Tomb of Absalom
In the Valley of the Kedron, in a deep and narrow glen, among other picturesque sepulchral mounds, stands the Tomb (or Pillar) of Absalom. It is a cube hewn out of the solid rock. Each side measures twenty-two feet. The west front is the best preserved. Over the columns is the Doric frieze, and over this an Egyptian cornice. The total height above the present surface of the ground is fifty-four feet. “The style of architecture shows at once that this can not be the pillar Absalom had reared for himself during his lifetime in the King’s Dale.” It is difficult to determine the exact date of the monument. The name of Absalom was not attached to it before the twelfth century. The strange mingling of Egyptian and Greek styles would not be inconsistent with the age of the Herods. The heaps of stone around it bear testimony to the habit of the Jews, who cast stones at the monument as they pass, to show their hatred of the very name of Absalom. A wayward man was Absalom, with varied gifts, among them personal beauty, but without filial affection, without principle, without faith in the eternal righteousness. He received his just deserts, and was also the instrument of divine justice to remind David of his own evil deeds.
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