IO
I     i




















FRONTISPIECE TO HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE.
"The chiming bells are calling upon all men to cut the cords of their earthbouind thoughts, and go up to worship at the footstool of Jehovah."-See p. 16.




PRIZE ESSAYS
ON
THE TEMPORAL ADVANTAGES
OF
THE SABBATH,
CONSIDERED IN RELATION TO THE WORKING
CLASSES.
CONTAINING
HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE, THE TORCH OF TIME,
AND THE PEARL OF DAYS.
PHILADELPHIA:
PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION,
No. 265 CHESTNUT STREET.




Stereotyped by W M. S. S L o T E, No. 19 St. James' Street,
Philadelphia.
I




PREFATORY NOTICE.
THE remarkable essays embodied in this volume were called
forth by the offer of prizes for the three best essays on the
temporal advantages of the Christian Sabbath to the labouring classes, by competitors from among the working
men in Great Britain. Out of a large mass of manuscripts,
three were selected by an impartial committee, and to the
writers of them the prizes were adjudged. The first and
third of these are here republished, and in place of the second, which is regarded as of inferior literary merit to the
other two, another remarkable essay, entitled "The Pearl
of Days," written by a female in humble life, has been substituted. As the productions of labouring men were exclusively contemplated in the offered prizes, this essay, admirable as it is in all respects, was not regarded by the committee as coming within the field of competition, but was
highly applauded and recommended for separate publication for the author's benefit. The three essays, as here
associated, will not be read merely as literary curiosities,
proceeding as they do from persons of humble education
and without any pretensions as professed authors, but will
be esteemed for the solidity of their reasoning and for the...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~1




iV         PREFATORY  NOTICE.
impressive force with which they plead for a sacred observance of the Lord's day. They are as much needed in
this country as in Great Britain, and the friends of religion
and good order will hail their reproduction here at a time
when the temptations to Sabbath desecration are so multiplied, and the moral sense of the community on the general
subject is far from being in a healthy state.
For the appearance of this volume, and the handsome
style in which it is published, the public is indebted to a
generous individual who has made a special donation to the
Presbyterian Board of Publication for this purpose, and
who seeks occasions for manifesting his solicitude for the
diffusion of those elevated moral principles which are at
once the glory and safety of a nation.-EDITOR OF THE
BOARD OF PUBLICATION.




HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE
TO THE
CURSE OF LABOUR;
OR
THE TEMPORAL ADVANTAGES OF THE SABBATH,
CONSIDERED IN RELATION TO THE WORKING CLASSES.
BY
JOHN ALLAN QUINTON, JOURNEYMAN PRINTER.
"Oh, day most calm, most bright,
The fruit of this, the next world's bud,
Th' indorsement of supreme delight,
Writ by a Friend, and with his blood;
The couch of time; care's balm and bay;
The week were dark but for thy light:
Thy torch doth show the way."
HERBERT.
1*  A








CON TENTS.
I. THE PHYSICAL ADVANTAGES OF THE SABBATH,                        -_  5
Repose,                                        5
Cleanliness,      -        -       -       - 19
Health,        -       -       -       -      24
II. THE MERCANTILE ADVANTAGES OF THE
SABBATH,                               _       - 30
Increased Production,   -              -      32
Diminished Consumption,   -        -          34
Increased competition and reduction of wages,   37
III. THE INTELLECTUAL ADVANTAGES OF
THE SABBATH,          -       -                  40
Opportunities for private study and reflection,    43
Means of public oral instruction,  -       - 46
Sabbath Schools,                              49
IV. THE DOMESTIC ADVANTAGES OF THE SABBATH,.                  - 54
Under the auspices of the Sabbath, natural affection is nurtured and increased, -     -     54
The Sabbath secures to the working classes opportunities for domestic fellowship, -   - 58
The Sabbath affords facilities for the promotion
and exercise of family piety,   -     -     62
vll




Vlll               CONTENTS.
V. THE MORAL ADVANTAGES OF THE SABBATH,         -       -       -       -         66
The Sabbath favours morality inasmuch as it inculcates the practice of moral duties, and gives
free scope to the expression of the moral virtues, 67
The Sabbath favours morality by the diversified
talents it enlists, and the innumerable agencies
it organizes in its service,  -     -      72
VI. THE RELIGIOUS ADVANTAGES OF THE
SABBATH,  -.                  79
The Sabbath is the chief medium for preserving
and perpetuating the knowledge and worship of
God in the world,   -       -       -     80
Necessary for the diffusion of Christianity,  - 83
The Sabbath guaranties a season for unmolested
attention to the soul,  -   -       -      85
Its observance the best preparation for the vicissitudes of the week,    -       -       - 87




