Hunchback sees not his own hump, but he sees his neighbor's
Charles Spurgeon · John Ploughman's Pictures; or, More of His Plain Talk for Plain People
HUMP, BUT HE SEES HIS
NEIGHBOR'S.
HE points at the man in front of him,
but he is a good deal more of a
guy himself He should not laugh at the
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20 JOHN PLOUGHMAN'S PICTURES.
crooked until he is straight himself, and
not then. I hate to hear a raven croak at
a crow for being black. A blind man
should not blame his brother for squinting,
and he who has lost his legs should not
sneer at the lame. Yet so it is, the rotten-
est bough cracks first, and he who should
be the last to speak is the first to rail. Be-
spattered hogs bespatter others, and he who
is full of fault finds fault. They are most
apt to speak ill of others who do most ill
themselves.
"We're very keen our neighbor's hump to see,
We're blind to that upon our back alone;
E'en though the lump far greater be,
It still remains to us unknown."
It does us much hurt to judge our neigh-
bors, because it flatters our conceit, and our
pride grows quite fast enough without feed-
ing. We accuse others to excuse ourselves.
We are such fools as to dream that we are
better because others are worse, and we
talk as if we could get up by pulling others
down. What is the good of spying holes
in people's coats when we can't mend
them? Talk of my debts if you mean to
pay them ; if not, keep your red rag be-
ONE HUXCHBA CK LA UGHS AT A NO THER. 2 1
hind your ivory ridge. A friend's faults
should not be advertised, and even, a
stranger's should not be published. He
who brays at an ass is an ass himself,
and he who makes a fool of another is a
fool himself Don't get into the habit of
laughing at people, for the old saying is,
" Hanging's stretching and mocking's
catching."
Some must have their joke whoever they poke ;
For the sake of fun mischief is done,
And to air their wit full many they hit.
Jesting is too apt to turn intojeering, and
what was meant to tickle makes a wound.
It is a pity when my mirth is another man's
misery. Before a man cracks a joke he
should consider how he would like it him-
self, for many who give rough blows have
very thin skins. Give only what you
would be willing to take : some men
throw salt on others, but they smart if a
pinch of it falls on their own raw places.
When they get a Roland for their Oliver,
or a tit for their tat, they don't like it ; yet
nothing is more just. Biters deserve to be
bitten.
22 JOHN PLOUGHMAN'S PICTURES.
We may chide a friend, and so prove our
friendship, but it must be done very dain-
tily, or we may lose our friend for our
pains. Before we rebuke another we must
consider, and take heed that we are not guilty
of the same thing, for he who cleanses a
blot with inky fingers makes it worse. To
despise others is a worse fault than any we
are likely to see in them, and to make
merry over their weaknesses shows our
own weakness and our own malice too.
Wit should be a shield for defence, and not
a sword for offence. A mocking word cuts
worse than a scythe, and the wound is
harder to heal. A blow is much sooner
forgotten than a jeer. Mocking is shock-
ing. Our minister says " to laugh at in-
firmity or deformity is an enormity." He
is a man who ought to know a thing or two,
and he puts a matter as pat as butter.
" Who ridicules his neighbor's frailty
Scoffs at his own in more or less degree :
Much wiser he who others' lets alone,
And tries his hardest to correct his own."