Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1892-11-18
REV. DR., TaLMaGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE's Sun
DAY SERMON.
SUBJECT: "ApyICE TO VOTERS"

work in excavtiug the tomb of a dead em-
pre- holding in its arms a dead city-noth.
er and child OF the same name Babylon,
The ancient mound invites the spades AMI
shovels and crowbars while the unwashed
natives look on with surprise. These scien-
fists find yellow bricks still impressed with
the name Nebuchadnezzar, and they 90
down into the sarcophagus of a monarchy
buried more than two thousand years ago.
May the xplorations of Rawiinson and lay
ard and Chevalier and Opperto and Lotus
and Chesney be eclipsed by the present
archaeological uncoveringi
But is IL possible this is all that remains
OF Babylon-a city once five times larger
than London and twelve times larger than
New York; Walls three hundred and sew
enty-three feet high AMI ninety-three feet
thick. Twenty-Five FURNISHED gates on
each side, with streets running clear
through TO corresponding gates on tue other
aide. Six hundred and twenty-five squares
More pomp and wealth and splen Tor aud
In than could be found in any five
modern cities combined. A city Of pal.
aces and te npleS A city having within
1t garden on an artificial hill four hun
dred feet high, the sides of the mountain
terraced. All this built TO keep the kings
wife, Amytis from becoming homesick for
the mountainous region in which she had
spent her girlhood. The waters OF the Eu-
pirates spouted up TO irrigate this great
altitude into fruits and flowers and arbo-
rescence unimaginable. A great river rum
Mug from north to south clear through the
city, bridges over it tunnels under it boats
on IL.
A city Of bazaars and market places, un-
rivaled for aromaticS aud uuguents and
high melted horses with groom5 by their
side, and thyme wood, and African ever
green and Egyptian linen, aud all styles OF
costly textile fabric, and rarest purples ex-
tracted from shelitish on the Mediterranean
coast, and rarest scarlets taken from bril-
liant insects in Spain, and worries brou znt
from successful elephant hunts in India,
and diamonds whose fash WAS n replrtea to
the sun. Fortress within fortress, embat-
tlement rising above embattIement. Great
capital OF the ages. But one
night, while honest citizens were
asleep, but all the saloons OF saturna,ia
were in full blast, and at the kings castle
they had hllei the tankards for the teuth
time, and reeling and gutfawng an1 hic-
coughing around the state table were tho
rulers OF the land, General Cyrus ordered
his besieging army TO take shovels AMI
spades and they diverted the river from It's
usual channel into another direction 50
that the forsaken bel of tho river became
the path on which the besie ging army en-
tered.
When the morning dawne the conquer.
ors were inside the outside trenches, BABY
Ion had fallen, and hence the sublime
threnody of the text: ALAS, alas that great
city Of Baby lon, that mighty city, for in one
hour is thy ju ulgnent Gomez But do Nations
dieH oh, yes; there sgreat mortality am )ns
monarchies and republics. They are like iu-
uividuals in the fact that they are born; they
have middle life; they have decease; thoy
hava n Cra1la and a Soma of than
are assassinatei, some destroyed by their
own hand. Let me call the roll Of some OF
the dead civilizations and some OF the dead
cities AMI let some one answer for them.
Egyptian civilization, stand up. "Deidp
answer the ruins of karnak and Luxor and
from seventy pyramids on the east side OF
the Nile there comes up great chorus cry
ing, "Dead, deadF' Assyrian Empire, stand
up and answer. "DeadP' cry the charre1
ruins Of Nineveh. After six hundred years
OF magnificent opportunity, deal. Israel
itish Kingdom, stand up. After two hum
dred and fifty years OF divine interpretations
and Of miraculous yicissttude, AMI OF hero.c
behavior, and OF appalling depravity. deal
Phenicia, stand up and answer After in-
venting the alphabet AMI giving it to the
world and sending out her merchant cara.
vans in Que direction to Central Asa, an
sending out her navigators TO tho Atlantic
Ocean In another direction, deal.
Pillars OF Hercules and rocks on which
the Tyrian fisherman dried their nets all
answer, Dead Phpuicia." Athens after
Phidias after DemostheneS after Miltiades,
dead. Sparta, after Leoniias, after Euri-
blades, after Salamis after Thermopylis.
dead. Roman empire, stand up and answer
empire once bounded by the British Chan.
mel on the north, by the Euphrates on the
east, by the great Sahara desert in Africa
| 80. .to ~ tho a tlautir Oraan
west; home OF three great civilizations
| owning all the then discovered world that
| was worth ownng-Romau empire answer.
Gibbon in his rise and Fall Of the Roman
| Empire says, Dead" and the forsaken
seats Of the ruined Coliseum, and the skele-
ton Of the aqueducts, and the miasma of the
Campagna, and the fragments Of the marble
baths, and the useless piers OF the Bridge
| Triumphalis and the Mamertiue prison,
holding no more apostolic prisoners, and the
silent Forum and Basilica OF Constantine, and
! the arch OF Titus, and the Pantheon come in
| with great chorus crying, Dead, dead"
After Horace after Virgil. after Tacitus,
after Cicero-dead. After Horatius on the
bridge, and Cincinnatus, the farmer oil
garch, after Pompey, after Scipio, after
| Cassius, after Constantine, after Cesar
dead. The war eagle OF Rome few so high
IL was blinded by tho sun and came whirlina
| uO"H tub ubHNbub, anu Jnb owl OF
desolation and darkness built its nest in tn,
forsaken eyrie. Mexican empire-iead.
! French empire dead.
You see, my friends 1t ia no unusual
thing for government to perish, and in
the same neurology of dead Nations an iu
the same graveyard of expire governments
will go tho United States OF Americ,
unless there he some potent voice to call Q
halt, ami unless God in His mercy inter.
| 4 flrDu1h N FN,t..iHaI halIot hnw a
widespread public Christian sentiment
the catastrophe be averted. This nation
is aboG: to go to the ballot box to exercise
ths right OF suffrage, and | propose
TO set before you the evils that threaten t.
destroy the American Government and tc
annihiats American institutions and II
God will help me will show you before
get through the mole in which each an
| every one may do something to arrest that
appalling calamity. And 1 shall plow up
the whole field.
The first evil that threatens the anuihla-
tion of our American institutions is the fact
that political bribery, winch onca was con-
sidere1 a Grim, has by many como to be
considere a toerable virtue There is a
legitimate use OF money in elections in this
printing Of political tracts, and In the hiring
Of public halls, aud in the obtaining OF cam
paign oratory, but is there any homunculuS
"ho supPoSes IhaU Ohls Nas1 amount oh hohey
now being raise by the political parties Is
going in a legitimate direction? The vast
majority OF it will 90 TO buy votes.
HunIrets ani thouslni Is OF mel Will have
set before them so mush money for Re-
publican vote, AMI so much money for a
Democratic vote. and the superior financial
nducoment will decide the action. You
want to know which party will carry the
doubtful States day after tom orrowH
will tell you. The party that spends the
most money. This moment while speak,
the pedders carrying gold from Wall street
gold from Third street. gold from State
street, aud gold from tho Brewers assoca.
ton are in all the political headquarters oi
the doubtful States, dealing out the infa
nous nducement.
There used to be bribery: but II held IT.
head In shame. 1t was under the utmoit
! sacracv TINT ,nanv vaara aoo N ratlroad