Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1902-10-17
TALMAGE
SERMON
BY Row.
FRANK DE WITT TALMAGE. DID,.
Pastor Of Jeferson Park Prescy-
terrain Church, ChieaEo

Family Is made by Rev. Frank De Witt
Talmage In this sermon on the text
EXODUS Xxx, Z, Thou shalt not take the
name of the Lord thy God I'm vain"
The blasphemer's condemnation Is q
mighty theme. Its curse indirectly at
fleets the whole human race Every
man belongs to one of two classes-el-
ther he is blasphemer and therefore,
on account Of his profanity, comes di-
rectly under the condemnation of God,
or else he belongs to that large class
whose ears are polluted by bis profane
iutterances, In which class are some
fwho listen with Indifference or con-
tempt, while others shudder with hor-
ror as they hear the blasphemous men,
ton of the name of their Master and
King. stk{4
No street car or factory or shop or
camp is entirely free from this shock
ing plague. In our streets and public
resorts there is daily and hourly evil
dence of the prevalence of this PERM
.cious habit. Not only does the hus-
band and father swear, but his exam
pie is sometimes followed by his wife
and his son and even his little chill
dren. Motormen swear at the trucks.
Engineers swear at their fires. Boys
swear at their lessons in the school
room and at their baseball bats upon
the playground. Merchants swear at
their clerks. Employees, under their
breath In the store and out loud when
they are away from the counters, swear
at their employers. Men swear when
they are buying goods Fishermen
swear at their hooks and lines and at
the fish they do not catch. CONNER
ciol travellers swear because the train
or the hotel meal is late or because
there is no water pitcher In the bed
room. Sailors swear at the ropes and
the winds Farmers swear at the cat
tie and the grain and the weather.
Men swear at the gutter into which
they tumble and at the wagon wheel
which spatters them with mud. Bias
phemers swear when they are happy;
they swear when they are sad; they
swear at everybody and everything.
The popularity OF this habit OF profan-
1ty Is that Ii so permeates the bias
phemer's mind and conversation that
be gets to swear unconsciously. He
can swear automatically in the same
way that the lungs can breathe auto
matically or a child's eyelids can open
and shut automatically or as a speak,
er, when he is thinking and planning
out IN address, can walk up and down
1is study automatically. 1t is about
time that Christian pulpits should ut
ter their protest against the universal
evil OF sacrilegious imprecation.
l fx 10
habit, because 1t shocks the holiest
feelings and pierces the hearts OF
thousands and hundreds of thousands
OF Christians who are unable by law
to stop this awful and blood curdling
anfamy- Only the other day n tele-
phone girl had n Chicago merchant ar
rested and fined $50 and costs in the
police Justice court because the de-
PENDANT swore at her over the wires
His defense before the Justice was that
he was hungry and wanted TO order
bis dinner from a neighboring restau-
rant and that the girl in the central
Office OF the telephone company would
not give him the right connection. But
when the Justice heard the young girls
statement that she could not make the
pecessary connection because the lines
were busy ut that time he decided
against the defense OF the Chicago
merchant. He said, mo man has a
right 10 hurl profane words at any
public servant when that man or yom-
nn is trying TO do his or her full duty"
But Christian people cannot as class
stop the profane remarks which they
hear every day from the passersby
upon the different public thorough
flares.
The Blasphemcr n Coward.
The blasphemer is essentially n cow
ard, because he infiicts suffering on
persons who are powerless to resist or
retaliate 1t is hard word, but use
the plain. unvarnished Anglo-Saxon
word which describes the cowardly act |
4 want you swearers to realize the ex-
tent OF the injuries which you are do |
Ing against some OF your fellow men |
when you swear I'm public. i want |
you to fully reallze how you are cut
ting and lacerating Christian hearts |
with your blood curdling oaths by try |
ing TO put yourself. IL possible. in your |
Christian brothers place, who Is COM |
PEELED TO listen every day TO the public |
ntterances OF profanity. You can Judge, |
perhaps. how your Christian neighbor |
feels by supposing that some one is |
speaking slightingly and disrespectfus- |
ly and slanderously OF some one you |
very dearly love. You have a mother |
or a wife or, perhaps. TO use a better |
illustration, young daughter whom
you fondly cherish. Suppose In some /
public place you should hear her name
vilifed- What would you do? why
need you answer? Even now 1 can
see your cheek flush and your teeth
become set and your hands clinch to-
tether. You would Immediately de-
inand an apology from the vilifier or
perhaps. II you are an impulsive man,
you would raise your fist and knock
that man down. You would do just
what friend OF mine did some years
ago in Waynesburg, w. Va. He was
bringing home the dead body OF his
little girl, who was his Idol. As
great, rough, brutal porter took the
coffin out OF the baggage car he. the
father. said to him: "Man, please be
careful Don't handle that box rough
ly." But when the porter In spite of
that plea swore at the coffin and used
contemptuous epithet about the be-
loved form within it and roughly let
The box tumble upon the platform. as
an average expressman lets trunk fall
TO the ground. my friend doubled up
his fist and knocked that porter clear
into the tracks. He hit him so hard
that the policeman who ran up at first
thought him dead. But, though the
policeman asabout to arrest the sur.
fering father, he did not, for when he
hfay hn 4 n
BODY OF the dead child he turned and
said, Brother, IL that brutal porter
comes to, hit him again little harder
than you hit him before. and I will
stand by and. IL necessary, help you"
That spirit which my friend showed
toward the porter who swore at his