  of  Albion,  among  the  Roots  of  his  Tree. 
5  This  Los  formed  into  the  Gates  &  mighty  Wall,  between  the  Oak 
Of  Weeping  &  the  Palm  of  Suffering,  beneath  Albion's  Tomb. 
Thus  in  process  of  time  it  became  the  beautiful  Mundane  Shell, 
The  Habitation  of  the  Speclres  of  the  Dead  &  the  Place 
Of  Redemption  &  of  awaking  again  into  Eternity. 

10  For  Four  Universes  round  the  Mundane  Egg  remain  Chaotic: 
One  to  the  North,  Urthona:  One  to  the  South,  Urizen: 
One  to  the  East,  Luvah:  One  to  the  West,  Tharmas: 
They  are  the  Four  Zoas  that  stood  around  the  Throne  Divine : 
Verulam,  London,  York  &  Edinburgh,  their  English  names. 

15  But  when  Luvah  assumed  the  World  of  Urizen,  Southward, 
And  Albion  was  slain  upon  his  Mountains  &  in  his  Tent, 
All  fell  towards  the  Centre,  sinking  downwards  in  dire  ruin. 
In  the  South  remains  a  burning  Fire:  in  the  East,  a  Void: 
In  the  West,  a  World  of  raging  Waters:  in  the  North,  solid  Darkness 

20  Unfathomable  without  end;  but  in  the  midst  of  these 

Is  Built  eternally  the  sublime  Universe  of  Los  &  Enitharmon. 

And  in  the  North  Gate,  in  the  West  of  the  North,  toward  Beulah, 
Cathedron's  Looms  are  builded,  and  Los's  Furnaces  in  the  South. 
A  wondrous  golden  Building,  immense  with  ornaments  sublime 
25  Is  bright  Cathedron's  golden  Hall,  its  Courts,  Towers  &  Pinnacles. 

And  one  Daughter  of  Los  sat  at  the  fiery  Reel  &  another 
Sat  at  the  shining  Loom  with  her  Sisters  attending  round: 
Terrible  their  distress  &  their  sorrow  cannot  be  utter'd. 

68 


And  another  Daughter  of  Los  sat  at  the  Spinning  Wheel: 
30  Endless  their  labour,  with  bitter  food,  void  of  sleep, 

Tho'  hungry  they  labour:  they  rouze  themselves  anxious 

Hour  after  hour  labouring  at  the  whirling  Wheel, 

Many  Wheels,  &  as  many  lovely  Daughters  sit  weeping. 

Yet  the  intoxicating  delight  that  they  take  in  their  work 
35  Obliterates  every  other  evil:  none  pities  their  tears, 

Yet  they  regard  not  pity  &  they  expect  no  one  to  pity, 

For  they  labour  for  life  &  love,  regardless  of  any  one 

But  the  poor  Spectres  that  they  work  for:  always  incessantly 

They  are  mock'd  by  every  one  that  passes  by :  they  regard  not, 
40  They  labour:  &  when  their  Wheels  are  broken  by  scorn  &  malice 

They  mend  them  sorrowing  with  many  tears  &  afflictions. 

Other  Daughters  Weave  on  the  Cushion  &  Pillow  Network  fine, 
That  Rahab  &  Tirzah  may  exist  &  live  &  breathe  &  love: 
Ah,  that  it  could  be  as  the  Daughters  of  Beulah  wish! 

45  Other  Daughters  of  Los,  labouring  at  Looms  less  fine, 
Create  the  Silk-worm  &  the  Spider  &  the  Catterpiller 
To  assist  in  their  most  grievous  work  of  pity  &  compassion : 
And  others  Create  the  wooly  Lamb  &  the  downy  Fowl 
To  assist  in  the  work:  the  Lamb  bleats:  the  Sea- fowl  cries: 

50  Men  understand  not  the  distress  &  the  labour  &  sorrow 

That  in  the  Interior  Worlds  is  carried  on  in  fear  &  trembling, 
Weaving  the  shudd'ring  fears  &  loves  of  Albion's  Families. 
Thunderous  rage  the  Spindles  of  iron,  &  the  iron  Distaff 
Maddens  in  the  fury  of  their  hands,  weaving  in  bitter  tears 

55  The  Veil  of  Goats-hair  &  Purple  &  Scarlet  &  fine  twined  Linen. 

p.  60  THE  clouds  of  Albion's  Druid  Temples  rage  in  the  eastern  heaven, 
While  Los  sat  terrified  beholding  Albion's  Spectre,  who  is  Luvah, 
Spreading  in  bloody  veins  in  torments  over  Europe  &  Asia: 
Not  yet  formed,  but  a  wretched  torment  unformed  &  abyssal 
5   In  flaming  fire:  within  the  Furnaces  the  Divine  Vision  appear'd 
On  Albion's  hills;  [and]  often  walking  from  the  Furnaces,  in  clouds 
And  flames  among  the  Druid  Temples  &  the  Starry  Wheels, 
Gather'd  Jerusalem's  Children  in  his  arms  &  bore  them  like 
A  Shepherd,  in  the  night  of  Albion  which  overspread  all  the  Earth. 

10  I  gave  thee  liberty  and  life,  O  lovely  Jerusalem, 

And  thou  hast  bound  me  down  upon  the  Stems  of  Vegetation. 
I  gave  thee  Sheep-walks  upon  the  Spanish  Mountains,  Jerusalem, 

69 


I  gave  thee  Priam's  City  and  the  Isles  of  Grecia  lovely: 
I  gave  thee  Hand  &  Scofield  &  the  Counties  of  Albion: 

15  They  spread  forth  like  a  lovely  root  into  the  Garden  of  God. 
They  were  as  Adam  before  me:  united  into  One  Man, 
They  stood  in  innocence  &  their  skiey  tent  reach'd  over  Asia 
To  Nimrod's  Tower,  to  Ham  &  Canaan  walking  with  Mizraim 
Upon  the  Egyptian  Nile,  with  solemn  songs  to  Grecia 

20  And  sweet  Hesperia,  even  to  Great  Chaldea  &  Tesshina, 
Following  thee  as  a  Shepherd  by  the  Four  Rivers  of  Eden. 
Why  wilt  thou  rend  thyself  apart,  Jerusalem? 
And  build  this  Babylon  &  sacrifice  in  secret  Groves, 
Among  the  Gods  of  Asia:  among  the  fountains  of  pitch  &  nitre. 

25  Therefore  thy  Mountains  are  become  barren,  Jerusalem: 

Thy  Valleys,  Plains  of  burning  sand,  thy  Rivers,  waters  of  death. 

Thy  Villages  die  of  the  Famine,  and  thy  Cities 

Beg  bread  from  house  to  house,  lovely  Jerusalem. 

Why  wilt  thou  deface  thy  beauty  &  the  beauty  of  thy  little-ones 

30  To  please  thy  Idols,  in  the  pretended  chastities  of  Uncircumcision? 
Thy  Sons  are  lovelier  than  Egypt  or  Assyria:  wherefore 
Dost  thou  blacken  their  beauty  by  a  Secluded  place  of  rest, 
And  a  peculiar  Tabernacle,  to  cut  the  integuments  of  beauty 
Into  veils  of  tears  and  sorrows,  O  lovely  Jerusalem! 

35  They  have  perswaded  thee  to  this,  therefore  their  end  shall  come, 
And  I  will  lead  thee  thro'  the  Wilderness  in  shadow  of  my  cloud, 
And  in  my  love  I  will  lead  thee,  lovely  Shadow  of  Sleeping  Albion. 

This  is  the  Song  of  the  Lamb,  sung  by  Slaves  in  evening  time. 

But  Jerusalem  faintly  saw  him,  clos'd  in  the  Dungeons  of  Babylon. 

40  Her  Form  was  held  by  Beulah's  Daughters,  but  all  within  unseen 
She  sat  at  the  Mills,  her  hair  unbound,  her  feet  naked, 
Cut  with  the  flints ;  her  tears  run  down,  her  reason  grows  like 
The  Wheel  of  Hand,  incessant  turning  day  &  night  without  rest. 
Insane  she  raves  upon  the  winds,  hoarse,  inarticulate: 

45   All  night  Vala  hears,  she  triumphs  in  pride  of  holiness 
To  see  Jerusalem  deface  her  lineaments  with  bitter  blows 
Of  despair,  while  the  Satanic  Holiness  triumph'd  in  Vala, 
In  a  Religion  of  Chastity  &  Uncircumcised  Selfishness 
Both  of  the  Head  &  Heart  &  Loins,  clos'd  up  in  Moral  Pride. 

50  But  the  Divine  Lamb  stood  beside  Jerusalem,  oft  she  saw 
The  lineaments  Divine  &  oft  the  Voice  heard,  &  oft  she  said. 

O  Lord  &  Saviour,  have  the  Gods  of  the  Heathen  pierced  thee: 

70 


Or  hast  thou  been  pierced  in  the  House  of  thy  Friends? 
Art  thou  alive:  &  livest  thou  for  evermore?  or  art  thou 

55  Not:  but  a  delusive  shadow,  a  thought  that  liveth  not. 
Babel  mocks,  saying,  there  is  no  God  nor  Son  of  God: 
That  thou,  O  Human  Imagination,  O  Divine  Body,  art  all 
A  delusion:  but  I  know  thee,  O  Lord,  when  thou  arisest  upon 
My  weary  eyes,  even  in  this  dungeon  &  this  iron  will. 

60  The  Stars  of  Albion  cruel  rise:  thou  bindest  to  sweet  influences: 
For  thou  also  sufferest  with  me  altho'  I  behold  thee  not: 
And  altho'  I  sin  &  blaspheme  thy  holy  name,  thou  pitiest  me: 
Because  thou  knowest  I  am  deluded  by  the  turning  mills, 
And  by  these  visions  of  pity  &  love  because  of  Albion's  death. 

65  Thus  spake  Jerusalem,  &  thus  the  Divine  Voice  replied. 

Mild  Shade  of  Man,  pitiest  thou  these  Visions  of  terror  &  woe? 
Give  forth  thy  pity  &  love,  fear  not !  lo  I  am  with  thee  always. 
Only  believe  in  me  that  I  have  power  to  raise  from  death 
69  Thy  Brother  who  Sleepeth  in  Albion:  fear  not,  trembling  Shade. 

p.  6 1  BEHOLD:  in  the  Visions  of  Elohim  Jehovah,  behold  Joseph  &  Mary, 
And  be  comforted,  O  Jerusalem,  in  the  Visions  of  Jehovah  Elohim. 

She  looked  &  saw  Joseph  the  Carpenter  in  Nazareth,  &  Mary 
His  espoused  Wife.    And  Mary  said,  If  thou  put  me  away  from  thee 
5  Dost  thou  not  murder  me?  Joseph  spoke  in  anger  &  fury,  Should  I 
Marry  a  Harlot  &  an  Adulteress?  Mary  answer'd,  Art  thou  more  pure 
Than  thy  Maker,  who  forgiveth  Sins  &  calls  again  Her  that  is  Lost? 
Tho'  She  hates,  he  calls  her  again  in  love.    I  love  my  dear  Joseph, 
But  he  driveth  me  away  from  his  presence,  yet  I  hear  the  voice  of  God 
10  In  the  voice  of  my  Husband:  tho'  he  is  angry  for  a  moment,  he  will  not 
Utterly  cast  me  away :  if  I  were  pure,  never  could  I  taste  the  sweets 
Of  the  Forgive[ne]ss  of  Sins;  if  I  were  holy,  I  never  could  behold  the  tears 
Of  love!  of  him  who  loves  me  in  the  midst  of  his  anger  in  furnace  of  fire. 

Ah  my  Mary!  said  Joseph,  weeping  over  &  embracing  her  closely  in 
15  His  arms:  Doth  he  forgive  Jerusalem  &  not  exact  Purity  from  her  who  is 
Polluted.    I  heard  his  voice  in  my  sleep  &  his  Angel  in  my  dream: 
Saying,  Doth  Jehovah  Forgive  a  Debt  only  on  condition  that  it  shall 
Be  Payed  ?  Doth  he  Forgive  Pollution  only  on  conditions  of  Purity  ? 
That  Debt  is  not  Forgiven!  That  Pollution  is  not  Forgiven! 
20  Such  is  the  Forgiveness  of  the  Gods,  the  Moral  Virtues  of  the 

Heathen,  whose  tender  Mercies  are  Cruelty.    But  Jehovah's  Salvation 
Is  without  Money  &  without  Price,  in  the  Continual  Forgiveness  of  Sins, 


In  the  Perpetual  Mutual  Sacrifice  in  Great  Eternity!  for  behold, 
There  is  none  that  liveth  &  Sinneth  not!  And  this  is  the  Covenant 
25  Of  Jehovah:  If  you  Forgive  one-another,  so  shall  Jehovah  Forgive  You: 
That  He  Himself  may  Dwell  among  You.    Fear  not  then  to  take 
To  thee  Mary  thy  Wife,  for  she  is  with  Child  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Then  Mary  burst  forth  into  a  Song:  she  flowed  like  a  River  of 
Many  Streams  in  the  arms  of  Joseph,  &  gave  forth  her  tears  of  joy 

30  Like  many  waters,  and  Emanating  into  gardens  &  palaces  upon 
Euphrates,  &  to  forests  &  floods  &  animals  wild  &  tame  from 
Gihon  to  Hiddekel,  &  to  corn  fields  &  villages  &  inhabitants 
Upon  Pison  &  Arnon  &  Jordan.    And  I  heard  the  voice  among 
The  Reapers,  Saying,  Am  I  Jerusalem  the  lost  Adulteress?  or  am  I 

35  Babylon  come  up  to  Jerusalem?  And  another  voice  answer 'd,  Saying: 

Does  the  voice  of  my  Lord  call  me  again?  am  I  pure  thro'  his  Mercy 
And  Pity?   Am  I  become  lovely  as  a  Virgin  in  his  sight,  Who  am 
Indeed  a  Harlot  drunken  with  the  Sacrifice  of  Idols,  does  he 
Call  her  pure  as  he  did  in  the  days  of  her  Infancy,  when  She 
40  Was  cast  out  to  the  loathing  of  her  person?  The  Chaldean  took 

Me  from  my  Cradle.   The  Amalekite  stole  me  away  upon  his  Camels, 
Before  I  had  ever  beheld  with  love  the  Face  of  Jehovah :  or  known 
That  there  was  a  God  of  Mercy:  O  Mercy,  O  Divine  Humanity! 

0  Forgiveness  &  Pity  &  Compassion!  If  I  were  Pure  I  should  never 
45  Have  known  Thee:  If  I  were  Unpolluted  I  should  never  have 

Glorified  thy  Holiness,  or  rejoiced  in  thy  great  Salvation. 

Mary  leaned  her  side  against  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem  recieved 

The  Infant  into  her  hands  in  the  Visions  of  Jehovah.    Times  passed  on: 

Jerusalem  fainted  over  the  Cross  &  Sepulcher.    She  heard  the  voice: 

50  Wilt  thou  make  Rome  thy  Patriarch  Druid,  &  the  Kings  of  Europe  his 
Horsemen?  Man  in  the  Resurrection  changes  his  Sexual  Garments  at  Will: 

52  Every  Harlot  was  once  a  Virgin:  every  Criminal  an  Infant  Love! 

p.  62  REPOSE  on  me  till  the  morning  of  the  Grave.    I  am  thy  life. 
Jerusalem  replied.    I  am  an  outcast:  Albion  is  dead: 

1  am  left  to  the  trampling  foot  &  the  spurning  heel: 
A  Harlot  I  am  call'd.    I  am  sold  from  street  to  street: 

5   I  am  defaced  with  blows  &  with  the  dirt  of  the  Prison : 
And  wilt  thou  become  my  Husband,  O  my  Lord  &  Saviour? 
Shall  Vala  bring  thee  forth?  shall  the  Chaste  be  ashamed  also? 
I  see  the  Maternal  Line,  I  behold  the  Seed  of  the  Woman: 
Cainah  &  Ada  &  Zillah  &  Naamah,  Wife  of  Noah. 

72 


io  Shuah's  daughter  &  Tamar  &  Rahab  the  Canaanites; 

Ruth  the  Moabite  &  Bathsheba  of  the  daughters  of  Heth, 

Naamah  the  Ammonite,  Zibeah  the  Philistine,  &  Mary. 

These  are  the  Daughters  of  Vala,  Mother  of  the  Body  of  death: 

But  I  thy  Magdalen  behold  thy  Spiritual  Risen  Body. 
15  Shall  Albion  arise?  I  know  he  shall  arise  at  the  Last  Day! 

I  know  that  in  my  flesh  I  shall  see  God:  but  Emanations 

Are  weak,  they  know  not  whence  they  are,  nor  whither  tend. 

Jesus  replied,  I  am  the  Resurrection  &  the  Life. 

I  Die  &  pass  the  limits  of  possibility,  as  it  appears 
20  To  individual  perception.    Luvah  must  be  Created, 

And  Vala;  for  I  cannot  leave  them  in  the  gnawing  Grave, 

But  will  prepare  a  way  for  my  banished-ones  to  return. 

Come  now  with  me  into  the  villages,  walk  thro'  all  the  cities : 

Tho'  thou  art  taken  to  prison  &  judgment,  starved  in  the  streets, 
25   I  will  command  the  cloud  to  give  thee  food  &  the  hard  rock 

To  flow  with  milk  &  wine,  tho'  thou  seest  me  not  a  season, 

Even  a  long  season,  &  a  hard  journey  &  a  howling  wilderness: 

Tho'  Vala's  cloud  hide  thee  &  Luvah's  fires  follow  thee: 

Only  believe  &  trust  in  me.    Lo,  I  am  always  with  thee! 

30  So  spoke  the  Lamb  of  God  while  Luvah's  Cloud  reddening  above 
Burst  forth  in  streams  of  blood  upon  the  heavens,  &  dark  night 
Involv'd  Jerusalem,  &  the  Wheels  of  Albion's  Sons  turn'd  hoarse 
Over  the  Mountains,  &  the  fires  blaz'd  on  Druid  Altars, 
And  the  Sun  set  in  Tyburn's  Brook  where  Victims  howl  &  cry. 

35   But  Los  beheld  the  Divine  Vision  among  the  flames  of  the  Furnaces : 
Therefore  he  lived  &  breathed  in  hope,  but  his  tears  fell  incessant 
Because  his  Children  were  clos'd  from  him  apart:  &  Enitharmon 
Dividing  in  fierce  pain :  also  the  Vision  of  God  was  clos'd  in  clouds 
Of  Albion's  Spectres,  that  Los  in  despair  oft  sat,  &  often  pondered, 

40  On  Death  Eternal,  in  fierce  shudders  upon  the  mountains  of  Albion 
Walking,  &  in  the  vales  in  howlings  fierce:  then  to  his  Anvils 

42  Turning,  anew  began  his  labours,  tho'  in  terrible  pains. 

p.  63  JEHOVAH  stood  among  the  Druids  in  the  Valley  of  Annandale, 
When  the  Four  Zoas  of  Albion,  the  Four  Living  Creatures,  the  Cherubim 
Of  Albion,  tremble  before  the  Spectre  in  the  starry  Harness  of  the  Plow 
Of  Nations.    And  their  Names  are  Urizen  &  Luvah  &  Tharmas  &  Urthona. 

5  Luvah  slew  Tharmas  the  Angel  of  the  Tongue,  &  Albion  brought  him 
To  Justice  in  his  own  City  of  Paris,  denying  the  Resurrection. 

73  L 


Then  Vala  the  Wife  of  Albion,  who  is  the  Daughter  of  Luvah, 
Took  vengeance  Twelve-fold  among  the  Chaotic  Rocks  of  the  Druids, 
Where  the  Human  Victims  howl  to  the  Moon,  &  Thor  &  Friga 
10  Dance  the  dance  of  death,  contending  with  Jehovah  among  the  Cherubim. 
The  Chariot  Wheels  filled  with  Eyes  rage  along  the  howling  Valley, 
In  the  Dividing  of  Reuben  &  Benjamin  bleeding  from  Chester's  River. 

The  Giants  &  the  Witches  &  the  Ghosts  of  Albion  dance  with 

Thor  and  Friga,  &  the  Fairies  lead  the  Moon  along  the  Valley  of  Cherubim, 

15  Bleeding  in  torrents  from  Mountain  to  Mountain,  a  lovely  Victim. 
And  Jehovah  stood  in  the  Gates  of  the  Victim,  &  he  appeared 
A  weeping  Infant  in  the  Gates  of  Birth  in  the  midst  of  Heaven. 
The  Cities  &  Villages  of  Albion  became  Rock  &  Sand  Unhumanized, 
The  Druid  Sons  of  Albion  &  the  Heavens  a  Void  around  unfathomable, 

20  No  Human  Form  but  Sexual,  &  a  little  weeping  Infant  pale  reflected 
Multitudinous  in  the  Looking  Glass  of  Enitharmon,  on  all  sides 
Around  in  the  clouds  of  the  Female,  on  Albion's  Cliffs  of  the  Dead. 

Such  the  appearance  in  Cheviot,  in  the  Divisions  of  Reuben, 
When  the  Cherubim  hid  their  heads  under  their  wings  in  deep  slumbers, 
25  When  the  Druids  demanded  Chastity  from  Woman  &  all  was  lost. 

How  can  the  Female  be  Chaste,  O  thou  stupid  Druid,  Cried  Los, 
Without  the  Forgiveness  of  Sins  in  the  merciful  clouds  of  Jehovah, 
And  without  the  Baptism  of  Repentance  to  wash  away  Calumnies,  and 
The  Accusations  of  Sin,  that  each  may  be  Pure  in  their  Neighbours'  sight? 
30  O,  when  shall  Jehovah  give  us  Victims  from  his  Flocks  &  Herds, 
Instead  of  Human  Victims  by  the  Daughters  of  Albion  &  Canaan? 

Then  laugh'd  Gwendolen,  &  her  laughter  shook  the  Nations  &  Familys  of 
The  Dead  beneath  Beulah,  from  Tyburn  to  Golgotha,  and  from 
Ireland  to  Japan:  furious  her  Lions  &  Tygers  &  Wolves  sport  before 
35  Los  on  the  Thames  &  Medway:   London  &  Canterbury  groan  in  pain. 

Los  knew  not  yet  what  was  done:  he  thought  it  was  all  in  Vision, 
In  Visions  of  the  Dreams  of  Beulah  among  the  Daughters  of  Albion, 
Therefore  the  Murder  was  put  apart  in  the  Looking-Glass  of  Enitharmon. 

He  saw  in  Vala's  hand  the  Druid  Knife  of  Revenge  &  the  Poison  Cup 
40  Of  Jealousy,  and  thought  it  a  Poetic  Vision  of  the  Atmospheres, 

Till  Canaan  roll'd  apart  from  Albion  across  the  Rhine,  along  the  Danube. 

And  all  the  Land  of  Canaan  suspended  over  the  Valley  of  Cheviot, 
From  Bashan  to  Tyre  &  from  Troy  to  Gaza  of  the  Amalekite: 

74 


44  And  Reuben  fled  with  his  head  downwards  among  the  Caverns 

p.  64.  OF  the  Mundane  Shell,  which  froze  on  all  sides  round  Canaan  on 
The  vast  Expanse:  where  the  Daughters  of  Albion  Weave  the  Web 
Of  Ages  &  Generations,  folding  &  unfolding  it,  like  a  Veil  of  Cherubim: 
And  sometimes  it  touches  the  Earth's  summits,  &  sometimes  spreads 
5  Abroad  into  the  Indefinite  Spectre,  who  is  the  Rational  Power. 

Then  All  the  Daughters  of  Albion  became  One  before  Los:  even  Vala. 
And  she  put  forth  her  hand  upon  the  Looms  in  dreadful  howlings, 
Till  she  vegetated  into  a  hungry  Stomach  &  a  devouring  Tongue. 
Her  Hand  is  a  Court  of  Justice,  her  Feet,  two  Armies  in  Battle: 
10  Storms  &  Pestilence,  in  her  Locks:  &  in  her  Loins  Earthquake 
And  Fire,  &  the  Ruin  of  Cities  &  Nations  &  Families  &  Tongues. 

She  cries.    The  Human  is  but  a  Worm,  &  thou,  O  Male!   Thou  art 
Thyself  Female,  a  Male,  a  breeder  of  Seed,  a  Son  &  Husband:  &  Lo, 
The  Human  Divine  is  Woman's  Shadow,  a  Vapor  in  the  summer's  heat. 
15  Go  assume  Papal  dignity,  thou  Spectre,  thou  Male  Harlot!  Arthur, 
Divide  into  the  Kings  of  Europe  in  times  remote,  O  Woman-born 
And  Woman-nourish 'd  &  Woman-educated  &  Woman-scorn'd! 

Wherefore  art  thou  living?  said  Los,  &  Man  cannot  live  in  thy  presence. 
Art  thou  Vala  the  Wife  of  Albion,  O  thou  lovely  Daughter  of  Luvah? 
20  All  Quarrels  arise  from  Reasoning,  the  secret  Murder,  and 

The  violent  Man-slaughter,  these  are  the  Spectre's  double  Cave: 
The  Sexual  Death  living  on  accusation  of  Sin  &  Judgment, 
To  freeze  Love  &  Innocence  into  the  gold  &  silver  of  the  Merchant. 
Without  Forgiveness  of  Sin  Love  is  Itself  Eternal  Death. 

25  Then  the  Spectre  drew  Vala  into  his  bosom,  magnificent,  terrific, 

Glittering  with  precious  stones  &  gold,  with  Garments  of  blood  &  fire. 
He  wept  in  deadly  wrath  of  the  Spectre,  in  self-contradicting  agony, 
Crimson  with  Wrath  &  green  with  Jealousy,  dazling  with  Love 
And  Jealousy  immingled,  &  the  purple  of  the  violet  darken'd  deep 

30  Over  the  Plow  of  Nations  thund'ring  in  the  hand  of  Albion's  Spectre. 

A  dark  Hermaphrodite  they  stood  frowni(ni)ng  upon  London's  River: 
And  the  Distaff  &  Spindle  in  the  hands  of  Vala,  with  the  Flax  of 
Human  Miseries,  turn'd  fierce  with  the  Lives  of  Men  along  the  Valley, 
As  Reuben  fled  before  the  Daughters  of  Albion,  Taxing  the  Nations. 

