Treatise of Moral and Intellectual Virtues, Treatise on ethics · Part 11
Of TACITURNITY, or the Government of our Speech.
THE great Work and buſineſs of a Chriſtian is to act wiſely, and to govern himſelf diſcreetly, and it is one difficult part of that Government to rule his Speech, as he ought; For the Tongue is a very nimble and verſatil Engine, which the leaſt breath of Thought doth ſtir, yet it turns the whole World about; becauſe all the affairs of Converſation and Commerce are managed thereby; whatever is done in the Court, or in the Hall, in the Church or at the Exchange, in the School or in the Shop.
NOW there are four Queſtions, that may here be put.
1. What it is to rule or bridle the Tongue!
2. Wherein it is to be governed!
3. Why or for what Reaſons!
4. How this is to be done!
FIRST to rule our Tongues, What it is, to rule the Tongue.is to weigh and conſider, what we are about to ſpeak; and to reſtrain our ſelves from uttering that, which upon conſideration we find is not fit to be made known; And be we never ſo paſſionately earneſt to eaſe our Minds; yet we muſt chuſe rather to offer the greateſt violence to our Paſſions, than give our ſelves leave to ſpeak that, which ſober Conſideration and ſound Chriſtianity do not allow of: Both which do principally charge us to ſpeak nothing, when we are urged to ſpeak much, or to ſpeak gently and wiſely, when our Paſſions would move us to ſpeak at random.
THEREFORE we muſt bridle our Tongues eſpecially from meddling with theſe five things: 1. Vanity. 2. Swearing and Curſing. 3. Lying. 4. Flattery. 5. Reproach and Scoffing: For by theſe Evils moſt of the miſchief, that is in the World, is promoted; He, who babbles that, which is vain and trivial, is altogether uſeleſs; and He, who ſpeaks that, which is falſe, is very deſtructive at leaſt to himſelf; He, who Flatters, abuſes his Friends with falſe Countenances and feigned Speeches; He, who Reproaches, wounds his Neighbour, and violates the great Duties incumbent on us, Juſtice and Charity; He, that ſwears, profanes God; which is a certain ſign of a vain and light Spirit, that conſiders little, and cannot diſtinguiſh Things.
TO the Queſtion, Why we ought to bridle our Tongues, I ſhall anſwer in two Inſtances.
Want of conſideration the cauſe of ſpeaking fooliſhly and raſhly.Firſt, BY ſhewing the Evils, that accompany an unbridled Tongue.
2. BY ſhewing the rare Effects of a well-governed Converſation.
NOW if a Man doth not conſider what He is to ſay, in ſome meaſure he ſpeaks, he knows not what; how great a Folly is it, to offer that to the judgment of others, whereof a Man hath made no judgment himſelf; to ſpeak Words, and expect the Hearer ſhould put Senſe into them, though the Speaker intended none! Whereas weighty and deep Senſe lies low and deep in the mind, is not eaſily and readily drawn out; Wiſe Sayings and Sage Counſels do not dwell upon the Tip of the Tongue; they do not edg and fringe our Lips: they do not guſh out like pent-Waters, but ſpring gently and eaſily drop by drop; So the heavieſt Bodies lie neareſt the Centre; Gold and Silver are in the hidden Mines of the Earth, while dirt and mire cover its Face; So the Treaſures of the Sea ſink to the bottom, while Foam ſwims aloft, like unto which are raſh und haſty Words, that knock at every Ear, that importune every Man, that ask and anſwer every Queſtion; They are the Scum of an empty Mind, the very froth of an unſetled and uncompoſed Spirit.
WHEN therefore I ſee a Man ſwell with Pride and Scorn, with Envy and Wrath, ſaying, This Man hath no Religion, and the other knows nothing of the Power of Godlineſs; This is a Formaliſt, and That an Hypocrite; this is Ignorant, and the other meerly Moral; I can no more think him to be a good Chriſtian, than I can believe Scorn to be Piety, Bitterneſs to be Love, or Fury to be Patience.
