Smart lawyers often try to trip a witness in his talk. It is hard to be consistent in talk, true in talk, clean in speech. “If any stumbleth not in word, the same is a perfect man,” “whoever avoids slips of speech is a perfect man” (Moffatt). “Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth” (Prov. 6:2). Compare Sirach 28:12-26 for pungent remarks on speech. “That which proceedeth out of the mouth, this defileth the man” (Matt. 15:11). The chemical reaction to talk is a test that we cannot refuse. Teachers cannot escape this inevitable test. The rest of this discussion consists of a series of remarkable illustrations of the power of the tongue. The Bridle and the Horse (3:2b-3) The man who does control his tongue is able to bridle the whole body also (cf. 1:26), for the body goes with the tongue. In fact, nothing is commoner than for one to make a rash statement and then feel compelled to stand by it for the sake of imaginary consistency. Hort keenly observes that the force of “also” after “the whole body” is that a man who can bridle his tongue can bridle his whole body. The tongue is a real Bucephalus, and it takes an Alexander to master him. It is really wonderful how a spirited, impetuous horse can be subdued by bit and bridle. The spirit does not go out of the horse, but his restless energy is under control and guidance. James does not mean that a man should be dumb and lifeless, without ambition and power, but simply that his tongue, like all the rest of the body, should be kept in control. This figure of bridling the tongue, as already noted (1:26), is one of the most vivid figures in all languages. David said: “I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle” (Psalm 39:1). It is not merely that the tongue is so hard to put a bridle on but also that the tongue has such an influence on the whole body, able thus to lead the body by the bridle.[76] The horse has to follow his mouth, in which the bridle is placed. The purpose of the bridle is that the horses may obey us, and it is thoroughly successful, as a rule. “We turn about their whole body also” along with the mouth. So we should place bridles in our mouths for the deliberate purpose of controlling the tongue. It will not happen by accident.