G eorge Vv asnington and Profanity G e o r g e
Washington’s character was such that he deplored the need less and vulgar practice of swearing. His dislike for this habit was culti vated early in life, and came as a direct result of his belief in the third Commandment, Exodus 20:7: “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” So, when Washington was about twenty-four years old, and a colonel in the army, he issued the following order to those under his command: “ Colonel Washington has observed that the men of his regiment are very profane and reprobate. He takes this opportunity to inform them of his great displeasure at such practices; and assures them that if they do not leave them off they shall be severely punished. The officers are desired, if they hear any man swear or make use of an oath or execration, to order the offender twenty-five lashes im mediately, without a court-martial. For a second offence he shall be more severely punished.” Twenty-five years later a small and ill-equipped army was fighting for our freedom against the most power ful nation in the world. Washington was the commander of that army. De feat after defeat had convinced him that their only hope was in the Lord, and he spent many agonizing hours in prayer. It was during these trying times that he became gravely concerned about the way many of his officers used the name of God in a flippant and vulgar manner, showing disre / V O T I C I Ì À M Y A ? A N U / V D E M , ]M Y COMMAND NEAZD 3 ¿JEAZ W G SNA I L Z E C E W E 2 S ¿ A S NES /MMED/ATElY ¡Y/THOUT\ A COUR. T - /AAELT/AL
Mt. Rushmore National Memorial, showing the heads of Presidents Washington, Jeffer son, Theodore Roosevelt, and Lincoln. The carved heads are 60 feet high.
order issued to his troops in August, 1776, at New York, will prove. Gen eral Washington was then Com- mander-in-chief of the Armies of America: “The General is sorry to be in formed that the foolish and profane habit of cursing and swearing, a vice hitherto little known in an American anny, is growing into fashion. He hopes that the officers will, by exam ple as well as by influence, endeavor to check it; and that both they and the men will reflect that we can have little hope of the blessing of Heaven on our arms, if we insult it by our impiety and folly. Add to this, it is a vice so mean and low, without any temptation, that every man of sense and character detests and despises it.” Bibliography: Abbott, John C. George Washington. “Makers of American History.” New York: J. A. Hill & Co. 1904. p 74-76. 19
spect to the Supreme Being on whom he was calling for help. As he had grown older his attitude towards punishment for this offence had sof tened. He found it could not be abol ished by such means, and it is not likely that many were ever punished for it. His dislike for the habit, how ever, never lessened, as the following
V
fr
¥
y
FEBRUARY, 1959
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs