5The Sexes sprung from Shame & Pride
Blow'd in the morn; in evening died;
But Mercy chang'd Death into Sleep;
The Sexes rose to work & weep.
9Thou Mother of my Mortal part
With cruelty didst mould my Heart,
And with false self-decieving tears
Didst bind my Nostrils, Eyes, & Ears;
13Didst close my Tongue in senseless clay,
And me to Mortal Life betray:
The Death of Jesus set me free:
Then what have I to do with thee?
preying upon and pitying her victims, and perverting the mild influences of the lovely Enitharman, or Space: cp. Milton, f. 20, 11. 41-45: —
'Rahab created Voltaire : Tirzah created Rousseau,
Asserting the Self-righteousness against the Universal Saviour,
Mocking the Confessors & Martyrs, claiming Self-righteousness
With cruel Virtue, making War upon the Lambs Redeemed
To perpetuate War & Glory, to perpetuate the Laws of Sin.'
Cf. also Swinburne, Essay, p. 122: '"Tirzah," in his mythology, represents the mere separate and human nature, mother of the perishing body and daughter of the "religion," which occupies itself with laying down laws for the flesh; which, while pretending (and that in all good faith) to despise the body and bring it into subjection as with control of bit and bridle, does implicitly overrate its power upon the soul for evil or good, and thus falls foul of fact on all sides by assuming that spirit and flesh are twain, and that things pleasant and good for the one can properly be loathsome or poisonous to the other.'
5 sprung] sprang DGR, WMR, EY. 6 Blow'd] Blown DGR, WMR, EY. 11 tears] fears Swinb. 12 bind] blind WBY.
1Youth of delight, come hither,
And see the opening morn,
Image of truth new-born.
Doubt is fled, & clouds of reason,
5Dark disputes & artful teazing.
Not in the MS. Book. This poem is generally found as one of the Songs of Innocence, though sometimes placed by Blake among the Songs of Experience. In all the early issues of the former it occurs as verso to ' The
