may

have wrong apprehensions-may have been misinformed-may have misunderstood his informationmay have forgotten some circumstance of the case; and hence may utter that which is not perfectly true, and yet speak with an upright heart and an honest meaning. Let it be considered, however, that in all matters of importance, of which we may have occasion to speak, a regard to truth will induce us to seek right information, and to retain the information given us. If we take up reports hastily, and communicate them confidently; if we receive doubtful matters without inquiry, and relate them with airs of assurance, we discover, at least, the want of a just reverence for truth, though perhaps our fault will not deserve the harsh ap pellation of lying.

We are not, in all cases, bound to speak the whole truth. "A fool uttereth all his mind; but a wise man keepeth it in till afterward."-"There is a time to speak, and a time to keep silence."-" And a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment." We are never to violate truth; but we may suppress it, in whole or in part, as we think proper, when the man who demands it, has no right to know it. So we may withhold our property from the man who makes an unjust requisition, though we have no right to injure his If the character or dignity of the person proposing the question, forbids our making a peremptory denial; or if the case is so circumstanced, that the refusal of an answer would be a discovery of the secret, we may in. nocently withhold the most material part of the business, and express only so much as to amuse and divert the inquirer. When Samuel was commanded of God to go to Bethlehem, and anoint one of the sons of Jesse, to be king over Israel instead of Saul; the prophet inquired, "How can I go? If Saul hear it, he will kill me." God answered him, "take an heifer with thee, and say I am come to offer sacrifice." Samuel, though he speaks only the truth, yet conceals the main

object of his journey, which Saul had no right to know; for by his wickedness, he had forfeited his throne. The prophet Jeremiah had been thrown into a dungeon by the order of king Zedekiah, and by the malicious influence of the princes of Judah. He is afterward admitted to a private conference with the king, in which he instructs the king what ought to be done in the present critical state of the nation. The king well knew that if the princes should discover the subject of his conversation with the prophet, his own per son would be in danger. At parting, therefore, he charges Jeremiah to conceal it from them; and, if examined, to say, "I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to the house of Jonathan to die there."-" And when the princes came, he told them according to these words, and the matter was not perceived." This, doubtless, was a part of the conversation; the rest it was dangerous to reveal, and the princes had no right to demand it; the prophet, therefore, did well to withhold it.

Farther: There are certain figures, common to all languages, which express things differently from the literal truth, but yet are innocent, because, being well understood, they convey no wrong ideas. We often use a certain number for an uncertain. Jacob says of Laban, "He hath changed my wages ten times. By an hyperbole, we sometimes exceed the literal truth. David says, "I make my bed to swim with tears." There is also an ironical way of speaking, in which the contrary is intended to that which is literally expressed. Elijah says to the prophets of Baal, "Cry aloud, for he is a god"-i. e. ye call him a god, though we know him to be vanity and a lie. The prophet Micaiah says to king Ahab, "Go up against Ramoth Gilead and prosper, for the Lord will deliver it into thine hands;" though he well knew that the king would there be defeated and slain. But here was no deception. The king understood him perfectly. His plain,

obvious meaning was this, "You depend on the lying predictions of your false prophets, who promise you success in this favorite expedition: It is vain for me to contradict them; for you will not believe me. Go and try the issue: See whether God will prosper you

or not.

But though such figures are innocent, when they are introduced with propriety, yet care should be taken, that they are never used in such a time or manner, as to be the occasions of deception. In stating this matter, let it be again observed,

A man may, in some cases, be guilty of lying, though he speaks no more than what is strictly and literally true. If, for instance, he expresses the truth with an air of irony, so that the hearers will naturally suppose he means the contrary; or if he divulges a truth, which he was previously bound to conceal; or if he affirms that, which he really thinks to be false, though it should ultimately be verified in fact; in such cases he is manifestly chargeable with a criminal prevarication. Having stated the nature of lying, we proceed,

2. To mention some particular cases, in which men are guilty of it.

Now the grossest kind of lying is perjury, or speaking a known falsehood under the awful solemnity of an oath. This is a degree of wickedness, to which few will venture, until they have been accustomed to the lower kinds of profanity and falsehood. The crime is greater in proportion to the magnitude and importance of the case in which it is admitted. Perjury in itself is a horrible crime, as it is a contempt of God's power and justice, and a trampling on the sacredness of truth; but when it is so used as to endanger the property liberty, reputation, or life of a fellow citizen, its criminality is horribly augmented. It is then a shocking complication of falsehood, impiety, unrighteousness and cruelty,

· Men violate truth, when they affix to words an arbitrary meaning, or make, in their own minds, certain secret reservations, with a design to disguise facts, and deceive the hearers. It is custom only that gives words and signs their currency. They have just so much value, as the authority of common usage has stamped upon them. And he who attempts to deceive another by departing from the usual signification of words, is just as guilty, as if he had used any other words with the same deceitful intention.

When we express doubtful matters in terms, and with an air of assurance, we may materially injure as well as grossly deceive our neighbor. We never ought to report for certain the things which we have received only from vulgar fame-from a strangerfrom men of doubtful veracity-from those, who, though otherwise of good character, yet, in that case, are known to be under a violent prejudice. Of matters thus circumstanced we should speak doubtfully, or state our authority, or, which is usually better than either, say nothing at all.

Men are guilty of wanton and malicious falsehood, when they repeat, with romantic additions, and fictitious embellishments, the stories which they have heard of a neighbor, that thus they may excite against him the severer ridicule, or cast on his character a darker stain, or turn to merriment his godly actions, or his innocent peculiarities. If no more than the gratification of a vein of humor is intended, the fiction is far less criminal. But even here there is guilt and danger; there is a departure from that simplicity, which ought to guide our conversation; and mischief may ensue, of which we are not aware; an innocent neighbor may be materially injured; and a habit acquired in smaller matters may lead to grosser violations of truth.

Men may utter a falsehood by, the tone of their voice, while their words are literally true. Language is imperfect; we have not a distinct word for every

though; we express much by our emphasis and air. You think, perhaps, that you keep near enough to truth, if you repeat the words, which you heard from another; but you may as effectually belie him by a different manner of speaking, as by different sentences. There are those who make, as well as speak a lie.

Having mentioned some of the ways, in which mea violate truth, we will,

3. Consider several distinct cases, in which we are bound to speak truth with our neighbor.

We must preserve truth in our common and familiar conversation. This is chiefly intended in the text. Precepts similar to this often occur in the sacred writings. "Lie not one to another, seeing ye have put off the old man with his deeds."-" Whatsoever things are true, think on these things."-" He who shall enter into God's holy hill, is one who speaketh the truth in his heart." When friends and neighbors sit in the social circle, the conversation will often turn upon matters which seem to be of little consequence; But whatever may be the subject, their speech should be with grace, seasoned with salt; their conversation should be with simplicity and sincerity: However indifferent the subject may be, a habit of trifling with truth cannot be indifferent. Things which appear small in themselves, may be great in their effects. Trivial misrepresentations, jocular falsehoods and fictitious news, may painfully disquiet honest minds, and incurably break the peace of neighborhoods.

"

We must speak truth in our commerce with one another. The Apostle says, "Let no man go beyond, or defraud his brother in any matter." The prophet mentions this as an evidence of the prodigious corruption of the Jewish nation, that they bent their tongues, like their bows, for lies"-that " every broth er would utterly supplant, and they would deceive every one his neighbor"-" that they had taught their tongues to speak lies, and wearied themselves to com