Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1900-01-05

express. Without taking u years cur
riculum In any college or even a day al
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 10 times. Lord Brougham
rcwrote 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.
lie was the greatest orator that ever
lived. IL was not an eloquence Demos
thenic or Ciceconic or like that of Jean
Baptis;e 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 cut In his sermon. "Soc-
rates died like Il philosopher, but Jesus
Christ died like God"
Christ's oratory was unlike anything
that went before or came after. Even
the criticism of the world said, Never
man spakc like this man." Dramatic?
Why. he took up child out OF the au-
dience and set him on n table and by
the embarrassed look OF the child
taught humility. He sent the prose-
cutors of n poor. sinful woman. blush
ing and COMPOUNDED, out of the room
by one sentence of sarcasm. Notice
his power OF emphasis and enunciation
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. wilted under it, The
book says. THE Lord turned and look
ed upon Peter" 1t was an omnipotent
facial expression. He looked upon Pc
ter. Power of distinct utterance. so
that every one could hear He opened
his mouth, saying" No mumbling and
indistinct utterancc. He opened his
mouth. His voice, which had been de-
veloped 10y open air speaking. was a
resonant and sonorous voice. or he
would not have taken the top of the
rocks OF the Mount of Beatitudes for a
pulpit. for that pulpit Is so high. as |
declare from observation. that no
speaker that I have ever known could
have from that point made any audi
euce hear one word OF 4 sermon. His
power OF hyperbole: a camel trying to
crowd Its hump through the eye of a
sewing woman's needle and all that
learned talk about n gate called the
needles eye" only belittling the hy-
periodic Power OF sarcasm: The hypo-
critics styled by him 1.-The whole who
need not a 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
they ought TO pay taxes to Caesar,
Christ practically said, IF any gentle
man in this audience has I'm his pocket
n Roman penny, | wish he would Just
hand IL up TO me-" And some one
handed him penny, such as you can
now find in some of the museums, the
diverse OF IL bearing the face of II
berius. the emperor, and the reverse
the words "Pontifex Maximus," the
other title of the emperor, and then
came the overwhelming answer of
Christ, Render to Caesar the things
that are CAESARS and TO God the things
that are Gods"
But we must not only look Mt him
from n worldly standpoint. How he
smote whirlwinds into silence, and
made the waves OF the sea lie down.
and opened doors OF light into the mid
al fhn~n no hn.
blind. and turned deaf ears into gal
lerles OF music. and with one touch
made the scabs OF incurable leprosy
fall Off. and renewed healthy circula-
ton through scvcrest paralysis, and
made the dead girl waken and ask for
her mother, and ut his crucifixion pull
cd down the clouds, until at - o'clock
Mt noon IL was as dark as - o'clock mt
night. and starting an influence that
grow roses and the last weak lung
make full Inhalation. and the last case
OF parcsis take healthful brain, and
the last Illness become rubicund of
check and robust OF chest and bound
Ing OF foot, and the last pauper will
get his palace. and the last sinner
taken unto the warm bosom OF n par
ioning Godl Where did all this start?
In that cradle within sound OF bIeat-
Ing sheep and believing cattle and
amid rough bantering OF herdsmen and
camel drivers. What n low place to
start for such great heightsi o artists,
turn your camera obscura on that viii
age OF Bethlehem! Take II all in
the wintry skies lowering, the fiocks
i'm the chill air. Mary the pale
mother. and Jesus the child.
An Eternal Jubilee.
SO I have shown you the shadows
and the sunshine of that Christie era
lie OF Bethlehem. In these Christmas
lines realize that there are many era
Hes under shadows. Oh, the story of
empty cradles all up and down the
Earth, In cabins and palaces! There
ire standing In garrets or in store
rooms cradles that will never rock
again. Rachel mourning for her chill
iren and will not be comforted be-
,ause they are not" But through all
he shadows break CLEANS of sunshine
Is the clouds OF the Christie cradle
we're cleft by glorious light. Escaped
rom the struggles through which we
nave all passed and must yet pass.
hose little ones took heaven at one
bound. Instead of an earthly career
Is heavenly career. with capacities,
with velocities, with opportunities be-
'ond ourcomprehension. Instead of eel
,orating on earth the Saviour's birth
hey stand in the Saviour's presence.
instead OF the holiday celebrations of
he old homestead ii is to them eternal
Jubilee at a table where the angels of
iod are the cupbearers and amid fes-
lvities that resound with laughter
md n music and blaze with n brilliance
ma glory that eye hath not seen
ior ear heard" No use in wishing
hem merry Christmas. for the mer-
iments OF heaven ring out upon them
rom temples that are always open,