Precept and Practice – SEPTEMBER 4 – Slander

In St. James’s day, as now, it would appear that there were idle men and idle women, who went about from house to house dropping slander as they went, and yet you could not take up that slander and detect the falsehood there.   You could not evaporate the truth in the slow process of the crucible, and then show the residuum of falsehood glittering and visible.   You could not fasten upon any word or sentence, and say that it was calumny;  for in order to constitute slander it is not necessary that the word spoken should be false-half truths are often more calumnious than whole falsehoods.   It is not even necessary that a word should be distinctly uttered;  a dropped lip, an arched eyebrow, a shrugged shoulder, a significant look, an incredulous expression of countenance, nay, even an emphatic silence may do the work;  and when the light and trifling thing which has done the mischief has fluttered off, the venom is left behind, to work and rankle, to inflame hearts, to fever human existence, and to poison human society at the fountain springs of life.   Very emphatically was it said by one whose whole being had smarted under such affliction,

“Adder’s poison is under their lips.”

(The Reverend F. W. Robertson)

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From the Introduction to Precept and Practice

The kindly welcome given to my other little books, ‘Being and Doing’ and ‘Character and Conduct,’ must be my excuse for adding another collection of extracts to the number now in circulation.

The quotations are gathered from the books of many earnest thinkers, and deal with Life in all its length and breadth, with ourselves, our characters, our plain unvarnished faults and weaknesses, our often untoward circumstances, and with all that drags us down;-  with our purposes, our religion, our love and friendships, and with all that uplifts us;-  with our relation to others, our influence and responsibilities, and finally with those stages of our journey which bring us to the Road’s Last Turn and to the Silent Land.

CONSTANCE  M. WHISHAW