394 The Evil ofCorrupt Conmiunication. Vol.II. this pra&ice; and I hope may effedua11y prevail with them to leave it, and break itoff. And they (hall be thefe following. I. That all filthy and corrupt communication is evidently contrary to Nature, which is careful to hide and fupprefs, whatever in the general efteem of the fober part of Mankind hath any thing of turpitude and uncomelinefs in it: And where- ever Nature hath thought fitto drawa Veil, we fhould neither by words nora&ions expofe fuch things to open view. .u& natura occultavit, fays Tully, de Offic. Lib. r. eadem omnes, qui fana font mente removent ab oculis, Thofe things which Nature bath thought fit to hide, all men that are in their wits endeavour to keep out of fight. Nos ai:tem naturam fequamur, fays the fame excellent Moralift, ibid. Et ab omni quad abhorrer ab oculorum auriumque approbation fugiamus. Let us, fays he, follow Nature, and flee every thing that is ofenftve either to theeye or ear ofmen. And this is fo plain a leffon of Nature, that an A&or in a Play will ne- ver fall into that abfurdity, as to reprefenta grave and virtuous perfonoffering any obfcene or iminodeft word : And as the fame Author reafons, Hißrio hoc videbit in fcena, quad non videbit fapiens in vita? Shall an Aflor fee this to be improper upon the Stage, and a wife man not difcern the abfiirdity and undecency of it in his life and converfation ? IL All corrupt and filthy Communication is a notorious abufe of one of the greateft and belt gifts which God hath given us, and does direftly contradift the natural end and ufe ofSpeech. Our Tongue is our Glory, as the Holy Pfalmift often calls it, who bath duly confidered the exéellency and ufe of this faculty, and took great care to employ it to the purpofes to which Cod gave it, and is herein an admirable Pattern to us. And next to our Reafon and Underftanding, our Speech does molt remarkably diftinguifh us from the Beafts, and fets us above them. Hoc uno preflamus, vel maxime feris, quod colloquimur inter nos, b quod exprimera dicendofenfapo/emus, fays the great Roman Orator, Cicero de Orat. Lib. t. By this one thing we excel the beafls in a very high degree, that we can talk together, and by fpeech declare our minds to one another. By our Underftandings we know God, and by our Tongues we confefs and praife him : but to ufe our Tongues to lewd and filthy Difcourfe, is to pervert and abufe one of the belt and nobleft faculties, which God hath given us ; it is to affront himwith his own gifts, and to fight againft him with his own weapons. Do we thus requite the Lord? fool creatures and unthankful? The two great ends for which this faculty ofSpeech is given us, are to glorifie God our Maker, and to edifie Man our Neighbour : but all corrupt communication contradi&s both thefe Ends; becaufe, inftead ofpraifing God with pure hearts and lips, we do greatly difhonour him, by polluting our tongues with lewd and fil- thy talk : For hereby weoffer a dire& affront to his holyNature and Laws. This renders us altogether unfit for theWorfhip and Serviceof Almighty God, who is ofpurer eyes than to behold iniquity and impurity in any kind. For how can we think that he will accept thofe Prayers and Praifes, which are offer'd to him by fuch impure and unhallow'd lips? when we difhonour God with the fame mouth that we pretend to glorifie him ; and commit fin with the faine tongñe that we confefs it ? How can we hope that he will accept the Sacrifice of fuch polluted lips, out of which proceed things fo contrary and tnconfiftent ? Thofe who thus pervert the ufe of Speech, and inftead of glorifying him who gave them this excellent gift, and fetting forth his praife, defile their tongueswith filthy and impure language, give juft occafion to complain ofthem, as Elihu does of the wicked in his tone, yob. 35. ro, II. None faith, where is God my maker, who giveth fangs in the night ? Who teacheth us more than the beafls of the earth, and maketb us wifer than the fowls of heaven. His meaning is, that theydid not glorifie God their Maker, by lìnging his Praifes, which by being endued with this noble faculty of Speech, (which he had denied to the Creatures below Man, the Beafts and Birds,) they only were capable of performing. The confideration of this high privilege, bywhich wedo fo much excel the Creatures below us, ought 4 to .
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