Never yet have I found the woman by whom I should like to have children, unless it be this woman whom I love: for I love thee, O Eternity!

For I love thee, O Eternity!

If I be fond of the sea, and all that is sealike, and fondest of it when it angrily contradicteth me:

If the exploring delight be in me, which impelleth sails to the undiscovered, if the seafarer’s delight be in my delight:

If ever my rejoicing hath called out: “The shore hath vanished⁠—now hath fallen from me the last chain⁠—

“The boundless roareth around me, far away sparkle for me space and time⁠—well! cheer up! old heart!”⁠—

Oh, how could I not be ardent for Eternity, and for the marriage-ring of rings⁠—the ring of the return?