TERRIBLE FLAMING SUN [66]

British Library
Four Zoas Manuscript
Page 66

 Los elevates the sun, the symbol of the imagination. This is the spiritual sun which is associated with the Divine Vision and the Divine Family. There is another material sun which Luvah's bulls each morning drag out of the Deep. Since the dimmer light of reason is associated with the material sun, it is Urizen whom we see in the "Disk of fire somewhat like a Guinea". Blake said of the natural sun, "that is the Greek Apollo. He is Satan" - a name he applied to the fallen Urizen.
 
At the sides of Los are four figures in different positions and conditions. Upper right is a falling figure; it could be any one of the Zoas as he lost the ability to perceive the Divine Vision and began his descent into the deeps. Below this figure is is a bowed figure appearing to lament the condition that has resulted from the division and fall from the Unity of Eden. To the lower left is a figure attempting, to rise in the way that becomes possible when the Selfhood is annihilated through embracing Brotherhood. The rising figure above is returning to Eden having traversed the road of experience and mastered the consciousness of individuated wholeness.
 
This image may have been inserted between Night V and Night VI to indicate that one cycle in the process of redemption had been completed and another was to begin. Attention shifted to Urizen whose exploration of the Dens of Urthona would reveal the depths of the fall, and intimate modifications which were needed.

Vision of Last Judgment, (E 565)
"What it
will be Questiond When the Sun rises  do  you  not  see  a  round 
Disk of fire somewhat like a Guinea O no no I see an Innumerable
company of the Heavenly host crying Holy Holy Holy is the Lord
God Almighty I question not my Corporeal or Vegetative Eye any
more than I would Question a Window concerning a Sight I look
thro it & not with it." 

Milton, Plate 21 [23], (E 116)
"But all the Family Divine collected as Four Suns
In the Four Points of heaven East, West & North & South
Enlarging and enlarging till their Disks approachd each other;
And when they touch'd closed together Southward in One Sun       
Over Ololon: and as One Man, who weeps over his brother,
In a dark tomb, so all the Family Divine. wept over Ololon."

Four Zoas, Nigh IX, Page 138, (E 406)
"The Sun has left his blackness & has found a fresher morning     
And the mild moon rejoices in the clear & cloudless night 
And Man walks forth from midst of the fires the evil is all consumd
His eyes behold the Angelic spheres arising night & day
The stars consumd like a lamp blown out & in their stead behold
The Expanding Eyes of Man behold the depths of wondrous worlds 
One Earth one sea beneath nor Erring Globes wander but Stars
Of fire rise up nightly from the Ocean & one Sun
Each morning like a New born Man issues with songs & Joy" 

Milton, Plate 22 [24], (E 116)
"While Los heard indistinct in fear, what time I bound my sandals
On; to walk forward thro' Eternity, Los descended to me:         
And Los behind me stood; a terrible flaming Sun: just close
Behind my back; I turned round in terror, and behold.
Los stood in that fierce glowing fire; & he also  stoop'd down
And bound my sandals on in Udan-Adan; trembling I stood
Exceedingly with fear & terror, standing in the Vale             
Of Lambeth: but he kissed me and wishd me health." 

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EXPLORE THESE DENS [65]

British Library
Four Zoas Manuscript
Page 65

Four Zoas, Night V, PAGE 65, (E 317) 
"Thy pure feet stepd on the steps divine. too pure for other feet
And thy fair locks shadowd thine eyes from the divine effulgence
Then thou didst keep with Strong Urthona the living gates of heaven
But now thou art bound down with him even to the gates of hell

Because thou gavest Urizen the wine of the Almighty             
For steeds of Light that they might run in thy golden chariot of pride
I gave to thee the Steeds   I pourd the stolen wine
And drunken with the immortal draught fell from my throne sublime

I will arise Explore these dens & find that deep pulsation
That shakes my caverns with strong shudders. perhaps this is the night
Of Prophecy & Luvah hath burst his way from Enitharmon
When Thought is closd in Caves. Then love shall shew its root in deepest Hell

                   End of the Fifth Night"    

The plight of Urizen resembles the plight of Luvah. Both participated in the rebellion in heaven both suffer the loss of their freedom to remain part of the Divine Brotherhood in Eternity. The diminishment of their conditions manifests in reduction of the environs which the inhabit. Caves and caverns enclose them. 

