The Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1822-1829, 1823-08-08
ELEGANT EXTRACT.

b. ELEGANT EXTRACT.
From an address 10 The .lIsmbe,s az Solo.
moas Loage Ne. 0, If Pougtktepsie, on
the aaaipersarg Of 50. John the D4ptiss,
june u, i. L.5ss5 By James G. Brooks
Esq.
Ii Is now nearly three. thousand years
since The foundation Of Masonry as yet il
has resisted the destroying hand of Time
Kingdoms have arisen, fOnrislfxd, and fal.
len the rock OF power, the adamant of
genius have crumhled- earthquakes
have dashed in rum the strongest, fairest
fabrics of human enterprise and of human
wisdom; Masonry has remained unbroken
Ill has not bent 10 the storm, nor has il
died in the sluggish calm. live examine
the nature and progress OF mans iistitu.
tions, we shall fnd them all partaking Of
that mutability which charartcrizcs his
own strange, and fitfnl, and fc,ersb exis-
tence perishable himself how can lre con
fer eternity upon his works. He ercels
his statue of brass, the colossus of ages
Triumphant Time thou hurlcst il 10 the
dust True, he can ascend the eycr-dn-
ring arch of Fame, aud iuscrbe there the
letters of his Immortality --he can kindle
the fire OF his renown which hlazes for
| ages, beacon 10 the universe but he cam
not recall the last faint sigh OF existence,
nor protect his trophies against the scythe
of destruction. Go, and learn this truth
from the melancholy picture OF History
Go, and moralize amidst the ruins Of The
bes, and ask where are her hundred gates,
her thousands of chariots, and her millions
of warriors
All there in desoiaiion cold
The desert serpent dwells alone,
Where grns. Ger growseach uld'rng slons,
And stones themselves TO ruin grown
Arc gray aud death like old
$50 and leurn wisdom from solitary Tyre,
aud ask where are her golden palaces aud
her namberless navies Go and ask of
Egypt, where are her twenty thousand
cities, her temple of the SIM, her Oracle of
Ammon, and her sacred fountain there
the sun shinsson bleak waste, the VOICE
OF the oracle hath been silent far ages, and
the wild weed hath long waved in the bed
OF its fountain. Let Macedon produce the
trophies of her conquering aon,--let Persia
shew the diadem OF Cyrus and the spear Of
Cambyses they are enycloped by the
oblvious PAIL and the mournlil Voice OF
history tells only that they haze been. So
II is with man, and the works of man
-child Of doubt aud danger-.-the spectrc
ofuncertainty bends over bis Graded slnm-
Der, darkens the warm noon of his man
evening of his decline. He walks forth 10
his majesty, the image OF God, and the
Lon d of crcatipn--his path is on the nigh
liy deep--hls footsteps are on the lofty
lmountain--he stands on his emincnce
and looks down on a subject world. Look
oncc again, and where is he /? The mys-
terieus fire of his existence is extinguished
1.-THE Geld earth preseason biscoderb bosom
1.-THE dull worm banquets where once spar
KIDD genius and beauty--and the charnel
sh'oud enwraps that form where once
sltwed the star of honor and the purpleof
ninion
Since, then, instability is inherent in the
very natnre of man, aud spreads itself over.
all lis works, we can best Judge Of the va
ne Of all institutions by their longer or
shorer resistance TO subduing Time. We
are safe in the assertion, that no society
can compete with ours 10 duTatioD---it hath
resisted every change and braved every
tcniptst--it hath stood firm and beheld The
wide-preuding pine Of Assyria strewiug
the cath With its branches, in vast and gi-
gantic tnin--it hath seen the rising food
|ofmlgffy hosts desuiate imperial Babylon
lit hath seen the starry throne ofthe just
Haroun broken down----it hath seen the
majestieeagle of the Roman extending bis
dark form over battle fields,
WheIe deaths briefpang was quickest,
And the battles wreck lay thickest
sirewedbeneath the advancing banner
Ofthe cycles burning crest
There with thnnder-clouds to fan her,
Who thea could her wing arrest
Victory banning from her breast ?"
All, that wing was arrested and the
proud bird struck down, prey 10 the vul- |
lures Of thu northern forests. So ii hath
been--the ppmp, the pageantry, the might-
ness of nations have been hnmtied; the hand
of obscurity hath spread. his folds over pa
lace, and temple, and tower. The fierce
storm Of war and the lazy moth of luxury
have united in this work Of destruction -
and the jmpet,ous wave of Time hath ever
been chequerce by the fragments Of glory
and the wrecks of magniicence, floating
along in fearful and melancholy ruin.
----S-
cOIIDN'S OFFICE,