Come then, my soul, with joyful song How he redeemed our ruined race, SONNET. WHEN the Almighty gave his creature man LATINIOS S.S. S. PARAPHRASE OF ISAIAH XLI. 8-10-13-17, I HAVE taken thee e'en from the ends of the earth I have chosen thee, yea, from the time of thy birth, Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismay'd, I guard thee while faithful, recover when stray'd, I will strengthen thee, Israel, will help and uphold, Thy foes thou shalt thresh, and though mighty and bold, When the poor and the needy seek water in vain, And their tongue and their spirits shall fail, From the hill shall glad rivers descend to the plain, And fountains arise in the vale. MARY JANE. THE YOUTHS' MAGAZINE; OR Evangelical Miscellany. AUGUST, 1832. APOLLINOPOLIS MAGNA. As travellers descend the hill from Nubia, towards the sea, the temples which line its banks are said to increase in grandeur and magnificence; to change successively, first from the almost inartificial cave in the rock, to the temple covered with hieroglyphics, and supported by ornamented pillars; then to an excavation to which a gateway, and sometimes a square court, has been added; and lastly, to those splendid isolated temples, as Luxor, Carnak, and Edfou, in which man seems to have equalled the native rock in durability-to have added grace and beauty to the gigantic and imperishable—and to have almost succeeded in the objects of his desires, to render his name coeval with the duration of the earth. The most perfect of these temples is that of Edfou, or as named by the Greeks, Apollonopolis Magna. The sands of the desert, and the barbarous hand of man, have, however, greatly injured its beauty. It is situated on the western bank of the Nile, beyond Thebes, in lat. 25°. The entrance, which is partially seen in the cut, is composed of two pyramidal VOL. V. 3rd SERIES, Y masses of building, each of which is 114 feet high, and 104 wide, completely covered with gigantic figures beautifully executed. The doorway, which is between these moles, (or pyramidal masses of building,) leads into a court (see plate), surrounded with pillars, which are placed at a distance from the side walls, and being roofed form a kind of piazza, on the flat top of which the Arabs erect their tents. This piazza leads to the portico of the temple (from beneath which the accompanying view is taken): this portico is supported by 18 pillars, six in front and three deep, the height of which is 50 feet. Passing this second doorway, the traveller enters another hall, supported by 12 columns; beyond this are the chambers of the priests, and lastly, the sacred apartment, which is a room 33 feet long, and 17 broad, in which the figure of the god was placed. All these rooms were perfectly dark, or lighted perhaps very partially by small holes in the roof, which was formerly a terrace upon which the priests might walk; it is now, however, covered with mud cottages, and the Fellahs, who inhabit them, discharge all their dirt and rubbish into the chambers below, through the above-mentioned apertures, so that they are now very difficult of access. The sand also is blown into the temple by the wind, and as no pains are taken to remove it, many of the apartments are now choked up. This temple, however, is not to be compared with those at Luxor and Carnak, in splendour and magnitude. The entrance to the latter was through an avenue of sphinxes, and the height of the propyla, (or Gate House in modern language) 148 feet; its width 360; the door-way itself was 64 feet in height. After passing through a courtyard you enter a hall, supported by 134 pillars of colossal magnitude; the width of this magnificent hall is 338 feet, and the depth 170; the walls as well as the pillars are completely covered with sculpturing. |