The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1896-08-06
IA AlNGE s SERMON.
!. Whose son art thou, thoua young man ~
!. Samuel, xvi. So. NJ

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Whose son art thou, thou Dung man ~ -
a. Samuel, xvi. So. "a
Never was there a more unequal.
tight than that between David and
Goliath. David, five feet high Goliath,
ten. David shepherd boy, brought
up amid rural scenes; Goliath war
rior by profession. Goliath a mountain
Of bra ggadocio; David marvel Of hu-s5
mility. Goliath armed with an iron
spear; David armed with a sling with
smooth stones from the brook. But
YOU are not to despise these latter
weapons. There was regiment of
singers in the Assyrian army, and
regiment of singers in the Egyptian
army, and they made terrible execu-
ton, and they could cast a stone with
as much accuracy and force as now
can be sent shot OF shell. The Greeks
in their army had singers who would
throw leaden plumlnets inscribed with.
the irritating words, 80 Take this!'' So.
it was a mighty weapon David employ
ed in that famous combat. a Jewish
rabbi says that the probability is that
800 SNStA 40A
vid that in a paroxism of laughter he
threw his head back and his helmet
fell of, and David saw the uncovered
forehead and his opportunity had
come, and taking this sling and swing
ing it around his head two or three
times, and aiming it at that uncovered
forehead, crashed it in like an egg
shell. The battle over, behold the tab
leau: King Saul sitting, little David
standing, his fingers clutched into the
hair of decapitabed Goliath. AS Saul
sees David standing there holding in
his hand the CHASTITY, reeking, staring
trophy, evidence of the complete vic
tory over Gods enemies, the king won
ders what pafentage was honored by
such herOism land in my text he asks
David his pedigree, Whose son art
thou, thou young man? #
The. king saw what you and see,
that this question of heredity is
mighty question. The longer I live the
more / believe in blood good blood,
bad blood, proud blood, humble blood,
honest blood, thieving blood, heroic.
blood, cowardly blood. The tendency
may skip a generation or two, but it
is sure to come out, as in little child
you sometimes see similarity to q
great-grand father whose picture hangs
on the wall. That the physical and
mental and moral qualities are inherit
able is patent to any one who keeps
his eyes open. The similarity is so
striking sometimes as to be amusing.
Great families, regal or literary, are
apt to have the characteristics all
down through the generations, and
what is more perceptible in such fam
lilies may be seen on smaller scale
in all families. A thousand years have
no power to obliterate the difference
The large lip of the house Of Austria
is seen in all the generations, and is
called the Hapsburg lip. The house of
Stuart always means in all generations
cruelty and bigotry and sensuality:
Witness Queen of Scots. Witness
Charles I. and Charles II. Witness
James /. and James H., and all other
blood means persistency, English blood
means reverence for the ancient,
Welsh blood means religiosity, Danish
blood means fondness for the sea, In
dian blood means roaming disposition,
| Celtic blood means fervidity, Roman
blood meats conquest. The Jewish
faculty for accumulation you may
trace clear back to Abraham, OF whom
| the Bible says, she was rich in silver
and gold and CATTLE and to Isaac and
Jacob, who had the same characters
| tics. Some families are characterized
/ by longevity, and they have a tendency
Of life positively methuselish. Others
are characterized by Goliathian stat
ure, and you can see it for one genera
| ton two generations, five generations,
in all the generations. Vigorous theol-
| ogy runs down in the line Of the Alex
| anders Tragedy runs in the family
| of the KembleS. Literature runs on in
the line Of the Trollopes. Philanthropy
runs on in the line Of the WilberfOrces.
| Craftsmanship runs on in the line of
/ the Adamses.
You see these peculiarities in all gen
eratiOns. Henry and Catherine of Ma
varre religious, all their families re-
ligious. The celebrated family Of the
| Casini, all mathematicians. The cele-
brated family Of the Medici, grand
father, son and Catherine, all remark
able flor keen intellect. The celebrated
! family of Gustayus Adolphus all war
riors. This law Of heredity asserts it
self without reference to social or polit-
zeal condition, for you sometimes find
the ignoble in high place and the hon
orable in obscure place. a descendant
of Edward I. toll gatherer. A de-
scendant Of Edward III. a doorkeeper.
A descendant Of the duke Of Northum-
berland, a trunkmaker. Some Of the
mightiest families Of England are ex-
tinct, while some Of those most hon
ored in the peerage 60 back to an an
cestry of hard knuckles and rough ex-
4 terror. This law of heredity is entirely
independent Of social or political con-
i ditions. Then you find avarice and
jealousy and sensuality and fraud hav-
ing full swing In some families. The
violent temper of Frederick William is
i the inheritance Of Frederick the Great.
It is not q theory founded by worldly
philosophy, but by divine authority.
Do you not remember how the Bible
speaks of a chosen generation, of the
generation OF the ighteous, OF the gen
Grafton of vipers, Of an untoward gen
Grafton, of stubborn generation, of
the iniquity Of the fathers visited upon
the children unto the third and fourth
generation? So that the text comes to-
j day with the force Of a projectile
hurled from mightiest catapult.
hose son art thou, thou young
Il man pr