LXV. The word of God pronounced in that memorable instant, and known since under the name of Decalogue, or Ten Commandments, could not, however, embrace the whole sum of religious truths that were intended to be revealed, because it would have been humanly impossible to the people to persist in that extraordinary state of intimate spiritual or prophetic relation with the Deity, till the end of all the revelation. Therefore, the Decalogue exhibits only some fundamental points, which, from their importance, deserved to be more prominently impressed; it marks the outlines of the foundation upon which the edifice of revealed religion was afterwards to be raised. Yet, although the promulgation of the entire divine code was a work reserved for the blessed legislator Moses, the Ten Commandments present, nevertheless, a compendious but complete system of institutions, referring to all those social and religious subjects, which most interest mankind. In fact, the three relations of man towards his Creator, his fellow-man, and himself, are traced in the Decalogue in a masterly manner, classified according to their order, and elucidated by placing prominently forward one culminating point, which serves to determine their true character. Such is the wise economy of all revealed laws, that generally avoiding abstractions, they select as a standard one special case of the most interesting, and leave it to thy care of the human understanding to generalize, and deduce from it universal theories.[2] Consequently, on analysing the ten emanations of the Divine Will, we must transfer mentally each of them to the class of duties to which it belongs, and consider it as intended to represent all that class.

[Note 2: The author has already informed us, that he confines himself, in this book, to the enunciation of principles, and leaves to teachers the task of demonstrating, developing, and applying them, in course of instruction. Nevertheless, as this proposition recurs more than once in these pages, and contains a very important principle, it is perhaps desirable, for the general reader, to offer here an elucidation, by the following examples of its application.

We are taught, "If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again" (Exod. xxiii. 4). We are to understand, that the lesson thereby conveyed, is not confined to the particular case named, but that we are commanded to cast off selfishness, and to extend our kindness and charity even to enemies, actively exerting ourselves for the assistance and benefit of others, whenever opportunities offer themselves in our every-day life.

Again, we are enjoined, "Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling-block before the blind" (Lev, xix. 14). We are clearly to conclude therefrom, that any net of treachery, in itself already detestable in the eyes of God, becomes doubly so when directed against the unconscious and the helpless; and a very wide range of treacherous actions would, therefore, come within the meaning of this prohibition.

The paramount importance of this hermeneutical rule will be any apology for having dilated on a point, which must be already well known to biblical students.—The TRANSLATOR.]



CHAPTER X.

LXVI. THE first commandment, which regards the relations of man with God, lays down that the acknowledgment of the Supreme Being is the basis of all the revelation, and gives us to understand that such a conviction then began historically to manifest itself on earth, taking root first in the people of Israel, whom therefore the Deity addresses, saying, "I am the Eternal, thy God," signifying, "by thee alone acknowledged hitherto." It also establishes the immutable eternity of the absolute Being, conveyed in the etymology of the ineffable Name; next, his indivisible unity, indicated in the word El, which denotes the sum of all the powers, and the aggregation of all the attributes, in one and the same essence. The same text proceeds then to arouse the feelings of gratitude, which must bind especially this people to the powerful hand that had delivered it from ignominious servitude: and this involves the obligation in the same people of devoting itself entirely to God, and subordinating all its tendencies to religious feeling. The last two words of this text allude to one of the great principles on which revealed religion rests, the Eternal having thereby proclaimed, not only the individual equality of all the Israelites before the law, but also the personal liberty of all men, which principle, being regulated according to the true idea of right, becomes the fundamental basis of civil society.

LXVII. The worship of the only God, coupled with the absolute rejection of every form of idolatrous and superstitious creed, forms the subject of the second commandment, which completes the portion of the Decalogue regarding the relations of man towards the Creator. It severely prohibits every kind of idolatry, both that which substitutes for the true God false and imaginary beings, or even beings real but contingent and created, and that which would associate in His worship a veneration for others, under the title of mediators or protectors; it then interdicts the making of any image whatsoever, when intended to represent the infinite and incorporeal Being, and bids us neither to pay to any such simulacra a religious respect or veneration, which is due to the true God alone, nor to practise such conventional acts, as, however insignificant in themselves, are yet held by idolaters as modes of worship. Lastly, this commandment conveys the obligation to dissent from, and reject, every superstition and every error, requiring us to preserve pure and intemerate the adoration due to the Supreme Being, who, in this sense, is represented in this text as jealously watching over human actions, and a not indifferent spectator of good or evil; therefore a sure punisher of the guilty, and an eternal remunerator of him who faithfully adheres to His law.

LXVIII. As a transition from the duties towards God to those towards our fellow-men, the two succeeding precepts are opportunely placed, one of which concerns the act of invoking the Divinity between men, and the other the mode of elevating men towards the Divinity. In the multifarious contentions arising in social life, it sometimes occurs to have recourse to God, to convalidate an assertion, or to test a truth. Now, in the act of attestation called oath, the third commandment prohibits with the greatest rigour anything that might offend the sanctity of the ineffable name of God, which is invoked by the deponent in attestation of the truth of his words. Consequently the text declares, that if such a solemn invocation were made to confirm a thing, which is not wholly conformable to the intimate conviction and most scrupulous conscience of the swearer, the consequences would be a profanation of the name of God, and a scandalous immorality, to the detriment of society at large; for this could not subsist without an upright administration of justice; and the latter would be upset and trampled upon by perjury. In order to shew more prominently the gravity of this matter, and to protect society, an avenging God protests that He would never leave unpunished whomsoever should render himself guilty of the monstrous crime of perjury.

LXIX. From the moment when the work of creation was completed, the Divine wisdom ordained that an intimate relation should subsist between man and his Creator, and called that day holy and blessed on which so merciful an institution was inaugurated and began to come into operation. This relation, which, as we have already stated, forms the basis of revealed religion, tended to emancipate man from the sphere of materiality, and to render him conscious of his higher destination, and capable of accomplishing it. It was, therefore, natural that the people called upon to give the religious principle a durable consistency on earth, should keep a perpetual commemoration of that day which represented the bond subsisting between the Divinity and humanity; it was proper that the day should not only and simply be remembered, but that it should, also, have some feature exercising a predominating influence over material life, by making this subordinate to the spiritual requirements. The fourth word of the Decalogue prescribes, then, that the Israelite should for ever remember the holy day of sabbath, as a representative of religion, and should, during that day, abstain, and cause all his dependants to abstain, from all manual labour and earthly occupation, that might distract him from the contemplation of heavenly subjects, which should exclusively occupy his mind on that day.

