better and wifer Part of Mankind: And why fhould any one be at the coft of playing the fool to gratify any Body whatsoever?

A main Preservation against this Sin wou'd be the fre quent Contemplation of the laft and great Judgment. Why doft thou judge thy Brother, fays St. Paul, or why doft thou fet at nought thy Brother? We shall all stand before the Judgment-Seat of Chrift; that is, at the great Day of Revelation and Retribution: and we are not to anticipate it by our private Judgment or Sentences; we have Bufinefs enough to provide our own Account against that Day: And, as it were a spiteful Folly for Malefactors that were going together to the Bar, to spend their time in exaggerating each other's Crimes; fo furely it is for us who are all going towards that dreadful Tribunal, to be drawing up Charges against one another. Whỏ knows but we may then meet with the Fate of Daniel's Accafers, fee him we cenfur'd, acquitted, and ourselves condemn'ă. The Penitence of the Criminal may have number'd him among the Saints, when our unretracted Uncharitableness may send us to unquenchable Flames. There is one Lawgiver, fays the Apostle, who is able to fave and to deftroy; Who art thou that judgeft another? I have mentioned another Remedy against this Evil, to try to make a Revulfion of the Humour, and draw it into another Channel. If we must needs be talking of other Peoples Faults, let it not be to defame, but to amend them, by converting our Detraction and Backbiting into Admonition and fraternal Correption. This is a way to extract Medicine out of the Viper, to confecrate even this fo unhallow'd a Part of our Temper, and to turn the ungrateful meddling of a Bufy-body, into the molt obliging Office of a Friend. And indeed, had we that Zeal for Virtue, which we pretend when we inveigh against Vice, we should furely lay it out this way; for this only gives a Poffibility of reforming the Offender. But alas, we order the matter fo, as if we fear'd to lofe the Occafion of Clamour, and will tell all the World,

but

but him whom it most concerns. 'Tis a deplorable thing to see how univerfally this neceffary Chriftian Duty is neglected; and to that Neglect, we may, in a great degree, impute that ftrange overflowing of Detraction among us. We know the receiving any thing into our Charge infenfibly begets a Love and Tenderness to it: A Nurfe, upon this Account, comes frequently to vyè Kindness with the Mother; and wou'd we but take one another thus into our Care, and, by friendly Vigilance, thus watch over each others Souls, 'tis fcarce imaginable what an Endearment it wou'd create: Such certainly as wou'd infallibly fupplant all our unkind Reportings, and fevere Defcants upon our Brethren: Since thofe can never take place, but when there is at least an Indifference, if not an Enmity.

Did we fupprefs all Curiofity and Inquifitiveness concerning others, we fhou'd cut off all Supplies from Detraction, and by that means fubdue it. The King of Ethiopia, in a Vye of Wit with the King of Egypt, propofed it as a Problem to him, to drink up the Sea; To which he reply'd, by requiring him firft to ftop the Accefs of Rivers: and he that would drain this other Ocean, must take the fame Course, dam up the Avenues of thofe Springs which feed it. He who is always upon the Scent, hunting out fome discovery of others, will be very apt to invite his Neighbour to the Quarry; and therefore 'twill be neceffary for him to reftrain himself from that Range: Not like jealous States, to keep Spies and Penfioners abroad to bring him Intelligence; but rather difcourage all fuch officious Pickthanks: For the fuller he is of fuch Informations, the more is his Pains if he keeps them, and his Guilt if he publishes them. Cou'd Men be perfuaded to affect a wholfom Ignorance in these Matters, it wou'd conduce both to their Eafe and Innocence; for 'tis this Itch of the Ear, which breaks out at the Tongue; and were not Curiofity the Purveyor, Detraction wou'd foon be ftarv'd into a Tameness.

The

The most infallible Receipt of all, is the frequent recollecting, and ferious applying the grand Rule of doing as we would be done to: For as Detraction is the Violation of that, fo the Observation of it must certainly supplant Detraction. Let us, therefore, when we find the Humour fermenting within us, and ready to break out into Declamations against our Brethren: Let us, I fay, check it with this fhort Question, Wou'd I myself be thus us'd? The Voice from within will be like that from Heaven to St. Paul, which stopt him in the height of his Career: And this Voice every Man may hear that will not stop his Ears, or gag his Confcience, it being but the Echo of that Native Justice and Equity which is implanted in our Hearts; and when we have our Remedy so near us, and will not use it, God may well expoftulate with us, as he did with the Jews: Why will ye die, O House of Ifrael?

