The Southern farm gazette. (Starkville, Miss.) 1895-1909, 1908-10-10


are temples in Rome for example in which ,ho
old Graeco- Roman gods were once worshipped h.,
for centuries now they have acknowledged tho
supremacy of Christianity. while in pompeii boro
the last services held were by men and woman
Who know nothing OF the true God and to whom
Christianity was new and contemplate doctrine
It's founder executed like a common crimip.,
within the lifetime Of many who scorned It.
But what impressed me most about Pompeii was
Just this That people OF wealth lived In a. much
comfor, and luxury then as nov. Go into the
spacious palaces along tho main streets OF Pom.
pcii. With their vide halls magnificent mural
painting beautiful courts elegant bathrooms
banquet halls and parlors and you will realize
that not even on Fifth Avenue to-day do our MIL
lionaircs live In greater comfort than did the
four hundred" OF ancient Pompcii
The progress Of civilization these last eighteen
hundred years therefore has done little to raise
tho standard OF living and comfort for the er-
coptional man. but what II has done has been 10
raise tho common tmmeaaurably nearer tho
comforts ghioh only the extremely sortuuie then
enjoyrd
Tho great masses OF people we're then only
burden bearers for the privileged classes: MIL
lions OF them acre slaves and to-day the
agurca Of many ~ the slaves (aomo white some
black who wrrN caught and died In that awful
holocaust centuries ago Every century since has
scon more aud more OF the cotnmon people raised
from slavery and poverty so Independence and
comfort. and tn this tact alone have The key-
note Of civilization. tho master purpose OF all
progress. the symphony OF the ages.
There la another lrsbon that my visit TO Pom
pril has carried home 10 me. and that Is the
moral progress Of mankind since the destruction
of this Italian city In tho gorgeous palaces here
right I'm tho dooFwaya where tho most elegant
womcn az Pompcil passed for their social calls
and ,holr elaborate social functlonH-arc pic
tatms ralas0a hy gifted artists and -, so vulgar
'haf aot even tho io~ca,-browod negro In the
South wunld permit them In his home to-day
Tho foremost eitlroua OF Rome and pompclI then
pracilc~d Immoralttl~a and countonanc~i vulgar
tiles such IA our crudcat mining would
not tolerate: and both In the Colosseum and
'hr palaces 90 the Roman Empcrurs themselves
have socn tho vomltoriumn Into which tho society
leaders of the Empire having eaten 60 safety.
~oald retire and diHgorEo themselves with a
bcaatlinrah that should not have believed posi-
bic. IN order 90 ca, again
leave rompcii then and Europe too: for
sail for homo ,mnrruw-with tho thought OF
how the spirit Of Christianity. hAmpcrcd though
y has hccn by many pagan Hurvivals and a thou
sand sharkling Influences OF mans device. has
nevertheless worked steadily through all these
generations. not only for this raising OF the CON-
mon man from slavery To manhood and independ-
cncc. but also for the elevation OF the moral
standards Of tho race from the vulgarty and
hop"lcsHncan of ancient pAgantam TO the purity
and Inspiration OF our modern Christian faith
From the standpoint OF the student OF history
~ho once gets glimpse OF how the world lived
and thought twenty centuries ago. Il is unde-
uiable that In this faith have the best heritage
that the ages have bcqueathed 10 as the great
guide aud anchor that all ancient civilizations
lacked. tho standard and criterion In default oil