earthbound bride &
bridegroom
?
Blake - Zoas
If you are such Lo!
I am also such
One must be master. try thy Arts I also will try mine
For I percieve Thou hast Abundance which I claim as mine
Urizen startled stood but not Long soon he cried
Obey my voice young Demon I am God from Eternity to Eternity
Thus Urizen spoke collected in himself in awful pride
Art thou a visionary of Jesus the soft delusion of Eternity
Lo I am God the terrible destroyer & not the Saviour
Why should the Divine Vision compell the sons of Eden to forego each his own delight to war against his Spectre
The Spectre is the Man the rest is only delusion & fancy
So spoke the Prince of Light & sat beside the Seat of Los
Upon the sandy shore rested his chariot of fire
Ten thousand thousand were his hosts of spirits on the wind:
Ten thousand thousand glittering Chariots shining in the sky:
They pour upon the golden shore beside the silent ocean.
Rejoicing in the Victory & the heavens were filld with blood *
[[illegible text]]
The Earth spread forth her table wide. the Night a silver cup
Fill'd with the wine of anguish waited at the golden feast
But the bright Sun was not as yet; he filling all the expanse
Slept as a bird in the blue shell that soon shall burst away
[] [Los saw the wound of his blow he saw he pitied he wept] *
{This is the line as Erdman gives it, but does not remark that the line is nearly illegible in the manuscript and appears to be written in pencil and erased. GD} Los now repented that he had smitten Enitharmon he felt love
Arise in all his Veins he threw his arms around her loins To heal the wound of his smiting
They eat the fleshly bread, they drank the nervous [bloody] wine *
PAGE 13 {Erased lines of text partially visible beneath the lines of this page, especially in left and bottom margins. GD}
They listend to the Elemental Harps & Sphery Song
They view'd the dancing Hours, quick sporting thro' the sky
With winged radiance scattering joys thro the ever changing light
[The shades of]But Luvah & Vala standing in the bloody sky
On high remaind alone forsaken in fierce jealousy
They stood above the heavens forsaken desolate suspended in blood
Descend they could not. nor from Each other avert their eyes
Eternity appeard above them as One Man infolded
In Luvah robes of blood & bearing all his afflictions
As the sun shines down on the misty earth Such was the Vision
But purple night and crimson morning & [the] golden day descending
Thro' the clear changing atmosphere display'd green fields among
The varying clouds, like paradises stretch'd in the expanse
With towns & villages and temples, tents sheep-folds and pastures
Where dwell the children of the elemental worlds in harmony,
[But monstrous delusion ? invaded. . . . wrath ? enterd his world of love]
Not long in harmony they dwell, their life is drawn away
And wintry woes succeed; successive driven into the Void
Where Enion craves: successive drawn into the golden feast
[In beauty love & scorn ? the ?
earthbound bride & bridegroom ? sulk]
And Los & Enitharmon sat in discontent & scorn
The Nuptial Song arose from all the thousand thousand spirits {A strike line through "thousand thousand spirits" is erased, the phrase replaced with "orbits high" which is then erased and replaced with "demons by the thousands out of a golden cloud [illegible text]" which runs into the margin. GD}
Over the joyful Earth & Sea, and ascended into the Heavens {It looks as though a strike line crossing out this line has been erased. GD}
For Elemental Gods their thunderous Organs blew; creating
Delicious Viands. Demons of Waves their watry Eccho's woke!
Bright Souls [Elements] of vegetative life, budding and blossoming
Stretch
PAGE 14
Stretch their immortal hands to smite the gold & silver Wires
And with immortal Voice soft warbling fill all Earth & Heaven.
With doubling Voices & loud Horns wound round wounding
Cavernous dwellers fill'd the enormous Revelry, Responsing!
And Spirits of Flaming fire on high, govern'd the mighty Song.
And This the Song! Sung at The fFeast of Los & Enitharmon
The Mountain Ephraim calld out to the mountain Zion: Awake O Brother Mountain
Let us refuse the Plow & Space, the heavy Roller & spiked
Harrow. burn all these Corn fields, throw down all these fences
Fattend on Human blood & drunk with wine of life is better far {Interlineal erasures throughout this stanza. GD}
Than all these labours of the harvest & the vintage. See the river
Red with the blood of Men. swells lustful round my rocky knees
My clouds are not the clouds of verdant fields & groves of fruit
But Clouds of Human Souls. my nostrils drink the lives of mMen
[[line]]
The Villages Lament. they ?
