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Show CHRISTIANITY AND CIVILIZATION. What Christian civilization has done for the world and oppressed humanity is a subject that is little known to the masses in this or any past age. What the world was when Christ, the Prince of Peace, appeared in the scene of life, may be learned from the writers and sages of antiquity. His successful suc-cessful mission developed a new order which raised the dignity of man to its proper standard. His sympathy for suffering humanity stands today in deep contrast- with the teaching of the pagan philosopher and sage, Marcus Aurelius, who declared de-clared it "a weakness to pity the unfortunate, to weep with those who weep." The unbelieving world fails t appreciate the difference between his tender mercy and the cold, inhuman teaching of Seneca, who considered mercy a vice of ftie heart which should be carefully avoided. "The true sage," he wrote, ''is devoid of pity." Whilst Cicero, in his stoic precepts, gave the following aphorisms: "Xo one is compassionate unlers he is foolish or. thoughtless; a true man never allows himself to be moved or touched; it is a misdemeanor and a crime to heed the promptings of-compassion." Universal suffrage was the natural outgrowth of the rinciples inculcated and the teachings of. the Good Master. A French minister of education, educa-tion, one? addressing his countrymen, told them that if they lived in ancient times' not one among them would enjoy the privilege of a free man, as slavery would be their lot. In ancient Komo wealth, power and influence were r commensurate with the number of slaves the lodly master possessed. pos-sessed. Among the very rich-some possessed 20,000 1 slaves. Chateaubriand tells that in the Roman empire em-pire there were 120,000,000 slaves who were subject to all sorts of indignities and oppression. So numerous nu-merous were they that the Roman senate would not permit them to wear a badge' or dres denoting their bondage lest they might realize their strength and declare their independence. "There was great alarm." wrote Seneca, "at the small number of free men.' This state of affairs was not confined to any particular nation. It existed everywhere, amongst barbarous as well as civilized nations. It was considered con-sidered a necessity, having the sanction of usage. "Xature," wrote Aristclle. "requires that there be slaves." From the Christian standpoint all men are equal and the only standard of freedom is truth. "The truth shall make you free." The former owed its existence to tyranny and was put into exe cution through "the law of fear." The latter had its foundation in eternal justice and was executed through the inherent law of natural love. What do the results prove? Laboulaye, the French historian, his-torian, who was always a. staunch friend of the Uuitcd States, and who publicly expressed his sympathy sym-pathy for the Union during our civil war, answers: an-swers: "If Christ had not appeared upon earth, I do not know how the world could have resisted the despotism which was stifling it. I do not speak here as a Christian; I set aside every religious question, and I am only an historian. In this chapter I affirm that, in politics as well as in morals and philosophy, the. Gospel gave new life to souls. We have reason to date from th? new era, for a new society sprang from the Gospel." These benefits bene-fits and froeial reforms are to a certain extent bene-gotten bene-gotten by the proud intellects of the last and present pres-ent century. They not. only forget but even deny that the great change and moral regeneration that began its work twenty centuries ago owed their origin ori-gin to the despised and poverty-stricken baby that was born in a stable near Bethlehem. He was the first to raise the standard of equality and preach liberty which was founded on justice and truth. But an incredulous age is unwilling to "give credit to whom credit js due." The emancipation of the race, they say, is due to enlightenment, and the progress of man; whilst material prosperity lends enchantment to all -social ameliorations. Yet it cannot be denied that the material civilization, grandeur and splendor of the Roman world, when I Christ was born, were equal to any that has existed ex-isted since. Neither can it be denied that pagan Rome furnished men of letters, poets and philosophers. philoso-phers. On that ancient civilization, material grandeur, gran-deur, intellectual superiority and prosperity would our modern theorists, who deny the beneficial influence in-fluence of Christian civilization, base their claims. Their motto: "Live and be happy, for tomorrow you die," when tested by experienced, and ancient and modern history, will not lead .to true, real or lasting happiness.. In the natural order only the very few enjoy and reap the benefits of material prosperity. Its. possession leads to class distinc-tionsj distinc-tionsj excites eury, jealousy and discontent among the masses who are deprived of that easy and luxury lux-ury which its possessors enjoy. But this ease and luxury Ao not mean real happiness for its possessors, pos-sessors, whose only aim' in life is its increase. Why? Because man was created for a higher destiny, des-tiny, which, when denied, or ignored, must leave the soul in a disturbed state, devoid of peace. The world has always realized this, society is aware of it and experience confirms its truth. Universal suffrage and general enlightenment, divorced from the moral law, the knowledge of God and man's supernatural destiny, instead of producing happiness happi-ness and solving the difficulty, breathes discontent and complicates matters more. Liberty, equality and enlightenment are the effect of Christian civilization, civi-lization, but those blessings, when separated from God and man's destiny, become a menace to society so-ciety and recoil upon their promoters: Slavery is dead. Enlighteumen? has repealed forever the law of fear; yet man. be he rich or poor, without the knowledge tr love of God, or any desire to servo Him, is not and cannot be happy. This was the confession of St. Augustine, who ranks first as a scholar, and who tasted of all the pleasures-of life. "Thou hast made us, O T.ord," he wrote, "for Thyself, Thy-self, aiid' our heart is restless until it finds rest in Thee." .. . ' |