RED BOOK

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The Four Zoas

Page 1

As a record of his journey into his own unconscious Jung recorded "visions", "fantasies" and "imaginations" during the period 1913-1915. Jung had split with his mentor and associate Sigmund Freud in 1913. In order to reassess his path forward he undertook the difficult experiment of encountering the unknown aspects of his psyche. 

The Wikipedia entry on Jung's Red Book includes the following statement. "In 1957, near the end of his life, Jung spoke to Aniela Jaffé about the Red Book and the process which yielded it; in that interview he stated:

'The years ... when I pursued the inner images, were the most important time of my life. Everything else is to be derived from this. It began at that time, and the later details hardly matter anymore. My entire life consisted in elaborating what had burst forth from the unconscious and flooded me like an enigmatic stream and threatened to break me. That was the stuff and material for more than only one life. Everything later was merely the outer classification, scientific elaboration, and the integration into life. But the numinous beginning, which contained everything, was then.'"

Learn more about the Red Book from the Library of Congress Exhibition.

In the same way that Jung used the Red Book to explore his psyche and develop his self-knowledge, Blake used The Four Zoas. When Blake was writing The Four Zoas he was dealing with aspects of his psyche which demanded control of his outward activities. Could he devote his intellect to composing poetry which would continue the tradition of Spencer and Milton? Would he be overwhelmed by emotions of anger, failure, or depression? Would desire for success in the world thwart the expression of his visionary gifts? The writing of The Four Zoas became the means through which he sought to solve his inner conflicts. 

Like Jung Blake was turning within to uncover the unconscious motivations which determined the decisions which he was making with his conscious mind. Each of the characters in The Four Zoas turned away from behaviors which were destructive to the operation of an integrated psyche. Relinquishing hostile, self-serving attitudes by realizing erroneous thinking made possible the expression of each aspect of the psyche in its proper role. 

The Four Zoas, Night I, Page 1, (E 300)

            "The torments of Love & Jealousy in 
                The Death and Judgement
               of Albion the Ancient Man

                 by William Blake 1797"

 The Four Zoas, Night I, Page 3, (E 300)

 Ephesians 6: 12 [in Greek]

<[For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high
places. (King James version)]> 

The Four Zoas, Night II, PAGE 23 (E 313)                                       

"Rising upon his Couch of Death Albion beheld his Sons
Turning his Eyes outward to Self. losing the Divine Vision
Albion calld Urizen & said. Behold these sickning Spheres    
Whence is this Voice of Enion that soundeth in my Porches    
Take thou possession! take this Scepter! go forth in my might    
For I am weary, & must sleep in the dark sleep of Death      
Thy brother Luvah hath smitten me but pity thou his youth    
Tho thou hast not pitid my Age   O Urizen Prince of Light

 Urizen rose from the bright Feast like a star thro' the evening sky
Exulting at the voice that calld him from the Feast of envy" 

The Four Zoas, Night IX, Page 119, (E 388)

"Beyond this Universal Confusion beyond the remotest Pole  
Where their vortexes begin to operate there stands 
A Horrible rock far in the South   it was forsaken when
Urizen gave the horses of Light into the hands of Luvah
On this rock lay the faded head of the Eternal Man
Enwrapped round with weeds of death pale cold in sorrow & woe
He lifts the blue lamps of his Eyes & cries with heavenly voice 
Bowing his head over the consuming Universe he cried

O weakness & O weariness   O war within my members
My sons exiled from my breast pass to & fro before me
My birds are silent on my hills flocks die beneath my branches
My tents are fallen my trumpets & the sweet sounds of my harp   
Is silent on my clouded hills that belch forth storms & fires
My milk of cows & honey of bees & fruit of golden harvest
Are gatherd in the scorching heat & in the driving rain
My robe is turned to confusion & my bright gold to stones
Where once I sat   I weary walk in miscry & pain 
For from within my witherd breast grown narrow with my woes 

The Corn is turnd to thistles & the apples into poison
The birds of song to murderous crows My joys to bitter groans
PAGE 120 
The voices of children in my tents to cries of helpless infants
And all exiled from the face of light & shine of morning
In this dark world a narrow house I wander up & down
I hear Mystery howling in these flames of Consummation
When shall the Man of future times become as in days of old 
O weary life why sit I here & give up all my powers
To indolence to the night of death when indolence & mourning
Sit hovring over my dark threshold. tho I arise look out

And scorn the war within my members yet my heart is weak
And my head faint Yet will I look again unto the morning 
Whence is this sound of rage of Men drinking each others blood
Drunk with the smoking gore & red but not with nourishing wine