ADJUDICATION  NOTICE.
THE circumstances out of which this Essay originated were
as follows: —Towards the close of the year 1847, a Christian gentleman, lamenting the fearful increase of Sabbath
desecration by railway, steamboat, and other travelling facilities-deeply impressed with the intimate connection between the preservation of the Sabbath and -national morality, prosperity, and order, and being convinced that many
fallacies were propagated by those who, for their own
profit, deprived the poor man of one of God's best gifts, the
Sabbath, and then placed the responsibility of this robbery
upon the poor man's shoulders, by declaring that they took
the day from him for the benefit of himself or his fellowworkmen-determined to appeal to the working classes
themselves, and obtain from them an unbiassed and impartial verdict upon this momentous subject. For this purpose
he offered three prizes, of ~25, ~15, and ~10, for the three
best Essays upon "The Temporal Advantages of the Sabbath to the Labouring Classes, and the consequent importance of preserving its rest from all the encroachments of
unnecessary labour." In the short space of about three
months one thousand and forty-five Essays were received.
ix




X        ADJUDICATION  NOTICE.
After a patient investigation of this vast mass of MSS.,
which occupied from the close of March to the close of December, 1848, we have awarded the three principal prizes
as follows:
FIRST PRIZE, ~25.-To John A. Quinton, Journeyman
Printer, Ipswich.
SECOND PRIZE, ~15.-To John Younger, Shoemaker, St.
Boswell's Green, Roxburghshire.
THIRD PRIZE, ~10. —To David Farquhar, Machinist,
Dundee.
In making this award, we are constrained to throw ourselves upon the candid consideration of the competitors and
the public. We have endeavoured to discharge our trust
as in the sight of God, and we believe that we have selected
the three best Essays. But we cannot court a rigid and
formal criticism; nor dare we presume to anticipate that
our judgment will be universally unimpeached. Those
who are inclined to test its accuracy by some formal and
preconceived model, will probably be disappointed with our
decision, for the three principal Prizes are widely dissimilar
in their structure, and may be said to represent three distinct orders of mind.
We feel these remarks the more necessary because it has
been our privilege to obtain for the movement the patronage of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen, and His
Royal Highness Prince Albert: His Royal Highness having
contributed ten additional Prizes of ~5 each, and the British public having already given upwards of seventy more.
While these and other encouraging circumstances have
greatly cheered us in our labour, they have drawn additional attention to our award, and rendered comparison and
criticism much more easy and probable.




ADJUDICATION  NOTICE.                   Xi
We cannot conclude this brief notice without expressing
a hope that such further measures will be arranged as shall
awaken an enlarged sympathy with the object throughout
the British empire, and shall ensure the ultimate preservation of the entire of these valuable and interesting MSS.
ALEXANDER SWAN,
ROBERT KETTLE,         ADJUDICATORS.
DANIEL FRANCIS OAKEY,
London, Dec. 1848.








INTRODUCT ION.
IT had been the desire of those who are engaged
in the direction of the Sabbath Essay movement,
that the following Essay should have been introduced by one of the honorary editors, who is such
a grace and ornament to the churches with which
he is connected; and, but for the extreme pressure
of his avocations, both in the pastorate and by the
press, he would have complied with that desire.
As it thus became necessary to seek some other
for this office, I have gladly accepted the opportunity thereby afforded me, of evidencing my deep
interest in this noble and gratifying labour of love
amongst our hardworking brethren.  Nor is this
necessity without its advantages, since it gives occasion for exhibiting that evangelical unity amongst
differing churches, which may be the harbinger of
more peaceful and happy times, when Ephraim
shall no longer envy Judah, nor Judah vex
Ephraim, but Christian union shall be perfected,
2                B                (xiii)




