Plate 54

PLATE 54
In Great Eternity, every particular Form gives forth or Emanates
Its own peculiar Light, & the Form is the Divine Vision
And the Light is his Garment This is Jerusalem in every Man
A Tent & Tabernacle of Mutual Forgiveness Male & Female
     Clothings.
And Jerusalem is called Liberty among the Children of Albion 

But Albion fell down a Rocky fragment from Eternity hurld
By his own Spectre, who is the Reasoning Power in every Man
Into his own Chaos which is the Memory between Man & Man

The silent broodings of deadly revenge springing from the
All powerful parental affection, fills Albion from head to foot  
Seeing his Sons assimilate with Luvah, bound in the bonds
Of spiritual Hate, from which springs Sexual Love as iron chains:
He tosses like a Cloud outstretchd among Jerusalems Ruins
Which overspread all the Earth, he groans among his ruind porches
[
                      Reason

                 Pity      Wrath
                    This World

                      Desire
]
But the Spectre like a hoar frost & a Mildew rose over Albion    
Saying, I am God O Sons of Men! I am your Rational Power!
Am I not Bacon & Newton & Locke who teach Humility to Man!
Who teach Doubt & Experiment & my two Wings Voltaire: Rousseau.
Where is that Friend of Sinners! that Rebel against my Laws!

Who teaches Belief to the Nations, & an unknown Eternal Life     
Come hither into the Desart & turn these stones to bread.
Vain foolish Man! wilt thou believe without Experiment?
And build a World of Phantasy upon my Great Abyss!
A World of Shapes in craving Lust & devouring appetite

So spoke the hard cold constrictive Spectre he is named Arthur   
Constricting into Druid Rocks round Canaan Agag & Aram & Pharoh

Then Albion drew England into his bosom in groans & tears
But she stretchd out her starry Night in Spaces against him. like
A long Serpent, in the Abyss of the Spectre which augmented
The Night with Dragon wings coverd with stars & in the Wings     
Jerusalem & Vala appeard: & above between the Wings magnificent
The Divine Vision dimly appeard in clouds of blood weeping.

(Erdman 203-4) 

Notes on Plate 54

The text begins:

“In Great Eternity, every particular Form gives forth or Emanates
Its own peculiar Light, & the Form is the Divine Vision
And the Light is his Garment This is Jerusalem in every Man”

This is a central idea in Blake’s lexicon or vocabulary: Form and Light! We find it frequently mentioned in his poetry.  Form and Light suggest Spirit and Body, Male and Female.

Form and Light are the name of a 1/17/12 post in which Ellie treated an engraving of Death’s Door in Blair’s Grave, (rejected by the publisher). It’s discussed in

Blake's Visionary Forms Dramatic. (It’s very useful to study this post and pursue the links that Ellie posted.)

                    Reason
                 Pity      Wrath
                    This World

                      Desire

The words are a tetrad expressing two pair of 

Contraries: Reason and Desire=Urizen and Luvah 

            Pity=Palambron or Satan 

            Wrath=Rintrah (These terms show up in Milton)

(From Paley's Jerusalem, page 217)