Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1893-03-01

There Is only one thing that has ever stoppsc
cruelty and sin, and that's Christianity, an
1t was Christianity, whether you like it
form or not, that stopped this massacre Of
centuries. One day while in the Coliseum
Roman victory was being celebrated, an1
100, 600 enraptured spectators were looking
down upon two gladiators in the arena stab
bling and sliclng each other to death, an
Asiatic monk of the name OF Telemachu'
was so overcome by the cruelty that he
Ieaped from the gallery into the arena anC
ran in between the two swordsmsn anc
pushed first one back and then the Other
back and broke up the contest.
or course the audience was atfronted at
having their SPORT stopped, AMI they hurled
stones at the head OF TelemachuS until he
fell dead in the aroma. But when the day
was passed, and the passions OF the people
had cooled off, they deplored the martyrlom
of the brave and Christian Telemachus, aud
as result of the overione cruelty the
human sacrifices Of the Coliseum were for
ever abolished
What good thing, say you, that such
cruelties lave ceased. MY friends, the same
spirit OF rulnous amusemslts AMI OF moral
sacrifice is abroad in the world to-day, al
though it takes other shapes. Last summer
in our southwest there occurred q scene Of
pugilism on which all Christendom looked
down, for | saw the papers on the other side
of the Atlantic Ocean giving whole columns
of it. win some one tell me in what respect
that brutality Of last su inner was superior
to the brutality OF Roman Coliseum In
some respects it was worse by SO much as
the Nineteenth Century pretends to be more
merciful and more decent than the Fifth
Century.
That pugilism is winning admiration in
this country is positively proved by the fact
that years ago such collision was reported in
a half doz IN lines OF newspaper, il reported
at all, an now il takes the whole side OF
newspaper to tell what transpirei between
the first blood drawn by one loafer AMI the
throwing up of the sponge by the other
loafer and 1t Is not the newspapers fault,
for the newspapers givs only what the peo-
pie want, and when newspapers put carrion
on your table it is because you prefer car.
| ron.
The same spirit of brutality is seen today
| in many an ecclesiastical court whsl min.
lister is put on trial Look at tia countea-
ances of the prosecuting ministers, and not
In all cases, bat in many ciseS You will finl
nothing buF diabo!ism inspires than. They
| let out on one poor minister who cannot de-
fend himself the lion OF eccesiasticism aui
the tiger of bigyotry, aud the wild boar of
Jealousy. and ii they can get the offending
minister Il 1t on his back s)ns ons puts his
feet on the neck of the overthrown gospel
zer and looks up, spear in hand, to see
whether the galleries and ecc!esiastics would
have him let up or slain. AMI, 10! many Of
the thumbs are down.
In the worldly realms look at thu brutal.
ties OF the presidential election eight years
ago Read the biographies OF Dini,i Web
ster and Alexander II. Stephens and Horace
Greeley AMI Charles Sumner AMI Lucus
Qun,uS Cincnnatus l. mar an James g.
Blaine, and il the story OF defamation AMI
calumny and scan ializ, tion aui diatrlbs
and scurrlity and lampoon an blin ysyat,
and damnable peridy be accurately re.
corleI, tell me in what respects our poticil
arena aud the bowling ani disappearing
galleries that again and again look down
upon it are better than the Roman Coils.
cum.
When read few days ago that the Su.
preme Court Of the United States had ap.
propriately adjourned to pay honors to the
two last distinguished men mentioned, AMI
American journalism North, South, East
and West went into lamentations over their
departure and said all complimentary
things in regard to them, | asked: "When
did the Nation lie about these men? Was it
when during their life it gave them male
diction or no since their death when be-
slowing upon them beatificaton?'
The same spirit OF cruelty that you de.
plore IN tue roman Coliseum Is seen IN tle
sharp appetite the world seems to have for
the downfall or goo men, and IN the divorce
oil tno'e whose marital lie was thous1t ac'
cordant, AM IN the aD'coaaln, OF BANK
cashier: va, my iriehlS, inc world wants
more OF the splrlt OF Let MN up ana less
of the spirit OF "rhum o5 dowh" There are
hunrra of man in tina priSDnS of aricl
"no ought 10 De uiscnarBei, because they
s"Fer .I' riCS,i,' " VI nave
Tbaui n','i, III ,,r,fo,,i,,, anil o.,,,,,,
+ons no" "'T ,n ~, u" ,i da'n;nnar, ai ov,r Ia
t.Ln,, r.. ,;fa i, n.,', ,,,o iii,
U,uo a." "nyI; r'0 nI mtvn
hn .h o hlo, t un +Srn,h
huoSo ,nu n,e' ny, sas '' at th h
~ ,,,a,' r,;.t tho s';.;t ~ .,r,na,h,
WI away "''n '''0 ''"'' VI ""Ao'
DOWN. What the world wants is lO)) men
like relemachus to leap ont 81 the gallery
into the arena, whether he b, Roman
Catholic monk. or Methodist stewart, or
Presbyterian elder, ani go In between the
contestants. blessed are the p'acenakerS
Tor they snail be called the children OF Goi!
one-ha!i OF the word is down ami the
other hait Is up an 1h' ha't that Is W mas
Its heel on the halt that Is down. Ii you, as
boss WORK nan, or as contractor, or as
Bishop, or as state or Sational omcial OF as
potent factor III SOCIAL lie, or III any way
are depressing any one, know that the san ne
devil that poSsesse1 the honan Coliseun op..
presses you. Inc Diocietiahs are not all
dead. The cellars lea ing ihto tns arena OF
life's struggle are not all emotie1 OF their
tigers. The vivlsectioa by young doctors
of dogs and cats and brls most oil thu time
adds nothing to human discovery, but Is
only continuation OF Vaspaslau's Coils
cum.
The cruelties o; the world generally bsgin
in nurseries and in home circles and IN dav
schools The child that transfixes f,v with
a min or the low feeling that set, two DOES
into combat or that bnllies a wall or crin,
Mod nIavmate or the inlifYerenca that
sstorves a canary hirl raejs only 70 he do.
yelonsd in orier to mako n first class Marc
or n ful armed Anollvon II would bs a
GOOD sentence To be written IN the ton I;na
of a child's book and fit Inscription to be
embroidered in the arm chair OF the sitting
room, and an appropriate motto for judge
and jury and district attorney and sheriff to
look at in the court house, BLESSED are tbs
merciful. for they shall obtain mercyw
And 30 the ruins of that Coliseum nreacl
to me. Indeed tn, most impressive thingt
On earth are ruins. The four greatest strue-
lures ever built ar, in ruins, The Parthe.
non in rims, the temple o. Diana in ruins.
the temple of Jerusalem in ruins. the Coli.
seum in rims. Indeed the earth itself will
vet he a nile of ruins the mountains in
ruins the seas in rnins the cities in ruins
the hemispheres in runs. Yea. further
than that, all 10 and down the heavens are
worlds burned IN worlds wreckel. worlds
extinct worlds abandoned, Worlds on
worlds in runsl
But am glad to saw it is the same old