LXX. Among all man's duties towards his fellow-men, those of children towards their parents are assuredly the highest in degree, because without them the bonds which hold society together would be destroyed. These duties form the subject of the fifth commandment. To define their character in a single trait, a profound wisdom has selected the word honour, thereby pointing to a respect which arises, not from fear and terror, but from gratitude, love and submission. Additional importance is given to this precept by the consideration, that the revealed religion could not have been preserved and made known to the latest posterity but by the instrumentality of an uninterrupted tradition from generation to generation; and the faith to be placed in such a tradition depended, to a great extent, on the respect in which parents would be held. The reward promised to him who observes this commandment, is in perfect and natural harmony with the observance itself; man's life will be prolonged and blessed by honouring the authors of it.

LXXI. The three conditions most prominent in human society, viz., life, matrimony, and property, are referred to in the subsequent words, which form the sixth, seventh and eighth precepts of the Decalogue. To concentrate in one word all that is to be observed regarding these essential elements of a social state, the sacred text confines itself to proclaiming, in an absolute mode, their inviolability, therefore adopting the negative or prohibitive form. It is desired to prevent and forbid every arbitrary act, and every unjust attempt, directed to deprive the legitimate possessor of, or to restrict and in any other way to disturb him in, the full, free, and exclusive enjoyment of his own. To respect the life, the conjugal bed, and the property of others, is to consolidate the bonds of society, to pay homage to the eternal principles of justice, upon the practice of which God willed that the preservation and prosperity of mankind should depend.

LXXII. In order that our conduct towards our neighbours be strictly in accordance with justice, it is necessary, generally, that it should be based upon an honest and straightforward character of veracity, and that our outward demonstrations, in deeds and in words, should not be at variance with our inward convictions, respecting the merits or demerits of our fellow-men. Falsehood, detraction, calumny, and other similar vices, injurious to the peace and reputation of others, as well as simulated friendship, and hypocrisy, may all be comprehended within the denomination of perfidy; and as an extreme and most distinct manifestation of perfidiousness is to be found in false testimony, hence the ninth commandment is addressed to this vice, and forbids the witnessing against our fellow-men anything that is not entirely and strictly conformable to the truth. It is easy and natural for us to step from this special prohibition to the spirit which dictated it, and to conclude that the precept is generally directed to remove from society all perfidy and wrong, as contrary to truth and justice.

LXXIII. A certain involuntary or instinctive desire of that which is pleasing, is in human nature itself; but this vague and voluble feeling may, by deliberate reflection, convert itself into an act of free-will, and, eventually increasing in strength, become a vehement affection, an uncontrollable passion. Now, so long as that feeling does not pass into an act of appropriating the thing desired, human law cannot deal with it; but Divine law, which has for its object the internal perfection of man, steps in to regulate the movements of the heart, when they are accompanied by a deliberate will of possessing. Therefore, the tenth and last commandment of the Decalogue, which refers to man's duties towards himself, aims at the human will, and prescribes limits, within which the desires, tending to procure possession, should be confined, forbidding specially to covet that which belongs to others. It is not thereby intended to absolutely prevent the formation of a natural wish, but it is directed to confine it within just limits, that it may not expand and be transformed into a usurpation.



CHAPTER XI.

LXXIV. THE succeeding revelations, which were made to the blessed legislator Moses, and by him collected into a body of statutes and rules, known under the title of Pentateuch, bear the same relation to the Decalogue as that of a finished edifice to the first outline which traced its limits and compartments—they are the elaboration of it, they branch into the same triple classification of duties which we have remarked in it, and present its development and completion. What in the Decalogue appeared, as in nucleus, under the form of duties of man towards God, towards his fellow-man, and towards himself, is developed by those laws into detailed instructions, through which the people of Israel was to learn the knowledge of God, to practise justice and charity, and to effect its own sanctification; three cardinal points, corresponding to the three classes of duties above mentioned, which embrace the whole sum and substance of revealed religion. We shall not, therefore, proceed to enumerate here, one by one, those multifarious laws,—a great part of which, being contingent on the existence of the temple and the possession of Palestine, have now no practical application,—but we shall only treat of the three principles which form the bases of them all, viz., God, Justice, and Sanctification, leaving to the intelligence of those who sedulously investigate the single precepts, the easy task of tracing them to one or other of the said three categories.

LXXV. To the elucidation of these three principles we must, however, premise two observations. In the first place, it is to be remarked, on the one hand, that although the human intellect can by itself (provided it be not overruled by the sway of sensual appetites) recognise summarily the excellence of such principles, and give them unreservedly its sanction, yet its perceptions with respect to their specialities remain very imperfect, for several reasons: first, because it finds itself unable to rebut and conquer one by one all the objections which the infidel may bring forward; secondly, in consequence of the doubts which its own limited powers sometimes suggest, impairing its own sense of the truth; and lastly, because wanting the knowledge of many details and circumstances, about which it can form no judgment, the intellect cannot construct a complete rationalistic system of moral theology. Whereas, on the other hand, emanating as they do from the infinite wisdom and mercy of God, formulated in the shape of positive precepts, and corroborated by the portentous manner of their promulgation, those principles acquire an undisputed authority, remove every doubt, illumine the mind with unexpected sublime truths, satisfy the heart which finds them consentaneous with its own feelings, and are thus more apt to accomplish the objects towards which they are directed. And if there be among them some precept, of which we do not in our present time clearly perceive the true tendency, we accept it, nevertheless, with that filial confidence inspired by its divine origin; and, by analogy, we consider it as calculated to contribute to the promotion of our own weal.

LXXVI. In the second place, it is necessary to distinguish, in the aggregate of this revelation, the universal theories applicable to, and concerning all mankind, from the special prescriptions obligatory only on those to whom they were addressed. Generally, all the children of Adam are bound to know God, to practise justice, and to procure their own sanctification; such duties are inherent in human nature itself, they correspond exactly to the destination of man, and none can exempt himself from them, without rebelling against nature and the sovereign Author of it. Consequently, the doctrines contained in the revealed law, in regard to these three points, apply to all rational beings, and everybody is called upon to participate in, and profit by, them; they are the inheritance of all mankind. But it was obvious that those, who were in the first instance selected to receive those dogmas, and to become their jealous conservators and perpetual propagators, should have some distinctive and peculiar devices, and be charged with observances, qualifying them for adepts to the ministry of such a sublime mission. Hence it is, that among the precepts of universal appurtenance there are several which Israel alone is bound to observe, and these consist partly of external acts to be performed, either at certain stated times, or at all times, partly of particular forms and rules to be followed, either in reference to one's self or to others, and to some external objects of animate or inanimate nature, and partly, in fine, they prescribe abstinence from certain things which to all others are left permissive. It will be easy to every attentive student to discern and point out the prescriptions of this class, as their very nature is sufficient to characterise them; we shall have, however, occasion to mention them, after we shall have endeavoured to place in a clear light the three principal articles of the revelation.



