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Posthumous Works of the Rev. Ralph Wardlaw, D.D. (1861)
Posthumous Works of the Rev Ralph Wardlaw DD - 1861 Author:Ralph Wardlaw Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: LECTURE XXXVIT. Prov. xv. 1-—6. " A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but th... more »e month of fools poureth out foolishness. The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good. A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach i the spirit. A fool despiseth his father's instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent. In the house of the righteous is much treasure: but in the revenues of the wicked is trouble." In the words "a soft answer turneth away wrath," anger is supposed to have been already kindled, and to have expressed itself in terms of passionate irritation. In such circumstances, the offended pride of our nature prompts us to return an answer in the same strain,—not "soft" but high and harsh. "We wish to show, especially if others are present, that we are not afraid, and that we are not the persons to be provoked and abused with impunity!—The answer which natural feeling would thus dictate, would be one in "grievous words," adding to irritation, and further "stirring up anger"—one which would be only as fresh fuel to a burning and blazing fire, or as a fresh gust of wind on the already raging deep. In this there would be double wrong: it would be giving indulgence to an evil temper in ourselves, as well as stimulating and increasing it in others. Our incumbent duty, when so situated, is self-restraint. Such restraint, though often regarded as mean-spiritedness, and want of becoming and manly pride (accustomed as we are to give gentle names to ungentle things) is truegreatnoss of mind—true dignity. But how much soever our judgments are convinced of this, how entire soever our concurrence in the abstract sentiment, we feel how impotent ...« less