1.   Because much of Babylon was constructed from mud and wattle, and subjected to the spillage from the nearby rivers, few of its structures have survived the centuries.

2.   If free-market capitalism survives another century in this country, one thing is certain.

3.   Otherwise such materials rarely survive the centuries.

4.   The oldest neighborhood is called the Vieux Carre, or French Quarter, but the Spanish built most of the historic structures that survived the centuries.

5.   While this may not qualify as advice for the ages, it is a vintage sort of American pragmatism that just might survive the century.