yet done inordinately, and with appearance of evil.

_Sect._ 6. 11th. The scandal not to be cared for is only in necessary
things, such as the hearing of the word, prayer, &c., from which we may
not abstain, though all the world should be offended at us. In these, I
say, and these only, _scandalum quod oritur ex rebus per se bonis et
necessariis, non licet evitare, &c., at rerum legitimarum sed non
necessariarum dispar est ratio, &c.,_ saith a great Formalist.(360)

12th. We ought, for the scandal of the malicious, to abstain from all
things from which we ought to abstain for the scandal of the weak; for we
ought not to abstain from necessary things for the scandal of the weak, no
more than for the scandal of the malicious, and from things that are not
necessary, we ought to abstain for the scandal of the malicious as well as
for the scandal of the weak. So that weakness and malice in the offended
_non variant speciem scandali_, but only _gradum ejusdem speciei_. Both
his fault who is offended through malice, is greater than his fault who is
offended through weakness, and likewise his fault who offends the weak in
the faith, is greater than his fault who offends those who are malicious
against the faith, because as we ought to do good to all men, so chiefly
to those of the household of faith. Nevertheless, the kind of scandal
remains the same, whether we have to do with the malicious or the weak.

They are, therefore, greatly mistaken, who conclude from Paul's not
circumcising of Titus, Gal. ii. 4, 5, that he cared not for the scandal of
the malicious. The argument were good if those false brethren had been
scandalised by his not circumcising of Titus; but they were only
displeased hereby, not scandalised. The Apostle saw that they were to be
scandalised by his circumcising of Titus; therefore, of very purpose, he
circumcised him not, because he foresaw _statim fore ut illi traherent in
calumniam_, saith Calvin.(361) _Ne eo circumciso gloriarentur evangelicam
libertatem quam Paulus praedicabat sublatam_, saith Bullinger.(362) If
they had compelled him to circumcise Titus, _falsis fratribus parata erat
calumniandi ansa adversus Paulum_, saith Pareus,(363) who also inferreth
well from this place, that we are taught to beware of two extremes, to
wit, the scandal of the weak on the one part, and the pervicacy of false
brethren on the other part: _Si enim_, saith he, _usu rerum mediarum
videmus, vel illos offendi, hoc est, i