transgressions of which we are really guilty, when. ever there is a necessity or fit occasion to confess them ;-by neither rejecting just commendation for the valuable qualities and powers with which it has pleased God to bless us, nor vain-gloriously boasting of possessing them, as if they were derived from our own will, and depended wholly upon our own unassisted faculties. We are, in the next place, called upon to shew regard for our neighbour's fame and credit, by avoiding and discouraging all false reports, and all prejudicial stories and insinuations, though they may be founded in truth ;-by hiding his failings and infirmities, throwing a veil over his weaknesses and faults, and disclosing no more of his vices and his shame than is required for the purpose of his own amendment, of warning to others, or of public justice ;-by judging charitably of all, and putting the best construction on words and actions of which they will admit ;-by being willing and anxious to hear and to believe favourable reports, and to discountenance and disbelieve, if possible, unfavourable ones ;—by rejoicing in the honour and fame of others, and lamenting any disparagement of their credit ;— by taking every opportunity to raise our neighbour in general esteem, if his good qualities be not duly estimated, or his less estimable ones be over-rated.

§ 3. The prohibition, "Thou shalt not bear false witness," as it is applicable to legal questions, and public testimony, forbids the judge to pronounce a hasty or iniquitous sentence, to mis-state the law, or to refuse to listen to the evidence before him,—the jury, to disregard their oaths, and give a malevolent or partial verdict,-plaintiffs, to be actuated by a

spirit of contention or revenge, to take unfair advan. tage, use dishonest means, suborn witnesses, or attempt to pervert judgment in order to gain their cause,-defendants, to conceal the truth, or resist legal authority, lawyers, to undertake disreputable causes, or to conduct their pleadings with falsehood, or with treachery,-witnesses, to withhold, misrepresent, or garble the truth, to give false evidence, to allow bribery, personal feelings, or interest, to affect their testimony.

The general sins forbidden, are-Falsehood or Lying to say what is not true, or to speak the truth, with intent to deceive, to speak as we do not think, whether it be really truth or falsehood;-to utter lies even in jest, without any injurious design, but simply to deceive, for they violate the sacredness of truth, and blunt the sense of the sinfulness of falsehood;-to make use of lies in order to promote our own or our neighbour's advantage ;-to extenuate or conceal a fault, which, for the same reasons, is not allowable ;-to indulge a habit of lying without any immediate object, for the sake of vanity, or through the force of an idle and disgraceful custom, to which no limit can be placed,-for one lie certainly begets another;-to falsify facts in writings of any descrip tion, or in oral converse, except it be in works avowedly fictitious and imaginary, composed for instruction or amusement, in tales or parables, which are not intended to be received as statements of facts, but are acknowledged fictions, representations, or similitudes, put into the form of true histories, the better to convey information or advice ;—to exagge rate the truth-except in the poetical use of hyperbolical or figurative language, and then only when it

may not lead to misconception ;-to speak the truth unseasonably, or when it may be attended with ill consequences; for this is a breach of charity;-on the other hand, to withhold or deny the truth, when we are called upon to avow it, or when the declaration of it may be of advantage, either spiritually or temporally, to our neighbour, or ourselves ;-dissimu lation to say or pretend one thing, and to mean another;-irreligious, immoral, mischievous, and unprofitable conversation, which obviously offends against both truth and charity ;-talkativeness, or the love of chattering; for a tongue that is always employed, can scarcely be always well employed, and want of reflection, the source of loquacity, as frequently leads to the transgression of the Ninth Commandment, as malevolence;-disregard of our own good name, or neglect of any thing which may establish and support it, or shield it from unjust aspersion; all open or secret sin, which either directly or indirectly will be visited with disgrace-will sooner or later destroy the fairest character;-affected humility, or the seeking of praise by a false appearance of modesty; and, on the contrary, empty pride, or the boasting of ourselves beyond measure or with. out reason;-bragging of things which are a dishonour rather than an honour to us, as daring impiety, or successful vice ;-exalting our own gifts or qualities in order to induce a comparison to the disadvantage of our neighbour ;-detraction-the desire and endeavour to diminish the credit of our neigh. bour's virtues, and to scrutinize and expose his faults; an aggravated offence, as it betrays a base and disingenuous spirit, as it is little liable to confutation, as it is often clothed in the garb of zeal for religion, and

assumes the hypocritical appearance of candour and justice, as it manifests an extreme acuteness of sense with regard to the errors and sins of others, but an utter blindness to our own; the very reverse of that blessed system of charity and truth, which teaches us to be most vigilant in the detection of our own failings, and to avert our eye from those of other men ;

calumny or slander-the wilfully inventing or propagating of false reports, which tend to bring disgrace or infamy on others, but which as often injure the author and disseminator as the subject, by recoiling with increased violence on the slanderer, and thus proving destructive of a good name, though not of the one designed ;—harsh and uncharitable judgment of the words and deeds of others, putting the worst interpretation upon them of which they will admit, rather than the best ;-flattery-the attributing of merit which is not due, or the extravagant extolling of what is really good, with a view which is either dishonest or ridiculous ;-abusiveness,—implying unbecoming, intemperate, or railing and reproachful language, which, if not unjust in its imputation, and false in its expression, is at least uncharitable or malicious.

§4. The virtues and duties which most effectually guarantee a right use of the tongue, are-Love and goodwill towards all mankind, even towards our bitterest enemies ;-prayer to God that it may please him to forgive our enemies, persecutors, and slanderers, and to turn their hearts ;-firmness and integrity in not allowing any argument or motive to deter us from saying whatever we are bound by Christian principle to say;-true humility-the having no desire to elevate

ourselves above our proper standard, or at the expense of others;-courtesy and kindness of address, by which a malicious tongue is frequently deprived of its venom;-self-controul, by which speech, no less than action, is rendered subject to the authority of Religion.

§.5. The vices which lay a foundation for malicious or other kinds of falsehood, are-Selfishness, which inclines us to sacrifice every body to ourselves, and to consider our neighbour as a mere instrument to be used for our advantage;-revengeful and unforgiving dispositions towards those who may have injured us, or may improperly be supposed to have done so ;-envy of all who excel us, which excites a wish to reduce them to our own level, even at the expense of truth and charity;-pride, vanity, and attachment to objects, either sensual or dishonest ;-false pride, which rests solely on human estimation, instead of regarding the Invisible Witness ;-love of character substituted for love of God;-the fear of man, which bringeth a snare ;-vanity, or immoderate desire of admiration, which blinds the eyes, and lulls the conscience;-worldly-mindedness, which will break through all the barriers of truth and charity, in order to obtain its end.

6. The necessity of that Christian charity which thinketh no evil, but rejoiceth in the truth, is so explicitly declared in the inspired writings, and is so diametrically opposed to the bearing of false-witness, in all its branches and gradations, that this alone would point out the sanctions under which the Ninth Commandment is enforced: but Truth is in itself so