Moses his choice with his eye fixed upon Heaven, discovering the happy condition of…

But especially it does proceed from the pride and ¹malice of wicked men; from pride, and swelling, and ²envying one at another; a proud and envious man will seek to cast disgrace upon that excellency that himself wants, as Licinius who was joined with Galerius in the Empire, being ignorant himself, not being able so much as to write his own name, he was an enemy to learning, and as Eusebius reports of him, he called the liberal Arts, A public poison and pestilence. What was the reason that should cause Sanballat and Tobiah to make such a stir to reproach Nehemiah? Certainly the ground was this, Sanballat ⟨p. 356⟩and Tobiah were in Samaria with a mixed people, and they had got a Temple, and endeavoured to magnify that; Now they thought that the Temple of Nehemiah would darken the glory of their Temple, and therefore they sought to cast disgrace upon them, to bring them into contempt. And the malice of mens hearts, when it cannot vent its self by open persecution, then it will vent its self by the persecution of the tongue; malice makes men very watchful, to observe any thing whereby it may gain matter of reproach, and malice will make men exceeding inventive to find out strange ways of reproach, and exceeding bold in venturing upon reproaches.

But especially it does proceed from the pride and ¹malice of wicked men; from pride, and swelling, and ²envying one at another; a proud and envious man will seek to cast disgrace upon that excellency that himself wants, as Licinius who was joyned with Galerius in the Empire, being ignorant himself, not being able so much as to write his own name, he was an enemy to learning, and as Eusebius reports of him, he called the liberal Arts, A publike poyson and pestilence. What was the reason that should cause Sanballat and Tobiah to make such a stir to reproach Nehemiah? Certainly the ground was this, Sanballat ⟨p. 356⟩and Tobiah were in Samaria with a mixt people, and they had got a Temple, and endeavored to magnifie that; Now they thought that the Temple of Nebemiah would darken the glory of their Temple, and therefore they sought to cast disgrace upon them, to bring them into contempt. And the malice of mens hearts, when it cannot vent its self by open persecution, then it will vent its self by the persecution of the tongue; malice makes men very watchful, to observe any thing whereby it may gain matter of reproach, and malice will make men exceeding inventive to finde out strange ways of reproach, and exceeding bold in venturing upon reproaches.