The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1891-11-20
THE LONDONDERRY SITTER, 4.


sleep he dreamed that the stone had set
tied 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 two hundred and
twenty feet wide. All Asia was taxed
to pay for it. 1t had one hundred and
twenty-seven pillars, each sixty feet
high, and each the gift of king, and
Inscribed with the name of the donor.
Now you see the meaning of that
passage in Revelation, just as a king
presenting one of these pillars to the
temple of Diana had his own name
chiseled on it and the name of his own
country, so says Christ, Him that
overcometh will l make pillar in the
temple of my God, and will write upon
him the name of my God and the name
of the city of my God, which is New
Jerusalem, and l will write upon him
my new name" How suggestive and
beautiful
GREAT WAS DIANA OF EPHEsUs.
In addition to those pillars that
climbed over while amid the ruins OF
Diana's temple l saw afterward eight
of those pillars at Constantinople, I,
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 col
ors. Costly metals stood up in various
parts of the temple, where they could
catch the fullest flush of 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 bas relief
swung against pillars of brass, and re-
sounded 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 statue
or image were put to death, SO that
they could not testify of its human
manufacture and SO deny its celestial
origin. 1t was thought by intelligent
people that the material from which
this idol was formed might have dropped
out of heaven as an aerolite.
We have seen in the British museum,
and in universities of our own west,
blocks of stone hurled off from other
worlds. These aerolites were seen to
fall, and witnesses have gone to the
landing places, and scientists have pro-
nounced them to be the product of
other worlds. But the material out of
which the image of Diana was fash
toned contradicts that notion. This
image was carved out of ebony and
punctured here and there with open
ings kept full of spikenard so as to him
der the statue from decaying and make
it aromatic, but this ebony was covered
with bronze and alabaster.
A necklace of acorns coiled graceful
ly around her. There were four lions
on each arm, typical of strength. Her
head was coroneted. Around this fig
ure stood statues which by wonderful
invention shed tears. The air by
strange machinery was damp with de
scendirg perfumes The walls multi
plieu the scene by conceived mirrors
Fountains tossed in sheaves of light
and fell in showers of diamonds. Prax-
iteles, the sculptor, and Apelles, the
painter filed the place with their tri-
umphs CrGsus, the wealthiest of the
ancients, put here and there in the
temple golden heifers.
The paintings were so vivid and life
like that Alexander, who was moved at
nothing of terror, shuddered at one
battle scene on these walls, and so true
to life was painting of horse that
| when Alexander's horse was led up to
It he began to neigh, as one horse is ac-
customed to greet another. One paint
ing in that temple cost $193, 750. The
treasures of all nations and the spoils
of kingdoms were kept here for safe
deposit. Criminals from all lands fled
to the shelter of this temple, and the
law could not touch them. 1t seemed
almost strange that this mountain of
architectural snow outside did not melt
with the fires of color within.
The temple was surrounded with
groves, in which roamed for the temp
tation of hunters, stays and hares and
wild boars, and all styles of game,
whether winged or four footed. There
brilliant that it extinguished the eyes
of those who looked upon it, unless, at
the command of the priests, the hand
of the spectator somewhat shaded the
eyes. No wonder that even Anthony
and Alexander and Darius cried out in
the words of my text, Great is Diana
of the Ephesians.
One whole month of each year, the
month of May, was devoted to heI
worship. Professions in CARDS of pur
pie and violet and scarlet moved
through it, and there were torches and
anthems, and choirs In white, and tim
brels and triangles in music, sacrifices
and dances. Here young men and
maidens were betrothed with imposina
ceremony. Nations voted large amounts
to meet the expense of the worship
Fisheries of vast resource were devoted
to the support of this resplendence
Horace and Virgil and Homer went
into rhapsodies while describing this
worship. All artists, all archeologists
all centuries agreed in saying, Great
is Diana of the Ephesians."
Paul, in the presence of this Temple
of Diana, incorporates it in his figure.
OF speech while speaking of the spiritua
temple, ''Now, if any man build upor
this foundation, gold, silver, precious
stones, etc." and no doubt with refer
ence to one of the previous temple!