The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-11-28
A LESSON FROM HISTORY.

when Caesar, who was AlteI"Ai"9 =
| called Augustus, had put down all has {
enemies, no called upon his friends, l
| Agrippa and Macccnas, for their ad-
vice rs to what ho should do in the !
way Of consolidating and framing mp {
tho Roman government. He had de- {
| terminod to be sole ruler. but was
anxious to have the imperialistic honor
thrust upon him while he pretended TO
dislike il and to be ayersc to mon
archy at all. lie wished to be the En-
peror, but decided TO have IT under
stood that he would rather have re.
public. Agrippa made n very fine
grafton before him in favor of the
establishment Of the republican form Of
government in Rome. Then Maecenas,
speaking for monarchy, urged the op-
posite view, and in the course OF the
oration, which was very long, keenly !
elaborate in its clear-cut definitions of |
offices, tenure, cmoluments, and the
like, gave n lesson which is instruc-
tive to us here in Utah in view of the
church Imperialism which hampers the
operation Of FREQ government here. IL
lustrating tho personal feature of
the imperialstic centralism, Maccenas
said:
You will live as II were in kind OF
thcater whose audience Is the ~lloic
world: and II VIII not be possible Tor YOU
10 escape detection n you commit llS
very smallest error. No. act OF yours VIII
r ever be private. but all OF them "ll be
performed In the midst OF many persons
. And all the remainder OF mankind some
G how take the greatest delight IN DelnE
omicious with respect 10 what is done py
| I1DTY t=I1igr
c tain that YOU are urging them TO one
: course and following a different one your
1 | self they VIII not fear your lhTehJS, huI
: win initiate your deeds "-Dio's Roman
: History, Book 81. Chapter 81.
g Surely nothing could be more ap-
G plicablo than this to the present situa-
+ tion in Utah. especially with respect 10
poIvgamy. The Mormon leaders pre-
= tend to have abandoned polygamy, but
10 in fact arc practicing it themselves.
: On this state of facts, Maecenas very
!. pertinentIy and forcibly said that If
i the rulers urge their people to
,s one course and follow a differeat
,e course themselves, the people will not
n. fear their threats, but will initiate
n their deeds. And so here in Utah, when
n the people see their rulers continue IN
rs the polygamist state, defiant of the
,r laws of God and of man, the more de-
w. voted ones follow the deeds of those
n rulers rather than their empty pro
" fessions that polygamy has been aban'
~ doued; for surely pOlygamy can never
Of be abandoned as long as it is followed
"a by the leaders of the church; nor are
Mt those leaders ever lacking in followers
L. hoy Cf Cr
ar " they may profess that po!ygamy ha:
been abandoned, or even though they
n might preach against polygamy, which
2 none of them Has ever done. Example
at is more forcible than precept, and, ac
all cording to wcll-kuown law of hu
ps manity, perfectly understood Of old an;
is pertinently explained to Caesar b1
in Maecenas, tho ruler will never lack fol
al lowers in their deeds, no matter hov
he much they may preach contrary doc
U. trinc,
he The great wisdom of Maecenas il
rol his knowledge Of human nature an'
ed OF the right action and thought ar
Tin manifest in this further quotation
or found in Chapter 80 of tho same book
m whore he said:
I'D one suggestion therefore I will mal5
Lo to sum up both previous remarks an
hc whatever Is lacking. II you yourself b
be YOUR own motion do whatever you woul
-. wish someone else who ruled you TO dc
s', you will make no mistakes and WI
all he always successful. and consequent
10 your life will be most pleasant ana ire
Nv from danger,
AZ It comes pretty near being an illus
"' tration OF the Golden Rule prevlou
~, ,o,' TO its formulation, as applied TO the act
''H of rulers towards their people. An
INV hero again we find on excellent rul
20 formulated applicable as specifically
20 Utah and the hierarchy here rs il Wa
:, to Caesar in his time. For. If thes
'"' rulcrs Will do to those whom the
W rule whatever they might wish thos
"" who ruled over them TO do wel
u ~ their positions reversed, an emo
nous weight would be lifted fro
the shoulders of the people {
~ the State. There would be no cru
no exaction Of tithes, from those WI
N are impoverished by paying them, th'
- the leaders may live in idleness ar
ys luxury There would be no failure
account to the people who pay the
hard-carued money for what is dol
~ with that money. There would be !
.a,, lack of sympathy for the people
,. their distress. There would be no sen
49,. ING Of Mormous TO tho poor house aft
aa,. the cruel and exacting tithing syste
had absorbed all their property. The
would bc no forecast of further "co
secratious' of property whereby tho
who arc faithful would be enioine
and and practically forced, if they are
hop weak character, TO turn over their ;
Rec 10 the priesthood. We would suggc
T. b" emphatically to the tyrannous, ava
hit cious, adulterous, and lawless rule
tied Of this people that if they would a
NIL. plv TO themselves the maxim viii
that Naecenas gave TO Caesar 10 apply