Page:Sermons by John-Baptist Massillon.djvu/118

 mortal blows? His guilt  has  already  been  exaggerated  by  so  many dark and  malicious  hearts,  who  have  spread  it  in  colours  sufficient to blacken  it  for  ever. Is he  not  sufficiently  punished? He is now  worthy  of  your  pity  rather  than  of  your  censures. What then could  be  your  intentions? To condole  with  him  for  his  misfortune? But to  open  afresh  his  wounds,  is  a  strange  way  of  condoling with  an  unfortunate  brother. Is true  compassion  thus cruel? What is  it  then? To justify  your  prophecies  and  former suspicions on  his  conduct? To tell  us,  that  you  had  always  believed that,  sooner  or  later,  it  would  come  to  that? But you come, then,  to  triumph  over  his  misfortune? To applaud  yourself for  his  disgrace? To claim  an  honour  to  yourself  for  the  malignity of  your  judgment? Alas! what glory  can  it  be  to  a  Christian to  have  suspected  his. brother; to  have  believed  him  guilty before he  was  known  as  such;  to  have  rashly  foreseen  his  disgraces yet to  come; — we,  who  ought  not  to  see  them,  even  when  they  have taken place. Ah! you can  prophesy  so  justly  on  the  destiny  of others:  be  a  prophet  in  your  own  country,  and  anticipate  the  misfortunes which  threaten  you. Why do  you  not  prophesy  thus  for yourself, — that unless  you  fly  from  such  an  opportunity,  and  such a danger,  you  will  perish  in  it? — that unless  you  dissolve  such  a connexion,  the  public  which  already  murmurs,  will  at  last  break out, and  then  you  will  find  it  too  late  to  repair  the  scandal; — that unless you  quit  these  excesses,  into  which  the  passions  of  youth and a  bad  education  have  thrown  you,  your  affairs  and  fortune  will be ruined  beyond  resource? It is  on  these  points  that  you  ought to exercise  your  art  of  conjecture. What madness,  while  surrounded oneself  with  precipices,  to  be  occupied  in  contemplating from afar  those  that  threaten  our  brethren!

Besides, the  more  your  brother's  disgraces  are  public,  the  more affected ought  you  to  be  with  the  scandal  which  they  necessarily occasion to  the  church;  with  the  advantage  which  the  wicked and the  freethinkers  will  draw  from  them,  to  blaspheme  the name of  the  Lord,  to  harden  themselves  in  impiety  and  to persuade  themselves  that  these  are  weaknesses  common  to  all  men, and that  they  are  most  virtuous  who  best  know  how  to  conceal them; — the more  ought  you  to  be  afflicted  at  the  occasion  which these public  examples  of  irregularity  give  to  weak  souls  to  fall  into the same  disorders;  the  more  does  charity  oblige  you  to  grieve over them;  the  more  ought  you  to  wish,  that  the  remembrance  of these  faults  should  perish;  that  the  day  and  the  places  of  their  revealment  should  be  effaced  from  the  memory  of  men;  and,  lastly, the more  ought  you,  by  your  silence,  to  endeavour  to  suppress them. But the  whole  world  speaks  of  them,  you  say:  your  silence will not  prevent  the  public  conversations;  consequently,  you  make remarks in  your  turn. The inference  is  barbarous. Because you are unable  to  repair  the  disgrace,  are  you  permitted  to  augment  it? Because you  cannot  save  your  brother  from  shame,  shall  you  assist to overwhelm  him  with  confusion  and  infamy? Because almost every one  casts  a  stone  at  him,  shall  it  be  less  cruel  in  you  to