Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1864-11-18
PRoFANR SWEARING.

extent does Ut prevail. iltISSald tofb8 alarming
ly common inlthe army. 1t is heard on every
street, in every hotel, and on every thoroughfare
of travel. Not only men swear, but boys ALSO
The most impious oaths fall from the lips of
school, boys, for they learn To- swear from older
persons, perhaps from their parents. ltis tiaxt
to impossible, too, to teach the young swearers
better. They reason as young william did a
while ago in respect to fighting He was called
to account by his teacher for fighting, and justi-
fed his conduct by saying my father fights,
and can fight too" So the children Of swear
ers grow up thinking they can swear if their
fathers do. There is no way, therefore, in which
the young can be taught TO avoid profanity, till
the older shall abstain from this immoral prac-
tice 3sfA THU j !
Profane swearing is largely matter of pas
sion and habit. 1t has no foundation in reason
or study. There are no reasons which can be
urged in support of it. If the oath when prop
erly taken has any solemnity and real value,
these are entirely lost when it is}used ID corh-
mon conversation and without Thought! i1fihs
profane swearing tends to degrade the serious
oath lawfully administered.
The oath is triAed with sufficiently in courts of
Justice. 1t is usually administered in careless
tone of voice. and with rapid utterance, 50 as to
rob it of all solemnity. / have seen clerk, Of
the court of common pleas not far from Sandus-
ky county administer the oath sitting, with his
chair leaning back and his heels perched upon
the desk before him. OF course neither he nor
the witness could feel the solemnity of the oath
as they should.
Butthis evil lis BY nonieans 80 great as that
of ordinary profane swearing. This latter
should be carefully avoided for the following
reasons:
]; 1t does no good. 1t adds nothing to ones
Eeraeity ,orfo the credbility ofhisdeclaTatiais.
The men whose word is as good as their oath do
not make use of the oath in common conversa-
ton. They do not swear The swearer must
feel that his werds is of little value He does
not expect TO be believed because be declares a
| thing So he seeks to re-enforce his word with
an oath. But the device is too apparent The
hearer understands the matter too well to be
deceived. Therefore the common swearer finds
that his oaths detract from his reputation for
truth telling rather than add to it. The habit
ofswearing thus Injuries the the swearer rather
than benefits him.
% 1T cultivates disposition 10 e.AegssrMate, p ii
if not disposition towards anger and high pas
sion. Some men swear only when they are an
cry. But when provoked their anger resorts to
oaths. Then the swearing makes them more
angry still, and passion thus becomes rage of
the worst kind. A man may swear himself up
to high pitch Of passion in very few Minutes,
and upon very small OCCASION 1t is sometimes
said in extenuation of the wrong of profanity,
that swearing under proyocation tends to re-
lieve the man Of his bad fselingsb giving them
vent. Nothing is more erroneous. All feelings
OR passions of which the mind of man is capable
are strengthened by being expressed, not weak
ened. This is seen in the fact that swearing
readily becomes habit. When this is the case, |
the swearer is at the mercy of his passion. He
has no efficient control over it. It is his master.
All passion is TO be mastered by repression, not
by expression,-or, if men swear from the force
of habit but not in anger, the effect of the hab-
it is to exaggerate every thing they say. Their
strong mode of assertion is brought to bear upon
the most common and trifiing subjects. The |
habit is therefore of use, but rather injurious.
- g. Profane swearing is defiant blasphemy |
against God. Very likely the swearer viii say |
that he does not believe in God and religion |
The atheist who will swear is fool and his |
habit is the habit of a fool. mean precisely |
what say. Noah Webster says that in COM |
mon language fool is "a person who is some
what deficient in intellect, but not an idiot; or,
person who acts absurdly; one who does not |
exercise his reason" Now swearing, if it be |
reasonable, implies belief in God, and reyer-
ence for the oath. On the part of one who does
not believe in God, then, it is an absurd and un-
reasonable thing, an act of sheer folly. Surely |
he is a fool who allows himself to contract hab-
it which is opposed to the dictates ofhis reason.
If this be not folly, what is?
But the blasphemy of swearing lies in the fact
that it is athoughtlsss irreverent appeal to God
1t is taking his name and using il without |
due and serious sense of his holiness 1t call |
ing him to witness, without feeling the solemni-
ty of the act 1t is provoking his wrath in case
Of untruthfulness, without a sense of the terri
bleness of bearing that wrath. Hence
4. Profane swearing is one of the. most de-
basing vices. No person worthy of respect |
makes habit OF swearing. No gentleman |
ty marks man as an associate Of the vicious |
and degraded just in proportion as it gains as
tendency over him. Everybody knows that
the worst profanity is found among those who
are likewise addicted to other vices. The COM
panion of vices it must needs be itself vice.
ground just indicated, still the mere fact that
profanity is useless and injurious is enough to
constitute a reason why every man should care
fully avoid it. And besides this, it is known
TO be sore annoyance and cause of pain to
multitudes of people, and those the exemplary
and virtuous. By what principle ofgood breed
ing or decency does the swearer insult the feel
ings and principles of virtuous men2 Only the
vicious are thus regardless of the feelings of
their fellow-men.
But this is not the strongest reason for avoid
ing profanity alter al. There are those, too.
who are addicted 70 swearing, but not in the
presenceo Of religious people. They have re-
gard to their principles, and do not wish TO give
them pain. So far it is well. But every man
should have more regard to God than to men.
And if profane swearing is so distasteful to re-
ligipus people how much more distasteful must
it be TO God, who is infinitely more holy than
any n,an. Surely these reasons should induce
every man to sSwear not at ALL r 10 B.
=. MONEY FROM THE SOLDIERS.