The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1877-06-14
The Ancient Cities.

| L
except through the photograph-ha a
most rich confusion Of carved corniccs
and fallen shattS,-thc very poetry of
ruin; the wave of Gallee tapping and
wearing the fallen beauty and Samara,
surviving only now through its long line
OF columns, silvery above and oChred be-
low where the earth has acted upon the
stone. These columns made the city's chief
street, like the street called "Straght"
we afterwards found at Damascus, where
similar ones survive, engaged in the wall
OF the bazaar. There was an unusual
tenderness in the sky, melting the valley
below us and the road we were to 90.
Beyond the upright columns was tig
orchard, and across this Il Syrian drove
his team Of oxen 1t was like a page Of
the Bible, the ploughshare thus passing
over ruined city.
As we rode along the tcrraced descent
| by pleasant road, we came to fifteen
more erect columns like the others, with
out their capitals. These We're presum-
ably Corinthian, for these Syrian cities
were reconstructed by Herod or some not
distant contemporary and Roman dc
generacy limited itself to the use of the
Corlnthian capital. This was especially
the Roman order; and she marked her
conquests with it. We saw too, here and
there the blocks of ancient Samaria lying
| imbedded in the fertile fields. They had
descended from the noble plateau where
the city stood, to the plain, us predicted
| by Micah, who says
Il will make Samaria as an heap of the
| field, and as paintings of the vineyard
and | will pour down the stones thereof
into the valley, and | will discover the
foundations thereof
These ancient prophets seem all dcyut-
| ing to destruction the cd cities Of Julra
and, certainly, time has taken good care
to Justify their prophecy. When all are
overturned and desolate, they ycould scarce-
ly have made Il mistake.
Cities in Egypt, Greece and Italy have
perishcd us these did but the prophet
was apparently wanting to point the
moral OF their downfall. Even the Sa-
yiour himself partakcs of the sacred an
ger; and when he speaks as he did of
Capcrnaum, which ne must have !"ycd
for he spent there so much ut his life. and
there did so many miracles with its
nelghborlng town Of fishermen, which
helped to furnish the ranks Of his disci-
| pies BethSaida we wonder OF What
crime these cities were guilty to bc So
denounced. But his prophecy proved the
| trueSt of all, for their very sites are dis
| puted.
AS we wound along, we passed through
olive groves, luXuriant and Weird IN the
surprises Of their trunk and stems. They
seemed to us sacred trees. There is Il
/ kind OF passion in their almost liNid
leaves and Il divine fury tortures their
| limbs, us it did those of the prieStcss at
Delphi. Their life has tenacious. mrs-
terious energy us if contcnding with
| the difficulties of expression and, while
through long years printing the blue with
stems Of startling extravaganza, seems,
when the tree is old, to almost lift it from
the earth, in the effort to ascend: then
/ the lower trunk is followed into cuvcrns.
often holding the divided sides bv Il few
roots of iron.
so we wandered pleasantly along, till
we opened into valley with il water
course in its midst. by which we soon sat
under hoary olive tree, to lunch. .AsW
rcclined against the bank and divided our
| harl-boiled eggs and sandwiches we saw
a view which riyetcd our attention. ON
the right, here and there, from terraces
scared the upward smoke of the olive.
"iII'c "li ,lle l'll tI'' 'idSSI Il"INI't was
dotted with limestone buuldcrs, as III dis
til'iTe" rom above IN some c"llN u''LnIl-
Al tlle NtiltH ciid, hIi%hl against Ihr
SllauoN Oh inns llIilsldt' NpalkItu lle NJ
tie town "l Jenih' ITS snowy mnaretS ana
Wllltc WallS renewed against tlle Itr'lllr
OF lhe Tre'l pIalh OF LNoratIol, Whllt Tar
IN 'he distance 'he purple rloud-Shad""S
ellnoed the sunny bases OF Mt' iIrrlnon
-Nltf Iullch' we soon leit On the IiEht
lIe NIUE town, ahu entered upon lhlt
illStofIc pIi'ih' the oall!e-l'e'9 ol iSfdrI
ill'l me Aiih3St'''loh "i -. joiih. 'gr
ro'ta was no longer uIlllfull WIN blorhN
"l ltileil stone, or Shafp WIN H"untaln
: %ccii[ ItitS' o4l we wound easily tHfoH4h
NIUE llIaSt', othllla WhIch waved Il plaIh