CHAPTER XII.

LXXVII. IMMENSE efforts have been made by human reason to elevate itself to the conception of the Deity, to demonstrate His existence, and to deduce with solid arguments His principal attributes. Yet, even that quantum which human reason believes to have succeeded in establishing on this exalted subject, has always had to encounter in the fields of proud philosophy tenacious, or rather pertinacious, adversaries. Whereas revelation, extricating man from the labyrinth of transcendental abstrusities, presents him at once with a well constructed system of theological science, which he has only to receive within his bosom, to lead a happy life on earth, and attain his true goal beyond the grave. The Divine word informs us of God, as a pure spirit, eternal and immutable, incorporeal, absolute (that is, not dependent upon causes without Himself), omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, all-perfect and therefore all-holy (that is, possessing all the attributes in the highest degree of perfection); one, because admitting not in Himself distinctions of multiplicity, and sole, because beside him there is no God; Creator of the universe from nought, therefore distinct from all things created (which we would call, if allowed the expression, extramundane); Creator of man in His image, having endowed him with intelligence, liberty, and an immortal soul; provident and immediate[3] to man, watching over his actions, punishing faults and rewarding merits, and pardoning him who truly repents of evil committed; He is a perpetual source of the purest love, hence a merciful father to all His creatures, unto whom He continually pours forth treasures of His kindness; He strengthens the weak, comforts the afflicted, enlightens the ignorant, protects the oppressed, and grants the prayer of those who trust in Him; He governs human events according to His will, now causing human enterprises to succeed, anon to fail; always directing them to the ends contemplated by His infinite wisdom, for He is the all-wise, just, and faithful, whose promises are infallibly accomplished, and whose word subsists to eternity. He sometimes suspends the order of nature, and works miracles, whenever He deems it suitable to His high designs. He established a covenant with the Abrahamitic race, and revealed to it His holy law, by this means to illuminate and bless all mankind.

[Note 3: This expression is here used to indicate the direct and special relation of God with man, and the direct government of mankind by God, without intermediate agencies, in contradistinction to the other terrestrial creatures, whose relation with the Creator is only general, and which are governed through the medium of pre-established physical laws.—THE TRANSLATOR.]

LXXVIII. Although these notions do not complete the idea of the Divinity, much less can they claim to define His essence—for to the very limited faculties of the human mind this will always remain inconceivable—yet they are sufficient to afford such an instruction on divine subjects as to satisfy the wants of humanity. With the guidance of the elements offered, and by a conscientious meditation on those Divine attributes, man will be able to dispel the superstitious notions and the errors into which they have fallen, who have not consulted the Divine word on such a subject; he will be able to sketch in his own mind an idea, however incomplete, of the sublime object of his adoration, and thus preserve himself from much that is evil. Having been destined to live in society, and compelled to work in order to supply the multifarious wants of his body; always more or less struggling with the interests of his fellow men to secure a possession often disputed to him by malice, or violence; and evil example and ignorance and the sensual appetites being concurrently at work—man became naturally, in the course of time, too easy a prey to passions, vice and error; he was overpowered by materialism, and fell into sin. Therefore, the idea revealed to him of a holy God, who watches over his destinies, who punishes the guilty, rewards the virtuous, and pardons the penitent, is the best balsam that could be administered, the best truth that could be taught to him; it saves him from error, removes him from sin, invites him to direct his view to heaven, restores him within the Divine grace, and opens to him the prospect of an interminable beatitude.

LXXIX. Among those attributes, however, one becomes prominent, from its importance; it is that which establishes an immediate relation, or communion, as subsisting between the Creator and the rational creature; a fundamental point on which the whole religion hinges. The intimacy of such a relation manifested itself at the very beginning of the world by God having created man in His image, by which expression it is meant, that the Divine Maker bestowed some part of His perfections on the noblest creature on earth, endowing it with intelligence, free-will, and immortality; these high prerogatives conferred upon man, to a certain degree, a similitude with his Maker, and from this similitude was naturally to follow a closer relation of mutual love, than exists between God and the other created things. Such a relation assumed a more definite form when God took man under His special guardianship, whilst He left the government of inanimate nature to physical laws, unalterable and compulsory, which He had established in the first instant of creation. The stupendous connection was lastly completed, by God having communicated His will to men, and traced out to them the course they had to follow, in order to render themselves worthy of the great boon, and to attain the end destined for them. From all these circumstances it became evident that God is immediate to man.

LXXX. As, in general, all the revelation, has for its object to benefit humanity, so, in particular, when the divine word is directed to impart to us the knowledge of God, it intends to teach us the duties we are called upon to fulfil towards the Author of our existence; duties which we could not well discharge if we were wanting in that knowledge. Now, the first of these duties is to love God. Such a noble feeling, which, as we have already stated, derives its origin from a relation of similitude between him who loves and the object beloved, cannot be kindled in us by effect of a mere command, as the motions of the heart are not produced by authority. Therefore, while holy writ inculcates the love of God, it at the same time indicates to us the means whereby this sublime love will be promoted; and the means is to walk in the ways of the Eternal. To understand the connection between the means and the end, we must consider the different degrees of which love is susceptible, and motives by which it is actuated. He who loves God because of great favours received, is apt to feel a diminution of attachment, or even indifference, on being overtaken by misfortune. He who loves Him with a view to benefits in a future life, is also in danger of ceasing to love, if some doubts were to arise in his mind and to weaken his hopes. But when man loves God because he understands, and admires, and adores in Him the aggregate of all perfections, and feels within himself the flame of a desire to approach the Divine Majesty, then his love is an inextinguishable love, for he abnegates his own self, and centres his motives exclusively in the object beloved. This kind of love, however, presupposes a uniformity of tendencies, which causes the one who loves to esteem and to endeavour to appropriate the qualities admired by him; and in this precisely consists the resemblance, which produces the true love. Justice, faithfulness, righteousness, mercy, and many other Divine attributes, which in the biblical language are called the ways of the Eternal, cannot be fully and worthily appreciated, except by him who uses all his endeavours to adorn himself with such virtues, as far as his limited nature allows. And now we can understand, why he cannot truly love who walks not in His ways.

