commerce as are neceffary in trade, or in life. All advantages taken by traders poffeffed of large capitals, to the hurt of perfons in narrower circumstances. All advantages taken by the knowing, against the ignorant. Advantages taken by the buyer against the feller, whether of his ignorance or neceffity. And thofe most flagrant iniquities of falfe weights, measures, or coins; with whatever elfe in general, may be the means of transferring to one perfon the property of another in any manner, which he who is the gainer would think an injuftice and hardship, if he were in the cafe of the lofer; all fuch arts of commerce are iniquitous and unjustifiable.

Reader, if thou art wife, thou wilt ftop here, and examine thy heart, and thy life. If thou hast ever defired, or effected, the prejudice of thy neighbour in his property, whether by means of power or craft, as thou loveft thy foul, do not delay one day to repent, and reform thy fault, and to make ample reftitution, to the injured perfon, to his heirs, or if thefe cannot be found, to the poor. If thou goeft down to the grave loaded with the fpoils of injuftice, they will fink thy foul to the bottomlefs pit. For the Judge of the world is of infinite purity and juftice; and will shew no mercy to the impenitent offender against unchangeable and eternal rectitude.

Men being drawn to make encroachments upon the property of others, through avarice; it is evidently the duty of every man to look into his

Own

own heart, and find out whether the love of riches takes up too much room in it. And if he finds, what I doubt most men will find, that he loves riches better than he does his neighbour, that he has a greater defire to gain wealth than to be of fervice to his fellow-creatures, it is his undoubted duty to conquer the fordid paffion, and strengthen the generous one. To this pur

pofe it will be his wisdom to fet himself in earnest to deep confideration on the evil of avarice, and the excellence of justice; to earnest prayer to heaven for affiftance in the conqueft of this vicious difpofition; and to avoid extravagance and profufion, which are often the cause of the most rapacious and infatiable avarice.

Every man has a right to be thought and spoken of according to his real character. Confequently, whoever, by any means, direct or indirect, is the occafion of his neighbour's being worfe thought, or spoken of, than he deferves, is guilty of injuring his neighbour; and all injurious treatment of a fellow-creature is contrary to rectitude, and inconfiftent with the love we ought to have for our neighbour, which ought to be equal to that with which one loves himfelf.

The most atrocious injury against our neighbour's reputation is, falfe witness before a judge. The laws of feveral nations have condemned the guilty of this crime to fuffer the same punishment, to which the law exposed the person sworn against.

But

But I know no punishment too fevere for a crime of fo black a nature, and which draws along with it fuch horrid confequences. To take the eternal God of truth to witness to a known falfhood; to defeat the very intention of an oath, which is often the only poffible means for the discovery of truth; to render all human teftimony fufpicious; to stop the courfe of juftice, and open a door to all manner of iniquity and violence; to blast the character of an innocent perfon in the most public manner, and in the manner the most effectual for ruining it, as being the most likely to gain belief to his prejudice; to violate his property, perhaps to reduce himself and his family to beggary; or to be the cause of paffing upon him a sentence of death for what he never was capable of committing; to take a falfe oath against a person before a court, is to be guilty of fuch black and complicated crimes as these. And for this our law inflicts a punishment, which a little money given the conftables makes almoft no punishment.

To spread a falfe report against any perfon, is contrary to the love we ought to have for our neighbour, and to juftice, whether it be known to be fuch, or invented for the purpose by the publisher, or whether it be a mere furmife or fufpicion. To invent a lye, or propagate a known falfhood, to the prejudice of any perfon's character, is taking up the office of Satan himself, who is ftyled in Scripture the Accufer. But, that even infinuations,

infinuations, and whispers, or nods and fhrugs, by which an innocent character may be blafted or ruined, are wicked and cruel, every man's confcience will tell him, if he will put it to himself how he fhould like to be fo ufed, or reflect upon the uneafinefs it gave him, if ever he suffered in the fame manner.

If by fneering and ridicule, upon an innocent infirmity, a perfon may be laughed out of the refpect and efteem, which every worthy character deferves, it is evident, that fuch wantonly mifchievous mirth is highly unjustifiable.

The cruelty of all practices, which tend to leffen the reputation of an innocent perfon, appears plainly from the value of reputation; which is always dear to great and worthy minds; and the lofs of which is in fome cafes peculiar fatal. The characters of a clergyman, a governor of youth, a trader, or a virgin, are more delicate than thofe of other perfons. And whoever is capable of wantonly attacking fuch characters, must be wholly void of fentiment for his fellow-crea

tures.

There is a peculiarity in the vice we are now, treating of, which renders is more atrocious, than that of invading our neighbour's property. It is, that often the injured person is robbed of what is to him of ineftimable worth, and the cruel fpoiler not enriched by the rapine. For the defamer commonly reaps neither profit, honour, nor pleasure, unless the indulgence of malice can

be

be called a pleasure, which if it is, Satan must be a very happy being.

The defamer is as much more infamous than the open railer, as the dark affaffin is more to be dreaded than the fair challenger. And the defamer and affaffin resemble one another, in that the wounds which both give, prove often incurable.

Reader, if thou makeft it thy practice to divert thyfelf with mischief, or to strive to build thyself an ill-founded reputation upon the ruins of thy neighbour's, or think'ft, by undermining him, to get thyself into the advantages. he now enjoys; remember I have told thee there will be no triumph hereafter, when thou comeft to be judged for thy idle words. The ill-gotten advantages, thou mayft reap from thy bafe treachery to thy brother, if thou fhouldst be fuccefsful, which is feldom the cafe, will bring a curse along with them, a canker worm, that will destroy both them and thee. And take notice, no malicious, envious, or cruel difpofition will find any admittance into the feats of future blifs. If thou think'st to be hereafter a companion of angels and spirits of good men, refolve in time to form thy mind to univerfal benevolence. Learn to confider even the abandoned offender as ftill a human creature, the production of the fame goodness which made thyfelf; as not yet out of the reach of the Divine grace, and therefore not to be given up as abfolutely irrecoverable, and, if recoverable, again