104 



THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION. 



indulgence of such unhallowed gratifications, in 

 dulges in a practice which, were it universally to 

 prevail, would sap the foundations of all moral 

 order, exterminate the most endearing relations 

 of society, prostrate man below the level of the 

 brute, open the flood-gates of all iniquity, diffuse 

 misery over the whole mass of human beings, 

 and, at length, empty the world of its inhabitants. 

 The precept which we have now been consi 

 dering, is one which, in all probability, is con 

 fined, in its references, to the inhabitants of our 

 globe. At any rate, it would be quite nugatory, 

 and therefore can have no place, in the moral 

 code of a world where the distinction of sexes 

 does not exist. And even in those worlds 

 where a similar distinction may exist, the very 

 different circumstances in which their inhabi 

 tants are placed, may render the promulgation 

 of such a law altogether unnecessary. It appears 

 to be a temporary regulation, to remain in force 

 only during the limited period of the present 

 economy of Providence ; for, in thi future desti 

 nation of the righteous, we are told, that &quot;.they 

 neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are 

 as the angels of God in heaven.&quot; And, there 

 fore, it is probable, that the recognition of such 

 a law will not be necessary, in the intercourses 

 which take place among redeemed men in the 

 eternal world ; but the principle on which it is 

 founded, and from which it flows, will run 

 through all the other new relations and circum 

 stances in which they may be placed. In the 

 existing circumstances of mankind, however, the 

 operation of this law is essentially necessary to 

 the stability and the happiness of the moral 

 world ; and, were its requisitions universally 

 observed, the melancholy scenes to which I have 

 alluded would no longer exist; the present and 

 everlasting ruin of thousands, and of millions, 

 would be prevented ; and a scene of happiness 

 and love, such as the world has never yet wit 

 nessed, would be displayed among all the families 

 of the earth. 



THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 



Thou shalt not steal.&quot; 



When the Creator had arranged our globe in 

 the form in which we now behold it, he furnish 

 ed it with every thing requisite for the suste 

 nance and accommodation of living beings, and 

 bestowed the whole of its riches and decorations 

 as a free grant to the sons of men. To man he 

 said, &quot; Behold, I have given you every herb 

 bearing seed, which is upon the face &amp;lt;&amp;gt;f all the 

 earth, and every tree in the which is the fruit of 

 a tree yielding seed ; to you it shall be for meat.&quot; 

 Ever since the period when this grant was 

 made, God has not left himself without a witness 

 to his benignity, in that he has unceasingly be 

 stowed on mankind &quot; rain from heaven, and fruit 

 ful seasons, filling their hearts with food and 



gladness.&quot; The earth has, in every age, brought 

 forth abundance to supply the wants of all tho 

 living beings it contains ; and there is still ar/. 

 pie room on its surface, for the accommodation 

 and support of thousands of millions of the hu 

 man race, in addition to those which now exist. 

 But mankind have never yet agreed about the 

 division and allotment of this free and ample 

 gift of the Creator ; for every one is disposed to 

 think that his share in it is too small, and is con 

 tinually attempting to make inroads upon the 

 allotment of his neighbours. And to this dispo 

 sition is to be ascribed more than one half of all 

 the evils which have afflicted the world in every 

 age since the fall of man. To counteract such 

 a propensity in mankind, and to regulate their 

 dispositions and conduct in relation to property, 

 is the great object of this command, &quot; Thou shall 

 not steal.&quot; 



To steal, is to take the property of others, 

 without their knowledge or consent, and to apply 

 it to our own use. The most flagrant and vio 

 lent breaches of the law, consist in robbery, 

 housebreaking, pilfering, plunder, and pillage. 

 But it may be violated in a thousand different 

 ways of which human laws seldom take any cog* 

 nizance. It is violated by every species of fraud 

 by which our neighbour may be injured in his 

 wealth or property. It is violated in the ordi 

 nary commerce of mankind, by the use of false 

 weights and measures ; by selling deteriorated 

 commodities as if they were sound and good; 

 by depreciating the value of what we wish to 

 buy, and concealing the defects of what we 

 wish to sell; by contracting debts which we 

 have no prospect of discharging, and neglecting 

 to pay them when they are due ; by breaches 

 of trust, in the case of servants, guardians, exe 

 cutors, or public officers, embezzling and squan 

 dering away the substance of others, or applying 

 it to their own use. It is also violated by tres 

 passing on the property of others, so as to injure 

 fences, gardens, orchards, plantations or corn 

 fields ; and by that disposition to vulgar mischief 

 which delights in breaking lamps, windows, and 

 fences ; in injuring and defacing public build 

 ings, walks, and ornamental improvements ; in 

 hacking and carving walls, wainscottings, doors, 

 and balustrades ; and in cutting down trees and 

 shrubs planted for use or for ornament. It is 

 violated when we retain borrowed articles be 

 yond a reasonable time, when we suffer them to 

 be injured through negligence, when we circulate 

 them from one person to another, without the 

 knowledge or consent of the proprietors, and 

 when we apply them to purposes for which they 

 were never intended, and which the lender neve r 

 contemplated. In short, this law is violated b/ 

 every species of idleness, pride, vanity, gaming, 

 and prodigality, which has a tendency to injure 

 the external prosperity, either of our own family, 

 or of the families of others. 