xiv          INTRODUCTION.
and made manifest in the whole body of Christ
our Head.  One of the Essayists, in reply to a
letter I had occasion to address to him connected
with a communication of his for the Working
Man's Charter, observes, "May I be permitted to
remark upon the singularity of my case, that the
first approved literary effort of an humble member
of a dissenting community should be ushered into
the world under the auspices of a clergyman of
the Church of England? May our united efforts
in this labour of love receive the divine approbation."  To  this devout aspiration I heartily
respond "Amen."  May such interchanges of
love and amity be more frequent.  They are
not altogether new.  Dr. Doddridge, the Nonconformist minister, was the first editor of the
pious and enlightened Archbishop'Leighton's
works, and a recent Bishop of Winchester, in
his Elements of Theology, long a text-book for
divinity students in our Universities, has placed
in his list of elementary works the Commentary
of Dr. Doddridge; while the simple and beautiful
hymns of Dr. Watts are published under the
sanction of the Christian Knowledge Society, and
are as household words, as the very songs of Zion,
in all families, and in all churches of the land. I
cannot but rejoice, then, that it is permitted to
me at once to take part in this most encouraging
Sabbath movement, and at the same time to help
on the great work of Christian union, by thus




INTRODUCTION.              XV
introducing to the notice of the religious world
this deeply interesting and edifying composition,
which is the work of one who is a member, and
a valued and prized member, of the Independent
Congregation of Ipswich, the town in which he
has long been known, and which may well be
proud of having thus been honoured by one of
its working men.
The fact of our author being a working man,
though undoubted amongst his own townsmen,
is just that very one which it becomes us chiefly
to certify our readers respecting. The Edinburgh
Witness, a periodical of considerable influence and
power, has not hesitated to say of this Essay, that
it is one which any writer of any age might
rejoice to have composed.  And, as this is not
only high, but deserved praise, it may excite
doubts in the minds of some as to whether it
really be the original and unaided production of
the person it is represented as having been written
by. It is not merely the public at large who are
interested in this fact, as a remarkable literary
incident; but all the fellow-competitors of our
author are concerned to know that they have
been dealt faithfully by in the adjudication, and
that none but those justly entitled to a standing
therein have been admitted to competition. But
even more than all this, the holy and solemn
cause itself in which these Essays have been
written, demands imperatively of us that we




Xvi             INTRODUCTION.
substantiate the character and position of the
writer, so as to prove beyond all dispute that
he is of the class professed, and that, though in
that class, he is capable of himself accomplishing
the production of such a work as now appears
from his hand, head, and heart.
We have felt bound, then, to seek the very
best information upon this point, and we are
happy to have it in our power to offer abundant
testimony to the fact.  The  master in whose
employment our author is, and has been for some
years past, and who is himself well known in the
town of Ipswich, has kindly favoured us with the
following satisfactory reply to our request that he
would furnish us with his testimonial.
Ipswich, Feb. 5, 1849.
DEAR SIR,
I have the pleasure of stating that Mr. Quinton
has been twelve years in my establishment, that he has
conducted himself in the most praiseworthy manner, and
by his application and talent has gradually improved his
position. He has been truly a working man, and all his
distinctions are well earned.
I am, dear sir,
Yours faithfully,
To Rev. J. Jordan.             J. M. BURTON.
As the foregoing is the testimony of his employer, the next shall be that of a personal friend,
to whom  our author referred us.  He writes




INTR O D U C T I ON.          XVii
evidently with all the warmth of friendship, but
at the same time with the earnestness of sincerity.
In omitting, therefore, some passages of his letter,
we can assure the reader that we do so mainly
out of deference to an expression contained in a
letter from Mr. Quinton himself, in which he writes,
" I speak truly, when I say that I am very averse
to this exposure before the public eye." We will
not risk, then, the damage of such a feeling as
this, while we must not shrink from discharging
our duty to the public.  Mr. Quinton's friend
writes thus respecting him:
REV. SIR:
I cheerfully comply with your request in sending a
few brief particulars respecting Mr. John Allan Quinton,
whom I have known during nearly the whole time of my
residence in Ipswich, a period of nine years, throughout
which I have had opportunities of closely observing his
conduct and deportment, and becoming acquainted with
his position in life. He has been in Mr. Burton's employ
during all that period, and is, strictly speaking, his servant.
His employment is exclusively in the printing office, and
he, in common with other working men, receives, as well
as they, his weekly wages, although his length of service,
ability, and conscientious, upright conduct have placed him
in the position of foreman, or overseer.
His character, I believe, no one would attempt openly to
impeach. Almost proverbial for integrity and uprightness;
modest, diffident, unassuming; nature has done much for
him; the grace of God has done more. He is greatly
esteemed in the Christian community to which he belongs,
and by his fellow-townsmen generally..... His industry
B2




