Hear ye the voice of Luvah from the furnaces of Urizen
If I indeed am Valas King & ye O sons of Men
The workmanship of Luvahs hands; in times of Everlasting
When I called forth the Earth-worm from the cold & dark obscure
I nurturd her I fed her with my rains & dews, she grew
A scaled Serpent, yet I fed her tho’ she hated me
10 Day after day she fed upon the mountains in Luvahs sight
I brought her thro’ the Wilderness, a dry & thirsty land
And I commanded springs to rise for her in the black desart
Till she became a Dragon winged bright & poisonous
I opend all the floodgates of the heavens to quench her thirst
PAGE 27
And I commanded the Great deep to hide her in his hand
Till she became a little weeping Infant a span long
I carried her in my bosom as a man carries a lamb
I loved her I gave her all my soul & my delight
I hid her in soft gardens & in secret bowers of Summer
Weaving mazes of delight along the sunny paradise
Inextricable labyrinths, She bore me sons & daughters
And they have taken her away & hid her from my sight
They have surrounded me with walls of iron & brass, O Lamb
10 Of God clothed in Luvahs garments little knowest thou
Of death Eternal that we all go to Eternal Death
To our Primeval Chaos in fortuitous concourse of incoherent
Discordant principles of Love & Hate I suffer affliction
Because I love. for I [am] was love [&] but hatred awakes in me
And Urizen who was Faith & Certainty is changd to Doubt
The hand of Urizen is upon me because I blotted out
That Human [terror] delusion to deliver all the sons of God
From bondage of the Human form, O first born Son of Light
O Urizen my enemy I weep for thy stern ambition
20 But weep in vain O when will you return Vala the Wanderer
PAGE 28
These were the words of Luvah patient in afflictions
Reasoning from the loins in the unreal forms of Ulros night
And when Luvah age after age was quite melted with woe
The fires of Vala faded like a shadow cold & pale
An evanescent shadow. last she fell a heap of Ashes
Beneath the furnaces a woful heap in living death
Then were the furnaces unseald with spades & pickaxes
Roaring let out the fluid, the molten metal ran in channels
Cut by the plow of ages held in Urizens strong hand
In many a valley, for the Bulls of Luvah dragd the Plow 10
With trembling horror pale aghast the Children of [Men] Man
Stood on the infinite Earth & saw these visions in the air
In waters & in Earth beneath they cried to one another
What are we terrors to one another. Come O brethren wherefore
Was this wide Earth spread all abroad. not for wild beasts to roam
But many stood silent & busied in their families
And many said We see no Visions in the darksom air
Measure the course of that sulphur orb that lights the
[dismal] darksom day
Set stations on this breeding Earth & let us buy & sell
20 Others arose & schools Erected forming Instruments
To measure out the course of heaven. Stern Urizen beheld
In woe his brethren & his Sons in darkning woe lamenting
Upon the winds in clouds involvd Uttering his voice in thunders
Commanding all the work with care & power & severity
Then siezd the Lions of Urizen their work, & heated in the forge
Roar the bright masses, thund’ring beat the hammers, many a [Globe] pyramid
Is form’d & thrown down thund’ring into the deeps of Non Entity
Heated red hot they hizzing rend their way down many a league
Till resting. each his [center/basement] finds; suspended there they stand
30 Casting their sparkles dire abroad into the dismal deep
For measurd out in orderd spaces the Sons of Urizen
With compasses divide the deep; they the strong scales erect
PAGE 29
That Luvah rent from the faint Heart of the [Eternal/Ancient] Fallen Man
And weigh the massy [Globes] Cubes, then fix them in their awful stations
And all the time in Caverns shut, the golden Looms erected
First spun, then wove the Atmospheres, there the Spider & Worm
Plied the wingd shuttle piping shrill thro’ all the list’ning threads
Beneath the Caverns roll the weights of lead & spindles of iron
While far into the vast unknown, the strong wing’d Eagles bend
Their venturous flight, in Human forms distinct; thro darkness deep
10 They bear the woven draperies; on golden hooks they hang abroad
The universal curtains & spread out from Sun to Sun
The vehicles of light, they separate the furious particles
Into mild currents as the water mingles with the wine.