WHEN I ſee a Man haunt Atheiſtical Company, hear him Rioting in Wine, when vain Diſcourſe fills his Mouth, and Trifles wag his Tongue, as puffs of Wind ſhake the leaf of the Aſp; when uncleanneſs flows out of his Belly into his Mouth; I muſt needs think, that his Heart is full of theſe Fornications, which have debauch'd his Tongue, and that all theſe Evils are painted tot he life in his impure Fancy, which hedeſcribes in his Diſcourſe;Men will be judged of according to their words. Wherefore let a Man ſpeak, as He would be thought to be; For whatever ſlight Thoughts any man hath of his Words, others will paſs Sentence on him according to them, and the leſs he conſiders them, the more they will be conſidered by others, and that to his ſhame, and to the diſgrace of that Religion, which He doth profeſs.
MOREOVER, an unbridled Tongue diſturbs the World, fills it with Confuſion, and darkens all with Smoak, and no wonder, for it ſets all things on fire, and no wonder at that neither, being its ſelf ſet on fire of Hell; and as a ſpark will kindle a great Fire, ſo a word hath been often the occaſion of many Quarrels, and of Deaths in the World: For Words are the wings of evil Reports, and evil Reports are the Arrows of evil Tongues, and wicked Words feather thoſe Arrows; they carry an ill Tale through a whole Country and propagate Miſchief, as the Sun doth Light, ſwiftly and on every ſide; they publiſh it in the Streets, or at the Table; and whiſper it in the Cloſet; ſo every place is infected with Calumnies, evil Surmiſes, and bitter Cenſures:Scornful Speeches the riſe of moſt differences. Look but into any Neighbourhood, and how many Feuds ſhall you find between Brother and Brother; How few Families ſhall you find not infected with this Breath! that are not filled with Suſpicions, that are not exaſperated with Conteſts and Contradictions. Then if you enquire into the reaſon of theſe inordinate Heats, and unchriſtian Diſtempers; you will find, they began thus, this Neighbour ſpoke contemptibly of the other, and He returned the Scorn again; then mutual Scorns beget mutual Grudges, and God knows, where thoſe Grudges will end; For He that draws the Sword, muſt as we uſe to ſay, throw away the Scabbard; So He, that ſpeaks a raſh Word, little knows the offence He may give, what jarrs he may kindle, and how far, or how long they may be propagated: For commonly men entail their Quarrels upon their Children, and following Generations inherit the the Animoſities of their Anceſtors, and Children ſtudy to Revenge their Parents ſufferings: Hence come endleſs Suits at Law, and hence proceed many bloody Duels; For how many have loſt their Eſtates to ſatisfie a Paſſion! How many have rather choſen to die upon the point of a Sword, that have the pain of a ſharp Reproof; So great miſeries doth Evil-ſpeaking produce in the World; beſides the confuſion it creates in a man's own Soul; for it makes the ſame ſhakings within, as it does without: Now there can no greater Evil befal a man in the judgment of the Holy and Wiſe, than to have his mind the Seat of a War, than to have Wrath, Malice, Fear, and Revenge claſhing one againſt another in his own Heart; For every man's own Spirit ſhould be a Sanctuary, or a place of Reſt to himſelf; after the hurries that he meets with in the World, and in the government of its Affairs, a man ſhould always have God, and a peaceable Mind to retreat to; for this is the ſecurity of wiſe and good Men, that the diſturbances, which are without them, do not reach their thoughts, looking outward when they ſee nothing but Diſorder, and hear nothing but Clamour, within they find peace, and joy, and light, even the Light of God's Countenance and of a clear Conſcience; But it is quite contrary with the violent Talker; who is at firſt warmed by ſome inward heat, but then the Coals are blown up, and the Fire grows too ſtrong to be ſuppreſſed; Hence we may obſerve, that He, who hath begun a Quarrel ſometimes in Words expreſſing Prudence, though Diſpleaſure, hath in the progreſs of it talked himſelf into a Fhrenzy, and hath enflamed his own Spirit beyond all meaſures of Diſcretion.
