It is dangerous at all times to speak of ourselves: if we have done ill, either to excuse or deny it inflames the account; if we have done well, our Saviour tells us that we must nevertheless call ourselves 'unprofitable servants:' and whether this rule be observed by those who boast, and are always talking of the good they do, let any man judge. Our Saviour's advice about charity holds in all other cases of the like nature; 'our left hand must not know the charity our right hand does;' and whatever else we do that may seem good in our own eyes, should at least be kept from our tongue's end, for fear we should be found in the number of those who take to themselves the praise that is due to God alone.

One awkward way that some men have of letting others know what good they have done, is by perpetually lessening and discommending in themselves what, in their private thoughts, they think others ought to admire. But there is little difference between pride and affected humility; and whenever men delight to talk of themselves, it is to be suspected that pride and vanity direct them to the choice of the subject, though it may appear perhaps in the disguise of meekness and humility. If you think that you have done nothing worthy of praise or admiration, whence arises your jealousy that the world should overvalue you? and why all this care to lessen and debase yourself, unless you are conscious to yourself of something that in reason you judge ought to exalt you? If you labor to shun the praise of men, it is plain you think you have deserved it, and your pretended humility is the genuine offspring of pride and vainglory for humility will no more make a show 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 desire of being thought humble: but to affect even the praise of humility, is pride and vanity. So then, in respect to this subject, 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 on it who come off clear either of folly or sin.

In the next degree we place cunning and artifice, which make men very forgetful of the respect that is due to truth, whilst they

direct their speech to serve and support some end or design of their own. There are many degrees of this cunning: that which is so gross 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 falsifying their words and oaths, as may best serve their purpose.

But the charge of idle words' lies against a cunning which is less desperate and malicious, and is the distinguishing mark of such men, who deceive you by a show of kindness which is not real. Now the man who courts and caresses all that come near him must allow himself a great latitude, since he must often bestow his smiles on the person he does not love, and his compliments on the person he despises in both which cases he stands charged with falsehood and hypocrisy.

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 says the same things to every body, must be supposed 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 so well opinionated of themselves, that they cannot think a man insincere, 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 distinctions.

But what account shall 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 impose on the weakness and folly of mankind? An account he must give, unless he can show the use and benefit of his fair speeches. Say, which is yet more than you can say, that these words are innocent and harmless they are at the best then useless and insignificant; and think how your excuse will sound, when the utmost 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 servile compliance you puffed up the vanity of the proud, betrayed and exposed

the credulity of the weak, and possibly too have made a gain of this ungodliness, and then I think you need not be told what sentence a God of truth, of righteousness and justice, will pass against such deceivers and liers in wait for men.

But, secondly, idle words' may comprehend the reports of envy and malice, by which our neighbour suffers in his credit or reputation.

I would distinguish under this head between those who invent and contrive wicked stories and reports to the scandal 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 stand in opposition to the lighter offences of the tongue. But even to believe without sufficient 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 saying, facile credimus quæ volumus; and if so, to believe the evil things spoken of our brother willingly, is a great mark of an evil disposition, and shows at least that we should be pleased if they were true: and the restlessness that some 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 spread stories of ill report with pleasure, and rejoice in the scandal, they have sucked 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 on the affairs and business of their neighbours. These people are like the hawkers in the street, they disperse 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 design to injure. But in the multitude of words there wanteth not sin; and when men's curiosity leads

them beyond their proper sphere and business, they must answer for the mischief they do. He who is always talking of what does not concern him, must needs be guilty of many ' idle words,' for which he must answer; and for which he will be less able to answer, 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 so very inquisitive and talkative of what no ways belonged to you? The Apostle'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 so far out of your knowlege as. to be in danger of hurting the interest or good name of your brother? It is not enough that you meant no ill, it ought to be your care, and concern, and study, to do no ill; and to do what proved ill inadvertently, shows that you were not so studious to avoid the occasions of evil; if you had, you would not have ventured where there was such 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 such busy, talking creatures, who listen after all news, it would not be worth a malicious man's while to invent a story of his enemy. A man cannot carry a story far himself, nor would he possibly find many openly to abet his malice in defaming an innocent man; but there are always inquisitive busy-bodies, who catch at news, and spread it immediately like wildfire: and therefore by being talkative and inquisitive in these matters, though we acquit you of malice or ill design, yet you become the instrument of malice ; you pull the trigger, though the other levels the piece at the innocent head; and since your curiosity and impertinence are unjustifiable, you can no ways excuse the consequences of them. God has provided every man with business proper for him to employ his time in. What you can spare from the necessary cares of life, and from the refreshments and diversions which nature requires, is little enough to lay out on eternity, on 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 society: how much better, I say, is this, than to sit trying and condemning your acquaintance, and fetching in all you know by turns to receive at your hands their sentence, not for the good or evil which they have done, but for the good or evil which you have heard of them? How entertaining soever you may think this diversion, yet you must remember the conclusion of the wise man's advice to the men of pleasure, Know, that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.'

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Thirdly, idle words' may imply such words as are the product of a loose and idle mind, such as represent the impure conceptions of a mind polluted with lust and lasciviousness. This notion includes the filthiness and foolish talking and jesting,' which the Apostle forbids even to be named' among Christians.

There is nothing more directly contrary to morality and good manners, than the liberty which some men take of entertaining company on subjects, which are unfit for the mouth or ears of a Christian. A greater affront cannot be offered to civil company than to break in on their innocent mirth and conversation with filthy jests, which put every modest person to pain, and under a difficulty of behaving himself, whilst such things are discoursed on: though it is the pleasure the lewd jester delights in to put modesty out of countenance, and to set impudence and buffoonery in triumph over it. But whether this be an employment that even common sense and reason should submit to, let every one, who is not quite lost to shame, determine. It is a great argument of the impurity of men's minds, when things of this nature lie uppermost, and are ever at their tongue's end; and therefore for their own sakes they should confine such thoughts, unless they take pleasure in hiding the man to discover the brute, and to let the world see what pains they have taken to furnish their minds with a knowlege, which nature and common decency have ever strove to conceal.

This impudent wit is in all persons abominable, but never more truly infamous than when it is found in the company of grey hairs; when men seem to be feeding on the dregs of the pollutions of their youth, and entertaining their minds with.