Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1900-05-09
THE VICE OF GOSSIP.
SOME PLAIN WORDS BY A BAN
COR CLERGYMAN.
THE EVIL OF TALE BEARrNG--GossIP
IN IT'S MOST ATTRACTIVE AND IT'S
UGLIEsT FORMS.

Rev. 8. G. Beach, pastor Of the Unitarian
church at Bangor, recently delivered an
able and interesting sermon on the sub.
ject Of "Gossip". He said:
Titus IlI:2-''Speak evil OF no one"
These words are from what purports to
DO letter Of Paul to . young disciple, q
letter which resembles modern charge
to minister at his ordination.
Titus, the young disciple, 10 departing
for Crete, and the entire passage from
which the text IL taken. reads a. follows
"Put them In mind to submit themselves to
governments, to authorities. to obey magis.
ustes, to be ready for every good work, to
speak evil of no one, TO be averse to all strife.
forbearing. showing all meckness to all men,
Here is en important list OF precepts for
the regulation OF an infant Christian COM
munity, as yet only half converted from
heathenism. The Cretsns, with reference
to whom this epistle was written, inhabit
an island In the Mediterranean sea. They
have never been more than half civilized.
In the days Of the apostles they were
mostly . most Of pirates. In this epistle
to Titus we read that the saying: 1.-The
Cretans are always liars" which appears
to have become 4 proverb, twas = true
witness, spoken by one OF themselves,
even prophet OF their own"
Wherefore" says the epistie, "rebuke
them SHARPLY, that they may be sound in
faith"
There would seem to have been occa-
sious for some severity OF reproof. In
sch community even the most element
Hry Rdmonitions would have been de-
nhsnded. There must have been much
occasion TO insist upon obedience to law
tut authority, to exbort to good works
there Is cverywbere-and to teach the
b I'd lesson of bearing and torbesring.
But the injunction ito speak no evil
of any one'', touched the weak place In
I Cretan character. They were no.
t1ricus for their untrathfniness. Every
nation or people seems to have some vir-
tue and some vice in which they are
pre-eminent What the virtue OF the
cretans may have been we are not told,
but their vice was uutrutbfllness. No
doubt a large part OF this utruthfuiness
consisted in speaking evil of'one another.
When people Tie, they generally lie.about
somebody. There is not so much OF this
kind Of evil speaking, probably ,'iamoug
US, as there WAS in Crete. We are not
Cretaus in our morals. In the main, we
are atruth-ioving, trul h speak ng people.
No one can read tue description OF Chris
tisn communities rs gwen IA he new
testament without seeing that the stream
OF Christian lie has rlsen higher rs we'll
rs spread more widely since 1t passed the
shores OF Crete, aud Coriutb, snd Gaiatia.
lam not ~ simple ny 10 suppose that
the vice OF lying is unknosn even.in the
land OF the Puruans. Tnrre ure some
ancient arts that appear to have been lost,
but this Is not one OF them. 1t is not
performance " hich requires great Rbili-
ties, and in every generation there are
born muititudes whose genius and in
clination seem to lie that way.
But i have faith To believe that the
preaching aud practice OF Christianity
during $500 years have done some, hing to
restrain this vicious tendency. Suppose
you were TO drop into some ueig boring
church OF any sect, and hear the preacher
from the pulpit address such admonitions
to his flock as Paul wrote to the Coiossians
(3:9): "My brethren, lie not one to an
other" OF to the Ephesians (i:25l !:
Wherefore putting away. lying speak
every man truth to his neighbour" hat
would you think about the morals OF his
congregation! | think you would be apt
to wonder a little il you were really in a
Christian community, not to say Chris
tian church. Let US thank God for the
gospel OF Christ and what it has done for
US.
Eighteen hundred years of Christianity
have not made lying impossible even In
Christian communities; but they have
made the vice an exception instead OF
rule. They have made lying SO contempt
ibie that none but the meanest OF man
kind will resort to 1t. There Is scarcely
anything so humiiiating 10 person of
sensibility as to have his word disputed.
You cannot turn a civilized man into
savage any quicker than by telling him he
lies. This is considered the bigh hest prov
ocation (which one person can give an
other. A man of honor would as soon be
accused OF robbing bank as OF telling
lie. The common phrase "On the honor
of "a 'gentieman," means that whatever
else IL gentleman may do he lcannot lie.
A man whose word cannot be depended
upon has ceased to be gentleman; he
has become an object Of contempt. Per-
haps it would be higher aud more
Christian sentiment to look upon him
with pity. The old distinction between
loving the sinner and hating his sin is
one which we must always try to make In
some manner. We separate the insane
from their insanity, the drunkard from
his habit, and SO we must not confound
in our feelings the untruthful man with
his vice. For him We must have what
charity we can. For him we must pro-