darkning
in the West
Lost!
Lost!
Blake - Zoas
poetry.
THE FOUR ZOAS
VALA *
The torments of Love & Jealousy in
The Death and
Judgement
of Albion the Ancient Man
a Dream
of Nine Night
by William Blake 1797
PAGE 2
Rest before Labour
PAGE 3
[Greek text] [For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against
spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephes. VI chp 12 v (King James version)]*
VALA
Night the First
The Song of the Aged Mother which shook the heavens with wrath* {This page is a very thicket of revisions, erasures, and inconsistent directions for rearranging the order of the lines. We have here restored two lines, marked in the manuscript as 6 and 7 (omitted from Erdman's transcription) on the grounds that the two cancelled lines following are rewritten as lines 2 and 3. Thus, the lines marked 6 and 7 would still follow 2 & 3. Please consult the manuscript page. LFS}
Hearing the march of long resounding strong heroic Verse
Marshalld in order for the day of Intellectual Battle
The heavens shall quake, the earth was moved & shuddered & the mountains
With all their woods, the streams & valleys: waild in dismal fear
Four Mighty Ones are in every Man; a Perfect Unity John XVII c. 21 & 22 & 23 v
Cannot Exist. but from the Universal Brotherhood of Eden John I c. 14. v
The Universal Man. To Whom be Glory Evermore Amen [kai eskanosen en -[h]amen]
[ [What] are the Natures of those Living Creatures the Heavenly Father only
[Knoweth] no Individual [Knoweth nor] Can know in all Eternity] *{These lines, included in Erdman's transcription are unmistakably erased. LFS}
Los was the fourth immortal starry one, & in the Earth
Of a bright Universe Empery attended day & night
Days & nights of revolving joy, Urthona was his name
PAGE 4
In Eden; in the Auricular Nerves of Human life* {The centered text block of this page appears to be written over erased text, with four clusters of added lines in various orientations in the margin. LFS}
Which is the Earth of Eden, he his Emanations propagated
Like Sons & DaughtersFairies of Albion afterwards Gods of the Heathen, Daughter of Beulah Sing
His fall into Division & his Resurrection to Unity
His fall into the Generation of Decay & Death & his Regeneration by the Resurrection from the dead*
Begin with Tharmas Parent power.
darkning in the West
Lost! Lost! Lost! are my Emanations Enion [Come Forth,] O Enion
We are become a Victim to the Living We hide in secret*
I have hidden thee Enion, in Jealous Despair Jerusalem in Silent Contrition O Pity Me
I will build thee a Labyrinth also O pity me O Enionwhere we may remain for ever alone
Why hast thou taken sweet Jerusalem from my inmost Soul
Let her Lay secret in the Soft recess of darkness & silence
It is not Love I bear to Enitharmon [Jerusalem? ]* It is Pity? ? ? *
She hath taken refuge in my bosom & I cannot cast her out.
The Men have recieved their death wounds & their Emanations are fled
To me for refuge & I cannot turn them out for Pitys sake *{inserted vertically, up the left side of the page. LFS}
Enion said--Thy fear has made me tremble thy terrors have surrounded me *{this verse paragraph appears to be an insertion over erased text. LFS}
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
Why art thou Terrible and yet I love thee in thy terror till
I am almost Extinct & soon shall be a Shadow in Oblivion
Unless some way can be found that I may look upon thee & live
Hide me some Shadowy semblance. secret whispring in my Ear
In secret of soft wings. in mazes of delusive beauty
I have lookd into the secret soul of him I lovd
And in the Dark recesses found Sin & cannot return
Trembling & pale sat Tharmas weeping in his clouds
Why wilt thou Examine every little fibre of my soul *{This and the following 4 lines are written down the top right hand edge of the page. LFS}
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 Death Despair & Everlasting brooding Melancholy
Thou wilt go mad with horror if thou dost Examine thus * {added on center right margin, 90 degrees rotated LFS}
Every moment of my secret hours Yea I know
That I have sinnd & that my Emanations are become harlots
I am already distracted at their deeds & if I look
Upon them more Despair will bring self murder on my soul
O Enion thou art thyself a root growing in hell
Tho thus heavenly beautiful to draw me to destruction
Sometimes I think thou art a flower expanding *{This and the following four lines are added evidently in light pencil in the top margin. LFS}
Sometimes I think thou art fruit breaking from its bud
In dreadful dolor & pain & I am like an atom
A Nothing left in darkness yet I am an identity
I wish & feel & weep & groan Ah terrible terrible
PAGE 5 In Beulah Eden,Females sleep the winter in soft silken veils*
{First 8 lines inserted over a deleted strata LFS} Woven by their own hands to hide them in the darksom grave
But Males immortal live renewd by female deaths.
