The New era. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1865-1871, 1866-05-03
THE RUINS OF TYNE.

The history OF past ages cOnVlilGCS us
that whatever the ingenuity Of man can
erect, time and desolation can lay in
ruins. The vast expenditures made in
treasure and labor to erect lasting monu-
ments to perpetHate the fame of some
hero, Or to transmit to p0sterity q favor
able impression OF a great nation and
people, and the grandest display Of ar
tistic skill and the master monumental
wonders OF the world, lie seatte, ed,
crumbling fragments down the deso!ate
track of time. Man himself passes
away, and leaves the great arena in
which life's battles are fought to the
valiant who fortunately come after him;
but whatever he has erected in the ma
terial world, by the slow decay of sue
cessive ages, loses its symmetry and
proportion, and mingles With the dust
once so proud of its presence.
How unsubstantial are all things of
human origin That which has been
the labor Of centuries may be laid waste
in a few hours by the sweeping confla-
grafton, or made desolate by an am
bilious human foe. That which God
has planted deep in the eternal principles
of nature is as immutable as the ever
lasting hills, but that which is the work
OF man, like its originator, is subject to
the changes wrought by time and desc
lation. A glance at the past is painful.
lteXhibits 4 grand contest, a hard fought
battle between time and monuments,
empires and desolation. From the record
furnished by the faithful past, time and
desolation seem to have made lasting
triumph, and civilization, conquered
and undone, refuse to unfurl the banner
over her sacred domain.
Egypt, that stood pre-eminent among
the early empires, whose cities eclipse
the world, is a grand attestation Of the
indiscriminate ruins of time. Cities,
with all the splendor of the ambitious
world, with all the ornaments the artist
could display, raised their towering
domes along the fertile banks OF the
Nile, and the shores Of the Mediter-
ranean. They held the commerce of
the world. Alexandria was crowded
with merchants, Iiterati and phi!oso-
piers. Its museums contained the ae-
eHmulafed literature ef ages. The world
q noble testimony when, in nraisfng
Moses, he said he was learned ia ali the
wisdom OF the Egyptians.
There seems to be a strange fatality OF
nations, and can only be seen by Him
Who speaks worlds into existence, and
gives them their eenters and orbits, and
By 8 word fixes their eternal destiny
Nations seam to rise in q natural pro-
erosion, and go on 70 fulfill the great
missions tha Great Architect e. verbs
intended them to fulliN. Cord has 8
purpose in raising up nations and eaHs-
iag their eiecay. 8igTpt aa5 ia len. #E Z
t4f0Hdeiiies i3aFsa eletaFad. EEAa vast ~
hand Of time has completed and is conn
pletiDg It's work. lef monuments are
fast passing away; her oheisks are
scattered cfumblin@ fragmen35-m8ny
OF them moved Big the hand OF the
FOREIGN invader. Even the G0l0ssas Of
Rhodes, the guardian angel OF the har-
bor OF Alexandria, has stepped from It's
lofty pedestal, and submerged Itself in
the tlnnutuous waves.
Egypt is trampled down. The warriors
Of ages have maze Il d field OF action.
The BabYloniaas, the Maeed0nians, the
Rersians, Tire Remans, the Sarasenssa Ha
q Turks have all visited 10 lay waste
aHG destroy. Gonquering armies dark
ened the streets OF her cities and tfDd
the soil once so sacred 10 her kings.
Greece, Sc dear to every lover Of learn
inc, was once the pride Of the world.
1t was here genius scared with q b9ltler
wing imam III any otAeE i@lfA. ~ 0tlS
here poetry breathed lis first melodies,
and gave Homer to the world. 4bWas
here eloquance made its first bnrsts,
which moved all Greece ard IN thunder
tones shook the fabric Of age2.
Civil dissensions and DESIRE in5 armies
have AID Il ne ruins. ezs.a. ftia ~ tie
Sonlass. aasl Hagsi8 tlte Ottoman,
Which e0nquesss overwhelmed ali taa
Institutions ana monuments 0F #aa Gas
sic Ages, and sgnis 10 the subordinate
province u q mug barbarian empire.
Couiti passionate son OF Greece be
raised to-day, and be permitted 70 tfaEol
among the ruins Of his decayed country,
he would doubtless be amaled at the
change the Ole monarch Time has
wrought in 3 once happy lana. While
he has been embosoned in is soil, or
unconsciously sleeping beneath its sur
face, agitation, commotion and invasion
have shaken down the pillars OF state,
and strobe q mad destroyer amid her
temples and monuments.
Where is the hand that grasped the
chisel and fashioned the marble into a
more than human perfection, and with
the last stroke OF the lii'e-giving instru-
ment, gave its marble cOuntenanee 4
flash of life, and sent the blood gushing