The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1893-02-17
TIE CRUEL HEATHER
DR., TAlMAGE FINDS AN IMPRESSIVE
LESSON IN THE ROMAN COLISEUM.

mage this morning, after commenting on
the Scriptures and giving out hymns in
which the multitude of worshipers in
The Brooklyn Tabernacle joined, dis
poursed from the text Romans i, Is, 81
Inn ready to preach the gospel to you
that are at Rome Also"
Rome! What city it was when Paul
visited it! What city it is nowl Rome!
The place where Virgil sang and Horace
satirized and Terence laughed and Gait
line conspired and Ovid dramatized and
Nero fddled and Vespasian prosecuted
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 craftsman, but
have in my memorandum book a sketch
which l made in the winter of 1899,
when 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 err
rand proposed in the text. Palaces on
either siGe of the street through which
the little missionary advanced. Piled up
wickedness. Enthroned accursedness
Tempted cruelties. Affairs to sham del
ties. Gloiifed delusions. Pillared, arched,
domed, turreted denominations. Wicked
ness of VII sorts at high premium and
righteousness 999 per cent off. And now
he passes by the foundations of build
ing which is to be almost unparalleled for
vastness. You Scan see by the walls
which have begun to rise, that here is to
be something enough stupendous to as
found 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 S
palace at Memphis and of other great
buildings the ruins of which l have seen
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 its moral
and religious lessons are so impressive.
Perhaps while in Rome the law of
contrast wrought upon me. / had Wis
tied the Mamertine dungeon where Paul
was incarccrated l had measured the
opening at the top of the dungeon
through which Paul had been let down,
and it was 80 inches by 20. The ceiling
at its highest point was feet from the
floor, but at the sides of the room the
ceiling was feet inches. The room at
the widest was 10 feet. There was seat
of rock ct feet high. There was shelf
feet high. The only furniture was a
SPIDERS web suspended from the roof,
which saw by the torchlight I carried.
There was the subtelTaneous passage
from the dungeon to the Roman forum,
so 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 dismal and terrific place. You
never saw coal hole so dark or so for.
bidding. The place was to me nervous
shock, for l remembered that was the
best. thing that the world would afford
the most illustrious being, except one
that it ever saw, and that from thai
place Paul went out to die From thai
the most astounding miracles of archi
lecture that the world ever saw. In
deed l saw it morning noon and night
for it threw a spell on me from which
could not break away.
Although now vast ruin, the Coli
scum is SO well preserved that we cal
stand in the center and recall all that i
once was. 1t is in shape ellipsoidal, oval
oblong. 1t is at its greatest length 81.
feet. After it had furnished seats fol
$1,000 people it had room for $4,000 NOR
to stand, SO that 100000 people could 81
and stand transfixed by its scenes o
courage and martyrdom and brutalit,
and horror
Instead OF our modern tickets of admis
sion, they entered by ivory check, and
check dug up near Rome within a fey
years was marked, Section 6, Loves
Tier, Seat No 49," You understand tina
the building was not constructed for al
audience to be addressed by human voice
although tested it with some friend
and could be heard across it, but it wa
: made only for seeing and was circular
and at any point allowed full view o
the spectacle.
REFINEMENTs OF CRUELTY.
The arena in the center in olden time
was strewn with pounded stone or sand
SO as not to be too slippery with huma
, blood, for if it were too slippery
/ would spoil the fun. The sand fashe
f here and there with sparkles of silve
and gold, and Nero added cinnabar an
! Caigula added chrysocolla. The side
of the arena were composed of smoot
. marble II feet high, 80 that the will
beasts of the arena could not climb u
into the audience. On the top of thes
sides of smooth marble was metal raj
ing, having wooden rollers, which easil
revolved, so that if a panther shout
leap high enough to scale the wall an
with his paw touch any one of thos
rollers it would revolve and drop hi1
= back again into the arena.
Back Of this marble wall surroundin
the arena was level platform of ston,
adorned with statues of gods and goo
esses and the artistic efigies of monarch
and conquerors. Here were movabl
seats for the emperor and the imperi;
swine and witnesses with which he su,
rounded himself. Before the place whel
the emperor sat the gladiators woul
walk Immediately after entering the ar
ma, crying: Hail, Caesar! Those abo,
! to die salute thee"
The different ranks Of spectators wei
divided by partitions studded with M
: sales of emerald and beryl and ruby an
diamond. Great masts of wood aros
from all sides of the building, fro
which festoons of flowers were suspend
ed, crossing the building. or in time {
rain awnings of silk were suspended, Il
Coliseum having no roof. The outsio
wall was incrusted with marble and ha
four ranges, and the three lower range
had so columns each and arches aft
arches. and on each arch an exquisl
statue OF god OF Il hero.
Z Into $50 feet of attitude scared Il
Coliseum. It glittered and flashed an