LXXXI. Another principal duty, issuing from the same revelation, is that which is commonly called fear of God, an expression very frequent in the sacred text, but which requires to be explained. The Hebrew word used is susceptible of two different interpretations. It might apply to the fear of retribution, suggested by the reflection that an all-powerful God will not leave unpunished the transgressors of his commands; or the same word might signify the sense of reverence and unbounded veneration, with which the frail creature must feel almost overwhelmed when thinking of its exalted Creator, who knows all, sees all, and governs all. The former originates in the intellect, the latter in the heart. It is obvious that the fear of punishment is not a sufficient restraint to deter man, at all times, from sin; for in the ebullition of impetuous passions, the intellect becomes offuscated and impeded in the exercise of its functions, or frequently is itself pressed into the service of the predominating passion. Not so the awe and reverence inspired by the majesty of the Supreme King of the universe. It pervades all the heart, disposes it to feelings of submission and obedience, convinces it that man is at all times in the presence of his Maker, and thus prevents inordinate material appetites from bursting forth and rising forcibly to uncontrollable preponderance. Hence it is that the fear of God, taken in the latter sense, is a powerful prop which supports the religious edifice, is the most effectual and valuable lesson we derive from the revelation of the Divine attributes.

LXXXII. From these two principal duties, spring, as corollaries, others of no less importance, which come, also, within the sphere of the first cardinal point of biblical revelation, the knowledge of God. He, who truly loves and fears God, will surely feel the necessity of placing in Him exclusively all his trust, for he is convinced that there is no being in nature, besides God, that can offer an infallible support to human hopes. He will find in his heart an almost irrepressible impulse to praise the Divine perfections, to extol His glory, to offer sincere homage to the Sovereign of the universe, to worship and serve Him with purity of heart, to thank Him for favours received, to supplicate Him for help, to confess to Him sins committed, and to ask His pardon with contrite spirit. All these and other like acts of filial dependence and piety, find their expression in that elevated form of external worship called prayer, which, whether exercised publicly in appropriate and consecrated temples, or recited in the solitude of the domestic closet,[4] whether strictly following an established formulary, or pouring out the impulsive feelings of the heart, is always an urgent want and an indispensable duty of every religious man. Lastly, the true love and fear of God imply the obligation of avoiding, in all that pertains to Divine worship, everything that might have the appearance of idolatry, of intrusion of intermediate powers, or of any superstition whatever; above all clearly emerges the duty of not abusing the holy name of God, either by uttering it on trivial occasions—which would tend to diminish the reverence due to Him—or by profaning it with an invocation to a false testimony, whereby the detestable crime of perjury would be consummated.

[Note 4: Public, as compared with private worship, has the undoubted advantage of being in itself a public homage to the omnipotence of God, and a solemn testimony of the dependence of man on Him. True, solitary worship is often more likely to be attended with the requisite mental abstraction from all worldly objects, and intellectual elevation of the soul towards its Divine Source—a condition of mind indispensable to establish a true spiritual communion in Prayer, and without which all our orisons and ritual ceremonies would be but mechanical and meaningless performances, a body without soul. It is this condition of the mind that, in Talmudical style, is called [Hebrew: het-nun-vav-kaf], as is well known, and that later ascetic writers termed [Hebrew: tav-vav-dalet-dalet-vav-bet-het-he], from the circumstance that it is superinduced by solitary meditation. But whenever this condition is attained in a public service, then indeed is that service "divine," and humanity is exalted in its approach to the Throne of Mercy.—THE TRANSLATOR.]



CHAPTER XIII.

LXXXIII. ON determining the duties of the individual towards his fellow-men, and towards all that surrounds him in nature, revelation did not think it proper to refer the motives to human intelligence, and to allow the bases of justice and benevolence to rest on human reason alone; but it said, "Do what is right and just and good in the eyes of the Eternal thy God; and refrain from all that is not such, because it pleases not thy God," whereby it wished to proclaim that the notions of just and unjust, of good and evil, of rights and duties, should be considered as emanating from, and prescribed by, the Divine wisdom, and therefore obligatory only because agreeable to the Divine will. In this also the revealed word purposed to come to the assistance of human frailty, and to render superfluous the abstrusities—as arbitrary as uncertain and controvertible—about which eminent philosophers tortured their brains, for many centuries, to fix, as they thought, the principles of the so-called Jure in its innumerable ramifications of natural and positive, public and private, civil and criminal, commercial, maritime, canonical, feudal, of police, of finance, of war, and what not, without ever yet arriving at a complete accord in their specialities; whereas all right obtains a solid and effective sanction when its origin is referred to God, who comprehending in Himself the sum total of right, justice and moral good, and having communed with man to enjoin to him their exercise, willed that the carrying out of their dictates should be considered as an act of religion, of service rendered to Him, and that violating the one or failing in the other, should be alike regarded as an offence committed towards Him, which He will punish severely. God, then, is the source of right; He made man acquainted with it through His law, and committed to him its performance on earth after rules prescribed by His will.

LXXXIV. In promulgating the duties of man towards his fellow-men, the holy scripture assumed sometimes the negative form, to forbid all that which may cause injury to others; and sometimes the positive form, enjoining the practice to be followed towards all. To the first class belong the following prohibitions, viz., of nourishing hatred, rancour, revenge; of calumniating, or in any way whatever damaging the reputations of others; of assailing their honour or good fame; of restraining or obstructing others in the exercise of their rights, or in the use and enjoyment of their properties; of practising deceptions, impositions, frauds, and all forms of insincerity, usury, extortions, and violence; of laying obstructions in the way of the weak or helpless; of giving false testimony; of speaking untruth; of reporting even truth, when it may lead to discord and strife; of occasioning danger; of offending decency and good manners; of causing scandal; of withholding wages or remuneration due; of keeping in pledge the clothing or implements of the poor; of using two weights and measures; of associating with the wicked; of breaking a pledge-word; of violating or assailing the conjugal happiness of others; of coveting anything that belongs to others; and other similar prohibitions recorded in the sacred code, which can be easily collected as pertaining to this class. Moreover, it will not be unreasonable to complete this list by the addition of a few more particular actions, which, though not specifically mentioned, must yet be understood to be forbidden; for, as it is a constant rule in biblical exegesis to deduce general theories from single laws which appear to refer to particular cases, so must, by analogy, be comprised in an enunciated forbidden action all others of a similar nature, character, and tendency, as being understood in the former.

