Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1865-01-06
Paul at Athens.
BY MINNIE HAWTHORNE.

might be seen upon the heisuls, WHERE NC
stands gazing, now upon the cultivated
fields and gardens around, now upon the
bright sky and blue heavens overhead
and now forth upon the broad Kgean sea,
dotted with It's beautiful islands, its rip
pied waters sporting with the sunbeams,
or rejecting like mirror Tie smiles and
beauty OF the Lord. AS he walks the
street, be is seen liftiag his sight to the
top of the monumental column, and di'
recting it along the massive and rich col
onnades, he looks into the doors OF their
temples, and seems to scan ntently every
scene and object He fingers also around
the places where philosophy gave in
structions on wisdom, and is seen on the
outer verge Of admiring groups, and
while he listens, displays impatient dsap
probation. Though in the nation where
Socrates was condemned to die for his
opinions, he may be found 10 the market
place disputing with the Gentle, and in
The synagogue with the resident Jew :;
and both qaail before the power, and are
startled by the character Of his words
Why did be speak thus, and whence this
daring course Of action? That sea, those
hills, that sun. had failed to lead to a.
discovery of the Eternal power and Cod
head. Those temples had allara inscrib-
ed 20 the Uaknowa God and were the
resort of worshippers whose hearts were
as cold as the marble Of which they were
constructed. Athens was the home of
thirty thousand deities. The intellect
that reared those splendid structures, aud
the zeal that maintained their services,
were all unsanctifed. The men he met
were living corpses, dead while they
lived. There was no God, no Savior,
no hope. IT was Greece, but living
Greece no more" and justified in spiritu-
al and religious view the poets impas-
stoned comparison of her modern with
her ancient state, when he likened the
former TO beautiful corpse, whose ma
terial symmetrical organization remained,
while beauty and charm Of life had fed,
and which was just in the stage.
Before Decays defacing fingers
Had swept the lines where beauty lngers.'
Arts, arms, science, philosophy, govern
ment, everything hourished barely intel
lectual nourished at Athens. But it was a
though the proudest production Of human ;,
effort, to a spiritual eye nothing but an ~
selEreared monument, uncon> -
sciously, undeslgnedly testifying, that The w
world by wisdom knew not God And ~
when the philosophers encountered him CT
as they came 10 the rescue of their sew
eral schemes, aud after they had tumultu-l ~
ously hurried him along to Mars hill, u
amid the corjectures Of some, and the a
ieers OF others, at the 'babbler,' bio re, 81
buked, he reasoned, lie Numbered, he 0
commanded repentance in the name Of u
the God he declared unto them. He
pointed to the judgment, and showed u
them the Crucifed, coming in the glory
Of the Father, with lis holy angels, mo
more TO bleed, no more to die ! and dis |
played 'spiri; stirred by gospel piety,
zeal and hope. He held the light of
truth over their idols, and exposed their
noihingness. 1t requires but little effort
of imagination 20 conceive how con.
temptible even to the eye Of reason, in S
light from heaven which streamed in up
on those dark temples Of dolatry during Q
{ h apostles speech, those senseless
images appeared, compared With the 'liv
ing throne, the sapphire blaze' which he
unveiled before their astonished minds t
and that he did in fleet, by the word Of e
truth, what Josiah did literally at the time !
of his reformation, when he ground the c
idols Of the land to powder, and scattered s
their dust broadcast in contempt and in. r
diguation upon the persons oftheir living i
dupes, and the graves of their departed +
worsbiPpers. 2 Kings %; Chron. a. b
lie assailed their pride, he braved their a
power, lie delied their divinities, and the v
implication running through all he said b
and did was this their enmity to God 9
and their danger in view of the day Of g
perdition Of ungodly men, o
With what plainness of speech did b
Paul warn, with What truth and tender Il
ness did he plead AS my beloved sons, II
he cries, 1 warn you He exhorts Tim n
othy 80 rebuke in and out of season. q
He eschews those general denuucialions "
of sin that are as little felt as general
confessions Of it are. The apostle enters
into particulars. One by one, name by :,
name, sin By sir, be writes out on several !,
occasions the long, black catalogue of pre-
vailing vices. Let US come to the apostles '