regard to the claims of a family; the pretension of acting for the glory of God, and for the public good-the pretext of a regard for the truth-all these are often made the cover of unmixed selfishness. 415. Selfishness is a great evil. It is opposite to divine benevolence, and contrary to the temper of our Lord Jesus Christ, "who pleased not himself." It is the source of innumerable vices. It is a rejection of all the claims, and an opposition to all the ends and interests, of society. This disposition defeats its own end. There is great joy in love; and, of course, in proportion as we extend the range and multiply the objects of our love, we extend the range and multiply the objects of our happiness. He that loves only himself, has only one joy; he that loves his neighbor, has many. Rouse to some work of high and holy love, And yield thee fruits divine in heaven's immortal bowers. WILCOX. 410. What objection has been made to the claim of disinterested love? 411. How are selfishness and self-love distinguished? 412. What are the tendencies of selfishness? 413. In regard to what subjects is selfishness indulged? 414. Under what false names and disguises does selfishness sometimes conceal itself, and escape much of the obloquy it deserves? 415. In what consists the evil of selfishness? SECTION VII.-THE UNSUSPICIOUSNESS OF LOVE. "Thinketh no evil." 416. VARIOUS senses may be attached to this definition of love. (1.) It does not desire evil. There are many who maintain outwardly a tolerably respectable character, but are still far too busy in devising evil.. Desire of gain may lead them to devise means by which they may injure a more prosperous neighbor, a more thriving tradesman than themselves. Or, they may be moved by envy to devise means for THE UNSUSPICIOUSNESS OF LOVE. 187 blasting the reputation of a popular rival, or at least to render him less a favorite with the public. A love of sporting with the fears of the timid and the weak has led some to delight in finding means for exciting their alarms: they do not desire to inflict pain so much from a malignity of disposition, as from a wanton pleasure in raising a joke. It is dreadful that the human intellect should ever be employed in devising evil: and yet, passing by the cabinets of statesmen, where hostile and unprincipled aggressions are so often planned against a weaker state; and the closets of monarchs, where schemes which are to entail the horrors of war upon millions are contrived without compunction; and the slave-merchant's cabin, where the details are arranged for burning peaceful villages, and dragging into captivity their unoffending inhabitants; and the robber's cave, the murderer's chamber, and the swindler's retreat: passing by these haunts of demons, where the master-spirits of mischief hold their conclave, and digest their dark and horrid purposes, what a prodigious movement of mind is perpetually going on among the subalterns! To all these persons, and to all this their conduct, love is diametrically opposed. It thinketh not evil, but good; it deviseth to communicate pleasure, not pain. It would make the miserable happy, and the happy still happier. It deviseth good upon its bed, and riseth in the morning to fulfill the plans of mercy with which it had sunk to rest. (2.) But probably Paul meant that it does not impute evil. It is not in haste to criminate, as if it were its delight to prove men wicked, but is willing to impute a good motive to men's actions, till a bad one is clearly demonstrated. We are too forward to suspect the piety of our neighbors; and also to impute bad motives to particular actions. When an action is good, it is too often ascribed to some sinister motive: when of a doubtful nature, we are too apt to lose sight of the evidence in favor of its being done with a good motive. 417. The evil of suspiciousness is discernible in the fact, that it disturbs the peace of society; for if men think evil, it is an easy step to speak evil, and then to do evil, so that the origin of many quarrels will be found in the false impressions of a suspicious mind-the misapprehension of a censorious judgment. But love "thinketh no evil." She delights to speak well and think well of others: she says little or nothing, except when necessity compels her, of their bad actions. She imputes not evil so long as good is probable; she makes every allowance that truth will permit; suffers not her opinions to be formed till she has had opportunity to escape from the mist of passion. 416. What senses may be attached to this definition of love? 417. Wherein consists the evil of suspiciousness? SECTION VIII.-THE JOY OF LOVE. "Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth." 418. Love does not rejoice in iniquity—in that which is wrong. Love cannot delight in the misconduct of an enemy or a rival; this is perhaps the precise meaning of the apostle. It cannot tempt him to sin, in order to gain the advantage over him, nor can it employ or encourage others to tempt him for the same purpose. Nor will love entertain a delight in seeing an enemy or a rival fall into misconduct, by other means; nor in seeing him injured in a way similar to that in which he may have injured us. 419. On the other hand, the apostle informs us that love "rejoices in the truth," in conduct that is conformed to the precepts of revealed truth, in a virtuous and upright course. Love rejoices not in the vices, but in the virtues of others. 