to discredit the evil, and to believe the favourable, testimony which is borne to those of other denominations and of other congregations. All excellence belongs not to our society or sect; all evil is not to be found in other societies or sects: yet how prepared are many persons to believe nothing good, or everything bad, of other sects or other societies. Away, away, with this detestable spirit! cast it out of the church of the living God! like the legion spirit which possessed the man who dwelt among the tombs, and made him a torment to himself, and a terror to others, this demon of prejudice has too long possessed, and torn, and infuriated, even the body of the Church. "Spirit of love! descend, and expel the infernal usurper. Cast out this spoiler of our beauty, this disturber of our peace, this opponent of our communion, this destroyer of our honour. Before thy powerful yet gentle sway, let prejudice retire, and prepare us to believe all things that are reported to us to the credit of othersbe they of our party or not-whether they have offended us or not-and whether in past times they have done evil or good." "Charity hopeth all things." Hope has the same reference here, as the faith just considered; it relates not to what God has promised in his word to them that love him, but to the good which is reported to exist in our neighbours. In a report of a doubtful matter, where the evidence is apparently against an individual, love will still hope that something may yet turn up to his advantage that some light will yet be thrown on the darker features of the case, which will set the matter in a more favourable point of view; it will not give full credit to present appearances, however indicative they may seem to be of evil, but hope, even against hope, for the best. If the action itself cannot be defended, then love will hope that the motive was not bad; that the intention in the mind of the actor was not so evil as the deed appeared to the eye of the spectator; that ignorance, not malice, was the cause of the transaction; and that the time will come when this will be apparent. Love does not speedily abandon an offender in despondency-does not immediately give him up as incorrigible, nor soon cease to employ the means necessary for his reformation; but is willing to expect that he may yet repent and improve, however discouraging present appearances may be. Hope is the main spring of exertion; and as love means a desire for the well-being of others, it will not soon let go that hope, in the absence of which all its efforts must be paralyzed. There are reasons which make it wise, as well as kind, to believe and hope all things for the best. Presumptive evidence, however strong, is often fallacious. Many circumstances in the case may look very suspicious; and yet the after-discovery of some little event may alter the aspect of the whole affair, and make the innocence of the accused far more apparent than even his guilt seemed before. The various instances in which we have ourselves been deceived by appearances, and have been led by defective, though at the time convincing, evidence, should certainly teach us caution in listening to evil reports, and dispose us to believe and hope all things. When we consider, also, how common is slander, detraction, and talebearing, we should not be hasty in forming an opinion; nor should we forget the anxiety which is often manifested by each party engaged in a contention to gain our alliance to their cause, by being first to report the matter, and to produce an impression favourable to themselves. Solomon has given us a proverb, the truth of which we have seen proved in a thousand instances, and which, notwithstanding, we are continually forgetting,-"He that is first in his own cause, seemeth to be just; but his neighbour cometh and searcheth him out." It is a proof of great weakness, so to give our ear to the first reporter, as to close it against the other party: and yet we are all prone to do this. A plausible tale produces an impression, which no subsequent opposing testimony, though attended with far clearer evidence of truth than the first statement, can effectually obliterate. We know that every case has two aspects-we have all been experimentally acquainted with the folly of deciding till we have heard both sides; and yet, in opposition to our reason and to our experience, we are apt to take up a prejudice upon ex-parte statements. Another circumstance, by which we are in danger of being misled in our opinion of our neighbour's conduct, is the mischievous propensity of many persons, to exaggerate everything they relate. Whatever be the philosophical cause, into which a fondness for the marvellous, and a delight in exciting surprise, may be resolved, its existence, and its prevalence, are unquestionable. Perhaps, we all like to relate what is new, and strange, and interesting; not excepting even bad news. To such a pitch is this carried, by those who are deeply infected with the propensity, that they never tell anything as they heard it: every fact is embellished or magnified. If a neighbour has displayed a little warmth of temper, they saw him raging like a fury; if he was a little cheerful after dinner, he was tippling; if he was evasive, they protest that he committed palpable falsehood, if not perjury; if he had not been so generous in his transactions as could be wished, he was an extortioner, and devoid of common honesty. Nothing is moderate and sober in the hands of such persons; everything is extravagant, or extraordinary. All they meet with, is in the form of adventure. Out of the least incident they can construct a tale; and on a small basis of truth, raise a mighty superstructure of fiction, to interest and impress every company into which they come. Undeterred by the presence of the individual from whom they received the original fact, they will not scruple to go on magnifying and embellishing, till the author of the statement can scarcely recognize his own narrative. How strange it seems, that such people should either not know, or not remember, that all this while they are telling falsehoods. They do not seem to understand, that if we relate a circumstance in such a manner as is calculated to give an impression which, either in nature or degree, does not accord with reality, we are guilty of the sin of lying. Where character is concerned, the sin is still greater, since it adds detraction to falsehood. Many a man's reputation has been frittered away by this wicked and mischievous propensity. Every narrator of an instance of misconduct, not, perhaps, heinous in the first instance, has added something to the original fact, till the offence has stood before the public eye, so blackened by this accumulative defamation, that, for a while, he has lost his character, and only partially recovered it in the end, and with extreme difficulty. Remembering the existence of such an evil, we should be backward to take up an unfavourable opinion upon first appearance; and where we cannot believe all things, be willing to hope: such is the dictate of charity, and such the conduct of those who yield their hearts to its influence. |