FURTHER,Religion ſcandalized by an unbridled Tongue. An unbridled Tongue Scandalizes Religion, therewith bleſs we God, even the Father, and therewith curſe we men, who were made after his likeneſs; This is to join the love of our Father, and the hatred of our Brother together; Thus to repreſent Religion, as a thing reconcileable to Evil, is the greateſt Scandal to it, and makes it a contradiction to it ſelf: Woe be to them, ſaith our Saviour, by whom offences come; and woe be to him that cenſures Morality, and is not himſelf Moral; who calls himſelf a Chriſtian, and yet hath not mortified one Luſt: For it is not Chriſtianity to be unlike the Author, who was meek, humble, and charitable in all his Converſation; Neither is it ſo to make a Lye; to be Suſpicious, or Envious; Proud or Self-willed; to Scorn, and Deride, to Cenſure and Backbite: For as a Fountain cannot ſend forth at the ſame place ſweet water and bitter; ſo neither can a godly Man raiſe a falſe Tale, or believe it, when it is raiſed; but his Chriſtianity is ſuch, as the Apoſtle deſcribes, 1 Corin. 17.4, 5, 6.7; ſuffereth long and is kind, vaunteth not it ſelf, is not puffed up, doth not behave it ſelf unſeemly, ſeeketh not her own, is not eaſily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoyceth not in iniquity, but rejoyceth in the Truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
MORE than this, an unbridled Tongue is an uncontroulable Evil; a Beaſt not to be tamed and quieted; Is it not an unreaſonable thing, to value no man's Religion, and to ſpare no man's good Name! What can we think of ſuch a Spirit, whom the reverence of God's Command ſhall not awe; whom Chriſt's Example of Patience ſhall not move! Who will not learn Modeſty from an Angel, who would not bring a railing Accuſation againſt the Devil himſelf!
REFLECT therefore (O Man) upon thy ſelf and conſider; as thou wouldſt not demonſtrate thy ſelf to be a raſh and unmortified Perſon; as thou wouldſt not enflame the Neighbourhood and diſturb the World; as thou wouldſt not ruffle and darken thine own Soul; as thou wouldſt not of a man make thy ſelf an unreaſonable Brute; as thou wouldſt not have thy Religion, a vain and unprofitable Thing; as thou wouldſt not be deceived in ſo important an Affair, as Chriſtianity it ſelf; take heed of an unbridled Tongue, and govern thy Speech wiſely; which is to be done by theſe means;
1. By poſſeſſing certain Habits.
2. By acting by certain Principles.
Firſt, THE Habits we are to poſſeſs are, 1. Sound and impartial Judgment. 2. True Chriſtian Love. 3. Deep and ſerious Humility. 4. Firm and ſolid Patience.
Firſt, WE muſt ſtudy to gain a clear Judgment, A ſound judgment will put a ſtop to Evil-ſpeaking.that no ſelf-Conceit may bribe us to think well of our ſelves, or to deſpiſe our Brethren; For, ſays Plutarch, We ſhould not firſt love, and then judg; but firſt judg, and then love; And there is in no caſe more need of This, than in relation to our ſelves, becauſe we naturally love our ſelves, even before we are able to make any judgment what we really are; and we are all fond of our ſelves, well reconciled to our own Opinions and Actions, and therefore do always preſume well of our ſelves. But on the contrary, moſt men are at enmity with the Virtues of others; therefore we are apt to think meanly and ſpeak ſuſpiciouſly of what is Eminent in them: whereas, if we would forbear to ſpeak of others, till we have examined our ſelves, I believe, our accuſations of them would die in that ſelf-examination; and we ſhould generally find ſo much to condemn in our ſelves, that we ſhould not readily arraign other men.
Charity is of great uſe to rule the Tongue.Secondly, HE, that will govern his Tongue well, muſt labour after the Spirit of Charity; For Charity will cover a multitude of ſins, our own ſins from the indignation of God, and other men's ſins from our reproach. And He, who ſtabs his Brothers Reputation with an evil Tongue, ought to conſider, that theſe polluted ſtreams which guſh out of the Mouth, flow from a bitter Fountain in the Heart; that keen words are the effuſions of Hatred, and He, that hateth his Brother, is a Murderer. Whereas, if our Religion were Love, as it ought to be, what a great change would it make among us! For when we love, we ſhall hold our Peace without a bridle in our mouths; we ſhall bridle our Tongues without a Bit in our jaws; we ſhall rule our Paſſions without pain, and naturally Heal, where we now Wound.
