The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1898-11-11

S mean game, Win
REV. TALMA6E. it's wreath of par
sley; or any Roman circus, but he felt
he had right to put it in sermon or
epistle, and are you not surprised that
in my text he calls upon wrestling
bout for suggestiveness? Plutarch
says that wrestling is the most ar
tistic and cunning of athletic games.
We must make a wide difference be-
tween pugilism, the lowest Of specta-
cles, and wrestling, which is an effort
to put down another on floor or
ground, and we, all of us, INDUCED in
il in our boyhood days, II we were
healthful and plucky. The ancient
wrestlers were first bathed in oil, and
then sprinkled with sand. The third
throw decided the victory, and many a
man who went down in the first throw
or second throw, in the third throw
was on top, and his opponent under
The Romans did not like this game
very much, for il was not savage
enough, no blows or kicks being al.
lowed in the game. They preferred the
foot of hungry panther on the breast
of fallen martyr. In wrestling, the
opponents would bow in apparent
suavity, advance face to face, put down
both feet solidly, take each other by the
arms, push each other backward and
forward until the work began in real
earnest, and there were contortions
and strangulations, and violent strokes
Of the foot of one contestant against
the foot of the other, tripping him up,
or with struggle that threatened apo
plexy or death, the defeated fell, and
the shouts of the spectators greeted
the victor. | guess Paul had seen
some such contest, and it reminded
him of the struggle of the soul with
temptation, and the struggle of truth
with error, and the struggle of heaven
ly forces against apollyonic powers,
and he dictates my text to an amanu-
ensis, for all his letters, save the one
to Philemon, seem to have been die.
tnted, and as the amanuensis goes on
with his work, hear the groan and
laugh and shout of earthly and celes-
tial belligerents: 1--WE wrestle not
against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against
the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual wickedness in
high places"
notice that as these wrestlers ad.
vanced TO throw each other they bowed
one TO the other. 1t was a civility,
not only in Grecian and Roman games,
but, n later day, in all the wres ting
bouts at Clerkenwell, England, and in
the famous wrestling match during
the reign of Henry ILL.,, in st. Giles
GAlH no Of ,iYg sat
and people of London. However
rough twist and hard a pull each
wrestler contemplated giving his OPP
ponent, they approached each other
with politeness and suavity. The
genuaexions, the affability, the courte.
sy in no wise hindered the decisive
ness of the contest Well, Paul, | see
what you mean. In this awful strug.
gle between right and wrong, we must
not forget to be gentlemen and ladies.
Affability never binders, but always
helps. You are powerless as soon as
you get mad. Do not call rum sellers
murderers. Do not call infidels fools.
DO not call higher critics reprobates.
Do not call all card players and thea.
ter-goers children of the devil. Do
into hell. DO not deal in vituperation
and billingsgate and contempt and ad.
jective dynamite. The other side can
beat us at that Their dictionaries
have more objurgation and birthstone.
Remember also that these wrestlers
went through severe and continuous
course of preparation for their work.
They were put upon such diet as
would best develop their muscle. AS
Paul says: Every man that striveth
for the mastery is temperate in all
things" The wrestlers were put un-
der complete scipline-bathing, gym
nastics, struggle in sport with each
other to develop strength and give
quickness TO dodge of head and trip of
foot; STOPPING to lift each other off the
ground; suddenly rushing forward;
suddenly pulling backward; putting
the left foot behind the others right
foot and getting his opponent off his
balance; hard training for days and
weeks and months, so that when they
met it was giant clutching giant
And, my friends, If we do not want
ourselves to be thrown in the wrestle
with the sin and error of the world
we had better get ready by Christian
discipline, by holy self-denial, by con-
slant practice, by su admitting to divine
supervisal and direction. Do not be-
grudge the time and the money for
that young man who is in preparation
for the ministry, spending two years
in grammar school, and four years in
college, and three years in theological
seminary. ! know that nine years
are big slice to take off mans