Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1893-02-24
THE COLOSSEUM.
DR.. Talnage Discourses on the
Great Roman Amphitheater.
The Terrible Slaughter Therein Enacted
The Heroism of Teiemachus-
Modern Brutality-Ths
Last Judgment

In recent sermon in the Brooklvn
tabernacle, Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage
discoursed on Rome, taking the Colos-
scum as the subject matter His text
was:
i am ready to preach the Gospel to you that
are at Rome, also.-Romans l., Is.
Rome! What city it was when Paul
visited it! What city it is now! Rome!
The place where Virgil sang and Hor-
ace satirized, and Terence laughed and
Catalina conspired, and Ovid drama
tized and Nero fddled and Vespasian
prosecuted and Sulla legislated, and
Cicero Numbered, and Aure1ius, and
Dccins. and Caligula. ard Julian, and
Hadran, and Constantine, and auc1ls-
tus reigncd, and Paul, the apostle,
preached the Gospel.
j am not much of d draughts1nau, out
/ have in my memorandum book a
sketch which | made in the winter o.
1899, when ] went out to the gate
through which Paul entered Rome md
walked up the very street lie .-;liied
up to see somewhat how tho city must
have looked to him as he came in on
the Gospel crrand proposed in The text.
Palaces on either side Of the street
through which the little missionary
advanced. Piled up wickcducss En-
throned accursedness Tempted cruel
ties. Alfar~ To sha deities Glorified
d"lusiorS. PiIlarcd, arched dnrne9
turrcted nominations. Wickedness of
all sorts at ii high premium and right
eousneas nlncty-nine and thrcu-qu:
ters per cent. off. And now he presses
by the foundations Of binding yvhich
IS TO- be almost unparalleled for vast
ness You can see bv tho walls. which
have begun IT, rise, that here is TO be
something enough stupendous TO as
found the centuries. Aye, il is the
Colosseum started.
OF the thratcr at Ephc@uS where
Paul fought with wild beasts OF the
temple Of Diana, Of the Parthcnon, Of
Pharoah's palace at Memphis, and of
other great buildings, the ruins Of
which | have seen, it has been nv
privilege to address You. but member
Of my family asked me recently why
had not spoken TO you Of the Colosseum
at Rome, since it's moral and religious
lessons are SO impressive
Perhaps, W lille in Rome, the law Of
contrast wrought upon me. / had Wis
tied the Mamertine dungeon where
Paul was incarceratcd. | had meas
ured the opening at the top of the
dungeon through which Paul had been
let down, and it was twenty-three
inches by twenty-six The ceiling, at
It's highest point was seven feet
from the floor, but at the sides of the
room the ceiling was five feet seven
inches. The room, at the widest, was
fifteen feet. There was Il seat of rock
two and one-half inches high There
was n shelf four feet high. The only
furniture was spiders web suspended
from the roof, which ! saw by the
torchlight | carried. There was the
snbterraneous passage from the dun
geon to the Roman forum, so that the
prisoner could be taken directly from
prison to trial. The dungeon was
built out Of volcanic stone from the
lbano mountains Oh, it was a dis
NAL and terrific place. You never saw /
q coal-hole SO dark or SO forbdding
The place was to me a nervous shock,
for remembered that was the best
thing that the world would
afford the most illustrious being, ex-
ecpt One, that it ever saw, and that
from that place Paul went out to die
From that ,spot | visited the Colos-
scum. one Of the most astounding mir
acies Of architecture that the world
ever saw. | saw it morning, noon and |
night, for it threw spell on me from
which could not break away.
Although now a vast ruin, the Col
osoeum is SO well preserved that we
can stand in the center and recall all |
that il oacc was. 1t is in shape clip !
hoidal, oval. oblong. II IS, at its great
est length, six hundred and twelve
feet. After it had furnished seats for
ci~hty-scven thousand people it had
room for fifteen Thousand more to
stand 50 that me hundred thousand
people could sit and ST no tranSfixed |
by It's scenes of courage and MARTYR
Com and brutality and horror. Instead
q. cur inCtrrn tickets of admission
tley erier 10y ivory checks. and
check dug up near Rome within few
years was marked: ''Section six, Low
est Tier, Seat Number Eighteen" You
understand that the building was not
Constructed for &n auG:cncc 10 be aG- !,
/
Vested it with some friends and could
DC heard across it. but it was mad
enlv for seeing and was circular and
at any point allowed Iutt view OF the
spectacle. The arena IA tll>, center in
Gidsi. times was strIwu with pounded
( sc g sand. - rs not to be- too slip
n",.v VIE; human blood for if it were
tno slippery. it would spoil the fun
Ihc sand flashed here and there with
eparFics Of silver and gold, and Nero
ati,.rd cinnanar and Caliguia added
cl...g>Cc..ta lie sides nf the arena
We're composed of smooth marble,
et,tvn Iret aisn. SO that the wild
beasts Of the arena could not climb
:tftu >Ar Audience. Ca he to,1 ~ these
sues Ut smooth nlar>lc wa, Ii metal
railing having wooden rollers. which
e:leit, rcyolvcd. SO that if panther
Should leap high enough tc scale the
wall, and With his paw touch any OF
those rojiers, It would revolve and drop
him back again into the arena. Back
OF this marble wall surrounding the
arena was platform of stone, adorned
with the statues of gods and goddesscs
and the artistic ethgies of monarchs
and conquerors. Here were movable
seats for the emperor and the imperial
swine and swinesses with which he sur
rounded himself. Before the place
where the emperor sat the gladiators
would walk immediately after entering
the arena CRYING: Hail S,HSari Those |