"Tombed in the solid night of starless space; From nearest living orb so far removed, That light, of all material things most swift, Myriads on myriads of earth's years must speed, Ere the mere outskirts of that Stygian gloom, If ever, it might reach,-at rest eterne, Lies the cold wreck of an extinguished sun. Prime glory once of all heaven's radiant host; Body, for soul of purest light most fit- 'Tween its first darkening, and eclipse complete, Streamed years which might eternity appear; While into ether, like the particles, Invisible, which are the breath of flowers, The mighty bulk its softer elements Still ever was exhaling. As when flesh And sinew of earth's monster Mastodon, By the slow wasting of the elements, All are dissolved, and hard, enduring bones Alone remain,- even so, of this immense,- When, by the ocean waves of centuries, Millions succeeding millions, worn away,- The adamantine skeleton alone, In darkness, silence, utter solitude, A ruin for eternity, was left."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Israel in Egypt, Book the First (1861)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edwin_Atherstone
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Edwin Atherstone
1788 – 1872
Edwin Atherstone (1788 - 1872) was an English Romantic poet, known chiefly for his epic poems The Fall of Nineveh and Israel in Egypt. They are based on ancient history and The Bible.
3 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Edwin Atherstone →
Related Quotes
"It was a day of gloom, and strange suspense, And feverish, and inexplicable dread, In Herculaneum's walls. The heavy,…"
"In flame and smoke the wondrous city sinks! Her walls are gone! her palaces are dust! The desert is around her, and w…"
""Lest that by any means When I have preached to others I myself Should be a castaway." If some one now Would take tha…"
"Auribus immensis quondam donatus asellus institit ut caudam posset habere parem. cauda suo capiti quia se conferre ne…"
"You are, and haue beene feared ouer all, England's an Ile, of stoute and hardie men: Be stronge in faith, your foes d…"
"Anglia cui mater fuerat, cui Gallia nutrix, Matri nutricem praefero mente meam. Six utriusque tamen meritis praeconia…"
"When you know a person particularly well, you cannot escape their ruffled feelings."
"Darkness began to drink up the last cold light upon the mountainside."
"There are two ways of meeting difficulties: you alter the difficulties, or you alter yourself to meet them."
"In my early life, and probably even today, it is not sufficiently understood that a child's education should include …"