Page:The poem-book of the Gael - Hull.djvu/51

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THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE
9
Twelve miles, bright boundary,with ten times five hundred miles,splendid the star-run course, separatelyfrom the firmament to the earth.
The measure of the spacefrom the earth to the firmament,it is the measure of the differencefrom the firmament to heaven.
Twenty-four mileswith thirty hundred milesis the distance to heaven,besides the firmament.
The measure of the whole spacefrom the earth to the Kingly abode,is equal to that from the rigid earthdown to the depths of hell.
King of each Sovereign lord, vehement, ardent,who of His own force set going the firmamentas it seemed secure to Him over every space, He shaped them from the formless mass.

The poem goes on to speak of the division of the universe into five zones, a torrid, two temperate, and two frigid zones, and of the earth revolving in the centre of the universe, with the firmament about it, "like a shell encircling an egg." The passage of the sun through the constellations is then described, each of the twelve divisions through which it passes being provided with six windows, with close-fitting shutters, and strong

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