seek in any kind, at the expense of the good name and esteem of others, to increase their own; out of others' ruins to make up themselves; and therefore pull down as much as they can, and are glad to have others to help them to detract from the repute of their brethren, particularly any that are in likelihood to surpass and obscure them; and for this reason, incline always rather to hear and speak of the imperfections and dispraise of others than to their advantage, and would willingly (Ottoman-like) kill the good name of their brethren that theirs may reign alone.† This is a vile disease, and such as cannot be incident to any mind that is truly virtuous and gracious; no, such need not this base, dishonest way to raise themselves, but are glad to see virtue, and whatsoever is praiseworthy, to flourish in whomsoever; these are lovers of God indeed, and his glory, and not their own; and therefore, as all he bestows on themselves, they venture back the honour of it to him, so they are glad to see many enriched with his best gifts; for seeing all good that all have belongs to God, as the sovereign owner and dispenser, this contents and rejoices his children when they see many partake of his bounty, for the more is his glory; and as in love to their brethren, they are always willing to take notice of what is commendable in them, and to commend it, so they do this the more willingly, because they know that all praise of goodness at last terminates and ends in God, as Solomon says of the rivers, Unto the place from whence they come, thither they return again. 6. They sin against this commandment, who, although they no way wrong their neighbours' good name, yet are not careful to do their utmost to right it when it

* Ex alieni nominis jactura gradum sibi faciunt ad gloriam. Sallust.

The Rabbins frequently condemn this. Hammith Cabbed, &c. Qui honorat se ex ignominia socii sui, non habet partem in seculo venturo. Beres. Rab. Item, qui per contemptum aliorum laudem suam quærit, miserrimus est omnium. Quis est honore dignus? Qui honorat alios homines. Aboth. C. iv.

suffers, to remove aspersions from them, and to clear them all that may be.

For this is here required-to desire and delight in, and further the good name of others, even as our own; to look most willingly on the fairest side of their actions, and take them in the best sense, and be as inventive of favourable constructions (yet without favouring vice) as malice is witty to misinterpret to the worst; to observe the commendable virtues of our brethren, and pass by their failings; as many, like scurvy flies, skip over what is sound in men, and love to sit upon their sores.

It is lamentable to consider how much this evil of mutual detraction, and supplanting the good name one of another, is rooted in man's corrupt nature, and how it spreads and grows in their converse, as the apostle St. Paul cites it out of the Psalmist, as the description of our nature, Their throat is an open sepulchre; they have deceitful tongues, and the poison of asps is under their lips, Rom. iii. 13. Their throat is an open sepulchre, full of the bones as it were of others' good names that they have devoured; and, Rom. i. 30, amongst other their endowments, they are whisperers, backbiters, despiteful. But it is strange that Christians should retain so much of these evils, that profess themselves renewed, and sanctified, and guided by the Spirit of God. Consider in your visits and discourses, if something of this kind doth not entertain you often, and lavish away that time you might spend in mutual edifications, abusing it to descant upon the actions and life of others, in such a way as neither concerns nor profits us, taking an impertinent, foolish delight in inquiring and knowing how this party lives, and the other. This is a very common disease, as Nazianzen observes; and thus men are most strangers at home; have not leisure to study and

* Curiosum genus ad cognoscendam vitam alienam, desidiosum ad corrigendam suam. Ave. Conf. L. x. C. iii. Ουδεν έτως ἡδυ τοις ανθρώποις ως το λαλειν τα αλλότρια. Orat. i.

know and censure themselves; they are so busied about others. It may be there is not always a height of malice in their discourses, but yet by much babbling to no purpose, they slide into idle detraction and censure of others besides their intention; for, in multitude of words there wants not sin.

