Century
follows century—There it stands.
Empires rise and fall
and are forgotten—There it stands.
Dynasty succeeds
dynasty—There it stands.
Kings are crowned and
uncrowned—There it stands.
Emperors
decree its extermination—There it stands.
Atheists rail
against it—There it stands.
Agnostics smile cynically—There
it stands.
Profane prayerless punsters caricature it—There it
stands.
Unbelief
abandons it—There it stands.
Higher critics deny its claim to
inspiration—There it stands.
The flames are kindled about
it—There it stands.
Time gnaws at it—There it stands.
Infidels
predict its abandonment—There it stands.
Modernism tries to
explain it away—There it stands.
—A. Z. Conrad