| Lyrics: | (PLATES 25-27) 1. The eternal female groan'd! It was heard all over the earth.
2. Albion's coast
is sick silent; the American meadows faint! 3. Shadows of
prophecy shiver along by the lakes and
the rivers and mutter across the ocean:
France, rend down thy dungeon; 4. Golden Spain burst the
barriers of old Rome;
5. Cast thy keys, O Rome, into the deep falling, even to eternity
down
falling, 6. And weep [and bow thy reverend locks.] 7. In her trembling hands
she took
the new born terror, howling; 8. On those infinite mountains of
light, now barr'd out by the
Atlantic sea, the new born fire stood before the
starry king! 9. Flag'd with grey brow'd snows
and thunderous visages, the
jealous wings wav'd over the deep. 10. The speary hand burned aloft,
unbuckled
was the shield; forth went the hand of jealousy among the flaming hair, and
hurl'd
the new born wonder thro' the starry night. 11. The fire, the fire is
falling! 12. Look up! Look
up! O citizen of London, enlarge thy countenance:
O Jew. Leave counting gold! Return to thy oil
and wine. O African! Black
African! (Go, winged thought, widen his forehead) 13. The fiery
limbs, the
flaming hair, shot like the sinking sun into the western sea. 14. Wak'd from
his
eternal sleep, the hoary element roaring fled away; 15. Down rush'd,
beating his wings in vain,
the jealous king; his grey brow'd councellors,
thunderous warriors, curl'd veterans, among
helms, and shields, and chariots,
horses, elephants: banners, castles, slings, and rocks. 16.
Falling, rushing,
ruining! Buried in the ruins, on Urthona's dens; 17. All night beneath
the
ruins, then, their sullen flames faded, emerge round the gloomy king. 18.
With thunder
and fire, leading his starry hosts thro' the waste wilderness,
he promulgat |
