Europe 14

PLATE 14
Ethinthus queen of waters, how thou shinest in the sky:
My daughter how do I rejoice! for thy children flock around
Like the gay fishes on the wave, when the cold moon drinks the
     dew.
Ethinthus! thou art sweet as comforts to my fainting soul:
For now thy waters warble round the feet of Enitharmon.          

Manathu-Vorcyon! I behold thee flaming in my halls,
Light of thy mothers soul! I see thy lovely eagles round;
Thy golden wings are my delight, & thy flames of soft delusion.

Where is my lureing bird of Eden! Leutha silent love!
Leutha, the many colourd bow delights upon thy wings:            
Soft soul of flowers Leutha!
Sweet smiling pestilence! I see thy blushing light:
Thy daughters many changing,
Revolve like sweet perfumes ascending O Leutha silken queen!

Where is the youthful Antamon. prince of the pearly dew,
O Antamon, why wilt thou leave thy mother Enitharmon?
Alone I see thee crystal form,
Floting upon the bosomd air:
With lineaments of gratified desire.
My Antamon the seven churches of Leutha seek thy love.          


I hear the soft Oothoon in Enitharmons tents:
Why wilt thou give up womans secrecy my melancholy child?
Between two moments bliss is ripe:
O Theotormon robb'd of joy, I see thy salt tears flow
Down the steps of my crystal house.                              

Sotha & Thiralatha, secret dwellers of dreamful caves,
Arise and please the horrent fiend with your melodious songs.
Still all your thunders golden hoofd, & bind your horses black.
Orc! smile upon my children!
Smile son of my afflictions.                                     
Arise O Orc and give our mountains joy of thy red light.

She ceas'd, for All were forth at sport beneath the solemn moon 
Waking the stars of Urizen with their immortal songs,
That nature felt thro' all her pores the enormous revelry,
Till morning ope'd the eastern gate.                             
Then every one fled to his station, & Enitharmon wept.

But terrible Orc, when he beheld the morning in the east,

(EDrdman 65-6)

                          About the Text

The earlier plate has the following with links describing some of them:
Ethinthus Leutha Antamon Sotha.

In this plate several others appear:

"her sons and daughters are listed in Damon's Blake Dictionary
Manathu-Vorcyon: this must be a pure invention; I haven't found anyone
who can give a reasonable explanation. The text includes eagle, golden wings
and 'flames of soft delusion'.
Regarding Leutha Sweet smiling pestilence! 
like sweet perfumes ascending O Leutha silken queen!
the youthful Antamon, obviously a son of Enitharmon

All of these entities suggest corruption of one sort or another.
Oothon and Theotormon obviously relate to Visions of the Daughters of Albion,
which Blake had presumably composed before Europe.

Enitharmon propagates the belief that "woman's love is sin", but her
'sons and daughters' concern sexuality to a great degree.

About the Image

This