A Childs Patrimony, Part 2 · Chapter 4 · Section 5
§ 5. Of Cenſure.
I would charm the tongue here, before I leave it; but ſo it is hard for man to do, nay impoſſible; yet I will leſſon it in point of Cenſure, Which is a bold libertie the tongue takes, as if it had a aK. …. Daemono-Log. lib. 3. cap. 1.patent for prating, or had received another edict, that all the world ſhould be taxed. The leſſons are theſe,
1. Take no evidence from heare-ſay; It is the greateſt liar in the world. Report will ſully the whiteſt name upon earth, and when it hath done, and you would finde the authour, you cannot, he walks as undiſcerneable as if he had his head in the clouds bCaput inter nubila condit. vide Scal. Po…. lib. 5. cap. 3. pag. 524.. Report nothing upon bare report, eſpecially nothing touching any ones good-name, which, the purer it is, like a white ball, the more ſullied with toſſing.
2. Where thou wanteſt certaintie, judge charitably, the beſt; and leave that thou canſt not know to the Searcher of hearts. Indeed ſometimes a mans out-ſide, actions, words, geſtures, do make an eaſie and plain Commentary upon the heart; we may expound the heart by them. There is a ſpeaking with the feet, and a teaching with the cProv. 6. 13. 14.fingers: The organ or inſtrument of ſpeech is the tongue, What can the feet ſpeak? What can the fingers teach? why, the feet can ſpeak, and the fingers can teach, what is in the heart: Their commentary is ſo plain, that a man may reade, frowardneſſe is there. But now when a mans actions, his meaning and intent are of as doubtfull conſtruction as ſome old Characters, worn out and decayed; Take we heed now, that we reade them not according to our ſenſe, unleſſe it be moſt agreeable to charitie. It is a good rule; d….We muſt ſhew all the favour that may be; We muſt ſtretch out charities mantle as wide as we can, that is, as wide, as heaven is wide, ſaith eforeign. in Acta Apoſt. 21. Hom. 44Chryſoſtome, and we muſt note it. We are bound to give the faireſt and moſt candid interpretations of actions and meaning as poſſible may be. It is Mr Perkins rule, and but the rule of charitie, Be as tender of a mans meaning as with his eye, ſo of his actions, as perhaps he did not ſo, as it is ſuggeſted; if he did it, then not with a minde to do me hurt; or, if with that purpoſe, then by ſome temptation, which might have carried my ſelf too, and upon a worſe evil. Still deale tenderly we ſhould with our brothers Name, with his Conſcience, with his meaning, as tender of all this we muſt be, as we are of our eye, or of a glaſſe of Chryſtall.
3. Speak well of the dead, or nothing at all; It is for ſuch to trouble them, that are at reſt, who are of his generation, who did purſue his brother with the ſword, and did caſt off all pitie, and his anger did tear perpetually, and kept his wrath for ever fAmos …. 11.. Mark well how ſadly and confidently Job ſpeakes touching the ſecuritie of the dead; mark it, I can but point to it gJob 3. from 13 to the 20 verſe.. And learn we may ſomething from the devil, when he feigned himſelf Samuel; That it is no point of Civilitie to diſquiet the dead h1. Sam. 28. 15..
4. No, nor to diſquiet thoſe that are abſent, in conjuring up their names, for they are dead to us, and cannot ſpeak for themſelves. Stay a little till Mephiboſheth i2 Sam. 16. 2. Chap. 19. 27. He hath ſlandered thy ſervant, verſe 27. Not ſlanderers 1. Tim. 3. 11. foreign.can be heard to tell his own tale, he will prove himſelf as ſound at the heart, as he is lame in his feet, and Ziba ſhall be counted as he is, a Devil.
5 If the name of thy neighbour be in queſtion and thou canſt relieve it by a word, and that word but the very truth; Take heed now, Let not that pretious name of thy neighbour faint and die under thy hearing for want of a word, thy ſpeaking what thou knoweſt, and ſtandeſt bound to ſpeak by the bond of charitie. If thou ſhalt be faulty in this point of charitie, it is a privative cenſure.
I keep the chief leſſon laſt, I take it from a rule in Herauldry, this it is,
6. All kJoh. Guil. diſplay of Herauldry. pag. 163.Animalls born in Armes or Enſignes muſt in blazoning, be interpreted in the beſt ſenſe, according to their generous and noble qualities▪ if a fox be the charge of an Eſcutchen, we muſt conceive his qualitie repreſented to be wit and cunning, not pilfering and ſtealing &c.
I may finde bad qualities in the King of beaſts; I muſt in blazoning take the moſt noble; Then much more in blazoning my brothers Name; I muſt finde-out his good qualities. So the Apoſtle with Iob, lJames 5. 11.we have heard of the patience of Iob; not a word of his impatience. And obſerveable it is, how David fills his mouth with Sauls m2. Sam. 1.vertues; But how if my brother have not one good qualitie? I muſt not think ſo; not, that any one is ſo buried under the rubbiſh of his own and Adams ruines, but ſome good may be found in him, if with the Chymiſt, we would ſet the fire of our charitie on work, ſome good might be extracted; for, as there is ſome rubbiſh in the beſt of men, ſo there is ſome ore too, ſomething of God, ſome good in the very Worſt; doubt it not, while thou canſt ſee a poore woman puddering in the duſt-heap, and finding ſome good there. And let this teach us, how we deale with our brother, not worſe then with a duſt-heap (I hope) pick-out his good and let go the bad. But if thou muſt fix upon the bad, as ſo the caſe may require, do it tenderly like a brother, as one knowing thy ſelf, and thy common nature, in love, in meekneſſe, in the ſpirit of meekneſſe: ſo ſhalt thou honour thy brother, but thy ſelf more. Chryſoſtome nforeign &c. In Gen. 13. Hom. 34. ….gives us a good note. The trueſt ſigne of a man honoured with reaſon, is to be gentle, meek, courteous, mercifull, as one that would obtain merciemercy; for, conſider we our ſelves, or others, we are veſſells of earth all, which could not be cleanſed with water, they muſt be broken oLevit. 11. 3…. reade Mr Anſw.; or like bellmettle, once broken, never ſound again till new-caſt, and that will not be till the morning of our reſurrection; There be faults in all, make the beſt of all. It is good for a man, nay it is his wiſdome, to pudder much in his own dung (as a devout Spaniard pAvila's ſpirit, Epiſt. 24. p. 200.phraſeth it) To pry well into his faults, and frailties, and with great diligence there, for from thence (that bitter-root) ſpringeth that excellent and ſweet grace, humilitie, but to pudder in another mans dung, is Beetlelike, qScarabaeum aiunt … ſepultum vivere, apobalſomo immerſumemori.a creature, we know, which lies covered in dung, and findes ſweetneſſe there; but put it amongſt ſweets, and there it dies.
I will ſhut up this in the words of the Learned Knight, changing but a word, They who have ſold the (bloud of others) good name of others, at a low rate, have but made the Hiſt. of the World. preface.markets for their neighbours to buy of theirs at the ſame rate and price. But Chryſoſtomes words upon thoſe of our Saviour,foreign &c. In 8. Gen. Hom. 40. (Iudge not that ye be not judged) will ſerve better to ſtitch upon our lips; How dareſt thou ſet thy ſelf in Gods Throne, by judging thy brother? If thou wilt be a judge, judge thy ſelf, and thy own wayes, ſo mayeſt thou mendon; But if thou ſitteſt and judgeſt thy brother, thou ſhalt but make thy own judgement the heavier.