The Bossier banner., 1892-01-28
UPON MARS HILL.
Rev. IT. Dewitt Talmage at the
Grecian Acropolis,
Standing where Paul stood when He As
founded the Grecis n Philosophers
The Departed GIories of the
Wondrous Parthenon.

The following discourse was deliv-
cred by Rev. 7. Dewitt Talmage in the
Brooklyn tabernacle on continuation
of his series: From the Pyramids to
the Acropolis." He took for his text:
While Paul waited for them at Athens his |
spirit was stirred in him when he saw the city |
wholly given to idolatry.-Acts xvii, l6
1t seemed as if morning would never
come, We had arrived after dark in
Athens, Greece, and the night was
Sleepless with expectation, and MY
watch slowly announced to me one and
two and three and four o'clock, and at
the first ray of dawn l called our party
to look out of the window upon that
city to which Paul said he was debt
or, and to which the whole earth is
debtor for Greek architecture, Greek
sculpture, Greek poetry, Greek elo.
quence, Greek prowess, and Greek his
tory. That morning in Athens we
sauntered forth armed with most gen.
erous and lovely letters from the presi-
dent of the United States and his scre-
tary of state and during all our stay in
that city these letters caused every
door and every gate and every temple
and every palace to swing open before
u.s. The mightiest geographical name
on earth to-day is America. The sigma
ture of an American president and sec
retary of state will take a man where
an army could not. Those names
brought us into the presence of a most
gracious and beautiful sovereign, the
queen of Greece, and her cordiality was
more like that of sister than the occu-
pant of a throne room. No formal bow
as when monarchs are approached, but
cordial shake of the hand, and earn
est questions about our personal well
fare and our beloved country far away.
But this morning we pass through
where stood the Agora, the ancient
market place, the locality where phi
losophers used to meet their disciples,
walking while they talked, and where
Paul the Christian logician flung many
proud stole, and got the laugh on
many an impertinent Epicurean.
The market place was the center of
social and political life. and it was the
place where people went to tell and
hear the news Booths and bazaars
were sset up for merchandise of all
kinds, except meat, but everything
must be sold for cash, and there must
be no lying about the value of commod-
tiles, and the Agoranomi who ruled
the place could infict severe punish
ment upon offenders. The different
schools of thinkers had distinct places
set apart for convocation. The Pla-
teans must meet at the cheese market,
the Decelians at the barber shop, the
sellers of perfumes at the frankincense
headquarters. The market place was
space three hundred and fifty wards
long and two hundred and fifty wide.
and it was given up to gossip, and mer-
chandise, and lounging, and philoso-
phizing. All this you need to know in
order to understand the Bible when it
q says of Paul: Therefore disputed he
in the market daily with them that met
him." You see it was the best place to
get an audience, and if man feels
himself called to preach he wants peo.
pie to preach to. But before we make
our chief visits of to-day we must take
turn at the Stadium. 1t is a little
way out, but go we must The Sta.
dunn was the place where the foot.
races occurred.
Paul had been out there, no doubt.
for he frequently uses the scenes OF
that place as figures when he tells us;
Let us run the race that is set before
u.s." and again: ''They do it to obtain a
corruptible garland, but we an incor.
ruptible The marble and gliding have
been removed, but the high mounds
against which the seats were piled are
still there. The Stadium is six hundred
and eighty feet long, one hundred and
thirty feet wide and held forty thou
sand spectators There is to-day the
very tunnel through which the defeated
racer departed from the Stadium and
from the Kisses of the people, and
there are the stairs up which the victor
went to the top of the hill to be
crowned with the laurel. In this place
contests with wild beasts sometimes
took place, and while Hadrian, the EN-.
peror, sat on yonder height one thou
sand beasts were slain in one celebra-
tion. But it was chiefly for foot-racinp.
and SO | proposed to my friend that
day while we were in the Stadium that
we try which of us could run the
sooner from end to end of this histor-
ical ground, and so at the word given
by the lookers-on we started side
by side, but before l got through I
found out what Paul meant when he
compares the spiritual race with the
race in this very Stadium, as he saws:
Lay aside every weight" MY heavy
overcoat and my friends freedom from
such encumbrance showed the adyan.
tage in any kind of race of 'laying
aside every weight"
We now come to the Acropolis. 1t is
rock about two miles in circumfer.
ence at the base, and one thousand
feet in circumference at the top, and
three hundred feet high On it has
been crowded more elaborate arehi.
lecture and sculpture than in any other
place under the whole heavens ORIG.
inally a fortress, afterward coupreoa.
tion of temples and statutes and nil.
lars, their ruins an enchantment from
which no observer ever. breaks awav