Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1904-11-25

civil ttuO AtuSAVuS nDtEty. one tuakeS
Il possible for every man TO worship
God in his own way. What England
has done for India and her other colo
MES the United States government is
doing for Alaska and the Philippines
and Porto Rico. What did ancient
Rome 10 when she conquered coun-
try? Did she consider her conquered
colonies a sacred trustI Did she care
for their rights as carefully as she
would care for her own peoples rights?
oh. no. In ancient times the law of
conquest implied the right to enslave
and Cypress the conquered foe. When
Scipio d2miiianus returned from his
celebrated Carthaginian wars what
did lie do? lie brought back with him
GO.OOO of his late foes whom lac had not
slain upon the field of battle and sold
them i'm the common slave markets to
be the chattels of the Romans. These
men who fought for their country's
liberties now had TO moan and vince
and beg for mercy under the slave
masters lash. When Caius Marius
made his triumphal entry in Rome he
handed over 10000 Cimbri as spells
for the slave markets. zEmilius Pau
lus' conquest over the Greeks glutted
the Roman slave markets with 100000
captives of war, while the conQuests
of Pompeius and Caesar gave TO Rome
at least 100000 new slaves. ask
you, are not our modern governments
in their treatment of fallen foes more
cient governments?
Ancient Rulers and Their Tyranny.
Then compare the administration of
our rulers to that of the ancient rulers
over their subjects. in ancient times
the rulers had absolute power OF life
and death over the Inhabitants of their
Kingdoms, as a Roman subject at will
could Stay any one of his slaves and be
held accountable to no law. We read
in history how Nero, the Roman en-
peror, used TO revel I'm cruelty and out
rage. No life was safe under the tyran-
ny OF that monster. Any excuse served
for the qualification OF his lust for
bloodshcd. Even his own mother and
his most faithful adherents fell victims
to his Unsuitable brutality. But we do
not have to go clear back to the Roman
era to find the unlimited power over
life and death of a subject vested I'm
the hand of a king or prince. In 14T0.
only little over 400 years ago, Mo-
hammed H., the sultan OF Turkey,
summoned a famous Venetian artist,
Giovanni by name, to paint the picture
or himself and his mother. While a
guest of the Turkish court Giovanni
painted picture for the sultan enti-
tied John the Baptist's Head In a
Charger" Mohammed looked at the
picture a little while and then said:
Artist, / think your picture Is wrong
When mans head is decapitated the
cords and the muscles OF the neck
shrink and contract instead OF expand
Let me prove to you that 1 am right"
With that the sultan drew his jeweled
sword out of it's jewcled scRbbard, and,
with n sweep of his arm, he cut of the
head Of a courtier who stood near him.
AS the head fell at the feet OF the artist
the sultan said: "See, 1 am right. The
cords OF the neck always contract"
The Mortified artist said, 'Yes, your
majesty, think you are right" Then,
for fear OF losing his own head, Clio
vanni fled back 20 his home city of
he had seen.
IL there any European country on
earth which would allow it's ruler 20
do TO his subjects as Mohammed ii.
did TO hisf We have our governmental
injustices. but today we have not upon
any throne OF the civilized world n
Henry VIII. OF England. or a sinful. de
bauched Catherine of Russia, or n Nero
OF Rome, or n Cleopatra OF Africa, or a
Mohammed III. OF Turkey. The people
the common people OF every land. have
asserted themselves and demanded and
won their rights. Everywhere we find
that governments are better than their
predecessors. Even modern Turkey is
an Improvement over ancient Turkey.
The governments are better and con
tinually growing better. The churches
are also purer in thought. They have
higher ideals OF spirituality and moral
ity than they ever had before. 1t Is
easy enough for men and women to sii
down and criticise the pew, and crit.
icise the pulpit, and criticise the ways
OF raising church money, and criticise
the choir loft, but l want TO tell you
that the church OF the Lord Jesus
Christ is not only purer in thought, but
that the leaders OF the churches as
we'll as the common people are purel
In their spiritual lives.
More Tolerance Now.
There is more tolerance and human
NY In the modern church. In ancient
times no mercy was shown by the lead
trs OF the church to herctics. Wher
they heard OF men who differed from
the doctrines or the church they imme
diately got together their thumbscrews
and instruments OF torture. They start
ed forth with sword and spear and bat
tleax. They said, 'If you will not be
iisye as We believe we Will cut out
your tongue and blind yeur eyes and
cripple your feet and burn your homes
and Stay your sons aud daughters"
Read the history OF the covenanters
Read the story OF the massacre OF st
bartholomew at Paris. Read the his
tory OF the dark ages. Look at Charlie
magne trying to convert his kingdom
by having the priests drive the masses
into the water like herds OF cattle and
there baptiZe them by the wholesale.
Christianity became a matter OF polit-
ical allegiance. Individual conviction,
spiritual purity, devotion to Christ,
counted for little in those times. Men
did not read or think. They accepted
without question the dogmas Of the
leaders OF church and state, some OF
whom We're men without principle,
openly immoral OF life Let us thank
God that We did not live In those
times. There Is still much to be de-
sired We are still far from Christ's
ideal. but as we read OF those times of
spiritual and moral darkness we realize
how far the church has advanced.
"Well," says some one, 'what is the
good OF going way back to the dark
ages to find that the church of the
Lord Jesus Christ is better spiritually
today than 1t was In the past? Why
not try to draw your illustrations a
little nearer at handY" The result Is
the same. Conditions in the early part
| Of tho lQGf t.