418. In what does love not rejoice? 419. In what, on the other hand, does love rejoice? SECTION IX.-THE CANDOR OF LOVE. "Beareth all things." 420. THE candor of love stands opposed to slander, detraction, and censoriousness. 421. Slander is the circulation of a false report, with the intention of injuring a neighbor's reputation. Its most vicious excess is the invention and construction of a story which is false from beginning to end. Its next lower grade, though little inferior in criminality, is to THE CANDOR OF LOVE. 189 become the propagator of the tale, knowing it to be false. The next operation of slander is to receive and spread, without examining into the truth of them, false and injurious reports. Sometimes it withers the reputation of a neighbor by rash speaking, or vehemently affirming things which it has no reason to believe, and no motive for affirming, but the hope of exciting ill-will. 422. Slander possesses the following attributes :—It is sinful, because forbidden and denounced in every part of Scripture; cruel, because it is robbing our neighbor of that which is dearer to him than life; and foolish, because it subjects the calumniator himself to all kinds of inconvenience and trouble. 423. Detraction, or backbiting, closely resembles slander. A detractor's aim is the same as the slanderer's, but he avails himself of means a little different. He represents persons and things under the most disadvantageous circumstances he can, setting forth those which may make them appear guilty or ridiculous, and throwing into the shade such as are commendable. He misconstrues doubtful actions unfavorably, and throws over the very virtues of his neighbors the name of faults; calling the sober, sour; the conscientious, morose; the devout, superstitious; the frugal, sordid; the cheerful, frivolous; and the reserved, crafty. 424. It is a crime compounded of the ingredients of ill-humor, pride, selfishness, envy, malice, folly, cowardice, and falsehood. 425. Censoriousness is a child of the same family, but varies from the others by acting not so much in the way of reporting faults, as in condemning them. It means a disposition to scrutinize men's motives, to pass sentence upon their conduct, to reproach their faults, accompanied by an unwillingness to make all reasonable allowances for their mistakes, and a tendency to the side of severity rather than leniency. 426. What is to be condemned, is, needlessly inquiring into the conduct and motives of other men; examining and arraigning them at our bar, when we stand in no relation to them that demands such scrutiny; delivering an opinion when it is not called for; pronouncing sentence with undue severity. 427. In opposition to slander, detraction, and censo riousness, the influence of love, in view of the conduct of others, may be embraced in the following particulars (1.) Love is a long time before it allows itself to perceive the faults of others; while slander and detraction are quick to descry imperfections as soon as they appear in the conduct of others. (2.) When love is obliged to admit the existence of imperfections, it diminishes as much as possible their magnitude, and hides them as much as it is lawful from its own notice. (3.) It is the wish and the act of love, to conceal from the public all the faults, which the good of the offender, and the ends of public justice, do not require to be disclosed. There are cases, in which to conceal offenses, whatever kindness it may be to one, would be unkindness to many. As our love is to be universal as well as particular, it must never be exercised toward individuals in a way that is really opposed to the interests of the community. There are some, on the other hand, who publish the faults of others under the hypocritical pretense of lamenting over them, and producing in others a caution against the same thing, with many expressions of pity for the offender. Such pity might be shown in a better way. (4.) Love not only will not originate, but will not help to circulate, an evil report. When the tale comes to her, there, at least in that direction, it will stop. 428. The evils to which love stands opposed, are, calumny, which invents a slanderous report to injure the reputation of another; detraction, which magnifies a fault; censoriousness, which is too officious and too rigid in condemning it; tale-bearing, which propagates it; curiosity, which desires to know it; malignity, which takes delight in it. Of this list of vices, calumny is, of course, the worst; but a tattling disposition, though it may have little of the malignity of slander, is a servant to do its work, and a tool to perpetuate its mischief. "Charity believeth all things." 429. Reference is here made to all things which are testified concerning our brethren; not, however, such as are testified to their disadvantage, but in their favor. How readily does a fond mother believe things reported in favor of her child, and how reluctantly does she believe |