Sharp County record., 1891-12-03

great fun for these haters of Chris
tianity to hear that on the morrow
in the Stadium in Ephesus the mis-
sionary Paul would, in the presence of
crowded galleries, fight hungry lion.
The people were early to get the best
seats, and more alert and enth usiastic
crowd never assembled. They took
their dinners with them. And was there
ever more unequal combat proposed?
Paul, according to tradition, small,
crooked backed and weak-eyed, but the
grandest man in the sixty centuries, is
led to the center, as the people shout:
There he comes, the preacher who has
nearly ruined our religion. The lion
will make but brief mouthful of
him." 1t is plain that all the sympathies
of that crowd are with the lion. In one
of the underground rooms l hear the
growl of the wild beasts. They have
been kept for several days without food
or water in order that they may be es-
pecially ravenous and blood-thirsty,
What chance is there for Paul? But
you can not tell by mans size or
looks how stout a blow he can strike
or keen a blade he can thrust. Wit
ness, Heaven and earth and hell, this
struggle of Paul with a wild beast.
The coolest man in the Stadium is
Paul. What has he to fear? He has de-
fled all the powers, earthly and
Internal, and if his body tum-
BILE under the foot and tooth of
the wild beast, his soul will only the
sooner find disenthralment But it is
his duty, as far as possible, to preserve
his life. Now, l hear the bolt of the
wild beasts door shove back, and the
whole audience rise to their feet as the
fierce brute springs for the arena and
toward its small occupant. l think the
first plunge that was made by the wild
beast at the apostle was made on the
point of sharp blade, and the snarl-
ing monster with a howl of pain and
reeking with gore, turns back. But
now the little missionary has his turn
of making attack, and with few
well-drected thrust the monster
lies dead in the dust of the arena,
and the apostle puts forth his right foot
on the lion and shakes him, and then puts
his left foot on him and shakes him
scene which Paul afterwards uses for
an Illustration when he wants to show
how Christ will triumph over death
'He must reign till lie hath put all
enemies under His feet" yes, under His
feet Paul told the literal truth when
he said: 81 have fought with beasts at
Ephesus" lNd as the plural is used |
think he had more than one such fight,
or several beasts turned loose upon him
at one time. AS we stood that day in
the middle of the Stadium and looked
around at the great structure, the
whole scene came back upon us.
In the midst of this city of Ephesus
once floated an artificial lake, brilliant
with painted boats, and through the
River Cayster it was connected with
the sea, and ships from all parts of the
known earth foated in and out, carry
ing On commerce which made Ephe-
sus the envy Of the world. Great was
Ephesus! Its gymnasia, its hippo
drome, its odeon, its atheneum, its
forum, its aqueducts Whose skeletons
are still strewn along the city,, its
towers, its castle of Hadrian, it..
monument of Androcius, it's quarries,
which were the granite cradle of cities,
its temples, built to Apollo, to Minerva,
to Neptune, to Mercury, to Bacchus, to
Hercules, to Caesar, to Fortune, to Jupi-
ter Olympus. What history and poetry
and chisel and canvass have not pre-
sented has come up at the call of arch
biologists powder and crowbar.
But have now to unveil the chief
wonder of this chcfest Of cities. In
1868, under the patronage of the En-
glish government, Mr.. Wood, the ex-
plorer, began at Ephesus to feel along
under the ground at great depths for
roads, for walls, for towers, and here it
is-that for which Ephesus was more
celebrated than all else bcside-the tenn
pie OF the goddess Diana, called the
sixth wonder Of the world, and in 1889
we stood amid the ruins of that tenn
pie measuring its pillars, translixed
by its sculpture and confoundcd
at what was the greatest temple of
idolatry in all time. AS sat on u piece
of one of its fallen columns, ! said:
what earthquake rocked it down. or
what hurrican pushed 1t to the earth,
or under what strong wine of centuries
did the giant stagger and fall?' "There
have been seven temples Of Diana, the
ruins OF each contributing something
for the splendor Of all it's architectural
successors. Two hundred and twenty
years was this last temple in
construction. Twice as long as
the United States have stood
was that temple In building,
1t was nearly twice as large as
St. Pauls cathedral, London. Lest It
should be disturbed by earthquakes,
which have always been fond OF mas.
ing these regions their playground,
the temple was built on " marsh, which
was made firm by layers Of charcoal
covered by heeces Of wool, The stone
came from the quarry near by. After
1t w@ decreed to build the temple,
it was thought II would be necessary
to bring the building stone from other
lands, but one day y shepherd by