The Eternal Man sat on the Rocks & cried with awful voice" 

The Four Zoas, Night IX, PAGE 120,(E 390)

"My anger against thee is greater than against this Luvah
For war is energy Enslavd but thy religion
The first author of this war & the distracting of honest minds
Into confused perturbation & strife & honour & pride
Is a deceit so detestable that I will cast thee out" 

The Four Zoas, Night IX, PAGE 121, (E 390)
"Urizen wept in the dark deep anxious his Scaly form
To reassume the human & he wept in the dark deep

Saying O that I had never drank the wine nor eat the bread
Of dark mortality nor cast my view into futurity nor turnd 
My back darkning the present clouding with a cloud" 

The Four Zoas, Night IX, Page 122 (E 391)

"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 redeemd & born in her spiritual palaces
By a New Spiritual birth Regenerated from Death 

Urizen Said. I have Erred & my Error remains with me"   

The Four Zoas, Night IX, Page 123 (393)

"And these again surrounded by four Wonders of the Almighty   
Incomprehensible. pervading all amidst & round about
Fourfold each in the other reflected they are named Life's in Eternity.
Four Starry Universes going forward from Eternity to Eternity
And the Falln Man who was arisen upon the Rock of Ages           
PAGE 124
Beheld the Vision of God & he arose up from the Rock
And Urizen arose up with him walking thro the flames
Still to the Rock in vain they strove to Enter the Consummation
Together for the Redeemd Man could not enter the Consummation" 

The Four Zoas, Night IX, Page 124, (E 393)

"The Sons of Urizen Shout Their father rose The Eternal horses
Harnessd They calld to Urizen the heavens moved at their call
The limbs of Urizen shone with ardor. He laid his hand on the Plow  
Thro dismal darkness drave the Plow of ages over Cities
And all their Villages over Mountains & all their Vallies
Over the graves & caverns of the dead   Over the Planets
And over the void Spaces over Sun & moon & star & constellation

 Then Urizen commanded & they brought the Seed of Men            
The trembling souls of All the Dead stood before Urizen
Weak wailing in the troubled air East west & north & south"

The Four Zoas, Night IX, PAGE 125, (E 394)  
"He turnd the horses loose & laid his Plow in the northern corner
Of the wide Universal field. then Stepd forth into the immense 

Then he began to sow the seed he girded round his loins
With a bright girdle & his skirt filld with immortal souls
Howling & Wailing fly the souls from Urizens strong hand         
For from the hand of Urizen the myriads fall like stars
Into their own appointed places driven back by the winds"

The Four Zoas, Night IX, Page 133, (E 402)

"Not for ourselves but for the Eternal family we live
Man liveth not by Self alone but in his brothers face            
Each shall behold the Eternal Father & love & joy abound

So spoke the Eternal at the Feast they embracd the New born Man
Calling him Brother image of the Eternal Father. they sat down
At the immortal tables sounding loud their instruments of joy
Calling the Morning into Beulah the Eternal Man rejoicd          
When Morning dawnd The Eternals rose to labour at the Vintage"

The Four Zoas, Night IX, Page 138, (E 407)

"How is it we have walkd thro fires & yet are not consumd
How is it that all things are changd even as in ancient times    
PAGE 139 
The Sun arises from his dewy bed & the fresh airs
Play in his smiling beams giving the seeds of life to grow
And the fresh Earth beams forth ten thousand thousand springs of life"

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Comment from Wiki: 

Jung's "experiment involved a voluntary confrontation with the unconscious through wilful engagement of what Jung later termed 'mythopoetic imagination'."

Larry's comment:

"Blake's epic ends with the eternal man awake, his four Zoas back in union, each carrying out his appointed function in the harmonious consummation of the Age. In the last harvest Urizen reaps, Tharmas threshes, Luvah tramples out the vineyard and Urthona bakes the bread.

Keep in mind that here, as in later writings, Blake's poetry has many levels. We are especially interested in the cosmic and psychological levels, and the most compelling dimension of the psychological is the autobiographical. In The Book of Urizen as in all the prophecies Blake tells us a great deal about himself. He lived intensely in the spiritual realm; this means that visions, motifs, attitudes come and go with great rapidity. The poetry reveals to us the course of his life. At the same time sober reflection on his biography casts light on the dynamic evolution of the myth. The student might spend time with The Book of Urizen before tackling The Four Zoas, for it gives in outline form much of the action of the larger poem. However Urizen is hard to understand, written before the complete vision of Blake's myth had crystallized in his mind."

It is more than coincidence that Jung never published the Red Book nor Blake The Four Zoas.