Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1897-04-06

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 Aristophaues, the
Athenian, and many of0the jocosties
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
Choate's euiogium 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 it's echoes in
the TennysOns. Longfeilows and Bry-
" Nit
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 PauPs ejaculation and say, Il
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
or 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,
! mad 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 poem in language foreign to
his, and before Greek scholars, but
Paul did it without stammering. and
then acknowledged before the most dis
tnguished audience on the planet his
Indebtedness to the Greeks, crying out
in his grafton, LAS one of your own
poets has said"
Furthermore, all the world is obli-
| gated to Hellas more than it 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 vaciilations and temporary
| defeat, but il Greece is right all Eu-
rope cannot put her down. The other
| hav he
| 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 Miltiades, 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:
1t now rests with you, Calllmachus.
| either to enslave Athens, or by insuring
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. If
they bow the knee to these Modes. they
are to be given up to Hippias, and you
know what they will then have to suf-
fer; but ii Athens comes victorious GU.
! OF this contest, she has 1t in her power
TO become the first city of Greece. Your
vote is to decide whether we are to
join battle or not If 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 If we fight before there is anything
rotten in the state OF Athens, believe
that. provided the gods will give fair
field and no favor. we are able TO get
Tho best - 1t ~ tho engagement"
That Won the vote or Ca1limachus,
and soon the battle opened, and in full
run the men OF Miltiades fell upon the
Persian hosts, shouting, ION! Sons OF
Greece! Strike for the freedom of your
country! Strike for the freedom OF
your children and your wives, for the
shrines OF your fathers gods, and for
the sepnlchres of your sires! All, all
are now staked on the strife" While
only one hundred and ninety-two
Greeks fell, six thousand four hundred