Selected quad for the lemma: world_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
world_n	love_n	love_v	neighbour_n	2,121	5	9.0617	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A62646	Two discourses The first, of evil-speaking: by His Grace, John, late Lord Archbishop of Canterbury. The second, of the government of the thoughts: by His Grace, John, Lord Archbishop of York. Both preach'd before Their Majesties, 1694.	Tillotson, John, 1630-1694.; Sharp, John, 1645-1714. Sermon about the government of the thoughts. aut	1698 (1698)	Wing T1270B; ESTC R219325	32,275	64

or others And this I take to be the meaning of that advice of the Son of Sirach Eccl. 19. 8. Whether it be to a friend or a foe talk not of other mens lives and if thou canst without offence reveal them not that is if without hurt to any body thou canst conceal them divulge them not But because this may not be direction sufficient I shall instance in some of the principal Cases wherein men are warranted to speak evil of others and yet in so doing do not offend against this Prohibition in the Text. First It is not only lawful but very commendable and many times our duty to do this in order to the probable amendment of the person of whom evil is spoken In such a case we may tell a man of his faults privately or where it may not be so fit for us to use that boldness and freedom we may reveal his faults to one who is more fit and proper to reprove him and will probably make no other use of this discovery but in order to his amendment And this is so far from being a breach of Charity that it is one of the best testimonies of it For perhaps the party may not be guilty of what hath been reported of him and then it is a kindness to give him the opportunity of vindicating himself Or if he be guilty perhaps being privately and prudently told of it he may reform In this Case the Son of Sirach adviseth to reveal men's faults Ecclus. 19. 13 14 15. Admonish a friend says he it may be he hath not done it and if he have done it that he do it no more Admonish a friend it may be he hath not said it and if he have that he speak it not again Admonish a friend for many times it is a slander and believe not every tale But then we must take care that this be done out of kindness and that nothing of our own passion be mingled with it and that under pretence of reproving and reforming men we do not reproach and revile them and tell them of their faults in such a manner as if we did it to shew our authority rather than our charity It requires a great deal of address and gentle application so to manage the business of Reproof as not to irritate and exasperate the person whom we reprove instead of curing him Secondly This likewise is not only lawful but our duty when we are legally called to bear witness concerning the fault and crime of another A good man would not be an accuser unless the publick good or the prevention of some great evil should require it And then the plain reason of the thing will sufficiently justifie a voluntary accusation otherwise it hath always among well-manner'd People been esteemed very odious for a man to be officious in this kind and a forward Informer concerning the misdemeanors of others Magistrates may sometimes think it fit to give encouragement to such persons and to set one bad man to catch another because such men are fittest for such dirty work But they can never inwardly approve them nor will they ever make them their friends and confidents But when a man is call'd to give testimony in this kind in obedience to the Laws and out of reverence to the Oath taken in such Cases he is so far from deserving blame for so doing that it would be an unpardonable fault in him to conceal the truth or any part of it Thirdly It is lawful to publish the faults of others in our own necessary defence and vindication When a man cannot conceal another's faults without betraying his own innocency no charity requires a man to suffer himself to be defamed to save the reputation of another man Charity begins at home and though a man had never so much goodness he would first secure his own good name and then be concern'd for other men's We are to love our neighbour as our selves so that the love of our selves is the Rule and Measure of our love to our neighbour And therefore first otherwise it could not be the Rule And it would be very well for the World if our Charity would rise thus high and no man would hurt another man's reputation but where his own is in real danger Fourthly This also is lawful for caution and warning to a third person that is in danger to be infected by the company or ill example of another or may be greatly prejudiced by reposing too much confidence in him having no knowledge or suspicion of his bad qualities But even in this case we ought to take great care that the ill character we give of any man be spread no further than is necessary to the good end we designed in it Besides these more obvious and remarkable Cases this Prohibition doth not I think hinder but that in ordinary conversation men may mention that ill of others which is already made as publick as it well can be Or that one friend may not in freedom speak to another of the miscarriage of a third person where he is secure no ill use will be made of it and that it will go no further to his prejudice Provided always that we take no delight in hearing or speaking ill of others And the less we do it though without any malice or design of harm still the better because this shews that we do not feed upon ill reports and take pleasure in them These are the usual Cases in which it may be necessary for us to speak evil of other men And these are so evidently reasonable that the Prohibition in the Text cannot with reason be extended to them And if no man would allow himself to say any thing to the prejudice of another man's good name but in these and the like Cases the tongues of men would be very innocent and the World would be very quiet I proceed in the IIId place to consider the evil of this practice both in the Causes and the Consequences of it First We will consider the Causes of it And it commonly springs from one or more of these evil Roots First One of the deepest and most common Causes of evil-speaking is ill-nature and cruelty of disposition And by a general mistake Ill-nature passeth for Wit as Cunning doth for Wisdom tho in truth they are nothing a-kin to one another but as far distant as Vice and Vertue And there is no greater evidence of the bad temper of Mankind than the general proneness of men to this Vice For as our Saviour says out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh And therefore men do commonly incline to the censorious and uncharitable side which shews humane Nature to be strangely distorted from its original rectitude and innocency The Wit of Man doth more naturally vent it self in Satyr and Censure than in Praise and Panegyrick When men set themselves to commend it comes hardly from them and not without great force and straining and if