The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1891-12-09

OO6OQ. It's dUu6UCtuu, Y 4Otull. ~ oAuC
ducts (whose skeletons are still drawn along
the city), its towers, its Castle of Eladrlan,
it's uuarries, which were the granite cradle
Of cities; its temples, built to Apollo. to Min
erva, 10 Neptune, to Mercury, to Bacchus,
to Hercules, to Caesar, to Fortune, to Jupitc
er Olympus. What history and poetry and
chisel and canvas have not presented has
come up at the call Of psychologists powder
blast and crowbar.
But I havenow to unveil tina chief wonder
of this chiefest of cities. In 1863, under the
patronage Of the English Government,
Mr.. Wood, the explorer, began at ,Ephesus
to feel along under the ground at great
depths for roads, for walls for towers, and
here it is-that for which Eohesus was more
celebrated than all else besides-tha temple
of the goddess Diana, called the sixth wonder
Of the world, and in 1889 we stood amid the
ruins of that temple, measuring its pillars,
transfxed by its sculpture and COMPOUNDED
ut what was the greatest temple OF 1dolatry
In all time.
As l sat on a piece of one Of its fallen col.
umns I said, 'What earthquake rocked it
down, or what hurricane pushed 1t to the
earth, or under what strong wine OF centur-
les did the giant stagger and fallf' There
have been seven temples Of Diana, the ruins
of each contributing something for the
splendor Of its architectural successors:
Two hundred and twenty years was this last
temple in construction. Twice as long as
the United States have stood was that tenn
Die in building. It was nearly twice as large
as st. Paups Cathedral, London. Lest it
should be disturbed by earthquakes, which
have always been fond of making those re.
gions their playground, the temple was built
on a marsh, which was made firm by layers
of charcoal, covered by 1eeces of wool The
stone came from the quarry near by.
After it was decreed to build the temple 1t
was thought it would be necessary to bring
the building stone from other lands, but one
day a shepherd by the name of Pi1odorus.
while watching his hocks, saw two rams
fighting, and as they missed the interlocklng
OF their horns and one fell his horn knocked
a splinter from the rock and showed by that
SPLINTER the lustrcus wilderness of the rock.
The shepherd ran to the city with a pieceo
that stone, which revealed a quarry from
which place the temple was built, and every
month in all ages since the Mayor OF
Ephesus goes to that quarry to offer sacri-
fees TO the memory OF that shepherd who
discovered this source OF splendor and
wealth of the cities Of Asia Minor.
In removing the great stones from the
quarry to their destined places in the temple,
it was necessary, in order to keep the wheels,
which were twelve feet in diameter, from
sinking deep into the earth under the un-
paralleled heft, that a frame OF timbers be
arranged over which the wheels rolled. 10
put the immense block of marble in its place
over the doorway Of n Of these temples
was so vast and difficult an undertaking that
the architect at one time gave it up, and In
his chagrin attempted suicide, but one night
in his sleep he dreamed that the stone had
settled to the right place, and the next day
he found that the great block of marble had,
by its own weight, settled to the right
place.
The temple Of Diana was four hundred and
twenty-five feet long by W hundred and
twenty-five feet wide. All Asia was taxed
to pay for 1t. It had one hundred and
twenty-seven pillars each sixty feet high,
and each the gift Of a king, and inscribed
with the name of the donor. Now you see
the meaning of that passage in Revelation,
Just as king presenting one Of these pillars
to the Temple of Diana had his own name
chiseled on it and the name OF his w
country, so says Christ. Him that over:
cometh will Imake a pillar in the temple of
NV God, and I will write upon him the name
OF NV God and the name Of the city of My
God, which is New Jerusalem, and I will
write upon Him My new name" How sug-
gestive and beautiful!
In addition to those pillars that I climbed
over while amid the ruins of 6 temple,
/ saw afterward eight Of those pillars at
Constantinople, to which city they had been
removed, and are now q part Of the Mosque
of st. Sophia. Those eight columns are all
green Jasper, but some Of those which stood
in Diana's temple at Ephesus were fairly
drenched with brilliant colors.' Costly met
ais stood up in various parts OF the temple.
-l..o xla- oo,,lJ ootoh tbn f,fllogf Inch 0f
the sun. A fight OF stairs was carved out
OF one grapevine. Doors Of cypress wood,
which had been kept in glue for years and
bordered with bronze in has relief, swung
against pillars Of brass and resounded with
echo upon echo, caught up and sent on and
hurled back through the corridors.
In that building stood an image OF Diana,
the goddess. The impression was abroad as
the Bible records, that that image had
dropped plumb out Of heaven into that
temple, and the sculptors who really made
the image were put to death, so that tney
could not testify of its human manufacture
and so deny its celestial origin. 1t was
thought by intelligent people that the ma
teriaI from which this idol was formed might
have dropped ont of heaven as an aerohte.
We nave seen in the British museum, and in
universities of our own west blocks OF stone
hurled off from other worlds. These aero
lites were seen to fall, and witnesses have
gone to the landing places, and scientists have
pronounced them to be the product OF other
worlds.
But the material out or which the image
of Diana was fashioned contradicts that
notion. This image was carved out OF ebony
and punctured hers and there with openings
kept full Of spikenard 80 as to hinder the
statue from decayfng and make it aromauic,
but this ebony was covered with bronze ana
alabaster. A necklace Of acorns coiled grace
fully around her. There were o u lions on
each arm. typical Of strength. Her head
WAS coroneted. Around this figure stood
statues which by wonderful Invention shed
tears. The air BY strange machinery was
damp with descending perfumes. The walls
multiplied the scene BY conceived mirrors.
Fountains tossed in sheaves of light and fell
In showers of diamonds.
Praxiteles, the sculptor. and Apostles, the
painter, filled the place with their uriumpns.
Croesus, the wealthiest OF the anclents, put
here and there in the temple golden hetfers.
The paintings were so vivid and lifelike that
Alexander, who was moved at nothing OF
terror, %shuddered at one battle scene on these
walls, and so true to life wasa painting OF q
horse that when Alexander's horse was led
up to it he began to neigh, as ona horse Is &C
that temple cost S193, $50. The treasures OF
all nations and the spoils Of kingdoms were
kept here for safe deposit. Criminals from
ali lands hed to thu shelter Of this temple,
and the law could not touch them. It seemed
almos. strange that this mountain Of archi'
tectural snow outside did not melt with tai
fires OF color within.
The temple was surrounded with groves,
In which roamed for the temptation q
hunters stays and hares and wild boars, and
all styles Of game, whether winged or four
footed. There was a cave with statue so
intensely brilliant that 1t e~1tingulsned tnt
o,no tboeo wbo lnoked uDon it. unless, a