Milford chronicle., 1907-03-22

BOmpel!
The Life Of Pompeii.
There upon the walls Of some Of
these excavated homes Of Pompeii we
find pictured the degenerate lives Of
those ancient Inhabitants. One glance
at some of those pictures reveals to US
what the besotted lives Of the men and
women who inhabited those homes
must have been. Those pictures tell
US more than whole libraries Of written
words could ever reveal. oh. no; the
charge Of hypocrisy which Christ hurl-
ed against the ancient Pharisees could
not be applied to the immoral and
drunken degenerates OF ancient Rome.
Then the followers Of Bacchus not only
sinned. but they glOried in their sins.
They not only sinned, but they pictured
upon the walls Of their homes down to
the minutest details the vileness and
the repulslve cOrruptions of their sins.
There they were welcoming their guests
with such words as these: Come and
see me in my lewdness. Come and see
me in my domestic crimes. Come and
see me an inhuman monster Come
and see my inner sinful life as it is"
And into such evil environments as
these 1 think the centurion Of my text
was inducted in Rome when he was
very young man.
I think the boy came from a pure
refined home like that in which most
of US were Graded. 1t was also
home which was not blessed with either
riches or poverty. The old homestead
stood in the midst of vineyard. The
farm also had its green pastures for
the cattle and its fields for raising corn
and wheat. The father had plenty OF
money to support the family, but ne
had very little to spare. But as this
boy seemed to be especially bright l
think the parents did everything in
their Dower to send him to one of the
great universities at Rome for an edu-
cation. One night after the children
were in bed l think hear the father
and the mother talking. Husband l
hear the wife say, 1--WE ought to make
something out of our boy Julius be-
sides a common farmer. OF all our
children he seems to love his books
the best Night after night he Is pour
ing over Cicero's 'Philippics' and 'Cati'
lines Arraignment' He has read and
reread every line which the later poets
like Virgil and Horace. have written.
Whv can we not send him up to one
Of tbe Roman schools and have him
educated to be a great orator and a
statesmanP' "WeI, mother" l hear
the husband say, perhaps we can do
#. julius ought to be educated. Per
hans we can economize a little closer
at this end so that the boy can spend
our money at the other end for an edu-
cation"
Thus I see the centurion, then a
very young man, enter one OF the
great Roman schools. l see him
caught there in the maelstrOm Of sin
I see him, like the prodigal Of Christs
narable. become the victim Of all kinds
Of evil associations. see him, like
thousands and tens of thousands OF
Young students today, who come from
nure. true, consecrated Christian
homes in this country. enter the large
universities of some Of our great cities
and then plunge headlOng into all
kinds of sinfulness. Then I see the
voung man. besOtted with drink and
evil excesses Of all kinds. return to
his old home and say: Here am
mother. Here / am with health gone
and character gone and noble spiritual
ideals all gone. Here l am. You Sent
me from the pure associations OF my
sisters and my rural home. Here l am
a moral and spiritual degenerate"
Starts Life Anew.
Again the scene changes. I believe
this young man, disgraced and socially
ostracized at home, makes up his mino
70 start life anew in one Of the distant
Roman provinces. This has been the
natural course for thousands of young
men of all centuries who have dis
praced themselves at home. Then they
trv 70 make a new start In a new
world among strangers. You who have
been western miners in the old seven
ties know what I mean. There In those
western mining camps it was the wei
recognized law that no man should pry
into the history of his neighbors.
When Sam Houston, the brilliant
young governor Of Tennessee. married
TO one of the famous beauties OF his
state. suddenly felt that he was dis
graced. what did he do? Though only
thirty-three years of age, he at once
resigned the gubernatorial chair anC
plunged into the wilderness of the fal
west. There, in the wild, unexploreC
regions Of Texas, he began life anew
When we read again Of Sam Houston
If is not as Sam Houston, the governor
Of Tennessee, but of Sam Houston, the
president Of the Texas republic. Thus
as we imaginatively study the life o.
this Roman centurion, see him in dis
grace leaving his fathers home. TheE
I see him next in the farof province