Rome wasn't built in a day

By Noralyn Dudt

The adage “ROME wasn't built in a day” attests to the need for time, and patience  to create great and impressive things. It's a rather unique expression that functions as an injunction or plea for someone to be patient. Magnificent structures and transformative elements require serious thought and great planning. They can't be built overnight. They can be decades and even centuries in the making.

As the capital of the great Roman Empire, Rome was renowned for its architectural beauty, parks, gardens and fountains. Historians, poets, essayists   refer to it as "The Grandeur that was Rome."  Rome had scale and opulence that was unprecedented.  Thus, the proverb,  "Rome...."  is a metaphor for excellence of the highest order. 

The English playwright, John Heywood's wrote  that "Rome wasn't built in a day....but they were laying bricks every hour"  is a reminder of the fact that it requires time and patience, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year  to create something big and great. Meticulous planning and hard work  are needed to reach audacious goals.

The thought of connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans was indeed audacious. The idea of creating a water passage across the isthmus of Panama to link these two oceans was tantalizing, indeed. Back in the 1500s during one of his voyages, Vasco de Balboa realized that the narrow strip of land in Panama separated the two oceans and reported this finding to King Charles 1 of Spain. Very receptive to the idea, King Charles tapped his regional Governor to survey a route along the Chagres River. The realization of such a route across mountainous, tropical terrain deemed not only  impossible but also insane at the time.  However, the idea remained enticing as a potential shortcut from Europe to Eastern Asia. The only other route was to sail around South America via the stormy and unpredictable Strait of Magellan, or use the Panama Railroad to transfer goods and people from one ocean to another. Undoable it seemed at the time  so that this idea remained just an "idea" for over two  centuries.   It was not until the 1880s that the idea came back to the fore when the French first attempted to build a canal. However, they quickly encountered monumental challenges: the incessant rains that caused heavy landslides and the lack of  effective means for combating the spread of yellow fever and malaria. The French engineer De Lesseps also realized that a sea level Canal was too difficult and reorganized efforts toward a lock canal. Unfortunately,  funding was pulled from the project in 1888. The idea went into dormancy again but good ideas don't lay dormant for long and in 1904, it piqued the curiosity of then  U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt who quickly pushed it forward.  A committee was organized to look into how to get the project started, including helping Panama get its independence from Colombia.  Consequently, the United States  purchased the French assets in the Canal zone for US$40 million. The elimination of disease-carrying mosquitoes greatly helped the project  and  chief engineer John Stevens devised innovative techniques and spurred the crucial redesign from a sea-level lock to a lock canal.  The Canal was opened in 1914 and has been a critical artery of global trade, accommodating a wide range of vessels, including container ships, bulk carriers, and cruise ships. It is a remarkable waterway that continues to captivate visitors from around the world. People visit the place not only to  marvel at the engineering feat, but also to take a peek  into its complex history and global significance. An audacious idea that deemed insane turned out to become one of the world's feat of engineering.

Another fine example of an achievement  that took more than "a day" to accomplish would change a nation and the lives of millions of people. The moment  the Spanish conquistadors set foot on what would become the Las Islas de Filipinas ( the Philippine Islands) they decided to stay, and stayed they did for three centuries.  Although the natives fully embraced the Christianity that the

Spanish missionaries brought, they  eventually got fed up with the injustices and corruption practiced  by the friars and colonial government.  Rebellion and pitched battles broke out throughout the archipelago that went on for over a hundred years. The "rebels" had concrete goals but somehow lacked long term plans. Rebellions were suppressed  quickly.  It was through Dr. Jose Rizal  writings/novels that laid down the foundation for a national quest for independence from the Spanish Crown.  While studying in Madrid,  Dr. Rizal led the reform movement of Filipino students in Spain.  Rizal contributed essays, allegories, poems, and editorials to the Spanish newspaper La Solidaridad in Barcelona that expounded the Filipino yearnings for equality and freedom. Using pen names, "Dimasalang”, “Laong Laan”, and “May Pagasa”, he exposed the abuses, injustices and corruption of the church friars and those in government. Rizal wrote that the people of the Philippines were battling "a double-faced Goliath"—corrupt friars and bad government. His commentaries reiterated the following: that if the Philippines would not be given independence, it should be made a province of Spain and have equal  representation in the Cortes ( the Spanish Parliament);  Filipino priests instead of Spanish friars;  freedom of speech and assembly; equal rights before the law (for both Filipino and Spanish plaintiffs). In addition to his writings in the La Solidaridad, his two novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo that were published in Europe awakened many of the intellectuals there and earned their sympathy and support.

Philippine Independence from Spain didn't come overnight—it had to be fought over and over again. It deemed impossible at the time to fight against a world power of the 1700s. It cost Rizal's life and many others who dared to challenge the authority of Spain and the Church.

The coming of Christ is another  "achievement" (if I may call it so) that took more than a "day" to execute. In fact it took  two millennia. Audacious as it was, it certainly required careful planning... that even the Master Planner  knew it had to be meticulously planned. Yes... God does make plans! He could have just waved a "magic wand" but he chose not to. God called Abraham from the land of the Chaldees (now Nasiriyah in the south of  Iraq) and told him to go to a place called Canaan (now Palestine). God told Abraham that he and his wife Sarah will have a son and through him, a nation will be built,  and be a blessing to the world. It was an audacious calling but Abraham did not hesitate. He proved to be a man who took God at his word and did everything God asked him to do.  The daring Abraham, full of faith went to a place where he had never been nor even heard of. How this "calling"  ended is common knowledge:  forty-two generations later, in the year 4 B.C., an angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds who were tending  their flocks in the field somewhere in Bethlehem and announced,  "Do not be afraid. I bring good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the city of David, a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying:

"Glory to God in highest heaven, and on earth his peace to people whom His favor rests."

A perfect plan that even for the Master Planner, took 2,000 years to accomplish. Whatever and however long it had to take,  that's how much  God Almighty wanted to visit us in the flesh.

A marvel of human engineering, the daring and passionate protests for freedom, God's visitation among us took meticulous planning and patience.

"Rome wasn't built in a day." How true that was, is, and will be!

Noralyn Onto Dudt is currently living in North Bethesda, Maryland.