WAi:. 07 



I. — Vagan War ; or Force in tlic Service af Passion. 



I liave wished to avoid the subject of imi versai empire. 

 But it comes up again, to-day, at tlie heart of my sub- 

 ject, and I am comi)elled, now, to consider it. 



Univorsîil empire involves ])agan war. Its instru- 

 nu'ut is the sword — tht.' sword of conquest, which never 

 says Enough, Ijeeause it is wielded by the fiercest and 

 tlie most cold-blooded of human passions, the passion 

 for domination. Xeljuchadnezzar, king of the Assyri- 

 ans, having defeated in battle his powerful neighbor the 

 king of the Medes, felt his heart lifted up in himself, 

 and swore In* his throne that he would extend his do- 

 minion fiir and wide. He summoned his councillors 

 and his captains, and held with them, in his palace, 

 what the Scripture has so well called " The mystery of 

 his counsek''* A policy like his has full need of mys- 

 tery. It shuns the light of day, and no wonder. For 

 the secret of Xebuchadnezzar is no longer a secret. It 

 has passed from empire to empire, from cal)inet to cabi- 

 net, and it is to-day the ol)ject of the scorn and indig- 

 nation of the whole world. "He declared that the 

 tliought of his heart was this : to subject the whole 

 earth to his sw^ay." The secret's out ! Mark it : that 

 proud but foolish thought — to rule the universe ! He 

 summons Holofernes, the captain of his host. '•' March," 

 said he, ''against the nations of the West, especially 

 against those Avho have ventured to disobey my com- 

 mandments. Seize their strong cities, subdue their 

 kingdoms." Holofernes obeyed, and his innumerable 

 hosts spread like locusts over the face of tlie earth. 

 Everywhere they carried devastation and death, and the 

 terror of Nebuchadnezzar king of the Assyrians. But 



* Jndith, ii. 2. 

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