he fubjoins, If there be any other Commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this, Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not confumed one of another.

The Apoftle James tells the Believers, if they fulfill'd the royal Law according to the Scripture, Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thyself, ye do well.

And the Apostle Paul, giving the Romans and Galatians a Catalogue of the Fruits or Sins of the Flesh, among others he mentions Backbiting, Envy, Whispering, Malice, Emulation, &c. And he exhorts the Ephefians to put away all Bitterness, Wrath, Clamour and Evil-speaking, with all Malice; and be ye kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God for Chrift's Sake bath forgiven you.

And the Apostle Peter, dehorting Chriftians from the Breach of Charity, fpeaks after this Manner; Wherefore laying afide all Malice, Guile, Hypocrify, Envy, and all Evil-speaking, by which you will become as new-born Babes (innocent and pure) fitted to receive (or defire) the fincere Milk of the Word, and that ye may grow thereby.

And next let us obferve, how that St. Paul exalts this Love to God, and Charity (or Love) to our Neighbour, above all other Gifts and Virtues : Tho' I peak with the Tongue of Men and Angels and bave not Charity, I am become as founding Brafs, or a tinkling Cymbal. Tho' I have the Gift of Prophecy, and understand all Myfteries and Knowledge; tho' I have Faith, fo as to remove Mountains, and have not Charity, I am nothing.

And

And tho' I bestow all my Goods to feed the Poor, and tho' I give my Body to be burned, and have not Charity (if I don't give and fuffer from this Principle of Love to God and my Neighbour) it profiteth me nothing. Charity or Love fuffereth long, and is kind; Charity envieth not (the Happiness of another) Charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unfeemly, feeketh not her own (Honour or Reputation) is not easily provoked, thinketh no Evil, rejoiceth not in Iniquity, but rejoiceth in the Truth, or (when any act agreeable to the Gofpel of Christ), beareth all Things, believeth all Things, (all the Good it hears, or can have any charitable Grounds to think of others) hopeth all Things (that if our Neighbour is bad he may mend) endureth all Things (patiently) as all Things work together for Good to them that love God. This Charity never faileth; but whether there be Prophecies they fhall fail; whether there be Tongues they fhall ceafe; whether there be Knowledge it fhall vanish away. And now abideth Faith, Hope and Charity, but the greateft of thefe are Charity, as it will continue when Faith fhall end in Vifion, and Hope in Enjoyment.

And now permit me to recommend to you a ferious Perufal of thefe, as well as other Paffages of the holy Records, which were written for our Learning and Inftruction: And amongst many which I might mention, who has wrote againit the Sin of Detraction, there is one in the Collection called The Lady's Library, worth perufing, as the Arguments feem founded on Christian Principles and Doctrines, and the Reasoning obvious and convincing.

H

vincing. But fuffer me now, without Offence, to mention a Thought I have often had, when I have been reflecting on this Fault in both Sexes. As I endeavour to cherish a more charitable Opinion of Mankind, than to think any Person can delight in Evil fimply as Evil; fo I would fain hope few are of fo cruel Difpofition, as to receive a Pleasure in hearing the Errors and Mifcarriages of their Neigh bours related. And if any be guily of the fame Fault, or any other, our Brother may be charged with the Company of others in Evil, will by nó Means extenuate our Crime, or render fuch lefs culpable in the Sight of God, or lefs odious to good Men: But, on the contrary (if I may be allow'd the Expreffion) the Confederacy againft Heaven is the more ftrengthened by the Number of its Enemies, yet tho' they join Hand in Hand, they shall not go unpunished: However, I have put the Conduct of People of this Character on a more charitable and favourable Bottom; for I have confider'd, that thefe Sorts of Converfations, or rather Confpiracies, againft our Neighbour's Fame, proceed from a Defect of that folid Nourishment the Author I have before cited feems to recommend, and I have sometimes thought, that it is our Ignorance of other Matters, and better Subjects, which occafions our Neighbour's Conduct to be fo frequently the Topick of our Converfations; but I wou'd not be understood to call in Queftion the Capacities of either Sex, and wou'd only defire the Liberty of giving a Caution against the Mifapplication of your Talent or Talents.

This appears to me to be the Fault, People's employing their Faculties fo much, not only on

vain, and trifling Subjects, but frequently on pernicious and hurtful Things, fo that they have no Room nor Leifure to attend to more useful and important Subjects; and as I have faid, that tho we may not be chargeable with the fame Fault our Neighbour may be guilty of, yet the Apostle Paul tellsus, All Mankind have finned, and fallen fhort of the Favour of God; and therefore all who have not yet fincerely repented and amended their Ways, have need of Repentance and Forgiveness, But if any commit an Evil, how are Chriftians to act in fuch a Circumftance? Are we to expofe, blacken and defame our Brother, or to rejoice in his Mifcarriage? No furely; the Gofpel of Chrift and his Minifters teach other Things.

Brethren, if any be overtaken with a Fault, you that are spiritual (endeavour to) restore him; How? In the Spirit of Meekness, confidering, left thou thyself be also tempted, let his Mifcarriage excite our Compaffion towards him, and Caution towards our felves, and bear ye one another's Burthens, and fo fulfil the Law of Chrift, Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thyself; and whenever we call in Question our Neighbour's Conduct, let us remember we are first to be fpiritual ourselves, walking in all God's Commandments blameless: And agreeable to the Doctrines and Principles of Chrift, let us firft pull the Beam out of our own Eye, and then shall we fee clearly to take the Mote from our Brother's. And when we are converted, then shall we be fitted to strengthen our Brethren: Thus the royal Pfalmift petitions the Almighty, Create me a clean Heart, O God, and renew a right

Spirit within me: Then will I teach Tranfgreffors thy Ways, and Sinners fhall be converted to Thee.

I fhall now mention another particular Evil, not only as I find it greatly blam'd by others, but as it has often been Subject of Concern to me when I have obferv'd this unnatural Conduct, which relates only to the Female Part of the World, fo juftly chargeable on them: But which I would charitably hope they have not yet many of them seen, or at least reflected on the great Mischief it produces, both to themselves, and their Offspring. The Fault I mean, is Neglect of Duty, and natural Obligation to our helpless Infants, which is fo obvious at their firft Appearance in Life, when we deny them that Nourishment Nature has provided for them, and by framing fome infignificant Excufe, forfake and leave them to others.

This inhuman Treatment of our tender little Ones, I can't help thinking has its Foundation in Pride. Natural Affection to our Offspring feems blended with our Conftitution; and it appears to me we must use uncommon Violence to separate it from our Make. But behold the Effects of Pride! what Mischief is there that it is not productive of! Even a few Weeks after our tender Babe beholds the Light, left it should occafion us fome extraordinary Trouble and Care, or prevent fome little Delicacy in our Shape or Drefs, or detain us from making unedifying and impertinent Vifits, &c. we confign the poor Innocent into the Hands of a Stranger, to be fofter'd by Women, oftentimes, of favage Tempers, and vile Affections, which, fome are of Opinion, the Infant imbibes with its Milk';

tho'