THE FOUR ZOAS
VALA *
The torments of Love & Jealousy in
The Death and
Judgement
of Albion the Ancient Man
a Dream
of Nine Night
by William Blake 1797
PAGE 2
Rest before Labour
PAGE 3
[Greek text] [For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against
spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephes. VI chp 12 v (King James version)]*
VALA
Night the First
The Song of the Aged Mother which shook the heavens with wrath* {This page is a very thicket of revisions, erasures, and inconsistent directions for rearranging the order of the lines. We have here restored two lines, marked in the manuscript as 6 and 7 (omitted from Erdman's transcription) on the grounds that the two cancelled lines following are rewritten as lines 2 and 3. Thus, the lines marked 6 and 7 would still follow 2 & 3. Please consult the manuscript page. LFS}
Hearing the march of long resounding strong heroic Verse
Marshalld in order for the day of Intellectual Battle
The heavens shall quake, the earth was moved & shuddered & the mountains
With all their woods, the streams & valleys: waild in dismal fear
Four Mighty Ones are in every Man; a Perfect Unity John XVII c. 21 & 22 & 23 v
Cannot Exist. but from the Universal Brotherhood of Eden John I c. 14. v
The Universal Man. To Whom be Glory Evermore Amen [kai eskanosen en -[h]amen]
[ [What] are the Natures of those Living Creatures the Heavenly Father only
[Knoweth] no Individual [Knoweth nor] Can know in all Eternity] *{These lines, included in Erdman's transcription are unmistakably erased. LFS}
Los was the fourth immortal starry one, & in the Earth
Of a bright Universe Empery attended day & night
Days & nights of revolving joy, Urthona was his name
PAGE 4
In Eden; in the Auricular Nerves of Human life* {The centered text block of this page appears to be written over erased text, with four clusters of added lines in various orientations in the margin. LFS}
Which is the Earth of Eden, he his Emanations propagated
Like Sons & DaughtersFairies of Albion afterwards Gods of the Heathen, Daughter of Beulah Sing
His fall into Division & his Resurrection to Unity
His fall into the Generation of Decay & Death & his Regeneration by the Resurrection from the dead*
Begin with Tharmas Parent power.
darkning in the West
Lost! Lost! Lost! are my Emanations Enion [Come Forth,] O Enion
We are become a Victim to the Living We hide in secret*
I have hidden thee Enion, in Jealous Despair Jerusalem in Silent Contrition O Pity Me
I will build thee a Labyrinth also O pity me O Enionwhere we may remain for ever alone
Why hast thou taken sweet Jerusalem from my inmost Soul
Let her Lay secret in the Soft recess of darkness & silence
It is not Love I bear to Enitharmon [Jerusalem? ]* It is Pity? ? ? *
She hath taken refuge in my bosom & I cannot cast her out.
The Men have recieved their death wounds & their Emanations are fled
To me for refuge & I cannot turn them out for Pitys sake *{inserted vertically, up the left side of the page. LFS}
Enion said--Thy fear has made me tremble thy terrors have surrounded me *{this verse paragraph appears to be an insertion over erased text. LFS}
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
Why art thou Terrible and yet I love thee in thy terror till
I am almost Extinct & soon shall be a Shadow in Oblivion
Unless some way can be found that I may look upon thee & live
Hide me some Shadowy semblance. secret whispring in my Ear
In secret of soft wings. in mazes of delusive beauty
I have lookd into the secret soul of him I lovd
And in the Dark recesses found Sin & cannot return
Trembling & pale sat Tharmas weeping in his clouds
Why wilt thou Examine every little fibre of my soul *{This and the following 4 lines are written down the top right hand edge of the page. LFS}
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 Death Despair & Everlasting brooding Melancholy
Thou wilt go mad with horror if thou dost Examine thus * {added on center right margin, 90 degrees rotated LFS}
Every moment of my secret hours Yea I know
That I have sinnd & that my Emanations are become harlots
I am already distracted at their deeds & if I look
Upon them more Despair will bring self murder on my soul
O Enion thou art thyself a root growing in hell
Tho thus heavenly beautiful to draw me to destruction
Sometimes I think thou art a flower expanding *{This and the following four lines are added evidently in light pencil in the top margin. LFS}
Sometimes I think thou art fruit breaking from its bud
In dreadful dolor & pain & I am like an atom
A Nothing left in darkness yet I am an identity
I wish & feel & weep & groan Ah terrible terrible
PAGE 5 In Beulah Eden,Females sleep the winter in soft silken veils*
{First 8 lines inserted over a deleted strata LFS} Woven by their own hands to hide them in the darksom grave
But Males immortal live renewd by female deaths.
