his pastor, etc. 'If thou declare it not to the wicked, that he may be converted from his wicked way, and live, the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but I will require his blood at thy hand' (Ezec. iii. 18). -When we could and should punish the sinner. Thus Heli sinned, ' because he knew that his sons did wickedly, and did not chastise them' (1 Kings iii. 13).
35. Why are we answerable for the sin which another commits?
Because, in any of the above ways, we are either the cause of his sin or co-operate with him in it, and thus are as guilty before God as if we had committed it our:3elves; or, it may be, even more so.
'Not only they that do such things are worthy of death, but they also that consent to them that do them' (Rom. i. 32).
Application. Always receive wholesome admonitions willingly and gratefully. Never participate in the sins of others; on the contrary, endeavor, to the utmost of your power, to hinder them; and when, for that reason, you are to reveal them, do not say: 'I do not like to denounce others, because I should not like them to denounce me.' Ought you, then, to be sorry, if some one were to snatch from your hands the knife with which you were about to kill yourself?
CHAPTER V.
Virtue and Christian Perfection.
I. Should we be contented with avoiding grievous sins and crimes?
No; we should also diligently endeavor to become more and more virtuous, and to attain the perfection suitable to our condition.
' He that is just, let him be justified still; and he that is holy, let him be sanctified still' (Apoc. xxii. 11). 'Be not afraid to be justified even to death' (Ecclus. xxiii. 22). — Example of St. Paul: 'Not as though I had already attained, or were already perfect; but I follow after. . . . One thing I do; forgetting
