The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1881-12-29

| continued his sermons on "The Ten
Plaques of Modern Times" The open
| ing hymn was:
W. praise Thee. &, God for the son ofThy love
| For Jesus, who died. ud is no. gone above"
sUBJECT:-"PROFANE SWEARING"
TEXT-JOb ii, .: Course God and diep'
l tell you a story Oriental and marvel
Gus. History speaks of the richest man
in all the east. He had camels, oxen,
asses, sheep, and what would make any
man rich even if h" had nothing else
seven sons and three daughters. 1t was
! the custom of this mans children to
| have family reunions. One day he is at
| home thinking of his darling children
| who are keeping banquet at their elder
| brothers house; yOnder comes a mes
| senger in hot haste evidently from his
| looks bearing evil tidings. Recovering
| himself sufficiently to speak, he says
"The oxen and the asses have been cap
| tured by fOraging party of Sabeans,
| and all the servants are butchered eX
| cept myself" Another messenger is
coming. He says that the sheep and
the shepherds have been struck by
| Tightening. Another messenger is com
ing. He says that the Chaldeans have
| come and captured the camels, and
killed all but himself. Another mes
| sengeT, who says: "While thy sons and
| daughters were at the feast, hurricane
struck the corner of the tent, and they
are all deadp' But his misfOrtunes are
not yet completed. The old man is
| smitten with the elephantiasis, or black
leprOSy. TumOrs from head to foot; face
distorted; forehead Tidged with offensive
tuberculet; eyelashes fall out; nOstrils
excOriated; voice destroyed; intOlerable
eXhalatiOn from the whole body, until
with none to dress his sores, he sits
down in the ashes, with nothing but
| broken pieces of pottery to use in the
surgery of his wounds. At this point,
when he needed all consolation and en-
cOuragement, his wife comes to him and
| says, virtually: This is into erable!
| Our property gone our childrcn slain,
and now this lOathsOme, dlSgustin dis
ease is upon you. Why don't you swear?
| Curse God and diep'
But profanity would not have removed
| one tremOr from his agOniZed body
| would not have brought to his door one
of the captured camels-wOuld not have
| restored any one of the dead children.
| Swearing would have made the pain
more unbearable, the pauperism into
which he had plunged more distressing,
| the bereavement more eXcruclating.
And yet from the swearing and bias
| phemy with which our land is cursed,
| one would think there were some great
| advantages to be relped from the prac-
| tice. There is to-day in all our land no
more prevalent custom and no worse
| plague than pTOfane swearing. You
can hardly walk our streets five min
utes without having your ears stung
and your sensibility shocked. The dray-
man swearing at his horse, the tinman
at his solder, the sewing girl imprecat-
| ing her tangled thread, the bricklayer
| cursing his trOwel, the carpenter at his
| plane, the sailor at the tackling, the
merchant at the customer the customer
at the merchant, the printer at the
miserable proof sheet, the accountant
at the troublesome figurGs-swearing in
| the cellar and in the loft before the
| counter and behind the counter, in the
: shop and on the street, in low saloon
and fashionable bar-rOOm. Children
| swear, men swear, ladies swear. Pro-
| family from the lowest haunt calling
| upon the Almighty, to the fashionable
20 LOrdp of the glittering drawing
room. This whole country is blasted
with the evil. Coming from the west
gentleman sat behind two persons con-
yeTsipg. PrOfanities were 80 frequent
i'll the conversation of the two persons
III front that the gentleman behind took
out his pencil and paper and made re-
cord. The prOfanities filled several
close of which time the gentleman
handed the manuscript TO the persons
conyersing. The men said: us it posi-
bic that we have uttered so many pro-
families in the course of two daysP" The
gentleman said eyes" "Then," said one
of the men, 81 shall never swear again."
make no abstract discussion. l hate
distractions. | had rather come right
out and have talk with you about a
habit that you admit to be wrong. This
habit has grown from the fact that the
young often think it an evidence of
manliness. There are thousands of boys
and youths who indulge in it. [ hear
children along the street, but just able
to walk, practicing this iniquity. They
cannot talk straight, but they get
enough distinctness to let you know
that they are damning their own souls
and the souls of others. Oh, it is hOrri-
BILE to see little child the first time it
lifts its feet to walk set them down on
the burning pavement of HE'LL Between
sixteen and twenty years of age there is
apt to come time when young man
is as much ashamed of not being able to
deliver an oath as he is of the dizziness
that comes from his first cigar He has
his hat and coat and boots of the right
pattern, and there is but one thing more
now to bring him into fashion, and that
is the capacity to swear.
So there are some of our young men
surrounded by an atmosphere Of pro-
families. Oaths sit on their lips they
roll under their tongues and rest in
their shock of hair. In elegant drawing
rooms they abstain from such utternaces,
but fiji Club-rOOm and street with their
immOralities of speech. You suggest
the wrongfulness of the habit, and they
thrust their finger in the sleeve of their
vest, and swagger and say, who cares?"
They have no regard for God, but great
respect for the ladies'. All, there is no
manliness in that The most ungentle-
manly thing a man can do is to swear.
This habit is becoming more and more
prevalent because of the immortality of
parents and employers. There are very
many fathers who indulge in this habit.
They feel moved to ut ser themselves, but
first look around to see if their children
are present. They have no idea that
their children know anything about it.
The probability is that if you swear
your children swear. They were in the
next room and heard you, or somebody
told them about you habit. Your child
is practicing to do just as you do. He is
laughed at at first for his awkwardness,
but after awhile he will swear as we'll
l.