The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1889-11-27
hin ,,s.ed liz to and passage be-

the MatterhOrn, with alpenstock, anu
guides, and rockets, and ropes, and get
ting half way up, stumble and fall down
in q horrihle massacre. They justwanted
to saw they had been on the tops OF those
high peaks. And shall we fear to 60 out
for the ascent OF the eternal hills which
start thousand miles beyond where
stop the highest peaks Of the Alps, and
when in that ascent there is no peril. A
man doomed to die stepped on the scat
fold, and said in joy: ''Now, in amin.
utes Twill know the greatest secret"
One minute after the vital functions
ceased the little child that died last
night knew more than Paul himself be-
fore he died. Friends, the exit from
this world, or death, if you please to call
it, to the Christian is glorious explana-
.t;on. I. Is demonstration. It is illumi-
nation. 1t is sun-burst. 1t is the open
ing OF all the windows. 1t Is shutting
up the catechism of doubt, and the un-
rolling of all the scrolls Of positive and
accurate information. Instead of stand
ing at the foot of the ladder and looking
up, it is standing at the top OF the lad
der and looking down. 1t is the last
mystery taken out of botany, and geol-
ogy, and astronomy, and theology. 0,
will it not be grand to have all ques-
lions answered? The perpetually recur-
ring interrogation point changed TO: the
mark of exclamation. All riddles solved.
Who will fear to 60 out on that discov-
cry, when all thequestions are tolbe de-
cided which we have been discussing all
our lives? Who shall not clap his hands
in the anticipation of that blessed coun-
try,, if it be no better than through holy
curiosity? As this Paul of my text did
not suppress his curiosity we need not
suppress ours. Yes, / have an unlimited
curiosity about all religious things, and
as this City Of Rome was SO intimately
connected with apostolic'times, the incl
dents of which emphasize and explain
and augment the Christian religion, you
will not take it n-eviaenoe Of pry-
ing spirit, but al the outbqrsti4g of q
Christian curiosity when 1rsay I must
also see Rome. "A II EEa VI
Our desire to visit this city is also in
tensified by the fact that we want to be
confirmed in. the feeling that. human
life is brief, but its work lastS for certu-
ries, indeed, forever. Therefore show
us the antiquities of oldj Rome, about
whichswe have been readi tgsfqf ya life
time but never seen. In beloved Amer
lea we have no antiquities. A church
eighty years old overawes us with it's
age. We have in America some cathe-
drals hundreds and thousands of years
Fold, but they are in Yellowstone Park Or
California canon, and their architectate
and masonry were by the omnipotent
God. We want to see the buildings or
ruins of old buildings, that were erected
hundreds and thousands Of years ago by
human hands. They lived forty or sew
enty years, but the arches they lifted,
! the paintings they peneiled, the sculpt.
ure they chiseled, the roads they laid
out, understand, are yet to be seen,
| and we want you to show them to us. ]
can hardly wait until Monday morning
must also see Rome. We want to be
| impressed with the fact that what mer
do on small scale or large scale lasts
thousand years, lasts forever, that we
build for eternity and that we do so in g
very short space of time. God is the
only old living presence. But it is ar
old age without any of the intirmities OF
limitations of old age. There is pas
sage of Scripture which speaks Of the
/ birth of the mountains, for there was {
time when the Andes were born, and tht
| Pyrenees were born, and the Sierra Ne
vadas were born, but before the birth o
those mountains the Bible tells us Cox
was born, aye was never born at all, be
cause He always existed. Psalm &c, 2
Before the mountains were brough
! forth cor even Thou hadst formed tn,
earth and the world, eves from everlast
ing to everlasting Thou art God" How
short is human life, what antiquity at
taches to it's worth! How everlasting i
God! Show us the antiquities, the thing
that were old when America was discov
cred, and when Paul went up and dow
these streets sightseeing, old whel
Christ was born. / must, must also SCI
Rome!
Another reason for our visit to thi
city is that we want to see the place
where the mightiest intellects and tn
greatest natures wrought for our Chris
tian religion. We have been told il
America by some people of swollel
heads that the Christian religion is
| pusillanimous thing, good for children
4 under seven years of age and small
Drained people, but not for the intelli
gent and swarthy minded. We hav
heard of your Constantine the mighty
who pointed his army to the cross, say
ing: 'sBy this conquer" If there b
any thing here connected with his reigI
or his military history, show it to us
The mightiest intellect of the ages wa
the author of my text, and, if for tn
Christian religion He was willing t
labor and suffer and die, there must b
something exalted and sublime and tire
4 mendous in it; and show me every plac
he visited, and show me If you ca
, where he was tried, and which of you
roads leads out to Ostia, that may SO
where he went out to die. We ex
pect before we finish this iourne
to see Lake Galilee and the plac
! where Simon Peter and Andre
!, fished, and perhaps WEI may drop
net or a & hook and line yinto thos
, waters ourselves, but when tollowin
, the track of those lesser apostles wi
learn quite another lesson. l wan
while in the city of Rome, to study tn
religion of the brainiest of the apostle
} want to follow, as far as we can traf
it, the track Of this great intellect of m
| text, who wanted to see Rome also. Il
: was logician, he was a metaphysicial
: he was an all conquering orator, he W;
a poet of the highest type. He had
t nature that could swamp the leadir
, men Of his own day, and, hurled again
. the Sanhedrim, he made it tremble. L
, learned all he could in the school of h
0 native village, then he had gone to
:, higher school, and there had masters
t the Greek and The Hebrew and perfectt
v himself in bellies lettres, until, in aft
2 years, he astounded the Cretans, and Il
/ Corinthians, and the Athenians, by gu