Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1897-07-07

cence or guilt of your client is moth
ing to you. You are to save your client
regardless of the torment, the suffer
ing, the destruction of others. You are
to know but one man in the world
your client. You are to save him
though you should bring your country
into confusion. At all hazards you
must save your client" So says Lord
Brougham. But no right-minded law
yer could adopt that sentiment. On the
other extreme, Cicero will come to you
and say: you must never plead the
cause Of bad man." forgetful of the
fact that the greatest villain on earth
ought to have a fair trial and that an
attorney cannot be judge and advocate
at the same time. 1t was grand when
Lord Erskine sacrificed his attorney
generalship for the sake of defending
Thomas Paine in his publication of his
book called THE Rights of Man."
while, at the same time, he, the advo-
cate, abhorred Thomas Paine's ire
ligious sentiments. Between these two
opposite theories Of what is right, what
shall the attorney do? God alone can
direct him. To that chancery he must
be appellant, and he will get an an
swer in an hour. Blessed is that at
torney between whose Office and the
throne of God there is perpetual, rev.
erential, and prayerful communication.
That attorney will never make an ir-
reparable mistake. True to the habits
Of your profession, you say: "Cite us
some authority on the subject" Well,
/ quote to you the decision of the SUI
preme court of heaven: IF any lack
wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth
to all men literally, and upbraideth
not. and it. shall be given him.
There are two or three forms OF
temptation to which the legal profess
sion is especially subject. The first Of
all Is scepticism. Controversy is the
lifetime business of that occupation.
Controversy may be incidental or acct
dental with us; but with you 1t is per-
petual. You get so used to pushing the
sharp question "Why?" and making
unaided reason superior to the emo
tons. that the religion OF Jesus Christ.
which is a simple matter Of faith, and
above human reason, although not con-
trary to it. has but little chance with
some OF you. brilliant orator wrote
a book, on the first page of which he
announced this sentiment: "An hon
est God is the noblest work of mani"
Scepticism is the mightiest temptation
of the legal profession, and that man
who can stand in that profession, re-
sisting all solicitations to infidelity,
and can be as brave as George Briggs,
of Massachusetts, who stepped from the
gubernatorial chair to the missionary
convention, to plead the cause Of dy-
ing race; then on his way home from
the convention, on cold day, took on
his warm cloak and threw it over the
shoulders of thinly clad missionary,
saying: Take that and wear it, it will
do you more good than it will me-" Or,
like Judge John Mclean, who can step
from the supreme court room OF the
United States on to the anniversary
platform of the American Sunday
School Union, its most powerful ora
tor--deserves congratulations and en-
comium. Oh, men of the legal profess
sion, let me beg OF you to quit asking
questions in regard to religion, and be-
gin believing. The mighty men of your
profession, Story. and Kent. and Mans
field. became Christians, not through
their heads, but through their hearts.
Except We become as little child, We
shall in no wise enter the kingdom of
God" If you do not become Chris
tian, Oh, man of the legal profession,
until you can reason this whole thing
out in regard to God and Christ and
the Immortality of the soul. you will
never become a Christian at all. Only
believe. Bring Zenas the lawyer"
Another mighty temptation for the
legal profession is Sabbath breaking.
The trial has been going on for ten or
fifteen days. The evidence is all in.
1t is Saturday night. The judges CAV
ell falls on the desk, and he says:
"Crier, adjourn the court until ten
o'clock Monday morning" On Monday
morning the counsellor is to sum up
the case. Thousands Of dollars, yea,
the reputation and life of his client
plea. How will he spend the interven-
ing Sunday2 There is not one lawyer
out of hundred that can withstand
the temptation to break the Lords day
under such circumstances. And yet, il
he does, he hurts his own soul. What.
my brother, you cannot do before
twelve o'clock Saturday night. or after
twelve o'clock Sunday night, God does
not want you to do at all. Besides
that, you want the twenty-four hours
of Sabbath rest to give you that cleo
trical and magnetic force which will be
worth more to you before the jury than
al the elaboration Of your case on the
sacred day. My intimate and lamented
friend, the late Judge Nelson, in his
interesting "reminiscences of Rufus
Choate, says that during the last case
that gentleman tried in New York, the
court adjourned from Friday until
Monday, on account of the illness OF
Mr.. Choate; but the chronicler says
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