1

HINTS TO THE LEARNED,

ON EVIL-SPEAKING, RAILING, AND REPROACHING,
IN THEIR WRITINGS.

THIS practice is,
HIS practice is, unreasonable upon all accounts. It is need-

lefs, because mild words will exprefs the fame thing full as
well, and to better purpofe. It is commonly unjust, loading men
with more blame than it can be proved that they deserve; for
every man who thinks wrong, is not a fool, nor is every man who
acts wrong a rogue. It is uncharitable, as making the worst of
every thing, and fhewing no mercy. It is mischievous, as exciting
the most pernicious of paflions, and fo becoming answerable for
their effects. Upon the bench, it turns juftice into abuse; in the
pulpit, it turns zeal into animofity; in the mouth of a friend, it
turns reproof into malignity. In difputation, it is prejudicial to
the speaker, inflaming his own paflions, fo that he cannot make
the best of his arguments. It is prejudicial to the hearer, because
arguments, even when made the beft of, yet fo propofed, will
never be admitted by him, unless he be a prodigy indeed of can-
dour and meeknefs. It is prejudicial to truth, because ftrength
of paffion is generally thought to indicate in an advocate a diftruft
of his cause, and a fcarcity of proof. It is a practice given into
fometimes through fudden anger; fometimes through inveterate
hatred; fometime through revenge for an injury received; fome--
times through felf-conceit and contempt of others; fometimes
through envy; fometimes through ambition and intereft; fome-
times through mere malignity, to cherish a cacoëthes of this kind,
either inbred or acquired by custom; fometimes out of wanton-
nefs, and fometimes through negligence and inadvertency. It is
directly oppofite to the very nature and tenour of our religion; it
is exprefsly condemned and prohibited by it as evil. No practice
hath feverer punishments denounced against it; it is in itself the
fymptom of a weak, diftempered, and difordered mind; a stream
flowing from a bitter spring; a black fmoke iffuing from a vol-
cano; it is the fure fign of a mean spirit, and low breeding; all
wife, honeft, and ingenuous perfons deteft and fly from him that

ufeth it; who, being regarded as a hater of mankind, is decordingly hated by mankind, and one way or other fails not to be threwdly requited by them in the end.

With regard to the examples fometimes alledged of the prophets, Apoftles, and our Saviour Chrift himself, it is to be confi dered, that they had a special commiffion, and a special illumination to difcern the proper objects on which to exercise it. The whole tenour of their lives and actions demonftrated, that they fpake upon fuch occafions, as moved not by prejudice, pique, and paffion, but by a view to the glory of God, the good of men, and the necessity of the cafe. And whenever only their own private credit and intereft were concerned, they opened not their mouths, unless to bless their perfecutors.

When the crimes of men are fuch as call for a feverity of language, it may be ufed by him who is commiffioned for that purpose, upon a just cause and clear evidence, for the service of God, the maintenance of truth, the vindication of innocence, the preservation of public juftice and peace, the amendment of our neighbour himself, or the prefervation of others from contagion. And then we must be careful to obferve the measures prefcribed by truth, equity, and humanity; fpeaking no worse of a man than his actions, according to the most favourable construction of them, deserve, and the cause abfolutely requireth.

See an excellent chapter in Taylor's Worthy Communicant, on Speaking Good of our Neighbour, p. 194. See also a Sermon of Dr. Jortin.

Non amo eorum indolem, qui nec in laudibus nec in probris modum ullum fervant. Laudanda, fine invidiâ, quæ laudibus digna funt ; im-' probanda, fine malignitate, quæ a verò diffentiunt. Le Clerc Art Crit. Vol. III. p. 274.

Some Confiderations on Mr. LOCKE's Scheme of deriving Government from an Original Compact.

1. HOOKER allows, that "to fathers within their private families, nature hath given a fupreme power; for which caufe," faith he, "we fee throughout the world, even from the foundation thereof, all men have been taken as lords and lawful kings in their own houses," He also thinks it probable, with Ariftotle, that "as the chiefeft perfon in every household was always as it were a king; fo when numbers of households joined together in civil focieties, kings were the first kind of governors amongst them." The question is, how these civil governors came by their power over a number of families difperfed, as mankind increased, and independent of one another? Here is fuppofed to be a neceffity for compact to take place, in the appointment of one common head; and the chiefs of the several families are the peers between whom it is imagined to have been made, for their mutual intereft and welfare,

As mankind multiplied, they were obliged to separate and difperfe; which they did under their natural rulers the heads of families, clans, or tribes. This would fill the earth with little go vernments; and as there was land enough for them, who needed only to till the ground, and feed their flocks, thus they would continue, till quarrels arofe, and one clan fubdued others by force, and the larger governments arose by conqueft, fwallowed up the leffer into themselves, and then contended with and overthrew each other. In the Xth chapter of Genefis, we have an account of the families, clans, or leffer governments with which the earth was overfpread, by the defcendents of the fons of Noah, and at ver. 8, 9, 10, we find the kingdom or larger government of Babel arifing by means of Nimrod, a mighty one, i, e. a sub

