The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1905-05-09

gospel orators message is the mightitst
of all messages. 1t furnishes the speak
er with the lAiGhtrSt Of all themes. 1t
: cradles it.; thoughts, not like Moses u1,-
! on the waters Of a river Nile. but by
: til" shores Of the great moaning seas
! Of the etcrnilic>. As 4 cllariuttcr it
! harnesses to its verbal chariOtS chars-
! el'S which have eyes all seeing, ears all
! Ecnr;ny, liouf:, so swift that their speed
! is swift ~ Thought. 1t deals with i'll
! finitcSim;l, only as they are essential
! parts of great infiniticS. 1t haltS not
; Time at the grave" 1t makes Time, as a
| Lugrnc Sues Wandering jew, move Oh
! and Oh and on and never die. it, tr1!ln
| pet is the voice of the cternitp> Cod
! heaven, immortality, resurrection. as
| crn%inn. heaven. he'll, eternity, retlclnp-
| ton. salvation, eternal cOrnnatiOn ctrr
nal suffering, are its mighty subjects
! Like the meanings OF the mighty d'cr,
It's voice GENES rcNcrhcrating clown tn"
| halls of the past ages. Like the echoes
| which, are tossed from hillside t. hill
side ~, among the Alpine cTAGs, its
hopes 60 urhoiNg down The centuries;
| u!n}u centuries and the milenni,nS up
| on m!!lcnnlulnS to come. It's themes; are
the lniGIltiest Of all themes. No sub
| jcrt in All the realm Of thought is ~
| great rs that which occupies the puhli'.
speaker IN gospel oratory.
| If its theme were not the greatest o.
all themes. then my caption today
| could not he written. You must have Il
great theme to produce 's'I,lme ora
tory.' All tho students Of oratory rec
| oGniZc tl!is law. Why is Abraham Lin
| coins GnttyShlrg address to be rank
ed among the greatest orations of the
ages? Was he placing few poetic gar
lands upon the graves Of the dead? No.
, lie was making a national plea for for
Givcncss and love. Why did Patrick
Henry, the great Virginia orator. with
a single sentence rouse the passions of
, his hearers until he swept them from
off their feet? Though the hangman's
| his auditors heads, yet they We're
| ready to risk all because he was plead
| ing for sweet I.ihcrty's shrines. Why
did John knny'S eIouIence set ali Scot
lard alrc? Why did Martin LUtler's
/ il!Ncciyrs thrill all Europe with the Iii
vine 1--we? WHY did Savonnrola arouse
| Italy until Its Inhabitants were tumul
trG'ls in agony and strife? Why did
t'iccro's ;:i?agnmcnt Of Catiline and
| the philippines that Dcmosthenes lurle:l
against tie king Of Macedon create
armies and make men enthusiastic in
| battle? We're these orators dcclaiming
| for selfish political purposes, merely
trying to destroy rivals who were OBJ
STRUGGLING their path? No. They were
attacking lust and Righteousness and
| tyranny and crime Of all sorts. It was
their mighty themes that made their
elouucnce effective. You must have a
great theme to have a great Grafton.
Must Have Great Theme.
! This contention is true. Where, hen
can you find greater themes for true
| eloquence than in gospel oratory? Is
| there a sounding line which can go to
| the bottom of Il deeper sea? Is there
! any power on earth which more surely
can transform wrong to right, make
| the strong care for the weak, make Tyr
amy take her iron heel off the neck Of
PROSTATE Hclp!cSSnc>s, than the power
| Of Jesus? Where can you find an i'm
mortal panacea for the graves horror
! and for the cure Of sin save in the
| crucifixion and the resurrection ami
! the atOnemcnt Of Jesus Christ? The
| themes Of gospel oratory are not only
wide enough and great enough to put
| q man in right touch with God AMI
! heaven, but they are SO great that if
we once accept them and practice
| them they will give us perfect homes,
perfect neighbors, perfect nations ami
a perfect world. They are so great
that if we only practice them Glove,
joy, peace, long suffering, gentlenesS.
goodness, faith. meekness, temper
ance," shall everywhere be supreme in
| the human heart. Could we have a
! surer cure for all the evils Of the world
| to come than is offered in the themes
| of gospel oratory?
| TO make right might and to redress;
| the wrongs of a limited class have been
| the causes which have inspired wonder
| full orations during the past years.
Watch the lightnings Of invective that
have leaped out of the eyes Of the Ora
tors during the dark days Of the aboli-
ton movement Amid that mighty hui
ricane of oratory we can see Williall
Lloyd Garrison, with clinched fists, dc
| flying the Boston mobs. We can herr
his biting words, amid perfect pandc-
monium Of wrath, crying: you viii
| hear me! In spite Of yourselves You
will hear mer' You can see Wendell
| Phillips standing amid shower OF
brickbats waiting for lull in the storm
to drive into the hearts Of his hearers
another sentence to prove to them why
| the black men should be free. We can
| hear glorious John Bright pleading f"i
! the rights of the black men from the
| other side of the sea. And if injustic2
| against the black men offered such Il
mighty theme for the eloquent tongue
shall not modern injustice against the
white slave offer just as great a
theme for gospel eloquence? Oh, yes
GOSPEL orators have the mightiest OF
themes for eloquent speech! The GO;
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