"Why, he has been talking about his soul, and getting drunk, and heaven, and hell, and I know not what besides; I'm sure, I thought it very _ill-natured_ of him. It's bad enough for poor Bob to have broken his leg, without being troubled with such melancholy thoughts. And what's the use of it? There's no chance of his dying this bout, and there can be no occasion for his making himself uneasy with these church-yard thoughts yet." "Surely you are not in earnest, neighbour," said Farmer Oldacre, who had called in to enquire how the broken leg was going on; "you cannot really mean what you say." "Yes, but I do though," replied Barton, "and I say again, it was very _ill-natured_ of Mr. Hooker." "I always thought," said Oldacre, "that you professed and called yourself a Christian." "As good a Christian as yourself," rejoined Barton, with some quickness; "aye, or as Mr. Hooker _either_, though, perhaps, I mayn't talk so much about it as some people." "Well, don't be angry," said Oldacre calmly, "but just listen to me for two minutes. If a Christian, you of course acknowledge the Scriptures to be the word of God?" "To be sure I do." "Well--you know--the whole parish knows--that poor Bob Fowler was leading a most ungodly and wicked life." "No, I do _not_ know it; poor Bob was nobody's enemy but his own; and if he did get drunk now and then, what was that to any body else? I don't call that being wicked." "And what _do_ you call being _wicked_?" "Why, I call a man wicked, when he robs and steals, or commits murder, or--let me see--let me see--when he takes a false oath before a justice--or--when he slanders his neighbours." "These, certainly," answered Oldacre, "are instances of great wickedness; but you seem to confine the word _wickedness_ almost entirely to offences, by which _men_ are injured; now I call a man _wicked_, when he lives in the wilful and habitual neglect of any part of his duty; and since the Scriptures tell us, that the first and chief part of our duty is our duty towards God, I particularly call a man wicked when he lives in the open neglect of that duty--when he leads, in short, an ungodly life." Barton made no answer, but seemed to be waiting to hear what was to come next.