 "perhaps this is the night Of Prophecy & Luvah hath burst his way from Enitharmon When Thought is closd in Caves. Then love shall shew its root in deepest Hell"
 
The final lines of Night V tantalize us with the possibility that the dark bondage is coming to an end: that the night of Enitharmon's Joy will cease, that Reason will escape the bonds of Newton's sense-based law.

Blake is showing us that the errors of reason and the errors of love are two sides of one coin. Reason and Love had both been trapped in their basic assumptions about the contributions which they should make to the psyche. The Imagination could flower if Love were not distorted into repression and aggression. Thought could exit the cave of doubt and fear if it broke the bounds of false assumptions about love and death and the other contraries.

The image Blake associates with the text on this final page of Night V indicates that the dilemmas are unsolved. An angry reaction will follow the rebelliousness of Urizen and Luvah.

We may be reminded of a passage in Milton which expresses the threat of facing Los' anger over the difficulty of extracting Albion from his impasse. In this situation also Imagination will keep searching for a solution with the resources at his command.    

Milton, PLATE 23 [25], (E 118)
"let us descend & bring him [Albion] chained
To Bowlahoola O father most beloved! O mild Parent!
Cruel in thy mildness, pitying and permitting evil
Tho strong and mighty to destroy, O Los our beloved Father!      

Like the black storm, coming out of Chaos, beyond the stars:
It issues thro the dark & intricate caves of the Mundane Shell
Passing the planetary visions, & the well adorned Firmament
The Sun rolls into Chaos & the Stars into the Desarts;
And then the storms become visible, audible & terrible,          
Covering the light of day, & rolling down upon the mountains,
Deluge all the country round. Such is a vision of Los;
When Rintrah & Palamabron spake; and such his stormy face
Appeard, as does the face of heaven, when coverd with thick storms
Pitying and loving tho in frowns of terrible perturbation   

But Los dispersd the clouds even as the strong winds of Jehovah, 

And Los thus spoke. O noble Sons, be patient yet a little
I have embracd the falling Death, he is become One with me
O Sons we live not by wrath. by mercy alone we live!"

Harold Bloom in Blake's Apocalypse concludes his comments on Night V by stating:
"Overcome by a consciousness of his loss Urizen resolves to explore the dens of the world in which he has awakened. He seeks to 'find that pulsation that shakes my caverns with strong shutters,' for the pulsation of Orc's energy is a threat to the bounded mind. With this unholy resolution to a sinister quest, Night V uneasily ends." (Page 235)

Engraved colored image from Young's Night Thoughts.
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I WENT NOT FORTH [64]

British Library
Four Zoas Manuscript
Page 64

 Four Zoas, Night V, PAGE 64 (E 343)
"Once how I walked from my palace in gardens of delight
The sons of wisdom stood around the harpers followd with harps
Nine virgins clothd in light composd the song to their immortal voices
And at my banquets of new wine my head was crownd with joy

Then in my ivory pavilions I slumberd in the noon 
And walked in the silent night among sweet smelling flowers
Till on my silver bed I slept & sweet dreams round me hoverd
But now my land is darkend & my wise men are departed

My songs are turned to cries of Lamentation
Heard on my Mountains & deep sighs under my palace roofs         
Because the Steeds of Urizen once swifter than the light
Were kept back from my Lord & from his chariot of mercies

O did I keep the horses of the day in silver pastures
O I refusd the Lord of day the horses of his prince
O did I close my treasuries with roofs of solid stone            
And darken all my Palace walls with envyings & hate

O Fool to think that I could hide from his all piercing eyes
The gold & silver & costly stones his holy workmanship
O Fool could I forget the light that filled my bright spheres
Was a reflection of his face who calld me from the deep          

