“What
thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto churches which are in Asia; unto
Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis,
and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.”
REVELATIONS,
I:11
THE
MARTYRED CITY
Glory
and Queen of Island Sea
Was
Smyrna, the beautiful city,
And
fairest pearl of the Orient she—
O
Smyrna the beautiful city!
Heiress
of countless storied ages,
Mother
of poets, saints and sages,
Was
Smyrna, the beautiful city!
One
of the ancient, glorious Seven
Was
Smyrna, the sacred city,
Whose
candles all were alight in Heaven—
O
Smyrna the sacred city!
One
of the Seven hopes and desires,
One
of the seven Holy Fires
Was
Smyrna, the Sacred City.
And
six fared out in the long ago-
O
Smyrna, the Christian city!
But
hers shone on with a constant glow—
O
Smyrna, the Christian city!
The
others died down and passed away,
But
hers gleamed on until yesterday—
O
Smyrna, the Christian city!
Silent
and dead are churchbell ringers
Of
Smyrna, the Christian city,
The
music silent and dead the singers
Of
Smyrna, the happy city;
And
her maidens, pearls of the Island seas
Are
gone from the marble palaces
Of
Smyrna, enchanting city!
She
is dead and rots by the Orient’s gate,
Does
Smyrna, the murdered city,
Her
artisans gone, her streets desolate—
O
Smyrna, the murdered city!
Her
children made orphans, widows her wives
While
under her stones the foul rat thrives—
O
Smyrna, the murdered city!
They
crowned with a halo her bishop there,
In
Smyrna, the martyred city,
Though
dabbled with blood was his long white hair—
O
Smyrna, the martyred city!
So
she kept the faith in Christendom
From
Polycarp to St. Chrysostom,*
Did
Smyrna, the glorified city!
*Martyred
at Smyrna, September 1922.
FOREWORD
HERE
at last is the truth about the destruction of Smyrna and the massacre of a large
part of its Inhabitants by one who was present.
The
writer of the following pages is a man, happily, who is not restrained from
telling what he knows by political reasons or by any consideration of fear or
self-interest. He gives the whole story of the savage extermination of Christian
civilization throughout the length and breadth of the old Byzantine Empire in a
clear and convincing manner
That
it
should have been possible twenty centuries after the birth of Christ for a small
and backward nation, like the Turks, to have committed such crimes against
civilization and the progress of the world, is a matter which should cause all
conscientious people to pause and think; yet the writer shows conclusively that
these crimes have been committed without opposition on the part of any Christian
nation and that the last frightful scene at Smyrna was enacted within a few
yards of powerful Allied and American battle fleet.
We
turned a deaf ear to the dying Christians, when they called to us for aid, fully
aware that America was their only hope, and now it would appear that there is a
growing tendency in this country to whitewash the Turks and condone their crimes
in order to obtain material advantages from them.
The
author takes the position that this can not be done, as the Turks have put so
great an affront upon humanity that it can not easily be overlooked, and the
truth is sure to come out. He claims that high ideals are more than oil or
railroads, and that the Turks should not be accepted into the society of decent
nations until they show sincere repentance for their
crimes.
Fraternizing
with them on any other terms creates a suspicion of sordidness or even
complicity.
>From the outspoken nature of this book it will be evident to the reader that the
writing of it has required considerable courage and that it has been inspired by
no other possible motive than a desire to make the truth known about matters
which it is important for the world to know.
(Signed)
JAMES W. GERARD
Next: Introduction | Previous: Title Page | Book Contents | Book main page | Back to Top