Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1886-08-11
mr.. TALNAGE'S SERMON.
MEASURED by YOUR OWN YARD
STICKS.
preached at Ashcylllc, N, OF

llrea0hed AZ AshGyllle, NJ o.
Text: "With what measure yo mete, II
shall be measured to you again" Matthew
vii, 2
In tho greatest sermon ever preachod-a
serlnonabout fifteen minutes long, according
to tho ordinary ratio of speech--a sermon on
the Mount of Olives, the Preacher, sitting
while lie spoke, according to the ancient
mode OF olatory the people were given to
understand that the same yard stick that
they employed upon others would bo en-
ployed upon themselves. Measure others by
harsh rule, and you will be measured by a
harsh rule. Measure others by charitable
rule, and you will be measured by charita-
Bile rule. Give no mercy to Others, and no
mercy will DO given to you. "With what
measure we mete, it shall be measured to you
again.
There Is great deal of unfairness in tho
criticism of human conduct. ltwaS to smto
that unIairnesS that Christ uttered the words
OF the text and my sermon will be a re.echo
OF the Divine sentiment In estimating tho
nlsb3havlor OF Others we must take into con
sideratlon the pressure of circumstances 1t
is never right to do wrong, but there are de-
Grees of culpaOilty. When men misbehaye
or commit some atroCious wicliedness we are
disposed Unfortunately to tumble them all
ever the bank of condemnation. Suffer they
ought and suffer they must; but in difference
of degree.
In the first place, in estimating the mis-.
doing OF Others we must take into calculation
the hereditary tendency. There is such
thing as good blood and there is such thing
as bad blood. There a'e families that have
had moral twist in them for hundred
years back. They have not been careful to
keep the family record in that regard There
have been e'capadcs and maraudings and
scoundrelisms and moral deficits all the way
back, whether you call it kleptomania or
pyromana or dipSomania, or whether IL be
in milder form and amount to no mania ut
all. The strong probability is, that the pres.
cnt criminal started life with nerve, muscle
and bone contaminated. As some start life
with natural tendency to nobility AMI gen
erosity, aud kindness and truthfulneSs, there
are others who start life with lust the oppo-
site tendency, and they are born liars, or
born malrontents or born outlaws, or Sorn
swndlerS.
There is in Englanda school that IS called
the Princess Mary School All the children
IN that school are the children of conyicts
The school is supported by high patronage.
had the pleasure Of being present at one Of
their anniversaries in 1919, pre- sided over by
the Earl of kintore. Bya wise law in Eng
land, after parents have committed certain
number of crimes and thereby shown them
selves incompetent rightly t. bring up their
children, the little ones are taken from under
perncious influences and put in reformatory
schools, where all gracious and kindly inau-
en- oi shall lie brought upon them. OF course
the experiments young and it has got to DO
oI;iI..n 60 ,, ,D" n'i ~ IrchyaIe Oh inc
~" my 10 Drought up 10
nI,y tot IL ',rt USGtHi,yS' DllC we az
h"d noo+,,, % loL ci IlrGh OF
If rdoJ nor%nta,r, o'O ''i'''i 'o' Vhl'urch
In thii non,'t,,, t,s.,.. ,n
cIorot;n,, ~ ~; w. a. 1'"S,o ny Ilo ~
nnn on hr ,,aI vil'lu al
groato, ~, s", iu,, h"o,u never was
fhnnco thn,, u, "I,otV".it', pun III one sell
lint wa o,a iii '''S mV"UI'% mnr Implies
en, thot 49, y o,a h"u may Us wen
LG,p n",,al nn iu't' VI I'ec ut nIo
dno' oi,o ~ . 3t uY noi ulli why
cost "a G 01"t ;Tn' ao' un' nloIher morse
onI nnY,tI. q. y - Ms n NJ, s'lo'P COS, SLo
W. orl, ,';',, i',D Di'lcl:"ct III 1 IC
orco of ILoo G'j ~ ~ igcosli.e 1He ulIier-
Lm+ ,vo o,.r ,t ~ hoiscs, al tiVl'e III sneeP,
oMc. fo, tLo AZ djT %,' o,'Guei " iInMc n5tow
W"w ID d S,'n mi'I.r III Uio Iil,il,.n poou
nceS tbot ,.o' ~ .n' law VI c'erliai i,t.t-
csnr of tboUo " .io'u ivt''Ii. Al your cEli-
,,I,o - -, n NV Wcio JOIN mlohS III
Ennt ~. U.I" o ', 'I'v r .lu'o was LituSiahs
,nii' " s nv v",no lipln Tree inc irut o,
,,.o,'' oat ~ III e. na, oecii SI'rlcu anu
so,nn n,or,,,,, tiaiitS, reiori'ltr, gave
,vhat hn o ,JioI' Syavsons II. nls Story OF
o,;,"iroJ. ~ ~ Wal s"leU, .hI ii,oIhGr ol
,,;iIna 10 Ni'iEy yVs'iS "So Sle llVea IN
, nrltt Ky IA oiiGr tew DIX ?tate enc was
ot U Uni poor D,,' Sno VIII vlrioN oie was
h ,0v meit t lU'iG i"r mere were no AIMS
nIuaoI .teir' lHt p"pn.' however, some,
I ~ ", 80 nv NV Ci'ehy SSoltl ~
IN ba "'l,n" noff pu'i,uu ne' iurIher down
Tbaro bn,,o inl rSa vas mlheCy wears ago
aas.ro, H. onN MI W o.p cIsoliS III tIat an
plahch OF that FAMILY there were twenty,
e e mn? OF ihem haVo been IN
oIate lrl'on, ana nearly all of the
DINERS nnVe turned out BADLY. 1t is est.
i H tiia6 that FAMILY cost tho County and
oCaCs SlVV,o,U, 10 say nothing OF the prop
erty they destroyed Are you not willing,
as lhS' PIE people, TO acknowledge that it is
ieariuI ulNaSter TO o. born In such an auces-
tral Ilne' DOES II not make a great differ
ehre Whe1hcr one descends from Margaret
the mother OF criminals, or from some
plother III Israeli whether you are the son
OF Ahab or the son Of Jo'hua' 1t is very
diIlerent thing to swim with the current
from what IL Is 10 SWIM against the current,
as some on You nave ny oubt found in your
summer recreation. II man find him
SER IN an ancestral current where
from generation to generation it il
not very great credit TO him IL
bn tpr ,,,t, o,,I