But ah! how great the Task! for who can know
What Creatures swim in secret Depths below?
Unnumber'd Shoals glide thro' the cold Abyss
Unseen, and wanton in unenvy'd Bliss.
For who with all his Skill can certain teach,
How deep the Sea, how far the Waters reach?
Foolish th' Attempt; none can the Space define,
The Depth retires beneath, and mocks the sinking Line.
Three hundred Fathoms sounded are the most;
Such is the Knowledge which our Labours boast.
To comprehend the Whole we fruitless seek;
Our Souls are finite, and our Reason weak.
And yet we guess the Wat'ry World exceeds
In num'rous Offspring, and in various Breeds.
More Kinds may roll beneath in briny Floods
Than graze the verdant Fields, or range the Woods.
But whether Earth or Seas in Kinds excell,
The Gods, and sure the Gods alone, can tell.
For human Reach has certain Limits set;
Men, who too curious search, themselves forget.
We ought to know our Bounds, nor grasp at All,
But curb the Wish, and the mad Thought recall.