The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1862-01-25
\ I)lail1 Sermon.
Our Everyday Morality.

million OF dollars. When man makes
up his mind tha. he will be thorough
paced villain, and steal like a cashier, he
does not do himself any more damage in
his moral sense than when he says, " |
will Glch penny" TO seal large
sums damages the firm, damages the
bank, damages the commercial interes s
of the community. These things go by
the ratio of quantity; but SO far as
moral dc erioration is concerned, the
moment man says, &c will do wrong"
the damage is done the glass is broken,
the mirror is defaced the conscience is
soiled. He cannot do more if he says,
" | will do a double wrong, or triple
wrong" And there is the great mis-
chief Of it. There is an impression that
the culpability of things bears some
proportion to their magnitude. TO
steal an apple is not much. In stealing
it you do not get much; but you ge.
all the damage that you would if it was
golden apple. TO be ray small trust
has the same moral effect as to betray
large one.
Do you stand at bank coun err, and
present a check for a thousand dollars
and does the man behind the counter, in
his haste, hand you eleven hundred
dollars and do you walk away saying.
d" 1t is his business to take care Of his
affairs !; | will take care of mine - You
are thief! The law is that no
man shall take a thing without render
ing an equivalent, and that law you have
violated. If that man blundcrs in
finance, it is no reason why you should
steal. And yet how many men are
there, tina if they were 10 take thou
sand, hundred, or ten, or five dollars
too much, would think of returning it
You say that corporations have no souls.
You will not have any tina is wor
anything long if you pursue such a
course. 1t is a question that is to he
set led, no on that side Of the counter,
but on this side.
How many men are there tina, when
looking over the money tina they have
received during the day, see bill that
appears like counterfeit bill, do not
like to look at i AGAIN, and thrust it into
the drawer? You have taken circuit
Gus way to make yourself scoundrel.-
You saw it sufficiently to produce he
conviction on your mind tina 1t was
counterleit and the moral effect of
passing it is the same as though you
knew At TO be counterfeit. Or, do you
take it up and say, "Well, somebody
has passed i on me, and have right to
shove it along. W Why, You are coun-
torfeiter | tell you my friend, it only
requires he opportunity to lead you to
forge bills and put them on other men
Do yon protest and say, " Do you expect
that | am going lose that money ~
1t is choice between losing the money
or your conscience. do no know
what a person would not do who is
wiling to throw his manhood away for
the sake Of little money. And if you
are going o sell yourself, do no sell
yourself for a dollar bill, or Il fivc-dollar
bill though | think you would get
enough for yourself even at such price.
| do not know Of any buyer that pays
such high prices as the devil pays when
he buys men. Here is man that sells
himself for about one-eighth of pound
of chicory in pound of coffee. He
sells himself to every customer that
comes in. He aduiterafes. He pre-
pares his commodity with lie, and
rctails it with another lie. Every time
man commits a known dishonesty, he
sells his soul and thousands Of men
are selling themselves by little briblets
And think that man who sells him
self thus-cheats himscf7 No, he
cheats the devil. The devil pays too
much for him
How many men are there who, if,
through carclessness, the conductor
neglected to punch heir railroad ticket,
and they found it in their pocket The
next day, would not take it out, and
look at it, and say, 81 think | will use
that again 2" You paid for that ticket
dollar! Yes. You have had service
to the amount Of dollar! Yes. If,
then, you ride with that ticket again,
you steal one dollar from the railroad
company as much as if You went to he
till and took dollar. And yet, how
many men would not ride twice wi h
ticket under such circulnstapces-yes
forty times?
am informed that before the conlmu-
tation system was abandoned by the
ferry company, men of property and
good standing in society would boldly
declare that they had one, for the sake
of going through without paying -
They did his when the ferriage was but
one penny. They lied for one cent.
pity the devil | do MOI know
wha he does wi such men! 1t is
awful TO be chief magistrate of a
parcel of men like them cannot
understand how hese exiguous, thrice
squeezed men can be managed
have given you bu" one or two instan-
cas Of this kind but if you comb society
you will find it to be full of just such
little meannesses- things that men do
with the cock of che eye, Or with dex
Gritty of finger misunders andngs :;
overreachings underplot.ings all sorts
Of trickery-which pivot on essential
dishonesty.
And these rebound. They destroy
the moral sense. They undo a man.
If you 90 tonight to a bank, and break
through the door, and rob he safe,
or work above l., and split the granite
over it, and oct at il in that Way YOU