Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1898-09-29
aEE USE oF"cuss. woEps.


Originated With Earitest Humanity
Equivalents for Swearing.
Now York Press.
The common use Of "crss'' words is
us old as Adam, and it is ono OF the
gentle PROBABILITIES OF mankind that
no ordinance, can correct. Old Peter
must have made tho air blue when
they kept on worrying him about deny
ing Christ. Tho second time no de-
MED with an oath,o and the third
time began he to curse and to
swear" The Levites entered into
course and an oath. !" Paul knew all
the ''cussn words of his day, and was
not over euphemistic when he wrote to
tho Corinthians, III any man love not
the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be
anathema, Maranatha. y William the
Testy ''kopt up a constant discharge,
anathematizing the Yankees, man.
woman and child. Nearly all of
Shakespeare's stronger characters curse
and swear like troopers. Pope speaks
of oaths and imprecations.
II is stronge thing, perhaps, that
much of what Is understood to be pro-
fame language is taken directly from
and "damnation,' eternal damna-
tion, !" "hell, !" ''hell fire, z 80, are as
innocent as Faith, Hope and Charity,
but in the mouth Of an angry man,
bound to explode unless tho safety
valve opens, they are the worst kind of
profanity. All blasphemous expressions
must Of necessity come from the Bible,
and we are particularly forbidden the
use of the Creators name in vain, or
merely as u relief to overburdened
choler. This is said in all seriousness,
| and some of the best men in the world
break the commandment every hour.
1t is not possible to draw tho line in
tcuss" words. For one, / say frankly
| that my ears are not often, assailed by
swearing, blasphemy or obscenity in
public. Obscenity is the only thing
could not stand. Nor do men care
for 1t. Even the best of story tellers
loses caste when he INDUCES too often
in obscene language to carry his point.
| If Chauncey M. Depew--we are Obliged
always to run him in when the word
| STORY is used-were to crack his
chestnuts with the fire of obscenity,
he would be retired quickly from the
pinnacle he has occupied SO long as
chief raconteur Of the century. Men
care not for vulgarity, filth, smut; but
a little profanity now and then is
relished by the best of them. Even
the, devoted parson has his "ouch''
and tut tut.
There have been and there are today
noted swearers in the world. Andrew
jackson could swear blue streak,
while "Stonewall, Just as able a
general, never said so much as
Plague take it, Ex- President
Cleveland knows a good round oath
when he. sees it, and can fling a
damn" in the right spot every time.
George Washington, SO long tho i'm
maculate Father of His Country,
cursed roundly at the ice in the
Delaware, and when Tilted by Miss
Philippsse swore prayer or two
Swear like a sailor is proverbial
Nearly all army officers swear. We'll
lington and England's great first
Marlborough were fearfully profane.
i We have now on the bench In this city
a Judge who, before his appointment,
swore SO frequently and violently that
his typewriter, lovely young woman,
| was driven to convent.
Self-satisfied persons, who use such
expressions as darn 1t" chang it,,
"blame it," ''dog- gone it," Econ
found it," plague it, "curse it, .
"by Jupiter, = 'agreat Venus, 2 holy
Moses, = great Scott, . "ye gods and
little fishes,n ''well, by the eternal, -
"dog my cats" ''bless your soul, .
and "w'at tell, /" say they are slightly
| given 10 slang, but they are not much
better than those who blurt out damn
his eyes. !" ''Damn,' and its variations
plenso most. We damn things up hill
and down to boat tho band, thinking
nothing Of it. / know party OF
| poker players in this city--merchants,
bankers, lawyers, brokers. and hotel
men-who apply to each other at
the green table tho vilest epitheta
imaginable in spirit OF good fellow
ship that knows no chill. To address
a stranger so would moan fight. He
would not understand. He could not.
In the seclusion of their apartment the
vilor the epithet the stronger the term
of endearment is understood to be. ]
| / hate it. Some of these men are
rich and powerful.