The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1897-04-02

mer, there would have been no Milton.
The modern wits, who are now or have
been out on the divine mission of max
ing the world laugh at the right time,
can be traced back to Aristophanes, the
Athenian, and many of the jocosities
that are now taken as new had their
suggestions twenty-three hundred years
ago in the fifty-four comedies OF that
master OF merriment. Grecian mytho-
logy has been the richest mine from
which orators and essayists have drawn
their illustrations and painters the
themes for their canvas, and although
now an exhausted mine. Grecian myth
ology has done a work that nothing
else could have accomplished; Boreas,
representing the north wind; Sisyphus,
rolling the stone up the hill, only TO
have the same thing to do over again;
Tantalus, with fruits above him that
he could not reach; Achilles, with his
arrows; Icarus, with his waxen wings,
flying too near the sun; the Centaurs,
half man and half beast; Orpheus, with
his Tyre; Atlas, with the world on his
back, all these and more have helped
literature, from the graduates speech
on commencement day to Rufus
Chocte's eulogium ON Daniel Webster
at Dartmouth. Tragedy and comedy
were born in the festivals of Dionysius
at Athens. The lyric and elegiac and
epic poetry of Greece five hundred
years before Christ has its echoes in
the Tennysons. Longfellows and Bry-
ants of eighteen and nineteen hum
dred years after Christ. There Is not an
effective pulpit or editorial chair or
professors room or cultured parlor or
intelligent farmhouse today in America
or Europe that could not appropriately
employ Paul's ejaculation and say, i
am debtor to the Greeks"
The fact is this. Paul had got much OF
his oratorical power of expression from
the Greeks. That he had studied their
Literature was evident, when standing
in the presence of an audience of Greek
scholars on Mars Hill, which overlooks
Athens, he dared to quote from one Of
their own Greek poets either Cleanthus
or Aratus, declaring, LAS certain also
of your own poets have said, for we
are also his offspring And he made
accurate quotation, Cleanthus, one OF
the poets, having written:
For We thine offspring are. All
things that creep.
Are but the echo OF the voice divine"
And Aratus, one OF their own poets,
had written:
Doth care perplex? Is lowering dan
ger nigh?
We are his offspring, and to Jove we
fly"
1t was rather risky thing for Paul
to attempt to quote extemporaneously
from a poem in a language foreign to
his, and before Greek scholars, but
Paul did ii without stammering, and
then acknowledged before the most dis
tinguished audience on the planet his
indebtedness to the Greeks, crying out
in his Grafton, "As one of your own
poets has said"
Furthermore, all the world is obli-
gated to Hellas more than II can ever
pay for its heroics in the cause of lib
erty and right. United Europe today
had not better think that the Greeks
will not fight. There may be fallings
back and vacillations and temporary
defeat, but IL Greece Is right all Eu-
rope cannot put her down. The other
nations, before they open the PORTFOLIOS
of their men-of-war against that small
kingdom had better read of the battle
OF Marathon, where ten thousand Ath-
enians. led on by Miltlades, triumphed
over one hundred thousand OF their
enemies. At that time in Greek council
OF war five generals were for beginning
the battle and five were against it.
Callimachus presided at the council OF
war and had the deciding vote, and
Miltiades addressed him. saying:
at now rests with you, Callimachus
either to enslave Athens, or by insurins
her freedom, to win yourself an immor-
of Marathon, where ten thousand Athe-
mans. led on by Miltiades, triumphed
danger as they are at this moment. II
they bow the knee to these Modes. they
are to be given up to Hippias. and you
know what they will then have to SUI
fer; but If Athens comes victorious out
OF this contest, she has IL in her power
to become the first city of Greece. Your
vote Is to decide whether we are "a
Join battle or not. II we do not bring
on battle presently. some factious in.
trigue will disunite the Athenians and
the city will be betrayed to the Modes
but il we fight before there is anything
rotten In the state of Athens. believe
that. provided the gods will give fail
field and no favor, we are able to gel
the best Of ii in the engagement"
That won the vote OF Callimachus
and soon the battle opened, and in full
run the men of Miltiades fell upon the
Persian hosts, shouting. "On! Sons o.
Greece! Strike for the freedom of your
country! Strike for the freedom o
your children and your wives, for TIT
| ehripao Of vonr fofhar,o ends aud IN,