“The sea of faith
Was once, too, at the full, and round earth’s shore
Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.
But now I only hear
Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,
Retreating, to the breath
Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear
And naked shingles of the world.”

— Matthew Arnold , Dover Beach

St. 3
Dover Beach (1867)

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Matthew Arnold 166

English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector… 1822–1888

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