177 Weekly: breakthrough moments
in understanding life and myself
a little person can a big difference
President Ronald Reagan told the story
of
the 5th-century monk, Telemachus,
at the Annual National Prayer
Breakfast
in Washington.
The
source of the story was Theodoret,
a 5th century-century, church
historian.
He recounts what inspired and prompted
Honorious,
Emperor of all Europe, put an
end to the gladitorial combats in
Rome.
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A monk, named Telemachus, had come
to Rome. One day he heard the roar of
the crowd coming from the Coliseum.
Going inside, he was horrified to see two
gladiators engaged in mortal combat.
He ran down into the arena to try to stop it.
The crowd grew indignant that he should
interfere in their entertainment. They
ended up stoning the monk to death.
When Emperor Honorius learned of the
episode, he proclaimed Telemachus a
martyr, and issued a decree banning all
gladitorial combats.
See Book V, Chapter XXVI: Of Honorius
the Emperor and Telemachus the monk.
The story illustrates how a "little monk,"
as President Reagan put it, was the
inspiration for someone in authority to take
the action that ended a brutal "sport."
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