Page:The prophetic books of William Blake, Milton.djvu/49

 Act more terrific in the central Cities of the Nations,

Where Human Thought is crush'd beneath the iron hand of Power:

There Los puts all into the Press, the Opressor & the Opressed

Together, ripe for the Harvest & Vintage & ready for the Loom.

They sang at the Vintage. This is the Last Vintage: & Seed

Shall no more be sown upon Earth till all the Vintage is over,

And all gather'd in, till the Plow has pass'd over the Nations,

And the Harrow & heavy thundering Roller upon the mountains.

And loud the Souls howl round the Porches of Golgonooza,

Crying: O God deliver us to the Heavens or to the Earths

That we may preach righteousness & punish the sinner with death.

But Los refused, till all the Vintage of Earth was gathered in.

And Los stood & cried to the Labourers of the Vintage in voice of awe:

Fellow Labourers! The Great Vintage & Harvest is now upon Earth.

The whole extent of the Globe is explored. Every scatter'd Atom

Of Human Intellect now is flocking to the sound of the Trumpet.

All the Wisdom which was hidden in caves & dens from ancient

Time, is now sought out from Animal & Vegetable & Mineral.

The Awakener is come outstretch'd over Europe: the Vision of God is fulfilled:

The Ancient Man upon the Rock of Albion Awakes:

He listens to the sounds of War astonish'd & ashamed,

He sees his Children mock at Faith and deny Providence.

Therefore you must bind the Sheaves not by Nations or Families:

You shall bind them in Three Classes, according to their Classes

So shall you bind them: Separating What has been Mixed

Since Men began to be Wove into Nations by Rahab & Tirzah,

Since Albion's Death & Satan's Cutting off from our awful Fields:

When under pretence to benevolence the Elect Subdu'd All

From the Foundation of the World. The Elect is one Class: You

Shall bind them separate: they cannot Believe in Eternal Life

Except by Miracle & a New Birth. The other two Classes:

The Reprobate who never cease to Believe, and the Redeem'd

Who live in doubts & fears perpetually tormented by the Elect,

These you shall bind in a twin-bundle for the Consummation:

But the Elect must be saved [from] fires of Eternal Death,

To be formed into the Churches of Beulah that they destroy not the Earth.

For in every Nation & every Family the Three Classes are born,

And in every Species of Earth, Metal, Tree, Fish, Bird & Beast

We form the Mundane Egg, that Spectres coming by fury or amity,

All is the same, & every one remains in his own energy. 25