I well remember for I heard the mild & holy voice
Saying O light spring up & shine & I sprang up from the deep 
He gave to me a silver scepter & crownd me with a golden crown
& said Go forth & guide my Son who wanders on the ocean 

I went not forth. I hid myself in black clouds of my wrath       
I calld the stars around my feet in the night of councils dark
The stars threw down their spears & fled naked away
We fell. I siezd thee dark Urthona In my left hand falling

I siezd thee beauteous Luvah thou art faded like a flower
And like a lilly is thy wife Vala witherd by winds               
When thou didst bear the golden cup at the immortal tables
Thy children smote their fiery wings crownd with the gold of heaven"

One way of looking at this passage is as a confession. An idyllic condition is described in a past Golden Age. The speaker confesses that he refused to provide his 'steeds' to the Lord and as a consequence he fell taking with him Urthona and Luvah.

This account follows the awful situation among Los, Enitharmon and Orc which we have been following throughout Night V. Urizen has been released because of the stirring of Orc in the cavern in which he was chained. The role of Urizen in this situation is that of superego, the psychic function which is assigned to control behavior. Orc, the fallen Luvah, represents the id which is in need of restraint. Los in this scenario is the ego which has turned to the superego to cool the excess energy of Orc. By using the Oedipal situation as his metaphor, Blake has suggested that the behavior which requires suppression is of a sexual nature.

When the Zoas lose the balance which creates a personality which functions in a healthy way, they neglect functions they should perform and incorrectly perform their own assignments. We have been observing this in Tharmas, Los, Luvah and Urizen. Blake now begins a deeper exploration of the distortion in the performance of Urizen's responsibilities.

Blake indicates that Urizen, the control mechanism, confessed that he had refused his steeds to the Lord. Urizen seems to be confessing that his sexuality has not conformed to religious requirements. Further, Urizen confesses that he has not been obedient to the Lord's request that he provide guidance for his Son. The nature of Urizen's infractions seem to be of a religious nature. 

Blake ties his account of the fall of Urizen to Milton's account in Paradise Lost of the fall of Satan. Both characters, through pride in their exalted position, refused to submit to the superior role of their Lord's Son. Jealousy once again proved to be a root cause in the destruction of a relationship which should have been preserved. 

Paradise Lost by John Milton
Book V 
"He, of the first,
If not the first Archangel, great in power,   660
In favour, and preminence, yet fraught 
With envy against the Son of God, that day
Honoured by his great Father, and proclaimed
Messiah, King Anointed, could not bear,
Through pride, that sight, and thought himself impaired.  665
Deep malice thence conceiving and disdain,
Soon as midnight brought on the dusky hour
Friendliest to sleep and silence, he resolved
With all his legions to dislodge, and leave
Unworshiped, unobeyed, the Throne supreme."

LIVING CHAIN [63]

British Library
Four Zoas Manuscript
Page 63

 Four Zoas, Night V, Page 63, (E 342) 
"Into the iron rock & grew a chain beneath the Earth
Even to the Center wrapping round the Center & the limbs
Of Orc entering with fibres. became one with him a living Chain
Sustained by the Demons life. Despair & Terror & Woe & Rage
Inwrap the Parents in cold clouds as they bend howling over      
The terrible boy till fainting by his side the Parents fell

Not long they lay Urthonas spectre found herbs of the pit
Rubbing their temples he reviv'd them. all their lamentations
I write not here but all their after life was lamentation

When satiated with grief they returnd back to Golgonooza 
Enitharmon on the road of Dranthon felt the inmost gate          
Of her bright heart burst open & again close with a deadly pain
Within her heart Vala began to reanimate in bursting sobs  
And when the Gate was open she beheld that dreary Deep  
Where bright Ahania wept. She also saw the infernal roots        

Of the chain of Jealousy & felt the rendings of fierce howling Orc

Rending the Caverns like a mighty wind pent in the Earth
Tho wide apart as furthest north is from the furthest south 
Urizen trembled where he lay to hear the howling terror
The rocks shook the Eternal bars tuggd to & fro were rifted      
Outstretchd upon the stones of ice the ruins of his throne
Urizen shuddring heard his trembling limbs shook the strong caves

