5. Another kind of idle talk is that which is purposely contrived to humour idle fancies, and recreate vicious minds, and pa.s.s away men's precious time: such are abundance of love-books, romances, plays, and play-books; volumes of vanity, and hours full of studied vanity (and worse): and such is much of the talk of feigned fools and jesters: vices which I can hardly express so odious as I apprehend them.

6. Another sort is a custom of inordinate jesting: this vein or disposition is so strong in some, that when they have a list to vent a jest, they cannot hold, but out it must come whatever it cost, and be it never so frivolous and vain, Eph. v. 4.

7. Another sort is foolish talk, that hath not wit enough to make it edifying, Eph. v. 4. And among idle talkers how much of it is foolish!

How weary would it make a man to hear the talk of many babblers! How insipid is it! How sottish! Like the talk of a mad-man, or a drunken man, or a man in his sleep: it is far pleasanter not only to hear a bird chirp, but a swine grunt, than to hear much of their discourse.

See Prov. x. 14; xii. 11; xxviii. 19; 1 Pet. ii. 15; Prov. xv. 2, 14.

[Sidenote: The aggravations of it.]

_Direct._ II. Understand also the aggravations of idle words; which of them are the greatest sins, that they may be most carefully avoided.

Though all idle words are sins, yet all are not equally sinful: the worst are such as these that follow.

1. When idle words are frequent, multiplied, and made their common talk and custom: which is the case of some men, but of abundance of loquacious women; whose natural disposition inclineth them thereto.

One that hath but little wit, and much self-conceitedness, and pa.s.sion, will have a torrent of words for a drop of sense.[530] If they meet but with a person so patient and idle as to give them the hearing, they will sit a whole hour together with you, yea, many hours, to tell you first how the affairs go between them and their husbands, or children, or servants; and then talk of their cattle, house, or land; and then tell you of news, and enter into a long discourse of other men's matters, which they neither understand nor have any thing to do with: and next they talk of the weather; and then of the market, what is cheap and what is dear; and then they tell you what this body said to them, and what the other body said; and then they tell you a story of the old times, and how the world is changed, and how much better the former times were than these: then they tell you what wrong such a one did them, and what he said of them, and how bad this or that man is, and what they said or did amiss; and what the report of the country is of such and such: then they tell you what clothes such a one wears, and how fine and gallant such a one is, and who keepeth a good house, and who is n.i.g.g.ardly and sparing: then they tell you what meat was at such and such a table or feast; and if they be at meat, they have something to say about every dish, and every sort of meat or drink; especially news takes up much of their discourse.[531] And it is well if in all this, the sermon of the preacher, or his prayer, or his life, be not brought in to fill up the empty places of the discourse; and it may be the king and his council, and his laws, and his doings, shall be defiled by these parrots'

unreverend prattlings, as well as meaner things and persons: so that, as Theophrastus saith, he that would not fall into a fever, let him run from them in all the haste he can. I should rather think it would cast one into the scurvy, if weariness be so great a symptom of it as they say. He that hath nothing to do in this world, nor any thing to do for the world to come; and that hath no use for his time, or wit, or tongue, or hands, but waketh as he sleepeth, and liveth as he must lie when he is dead; he that hath neither master, work, nor wages, but thinks he is made to see leaves wag, or hear flies buzz; let him choose such a companion, and let him sit and hear such people chat.

For my part, I can easilier endure to have them call me morose, or proud, or uncivil, or any thing; nay, I had rather be digging, or ploughing, or ridding kennels, than endure the tediousness of their discourses.[532] Dionysius sent one to be put to death, for finding fault with his poetry; but called him again to try him once more; and the man rose up in the midst of his recitation, saying, Come, let me go to the gibbet, as choosing to die rather than to be so wearied. I am not so impatient; but I should be glad if I could sleep well while I am tied to such company. And if I had one to send to school that were sick of the talking evil, the _morbus loquendi_, I would give (as Isocrates required) a double pay to the schoolmaster willingly, one part for teaching him to hold his tongue, and the other half for teaching him to speak. I should think many such men and women half cured, if they were half as weary of speaking as I am of hearing them.

He that lets such t.w.a.ttling swallows build in his chimney, may look to have his pottage savour of their dung. Nay, though they may have some learning and goodness to season their discourse, their too much loquacity will make one's stomach turn against it; and the surfeit may make some queazy stomachs distaste even the more wholesome food.

