Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1899-12-28

have to smile nt what the imperial vii
lain said when he ordered, GO and
search diligently for the young child,
and when ye have found him bring me
word, that ! may go and worship him
also" Dore's picture of the massacre
Of the Innocents" at Hcrod's command
"a picture full OF children hurled over
walls and dashed against streets and
writhing under assassin's foot--gives
us little impression of the manner In
which Herod would have treated the
real child II he could once have got his
hand ON II. But Herod could not find
that cradle. All the detectives he sent
cut failed in the search. Yet 1t had
been pointed out by 1ashlight from the
midnight heavens. All the neighbor-
hood knew about 1t. The angelic cho-
rus In the cloud had called musical at
tention to 1t. No sentinel guarded 1t
with drawn sword. passing up and
down by the pillow Of that Bethlehem
caravansary. Why, then. was 1t that
the cradle was not despolled Of its
treasure? Because 1t was divinely pro-
tected. There were wings lowering
that mortal eye could not see; there
were armed immortals whose bran
dlshed sword mortal eye could not fol-
low; there were chariots of the Omnip-
otent the rumble of whose wheels only
supcrnaturals could hear. God had
started through the cradle to save our
world, and nothing could stop him.
You cannot reasonably account for
that unhurt cradle except on the the
ory of a special, divine protection. And
most cradles are likewise defended.
Can you understand why so many chill
dren. with all the cpidemics that as
sault them, and all their climbing to
dangerous heights, and all their peril
GUS experiments with explosives and
their running against horses hoofs,
and daring of trolleys and carts fast
driven. yet somehow get through. espe-
cially boys Of high spirit and that are
going to amount to much? l account
for their coming through all right. with
only few wounds and bruises. by the
fact that they are divinely protected.
All your charges Of "Don't do this" and
"Don't do that" and Don't 60 there"
seem to amount to nothing. They are
the same reckless creatures about
whom you are constantly anxious and
wondering what is the matter now.
Divinely protected!
Cleans of Light.
Another CLEAN Of light, scattering
some of the gloom of that Christie pill
low in Bethlehem, was the fact that 1t
was the starting place of the most won
derful of all careers. Looking at
Christ's life from mere worldly stand
points 1t was amazing beyond all ca
pacity of pen or tongue or canvas to
express. Without taking years cur
riculum in any college or even n day at
any school, yet saying things that the
mightiest intellects of subsequent days
have quoted and tried to expound,
Great literary works have for the most
part been the result of much elabora-
ton. Edmund Burke rewrote the con-
clusion of his speech against Warren
Hastings IL times. Lord Brougham
rewrote his speech In behalf of Queen
Caroline 20 times. but the sermon on
the mount seemed cxtemporaneous
Christ was eloquent without ever hav-
ing studied one of the laws of oratory.
He was the greatest orator that ever
lived. 1t was not an eloquence Demos
thenic or Ciceronic or like that OF Jean
Baptiste Massillon or like that which
William Writ, himself great orator.
was overcome with In log cabin meet
ing house of Virginia, when the blind
preacher cried out In his sermon, SOC
rates died like philosopher, but Jesus
Christ died like Cod"
Chrst's oratory was unlike anything
that went before or came after. Even
the criticism of the world said Never
man spake like this man" Dramatic?
Why, he took up child ont of the au-
dience and set him on a table and by
the embarrassed look of the child
taught humility. He sent the prose-
cutors of poor. sinful woman. blush
ing and confounded. out Of the room
by one sentence of sarcasm. Notice
his power of emphasis and enunciatiop
when he revealed himself after his res
direction, by the peculiar way he pro-
nounced the one word "Mary," his
power of look shown by the way Peter,
the great apostle. wiited under 1t. The
book says, 'The Lord turned and look
ed upon Peter" 1t was an omnlpotent
facial expression. He looked upon Pc
ter. Power of distinct utterance, SO
that every one could hear He opened
his mouth, saying" No mumbllng and
indistlnct utterance. He opened his
mouth. His voice, which had been de-
veloped by open air speaking, was a
resonant and sonorous voice, or he
would not have taken the top of the
rocks OF tine Mount of Beatitudes for
pulpit, f.r that pulpit is so high, as
declare f:om observation. that no
speaker that have ever known could
have from that point made any audi
ence hear one word Of a sermon. Ills
power of hyperbole: A camel trying to
crowd Its hump through the eye of
sewing woman's needle and all that
learned talk about gate called the
needles eye" only belittling the hy-
perbole. Power Of sarcasm: The hypo-
critics styled by him "the whole who
need not physician" His power Of
peroration: The crashing of the tim
bers of the poorly built house ON the
beach of the Mediterranean. Power to
take advantage of circumstances
| When an auditor asked him whether