Connecticut western news., 1893-02-16
THE CRUEL HEATHEN
OR. TALMAGE FINDS AN IMPRESSIVE LESSON IN THE ROMAN COLISEUM

 LESSON IN THE ROMAN COLISEUM Condition of Rome When St. Paul Preached - There--Emperor and People Alike Given Over to Lust and Cruelty-Christianity's Mighty Work.
 BROOKLYN, Feb. 12.-Rev. Dr. Tal- mage this morning, after commenting on the Scriptures and giving out hymns ln which the multitude of worshipers in the Brooklyn Tabernacle joined, dis coursed from the text Romans l, 10, "l am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also"
 Romel What city it was when Paul visited itl What city it is nowl Romel The place where Virgil sang and Horace satirized and Terence laughed and Cati- line conspired and Ovid dramatized and Nero fiddled and Vespasian persecuted and Sulla legislated and Cicero thun- dered and Aurelius and Decius and Cali gula and Julian and Hadrian and Con- stantine and Augustus reigned and Paul the apostle preached the gospel
 am not much of a draftsman, but have in my memorandum book sketch which I made in the winter of 1889, when I went out to the gate through which Paul entered Rome and walked up the very street he walked up to see somewhat how the city must have looked to him as he came in on the gospel CT rand proposed in the text Palaces on either side of the street through which the little missionary advanced. Piled up wickedness Enthroned accursedness Templed cruelties. Altars to sham dei ties. Glorifed delusions. Pillared, arched, domed, turreted abominations. Wicked ness of all sorts at 8 high premium and righteousness 984 per cent off. And now he passes by the foundations of build ing which is to be almost unparalleled for vastness. You can see by the walls. which have begun to rise, that here is to be something enough stupendous to as- tound the,centuries- Aye, it is the Coli scum started.
 THEIR MONUMENTS OF SHAME.
 Of the theater at Ephesus where Paul fought with wild beasts, the temple of Diana, of the Parthenon, of pharaoh E palace at Memphis and of other great
 
 it has been my privilege to address you, but member of my family asked me recently why had not spoken to you of the Coliseum at Rome, since it's moral and religious lessons are so impressive
 Perhaps while in Rome the law ot contrast wrought upon me. I had wis tied the Mamertine dungeon where Paul was incarcerated. I had measured the opening at the top of the dungeon through which Paul had been let down, and it was 28 inches by 26. The ceiling at it's highest point was 2 feet from the floor, but at the sides of the room the ceiling was 5 feet T inches. The room at the widest was 15 feet. There was seat of rock 2a feet high. There was 8 shelf 4 feet high. The only furniture was a spiders web suspended from the roof, which saw by the torchlight carried. There was the subterraneous passage from the dungeon to the Roman forum, 70 that the prisoner could be taken di- rectly from prison to trial.
 The dungeon was built out of volcanic stone from the Albano mountains. Oh. it was a dismal and terrific place. You never saw coal hole so dark or so for bidding. The place was to me a nervous shock, for I remembered that was the best thing that the world would afford the most illustrious being, except one that it ever saw, and that from that place Paul went out to die. From that spot I visited the Coliseum-one Of the most astounding miracles of archi- lecture that the world ever saw. IH deed l saw it morning noon and night, for it threw spell on me from which ] could not break away.
 Although now 8 vast ruin, the Coli scum is so well preserved that we can stand in the center and recall all that it once was. It is in shape ellipsoidal, oval, oblong. It is at it's greatest length 612 feet. After it had furnished seats for G7, GOO people it had room for .15, ,O0O more Ito stand, so that OO,OOO people could sit and stand transfxed by it's scenes of courage and, martyrdome and brutality and horror.
 Instead of our modern tickets of admis- sions they entered by ivorN check, and a check dug up near Rome within a few years was marked, "Section 6, Lowest Tier, Seat No. 18." You understand that tho building was not constructed for ap audience to be addressed by human voice, although tested it with some friends and could be heard across it, but it was made only for seeing and was circular, and at any point allowed full view of the spectacle.
 ACHIEVEMENTS OF CRUELTY. 7 The arena in the center in olden times was strewn with pounded stone or sand, % as not to be too slippery with human blood, for if it were too slippery it would spoil the fun. The sand flashed here and there with sparkles of silver and gold, and Nero added cinnabar and Caligula added chrysocolla. The sides of the arena were composed of smooth marble il feet high, so that the wild beasts of the arena could not climb ul into the audience. On the top of these sides of smooth marble was metal rail ing, having wooden rollers, which easily revolved, so that if panther should leap high enough to scale the wall and with his paw touch any one of those rollers it would revolve. and drop him back again into the arena.
 Back of this marble wall surrounding the arena was level platform of stone adorned with statues of gods and god esses and the artistic effgies of monarchs and conquerors. Here were movabl; 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 are na, crying: Hail, Cmsarl Those about to die salute thee."
 The different ranks of spectators were divided by partitions studded with mo safes of emerald and beryl and ruby ani diamond. Great masts of wood arose from all tides of the building, from