Page:Labour - The Divine Command, 1890.djvu/131

Rh sensitiveness. But if he speaks of the primitive law, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou knead bread," he cannot conceal the name of the criminal, because he bears the mark of Cain.

To disobey this commandment is the greatest of crimes; and if it is committed by an inferior man it may not be noticed; but as it is addressed to those who are elevated among the clouds, all the world sees their infringement of it.

I would rather praise men than criticise them, but here that would be impossible. In the presence of the holiness of labor, would it become me to disguise my thoughts in cowardly adulation?

164. God gave two commandments to our ancestors Adam and Eve. The first is, "e fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth;" the second, "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou knead bread." Why, I ask you, do you execute the first commandment of God with alacrity, and disdain the second, flying to conceal yourselves in different corners, while you say, I will employ a good workman to make my bread?

You fulfil the first commandment personally; why not the second?

It is inadmissible to labor for bread by the hand of another, and it can only be done in certain permitted cases. Tell me why you disdain one commandment more than the other. What if your wives should say to you: "We have fulfilled our commandment; we bring forth