Had she been guiltless, stand as in her prime,
Nay, stand in growing pomp, till God had finished time.
Croly.
But, God be thanked! they are moments only when
Man, subdued by nature’s mightiest power,
Thinks even his purer self the sport of waves.
In such like moments ’tis the Godhead shows us
The distance ’twixt itself and us,—chastises
Man’s vain audacity to equal it,
And casts him back to nothingness and woe.