The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1905-10-20
GOING INTO DANGER
Rev. DR.. Talmage's Sermon on
Taking Foolish Risks.
srhcy shall ne Afraid Of That which
l. Htgh"-N Plea For Caution
Against Foolish
unngrrs.

ffllNNN AAt lANNNNNA ~tfN'
warning against foolhardy risks and
evil companlonships and shows that
real courage does not rashly court dan
ger. either moral or physical, but rath
or avoids It. The text is "Ecclesiastes
xii. 8. They shall be afraid Of that
which Is high"
What Is the Biblical picture Of ny
text? Mere physical decadence and
mental decrepitude? DO we find here
rs a dear friend Of mine some time age
uied 10 prove 10 me. simply q half
Blind. deaf. toothless, st1 join'ed
rheumatic. palslod, helpless old man.
being wheeled around in an invalid
chair or hobbllng about on a crutch or
grunung and grooming on a bed Of
chronic inyalidism? is he a nervous
wreck. a white haired, timorous old
patriarch. afraid Of his own shadow
IA he a cowardly person, who, realizing
his own physical inhrmities with dis
eased mind. is conjuring up a lot Of
imaginative dangers II there are no
real dangers no hand? think not !
believe that the writer Is here pictur-
ing old age. but It IS the noble. brave
and self reliant old age which your
father and mine had when they drew
near the end Of their earthly career.
II is not the pit.ahle old age OF senile
cowardliness. 1t IS the flrsighted, in
spiring old age Of caretaking cautious
ness which generally comes from the
bitter experience Of misfortunes. To
be cautious is not necessarily to be
cowardly. To be reckless is not nee
essarily to be brave. The reason some
Young folks are reckless IS because
they do not realize the dangers at
hand. against which as sensible men
and women they should carefully pro
tect themselves.
Let me illustrate. You call me up on
the telephone. say. Hello. Is that your
VIII you take q drive this afternoonl
All right. I will be up with the car
rlage In twenty minutes" When you
drive I'D with the carriage l see that
YOU have a beautiful, high stepping
nettlesome thoroughbred When en-
ter the runabout l see you hold the
relns tight You speak gently and
soothlngly to yOur horse. BY the tone
OF your voice and by the way you han
die the lines know you are a good
driver, and feel perfectly safe. But
supposlng I enter your carriage and
see you Jerk the lines Then you let
them lie loose; then you hallOO at the
horse OF cut him with the whip. What
DO doi Why, simply get out Of that
carriage and walk home. not because l
am a coward, but because know that
you DO not know how 70 drive a mettle-
some horse. I know what that means.
/ once rode behind a fractions colt.
with Just such an inexperienced driver
as you are, ana I was nearly killed.
! have more respect for my neck and
nv life than 70 trust them in such
incompetent hands again. When l
was a young man ] did not care what
kind Of q horse rode behind OF what
kind Of G driver had hold Of the lines,
but from bitter experience now ! know
about such dangers and give them q
very wide berth Such. think. Is the
distinction OF my text. We see the
old man not cowardly, but cautious;
wo see him afraid Of that which Is high
because past experience has written
over such places BEWARE This is a
danger sign, Beware"
But DO we have to wait until old age
before we become wisely cautious7 Not
only is It the duty Of all men to be
careful and run no needless risks. but
It is certainly the duty Of young men
70 learn from old men the lesson Of
Towing Cautiousness." There Is so
ffnch-Rye, 50 very much-depending
on most Of MS younger men. Many Of
va have families OF little children who
are looking 10 US for their daily bread.
We are also responsible for cur useful
ness which can bless all mankind
about Us. Thus, instead Of telling my
hearers to be needlessly reckless, I
would tell those In youth and those In
the prime Of strong. middle life TO be
lovingly cautious" BE cautious for
your own sskes. Especially be eau
tious Ter your dear ones and for the
good which you may do for Christ and
for the great outside world. No man
has a right to run any useless risks
whereby his physical life might quick
~ be ended. II duty calls you as a
nurse or a surgeon TO enter the cOnta-
Rious ward Of a hospital, then there
you should 90. II duty bids you shout
der rife and charge the enemy upon
a bloody battlefield for your countrys
preservation. then there you should 20
and fight But. il duty does not COM
mand yeu to endanger your physical
life. then You have no right TO run any
reckless risks.
Useless recklessness is not the sign
OF a sublime bravery, but Of arrogant
and insipid stupidity. General VIII
liam T. sherman on his famous march
from Atlanta 10 the sea powerfully
taught this truth. For days and weeks
and weary months Joseph Z. John
st0n and he had been playing hide and
seek behind their opposing breast
works. First would come tho brilliant
fisnkinE movement then the brave
charge then the quick retreat and the
resdjustment Of the Confederate lines
and the building up OF new breast
works. One day the northern com
mander was standing in a dangerous
position on a certain fertilization. He
was telling his engineers how the de-
lenses should be laid out The bull
lets In regular hallstOrm were falling
about him and blowing up the ground
on every side. A chaplain Of one Of
the regiments climbed up and took his
position by Sherman's side what
are you doing hereT asked Sherman
in his blunt. grhR way. Have you
any message for meT mo. general"
answered the chaplain 81 merely
came up TO view the enemy's position.
IL yOu are willing 10 face danger here