family! Thofe who have no merit of their own, always take an ill-natured pleasure in mifreprefenting and degrading the merit of others: like low and indigent gamefters, who have nothing to lofe themselves, and can therefore with lefs hazard combine to ruin and deftroy the fortunes of the rich and wealthy. How many are there amongst us whofe whole joy and whofe whole business it is, to blacken and afperfe the characters even of their best friends and benefactors! how many are there, who because their own paffions are benumbed by infenfibility, deadened by age and infirmities, or perhaps only artfully concealed by hypocrify, prefume on the merit of their fancied pre-eminence, to expofe the failings of all whom they are connected with, and to ridicule the follies and imperfections of all whom they have the least knowledge of. But furely no title can be too opprobrious, no punishment can be too fevere, for those worst of affaffins, who ftab the honour and reputation of their neighbour: thou shalt not murther; thou shalt not fteal; thou shalt not bear falfe witnefs, fay the laws of the Almighty. The calumniator breaks through ever one of these, and tramples on the commandments of his God. He who flanders, murthers and fteals alfo; murthers the good name, and steals the reputation of his fellow-creature; and as his guilt is double, fo doubtless will be his condemnation. There There is not a stronger mark of the weaknefs of our nature, than that we are forced to be upon our guard even against the perfections of it: and above all the fatal pre-eminences which fome enjoy above others, wit is perhaps the most deftructive: riches are not more apt to make men proud, nor power to beget infolence and oppreffion, than wit is to betray its poffeffor into a babit of cenfure and invective. Vanity is an idol that delights in facrifice, and thinks no offering too precious for its votaries to beftow: friendship, honour, gratitude, all the ties of relation, all the bonds of natural affection, have been broken through and contemned, merely to fupport the character of a sprightly fatirift, or, in more proper terms, of a bafe reviler, who, for the poor fame of being witty, would make thoufands unhappy, and then laugh at them for being fo; who cafis arrows, fire-brands, and death, and then fays, Was I not in fport? But the folly, the meannefs, and the impiety of evil-fpeaking will appear ftill more evident to us, if we seriously confider in what manner me ought to employ that time and those talents which God hath gracioufly bestowed upon us. We have the whole range of nature before our eyes, and the wonders of the creation to unfold; languages to enlighten, and history to improve our minds: philofophy is ever ready to make us wife, and religion to fecure our happiness. How noble a field hath the human foul to expatiate in,.and with what variety may it be entertained! and yet how often, often, instead of bettering each other's hearts by innocent and ufeful converfe, do we spend our hours either in liftening to the calumnies and mifreprefentations of thofe about us, or by dwelling ourfelves on the weakneffes and imperfections of our neighbours! To leave the noble feaft of nature and of reafon, to feed on fuch coarfe and fordid diet, is furely the mark of an appetite most vicious and moft depraved. "Raillery on the unfortunate," fays an excellent heathen author, "is inhumanity; and that reputation much too dear which is purchafed at the expence of our integrity." Can any thing indeed be more inhumane, more diabolical, than to owe our.pleasure to another's mifery, our happinefs to his misfortune, our praise to his infamy? And yet this is the conflant diverfion which we amufe ourselves with, this is the cruel fport we are so fond of. Let us then, my brethren, put the cafe home to ourselves, and afk our own hearts whether, and how often, we have been guilty of this mean and deftructive vice. Reflect a little, I befeech you, on what you have often yourfelves experienced; confider, in the ferenity of your morning thoughts, whence arofe the mirth, the gaiety, the entertainment of the evening before: was it from the fober, ferious difcuffion of any important point in religion or morality, from the difcovery of any thing that might promote the welfare of fociety, or the happiness of your fellow-creatures, from the applaufes beftowed on neglected virtue, or the refolutions refolutions taken to reward it? Did it arife from mutual chearfulness, complacency and good-will one towards another? or, on the other hand, did the guilty joy you tafted fpring from the repetition of your neighbour's faults, fome cruel jeft on his misfortunes, fome unmanly triumph over his weakness? Did the laugh arife from the aggravation of another's failings, or the leffening of another's merit? Was the abfent injured, or the dead calumniated? If from fuch mean and ungenerous behaviour flowed all the pleafure you can boaft of, it was the joy of fools: and yet it is the joy perhaps of half the companies we are engaged in, the malevolent pleasure of half the world. Men may talk largely of the pleasures of fociety, and mutual intercourfe; but furely when they thus meet only to cenfure and revile, when conversation is thus tainted by flander, calumny and detraction, it is no longer a Christian affembly, but a Roman amphitheatre, where the beafts of old were turned in together to prey upon, and devour one another. Hear then the royal preacher's advice, and learn humanity. Admonish thy friend, fays Solomon; it may be he hath not done it, or if he hath, that he do it not again: admonish thy friend, it may be he hath not faid it, or if he hath, that he Speak it not again: admonish thy friend, for many times it is a flander, and believe not every tale. Let us then neither spread falfe reports ourfelves, nor give ear to those who fpread them; to liften to rumour is a fpecies of calumny. He who who receives what is unlawfully taken from another, is by human laws confidered as equally guilty with him who stole it; and in like manner, he who fends forth, and he who propagates and encourages malicious falfehoods, will, in the eyes of God, and fhould alfo in the eyes of men, appear equally infamous and detefable. Speak not evil, therefore, therefore, one of another, brethren; if we are brethren, fons, of one great Lord and Father, fellow-creatures and fellow-Chriftians, let us behave as fuch. What man is he, fays the Pfalmift, that defireth life, and loveth many days? keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from Jpeaking guile. How indeed can we expect that God will lengthen our days, whilft we employ them in embittering thofe of others; or that he will extend that mercy to us, which we refufe to our fellowcreatures? Who art thou, says the Apostle, that judgeft another? We must all stand before the judgment-feat of Chrift. Let us reflect then, that it doth not become the offender to judge, or the guilty to accufe. Let him that is innocent therefore, and him alone, as our Saviour himfelf obferved, caft the firft ftone: let us remember what the word of God hath affured us of, that revilers can never enter into heaven, any more than murtherers and adulterers; never enter into a place where, as there are none to merit, there can be none to believe their cenfures; where the virtues of the good shall no longer be fullied by calumny or evil-fpeaking, his actions no longer liable to be mistaken or misreprefented; where we shall all, without regard to the opinions of men concerning us whilft here on earth |