"--Letter to Murray,
February
8, 1822, _Letters_,
1901, vi.
1901, vi.
Byron
]
[133] {271}[Compare--
"And Water shall hear me,
And know thee and fly thee;
And the Winds shall not touch thee
When they pass by thee. . . .
And thou shalt seek Death
To release thee in vain. "
_The Curse of Kehama_, by R. Southey, Canto II. ]
[134] [The last three lines of this terrible denunciation were not in
the original MS. In forwarding them to Murray (September 12, 1821,
_Letters_, 1901, v. 361), to be added to Eve's speech, Byron says,
"There's as pretty a piece of Imprecation for you, when joined to the
lines already sent, as you may wish to meet with in the course of your
business. But don't forget the addition of these three lines, which are
clinchers to Eve's speech. "]
[135] [If Byron had read his plays aloud, or been at pains to revise the
proofs, he would hardly have allowed "corse" to remain in such close
proximity to "curse. "]
[136] {272}["I have avoided introducing the Deity, as in Scripture
(though Milton does, and not very wisely either); but have adopted his
angel as sent to Cain instead, on purpose to avoid shocking any feelings
on the subject, by falling short of what all uninspired men must fall
short in, viz. giving an adequate notion of the effect of the presence
of Jehovah. The Old Mysteries introduced him liberally enough, and this
is avoided in the New.
"--Letter to Murray, February 8, 1822, _Letters_,
1901, vi. 13. Byron does not seem to have known that in the older
portions of the Bible "Angel of the Lord" is only a name for the Second
Person of the Trinity. ]
[cl] {273} _On thy brow_----. --[MS. ]
[137] {274}[The "four rivers" which flowed round Eden, and consequently
the only waters with which Cain was acquainted upon earth. ]
HEAVEN AND EARTH;
A MYSTERY.
FOUNDED ON THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE IN GENESIS, CHAP. VI. 1, 2.
"And it came to pass . . . that the sons of God saw
the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them
wives of all which they chose. "
"And woman wailing for her demon lover. "
Coleridge [_Kubla Khan_, line 16]
INTRODUCTION TO _HEAVEN AND EARTH_.
[133] {271}[Compare--
"And Water shall hear me,
And know thee and fly thee;
And the Winds shall not touch thee
When they pass by thee. . . .
And thou shalt seek Death
To release thee in vain. "
_The Curse of Kehama_, by R. Southey, Canto II. ]
[134] [The last three lines of this terrible denunciation were not in
the original MS. In forwarding them to Murray (September 12, 1821,
_Letters_, 1901, v. 361), to be added to Eve's speech, Byron says,
"There's as pretty a piece of Imprecation for you, when joined to the
lines already sent, as you may wish to meet with in the course of your
business. But don't forget the addition of these three lines, which are
clinchers to Eve's speech. "]
[135] [If Byron had read his plays aloud, or been at pains to revise the
proofs, he would hardly have allowed "corse" to remain in such close
proximity to "curse. "]
[136] {272}["I have avoided introducing the Deity, as in Scripture
(though Milton does, and not very wisely either); but have adopted his
angel as sent to Cain instead, on purpose to avoid shocking any feelings
on the subject, by falling short of what all uninspired men must fall
short in, viz. giving an adequate notion of the effect of the presence
of Jehovah. The Old Mysteries introduced him liberally enough, and this
is avoided in the New.
"--Letter to Murray, February 8, 1822, _Letters_,
1901, vi. 13. Byron does not seem to have known that in the older
portions of the Bible "Angel of the Lord" is only a name for the Second
Person of the Trinity. ]
[cl] {273} _On thy brow_----. --[MS. ]
[137] {274}[The "four rivers" which flowed round Eden, and consequently
the only waters with which Cain was acquainted upon earth. ]
HEAVEN AND EARTH;
A MYSTERY.
FOUNDED ON THE FOLLOWING PASSAGE IN GENESIS, CHAP. VI. 1, 2.
"And it came to pass . . . that the sons of God saw
the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them
wives of all which they chose. "
"And woman wailing for her demon lover. "
Coleridge [_Kubla Khan_, line 16]
INTRODUCTION TO _HEAVEN AND EARTH_.
