The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1879-06-12
WOMAN.
The Commencement Sermon by
Rev. j. ID. Barbee last
Sunday.


A large congregation attended
the Methodist church last Sunday
to hear Rev. j. d. Barbee preach
the commencement sermon of Mar
tin College. Very appropriately
"Woman" was the subject. The
preacher took Gen. 2, 21-23 for his
text, giving an account of the ORR
gin of woman. She was a miracu
lous production made to meet ne
cessity. She was made to be wife
and mother only. Until she was Gre
ated
''This world was sad; the garden was wild,
And man, the hermit, sighed, till woman
smiled"
He then asked, "What is woman's
relation to man IN wedlookT' and
answered in the language of God,
81 Will make her a help meet for
him." Woman, he said, was mans
help, not his slave. She has no So
cial or civil life separate from him;
for she is but feminine expression
of man. This, he said, was in con-
flict with the modern idea of wo-
mans rights. Woman's rights was
''hberty run mad" True liberty is
protection in the pursuit of happi-
ness, and happiness can only be en-
joyed in true relations.
cit has been contended", said the
preacher, "that she must be admitted
to the hastings and allowed to con
tend for the supremacy in the TO-
rensic battles of mind. Let them
approve it who can, but deliver me
from crosOing hen! Should such a
woman chance to be my partner I'd
break her spirit or I'd break her
heart. I'd charm her with the mag
ic of switch" No Tyranny. She
was to be closer and dearer to him
than all else.
He then asked: ain forming a
union so close and so sacred, what
is the motivep He regretted to an
swer that it was often a mercenary
one. "What of such a marriagef
1t is legalized adultery" He then
supposed a marriage for money. 1t
was based on outward conditions.
These conditions might change and
you would lose the very thing you
married for and be left with the
very thing you did not want. He
argued that the true principle of
marriage was love, and that it had
for its basis mutual respect and con-
fidence. His picture of a person
whose only recommendation to mar
rage was their money, and who
had lost that was terrible, and left
the vision of loathsome thing
upon the minds of his audience.
He presented the picture of a model
wife, painted by Solomon Prov. 81,
81. He argued that education Oh
learning was not wisdom, and that
man or woman might be an edu
Gated fool. He gave several anu
sing instances that brought dowr
the house." His definition of true
lady was sublime. He said tina
she promoted her husbands pros
perity, and that he came to honor
He then drew a picture of a physi
clans wife. She put on her bes
clothes and SloShed them out ever,
day. Put fancy shoes upon he
children and they wore them in tn
mud. 1t resulted in the indebted
ness and ruin of her husband. HI
then drew a contrast between tn
wife of Belknap and Mrs. James L
Polk, and paid the latter a hig
and well-deserved compliment. Ii
then asked: "How does this con
trast with the modern idea of VIC
mans rights" "Take a woma
out of the true relations of wife, an
destroy the idea that she was mad
for man, and is therefore his he'll
in the enterprises of life, and sh
becomes unhappy. This error i
fatal to good morals and threaten
the integrity of the State. 1t su
lperlnduces the spirit of anti-mater
nifty and frce-love, and this open
the floodgates of vice upon an,
people. The Roman Empire begal
to decline with the destruction o
its hearth and home. America i
following in her wake and ichabot
is written upon her escutcheon
Let the idea generally obtain, whicl
is now seeking development, that
is disgraceful for a wife to becom
mother, and that children are
degrading burden, and we will hav,
organized hell on earth, and pande
monium will be paradise com
pared to our lot. Heaven for
bid the catastrophe? My patriot
ic countrymen forbid it! Nobl