XVlll           INTRODUCTION.
is highly commendable, and to this only can be attributed
the attainments he has made in knowledge. His recreation is only a change of employment.... Those who
know most of him will speak in the highest terms of his
character and industry.....
What I have said I believe to be strictly in accordance
with truth, and feel sure that my testimony would be confirmed by many to whom he is well known, and who have,
like myself, cultivated his friendship.
I beg, sir, to subscribe myself,
Yours, most respectfully,
GEO. MESSENT.
Ipswich, Feb. 4, 1849.
The next testimony we would offer to the
reader, is that of an intelligent member of the
Society of Friends, resident at Ipswich, and for
some time engaged  in business as a bankerR. D. Alexander, Esq., F.L. S., whose frequent
opportunities of knowing our author, and understanding his character and position, enable him to
speak as satisfactorily as conclusively to these.
Mr. Alexander writes thus:
Ipswich, 16; 2; 1849
RESPECTED FRIEND,
As one of John Allan Quinton's referees, I write to
state that, in my character of editor of "The Temperance
Recorder," and of a series of Temperance Tracts, I became
acquainted with him about seven years since, when he was,
and still continues to be, the foreman in Burton's printing
office-hired by him as a "compositor," but of late years
mostly, or almost entirely, occupied as overseer of the




IN TROD UC TION.               XiX
office, having from the increased work brought to the office
-I have reason to believe in part from the good management of Quinton-little leisure to work at "the case." I
have made very frequent, almost daily, visits to the printing
office for a length of time, and have admired the quiet
bearing of his manner, maintaining good order by gentle
rule and respectful manner to those below him, aided by
his unwearied industry and attention to his employer's
work.
J. A. Quinton's conduct in private life is, I believe, consistent with his profession as a Christian, and in general
terms I may say that he is a good example for working
men.
I am respectfully,
RD. D. ALEXANDER.
We will present only one more testimonial, but
it is that which, in every Christian community, is
necessarily looked to as the most essential onethe good word of the minister of our holy faith
under whose pastoral care Mr. Quinton lives, and
whom, according to the ability given him, he aids
in his work of inviting sinners to flee from the
wrath to come, and to turn to repentance and calling upon God. The Rev. John Whitby, to whose
kindness we are indebted for having communicated
with the three gentlemen who have already borne
their testimony to Mr. Quinton's worth, writes as
follows:




XX             INTRODUCTION.
Ipswich, Feb. 16, 1849.
REV. SIR,
I duly received yours, and saw Mr. Quinton on the subject, who, I believe, has written to you, and communicated
the circumstantial facts you requested. I did not know
him till he had ended his apprenticeship.
His membership with a Christian church began at Stowmarket. He has been some years in communion and membership with the church in Nicholas Chapel, of which I am
the pastor. I had the pleasure of marrying him, some
eight or nine years since, to one of our estimable members
of the church.
He has always been a studious and persevering young
man, with a comprehensive mind, and rather exuberant
imagination. As a Christian, he has maintained a high and
honourable reputation, much esteemed and beloved by true
Christians. Nor has his Christian life been fruitless, but
devoted to the cause of Christ. He has preached the Gospel, in villages and in my pulpit, with acceptance. I cherish
a great regard for him, and so does the church of which he
is a member. It is Christianity that has made him truly
great. He has only written what he has enjoyed of the
blessedness of keeping and loving the Sabbath. I was not
surprised when I heard that he had reached the honour of
the first prize on the Sabbath to the working classes. I
knew his power of illustration. As to his eligibility as a
working man to be a competitor, I may just say I have
often seen him at work in the printing office of Mr. Burton,
who, I believe, has written you in connection with the
other gentlemen you mentioned. I need not add more.
I am, Rev. and dear sir,
Yours faithfully,
JOHN WHITBY,
Independent Minister.




