Edmund Clarence Stedman, ed. (1833–1908). An American Anthology, 1787–1900. 1900.

By Philip HenrySavage

1603 Infinity

I DARE not think that thou art by, to stand

And face omnipotence so near at hand!

When I consider thee, how must I shrink;

How must I say, I do not understand,

I dare not think!

I cannot stand before the thought of thee,

Infinite Fulness of Eternity!

So close that all the outlines of the land

Are lost,—in the inflowing of thy sea

I cannot stand.

I think of thee, and as the crystal bowl

Is broken, and the waters of the soul

Go down to death within the crystal sea,

I faint and fail when (thou, the perfect whole)

I think of thee.