Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-10-29
II PARALLEL.

An! "a al anger was greatly kItld.ed against
the ,laii: aid he said to Nathan As the Lord /
iiTe,n. ire man that hath done this thing shall |
s,iIsi. lie. Ard Nathan said to David, Thou
az the man. And David said unto Nathan. l |
have ~irn-i, against the Lord. II. Samuel,
Xn:5. !. ID.
The story of David's sin, and his anger
at the supposed crime of another man, and
the prophets reproof reads not like a tale |
of past centuries, but an event of to-day.
Times and manners change, but human ma
ture is the same sum of weakness, sinful |
ness and good impulses now as it has been |
since the fall
David. the annointed king of Israel, saw
Bath-Sheba. the wife of one OF his generals.
and he coveted her, and. to make her his |
wife he procured the death of her husband, |
Trial, the Iiittite. The Lord sent unto the
king his prophet Nathan, and he, knowing
well Davi1's iI2perious temper, instead of
accusing him of his sin. told him the story
Of tie che eve lamb. At that David's an
ger was greatly kindled. and he said, sAs
the Lore iiveth, the man that hath done
this thing shall surely die" His own
hands were red with the blood OF an inlio-
though the theft was only of q pet lamb.
he adirdged the offense worthy of death.
Mankind are the same now. The most We
llenleiii ii GenoUncing sin, the most zeal
OF, aga:l!s. wrong are the oftenest those
who are marked by the same vice or
one Of deeper stain. If man betrays the
trust re posed in him and is brought to JUS
{,oa &ho in, u ;.
condemnation. whose hearts have no pity
for his ruin? Always those whose secret
consciousness tells them that they have
done the same thing. So we'll is this un-
ders;ood by the world, that when man is
unusually severe in his judgments men.
| say. He is tarred with the same stick, and
is trying to cover the mark" Why thief
who has been able to eyade justice should
be so relentless towards the confessed
thief: CT the unknown betrayer Of a wom-
ans honor condemn a common harlot, is
one CT the mysteries of human nature.
One :e2.oa probably is the desire to de-
ceive Others, to appear better in the eyes
OF the world than a man really is. A per-
son VINO Knows that at heart he is false and
corrupt. tries by vehement protestations
against sins of which he knows he is guilty
to convince others of his integrity and
purity. But as David's zeal for the right
met with 10 response from the prophet
excep., Thou art the man," SO this
mans associates turn from his denuncia
tons Of vice to utter the verdict HE is the
man."
There are few cases where a person
guilty of sin ever convinced others of his
innocence by his condemnation of others.
In general mans associates know him
for just what he is, pure or vile, honorable
Or base. and all his assumptions of differ
en-. character excite only ridicule. Civility
prevents men from saying ''Thou art the
man. but that is their thought. Another
: reason for this hypocrisy is desire in
most persons to attain in some way to
their ideal of a true manhood or woman
hood. l. is a sort of protest against their
OWE lives. When woman is standing on
the brink of the gulf which separates
virtuous and fallen women, she realizes her
perilous position, and hopes by her lack of
| sym patty with the lost. and her censures
Of sin. and protestations of virtue, to not
: only prove 10 the world her innocence, but
also to convince 1t that at least she he's a
true ideal OF @ pure woman, if she be not
one herself. So man who has grown
rich b. inaVery, may talk long and loudly
against dishonesty to prove to Others that,
if :: rogue himself, he knows what 1t is TO
be 81 honest man.
And David said to Nathan ! have siIned
against the lord Here the parallel be-
tween the King Of Israel an2 mankind row
! ceases. David made 70 excuses, he cid not
/ plead his temptation. or the custom of
those days, or the right OF kings; lie did
not So II -1ailiGt;on Of his sin that Cr;ah
beine q brave warrior might have been
killed anyway, it was the fortune OF war;
but he said. IT have sinned"
David lived III an age of war. of low civ
lization; lie was a man Of blood, bat IN
glimpse of nobility rarely met in these
days of higher development. Falseness
is the curse of our modern civilization.
Superior advantages, and greater wealth
seem but to increase this evil. Truth and
honor are fallen in the streets, and are
rarely found except among the poor and
ignorant. 1t is almost impossible to find
a man or woman willing to confess with
King David Il have sinned.'' In the
ancient days of chivalry, honor and truth
We're considered the essential elements of
true iinishthood. and to be thought a liar
was TO be banished from the comradship
of honorable men. Now man can be
dishonest, a perfect trickster, but, if he
makes money by it, he is all right; society
opens her doors to him. Parents lie and
teach their children to do the same. The
men i'll this community of unquestioned
probity can be counted on the fingers.
Expediency is the guide of conduct, and
the little tricks, the make believes of home
life are the seed which produces the giant
growth of dishonesty and treachery which
curses our social, business and political
life. For a truthful man there is hope
however dark his sins, but for liar there
is little chance although he may have kept