before the beginning of years there came to the making of man time, with a gift of tears grief, with a glass that ran
pleasure, with pain for leaven summer, with flowers that fell rememberance fallen from heaven and madness risen from hell
strength without hands to smite love that endures for a breath night the shadow of light and life the shadow of death
and the high gods took in hand fire and the falling of tears and a measure of sliding sand from under the feet of the years
and froth and drift of the sea and dust of the laboring earth and bodies of things to be in the houses of death and of birth
and wrought with weeping and laughter and fashioned with loathing and love with life before and after and death beneath and above
[these lyrics are extractions from "Atlanta in Calydon" written by Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909 e.v.). English lyric poet, and critic. Swinburne was viewed by his contemporary Victorians as blasphemous and depraved, but now is recognized as one ov the greatest English poets. his main topics were liberty, relations between pain and pleasure and the psychology ov sexual passion. he was pagan and in his sympathies and antitheistic. Swinburne was Crowley's primary poetic influence. the title ov this song is our invention but seems to reflect the idea behind the poem very well.]