I have mention'd several of those many Receipts which may be prescrib'd against this fpreading Disease: But indeed, there is not fo much need to multiply Remedies, as to perfuade Men to apply them. We are in love with our Malady, and loth to be cur'd of the Luxury of the Tongue. But 'tis ill dallying where our Souls are 'concern'd: For alas, 'tis they that are wounded by thofe Darts which we throw at others: We take our Aim, perhaps, at our Neighbours, but indeed hit ourselves, herein verifying in the highest Sense that Axiom of the wife Man: He that diggeth a Pit fhall fall into it, and he that rolleth a Stone, it shall return upon him. Wherefore, if we have no Tenderness, no Relentings to our Brethren, yet let us have fome to ourselves, fo much Compaffion, nay, fo much Refpect to our precious, immortal Souls, as not to fet them at so despicable a Price, to put them in Balance with the fatisfying of a petulant, peevish Vanity. Surely the fhewing ourselves ill-natur'd, which is all the Gains Detraction amounts to, is not fo enamouring a Defign, that we should facrifice to it our highest Intereft. 'Tis too much to spend our Breath in fuch a

Pur

Purfuit; Let not our Souls exhale in the Vapour, but let us rather pour them out in Prayers for our Brethren, than in Accufation of them: For tho' both the one and the other will return into our own Bofoms, yet God knows to far different Purposes, even as differing as those with which we utter them. The Charity of the one, like kindly Exhalations, will defcend in Showers of Bleffings;, but the Rigour and Afperity of the other, in a fevere Doom upon ourselves: For the Apostle will tell us, He shall have Judgment without Mercy, that bath fhew'd no Mercy.

CENSURE and REPROOF.

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HO' Cenfure has been confider'd as a Branch of Detraction; yet it is in many things differing from it, tho' very little in all.

"Tis one of the worft Characters a Man or Woman can have, to be maliciously curious in examining the Actions of others, only to cenfure them; nothing can escape the Quickness of their jealous Eye, nor the Malice of their envenom'd Tongue: They are the common Enemy to Mankind and civil Society.

Slander is quite oppofite to Politenefs: If Gentlemen and Ladies reflected upon the Offence all reasonable People take at it, they would not act fo vile a Part: Bafe Flatterers may applaud their Wit, and animate them in fcandalizing others; but the Suffrage of fuch Wretches does not hinder their being defpised by Perfons of Honour. There is a great deal of Care and Skill requir'd towards the good Management of Cenfure. To difVOL. I. tinguish

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tinguish is not only natural, but neceffary; and the Effect of it is, that we cannot avoid giving Judgments in our own Minds, either to abfolve or condemn as the Cafe requires. The Difficulty is to know when and where it is fit to proclaim the Sentence: An Aversion to what is criminal, a Contempt of what is ridiculous, are the infeparable Companions of Understanding and Virtue; but the letting them go farther than our own Thoughts, has fo much danger in it, that, tho' it is neither poffible nor fit to fupprefs them entirely, yet it is neceffary they should be kept under very great Reftraints. An unlimited Liberty of this kind, is little defs than fending a Herald, and proclaming War to the World, which is an angry Beast, when so provok❜d. The Contest will be unequal, tho' you are never fo much in the Right; and if you begin against such an old Adverfary, it will tear you in pieces with this Juftification, That it is done in its own Defence. You must, therefore, take heed of laughing, except in Company that is very fure: It is throwing Snow-balls against Bullets, and it is especially the Difadvantage of Woman, that the Malice of the World will help the Brutality of those who will throw a slovenly Untruth upon her. The Sex fhou'd, for this Reafon, fupprefs their Impatience at Fools; who, befides that they are too ftrong a Party to be unneceffarily provok'd, are of all others the most dangerous in this Cafe. A Blockhead, in his Rage, will return a dull Jeft that will lie heavy, tho' there is not a Grain of Wit in it. Others will do it with more Art; and you must not think yourself secure, because your Reputation may perhaps be out of the Reach of Ill-will; for if it finds that Part guarded, it will seek one which is more expos'd. It flies, like a corrupt Humour in the Body, to the weakest Part. If you have à tender Side, the World will be fure to find it, and to put the worst Colour upon all you fay or do, give an Aggravation to every thing that may leffen you, and a fpiteful Turn to every thing that might recommend you.

Anger