While thus the Spirits of strongest wing enlighten the dark deep
The threads are spun & the cords twisted & drawn out; then the weak
Begin their work; & many a net is netted; many a net
PAGE 30
Spread & many a Spirit caught, innumerable the nets
Innumerable the gins & traps; & many a soothing flute
Is form’d & many a corded lyre, outspread over the immense
In cruel delight they trap the listeners, & in cruel delight
Bind them, [together] condensing the strong energies into little compass
Some became seed of every plant that shall be planted; some
The bulbous roots, thrown up together into barns & garners
Then rose the Builders; First the Architect divine his plan
Unfolds, The wondrous scaffold reard all round the infinite
10 Quadrangular the building rose the heavens squared by a line.
Trigons & cubes divide the elements in finite bonds
Multitudes without number work incessant: the hewn stone
Is placd in beds of mortar mingled with the ashes of Vala
Severe the labour, female slaves the mortar trod oppressed
Twelve halls after the names of his twelve sons composd
The [golden] wondrous building & three Central
Domes after the Names
Of his three daughters were encompassed by the twelve bright halls
Every hall surrounded by bright Paradises of Delight
In which [were] are towns & Cities Nations Seas Mountains & Rivers
20 Each Dome opend toward four halls & the Three
Domes Encompassd
The Golden Hall of Urizen whose western side glowd bright
With ever streaming fires beaming from his awful limbs
His Shadowy Feminine Semblance here reposd on a
[bright] White Couch
Or hoverd oer his Starry head & when he smild she brightend
Like a bright Cloud in harvest. but when Urizen frownd she wept
In mists over his carved throne & when he turnd his back
Upon his Golden hall & sought the Labyrinthine porches
Of his wide heaven Trembling, cold in paling fears she sat
A shadow of Despair therefore toward the West Urizen formd
30 A recess in the wall for fires to glow upon the pale
Females limbs in his absence & her Daughters oft upon
A Golden Altar burnt perfumes with Art Celestial formd
Foursquare sculpturd & sweetly Engravd to please their
shadowy mother
Ascending into her [cloudy] misty garments th
e blue
smoke rolld to revive
Her cold limbs in the absence of her Lord. Also her sons
With lives of Victims sacrificed upon an altar of brass
On the East side. Revivd her Soul with lives of beasts & birds
Slain on the Altar up ascending into her cloudy bosom
Of terrible workmanship the Altar labour of ten thousand Slaves
40 One thousand Men of wondrous power spent their lives in its formation
It stood on twelve steps namd after the names of her twelve sons
And was Erected at the chief entrance of Urizens hall
When Urizen [descended] returnd from his immense labours & travels
Descending she reposd beside him folding him around
In her bright skirts. Astonished & Confounded he beheld
Her shadowy form now Separate he shudderd & was silent
Till her caresses & her tears revivd him to life & joy
Two wills they had two intellects & not as in times of old
This Urizen percievd & silent brooded in darkning Clouds
50 To him his Labour was but Sorrow & his Kingdom was
Repentance
He drave the Male Spirits all away from Ahania
And she drave all the Females from him away
Los joyd & Enitharmon laughd, saying Let us go down
And see this labour & sorrow; They went down to see the woes
Of Vala & the woes of Luvah, to draw in their delights
And Vala like a shadow oft appeard to Urizen
PAGE 31
The King of Light beheld her mourning among the Brick kilns compelld
To labour night & day among the fires, her lamenting voice
Is heard when silent night returns & the labourers take their rest
O Lord wilt thou not look upon our sore afflictions
Among these flames incessant labouring, our hard masters laugh
At all our sorrow. We are made to turn the wheel for water
To carry the heavy basket on our scorched shoulders, to sift
The sand & ashes, & to mix the clay with tears & repentance
I see not Luvah as of old I only see his feet
10 Like pillars of fire travelling thro darkness & non entity
The times are now returnd upon us, we have given ourselves
To scorn and now are scorned by the slaves of our enemies
Our beauty is coverd over with clay & ashes, & our backs
Furrowd with whips, & our flesh bruised with the heavy basket
Forgive us O thou piteous one whom we have offended, forgive
The weak remaining shadow of Vala that returns in sorrow to thee.
