The Princeton union., 1891-11-26
GREAT is DIANA,
Or Was in the Ancient Days When
Ephesus Was the Empress
Of lOnia.
DR.. Talmage Describes the Ruins
Which Constitute the Sixth Won
der Of the World.

sermon, which is the fifth Of the series,
is concerned with the doctors visit to
Ephesus, (which city, with it's won
derful temple and other buildings, he
gives a vivid description, with charac-
teristic exegetical comments on OBJ
scure passages OF Scripture. His text
was: Acts, xix, 34, Great is Diana
of the Ephesians.
N We have landed this morning at
Smyrna, city OF Asiatic Turkey.
One OF the seven churches Of Asia once
stood here. You read in Revelation,
"To the Church in Smyrna write" It
is city that has often been shaken
by earthquake, swept by conhagra-
ton, blasted by plaques and butcher
ed by war, and here Bishop Polycarp
stood in q crowded amphitheatre and
when he was asked to give up the ad-
vocacy of the Christian religion and
save himself from martyrdom, the
pro-counsul saying: "Swear and I re
lease thee; reproach Christ" replied:
"Eighty and six years have I served
him, and he never did me wrong; how
then can revilemy King and Savior?"
When he was brought to the fires into
which he was about to be thrust, and
the officials were about to fasten him
to the stake, he said: "Let me remain
as I am for he who giveth me strength
to sustain the fire will enable me also
without your securing me with nails to
remain unmo owed in the fire." History
says the fires refused to consume him,
and under the wind the flames bent
outward so that they did not touch
his person, and therefore he was slain
by swords and spears. One cypress
bending over his grave is the only
monument. -
TO BISHOP POLCARP. s5
But we are on our way to the city
of Ephesus about fifty miles from
Smyrna. We hire q special railway
train, and in about an hour and a
half we arrive at the city of Ephesus
which was called t"The Great Me
tropolis OF ASIA" and zone Of the
eyes of ASIA" and "The Empress q
1onia,'' the capital Of all learning an6
lnagnifcence. Here, as I said, was
one of the seven churches of Asia and
the first OF all we visit the ruins O
that church, where once an Ecumen
cia1 council of 1900 ministers of relig
ion was held. b
Mark the fulflment Of the prophecy
OF the sseven4 churches of Asia; foul
were commended in the book Of Rev
elations, and three were doomed
The cities having the four commended
churches still stand; the cities having
the three doomed churches are wlpec
out. It occurred just as the Bible
said it would occur. Drive on anc
| you come to the theater, which was
$50 feet from wall to wall, capable o
holding So, 700 spectators. Here anc
there the walls arise almost unbrok
en-, but for the most part the building
is down. Just enough OF it is left tc
help the imagination build it up as il
was when these audiences shouted anC
clapped at some great spectacular
Their huzzas must have been enough
to stun the heavens.
NOW, WE STEP INTO THE STADIUM.
Enough of it's walls and appoint
ments are left to show what a stupen
| dous place it must have been whe1
used for foot races and for fights Will
wild beasts. It was a building $50 fee
long by 200 fleet wide Paul refers tt
what transpired there in the way Q
spectacle when he says: eve have beer
made a SPECTACLE Yes, Paul says .
have fought with beasts at Ephesus,
an expression usually taken as fgura
tive, but I suppose it was literall.
true, for one Of the amusements il
that Stadium was to put disliket
man in the arena with hungry liol
or tiger or panther, and let the figh
go on until either the man or tn
beast or both were slain.
In the midst of this city Of Ephesu
once foated an artificial lake, brillian
with painted boats, and through tn
River Cayster it was connected witt
the sea, and ships from all parts 9
the known earth hoated in and ou
carrying on a commerce which mad
Ephesus the envy OF the world. Grea
was Ephesus! It's gymnasia, it's hippo
drome, it's odeon, it's athenaeum, it
forum, it's aqueducts (whose skeleton
are still strewn along the city); it
i towers, it's castle Of Hadrian, it
monument OF Androclus, it's quarries
| which were the granite cradle Of cities
it's temples built to Apollo, to Miner
va, to Neptune, to Mercury, to Ba,
chus, to Hercules, to Caesar, to Fo7
tune, to Jupitor Olympus Wha
history and poetry and chisel and cal
4 vas have not presented has come up a
the call Of archeologists' powder-blas
and crowbar.
But I have now to unveil the chi
wonder Of this chiefest Of cities.
1868, under the patronage Of II
English government, Mr.. Wood, IL
explorer, began at Ephesus to fe
\ along under theground at great deptl
for roads, for wallis, for towers, ar
here it is that for which Ephesus We
more celebrated than all else beside
the temple Of the egod dess Diana, calle
the sixth wonder of the world, and
1889 we stood amid the ruins Of tn,
temple measuringi it's pillars, tr ransfixe
by it's sculpture and confounded ,
, what was the greatest temple Of idol,
,, try in all time. AS sat on piece
) one OF it's fallen columns, / sal
"What earthquake rocked it dow
: or what hurricane pushed it to I'll
Il 4. I