Page:Spiritual Reflections for Every Day in the Year - Vol 3.pdf/244

 answer, and which are left to rankle in the mind. The third, is he who never openly opposes truth, but who contents himself with insinuations and innuendoes, which, though not openly directed against religion, tell strongly in the minds of those who hear them.

These, though differing in degree, are alike in nature. They are all actuated by falsehood, derived from evil.

And here one remark seems needful:—there is a wide difference between falsehood derived from evil, and evil derived from falsehood. This will be apparent after a little consideration. Falsehood derived from evil, is the wilful errors into which a wicked man falls from the evil inclinations of his heart. Evil derived from falsehood, is the error of conduct into which a good man may fall through errors of opinion. The first of these is sinful; the latter, though injurious, may be blameless. But in the case of those represented by the adversary, the Devil as the lion, the falsehood is the offspring of evil. It is the evil inclinations of their hearts which cause the error of their opinions; and they are ever on the watch to insinuate their own errors into the hearts of others, or, by bold but specious argument, to force them there.

On the other hand, as the lion, in an evil sense, signifies those who are in falsehood from evil, so, in a good one, it represents those who are in truth from good; that is, who receive truth because it agrees with the good principles contained in their hearts. These may be divided into three classes.

They who openly advocate truth, who are bold in its defence, and who are always ready either to attack error or to defend truth. Those who seize their opportunity, and endeavour to insinuate truth into the