Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1863-02-16
FOR THE SPIRIT OF THE AGE.
HISTORICAL REMLNISUE SCEs

1nerels nothing gsoWell calculated to teach
us humility, anu satisfy us OF the utter in
stability OF the most magnificent monp-
menls o1 science and art, as retrospect of
the remains which bring to our recollec-
tlon 'he countless populations that have
Oeeh swept tron the earth, and the EN-
pres, Kingdoms and republics that have
crumOled into ruins. The rnins &c tbo
past remind Us of the fate of the nre.ent
History teaches us that the cities of mon
were built on foundations beneath which
the earthquakes of time and reyolht;on
slept, and reminds us that we live in tho
midst OF the same destiny which has ~
ready destroyed SO much of the WORK, of
man and oblltcrated the records &c .n+;-
qulty. The emotions thu. inso,rod ro
mlnd US that all human power a~t oa
magnlhcence must perish, and force ns tn
the conclusion that the proudest and most
powerful nations of the present dav CON
tain the germ of their dissout;on-deso-
latlon aud overthrow.
guea y hssgs nos is Is the AsssEiath vi athe FasappiSe
IL e@'sts only on the pages of ancient bis
tory. Look at Babylon behold her in
sll her power. glory and gorgeous magni-
hcence' Where now, can you find even
relic OF this unriyaled city in her day,
save on the pages of revelation Its very
locality Is now matter of uncertainty
and dispute. Is it not strange, that with
all the art and science of man, the meas
ure of time should be forgotten and that
those who first divided the year into
months and invented the twelve signs,
through which the sun performs his annual
revolutions, should not have been made the
heroes OF Immortality, but in the lapse of
a few centuries confounded with the wreck
OF matter buried in oblivion's deepest
gravel Who can show US the site of the
tower of Babel! Who were the build.
ders of the Egyptian pyramids that have
excited the astonishment and admiration
oc the world
Where is Rome, at one time the mis-
tress of the world, the great monarch of
the East What has become of the mag
nlicent editices of her grandeur, glory
and rcnown, the fame of which has reached
our day and time in classic story She
too, has dwindled in her splendor, reduced
IN her power, faded away in the sins and
vices of her people, the corruption Of her
church, until her Pope has to look to
neighboring Emperor for the retention of
his spiritual power. The all devouring
scythe of time has swept away her glories,
and shorn this princess of Italy of her lof-
Ity domes and towering diadems.
\ TooE 0vor Opr uostarp ,y;fJc 4r.,nl -,
Mexico, and in some of the South A,ne,l-
can provinces,an you will find incontes tib G
evidences of extinct races of men highly
fcultivated in the arts and sciences, OF
whom we have no account--no history,
save the remains of their wonderful works
(which time has spared for our wonder
meditation, speculation and contemplation
In many parts of the world, now growing
the tail forest trees, and which seem te
have been inhabited only as now, by The
e beasts OF earth, race after race of human
beings has stood, lived, made war, grow
old, passed away leaving behind no name
nation, language or record. The ruus 0
Mexico, Yucatan and Bolivia shrouded il
inexpiicable mystery, would lead Us to tn
conclusion that they were antiquities il
the days of the Patriarchs. History doc
not infnrm US who were the builders c
those gorgeous temples, obelisks and pa
aces, now the ruins of cultivated peopl.
whose predecessors might have been be
fore the day of Greece and Rome. Nt
., there is none or nothing to tell by whor
these monuments of art were erected q
is In the dark, left to conjecture, and "a
our information concerning them must
derived from the history of other parts