35  Derby  Peak  yawn'd  a  horrid  Chasm  at  the  Cries  of  Gwendolen,  &  at 
The  stamping  feet  of  Ragan  upon  the  flaming  Treddles  of  her  Loom, 
That  drop  with  crimson  gore  with  the  Loves  of  Albion  &  Canaan, 

75 


38  Opening  along  the  Valley  of  Rephaim,  weaving  over  the  Caves  of  Machpelah, 

p.  65  TO  decide  Two  Worlds  with  a  great  decision:  a  World  of  Mercy,  and 
A  World  of  Justice;  the  World  of  Mercy  for  Salvation, 
To  cast  Luvah  into  the  Wrath,  and  Albion  into  the  Pity, 
In  the  Two  Contraries  of  Humanity  &  in  the  Four  Regions. 

5  For  in  the  depths  of  Albion's  bosom  in  the  eastern  heaven, 
They  sound  the  clarions  strong,  they  chain  the  howling  captives: 
They  cast  the  lots  into  the  helmet:  they  give  the  oath  of  blood  in  Lambeth: 
They  vote  the  death  of  Luvah,  &  they  nail'd  him  to  Albion's  tree  in  Bath: 
They  stain'd  him  with  poisonous  blue,  they  inwove  him  in  cruel  roots, 
10  To  die  a  death  of  Six  thousand  years  bound  round  with  vegetation: 
The  sun  was  black  &  the  moon  roll'd  a  useless  globe  thro'  Britain. 

j/Then  left  the  Sons  of  Urizen  the  plow  &  harrow,  the  loom, 
The  hammer  &  the  chisel,  &  the  rule  &  compasses;  from  London  fleeing 
They  forg'd  the  sword  on  Cheviot,  the  chariot  of  war  &  the  battle-ax, 

15  The  trumpet  fitted  to  mortal  battle,  &  the  flute  of  summer  in  Annandale: 
And  all  the  Arts  of  Life,  they  chang'd  into  the  Arts  of  Death  in  Albion. 
The  hour-glass  contemn'd  because  its  simple  workmanship 
Was  like  the  workmanship  of  the  plowman,  &  the  water  wheel 
That  raises  water  into  cisterns  broken  &  burn'd  with  fire : 

20  Because  its  workmanship  was  like  the  workmanship  of  the  shepherd. 
And  in  their  stead,  intricate  wheels  invented,  wheel  without  wheel: 
To  perplex  youth  in  their  outgoings,  &  to  bind  to  labours  in  Albion 
Of  day  &  night  the  myriads  of  eternity  that  they  may  grind 
And  polish  brass  &  iron  hour  after  hour,  laborious  task : 

25  Kept  ignorant  of  its  use,  that  they  might  spend  the  days  of  wisdom 
In  sorrowful  drudgery,  to  obtain  a  scanty  pittance  of  bread: 
In  ignorance  to  view  a  small  portion  &  think  that  All, 
And  call  it  Demonstration:  blind  to  all  the  simple  rules  of  life. 

Now,  now  the  battle  rages  round  thy  tender  limbs,  O  Vala, 
30  Now  smile  among  thy  bitter  tears;  now  put  on  all  thy  beauty. 

Is  not  the  wound  of  the  sword  sweet:  &  the  broken  bone  delightful? 

Wilt  thou  now  smile  among  the  scythes  when  the  wounded  groan  in  the  field? 

We  were  carried  away  in  thousands  from  London,  &  in  tens 

Of  thousands  from  Westminster  &  Marybone  in  ships  clos'd  up: 
35  Chain'd  hand  &  foot,  compell'd  to  fight  under  the  iron  whips 

Of  our  captains,  fearing  our  officers  more  than  the  enemy. 

Lift  up  thy  blue  eyes  Vala  &  put  on  thy  sapphire  shoes: 

O  melancholy  Magdalen,  behold  the  morning  over  Maiden  break! 

76 


Gird  on  thy  flaming  zone,  descend  into  the  sepulcher  of  Canterbury. 

40  Scatter  the  blood  from  thy  golden  brow,  the  tears  from  thy  silver  locks: 
Shake  ofF  the  waters  from  thy  wings,  &  the  dust  from  thy  white  garments. 
Remember  all  thy  feigned  terrors  on  the  secret  couch  of  Lambeth's  Vale, 
When  the  sun  rose  in  glowing  morn,  with  arms  of  mighty  hosts 
Marching  to  battle,  who  was  wont  to  rise  with  Urizen's  harps 

45  Girt  as  a  sower  with  his  seed  to  scatter  life  abroad  over  Albion: 

Arise,  O  Vala:  bring  the  bow  of  Urizen:  bring  the  swift  arrows  of  light. 
How  rag'd  the  golden  horses  of  Urizen,  compell'd  to  the  chariot  of  love! 
Compell'd  to  leave  the  plow  to  the  ox,  to  snuff  up  the  winds  of  desolation, 
To  trample  the  corn  fields  in  boastful  neighings:  this  is  no  gentle  harp, 

50  This  is  no  warbling  brook,  nor  shadow  of  a  mirtle  tree: 

But  blood  and  wounds  and  dismal  cries,  and  shadows  of  the  oak: 
And  hearts  laid  open  to  the  light,  by  the  broad  grizly  sword: 
And  bowels  hid  in  hammer'd  steel  rip'd  quivering  on  the  ground. 
Call  forth  thy  smiles  of  soft  deceit:  call  forth  thy  cloudy  tears: 

55  We  hear  thy  sighs  in  trumpets  shrill  when  morn  shall  blood  renew. 

So  sang  the  Spectre  Sons  of  Albion  round  Luvah's  Stone  of  Trial : 
Mocking  and  deriding  at  the  writhings  of  their  Victim  on  Salisbury: 
Drinking  his  Emanation  in  intoxicating  bliss,  rejoicing  in  Giant  dance. 
For  a  Spectre  has  no  Emanation  but  what  he  imbibes  from  decieving 
60  A  Victim:  Then  he  becomes  her  Priest  &  she  his  Tabernacle, 
And  his  Oak  Grove,  till  the  Victim  rend  the  woven  Veil, 
In  the  end  of  his  sleep  when  Jesus  calls  him  from  his  grave. 

Howling  the  Victims  on  the  Druid  Altars  yield  their  souls 

To  the  stern  Warriors:  lovely  sport  the  Daughters  round  their  Victims, 

65  Drinking  their  lives  in  sweet  intoxication :  hence  arose  from  Bath 
Soft  deluding  odours,  in  spiral  volutions  intricately  winding 
Over  Albion's  mountains,  a  feminine  indefinite  cruel  delusion, 
Astonish'd,  terrified  &  in  pain  &  torment,  Sudden  they  behold 
Their  own  Parent,  the  Emanation  of  their  murder'd  Enemy, 

70  Become  their  Emanation  and  their  Temple  and  Tabernacle: 

They  knew  not,  this  Vala  was  their  beloved  Mother,  Vala  Albion's  Wife. 

Terrified  at  the  sight  of  the  Victim,  at  his  distorted  sinews: 
The  tremblings  of  Vala  vibrate  thro'  the  limbs  of  Albion's  Sons, 
While  they  rejoice  over  Luvah  in  mockery  &  bitter  scorn: 
75  Sudden  they  become  like  what  they  behold,  in  howlings  &  deadly  pain. 
Spasms  smite  their  features,  sinews  &  limbs:  pale  they  look  on  one  another; 
They  turn,  contorted:  their  iron  necks  bend  unwilling  towards 
Luvah:  their  lips  tremble:  their  muscular  fibres  are  tramp'd  &  smitten, 

77 


79  They  become  like  what  they  behold!  Yet  immense  in  strength  &  power, 

p.  66  IN  awful  pomp  &  gold,  in  all  the  precious  unhewn  stones  of  Eden, 
They  build  a  stupendous  Building  on  the  Plain  of  Salisbury:  with  chains 
Of  rocks  round  London  Stone,  of  Reasonings,  of  unhewn  Demonstrations, 
In  labyrinthine  arches,  (Mighty  Urizen  the  Architect,)  thro'  which 
5  The  Heavens  might  revolve  &  Eternity  be  bound  in  their  chain. 
Labour  unparall[el]ed!  a  wondrous  rocky  World  of  cruel  destiny, 
Rocks  piled  on  rocks  reaching  the  stars,  stretching  from  pole  to  pole. 
The  Building  is  Natural  Religion  &  its  Altars  Natural  Morality: 
A  building  of  eternal  death,  whose  proportions  are  eternal  despair. 

10  Here  Vala  stood  turning  the  iron  Spindle  of  destruction 
From  heaven  to  earth,  howling,  invisible:  but  not  invisible 
Her  Two  Covering  Cherubs,  afterwards  named  Voltaire  &  Rousseau: 
Two  frowning  Rocks,  on  each  side  of  the  Cove  &  Stone  of  Torture, 
Frozen  Sons  of  the  feminine  Tabernacle  of  Bacon,  Newton  &  Locke. 

15  For  Luvah  is  France;  the  Victim  of  the  Spectres  of  Albion. 

Los  beheld  in  terror;  he  pour'd  his  loud  storms  on  the  Furnaces: 
The  Daughters  of  Albion  clothed  in  garments  of  needle  work 
Strip  them  off  from  their  shoulders  and  bosoms,  they  lay  aside 
Their  garments,  they  sit  naked  upon  the  Stone  of  trial. 

20  The  knife  of  flint  passes  over  the  howling  Victim:  his  blood 
Gushes  &  stains  the  fair  side  of  the  fair  Daug[h]ters  of  Albion. 
They  put  aside  his  curls:  they  divide  his  seven  locks  upon 
His  forehead:  they  bind  his  forehead  with  thorns  of  iron, 
They  put  into  his  hand  a  reed,  they  mock,  Saying:  Behold 

25  The  King  of  Canaan,  whose  are  seven  hundred  chariots  of  iron ! 
They  take  off  his  vesture  whole  with  their  Knives  of  flint: 
But  they  cut  asunder  his  inner  garments:  searching  with 
Their  cruel  fingers  for  his  heart,  &  there  they  enter  in  pomp, 
In  many  tears:  &  there  they  erect  a  temple  &  an  altar: 

30  They  pour  cold  water  on  his  brain  in  front,  to  cause 
Lids  to  grow  over  his  eyes  in  veils  of  tears:  and  caverns 
To  freeze  over  his  nostrils,  while  they  feed  his  tongue  from  cups 
And  dishes  of  painted  clay.    Glowing  with  beauty  &  cruelty, 
They  obscure  the  sun  &  the  moon:  no  eye  can  look  upon  them. 

35  Ah!  alas!  at  the  sight  of  the  Victim,  &  at  sight  of  those  who  are  smitten, 
All  who  see,  become  what  they  behold:  their  eyes  are  cover'd 
With  veils  of  tears  and  their  nostrils  &  tongues  shrunk  up, 
Their  ear  bent  outwards,  as  their  Victim,  so  are  they  in  the  pangs 
Of  unconquerable  fear!  amidst  delights  of  revenge  Earth-shaking! 

78 


40  And  as  their  eye  &  ear  shrunk,  the  heavens  shrunk  away : 
The  Divine  Vision  became  first  a  burning  flame,  then  a  column 
Of  fire,  then  an  awful  fiery  wheel  surrounding  earth  &  heaven, 
And  then  a  globe  of  blood  wandering  distant  in  an  unknown  night: 
Afar  into  the  unknown  night  the  mountains  fled  away : 

45  Six  months  of  mortality,  a  summer:  &  six  months  of  mortality,  a  winter: 
The  Human  form  began  to  be  alter'd  by  the  Daughters  of  Albion, 
And  the  perceptions  to  be  dissipated  into  the  Indefinite.    Becoming 
A  mighty  Polypus  nam'd  Albion's  Tree:  they  tie  the  Veins 
And  Nerves  into  two  knots:  &  the  Seed  into  a  double  knot: 

50  They  look  forth:  the  Sun  is  shrunk:  the  Heavens  are  shrunk 
Away  into  the  far  remote:  and  the  Trees  &  Mountains  wither'd 
Into  indefinite  cloudy  shadows  in  darkness  &  separation. 
By  Invisible  Hatreds  adjoin'd,  they  seem  remote  and  separate 
From  each  other;  and  yet  are  a  Mighty  Polypus  in  the  Deep! 

55  As  the  Misletoe  grows  on  the  Oak,  so  Albion's  Tree  on  Eternity:  Lo! 
He  who  will  not  comingle  in  Love,  must  be  adjoin'd  by  Hate. 

They  look  forth  from  Stone-henge:  from  the  Cove  round  London  Stone 
They  look  on  one  another:  the  mountain  calls  out  to  the  mountain: 
Plinlimmon  shrunk  away:  Snowdon  trembled:  the  mountains 

60  Of  Wales  &  Scotland  beheld  the  descending  War,  the  routed  flying. 
Red  run  the  streams  of  Albion:  Thames  is  drunk  with  blood. 
As  Gwendolen  cast  the  Shuttle  of  war,  as  Cambel  return'd  the  beam, 
The  Humber  &  the  Severn  are  drunk  with  the  blood  of  the  slain: 
London  feels  his  brain  cut  round:  Edinburgh's  heart  is  circumscribed: 

65   York  &  Lincoln  hide  among  the  flocks,  because  of  the  griding  knife. 
Worcester  &  Hereford,  Oxford  &  Cambridge  reel  &  stagger, 
Overwearied  with  howling:  Wales  &  Scotland  alone  sustain  the  fight! 
The  inhabitants  are  sick  to  death:  they  labour  to  divide  into  Days 
And  Nights,  the  uncertain  Periods:  and  into  Weeks  &  Months.    In  vain 

70  They  send  the  Dove  &  Raven,  &  in  vain  the  Serpent  over  the  mountains, 
And  in  vain  the  Eagle  &  Lion  over  the  four-fold  wilderness. 
They  return  not:  but  generate  in  rocky  places  desolate. 
They  return  not:  but  build  a  habitation  separate  from  Man. 
The  Sun  forgets  his  course,  like  a  drunken  man  he  hesitates, 

75   Upon  the  Cheselden  hills,  thinking  to  sleep  on  the  Severn. 
In  vain:  he  is  hurried  afar  into  an  unknown  Night. 
He  bleeds  in  torrents  of  blood  as  he  rolls  thro'  heaven  above, 
He  chokes  up  the  paths  of  the  sky:  the  Moon  is  leprous  as  snow: 
Trembling  &  descending  down,  seeking  to  rest  on  high  Mona: 

80  Scattering  her  leprous  snows  in  flakes  of  disease  over  Albion. 

79 


The  Stars  flee  remote:  the  heaven  is  iron,  the  earth  is  sulphur, 
And  all  the  mountains  &  hills  shrink  up  like  a  withering  gourd: 
As  the  Senses  of  Men  shrink  together  under  the  Knife  of  flint, 
84  In  the  hands  of  Albion's  Daughters,  among  the  Druid  Temples, 

p.  67  BY  those  who  drink  their  blood  &  the  blood  of  their  Covenant. 

And  the  Twelve  Daughters  of  Albion  united  in  Rahab  &  Tirzah, 
A  Double  Female:  and  they  drew  out  from  the  Rocky  Stones 
Fibres  of  Life  to  Weave,  for  every  Female  is  a  Golden  Loom. 
5  The  Rocks  are  opake  hardnesses  covering  all  Vegetated  things. 
And  as  they  Wove  &  Cut  from  the  Looms  in  various  divisions, 
Stretching  over  Europe  &  Asia  from  Ireland  to  Japan, 
They  divided  into  many  lovely  Daughters  to  be  counterparts 
To  those  they  Wove,  for  when  they  Wove  a  Male,  they  divided 

10  Into  a  Female  to  the  Woven  Male,  in  opake  hardness 

They  cut  the  Fibres  from  the  Rocks,  groaning  in  pain  they  Weave: 
Calling  the  Rocks  Atomic  Origins  or  Existence;  denying  Eternity 
By  the  Atheistical  Epicurean  Philosophy  of  Albion's  Tree. 
Such  are  the  Feminine  and  Masculine  when  separated  from  Man. 

15  They  call  the  Rocks  Parents  of  Men,  &  adore  the  frowning  Chaos, 
Dancing  around  in  howling  pain  clothed  in  the  bloody  Veil, 
Hiding  Albion's  Sons  within  the  Veil,  closing  Jerusalem's 
Sons  without :  to  feed  with  their  Souls  the  Spectres  of  Albion. 
Ashamed  to  give  Love  openly  to  the  piteous  &  merciful  Man, 

20  Counting  him  an  imbecile  mockery:  but  the  Warrior 

They  adore,  &  his  revenge  cherish  with  the  blood  of  the  Innocent. 
They  drink  up  Dan  &  Gad,  to  feed  with  milk  Skofeld  &  Kotope: 
They  strip  off  Joseph's  Coat  &  dip  it  in  the  blood  of  battle. 

Tirzah  sits  weeping  to  hear  the  shrieks  of  the  dying:  her  Knife 
25  Of  flint  is  in  her  hand:  she  passes  it  over  the  howling  Victim. 
The  Daughters  Weave  their  Work  in  loud  cries  over  the  Rock 
Of  Horeb:  still  eyeing  Albion's  Cliffs  eagerly,  siezing  &  twisting 
The  threads  of  Vala  &  Jerusalem  running  from  mountain  to  mountain 
Over  the  whole  Earth:  loud  the  Warriors  rage  in  Beth  Peor, 
30  Beneath  the  iron  whips  of  their  Captains  &  consecrated  banners: 
Loud  the  Sun  &  Moon  rage  in  the  conflict :  loud  the  Stars 
Shout  in  the  night  of  battle  &  their  spears  grow  to  their  hands 
With  blood,  weaving  the  deaths  of  the  Mighty  into  a  Tabernacle 
For  Rahab  &  Tirzah;  till  the  Great  Polypus  of  Generation  covered  the  Earth. 

35  In  Verulam  the  Polypus's  Head,  winding  around  his  bulk 

80 


Thro'  Rochester  and  Chichester  &  Exeter  &  Salisbury, 
To  Bristol :  &  his  Heart  beat  strong  on  Salisbury  Plain, 
Shooting  out  Fibres  round  the  Earth,  thro'  Gaul  &  Italy 
And  Greece,  &  along  the  Sea  of  Rephaim  into  Judea 
40  To  Sodom  &  Gomorrha:  thence  to  India,  China  &  Japan. 

The  Twelve  Daughters  in  Rahab  &  Tirzah  have  circumscrib'd  the  Brain 
Beneath  &  pierced  it  thro'  the  midst  with  a  golden  pin. 
Blood  hath  stain'd  her  fair  side  beneath  her  bosom. 

O  thou  poor  Human  Form!  said  she.    O  thou  poor  child  of  woe! 
45  Why  wilt  thou  wander  away  from  Tirzah:   why  me  compel  to  bind  thee? 

If  thou  dost  go  away  from  me  I  shall  consume  upon  these  Rocks. 

These  fibres  of  thine  eyes  that  used  to  beam  in  distant  heavens, 

Away  from  me,  I  have  bound  down  with  a  hot  iron. 

These  nostrils  that  expanded  with  delight  in  morning  skies 
50  I  have  bent  downward  with  lead  melted  in  my  roaring  furnaces 

Of  affliction,  of  love,  of  sweet  despair,  of  torment  unendurable. 

My  soul  is  seven  furnaces,  incessant  roars  the  bellows 

Upon  my  terribly  flaming  heart,  the  molten  metal  runs 

In  channels  thro'  my  fiery  limbs:  O  love,  O  pity,  O  fear, 
55  O  pain!  O  the  pangs,  the  bitter  pangs  of  love  forsaken! 

Ephraim  was  a  wilderness  of  joy  where  all  my  wild  beasts  ran, 

The  River  Kanah  wander'd  by  my  sweet  Manasseh's  side, 

To  see  the  boy  spring  into  heavens  sounding  from  my  sight! 

Go  Noah,  fetch  the  girdle  of  strong  brass,  heat  it  red-hot: 
60  Press  it  around  the  loins  of  this  ever  expanding  cruelty. 

Shriek  not  so  my  only  love:  I  refuse  thy  joys:  I  drink 
62  Thy  shrieks  because  Hand  &  Hyle  are  cruel  &  obdurate  to  me. 

p.  68  O  SKOFIELD  why  art  thou  cruel?  Lo  Joseph  is  thine,  to  make 
You  One:  to  weave  you  both  in  the  same  mantle  of  skin. 
Bind  him  down  Sisters,  bind  him  down  on  Ebal  Mount  of  cursing. 
Malah,  come  forth  from  Lebanon:  &  Hoglah,  from  Mount  Sinai! 
5  Come,  circumscribe  this  tongue  of  sweets  &  with  a  screw  of  iron 
Fasten  this  ear  into  the  rock:  Milcah,  the  task  is  thine! 
Weep  not  so,  Sisters,  weep  not  so:  our  life  depends  on  this: 
Or  mercy  &  truth  are  fled  away  from  Shechem  &  Mount  Gilead, 
Unless  my  beloved  is  bound  upon  the  Stems  of  Vegetation. 

10  And  thus  the  Warriors  cry  in  the  hot  day  of  Victory,  in  Songs. 

Look!  the  beautiful  Daughter  of  Albion  sits  naked  upon  the  Stone, 
Her  panting  Victim  beside  her :  her  heart  is  drunk  with  blood, 

81  M 


Tho'  her  brain  is  not  drunk  with  wine:  she  goes  forth  from  Albion 
In  pride  of  beauty,  in  cruelty  of  holiness,  in  the  brightness 

15  Of  her  tabernacle,  &  her  ark  &  secret  place:  the  beautiful  Daughter 
Of  Albion  delights  the  eyes  of  the  Kings:  their  hearts  &  the 
Hearts  of  their  Warriors  glow  hot  before  Thor  &  Friga.    O  Molech ! 
O  Chemosh!  O  Bacchus!  O  Venus!  O  Double  God  of  Generation! 
The  Heavens  are  cut  like  a  mantle  around  from  the  Cliffs  of  Albion, 

20  Across  Europe,  across  Africa,  in  howlings  &  deadly  War. 
A  sheet  &  veil  &  curtain  of  blood  is  let  down  from  Heaven 
Across  the  hills  of  Ephraim  &  down  Mount  Olivet  to 
The  Valley  of  the  Jebusite:  Molech  rejoices  in  heaven, 
He  sees  the  Twelve  Daughters  naked  upon  the  Twelve  Stones, 

25  Themselves  condensing  to  rocks  &  into  the  Ribs  of  a  Man. 
Lo,  they  shoot  forth  in  tender  Nerves  across  Europe  &  Asia: 
Lo,  they  rest  upon  the  Tribes,  where  their  panting  Victims  lie. 
Molech  rushes  into  the  Kings  in  love  to  the  beautiful  Daughters, 
But  they  frown  &  delight  in  cruelty,  refusing  all  other  joy. 

30  Bring  your  Offerings,  your  first  begotten,  pamper'd  with  milk  &  blood: 
Your  first  born  of  seven  years  old,  be  they  Males  or  Females, 
To  the  beautiful  Daughters  of  Albion!  they  sport  before  the  Kings 
Clothed  in  the  skin  of  the  Victim !  blood,  human  blood,  is  the  life 
And  delightful  food  of  the  Warrior:  the  well  fed  Warrior's  flesh 

35  Of  him  who  is  slain  in  War  fills  the  Valleys  of  Ephraim  with 

Breeding  Women  walking  in  pride  &  bringing  forth  under  green  trees 
With  pleasure,  without  pain,  for  their  food  is  blood  of  the  Captive. 
Molech  rejoices  thro'  the  Land  from  Havilah  to  Shur:  he  rejoices 
In  moral  law  &  its  severe  penalties;  loud  Shaddai  &  Jehovah 

40  Thunder  above,  when  they  see  the  Twelve  panting  Victims 

On  the  Twelve  Stones  of  Power,  &  the  beautiful  Daughters  of  Albion. 
If  you  dare  rend  their  Veil  with  your  spear,  you  are  healed  of  Love. 
From  the  Hills  of  Camberwell  &  Wimbledon,  from  the  Valleys 
Of  Walton  &  Esher,  from  Stone-henge  &  from  Maiden's  Cove, 

45  Jerusalem's  Pillars  fall  in  the  rendings  of  fierce  War. 
Over  France  &  Germany,  upon  the  Rhine  &  Danube, 
Reuben  &  Benjamin  flee:  they  hide  in  the  Valley  of  Rephaim. 
Why  trembles  the  Warriors  limbs  when  he  beholds  thy  beauty 
Spotted  with  Victims'  blood:  by  the  fires  of  thy  secret  tabernacle 

50  And  thy  ark  &  holy  place:  at  thy  frowns,  at  thy  dire  revenge: 
Smitten  as  Uzzah  of  old,  his  armour  is  soften'd:  his  spear 
And  sword  faint  in  his  hand,  from  Albion  across  Great  Tartary. 
O  beautiful  Daughter  of  Albion!  cruelty  is  thy  delight, 
O  Virgin  of  terrible  eyes  who  dwellest  by  Valleys  of  springs, 

82 


55  Beneath  the  Mountains  of  Lebanon,  in  the  City  of  Rehob  in  Hamath, 
Taught  to  touch  the  harp,  to  dance  in  the  Circle  of  Warriors 
Before  the  Kings  of  Canaan,  to  cut  the  flesh  from  the  Victim, 
To  roast  the  flesh  in  fire,  to  examine  the  Infant's  limbs 
In  cruelties  of  holiness,  to  refuse  the  joys  of  love,  to  bring 

60  The  Spies  from  Egypt,  to  raise  jealousy  in  the  bosoms  of  the  Twelve 
Kings  of  Canaan,  then  to  let  the  Spies  depart  to  Meribah  Kadesh 
To  the  place  of  the  Amalekite;  I  am  drunk  with  unsatiated  love: 
I  must  rush  again  to  War:  for  the  Virgin  has  frown'd  &  refus'd. 
Sometimes  I  curse  &  sometimes  bless  thy  fascinating  beauty. 

