[Bro. Smith: If you think the following extract from a lecture on the condition of Syria and the Holy Land, would benefit or interest your readers, I would be happy to see it in the columns of the Review and Herald. I copy it from the Type of the Times, Vol. IX, No. 22, published at Cincinnati, O.—E. M. L. Cory.]
We are indebted to Henry Oldright of Halifax, Nova Scotia, for a printed copy of his phonographic report of a course of lectures delivered in his city by Gregory M. Wartabet, Esq., a native of Syria, on the condition of his country. The following will interest the reader:
The subject of this evening's lecture is one of deep interest to every one who calls himself a Christian. Look at the Crusaders. Were they pious men? No, some were murderers and some were thieves; yet mark the emotion they felt on beholding Jerusalem, that tear which rolled down their furrowed cheeks. I love to see a tear on a man's face. On the face of woman the tear of sympathy is lovely and interesting; but much the more so on the face of man, as it shows a greater depth of feeling. That tear called forth by the mere sight of Jerusalem spoke ten-fold more for the Crusaders in my opinion, than their greatest conquests. Now, what is there in Syria to bring all this great audience together? There is no very great difference between Syria as a country, and Nova Scotia. There are rivers there just like those here, hills, trees, &c. The inhabitants are not very different from yourselves. I am a native of Syria, and I have hands, feet, eyes, &c., very much like your own. But you love to hear of Syria, because it is the scene of Christianity, the land of the Bible, to which Israel came with Joshua at their head.
Christ was born there—Christianity was born there. There you will see the inn in which Christ was born. The inns in Syria are in the form of a quadrangle, and are several stories in heighth. You enter by an arch-way, and a circular staircase inside conducts you through the building to its summit. The lower tier of rooms is used for stables, and the upper tiers for rooms for guests. During fairs I have seen those stables used as rooms for poor people. Mary was put into one of those stables, and there in one of them in a manger was Christ born.
Now let us compare this very advanced age with Syria. Go and view the mighty ruins of Balbec, which lies between Lebanon, and Anti-Lebanon. That town was buit by Solomon, and is so wonderful that your architects are struck dumb with astonishment on viewing it. Its buildings are wonderful for their conception. Some of the stones in those buildings are sixty-four feet long, (one in particular, sixty-nine feet,) twelve feet high and seventeen feet wide. They were all cut out of a quarry half a mile distant, and all polished before they were put into the buildings. They are fitted so closely to one another that you cannot find the seam between them. It seems as if the city could not have been the work of man. Gaze for a while on its columns ninety feet in heighth, with the entablature surmounting them. What do you think of it? You cannot think any longer. A person asked me what I thought of that mighty cataract Niagara. I told him that when I saw it I did not think at all, I could do nothing but gaze! So it is with the beholder of these magnificent ruins. And why is it that Syria's architecture is unequaled? It is said by a mouth that cannot lie, that there never has been and never should be any one like unto Solomon. The great queen of Sheba said the half of Solomon's wisdom and prosperity had not been told her, and this anglo-saxon age is not equal to Solomon's, although it is three thousand years in advance of it. Syria's architecture is unrivaled yet—Solomon is unequaled—and God's truth remains true.
But Syria was not only great in architecture, but also in the arts and sciences. The Sidonians were celebrated for painting on glass, an art which has been lost to the world. The Tyrians also were distinguished for the beautiful dye called Tyrian purple, which has been hitherto inimitable. Syria was also distinguished for the knowledge of astronomy and navigation. This country was known to them. The wise men of the present know a great deal and assume a great deal more. I can prove to you from the Bible that this country was known in Solomon's time, and that its inhabitants were of the same race as our Bedouins or Ishmaelites. You talk of the wealth of the present age. Do you know what Balbec cost? There is not a king, or a dozen of kings, on the earth at present, who could build it. A whole quarry, (and in some instances three or four,) was exhausted for every stone there. The persons who were quarrying the stones would go to a neighboring hill, cut it down some thirty or forty feet, until they came to a rock. They would probably find it cracked, and therefore unfit for their purpose. They would then go to another hill, and another, and perhaps after cutting down some four or five hills, they would find a rock which was sound. Then they would have to cut, shape, form, and at last, carry the rock. Now what do you suppose would be the cost of one stone? What the cost of the whole building? What the cost of the entablature? If this city built by Solomon on the confines of the Holy Land, in honor of an Egyptian queen, cost so much, what do you suppose must have been the cost of the temple at Jerusalem? of Solomon's own house? of the whole of Jerusalem? Think also of the other cities which Solomon built—of Bal-Hamon, Bal-hanon, &c. Think of Solomon's private expenditures, for he had a thousand wives. Think of all this, and you may have some idea of the riches of Solomon. Come with me to Jerusalem. Jerusalem being surrounded by high hills, cannot be seen until you are close upon it. It is forty miles distant from the sea, and as you leave the shore early in the morning, you generally reach the city a little before sunset. Your first idea of that crowning city is, where is the first, the second, the third wall? Where is the tower of Antonia? Where is Zion? Where is mount Moriah? You search for even fallen ruins, but can find none. The scene is one which really brings your heart down. I have often gazed with pleasure upon the ivy-covered ruins of England: I love that dear, little, affectionate, fond ivy. It seems to say to the ruin, "Never mind, I will be your friend throughout; though all forsake you yet will I cling to you."
But in looking upon Jerusalem you can see no ruins, not even a sprig of ivy to cheer you. It is a small town encumbered with hovels. As you gaze, sadly upon it, the infidel says to you, "Surely, sir, this is not Jerusalem." But yes, it is Jerusalem; for there is mount Olivet where our Saviour retired to pray, there is the brook Cedron, there is the pool of Siloam, there is mount Zion, mount Moriah. It is Jerusalem; but O how changed!
When we see a rich man reduced to poverty, we feel sorry for him; and that is generally the feeling one has on viewing a decayed city. But that is not the feeling which you will have on seeing Jerusalem. The idea that fills your mind is, that Jehovah has passed over the country. An awful feeling creeps over you. When I first saw Jerusalem, I felt as if I stood before a dead body; in fact I cannot tell you what I felt, or how I felt. Even the infidel experiences the same feeling. Is this Jerusalem, where Christ lived and died? where he was mocked, scourged and crucified? Is this the birth-place of Christianity? You pause and think. You feel as if you were following some dear friend to the grave.
Let me now speak to you of the Church of the holy sepulchre at Jerusalem. This church is built over mount Calvary, where our Saviour was crucified, and over what is said to be his sepulchre. It was about the dome of this church that the late war commenced. It became dilapidated, and France and Russia quarrelled about which of them should repair it. It is still unrepaired.