Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1906-01-11


and author Of that name, was one day
with party Of gentlemen admiring the
precision with which friend was
shooting at target YES" said NJ. de
Girardin, che shoots very well. but II Ia
quite different thing TO hit a man In
a duel from hitting a bit OF pasteboard.
The most skllful marksman, who could
hit coin at twenty-five PAGES, might
easily miss a man at the same dis.
lance" At once this gentleman chal-
legged NJ. de Girardin to a duel. claim
ing that he had called him a coward.
The two men faced each other at TWEEN
ty.fve PAGES. The pistols were raised.
The gentleman shot at he Girardin and
missed. M. dc Girardin refused to fire.
why do you not shoot?' called his
seconds. For what should shoot
I have no bitterness against my friend.
wanted to prove to him that a good
marksman might miss his man at
twenty-five PAGES. and he has done 90.
am satisfied IL my friend Is" Yet
such was the foolish demands Of the
duello that many noble man had to
uselessly lay down his life on account
Of such trivial remarks as NJ. de Girar.
din made.
What was true Of the duellO was also
true Of the gaming table and the drink
ing cup and the lascivious ha bits Of the
past generations. In olden times al
most oil gentlemen were supposed to
gamble and get drunk and be licentious
II they SO willed. The words Of Paul
III meat make thy brother to offend
will eat no meat while the world stand
eth, lest make my brother TO Offend"
have far different Interpretation now
from that of few years ago. No
one would dream OF erecting college
building now by a lottery. as one Of the
first buildings was erected upon the
! Princeton campus. No one would
dream of n party Of ministers adjourn
ing from presbytery and then sitting
| down TO dinner, each with glass of
liquor ianking his plate. as the minis
ters used to do. No one would dream
| Of our present president Of the United
States playing game of cards with
his minister. as George Washington
| was accustomed to do with his Episco-
palan rector. These men of the past
generations should not be Judged by
our moral standards. Every year the
moral rriterions Of the human race are
lifted higher and higher. But, my
friends. we know to day what we
ought TO do in moral sense. We
know whether dancing and drinking
and going to vile shows and having
lewd conversations and playing games
of chance are depicting to our spiritual
life. 1t is no excuse for us to say we
are excused from condemnation be-
cause we live on the fashionable boule
wards. Where could he found more
beautiful palaces and temples than in
old Athens? And where vas the NOR
al tone Of a people lower than there?
Paul is speaking to us the same as he
spoke to the Athenians of old: Re
pent Repent. Except ye repent Of
your moral sins We shall all likewise
perish
Our Brothers' Keepers.
But find God bearing with the So
cisl sins Of our fathers. as we'll as their
theological and moral faults. find
that he comes to us. as he did to Cain
Of old. and says. Thou art thy broth
er's keeper" And when God speaks
thus he means even more than when
Christ spake the parable Of the good
Samaritan to the Jews as we'll as to
the Greeks. You cannot Judge the
Greeks who assembled about Mars
hill to listen to the eloquent words Of
Paul by our socia laws any more
than you can Judge them by our thee.
logical or moral criterions.
In the first place, you must remem.
Der that the Greeks for generations
had been slaveholding people. You
remember how that matchless orator
VI Massachusetts. Wendell Phillips.
tried to make the Haitian martyr,
Toussaint rOuverture. the acme OF all
virtues and human projections. In his
peroration he used these words: II
would call him Napoleon, but Napoleon
made his way to the empire over bro
ken oaths and through sea OF blood.
would call him Cromwell but Cr0m.
we'll was only soldier, and the COM
monwealth he founded went down
with him into his grave, would call
him Washington but the great Viz
ginian held slaves" Oh. Wendell Phil
lips, is that right? Is that honest? Is
that fair: Had Toussaint rOuverture
grown up on the banks of the Potomac
with white skin, would he have done
any differently from our Washington
or our Jefferson. both Of whom held
slaves? For centuries the law Of con-
quest in oldcn times meant enslave'
ment. You should Judge the Greeks by
the standard of their time. but not by
ours. God has declared that we have
another duty to our brothers than to
put the yoke Of bitterness about their
necks and make them sweat blood in
the factory or upon the plantation.
Hear it. We capitalists. Ye are your
brothers keepers. Blood money can
} stick to your hands as well as to those
; Of Judas. A mark Of Gods condemna-
ton for financial sins can be upon your
, brow as we'll as upon Gains for kill
, ing his brother with club.
! Not only are we our brothers keeper
, In a financial or in a mercenary sense,
but also in physical sense and in
! mental. Aye. we walk in wonderment
among the beautiful columns Of Ath'
: ems We can think Of the chnrioteers