CHAP. XX A COUNSEL OF PERFECTION 365 



beneficially observed by those who believe it to be a divine 

 institution ; and my argument will apply equally to those 

 who maintain that we are only bound by the spirit of the 

 commandment, not by the letter, still less by the special 

 interpretation of it adopted by the Jews. 



Let us then first inquire what is the spirit and purport of 

 the law ; and in this there can be little difficulty, because 

 it is more fully explained than any other of the command- 

 ments, so that its whole meaning and purpose cannot pos- 

 sibly be misunderstood. This command is not given briefly, 

 as so many others are ; not merely " thou shalt not work on 

 the Sabbath," as in " thou shalt not kill," or " thou shalt not 

 steal ; " but with full and impressive reiteration and detail. 



First, we are told, " Six days shalt thou labour and do all 

 thy work ; " then, on the Sabbath, " thou shalt not do any 

 work ; " and then, to show how wide and complete is the 

 law, there is added, " thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, 

 thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor 

 the stranger that is within thy gates." If ever there were 

 plain words with a plain meaning these are such. They 

 mean, as clearly as words can convey meaning, that each 

 one's work during the week, that work which is the duty of 

 our lives, and by which we maintain ourselves, is to cease 

 on the Sabbath ; and that the law is especially to apply to 

 all servants of every kind, and to all beasts of burden, which 

 are included under the generic term " cattle." 



This being the commandment, how is it obeyed by those 

 who uphold the sanctity of the law ; by those who are con- 

 tinually urging others to keep the Sabbath ; by those who 

 take every opportunity of putting in force human laws 

 against Sabbath-breakers? Are not manservants and 

 maidservants all at work on Sunday ? Are not servants and 

 horses employed by the thousand to take people to church 

 on Sunday ? Many persons, if asked why they go to church 

 or chapel, will say that it is to save their souls or to please 

 God, and yet they seem to think that they may break what 

 they believe is God's own commandment week after week, 

 without any chance of displeasing Him or of losing the 

 souls they are so anxious to save. 



What makes the matter worse is that, while they are 



