A  second  element  in  a  happy  and  healthy  state  of
society  is  sincerity,  and  the  mutual  confidence  which
is  given  by  it.  We  want  to  be  able  to  trust  the  circle
in  which  we  habitually  live.  We  do  not  wish  to  have
the  words  which  we  have  spoken  in  the  confidence
of  friendship  lightly  repeated  to  all  the  world,  or
what  was  whispered  in  the  ear  noised  abroad  on  the
housetop ;  we  would  not  be  gossipped  about,  or
misrepresented,  or  laughed  at.  We  do  not  wish  that,
the  moment  the  door  is  closed  upon  us,  our  char
acters,  our  fortunes,  our  behaviour  should  instantly
be  the  subject  of  discussion,  or  that  we  should  be
sacrificed  by  our  best  friends  to  some  biting  jest.
We  feel  that  such  practices,  though  not  uncommon,
are  ignoble,  and  tend  to  degrade  the  tone  of  society.
It  is  not  that  such  criticisms  or  jests  do  much  harm
to  those  who  are  the  subject  of  them  (no  man  should
trouble  himself  about  what  is  said  behind  his  back),
but  they  tend  to  injure  the  characters  of  those  who
utter  them.  I  will  not  say  that  we  should  never
speak  about  persons,  for  such  a  rule  could  not  be
observed,  and  would  exclude  the  most  interesting  of
all  topics  of  conversation.  It  is  clearly  right  that
we  should  learn  from  others  something  about  the

P  2


212  COLLEGE  SERMONS  [xn.
