4t6 CHRISTIAN MORALITY, VIZ. JÌtSTICE, &C. [SEAM. XXVI. solence and scorn. Many a father, in oúr degenerate age, has found this unhappy effect-of raising his,chil- tiren too soon and too high : And the mother has seen her sirs, and felt it in her punishment, when she has cock- ered up her young offspring in pride, and thereby taught them tobreak the rules ofjustice, to slight all her autho- rity, and make a scoff of that pre-eminence which God and nature have given her. The proud. man is ready to say in bis heart, "All that are around me ought to pay me respect, and do me jus- tice," while he is regardless' of the respect due to others. " Let them carry it towards me as they ought, and I will carry it towards them as I please." It is pride that inclines us to throw a blot here and there upon the good name of our neighbour, and to ble' mish his reputation, lest he should outshine us. When some honourable mention is made df another person in our company, especially ifit be one of our own sex, our own rank or degree in the world, do we not feel some- thing rising within to lessen their honour, and to stain their character ? It is through this vanity and ambition ofmind, that we are tempted to defame and reproach our neighbour, and to rob him of his just honour among men, and we endeavour to build our own fame and cre- dit upon the ruin of his. But it is a sandy, or rather an impious foundation ; and the fame that is built upon such ground will never stand. Pride inclines us to as- sume more respect than is due to ourselves, and to take it away fromour neighbour, even as còvetousness tempts us to take more money to ourselves than is due, and to deprive our neighbour of it. Thus both of them are opposite to the sacred rule ofjustice; one to that justice which we owe to our neighbour's estate, and the other to his good name. But the evil influence of pride spreads farther also; for it teaches us to practise unrighteousness in matters of property : It instructs us in the.methods of oppression, and inspires us with a wicked courage to practise it; Ps. lxxiii. 6, 7, 8. "When pride compasses men as.a chain, and theywear it as a golden ornament, then vio- lence covers them as a garment; and though their eyes starid out with fatness, and they have more than heart could wish, yet they are corrupt, and speak w'ickeciLy 4
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