“The earth sighed as it turned in its course; the shadow of night crept gradually along in the Mediterranean, and Asia was left in darkness. The great cliff that was one day to be called Gibraltar held for a long time a gleam of red and orange, while across from it the mountains of Atlas showed deep blue pockets in their shining sides. The caves that surrounded the Neapolitan gulf fell into profounder shade, each giving forth from the darkness its chiming or its booming sound. Triumph had passed from Greece and wisdom from Egypt, but with the coming on of night they seemed to to regain their lost honours, and the land that was soon to be called Holy prepared in the dark its wonderful burden. The sea was large enough to hold a varied weather: a storm played out about Sicily and its smoking mountains, but at the mouth of the Nile the water lay like a wet pavement. A fair breeze ruffled the Aegean and all the islands of Greece felt a new freshness at the close of the day.”
Thornton Wilder, Astronaut