Pompey was so weary of Tully's talkativeness, that he wished he had been on Caesar's side, for then he would have feared me, (saith he,) whereas now his familiarity wearieth me.

Omne supervacuum pleno de pectore manat.

2. It is an aggravation of the sin of loquacity and idle talk, when it is done in a proud, self-conceitedness of your own wit, with an unmannerly contempt of others. This is the case of abundance that have not the manners or patience to stay till another man hath done his speech. They think others so long that their list will not hold till they come to the end. Yea, many pretended learned men and disputants have this disease, that without any shame, or respect to order, or their own reputation, they are in such haste to answer, and talk themselves, that they cut off the speech of others in the midst, as if they should say, Hold your tongue, and let me speak that am wiser. And their excuse is, You are so long that I shall forget half before you come to the end. But if it be in a disputation or about great matters, it is usually much more to the advantage of the truth and hearers, to speak all that necessarily must be considered together, in a continued speech: for the parts of truth have such a dependence one upon another, like the members of a body, or the wheels of a watch, that they are not understood disjunctly, half the sense of them being respective to the other parts. Therefore to deliver it (in such cases) by fragments, and chopping of words, and frequent interruptions one of another, is to chat or contend, and not to open the truth with the clearness and gravity which it requireth. These, therefore, that accuse others of speaking too long, to excuse their uncivil interruptions, may take their answer from Augustine, _Absit ut multiloquium deputem quando necessaria dic.u.n.tur, quantalibet sermonum mult.i.tudine ars prolixitate dicantur_. The huge volumes of Augustine, Chrysostom, Suarez, Calvin, yea, Tostatus himself, are seldom accused of idle words. If you depute to each their equal share of time, a composed discourse is fitter and spareth time better, than interrupting altercations and exchange of words; and if your memory cannot hold all that is said, either take notes, or crave the help of some repet.i.tion, or answer the part which you do remember.

3. Idle talk is worst when it is about holy things, and tendeth to profane them: when men unreverently babble about the Scriptures, or controversies of religion; or when by fluent tongues men design the increase of some faction, or propagating of some error, or the setting forth their parts. Saith Hierom, (ad Nepot.) _Verba volvere et apud imperitum vulgus admirationem sui facere, indoctorum hominum est: nihil tam facile quam vilem plebem et indoctam, volubilitate linguae decipere, quae quicquid non intelligit, plus miratur_. Profane loquacity is the worst kind of loquacity.

4. Idle words are the greater sin when they are magnified and justified, and taken to be lawful, if not some excellent thing. As some unhappy scholars that spend whole days and months about some trivial, unnecessary studies, while Christ, the wisdom of G.o.d, (or the subject of divine philosophy,) is neglected:[533] he that heareth some of their supposed critical curiosities, would say with Paul, "The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise that they are vain," 1 Cor. iii. 20.

And if he compare their lives with their studies, perhaps he will remember, "They became vain in their imaginations; their foolish hearts were darkened, and professing themselves wise, they became fools," Rom. i. 21.

5. Idle words are an aggravated sin, when they are studied, and pompously set forth at great labour and cost, as a matter to be gloried in; as in plays and romances: worse than tobacco-houses where men sell smoke. The pleasure, the love, the labour, the cost, the time, the deceit, the temptation, the impenitency, are the great aggravations of this sin.

[Sidenote: The sinfulness of much idle talk.]

_Direct._ III. Understand and consider the mischief of the sin of babbling, idle talk. For the common cause of it is, that men take it to be so small a sin, that they think there is no danger in it; and therefore they fear it no more than a scratched finger.

1. (Besides the general evil mentioned t.i.t. 1. direct. i.) consider that much idle talk is a mult.i.tude of sins. Though one idle word were never so small a sin, yet when it cometh to hundreds and thousands, and is your daily, hourly custom, all set together cannot be small.

Many thousand pence is more than one shilling or pound. And your frequent custom of idle talk, may amount to a greater sinfulness, than Noah's once drunkenness, or David's once adultery, or Peter's once denying Christ. If a swearer should swear as oft, or a liar lie as oft, or a thief steal as oft as many women (and men too) speak idly, what monsters should we take them for!

2. Idle talk excludeth all the good discourse and edifying speech that should have been used all that time.[534] We have many greater uses for our tongues: you have your business to talk of, and your G.o.d, and your souls, and your duties, and your sins, and the life to come to talk of! Oh how many great and necessary things! And will you shut out all this edifying speech, by your idle chat? Will you hinder others as well as yourselves?

