The Victory of Patience, Chapter 26
CHAP. 26. Because it is for our credit to be evill spoken of by them, and would be a disparagement to have their good word.
…. Reasons joyntly respecting our selves and our enemies are two,
1 Because it Were a disparagement to have their good word.
2 Because it Is the greatest praise to be dispraised of them.
1 Because it were a great disparagement unto the godly, if they should have the good word and approbation of wicked men.
2 Secondly, because it is the greatest praise unto the godly, to be dispraised of the wicked. These two reasons being neere of kinne, in speaking of them I will cast both into the similitude of a Y, which is joyned together at one end, brancht in the middle. And first to joyne them both together.
The condemnation and approbation of wicked men, is equally profitable and acceptable to good men: for every word they speake of the conscionable, is a slander, whether it be good or evill: whether in praise or dispraise, his very name is defiled by comming into their mouthes: or if this do not hold in all cases, yet (as a Reverend Divine saith) it is a praise to the godly, to be dispraised of the wicked; and a dispraise to be praised of them; their dispraise is a mans honour, their praise his dishonour: so that when deboysed persons speake ill of a man, especially their Minister, the worse the better; for to be well spoken of by the vicious, and evill by the vertuous; to have the praise of the good, and the dispraise of the bad, is all one in effect, as Salomon sheweth; They that forsake the Law (saith he) praise the wicked; but they that keepe the Law, set themselves against them, Proverbs 28.4.
Thus much of both Reasons joyntly, now of each severally; and First, That it is a disparagement to a godly man to be well spoken of by the wicked.
When it was told Antisthenes, that such an one who was a vitious person, spake good words of him, he answered, What evill have I done, that this man speakes well of me? To be praised of evill men (saith Bion the Philosopher) is as evill, as to be praised for evill doing. Out of which consideration our Saviour Christ rejected the evill spirits testimony, which though it were truth, yet he would not suffer the Devill to say, Thou art the Christ the Sonne of God, or that Holy One, but rebuked him sharpely, and injoyned him to hold his peace, Luke 4.35. No, he would not suffer the Devils at another time to say, That they knew him, Vers. 41. And good reason, for he knew that the Devils commendations would prove the greatest slander of all. Neither would S. Paul suffer that maide which had a spirit of Divination, to say, he was the Servant of the most high God, which shewed them the way of salvation, Acts 16.17, 18. well knowing that Sathan did it to this end, that by his testimony and approbation, hee might cause them (which formerly beleeved his doctrine) to suspect him for an Impostor and Deceiver, and that he did his miracles by the helpe of some Familiar spirit. And indeed, if the good report of wicked men, who are set on worke by Sathan, did not derogate from the godly, or from the glory of God, Sathan should bee divided against himselfe; and, if Sathan be divided against himselfe, saith ou… Saviour, how shall his Kingdome stand? Now wee know hee seeketh to advance his Ki… dome by all possible meanes, and conseque… ly in this.
Wherefore if we enjoy any wicked mans love, and have his good word, we may justly suspect our selves are faulty in one kinde or other; for 'tis sure he could not doe so, except he saw something in us like himselfe. If every thing were unlike him, how is it possible he should love us? Difference breeds disunion, and sweet congruity is the Mother of love. This made Aristotle, when a Rakeshame told him, he would rather be hanged by the neck, than be so hated of all men as he was, reply, And I would bee hanged by the neck, ere I would be beloved of all, as thou art; And Phocion, to ask, when the people praised him, what evill have I done? It was a just doubt in him, and not an unjust in any that are vertuous like him, which occasioned one to say; their hatred I feare not, neither doe I regard their good will.
Secondly, a wicked mans tongue is so far from being a slander, that it makes for our credit, to be evill spoken of by them. To be evill spok…n of by wicked men, saith Terence, is a glorious and laubable thing; and another, It is no small credit with the vile, to have a vile estimation. As a wicked mans glory is his shame; so the godly mans shame (for doing good) is his glory: and to be evill spoken of for well-doing, is peculiar to good men, as Alexander used to speake of Kings. Yea, saith Epictetus, It is the highest degree of reputation, for a man to heare evill when he doth well. And Iob is of his judgment, which makes him say, If mine adversary should write a booke against me, would I not take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a Crowne unto me? Yes, I would, &c. Iob 31, 35, 36, 37. And who having the use of Reason (especially sanctified) will not conclude), that Religion and holinesse must needs be an excellent thing, because it hath such enemies as wicked men and wicked spirits? What saith that Ethnick in Seneca, in this behalfe; Men speake evill of mee, but evill men. It would grieve me if Marcus Cato, if wise Lae…ius, if the other Cato, or either of the Scipioes should speake so of me, but this as much comforts me: for to be disliked of evill men, is to be praised for goodnesse. O happy art thou, saith Picus Mirandula, who livest well amongst the bad; for thou shalt either win them, or silence them, or exasperate them. If thou win them, thou shalt save their soules, and adde to thy owne glory; If thou silence them, thou shalt diminish of their torment, and prevent the contagion of their sin; If thou exasperate them thereby to hate and traduce thee for thy goodnesse, then most happy, for thou shalt not onelyonly bee rewarded according to the good which thou do'st, but much more according to the evill which thou sufferest. And S. Peter; If any man suffer as a Christian (that is, for righteousnesse sake) let him not be ashamed; but let him glorifie God in this behalfe, 1 Pet. 4.15, 16. The reason is given by Saint Austin, with whom this speech was frequent; They that backbite me, &c. do against their wills increase my honour, both with God and good men. Alas, the durty feet of such Adversaries, the more they tread and rub, the more lustre they give the figure graven in gold; their causeles aspersions do but rub our glory the brighter. And what else did Iudas, touching Mary, when he depraved her in our Saviours presence, for pouring that pretious oyntment on his feet? Iohn 12. which was the only cause that in remembrance of her it shold be spoken to her praise, whersoever the Gospell shold be preached throughout the whole world, Mar. 14.9. O what a glorious renowne did the Traytors reproach occasion her? Now to make some use of this point: If the language of wicked men must be read like Hebrew, backward, and that all good men doe so for the most part, it being a sure rule, that whosoever presently gives credit to accusations, is either wicked himselfe, or very childish in discretion; then let us count their slanders, scoffes and reproaches the most noble and honorable badges and ensignes of honor and innocency that can be: And in case we are told that any such person doth raile on us, let our answer be, he is not esteemed, nor his words credited of the meanest believer which understands any thing of Satans wiles; And thus we see, that a man of a good life needeth not feare any who hath an evill tongue, but rather rejoyce therein; for he shall be praised of Angels in Heaven, who hath, by renouncing the world, eschewed the prayses of wicked men on earth.