INTROD UC T ION.                Xxi
Having now, as we trust, anticipated and satisfied every reasonable question that can be raised
respecting our author, we are further desirous of
gratifying what is likely to be the natural wish
of every reader, and what has been the frequently
expressed one of a large number of the competitors with whom we have had communication, that
every Essayist should supply a brief account of
himself, and thus make his fellow-competitors as
well acquainted as possible with him, and the circumstances and occurrences of his life. Although,
as stated above, our author would willingly, if consulting his own feelings alone, avoid such publicity, yet, for the sake of others, and especially for
the sake of that cause in which he has been called
upon to take so prominent a part, he consents to
forego his own feelings, and has favoured us with
a brief sketch of his life, which commences thus:
In the late honours that have been so unexpectedly thrust
upon me, I have been unable to exercise any choice. I have
been drawn, perforce, from the familiar sanctum of seclusion, and must cease more than ever to feel that I am my
own, but am become more expressly the property of the
Lord and his people. I will now proceed to register a few
of the leading details of my past life, which has not been
remarkable for any very striking incidents.
I was born at the small town of Needham Market, in the
county of Suffolk, in the year 1817. I am the eldest of a
family of either twelve or thirteen, ten of whom are living.
My parents also are still living. I might observe, in passing,
that they are respected for their unimpeachable lives and




XXii           I NT ROD UC T IO N.
integrity of character. They have for many years been
members of a Christian community. My father was a tailor
by trade, but about thirty-six years ago he took a small
chemist and druggist's shop, vacated by death, and by his
uniform application to business and his eminent trustworthiness, he gradually extended and consolidated a snug little
business, which has enabled him to bring up his large family
in respectability and economic habits. At the age of nine
or ten I was taken from a dame's school, and placed under
the tutorage of Mr. J. Webb, then of Needham, but now
Baptist Minister of Stoke Green Chapel, Ipswich. Mr.
Webb, however, shortly after leaving to prosecute his college studies, I was transferred to the care of Mr. Durrant,
with whom I continued till within a short period of my
apprenticeship. This school was of the ordinary character to be found extensively, twenty years back, in villages
and small towns. My education comprised writing, (anything but of a first-rate description,) arithmetic, reading,
and grammar-and all these imparted in the most crude
and meagre manner. If by education we are to understand the education of the mind, of this I had positively
none. I was not conscious, for two or three years after
completing my scholastic drudgeries, of any signs of intellectual life, or stirrings of mental wakefulness. Four or
five years seem a long time to spend in amassing nothing,
but a large portion of time was wasted in ornamental printing, &c., which was of no practical utility whatever. My
instructor was a stenographer, and as I took a great deal
of pleasure in the practice of this art, he was particularly
gratified thereat, and gave me abundance of exercises and
tasks, which, when performed, were rewarded with special
marks of appreciation by a holiday. These things comprise the tout ensemble of my education. I never at school
learned a sentence of geography, so far as I can recollectno use of globes-no Latin —no study of maps-no drawing




IN TRO DU CT ION.               XXiii
-no history-no natural philosophy, &c. I never attempted a thesis or an essay, nor did I attempt such a task
for years afterwards.
At the age of fourteen I was apprenticed to Mr. Woolby,
printer and bookseller, Stowmarket, (three and a half miles
from my native place,) with whom I continued six years.
Being naturally indisposed to mix in society, I kept myself
quite retired, seldom going out after or before business hours,
even for requisite exercise. This confinement, chiefly selfimposed, and this consequent deficiency of physical recreation, superinduced a feebleness of constitution that has unfitted me for years for any severe or prolonged muscular
exertion. The first two or three years of my apprenticeship were devoted to the study of music, the reading of
poetry, sometimes novels, and works of general information. I soon evinced a taste for works of an imaginative
and exciting character, and for a poetical style of composition. Of some of Byron's works I was passionately fond.
From reading, I soon began to write, poetry. I lived in a
land of dreams and ideal enchantments. The poetic afflatus
or inspiration has oftentimes emasculated my strength, filled
me with trembling, and compelled me to desist from labour.
I grew disgusted with the mean and gross realities of common life. I felt inarticulate longings for something above
the actual. This state of feeling and emotion breathed itself out in innumerable fragmentary effusions. About this
time I became a Sabbath School teacher, and shortly after,
through instrumentality in connection with the school, I
was brought to decision of character. For a long period of
years I never remember to have absented myself from a
place of worship, which I almost invariably attended three
times on the Sabbath. Coeval with these circumstances, I
might mention, a society for Mutual Improvement was established, directed, and presided over, by gentlemen of considerable mental culture and attainments. This institution




