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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

to

break

the rules

of

justice,

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

if

it

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

of

mind,

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 from

our

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

they

wear 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