The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-05-18
THE PULPIT.
AN ELOQUENT GUNDAY SERMON BY
CARDl.::AL GIBBONS. :
Theme: International Peace.

preaCneQ SuuQdy Ill lue SaIuSuloA
here by Cardinal Gibbons. He took
his text from John 1871: peace be
unto you" He said in the course Of
his sermon:
The first geeting of the risen Sa-
7iour to His assembled apostles was
a message of blessed peace. Jesus
came and stood in the midst and said
to them: Peace be unto you
Christ's mission on earth was to es-
tablish a triple peace In the hearts
Of men-peace with God by the OBJ
seryance Of His commandments, peace
with u fellowmen by the practice
Of justice and charity, and peace
within our breasts by keeping u
passions subject to reason, and our
reason in harmony with the divine
law.
He came, above all, "to break down
the middle wall of partition" that d.
yided nation from nation, that alien
ated tribe from tribe, and people from
people, and to make them all n
family, acknowledging the Father
hood of God and the brotherhood OF
Jesus Christ.
But when looking back and con-
templating the wars that have raw
aged the Christian world during the
last twenty centuries, some persons
might be tempted, at first sight, to
exclaim in anguish of heart that the
mission OF Christ was a failure.
In the remarks that I shall make,
I shall enieavor to disabuse the faint
hearted CT this d~iscouraging impress
sion, and show that Christ's mission
has not failed, but that the cause OF
peace has made decisive and reassur-
ing progress, and the advance 1t has
already made inspires the hope of ul-
innate success. 1t Is by comparisons
and contrasts that we can most eff
f~ectually gauge the results OF Chris
tian civilization.
The United States has existed as a
sovereign nation for about one huE.
dred twenty years, since the close OF
the Revolution. During that period
we have had four wars-the war with
England, from 1912 to 1915; the war
with Mexico, from 1845 to 1848; the
Civil War, fromg1861 ito 1865, and
!. the recent Spanish war. The COM
bined length of these campaigns was
about ten years. Hence we see the
United States has had about twelve
years Of peace for one year of wal,
while the Roman. Empire. beheld less
than one year Of tranquility for every
century of military engagement.
But the blessed influence of our
Christian civilization has been expert
;enced not only In reducing the num-
!: Der of wars, but still lot in mitigat-
ing the horrors..of military strife. ,
Prior to the dawn of Christianity,
the motto.of the conqueror was "Vae
victis" Woe to the vanquished."
The captured cities were pillaged and
d. laid waste. The wives and daughters
of the, defeated nation became the
! prey Of ruthless soldiery. The: con-
quered generals and army were
obliged to" grace the triumphs Of the
victors before they were condemned
, to death or to ig%nominious bondage.
| Alexander the Great. after the cap
ture of the City of Tyre; ordered two
thousand of the Inhabitants to- be
crucifed, and the remainder of the
population were put. to death or sold
into slavery. .
Let US contrast the conduct Of Titus
toward the Jews with General Grants
treatment of the defeated Confeder-
ate forces. When General Lee sur
rendered his sword to Grant at Ap-
pomattox Courthouse, he and his
brave army were permitted to return
without molestation to their respect
i've homes.
Imagine General Lee and his vet
Grams led in chains to Washington,
followed by the spoils and treasures
Of Southern homes and Southern
sanctuaries. Imagine the same Con-
federate soldiers compelled to erect
in the capital Of the nation a monu-
ment to commemorate their. w de-
feat. and the triumph of the con-
queror. That would'-be completing
the parallel. WOULD, not the whole
nation, north as well as. south of Ma
son and Dixon's Iihei rise. up to Its
might and denounne a degradation so
revolving to- their humanity?
The Roman and the American gen
eral, in their opposite conduct, were
rejecting the spirit of the times in
which they lived. Titus, in exercis-
ing cruelty toward the ~vanquished,
was following gbe traditions Of Pa
SduISLu, ,->O59Atb ~ fHio htoSho
toward heEtCohfederate troops, was
obeyipg tAs1tpsahdate of christtan n civ
The friends Stldiadvocates Of inter
national arbitration are engaged IN q
most noble and benevolent mission
that can,e ngrnss the :attentiop:of man
kinda mission to which are at,
tached the :nisst sublime title and the
most precious reward. blessed are
the peacemakers, for they shall be
called the children:of God"
A hundred years ago disputes be-
tween individuals were commonly de-
cided by a duel. Thanks to the nu-
manizing influence Of a Christian
public opinion, these d~isagreements
are now usually adjusted by legisla-
ton and. Cancellation, Have we not
reason to indulge. the hope that the
same pacific agencies that have
checked the -duels between individuals
will, in Gods own time, check the
duels between nations?
In our school days the most odious