University Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1908-1916, 1909-04-26
VIEWPOINTS
Rambling in the Ruins.

initiate the SlObe-trOttlng authors OF
our time are these lines iotted down
just some passing thoughts that came
to a practically illiterate mind in pc
rrsing the umearthed remains of an
ancient empire.
Did You ever stop to think when you
We're examining Your head with the
names of the Roman emperOrs and the
dates of their reign. of the splendOrs
and wonders of those times: Could
YOU form clear idea of the immense
sums that were spent on buildings and
works of art of all kinds? And, in
reading of these things, did you really
consider them worth the study of
twentieth century artists or of grad
uates of the civil engineering depart
ments of modern universities?
Not to infer that there is nothing
new in the world. but it would be bet
ter to say that only few things are
added and some are lost in short pc
riod of fifteen hundred to eighteen hun
dred years.
The learned men do not agree on
what the Romans did or did not know
That they knew nothing of statics,
of strains and stresses, is not quite
right. Why: Because anyone that
sees the aqueducts. bridges. large, mag
nilicent baths. without we'll formulated
knowledge along these lines. it would
have been impossible to accomplish
what they did. They constructed an
cditice with three arches. each one as
high as the roof of st. Peters Church
in Rome. And they had Il "sky-scra
per" although probably known by an
other name. This structure was seven
stories high and served To artistically
cover the south end of the palatine hill.
Each of these seven stories were from
twenty to twenty-five feet high. SO it
is easy to see i'm this the height of
twelve or fourteen story buildings of
today. As most of the temples and
palaces of the Romans. this sky
>craper" contained hundreds of marble
pillars, the walls were of marble, ala
ba>ter, ivory or basalt. and the floors
We're covered with artistic multi i-colored
mosaic work. in which each stone was
not much larger than IA tack head.
The Circus MaXimls must have been
rather large. too. Can one think of an
rlliptical circus. slightly crowded by
three hundred and eighty-iive thousand
l3s5m0) excited people. yellia" to urge
the racing chariotecrS to greater ef-
forts: 1t strains the Imagination a
tritle.
Two of these things that still remain
il mystery are the method of trans
porting heavy loads and the tools used
in chipping and chiseling ba,alt and
turnin" out smooth marble columns.
Nothing to indicate the kind Of steel or
stone that was used or the plan of the
drrrickS has been found in old books or
in the ruins. Good statuary of basalt |
was found in some palaces. although |
today basalt cannot be chi>clcd. And |
imagine block of marble large enough |
to give a column ffty-two feet high |
and six feet in diameter being hauled |
and shipped from above the first cat
;lract oi the Nile to Rene Numcrou,
slaves took part in such operations. OF
course. but without some powerful |
brains. the slaves would have been use
less.
Professors of ancient history. arciae-
plo"i>tS. and artists. "a IL rule seem to
love and admire that old Roman named
ladrian. They really do love and ad-
nirc him. for he was Il good man even
Is Judged by our standards. I'm villa
which covered about fifteen thousand
.1uarc meters OF ground. fifteen thou>-
md square miles would give Il better
lca of the size when one reads this in
old print. IIadrian stored the fines:
works of art he could collect in eleven
Years or So Of wandering through hi,
.mpirr. With his cohorts of artists
md friends he travcrScd the provinces
II foot maxim" peace and studying the
That ancient art treasure,
ne fairly mined in this place. must
~ perfectly evident And the -mncrI
ne most learned and mo-, careful
non. In Rome som" Of tlin results of
heir !ait hful lahor~ can bp seen for the
rice Of one Ira.
Tn" Romans had II" thought of brnc- ,
ting po>t"rity or more particularly ,
h" Italians hy Indirectly cau-in" mil ,
ions 10 b. ~P.nt in Iraiy every wear
tut. ncvcrt hrlc~S. this comes 10 pass.
'h"ut on" million lire day are -ptn, ,
Il Rome alone during tho agreeable ,
months. And tn" ~p"nlcr~ are nearly ,
i Foreigners
i'ut To continue. The smaller towns =
! III" Roman empire did no, build such
'r"e palaces and temples a. the capital I
na~tr:! OF. The difference between