Sri Sai Baba`S:Charters And Sayings

368 TALKS ON ** AT THE FKET W Wh MASfM< °

got themselves into trouble vm* fmpu'nth* Thry
preached their doctrine of brotherhood, and 4lthuu|;h
Rome in the best days was a n'puhlio, \^t it \\'d^
always a republic managed to a ^rrat cxtrut 1»\ ihv
oligarchy. In the days of the Kmpnor Nrn»,
especially, it did not welcome the kind of brotherhood
that the early Christians prcachnL It \^ih far too
much Hke (< Soycs mon /Wn\ (u^ J^ ^^s fu^f^s *\
" Be my brother or I will kill you." It \uih f«u tuo
much that kind of thing; it was tliat kind of Surialihm
which says: "What is yours is mine, and 1 am
going to take it," not the kind the Pn^ldrnt advu
cates: " What is mine is yours ; you may slum» it. " ;

a very different attitude. So I say thoho rarly
Christians got themselves into trouble .,,noi b<*c<iu r ^f
their religious beliefs, but because in soino nw-* tlirv
would not perform small Ctwrnonit^ wliiilt wcu*
considered matters of loyalty. Tlu^v would not, iur
example, throw a pinch of incenbe on flits ultur, or [HW
out a drop of wine to the Emperor. That is prrrihrh
equivalent to what not taking off orui\s hut to tho
King would be to-day. Naturally people who
refused to do this would be roughly handled brcmist?
they would be suspected of anarchical tendfmw^
Such a man might try to explain that it was onlv din*
to his religious convictions, but the crowd would
probably not wait to listen. The authorities ;uud to
the early Christians: u But surely you ran pour out
a drop of w^ine and throw a pinch of inrt'n^r in thr