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 5To prevent Albion walking about in the Four Complexions.
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! 10Why 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 15Beholding 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. Swelld & bloated General Forms, repugnant to the Divine- 20Humanity, 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 closd in by deadly teeth 25And the soft smile of friendship & the open dawn of benevolence Become a net & a trap, & every energy renderd 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: 30That they may be condemnd 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 35A 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 Peor In the terrible Family Contentions of those who love each other: The Armies of Balaam weep—-no women come to the field 40Dead 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! 45But Death! Eternal Death! remains in the Valleys of Peor. The English are scatterd over the face of the Nations: are these Jerusalems 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 50For 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. 55Bristol & 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 Albions lovely mountains & the curtains of Jerusalem 60I 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; 65I see a Wicker Idol woven round Jerusalems 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 closd apart, & Jerusalem driven in terror 70Away from Albions mountains, far away from Londons 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 deaths vale? All you my Friends & Brothers! all you my beloved Companions! 75Have 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.
80So Los spoke. Pale they stood around the House of Death: In the midst of temptations & despair: among the rooted Oaks: Among reared Rocks of Albions Sons, at length they rose
