and projecting, fhould always fucceed. But if it is his own Bufinefs only that by his means mifcarrys, he who is the only Sufferer can forgive himself, but if without Occafion or asking he has been obtruding his Advice on Others, and thereby brought them into any ill Circumftances, is it not highly reasonable, that he fhould bear, not only all the Blame, but all the Damage too? And how many Inftances are there of those, who, out of this meddling humour and a vain Affectation of bearing the Name of Men of Bufinefs, have thrust themfelves into Mischiefs, which without great Management and Art and Diligence they could never have brought about? And how little Pity do's the World generally afford these Men? Do's it not rather encline to fay, What Pity it had been if all their Endeavours had not had this Succefs? that they fhould not be ruin'd, who had fo induftriously contriv'd it? What alfo is the Credit and Reputation which to their Witt and Abilities they hence acquire? for 'tis plain, that this they aim at, and would be thought notable, fhrewd understanding Men, and of more than ordinary Parts: herein too they find themselves miferably mistaken, if Solomon's Judgment may be regarded, as furely it ought, It is an Honour for a Man to ceafe from Strife, but every Fool Fool will be meddling, Prov. 20. 3. But that which most of all fhould deter us from this Practice is the Sin of it. It is the Son of Sirach's Advice, My Son meddle not with many Matters, for he that meddles much shall not be innocent. Nay, St Peter goes farther and ranks an Offender in this Kind among the vileft Målefactors, even among those whose Crimes deferve Death, in the 4th Chapter of his first Epistle and the 15th verse, But let none of You fuffer as a Murtherer, or as a Thief, or as an Evil Doer, or as a Bufybody in other Men's Matters. But then Secondly, let thofe whom I mention'd of all the reft to feem the moft excufeable, thofe whofe Character agrees with that which St Paul gives of the younger Widows in the fifth Chapter of his first Epiftle to Timothy and the 11th verfe, idle, wandering about from boufe to houfe, and not only idle, but tattlers alfo and bufybodies; Let them also have a Care of flattering themfelves, that all this while they are Innocent. Let them confider, that in those most exact and nice Scales in which God weighs all the Words and Actions of Men, even Lightness and Vanity itself has Weight enough to Sink us. Let them remember, what the Wife Man fays, Prov.9. 19. That in the Multitude of Words there wanteh not Sin, and that our Saviour a Wifer than He tells us, that every idle Word is to be accounted for. And tho' in their little Tales and Railleries, they mean rather to make Sport with than to Mischief their Neighbour, yet let them confider alfo, what the fame Solomon fays Prov. 14. 21. that He that only defpifeth his Neighbour finneth. Laftly, as to what concerns the two last Sorts of those I mention'd, namely the malicious Whisperers and Sowers of Strife, and the uncharitable Cenfurers of their Brethren, it is needlefs to go about to prove, how great is both their Sin and Danger, fince it is fo univerfally own'd, and fince they are fo generally condemn'd, by the Voice of God and Man. The firft of them is exprefsly reckon'd among those things that God hates, Prov. 6. 16. and that in more than One of thofe Inftances which are enumerated there, Thefe Six things doth the Lord hate, yea Seven are an Abomination to him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that feed innocent blood, an heart that devifeth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a falfe witness that speaketh lyes, and him that foweth difcord among Brethren. And the Apoftle in the first Chapter to the Romans ranks Whisperers and Backbiters in that black Lift of thofe, whom God gives over to a Reprobate mind to do things that are not convenient, verse 28. and which those thofe who doe are worthy of Death, v. 32. Nor fhall we think it at all ftrange, that Solomon, as we but juft before have heard, fhould fo exprefsly declare that God Hates fuch Men, whom we find by St Paul here number'd among thofe that hate God, WhiSperers, Backbiters, Haters of God, v. 29, 30. The Other, namely the uncharitable Cenfurers of their Brethren, lye under this Severe Prohibition of our Saviour, Judge not, that ye be not Fudged. And who that confiders this would dare by fo offending to provoke God, in whofe Sight no Man living can be justify'd, to enter into Judgement with him? Or if this being judg'd were meant by our Saviour of Men's Judgement only, yet what manner of Men ought they to be in all Godlinefs and Honefty that fet up fuch an Arbitrary Tribunal of their own over the reft of Mankind? How little obnoxious to be Judg'd by any who Condemn all? Whereas it is too manifeft, that generally the most bitter Cenfurers are themselves the most Guilty. As it is excellently exprefs'd and urg'd by a Learned Heathen, Pliny the younger, with whofe Words out of one of his Epiftles I fhall end this Head, Is it not, fays he, frequent to meet with Men, who, tho themfelves given up to all Manner of Vice and Slaves to every Luft, are extremely angry against the Vices of Others? yet fo, that it looks in them more more like Envy than Anger, as if indeed they Envy'd them, they being still most fevere upon those whom they moft imitate. When on the contrary there is nothing fo decent, nothing fo recommends and fets off even those whose innocence makes them ftand in need of no Man's good Nature or Pardon, as Gentleness and Candor. And we may well reckon him the most perfect and beft Man, who fo forgives Others as if He himfelf perpetually offended, yet fo abftains from offending as if he never forgave. Let us therefore both at home and abroad, in our private as well as publick Converfation, in every condition or fort of Life obferve this as a Rule, To be ever Severe and Inexorable to our Selves, but eafy to be entreated and to give Pardon to Others, even to those who give it to none but to themselves, Plin. lib. 8. Ep. 22. But if these bufy Intruders into the petty Concerns of a private Family, or ordinary Conversation, or the little Dealings between Man and Man, are so offenfive and troublesome, how pernicious and how infupportable is the Infolence of those, that with equal Freedom make bold with the Myfteries of State, and the Councels of Princes? And yet this is an hereditary Diseafe deriv'd down to us from our first Parents, an inordinate Luft of knowing what we should not, and medling where we are forbid. We long to be ftretching forth our hands |