le talent, and very serviceable to their
party? so that slander seemeth to have lost its nature and not to
be now an odious sin, but a fashionable humor, a way of pleasing
entertainment, a fine knack, or curious feat of policy; so that no
man at least taketh himself or others to be accountable for what is
said in this way? Is not, in fine, the case become such, that
whoever hath in him any love of truth, any sense of justice or
honesty, any spark of charity towards his brethren, shall hardly be
able to satisfy himself in the conversations he meeteth; but will be
tempted, with the holy prophet, to wish himself sequestered from
society, and cast into solitude; repeating those words of his, "Oh,
that I had in the wilderness a lodging-place of wayfaring men, that
I might leave my people, and go from them: for they are ... an
assembly of treacherous men, and they bend their tongues like their
bow for lies"? This he wished in an age so resembling ours, that I
fear the description with equal patness may suit both: "Take ye
heed" (said he then, and may we not advise the like now?) "every one
of his neighbor, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother
will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will walk with
slanders. They will deceive every one his neighbor, and will not
speak the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak lies, and
weary themselves to commit iniquity."

Such being the state of things, obvious to experience, no discourse
may seem more needful, or more useful, than that which serveth to
correct or check this practice: which I shall endeavor to do (1) by
describing the nature, (2) by declaring the folly of it: or showing
it to be very true which the wise man here asserteth, "He that
uttereth slander is a fool." Which particulars I hope so to
prosecute, that any man shall be able easily to discern, and ready
heartily to detest this practice.

1. For explication of its nature, we may describe slander to be the
uttering false (or equivalent to false, morally false) speech
against our neighbor, in prejudice to his fame, his safety, his
welfare, or concernment in any kind, out of malignity, vanity,
rashness, ill-nature, or bad design. That which is in Holy
Scripture forbidden and reproved under several names and notions:
of bearing false witness, false accusation, railing censure,
sycophantry, talebearing, whispering, backbiting, supplanting,
taking up reproach: which terms some of them do signify