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Article RULES AGAINST SLANDER. ← Page 2 of 2
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Rules Against Slander.
that you may not , for want of necessary employment , be led , against your inclination to speak evil of others . 4 . Never take a pleasure in hearing others reviled : but accustom yourself to have compassion on their infirmities , rather than to rejoice at them . 5 . If you hear a person slandered , and know any good of him ,
reveal it : which may at least counterbalance the detraction , and so far preserve his reputation . 6 . Let it always be a maxim with you , that it cost you nothing , and that it is the smallest favour you can shew your nei ghbour , to speak well , or , at least , not evil of him . 7 . Consider what esteem you yourself have for those peoplewho
, make it their business to sully the reputation of others , by defamation ; and let them be a warning to you , not to fall under the same hateful chara & er . ¦ 8 . When you find the least inclination in yourself to defame another , lay your hand upon your heart , and ask yourself , whetherj r ou have not merited the same or a worse reprehension ?
9 . Examine your mind , how you have been able to bear with aspersions cast on you by others : and though you may have the resolution to despise them , consider another may not . It may , perhaps , be an affiiftion to him ; and this affli & ion may be attended with other evil circumstances . 10 . Enquire narrowlinto the certainty of what you intend to say
y of another . Whether you can affirm the truth-of it of your own knowledge , or only by hearsay ? If the latter , it may be groundless , and you may draw upon yourself the charafter of a wicked defamer . If the former , then consider whether it may not be as friendly an oflice to conceal it , as to relieve a neighbour under necessity .
11 . Lookback into former times , and recoiled your memory , whether the person in question has ever wronged you ? If not , you . arc about to aft a piece of cruelty ; and if he have , your slander is , at best , but the fruits of revenge and malice . iz . Recollect , likewise , whether that person has never done you a . favour : if he have , you add to this vice the sin of ingratitude ; and if not , may he not have an opportunity of doing it for the future ?
May not the time come , when , by the instability of things of this life , his good will may be of service to you ? 13 . Think as far forward as possible , and refieft upon the various consequences which may arise from detraftion . Though at first they maybe little regarded j the greater may be the danger hereafter . A slanderer always finds his match , who pays him in his own coin :
he is hated by all men ; is liable to be involved in law-suits , and falls imperceptibl y into broils and quarrels , which are often not to be ended hut by bloodshed . 14 . Lastly , consider , that though the various underminings of detraction are not punishable in this world ; yet they are a dire & breach of the ninth commandment , and incur eternal punishment in thc ¦ world to come .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Rules Against Slander.
that you may not , for want of necessary employment , be led , against your inclination to speak evil of others . 4 . Never take a pleasure in hearing others reviled : but accustom yourself to have compassion on their infirmities , rather than to rejoice at them . 5 . If you hear a person slandered , and know any good of him ,
reveal it : which may at least counterbalance the detraction , and so far preserve his reputation . 6 . Let it always be a maxim with you , that it cost you nothing , and that it is the smallest favour you can shew your nei ghbour , to speak well , or , at least , not evil of him . 7 . Consider what esteem you yourself have for those peoplewho
, make it their business to sully the reputation of others , by defamation ; and let them be a warning to you , not to fall under the same hateful chara & er . ¦ 8 . When you find the least inclination in yourself to defame another , lay your hand upon your heart , and ask yourself , whetherj r ou have not merited the same or a worse reprehension ?
9 . Examine your mind , how you have been able to bear with aspersions cast on you by others : and though you may have the resolution to despise them , consider another may not . It may , perhaps , be an affiiftion to him ; and this affli & ion may be attended with other evil circumstances . 10 . Enquire narrowlinto the certainty of what you intend to say
y of another . Whether you can affirm the truth-of it of your own knowledge , or only by hearsay ? If the latter , it may be groundless , and you may draw upon yourself the charafter of a wicked defamer . If the former , then consider whether it may not be as friendly an oflice to conceal it , as to relieve a neighbour under necessity .
11 . Lookback into former times , and recoiled your memory , whether the person in question has ever wronged you ? If not , you . arc about to aft a piece of cruelty ; and if he have , your slander is , at best , but the fruits of revenge and malice . iz . Recollect , likewise , whether that person has never done you a . favour : if he have , you add to this vice the sin of ingratitude ; and if not , may he not have an opportunity of doing it for the future ?
May not the time come , when , by the instability of things of this life , his good will may be of service to you ? 13 . Think as far forward as possible , and refieft upon the various consequences which may arise from detraftion . Though at first they maybe little regarded j the greater may be the danger hereafter . A slanderer always finds his match , who pays him in his own coin :
he is hated by all men ; is liable to be involved in law-suits , and falls imperceptibl y into broils and quarrels , which are often not to be ended hut by bloodshed . 14 . Lastly , consider , that though the various underminings of detraction are not punishable in this world ; yet they are a dire & breach of the ninth commandment , and incur eternal punishment in thc ¦ world to come .