St. Landry democrat., 1886-08-14
Ia 4MAGE'S SERMON.
How Men Ara Measured by Their
Own Yard-Stick.
Hard Thoughts Concerning Others Reine
Their Own Re:ribution-The Question
of Hereditary Tendency-Deal
Kindly With Others Faults.

N. c., preached the following sermon to
large congregation, hundreds going from
the surrounding region to hear him. HI
took for his text:
With what measure ye meet, 1t shall BE-
measured to you again.-Matthew vli.: 2.
DR.. Talmage said: In the greatest ser.
mon ever preached-a sermon about Fl f.
teen minutes long according to the ordi-
nary rate of speech-a sermon on the
Mount of Olives, the preacher sitting
while he spoke, according to the ancient
mode of oratory, the people were given to
understand that the same yard stick that
they employed upon others would be en-
ployed upon themselves. Measure others
by harsh rule, ,sand you will be measured
by harsh rule. Measure others by a
charitable rule, and you will be measured
by charitable rule. Give no mercy to
others, and no mercy will be given to you.
With what measure ye mete, it shall be
measured to you again.
There is a great deal of unfairness in
the criticism of human conduct. 1t was
to smite that unfairness that Christ ut
tered the words of the text, and my SER
mon will be a re- echo of the divine senti-
ment. In estimating the misbehevior of
others we must take into consideration the
pressure of circumstances. It is never
right to do wrong, but there are degrees
of culpsbility. When men misbehave or
commit some atrocious wickedness we are
disposed Unfortunately to tumble them
al over the bank of condemnation. Suffer
they ought and suffer they must, but in
difference of degree.
In the first place. in estimating the mis-
doings of others, we must take into calcu.
lation the hereditary tendency. Thsre is
such thing as good blood, and there is
such thing as bad blood. There are
families that have had moral twist in
them for hundred years back. They have
not been careful to keep the family ecord
in that regard. There have been esca-
pades and maraudiugs, and scoundrelisms
and moral deficits all the way back,
whether you call it kleptomania, or pyro-
mania, or dipsoman q, or whether it be in
q milder form and amount to no mania at
all. The strong probability is that the
present criminal started life with nerve,
muscle and bone contaminated. AS some
start life with a natural tendency to no.
truthfu1ness, there are Others who start
life with just the opposite tendency, and
they are born liars, or born malcontents,
or born outlaws, OF born swindlers.
There is in England school that is
called the Princess Mary School. All the
children in that school are the children of
convtets. The school is supported
by high patronage. I had the pleas
ure Of being present at one of their an
in 1879, presided over by the
Earl of Kintore. By a wise law in En-
gland, after parents have committed q
certain number of crimes, and thereby |
shown themselves incompetent rightly to |
bring up their children, the little ones are |
taken from their pernicious influences and
put in reformatory schools, where all gra-
cious and kindly influences shall be |
brought upon them. OF course the expert
ment is young, and it has got to bedemon-
strated how large percentage Of the chill
dren of convicts may be brought up to
and usefulness. But we all
know that it is more difficult for children
Of bad parentage to do right than for chill.
aren or good parentage.
In this country we are taught by the
Declaration of American independence,
that all people are born eqnal. There
never was greater misrepresentation put
IN one sentence than in that sentence
which implies that we are all born equal.
You may as well say that flowers are born
equal or trees are born equal, or animals
are born equal Why does one horse cost
300 and another horse cost Ss, ,000f Why
1oes one sheep cost ten dollars and an.
,ther sheep cost $5001 Difference in blood.
We are wise enough to recognize the diff
erence OF blood in horses, in cattle, in
neep, but we are not wise enough to
make allowance for the difference in the
luman blood. Now demand by the law
# eternal fairness that You be more
enient in your criticism Of those who were
,ern wrong, in whose ancestral line there
vas a hangman's knet, Tor who
anne from tree the fruit Of which for
centuries has been gnarled and worm.
aten.
II man find himself in an ancestral
urrent where there is good blood flowing
moothly from generation to generation,
is not a very great credit to him if he
urn out good and honest, and pure and
lobfe. He could hardly help it. But sup
'ose he ie born in an ancestral line where
he influences have been bad, and there
las been a coming down over a moral de-
livity, II the man surrend er to the influ.
aces he Will go down under the overmas.
ering grayitation unless some supernat-
raj aid be afforded him. Now, such a
'erson deserves not your excoriation, but
our pity. Do not sit with the lip curled
n scorn, and with an assumed air of an
ellie innocence looking down upon such
loral precipitation. You had better get
own on your knees and first pray Al.
,ighty God for their rescue, and next ,
nank the Lord that Won have NOT hean