Heathen honesty

Now, in being almost a Christian, heathen honesty is implied first. No one, I suppose, will question this. By heathen honesty here I do not mean only what is recommended in the writings of their philosophers. I mean such honesty as the common heathens expected of one another, and such as many of them actually practiced.

By the rules of this honesty they were taught that they ought not to be unjust. They ought not to take away their neighbor's goods, either by robbery or by theft. They ought not to oppress the poor, nor to use extortion toward anyone. They ought not to cheat or overreach either the poor or the rich, in whatever trade they had with them. They ought to defraud no man of his right, and, if it were possible, to owe no man anything.

Again, the common heathens allowed that some regard was to be paid to truth as well as to justice. Accordingly, they held in abomination not only the man who was forsworn, who called God to witness to a lie, but also the man who was known to be a slanderer of his neighbor, who falsely accused any man. And indeed they thought little better of willful liars of any sort. They accounted them the disgrace of humankind, and the pests of society.

Yet again, there was a sort of love and assistance which they expected from one another. They expected whatever assistance anyone could give another, without harm to himself. They extended this not only to those small offices of humanity which are performed without any expense or labor, but likewise to feeding the hungry, if they had food to spare, and to clothing the naked with their own spare clothing. In general, they expected a man to give to anyone who needed such things as he did not need himself.

This far, in the lowest account of it, heathen honesty went. It is the first thing implied in being almost a Christian.