120 ASTRONOMYANDTHEBIBLE
him from hisrobes offlesh; cleansehisvision, and
putanewbreathintohisnostrils:onlytouchnotwith
anychangehis humanheart,—theheartthat weeps
andtrembles.' Itwasdone:andwithamightyangel
forhis guide, the man stood ready forhis infinite
voyage; and from the terraces of heaven, without
soundof farewell,atoncetheywheeled intoendless
space.
"Sometimes withthe solemn flight of angelwing
theyfledthrough Zaarahsofdarkness, through wil-
dernesses of death that divided the worlds of life.
.. .Then, from a distance that is counted only in
heaven,lightdawnedforatimethroughasleepyfilm
;byunutterablespacethelightswepttothem,theyby
unutterablespacetothelight. Inamoment,therush-
ingofplanetswasuponthem;andinamoment,the
blazingofsunswasaroundthem.
"Thencameeternitiesoftwilight,thatrevealed,but
werenotrevealed. Ontherighthandandontheleft
toweredmightyconstellations.. .thatseemedghostly
from infinitude. Without measure were the archi-
traves,pastnumberswerethearchways,beyondmem-
ory the gates. Within were stars that scaled the
eternitiesbelow;above wasbelow, belowwasabove,
tothemanstrippedofgravitatingbody. Depthwas
swallowed up in height insurmountable;height was
swallowed up in depth unfathomable. Suddenly as
thustheytiltedoverabysmalworlds,—a mightycry
arose,—that systems more mysterious, that worlds
more billowy, other heights and other depths, were
coming,werenearing,wereathand.