65  Once  Man  was  occupied  in  intellectual  pleasures  &  energies, 
But  now  my  Soul  is  harrow'd  with  grief  &  fear  &  love  &  desire, 
And  now  I  hate  &  now  I  love  &  Intellect  is  no  more: 
There  is  no  time  for  any  thing  but  the  torments  of  love  &  desire: 
The  Feminine  &  Masculine  Shadows  soft,  mild  &  ever  varying 

70  In  beauty,  are  Shadows  now  no  more,  but  Rocks  in  Horeb. 

p.  69  THEN  all  the  Males  conjoined  into  One  Male,  &  every  one 
Became  a  ravening  eating  Cancer  growing  in  the  Female, 
A  Polypus  of  Roots  of  Reasoning,  Doubt,  Despair  &  Death, 
Going  forth  &  returning  from  Albion's  Rocks  to  Canaan: 
5   Devouring  Jerusalem  from  every  Nation  of  the  Earth. 

Envying  stood  the  enormous  Form  at  variance  with  Itself 
In  all  its  Members:  in  eternal  torment  of  love  &  jealousy: 
Driv'n  forth  by  Los  time  after  time  from  Albion's  cliffy  shore: 
Drawing  the  free  loves  of  Jerusalem  into  infernal  bondage, 

10  That  they  might  be  born  in  contentions  of  Chastity  &  in 

Deadly  Hate  between  Leah  &  Rachel,  Daughters  of  Deceit  &  Fraud: 

Bearing  the  Images  of  various  Species  of  Contention 

And  Jealousy  &  Abhorrence  &  Revenge  &  deadly  Murder, 

Till  they  refuse  liberty  to  the  Male:  &  not  like  Beulah 

15  Where  every  Female  delights  to  give  her  maiden  to  her  husband. 
The  Female  searches  sea  &  land  for  gratifications  to  the 
Male  Genius:  who  in  return  clothes  her  in  gems  &  gold 
And  feeds  her  with  the  food  of  Eden,  hence  all  her  beauty  beams. 
She  Creates  at  her  will  a  little  moony  night  &  silence 

20  With  Spaces  of  sweet  gardens  &  a  tent  of  elegant  beauty : 
Closed  in  by  a  sandy  desart  &  a  night  of  stars  shining, 
And  a  little  tender  moon  &  hovering  angels  on  the  wing. 
And  the  Male  gives  a  Time  &  Revolution  to  her  Space 
Till  the  time  of  love  is  passed  in  ever  varying  delights. 

83 


25  For  All  Things  Exist  in  the  Human  Imagination, 

And  thence  in  Beulah  they  are  stolen  by  secret  amorous  theft, 
Till  they  have  had  Punishment  enough  to  make  them  commit  Crimes. 
Hence  rose  the  Tabernacle  in  the  Wilderness  &  all  its  Offerings, 
From  Male  &  Female  Loves  in  Beulah  &  their  Jealousies, 

30  But  no  one  can  consummate  Female  bliss  in  Los's  World  without 
Becoming  a  Generated  Mortal,  a  Vegetating  Death. 

And  now  the  Spectres  of  the  Dead  awake  in  Beulah :  all 
The  Jealousies  become  Murderous,  uniting  together  in  Rahab, 
A  Religion  of  Chastity,  forming  a  Commerce  to  sell  Loves 
35  With  Moral  Law,  an  Equal  Balance,  not  going  down  with  decision. 
Therefore  the  Male  severe  &  cruel  fill'd  with  stern  Revenge: 
Mutual  Hate  returns  &  mutual  Deceit  &  mutual  Fear. 

Hence  the  Infernal  Veil  grows  in  the  disobedient  Female, 
Which  Jesus  rends  &  the  whole  Druid  Law  removes  away 
40  From  the  Inner  Sanctuary:  a  False  Holiness  hid  within  the  Center. 
For  the  Sanctuary  of  Eden  is  in  the  Camp,  in  the  Outline, 
In  the  Circumference:  &  every  Minute  Particular  is  Holy: 
Embraces  are  Cominglings,  from  the  Head  even  to  the  Feet, 
And  not  a  pompous  High  Priest  entering  by  a  Secret  Place. 

45  Jerusalem  pined  in  her  inmost  soul  over  Wandering  Reuben 

46  As  she  slept  in  Beulah's  Night  hid  by  the  Daughters  of  Beulah. 

p.  70  AND  this  the  form  of  mighty  Hand  sitting  on  Albion's  cliffs 
Before  the  face  of  Albion,  a  mighty  threat'ning  Form. 

His  bosom  wide  &  shoulders  huge,  overspreading  wondrous, 
Bear  Three  strong  sinewy  Necks  &  Three  awful  &  terrible  Heads, 
5  Three  Brains  in  contradictory  council  brooding  incessantly, 
Neither  daring  to  put  in  act  its  councils,  fearing  each  other, 
Therefore  rejecting  Ideas  as  nothing  &  holding  all  Wisdom 
To  consist  in  the  agreements  &  disagree[me]nts  of  Ideas, 
Plotting  to  devour  Albion's  Body  of  Humanity  &  Love. 

10  Such  Form  the  aggregate  of  the  Twelve  Sons  of  Albion  took:  &  such 
Their  appearance  when  combin'd:  but  often  by  birth -pangs  &  loud  groans 
They  divide  to  Twelve:  the  key-bones  &  the  chest  dividing  in  pain 
Disclose  a  hideous  orifice;  thence  issuing  the  Giant-brood 
Arise  as  the  smoke  of  the  furnace,  shaking  the  rocks  from  sea  to  sea, 

15  And  there  they  combine  into  Three  Forms,  named  Bacon  &  Newton  &  Locke, 
In  the  Oak  Groves  of  Albion  which  overspread  all  the  Earth. 

84 


Imputing  Sin  &  Righteousness  to  Individuals,  Rahab 
Sat  deep  within  him  hid:  his  Feminine  Power  unreveal'd 
Brooding  Abstract  Philosophy,  to  destroy  Imagination,  the  Divine- 

20  Humanity:  A  Three-fold  Wonder,  feminine,  most  beautiful,  Three-fold 
Each  within  other.    On  her  white  marble  &  even  Neck,  her  Heart 
Inorb'd  and  bonified:  with  locks  of  shadowing  modesty,  shining 
Over  her  beautiful  Female  features,  soft  flourishing  in  beauty, 
Beams  mild,  all  love  and  all  perfection,  that  when  the  lips 

25   Recieve  a  kiss  from  Gods  or  Men,  a  threefold  kiss  returns 

From  the  press'd  loveliness;  so  her  whole  immortal  form,  three-fold, 
Three-fold  embrace  returns:  consuming  lives  of  Gods  &  Men, 
In  fires  of  beauty  melting  them  as  gold  &  silver  in  the  furnace. 
Her  Brain  enlabyrinths  the  whole  heaven  of  her  bosom  &  loins 

30  To  put  in  act  what  her  Heart  wills;  O  who  can  withstand  her  power? 
Her  name  is  Vala  in  Eternity :  in  Time  her  name  is  Rahab. 

32  The  Starry  Heavens  all  were  fled  from  the  mighty  limbs  of  Albion, 

p.  71   AND  above  Albion's  Land  was  seen  the  Heavenly  Canaan, 
As  the  Substance  is  to  the  Shadow  :  and  above  Albion's  Twelve  Sons 
Were  seen  Jerusalem's  Sons:  and  all  the  Twelve  Tribes  spreading 
Over  Albion.    As  the  Soul  is  to  the  Body,  so  Jerusalem's  Sons 
5  Are  to  the  Sons  of  Albion  :  and  Jerusalem  is  Albion's  Emanation. 

What  is  Above  is  Within,  for  everything  in  Eternity  is  translucent; 
The  Circumference  is  Within:  Without,  is  formed  the  Selfish  Center: 
And  the  Circumference  still  expands  going  forward  to  Eternity, 
And  the  Center  has  Eternal  States!  these  States  we  now  explore. 

10  And  these  the  Names  of  Albion's  Twelve  Sons,  &  of  his  Twelve  Daughters 
With  their  Districts.    Hand  dwelt  in  Selsey,  &  had  Sussex  &  Surrey 
And  Kent  &  Middlesex:  all  their  Rivers  &  their  Hills  of  flocks  &  herds; 
Their  Villages,  Towns,  Cities,  Sea-Ports,  Temples,  sublime  Cathedrals; 
All  were  his  Friends  &  their  Sons  &  Daughters  intermarry  in  Beulah, 

15   For  all  are  Men  in  Eternity,  Rivers,  Mountains,  Cities,  Villages. 
All  are  Human,  &  when  you  enter  into  their  Bosoms  you  walk 
In  Heavens  &  Earths;  as  in  your  own  Bosom  you  bear  your  Heaven 
And  Earth,  &  all  you  behold:  tho'  it  appears  Without  it  is  Within 
In  your  Imagination,  of  which  this  World  of  Mortality  is  but  a  Shadow. 

20  Hyle  dwelt  in  Winchester,  comprehending  Hants,  Dorset,  Devon,  Cornwall, 
Their  Villages,  Cities,  Sea  Ports,  their  Corn  fields  &  Gardens  spacious, 
Palaces,  Rivers  &  Mountains,  and  between  Hand  &  Hyle  arose 
Gwendolen  &  Cambel  who  is  Boadicea:  they  go  abroad  &  return 

85 


Like  lovely  beams  of  light  from  the  mingled  affeftions  of  the  Brothers : 
25  The  Inhabitants  of  the  whole  Earth  rejoice  in  their  beautiful  light. 

Coban  dwelt  in  Bath,  Somerset,  Wiltshire,  Gloucestershire, 
Obey'd  his  awful  voice:  Ignoge  is  his  lovely  Emanation; 
She  adjoin'd  with  Gwantoke's  Children,  soon  lovely  Cordelia  arose, 
Gwantoke  forgave  &  joy'd  over  South  Wales  &  all  its  Mountains. 

30  Peachey  had  North  Wales,  Shropshire,  Cheshire  &  the  Isle  of  Man, 
His  Emanation  is  Mehetabel,  terrible  &  lovely  upon  the  Mountains. 

Brertun  had  Yorkshire,  Durham,  Westmoreland,  &  his  Emanation 
Is  Ragan:  she  adjoin'd  to  Slade,  &  produced  Gonorill  far  beaming. 

Slade  had  Lincoln,  Stafford,  Derby,  Nottingham,  &  his  lovely 
35  Emanation  Gonorill  rejoices  over  hills  &  rocks  &  woods  &  rivers. 

Huttn  had  Warwick,  Northampton,  Bedford,  Buckingham, 
Leicester  &  Berkshire;  &  his  Emanation  is  Gwinefred  beautiful. 

Skofeld  had  Ely,  Rutland,  Cambridge,  Huntingdon,  Norfolk, 
Suffolk,  Hartford  &  Essex:  &  his  Emanation  is  Gwinevera 
40  Beautiful,  she  beams  towards  the  east,  all  kinds  of  precious  stones 
And  pearl,  with  instruments  of  music  in  holy  Jerusalem. 

Kox  had  Oxford,  Warwick,  Wilts;  his  Emanation  is  Estrild: 
Join'd  with  Cordelia  she  shines  southward  over  the  Atlantic. 

Kotope  had  Hereford,  Stafford,  Worcester,  &  his  Emanation 
45  Is  Sabrina:  join'd  with  Mehetabel  she  shines  west  over  America. 

Bowen  had  all  Scotland,  the  Isles,  Northumberland  &  Cumberland: 
His  Emanation  is  Conwenna,  she  shines  a  triple  form 
Over  the  north  with  pearly  beams  gorgeous  &  terrible, 
Jerusalem  &  Vala  rejoice  in  Bowen  &  Conwenna. 

50  But  the  Four  Sons  of  Jerusalem  that  never  were  Generated 

Are  Rintrah  and  Palamabron  and  Theotormon  and  Bromion.    They 

Dwell  over  the  Four  Provinces  of  Ireland  in  heavenly  light, 

The  Four  Universities  of  Scotland,  &  in  Oxford  &  Cambridge  &  Winchester. 

But  now  Albion  is  darkened  &  Jerusalem  lies  in  ruins: 
55  Above  the  Mountains  of  Albion,  above  the  head  of  Los. 

And  Los  shouted  with  ceaseless  shoutings,  &  his  tears  poured  down 
His  immortal  cheeks,  rearing  his  hands  to  heaven  for  aid  Divine! 
But  he  spoke  not  to  Albion:  fearing  lest  Albion  should  turn  his  Back 
Against  the  Divine  Vision:  &  fall  over  the  Precipice  of  Eternal  Death. 

86 


60  But  he  receded  before  Albion,  &  before  Vala  weaving  the  Veil 
With  the  iron  shuttle  of  War  among  the  rooted  Oaks  of  Albion: 
Weeping  &  shouting  to  the  Lord  day  &  night;  and  his  Children 

63  Wept  round  him  as  a  flock  silent  Seven  Days  of  Eternity. 

p.  72  AND  the  Thirty-two  Counties  of  the  Four  Provinces  of  Ireland 
Are  thus  divided;  The  Four  Counties  are  in  the  Four  Camps, 
Munster  South  in  Reuben's  Gate,  Connaut  West  in  Joseph's  Gate, 
Ulster  North  in  Dan's  Gate,  Leinster  East  in  Judah's  Gate, 

5  For  Albion  in  Eternity  has  Sixteen  Gates  among  his  Pillars, 
But  the  Four  towards  the  West  were  Walled  up,  &  the  Twelve 
That  front  the  Four  other  Points  were  turned  Four  Square 
By  Los  for  Jerusalem's  sake  &  called  the  Gates  of  Jerusalem: 
Because  Twelve  Sons  of  Jerusalem  fled  successive  thro  the  Gates. 

10  But  the  Four  Sons  of  Jerusalem  who  fled  not  but  remain'd 
Are  Rintrah  &  Palamabron  &  Theotormon  &  Bromion, 
The  Four  that  remain  with  Los  to  guard  the  Western  Wall: 
And  these  Four  remain  to  guard  the  Four  Walls  of  Jerusalem, 
Whose  foundations  remain  in  the  Thirty-two  Counties  of  Ireland, 

15  And  in  Twelve  Counties  of  Wales,  &  in  the  Forty  Counties 
Of  England,  &  in  the  Thirty-six  Counties  of  Scotland. 

And  the  names  of  the  Thirty-two  Counties  of  Ireland  are  these: 
Under  Judah  &  Issachar  &  Zebulun  are  Lowth,  Longford, 
Eastmeath,  Westmeath,  Dublin,  Kildare,  King's  County, 

20  Queen's  County,  Wicklow,  Catherloh,  Wexford,  Kilkenny: 
And  those  under  Reuben  &  Simeon  &  Levi  are  these, 
Waterford,  Tipperary,  Cork,  Limerick,  Kerry,  Clare: 
And  those  under  Ephraim,  Manasseh  &  Benjamin  are  these, 
Galway,  Roscommon,  Mayo,  Sligo,  Leitrim: 

25  And  those  under  Dan,  Asher  &  Napthali  are  these, 

Donnegal,  Antrim,  Tyrone,  Fermangall,  Armagh,  Londonderry, 
Down,  Monaghan,  Cavan.    These  are  the  Land  of  Erin. 

All  these  Center  in  London  &  in  Golgonooza,  from  whence 
They  are  Created  continually,  East  &  West  &  North  &  South: 
30  And  from  them  are  Created  all  the  Nations  of  the  Earth, 
Europe  &  Asia  &  Africa  &  America,  in  fury  Fourfold! 

And  Thirty-two  the  Nations,  to  dwell  in  Jerusalem's  Gates. 
O  Come  ye  Nations,  Come  ye  People,  Come  up  to  Jerusalem. 
Return,  Jerusalem,  &  dwell  together  as  of  old:  Return, 

8? 


35  Return:  O  Albion,  let  Jerusalem  overspread  all  Nations 
As  in  the  times  of  old;  O  Albion  awake!   Reuben  wanders, 
The  Nations  wait  for  Jerusalem,  they  look  up  for  the  Bride. 

France,  Spain,  Italy,  Germany,  Poland,  Russia,  Sweden,  Turkey, 
Arabia,  Palestine,  Persia,  Hindostan,  China,  Tartary,  Siberia, 
40  Egypt,  Lybia,  Ethiopia,  Guinea,  Caffraria,  Negroland,  Morocco, 
Congo,  Zaara,  Canada,  Greenland,  Carolina,  Mexico, 
Peru,  Patagonia,  Amazonia,  Brazil.    Thirty-two  Nations, 
And  under  these  Thirty-two  Classes  of  Islands  in  the  Ocean, 
All  the  Nations  Peoples  &  Tongues  throughout  all  the  Earth. 

45  And  the  Four  Gates  of  Los  surround  the  Universe  Within  and 
Without;  &  whatever  is  visible  in  the  Vegetable  Earth,  the  same 
Is  visible  in  the  Mundane  Shell :  revers'd  in  mountain  &  vale. 
And  a  Son  of  Eden  was  set  over  each  Daughter  of  Beulah,  to  guard 
In  Albion's  Tomb  the  wondrous  Creation:  &  the  Four-fold  Gate 

50  Towards  Beulah  is  to  the  South:  Fenelon,  Guion,  Teresa, 

Whitefield  &  Hervey  guard  that  Gate,  with  all  the  gentle  Souls 

52  Who  guide  the  great  Wine-press  of  Love:  Four  precious  Stones  that  Gate: 

p.  73  SUCH  are  Cathedron's  golden  Halls  in  the  City  of  Golgonooza. 

And  Los's  Furnaces  howl  loud,  living,  self-moving,  lamenting 
With  fury  &  despair,  &  they  stretch  from  South  to  North 
Thro'  all  the  Four  Points:   Lo!  the  Labourers  at  the  Furnaces, 
5  Rintrah  &  Palamabron,  Theotormon  &  Bromion,  loud  lab'ring 
With  the  innumerable  multitudes  of  Golgonooza,  round  the  Anvils 
Of  Death.    But  how  they  came  forth  from  the  Furnaces  &  how  long, 
Vast  &  severe  the  anguish  e'er  they  knew  their  Father,  were 
Long  to  tell,  &  of  the  iron  rollers,  golden  axle-trees  &  yokes 

10  Of  Brass,  iron  chains  &  braces  &  the  gold,  silver  &  brass, 
Mingled  or  separate:  for  swords,  arrows,  cannons,  mortars, 
The  terrible  ball,  the  wedge,  the  loud  sounding  hammer  of  destruction, 
The  sounding  flail  to  thresh,  the  winnow  to  winnow  kingdoms, 
The  water  wheel  &  mill  of  many  innumerable  wheels  resistless, 

15  Over  the  Four  fold  Monarchy  from  Earth  to  the  Mundane  Shell. 
Perusing  Albion's  Tomb  in  the  starry  characters  of  Og  &  Anak: 
To  Create  the  lion  &  wolf,  the  bear,  the  tyger  &  ounce: 
To  Create  the  wooly  lamb  &  downy  fowl  &  scaly  serpent, 
The  summer  &  winter,  day  &  night,  the  sun  &  moon  &  stars, 

20  The  tree,  the  plant,  the  flower,  the  rock,  the  stone,  the  metal, 


Of  Vegetative  Nature:  by  their  hard  restricting  condensations. 

Where  Luvah's  World  of  Opakeness  grew  to  a  period,  It 
Became  a  Limit,  a  Rocky  hardness  without  form  &  void, 
Accumulating  without  end:  here  Los,  who  is  of  the  Elohim, 
25  Opens  the  Furnaces  of  affliction  in  the  Emanation, 
Fixing  the  Sexual  into  an  ever-prolific  Generation, 
Naming  the  Limit  of  Opakeness,  Satan,  &  the  Limit  of  Contraction, 
Adam,  who  is  Peleg  &  Joktan:  &  Esau  &  Jacob:  &  Saul  &  David. 

Voltaire  insinuates  that  these  Limits  are  the  cruel  work  of  God, 
30  Mocking  the  Remover  of  Limits  &  the  Resurrection  of  the  Dead, 
Setting  up  Kings  in  wrath:  in  holiness  of  Natural  Religion. 
Which  Los  with  his  mighty  Hammer  demolishes  time  on  time 
In  miracles  &  wonders  in  the  Four-fold  Desart  of  Albion, 
Permanently  Creating  to  be  in  Time  Reveal'd  &  Demolish'd. 
35  Satan,  Cain,  Tuba],  Nimrod,  Pharoh,  Priam,  Bladud,  Belin, 
Arthur,  Alfred,  the  Norman  Conqueror,  Richard,  John, 

And  all  the  Kings  &  Nobles  of  the  Earth  &  all  their  Glories. 
These  are  Created  by  Rahab  &  Tirzah  in  Ulro:  but  around 
These,  to  preserve  them  from  Eternal  Death,  Los  Creates 
40  Adam,  Noah,  Abraham,  Moses,  Samuel,  David,  Ezekiel, 

Dissipating  the  rocky  forms  of  Death,  by  his  thunderous  Hammer. 
As  the  Pilgrim  passes  while  the  Country  permanent  remains, 
So  Men  pass  on ;  but  States  remain  permanent  for  ever. 

The  Spectres  of  the  Dead  howl  round  the  porches  of  Los, 
45  In  the  terrible  Family  feuds  of  Albion's  cities  &  villages, 

To  devour  the  Body  of  Albion,  hung'ring  &  thirsting  &  rav'ning. 
The  Sons  of  Los  clothe  them  &  feed  &  provide  houses  &  gardens: 
And  every  Human  Vegetated  Form  in  its  inward  recesses 
Is  a  house  of  ple[as]antness  &  a  garden  of  delight,  Built  by  the 
50  Sons  &  Daughters  of  Los  in  Bowlahoola  &  in  Cathedron. 

From  London  to  York  &  Edinburgh  the  Furnaces  rage  terrible: 
52  Primrose  Hill  is  the  mouth  of  the  Furnace  &  the  Iron  Door: 

p.  74  THE  Four  Zoas  clouded  rage;  Urizen  stood  by  Albion, 
With  Rintrah  and  Palamabron  and  Theotormon  and  Bromion: 
These  Four  are  Verulam  &  London  &  York  &  Edinburgh : 
And  the  Four  Zoas  are  Urizen  &  Luvah  &  Tharmas  &  Urthona, 
5   In  opposition  deadly,  and  their  Wheels  in  poisonous 
And  deadly  stupor  turn'd  against  each  other  loud  &  fierce. 

89  N 


Entering  into  the  Reasoning  Power,  forsaking  Imagination, 

They  became  Spectres:  &  their  Human  Bodies  were  reposed 

In  Beulah,  by  the  Daughters  of  Beulah,  with  tears  &  lamentations. 

10  The  Spectre  is  the  Reasoning  Power  in  Man;  &  when  separated 
From  Imagination,  and  closing  itself  as  in  steel,  in  a  Ratio 
Of  the  Things  of  Memory,   It  thence  frames  Laws  &  Moralities 
To  destroy  Imagination,  the  Divine  Body,  by  Martyrdoms  &  Wars. 

Teach  me,  O  Holy  Spirit,  the  Testimony  of  Jesus!  let  me 

15  Comprehend  wonderous  things  out  of  the  Divine  Law. 

I  behold  Babylon  in  the  opening  Streets  of  London,  I  behold 
Jerusalem  in  ruins  wandering  about  from  house  to  house. 
This  I  behold:  the  shudderings  of  death  attend  my  steps. 
V"  I  walk  up  and  down  in  Six  Thousand  Years:  their  Events  are  present  before  me, 

20  To  tell  how  Los  in  grief  &  anger,  whirling  round  his  Hammer  on  high, 
Drave  the  Sons  &  Daughters  of  Albion  from  their  ancient  mountains: 
They  became  the  Twelve  Gods  of  Asia  Opposing  the  Divine  Vision. 

The  Sons  of  Albion  are  Twelve :  the  Sons  of  Jerusalem  Sixteen. 
I  tell  how  Albion's  Sons  by  Harmonies  of  Concords  &  Discords, 

25  Opposed  to  Melody,  and  by  Lights  &  Shades,  opposed  to  Outline, 
And  by  Abstraction,  opposed  to  the  Visions  of  Imagination, 
By  cruel  Laws  divided  Sixteen  into  Twelve  Divisions: 
How  Hyle  roof'd  Los  in  Albion's  Cliffs,  by  the  Affections  rent 
Asunder  &  opposed  to  Thought,  to  draw  Jerusalem's  Sons 

30  Into  the  Vortex  of  his  Wheels,  therefore  Hyle  is  called  Gog, 
Age  after  age  drawing  them  away  towards  Babylon, 
Babylon,  the  Rational  Morality  deluding  to  death  the  little  ones 
In  strong  temptations  of  stolen  beauty :   I  tell  how  Reuben  slept 
On  London  Stone  &  the  Daughters  of  Albion  ran  around  admiring 

35  His  awful  beauty:  with  Moral  Virtue  the  fair  deciever,  offspring 
Of  Good  &  Evil,  they  divided  him  in  love  upon  the  Thames  &  sent 
Him  over  Europe  in  streams  of  gore  out  of  Cathedron's  Looms. 
How  Los  drave  them  from  Albion  &  they  became  Daughters  of  Canaan, 
Hence  Albion  was  call'd  the  Canaanite  &  all  his  Giant  Sons. 

