| [Pl. 20] | 1. Urizen explor'd his dens Mountain, moor, & wilderness, With a globe of fire lighting his journey A fearful journey, annoy'd By cruel enormities: forms Of life on his forsaken mountains | U20.46 U20.50{Pl. 21} {Pl. 22}[Pl. 23] |
2. And his world teemd vast enormities Frightning; faithless; fawning Portions of life; similitudes Of a foot, or a hand, or a head Or a heart, or an eye, they swam mischevous Dread terrors! delighting in blood | 3. Most Urizen sicken'd to see His eternal creations appear Sons & daughters of sorrow on mountains Weeping! wailing! first Thiriel appear'd Astonish'd at his own existence Like a man from a cloud born, & Utha From the waters emerging, laments! Grodna rent the deep earth howling Amaz'd! his heavens immense cracks Like the ground parch'd with heat; then Fuzon Flam'd out! first begotten, last born. All his eternal sons in like manner His daughters from green herbs & cattle From monsters, & worms of the pit. | U23.10 U23.20 |
4. He in darkness clos'd, view'd all his race, And his soul sicken'd! he curs'd Both sons & daughters; for he saw That no flesh nor spirit could keep His iron laws one moment. | 5. For he saw that life liv'd upon death The Ox in the slaughter house moans The Dog at the wintry door And he wept, & he called it Pity And his tears flowed down on the winds | {Pl. 24} [Pl. 25] |
6. Cold he wander'd on high, over their cities In weeping & pain & woe! And where-ever he wanderd in sorrows Upon the aged heavens A cold shadow follow'd behind him Like a spiders web, moist, cold, & dim Drawing out from his sorrowing soul The dungeon-like heaven dividing. Where ever the footsteps of Urizen Walk'd over the cities in sorrow. | U25.10 |
7. Till a Web dark & cold, throughout all The tormented element stretch'd From the sorrows of Urizens soul And the Web is a Female in embrio None could break the Web, no wings of fire. | 8. So twisted the cords, & so knotted The meshes: twisted like to the human brain | U25.20 | 9. And all calld it, The Net of Religion |