The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1882-10-20

vItR SPHINX.

In utnea h1noet pte-nihtonc, tnis creature
was born Of Eeyprs ssd aud solemn mytho
ogy Yes, that ancient nation is the home
Of the Sphinx. Lest irreverence should
dare enter 10 the worship of deity, there
was need Of q mysterious being to keep
guard at the DOOR Of the temple, and int-
mate the mighsier mysteries within. In
this tabled Sphinx we're united the human
face and the body Of the lion-symbol Of in
tsllect and strength In the divine attributes
Both religion and death had mysteries
The Sphinx at the porch Of the temple and
at the portal Of the tomb, intimated that
there were mysteries In both; but what
they were she told 10 none Her face wore
an eternal calm.
The Greeks borrowed the idea from
Egypt; but In the hands Of her artists IL
lost In grandeur, while II gained In grace
The Grecian idea was only that Of mystery.
And 30 to the sphinx were given not only 9
human face and leonins body, but the tail
Of serpent and the wings of bird, and the
voice Of man.
All the world knows the Grecian fable
This monster infested the neighborhood Of
Thebes, proposing an enigma, and devour-
ing any who could not guess II, but offering
to destroy herself, II any one would give the
true answer. She asked, "what animal
walks on four legs in the morning, on two
at noon, and on three at night'" Gdipus
guessed the riddle, by declaring that man
was the animal, who, in the morning Of life
creeps on all four, at middle age stands erect
on his feet, and in advanced life uses staff
on which 10 lean.
But though the Greeks cut the form OF
the creature on their temples, as did the Ro-
mans after them--an indication Of the mys.
terry that attaches always to religion-.the
place for the study of the Sphinx is Egypt.
Everything about the temple or the tomb in
that land is colossal Egyptian architecture
strove to impress not by beauty or grace, as
did the Grecian but by vastness Of proper
ton, by massive grandeur, by heaping OBJ
ject upon object. by repetition and aocumu.
lation, by a gigantic exhibition Of gigantic
objects-it strove 10 express the infinite and
the eternal. What the Gothic architecture
declares by the pointed arch and the ribbed.
stone, meeting far up overhead in dim indis-
tinotness, that the Egyptian would say by
the accumulation Of masses, by heap upon
heap, by colossal labors, by multiplied
monopoly; hence gigantic pyramids and
temples, approached between rows Of gigan.
tic Sphinxes. 81 a---.---- - -. "a
At Karnnc, where il found the largest and
most costly temple ever reared on earth the
avenue connecting 1t with Luxor il mile
in length and this was crowded with these
gigantic figures placed, as those still stand
ing near the temple attest. only twenty feet
apart. But not one face Of them all Is m
injured. Az the Turk at Athens mahlakad
nearly every head Of the statues, 70 In
Egypt, in his zeal against idols, he left not
not one perfect He acted on the Irish
mans theory, and whenever he saw head,
hit 1t. Some of the more nearly perfect
ones were removed to the British Museum
and the French collections.
One of the wonders Of the world 10 the
great Sphinx that stands ON the edge Of the
Lybian Desert, seven miles from Cairo. An
eminence of solid rock was hewn away, leav-
ing this gigantic form. The assures were
supplied by vast masses Of stone, and these
jointed pieces, some Of them larger than a
milestone, have fallen away from the nose
and chin. The face 10 about seventy feet
height; the whole length of the creature
was about one hundred and ninety feet, and
the paws buried in the sand are said to ex.
tend fifty feet In front. Directly beneath
the nose stood vast altar, and in front Of
the whole figure was broad roadway, lead
ing up to the great pyramid itself.
As Q Sphinx never stood alone, the world
Is puzzled over the absence Of Its mate. It
could not have been carried away, nor have
any traces Of u ever been found. Some
think the design was too vast, even for the
Egyptian builders; some that one such
Sphinx exhausted all effort. Be 1t as II may.
this Sphinx has no companion.
The face Of this wonderful creature is
calm, grand, almost beautiful. Even though
the features ore somewhat broken, the do.
facement has not destroyed the expression
Of sublime patience. 1t stands looking to-
ward the east-looking over the visitor,
rather than at him; Its great, steady eyes
intent On the future, as II in confident ex
peotation of better time TO oome.-Phil0.
Sat. Night.