Thus she lamented day & night, compelld to labour & sorrow
Luvah in vain her lamentations heard; in vain his love
Brought him in various forms before her still she knew him not
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Still she despisd him, calling on his name & knowing him not
Still hating still professing love, still labouring in the smoke
And Los & Enitharmon joyd, they drank in tenfold joy
From all the sorrow of Luvah & the labour of Urizen
And Enitharmon joyd Plotting to rend the secret cloud
To plant divisions in the Soul of Urizen & Ahania
[For] But infinitely beautiful the wondrous work arose
In [songs & joy] sorrow & care, a Golden World whose
porches round the heavens
And pillard halls & rooms recievd the eternal wandering stars
10 A wondrous golden Building; many a window many a door
And many a division let in & out into the vast unknown
[Circled/Cubed] in [infinite orb/window square]
immoveable, within its [arches all] walls & cielings
The heavens were closd and spirits mournd their
bondage night and day
And the Divine Vision appeard in Luvahs robes of blood
Thus was the Mundane shell builded by Urizens strong power
[Then] Sorrowing went the Planters forth to plant, the
Sowers [forth] to sow
They dug the channels for the rivers & they pourd abroad
PAGE 33
The seas & lakes, they reard the mountains & the rocks & hills
On broad pavilions, on pillard roofs & porches & high towers
In beauteous order, thence arose soft clouds & exhalations
Wandering even to the sunny [orbs] Cubes of light & heat
For many a window ornamented with sweet ornaments
Lookd out into the World of Tharmas, where in ceaseless torrents
His billows roll where monsters wander in the foamy paths
On clouds the Sons of Urizen beheld Heaven walled round
They weighd & orderd all & Urizen comforted saw
10 The wondrous work flow forth like visible out of the invisible
For the Divine Lamb Even Jesus who is the Divine Vision
Permitted all lest Man should fall into Eternal Death
For when Luvah sunk down himself put on the robes of blood
Lest the state calld Luvah should cease. & the Divine Vision
Walked in robes of blood till he who slept should awake
Thus were the stars of heaven created. like a golden chain
To bind the Body of Man to heaven from falling into
the Abyss
Each took his station, & his course began with [songs &
joy] sorrow & care
In sevens & tens & fifties, hundreds, thousands, numberd all
20 According to their various powers. Subordinate to Urizen
And to his sons in their degrees & to his beauteous daughters
Travelling in silent majesty along their orderd ways
In right lined paths outmeasurd by proportions of
[weight & measure] number weight
And measure, mathematic motion wondrous. along the deep
In fiery pyramid. or Cube. or unornamented pillar square
Of fire far shining. travelling along even to its destind end
Then falling down. a terrible space recovring in winter dire
Its wasted strength. it back returns upon a nether course
Till fired with ardour fresh recruited in its humble
[spring] season
30 It rises up on high all summer till its wearied course
Turns into autumn, such the periods of many worlds
Others triangular [their] right angled course maintain. others obtuse
Acute [& oblong] Scalene, in simple paths. but others move
In intricate ways biquadrate. Trapeziums Rhombs Rhomboids
Paralellograms. triple & quadruple. polygonic
In their amazing [fructifying] hard subdued course in
the vast deep
PAGE 34
And Los & Enitharmon were drawn down by their desires
Descending sweet upon the wind among soft harps & voices
To plant divisions in the Soul of Urizen & Ahania
To conduct the Voice of Enion to Ahanias midnight pillow
Urizen saw & envied & his imagination was filled
Repining he contemplated the past in his bright sphere
Terrified with his heart & spirit at the visions of futurity
That his dread fancy formd before him in the unformd void
[Now] For Los & Enitharmon walkd forth on the dewy Earth
10 Contracting or expanding their all flexible senses
At will to murmur in the flowers small as the honey bee
At will to stretch across the heavens & step from star to star
Or standing on the Earth erect, or on the stormy waves
Driving the storms before them or delighting in sunny beams
While round their heads the Elemental Gods kept harmony
And Los said. Lo the Lilly pale & the rose reddning fierce
Reproach thee & the beamy garde
ns sicken at thy beauty
I grasp thy vest in my strong hand in vain. like water springs
In the bright sands of Los. evading my embrace. then I alone
20 Wander among the virgins of the summer Look they cry
The poor forsaken Los mockd by the worm the shelly snail
The Emmet & the beetle hark they laugh & mock at Los
Enitharmon answerd Secure now from the smitings of
thy Power
Demon of fury If the God enrapturd me infolds
In clouds of sweet obscurity my beauteous form dissolving
Howl thou over the body of death tis thine But if among the virgins
Of summer I have seen thee sleep & turn thy cheek delighted
Upon the rose or lilly pale. or on a bank where sleep
The beamy daughters of the light starting they rise they flee
30 From thy fierce love for tho I am dissolvd in the bright God
My spirit still pursues thy false love over rocks & valleys
Los answerd Therefore fade I thus dissolvd in rapturd trance
70 Thou canst repose on clouds of secrecy while oer my limbs
Cold dews & hoary frost creeps tho I lie on banks of summer
Among the beauties of the World Cold & repining Los
Still dies for Enitharmon nor a spirit springs from my dead corse
Then I am dead till thou revivest me with thy sweet song
Now taking on Ahanias form & now the form of Enion
I know thee not as once I knew thee in those blessed fields
40 Where memory wishes to repose among the flocks of Tharmas
Enitharmon answerd Wherefore didst thou throw thine arms around
Ahanias Image I decievd thee & will still decieve
Urizen saw thy sin & hid his beams in darkning Clouds
I still keep watch altho I tremble & wither across the heavens
In strong vibrations of fierce jealousy for thou art mine
Created for my will my slave tho strong tho I am weak
Farewell the God calls me away I depart in my sweet bliss
She fled vanishing on the wind And left a dead cold corse
In Los’s arms howlings began over the body of death
50 Los spoke. Thy God in vain shall call thee if by my strong power
I can infuse my dear revenge into his glowing breast
Then jealousy shall shadow all his mountains & Ahania
Curse thee thou plague of woful Los & seek revenge on thee
So saying in deep sobs he languishd till dead he also fell
Night passd & Enitharmon eer the dawn returnd in bliss
She sang Oer Los. reviving him to Life his groans were terrible
But thus she sang I sieze the sphery harp I strike the strings