40  Hence  is  my  Theme.    O  Lord  my  Saviour,  open  thou  the  Gates 
And  I  will  lead  forth  thy  Words,  telling  how  the  Daughters 
Cut  the  Fibres  of  Reuben,  how  he  roll'd  apart  &  took  Root 
In  Bashan,  terror-struck  Albion's  Sons  look  toward  Bashan. 
They  have  divided  Simeon:  he  also  roll'd  apart  in  blood 

45  Over  the  Nations,  till  he  took  Root  beneath  the  shining  Looms 
Of  Albion's  Daughters  in  Philistea  by  the  side  of  Amalek. 

90 


They  have  divided  Levi:  he  hath  shot  out  into  Forty  eight  Roots 
Over  the  Land  of  Canaan:  they  have  divided  Judah: 
He  hath  took  Root  in  Hebron,  in  the  Land  of  Hand  &  Hyle. 
50  Dan:  Napthali:  Gad:  Asher:  Issachar:  Zebulun:  roll  apart 
From  all  the  Nations  of  the  Earth  to  dissipate  into  Non  Entity. 

I  see  a  Feminine  Form  arise  from  the  Four  terrible  Zoas, 
Beautiful  but  terrible,  struggling  to  take  a  form  of  beauty, 
Rooted  in  Shechem:  this  is  Dinah,  the  youthful  form  of  Erin. 

55  The  Wound  I  see  in  South  Molton  Street  &  Stratford  place, 
Whence  Joseph  &  Benjamin  roll'd  apart  away  from  the  Nations: 

57  In  vain  they  roll'd  apart:  they  are  fix'd  into  the  Land  of  Cabul. 

p.  75  AND  Rahab,  Babylon  the  Great,  hath  destroyed  Jerusalem. 
Bath  stood  upon  the  Severn  with  Merlin  &  Bladud  &  Arthur, 
The  Cup  of  Rahab  in  his  hand:  her  Poisons  Twenty-seven-fold. 

And  all  her  Twenty-seven  Heavens,  now  hid  &  now  reveal'd, 
5  Appear  in  strong  delusive  light  of  Time  &  Space,  drawn  out 
In  shadowy  pomp  by  the  Eternal  Prophet,  created  evermore: 
For  Los  in  Six  Thousand  Years  walks  up  &  down  continually, 
That  not  one  Moment  of  Time  be  lost,  &  every  revolution 
Of  Space  he  makes  permanent  in  Bowlahoola  &  Cathedron. 

10  And  these  the  names  of  the  Twenty-seven  Heavens  &  their  Churches: 
Adam,  Seth,  Enos,  Cainan,  Manalaleel,  Jared,  Enoch, 
Methuselah,  Lamech :  these  are  the  Giants  mighty,  Hermaphroditic. 
Noah,  Shem,  Arphaxad,  Cainan  the  Second,  Satan,  Heber, 
Peleg,  Reu,  Serug,  Nahor,  Terah:  these  are  the  Female  Males: 

15  A  Male  within  a  Female  hid  as  in  an  Ark  &  Curtains. 
Abraham,  Moses,  Solomon,  Paul,  Constantine,  Charlemaine, 
Luther,  these  Seven  are  the  Male  Females:  the  Dragon  Forms: 
The  Female  hid  within  a  Male :  thus  Rahab  is  reveal'd, 
Mystery,  Babylon  the  Great:  the  Abomination  of  Desolation : 

20  Religion  hid  in  War:  a  Dragon  red  &  hidden  Harlot. 

But  Jesus  breaking  thro'  the  Central  Zones  of  Death  &  Hell 
Opens  Eternity  in  Time  &  Space:  triumphant  in  Mercy. 

Thus  are  the  Heavens  form'd  by  Los  within  the  Mundane  Shell: 
And  where  Luther  ends  Adam  begins  again  in  Eternal  Circle, 
25  To  awake  the  Prisoners  of  Death:  to  bring  Albion  again 
With  Luvah  into  light  eternal,  in  his  eternal  day. 

27  But  now  the  Starry  Heavens  are  fled  from  the  mighty  limbs  of  Albion. 

91 


P.  77  TO  THE  CHRISTIANS 

Devils  are  False  Religions. 

"  Saul,  Saul,  Why  persecutest  thou  me?  " 

I  give  you  the  end  of  a  golden  string, 
Only  wind  it  into  a  ball: 
It  will  lead  you  in  at  Heaven's  gate, 
Built  in  Jerusalem's  wall. 

5  WE  are  told  to  abstain  from  fleshly  desires  that  we  may  lose  no  time  from 

the  Work  of  the  Lord.  Every  moment  lost,  is  a  moment  that  cannot  be  re- 
deemed: every  pleasure  that  intermingles  with  the  duty  of  our  station  is  a  folly 
unredeemable,  &  is  planted  like  the  seed  of  a  wild  flower  among  our  wheat.  All 
the  tortures  of  repentance  are  tortures  of  self-reproach  on  account  of  our  leav- 

10  ing  the  Divine  Harvest  to  the  Enemy,  the  struggles  of  intanglement  with  in- 
coherent roots.  '  I  know  of  no  other  Christianity  and  of  no  other  Gospel  than 
tthe  liberty  both  of  body  &  mind  to  exercise  the  Divine  Arts  of  Imagination: 
Imagination,  the  real  &  eternal  World  of  which  this  Vegetable  Universe  is  but 
a  faint  shadow,  &  in  which  we  shall  live  in  our  Eternal  or  Imaginative  Bodies, 

15  when  these  Vegetable  Mortal  Bodies  are  no  more>  The  Apostles  knew  of  no 
other  Gospel.  What  were  all  their  spiritual  gifts?  What  is  the  Divine  Spirit? 
is  the  Holy  Ghost  any  other  than  an  Intellectual  Fountain?  What  is  the 
Harvest  of  the  Gospel  &  its  Labours?  What  is  that  Talent  which  it  is  a  curse 
to  hide?  What  are  the  Treasures  of  Heaven  which  we  are  to  lay  up  for  our- 

20  selves,  are  they  any  other  than  Mental  Studies  &  Performances?  What  are  all 
the  Gifts  of  the  Gospel,  are  they  not  all  Mental  Gifts?  Is  God  a  Spirit  who 
must  be  worshipped  in  Spirit  &  in  Truth,  and  are  not  the  Gifts  of  the  Spirit 
Every-thing  to  Man?  O  ye  Religious,  discountenance  every  one  among  you 
who  shall  pretend  to  despise  Art  &  Science!  I  call  upon  you  in  the  Name  of 

25  Jesus!  What  is  the  Life  of  Man  but  Art  &  Science?  is  it  Meat  &  Drink? 
I  is  not  the  Body  more  than  Raiment?  What  is  Mortality  but  the  things  re- 
lating to  the  Body,  which  Dies?  What  is  Immortality  but  the  things  relating 
to  the  Spirit,  which  Lives  Eternally?  What  is  the  Joy  of  Heaven  but  Im- 
provement in  the  things  of  the  Spirit?  What  are  the  Pains  of  Hell  but  Ignor- 

30  ance,  Bodily  Lust,  Idleness  &  devastation  of  the  things  of  the  Spirit?  Answer 
this  to  yourselves,  &  expel  from  among  you  those  who  pretend  to  despise  the 
labours  of  Art  &  Science,  which  alone  are  the  labours  of  the  Gospel :  Is  not 
this  plain  &  manifest  to  the  thought?  Can  you  think  at  all,  &  not  pronounce 
heartily:  That  to  Labour  in  Knowledge,  is  to  Build  up  Jerusalem;  and  to 

35  Despise  Knowledge,  is  to  Despise  Jerusalem  &  her  Builders.  And  remember: 

92 


He  who  despises  &  mocks  a  Mental  Gift  in  another,  calling  it  pride  &  selfish- 
ness &  sin,  mocks  Jesus  the  giver  of  every  Mental  Gift,  which  always  appear 
to  the  ignorance-loving  Hypocrite,  as  Sins:  but  that  which  is  a  Sin  in  the  sight 
of  cruel  Man,  is  not  so  in  the  sight  of  our  kind  God.  Let  every  Christian,  as 
40  much  as  in  him  lies,  engage  himself  openly  &  publicly  before  all  the  World  in 
some  Mental  pursuit  for  the  Building  up  of  Jerusalem 

I  stood  among  my  valleys  of  the  south, 

And  saw  a  flame  of  fire,  even  as  a  Wheel 

Of  fire  surrounding  all  the  heavens:  it  went 
45   From  west  to  east  against  the  current  of 

Creation,  and  devour'd  all  things  in  its  loud 

Fury  &  thundering  course  round  heaven  &  earth. 

By  it  the  Sun  was  roll'd  into  an  orb: 

By  it  the  Moon  faded  into  a  globe, 
50  Travelling  thro  the  night;  for  from  its  dire 

And  restless  fury  Man  himself  shrunk  up 

Into  a  little  root  a  fathom  long. 

And  I  asked  a  Watcher  &  a  Holy-One 

Its  Name?  he  answered:  It  is  the  Wheel  of  Religion. 
55  I  wept  &  said:  Is  this  the  law  of  Jesus, 

This  terrible  devouring  sword  turning  every  way? 

He  answer'd :  Jesus  died  because  he  strove 

Against  the  current  of  this  Wheel:  its  Name 

Is  Caiaphas,  the  dark  Preacher  of  Death, 
60  Of  sin,  of  sorrow,  &  of  punishment: 

Opposing  Nature!  It  is  Natural  Religion. 

But  Jesus  is  the  bright  Preacher  of  Life, 

Creating  Nature  from  this  fiery  Law, 

By  self-denial  &  forgiveness  of  Sin. 
65  Go  therefore,  cast  out  devils  in  Christ's  name, 

Heal  thou  the  sick  of  spiritual  disease, 

Pity  the  evil,  for  thou  art  not  sent 

To  smite  with  terror  &  with  punishments 

Those  that  are  sick,  like  to  the  Pharisees, 
70  Crucifying,  &  encompassing  sea  &  land 

For  proselytes  to  tyranny  &  wrath. 

(But  to  the  Publicans  &  Harlots  go! 

Teach  them  True  Happiness,  but  let  no  curse 

Go  forth  out  of  thy  mouth  to  blight  their  peace. 
75  For  Hell  is  open'd  to  Heaven:  thine  eyes  beheld 

The  dungeons  burst  &  the  Prisoners  set  free. 

93 


England!  awake!  awake!  awake! 
Jerusalem  thy  Sister  calls! 
Why  wilt  thou  sleep  the  sleep  of  death, 
80  And  close  her  from  thy  ancient  walls? 

Thy  hills  &  valleys  felt  her  feet, 
Gently  upon  their  bosoms  move: 
Thy  gates  beheld  sweet  Zion's  ways: 
Then  was  a  time  of  joy  and  love. 

85  And  now  the  time  returns  again: 
Our  souls  exult,  &  London's  towers 
Recieve  the  Lamb  of  God  to  dwell 

88  In  England's  green  &  pleasant  bowers. 


94 


P.  78  CHAPTER  IV. 

r  I  ^"HE  Spectres  of  Albion's  Twelve  Sons  revolve  mightily 
Over  the  Tomb  &  over  the  Body:  rav'ning  to  devour 
The  Sleeping  Humanity.    Los  with  his  mace  of  iron 
Walks  round:  loud  his  threats,  loud  his  blows  fall 
5  On  the  rocky  Spectres,  as  the  Potter  breaks  his  potsherds: 

Dashing  in  pieces  Self-righteousnesses,  driving  them  from  Albion's 
Cliffs:  dividing  them  into  Male  &  Female  forms  in  his  Furnaces 
And  on  his  Anvils:  lest  they  destroy  the  Feminine  Affections, 
They  are  broken.    Loud  howl  the  Spectres  in  his  iron  Furnace. 

10  While  Los  laments  at  his  dire  labours,  viewing  Jerusalem, 
Sitting  before  his  Furnaces  clothed  in  sackcloth  of  hair; 
Albion's  Twelve  Sons  surround  the  Forty-two  Gates  of  Erin, 
In  terrible  armour,  raging  against  the  Lamb  &  against  Jerusalem, 
Surrounding  them  with  armies  to  destroy  the  Lamb  of  God. 

15  They  took  their  Mother  Vala,  and  they  crown'd  her  with  gold: 
They  nam'd  her  Rahab,  &  gave  her  power  over  the  Earth, 
The  Concave  Earth  round  Golgonooza  in  Entuthan  Benython, 
Even  to  the  stars  exalting  her  Throne,  to  build  beyond  the  Throne 
Of  God  and  the  Lamb,  to  destroy  the  Lamb  &  usurp  the  Throne  of  God, 

20  Drawing  their  Ulro  Voidness  round  the  Four-fold  Humanity. 

Naked  Jerusalem  lay  before  the  Gates  upon  Mount  Zion, 
The  Hill  of  Giants,  all  her  foundations  levell'd  with  the  dust: 

Her  Twelve  Gates  thrown  down:  her  children  carried  into  captivity: 
Herself  in  chains:  this  from  within  was  seen  in  a  dismal  night 

25  Outside,  unknown  before  in  Beulah,  &  the  twelve  gates  were  fill'd 
With  blood:  from  Japan,  eastward,  to  the  Giants  causway,  west, 
In  Erin's  Continent:  and  Jerusalem  wept  upon  Euphrates'  banks 
Disorganiz'd:  an  evanescent  shade,  scarce  seen  or  heard  among 
Her  children's  Druid  Temples,  dropping  with  blood,  wander'd  weeping! 

30  And  thus  her  voice  went  forth  in  the  darkness  of  Philisthea. 

My  brother  &  my  father  are  no  more!  God  hath  forsaken  me! 
The  arrows  of  the  Almighty  pour  upon  me  &  my  children ! 
33  I  have  sinned  and  am  an  outcast  from  the  Divine  Presence ! 

p.  79  MY  tents  are  fall'n!  my  pillars  are  in  ruins!  my  children  dash'd 
Upon  Egypt's  iron  floors,  &  the  marble  pavements  of  Assyria! 
I  melt  my  soul  in  reasonings  among  the  towers  of  Heshbon: 
Mount  Zion  is  become  a  cruel  rock,  &  no  more  dew 

95 


S  Nor  rain:  no  more  the  spring  of  the  rock  appears:  but  cold, 
Hard  &  obdurate  are  the  furrows  of  the  mountain  of  wine  &  oil; 
The  mountain  of  blessing  is  itself  a  curse  &  an  astonishment: 
The  hills  of  Judah  are  fallen  with  me  into  the  deepest  hell, 
Away  from  the  Nations  of  the  Earth,  &  from  the  Cities  of  the  Nations; 

10  I  walk  to  Ephraim,  I  seek  for  Shiloh;  I  walk  like  a  lost  sheep 
Among  precipices  of  despair:  in  Goshen  I  seek  for  light 
In  vain:  and  in  Gilead  for  a  physician  and  a  comforter. 
Goshen  hath  follow'd  Philistea:  Gilead  hath  join'd  with  Og: 
They  are  become  narrow  places  in  a  little  and  dark  land: 

15  How  distant  far  from  Albion!  his  hills  &  his  valleys  no  more 
Recieve  the  feet  of  Jerusalem :  they  have  cast  me  quite  away : 
And  Albion  is  himself  shrunk  to  a  narrow  rock  in  the  midst  of  the  sea! 
The  plains  of  Sussex  &  Surrey,  their  hills  of  flocks  &  herds, 
No  more  seek  to  Jerusalem  nor  to  the  sound  of  my  Holy-ones. 

20  The  Fifty-two  Counties  of  England  are  harden'd  against  me 
As  if  I  was  not  their  Mother,  they  despise  me  &  cast  me  out. 
London  cover'd  the  whole  Earth,  England  encompass'd  the  Nations, 
And  all  the  Nations  of  the  Earth  were  seen  in  the  Cities  of  Albion. 
My  pillars  reach'd  from  sea  to  sea;  London  beheld  me  come 

25  From  my  east  &  from  my  west,  he  blessed  me  and  gave 

His  children  to  my  breasts,  his  sons  &  daughters  to  my  knees. 

His  aged  parents  sought  me  out  in  every  city  &  village: 

They  discern'd  my  countenance  with  joy;  they  shew'd  me  to  their  sons, 

Saying,  Lo  Jerusalem  is  here!  she  sitteth  in  our  secret  chambers. 

30  Levi  and  Judah  &  Issachar:  Ephram,  Manasseh,  Gad  and  Dan 
Are  seen  in  our  hills  &  valleys:  they  keep  our  flocks  &  herds: 
They  watch  them  in  the  night;  and  the  Lamb  of  God  appears  among  us. 
The  river  Severn  stay'd  his  course  at  my  command: 
Thames  poured  his  waters  into  my  basons  and  baths: 

35  Medway  mingled  with  Kishon:  Thames  reciev'd  the  heavenly  Jordan. 
Albion  gave  me  to  the  whole  Earth  to  walk  up  &  down;  to  pour 
Joy  upon  every  mountain,  to  teach  songs  to  the  shepherd  &  plowman. 
I  taught  the  ships  of  the  sea  to  sing  the  songs  of  Zion. 
Italy  saw  me,  in  sublime  astonishment:  France  was  wholly  mine, 

40  As  my  garden  &  as  my  secret  bath:  Spain  was  my  heavenly  couch, 
I  slept  in  his  golden  hills ;  the  Lamb  of  God  met  me  there, 
There  we  walked  as  in  our  secret  chamber  among  our  little  ones. 
They  looked  upon  our  loves  with  joy:  they  beheld  our  secret  joys: 
With  holy  raptures  of  adoration  rap'd  sublime  in  the  visions  of  God. 

45  Germany,  Poland  &  the  North  wooed  my  footsteps,  they  found 
My  gates  in  all  their  mountains  &  my  curtains  in  all  their  vales: 

96 


The  furniture  of  their  houses  was  the  furniture  of  my  chamber. 
Turkey  &  Grecia  saw  my  instr[u]ments  of  music,  they  arose, 
They  siez'd  the  harp,  the  flute,  the  mellow  horn  of  Jerusalem's  joy, 

50  They  sounded  thanksgivings  in  my  courts:  Egypt  &  Lybia  heard, 
The  swarthy  sons  of  Ethiopia  stood  round  the  Lamb  of  God 
Enquiring  for  Jerusalem:  he  led  them  up  my  steps  to  my  altar. 
And  thou,  America!  I  once  beheld  thee  but  now  behold  no  more 
Thy  golden  mountains  where  my  Cherubim  &  Seraphim  rejoic'd 

55   Together  among  my  little-ones.    But  now,  my  Altars  run  with  blood, 
My  fires  are  corrupt,  my  incense  is  a  cloudy  pestilence 
Of  seven  diseases!  Once  a  continual  cloud  of  salvation  rose 
From  all  my  myriads:  once  the  Four-fold  World  rejoic'd  among 
The  pillars  of  Jerusalem,  between  my  winged  Cherubim: 

60  But  now  I  am  clos'd  out  from  them  in  the  narrow  passages 

Of  the  valleys  of  destruction,  into  a  dark  land  of  pitch  &  bitumen, 
From  Albion's  Tomb  afar  and  from  the  four-fold  wonders  of  God, 
Shrunk  to  a  narrow  doleful  form  in  the  dark  land  of  Cabul ; 
There  is  Reuben  &  Gad  &  Joseph  &  Judah  &  Levi,  clos'd  up 

65  In  narrow  vales;  I  walk  &  count  the  bones  of  my  beloveds 
Along  the  Valley  of  Destruction,  among  these  Druid  Temples 
Which  overspread  all  the  Earth  in  patriarchal  pomp  &  cruel  pride. 
Tell  me,  O  Vala,  thy  purposes;  tell  me  wherefore  thy  shuttles 
Drop  with  the  gore  of  the  slain;  why  Euphrates  is  red  with  blood; 

70  Wherefore  in  dreadful  majesty  &  beauty  outside  appears 

Thy  Masculine  from  thy  Feminine,  hardening  against  the  heavens 
To  devour  the  Human!  Why  dost  thou  weep  upon  the  wind  among 
These  cruel  Druid  Temples?  O  Vala!   Humanity  is  far  above 
Sexual  organization,  &  the  Visions  of  the  Night  of  Beulah, 

75  Where  Sexes  wander  in  dreams  of  bliss  among  the  Emanations, 
Where  the  Masculine  &  Feminine  are  nurs'd  into  Youth  &  Maiden 
By  the  tears  and  smiles  of  Beulah's  Daughters  till  the  time  of  Sleep  is  past: 
Wherefore  then  do  you  realize  these  nets  of  beauty  &  delusion 
In  open  day  to  draw  the  souls  of  the  Dead  into  the  light, 

80  Till  Albion  is  shut  out  from  every  Nation  under  Heaven? 

p.  80  ENCOMPASS'D  by  the  frozen  Net  and  by  the  rooted  Tree 
I  walk  weeping  in  pangs  of  a  Mother's  torment  for  her  Children. 
I  walk  in  affliction:   I  am  a  worm,  and  no  living  soul! 
A  worm  going  to  eternal  torment:  rais'd  up  in  a  night 
5  To  an  eternal  night  of  pain,  lost!  lost!  lost!  forever! 

Beside  her  Vala  howl'd  upon  the  winds  in  pride  of  beauty, 

97  ° 


Lamenting  among  the  timbrels  of  the  Warriors,  among  the  Captives 
In  cruel  holiness:  and  her  lamenting  songs  were  from  Arnon 
And  Jordan  to  Euphrates.    Jerusalem  follow'd  trembling 

10  Her  children  in  captivity,  listening  to  Vala's  lamentation 
In  the  thick  cloud  &  darkness,  &  the  voice  went  forth  from 
The  cloud.    O  rent  in  sunder  from  Jerusalem  the  Harlot  daughter! 
In  an  eternal  condemnation,  in  fierce  burning  flames 
Of  torment  unendurable:  and  if  once  a  Delusion  be  found 

15  Woman  must  perish  &  the  Heavens  of  Heavens  remain  no  more. 

My  Father  gave  to  me  command  to  murder  Albion 
In  unreviving  Death:  my  Love,  my  Luvah  order'd  me  in  night 
To  murder  Albion,  the  King  of  Men:  he  fought  in  battles  fierce, 
He  conquer'd  Luvah  my  beloved:   he  took  me  and  my  Father, 

20  He  slew  them:  I  revived  them  to  life  in  my  warm  bosom. 
He  saw  them  issue  from  my  bosom,  dark  in  Jealousy 
He  burn'd  before  me;  Luvah  fram'd  the  Knife  &  Luvah  gave 
The  Knife  into  his  daughter's  hand ;  such  thing  was  never  known 
Before  in  Albion's  land,  that  one  should  die  a  death  never  to  be  reviv'd ! 

25  For  in  our  battles  we  the  Slain  men  view  with  pity  and  love, 
We  soon  revive  them  in  the  secret  of  our  tabernacles. 
But  I  Vala,  Luvah's  daughter,  keep  his  body  embalm'd  in  moral  laws, 
With  spices  of  sweet  odours  of  lovely  jealous  stupefaction, 
Within  my  bosom,  lest  he  arise  to  life  &  slay  my  Luvah. 

30  Pity  me  then  O  Lamb  of  God!  O  Jesus  pity  me! 

Come  into  Luvah's  Tents  and  seek  not  to  revive  the  Dead! 

So  sang  she:  and  the  Spindle  turn'd  furious  as  she  sang: 
The  Children  of  Jerusalem,  the  Souls  of  those  who  sleep, 
Were  caught  into  the  flax  of  her  DistafF,  &  in  her  Cloud, 
35  To  weave  Jerusalem  a  body  according  to  her  will, 

A  Dragon  form  on  Zion  Hill's  most  ancient  promontory. 

The  Spindle  turn'd  in  blood  &  fire :  loud  sound  the  trumpets 

Of  war:  the  cymbals  play  loud  before  the  Captains, 

With  Cambel  &  Gwendolen  in  dance  and  solemn  song. 
40  The  Cloud  of  Rahab  vibrating  with  the  Daughters  of  Albion, 

Los  saw  terrified,  melted  with  pity  &  divided  in  wrath: 

He  sent  them  over  the  narrow  seas  in  pity  and  love 

Among  the  Four  Forests  of  Albion  which  overspread  all  the  Earth. 

They  go  forth  &  return  swift  as  a  flash  of  lightning, 
45  Among  the  tribes  of  warriors,  among  the  Stones  of  power: 


Against  Jerusalem  they  rage  thro*  all  the  Nations  of  Europe, 
Thro"  Italy  &  Grecia,  to  Lebanon  &  Persia  &  India. 

The  Serpent  Temples  thro'  the  Earth,  from  the  wide  Plain,  of  Salisbury, 
Resound  with  cries  of  Victims,  shouts  &  songs  &  dying  groans 

50  And  flames  of  dusky  fire,  to  Amalelc,  Canaan  and  Moab. 
And  Rahab  like  a  dismal  and  indefinite  hovering  Cloud 
Refus'd  to  take  a  definite  form,  she  hover'd  over  all  the  Earth 
Calling  the  definite,  sin,  defacing  every  definite  form: 
Invisible  or  Visible,  stretch'd  out  in  length  or  spread  in  breadth 

55  Over  the  Temples,  drinking  groans  of  victims  weeping  in  pity, 
And  joying  in  the  pity,  howling  over  Jerusalem's  walls. 

