Year: 1879

ScOuFSc Oh LIle Il ODSucs


In the day Of Jobs greatest depression and
severest trials he was promised deliverance
from six troubles; "Yes in seven" he was as
sured no evil should touch hiEa. One Of these
was the ''scourge Of the tongue" This was
classed with war, famine, pestilence, and the
fury of wild beasts. In all the evolutions
count for, there has been no change in the
human tongue, and the evil resulting from its
abuses were the same in ancient as they are in
modern times. 1t is useful member. With
out it man would be an unhappy and imper-
feet being. 1t is capable Of much good. 1t is
source of INDISPENSABLE pleasure; yet it is
capable of most extraordinary abuses. In its
use it causes more misery in the world than
any other member of the body. In society
and in the family it is 8 disturber of the peace.
1t sets jrother against brother; neighbor
against neighbor; family against family, and
nation against nation. 1t is worse in its abuse
than war, pestilence, and famine. 1t can not
be controlled by medicine. It is an ever pre-
vailing epidemic, and is not confined to any
place, country, cline, or people. The scourge
of the tongue is a universal scourge, co-exten-
sive with the human family. Within the
limits of civilization, and within the limits of
barbarism, it is felt. In all classes of society
the abuse of the tongue is common. Among
persons of high and low degree, from the
most refined to the most uncultured, the
scourge is epidemic, against which there is no
successful quarantine. In Church and State,
from the palace to the cabin, the evil exists.
1t first appeared in the Garden of Eden. and
it ends only in the grave. When the lisping
and stammering tongue lies silent in the grave
it ceases to trouble, and only then.


Bnt the scourge results, not from its use,
but its abuse, and so liable is it to abuse, and
so common is its abuse, that the mau who can
control the tongue is accounted greater than
the General who successfully leads an army,
or the monarch who rules kingdom.


In considering this scourge it must be borne
in mind that it is an'individual matter. No
one can use the tongue of another; nor can
anybody be forced to use his own. Its action
is voluntary There are many things person
cannot do by proxy, and the abuse of the
tongue is one Of these. The control of the
unruly member, therefore, depends upon per-
sonal effort, and the type of the scourge de-
pends upon the extent OF the effort on the
part of the individual. ica


In the abuse of the tongue there are many
grades. Its misuse is often prompted by NAL
ice, h1t the greatest mischief, in the aggre-
gate, results from idle gossip. Thoughtless
words are often uttered that cause pain and
injury and scomplication Of troubles. People
can trace many of their snnoyances and real
troubles, too, to the thoughtless use of the
tongue, and, it may be said, idle gossip. Rep
utations have been ruined and fortunes lost:
families broken up, associations torn to pieces,
and the lives of millions made miserable by
gossip monger5 These gossips, too, are to
be found everywhere: in the neighborhood, in
the church, In banking circles, on Change, in
the clubs, on the streets, at the table, and
around the fireside. Leaving out that gossip
which is prompted by pure malice, and taxing
down, if that were possible, and printing, the
gossip of community for single day, the
result would be the breaking up of society.
1t would cause moral earthquake. Yet the
difference between talking and printing is one
of degree only. Very often, indeed, it would
be less cruel to print damaging rumors than
to circulate them verbally. There is protec-
tion against the press where there is no posi-
ble protection against the tongue. A para
graph in newspaper can be promptly met,
but the ingenuity of man has not been eQual
to managing the tongue of the gossip. The
latter is most dangerous because il is used in
private circles. Besides, hint on the part
Of one gossip giows as it travels. lie never
loses anything, and in swiftness of motion it
is Incompatible more rapid than the truth. 1t
may be said of chronic gossips, too, that they
are nearly always liars; 'swhite" hars, it may
be, but liars all the same. Often they have
vivid imaginations that twist truth into a
lie. They seem to enjoy that kind of busi-
ness, and would be unhappy if not meddling
in matters that did not concern them, OR
speaking evil of neighbor. 1t will be noticed
too, that the gossip usually starts his story on
the basis of a rumor. The most experienced
detective will tell you that the average bur-
glar is coward. This is true of the average
| liar, and what is true of liar is true of gos-
sip. Undertake to trace 'rumor," and the
force of this remark will at once become ap.
parent. The gossip viii not hesitate to make
mischief, but will always try to dodge re-
sponsibility.


In times of commercial distress, the gossip
who mingles in bank circles and on Change
is in his glory. A well qualified and imagiDa'
tive gossip is capable, under favorable eircum-
stances, of getting the credit OF whole COM
munity into chancery in remarkably short
space of time. This is the way financial pan.
les spread. They could not spread as they
do without the aid OF the gossip. might be
some excuse if matters about which the gos-
sip delights to talk concerned him, but that
particular class enjoy themselves most when
talking contidentially, as it were, about deli
cate matters that concern them not bit, even
indirectly. ~ ....f- ff .-a --
Gossip is not always idle or what might be
called innocent-that is to say free from NAL


ice. Envy is often the motive that moves the
tongue Of the gossip. If there is a happy
family in neighborhood, there are persons
who, through envy, would cast frebrand
into it, either for the purpose Of dragging ii
down to its own level or getting it into low
E, er grade. Business men, too often envy the
prosperity Of their neighbors, and these,


while protesting to be sorry for the unfortu


nate, really take pleasure in their misfortune
especially if they can make dollar or gain q
customer by IT, But even when nothing Il
! to be made, pride asserts itself, and the enyi-