LXXXV. The positive precepts concerning a man's conduct towards his fellow-men, are naturally enunciated in directions of a tendency precisely opposite to those expressed negatively; that is to say, it is enjoined to practise the reverse of what has been forbidden. Now, to begin with the more general prescriptions; it is enjoined, in the first place, to love one's fellow-men as one's own-self, all mankind, without any exception, being comprised in this expression, as we meet again the same injunction with regard to the stranger, whom we are commanded to love as ourselves; and Scripture explained already what is to be understood by the word stranger, when it said: "Thou also hast been a stranger in the land of Egypt"; from which it is evident that the love inculcated extends even to adversaries and enemies. It is next commanded to respect in every individual the dignity of man, created in the image of God, which establishes the inviolability of person, and the equality of all before the law, so that there should be no privileged caste, no hereditary preeminence; desiring, on the contrary, that "under the protection of the same law and same right should dwell the native and the foreigner." The personal liberty of every member of the human family is also proclaimed, as it is with that intention that the Decalogue has put prominently forward the circumstance of Israel having been delivered from servitude; and if, on the one hand, the condition of the times, which had rendered the use of slavery natural and universal, did not then admit of its sudden and immediate extirpation; on the other, Scripture designed to mitigate its acerbity by provident and humane laws, so as to make obvious the tendency to its future total, though gradual, extinction. To prevent pauperism, as well as to cure its evils, the rich were enjoined to lend money to those who needed it; and the law, starting from the presumption that the poor man would not, or at least should not, desire to borrow and incur a debt, unless being deprived of the necessaries of life, ordered that such a loan to the destitute brother be gratuitous, whilst in commercial transactions with foreign people it permitted the charge of some reasonable interest on loans of money, as an equivalent for the service rendered.

LXXXVI. The administration of justice being, according to the revealed principles, a divine office, was naturally to be confided to persons carefully selected for their intelligence, probity, incorruptibility, and superiority to every human regard; these are therefore invested with a judicial representation of the Divinity on earth, and are enjoined to proceed according to the rules of the strictest justice, without ever deferring either to the pitiable condition of the poor, or to the influence of the powerful. As a corollary to this system, every person is bound to appeal to these authorities in any emergency, and to refrain from taking the law into his own hands; even for the correction of the disorders of one's own child, the law requires a recourse to the constituted authority, not permitting the infliction of punishments of any kind, without the intervention of those appointed to administer justice. Passing to the other observances, which grow out of the grand duty to be just to all, we are strictly commanded to respect the property, the rights and the honour of others, to be solicitous of their welfare, as much as of our own, to act honestly, sincerely and faithfully on every occasion, to fulfil our promises, to facilitate to others the success to which they are justly entitled, and to pardon our enemies. From the multifarious and varied ties which bind the individual to family and society, issue the special duties of husband and wife, of fathers, of children, of relations, as well as the regard due to misfortune, respect to the aged, the virtuous, the learned, the magistrates, and the authorities of the state, attachment to the country, and obedience and loyalty to the sovereign, who, in the language of the Bible, is constituted by God to govern the destinies of the people committed to his or her care. All these duties, which branch off into many specialities, are either explicitly declared, or incontestably result, by analogies and sound hermeneutical deductions, from the various texts referring to such subjects.

LXXXVII. But not to strict justice alone our conduct towards our fellow-men must conform itself; we are bound to act on the principles of the most generous benevolence and charity. Those acts of a noble mind and a magnanimous heart, commonly called virtue, which are by moralists only recommended, as meritorious works, are by the Divine law enjoined, as obligatory, in the most absolute sense. Alms, for instance, are, in the Mosaic law, a duty of the rich, and a right of the needy. God is the owner of the land; He gave it to the diligent to cultivate, and through His blessing their labours prosper; He assigned to the poor His dues on the cultivated soil, and ordered that to them should be left the total produce of every seventh year, the tithes of some other years, and the gleanings of the fields and vineyards. It was not thereby intended to render charity legal and compulsory, depriving it of its noblest attribute, which is spontaneity, but to show more conspicuously the importance attached to it, having otherwise left free all acts of kindness and mercy, to which the law does not fix any measure. To this class also belong the precepts, which make it a duty to give timely assistance to him who is about to succumb to fatigue and labour, to supply with provisions the discharged servant, to restore before sunset the clothing taken in pawn, to obviate danger in building a house, to put no obstructions before the blind, to grant every kind of relief to whomsoever stands in need, without exacting, or even expecting, any remuneration, to rescue those who are in danger, to defend the weak, to protect the widow and the orphan, to attend the sick, and to give sepulture to the dead. These and other similar prescriptions, which make of charity a duty, carry with them the great lesson, that justice must go always hand-in-hand with mercy, since the all-just God is also all-merciful, and he who satisfies not both alike, does not fully discharge his duties to society.

LXXXVIII. The Mosaic dispensation, which considers the whole world as a grand unit, and tends to carry out the idea of moral good to its fullest extent, could not leave unnoticed the relations of man with beings of different species; therefore it also mentioned duties that we owe to the irrational creatures and inanimate beings. True, God granted to man a superiority, a dominion over all things created on earth, permitting him the use, and even the destruction, of them, whenever this is necessary to his own welfare, or conducive to his own advantage; but He wisely restricted such power within certain limits. Mosaism regards the entire universe as a temple manifesting the glory of God, and directs us to admire in the single component parts the profound counsels and infinite wisdom of Him who created and harmonized so many wonders. Thus we are commanded, in the first place, to respect the laws of nature, as established by its Supreme Author from the creation, and not to do capriciously things that are in direct opposition to such laws. From this principle spring the various prohibitions to couple sexually different species of animals, to practise on them castration, to constrain simultaneously to joint labour beasts of unequal strength, to muzzle them while thrashing, and to use towards them any kind of cruelty. Nay, it is enjoined that they, also, should participate in the general rest ordained for men on festivals. It is well for us to reflect how incomplete are as yet the modern institutions for the prevention of cruelty to animals, when compared with those of the ancient Mosaic code. Even the simultaneous sowing of heterogeneous species, and the ingrafting of plants, are considered as violations of the law of nature, which had established the distinctions. In the second place, in order that man, while using all things for his benefit, might not imagine that he is their absolute master, and should not forget the true Owner, who conferred them upon him under various reservations, he was enjoined not to appropriate at the same time two things, one of which had been born or produced from the other; but in the act of converting to his own use some object or being, he should spare that which gave it birth, and not lay his hands upon both simultaneously. He is thus to learn to respect the causes while enjoying the effects; and from the secondary causes he will mentally ascend to the primitive one, which produced them all from nought. This is the sense and intention of the prohibitions of taking in a covey the mother with the young, of slaughtering a quadruped together with that which gave it birth, of cutting down a tree, were it even for the necessity of a siege, while we are enjoying its fruit.



