<u>the line comes from W B Yeats' poem 'The Second Coming' </u>and describes the image of the Sphinx to show that civilization can fall to nightmarish proportions.
Explanation:
the second coming is argued to be about the second coming of Christ and a dogmatic nihilistic view that humans are irredeemable depending on who interprets it. <u>the theme however, is redemption and the image that springs up is the fall of order</u>. 'things fall apart' in the earlier lines of the poem.
the lion with the face of man represents the bestiality of mankind in the nightmarish image of a desert that Yeats describes.<u> Sphinx of Egypt is a counterpart in reality, a testament to the fall of a once great civilization. </u>hence, the image serves to show the non divinity of humans and the need to be saved by the second coming of Christ.
I think it is better for people to learn on their own because then they already have experience but it's also good to learn from other people's mistakes
