Page:Works of William Blake; poetic, symbolic, and critical (1893) Volume 2.djvu/188

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174
EUROPE

of the five senses (Night), and in their region (North), keep their horses (intellectual activities) in the stable and busy themselves with the poetic dreams of Beulah—"consolation of sleepers—land of shades." (156-193, 198.)

In the joys of the senses, in the sports of night, the stars of Urizen, the watchers of darkened intellect, awake to desire and life as Urizen did when Orc was chained to the rock (see "Urizen"). (194.)

Till imagination—the dawn of the East—suddenly begining, Red Orc shot from the heights of dream down to the level of fact, and his first performance was the French Revolution. (199-201.) Violence rejoiced, sweet pleasure wept. (202-207.) At this Los, as the spirit of prophecy, called all his powers to strive with blood (268-210), and in strife was Blake's mental warfare all his life long.

Tabular Abstract to Europe.

Night, the period of material or feminine power, comes.

(1) Head Enitharmon calls for joy. She will bind all pleasure to the "elemental" forces. She calls for Ore, but will have him bound.
Heart Enitharmon calls for dominion. Not being satisfied with bindingjoy to matter, she will have matter rule over it. The clouds ofrestraint and cold unimaginativeness fall upon Albion's guardian. He withdraws into the limits of physical man—the serpent-temple—and tries to blow the last trumpet or effect the last fructification.
Loins Head invading region of heart and loins. Reason, as Newton blows the trumpet, and autumn instead of spring results.

The meteorological symbolism of the poem may be pieced together as follows:—Night comes on, darkness; the secret child descends first in the east. The sun, Urizen, sheds a faint light along the northern horizon. "Fleecy clouds" float in the air. Orc rises in the form of the northern lights or of a shooting star. The feminine powers long