And the greatest part are so accustomed to this way, that if they be put out of it, they must sit dumb and say nothing. There is, I confess, a prudent observation of the actions of others, a reading of men, as they call it, and it may be by a Christian done with Christian prudence and benefit; and there may be too an useful way of men's imparting their observa. tion of this kind one to another concerning the good and evil, the abilities more or less that they remark in the world; but truly it is hard to find such as can do this a right, and know they agree in their purpose with honest, harmless minds, intending evil to none, but good to themselves, and admitting of nothing but what suits with this. Amongst a throng of acquaintance a man shall, it may be, find very few by whose conversation he may be really bettered, and that return him some benefit for the expense of his time in their society. Howsoever, beware of such as delight in vanity and lying, and defaming of others, and withdraw yourselves from them, and set a watch before your own lips; learn to know the fit season of silence and speech, for that is a very great point of wisdom, and will help very much to the observing this precept, to give your tongue to be governed by wisdom and piety; let it not be as a thorny bush pricking and hurting those that are about you, not altogether a barren tree, yielding nothing, but a fruitful tree, a tree of life to your neighbour, as Solomon calls the tongue of the righteous.

And let your hearts be possessed with those two excellent graces, humility and charity, then will your tongue not be in danger of hurting your neighbour; for it is pride and self-love makes men delight in that. Those are the idols to which men make sacrifice of

the good name and reputation of others. The humble man delights in self-disesteem, and is glad to see his brethren's name flourish. It is pleasing music to him to hear of the virtues of others acknowledged and commended, and a harsh discord to his lowly thoughts to hear any thing of his own. And the other, charity, thinks no evil, is so far from casting false aspersions on any, that it rather casts a veil upon true failings and blemishes: Love covers a multitude of sins; it is like God's love that begets it, which covers all the sins of his own children.

PRECEPT. X.

Thou shalt not covet, &c.

Ir is a known truth, that there is no sound cure of diseases without the removal of their inward cause; therefore this second table of the law, containing the rule of equity for the redress of unrighteousness in men's dealing one with another, doth in this last precept of it strike at the very root of that unrighteousness, the corrupt desires and evil concupiscence of the heart: Thou shalt not covet, &c.

The Romish division of this into two, is so grossly absurd, and so contrary both to the voice of antiquity and reason, that it needs not stay us much to shew it such. The thing forbidden is one, Thou shalt not covet; and if the several things not to be coveted divide it, it will be five or six, as well as two. Though it be Peter's pretended sword makes the division, yet certainly it is not Paul's ogooroue, not a dividing of the word aright, but cutting it, as it were, beside the joint. The truth is, they would never have mistook so far as to have offered at this division, were they not driven upon it by an evil necessity of their own making; because they have quite cut out the second, they are forced, for making up the number, to cut this in two. This is but to salve a first wrong with a second, it is vititum primæ concoctionis quod non corrigitur

in secunda, as they speak; having smothered one commandment, they would have this divided, as the harlot the living child. The subject of this commandment, that which it forbids, is not, I confess, original sin in its nature and whole latitude; no, nor all kind of sinful motions immediately arising from it, but such as concern human things, belonging to this second table as their rule; as is clear in all the particulars named in the commandment, and the general word that closes it including the rest, and all other things of that kind-Nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. Nor is it needful (with others) for the distinguishing this precept from the rest, to call this concupiscence here forbidden, only the first risings of it in the heart, without consent, whereas the other commandments forbid the consent of the will. I conceive there is no danger to say, that both are forbidden, both in this and the rest, but in this more expressly.

For what great necessity is there of such subtle distinguishing? May not this be sufficient, that what is included in the other commandments duly understood, it pleased the Divine Wisdom to deliver in this last more expressly, that none might pretend ignorance, and so to provide for the more exact observance of justice and equity amongst men in their actions, by a particular law given to the heart, the fountain of them, regulating it in its disposition and motions, even the very first stirrings of it, which do most discover its disposition?

And that this is no tautology, nor a superfluous labour, unsuiting the exquisite brevity of this law, we shall easily confess, if we consider that natural hypocrisy and self-indulgence that is in men, that makes -them still less regard the temper and actings of their hearts, than their outward carriage, notwithstanding this express commandment concerning it. much more would they have thought their thoughts, at least such as proceed not to full consent, exempted from the law, if there had been nothing spoken of them, but they only included in the other precepts,

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