READING

From The Four Zoas of St. William Blake: "Night the Ninth, Being The Last Judgement".

And Los & Enitharmon builded Jerusalem, weeping
Over the Sepulcher & over the Crucified body
Which to their Phantom Eyes appear'd still in the Sepulcher;
But Jesus stood beside them in the Spirit, separating
Their Spirit from their body. Terrified at Non Existence,
For such they deemd the death of the body, Los his vegetable hands
Outstretch'd; his right hand branching out in fibrous Strength
Siez'd the Sun; His left hand like dark roots cover'd the Moon,
And tore them down, cracking the heavens across from immense to immense.
Then fell the fires of Eternity with loud & shrill
Sound of Loud Trumpet thundering along from heaven to heaven
A mighty sound articulate: "Awake, ye dead, & come
To Judgment from the four winds! Awake & Come away!"
Folding like scrolls of the Enormous volume of Heaven & Earth,
With thunderous noise & dreadful shakings, rocking to & fro ,
The heavens are shaken & the Earth removed from its place,
The foundations of the Eternal hills discover'd:
The thrones of Kings are shaken, they have lost their robes & crowns,
The poor smite their oppressors, they awake up to the harvest,
The naked warriors rush together down to the sea shore
Trembling before the multitudes of slaves now set at liberty:
They are become like wintry flocks, like forests strip'd of leaves:
The oppressed pursue like the wind; there is no room for escape.

...

The books of Urizen unroll with dreadful noise; the folding Serpent
Of Orc began to Consume in fierce raving fire; his fierce flames
Issu'd on all sides, gathring strength in animating volumes,
Roaring abroad on all the winds, raging intense, reddening
Into resistless pillars of fire rolling round & round, gathering
Strength from the Earths consum'd & heavens & all hidden abysses,
Where'er the Eagle has Explor'd, or Lion or Tyger trod,
Or where the Comets of the night or stars of asterial day
Have shot their arrows or long beamed spears in wrath & fury.

...

And when all Tyranny was cut off from the face of Earth,
Around the Dragon form of Urizen & round his stony form ,
The flames, rolling intense thro' the wide Universe,
Began to Enter the Holy City. Ent'ring, the dismal clouds
In furrow'd lightnings break their way, the wild flames licking up
The Bloody Deluge: living flames winged with intellect
And Reason, round the Earth they march in order, flame by flame.
From the clotted gore & from the hollow den
Start forth the trembling Millions into flames of mental fire,
Bathing their Limbs in the bright visions of Eternity.

...

"Behold Jerusalem in whose bosom the Lamb of God
Is seen; tho' slain before her Gates, he self-renew'd remains
Eternal, & I thro' him awake to life from death's dark vale.
The times revolve; the time is coming when all these delights
Shall be renew'd, & all these Elements that now consume
Shall reflourish. Then bright Ahania shall awake from death,
A glorious Vision to thine Eyes, a Self-renewing Vision:
The spring, the summer, to be thine; then Sleep the wintry days
In silken garments spun by her own hands against her funeral.
The winter thou shalt plow & lay thy stores into thy barns
Expecting to recieve Ahania in the spring with joy.
Immortal thou, Regenerate She, & all the lovely Sex
From her shall learn obedience & prepare for a wintry grave,
That spring may see them rise in tenfold joy & sweet delight.
Thus shall the male & female live the life of Eternity ,
Because the Lamb of God Creates himself a bride & wife
That we his Children evermore may live in Jerusalem
Which now descendeth out of heaven, a City, yet a Woman,
Mother of myriads redeem'd & born in her spiritual palaces,
By a New Spiritual birth Regenerated from Death."

...

And Lo, like the harvest Moon, Ahania cast off her death clothes;
She folded them up in care, in silence, & her brightning limbs
Bath'd in the clear spring of the rock; then from her darksome cave
Issu'd in majesty divine. Urizen rose up from his couch
On wings of tenfold joy, clapping his hands, his feet, his radiant wings
In the immense; as when the Sun dances upon the mountains
A shout of jubilee in lovely notes responding from daughter to daughter,
From son to son: as if the Stars beaming innumerable
Thro' night should sing soft warbling filling Earth & heaven;
And bright Ahania took her seat by Urizen in songs & joy.

...

Urthona made the Bread of Ages, & he placed it,
In golden & in silver baskets, in heavens of precious stone
And then took his repose in Winter, in the night of Time.

The Sun has left his blackness & has found a fresher morning
And the mild moon rejoices in the clear & cloudless night,
And Man walks forth from midst of the fires: the evil is all consum'd.
His eyes behold the Angelic spheres arising night & day,
The stars consum'd like a lamp blown out, & in their stead behold
The Expanding Eyes of Man behold the depths of wondrous worlds!
One Earth one sea beneath; nor Erring Globes wander, but Stars
Of fire rise up nightly from the Ocean; & one Sun
Each morning like a New born Man, issues with songs & Joy

RESPONSORY

How is it we have walk'd thro' fires & yet are not consum'd?
--- How is it that all things are chang'd even as in ancient times?
The dark Religions are departed & sweet Science reigns.
--- All things are chang'd...