THE
LOOKING -GLASS
31
Little , if any , poetry of a truly
epic nature
can we
find ; the nearest is the song
of Tannhäuser , somewhat
of a prophecy , somewhat of an anthem :
I rose within the elemental
ball,
And lo ! the Ancient One of Days did
sit
!
His head and hair were white
as
wool
.
His eyes
A
flaming fire
:
and from the splendid mouth
Flashed the Eternal Sword
!
Lo
!
Lying
at
his feet
as
dead
,
I
saw
The leaping
-
forth
of
Law
:
Division
of
the North wind and the South
,
The lightning
of
the armies
of
the Lord
;
East rolled asunder from the rended
West
;
Height clove the depth
;
the Voice begotten said
:
“
Divided
be
thy ways and limited
!
”
Answered the reflux and the indrawn breath
:
“
Let there
be
Life
,
and Death
!”
?
Worthy
of
the
author
of
“
The Marriage
of
Heaven
and Hell
!”
“
Let there
be
Life and Death
,”
and the link between
these two
is
Love
.
Here we will give but one
or
two
curious examples
,
dealing with the great songs
of
love
in
the next chapter
.
As
a
singer
of
love
-
songs Aleister
Crowley
excels
.
The
following
is
from
“
The
Star
and the Garter
"
:
Your lips are gathered
up
to
mine
;
Your bosom
heaves
with fearful breath
;
Your scent
is
keen
as
floral wine
,
Inviting
me
,
and love
,
to
death.2
Also the following
is
charming
in
its
simplicity
:
She has
a
lithe white body
,
slim
And limber
,
fairy
-
like
,
a
snake
Hissing
some Babylonian hymn
Tangled
in
the Assyrian brake
.3
1
Tannhäuser
,
vol
.
I,
p
.
252
.
2
The Star and the Garter
,
vol
.
iii,
p
.
II
.
3
Ibid
.
vol
.
iii,
p
.
10
.