Page:Works of William Blake; poetic, symbolic, and critical (1893) Volume 2.djvu/89

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.
THE MARRIAGE OF HEAVEN AND HELL.
75

A SONG OP LIBERTY. 75 North for Europe — itself North as a region in the world's divisions. Thus the Zoas are indicated : — Urizen Luvah Tharmas Urthona Albion France Spain Rome. S. E. W. N. The points of the compass here correspond with " Regions of Humanity/' and those of the map, for once, are sacrificed. This sequence, if it be the correct reading, would be enough to indicate that here we have a different book from the preceding. In the " Marriage," the Zoas were not indicated in this order. Here we come on the name of one of them for the first time. It may also be noticed that the group — Lakes, Rivers, Sea — is a triad, indicating Head, Heart, Loins, and not, as in the "Marriage" when a triad is presented, Loins, Heart, Head. We have passed a barrier in going from the last book to this one, and evei'ything reads in its true order now. No longer what is under seems above. Many years later we find in Blake's sketches for Dante the sequence of circles in the " Inferno," given as a diagram with No. 1 at the bottom, and the marginal note, " This is upside down, but right when viewed from Purgatory after they had passed the centre," an observation whose kinship with the problems now considered has been already noted here. (See above, "Memoir," p. 138.) It must be noted that when the Churches were grouped later under the quaternary, Paul, Constantine, Charlemagne, Luther, S. E. W. N. Luther, the enemy of Rome, is made to occupy the position here given to Rome. This has an indication of its own. Urthona being Keeper of the Gates ("Vala," Night IV., 1. 41) or Porter of the Northern Bar ("Thel