The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1904-03-18
TEST OF FRIENDSHIP
Rev. DR.. Ta!mage Points II Out
In His Sermon.
The Eloquent Divine shows How
We May Distinguish the True
From the False-A
Friend Defined.

"AN lNthAo VNt Aht ANNl
whereby We may distinguish the true
from the false. The text is III John
IA, Greet the friends by name"
Etymology is the historian Of Ian
guage. 1t is the huge wardrobe in
which are hung up the verbal gar
ments, ancient and modern, with which
Thought has been and is accustomed to
slothe herself. 1t is the international
and interracial laboratory in which
one alphabet Is seen TO "a more or less
extent TO be in harmony with all other
alphabets, the same as the study Of
biology proves that the physical struc.
lures OF all living creatures. both ami
NAL and vegetable, have been evolved
primarily from the same plan. Thus
We md that as social styles I'm dress
change 50 the verbal garments for one
thought are sometimes discarded. and
new thoughts are found to be wearing
the castoff verbal clothes Of other
thoughts.
The ancient word barbarian had
an entirely different significance from
Its meaning In the present day. When
l say TO you, He is n barbarian" you
Immediately picture a savage, a brutal
Cannibal a black skinned roamer Of the
African forest or a Malay murderer.
who would as willingly cut ont your
heart as a hawk might plunge his
crooked beak into the vitals OF a dove
or q helpless fawn. But when Paul
wrote in his epistle to the Romans. Il
am a debtor both 10 the Greeks and TO
the barbsrians," he meant he was
debtor 10 those who were not living
under Casar's jurisdiction. He used
the word barbarian" in the same sense
as the Chinese now use IT, Among
the Chinese" writes the photographer,
"one who Is not a Chinaman, and es-
pecially European or an American, is
commonly spoken Of as a western bar
barisn." The ancient word "wit" was
originally derived from the old Saxon
very "witan." which meant "to know"
In ancient language "a Wit meant "a
knOwer," one versed in knowledge. an
erudite man. The modern word wit
signifies a humorous entertainer. a
funny man. The ancient word
heather" meant one who lived outside
the intellectual cities. The modern
word "hesthen" is now applied to a
person ignorant of the gospel The
Spanish word "caballerO" originally
meant "a man who Travelled on horse
back" The modern word "caballero"
means "a gentleman" The Spanish
word 'peon" originally meant zone
who goes on foot" The modern word
'peon' means "a peasant" Now, the
simple fact is, In modern Spain many
a gentleman goes on foot and many a
peasant rides.
Thus we also find that the word
friends" Of my text has an entirely
different meaning from what the casual
reader might at first suppose. The
modern word friend" in popular dis
course means an acquaintance, one
with whom we can socially pass a
pleasant hour, one who is upon our
calling list one who invites US to his
home as we may invite him TO our
daughters wedding party for his com
pany. But In ancient times the Bib
lical word friend" had a deeper, ho-
lier meaning. Ii meant one who in the
truest and purest sense had his life
wrapped up In our life. As John Wes-
ley gave the definition, "It meant one
who was bound TO us by self sacrifice
and the blood relation Of the atoning
cross" II meant a Christian brother.
The modern definition Of the word
friend" is as different from the Bib
lical as a wolf travelling around in
sleeps clothing is at heart different
from a lamb. ''The friendship Of most
men in these days" wrote John Spen-
Ger. lis Ike some plants in the water
which have broad leaves on the surface
OF the water, but scarce any root at
all; like drums and trumpets and en-
signs IN battle, which make a noise and
a show, but act nothing" Therefore,
0 man and woman, in this sermon
" would try to describe for you who are
your true friends and also show you
whether you are true friends to others.
From among the scores and hundreds
Of your acquaintance | would single
out few noble spirits Whose love you
ought to cultivate and whose affections
you should treasure in the holy Of ho-
lies Of your most innermost heart
The true friend, in the first place, Is
always the one who loves the Lord his
God with all his heart and soul and
mind before he tries to love his brother
as himself He Is the one who would
translate into his own life in a spiritual
sense the oft quoted advice which Po-
lonlus gave to his departing son La
ertes, "To thine own self be true and
II must follow as the night the day
thou canst not then be false 10 any
man"
4 true earthly friend must. in the
first place. be true friend TO his Heav-
enly Friend. as was Isaac Newton. He
so impressed every one with whom he
came in contact with his noble loyalty
TO his Divine Master that when his
friend, the great philosopher, Gottfried
Leibnitz. was dying he cried out again
and again In his last sickness. 20 thou
God Of Isaac Newton, have mercy upon
mew And yet. strange TO say, there are
scores Of us who seem 10 think that
our true friends can be true 10 US while |
being untrue to their better selves.
A true friend in the Biblical sense is
never untrue to his God or to bis better /
self. "well," says some one. how am
to know whether a friend is first true
TO God before be Is true to meF Oh |
my brother, you need never have put |
that question TO me. You know intu-
itively those among your associates /
who are always true 10 God without /
my telling you. A prominent eastern |
man who for years was de-
tailed as the Albany correspondent Of /
a great New York daily told me that /
every year the lobbyists divided the /