no harm. It is not doing as we would have others do by us. We should not like to overhear others "making fun" of ourselves. 4. Because a person is guilty of one fault or bad action, we ought not to think he must be bad in every respect, and speak of him as though he was entirely worthless. If a man does not succeed well in teaching a school, we should not speak disrespectfully of him, merely on that account; he may be one of the best of men, though he is not fitted for that employment. And if a young man has for once stolen money from his employer, it is wrong to make him feel that his character is utterly ruined forever, and to destroy his future prosperity by our suspicions. There is truth in the old proverb: "Give a dog a bad name, and you may as well throw him overboard." But it is sometimes our duty to speak of the faults of others. If a young man in college knows who it was that stabbed a tutor, or set fire to one of the buildings, he ought to reveal it. And if a young girl knows which of her companions is driving one of their number from the school, by writing her name under ugly faces, scrawled upon the wall, she ought to make it known. If a teacher knows that a scholar plays truant, and makes his parents believe he has been in school, or gets permissions of absence under The fourth way of violating this law? How illustrated? What true old proverb? What instances in which it is our duty to speak of the faults of others? false pretences, it is his duty to inform them. And if one boy knows that another has laid a plan to rob an orchard or a garden, he should give information of it. A slanderer is one of the most despicable of characters, and in attempting to injure others, he injures himself most. Slander evinces au envious and malicious disposition. It allows excellence to no one; it depreciates the good deeds of others, and delights itself in exposing their faults. All evil speaking, backbiting and detraction, are only different modes of slander, and much of the gossip, tattling and idle talk of people, is entitled to no better name. They lead to quarrels among neighbors, break up friendships, destroy the peace of families, cause hatred and revenge, and are opposed to truly good breeding. Sarah He who relates a piece of gossip is about as bad as the one who originates the story. It is of very little use to require secresy. relates it to Lucy, upon the promise that she will tell no one. Lucy speaks of it to Julia, with the same understanding. And so it goes. Each one adds a little, or varies the character of the story somewhat, until at last it has spread throughout the village, and has become an entirely different thing from what it was at the beginning. Such a habit ought to be entirely avoided. It What is said of the slanderer? Of slander itself? Of all evil speaking? What is the effect of these modes of slander? What is said about relating the gossip of others? is as disreputable to those who tell the story, as it is injurious to the person about whom it is told. Sometimes this sort of thing is done from mere thoughtlessness, and from the love of revealing the news; and sometimes it proceeds from a mean envy, or malicious desire to injure others. The duty of each one is, never to begin an idle report; never to repeat it, if it comes from others; and, if possible, never allow it to be reluted in his hearing. "No one loves to tell a tale of scandal, but to him who loves to hear it. Learn, then, to rebuke and silence the detracting tongue, by refusing to hear. Never make your ear the grave of another's good name. In avoiding everything like slander, some persons fall into the opposite extreme, and praise indiscriminately and unduly those of whom they speak. This, of necessity, must often be insincere, and therefore wrong. Some also are always complimenting others, whether they really approve them or not; and it often happens, that they will do this in the presence of the person, and, as soon as he is out of hearing, will speak of him in a very different manner. The baseness of such conduct is sufficiently apparent. From what causes is this done Duty of each one in regard to slanderous reports? In avoiding everything like slander, into what do some persons fall? What is said of this? Habit of some others? CHAPTER VI. LIES. "Lie not; but let thy heart be true to God, A fault, which needs it most, grows two thereby. A LIE is an intention to deceive. It makes no difference whether the person to whom it is told is really deceived or not; if he who does it intends to deceive, he is guilty of lying. It is not necessary to say what is untrue, in order to lie, nor even to speak at all. We can as truly act a lie as speak one, and can lie, that is, intend to deceive-when we say what is literally true. Children, and, indeed, older people, often lie in this way, and think they do no harm. A person will sometimes say, "I have been to dinner," intending to give the idea to those to whom he speaks that he has dined to-day, when in truth he has not. George runs away from John, and hides. John asks Charles if he has gone around into the back yard. Charles nods his head, and John runs into the yard to look for him, when, in truth, Charles knows he has run down another street. The man had indeed been to dinner on other days, and Subject of Chapter VI.? Motto? What is a lie? Does it make any difference whether the person spoken to is deceived? What is not necessary to lying? How is this illustrated? Charles said not a word, and yet they both intended to deceive, and were guilty of lying. The scholar who plays truant is guilty of falsehood. He intends to deceive both his teacher and his parents in the very act of truantship. But this is not all. To avoid reproof, he gives false pretences, equivocates, and often, in the end, is guilty of the downright lie. And more than this, the habitual truant keeps his mind in a state ready to lie the whole time, and thus injures his sense of truth, and prepares himself for the commission of other crimes. If a written excuse is presented at a time different from that which the parent intended, it is an acted lie. Another way of lying is, when a scholar procures some person to work out a problem, or to write a composition for him, and then presents it as the product of his own labor. The prompting of a fellow-pupil during recitation comes under the same head. Scholars perhaps think they speak the truth when they say, "I know the answer, but cannot say it." For no one can be said to truly have an idea, until he can express it. People often make a distinction between black lies and white ones, and think they may tell as many of what they call white lies as they please. But they ought to know that there is no such distinction, and that any deviation from perfect truth is wrong. We have a right to be silent, and not communicate an idea in any What is said of the truant? What instances of acted lies? What is said about white lies? |