On heav'nly ground they stood, and from the shore They view'd the vast immeasurable Abyss Outrageous as a… — John Milton
On heav'nly ground they stood, and from the shore
They view'd the vast immeasurable Abyss
Outrageous as a Sea, dark, wasteful, wilde,
Up from the bottom turn'd by furious windes
And surging waves, as Mountains to assault
Heav'ns highth, and with the Center mix the Pole.
"Silence, ye troubl'd waves, and thou Deep, peace!"
Said then th' Omnific Word, "Your discord end!"
Nor staid, but on the Wings of Cherubim
Uplifted, in Paternal Glorie rode
Farr into Chaos, and the World unborn;
For Chaos heard his voice: him all his Traine
Follow'd in bright procession to behold
Creation, and the wonders of his might.
Then staid the fervid Wheeles, and in his hand
He took the golden Compasses, prepar'd
In Gods Eternal store, to circumscribe
This Universe, and all created things:
One foot he center'd, and the other turn'd
Round through the vast profunditie obscure,
And said, "Thus farr extend, thus farr thy bounds,
This be thy just Circumference, O World!"
Source: Wikiquote · CC BY-SA 4.0
