"Where flying Parthians pierce th' astonish'd foe With deathful shafts; from lofty Taurus' side, The rapid Tigris, and Euphrates flow, And o'er the desart pour one current wide.But soon the streams divided trace their way, And winding on, in separate channels glide, Thro' sandy wastes and peopled realms they stray, Till, join'd again, they pour a mighty tide.Whate'er th' impetuous rivers bore along, Boat, ships, and trees, now in their blended stream Are dash'd and huddl'd in tumultuous throng, And by blind Chance the currents guided seem.But Chance capricious holds no empire here; The rolling rivers Nature's laws obey;— Declining still, their downward tracks they steer, And lighter bodies in their streams convey.They mix, and separate, and unite again, By Sovereign Wisdom taught their beds to know:— Rest: then in this; Chance holds no ruling rein. But kind intention governs all below."
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Footnote: It was supposed by the ancients, that the Tigris and the Euphrates issued from the same source, Mount Taurus, and poured along in one current; but that this current afterwards was divided into two separate streams: this is now found not to be the case. The sources of these rivers are distant from one another about 250 miles. After encompassing the ancient Mesopotamia and Babylonia, these rivers join their streams, and flow together into the Persian Gulph.
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Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy
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