Hand  slept  on  Skiddaw's  tops,  drawn  by  the  love  of  beautiful 
Cambel:  his  bright  beaming  Counterpart,  divided  from  him. 
And  her  delusive  light  beam'd  fierce  above  the  Mountain, 

60  Soft,  invisible,  drinking  his  sighs  in  sweet  intoxication: 
Drawing  out  fibre  by  fibre,  returning  to  Albion's  Tree 
At  night,  and  in  the  morning  to  Skiddaw:  she  sent  him  over 
Mountainous  Wales  into  the  Loom  of  Cathedron  fibre  by  fibre : 
He  ran  in  tender  nerves  across  Europe  to  Jerusalem's  Shade, 

65  To  weave  Jerusalem  a  Body  repugnant  to  the  Lamb. 

Hyle  on  East  Moor,  in  rocky  Derbyshire,  rav'd  to  the  Moon 
For  Gwendolen:  she  took  up  in  bitter  tears  his  anguish'd  heart, 
That  apparent  to  all  in  Eternity  glows  like  the  Sun  in  the  breast: 
She  hid  it  in  his  ribs  &  back:  she  hid  his  tongue  with  teeth 

70  In  terrible  convulsions,  pitying  &  gratified,  drunk  with  pity, 
Glowing  with  loveliness  before  him,  becoming  apparent 
According  to  his  changes:  she  roll'd  his  kidneys  round 
Into  two  irregular  forms:   and  looking  on  Albion's  dread  Tree, 
She  wove  two  vessels  of  seed,  beautiful  as  Skiddaw's  snow, 

75  Giving  them  bends  of  self  interest  &  selfish  natural  virtue: 
She  hid  them  in  his  loins;  raving  he  ran  among  the  rocks, 
Compell'd  into  a  shape  of  Moral  Virtue  against  the  Lamb, 
The  invisible  lovely  one  giving  him  a  form  according  to 
His  Law,  a  form  against  the  Lamb  of  God,  oppos'd  to  Mercy, 

80  And  playing  in  the  thunderous  Loom  in  sweet  intoxication: 

Filling  cups  of  silver  &  crystal  with  shrieks  &  cries,  with  groans 
And  dolorous  sobs:  the  wine  of  lovers  in  the  Wine-press  of  Luvah. 

O  sister  Cambel,  said  Gwendolen,  as  their  long  beaming  light 
Mingled  above  the  Mountain,  what  shall  we  do  to  keep 
85  These  awful  forms  in  our  soft  bands:  distracted  with  trembling 

99 


p.  8 1   I  HAVE  mock'd  those  who  refused  cruelty,  &  I  have  admired 
The  cruel  Warrior,  I  have  refused  to  give  love  to  Merlin  the  piteous. 
He  brings  to  me  the  Images  of  his  Love  &  I  reject  in  chastity 
And  turn  them  out  into  the  streets  for  Harlots,  to  be  food 

5  To  the  stern  Warrior.    I  am  become  perfect  in  beauty  over  my  Warrior, 
For  Men  are  caught  by  Love:   Woman  is  caught  by  Pride, 
That  Love  may  only  be  obtain'd  in  the  passages  of  Death. 
Let  us  look:   let  us  examine:   is  the  Cruel  become  an  Infant 
Or  is  he  still  a  cruel  Warrior?  look  Sisters,  look!  O  piteous! 

10  I  have  destroy'd  Wand'ring  Reuben  who  strove  to  bind  my  Will, 
I  have  strip'd  off  Joseph's  beautiful  integument  for  my  Beloved, 
The  Cruel-one  of  Albion,  to  clothe  him  in  gems  of  my  Zone. 
I  have  named  him  Jehovah  of  Hosts.    Humanity  is  become 
A  weeping  Infant  in  ruin'd  lovely  Jerusalem's  folding  Cloud! 

15  In  Heaven  Love  begets  Love:  but  Fear  is  the  Parent  of  Earthly  Love! 

1 6  And  he  who  will  not  bend  to  Love  must  be  subdu'd  by  Fear. 

p.  82  I  HAVE  heard  Jerusalem's  groans;  from  Vala's  cries  &  lamentations 
I  gather  our  eternal  fate,  Outcasts  from  life  and  love: 
Unless  we  find  a  way  to  bind  these  awful  Forms  to  our 
Embrace  we  shall  perish  annihilate,  discover'd  our  Delusions. 
5   Look!  I  have  wrought  without  delusion:   Look!  I  have  wept: 
And  given  soft  milk  mingled  together  with  the  spirits  of  flocks 
Of  lambs  and  doves,  mingled  together  in  cups  and  dishes 
Of  painted  clay;  the  mighty  Hyle  is  become  a  weeping  infant: 
Soon  shall  the  Spectres  of  the  Dead  follow  my  weaving  threads. 

10  The  Twelve  Daughters  of  Albion  attentive  listen  in  secret  shades 
On  Cambridge  and  Oxford  beaming  soft,  uniting  with  Rahab's  cloud, 
While  Gwendolen  spoke  to  Cambel,  turning  soft  the  spinning  reel: 
Or  throwing  the  wing'd  shuttle:  or  drawing  the  cords  with  softest  songs. 
The  golden  cords  of  the  Looms  animate  beneath  their  touches  soft, 

15  Along  the  Island  white,  among  the  Druid  Temples,  while  Gwendolen 
Spoke  to  the  Daughters  of  Albion  standing  on  Skiddaw's  top. 

So  saying  she  took  a  Falshood  &  hid  it  in  her  left  hand: 
To  entice  her  Sisters  away  to  Babylon  on  Euphrates. 
And  thus  she  closed  her  left  hand  and  utter'd  her  Falshood: 
20  Forgetting  that  Falshood  is  prophetic,  she  hid  her  hand  behind  her, 
Upon  her  back  behind  her  loins  &  thus  utter'd  her  Deceit. 

I  heard  Enitharmon  say  to  Los :  Let  the  Daughters  of  Albion 
Be  scatter'd  abroad  and  let  the  name  of  Albion  be  forgotten : 

100 


Divide  them  into  three;  name  them  Amalek,  Canaan  &  Moab. 

25  Let  Albion  remain  a  desolation  without  an  inhabitant: 
And  let  the  Looms  of  Enitharmon  &  the  Furnaces  of  Los 
Create  Jerusalem,  &  Babylon  &  Egypt  &  Moab  &  Amalek, 
And  Helle  &  Hesperia  &  Hindostan  &  China  &  Japan: 
But  hide  America,  for  a  Curse,  an  Altar  of  Victims  &  a  Holy  Place. 

30  See  Sisters,  Canaan  is  pleasant,  Egypt  is  as  the  Garden  of  Eden : 
Babylon  is  our  chief  desire,  Moab  our  bath  in  summer: 
Let  us  lead  the  stems  of  this  Tree,  let  us  plant  it  before  Jerusalem, 
To  judge  the  Friend  of  Sinners  to  death  without  the  Veil: 
To  cut  her  off  from  America,  to  close  up  her  secret  Ark: 

35   And  the  fury  of  Man  exhaust  in  War,  Woman  permanent  remain. 
See  how  the  fires  of  our  loins  point  eastward  to  Babylon! 
Look,  Hyle  is  become  an  infant  Love!  look!  behold!   see  him  lie 
Upon  my  bosom,  look!  here  is  the  lovely  wayward  form 
That  gave  me  sweet  delight  by  his  torments  beneath  my  Veil! 

40  By  the  fruit  of  Albion's  Tree  I  have  fed  him  with  sweet  milk, 
By  contentions  of  the  mighty  for  Sacrifice  of  Captives: 
Humanity,  the  Great  Delusion,  is  chang'd  to  War  &  Sacrifice: 
I  have  nail'd  his  hands  on  Beth  Rabbim  &  his  hands  on  Heshbon's  Wall: 
O  that  I  could  live  in  his  sight:  O  that  I  could  bind  him  to  my  arm. 

45  So  saying,  She  drew  aside  her  Veil  from  Mam-Tor  to  Dovedale, 
Discovering  her  own  perfect  beauty  to  the  Daughters  of  Albion 

And  Hyle  a  winding  Worm  beneath 

and  not  a  weeping  Infant. 

Trembling  &  pitying  she  scream'd  &  fled  upon  the  wind: 
Hyle  was  a  winding  Worm  and  herself  perfect  in  beauty: 

50  The  desarts  tremble  at  his  wrath,  they  shrink  themselves  in  fear. 

Cambel  trembled  with  jealousy:  she  trembled!  she  envied! 
The  envy  ran  thro'  Cathedron's  Looms  into  the  Heart 
Of  mild  Jerusalem,  to  destroy  the  Lamb  of  God.    Jerusalem 
Languish'd  upon  Mount  Olivet,  East  of  mild  Zion's  Hill. 

55  Los  saw  the  envious  blight  above  his  Seventh  Furnace, 

On  London's  Tower  on  the  Thames:  he  drew  Cambel  in  wrath 
Into  his  thundering  Bellows,  heaving  it  for  a  loud  blast : 
And  with  the  blast  of  his  Furnace  upon  fishy  Billingsgate, 
Beneath  Albion's  fatal  Tree,  before  the  Gate  of  Los, 

60  Shew'd  her  the  fibres  of  her  beloved  to  ameliorate 
The  envy :  loud  she  labour'd  in  the  Furnace  of  fire, 
To  form  the  mighty  form  of  Hand  according  to  her  will. 
In  the  Furnaces  of  Los  &  in  the  Wine-press  treading  day  &  night, 

101 


<*  THE 

UNIVER3I1 

or 

,    .       -.0.411 


Naked  among  the  human  clusters:  bringing  wine  of  anguish 
65   To  feed  the  afflicted  in  the  Furnaces:  she  minded  not 

The  raging  flames,  tho'  she  return'd 

instead  of  beauty 

Deformity:  she  gave  her  beauty  to  another:  bearing  abroad 
Her  struggling  torment  in  her  iron  arms:  and  like  a  chain, 
Binding  his  wrists  &  ankles  with  the  iron  arms  of  love. 

70  Gwendolen  saw  the  Infant  in  her  sister's  arms:  she  howl'd 

Over  the  forests  with  bitter  tears,  and  over  the  winding  Worm, 
Repentant:  and  she  also  in  the  eddying  wind  of  Los's  Bellows 
Began  her  dolorous  task  of  love  in  the  Wine-press  of  Luvah, 
To  form  the  Worm  into  a  form  of  love  by  tears  &  pain. 

75  The  Sisters  saw:  trembling  ran  thro'  their  Looms,  soften[in]g  mild 
Towards  London:  then  they  saw  the  Furna[c]es  open'd,  &  in  tears 
Began  to  give  their  souls  away  in  the  Furna[c]es  of  affliction. 

Los  saw  &  was  comforted  at  his  Furnaces,  uttering  thus  his  voice. 

I  know  I  am  Urthona,  keeper  of  the  Gates  of  Heaven, 
So  And  that  I  can  at  will  expatiate  in  the  Gardens  of  bliss ; 

But  pangs  of  love  draw  me  down  to  my  loins,  which  are 
82  Become  a  fountain  of  veiny  pipes:  O  Albion!  my  brother! 

p.  83  CORRUP[T]ABILITY  appears  upon  thy  limbs,  and  never  more 
Can  I  arise  and  leave  thy  side,  but  labour  here  incessant 
Till  thy  awaking:  yet  alas,  I  shall  forget  Eternity! 
Against  the  Patriarchal  pomp  and  cruelty  labouring  incessant 
5  I  shall  become  an  Infant  horror.    Enion!  Tharmas!  friends! 
Absorb  me  not  in  such  dire  grief:  O  Albion,  my  brother! 
Jerusalem  hungers  in  the  desart;  affection  to  her  children! 
The  scorn'd  and  contemn'd  youthful  girl,  where  shall  she  fly? 
Sussex  shuts  up  her  Villages.    Hants,  Devon  &  Wilts, 
10  Surrounded  with  masses  of  stone  in  order'd  forms,  determine  then 
A  form  for  Vala  and  a  form  for  Luvah,  here  on  the  Thames, 
Where  the  Victim  nightly  howls  beneath  the  Druid's  knife: 
A  Form  of  Vegetation,  nail  them  down  on  the  stems  of  Mystery. 

0  when  shall  the  Saxon  return  with  the  English  his  redeemed  brother? 
15  O  when  shall  the  Lamb  of  God  descend  among  the  Reprobate? 

1  woo  to  Amalek  to  protect  my  fugitives,  Amalek  trembles: 
I  call  to  Canaan  &  Moab  in  my  night  watches,  they  mourn: 
They  listen  not  to  my  cry,  they  rejoice  among  their  warriors. 
Woden  and  Thor  and  Friga  wholly  consume  my  Saxons, 

20  On  their  enormous  Altars  built  in  the  terrible  north. 

102 


From  Ireland's  rocks  to  Scandinavia,  Persia  and  Tartary, 
From  the  Atlantic  Sea  to  the  universal  Erythrean, 
Found  ye  London!  enormous  City!  weeps  thy  River? 
Upon  his  parent  bosom  lay  thy  little  ones,  O  Land 

25   Forsaken.    Surrey  and  Sussex  are  Enitharmon's  Chamber, 
Where  I  will  build  her  a  Couch  of  repose  &  my  pillars 
Shall  surround  her  in  beautiful  labyrinths:  Oothoon? 
Where  hides  my  child?  in  Oxford  hidest  thou  with  Antamon? 
In  graceful  hidings  of  error,  in  merciful  deceit, 

30  Lest  Hand  the  terrible  destroy  his  Affection,  thou  hidest  her: 
In  chaste  appearances  for  sweet  deceits  of  love  &  modesty, 
Immingled,  interwoven,  glistening  to  the  sickening  sight. 
Let  Cambel  and  her  Sisters  sit  within  the  Mundane  Shell: 
Forming  the  fluctuating  Globe  according  to  their  will, 

35  According  as  they  weave  the  little  embryon  nerves  &  veins, 
The  Eye,  the  little  Nostrils,  &  the  delicate  Tongue  &  Ears 
Of  labyrinthine  intricacy:  so  shall  they  fold  the  World, 
That  whatever  is  seen  upon  the  Mundane  shell,  the  same 
Be  seen  upon  the  Fluctuating  Earth  woven  by  the  Sisters. 

40  And  sometimes  the  Earth  shall  roll  in  the  Abyss  &  sometimes 
Stand  in  the  Center  &  sometimes  stretch  flat  in  the  Expanse, 
According  to  the  will  of  the  lovely  Daughters  of  Albion, 
Sometimes  it  shall  assimilate  with  mighty  Golgonooza, 
Touching  its  summits:  &  sometimes  divided  roll  apart. 

45  As  a  beautiful  Veil  so  these  Females  shall  fold  &  unfold 
According  to  their  will  the  outside  surface  of  the  Earth, 
An  outside  shadowy  Surface  superadded  to  the  real  Surface: 
Which  is  unchangeable  for  ever  &  ever.    Amen:  so  be  it! 
Separate  Albion's  Sons  gently  from  their  Emanations, 

50  Weaving  powers  of  delight  on  the  current  of  infant  Thames 
Where  the  old  Parent  still  retains  his  youth,  as  I,  alas ! 
Retain  my  youth  eight  thousand  and  five  hundred  years. 
The  labourer  of  ages  in  the  Valleys  of  Despair! 
The  land  is  mark'd  for  desolation  &  unless  we  plant 

55  The  seeds  of  Cities  &  of  Villages  in  the  Human  bosom 
Albion  must  be  a  rock  of  blood:  mark  ye  the  points 
Where  Cities  shall  remain,  &  where  Villages:  for  the  rest, 
It  must  lie  in  confusion  till  Albany's  time  of  awaking. 
Place  the  Tribes  of  Llewellyn  in  America  for  a  hiding  place, 

60  Till  sweet  Jerusalem  emanates  again  into  Eternity. 

The  night  falls  thick:  I  go  upon  my  watch:  be  attentive: 
The  Sons  of  Albion  go  forth;  I  follow  from  my  Furnaces, 

103 


That  they  return  no  more:  that  a  place  be  prepared  on  Euphrates. 
Listen  to  your  Watchmans  voice:  sleep  not  before  the  Furnaces: 
65  Eternal  Death  stands  at  the  door.    O  God,  pity  our  labours. 

So  Los  spoke  to  the  Daughters  of  Beulah,  while  his  Emanation 
Like  a  faint  rainbow  waved  before  him  in  the  awful  gloom 
Of  London  City  on  the  Thames  from  Surrey  Hills  to  Highgate: 
Swift  turn  the  silver  spindles,  &  the  golden  weights  play  soft 
70  And  lulling  harmonies  beneath  the  Looms,  from  Caithness  in  the  north 
To  Lizard-point  &  Dover  in  the  south :  his  Emanation 
Joy'd  in  the  many  weaving  threads  in  bright  Cathedron's  Dome, 
Weaving  the  Web  of  life  for  Jerusalem:  the  Web  of  life 
Down  flowing  into  Entuthon's  Vales  glistens  with  soft  affections. 

75  While  Los  arose  upon  his  Watch,  and  down  from  Golgonooza, 
Putting  on  his  golden  sandals  to  walk  from  mountain  to  mountain, 
He  takes  his  way,  girding  himself  with  gold  &  in  his  hand 
Holding  his  iron  mace:  The  Spectre  remains  attentive. 
Alternate  they  watch  in  night;  alternate  labour  in  day, 

80  Before  the  Furnaces  labouring,  while  Los  all  night  watches 
The  stars  rising  &  setting,  &  the  meteors  &  terrors  of  night. 
With  him  went  down  the  Dogs  of  Leutha  at  his  feet, 
They  lap  the  water  of  the  trembling  Thames,  then  follow  swift. 
And  thus  he  heard  the  voice  of  Albion's  daughters  on  Euphrates. 

85  Our  Father  Albion's  land:  O,  it  was  a  lovely  land!  &  the  Daughters  of  Beulah 

Walked  up  and  down  in  its  green  mountains;  but  Hand  is  fled 
87  Away,  &  mighty  Hyle;  &  after  them  Jerusalem  is  gone:  Awake 

p.  84  HIGHGATE'S  heights  &  Hampstead's,  to  Poplar,  Hackney  &  Bow; 
To  Islington  &  Paddington  &  the  Brook  of  Albion's  River. 
We  builded  Jerusalem  as  a  City  &  a  Temple;  from  Lambeth 
We  began  our  Foundations;  lovely  Lambeth,  O  lovely  Hills 
5  Of  Camberwell,  we  shall  behold  you  no  more  in  glory  &  pride, 
For  Jerusalem  lies  in  ruins  &  the  Furnaces  of  Los  are  builded  there: 
You  are  now  shrunk  up  to  a  narrow  Rock  in  the  midst  of  the  Sea. 
But  here  we  build  Babylon  on  Euphrates,  compell'd  to  build 
And  to  inhabit,  our  Little-ones  to  clothe  in  armour  of  the  gold 
10  Of  Jerusalem's  Cherubims  &  to  forge  them  swords  of  her  Altars. 
I  see  London  blind  &  age  bent  begging  thro'  the  Streets 
Of  Babylon,  led  by  a  child,  his  tears  run  down  his  beard. 
The  voice  of  Wandering  Reuben  ecchoes  from  street  to  street, 
In  all  the  Cities  of  the  Nations,  Paris,  Madrid,  Amsterdam. 

104 


15   The  Corner  of  Broad  Street  weeps;  Poland  Street  languishes 
To  Great  Queen  Street  &  Lincoln's  Inn:  all  is  distress  &  woe. 

The  night  falls  thick:  Hand  comes  from  Albion  in  his  strength: 
He  combines  into  a  Mighty-one,  the  Double  Molech  &  Chemosh, 
Marching  thro'  Egypt  in  his  fury:  the  East  is  pale  at  his  course: 

20  The  Nations  of  India,  the  Wild  Tartar  that  never  knew  Man, 
Starts  from  his  lofty  places  &  casts  down  his  tents  &  flees  away. 
But  we  woo  him  all  the  night  in  songs.    O  Los  come  forth,  O  Los 
Divide  us  from  these  terrors  &  give  us  power  them  to  subdue. 
Arise  upon  thy  Watches,  let  us  see  thy  Globe  of  fire 

25  On  Albion's  Rocks  &  let  thy  voice  be  heard  upon  Euphrates. 

Thus  sang  the  Daughters  in  lamentation,  uniting  into  One 
With  Rahab  as  she  turn'd  the  iron  Spindle  of  destruction. 
Terrified  at  the  Sons  of  Albion  they  took  the  Falshood  which 
29  Gwendolen  hid  in  her  left  hand,  it  grew  &  grew  till  it 

p.  85  BECAME  a  Space  &  an  Allegory  around  the  Winding  Worm: 
They  nam'd  it  Canaan  &  built  for  it  a  tender  Moon. 
Los  smil'd  with  joy,  thinking  on  Enitharmon,  &  he  brought 
Reuben  from  his  twelvefold  wand'rings  &  led  him  into  it, 
5  Planting  the  Seeds  of  the  Twelve  Tribes  &  Moses  &  David: 

And  gave  a  Time  &  Revolution  to  the  Space,  Six  Thousand  Years. 
He  call'd  it  Divine  Analogy,  for  in  Beulah  the  Feminine 
Emanations  Create  Space,  the  Masculine  Create  Time,  &  plant 
The  Seeds  of  beauty  in  the  Space:  list'ning  to  their  lamentation 
10  Los  walks  upon  his  ancient  Mountains  in  the  deadly  darkness, 
Among  his  Furnaces  directing  his  laborious  Myriads,  watchful 
Looking  to  the  East:  &  his  voice  is  heard  over  the  whole  Earth 
As  he  watches  the  Furnaces  by  night,  &  directs  the  labourers. 

And  thus  Los  replies  upon  his  Watch:  the  Valleys  listen  silent, 
15  The  Stars  stand  still  to  hear:  Jerusalem  &  Vala  cease  to  mourn: 
His  voice  is  heard  from  Albion:  the  Alps  &  Appenines 
Listen:   Hermon  &  Lebanon  bow  their  crowned  heads: 
Babel  &  Shinar  look  toward  the  Western  Gate,  they  sit  down 
Silent  at  his  voice;  they  view  the  red  Globe  of  fire  in  Los's  hand, 
20  As  he  walks  from  Furnace  to  Furnace  directing  the  labourers. 
And  this  is  the  Song  of  Los,  the  Song  that  he  sings  on  his  Watch. 

0  lovely  mild  Jerusalem!  O  Shiloh  of  Mount  Ephraim! 

1  see  thy  Gates  of  precious  stones ;  thy  Walls  of  gold  &  silver. 
Thou  art  the  soft  reflected  Image  of  the  Sleeping  Man, 

105  i 


2s  Who  stretch'd  on  Albion's  rocks  reposes  amidst  his  Twenty-eight 
Cities;  where  Beulah  lovely  terminates,  in  the  hills  &  valleys  of  Albion. 
Cities  not  yet  embodied  in  Time  and  Space:  plant  ye 
The  Seeds,  O  Sisters,  in  the  bosom  of  Time  &  Space's  womb 
To  spring  up  for  Jerusalem:  lovely  Shadow  of  Sleeping  Albion. 

30  Why  wilt  thou  rend  thyself  apart  &  build  an  Earthly  Kingdom, 
To  reign  in  pride  &  to  opress  &  to  mix  the  Cup  of  Delusion, 

32  O  thou  that  dwellest  with  Babylon!  Come  forth,  O  lovely-one! 


p.  86  I  SEE  thy  Form,  O  lovely  mild  Jerusalem,  Wing'd  with  Six  Wings 
In  the  opacous  Bosom  of  the  Sleeper,  lovely  Three  fold 
In  Head  &  Heart  &  Reins,  three  Universes  of  love  &  beauty. 
Thy  forehead  bright:  Holiness  to  the  Lord:  with  Gates  of  pearl 
5   Reflects  Eternity  beneath  thy  azure  wings  of  feathery  down, 
Ribb'd  delicate  &  cloth'd  with  feather'd  gold  &  azure  &  purple, 
From  thy  white  shoulders  shadowing,  purity  in  holiness! 
Thence  feather'd  with  soft  crimson  of  the  ruby  bright  as  fire 
Spreading  into  the  azure  Wings  which  like  a  canopy 
10  Bends  over  thy  immortal  Head,  in  which  Eternity  dwells. 
Albion,  beloved  Land!  I  see  thy  mountains  &  thy  hills 
And  valleys  &  thy  pleasant  Cities,  Holiness  to  the  Lord. 
I  see  the  Spectres  of  thy  Dead,  O  Emanation  of  Albion. 

Thy  Bosom  white,  translucent,  cover'd  with  immortal  gems, 
15  A  sublime  ornament  not  obscuring  the  outlines  of  beauty, 

Terrible  to  behold  for  thy  extreme  beauty  &  perfection: 

Twelve-fold,  here  all  the  Tribes  of  Israel  I  behold 

Upon  the  Holy  Land:  I  see  the  River  of  Life  &  Tree  of  Life, 

I  see  the  New  Jerusalem  descending  out  of  Heaven 
20  Between  thy  Wings  of  gold  &  silver  feather'd,  immortal, 

Clear  as  the  rainbow,  as  the  cloud  of  the  Sun's  tabernacle. 

Thy  Reins  cover'd  with  Wings  translucent,  sometimes  covering 

And  sometimes  spread  abroad,  reveal  the  flames  of  holiness, 

Which  like  a  robe  covers,  &  like  a  Veil  of  Seraphim 
25  In  flaming  fire  unceasing  burns  from  Eternity  to  Eternity. 

Twelvefold  1  there  behold  Israel  in  her  Tents. 
»,  A  Pillar  of  a  Cloud  by  day:  a  Pillar  of  fire  by  night 

Guides  them:  there  I  behold  Moab  &  Ammon  &  Amalek. 

There  Bells  of  silver  round  thy  knees  living  articulate 
30  Comforting  sounds  of  Jove  &  harmony,  &  on  thy  feet 

Sandals  of  gold  &  pearl,  &  Egypt  &  Assyria  before  me, 

The  Isles  of  Javan,  Philistea,  Tyre  &  Lebanon. 

1 06 


Thus  Los  sings  upon  his  Watch,  walking  from  Furnace  to  Furnace. 

He  siezes  his  Hammer  every  hour :  flames  surround  him  as 
35   He  beats;  seas  roll  beneath  his  feet,  tempests  muster 

Around  his  head,  the  thick  hail  stones  stand  ready  to  obey 

His  voice  in  the  black  cloud,  his  Sons  labour  in  thunders 

At  his  Furnaces;  his  Daughters  at  their  Looms  sing  woes. 