CHAPTER XIV.

LXXXIX. THE third class of duties comprises those which man has towards himself; and here the fundamental rule, from which they all emerge, sounds thus—"Sanctify thyself, for I, the Eternal, am holy," which, in other words, may be rendered as follows—"Imitate God, for thou wast created in His image." As, however, this sanctification of self cannot possibly be effected without knowing and loving God, and without walking in his ways by practising justice and charity, it follows that this third article is the cardinal point, which virtually comprehends in itself the other two—it is the ultimate object of all the revelation, which purposed nothing more or less than the perfection of man; to this grand end the whole scheme of revelation was designed.

It is clear that, in regulating the precepts of sanctification, the revealed word had not alone to deal with the human soul, but to take into account the body also, without whose concurrence man cannot attain perfection. Designed for a receptacle of an immortal spirit, and for an instrument to carry out the actions of life, the body must be preserved entire, pure, and inaccessible to all contamination that would be an obstacle to the high spiritual functions to be accomplished by its means. To ensure this inaccessibility, as far as possible, the Divine law prescribed for all mankind a rule, which, though to the short understanding of many its character may not appear very clear, was deemed by the eternal wisdom as calculated to promote morality. Previously to Abraham's vocation, God forbade Noah and his children to feed upon blood; and the scriptural declaration, that the soul of animals resides in their blood, seems to indicate that the motive of that prohibition is to prevent the human body being brutalised by absorbing within itself, and assimilating, a large amount of an inferior vitality, and thus causing the material propensities to preponderate in man. But even if the true reason of that prohibition remained unknown to us, this would not be the only instance of man being obliged to acknowledge his own ignorance, and to bow reverently before an explicit and rigorous commandment of God.

XC. The principles inculcated by the Mosaic code, for the preservation of the body, involve, primarily, the prohibition of attempting its existence, and, secondarily, that of cutting off or injuring any part of it. Suicide is, therefore, explicitly declared a crime; and several precepts are directed against mutilations, marks, and all sorts of deformations. The law does not permit voluntary macerations of the body, capricious abstinences from lawful things, multiplied or prolonged fasts, or subtractions from what is necessary to life. It, on the contrary, intends that bodily health should be cared for, that cleanliness and decency, in every respect, be regarded, a proper development of the physical faculties promoted, and an employment procured for them consonant with the superior requirements of man. It is likewise due to the physiology of the human body, not to use any of its limbs in a manner contradictory to its organisation, to provide for the restoration of equilibrium or health eventually lost, to avoid risks of injuries or disorders, and to take advice of skilled men in cases of disease. But food, drink, recreation, physical enjoyment, and every other indulgence usually allowed to the advantage of the body, are required by the law to be moderated by certain rules of a moral standard, having in view more elevated ends than the mere gratification of earthly wants; so that even the most vulgar acts may, from the intentions which accompany them, acquire a certain religious importance. In short, the government of the body must be such as to favour, and not to hinder, the exercise of what concerns spiritual life.

XCI. Passing to other moral requirements which come within the sphere of man's duties towards himself, it is unnecessary to demonstrate here how it is incumbent upon every man to choose a state in society adapted to his individual faculties and aptitude, to be industrious, sober and decorous, to fix on a well-regulated distribution of his time and work, to be economical without parsimony and liberal without prodigality, and generally to follow such rules of wisdom as tend to render life prosperous, and human conduct acceptable to society. All such rules are self-evident, and grow necessarily out of the general principle which demands of the functions of the body to subserve the attainment of self-sanctification. But we must now speak precisely of this sanctification, to point out briefly in what it consists. From the Divine prescript, "Sanctify yourselves because I am holy," we clearly conclude that the type of sanctification is to be sought, not in ourselves, but in God; therefore, to sanctify ourselves is to shape our own acts and will upon the known will of God; to be fully penetrated with the idea of Him; to hold steadfastly to Him; to take Him for a guide in the walks of life; to make Him the goal of our actions and the centre of our hopes; to devote our solicitude to the accomplishment of the high designs of His eternal wisdom; to perform whatever is agreeable to Him; to imitate, as far as possible, His perfections; in short, so to act, that what in Him is absolute may become in us subjective; and thus the sanctity of God will produce man's own sanctification. Having established this sovereign principle, revelation has accomplished its intentions, has attained its object, for the whole sum of the Divine law is concentrated in it; and worship, morals, judicial laws, and all single observances prescribed, are but branches or constituent parts of this principle; they all flow from, and return to, it, with a systematic consequence.

XCII. Besides the three cardinal articles above stated, the observance of which, in their general tendencies at least, is incumbent on all mankind, there are in the sacred code various special prescriptions obligatory only on Israel, as him who first received the revelation, and who is bound to preserve it with particular means, and to testify it for ever, by his acts and by his very existence. Through such prescriptions, the law designed either to keep alive among the people the idea of the high mission entrusted to it, and the memory of signal favours which Providence prodigally conferred upon it in the early times of the institution, or to initiate it into a more scrupulous sanctitude, by interdicting to it some things that are left permissive to others. It is not necessary here to give a complete list of such precepts, as the mere inspection of the sacred text suffices to point them out; and we shall confine ourselves to indicating some of the more important. Pre-eminent among them stands the sabbath, the elevated tendency of which has been already explained in the Sinaitic revelation; next come the three Festivals of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles, which, besides being linked to, and combined with, rural events and circumstances, are also designed to commemorate luminous epochs in the national history; the great day of atonement, as a highly important act of reconciliation with God; the circumcision, as an ineffaceable mark of the adoption of Israel; the assiduous study of the Divine law, as the purest source of truth, and repository of the religious idea; the fringes in the garments, the phylacteries or frontlets, the inscriptions on the door-posts, and such like commemorative means; the redemption of the firstborn children; and the offering of the first fruits, as a demonstration of filial dependance on, and gratitude to, the Supreme Cause; the prohibition to feed on certain loathsome animals, and reptiles and insects, in order not to assimilate to the human body substances of a low, imperfect, and possibly deteriorated organization; the interdiction of marriages between certain degrees of relationships, because wanting in the antagonism required in connubial unions;[5] the duty of offering up prayer, one of the noblest offices of piety, and the most effectual medium of communion with God; that of confessing sins, the inevitable consequence of human frailty; the injunctions to reject idolatry, divinations, charms, exorcisms, sortileges, and all manner of superstitions, all of which are obstacles to the development of the religious idea; and several other precepts, which may be found dispersed throughout the sacred code, all having similar tendencies, and coming more or less directly within the scope we have assigned to them.

