The Washington times., 1919-06-23
Here Is Fine Writing"
Don't Copy 1t, But ABSORB 1t.

The tree that you growing in the woods is growing
out of other trees, disappeared beneath the ground
The literary genius of age rises from writers that
have gone before.
The most powerful thought of Milton you will find in
Dante and Dantes whole idea of trip to he'll including the
savage beast that in the middle of the road of e
you will all find in the writing of an early monk.
man writes well because he has ABSORBED, not
COPIED, the good writings of others.
Here follows a sample of ine writing" It is taken
from volneys admirable book, Ruins of Empires"
The traveller in Eastern land supposed to be Voney
himself visits the of ancient spendor fallen in ruins
the temple which the ones makes her den and morazes
Let the young boy girl in your house read this out
loud endeavorng to give full meaning to the beautiful
words and understand and appreciate them And do the
yourself.
After walk of threequarters of hour along these
ruins entered the Enclosure of edifce, formerly
temple dedicated to the Sun; and accepting the hospitality
of poor Arabian peasants who had built their novels
the of the temple determined to devote days
contemplate at leisure the beauty of these supendous
ruins.
Daily visited the monuments which covered the plain
and evening absorbed in reflection had advanced to
the Valley Sepulchres assembled the heights which sur
round from whence the eye commands the whole group Of
ruins and the immensely of the desert
The sun had sunk below the horizon red border of
light still marked his track behind the distant mountains of
SYRIA the fuorbed rising In the east blue
ground over the plains of the Euphrate the sky clear
the air calm and serene the dying lamp of day still soened
the horrors of approaching darkness the refreshing night
breeZS attempered the suy emanaonS from the heated
earh the herdsmen had given their cames to repoSe the
eye perceived motion the dusky and uniform plain
profound silence rested the DESERT the howngs only of
the jak and the solemn notes of the bird Of night
heard at distant intervals
Darkness now increased and through the dusk could
only be dsceed the pale phantasms of columns and walls
The solitude of the place. the tranquility of the hour the
majesty Of the scene impressed mind religious pen
veness The aspect of great city deserted the memory of
times past compared with its present state all elevated my
mind high CONCENTRATIONS sat the shaft of column
hand my eyes fixed sometimes the desert sometimes
the ruins, and fell into profound reverie.
THE REVERE
Here said once fourished an opuent city, here was
the seat of powerful empire Yes! these places so
wild and desoate animated by living multitude
busy crowd thronged in these Streets solitary
Within these walls where the silence of DEATH the
noise of the arts and the shouts of joy and fesy
sanity resounded these piles of marble regular pal
aces these fallen columns adorned the majesty of temples
these ruined galleries surrounded public places Here
assembled people for the duties of their
religion and the anxious of their subsistence here
industry, parent of enjoyments collected the riches of all
cmes and the purple of Tyre was exchanged for the
precious thread of Serca the soft tissues of Cashmere for
the sumpuous tapestry of LYDIA the amber of the Baltic
for the pearls and perfumes of Arabia the gold of ophr
for the tin of Thule
And now behold what remains of this powerful city, a
miserable skeleton! What of its vast domination doubt
full and obscure remembrance To the noisy which
tronged under these porcos succeeds the solitude of
death The silence of the grave substituted for the busy
hum of public places the afuence of commercial city is
changed into wretched poverty the palaces kings have
become den of wild beasts focs repose in the area of
temples and savage reptiles inhabt the sanctuary of the
gods All! how has much glory been ecipsed? How
have many borS been annated? Do perish then
the works OF men-thus vanish empires and nations?
And the history of former times revived in my mind;
remembered those ancient ages when many iusrous ma
lions inhabited these countries; figured to myself the
Assyian the banks of the Tgrs the Chadean on the
banks Of the Euphrae the Persian regnng from the Indus
to the Mediterranean enumerated the kingdoms of
Damascus and Idumea, of Jerusalem and Samaria the
warke states Ct the Phistnes and the commercial repub
lies Of Phoenicia
This Syria said ], depopulated then contained
hundred fourishing cities and abounded with towns vii