One must be master. try thy Arts I also will try mine
For I percieve Thou hast Abundance which I claim as mine
Urizen startled stood but not Long soon he cried
Obey my voice young Demon I am God from Eternity to Eternity
Thus Urizen spoke collected in himself in awful pride
Art thou a visionary of Jesus the soft delusion of Eternity
Lo I am God the terrible destroyer & not the Saviour
Why should the Divine Vision compell the sons of Eden to forego each his own delight to war against his Spectre
The Spectre is the Man the rest is only delusion & fancy
So spoke the Prince of Light & sat beside the Seat of Los
Upon the sandy shore rested his chariot of fire
Ten thousand thousand were his hosts of spirits on the wind:
Ten thousand thousand glittering Chariots shining in the sky:
They pour upon the golden shore beside the silent ocean.
Rejoicing in the Victory & the heavens were filld with blood *
[[illegible text]]
The Earth spread forth her table wide. the Night a silver cup
Fill'd with the wine of anguish waited at the golden feast
But the bright Sun was not as yet; he filling all the expanse
Slept as a bird in the blue shell that soon shall burst away
[] [Los saw the wound of his blow he saw he pitied he wept] *
{This is the line as Erdman gives it, but does not remark that the line is nearly illegible in the manuscript and appears to be written in pencil and erased. GD} Los now repented that he had smitten Enitharmon he felt love
Arise in all his Veins he threw his arms around her loins To heal the wound of his smiting
They eat the fleshly bread, they drank the nervous [bloody] wine *
PAGE 13 {Erased lines of text partially visible beneath the lines of this page, especially in left and bottom margins. GD}
They listend to the Elemental Harps & Sphery Song
They view'd the dancing Hours, quick sporting thro' the sky
With winged radiance scattering joys thro the ever changing light
[The shades of]But Luvah & Vala standing in the bloody sky
On high remaind alone forsaken in fierce jealousy
They stood above the heavens forsaken desolate suspended in blood
Descend they could not. nor from Each other avert their eyes
Eternity appeard above them as One Man infolded
In Luvah robes of blood & bearing all his afflictions
As the sun shines down on the misty earth Such was the Vision
But purple night and crimson morning & [the] golden day descending
Thro' the clear changing atmosphere display'd green fields among
The varying clouds, like paradises stretch'd in the expanse
With towns & villages and temples, tents sheep-folds and pastures
Where dwell the children of the elemental worlds in harmony,
[But monstrous delusion ? invaded. . . . wrath ? enterd his world of love]
Not long in harmony they dwell, their life is drawn away
And wintry woes succeed; successive driven into the Void
Where Enion craves: successive drawn into the golden feast
[In beauty love & scorn ? the ?
earthbound bride & bridegroom ? sulk]
And Los & Enitharmon sat in discontent & scorn
The Nuptial Song arose from all the thousand thousand spirits {A strike line through "thousand thousand spirits" is erased, the phrase replaced with "orbits high" which is then erased and replaced with "demons by the thousands out of a golden cloud [illegible text]" which runs into the margin. GD}
Over the joyful Earth & Sea, and ascended into the Heavens {It looks as though a strike line crossing out this line has been erased. GD}
For Elemental Gods their thunderous Organs blew; creating
Delicious Viands. Demons of Waves their watry Eccho's woke!
Bright Souls [Elements] of vegetative life, budding and blossoming
Stretch
PAGE 14
Stretch their immortal hands to smite the gold & silver Wires
And with immortal Voice soft warbling fill all Earth & Heaven.
With doubling Voices & loud Horns wound round wounding
Cavernous dwellers fill'd the enormous Revelry, Responsing!
And Spirits of Flaming fire on high, govern'd the mighty Song.
And This the Song! Sung at The fFeast of Los & Enitharmon
The Mountain Ephraim calld out to the mountain Zion: Awake O Brother Mountain
Let us refuse the Plow & Space, the heavy Roller & spiked
Harrow. burn all these Corn fields, throw down all these fences
Fattend on Human blood & drunk with wine of life is better far {Interlineal erasures throughout this stanza. GD}
Than all these labours of the harvest & the vintage. See the river
Red with the blood of Men. swells lustful round my rocky knees
My clouds are not the clouds of verdant fields & groves of fruit
But Clouds of Human Souls. my nostrils drink the lives of mMen
[[line]]
The Villages Lament. they ?