The Woes of Urizen shut up in the deep dens of Urthona

Ah how shall Urizen the King submit to this dark mansion
Ah how is this! Once on the heights I stretchd my throne sublime 
The mountains of Urizen once of silver where the sons of wisdom dwelt
And on whose tops the Virgins sang are rocks of Desolation

My fountains once the haunt of Swans now breed the scaly tortoise
The houses of my harpers are become a haunt of crows
The gardens of wisdom are become a field of horrid graves        
And on the bones I drop my tears & water them in vain"

The Chain of Jealousy began to develop when Los saw his son Orc as a rival for Enitharmon's affection. Each link resulted as a development led to behaviors that sunk him deeper into destruction. 

For Los these were links of the Chain of Jealousy:
Los resented Orc,
Los became obsessed with Enitharmon's relationship to Orc,
Los chained Orc,
Los couldn't release Orc,
Orc stirred in the underground cavern,
Urizen was woken by Orc's stirring,
Urizen escaped from Urthona's dens.

Each link of the chain further enslaved Los. In the image Los measures the infant with the span of his hand knowing that it will grow and develop and become another link in the chain.

Blake's desire was to have the most complete use of his imagination that was possible. He saw that his emotional live had the power to interfere with his freedom to use his imagination. He tried to limit emotion in order to enjoy his visionary imagination. But when he chained desire, he couldn't access it's energy to apply it to the creative activities of his imagination. His desire was forced into the unconscious where its stirrings brought to life the reasoning mind which escaped from its constraints. By trying to release imagination from emotion he has enslaved it to reason.

CHAIN OF JEALOUSY [62]

British Library
Four Zoas Manuscript
Page 62

Four Zoas, Night V, PAGE 62, (E 342)
"His loins inwove with silken fires are like a furnace fierce
As the strong Bull in summer time when bees sing round the heath
Where the herds low after the shadow & after the water spring
The numrous flocks cover the mountain & shine along the valley
His knees are rocks of adamant & rubie & emerald                 
Spirits of strength in Palaces rejoice in golden armour
Armed with spear & shield they drink & rejoice over the slain
Such is the Demon such his terror in the nether deep

But when returnd to Golgonooza Los & Enitharmon
Felt all the sorrow Parents feel. they wept toward one another   
And Los repented that he had chaind Orc upon the mountain
And Enitharmons tears prevaild   parental love returnd
Tho terrible his dread of that infernal chain   They rose
At midnight hasting to their much beloved care
Nine days they traveld thro the Gloom of Entuthon Benithon       
Los taking Enitharmon by the hand led her along
The dismal vales & up to the iron mountains top where Orc
Howld in the furious wind he thought to give to Enitharmon
Her son in tenfold joy & to compensate for her tears
Even if his own death resulted so much pity him paind            

But when they came to the dark rock & to the spectrous cave
Lo the young limbs had strucken root into the rock & strong
Fibres had from the Chain of Jealousy inwove themselves
In a swift vegetation round the rock & round the Cave
And over the immortal limbs of the terrible fiery boy            
In vain they strove now to unchain. In vain with bitter tears
To melt the chain of Jealousy. not Enitharmons death
Nor the Consummation of Los could ever melt the chain
Nor unroot the infernal fibres from their rocky bed
Nor all Urthonas strength nor all the power of Luvahs Bulls      
Tho they each morning drag the unwilling Sun out of the deep
Could uproot the infernal chain. for it had taken root"

Jealousy is rooted in the inability to be confident in one's own abilities and status. Los was unable to view Orc as other than threat to his own position. Even when he intended to release Orc - his emotions - he found that his resistance had been hardened to the extent that he was not capable of freely expressing his emotional nature which he had projected onto Orc .

It is important to remember that although Orc was portrayed as the son of Los, he was also the fallen form of Luvah. Blake was using the reaction that Los had to the entanglement of Enitharmon with her son, to explore the relationship of the Imagination and the Emotions as expressed in a fallen world. Another dimension of the relationship of Los and Orc was between each representing a different approach to change - either incremental or through revolution. But the point that is made most clearly in this passage is that many decisions are irrevocable.   

