And knowing the idols for what they were, I came forward to offer my own paltry honors, now pale, petty things at the feet of such monuments. I asked one who passed close, "Why should those to whom the world bows bend their knees before these stone remembrances?" And he answered: "These are the immortal years, father of all things that will be. All these kings, they have crowned. All the gods of their countries, they have raised from the dust, and to the dust will fling them again. The events of history flow from them as a river, and all the worlds are but pebbles that they have cast into the pond that is eternity. The wise kings bow before them to show that they have learned the lessons they have to teach, and will carry those forward."