[Note 5: Another probable reason of this prohibition is, that the practice of such unions would be fraught with great domestic disorders and unhappiness, and consequent social evils. But it is opportune here to remind the leader, that many attempts have been made, in the course of centuries, by eminent expositors, to assign to many of the Mosaic ordinances motives of various characters, rationalistic and metaphysical, sanitary, political, and mystical, but all more or less conjectural. To the religious man the positive knowledge of the true motives is not at all essential for the performance of the divine precepts; and in the words of our author himself, as stated elsewhere, "we have to bow reverently before an explicit and rigorous commandment of God, and we consider it as calculated to contribute to the promotion of our own weal."—THE TRANSLATOR.]



CHAPTER XV.

XCIII. CASTING now a retrospective glance on what we have hitherto briefly stated, it will be easy to deduce, from the aggregate of these notions, the principal characteristic of that wondrous institution, which it pleased the Divine mercy to found upon earth for the benefit of the human family, selecting for its organ the people of Israel; an institution, which, in reference to the means adopted for its preservation and propagation, is called Judaism. The scope of Judaism is, then, the propagation among men of the religious idea, and this comprises the doctrines revealed respecting the Deity and respecting man, in consequence of which the latter will be able to attain his true goal. Respecting God, revelation teaches that He is a Being absolute—that is to say, that has in Himself all the sources of existence, of will, of power, and of action—hence He is eternal, all-perfect, all-powerful, all-holy; He is unique, because there is no God beside Him; and He is one, because in Him there can be no multiplicity or division of parts; He created out of nought the universe, which He governs by pre-ordained physical laws, and all that exists owes to Him its existence and conservation. Respecting man, revelation teaches that he has an immortal soul, made in the image of God—that is, endowed with various spiritual faculties similar, in their nature, to those of his Maker—therefore susceptible of a progressive perfection, which he will attain by sanctifying himself—that is, by imitating God and carrying out his commands. To that effect, God entered into an immediate relation with man, whereby He not only provides for the preservation of mankind, as He does for that of all other things created, but He, moreover, granted him a supernatural assistance to improve his moral condition; and this assistance consists in having made him the recipient of a revelation, by which He instructed him in the best rules of life, and declared to him that He will be his support, his protector, his judge, his loving father, and his guide towards eternal felicity.

XCIV. But the religious idea is not simply a theory that may be accepted or rejected without affecting the human actions, it is not an abstraction confined within the sphere of contemplation; it is a practical system, which requires to be put into execution, and to be manifested in every part of the human conduct. As such, it was to pass into the hands of men, to direct their actions; and they could conform to it only to the extent of their intellectual comprehension of its spirit. Now, every institution, however excellent in itself, is liable to vicissitudes, as soon as human ingenuity seeks to comprehend it, and human weakness to carry it into effect. Even as the intellectual powers and the modes of viewing things vary among men, so the religious idea, in its practical application, was subject, in the lapse of time, to some alteration among those who became its depositaries. Judaism did not remain always pure and consentaneous to its ends; and, although based on a foundation unchangeable in its nature, and eternal, its practice was sometimes at variance with its spirit, and its essence was either neglected or misunderstood, according to certain circumstances of the national development, as we are informed, even by the records of sacred history.

XCV. There can be no doubt but the inspired man, who first was commissioned to proclaim the true religious idea, had fully realized in his mind the vastness and immense consequences of that new institution in its ultimate universal compass. In his eloquent addresses there are even some broad traits which allude to a fulfilment reserved to the latest posterity. Nevertheless, it is obvious, that, having to instruct a people who were not yet prepared to realize such an idea, and in an age when the opinions of all mankind ran into totally different directions, he had to take into account the condition of the times and of men, and to use a language suited to his hearers. At the same time it was not designed, or expected, by the holy legislator to see at once realized the last and comprehensive results to which the revealed doctrine aspires; it was sufficient to have given it existence and form, and to have instituted a repository capably of preserving it, leaving its final universal triumph to the development of humanity and progress of civilisation. Considered in these points of view, Mosaism has the appearance, in its exterior garb, of a special law, adapted to peculiar circumstances, and circumscribed to few persons, but in reality, and apart from that kind of integument, it contains the universal doctrines, destined to become the inheritance of all mankind. The blessed Prophet clearly foresaw that the new ideas preached by him would meet with many an obstacle, before they were thoroughly adopted, even by those who were called upon to preserve them; hence the greater was the force with which he inculcated the monotheistic principle, and the necessity of segregation from foreign and idolatrous influences; thus his laws acquired an aspect of particularism and nationality, whereas on being carefully studied, and deeply penetrated, they exhibit their more general and sublime tendency. Therefore, in judging of Mosaism, and in interpreting the body of laws contained in the Pentateuch, we must never lose sight of the two following necessary cautions; viz., to deduce general theories from particular cases; and to take into account the circumstances of time and place, in order to seize that which is designed for all times and all places.[6]

[Note 6: The attentive student of the Pentateuch must see, especially when assisted by the best commentators, that several ordinances are the creatures of circumstance and time, and consequently of an essentially transitory character. Among these stand foremost all such as refer to the treatment of, and relations with, the Canaanitic families. The strict separation of Israel from those corrupt and idolatrous populations, and their ultimate destruction, were conditions necessary to the establishment and success of the new order of things. As soon as the end of those ordinances was accomplished, they naturally ceased to have any other than a historical value. Therefore, he (if any such there be) who would transfer to the Gentiles of our days the principles of the policy that was inculcated towards the Canaanites of the time of Moses, would not only he committing a sad mistake, but running counter to the spirit of Judaism, and violating the very letter of the law, elsewhere clearly expressed. "Thou shalt love the stranger as thyself," is the motto which God inscribed for perpetuity on the banner of Israel.—THE TRANSLATOR.]

