Page:Works of William Blake; poetic, symbolic, and critical (1893) Volume 2.djvu/154

 134 5. It was forged by Los during ten winters — number of multitude — before he caused it to take organic form during seven ages — number of manifestation.

6. But desire tore through the globe of blood and itself turned out to be double, — masculine and feminine, Fuzon and Ahania. (Albion's desire was also double and "was called Luvah and Vala." Night VII., l. 246.)

7. Ahania, invisible because hidden in him like Vala in Satan's loins (" Vala," Night VIII., 1. 252), shrieked. Urizen hid her, though invisible, under mountains of jealousy.

8. This caused her to fall outwards towards the "selfish centre," She fell, becoming a division of the Shadowy Female in chaos, — the Spectre or Personal region, circling the loins. She is abhorrent because she is hidden lust.

9. But visible fury and love, frank and masculine, remained as a light of Egypt — as the imaginative and God-like thing in this dark world — till Los beat it in the body of the sun and made it one with the blood, as the Spirit of God and the dark waters were made one in Genesis.

1. Urizen frowned. The smile is prolific, the frown sterile. His lips took the colour of death, of tears, of contrition.

2. His forests, — his melancholy, — had bred contemplations which were monsters.

3. Of these, the one most typical of the personal in outer nature, a horned or two-sexed serpent, approached Urizen.

4. He struggled with Urizen for mastery. Both used poison of delusion and jealousy. But Urizen was the stronger, and killed the serpent.

5. Then he prepared a bow, — symbol of the sexes, — and having poisoned a rock, or envenomed the flesh of man with a mortal or exterior quality in its desires — (desire is always the Arrow, between the two horns, male and female, of the Bow) — he spoke to the Bow.