Here too
are vast numbers of sea-lions and wild birds of the sea, which make
these islets their home, nothing daunted by the billows which roll
over them in wind and storm. Surely it is a picture of the steadfast
soul in the midst of commotions, when the waves of the sea of human
passions "are mighty and rage horribly!" As you look out toward the
Farallones, as lights and shadows fall on them, you almost imagine
that they are ships from distant shores ploughing their way to the
Golden Gate. But what of the Golden Gate, on which our eyes now rest?
The name naturally recalls to mind the "Golden Gate" in the wall of
Theodosius, in Constantinople, with its three arches and twin, marble
towers, now indeed walled up to prevent the fulfillment of a prophecy
that the Christian Conqueror who is to take the city will enter
through it. A similar belief prevails concerning the Golden Gate of
the Temple Area in Jerusalem, which is also effectually barred. But
whoever named it doubtless had in mind the "Golden Horn," that noble
right arm of the Bosphorus, embracing Stamboul and its suburbs for
five miles up to the "Sweet Waters of Europe.
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