The cease of majesty
Dies not alone; but, like a gulf, doth draw
What’s near it with it.
– William Shakespeare
Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 3. In a bid to flatter Claudius, Rosencrantz uses this simile to compare a king to a huge body of water, who, if he were to die, would bring many others along with him like a retreating wave pulling people out to sea.