' 'The valley that thou seest,'
said he, 'is the Vale of Misery, and the tide of water that thou
seest is part of the great tide of Eternity.' 'What is the reason,'
said I, 'that the tide I see rises out of a thick mist at one end,
and again loses itself in a thick mist at the other?' 'What thou
seest,' said he, 'is that portion of Eternity which is called Time,
measured out by the sun, and reaching from the beginning of the
world to its consummation. Examine now,' said he, 'this sea that is
bounded with darkness at both ends, and tell me what thou
discoverest in it.' 'I see a bridge,' said I, 'standing in the
midst of the tide.' 'The bridge thou seest,' said he, 'is Human
Life; consider it attentively.' Upon a more leisurely survey of it,
I found that it consisted of threescore and ten entire arches, with
several broken arches, which, added to those that were entire, made
up the number about a hundred. As I was counting the arches, the
genius told me that this bridge consisted at first of a thousand
arches; but that a great flood swept away the rest, and left the
bridge in the ruinous condition I now beheld it. 'But tell me
further,' said he, 'what thou discoverest on it.' 'I see multitudes
of people passing over it,' said I, 'and a black cloud hanging on
each end of it.
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