His  Emanation  separates  in  milky  fibres  agonizing 
40  Among  the  golden  Looms  of  Cathedron,  sending  fibres  of  love 

From  Golgonooza  with  sweet  visions  for  Jerusalem,  wanderer. 

Nor  can  any  consummate  bliss  without  being  Generated 
On  Earth,  of  those  whose  Emanations  weave  the  loves 
Of  Beulah  for  Jerusalem  &  Shiloh,  in  immortal  Golgonooza, 
45  Concentering  in  the  majestic  form  of  Erin  in  eternal  tears, 
Viewing  the  Winding  Worm  on  the  Desarts  of  Great  Tartary, 
Viewing  Los  in  his  shudderings,  pouring  balm  on  his  sorrows: 
So  dread  is  Los's  fury,  that  none  dare  him  to  approach 
Without  becoming  his  Children  in  the  Furnaces  of  affliction. 

50  And  Enitharmon  like  a  faint  rainbow  waved  before  him, 
Filling  with  Fibres  from  his  loins  which  redden'd  with  desire 
Into  a  Globe  of  blood  beneath  his  bosom,  trembling  in  darkness 
Of  Albion's  clouds:  he  fed  it,  with  his  tears  &  bitter  groans 
Hiding  his  Spectre  in  invisibility  from  the  timorous  Shade 

55  Till  it  became  a  separated  cloud  of  beauty,  grace  &  love, 
Among  the  darkness  of  his  Furnaces  dividing  asunder  till 
She  separated  stood  before  him,  a  lovely  Female  weeping, 
Even  Enitharmon  separated  outside,  &  his  Loins  closed 
And  heal'd  after  the  separation:  his  pains  he  soon  forgot, 

60  Lured  by  her  beauty  outside  of  himself  in  shadowy  grief. 

Two  Wills  they  had:  Two  Intellects:  &  not  as  in  times  of  old. 

Silent  they  wander'd  hand  in  hand  like  two  Infants  wand'ring 
From  Enion  in  the  desarts,  terrified  at  each  others  beauty, 
64  Envying  each  other  yet  desiring,  in  all  devouring  Love. 

p.  87   REPELLING  weeping  Enion,  blind  &  age-bent,  into  the  fourfold 
Desarts,  Los  first  broke  silence  &  began  to  utter  his  love. 

0  lovely  Enitharmon!  I  behold  thy  graceful  forms 
Moving  beside  me  till,  intoxicated  with  the  woven  labyrinth 

5  Of  beauty  &  perfection,  my  wild  fibres  shoot  in  veins 

Of  blood  thro'  all  my  nervous  limbs:  soon  overgrown  in  roots 

1  shall  be  closed  from  thy  sight,  sieze  therefore  in  thy  hand 

107 


The  small  fibres  as  they  shoot  around  me:  draw  out  in  pity 
And  let  them  run  on  the  winds  of  thy  bosom:  I  will  fix  them 
10  With  pulsations,  we  will  divide  them  into  Sons  &  Daughters, 
To  live  in  thy  Bosom's  translucence  as  in  an  eternal  morning. 

Enitharmon  answer'd.    No!  I  will  sieze  thy  fibres  &  weave 

Them,  not  as  thou  wilt  but  as  I  will,  for  I  will  Create 

A  round  Womb  beneath  my  bosom,  lest  I  also  be  over  woven 
15  With  Love;  be  thou  assured  I  never  will  be  thy  slave. 

Let  Man's  delight  be  Love;  but  Woman's  delight  be  Pride. 

In  Eden  our  Loves  were  the  same,  here  they  are  opposite. 

I  have  Loves  of  my  own,  I  will  weave  them  in  Albion's  Spectre. 

Cast  thou  in  Jerusalem's  shadows  thy  Loves;  silk  of  liquid 
20  Rubies,  Jacinths,  Crysolites,  issuing  from  thy  Furnaces.    While 

Jerusalem  divides  thy  care,  while  thou  carest  for  Jerusalem, 

Know  that  I  never  will  be  thine:  also  thou  hidest  Vala: 

From  her  these  fibres  shoot  to  shut  me  in  a  Grave. 
24  You  are  Albion's  Victim,  he  has  set  his  Daughter  in  your  path. 

p.  88   LOS  answer'd,  sighing  like  the  Bellows  of  his  Furnaces. 

I  care  not!  the  swing  of  my  Hammer  shall  measure  the  starry  round. 
When  in  Eternity  Man  converses  with  Man  they  enter 
Into  each  others  Bosom  (which  are  Universes  of  delight) 
5  In  mutual  interchange,  and  first  their  Emanations  meet 
Surrounded  by  their  Children:  if  they  embrace  &  comingle 
The  Human  Four-fold  Forms  mingle  also  in  thunders  of  Intellect. 
But  if  the  Emanations  mingle  not:  with  storms  &  agitations 
Of  earthquakes  &  consuming  fires  they  roll  apart  in  fear. 

10  For  Man  cannot  unite  with  Man  but  by  their  Emanations, 

Which  stand  both  Male  &  Female  at  the  Gates  of  each  Humanity. 
How  then  can  I  ever  again  be  united  as  Man  with  Man 
While  thou,  my  Emanation,  refusest  my  Fibres  of  dominion? 
When  Souls  mingle  &  join  thro'  all  the  Fibres  of  Brotherhood 

15  Can  there  be  any  secret  joy  on  Earth  greater  than  this? 

Enitharmon  answer'd:  This  is  Woman's  World,  nor  need  she  any 
Spectre  to  defend  her  from  Man.    I  will  Create  secret  places, 
And  the  masculine  names  of  the  places,  Merlin  &  Arthur. 
A  triple  Female  Tabernacle  for  Moral  Law  I  weave 
20  That  he  who  loves  Jesus  may  loathe  terrified  Female  love, 
Till  God  himself  become  a  Male  subservient  to  the  Female. 

She  spoke  in  scorn  &  jealousy,  alternate  torments;  and 

108 


So  speaking  she  sat  down  on  Sussex  shore,  singing  lulling 
Cadences,  &  playing  in  sweet  intoxication  among  the  glistening 

25  Fibres  of  Los:  sending  them  over  the  Ocean  eastward  into 
The  realms  of  dark  death ;  O  perverse  to  thyself,  contrarious 
To  thy  own  purposes!  for  when  she  began  to  weave, 
Shooting  out  in  sweet  pleasure,  her  bosom  in  milky  Love 
Flow'd  into  the  aching  fibres  of  Los,  yet  contending  against  him, 

30  In  pride  send(ind)ing  his  Fibres  over  to  her  objects  of  jealousy, 
In  the  little  lovely  Allegoric  Night  of  Albion's  Daughters 
Which  stretch'd  abroad,  expanding  east  &  west  &  north  &  south, 
Thro'  all  the  World  of  Erin  &  of  Los  &  all  their  Children. 

A  sullen  smile  broke  from  the  Spectre  in  mockery  &  scorn: 
35  Knowing  himself  the  author  of  their  divisions  &  shrinkings,  gratified 
At  their  contentions,  he  wiped  his  tears,  he  wash'd  his  visage. 

The  Man  who  respects  Woman  shall  be  despised  by  Woman: 
And  deadly  cunning,  &  mean  abjectness  only,  shall  enjoy  them. 
For  I  will  make  their  places  of  joy  &  love,  excrementitious, 
40  Continually  building,  continually  destroying  in  Family  feuds. 
While  you  are  under  the  dominion  of  a  jealous  Female, 
Unpermanent  for  ever  because  of  love  &  jealousy, 
You  shall  want  all  the  Minute  Particulars  of  Life. 

Thusjoy'd  the  Spectre  in  the  dusky  fires  of  Los's  Forge,  eyeing 
45  Enitharmon  who  at  her  shining  Looms  sings  lulling  cadences, 
While  Los  stood  at  his  Anvil  in  wrath,  the  victim  of  their  love 
And  hate:  dividing  the  Space  of  Love  with  brazen  Compasses 
In  Golgonooza  &  in  Udan-Adan  &  in  Entuthon  of  Urizen. 

The  blow  of  his  Hammer  is  Justice,  the  swing  of  his  Hammer  Mercy, 
50  The  force  of  Los's  Hammer  is  eternal  Forgiveness;  but 

His  rage  or  his  mildness  were  vain,  she  scatter'd  his  love  on  the  wind 
Eastward  into  her  own  Center,  creating  the  Female  Womb 
In  mild  Jerusalem  around  the  Lamb  of  God.    Loud  howl 
The  Furnaces  of  Los!  loud  roll  the  Wheels  of  Enitharmon! 
55  The  Four  Zoas  in  all  their  faded  majesty  burst  out  in  fury 

And  fire.    Jerusalem  took  the  Cup  which  foam'd  in  Vala's  hand, 
Like  the  red  Sun  upon  the  mountains  in  the  bloody  day, 
58  Upon  the  Hermaphroditic  Wine-presses  of  Love  &  Wrath. 

p.  89  THO'  divided  by  the  Cross  &  Nails  &  Thorns  &  Spear, 
In  cruelties  of  Rahab  &  Tirzah  permanent  endure 
A  terrible  indefinite  Hermaphroditic  form: 

109 


A  Wine-press  of  Love  &  Wrath,  double,  Hermaphroditic, 
5  Twelvefold  in  Allegoric  pomp,  in  selfish  holiness: 
The  Pharisaion,  the  Grammateis,  the  Presbuterion, 
The  Archiereus,  the  lereus,  the  Saddusaion,  double 
Each  withoutside  of  the  other,  covering  eastern  heaven. 

Thus  was  the  Covering  Cherub  reveal'd,  majestic  image 
10  Of  Selfhood,  Body  put  off,  the  Antichrist  accursed, 
Cover'd  with  precious  stones,  a  "Human  Dragon  terrible 
And  bright,  stretch'd  over  Europe  &  Asia  gorgeous. 
In  three  nights  he  devour'd  the  rejected  corse  of  death. 

His  Head  dark,  deadly,  in  its  Brain  incloses  a  reflexion 
15  Of  Eden  all  perverted:   Egypt  on  the  Gihon,  many  tongued 
And  many  mouth'd:  Ethiopia,  Lybia,  the  Sea  of  Rephaim. 
Minute  Particulars  in  slavery  I  behold  among  the  brick-kilns 
Disorganiz'd,  &  there  is  Pharoh  in  his  iron  Court: 
And  the  Dragon  of  the  River  &  the  Furnaces  of  iron. 
20  Outwoven  from  Thames  &  Tweed  &  Severn,  awful  streams, 
Twelve  ridges  of  Stone  frown  over  all  the  Earth  in  tyrant  pride, 
Frown  over  each  River,  stupendous  Works  of  Albion's  Druid  Sons 
And  Albion's  Forests  of  Oaks  cover'd  the  Earth  from  Pole  to  Pole. 

His  Bosom  wide  reflects  Moab  &  Ammon  on  the  River 
25  Pison,  since  call'd  Arnon,  there  is  Heshbon  beautiful, 

The  Rocks  of  Rabbath  on  the  Arnon  &  the  Fish-pools  of  Heshbon 
Whose  currents  flow  into  the  Dead  Sea  by  Sodom  &  Gomorra. 
Above  his  Head  high  arching  Wings,  black,  fill'd  with  Eyes, 
Spring  upon  iron  sinews  from  the  Scapulas  &  Os  Humeri. 
30  There  Israel  in  bondage  to  his  Generalizing  Gods, 
Molech  &  Chemosh,  &  in  his  left  breast  is  Philistea 
In  Druid  Temples  over  the  whole  Earth  with  Victim's  Sacrifice, 
From  Gaza  to  Damascus,  Tyre  &  Sidon  &  the  Gods 
Of  Javan,  thro'  the  Isles  of  Grecia  &  all  Europe's  Kings, 
35  Where  Hiddekel  pursues  his  course  among  the  rocks. 

Two  Wings  spring  from  his  ribs  of  brass,  starry,  black  as  night, 
But  translucent  their  blackness  as  the  dazling  of  gems. 

His  Loins  inclose  Babylon  on  Euphrates  beautiful, 
And  Rome  in  sweet  Hesperia,  there  Israel  scatter'd  abroad 
40  In  martyrdoms  &  slavery  I  behold:  ah  vision  of  sorrow! 
Inclosed  by  eyeless  Wings,  glowing  with  fire  as  the  iron 
Heated  in  the  Smith's  forge,  but  cold  the  wind  of  their  dread  Fury. 

110 


But  in  the  midst  of  a  devouring  Stomach,  Jerusalem 
Hidden  within  the  Covering  Cherub  as  in  a  Tabernacle 

45  Of  threefold  workmanship,  in  allegoric  delusion  &  woe. 

There  the  Seven  Kings  of  Canaan  &  Five  Baalim  of  Philistea, 
Sihon  &  Og,  the  Anakim  &  Emim,  Nephilim  &  Gibborim, 
From  Babylon  to  Rome:  &  the  Wings  spread  from  Japan, 
Where  the  Red  Sea  terminates  the  World  of  Generation  &  Death, 

50  To  Irelands  farthest  rocks  where  Giants  builded  their  Causeway 
Into  the  Sea  of  Rephaim,  but  the  Sea  o'erwhelm'd  them  all. 

A  Double  Female  now  appear'd  within  the  Tabernacle, 
Religion  hid  in  War,  a  Dragon  red  &  hidden  Harlot, 
Each  within  other,  but  without  a  Warlike  Mighty-one, 

55  Of  dreadful  power,  sitting  upon  Horeb  pondering  dire 

And  mighty  preparations,  mustering  multitudes  innumerable 
Of  warlike  sons  among  the  sands  of  Midian  &  Aram. 
For  multitudes  of  those  who  sleep  in  Alia  descend, 
Lured  by  his  warlike  symphonies  of  tabret  pipe  &  harp, 

60  Burst  the  bottoms  of  the  Graves  &  Funeral  Arks  of  Beulah: 
Wandering  in  that  unknown  Night  beyond  the  silent  Grave 

62  They  became  One  with  the  Antichrist  &  are  absorb'd  in  him. 

p.  90  THE  Feminine  separates  from  the  Masculine  &  both  from  Man, 
Ceasing  to  be  His  Emanations,  Life  to  Themselves  assuming : 
And  while  they  circumscribe  his  Brain,  &  while  they  circumscribe 
His  Heart,  &  while  they  circumscribe  his  Loins:  a  Veil  &  Net 
5  Of  Veins  of  red  Blood  grows  around  them  like  a  scarlet  robe, 

Covering  them  from  the  sight  of  Man  like  the  woven  Veil  of  Sleep, 
Such  as  the  Flowers  of  Beulah  weave  to  be  their  Funeral  Mantles: 
But  dark,  opake,  tender  to  touch,  &  painful:  &  agonizing 
To  the  embrace  of  love,  &  to  the  mingling  of  soft  fibres 

10  Of  tender  affection,  that  no  more  the  Masculine  mingles 

With  the  Feminine,  but  the  sublime  is  shut  out  from  the  Pathos 
In  howling  torment,  to  build  stone  walls  of  separation,  compelling 

^    The  Pathos  to  weave  curtains  of  hiding  secrecy  from  the  torment. 

Bowen  &  Conwenna  stood  on  Skiddaw  cutting  the  Fibres 
15  Of  Benjamin  from  Chester's  River:  loud  the  River,  loud, the  Mersey 

And  the  Ribble,  thunder  into  the  Irish  sea,  as  the  Twelve  Sons 

Of  Albion  drank  &  imbibed  the  Life  &  eternal  Form  of  Luvah. 

Cheshire  &  Lancashire  &  Westmoreland  groan  in  anguish. 

As  they  cut  the  fibres  from  the  Rivers  he  sears  them  with  hot 
20  Iron  of  his  Forge,  &  fixes  them  into  Bones  of  chalk  &  Rock. 

Ill 


Conwenna  sat  above:  with  solemn  cadences  she  drew 
Fibres  of  life  out  from  the  Bones  into  her  golden  Loom. 
Hand  had  his  Furnace  on  Highgate's  heights  &  it  reach'd 
To  Brockley  Hills  across  the  Thames;  he  with  double  Boadicea 
25   In  cruel  pride  cut  Reuben  apart  from  the  Hills  of  Surrey, 
Comingling  with  Luvah  &  with  the  Sepulcher  of  Luvah. 
For  the  Male  is  a  Furnace  of  beryll :  the  Female  is  a  golden  Loom. 

Los  cries:  No  Individual  ought  to  appropriate  to  Himself 

Or  to  his  Emanation,  any  of  the  Universal  Characteristics 
30  Of  David  or  of  Eve,  of  the  Woman,  or  of  the  Lord, 

Of  Reuben  or  of  Benjamin,  of  Joseph  or  Judah  or  Levi. 

Those  who  dare  appropriate  to  themselves  Universal  Attributes 

Are  the  Blasphemous  Selfhoods  &  must  be  broken  asunder. 

A  Vegetated  Christ  &  a  Virgin  Eve,  are  the  Hermaphroditic 
35  Blasphemy:  by  his  Maternal  Birth  he  is  that  Evil-One 

And  his  Maternal  Humanity  must  be  put  off  Eternally, 

Lest  the  Sexual  Generation  swallow  up  Regeneration : 
,  Come  Lord  Jesus,  take  on  thee  the  Satanic  Body  of  Holiness! 

So  Los  cried  in  the  Valleys  of  Middlesex  in  the  Spirit  of  Prophecy, 
40   While  in  Selfhood  Hand  &  Hyle  &  Bowen  &  Skofeld  appropriate 
The  Divine  Names:  seeking  to  Vegetate  the  Divine  Vision 
In  a  corporeal  &  ever  dying  Vegetation  &  Corruption: 
Mingling  with  Luvah  in  One,  they  become  One  Great  Satan. 

Loud  scream  the  Daughters  of  Albion  beneath  the  Tongs  &  Hammer, 

45  Dolorous  are  their  lamentations  in  the  burning  Forge: 

They  drink  Reuben  &  Benjamin  as  the  iron  drinks  the  fire: 
They  are  red  hot  with  cruelty:  raving  along  the  Banks  of  Thames 
And  on  Tyburn's  Brook,  among  the  howling  Victims  in  loveliness. 
While  Hand  &  Hyle  condense  the  Little-ones  &  erect  them  into 

50  A  mighty  Temple  even  to  the  stars:  but  they  Vegetate 
Beneath  Los's  Hammer,  that  Life  may  not  be  blotted  out. 

For  Los  said:  When  the  Individual  appropriates  Universality 
He  divides  into  Male  &  Female:  &  when  the  Male  &  Female 
Appropriate  Individuality,  they  become  an  Eternal  Death. 
55  Hermaphroditic  worshippers  of  a  God  of  cruelty  &  law! 

Your  Slaves  &  Captives  you  compell  to  worship  a  God  of  Mercy. 

These  are  the  Demonstrations  of  Los  &  the  blows  of  my  mighty  Hammer. 

So  Los  spoke.    And  the  Giants  of  Albion  terrified  &  ashamed 
With  Los's  thunderous  Words,  began  to  build  trembling  rocking  Stones, 

112 


60  For  his  Words  roll  in  thunders  &  lightnings  among  the  Temples, 

Terrified  rocking  to  &  fro  upon  the  earth,  &  sometimes 

Resting  in  a  Circle  in  Maiden  or  in  Straithness  or  Dura, 

Plotting  to  devour  Albion  &  Los  the  friend  of  Albion. 

Denying  in  private,  mocking  God  &  Eternal  Life:  &  in  Public 
65  Collusion,  calling  themselves  Deists,  Worshipping  the  Maternal 

Humanity:  calling  it  Nature,  and  Natural  Religion. 

But  still  the  thunder  of  Los  peals  loud  &  thus  the  thunders  cry: 
68  These  beautiful  Witchcrafts  of  Albion,  are  gratifyd  by  Cruelty. 

p.  91    IT  is  easier  to  forgive  an  Enemy  than  to  forgive  a  Friend! 
The  man  who  permits  you  to  injure  him,  deserves  your  vengeance: 
He  also  will  recieve  it:  go  Spectre!  obey  my  most  secret  desire, 
Which  thou  knowest  without  my  speaking ;  Go  to  these  Fiends  of  Righteousness, 
5  Tell  them  to  obey  their  Humanities,  &  not  pretend  Holiness, 
When  they  are  murderers:  as  far  as  my  Hammer  &  Anvil  permit. 
Go,  tell  them  that  the  Worship  of  God,  is  honouring  his  gifts 
In  other  men:  &  loving  the  greatest  men  best,  each  according 
To  his  Genius,  which  is  the  Holy  Ghost  in  Man;  there  is  no  other 

10  God,  than  that  God  who  is  the  intellectual  fountain  of  Humanity. 
He  who  envies  or  calumniates,  which  is  murder  &  cruelty, 
Murders  the  Holy-one;  Go  tell  them  this  &  overthrow  their  cup, 
Their  bread,  their  altar-table,  their  incense  &  their  oath ; 
Their  marriage  &  their  baptism,  their  burial  &  consecration. 

15   I  have  tried  to  make  friends  by  corporeal  gifts  but  have  only 
Made  enemies:  I  never  made  friends  but  by  spiritual  gifts, 
By  severe  contentions  of  friendship  &  the  burning  fire  of  thought. 
He  who  would  see  the  Divinity  must  see  him  in  his  Children, 
One  first,  in  friendship  &  love :  then  a  Divine  Family,  &  in  the  midst 

20  Jesus  will  appear;  so  he  who  wishes  to  see  a  Vision,  a  perfect  Whole, 
Must  see  it  in  its  Minute  Particulars:  Organized,  &  not  as  thou, 
O  Fiend  of  Righteousness,  pretendest:  thine  is  a  Disorganized 
And  snowy  cloud,  brooder  of  tempests  &  destructive  War. 
You  smile  with  pomp  &  rigor:  you  talk  of  benevolence  &  virtue; 

25  I  act  with  benevolence  &  Virtue  &  get  murder'd  time  after  time. 
You  accumulate  Particulars,  &  murder  by  analyzing,  that  you 
May  take  the  aggregate:  &  you  call  the  aggregate  Moral  Law: 
And  you  call  that  swell'd  &  bloated  Form  a  Minute  Particular. 
But  General  Forms  have  their  vitality  in  Particulars:  &  every 

30  Particular  is  a  Man :  a  Divine  Member  of  the  Divine  Jesus. 

So  Los  cried  at  his  Anvil  in  the  horrible  darkness  weeping. 


The  Spectre  builded  stupendous  Works,  taking  the  Starry  Heavens 

Like  to  a  curtain  &  folding  them  according  to  his  will, 

Repeating  the  Smaragdine  Table  of  Hermes  to  draw  Los  down 
35  Into  the  Indefinite,  refusing  to  believe  without  demonstration. 

Los  reads  the  Stars  of  Albion !  the  Spectre  reads  the  Voids 

Between  the  Stars:  among  the  arches  of  Albion's  Tomb  sublime 

Rolling  the  Sea  in  rocky  paths:  forming  Leviathan 

And  Behemoth;  the  War  by  Sea  enormous  &  the  War 
40  By  Land  astounding:  erecting  pillars  in  the  deepest  Hell, 

To  reach  the  heavenly  arches;  Los  beheld  undaunted,  furious, 

His  heav'd  Hammer:  he  swung  it  round  &  at  one  blow, 

In  unpitying  ruin  driving  down  the  pyramids  of  pride, 

Smiting  the  Spectre  on  his  Anvil  &  the  integuments  of  his  Eye 
45  And  Ear  unbinding  in  dire  pain,  with  many  blows, 

Of  strict  severity  self-subduing,  &  with  many  tears  labouring. 

Then  he  sent  forth  the  Spectre:  all  his  pyramids  were  grains 
Of  sand  &  his  pillars,  dust  on  the  fly's  wing:  &  his  starry 
Heavens,  a  moth  of  gold  &  silver  mocking  his  anxious  grasp. 
50  Thus  Los  alter'd  his  Spectre,  &  every  Ratio  of  his  Reason 
He  alter'd  time  after  time,  with  dire  pain  &  many  tears, 
Till  he  had  completely  divided  him  into  a  separate  space. 

Terrified  Los  sat  to  behold,  trembling  &  weeping  &  howling. 
I  care  not  whether  a  Man  is  Good  or  Evil;  all  that  I  care 
55  Is  whether  he  is  a  Wise  Man  or  a  Fool.    Go,  put  off  Holiness 
And  put  on  Intellect:  or  my  thund'rous  Hammer  shall  drive  thee 
To  wrath  which  thou  condemnest:  till  thou  obey  my  voice. 

58  So  Los  terrified  cries;  trembling  &  weeping  &  howling:  Beholding. 

p.  92  WHAT  do  I  see!  The  Briton,  Saxon,  Roman,  Norman  amalgamating 
In  my  Furnaces  into  One  Nation,  the  English :  &  taking  refuge 
In  the  Loins  of  Albion.    The  Canaanite  united  with  the  fugitive 
Hebrew,  whom  she  divided  into  Twelve,  &  sold  into  Egypt, 
5   Then  scatter'd  the  Egyptian  &  Hebrew  to  the  four  Winds: 
This  sinful  Nation  Created  in  our  Furnaces  &  Looms  is  Albion. 

So  Los  spoke.    Enitharmon  answer'd  in  great  terror  in  Lambeth's  Vale 

The  Poet's  Song  draws  to  its  period  &  Enitharmon  is  no  more. 
For  if  he  be  that  Albion  I  can  never  weave  him  in  my  Looms, 
10  But  when  he  touches  the  first  fibrous  thread,  like  filmy  dew 
My  Looms  will  be  no  more  &  I  annihilate  vanish  for  ever. 

114 


Then  thou  wilt  Create  another  Female  according  to  thy  Will. 