• The fame fentiment is expreffed by Mr. Addison with his ufual accuracy and ele, gance. "The obedience of children to their parents is the bafis of all government, and is fet forth as the measure of that obedience which we owe to those whom Provin dence hath placed over us." Spect, No. 189.

duer, a conqueror, a hunter, or perfecutor and oppreffor. Soon after arose Afhur, the founder of the Affyrian monarchy, which afterwards fell into that of Babylon, and became univerfal; thence it paffed to the Perfians, Grecians, and Romans; and fo down to the 'present state of things in this world. And all this without any neceffity of fuppofing an original compact, and without any fign of fuch compact appearing in history.

Mr. Locke afferts the free confent of every individual necessary to be had in founding governments; but foon after tells us, fuch consent is "next to impossible to be had." So that, according to his own account, his hypothesis ftands on a fuppofition "next to impoffible" to be realized; indeed, we may venture to say, altogether impoffible, for the reafons he himself affigns. B. II, ch. 8.

The original compact being fuppofed to be made, each individual confents from thenceforth to be determined by the majority of the fociety. But as the majority may exceed the minority only by a single vote, confequently half the fociety may be enslaved by the other half, (that is, in fact, by the will of a single person, the cafting voter) which feems to be an infringement on liberty, to which men born free and equal might scruple to submit.

Mr. Locke fays, no man can fubmit himself to the arbitrary power of another." B. II. ch. 11. Then can he not fubmit himself to any government whatsoever: for in every government the legislature is arbitrary, and is not bound by its own laws, which it can repeal, alter, difpenfe with, deny the benefit of habeas corpus, keep a man in Newgate, take his life by act of attainder, &c.

His farther reafon (why no man can submit himself to the arbitrary power of another) is, that no man can give what he hath not, viz. a power over his own life. How then came any government poffeffed of a power of life and death? Divine right furely must come in here: what else can give to another that power over my life, which I have not in myself?

→ The author of an Effay on Crimes and Punishments, (one of the firft pieces in which the politics now prevailing in France were publifhed to the world) feeing that no government can exift without a power of life and death, fuppofes, that though one man has no power over his life, the aggregate of fociety may have it; which is the fame as to say, that though one cypher does not make a fum, a multitude cyphers may.

According to the plain state of this cafe, Gen. ix. 6. the taking away of man's life without law, is an act of rebellion agaiuit God, who is the giver of life, and made,

He farther afferteth, that abfolute fubjection to any form of government is worfe than anarchy, or a ftate of nature," as he is in a much worfe condition who is expofed to the arbitrary will of one man, who has the command of 10,000, than he who is exposed to the arbitaary 'power of 100,000 fingle men." But which is beft for the whole 100,000, that their general or king fhould now and then command or do an hard thing by one of them, or that they should all be turned loose to devour each other, a fortiori, with regard to a nation, or the whole world, which, in fuch a cafe, would be an aceldama,

He tells us, (B. II. ch. 19) that if a government become ar bitrary, it is diffolved; the people are again in a state of nature, and may again proceed to election. 1. Government may pass from one contending party to another, but its diffolution is a whim and a dream. 2. Diffolve it in England and Scotland, and fee when the individuals would agree on another form * ?

It is obfervable, that among the inftances of mal-administration which diffolve government, Mr. Locke reckons that of corrupting the reprefentatives, or their electors. "This," he fays, "is to cut up government by the roots, and poifon the very fountain of public fecurity: it is a great breach of trust, and as perfect a declaration of a defign to fubvert the government as is poffibly to be met with. To which if one fhall add rewards and punishments vifibly employed to the fame end, and all the arts of perverted law made use of to take off and destroy all that stand in the way of fuch a defign, and will not comply and confent to deftroy the liberties of their country, it will be paft doubt what is doing-and one cannot but fee, that he who has once attempted any fuch thing, cannot any longer be trufted." B. II. ch. 19. p. 338. Now had Mr. Locke's principles been univerfally received, and had the good people

man in his own image. By himfelf, therefore, power is given to every government to take away the life of man by an act of justice, in virtue of a divine law: for the fame authority which ordains the law, doth in fo doing ordain power to execute the. Jaw, without which the law is nothing; and this we call the power of the ford, This power being original in God, the Apoftle, Rom. xiii. 6. confiders the civil magistrate as the minifter of God for the execution of the divine law; and that to refift him is to refift the ordinance of God: therefore government is the ordinance of God. The argument is plain, and can never be anfwered. In the work above-men tioned, fuicide is confidered as a voluntary migration; as when a man by choice leaves his parish, and goes to feek his fortune in another!

Late events have taught us, that when the regular establishment of governa ment is deftroyed, factions arife in its ftead, who murder and plunder one another,