Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1891-03-27

IL Always DcspicuDie anu 'o nc
Avoided.
New York, March 22, 1891. The
Plague of Lies" was selected by DIR. Tai
mage for the subject of the fifth of his dis
courses on THE Plaques of These Three
Cities" which he preached today. His
text was Genesis 3. 4: ''Ye shall not
surely die
That was Eoint blank lie. Satan told
it To Eve TO induce her TO put her semi
circle Of white, beautiful teeth into a for
hidden apricot, or plum, or peach, or
apple. He practically said TO her. ''Oh,
Eve, Just take "A bite Of this and you will
be omnipotent and omniscient. You shall
be as gods. Just opposite was the result.
II was the first lie that was ever told in
our world. II opened the gate for all the
falsehoods that have ever alighted on this
planet. 1t introduced plague that covers
all nations, the Plague of Lies. Far
worse than the plaques of Egypt. for they
were on the banks of the Nile. but this is
on the banks of the Hudson, on the banks
of the East River, on the banks Of the
Ohio, and the Mississippi, and the
Thames, and the Rhine, and the Tiber.
sud on both sides of all rivers. The
Egyptian plaques lasted only few weeks.
but for six thousand years has ragged this
Plague of Lies.
There are a hundred ways Of telling 4 lie.
A mans entire life may be falschood.
while with his lips he may not once direct
ly falsify. There are those who state what
is positively untrue. but afterwards say
may be-" softly. These departures from
the truth are called white lies" but there
is no such thing as a white lie The white
est lie that was ever told was as black as
perditon. No inventory Of public crimes
will be sufficient that omits this gigantic
evil. There are men, high in church and
state, actually useful, self-denying ana
honest in many things who, upon certain
subjects, and in certain spheres, arc not at
all to be depended upon for veracity. In
deed, there are many men and women who
have their notions of truthfulness 50
thoroughly perverted that they do not
know when they are lying. With many it
is cultivated sin; with some it seems
natural infirmity. ! have known people
who seemed TO have been born liars. The
falsehoods Of their lives extended from the
cradle TO the grave. Prevarications, mis-
representation, and dishonesty of speech,
appeared in their first utterances, and were
diseases, and were sort of moral Group
or spiritual scarletina. But many have
been placed in circumstances where this
tendency has, day by day. and hour by
hour, been called 10 larger development.
They have gone from attainment 10 attain
ment and from class 10 class, until they
have become regularly gcSduated liars.
The air of the city IS filled with false
hoods. They hang pendant from the
chandeliers Of our finest residences; they
crowd the shelves of some of our mer-
chant princes; they fill tdc sidewalk from
curbstOne 10 brown stone facing. They
cluster around the mechanics hammer.
and blossom from the end Of the mer-
chants yard stick. and sit in the doors OF
churches. Some call them Fiction. :"
Some style them fabrication" You
might say that they were subterfuge, dis
guise, dclusion, romance, evasion, pre-
tence, fable, deception, misrepresentation
but as ! am ignorant of anything TO be
gained by the hiding of God-defying out
rage under a photographers blanket, /
shall chiefly call them what ny father
taught me TO call them-lies
/ shall divide them into agr sy.turdl,
mercantile, mechanical, ecclesiastical and
social lies.
FIRST, then. will speak of those that are
more particularly agricultural There is
something in the perpetual presence of
natural objects 10 make man pure. The
trees never issue false Stock Wheat
fields are always honest. Rye and oats
never move out in the night, not paying
for the place they have occupied. Corn
shocks never make false assignments.
Mountain brooks are always current. 3"
The gold on the grain is never counter
set. The sunrise never flaunts in false
cOlors. The dew sports only genuine
diamonds Taking farmers as class, |
believe they are truthful and fair in deal
ing, and kind hearted. But the regions
surrounding our cities do not always send
this sort Of men to our markets. Day by
day there creak through our streets, and
about the market houses, farm wagons
that have not an honest spoke in their
wheels, or a truthful riyet from tongue to
tail board During the last few years
there have been times when domestic
economy has foundered on the farmers
firkin. Neither high taxes. nor the high
price Of dry goods, nor the exorbitancy of
labor, could excuse much that the city has
witnessed in the behavior Of the ycomanry.
BY the quiet fircsidcs in Westchcster and
Orange countless / hope there may be
seasons Of deep reflection and hearty re-
pentancc. Rural districts are accustomed
TO rail at great cities as given up TO fraud
and every form Of unrighte BUSINESS; but
our cities do not absorb all the abomina-
tiors. Our citizens have learned the inn
portance of not always trusting TO the size
and style of apples in the top of a farmers
barrel as an Indication Of what may DO
found farther down. Many Of our pco-
pie are accustomed TO watch and see how
correctly a bushel of bects is mcasurcd;
and there are not many honest milk cans.
DeCeptions do not all cluster around city
halls. When our cities sit down and weep
over their sins, all the surrounding coun-
tries ought to come in and weep with them.
There is often hostility on the part of the
producers against traders, as though the
man who raises the corn was necessarily
more honorable than the grain dealer, who
pours IL into his mammoth bin. There
ought TO be no such hostility. Yet pro-
ducers often think it no wrong to snatch
away from this trader; and they say TO the