Los  answer'd,  swift  as  the  shuttle  of  gold.    Sexes  must  vanish  &  cease 
To  be,  when  Albion  arises  from  his  dread  repose,  O  lovely  Enitharmon ; 

15  When  all  their  Crimes,  their  Punishments  their  Accusations  of  Sin, 
All  their  Jealousies,  Revenges,  Murders,  hidings  of  Cruelty  in  Deceit, 
Appear  only  in  the  Outward  Spheres  of  Visionary  Space  and  Time, 
In  the  shadows  of  Possibility  by  Mutual  Forgiveness  for  evermore, 
And  in  the  Vision  &  in  the  Prophecy,  that  we  may  Foresee  &  Avoid 

20  The  terrors  of  Creation  &  Redemption  &  Judgment.    Beholding  them 
Display 'd  in  the  Emanative  Visions  of  Canaan,  in  Jerusalem  &  in  Shiloh, 
And  in  the  Shadows  of  Remembrance,  &  in  the  Chaos  of  the  Spectre, 
Amalek,  Edom,  Egypt,  Moab,  Ammen,  Asshur,  Philistea,  around  Jerusalem: 
Where  the  Druids  rear'd  their  Rocky  Circles  to  make  permanent  Remembrance 

25  Of  Sin,  &  the  Tree  of  Good  &  Evil  sprang  from  the  Rocky  Circle  &  Snake 
Of  the  Druid,  along  the  Valley  of  Rephaim  from  Camberwell  to  Golgotha, 

27  And  framed  the  Mundane  Shell  Cavernous  in  Length,  Brea[d]th  &  Highth. 

p.  93  ENITHARMON  heard.    She  rais'd  her  head  like  the  mild  Moon. 

O  Rintrah!  O  Palamabron!  What  are  your  dire  &  awful  purposes? 

Enitharmon's  name  is  nothing  before  you:  you  forget  all  my  Love, 

The  Mother's  love  of  obedience  is  forgotten,  &  you  seek  a  Love 
5  Of  the  pride  of  dominion,  that  will  Divorce  Ocalythron  &  Elynittria, 

Upon  East  Moor  in  Derbyshire  &  along  the  Valleys  of  Cheviot. 

Could  you  Love  me,  Rintrah,  if  you  Pride  not  in  my  Love, 

As  Reuben  found  Mandrakes  in  the  field  &  gave  them  to  his  Mother. 

Pride  meets  with  Pride  upon  the  Mountains  in  the  stormy  day 
10  In  that  terrible  Day  of  Rintrah's  Plow  &  of  Satan's  driving  the  Team. 

Ah!  then  I  heard  my  little  ones  weeping  along  the  Valley: 

Ah!  then  I  saw  my  beloved  ones  fleeing  from  my  Tent. 

Merlin  was  like  thee  Rintrah  among  the  Giants  of  Albion, 

Judah  was  like  Palamabron:  O  Simeon!  O  Levi!  ye  fled  away! 
15   How  can  I  hear  my  little  ones  weeping  along  the  Valley, 

Or  how  upon  the  distant  Hills  see  my  beloveds'  Tents. 

Then  Los  again  took  up  his  speech  as  Enitharmon  ceas't. 

Fear  not,  my  Sons,  this  Waking  Death,  he  is  become  One  with  me. 
Behold  him  here!  We  shall  not  Die!  we  shall  be  united  in  Jesus. 
20   Will  you  suffer  this  Satan,  this  Body  of  Doubt  that  Seems  but  Is  Not, 
To  occupy  the  very  threshold  of  Eternal  Life,  if  Bacon,  Newton,  Locke, 
Deny  a  Conscience  in  Man  &  the  Communion  of  Saints  &  Angels; 
Contemning  the  Divine  Vision  &  Fruition,  Worshipping  the  Deus 


Of  the  Heathen,  The  God  of  This  World,  &  the  Goddess  Nature, 
25   Mystery,  Babylon  the  Great,  The  Druid  Dragon  &  hidden  Harlot. 

Is  it  not  that  Signal  of  the  Morning  which  was  told  us  in  the  Beginning? 
27  Thus  they  converse  upon  Mam-Tor,  the  Graves  thunder  under  their  feet. 

p.  94  ALBION  cold  lays  on  his  Rock:  storms  &  snows  beat  round  him, 
Beneath  the  Furnaces  &  the  starry  Wheels  &  the  Immortal  Tomb. 
Howling  winds  cover  him:  roaring  seas  dash  furious  against  him: 
In  the  deep  darkness  broad  lightnings  glare,  long  thunders  roll. 

5  The  weeds  of  Death  inwrap  his  hands  &  feet,  blown  incessant 

And  wash'd  incessant  by  the  for-ever  restless  sea-waves,  foaming  abroad 
Upon  the  white  Rock.    England,  a  Female  Shadow,  as  deadly  damps 
Of  the  Mines  of  Cornwall  &  Derbyshire  lays  upon  his  bosom  heavy, 
Moved  by  the  wind  in  volumes  of  thick  cloud,  returning,  folding  round 
10  His  loins  &  bosom,  unremovable  by  swelling  storms  &  loud  rending 

Of  enraged  thunders.    Around  them  the  Starry  Wheels  of  their  Giant  Sons 
Revolve:  &  over  them  the  Furnaces  of  Los  &  the  Immortal  Tomb  around: 
Erin  sitting  in  the  Tomb,  to  watch  them  unceasing  night  and  day: 
And  the  Body  of  Albion  was  closed  apart  from  all  Nations. 

15  Over  them  the  famish'd  Eagle  screams  on  boney  Wings,  and  around 

Them  howls  the  Wolf  of  famine,  deep  heaves  the  Ocean  black,  thundering 
Around  the  wormy  Garments  of  Albion:  then  pausing  in  deathlike  silence. 

Time  was  Finished!  The  Breath  Divine  Breathed  over  Albion 
Beneath  the  Furnaces  &  starry  Wheels  and  in  the  Immortal  Tomb, 
20  And  England  who  is  Brittannia  awoke  from  Death  on  Albion's  bosom: 
She  awoke  pale  &  cold,  she  fainted  seven  times  on  the  Body  of  Albion. 

O  piteous  Sleep,  O  piteous  Dream!   O  God,  O  God,  awake!  I  have  slain, 

In  Dreams  of  Chasti(ti)ty  &  Moral  Law  I  have  Murdered  Albion!  Ah! 

In  Stone-henge  &  on  London  Stone  &  in  the  Oak  Groves  of  Maiden 
25  I  have  Slain  him  in  my  Sleep,  with  the  Knife  of  the  Druid.    O  England, 

O  all  ye  Nations  of  the  Earth  behold  ye  the  Jealous  Wife! 
27  The  Eagle  &  the  Wolf  &  Monkey  &  Owl  &  the  King  &  Priest  were  there! 

p.  95  HER  voice  pierc'd  Albion's  clay  cold  ear,  he  moved  upon  the  Rock: 
The  Breath  Divine  went  forth  upon  the  morning  hills,  Albion  mov'd 
Upon  the  Rock,  he  open'd  his  eyelids  in  pain;  in  pain  he  mov'd 
His  stony  members,  he  saw  England.    Ah!  shall  the  Dead  live  again? 

5  The  Breath  Divine  went  forth  over  the  morning  hills,  Albion  rose 
In  anger:  the  wrath  of  God  breaking  bright,  flaming  on  all  sides  around 

116 


His  awful  limbs;  into  the  Heavens  he  walked,  clothed  in  flames 
Loud  thund'ring,  with  broad  flashes  of  flaming  lightning  &  pillars 
Of  fire,  speaking  the  Words  of  Eternity  in  Human  Forms,  in  direful 

10   Revolutions  of  Action  &  Passion,  thro'  the  Four  Elements  on  all  sides 
Surrounding  his  awful  Members.    Thou  seest  the  Sun  in  heavy  clouds 
Struggling  to  rise  above  the  Mountains,  in  his  burning  hand 
He  takes  his  Bow,  then  chooses  out  his  arrows  of  flaming  gold. 
Murmuring  the  Bowstring  breathes  with  ardor!  clouds  roll  round  the 

15   Horns  of  the  wide  Bow,  loud  sounding  winds  sport  on  the  mountain  brows; 
Compelling  Urizen  to  his  Furrow,  &  Tharmas  to  his  Sheepfold, 
And  Luvah  to  his  Loom;  Urthona  he  beheld  mighty  labouring  at 
His  Anvil,  in  the  Great  Spectre  Los  unwearied  labouring  &  weeping. 
Therefore  the  Sons  of  Eden  praise  Urthona's  Spectre  in  songs, 

20  Because  he  kept  the  Divine  Vision  in  time  of  trouble. 

As  the  Sun  &  Moon  lead  forward  the  Visions  of  Heaven  &  Earth 
England,  who  is  Brittannia,  enter'd  Albion's  bosom  rejoicing, 
Rejoicing  in  his  indignation,  adoring  his  wrathful  rebuke. 
24  She  who  adores  not  your  frowns  will  only  loathe  your  smiles. 

p.  96  AS  the  Sun  &  Moon  lead  forward  the  Visions  of  Heaven  &  Earth 
England,  who  is  Brittannia,  entered  Albion's  bosom  rejoicing. 

Then  Jesus  appeared  standing  by  Albion,  as  the  Good  Shepherd 
By  the  lost  Sheep  that  he  hath  found,  &  Albion  knew  that  it 
5   Was  the  Lord,  the  Universal  Humanity,  &  Albion  saw  his  Form 
A  Man,  &  they  conversed  as  Man  with  Man,  in  Ages  of  Eternity. 
And  the  Divine  Appearance  was  the  likeness  &  similitude  of  Los. 

Albion  said.    O  Lord  what  can  I  do:  my  Selfhood  cruel 
Marches  against  thee,  deceitful,  from  Sinai  &  from  Edom 
10  Into  the  Wilderness  of  Judah  to  meet  thee  in  his  pride. 

I  behold  the  Visions  of  my  deadly  Sleep  of  Six  Thousand  Years, 
Dazling  around  thy  skirts  like  a  Serpent  of  precious  stones  &  gold: 
I  know  it  is  my  Self:  O  my  Divine  Creator  &  Redeemer. 

Jesus  replied.    Fear  not  Albion:  unless  I  die  thou  canst  not  live: 
15  But  if  I  die  I  shall  arise  again  &  thou  with  me. 

This  is  Friendship  &  Brotherhood:  without  it  Man  Is  Not. 

So  Jesus  spoke:  the  Covering  Cherub  coming  on  in  darkness 
Overshadow'd  them  &  Jesus  said.   Thus  do  Men  in  Eternity, 
One  for  another  to  put  off,  by  forgiveness,  every  sin. 

20  Albion  reply'd.    Cannot  Man  exist  without  Mysterious 

117 


Offering  of  Self  for  Another:  is  this  Friendship  &  Brotherhood? 
I  see  thee  in  the  likeness  &  similitude  of  Los  my  Friend. 

Jesus  said.    Wouldest  thou  love  one  who  never  died 
For  thee,~or  ever  die  for  one  who  had  not  died  for  thee. 
25  And  if  God  dieth  not  for  Man  &  giveth  not  himself 

Eternally  for  Man,  Man  could  not  exist,  for  Man  is  Love, 
As  God  is  Love:  every  kindness  to  another  is  a  little  Death 
In  the  Divine  Image,  nor  can  Man  exist  but  by  Brotherhood. 

So  saying  the  Cloud  overshadowing  divided  them  asunder. 
30  Albion  stood  in  terror:  not  for  himself  but  for  his  Friend 
Divine,  &  Self  was  lost  in  the  contemplation  of  faith 
And  wonder  at  the  Divine  Mercy  &  at  Los's  sublime  honour. 

Do  I  sleep  amidst  danger  to  Friends!  O  my  Cities  &  Counties 
Do  you  sleep!  rouze  up,  rouze  up,  Eternal  Death  is  abroad! 

35  So  Albion  spoke,  &  threw  himself  into  the  Furnaces  of  affliction. 
All  was  a  Vision,  all  a  Dream:  the  Furnaces  became 
Fountains  of  Living  Waters,  flowing  from  the  Humanity  Divine. 
And  all  the  Cities  of  Albion  rose  from  their  Slumbers,  and  All 
The  Sons  &  Daughters  of  Albion  on  soft  clouds,  Waking  from  Sleep. 

40  Soon  all  around  remote  the  Heavens  burnt  with  flaming  fires, 
And  Urizen  &  Luvah  &  Tharmas  &  Urthona  arose  into 
Albion's  Bosom:   Then  Albion  stood  before  Jesus  in  the  Clouds 

43  Of  Heaven,  Fourfold  among  the  Visions  of  God  in  Eternity. 

p.  97  AWAKE,  Awake,  Jerusalem!  O  lovely  Emanation  of  Albion, 
Awake,  and  overspread  all  Nations  as  in  Ancient  Time. 
For  lo!  the  Night  of  Death  is  past  and  the  Eternal  Day 
Appears  upon  our  Hills:  Awake,  Jerusalem,  and  come  away! 

5  So  spake  the  Vision  of  Albion,  &  in  him  so  spake  in  my  hearing 

The  Universal  Father.    Then  Albion  stretch'd  his  hand  into  Infinitude, 
And  took  his  Bow.    Fourfold  the  Vision,  for  bright  beaming  Urizen 
Lay'd  his  hand  on  the  South  &  took  a  breathing  Bow  of  carved  Gold, 
Luvah  his  hand  stretch'd  to  the  East  &  bore  a  Silver  Bow  bright  shining, 
10  Tharmas  Westward  a  Bow  of  Brass  pure  flaming  richly  wrought, 

Urthona  Northward  in  thick  storms  a  Bow  of  Iron  terrible  thundering. 

And  the  Bow  is  a  Male  &  Female,  &  the  Quiver  of  the  Arrows  of  Love 
Are  the  Children  of  his  Bow;  a  Bow  of  Mercy  &  Loving-kindness,  laying 
Open  the  hidden  Heart  in  Wars  of  mutual  Benevolence,  Wars  of  Love: 
15  And  the  Hand  of  Man  grasps  firm  between  the  Male  &  Female  Loves. 

118 


And  he  Clothed  himself  in  Bow  &  Arrows  in  awful  state,  Fourfold, 
17  In  the  midst  of  his  Twenty-eight  Cities,  each  with  his  Bow  breathing. 

p.  98   THEN  each  an  Arrow  flaming  from  his  Quiver  fitted  carefully: 
They  drew  fourfold  the  unreprovable  String,  bending  thro'  the  wide  Heavens 
The  horned  Bow  Fourfold,  loud  sounding  flew  the  flaming  Arrow  fourfold. 

Murmuring  the  Bowstring  breathes  with  ardor.    Clouds  roll  round  the  horns 
5  Of  the  wide  Bow,  loud  sounding  Winds  sport  on  the  Mountains'  brows: 

The  Druid  Spectre  was  Annihilate,  loud  thund'ring,  rejoicing  terrific,  vanishing, 
Fourfold  Annihilation,  &  at  the  clangor  of  the  Arrows  of  Intellect 
The  innumerable  Chariots  of  the  Almighty  appear 'd  in  Heaven, 
And  Bacon  &  Newton  &  Locke,  &  Milton  &  Shakspear  &  Chaucer. 
10  A  Sun  of  blood  red  wrath  surrounding  heaven  on  all  sides  around, 

Glorious,  incomprehensible  by  Mortal  Man,  &  each  Chariot  was  Sexual  Twofold. 

And  every  Man  stood  Fourfold,  each  Four  Faces  had,  One  to  the  West, 
One  toward  the  East,  One  to  the  South,  One  to  the  North,  the  Horses  Fourfold. 
And  the  dim  Chaos  brighten'd  beneath,  above,  around !   Eyed  as  the  Peacock 
15  According  to  the  Human  Nerves  of  Sensation,  the  Four  Rivers  of  the  Water  of  Life. 

South  stood  the  Nerves  of  the  Eye,  East  in  Rivers  of  bliss  the  Nerves  of  the 
Expansive  Nostrils,  West  flow'd  the  Parent  Sense,  the  Tongue,  North  stood 
The  labyrinthine  Ear:  Circumscribing  &  Circumcising  the  excrementitious 
Husk  &  Covering  into  Vacuum  evaporating,  revealing  the  lineaments  of  Man, 
20  Driving  outward  the  Body  of  Death  in  an  Eternal  Death  &  Resurrection, 
Awaking  it  to  Life  among  the  Flowers  of  Beulah,  rejoicing  in  Unity 
In  the  Four  Senses,  in  the  Outline,  the  Circumference  &  Form,  for  ever 
In  Forgiveness  of  Sins  which  is  Self  Annihilation,  it  is  the  Covenant  of  Jehovah. 

The  Four  Living  Creatures,  Chariots  of  Humanity,  Divine,  Incomprehensible, 
25  In  beautiful  Paradises  expand.    These  are  the  Four  Rivers  of  Paradise, 
And  the  Four  Faces  of  Humanity  fronting  the  Four  Cardinal  Points 
Of  Heaven,  going  forward,  forward  irresistible  from  Eternity  to  Eternity. 

And  they  conversed  together  in  Visionary  forms  dramatic,  which  bright 
Redounded  from  their  Tongues  in  thunderous  majesty,  in  Visions, 

30  In  new  Expanses,  creating  exemplars  of  Memory  and  of  Intellect : 
Creating  Space,  Creating  Time  according  to  the  wonders  Divine 
Of  Human  Imagination,  throughout  all  the  Three  Regions  immense 
Of  Childhood,  Manhood  &  Old  Age:  &  the  all  tremendous  unfathomable  Non  Ens 
Of  Death  was  seen  in  regeneration  terrific  or  complacent,  varying 

35  According  to  the  subject  of  discourse,  &  every  Word  &  every  Character 
Was  Human  according  to  the  Expansion  or  Contraction,  the  Translucence  or 
Opakeness  of  Nervous  fibres:  such  was  the  variation  of  Time  &  Space, 

119 


Which  vary  according  as  the  Organs  of  Perception  vary:  &  they  walked 
To  &  fro  in  Eternity  as  One  Man,  reflecting  each  in  each  &  clearly  seen 

40  And  seeing:  according  to  fitness  &  order.    And  I  heard  Jehovah  speak 

Terrific  from  his  Holy  Place,  &  saw  the  Words  of  the  Mutual  Covenant  Divine 
On  Chariots  of  gold  &  jewels  with  Living  Creatures,  starry  &  flaming 
With  every  Colour.    Lion,  Tyger,  Horse,  Elephant,  Eagle,  Dove,  Fly,  Worm, 
And  the  all  wondrous  Serpent  clothed  in  gems  &  rich  array,  Humanize 

45  In  the  Forgiveness  of  Sins  according  to  thy  Covenant,  Jehovah!  They  Cry: 

Where  is  the  Covenant  of  Priam,  the  Moral  Virtues  of  the  Heathen? 
Where  is  the  Tree  of  Good  &  Evil  that  rooted  beneath  the  cruel  heel 
Of  Albion's  Spectre,  the  Patriarch  Druid!  where  are  all  his  Human  Sacrifices 
For  Sin,  in  War  &  in  the  Druid  Temples  of  the  Accuser  of  Sin;  beneath 
50  The  Oak  Groves  of  Albion  that  cover'd  the  whole  Earth  beneath  his  Spectre? 
Where  are  the  Kingdoms  of  the  World  &  all  their  glory  that  grew  on  Desolation, 
The  Fruit  of  Albion's  Poverty  Tree,  when  the  Triple  Headed  Gog-Magog  Giant 
Of  Albion  Taxed  the  Nations  into  Desolation,  &  then  gave  the  Spectrous  Oath? 

Such  is  the  Cry  from  all  the  Earth,  from  the  Living  Creatures  of  the  Earth, 

55  And  from  the  great  City  of  Golgonooza  in  the  Shadowy  Generation, 

56  And  from  the  Thirty-two  Nations  of  the  Earth  among  the  Living  Creatures. 

p.  99  ALL  Human  Forms  identified,  even  Tree,  Metal,  Earth  &  Stone,  all 
Human  Forms  identified,  living,  going  forth,  &  returning  wearied 
Into  the  Planetary  lives  of  Years,  Months,  Days  &  Hours,  reposing 
And  then  Awaking  into  his  Bosom  in  the  Life  of  Immortality. 
5  And  I  heard  the  Name  of  their  Emanations:  they  are  named  Jerusalem. 

THE  END  OF  THE  SONG  OF  JERUSALEM. 


120 


NOTES 

Note  i .    On  the  pagination. 

THE  arrangement  of  the  pages  of  "Jerusalem"  is  a  matter  of  some  uncertainty.  Owing 
to  his  manner  of  engraving  his  books,  Blake  tended  to  regard  each  page  as  a  separate 
whole,  and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  we  have  carefully  distinguished  them  in  the  present 
edition.    We  have  followed  the  pagination  of  normal  copies;  but  one  at  least,  that  in  the 
British  Museum,  has  a  different  page  order,  given  below,  for  Chapter  II. 

In  the  few  instances  where  Blake  has  given  catch-words  we  are  able  to  test  this  ar- 
rangement of  the  pages;  they  are  as  follows: 

Page  5  catch-word  His  Page  38  catch-word  By 

8  „          Con-  43  »          With 

9  „          To*  47  »          rhese 

12  „          And  49          „          The 

13  „          One  70  „ 

30          „          His  79          „          En- 

37  »          His 

It  will  be  seen  that  in  all  except  two  cases  the  numbering  is  confirmed.  In  the  first 
of  these,  p.  9,  it  appears  that  while  Blake's  first  intention  was  to  follow  with  p.  n,  he 
subsequently  inserted  p.  10,  being  careful  to  begin  and  end  it  without  interrupting  the 
continuity  of  the  sense.  In  the  second,  p.  70,  the  sense  and  catch-word  make  it  at  least 
possible  that  it  should  be  read  before  p.  19. 

In  the  British  Museum  copy  the  arrangement  of  the  second  chapter  is  as  follows: 
Taking  our  pagination  as  the  normal  one,  p.  28  is  followed  by  pp.  33-41  and  43-46;  then 
come  p.  42  and  pp.  29-32;  the  position  of  pp.  47-50  is  unaltered. 

There  is  no  variation  in  the  pagination  of  the  first,  third,  and  fourth  chapters  in  any 
copies  we  have  examined. 

Note  2.    On  the  words  engraved  among  the  Illustrations  of"  jferusalem." 

Any  description  of  the  original  Illustrations  belongs  rather  to  commentary  than  to 
text;  but  we  have  thought  it  well  to  print  the  following  brief  fragments,  generally  of 
verse,  that  may  be  found  embedded  in  them. 

On  p.  26  is  a  pifture  of  Hand  in  flames  before  Jerusalem,  inscribed: 

"  Such  visions  have  appear'd  to  me 
As  I  my  order'd  course  have  run: 
Jerusalem  is  named  Liberty 
Among  the  Sons  of  Albion." 

On  p.  41  is  a  bowed  figure  holding  a  scroll,  inscribed  (in  reversed  writing): 

"  Each  Man  is  in  his  Spectre's  power 
Until  the  arrival  of  that  hour 
When  his  Humanity  awake 
And  cast  his  Spe&re  into  the  Lake." 

On  p.  54  is  a  diagram:  "  Reason,"  «  Wrath,"  "  Desire,"  "  Pity,"  arranged  as  North, 
East,  South,  West  around  "This  World." 


On  p.  72  is  a  similar  diagram,  inscribed: 
"  Continually  Building,  continually  Destroying,  because  of  Wrath  &  Jealousy." 

At  the  bottom  of  the  same  page  is  the  following  line  (in  reversed  writing): 
"  Women  the  comforters  of  Men  become  the  Tormenters  and  Punishers." 

On  p.  81  are  the  following  lines,  written  round  the  margin  of  an  illustration  in  re- 
versed characters: 

"  In  Heaven  the  only  Art  of  Living 
Is  Forgetting  and  Forgiving, 

especially  the  Female, 
But  if  you  on  Earth  Forgive 
You  shall  not  find  where  to  live." 

On  p.  93  is  an  illustration  of  three  crouching  figures,  inscribed: 

"  Anytus,  Melitus  &  Lycon  thought  Socrates  a  very  pernicious  man.    So  Caiaphas 
thought  Jesus." 

Note  3.    On  the  punfiuation. 

Much  as  we  had  desired  to  retain  Blake's  original  punctuation  unaltered,  we  have 
found  it  impossible  to  do  so;  for  not  only  is  it  extremely  unusual  and  inconsistent,  but  in 
the  engraved  pages  it  is  very  often  impossible  to  distinguish  the  stops  from  one  another 
and  from  the  small  smears  and  dots  which  have  accidentally  appeared  on  the  page,  or  form 
part  of  the  marginal  decoration.  While,  therefore,  the  punctuation  of  the  present  edition 
represents  that  of  the  original  (where  it  can  be  definitely  ascertained)  in  the  majority  of 
cases,  we  have  felt  it  necessary  to  make  frequent  alterations:  these  mainly  consist  in 
supplying  stops  at  the  ends  of  the  lines,  in  modifying  semi-colons  and  other  stops  into 
commas,  and  in  inserting  commas  for  clearness'  sake.  We  wish  to  make  it  clear  that  the 
punctuation  has  been  changed,  and  there  are  no  doubt  cases  where  the  sense  might  be 
differently  taken ;  but  we  believe  that  anyone  who  will  take  the  trouble  to  examine  with 
care  a  page  of  the  original  (or  of  a  facsimile)  will  see  at  once  the  impossibility  of  any 
absolute  certainty  as  to  Blake's  intention  in  a  number  of  cases,  and  will  admit  the 
necessity  of  some  considerable  modification  if  the  reader  is  not  to  be  perpetually  perplexed 
by  broken  and  entangled  sentences. 


122 


INDEX. 

THIS  index  does  not  make  any  pretence  to  completeness;  it  has  been  drawn  up  merely 
to  help  the  reader  in  referring  to  some  of  the  passages  in  which  the  principal  names 
and  symbols  appear,  and  those  have  been  chiefly  noted  in  which  some  correlation  or  ex- 
planation is  given.  For  the  sake  of  brevity,  names  have  sometimes  been  grouped  under 
such  headings  as  Cities,  Rivers,  and  the  like.  As  to  spelling,  where  there  is  any  variation 
we  have  taken  care  to  adopt  the  form  that  most  frequently  occurs.  It  has  been  impossible 
to  keep  to  the  original  number  of  lines  in  the  four  prefaces,  owing  to  the  prose  that  they 
contain;  index  references  to  these  four  pages  (3,  27,  52,  77)  apply  only  to  the  present 
edition,  and  not  to  the  engraved  text. 

