The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1881-06-24
Olympus.


Did ever HELENE, shepherd, priest
or King, dare to climb up the slopes OF
Olympus, away above the lofty pastures
of its dales and crests? Did even one
only venture, by placing his foot upon
the great peak, to find himself suddenly
in the presence of these terrible
gods? Ancient writer's tell us that phil
osophers are not afraid of scaling Mount
Etna, although much higher than Olym-
pus; but they never mention one single
mortal who has had the temerity to
ascend the mountain of the gods, not
even in the days of science, IN that age
when philosophers taught that Zeus and
the other immortals were mere concep-
tions of the human mind.
Later on, other religious, disseminated
among the various people living in the
surrounding plains, took possession OF
the sacred mountain and eonsecrated il
/ to new dfYinities There the Greek
/ Christians worshiped the Holy Trinity
| instead of Zeus; they still look upon its
three principal peaks as the three great
/ thrones of Heaven. One of its lottlest
points, which formerly, perhaps, bore a
| temple of Apollo, is now surmOunted by
/ n monastery of St Elias; one of its dales,
wherein the Bacchantes were wont to
/ sing "Evoep' in honor of DionysOs or
!
/ St Denys. Priests have succeeded to
/ priests, and the superstitious respect OF
( modern times to the worship of the
/ ancient; but perhaps the highest sum-
/ NIT is yet untrodden by human steps;
| the soft light, resplendent above its
! rocks and snow, has not beamed upon
! any man since the Hallenic gods took
/ their departure.
A few years ago it would have been
difficult for European to attain the
summit of the mountain, for the Hellenic
! kieEhtes, unerring shots, occupied all
its gorges; they had intrenched them
selves in it, as within an enormous cita-
del, and thence, recommending the con-
/ flict of the gods against the Iitans, they
set out upon their expeditions against
the Turks of Mount Ossa Proud of
their courage, they believed themselves
invincible as the mountain upon which
they lived; they endowed Olympus it
self with life. 81 am, said one of their
songs, AZ am Olympus, illustrious in all
ages, and renowned amid Nations; forty
two peaks bristle upon my brow; seventy
two fountains flow down my ravines,
and an eagle is perched upon my highest
summit, bearing in its claws the head of
a valiant hero'' This eagle, no doubt,
was that of the ancient Zeus. Even
nowadays he feeds on man, by man
destroyed History Of Mountain.
How Long Man May Live.
1t was Professor Hufelaud's opinion
that the limit of possible human life
might be set down at 200 years. and this
on the general principle that the life of
a creature is eight times the years of its
period of growth That which is quickly
! IL.
complete development is reached the
sooner bodily decay ensues. More
women reach old age than men, but
more men attain remarkable longevity
very very oid horneu afi1IIifs if'Se sn0rteI
! lives than those without horns, fierce
] longer than timid, and amphibious longer
than those which inhabit the air. The
voracious pike exists, it is said, to an age
of $50 years; the turtle is good for 100
years or more, and among birds the
golden eagle is known to have lived
nearly 200 years, while the sly and SOM
Der crow reaches the venerable age of n
century. Passing up in the scale of life
to man, and skipping the patriarchs, we
find many recorded instances of longevity
among the classic Greeks and Romans
/ Pliny notes that in the reign of the En-
| peror Vespasian, in the year rs, there
were 124 men living in The limited area
between the Apprentices and the Po of
100 years and upward, three of whom
were 140 and over 135. Cicero's wife
lived to the age of 103. and the Roman
actress, Luceia, played in-public as late
as her 10TH year. Coming down to
more recent times, the most notable
authentic instance of great age is that of
Henry Jenkins, of Yorkshire, England,
who died in 1870, 169 years old. He
was fisherman, and at the age of 100
easily swan across rapid rivers. An
other historic case is that of Thomas
Parr, of Shropshire, day laborer, who
lived to the age of 152 years. When
more than 100 he married his second
wife, and till 130 he could swing the
scythe and WELD the fail with the best
of his fellow-laborers. In his 152d year
| Parr went up to London to exhibit him
self to the king. It proved an unlucky
visit, for, violating the abstemious habit
of a century and half, the old man
feasted so freely on the royal victuals
that he soon died, merely of plethora.
On examination his internal organs
proved to be in excellent condition, and
there was no reason why he should not
have lived much longer save for this un-
fortunate taste of royal hospitality.
Professor Hufeland's roll of centenarians
| inal11ae ToanU mora hla paSoS