The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1894-09-29

hood of poverty and chastity in the
by-ways. What was the RESULT
The result was the highways began
to court the Franciscans. They gave
them money, lands and houses. The
brotherhood became proud and sell
fish. And from the day when they
broke their sacred vow of poverty,
the spirit of their glory was broken,
and the days of their greatest power
and usefulness were ended. In TWEEN
ty five years from the time when the
eleven brethren had taken their vows,
their numbers had increased to two
hundred thousand monks, and they
owned eight thousand monasteries. In
another twenty-five years, they were
fat and rich, and lived on the kings
highways. They became an easy
prey to corruptions and contention,
and selfshness ate away their lives.
And in less than a hundred years,
this vast and fourishing brotherhood
had ceased to be power in the earth
for good. What had killed it? 1t
had deserted the by-ways.
TWAS precisely so with the Knights
Templars. They were military or
ganization whose purpose was to pro-
tect and defend, by force of arms,
pilgrims on their way to holy shrines.
There were but nine of them at
first. Their headquarters were in
the sanctuary near the temple in
Jerusalem. The badge of their order
was poverty and devotion. Their
seal bore the image of two knights
riding on one horse. Their costume
was white mantle with a red cross
The zeal with which they prosecuted
their high calling challenged the adj
miration of Europe. Great numbers
joined the brotherhood, and immense
wealth flowed into their Golfers. For
nearly two hundred years, they rend-
cred illustrious service to the church.
As long as they remained in the cover
of the by-ways, they were safe.
Everybody is poor and common there.
No robbers infest the ways. There
is no imputation of weakness or
wealth there. Not even success can
harm one if he sticks to the by-ways.
But the temptation of vain glorv en-
ticed them up on the highways. And
once on the highways, the cupidity
of monarchs attacked them. And the
outcome of that Christian flower
of chivalry was that Philippe lie Bel,
king of France, robbed the order, and
Clement V. pope at Rome, abolished it
| The church is grand and noble
institution. Tt sanctifes and purifes
and shelters mankind. 1t graces the
by-ways, it adorns the highways. It
affords an asylum for those who flee
from the wicked world. 1t strength
ems and enriches those who remain in
the world. And it shows the way,
the life and the light for these who
depart out of it. The highways I'M
derstand this no less than the by-ways
The church at first was in the by
ways That was right. All could
come into the by ways. No pride,
no envy, no environment might sepa-
rate worshipers there. There is one
common humanity in the by-ways;
no high, no low, no rich, no poor, no
Greek, no Jew, no bond inc free. All
are equal in the sight of God.
But the highways wanted the
church to locate up on their street.
For once again, the church forgot its
teaching, that to be exalted was to be
humbled, and to be debased was to
be exalted. 1t was an irretrievable
blunder when the church consented
to move up on the imperial highway
at the invitation of the Emperor Con-
stantine 1t climbed into the throne
of temporal power from whence it
fell like Satan from heaven. And to
this day, the church is repeating its
fatal blunder about the highways. 1t
gains in worldly glory and splendor,
but it loses the substance of its power
and the charm of it's spirit.
In the great cities, the churches are
moving uptown or out into the sub
urbs, because the churches be-
long to the highways. The high
ways own them. When the high
ways of the cities are no longer the
highways, they go uptown or move
out into the country, and the churches
come creeping after them. The great
churches of Boston today are not in
B ,ston. They are like the man who
sad that if he lived in Boston, he
wouldn't live in Boston; he'd live in
the suburbs. And yet the city of
Boston is as full of people as the by