Fall & Return

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Book of Urizen

Plate 22

This short passage is from Larry's book Ram Horn'd with Gold: The Spiritual Autobiography of William Blake.

Eden is the Eternal Realm before Creation, and Blake's garden is called Beulah, the region all around Eden. Beulah is a place for the Eternals to rest, but a dangerous place (like the Garden in Genesis). One may turn away from Eternity and choose to evaluate life in terms of good and evil (eat the apple, so to speak). The problem with good and evil is that we take as our own what belongs to God, and thereafter what we may acquire is good, and what we lack is evil. In Blake's language we have chosen the Selfhood, to focus on I, me, and mine. Or in Ovid's language like Narcissus we have fallen in love with ourselves and chosen the watery materiality over the inward spiritual truth.  In love with the world of things and thrills we have become ardent materialists.  We fall into Ulro. As was said before, the Fall began when Luvah seized Urizen's chariot of the sun in effect blotting out the sun of Urizen.  For a while (feminine) feeling ruled the world.  Eventually Los, the imagination, became Urizen's chief adversary. So:

"Urizen read in his book of brass in sounding tones
'Listen O Daughters to my voice. Listen to the Words of Wisdom
So shall ye govern over all; let Moral Duty tune your tongue;
But be your hearts harder than the nether millstone;
To bring the shadow of Enitharmon beneath our wondrous tree
That Los may Evaporate like smoke & be no more.
Draw down Enitharmon to the Spectre of Urthona
And let him have dominion over Los the terrible shade.'       
(Four Zoas 7a:80:1-8  Erdman 355)

       But a strange thing happened; the Spectre of Urthona came to a different plan. Los, empowered by love, found Urizen in his hands.  So ends Night vii:

"First his immortal spirit drew Urizen's Shadow away 
From out the ranks of war separating him in sunder
Leaving his Spectrous form which could not be drawn away
Then he divided Thiriel the Eldest of Urizens sons
Urizen became Rintrah Thiriel became Palamabron
Thus dividing the powers of Every Warrior
Startled was Los he found his Enemy Urizen now
In his hands. he wonderd that he felt love & not hate
His whole soul loved him he beheld him an infant
Lovely breathd from Enitharmon he trembled within himself

End of Seventh Night"

        (Four Zoas, Night 7a 59-66   Erdman 371)

       In 4Z Blake tried over and over to give an account of the Fall; the one shown here is only one of many.

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