The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1890-09-03

ter Tongue and the Sarcastic Tongue
but Little of the Soft Tongue.
CINCINNATI, o.. Aug. 24.-Dr. Tai
maze. who IS in the city to-day discourses
on power which, fit had been used as
extensively as Christ intended 1t to be
used, would have saved the church and
the world from infinite discord and sor-
row-the power Of kindness. His text
is "a soft tongue breaketh the bone.'
prov. NV, l5). Following is his SER
mon:
When Solomon said this he drove a
whole volume into one phrase. You. OF
course. will not be so silly as to take the
words of text in 4 literal sense. They
simply mean to set forth the fact that
there is tremendous power IN KIND
word. Although it may seem to be very
insignificant. its force is Undesirable and
llhmitable. Pungent and all-conQuerln@
utterance: "a soft tongue oreaketh the
BONE"
IF the weather were not so hot. and
had time, would show you kindness as
q means of defence; kindness as a means
of usefulness; kindness as means OF DO
mcstic harmony; kindness as best en-
plo7ed bv governments for the tanning
and curing of criminals; and kindpess as
hest adapted for the settling and UNJUST
inc international quarrels; but l shall
cali your attention only to two OF these
thoughts.
And at first, Ispeak 10 you Of fkindness
as a means of defence. Almost every
man in the course OF his life. is set upon
and assaulted. Your motives are mis-
interpreted or your religious or political
PRINCIPALS are bombarded, What to do
under such circumstances is the question.
The first impulse of the natural heart
saws: s'Strike back. Give as much as ne
sent. Trip him into the ditch which he
due for Your feet. Cash him with as
severe a wound as that which lie intiict-
ed on your soul. Shot for shot. Sarcasm
for sarcasm. An eye for an eye. A
tooth for TOOTH" But the better spirit
in the mans soul rises up and says:
ssYou ought to reconsider that matter"
You look up into the face Of Christ and
say: my Master, how ought to act
under these difficult circumstances"
And Christ Instantly answers: bless
them that curse you, and pray Tor them
which despitefllly use YOU" Then the
ole nature rises up again and says: You
had better not forgive him until first you
have chastised him. You will never get
him in so tight corner again. You
will never have such an opportunity OF
infictinc the right kind Of punishment
upon him again. First chastise him and
tnen let him CO." No" says the bet
ter nature, hush, thou foul heart. Try
the soft tongue that breaketh the bone"
Have YOU ever in all your life known
acerblety and acrimonious dispute to set
tie a quarrel? Did they not always make
matters worse, worse. and worse?
Many wears ago there was great
quarrel in the Presbyterian family. MIN
isters Of Christ were thought orthodox
in proportion as they had measured
}aaces with other clergymen OF the same
denomination. The most outrageous
personalities were abroad. AS IN the
autumn, a hunter comes home with a
string ofgame, partridges and wild ducks
slung over his shoulder, so there were
many ministers who came back from the
ecclesiastical courts with long strings Of
doctors of divinity whom they had shot
with their own rifle. The division be,
came wider, the anImosity greater, until
after while some good men resolved
upon another tack They began to eS-
plain away the difficulties; they began TO
forgive each others faults, and 10! the
great church quarrel was settled. and a
new school Presbyterian church and the
old school Presbyterian church became
one. The different parts Of the Presby-
terian order, welded by a hammer, q lit
tie hammer. Christian hammer that the
Scripture calls "a soft tongue"
You bave dispute with your rnelShbor.
You say to him Il dispose YOU" He
replies: L can't bear the sight OF you."
You say to him: Never enter my house
aoain.'' He says: If you come on my
door sill I'll kick you OFF," You say to
him: ssI'n put you down." He says to
you: :sYou are mistaken: I'll put you
down. And so the contest RACES; and
wear after year you act the unchrlstlan
part. and he acts the unchristian part. AT
ter while the better spirit SEXES you, and
one day you 60 over to the neighbour,
and say: .'Give me your hand. We have
fought long enough. Time is so short,
and eternity is so near, that we cannot
afford any longer to quarrel. I feel you
have wronged me very much; but let US
settle all now IN one great bank-shaklng,
and he GOOD friends all the rest of our
Iyes.'' You have risen to higher plat
form than that on which before you
stood. You win his admiration, and
You get his apology. But if you have
not conquered him in that way, ct any
rate YOU have won the applause of your
own conscience, the high estimation Of
GOOD men. and the honor of your Lord
who died for his armed enemies.
'sBut," you say, ''what are we to DO
when SANDERS assault us, and there
come acrimonious saying all around
about US, and we are abused and spit
upon:" Ny reply Is: Do not go and at
tempt to chase down the ISLANDERS. Lies
are prolific, and while you are killing one,
fifty are born. All your demonstrations
of indignation only exhaust yourself.
You might as well, on some summer
night when the swarms ofinsects are
coming up from the meadows and dis
turblng you, and disturbing your family.
bring up some great swamp angel"
like that which thundered over Charles
ton, and try to shoot them down. The
game is too small for the gun.
But what, then. are you to do with the
abuses that come upon you in life? You
are to live them down! I saw farmer
60 out to get back swarm Of bees that
had wondered-off from the hiye. AS he
moved amid them they buzzed around
his head, and buzzed around his hands,
and buzzed around his feet. If he had