T"er. 19.-Golden silence. I. THE SINFUL CHARACTER OF MUCH ORDINARY CON• VERSATION SHOULD Th'DUCE GREAT 0AUTION IN SPEECH. It is a. grave charge to bring against the tone of general society to say that "in the multitude of words there wanteth not sin." But is it not as true now as it was in the days of Solomon? "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh;" but "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked," and therefore, so long as human nature is corrupt, conversation will be corrupt also, If the well is poisoned, the less water we draw from it the better. In particular two or three bad features of common conversation may be observed, viz.: 1. Untruthfulness. There is probably a little more conscious lying even in society that professes to follow the code of honour than its members would care t.o admit. But untruthfulness may appear in a more disguised form. There is the equivocation that some people practise so skilfully-blinding their own conscience while throwing dust into the eyes of other people. The tendency to exaggeration for the sake of dramatic effect is very common. 'l'he falsification by means of caricature, which is dishonest because it is not confessedly caricature, is another source of deceit. But hasty speech may fall into unconscious errors; and then, though the sin of lying is not committed, harm is done by the spread of reports that are not true. 2. Unkindness. How much of the gossip of the parlour is made up of the criticism of one's neighbours -at least in some circles of society! No ill feeling may be felt, but cruel injustice is done when a man's actions are discussed and his motives dissected on very insufficient evidence, in the absence of the accused, by a small coterie of persons whom he trusts as frienili. But if "love covereth all sins," it is uncharitable t.o make evc,n the proved offences of our neigh hours the topic of idle conversation. 3. Unholiness. When no impure words are spoken, conversation may be more dangerously defiled by innuendo. The obscene word is disgusting in its coarseness, but the skilful equivoque, supposed to be more :fit for ears polite, carries its poison to an unsuspecting imagimi.tion. When nothinu directly immoral is suggested, how much conversation would come under the catego;'y of what our Lord calls "idle words"? Such words are very different from genuine criticisms, or even from light banter, which may not be idle, but useful as mental refreshment. JI. THE DANGEROUS INFLUENCE OF SPEECH CONFIRMS THE WISDOM OF SILENCE. 1. Speech is remembered. 'l'he word once out cannot be recalled. It remains to rankle in the wounded breast or to stain permanently the imagination of the hearer. What is said in the heat of passion will be remembered against us io the coolness of vindictive spite. The unseeml_y joke of a fri~olous m~ment, may perpetually hau?t th_e ~acred subject it tampers with. 2. Speech is suggestive. '!he utterance may be little III itself, but it starts a. Ion" train of associations. One unkindly word will suggest a whole realm of ungenerois thoughts. A single unholy phrase may bring to view a whole theatre of unclean images. The word is but a. spark; yet it may kindle a. great fire (Jas. iii. 5). 'fhe most hasty speech may cut deepest, like the swiftest sword-thrust. l]l. !N MANY SPECIAL CIIlCUMSTANCEB SILENCE IS PECULIARLY DESIIlABLE. 1. In 9-uarrelsome 60ciety. When we know that our words will only fall like firebrands in a powder-magazine, the less said the better. If we cannot persuade a perHon to maintain friendly intercourse with us, we had better have no !ntercourse with him. 2. In unsympathetic society. It is foolish to cast pearls before swme. We must beware of the pharisaical use that pride will make of this maxim, leading us to preserve a. err. x. 1-33.J THE PROVERBS. 20.:;
eilence of contempt. But in all humility and charity we may refrain from speaking where we shnll only be misunderstood. If our hearer cannot receive the ideas of our speech, we only waste time in giving him the words-probably we do worse, and lca,l him into delusions through the wrong constructiorl that be will put on our Janglla~e. 3. Jn degraded society. When to enter into conversation will only stir up the mud that lies at the bottom of the now stagnant pool, we had better be quiet. In general a few well-weighed words have more force than many hasty, thoughtless utterances. We do not all possess the gift of laconic terseness. But we can at least set a guard on our speech, and when called to speak seek Divine grace that our words may be "seasoned with salt."