mours which foster this pestilent vice of rash judgment.
Know this, too, that when uncharitably you think you see an evil in your brother, some root of the same evil is in your own heart, which, in proportion as it is ill-disposed, readily sees in another that which is already in itself.
When, therefore, we are inclined to judge others for some fault, let us inwardly be indignant with ourselves as guilty of the same, and say in our heart, "How dare I, wretched being, buried in this very fault myself, and in far more grievous ones, lift up my head to see and judge the faults of others?"
And thus the weapons which, when aimed at others, would have wounded you yourself, being used against yourself, bring healing to your wounds.
But if you cannot disguise the fact that your brother has committed a fault, yet take a compassionate view of it, and believe that he has hidden virtues, to guard which the Lord has permitted him to fall; or, that this failing is allowed to cling to him for a time, that he may become more vile in his own sight; or that, being despised by others, he may learn to humble himself, and thus become more pleasing to God, and so his gain at last may become greater than his loss.
