There are those that are not only vicious themselves, but spiteful and
mischievous to others, and they are the worst of men; two sorts of such
are here described:--1. Such as envy a man the honour of his good name,
and do all they can to blast that by calumnies and misrepresentations:
They dig up evil; they take a great deal of pains to find out something
or other on which to ground a slander, or which may give some colour to
it. If none appear above ground, rather than want it they will dig for
it, by diving into what is secret, or looking a great way back, or by
evil suspicions and surmises, and forced innuendos. In the lips of a
slanderer and backbiter there is as a fire, not only to brand his
neighbour's reputation, to smoke and sully it, but as a burning fire to
consume it. And how great a matter does a little of this fire kindle,
and how hardly is it extinguished! James iii. 5, 6. 2. Such as envy a
man the comfort of his friendship, and do all they can to break that,
by suggesting that on both sides which will set those at variance that
are most nearly related and have been long intimate, or at least cool
and alienate their affections one from another: A froward man, that
cannot find in his heart to love any body but himself, is vexed to see
others live in love, and therefore makes it is his business to sow
strife, by giving men base characters one of another, telling lies, and
carrying ill-natured stories between chief friends, so as to separate
them one from another, and make them angry at or at least suspicious of
one another. Those are bad men, and bad women too, that do such ill
offices; they are doing the devil's work, and his will their wages be.