judge ought to exalt you? If you labour to fhun the praise of men, it is plain you think you have deferved it, and your pretended humility is the genuine offspring of pride and vainglory: for humility will no more make a fhew of itself than of other virtues; and, where men are truly humble, they will not tell all the world of it; and therefore where they take delight in industriously undervaluing themselves, it can proceed from nothing but their defire of being thought humble: but to affect even the praise of humility is pride and vanity. So then, in respect to this fubject, the rule of prudence and the rule of virtue are coincident, that the less we talk of ourselves the better: it is a nice theme, and few enter upon it who come off clear either of folly or fin.

In the next degree we place cunning and artifice, which make men very forgetful of the respect that is due to truth, whilft they direct their speech to ferve and support some end or defign of their own. There are many degrees of this cunning: that which is fo grofs as to aim at making a prize of the ignorance of others needs not to be mentioned here. Men of this principle proceed farther generally than idle words, and are out of the present subject through an excess of lying, and falfifying their words and oaths, as may best serve their purpose.

But the charge of idle words lies against a cunning, which is lefs defperate and malicious, and is the diftinguishing mark of fuch men, who deceive you by a fhew of kindness which is not real. Now the man who courts and careffes all that come near him must allow himself a great latitude, fince he muft

often beftow his fmiles on the perfon he does not love, and his compliments on the person he despises : in both which cafes he ftands charged with falfehood and hypocrify.

This man of general civility and address destroys the credit of language; for his words have no meaning; none at least that you can understand: he that fays the fame things to every body, must be fuppofed to mean them of no body. But the advantage these men have is from the folly and self-love of mankind; for most people are fo well opinionated of themfelves, that they cannot think a man infincere, who commends and extols them: from whence it comes to pass, that a man will swallow the compliments, when applied to himself, though they come from a mouth which he knows makes no diftinctions.

But what account fhall a man give of himself for living perpetually in a disguise; for deceiving all about him, and using the speech, which God gave him for better purposes, to impofe on the weakness and folly of mankind? An account he must give, unless he can fhew the use and benefit of his fair fpeeches. Say, which is yet more than you can fay, that these words are innocent and harmless : they are at the best then useless and infignificant ; and think how your excufe will found, when the utmoft you will have to say for yourself will be, that you employed the talent God gave you to no good end or purpose, only you hope you did no harm. But add to this, that you deceived the world; that by your fervile compliance you puffed up the vanity of the proud, betrayed and expofed the credulity of the weak, and poffibly too have

made a gain of this ungodlinefs; and then I think you need not be told what sentence a God of truth, of righteousness and juftice, will pass against fuch deceivers and liers in wait for men.

But, Secondly, Idle words may comprehend the reports of envy and malice, by which our neighbour fuffers in his credit or reputation.

I would diftinguifh under this head between those who invent and contrive wicked ftories and reports to the fcandal and defamation of their neighbour, and those who credulously take up with the invention, and report and spread them. To contrive malicious and wicked stories, and wilfully to defame our brother, is a vice that the text has no name for; it exceeds all that can be meant by idle words, and must be registered with the other black crimes, which ftand in oppofition to the lighter offences of the tongue. But even to believe without fufficient ground, or to report, when we do believe the ill we hear of others, cannot be excused of malice and envy. It is an old faying, facile credimus quæ volumus; and if so, to believe the evil things spoken of our brother willingly, is a great mark of an evil difpofition, and fhews at least that we fhould be pleased if they were true and the restlessness that fome minds are under, when they have picked up an ill report, to disburden themselves, and spread the story in the neighbourhood, discovers with what a ready mind they do this work and drudgery of the devil. But where men fpread ftories of ill report with pleasure, and rejoice in the fcandal, they have fucked in with the story so much of the contriver's malice and envy, that they ought to be

ranked with him, and not included under this subject.

But there are others, who, out of an itch of talking, and knowing other people's concerns, have their heads and tongues perpetually running upon the affairs and bufinefs of their neighbours. These people are like the hawkers in the ftreet, they difperfe whatever comes to their hand, good or bad; if it be but news, it is all one to them: by which means they often do a great deal of mischief without being chargeable with any formed malice or defign to injure. But in the multitude of words there wanteth not fin; and when men's curiofity leads them beyond their proper fphere and bufinefs, they must answer for the mischief they do. He who is always talking of what does not concern him, muft needs be guilty of many idle words, for which he must answer; and for which he will be less able to anfwer, if his words have been prejudicial to the character or credit of an innocent man. You may well be asked, what you had to do to be fo very inquifitive and talkative of what no ways belonged to you? The Apoftle's rule is, that you study to be quiet, and mind your own business. But you may farther be asked, how came you to launch fo far out of your knowledge as to be in danger of hurting the intereft or good name of your brother? It is not enough that you meant no ill, it ought to be your care, and concern, and ftudy, to do no ill; and to do what proved ill inadvertently, fhews that you were not fo ftudious to avoid the occafions of evil; if you had, you would not have ventured where there was fuch evident danger of doing harm, as

there always is where men will talk much of the affairs and characters of others. Were it not for fuch bufy, talking creatures, who liften after all news, it would not be worth a malicious man's while to invent a ftory of his enemy. A man cannot carry a story far himself, nor would he poffibly find many openly to abet his malice in defaming an innocent man; but there are always inquifitive bufy-bodies, who catch at news, and spread it immediately like wildfire: and therefore by being talkative and inquifitive in these matters, though we acquit you of malice or ill defign, yet you become the inftrument of malice; you pull the trigger, though the other levels the piece at the innocent head; and fince your curiofity and impertinence are unjustifiable, you can no ways excuse the confequences of them. God has provided every man with business proper for him to employ his time in. What you can spare from the neceffary cares of life, and from the refreshments and diverfions which nature requires, is little enough to lay out upon eternity, upon the thoughts of another and better life; nor are there ever wanting opportunities of doing good, in which all active spirits might be usefully employed. How much more innocent and diverting is it to advise and instruct the ignorant, to rejoice with your friends in their good, to comfort and to mourn with them in their evil; or at least to pass the time in such discourses as are administered by innocent mirth and friendly fo ciety how much better, I fay, is this, than to fit trying and condemning your acquaintance, and fetching in all you know by turns to receive at your hands their fentence, not for the good or evil which