xxiv           INTRODUCTION.
I joined, and here my first decided public efforts were made
to emancipate my mind from the thraldom of ignorance.
On April 1st, 1836, I was received into fellowship with
the Independent Church, Stowmarket, then under the pastoral care of Rev. W. Ward, M. A. (since deceased). My
attention was now almost entirely absorbed by religious
reading, exercises, and correspondence, and by visiting the
sick and ignorant. I also had earnest desires stirred up in
my mind towards the ministry of the Gospel. On the expiration of my term of apprenticeship, having in purpose
renounced my secular calling, and being in a precarious
state of health, I returned home with the intention of recruiting the same, and waiting the developments of God's
will in this matter. Here I continued for about eight
months, employed in reading, and occasional preaching in
the surrounding villages. I likewise undertook the superintendence of a Sabbath school. As winter drew on, however, and no means wherewith to prosecute my introductory studies, previous to a collegiate course, were apparent,
I began to grow uncomfortable in burdening my parents,
and thought I had mistaken the path of duty. I accordingly, in the month of December, came to Ipswich in order
to obtain a situation. I was, by a singular concurrence of
circumstances, directed to Mr. Burton's-engaged with him
-where I have continued ever since. His business was
then very small, but from that period until now (more than
twelve years) it has steadily increased in every department.
He has now machines worked by steam power, a stereotype
foundry, &c., and every facility for doing work in the best
style. My province has been exclusively in the office, and,
to a considerable extent, the management of the printing
office has been entrusted to me. During all this long period
I have closely applied myself to business through long hours,
but as I did it cheerfully, and with an indomitable determination to battle upwards, its oppressiveness was not so pain



I NT R 0 DU C   I 0 N.          XXV
fully felt. My leisure for reading and intellectual culture
has accordingly been exceedingly limited. I believe I should
be within the mark if I said that, on an average, I have not
read twenty volumes, small and large, light and solid, per
year. I begin to feel this deprivation now very keenly, and
long for more literary and religious leisure. Until within
the last two years I have regularly engaged in the villages
as an evangelist. Enfeebled health now forbids such exhausting labours.
Such, dear sir, is a plain unvarnished statement of the
leading events of my unexciting history. I leave them in
your judicious hands, to make what use of them you may
deem proper. But the less parade the better, if my feelings
are to be consulted. I shall be happy to answer any question which may be suggested by the foregoing facts.
Such is our friend's unvarnished tale of himself
and his earlier years. In concluding this introduction we will add a brief remark respecting the Essay itself, and the position assigned to it. It is not
detracting from the merits of either this, the first,
or the other two, the second and third Essays, selected out of so large a number as one thousand
and forty-five competitors, to say, that they have
not attained to their honourable position without
much anxious discrimination on the part of those
who adjudicated respecting them. So far is this
from being the case, that we hail it rather as a testimony of the anxiety and faithfulness with which
the adjudication was carried on, as an omen for
good respecting the whole movement, and as a
corroborative assurance that, while  there were
3                  C




xxvi         INTRODUCTION.
others esteemed worthy to compete closely with.
these for the superiority, there are special and pecu
liar excellencies in the three which entitle them to
their place and reward.
The one immediately before us will not fail,
we are persuaded, to commend itself to the
reader, for its evident and obvious appropriateness to the solemn subject discussed in it, under
the peculiar phase demanded by the terms of the
competition. There may be others of apparently
more vivacity and power-others, again, that seem
to manifest closer and severer judgment-others
still, irradiating sparks of apparently more fervid
and devout piety; but for a noble combination
of all these, developed with a staidness and
sobriety of thought adapted to the subject, and
enlivened with rich and eloquent strains of exhortation, we believe that no other will be found
to rival it, and that it will thus abundantly
justify the final decision respecting it, and approve itself to all as thus rightly placed, whatever
comparisons may be hereafter instituted between it
and others, as they severally appear, and as, no
doubt, their respective friends and admirers may be
tempted to urge in their behalf.
It is, then, with entire confidence that we commend both the work and its author to the favour
and interest of all who would cherish in their hearts
a due reverence for God's holy day, and that affection and love for the class of persons from whom




IN T ROD U CTION.          XXii
this Essay emanates, which those cannot fail to have
who understand and appreciate the apostolical injunction, "As we have many members in one
body, and all members have not the same office, so
we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every
one members one of another." Rom. xii. 4, 6.
J. JORDAN.
Enstone, Oxon, Feb. 1849.
i    _ _ _ _ _ __ _    _ _ _ _     _ _








HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO THE CURSE OF LABOUR.
E are entering on what may be emphatically styled the Age of Progress. But our advancement does not consist, in all
cases, in pursuing with accelerated speed the track
trodden by our progenitors. These are rather times
of sifting investigation. Everything is being tested.
Every received dogma is submitted to the crucible.
Every object of popular faith and homage is subjected to the most keen and rigid scrutiny. Every
social and religious institution has passed, or is
passing, the same fiery ordeal. Men are digging
down to discover the deep foundations of things...




