The weekly Lancaster gazette. (Lancaster, Ohio) 1852-1855, 1854-12-14
Vices of Go,sipine and sa,casam.

Tho habit Of gossiping, is habit that de-
grades alike the intellect d. the heart The
soul ofgossip is a con.enPible vanity that
imagines itself, or at least would have 9th
ers imagine it, superior to all that it finds Of
evil and absurdiiy iE the character of those
whom it passes in review A very little
observation will serve to show anv one
that every body sees his ncighbOts' faults,
while very few open their eyes upon their
cwnj and that not unfrequently person
condemns with the utmost vehemence in
others precisely tho same follies and vices
in which he himself habitually indulges.-
Those who study theirown characters with
most care, and who best understand them
selves. are apt to say least of the charac-
ters OF their neighbors; they find too much
to do within themselves in curing their
own defects, to have time or inclination to
sit in judgment upon the defects of others.
il is impossible to Indulge babitually in
this vice without weakening the powers of
the intellect. The heart never suffers a.
lone from che indulgence Of any wrong pas
sions. The intellect and the affections ev-
er sink as well as rise together Where
the love of gossip becomes a confirmed
Aabit, the mind loses its power Of accurate
ly approaching the value of charac;er-of
Distinguishing truly between the good and
bad. The power Of discrimination is
weakened and impaired, SO that no conf
dence can be placed in the opinions of the
mind in relation to character or life. In
addition to this, we must bear in mind THAT
all the mental power we bestow in CRITICS.
ing and ridieuling our fellow -beisgsis Just
so much taken from our mental strength,
which we might have applied to some use
full, intellectual exercise. The strength Of
the mind is no more indefinite than that
of the body. We have but certain lin
tied amount; and all that we apply TO Idle
or bad purposes is just SO much abs.rabted
from the good and the useful.
Sarcasm is a weapon we are almost sure
to find constantly used by the gossip; and
whether it be shown in the coarse ridicule
of the vulgar, or the keen satire of the re-
fined, itsprings ever from the same source,
and is directed TO the same end; as surely
as the clumsy War-club OF savage lands
was invented from the same impulse and
wrought with the same intepta as the grace
ful blade Of Damascus. rce is van
ity, its end to mako q great BIZ
making others setm little. 1t is weapon
that, however skillfully 1nAed, always
cuts both Ways, woundihg iaf more deeply
the hahd that graspsit than the victim it
strikes. Ofall the powers of wit, sarcasm
is the lowest. There is nothing easi
than ridicule; nothing requiring weak
head, or a colder heart.
% The sincere lover oftruth viii never be
found habitually indulging either in gossip
or sarcasm; for those who are addicted to
those vices never tell story simply as they
heard it, never relate fact simply as il
happened. A little is added hero or left
out there togive the story more enter
tanning turn or the satire a kecner point
As the habit grows strenger, invention be-
comes moro ready and copious, till at
length truth is covered up and lost under
an accumulation Of fiction.