FIERY CHILD [60]

British Library
Four Zoas Manuscript
Page 60

Four Zoas, Night V, Page 59, (E 340)
"But now the times return upon thee Enitharmons womb
Now holds thee soon to issue forth. Sound Clarions of war
Call Vala from her close recess in all her dark deceit
Then rage on rage shall fierce redound out of her crystal quiver 

So sung the Demons round red Orc & round faint Enitharmon 
Sweat & blood stood on the limbs of Los in globes. his fiery Eyelids
Faded. he rouzd he siezd the wonder in his hands & went
Shuddring & weeping thro the Gloom & down into the deeps

Enitharmon nursd her fiery child in the dark deeps              
Sitting in darkness. over her Los mournd in anguish fierce
Coverd with gloom. the fiery boy grew fed by the milk
Of Enitharmon. Los around her builded pillars of iron 
Page 60 
And brass & silver & gold fourfold in dark prophetic fear
For now he feard Eternal Death & uttermost Extinction  
He builded Golgonooza on the Lake of Udan Adan
Upon the Limit of Translucence then he builded Luban
Tharmas laid the Foundations & Los finishd it in howling woe     

But when fourteen summers & winters had revolved over
Their solemn habitation Los beheld the ruddy boy
Embracing his bright mother & beheld malignant fires
In his young eyes discerning plain that Orc plotted his death
Grief rose upon his ruddy brows. a tightening girdle grew        
Around his bosom like a bloody cord. in secret sobs
He burst it, but next morn another girdle succeeds

Around his bosom. Every day he viewd the fiery youth
With silent fear & his immortal cheeks grew deadly pale
Till many a morn & many a night passd over in dire woe          
Forming a girdle in the day & bursting it at night
The girdle was formd by day by night was burst in twain
Falling down on the rock an iron chain link by link lockd

Enitharmon beheld the bloody chain of nights & days
Depending from the bosom of Los & how with griding pain 
He went each morning to his labours. with the spectre dark
Calld it the chain of jealousy. Now Los began to speak  
His woes aloud to Enitharmon. since he could not hide
His uncouth plague. He siezd the boy in his immortal hands
While Enitharmon followd him weeping in dismal woe              
Up to the iron mountains top & there the Jealous chain
Fell from his bosom on the mountain. The Spectre dark
Held the fierce boy Los naild him down binding around his limbs
The accursed chain O how bright Enitharmon howld & cried  

Over her son. Obdurate Los bound down her loved joy"

 
In Blake's Poetry and Designs, Mary Lynn Johnson and Hugh Grant move to Night V of the Four Zoas without including any passages from Nights III and IV. On page 60 of the Four Zoas we learn that 'Tharmas laid the foundation.' Reviewing the role Tharmas has played thus far in Blake's narrative, we are forced to ask, "Foundation for what?" The answer will be revealed gradually as Albion sleeps and various portions of his psyche strive to evolve into forms which will meld into a cohesive whole.

If we are too caught up in this passage as a story of domestic violence occurring in our world, we may miss much of what Blake implies. The child of Enitharmon is Orc the fallen form of Luvah or the emotional life. His birth is an aspect of psychological development when the maturing individual begins to unleash emotions of sexual love and just wrath. Since Enitharmon had fallen to a greater degree than had Los, there is a greater affinity between mother and son. Los could see that rebellion could destroy his constructive work, so he pushed his son away and into the arms of Enitharmon and her distorted worldview.

Los became embroiled in an internal conflict that he couldn't win. If he rejected Orc he became enslaved to his own jealousy. If he bound Orc he was overcome by guilt. Los was the vehicular form of Urthona, the Zoa of intuition and imagination. So Orc (Luvah) had gained the power to emasculate the imagination. Blake, who knew this conundrum from experience, paid careful attention to Los' struggle against Orc or Luvah or Vala - three forms of the same Zoa - because he wanted to emphasize its importance.