ch by our accusers is
especially thrown into our teeth, I shall bring these observations to a
close.

St. Alfonso Liguori, then, it cannot be denied, lays down that an
equivocation, (that is, a play upon words, in which one sense is taken
by the speaker, and another sense intended by him for the hearer,) is
allowable, if there is a just cause, that is, in an extraordinary case,
and may even be confirmed by an oath. I shall give my opinion on this
point as plainly as any Protestant can wish; and therefore I avow at
once that in this department of morality, much as I admire the high
points of the Italian character, I like the English rule of conduct
better; but, in saying so, I am not, as will shortly be seen, saying any
thing disrespectful to St. Alfonso, who was a lover of truth, and whose
intercession I trust I shall not lose, though, on the matter under
consideration, I follow other guidance in preference to his.

Now I make this remark first:--great English authors, Jeremy Taylor,
Milton, Paley, Johnson, men of very different schools of thought,
distinctly say, that under certain extraordinary circumstances it is
allowable to tell a lie. Taylor says: "To tell a lie for charity, to
save a man's life, the life of a friend, of a husband, of a prince, of a
useful and a public person, hath not only been done at all times, but
commended by great and wise and good men. Who would not save his
father's life, at the charge of a harmless lie, from persecutors or
tyrants?" Again, Milton says: "What man in his senses would deny, that
there are those whom we have the best grounds for considering that we
ought to deceive,--as boys, madmen, the sick, the intoxicated, enemies,
men in error, thieves? I would ask, by which of the commandments is a
lie forbidden? You will say, by the ninth. If then my lie does not
injure my neighbour, certainly it is not forbidden by this commandment."
Paley says: "There are falsehoods, which are not lies, that is, which
are not criminal." Johnson: "The general rule is, that truth should
never be violated; there must, however, be some exceptions. If, for
instance, a murderer should ask you which way a man is gone."

Now, I am not using these instances as an _argumentum ad hominem_; but
the purpose to which I put them is this:--

1. First, I have set down the distinct statements of Taylor, Milton,
Paley, and Johnson:--now, would any one give ever so little weight to
these statements, in forming a rea