The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1894-03-14
REV, DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIvINE'S SUM-
DAY SERMON.
Subject: ssThe Human Face"

TEXT: " A mars ntSCiom n11teth ms race
TO shine, and the 5oldness Of has face ShaH oe
chdnged," or as Il mnY 6e rendered. the
sourness of his face sicH be swesteaed. -
Ecclesiastes viii. l.
Thus little change in orr English trans
lation brings out the better meaning OF the
text. which sets forta that tho character OF
the face is decided by the character of the
soul The main features OF our countenance
were decided by the Almighty. and we can
not change them, but under God we decide
whether we shall have countenances be.
nignant or balesul, sour or sweet, wrathful
or genial, benevolent or mean, honest or
scoundrelly. impudent or modest, courage
Gus or cowardly. frank or sneaSing. In all
the works of Goh there is nothing more
wonderful than the human countenance,
Though the longest face Is less than twelve
inches from the hair line Of the forehead to
the bottom Of the chin and the broadest face
is less than eight inches from cheek bone to
cheek bone, vet in that small compass God
has wrought such differences that the $780,
GOO, 900 OF the human race may be dis
tinguished from each other by their facial
appearance.
The face is ordinarily the index OF charac-
ter. It is the throne OF the emotions. 1t Is
the battlefield of the passions. 1t is the
catalogue of character. It is the map OF the
mind. It is the geography OF the soul. And
while the Lord decides before our birth
whether we shall be handsome or homely,
we ere by the character We form deciding
whether our countenance shall be pleasant
or disagreeable. This is so much so that
some of the most beautiful faces are unattrac-
tive because of their arrogance or their de-
ceitfulness. and some of the most rugged
and irregular features are attractive because
Of the kindness that shines through them.
Accident or sickness or scarifcation may
veil the face 80 that it shall not express the
soul, but In the majority OF cases give me
and 7 will tell you whether he is q
oynic or an optimist. whether he
Is miser or philanthropist, whether he 1s
noble or ignominious, whether he Is good or
bad. Our first impression OF q man or
woman is generally the accurate impression.
You ut the first glance make up your mind
that some man is. unworthy OF your friend
ship, but afterward, by circumstances being
put into intimate association with him, you
come to like him and trust him. Yet stay
with him long enough, and you will be com
PEELED to return to your original estimate OF
his character, but It will be after he has
cheated you out OF everything he could lay
his hands on. It Is Of Gods mercy that we
have these outside indexes OF character.
Phrenology is one index, and while 1t may
be carried to an absurd extent there Is no
doubt that you can Judge somewhat OF a
mans character by the shape OF his head.
Palmistry Is another index. and while 1t may
be carried inte the fanciful and necromantic
there Is no DOUBT that certain lines In the
palm of the hand are indicative Of mental
and moral traits.
Physiognomy is another index, and while
the contour Of the human face may some
times mislead Us We can generally, after
looking into the eye and noticing the curve
OF the lip and the spread Of the nostril, and
the correlation Of all the features, come to
right estimate Of mans character. II it
were not so, how would we know whom to
trust and whom to avoid? Whether we will
or not, physiognomy decides thousand
things in commercial and financial and So
cial and religious domains. From one lid
OF the Bible to the other there is no science
go recognized as that Of physiognony, and
nothing more thoroughly taken for granted
than the power of the soul to transagure the
face. The Bible speaks Of the "face
Of God" the "face Of Jesus Christ, " ;
Israeli" the "iace of Job," the "face
OF the old man, "the shining "face of Moses"
the wrathful ''face of Pharaoh" the ashes
on the face of humiliation, the resurrection
airy staff on the face OF the dead child, the
hypocrites dis6guring their face. and In my
text the Bible declares, "a mans wisdom
maketh his face to shine, and the sourness
iof;his face shall be sweetened." II the Bible
has so much to say about physiognomy, we
do not wonder that the world has made it
study from the early ages. In vain the Eng
ltsh Parliament In the time OF George II.
ordered publicly whipped and imprisoned
khzaa Nof,,l Cd ~hxycf Infn nnf
people always have studied it and always
will study it. The pens OF Moses and Joshua
and Job and John and Paul as we'll as Of
Homer and Hippocrates and Galen and
Aristotle and Socrates and Plato and Layater
have been dipped into 1t, and whole libraries
OF wheat and chaff have been garnered on
this theme.
Now, what practical religious and eternal
use would make OF this subject? am 60
ing to show that while we are not response
BILE for our features, the Lord Almighty hav-
ing decided what they shall be prenatally, as
the psalmist declares when he writes, SIN
thy book all my members were written,
which in continuance were fashioned when
as vet there was none of them," yet the
character which under God We form will
chisel the face most nightly, Every man
would liketo have been made in appearance
an Alcibiades, and every woman would like
to have been made Josephine. We all want
to be8greeable. Our usefulness depends 80
much upon 1t that consider it important
and Christian for every man and woman to
be as agreeable as possible. The slouch, the
sioven, the man who does not care how he
looks, all such people lack equipment for
usefulness. A minister who has to throw q
begins to preach or Christians with beard un-
trimmed, making them to look like wild
beasts come out Of the lair-yea. unkempt,
uncombed, unwashed, disagreeable men or
women-are hindrance to religion more
than q recommendation.
Now, my text suggests how we may, inde-
pendent OF features, make ourselves agree
able, "a mans wisdom maketh his face to
shine, and the sourness OF his face shall be
sweetened." What say may come too late,
for many. Their countenance may by lon,'
years OF hardness have been frozen into stol-
tdity, or by long years OF cruel behavior they
may have Herodized all the machinery OF ex-
preston, or by long years Of ayarice they
may have been Shy ylocked until their face Is
as hard as the precious metalthey are hoard
ing, but I am in time to help multitudes If
the Lord will. That it is possible to over
come disadvantages Of physiognomy was in
this country nightly illustrated by one
whose life recently closed after having
served in the Presidential cabinet
at Washington. By accident OF fire in
childhood his face had been more piteously
SCARED than any human visage that T ever
saw. By hard study he arose from being q
poos boy to the very height OF the legal pro-
fession, and when an Attorney General for
the United States was needed he entered the
Presidential cabinet. What triumph over
destroyed human countenance!
! do not wonder that when an opposing at
torney In Philadelphia courtroom cruelty
referred to this personal Disagreement Ben
jamin F. Brewster replied In these words
<'When I was babe. was beautiful blue
eyed child. know this because my dear
dead mother told me so, but was one day