The Globe-republican., 1905-12-21

L
The historians Of the period labor In
describing 1t.
In an incredibly short time the bru-
tai amusements Of the amphitheater,
In which the Roman matrons while
taking their supper were accustomed
to regale themselves with gladiatorial
combats and with the sight OF lions
tearing innocent women and children
in pieces, shrunk abashed from human
sight and passed forever away.
The slave, whose master had the
power Of life and death over him and
who when he became old usually had
him killed and fed to the fish in the
lakes that adorned his villa, was found
seated at the same table with his
master and closer to him than q
| brother.
The cripple and the uniformed men
in the streets of Athens, whom 1T had
been customary for centuries to pelt
with stones whenever they showed
themselves, became objects OF the
tenderest sympathy. In cities which
had been devastated with the plague,
so that the nearest relatives forsook
each other and fled-so Neander tells
us-the Christians remained behind
and carried the fostering corpses OF
the victims on their own shoulders TO
burial. For the first time In the his
tory of the world hospitals were
opened for the sick. Men committed
suicide rather than become soldiers
and kill their fellow men.
Stranger than all this, misers who
had toiled half century to accumu-
late wealth and who loved their gold
better than their lives conceived an
aversion for it, gathered 1t together
and threw It down In front OF the
needy, and with suffused eyes invited
them to help themselves. Some OF
them Travelled 500 miles to where their
lands we're located that they might
, sell them out and use the proceeds
in this way.
II would be impossible on any nat
ural principles to account for such q
marvellous and widespread change In
, human nature. The only visible cause
was the circulation from mouth to
mouth of the story Of the virtues, the
!, prosecutions and the cruel death OF
Christ. but this story was no more
in Rome than story told in this coun
: try about a good man in foreign land
J. who had been killed by mob. The
+ only rational explanation OF the trans
/ formation is the one given by the New
n Testament writer's, who declare tina
!. an mearthly spiritual inference &C
e companied this story wherever 1t wa
II told.
v It is as a relic Of the great tida
wave of brotherly love that our mod
'. ern Christmas observances are mos
!. significant and proper. The annivel
sary of Christ's birth is unknown. In
church decided to celebrate 1t ON tn
winter solstice, and Numbered, so tha
the day is historically the anniversar
l y \ :
n Of nothing whatever. Never mind
IL the conventional celebration OF ID
te most blessed event in all history.
re Is a holy memento of the advent
k. humanity into man.
err The only possible way OF eelebr
is ting such day Is by demonstrate
of of universal gladness and good WI
m. and this is the way In which II nj
70 been celebrated from the beginnin
~ The day should be something like 4
! Jewish jubilee year, when all proper
- reverted, all wrongs were forgiven,
debts were cancelled, all slaves we
freed and society turned over ne
leaf.
ed Let everybody shed his selfishne
to-day and do every - \,
Div thing in his power to -
80 produce a smile II not Ak
~ ioy and thankfulness in ~XR