Humility will check raſh words.Thirdly, WE muſt practiſe deep and ſerious Humility; For raſh words are generally the vomit of Anger, and Anger proceeds from Pride: But of all men thoſe, that are humble, are the leaſt prone to break out into violent and indecent Speeches; For if other men think well of themſelves; they are apt, without evident reaſon to the contrary, to think ſo of them too; if others have a mean eſteem of them, they think as meanly of themſelves; they agree with their very Enemies, and they are of the ſame Opinion with thoſe, who have the leaſt value for them; It is Pride, that ſwells and boils with Rage and Contempt, that is diſpleaſed and offended with every thing; that brands this man with Hypocriſie, and the other with Superſtition; that calls this man Carnal, and the other Ignorant; Nay, if God were like unto vain Man, then Ignorance muſt know, and Prejudice muſt judg, Paſſion muſt hold the Scales with her trembling Hand, and Pride muſt ſtep into the Ballance to weigh for Religion: But when theſe fumes of Pride are over, and the vapours are ſcattered; when Humility hath brought us to ſelf-Reflection, we then learn to think ſoberly, and to judg charitably, according to that of the Apoſtle, Phil. 2.3. Let nothing be done through ſtrife and vain-glory, but in lowlineſs of mind, let each eſteem others, better than themſelves.
Without Patience we are not fit for this World.Fourthly, WE muſt endeavour after Patience; which if it be not as firm, as a Rock, we are not fit for this World; if we cannot hear ill, and do well; if we cannot be content to hear a Fool contemn a Wiſe Man, and an Hypocrite vaunt it over a ſincere Chriſtian; if we have not the patience to hear Words cryed up againſt Things, and impertinent Diſcourſes thought to be very Oracles; if we cannot hear our ſelves cenſured for our Sobriety, and hated for our Love; we are not fit to converſe among men; For the beſt Men are every day abuſed by unjuſt Reproaches, and Aſperſed by Lyes; And therefore if others ſpeaking evil of us ſhall be judged a ſufficient reaſon for us to ſpeak evil of them; as long as we live, we ſhall be Evil-ſpeakers; Wherefore we muſt either reſolve to hear our ſelves traduced by ill Reports, and make no other returns, but Prayers for our unjuſt Accuſers, or elſe we muſt throw up our Claim to Chriſtianity, and reckon our ſelves among the Scribes and Phariſees, who return Injury for Injury, and daſh one Wrong againſt another.
THUS much for the Habits, that help us to govern our Speech; the Principles that we are to Act by, follow:
Firſt, WE ſhould conſider, that it is our chief buſineſs to reform our ſelves; Our chief buſineſs is to amend our ſelves.For the Phariſee is not amended by accuſing the Publican; nor the Publican by finding fault with the Phariſee; but the Phariſee and Publican both by condemning themſelves; Therefore we ſhould always, when we are inclined to condemn others, think thus with our ſelves; Do we acquit our ſelves by accuſing them! Do we reform our ſelves by correcting them! Are we the more Innocent, by pronouncing others guilty! Do we find our own Corruptions abated, by ripping up thoſe of other men! If it be not thus, what have we been doing all this while? We have forfeited our Intereſt in God, and our Title to the Name of Chriſt; and there are none ſo free to meddle with other men, as they who moſt of all neglect themſelves.
