StO CHRISTIAN MORALITY, Viz. [S1;RM. xxi. require, and make a little too free with truth. Either their thoughts are very injudicious, if they can believe what they say; or if they do not believe it, they should make their words agree better with their thoughts. But besides the approaches to falsehood in this man- ner of conversation, there is something in it that is very vain, and almost ridiculous. Methinks such an extrava- gant talker is something like a man that walks upon stilts through the open street, or like one who wears a coat much longer than his neighbours ; and how tall soever they may think themselves, the world will be ready to call one of them a child, and the other an idiot. Objection. But are there not a multitude of such expressions in scripture in the books of Job, and the Psalms, and the Prophets, wherein even the more plain or common occurrences of life are dressed up in very magnificent language, and in expressions that far exceed the truth of things ? Does not David, in his elegy upon Saul and Jonathan, say, they were swifter than eagles, theywere stronger than lions ? 2 Sam. i. 23. And even in St. John's history of the life and death of Christ does he not suppose, that if all things which Jesus did were written, even the world itselfcould not contain the books? John xxi 25. Answer, It is the natural language of poetry and pro- phecy, and the custom of the eastern nations, to express things in a lofty and sublime manner; so that there is no danger of being deceived by that language, when a pro- phet or a poet indulges such figures of speech. Now the books of Job and Psalms, and David's elegy, are so many Hebrew poems. The business of oratory is a-kin to verse, and sometimes requires a figurative style, but in familiar language and common discourse, it is not the custom of mankind to use such extravagance of'expres- sion : The hearer is many times ready to be led into a mistake thereby, because he supposes the speaker to mean plainly what he says. And I would not willingly indulge a habit ofexpressing my thoughts in such a man- ner in common conversation, as should deceive my hear,. ers, to humour a silly affectation. As for the figure which St. John uses to represent the variety ofuseful things which were said ai,*t done by our Saviour, it is such as can lead no man into a mistake, for none" can believe it to be understood in a literal
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