PHI LOS 0 P H Y . - Classic Works of Apologetics Online

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Revenge.
VT e will set down the principle of these passagc~ ;
and endeavour to coI~ect
from thenl, ",hat conduct
upon the whole is allowed towards an .!nemy, and
what is forbidded.
"If ye torgive men their trespasses; your heavenly
Father will also forgive you; but if ye forgive
not men their trespasses, neither will your Father
forgive your trespasses." "And his lord was wroth,
and delivered him to tIle tormentors, till lIe should
pay all that was due unto him: so likewise shall my
heavP!!ly Father do also unto you, if ye from your
11earts forgive not every one his brother· their trespasses.~J
" Put on bowels of mercy, kind.ness, humbleness
of mind, meekness, long suffering, forbearing
one another, forgiving one another; if any man
have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave
you, so also do ye." "Be patient towards all men;
see that none render €,~il for e\1il unto any man."
" Avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto
\\:ra1 h: for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will
repay, saith the Lord. Thf:refore, if thine enemy
hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink ; for,
in so doirig, thou shalt heap coals of fire on l1is tlead.
Be not overcome of evil, but overcume evii with
good."*
I think it evident, from some of these passages
taken separately, and still more so from all of them
together, that revenge, as described in the beginning
of this Chapter, is forbidden in every degree, u.nder
all forms, and upon every occasion. We are likewise
forbidden to refuse to an el1emy even the tnost
imperfect right; "if he hunger, feed him; if he
thirst, give him drink,"t which .are examples of imperfect
rights. If one who has offended us, solicit
.. J.Vj,att '1\ t1" 11. 'VI. ., 1 4 • J ~. ~ XVll1. ••• S' 'I, J~.
L} r' C o. 1 111. • · 1 -, C) 1 LI. Q Th... e.)s. v. 1 .", II 11.).
~
Rom x:i. 19,20, :ZI.
t See also Exodus ~xiii. 4. " If thou m(,E't thine er:enlY·s ox, or hi5 ass, gojngastray,
thou shalt sure1y hri ug it b~ck to him again; if thou see the ass of
him :hat hateth thee lying under his burden,and \vui.LI