The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1889-12-25
CHRISTMAS GREETING.

All Glory and Praise to Christ. the Great
l EmancipatOr.
When Christ was born in Bethlehem
the whole world was in slavery. There
was but one nominal freeman in all the
region from the Euphrates to the great
western ocean, and from Sahara north
to the Scandinavian forests. That one
freeman was Augustus. His slaves were
Kings, and chieftains, and captains.
They held the tenure Of property and
position and life at the will Of their i'm
perial master Below them were slaves,
in descending ranks, to the lowest, which
included a vast multitude. Each in
dividual of the lowest grade Of slaves
held his life at the option of his master.
Each one was unsheltered from the
storm of brutal human passion which
hung portentous over his head, and over
his home by day and by night. Beyond
the limits of the Roman Empire the con-
dition of mankind was the same, each
empire and kingdom and tribe with its
hierarchy of masters, and with but one
freeman in its realm. -
II is not easy for us to realize such q
condition. We can obtain an idea Of
the wretchedness of mankind by study
ing the characters of the masterful
classes. Their amusements were in the
line of gratifying their thirst for blood,
their love Of inflicting pain. They as
sembled by tens Of thousands to witness
the fights Of gladiators, or to see slaves
and captives torn to pieces in the arena
by lions. Their punishments were as
cruel as ingenuity could devise. How
can we form an idea Of public senti-
ment so demoniac that it would nail
such an one as the Christ to the cross, to
die Of the thirst and fever produced by
the uttermost torture of the body. Yet
1t was beneath such indescribably cruel
characters that the world was in
slavery. 1t was at such time that
the wonderful words fell from the
skies: ''Peace on earth; good will
to men," 1t was the battle-cry Of free
dom for the world-not the onset Of q
battle OF spears and sword-thrusts, but 3
warfare in which the sweet influence of
the Spirit of Christ was to conquer and
occupy the dark and cruel citadels OF the
human heart.
We must suppose that so dark and
cruel world was abandoned by the
merciful and loving spirits of the Heav-
emily country. They could not but en-
durc the pain of lacerated sympathy in
this sublunary hell. As they winged
their way through the stellar spaces we
may truthfully imagine that they avoid
ed scene Of universal sin and suffering
where not ray Of hope litup the SEEM
ingly-endless night of woe and despair.
But now when Christ was come to re-
deem the world, they wheeled down and
filed the midnight air with their joyful
acclamations. Universal peace was to
Danish universal war; universal love
was to Danish universal hate; universal
freedom was to supersede universal
slavery. The human race was to be re.
deemed, regenerated and disenthralled.
Man was to become, like themselves, an
angel of peace and love. He was to be
freed from letters of iron and from fet.
tiers of clay. He was to be enriched
with the possession of all Gods universe
and of all good things in it. He was to
be free as they on the beautiful earth,
and free as they in all the wide expans
of the heavens
We fill the air with the voices Of can.
non and of bugles on the festival of our
National Independence. 1t is martial
celebration. We recount the deeds Of
heroism done in battle. We fling the
banners out to wave from our masts and
turrets and spires. But when we come
to celebrate the dawn of the day Of uni
versal emancipation, a different mood
comes over us-the spirit Of the Heaven.
ly kingdom; and we 60 about seeking
how we may find our joy in making 9th,
ers joyful.
If we think Of it, it is very wonderful
how the mind Of man has been enamel
pated by the genius of Christianity, no,
from fearful and cruel superstition,
alone, but from what we would think t.
be impossible limitations. Step out one
of these starry nights and look abroad
over the fat plane of the world, and
above at the small, twinkling stars, and
ask how n knowledpe Of the ,true rela