We readily own a prejudice against a man if we have grounds from experience for thinking ill of him. And it is frequently necessary in the occurrences of life to form a judgment in cases where we have nothing but presumptive evidence to guide us, so that we cannot be blamed for following the best lights we have. In such cases the judgments thus formed may, however, in strictness be said to arise from prejudice or preconception, not from direct examination of the points in question. Prejudice is censurable only when it prevents the mind from proceeding to such an examination as may be in our power, and thus leads us to assent to probability or presumption, when we might have attained certainty.

'Every one,' says the celebrated Mr. Locke, 'is forward to complain of the prejudices that mislead other men, as if he were free and had none of his own. The only way to remove this great cause of ignorance and error out of the world is for every one impartially to examine himself. Prejudices imbibed from education, party, reverence, fashion, interest, &c., are the motes which every one sees in his brother's eye, but disregards the beam in his own. How few are ever brought fairly to examine their own principles, to see whether they are such as will bear the trial. But yet

this should be one of the first things every one should set about and be scrupulous in, who

would rightly conduct his mind in the search of truth, and form an impartial judgment as to his fellow-men.'

Prejudice has always exercised a great influence over the minds of men. When the Divine founder of Christianity began to preach, prejudice cried, 'Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?' and the same spirit which prompted this language has swayed the world ever since, and very often is found to be most rampant on those subjects which are of the greatest concernment to the happiness and well-being of mankind.

SOCRATES AND HIS ENEMIES; OR, THE
EFFECTS OF PREJUDICE.

Socrates, the Greek philosopher, was one of the wisest and best of men who ever lived. He spent his whole life in endeavouring to make his fellow-creatures better and happier. Yet this man was not, in spite of all his worth, treated with an impartial spirit by those who knew him.

There was a set of teachers who had great reputation and influence in Athens on account of their plausible speeches, though they had no regard for truth, and only aimed at showing off their abilities. Socrates was unsparing in his efforts to expose their errors, and save the young men from being misled by them.

He

was at the same time disliked by many other persons on account of his zeal in denouncing certain corruptions in the State, by which they profited. In short, he was too honest for his time and for the people amongst whom he lived. These men were prejudiced against Socrates, and conspired to ruin him.

His

pure life and great wisdom could not save him from the effects of their misrepresentations, and when his character had been ruined, they came openly forward, and accused him before judges of what, even had it been true, would have been no offence at all. Socrates ably defended himself, but the judges, not exercising an impartial judgment, found him guilty, and condemned him to die by drinking poison. Thus was one of the greatest sages of the world destroyed through the effects of prejudice and calumny.

ON GUARDING THE REPUTATION OF
OTHERS, AND ON SLANDER.

Good name, in man, and woman,

Is the immediate jewel of their souls:

Who steals my purse, steals trash; 'tis something, nothing; 'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands;

But he that filches from me my good name

Robs me of that which not enriches him,

And makes me poor

indeed.

When we say that a man has a good reputation or a good name, we mean that he is held

in esteem and respected as a man of integrity or goodness. A good reputation is one of the most valuable possessions, and when really deserved, should never be withheld. We should always be ready to acknowledge the merit of virtue in whomsoever found. Every good man has a natural right to a good name as the reward of his virtue.

In order to decide whether a man really deserves a good reputation, we must exercise a discreet judgment. Any man who attends to what passes within himself may easily discern what a complicated system the human character is, and what a variety of circumstances must be taken into account in order to estimate it truly. No single instance of good conduct is sufficient to determine whether a man be entitled to

a good character. As from one worthy action it were credulity to conclude a person to be free from all vice, so from one action that is censurable, it is perfectly unjust to infer that the author of it is without conscience and without merit. If we knew all the circumstances, many an action deemed wrong and censured by us might appear in an excusable light, nay, perhaps under a commendable form. And even where we suppose a man impelled by bad design, he may have sincerely repented, and the virtuous principle returned to him, and regained its full vigour. It is plain, therefore, that in forming a judgment as to the character of

others, that great care and impartiality, as well as humanity, should be exercised.

Injuring another person's character by falsehood is generally termed slander; and it is to be feared that calumny, detraction, and slander prevail in society to a much larger extent than that tender regard for a man's reputation which all men should cherish. There are many evil persons who delight in calumny. They are always ready to assert something wrong respecting others, either by alleging that actual sin has been committed, or duty disregarded. Others take a pleasure in depreciating the merits of those superior to themselves; and thus detraction accomplishes its evil work. Now, all men, unless they be past feeling, desire naturally to be thought well of by their fellow-creatures. A good character is one of the principal means of being serviceable, either to ourselves or others, and the bread we eat sometimes depends

on it. What aggravated injury, therefore, do we bring upon every man whose name we slander? And, what is worse, the injury is irreparable. If you defraud a man you can restore to him what you took, and the injury is repaired; but if you slander him, it is not in your power to shut up all the ears and all the mouths to which your tale may have access.

There are several ways in which we may slander a person. We may do it by insinuation. We may spread it in a secret, or pro