The mouth which praises and adores Thee, O Thou Most Holy One! the mouth which sighs to Thee for help in the day of tribulation, must not contaminate itself either by unclean discourse, by words of malicious mockery, calumny, hatred, or uncharitable judgment on the weaknesses of our fellow-men. O Most Holy Being, let me be holy, not only in my sentiments, thoughts, and wishes, but also in my speech.

Let truth, love, and prudence, guide my words, as well in hours of joy as in those of sorrow; that at all times they may fall from my lips in charity; influence the hearts of others beneficially; and awaken happiness, contentment, and hilarity, in the breasts of those who live with me in more or less intimate connexion.

XX.

CONSCIENTIOUSNESS.

MATTHEW v. 37.

"But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil."

WHAT is Conscientiousness? The same word is often used for very different things, and understood and interpreted by men in various ways. A right definition, or a precise verbal representation of an idea, is a great assistance to the understanding of it. And he thinks most distinctly, who knows most accurately, with regard to every expression, what idea he should attach to it.

We sometimes call a man conscientious, who is embarrassed about trifling, even indifferent things -and at a loss to know whether he should do them, or omit them. But painful scruples frequently arise out of a natural irresolution of mind, and cannot be the genuine fruit of that Christian virtue which deserves the name of conscientiousness. We call, also, that man conscientious, who, for fear of the punishments of Hell, commits no crime; and who,

if through error, and against his will, he should be guilty of a failing, becomes disconsolate and torments himself with anxiety and reproaches. But what must that virtue be, which cannot exist without the fear of judgment and future punishment, and which can furnish no consolation to the penitent mind?

What is conscientiousness? It is the having of a conscience, which shows itself active in every part of our conduct. Hence, also, we denominate the vice which is immediately opposed to that virtue, unconscientiousness. And what is conscience? It is the recognition of right and wrong in our thoughts, words and works.

In order clearly to recognize right and wrong, a proper cultivation of the understanding must precede-without which, the insight into either will be defective. The more the spirit advances to maturity, the more clear are its convictions of truth and falsehood, of good and evil. The faculty of discriminating good from evil exists, however, in every human being. The voice of conscience is heard among all nations-even among those who have never heard the voice of Jesus. For they "show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another." (ROM. ii. 15.)

The more distinct the discernment between the allowed and the unallowed, the more keenly and decidedly speaks the conscience. Christians, therefore, who have received the purest instruction from their Lord and Master, should have a conscience tenderly alive to every trespass against the divine will. Where we find a quick and fine perception of what is best-there is already a considerable spiritual advancement. But discrimination of itself is not enough: the spirit must have power to render it practical and lively. The laws of conscience, that is, the convictions of true and false, of good and bad, are the universal laws of the spiritual world. Whoever is subject to them, obeys not a strange law, but his own-he is conscientious. Thus is conscientiousness nothing else than fidelity to our inward convictions. The conscientious man is faithful to himself, and does not abandon that which he holds to be right and good.

This virtue-the most unequivocal token of a godly mind-discovers itself in every thought, in every word, in every deed. Yet the Omniscient alone perceives the thought-man hears from man only his word-sees only his action, and judges him according to their character. Hence, in common life, we call him conscientious who never acts in opposition to his better convictions. But his

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convictions we know only, in the first place, by his words. Thus, whoever gives his word and remains true to it; whoever, for all the world could offer, would not venture to break an engagement into which he had entered; whoever would not violate, even in apparently innocent matters, an oath which he had once taken :-him we designate as a conscientious man. He is true to himself and his convictions and his words. He would not be at peace with himself if he once committed acts which stood in opposition to his inward law.

Thus it will now be easy for us to determine who deserves the name of an unconscientious man. There is no mortal, indeed, without conscience,without a sense of right and wrong:-conscience can never be annihilated-it continues firmly fixed even in the breast of the most profligate miscreant. But its voice is too often drowned by the importunity of sensual feelings. The sensual man who desires none but corporeal enjoyments, acts not according to his convictions, but according to interest or inclination. There is a perpetual contradiction between what he holds to be right, and what he does. He is not true to himself-still less to other men. For a temporal advantage he sacrifices his oath and his word; he sacrifices friend and stranger, innocence and honour; and selfishly laughs at the astonishment of those who cannot