Hi Thief, "yet, those walls still stand" in Roma:) Their formula, long lost!! The cement/concrete of Ancient Rome gets stronger as it ages.

The shell remains, gutted by envy + greed that got out of hand within those civilization's crumbling walls.

The glimmer of truth, "pin point of a needle" line—some can hide within their shell. Which is in step with

Supertramp —"How they rape the universe

How they've gone from bad to worse

Who are these men of lust, greed and glory?"

If you cannot join them, hide within one's shell.