The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1896-1929, 1906-12-06
SATURDAY
NIGHT TALKS.
IN HOG SIGNO VINCES.
Dec. 9, 06-(Luke 23:33-46.)
By r. Z. DAWSON,
RUTLAND VT.

| w uCu lAS 0lCdI WoS
leading his forces against his enc
mies, he declares that he saw. out
lined against the midnight heavens
q flaming cross, with the inscription
SIN Hoe Signo Vinces."
Overwhelmed by the spectacle
and believing the portent to be. q
| revelation frem the skies, he made q
solemn VOW that If Providence
crowned his arms with success he
would make the Christian religion
the religion of the State.
He trusted in the efficacy Of the
good omen, led his troops against his
enemies, gained an Overwhelming
Christianity the religion of the Ro-
man empire. BY this sign he con-
Quered.
The fact is, the cross, which to
many is only n Roman gibbet, a gal
lows, an executioner's instrument of
capital punishment, is the mightiest
| weapon of warfare the world has
etef kndwn:
1t has rallied more soldiers, in
spired more hearts, kindled more en-
thusiasm, nerved more arms, gained
more victories. waved over more
battlefelds, comforted more dying
soldiers, than any other weapon
which was ever forged.
1t Is banner, bombardmef,t and
balm all in one It Is Sometimes
rude fough:hewn timber, some
times a polished bejeweled orna-
ment; now it is lifted on the apex of
some heaven-soaring spire like a
star in the evening twilight, now it is
traced upon the forehead of dying
saint, his last conscious appreciation
of the things of earth. Vice uncovers
in its presence and purity is thrilled
when it is lifted up.
There are those who look upon
the cross as they look upon the gull
lotine-an instrument of torture, an
executioner's scaffold. But they are
infinitely mistaken. The cross Is
rather an altar where an innocent
victim consents to be bound and re-
ceive the death stroke that the real
cuiprit may be set free. 1t means
-abnegation, self-sacrifce, aban-
donment of life itself to prove its
possession of infinite love for the
object of its affection.
The mother who yields up her life
that her child may live, knows
something of 1.-THE soldier who
bares his bosom to receive the shot
aimed at his country's flag approx
mates to it; but its full measure was
never realized in this universe but
once, and that was when, on Cal
vary's summit, a victim was nailed
to 1T, who cried with his expiring
breath, Father, forgive them; they
know not what they dol"
Archimedes said If he could find q
place for a fulcrum he could move
the world. That place has been found
1t is the rock Calvary, and the cross
is the long lever with which 1t Is be-
ing done. The three highest moan
tains in the world, morally speaking,
are Sinai, Calvary and Olivet. And
of the three, Calvary is the Mt. Ever
est, towering above all others.
Sinai spells law; Calvary spells love:
Olivet spells home. Sinai thunders;
Calvary weeps, Olivet beckons. Sinai
repels, Calvary draws, Olivet lifts.
The first is condemnation, the sec
ond is reconciliation, the third is
restoration
The tradition is that the true cross
was identified after discovery, by its
power to restore the dead to life, to
heal all diseases, and to cause wick
edness to confess its crimes. That Is
a parable setting forth the fact that
wherever the cross has sway virtue
rev.ves and vice expires, fact to
which all history bears witness.
In Paris there Is cathedral 323
feet high. having cost $2,000,00O.
dedicated to one dead man. Under
its FURNISHED dome is a concentra-
tion of wonders.
The embalmed and undecayed
body of Napoleon, in military suit,
in red sarcophagus of Finlander
quartzite, polished to the last perfec-
tion by skillful machinery. rests on a
block of green granite, surrounded
by twelve funeral lamps of bronze,
and twelve marble statues of great
size. One of them has a wreath as II
to crown; another has a pen, as IL to
make eternal record; another has q
key, as II to open the celestial gate;
another has a trumpet, as If to an
nounce the coming of King. And
on the pavement there Is enamelled
a crown of laurel, from which ra-
dates on all sides a glittering star.
The great warrior who lies there
said, when 1 am dead, my spirit
will return and throb in countless
revolutions!" But he lies there mo-
tionless, and the revolutions have
long since died out, never to throb
again.
Out under the Judean skies there
is another tomb-but it is empty.
1t is only rock-hewn cave in the
hillside, it's heavy portal was shat
tered never to be restored. It's occu-
pant long since burst from its con-
finement, for 1t was not possible that
He could be holden of 1t.
He holds in his own mighty hands
the keys, the pen, coronets, the
trumpets. And to every soul of man
facing the problems of time and eter-
nifty, He hands the same mysterious.
invincible cross which Constantine
saw, utters once more the inspiring
message, "By this sign you shall