The Sea of Faith Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled. But now I only hear Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar, Retreating, to the breath Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear And naked shingles of the world.

He was the son of Thomas Arnold the famed headmaster of Rugby School and brother to both Tom Arnold literary professor and William Delafield Arnold novelist and colonial administrator. Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was a British poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools.