Page:Sermons by John-Baptist Massillon.djvu/116

 that our  ideas  of  duty  are  never  taken  from  the  ground- work  of  religion;  that  we  never  enter  into  the  spirit  to  decide  upon  the  letter;  and  that  few  people  ascend  to  the  principle  to  clear  up  the doubts which  corruption  forms  on  the  detail  of  the  consequences.

Now, to  apply  this  maxim  to  my  subject:  what  are  the  rules  in the  gospel  which  constitute  slander  a  crime  to  the  disciples  of  Jesus Christ? In the  first  place,  it  is  the  precept  of  Christian  humility, which, as  it  ought  to  establish  in  us  a  profound  contempt  of  ourselves, and  to  open  our  eyes  on  the  endless  multitude  of  our  own wants, should  at  the  same  time  shut  our  eyes  on  those  of  our  brethren. In the  second  place,  it  is  the  duty  of  charity;  that  charity so recommended  in  the  gospel;  the  grand  precept  of  the  law,  which covers the  faults  it  cannot  correct,  excuses  those  it  cannot  cover, delights not  in  evil,  and  with  difficulty  believes,  because  it  never wishes it  to  happen. Lastly, it  is  the  inviolable  rule  of  justice, which, never  permitting  us  to  do  to  others  what  we  would  not  have done to  ourselves,  condemns  whatever  goes  beyond  these  equitable bounds. Now, the  scandalous  discourses  which  turn  upon  those faults which  you  term  public,  essentially  wound  these  three  rules: judge, then,  of  their  innocency.

First. They wound  the  precept  of  Christian  humility. Indeed, my dear  hearer,  were  you  feelingly  touched  with  your  own  wants, says a  holy  father;  were  your  own  sin  incessantly  before  your eyes, like  the  penitent  David,  you  would  find  neither  sufficient leisure nor  attention  to  remark  the  faults  of  your  brethren. The more they  were  public,  the  more  would  you  in  secret  thank  the Lord for  averting  from  you  that  scandal;  the  more  would  you  feel your gratitude  awakened,  when  you  considered,  that,  though  fallen perhaps into  the  same  errors,  he  hath  not  permitted  them  to  be  proclaimed from  the  house-tops,  like  those  of  your  brother;  that  he hath  left  in  obscurity  your  deeds  of  darkness;  that  he  hath  covered them,  as  I  may  say,  with  his  wings;  and  that,  in  the  eyes  of men,  he  hath  preserved  for  you  an  honour  and  an  innocence which you  have  so  often  forfeited  before  him:  you  would  tremble, while saying  to  yourself,  that  perhaps  he  hath  spared  your  confusion in  this  world,  only  to  render  it  more  bitter  and  more  durable in the  next.

Such is  the  disposition  of  Christian  humility  toward  the  public disgraces of  our  brethren. We should  often  speak  of  them  to  ourselves, but  almost  never  to  others. Thus, when  the  Scribes  and Pharisees presented  to  our  Saviour  the  woman  caught  in  adultery, and eagerly  pressed  him  to  give  his  judgment,  though  the  guilt  of the  sinner  was  public,  Jesus  Christ  kept  a  profound  silence;  and to their  insidious  and  pressing  entreaties  to  explain  himself,  he  simply answered,  "  He  that  is  without  sin  amongst  you,  let  him  first cast  a  stone  at  her;"  as  if  he  thereby  meant  to  make  them  understand that  sinners  like  them  were  little  entitled  to  condemn,  with  so high  a  hand,  the  crime  of  that  woman;  and  that  to  acquire  the  right  of casting  a  single  stone  at  her,  it  was  necessary  the  individual  should himself be  free  from  reproach. And behold  my  brethren,  what  I