tion: To lay claim to exceptional wisdom and to hunt for the
moral lapses of others in order to gain the reputation of
righteousness for ourselves.

163. We truly are weak sinners and must freely confess, being human,
that our conversation is not always free from offense. But while we
share this weakness with our enemies, we nevertheless do our duty
diligently, by spreading God's Word, by teaching the churches, by
bettering the evil, by urging the right, by consoling the weak, by
chiding the stubborn, and, in brief, by doing whatever duty God lays
upon us.

164. On the other hand since our adversaries strive after nothing but
hypocrisy and an outward show of holiness, so they add to the frailty
which they have in common with us, the most grievous sins, because
they do not follow their calling, but concern themselves with their
honors and emoluments. They neglect the churches and suffer them to
miserably decay. They condemn the true doctrine and teach idolatry. In
short, in public life they are wise, but in their own sphere they are
utterly foolish. This is the most destructive evil in the Church.

165. This is the first part of the story, and, in the preparation of
his record, Moses has confined himself to the same. It is certain that
Noah was a righteous man, gifted with many heroic virtues, and that he
accomplished most important things both for the Church and for the
State. It is not possible either to establish political communities or
to found churches except by diligent effort. Life, in both these
manifestations (I will say nothing of the management of the home) is
beset with many dangers; for Satan, a liar and murderer, is the most
relentless enemy of Church and State.

166. But Moses passes by all these achievements, not so much as
alluding to them. He records but this one circumstance--that Noah
became drunk and was scoffed at by his youngest son. He intended it as
a valuable example, teaching pious souls to trust in God's mercy. On
the other hand, the proud, the lovers of cant, the sanctimonious, the
wise-acres,--let them learn to fear God and beware of passing a
reckless judgment upon others! As Manasseh the king declares, God
displays in his saints both his wonders and his terrors "against
wicked and sinful men." This is illustrated in the case of Ham, who
did not now first come to his downfall but had cherished this hate
against his father for a long time, afterward to fill the world with
idolatry.