3. Idle talk is a sinful consumer of time: you have greater business to spend your hours in: if you saw what a world you are ready to go to, and saw how near you are to it, you would think yourselves that you had greater business than idle chat, to spend your time in. Do you know what you lose in losing all those hours?

4. Idle talk corrupts the hearers' minds, and tendeth to make them light, and vain, and empty, even as good discourse doth tend to make them good. Why do you talk to others, but to communicate your sense and affections to them by your words? And for all that many take it for a little sin, I am sure it is not a little hurt that it doth. If men were not used to be entertained with so much vain discourse, they could not tell how to keep better things from their minds or mouths; nor would their thoughts be so habituated to vanity; nor would they make such returns of idle words; whereas one vain discourse begets another, and it is a multiplying and very infectious sin.

5. As your tongues are misemployed, so your wits and minds are dishonoured by vain talk. Even good words will grow contemptible when they are too cheap and common. A fiddler at the door goes but for a rogue, though music and musicians be honoured: whoever took a talkative babbler for a wise man? He that is _logophilus_ is seldom _philologus_, much less _philosophus_.[535] As Demosthenes said to a prater, If thou knewest more, thou wouldst say less. They seldom go for men of action and virtue that talk much; they that say much, usually do little: women, and children, and old folks, are commonly the greatest talkers (I may add, mad folks). Livy noteth, that soldiers that prate and brag much, seldom fight well; and Erasmus noteth, that children that quickly learn to speak are long in learning to go. It is not the barking cur that biteth. Let it be the honour of a parrot to speak much, but of a man to speak wisely. The mobility of their tongues (an honour common to an aspen leaf) is all their honour, that can _multis verbis pauca dicere_, say a little in a great many of words; but _multa paucis_, much in few words, is the character of the wise, unless when the quality of the auditors prohibiteth it: and _qui sunt in dicendo brevissimi_, if the auditors can bear it, shall be accounted the best speakers. I am not of his mind that said, He oft repented speaking, but never repented silence. But, except they be ministers, few men have so much cause to repent of silence as of speech. _Non quam multa, sed quam bene_, must be the christian's care.

As one said of philosophy, I may much more say of religion, that though an orator's excellency appeareth only in speaking, yet the philosopher's (and the christian's) appeareth as much in silence.

6. Where there is much idle talk, there will be much sinful talk.

Prov. x. 19, "In the mult.i.tude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise." There are lies, or backbitings, or meddling with other folks' matters, or scurrilous jests, if not many such sins that go along with a course of idle talk: it is the vehicle in which the devil giveth his most poisonous draughts. Saith Lipsius, It is given to praters, _non multa tantum sed male_; to speak ill, as well as to speak much.

7. Vain words hinder your own edification. Who knoweth if you would hold your tongues, but some one would speak wiselier, that might do you good?[536]

8. And you weary the hearers (unless they are strangely patient) when you intend to please them (or else you might as well talk all that by yourself). It is scarce manners for them, unless you be much their inferiors, to tell you they are weary to hear you, and to entreat you to hold your tongues; but you little know how oft they think so: I judge of others by myself; I fly from a talkative person, as from a bed that hath fleas or lice: I would shut my doors against them, as I stop my windows against the wind and cold in winter. How glad am I when they have done, and gladder when they are gone! Make not yourselves a burden to your company or friends, by the troublesome noise of an unwearied tongue.

9. Many words are the common causers of contention. Some word or other will fall that offendeth those that hear it; or else will be carried to those that are absent, and made the occasion of heart-burnings, rehearsals, brawls, or law-suits. There is no keeping quietness, peace, and love, with talkative prattlers; at least not long.

10. Are you not sensible what pride and impudency is in it, when you think yourselves worthiest to speak? As if you should say, You are all children to me; hold your tongues, and hear me speak! If you had christian humility, and modesty, you would in honour prefer others before yourselves, Rom. xii.

10. You would think yourselves unworthiest to speak, (unless the contrary be very evident,) and desire rather to hear and learn. As Herac.l.i.tus being asked, Why he alone was silent in the company, answered, That you may talk; so when you talk above your parts, it is as if you told the company, I talk that all you may be silent.

11. It is a voluntary sin and not repented of. For you may easily forbear it if you will; and you wilfully continue in it; and therefore impenitency is your danger.

12. Lastly, consider how unprofitable a sin it is; and how little you have to hire you to commit it. What get you by it? Will you daily sin against G.o.d for nothing?

