They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; these see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep.

—Psalm 107

Man’s life is warm, glad, sad, ‘twixt loves and graves, Boundless in hope, honoured with pangs austere, Heaven-gazing; and his angel-wings he craves:—The fish is swift, small-needing, vague yet clear, A cold, sweet, silver life, wrapped in round waves, Quickened with touches of transporting fear.

—Leigh Hunt,
“The Fish, the Man and the Spirit”