Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1896-07-31

But. No Matter What Our Birthright Ma
he. We Can Be Sons and Daughters d
God and Heirs Of ImmOrtality-A Clio
rious inheritance.
WASHINGTON, July 26.-This sermon h
Rev. DIR. Talmage on heredity will brini
all the family records into requisition an,
lead people to study their own proclivit.
toward good or evil The text chosen wa
l Samuel xvii, SO, Whose son art thou
thou young manS'
Never was there more unequal figh
than that between David and Goliath
David feet high, Goliath 10; David
shepherd boy brought up amid rura
scenes, Goliath a warrior by profession
Goliath mountain Of braggadocio David
"A marvel Of humility; Goliath armed witt
an iron spear, David armed with sling
with smooth stones from the brook. But
you are not to despise these latter weap-
ons.
A Mighty Weapon.
There was Il regiment Of singers in the
Assyrian army, and a regiment Of singers
In the Egyptian army, and they mnde ter
rible execution and they could cast stone
with as much accuracy ard force as now
their army had singers who would throw
leaden plummets inscribed with the irri-
tating words, Take this" So it was a
mighty weapon David employed in that
famous combat. A Jewish rabbi says that
the probability is that Goliath was in such
contempt for David that in paroXysm Of
laughter he threw his head back and his
helmet fell off, and David saw the uncoSc F-
ed forehead, and his opportunity had come,
and taking this sling and swinging it
around his head two or three times and
aiming it at that uncovered forehead crash
ed it in like an eggshell. The battle over,
behold the tableau; King Saul sitting; lit
4 tie David standing, his fingers Clutched
: into the hair of caEitated Goliath. AS
/ Saul secs David standing there holding in
his hand the CHASTITY, rceking, staring
4 trophy, evidence of the complete victory
over Gods enemies, the king wonders
what parentage was hOnorcd by such hero
ism, and in my text he asks David his
| pedigree, Whose son art thou, thou young
MANI
The king saw what you ard see, that
this question Of heredity is a mighty qucs-
ton. The longer l live the more believe
in blood-good blood bad blood, proud
blood, humble blood, honest blood, thiev-
ing blood, heroic blood, cowardly blood.
The tendency may skip generation or
two, but it is sure to come out, as in lit
tie child you sometimes sec Il similarity to
great grandfather whose picture hangs
on the wall That the physical and mental
and moral qualities are inhoritablc is pat
ent to any one who keeps his eyes open.
The similarity is so striking sometimes as
to be amusing. Great families, regal OF
literary, are apt to have the characteristics
all down through the generations, and
what is more perccptiblo in such families
may be seen on smaller scale in al fam
lilies A thousand years have TO power 20
Obliterate the difference. The large lip of
the house of Austria is seen in all the gen
erations and is called the HapsbLrg lip. |
The house of Stuart always means in all |
generations cruelty and bigOtry and sensu- |
ality. Witness Queen OF Scots, witness
Charles and Charles II, witness James l
and James ii and all the other scoundrels |
of that line Scottish LlOod means per-
sistence, English blood means reverence |
for the ancient, Welsh blood means reli- |
gioslty, Danish blood means fOndness for |
the sea, Indian blood means roaming dis /
position, Celtic blood means feryidity, RO-
man blood means conquest. The jewish
facility for accumulation you may trace
clear back to Abraham, of whom the Bible
says "he was rich in silver and gold and
cattle, and to Isaac and Jacob, who had
the same characteristics. Some families
are characterized by longevity, and they
have tenacity of life positively Methuscl-
ish. Others ARE characterized by GOliathian
stature, and you can see it for one genera
tiOn two generations, five generatiOns-in
all the generations
Vigorous theology runs down in the line
of the Alexanders. Tragedy runs On in
t he family Of the Kembles. Literature runs
on in the line of the TrolloPes. Philan-
thropy runs on in the line of the WILDER
forces. Craftsmanship runs on in the line
Of the Adamses You see these peculinri-
ties in all generations. Henry and Gather
inc Of Navarro religious, all their families
religious. The celebrated family of the
Casini, all mathematicians. The celo-
brated family Of the Medici, grandfather,
son and Catherine, all remarkable for keen
intellect. The celebrated family of Gus
tavus Adolphus, all warriors This law Of
heredity asserts itself without reference to
social or political condition, for you some
times find the ignoble in high place and
the honorable in obscure place A descend ]
ant of Edward l a tollgathcrer A de-
scendant of Edward III dOOr6eeper. A
of the Duke of Northumber- ]
and trunkmaker Some of the might
EST families of England are extinct, while
some of those most honOred in the peerage
go back to an ancestry of hard knuckles
and rough exterior.
Whose Son Art ThOu9
This law of heredity is entirely independ- !