Secondly, WE ſhould conſider, that a Man is never qualified to reform others, till he hath in the firſt place amended himſelf; For let a Man but look into his own Boſom, it will like the cleareſt Glaſs reflect upon him the exact Images and proportions of his Virtues and Vices; the only fear is, leſt this Mirrour ſhould be any ways cracked and flawed by Self-love, mingled with other untoward Paſſions, that do ſo cloud the mind with prejudice, that it cannot take due meaſures, and underſtand it ſelf aright: Indeed, a Man thus blinded, is ſo far from being ſenſible of his own imperfections, that He takes thoſe very Defects often for good and great Accompliſhments; which makes him judg, He hath no faults, when he hath as many, or more, than other men. Thus a Man is the worſt Neighbour to himſelf, when he is ſo partial a Judg of his own Actions, as quite to overlook his Errours, or to miſapprehend them for Virtues: But he is fitteſt both to reform himſelf and others, who with an impartial and ſevere Judgment makes a ſtrict enquiry after what is amiſs at Home, and will not ſuffer any fondneſs to himſelf to miſguide him in the Examination; For after that Self-love, Envy, Pride, Hatred and Flattery, thoſe malignant Humors, are purged out of the Heart; He may ſafely be admitted to judg of other men; For knowing well, what he himſelf is, his Charity in judging others will be ſuch, as will bear all things: Inſtead of ſpreading ill Reports, He is in nothing more buſie, than in ſtopping the Current of them, and in preventing as much as he can, whatever will prove miſchievous to Human Society: Not that he doth,None are obliged to ſpeak well of all Perſons, or Things. or ought to think well of all Perſons, or ſpeak well of all Things, but He thinks and judges of things, as they are, being always directed therein by Charity and Prudence: For if a good Man ſhould not condemn things as bad, and faulty, which are really ſo, he will be in ſome caſes thought treacherous or cowardly, when He dares not reprove Evil for fear of ſome diſpleaſure; In other caſes an Hypocrite or a Flatterer, when He paſſes by or commends that, which his Conſcience doth not allow of.
THE beſt Method any one can follow, to avoid theſe Extremes, and to go through the World with an unblameable Credit, is never to ſuffer the Mind, whoſe thoughts are ever at work, to ſtart out into wanton Imaginations, ſo as to make him a Tatler, or a Buſie-Body, but with conſtancy to apply his whole Soul to the examination of his own Ways, which is the ſureſt and beſt courſe to guide our Judgments aright; which when David did, he preſently turned his Feet to God's Teſtimonies.Our words muſt be accounted for to God.
Thirdly, WE ſhould conſider, that all the Words, which our Tongues have uttered, as well as whatever our Hands have acted muſt be accounted for to God; And if we do but reflect upon the Frame and Temper of our own Spirits, we cannot but conclude from thence; that every one of us muſt give an account of his own Actions, and the Judgment hereafter ſhall paſs upon us according to that Account: For every Man's Soul hath a Conſcience belonging to it, and whereſoever this Conſcience is, it giveth teſtimony to this Truth; As we hope therefore for Salvation at this great Day, let us ſet a Seal upon our Lips, becauſe by our Words we ſhall be juſtified, and by our Words we ſhall be condemned.
WHEREFORE, A Man who would live, as He is obliged by the Precepts of Virtue, muſt take care,
Firſt, THAT he does not miſtake the place of his Religion, ſo as to be buſie in the Lives of Others, and negligent of his own, that He do not with Zeal cry down the Evils of the Times, and yet practiſe thoſe Evils, which He condemns.
Secondly, THAT he do not miſtake the Power of Religion, as if it meant no more but a bare profeſſing to be religious; this Opinion makes ſome men contented, that their ſins ſhould be expiated by Chriſt's Blood, but they care not for having their Paſſions ſubdued by his Spirit: they are ſo far from it, that they do not think, that this is intended in his Goſpel, or that it is poſſible to be done.
Thirdly, THAT He do not miſtake a part of Religion for the whole; as if God could be indented withal for a Diſpenſation in ſome parts of Chriſtianity, in recompence for his Zeal and Activity in others.
FOR if a Man profeſſes Religion, and yet doth not bridle his Tongue; We may infer, that He doth not look upon his Religion,Every Man ſhould take care, that his Religion be practical. as an Obligation upon him to reform his Life: Whereas if we would take, as we are bound, the meaſures of our Religion according to the Victories we have gained over corrupt Affections, and according to the Graces of the Goſpel, which we have acquired; it would abate a great deal of that confidence and Pride, that is in the World; For then every one would take care, that his Religion be practical; then all men would believe, that nothing can make them truly religious, that doth not conform them to the Life and Spirit of Jeſus Chriſt; then they will not take that for Chriſtianity, which doth not either ſubdue ſome known Luſt, or conform them to ſome known Law.