The Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, Ohio) 1853-1861, 1856-09-04
Swearing.

penalties against profanity, or swearing. Some
tons, but all are about equally inefficient and
imperative Here in Ohio we have law
against swearing, and yet perharsa majority
Of the officers chosen TO enforce the laws, and
sworn to obey the constitution and laws, vio-
late this enactment daily. judges Of the
courts swear ; Justices of the Peace swear
il Sheriff, Constable, or Marshal undertakes
to arrest man for swearing, they must
do it with by CD or Cd d-n. Under
this state of affairs, the law merely amounts
to an acknowledgment on our part that swear
ing is wrong, and that we know it to be SO,
which cuts off all hope Of salvation on the
plea Of ignorance, Law is the Io.t Of this
evil habit. No doubt can xist but it is mere
ly pattern taken from that custom Of Law
which pronounces every man q liar unless
bis assertions are backed up by an oath.
Different views are taken of this bad hab-
it. Some people think it is not very grea.
impropriety 10 swear in the presence Of men,
while to utter an oath in the presence Of la
dies is Dc serving Of severe reprimsnd. Such
is the case in the town Of Liberty, Texas,
where man is fined sos IL he swears in the
presence of ladies. This is spe cies of gal
lantry that is perhaps more snowy than use
full, yet all agree in pronouncing the man who
will make use Of oaths in the presence Of la
dies to be possessed Of very i'll manners and
low breeding.
In come places, howev,r. swearing is SO
respectable that it is not uncommon to hear
oaths in tle presence of ladies, even in what
claims to be the most refined society. Indeed
some women in those circles are allowed to
use oaths to clinch their assertions, without
losing their place and position in society.
Whatever may be said about our being a
progressive people, no one can fail TO observe
that profanity is fast gaining ground. Cities,
towns, and villages take the lead in this as in
all other vices, while the country people fol-
low at a steady pace. Fathers swear, and
their children soon learn the emphatic oath.
Teachers swear, and scholars catch the word.
And thus through every department Of mi
nor life, ample opportunity is presented for
learning to swear; and we are emphatically
a swearing people, SO much SO that man is
hardly thought to be in earnest in what he
says unless it is accompanied by an oath,
That swearing is fast leader to other vi
ces, is too self-evdent to admit Of argument.
While we all indulge in it, none of us have as
much respect for man aftsr we have heard
him swear as we did before. A man who has
sufficient self-respect to guard against this
common vice, will exert an influence upon his
associates that, if it does not entirely prevent
them from swearing will at least cause the
utterer of an oath in his presence to blush for
very shame at seeing his own degradation
thus exhibited to one who not only takes no.
tice Of, but despses the practice. He feels
that he has justly lowered himself in the es-
timation Of a man whose esteem was worth
having.
Our ambitious men, those who are striving
for places Of honor and profit, are among the
most common violators Of this law Of God
and man. This is somewhat singular, since
it is an acknowledged fact that the habit de-
stroys much influence which might otherwise
be enjoyed, while it fails to produce the
slightest benefits in return. And in the event
of having ones name handed down to pos
terity, how tame and inspid must be the Ian
guage of his eulogizer or biographer, when
limited to mere mental ability and acquire
ments, not being privileged to speak of those
virtues which 60 to make up the model man,
the first of which must be purity Of thought
and word. How different would be the eu-
logies passed upon Washington, were they
shorn Of those unbounded expressions Of ad-
miration for the careful preservation Of those
apparently minor virtues, which at once ele-
waited him ab, We his fellows and pointed him
ont as ft man to be leader in any enterprise.
The simple story of the cherry tree and his
refusal to tell lie, so familiar to every school
boy, is but an illustration Of the foundation
upon which his undying fame was based. The
military achievements of George Washington,
though of gigantic character, are oclpsed
by the virtues which adorned his civil career.
How much less must his influence have been
during his lifetime, and how vastly inferior
his example for future generations, had he
indulged in the demOralizing habit Of swear.
ing.
Learning to swear is throwing off the rider
between vice and virtue. and when this is off,
the hand will often be poisoned by the prickly
thoins which ever cluster about the enticing
flowers of passion and the bitter but decep'
five fruits of vie and not unfreQuentlY the