Grand River times. [volume] (Grand Haven, Mich.) 1851-18??, 1852-12-22

on which is painted the features of Cleopatra,
now fresh and brilliant as when she won the first
Cesar. This is immortal painting. And yet
we sometimes think those old folks nothing
Laughter. Houses among the ruins of Pom
pei are painted with colors which have with
stood the ravages Of l,700 years, and are now
bright and perfect.
am next to speak of Metals. Now metals
were the very first triumph of early art. We
have the first remarkable account in the relation
of Moses,--that he took the gold of the golden
calf and made the people drink il. Well-we
can make gold liquid by acids, but you could
not drink that. If we pound it forever,i it is leaf
And in Germany, century ago, it was prob
lem of frequent experiment to find out the
meaning of that Hebrew text. Modern science
cannot do what Moses did. In Rome, some of
the most beautiful structures are made of stones,
so hard, that they have withstood the storms of
centuries. These stones-there is one in front
Of the Place de la Concorde-are covered all
over with substance hard and enduring
There are figures on some of them-probably
carved when the ancients did not know the use
of iron. In the east, there is still this same won
derful control of metals. They manufacture sa-
bres and scimitars keen as the Damascus blade
Sir Walter Scott beautifully illustrates the per-
feet control which the ancients had over metals;
and Byron, you remember, says:
And there lay the steed, with his nosril all wide
But through it there rolled not the breath of his
pride;
The foam of his gasping lay white on the turf,
And cold as spray of the rock-beaten surf.
" And there lay the rider, distorted and pale,
With the dew on his brow and the rust on his mail;
And the tents were all SILENT the banners alone
The lance was unified, the trampet unblown."
Mr. Phillips closed his lecture by some elo-
quent remarks upon the Mechanic Arts, and ar
gued that the writings Of Herodotus, Aristotle,
Strabo and Pliny, 90 to prove that the ancients,
were not wholly unacquainted with this depart
ment of science-that they had railroads, canals
and sail vessels. But these arts were then kept
secret, and used for base purposes. The priest
hood kept them, and used them to promote their
own selfish ends But when Cambyses came
down from Egypt, and trod down the priesthood
he trod out beneath the hoofs of that same in
vasion all the arts and all the civilization of
Egypt; and the wealth Of 5000 years was swal-
lowed up in night of barbarism. But we have
taken learning from the ancients. She now
goes into the field with the farmer, and explains
TO him the nature of the SOIL We have made
learning come out from the coister, and clasp
hands on each side with the people! The De-
mocracy of Christianity has taught us the broth
erhood of the race and in that we have anchor
ed civilization and science too. When Gibbon
finished his history of the Decline and Fall of
the Roman Empire, in the last volume he con-
cludes with this reflection; that we have now
the use of fire and iron and the arts can never
be lost again. He made that reflection as he
was sitting on one Of the Roman hills, just at
the poino down of the sum- while the bare 70 Of
ed friars were singing vespers in the Temple of
Jupiter. But he would have made different
reflection at Thebes. 1t is neither to fire, or to
iron, or to any chemical secret, but to the DEM
ocratic element of that Christian religion which
has bound us together in one great brotherhood
Of mutual benefit, that we are to owe the per-
manence of our art and civilization. Great APP
plause.