_Direct._ IV. If you would not be idle talkers, see that your hearts be taken up with something that is good; and that your tongues be acquainted with and accustomed to their proper work and duty.[537] An empty head and heart are the causes of empty, frothy, vain discourse.

Conscience may tell you when your tongues run upon vanity, that at that time there is no sense of sin or duty, or the presence of G.o.d upon your hearts; no holy love; no zeal for G.o.d: but you are asleep to G.o.d and all that is good; and in this sleep you moither and talk idly of any thing that cometh into your mind. Also you make not conscience of speaking of that which is good, or else it would keep out vanity and evil. Remember what abundance of greater matters you have to talk of! You have the evil of sin, the mult.i.tude and subtilty of temptations, and the way of resisting them, to talk of; you have your faults to lament, your evidences to inquire after, your mercies thankfully to open, the greatness and goodness, and all the attributes of G.o.d to praise; you have all the works of G.o.d to admire, even all the creatures in the world to contemplate, and all G.o.d's admirable providences and government to observe; you have the mystery of redemption, the person, and office, and life, and miracles, and sufferings, and glory, and intercession, and reign of Christ to talk of; and all the secret sanctifying operations of the Holy Ghost; and all the ordinances of G.o.d, and all the means of grace, and all our duties to G.o.d and man, and all the holy Scripture; besides death and judgment, and heaven and h.e.l.l, and the concernments of the church of G.o.d, and the case of the persons you speak to, who may need your instruction, exhortation, admonition, reproof, or comfort: and is not here work enough to employ your tongues, and keep them from idle talk?[538] Make conscience of those duties commanded, Eph. iv. 29, "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, and may minister grace to the hearers: and grieve not the holy Spirit of G.o.d." Eph. v. 18, 19, "Be not drunk with wine wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto G.o.d and the Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Pet. iv. 11, "If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of G.o.d."[539] Sinful omission of good discourse, is the cause of sinful commission of vanity. Specially when the heart itself is vain; for as a man is, so is he apt to speak. 1 John iv. 5, "They are of the world, therefore speak they of the world." Isa. x.x.xii. 6, "For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the Lord."

_Direct._ V. Walk always with G.o.d, as in his presence, and in the awe of his laws and judgment, that conscience may be kept awake and tender.[540] You will be restrained from vain talk, if you perceive that G.o.d is hearing you, and if you remember that your tongue is under a law, and that "for every idle word men shall give account, in the day of judgment," Matt. xii. 36, 37, and that by your "words you shall be justified, or condemned." If the law of G.o.d were in your hearts, Psal. xl. 8, and hidden there, Psal. cxix. 11, your heart would be fixed, Psal. lvii. 7. His word then would be the rejoicing of your heart, Psal. cxix. 111; and your tongues would then be talking of judgment, Psal. x.x.xvii. 30. A tender conscience will smart more with an idle word, than a seared, senseless conscience with an oath, or lie, or slander. For the fear of G.o.d is clean, Psal. xix. 9, and by it men depart from evil, Prov. xvi. 6. "Be thou therefore in the fear of the Lord all the day long," Prov. xxiii. 17.

_Direct._ VI. Avoid idleness, if you would avoid idle talk.[541] The drones of the commonwealth that have nothing else to do, but visit, and compliment, and prate of other men's matters, and that can have while to sit whole hours together, upon no business, are they that are most guilty of idle chat. Idle gentlemen, and beggars, and idle gossiping women, and old men that are void of the fear of G.o.d, and children that have no business to do, are they that can sit talking away their time to as little purpose, as if they had been all the time asleep. All idle persons swarm with the vermin of idle thoughts and words.

_Direct._ VII. If you would avoid idle talk, avoid idle, talkative companions: or if you cannot avoid them, answer them not, but let them talk alone, unless it be to reprehend them, or turn them to more profitable talk.[542] For when you hear vanity, it will incline you to speak vanity: and these unG.o.dly persons "speak every one vanity to his neighbour," as if their tongues were so their own, that no lord might control them, Psal. xii. 1-6. The philosopher could say, That which you would not hear, do not speak; and that which you would not speak, do not hear. Most are like parrots, that will oftest speak the words which they oftest hear. How hard is it to avoid idle talk amongst idle talkers! One vain word draws on another, and there is no end.

