Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1898-11-04
TOO MUCH AMBITION.
The 0verambitious Man Places Him
self in Dire Peril.
Rev. DIR. Talmngo Shows the Dangers In the
Pathway OF Those Who arc Possessed
of II superabundance OF Any
Material Gifts.

healthy ambition for great wealth OF
fame. The text is:
"A man of great stature, whose fin
gers and toes were four and twenty,six
on each hand, and six on each foot;
and he also was the son of a giant.
But when he detied Israel, Jonathan,
the son of Shimea, David's brother,
slew him. u, Chron., XX., 81.
Malformation photographed, and for
what reason? Did not this passage
slip in by mistake into the sacred
Scriptures, as sometimes paragraph
utterly obnoxious to the editor gets
into his newspaper during his alb
sence? Is it not this Scrptural err
rata? No, no; there is nothing hap
hazard about the Bible. This passage
of Scripture was as certainly intended
to be put in the Bible as the verse:
"ln the beginning God created the
Heavens and the EARTH" or, God so
loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son."
And l select it for my text to-day
because it is charged with practical
and tremendous meaning. BY the
people of God the Philistines had been
conquered, with the exception of a
few giants. The race of giants is
mostly extinct, | am glad to say.
There is no use for giants now except
to enlarge the income of museums.
But there were many of them in olden
times. Goliath was, according to the
Bible, II feet Az inches high. Or, if
you doubt this, the famous Pliny de-
clares that at Crete, by an earthquake,
monument was broken open, discov-
ering the remains of giant 46 cubits
long, or 60 feet high. So, whether
you take sacred or profane history,
you must come to the conclusion that
there were in those times cases of hu.
man altitude monstrous and appal-
ling.
David had smashed the skull of one
of these giants, but there were other
giants that the Davidean wars had not
yet subdued, and one of them stands
in my text. He was not only of Al
pine stature, but had surplus of dig
it's To the ordinary fingers was an
nexed an additional finger, and the
foot had also supernuous addendum
lie had 81 examinations to hands and
feet, where others have 90. 1t was not
the only instance of the kind. Taver.
nier, the learned writer, says that the
emperor of Java had son endowed
with the same number of extremities
Nolcatius, the poet, had six fingers on
each hand. Maupertuis, in his cele'
brated letters, speaks Of two families
near Berlin similarly equipped ofhand
and foot. All of which | can believe
for have seen two cases of the same
physical superabundance. But this
giant of the text is in battle, and as
David, the stripping warrior, had dis
patched one giant, the nephew of Da
yid Stays this monster of my text, anC
there he lies after the battle in Gath
dead giant. His stature did not save
him. and his superhuous appendices Of
hand and foot did not save him. The
probability was that in the battle hi:
sixth finger on his hand made hin
clumsy in the use Of his weapon, an(
his sixth toe crippled his gait. BE
hold the PROSTATE and uniformed 81
ant of the text: IA man of grea
stature, whose fingers and toes were
four and twenty, six on each hant
six on each foot; and he also was thu
son of giant. But when he defe'
Israel. Jonathan, the son of Shimea
Davids brother slew him"
Behold how superfuities are a bin
| drance rather than help! In all thu
battles at Gath that day there was no
man with ordinary hand and ordi
nary foot and ordinary stature tina
was not better off than this physica
curiosity of my text. A dwarf on thu
right side is stronger than giant oil
the wrong side, and all the bod,
and mind and estate and opportunit.
that YOU can not use for God and tn,
bctterment of the world is sixth fin
ger and sixth toe, and u terrible hin
drance. The most of the good done il
the world and the most Of those wit
win the battles for the right, are or
binary people. Count the fingers o
their right hand, and they have jus
| nt
Duffie among missionaries, but 800
missionaries that would tell you the.
have only common endowment. On
Florence Nightingale to nurse tn
sick in conspicuous places, but 1000
women who are just as good nurses
though never heard Of. The Swan
Angel" was a big gun that during tn
civil war made big noise, but mus
kets of ordinary caliber and shells o
ordinary heft did the execution
President Tyler and his cabinet e
down the Potomac one day to exper
ment with the "Peacemaker," grea
iron gun that was to alright with ii
thunder foreign navies. The gunne
touches it off, and it explodes, an
leaves cabinet ministers dead on tn
deck, while at that time, all up an
down our coast, were cannon of ord
nary bore, able to be the defense c
the nation, and ready Mt the frs
touch to waken to duty. The curse {
the world is big guns. After the polit
clans, who have made all the noise, &
home hoarse from, an angry discussio
on the evening OF the first Monday
November, the next day the peopl
with the silent ballot, will settle ever.
thing, and settle it right, 100000 {
the white slips of paper they drc
making about as much noise as IL
fall of an apple blossom.
Clear back in the country to-df
there are mothers in plain apron. al