XCVI. What the inspired Arch-prophet had foretold came too truly to pass, as soon as the people of Israel, mixing too freely with their corrupt neighbours, wished to imitate them, and assumed the form of a monarchy. Ambition and lust of power could ill agree with a law, which establishes individual liberty and equality of rights. Consequently, it was not long before Paganism ascended the throne, attended by a hideous train of profligacies and crimes; and, what then remained of the Mosaic institutions, consisted only of the material service of the temple, and some exterior acts mechanically performed, but sadly lacking the idea, which alone constitutes their merit. To put an end to so great a disorder, Prophetism rose. With admirable zeal, energy, eloquence, and abnegation, thundering in the courts, the temple, and the public markets; now by word of mouth, then by writings; now threatening, anon exhorting; always struggling with infinite obstacles, and setting at defiance the tyranny of the ruling powers with the sole prestige of the animated word, Prophetism undertook to revivify the religious idea, almost extinguished, or crushed under the weight of universal perversion. But to repress with greater force the overflowing depravity, and to combat the evil with an opposite extreme, it was proper to divest the religious idea of its particularising and national forms, and to present it in its more comprehensive and general character, in its celestial beauty of a future reign of happiness, based on love, justice, liberty, and universal peace. This was precisely what Prophetism did. Therefore, he would be greatly mistaken, who would suppose, in the expressions used by the Prophets, any intention of slight towards the ceremonial laws, and those biblical prescriptions, which are specially intended for the chosen people. True, these are to be regarded as means calculated to a superior end; but they remain in full force and validity until that end (which is in store in the Eternal Mind) shall have been fully and finally attained. The Prophets eliminated nothing from, and added nothing to, the law; they sought to revive the religious idea, which is the foundation and aim of the law; they brought it into prominence, to impress it more forcibly on the minds of a people who had nearly lost it. But they did more; they bounded over the confines of the present, transferred themselves through the imagination to a future final re-arrangement of the human conditions; and, giving to the religious idea its greatest possible latitude, depicted a future state of ideal perfection, which, while it offered a vivid contrast with contemporary corruption, left to posterity an imperishable monument of their inspired eloquence and exquisite foresight.[7]

[Note 7: The original has here several succeeding paragraphs devoted to a historical review of various phases of Judaism, which it describes under the names of Talmudism, Rabbinism, Caraism, and Cabalism. Believing this digression, or appendix, to be unnecessary to the general purposes of the present book, I have omitted it in the translation, with the sanction of the distinguished Author himself.—THE TRANSLATOR.]



CHAPTER XVI.

XCVII. JUDAISM is now clearly delineated before us. From the outline that we have endeavoured to sketch, it is evident that the religion of the Jew imposes upon him solemn duties towards God, towards his fellow-men, and towards himself. A sincere, pure, undivided, active, loving worship of his heavenly Father, and a constant practice of justice, benevolence, and charity, in their widest sense, will lead to his self-sanctification, which is the aim intended for him. These are his fundamental duties, as far as regards actions. Many of the observances prescribed by Holy Writ teach the modes and means of carrying out such duties. All such prescriptions as are strictly connected with the existence of the temple, and the sojourn in Palestine are dispensed with, since the destruction of the former, and the dispersion of Israel on the face of the earth. But no doubts can exist as to the others, which are all, and for ever, in full force, having been ordained for all times and all places.

But the Jew has also a creed to profess. According to the Scriptures, he is bound to believe in the unity, eternity, omnipotence, omniscience, unerring justice, and infinite mercy of God; in His general providence over all the universe, which He created and which He governs, and His more special providence over man; he is bound to believe in the divine origin of the Mosaic revelation, in its truth and immutability, and in its efficacy to promote his own sanctification; he is bound to believe in the spirituality and immortality of the human soul, in its destination and aptitude to perform all that is good, and in the future reward of the virtuous and punishment of the wicked; and, lastly, he is bound to believe, that, in order to make known, preserve, and propagate these dogmas, a covenant was established between God and Israel, in consequence of which the latter is called servant of God, son of God, holy people, and has the particular mission to conform to the will of God, which is called walking in the ways of the Eternal. These various points are, however, so intimately connected with each other, and form so complete a system, that one being admitted, the others follow as legitimate consequences.

It now remains for us only to add a few words concerning the hopes of Israel. The future—as great in its consequences as extraordinary in its conditions—which the Jew has a right to expect, has its foundation in the Divine promises, and, consequently, its accomplishment, though long in the womb of time, is infallible. By virtue of such promises, Israel expects a complete material restoration and spiritual perfection, not of his own people only, but of all the human family; so that every individual of the human species may then correspond, in all respects, to the lofty requirements of his nature, and attain the ends pre-established for man by the infinite wisdom of the Creator; and this not only during his earthly life, but also beyond it, in his immortal condition. As to the modes by which these heavenly universal promises will come into actuality, we must rest satisfied with very feeble and vague notions, and not require an exact comprehension of specialities, which, in our present limited power of mind, we might be unable even to conceive. It is sufficient for us to be able to deduce with certainty from prophetic words, that (as regards the future condition of this life) an increased intelligence, and a more energetic will directed towards what is good—which in the biblical language is called circumcision of the heart—will be the means of diffusing throughout the world the knowledge of the One God, and the exercise of virtue, under the regimen of an incorruptible justice, a generous benevolence, a universal peace, and an uninterrupted prosperity and happiness. To Israel, in particular, the gathering of his scattered members, the restoration of his ancestral inheritance, and the re-establishment of his nationality, have been promised and repeatedly assured; and the glory of that epoch forms the subject of the most glowing pictures of inspired poetry. But the fulfilment of these promises the Jew must expect from the wonder-working hand of God alone, without any personal efforts of his own. Meanwhile, he is to consider himself, as he truly is, a citizen of the country in which he dwells, a brother to his fellow-citizens, a dutiful observer of the law of the land, and a loyal subject of the sovereign, whose authority is constituted by God.

LONDON: PRINTED BY J. WERTHEIMER AND CO.,

CIRCUS PLACE, FINSBURY CIRCUS.

THE END