The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1909-07-23

mind. 1t was city of temples and
statues. Art and learning here had
their home. Around him were the
sculptured forms of Minerva and
Jupiter, Apollo and Mercury, the
Muses. and other representatives Of
heather mythology. 1t was said by
an ancient satirist that it was easier
to find a god at Athens than a man,
for thirty thousand divinities were in
cluded in the Greek and Roman pan
theon. They were heroic, fantastic
or impure, but the city was full Of
them. There were streets so crowded
with sellers of articles connected with
dolatry as to be almost impossible.
Wonderful Opportunity.
It was in such presence that the
apostle now stood, and God gave him
one single opportunity to declare his
message. How did he do it?
A committee of distinguished Athen-
ians waited upon the famous preach
er, and invited him to address them
on Mars Hill. It was the opportunity
of lifetime and smaller man would
have made miserable failure. To
preach in church behind a pulpit, to
o devout and sympathetic people, who
will accept whatever the preacher
says simply because he says it, is
one thing, to face such a company as
the Athenian audience is quite an
other. Those people were critical,
logical, hard-headed, accustomed to
look into things, and accept nothing
on the mere ipse dixit of speaker.
They prided themselves on their in
tellectuality and piety, and had no
idea that mere peripatetic Jew
would be able to instruct them in
either morality or religion. Yet they
we're desirous of hearing all the new
things, and they politely invited Paul
to deliver his message on that popu-
lar rostrum of discussion, Mars Hill.
Wonderful Tact.
The apostles first word shows that
he is not only a cultured Christian
gentleman himself, but is master of
the art of winsome speech. He dis.
arms criticism with his first sentence
Instead of railing at idolatry as the
old version implies, he courteously
declares that his observation has led
him to the conclusion that the Athen
ians are very religious" Il passed
by, and beheld your devotions," he
says, "and as 1 did so, I saw an altar
with this inscription, To the Unknown
I'd Thot ic uynrShin oil thOce
you know, and for fear that you should
be guilty of impiety ignorantly, you
put up another altar to the unknown
God. Now l have message to deliv
er to you in regard to that unknown
God" And then the preacher pro
ceeded to talk to them of the Goo
that made the world, and all the peo
Pile in it. And in the most logical
sensible, courteous, and Christian
way struck blow at idolatry that is
absolutely unanswerable from tha
day to this. Wonderful exhibition O
tact! If you are going to win any
one, you can never do it with an &c
convince a Catholic, you had better
steer clear of attacking the Virgin
Mary If you want to win Jew, bet
ter keep your hands off from Moses
You will never gain a Baptist b.
splashing over him the waters of i'm
mersion. To go at heather by de
nouncing idoltry as of the devil, will
only strengthen him in his views.
To tell a man he is a fool because
he doesn't believe as you do, puts l
out of your power ever to influence
him to believe as you do. You can
split peoples heads open with tn
battle axe Of controversy and intro
duce orthodoxy through the cash. Th
trouble with most modern controver
sialists Is, they have no patience will
anybody who cannot see exactly a
they can, no matter what their birth
surroundings, education and trainini
has been. Paul caught the attention
of his audience and held it to tn
close, first by the wonderful tact o
his approach, and second by his quo
tations from their own poets, which h
cited in support of his doctrine.
The tactful person always seeks t
find some common ground on whic'
to stand, instead of some bomb proc
fort from which to lombard tn
world. Paul argued that the yer
fact of an altar to the unknown Go
proved the religious instinct in tn
soul, and he caught at that blind fee
ing after God and sought to direct
Alright Whatever the outcome OF tha
sermon, certainly the people OF Athen
would have no hesitation in declarin
that those who listened to Paul this
day received a lesson In sacred eli
quence that compared favorably wit
any grafton that had ever been deli