St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-03-22
DR., Talmage breaches the Good People of
Fayette, no., Sermon on
Heredity.
Physical, Mental and Moral Qualities As,
serted to be Unbeatable Through
Many Generations.
Those Born OF Christian Parentag'
Bound TO Develop This Glorious
Inheritance.
Men May Rise and Beat Back All the
Influences OF Bad
ueredity.
DR.. TaImage,s Sermon.

FAYErTE, Mo-, March 21.-At the invi-
tation of the chief citizens Of this place the
Rev. T. De Witt Talmage, ID. d., stopped
here to preach on his way to Kansas City
and other places. He arrived yesterday
afternoon, and will leave on Monday. His
audience here was no exception 10 the rule
that no church for the last twenty years
has been large enough to hold the audience
when DIR. Talmage is announced to preach.
The preachers subject was Heredity and
his text L. Samuel, xvii, 5S: Whose son
art thou, thou young MANI" Following is
the sermon: Never was there a more I'M
equal fight than thar between David and
Goliath. David five feet high; Goliath ten.
| David a shepherd boy. brought up amid ru-
raj scenes; Goliath warrior by profession.
Goliath a mountain OF baggadOeiO; David a
marvel of humility. Goliath armed with
an iron spear; David armed with sling
with smooth stones from the brook. But
you are not TO deSpise these latter weapons.
| There was a regiment Of singers in the As
syrian army and a regiment of singers in
the Egyptian army, and they made terrible
execution, as they could cast a stone with
as much precision and force as now can be
hurled shot or she'll The Greeks in their
army had singers who would throw leaden
plummets inscribed with the irritating
words. Take this." So it was a mighty
weapon David employed in that famous
combat. 4 Jewish rabbi says that the
| probability Is that Goliath was in such
CONTEMPT FOR DAVID,
| that In parOXysm of laughter he threw
his head back, and his helmet fell off, and
David saw the uncovered forehead, and his
opportunity had come, and taking his sling
and swinging it around his head two or
three times, and aiming at that uncovered
forehead, he crushed il in like an egg shell.
The battle over, behold a tableau: King
Saul sitting. little David standing, his
fingers clutched into the hair Of decapitated
Goliath. As Saul sees David standing
there, holding in his hand the CHASTITY,
reeking, staring trophy, evidence of the
complete victory over Gods enemies. the
king wonders what paTentage was hOnOred
by such herosm, and IN my text he asks
| David his pedigree: ''hNhOse son art thou,
thou young man?" The king saw what
you and l see, that this question OF heredity
is a mighty question. The longer live the
more l believe in bloOd-gOod blood, bad
blood, proud blood, humble blood, honest
blood, thieving blood, heroic blood, cow
ardly blood. The tendency may skip a
generation or two. but it is sure TO come out
as i'm a little child yOu sometimes see a SINH
| a
hangs on the wall. That the physical and
mental and moral qualities are inherited is
patent TO amy one who keeps his eyes open.
The similarity is so striking sometimes as
to be amusing.
GREAT FAMILIES,
legal or literary, are apt to have the charac-
teristics all down through the generations,
and what is more percepUble in such fami-
lies may be seen on n smaller scale in all
families. A thousand years have no power
to obliterate the difference. The large lip
of the House of Austria is seen in all the
generations, and is called the Hapsburg lip.
The House of Stuart always means i'm all
generations cruelty and bigotry and sensu-
ality. Witness Queen of Scots. Witness
Charles L. and Charles Ii. Witness James
l, and James III. and all the other scoun-
drels of that imperial line. Scottish blood
means persistence, English blood means
reverence for the ancient, Welsh blood
means religiosity. Danish blood means
fondness for the sea. Indian blood means
roaming disposition. Celtic blood means fer
yidity, Roman blood means conquest. The
Jewish facility for accumulation you may
trace clear back 10 Abraham, of whom the
Bible says, He was rich in silver and gold
and cattle" and to Isaac and Jacob, who
had the same characteristics. Some fami-
lies are characterized by longevity, and they
have tenacity of life positively Methusel-
ish. Others are characterized by Cola
THAN stature, and you can see it for one
generation, two generations, five genera
ITEMS, in all the generations. Vigorous
theology runs in in the line of the Alex
anders. Tragedy runs on in the families of
the KembleS. Literature runs on in the line
Of the Trollopes.
PHILANTHROPY
runs on In the line of the WilberfOrces.
Craftsmanship runs on in the line of the
Ad2mses. Henry and Catharine of Navarro
religious. ali their families religious. The
celebrated family of the CaSini, all mathe-
maticians. The celebrated family of the
Medici-grandfatheT, son and CathaTine-
all remarkable for keen intellect. The cele-
brated family of Gustavus AdOlphus, all
warriors. This law Of heredity asserts it.
self without reference TO social or political
condition, for you sometimes find the ignO-
bic in high place and the honorable in OBJ
scure place. The descendant OF Edward l.,
toll-gathereT. A descendant OF Edward
I'LL, doorkeeper. A descendant of the
Duke of Northumberland, a trunkmaker.
Some of the mightiest families of England
are extinct while some of those most hon
ored in the peerage go back 20 an ancestry
law of heredity is entirely independent OF
social or political condition. Then you find
avarice and jealousy and sensuality and
fraud having full swing in some families.
The violent temper Of Frederick William is
the inheritance OF Frederick the Great. Ii
is not a theory to be set forth By worldly
philosophy only, but by divine authority.
Do you not remember how the Bible speaks
OF "a chosen generation" of 1.-THE genera
ton of the righteous" OF 1.-THE generation
of vipers," of an ''untowaTd generation, -
of "a stubborn generation" of 1.-The
NIQUITY OF THE PAST
visited upon the children unto the third
and fourth generations?" So that the text
comes to-day with the force Of a projectile
hurled from mightiest catapult. Whose
son art thou, thou young man?" ''Weu. f"
says some one, THAT theory discharges me
from all responsibility. Born OF sanctifed
parents, we are bound 10 be good and we
cannot help ourselves. Born of unright-
eous parentage. we are bound to be evil.
and we cannot help ourselves" As much
as if you should say. 1.-The centripetal force
in nature has a tendency 10 bring every
thing TO the centre, and therefore all
things come TO the center. The centrif-
ugal force in nature has 4 tendency to
throw oct everything TO the periphery, and
therefore everything will go out to the per-
iDhery." You know as well rs / know
that you can make the centripetaI over
come the centrifugal, and you can make the
centrifugal over the centripetal. As when
there is mighty tide of good in a family
that may be overcome by determination TO
do evil, as in the case OF Aaron Burr. the
libertine, who had for father President