At  the  end  of  the  index  will  be  found  a  short  table  of  some  of  the  instances  to  be 
noted  in  "Jerusalem"  of  the  great  group  of  four-fold  correspondences,  which  is  at  the  heart 
of  Blake's  mystical  system. 


Abraham,  15,  28;  27,  10. 

Adam,  7,  25;  35,  i;  73,28. 

Africa,  45,  19. 

Ahania,  14,  10. 

Albion,  4,  8;  4,  32;  5,  30;  6,  7;  7,  17;  9, 
10;  12,6;  15,10;  18,44;  19.27;  19, 
36;  20,30;  20,42;  23,13;  25,3;  28, 
4;  29,  6;  29,  28;  30,  17;  31,  2;  31, 
55i  31,  7°;  32,  7;  33,  J7i  34,  16;  35, 
2;  36>  27;  37,  2;  39,  *55  4°,  31 ;  42, 
i;  42,  78;  43,  5;  44,  5;  45,  24;  47, 

17;  48,  545  49,  6;  49,  48;  54,  6;  54, 
27;  56,  43i  57,  12;  58,  20;  65,  56; 
72,5;  80,  18;  94,  i;  95,  i.  Children 
of,  30,5;  71,  10;  96,  39.  Sons  of  [Hand, 
Hyle,  Coban;  Gwantok,  Peachey,  Brere- 
ton;  Slade,  Hutton,  Scofield ;  Kox,  Ko- 
tope,  Bowen],  5,  26;  7,  43;  8,  41 ;  9, 
21;  10,  7;  12,  II;  15,  3;  15,  24;  18, 
5;  18,  39;  19,  18;  22,  2;  24,  55;  28, 
23;  32,  10;  34,  22;  36,  15;  43,  50; 
49,  10;  50,  20;  58,  29;  60,  14;  70, 

i°;  7',  5;  74,  23;  78,  i;  90,  17;  90, 

40.    Daughters  of,  [Gwendolen,  Cambel, 

Ignoge;    Cordelia,    Mehetabel,    Ragan; 

Gonorill,    Gwinefred,    Gwiniverra;    Es- 

trild,  Sabrina,  Conwenna],  5,  37;  9,  22; 

'4,  "5   !7,  35  21,  32;  34,  46;  58,  i; 

64,  2;  66,   17;   67,  2;  68,   II;   82,  IO; 

83,  33;  88,  31;  90,  44-    Spedre  of,  7, 

40;  8,34;  27,90. 
Alia,  89,  58. 
Allamanda,  40,  57. 
Amalek,  82,  24. 


America,  43,  6;  49,  49;  79,  53. 
Anak,  13,  57;  49,  56;  73,  16. 
Angel  of  the  Presence,  29,  7. 
Antamon,  83,  28. 

Arthur,  54,  25;  64,  15;  75,  2;  88,  18. 
Asia,  8,  24 ;  42,  76 ;  50,  3 ;  74,  22. 
Atlantic,  4,  9;   23,  23;   24,  46;   24,  62; 
44,  145  50,  i;  57,4- 

Babel,  8,  23 ;  60,  56. 

Babylon,  1 8,  29;  2O,  27;  24,  25;  34,  8; 
42,  63;  52,  3;  74,  32;  84,  12;  93,  25. 
Bacon,  15,  ii;  54,  17. 
Bashan,  34,  36;  74,43- 
Bath,  17,  59;  41,  i;  44,  44;  45,  37;  57, 

J;  65,  65;  71,  26;  75,  2. 

Bellows,  53,  12. 

Beulah,  4,  21;   13,9;    13,  51;    14,  7;    17, 

27;  !8,  45;  3°,  33;  42,  32;  46,  12; 
48,  19;  55,  2;  69,  14;  72,  50;  79,  74; 
89,  60.  Daughters  of,  5,  49;  ii,  8;  14, 

33;  41,  14;  56,  10. 

Bladud,  75,  2. 

Bow,  95,  13;  97,  !2. 
Bow,  Old,  27,  59;  41,5. 
Bowels,  14,  6. 

Bowlahoola,  40,  57;  73,  50;  75,  9. 
Brain,  14,  5;  24,  10;  90,  3. 
Briton,  24,  10. 

Bromion,  16,  2;   71,  51;   72,  ii;   73,  5; 
74,2. 

Cambel,  80,  58 ;  82,  56. 
Cambridge,  5,  3;  39,  12. 


Canaan,  63,  41;  74,  38;  82,  24;  85,  2. 
Canterbury,  17,  59;  57,  I ;  65,  39. 
Cathedron,  13,  25;  59,  23;  73,  50;  75,  9. 
Cave,  13,  38;  31,4;  43,  60. 
Center,  12,  56;   19,  36;  33,  19;   48,  38; 

57,  l85  59,  *7;  71.  7- 
Chaos,  54,  8. 
Charlemaine,  52,  55. 
Chemosh,  68,  1 8;   84,  18;   89,  31. 
Chichester,  40,  50. 

Circumference,  12,  55;   19,  36;  71,  7. 
Cities,  38,  51;  46,  24;  57, 1567,35;  74,3. 
Clod,  56,  28. 

Cloud,  5, 48;  7,38;  62,30;  80,51;  81,14. 
Coban,  7,  19;   18,  41. 
Compasses,  88,  47. 
Complexions,  43,  5. 
Contraction,  42,  31 ;  73,  27. 
Contraries,  10,  8;   10,  56;   17,  33;  24,  3; 

29,  15;  48,  14;  65,4. 
Conwenna,  21,  23;  90,  14. 
Cordelia,  21,  19. 
Covering  Cherub,  5,  42;  89,  9;  96,  17. 

Dan,  72,  4. 

Danube,  27,  63. 

Dead,  the,  7,  68;   II,  6;  23,  23;  30,  40; 

46,  15;  48,  52;  55,6. 
Death,  15,  33.  Body  of,  9,  9.  Furnaces  of, 

8,  10.    Shadow  of,  7,  4. 
Dinah,  74,  54. 
Divine  Appearance,  96,  7.    Body,  3,  13;  5, 

59;  24,  23.    Family,  29,  83;   37,  I  ;  40, 

45;  44,  20;  91,  19.    Humanity,  19,  35. 

Similitude,  38,  1 1.    Vision,  13,  52;  27, 

745  33>46;  54,2;  56,40;  66,41590,41. 
Dragon,  14,  3;  23,  21;  25,  4. 
Druid,  17,  14;  27,  II;  50,  2;  52,12;  54, 

26;  57>35  63,1;  92,  25;  94,24;  98,  6- 

Ear,  12, 60;  29,67;  36,13;  49,36;  98,18. 
East,  5,  48;  5,  68;  27,  59;  29,  31;  31, 

56;  41,22;  65,  5;  77,45. 
Eden,  12,  49;   13,  IO;  28,  2;  30,  14;  38, 

21;  38,  53;  45,  i°- 
Edinburgh,  38,  51  ;  46,  24;   57,  I  ;   74,  3. 

Egypt,  55,  J6;  79,2. 
Elohim,  55,32;  73,  24. 


Emanation,  4,  14;  5,  67;  7,  14;  8,42;  9, 
15;  14,  14;  15,  7;  27,  I;  30,  2;  49, 
47;  53,245  83,66;  88,5. 

England,  5,  33;  16,  23;  36,  28;  54,  27; 
77,  77;  94,  20.  Cities  of,  40,  61 ;  46, 
I  ;  46,  17  ;  66,  64;  67,  35.  Counties  of, 
16,  18;  16,28;  16,43;  71,  20;  72,  16; 
79,  20. 

English  names,  40,  58;  59,  14. 

Enion,  14,  10;  83,  5;  86,  63. 

Enitharmon,   10,  42;    12,  9;    14,  10;    17, 

17;  '7,48;  3°,  4;  40, 55;  42, 15;  86, 

50;  87,12;  92,7.   Looking-glass  of,  63, 

21 ;  63,38. 
Entuthon  Benython,  5,  12;  5,  56;  14,  34; 

88,  48. 

Eon,  19,  16;  40,  41. 
Erin,  9,  34;    II,  8;    12,  22;   44,  26;  50, 

22;  74,  54;  78,  12;  86,45;  94,  J3- 
Erythrean,  24,  63 ;  49,  44. 
Ethinthus,  12,  26. 
Euphrates,  27,  64;  31,  59;  58,  24. 
Europe,  8,  24;  21,  43;  42,  76. 
Expansion,  42,  35. 
Eyes,  12,59;  29,68;  49,34;  53,  "5  98, 

16.    Of  God,  the  Seven,  55,  31. 

Fairies,  13,  29;  36,  36;  63,  14. 

Female,  5,34;  30,18;  34,31;  56,43;  67, 

10;  69,16;  69,38;  85,7;  88,19;  9°,53- 
Fibre,  15,  I;    15,  23;  22,  20. 
Fourfold,  12,  45;  15,6;  18,  i ;  25, 14;  32,  7; 

39,J3;  40,4;  44,3;  46,23;  65,4;  98,12. 
Four  Cardinal  Points,  12,  46;   14,  29;  36, 

25;  42, 79;  59, lg;  97,  8;  98,  16. 

France,  49,  48;  55,  29;  66,  15;  79,  39. 
Furnaces,  5,  28;  5,  34;  7,  30;   16,  16;  53, 

9;  53,  J35  59,23;  60,  5;  73,2;  94,12; 

96,  36- 

Gates,  14,  20;   16,  30;  22,  2;  63,  16;  72, 

45;  82,  79. 
Gate,  East,  5,  28;   13,  12;  31,  70.    North, 

12,  61;  59,22.    South,  13,  2.    West,  12, 

52;  13,6;  13,22;  14,26;  43,6;  45,3; 

45,  34;  72,  6;  85,  18. 
Generation,  7,  65;   12,  49;   13,  9;  46,  27. 
Genii,  13,  26;  36,  36. 


I24 


Globe,  of  Blood,  17,  51;  66,  43.    Of  Fire, 

31,  3;  85,  19. 
Gnomes,  13,  27;  36,  36. 
Golden  Builders,  12,  25;  27,  42. 
Gog,  74,  30. 
Golgonooza,  5,  24;   10,17;   12,46;  53,15; 

72,  28. 

Grain  of  Sand,  41,  15. 
Great  Eternity,  12,  54;  33,  39;  54,  I. 
Gwendolen,  21,  14;  56,27;  58,2;  63,32; 

80,  67;  82,  70. 

Hammer,  53,  12;  88,  49. 

Hand,  7,  18;  7,  71;  8,  43;  15,  I;  17,  62; 

18,  36;  21,  28;  36,  23;  42,  47;  60,  43; 

70,  I;   80,  57;   84,  17;  90,  23. 
Harrow,  46,  14. 
Head,  60,  49;  86,  3;  89,  14. 
Heart,  14,  5;  29,  74;  33,  2O;  48,  25;  49, 

44;  60,  49;  86,  3;  89,  24;  90,  4. 
Heavens,  the  27,  and  their  Churches,   13, 

32;  J3,  51;  13,  62;  43>  lg;  75,  4;  75, 

10. 
Hermaphrodite,  13,  8;  33,  28;  58,  II;  58, 

51;  64,31;   89,  3;  90,34. 
Humanity,  15,  6. 
Hutton,  7,  24. 
Hyle,7, 18;  15,1;  18,36;  21,28;  42,47; 

74,  28;  80,  66;  82,  8;  82,  47. 

Ignoge,  II,  19. 

Ireland,  29,  20;  49,  4.    Counties  of,  16,  29; 

72,  14;  72,   17.    Provinces  of,  71,  52; 

72,  i. 
Italy,  79,  39. 

Jehovah,  46,  14;  49,  53;  55,  32;  61,  17; 

63,  i;  63,  16;  81,  13;  98,40. 
Jerusalem,  4,  16;  5,  13;  5,  47;  9,  IO;   10, 

3;  11,25;  H.31;  l8,7;  »*»«}  18,30; 

19,40;  20, 3;  23,1;  24,17;  27,1;  27, 

85;  31,  40;  36,  2g;  4i,io;  44,39;  48, 
22;  48,  51;  49,  48;  54,  3;  60,  39;  61, 
47;  62,2;  77,4;  77,78;  78,21;  89,43; 
99,5.  Sons  of,  71,4;  71,50;  72,9. 
^Jesus,  3,  II;  5,59;  38,20;  40,47^5,16; 
50,  loj  55,  32;  75,  21;  77,  57;  96,  3; 


96,  42. 


Jordan,  34,  48;  36,  6;  58,  23;  79,  35. 
Joseph,  68,  i ;  72, 3.    The  Carpenter,  61,  i. 
Judah,  72,  4. 

Kox,  7,  23. 

Lake,  13,  38;  v.  Udan  Adan. 

Leutha,  31,  16;  83,  82. 

Levi,  74,  47. 

Limit,  15,  26;  35,  i;  42,  29;  73,  27. 

Locke,  15,  15;  54,  17. 

Loins,  18,44;  24,10;  30,38;  33,4;  47,3; 

49,  44;  60,  49;  86,  3;  89,  38;  90,  4. 
London,  5,3;  5,36;  10,17;  15,21;  24,42; 

29,  19;  38,  29;  46,  24;  53,  19;  72,  28; 

74,  35  83,  68.   Quarters  of,  16,  i;  21, 

32;  27,18;  31,14;  38, 43;  41,  7;  42, 51; 

42,  80;  47,  I;   84,  I;   84,  15.    River  of, 

1 6,   14.     Stone,  8,  27;    32,  3;   42,  50. 

Tower  of,  31,  23. 
Loom,  5,  34;  12,38;  15,15;  17,9;  56,13; 

59,  23;  67,  4. 
Los,  5,  28;  5,66;  6,6;  8,21;  10,17;  10, 

29;  !3,55;  H,i3;  X5,2i;  17,1;  17,48; 

19,33;  3°,!;  3°,  l6;  S^S;  32,  6;  34, 

17;  36, 3;  37, 10;  39, 9;  39, 12;  40, 59; 

42,5;  42,24;  42,78;  44,30;  53,1;  58, 
16;  59,23;  62,35;  69,30;  71,56;  72, 

45;  73,24;  73,39;  75,7;  7.8,3;  85>21; 
88,  46;  95,  18;  96,  7.  Children  of,  10, 
4;  II,  11;  14,16.  Sons  of,  12,45;  15, 
22;  73,47.  Daughters  of,  59,  26.  Halls 
of,  16,  60.  Hidden  Gate  of,  12,  44;  38, 

55;  39,  3;  44,  3;  44,  36- 
Luban,  13,  24. 
Lucifer,  55,  32; 
Luvah,  7,  30;  16,31;  19,27;  22,31;  24, 

52;  25,  6;   29,  56;   29,  73;   31,  24;  31, 

55;  34,46;  36,29;  41,3;  43,2;  47,3; 

49, 68;  54,  ";  58,20;  60, 2;  62,30;  63, 

5;  65,8;  66,15;   73,22;   74,4;   80,17; 

90,  17;   95,  17.    Sepulcher  of,  21,  16; 

24,  51. 

Maiden,  27,  60;  41,  6;  94,  24. 

Male,  5,34;  67, 10;  69,17;  85,8;  90,53. 

Mandrake,  n,  22;  93,  8. 

Mary,  61,  i;  62,  12. 


125 


Merlin,  36,  23;  36,40;  56,28;  75,2;  81, 

2;  88,  18. 

Metals,  12,  62;  97,  8. 
Mills,  13,  57;  19,  19;  43,  49;  60,  41. 
Minute  Particulars,  31,  7;  31,  44;  43,  23; 

55,  10;  91,  29. 
Moab,  82,  24. 
Molech,  55,  32;  68,  23. 
Mountains,  4,  28;  21,  34;  28,  2;  30,  22; 

43.  595  66,  58;  85,  16. 
Mundane  Shell,  13,35;   13,54542,78;  59, 

7;  64,1;  72,47;  75,23;  83,33;  92»27- 

Nadir,  12,  56. 

Nations,  58,  33;  60,  18;  67,  38;  72,  30;   79, 

45;  80,  46;  82,  27. 
Negation,  10,  IO;   17,  33. 
Net,  80,  i;  v.  VeilofVala. 
Newton,  15,  16;  54,  17. 
North,  5,31;  83,20. 
Nostril,  12,59;  29,67;  34,47;  49>38;  67, 

49;  98,  17- 
Nymphs,  13,  28;  36,  36. 

Og,  13,  57;  48,  63;  73,  1 6. 

Oothoon,  41,  17;  83,  27. 

Opakeness,  42,  30;  73,  22. 

Oxford,  5, 3;  29, 19;  42, 58;  45, 30;  83, 28. 

Paddington,  12,  28;  27,  43. 

Pahad,  55,  32. 

Palamabron,  16,  9;  71,  51;  72,  n;  73,  5; 

74,2. 

Paul,  56,  59. 
Plow,  34,  12;  46,  14;   55,  54;   57,  2;  65, 

18. 
Polypus,  15,4;   18,40;  49,24;  66,48;  67, 

34!  69,  3. 

Poplar,  27,  42;  41,  5. 
Porch  of  Sixteen  Pillars,  40,  7;  48,  7. 
Primrose  Hill,  73,  52. 

Ragan,  n,  21;  21,  14. 

Rahab,  5,  42;  34,  52;  39,  IO;  42,  63;  52, 

i;  67,2;  69,33;  7°,  J7;  7Q.31;  75,i; 

78,  16;   80,  51. 
Reaclor,  29,  9. 
Rephaim,  48,  33. 


Reuben,  11,22;  15,2;   15,25;  34,43;  36, 

i;  36,23;  36,40;  74,33;  85,4»  93,8- 
Rhine,  27,  62. 
Rintrah,  16,  n;  71,  51;   72,  II;    73,  5; 

74,  2;  93,  10. 

Rivers, 4, 33;  16,16;  19,39;  27,62;  89,20. 
Rock,  13, 38;  28, 10;  43, 60;  53, 17;  57, 16. 
Root,  17,  32;  77,  52. 
Rousseau,  54,  18;  66,  12. 

Sabrina,  1 1,  19;  21,  22. 

Sacrifice,  31,  64;  48,  58;  67,  24. 

Satan,  13,37;  27,17;  27,45;  33,  18;  35, 

M  35, 13;  39. 5;  49. 29;  49, 67;  52, 20; 
52,  71;  73.35;  9°.  43- 
Scandinavia,  24,  1 1.  Wicker  Idol  of,  43,  65; 

47,6. 
Scofield,  7,  25;   7,  47;   II,  21 ;   15,  2;    17, 

59;  68,  i. 

Scotland,  1 6,  22;  29,21;  66,67.   Counties 
^  of,  16,  29;   16,  52;  72,  16. 
Scourge,  15,  12. 
Selsey,  40,  48. 
Serpent,  29,  76;  55,  13. 
Sex,  Sexual,  30,  1 1;  30,  33;  44,  22;  54,  12; 
„   64,  22;   73,  26;  92,  13. 
Shaddai,  46,  14;  55,  32. 
Shadow,  6,  5;  11,24;  15,75  29,375  53. 26- 
Shiloh,  49,  46;  55,  29. 
Shuttle,  31,  48;  41,  7. 
Sin,  10,  43;  25,  15. 
Sinai,  3,  20;   1 6,  68. 
Skiddaw,  80,  57. 

Smaragdine  Table  of  Hermes,  91,  34. 
South,  5,  31;  41,  22;  77,42. 
Space,  u,  2;  48,  38;  85,  8. 
Spaces,  9,  34;   n,  10;   12,  18. 
Spain,  79,  40. 
Speflre,  6,  i;  7,21;   10,15;   13,62;  15,7; 

!?» J;  27. 54;  3°.  2;  33.  ';  33,  !7;  36, 
23;  52,  9;  54,  7;  54,  i5;  56, 17;  58, 48; 
64,  5;  65,  59;  78,  i;  91,  47. 

Starry,  n,  12;  34,  20.    v.  Wheels. 

States,  25,  13;  35,  13;  36,37;  49,68;  52, 

M  71.  9;  73,43- 
Stomach,  89,  43. 

Surrey,  4,  9;  83,  25. 
Sussex,  29,  2O;  83,  25. 


126 


Tabernacle,  22,  30;  27,  109;  34,  30. 
Thames,  4,  33;  7,  3;  53,  2;  53,  15. 
Tharmas,  14,  4;  43,  3;  43,  7;  63,  5;  74, 

4;  83,  5;  95,  *  6. 
Theotormon,  16,  8;  71,  51;  72,  II;  73,  5; 

74,2. 

Threefold,  14,  5;  70,  4;  70,  26;  86,  2. 
Time,  II,  2;  48,  31;  85,  8. 
Tirzah,5,40;  34,52;  36,1;  67,2;  67,24. 

Sisters  of,  67,  59;  68,  4. 
Tomb,  73,  16;  94,  12. 
Tongue,  12,  60;  14,  4;   14,6;  29,  69;  36, 

5;  49,40;   63,  5;   98,  17. 
Translucence,  42,  35. 
Tree,  13,  38;  28,  15;  43,  60;  53,  4;  66, 

48;  67,  13;  80,  i;  98,47. 
Tribes  of  Israel,  1 6, 35;  16,44;  16,53;  72> 

3;  72, 18;  74,  50;  79, 30;  79, 64;  86, 17. 
Twenty-four,  the,  19,  2O;  40,  21;  40,  45. 

v.  Albion,  Children  of. 
Tyburn,  12,  26;  28,  14;  62,  34. 

Udan  Adan,  5,  10;  7,  22;   13,  38;   16,  19. 
Ulro,  4,  i;  12,50;   13,10;  23,38;  25,16; 

3.6,  45  36,  4i;  42,  18;  44,  21;  46,  10. 
Urizen,  7,  32;   14,  3;   16,  31;  31,  57;  36, 

29;  43,2;  58,2i;  74,4;  88,48595,16. 

Sons  of,  65,  12. 
Urthona,  10,  32;  30,  4;  30,  14;  39,  7;  43, 

3;  53, J;  74,4;  82,  79;  95,  17. 

Vala,  5,48;  7,31;   11,24;  14,  I05   I7,24; 

l8,  7;  18,29;  !9,4I;  20,3;  21,12;  21, 
50;  22,  29;  29,  34;  29,  73;  33,  39; 
36,  28;  44,  40;  60,  47;  62,  13;  63,  7; 
64,  6;  65,  29;  70,  31;  78,  15;  79,68; 
80,  6. 


Vegetable,  13,  34;  24,  6i;  30,  7;  36,  47; 

60,  II;  72,  46;  77,  13;  90,  42;  90,  50. 
Veil,  22,  34;  55,11;  64,3;  69,38;  90,4. 

Of  Vala,  2O,  3;  2O,  26;   23,  5;  23,  2O; 

23,  32;   24,  6l;  42,  8l;  47,  II;    59,  2. 
Verulam,  46,  24;  67,  35;  74,  3. 
Vi&im,  65,  57;  66,  20. 
Voltaire,  54,  18;  66,  12;  73,  29. 
Vortex,  48,  54;  74,  30. 

Wales,  1 6,  23;  29,  2i;  66,  67.    Counties 

of,  1 6,  28;   1 6,  35;  72,  15. 
West,  5,  68;   7,  3;   31,   I;  41,  9;  41,  22; 

77,  45- 
Wheel,  12,  n;  15, 16;  18,  8;  18,  43;  43, 

i;  50,  22;  52,  6;  62,  32;  77,  43.    Starry, 

5,  4;  5,  52;  5,  68;  14,  32;  44,  7;  48, 

46;  94,  ii. 

Winchester,  40,  53;  42,  59;  71,  20. 
Winepress,  80,  82;  89,  4. 
Worm,  12,  3;  17,  46;  27,  72;  33,  6;  34, 

575  55,375  56,28;  64,  12;  82,47;  85, 

i;  86,46. 
Wound,  21,  13;  74,  55. 

Years,  Seventy,  16,  67;  33,  6;  39,  5.  Six 
thousand,  13,  59;  65,  IO;  75,  7;  85,  6; 
96,  n.  Sixty,  34,  57;  36,3.  Two  hun- 
dred, 48,  37. 

York,  38,  51;  46,24;  57,  i;  74,3. 

Zenith,  12,  55. 

Zion,  12,  27;  24,  48;  29,  3. 

Zoas,  the  four,  36,  25 ;  36,  44;  41,  26;  42, 

23;  43,2;  58,47;  59, 10;  63,2;  74,  i ; 

95,  16;  96,  41;  97,  7.   Fall  of  the,  36, 

29;  59,  n. 


Fourfold  Correspondences  in  "Jerusalem. 

South. 

East. 

West. 

North. 

four  Cardinal  Points. 

Zenith. 

Center. 

Circumference. 

Nadir. 

In  Eternity. 

I2>  55- 

Head. 

Heart. 

Loins. 

Womb. 

In  Man.                   89 

,  14,  ff. 

Eyes. 

Nostrils. 

Tongue. 

Ears. 

In  the  Senses. 

ii,  59- 

Heighth. 

Inwards. 

Outwards 

Breadth. 

Four  Motions 

14,  29. 

Urizen. 

Luvah. 

Tharmas. 

Urthona  (Los). 

Four  Zoas. 

59.  ". 

Ahania. 

Vala. 

Enion. 

Enitharmon. 

Four  Females. 

14,  10. 

Verulam. 

London. 

York. 

Edinburgh. 

Four  Cities. 

74.  3- 

Kintrah. 

Palamabron. 

Theotormon. 

Bromion. 

Four  Sons  of  Los. 

74.  »• 

Gold. 

Silver. 

Brass. 

Iron. 

Four  Metals. 

97,7- 

127 


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