Why
don't you swear? Curse God and die!"
But profanity would not have removed one tumor from his agonized body;
would not have brought to his door one of the captured camels; would
not have restored any one of the dead children. Swearing would have
made the pain more unbearable, the pauperism into which he had plunged
more distressing, the bereavement more excruciating.
And yet, from the swearing and blasphemy with which our land is
cursed, one would think there were some great advantage to be reaped
from the practice. There is to-day in all our land no more prevalent
custom, and no more God-defying abomination, than profane swearing.
You can hardly walk our streets five minutes without having your ears
stung and your sensibilities shocked. The drayman swearing at his
horse; the tinman at his solder; the sewing-girl imprecating her
tangled thread; the bricklayer cursing at his trowel; the carpenter at
his plane; the sailor at the tackling; the merchant at the customer;
the customer at the merchant; the printer at the miserable proofsheet;
the accountant at the troublesome line of figures;--swearing in the
cellar and in the loft, before the counter and behind the counter, in
the shop and on the street, in low saloon and fashionable bar-room.
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