_Direct._ VIII. Avoid vain works, if you would avoid vain words. For a man that engageth himself in vain employment, doth lose all the words as vain, which he useth about that employment. What a life then do they live, that have an unlawful calling! When their very business and trade is sin, the adjuncts, the words about it, must be sin, and so all their lives are a continued sin. I had rather therefore be the basest drudge, than one of these men. Especially stage-players should think of this: and those that spend whole hours, yea, half-days, if not nights, in gaming, or vain and sinful sports: what abundance of idle words do they use about them! every cast of the dice, and every card they play, hath an idle word; so that a sober man would be weary and ashamed to hear them.

_Direct._ IX. Plunge not yourselves into excess of worldly business, as some do, that undertake more without necessity, than they can discharge: for such necessitate a variety of thoughts and words. And all that are spent in serving them in those their vain employments, are vain; though the work for the matter of it be not vain.

_Direct._ X. Let not a vicious mind make that seem necessary or convenient which is vain. Carnal hearts that are acquainted with no better things, think nothing vain that pleaseth their sensual inclinations, or which their carnal interest doth require. A man-pleaser thinketh civility obligeth him to observe his unnecessary visits and compliments, and to answer idle talkers, and not sit silent by them, nor contradict them: and so it must be a point of good manners to break the law of G.o.d: and as they think it uncivil not to pledge every drinker in his healths, so not to answer every t.w.a.ttler in his talk.

_Direct._ XI. Take heed of a proud, self-conceited mind, that thinks too well of your own discourse. Get but humility, and you will rather choose to hear than to speak. But when all your fancies and impertinencies seem some excellent matters to you, then you are with child till you are delivered of them, and then all must reverence and silently attend your pride and folly; or be taken as neglecters of you for disregarding it.

_Direct._ XII. Avoid pa.s.sion and pa.s.sionate companions: for pa.s.sion is talkative, and will not be checked, but resisteth the restraint of reason, and multiplieth words that are worse than vain.[543]

_Direct._ XIII. Take heed of an inordinate jesting vein:[544] for it habituateth the mind to foolish levity, and knows no bounds, and breeds idle words, as thick as putrified flesh breeds vermin: and it is the greater sin, because it is ordinary, and with a certain pleasure and pride, and glorying in vanity, and sinful levity and folly.

_Direct._ XIV. Understand particularly what service you have to do for G.o.d or men, in every company you come in, and so fit your words to the present duty and company.[545] For those words are vain and inconvenient in one company, that are necessary or convenient in another. If you be to converse with the ignorant and unG.o.dly, turn your discourse into a compa.s.sionate way of instruction or exhortation.

If with men wiser and better than yourselves, inquire and learn of them, and draw that from them which may edify you.

_Direct._ XV. Affect not an unnecessary curiosity of speech, but take those for the fittest words, which are suited to the matter, and to thy heart, and to the hearers.[546] Otherwise your speech will be studiedly and affectedly vain; and you will glory in that as elegant, which is your shame. Hypocritical words that come not from the heart, are dead and corrupt, and are but the image of true speech, as wanting that verity and significancy of the mind which is their life. Words are like laws, that are valued by the authority, and matter, and end, more than by the curiosity and elegancy; or like money, that is valued by the authority, metal, and weight, and not by the curiosity of its sculpture, imagery, or matter. All that is counterfeit, though curious, is vain.

_Direct._ XVI. Suppose you had written down the idle words of a day, (your own or any other prattlers,) and read them over all at night!

Would you not be ashamed of such a volume of vanity and confusion? Oh what a book it would be, that one should thus write from the mouth of idle talkers! What a shame would it be to human nature! It would tempt some to question, whether man be a reasonable creature, or whether all be so, at least? Remember then, that all is recorded by G.o.d and conscience; and all this hodgepodge of vanity must be reviewed and answered for.

The rest that is necessary for direction against idle words, you may find chap. v. part ii. in the government of the thoughts, and in my book of "Self-denial." In a word, (for I must not commit the fault which I am reproving,) account not a course of idle talk for a small sin. Never suffer so loose and slippery a member as your tongue to be unguarded; and never speak that, of which you dare not say, as Psal. xix. 14, "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart, be now and always acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer."

[Sidenote: Who should be most watchful here.]

But especially, above others, these persons should watch against vain words: 1. Preachers, who are doubly sanctified persons, and whose tongues being consecrated to G.o.d, must not be sacrilegiously alienated to vanity: which is worse than sacrilegious alienation of the places, or utensils, or revenues of the church. Hate it therefore more than these.

2. Ancient people, whose words should be grave and wise, and full of instruction to suppress the levity of youth; childhood and youth is vanity; but age should not be so.[547]