Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-10-01

IN THE language of the text the
Apostle Paul records his impress
sion of the Greeks of his day. He
found in Athens on a hill named in
honor of the god of War, Mars
Hill, an altar bearing the inscrip-
ton, ITO the Unknown God" The
scripture story tells US that Then
Paul stood in the midst of Mars
Hill, and said, 'Ye men of Athens!
/ perceive that in all things we are
+. too superstitious, for as / passed
by and beheld your devotions, I
found an altar with this inscription,
TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.
Whom therefore ye ignorantly
worship? Him declare I unto you"
Then he preached Christ to them.
not with any great success. We
are told that some Knocked him and
some said they would hear more of
the new doctrine at some other
time, and a few believed him and
clave unto him. Three individuals
are mentioned, two men and a
woman, as among the converts.
Athens was not very good or fruit
full missionary ground for Paul.
The people were too unstable.
They were more interested in phil
osophy and politics than in re-
ligion, anyway. Paul, who was a
Roman citizen, a member of the
conquering race of his time, had a
poor opinion of the Athenians.
And yet the Greeks were the in
heritors of the noblest traditions.
Their ancient valor was one of the
wonders of the world. Ten thousand
Greeks marched through Persia,
the mightiest empire of the east
at that time, fighting many bat
ties against enormously superior
numbers and invincible always.
Greek valor had saved Europe
from Oriental tyranny. And nor
than that it had erected a civiliza-
ton unmatched in the world at its
time. Greek art, Greek poetry,
Greek philosophy, Greek literature
and Greek thought dominated the
world and held sway even after the
Greeks had become slaves to other
ruder and more warlike races.
"How the mighty have fsllen!"
Nearly all the new reforms pro-
posed in the last fifty years were
tried out In the Greek republics
two thousand years ago. They
were great politicians, always talk
Ing or hearing of some new thing
and changing their government
from dictatorship to pure democ-
racy or mob rule. They tried out
the initiative and referendum, the
direct election of senator's and
rulers by the peoples vote, the ap-
peal from court decisions to a ref
erendum vote Of the citizens, the
recall of officials voted into office.
The Greeks had them all when our
ancestors were savages. None OF
them did any good when the Greek
race degenerated, perhaps from too
much wealth and luxury, or too
much admixture of foreign blood
in the superior native stock. Let
historians and scientists and phil
csophers quarrels over what it was
that destroyed the ancient virtues
of the Greek race and turned a
race of heroes and conquerors into
a race trampled under the feet OF
foreign peoples far inferior in in
telligence and civilization. The
fact stands out indisputably. The
splendid flower of Greek civiliza-
ton faded. It's light went out in
darkness.
When Paul went to Athens, he
spoke of them rather contempt
uously. He was himself a Roman
citizen at a time when it was
proudly said that to be a Roman
citizen was greater than to be a
king. The Athenians and all Greeks
wore the Roman collar when Paul
visited them. They still had their
art and culture left, but their indie
pendence and self government had
long been gone. Political intrigue
had replaced warlike ardor. They
were great takers, but weak in &C
ton, unstable Is water. Fond OF
big words, but not of great acts.
Paul found them weak, ignorant
and superstitious.
The modern Greek has little of
the ancient Greek blood in his
veins. Too many conquering ma
tions have mingled their blood with
the Greeks. Tartars, Bulgars,
Elavs, Turks have all had a hand in
changing the ace. But they seem
ko. have at least preserved one