The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1874-08-13
A Word to the Little Folks.

THE Herald Of HeatM says some very
excellent things to its little folks on
Truthfulness and Lying:
The word truth is from the Saxon word
tfeocM 1t means what is, what has been,
what will be. The sun will rise to-mor-
row. This is the truth. The sun will
never rise again This is falsehood 1t
is not the truth. 1t does not conform
with fact. If you were TO lay your plans
for tomorrow ON the supposition that the
sun would not rise you would not ac-
complish anything. Perhaps you would
sleep all day; or if you walked up and
found the sun was shining in at your
window you would not be prepared for
your days work, and the day would be
lost.
Living, on the other hand is telling
something which is not so. The word
lie is also II Saxon word tg, and means
contrary to fact. A lie is II statement
that is intended to deceive. We gencr-
ally call lie Il falsehood. This is
thought to be "A milder way of expressing
it, If one man calls another II liar many
think it a vulgar way of stating it. llor-
ace Greeley generally spoke of people
who were not truthful as liars, and many
people thought it IA very coarse express
sion A falsehood, however, is nofhiHg
but a lie The Latin word .falsus means
to deceive, and falschood is something
not true, not conformabe to fact, some
thing contrary to what exists or is said
or done.
One of the most beautiful traits of
character in a man is truthfulness L
wonder if you all know the multipllca-
ton table? Well, this table never lies
but always tells the truth. Test il when
ever you will and it will not lie to you.
1t always tells you that ten times ten IS
100 and that seven times twelve IS
eighty-four. If this were not so there
would be no certainty in anything. Sup
pose the multiplication table was not
truthful and you had some marbles, say
100, to sell at eight cents a dozen. You
could never tell when you got the right
pay for them; you might get too much
or too little, or nothing at all; you might
even have to pay to have some one take
them. A truthful table tells you just how
much you are to get and you are salts
fed it is right. If it were not for the
strict truthfulness Of this table we could
do no business with our friends and
neighbors.
Truthfulness is just as beautiful IN
children, in men and women, as 1t Is In
our arithmetics. 1t is beautiful every
where; and it is just as important, too
A person who is not reliable, that you
cannot depend on, that never keeps ms
word, is very dangerous one. lie VIII
find it hard to get through the world, ana
will make great deal of trouble. II we
know it we never trust him.
Children are generally truthful. Lying
is hard for them; but they learn after
while if their parents are not care1ui.
Usually fathers and mothers are 10 piame
for it more than anybody else. 1hey are
not always careful to keep their word
with them. They make careless state
ments and promises which are never iui-
filed, and little by little children learn
to initiate them. Servants often teach
children to lie by doing SO themselves.
Such things are an abomination. we
hope all the children who read TINS VIII
learn to speak the truth. 1t will be easy
enough if you begin when young and
stick to 1T; but if you once lie you Will
find it hard to stop. Form the habit OF
always telling what is exactly SO, and
you will be as useful and as much a com
fort to those you know as the multiPii-
cation table as to business men. -