2       HEAVEN S ANTIDOTE TO
A stern spirit of utilitarianism is abroad, plucking
up whatsoever is useless, and overthrowing whatsoever is obstructive of the prosperity and progression of man. Some of the most sacred objects
commanding our love and veneration, as well as
many of the imposing shams that have fed and
thriven on popular credulity, have been, from time
to time, assailed and denounced by their adversaries. The Bible has _been again and again cast
into the furnace of controversy, but always to
come out more glorious and precious than before.
Christianity, too, has often engaged in desperate
conflict with her embattled foes, but has always
retained possession of the field, and come off more
than conqueror. On the other hand, numerous
systems of error, excrescences of ancient institutions, and creations of human selfishness, that once
flourished in the world, have shrivelled beneath
the exposures of the intelligent and the good. At
the present period, many of these lately reigning
pretences, impeached by reason and condemned by
public opinion, are slowly perishing from our
midst.
We need not be surprised, therefore, that the
SABBATH-an institution crossing fallen man's selfinterest at such a variety of points, and tolerant of
none of the grosser or more grovelling predilections of the masses-should come in for its full
share of hostility and repudiation. Avarice grudges
it, and would be glad to buy it up. Selfishness




THE  CURSE OF LABOUR.              3
covets it, and waits only for a plausible pretext to
seize upon and annex it to its domains. Sensuality
gloats upon it, and, scorning its alleged sanctity,
would spend it in a carnival of folly and voluptuousness.  Infidelity would raise its shouts of
triumph on beholding it trampled down by worldliness, whilst religious lukewarmness holds its entreasured blessings with such a relaxing grasp, that
it would not require a very powerful effort to
wrench them from its custody. But the Sabbath
has most to fear from the gigantic public companies everywhere springing up around us in this age
of enterprise. What isolated individuals would
shrink from the responsibility of attempting, confederacies, strong in wealth and in influence, will
be found daring enough to do, and that, too, with
comparative impunity. Many of these leagues of
selfishness, we fear-whose greed is concentrated
and intensified  by their numbers-would not
scruple to stretch forth their monopolizing hands
and appropriate this day to schemes of aggrandizement. But, should they ever be suffered to
extort this blessing from society, and silence all indignant remonstrance, no earthly power would be
able to stand against their desolating inroads. The
health, the domestic comfort, the moral elevation,
and the spiritual welfare of the labouring classes,
would be of no more account than the small dust
of the balance. The happiness of thousands of
lowly families would be speedily and remorselessly




4       HEAVEN  S ANTIDOTE TO
sacrificed. Multitudes of human beings, dear to
their kindred, dear to their country, and dear to
their Creator and Redeemer, would thus become
the mere "tools of gain-the conscripts of ambition-and the materials of luxury."
If such a catastrophe is to be averted, the friends
of humanity and the guardians of truth must
awake from their lethargy, and bravely go forth to
repulse the invaders of the Sabbath. Should the
Sabbath's privileges be wrested from the sons of
toil, it can only happen through the apathy and the
unfaithfulness of the philanthropic and the good.
But if every one who is baptized with love for his
species would diligently study the subject in all its
bearings, master its apparent difficulties, get distinct
views of it before his own mind, and then do his
utmost towards the creation of a healthy public
opinion on the matter, the ominous evils now
menacing our country would be immediately
checked-the designs of the sordid, the profane,
and the licentious would be frustrated-the claims
of the Sabbath would be established on an immovable basis-the tide of Sabbath desecration
would be rolled back, and a glorious impetus
would be given to the holy enterprises of the age.
Should the following investigation of the temporal advantages of the Sabbath, considered eapecially in relation to the working classes, tend, however feebly, to aid a "consummation so devoutly to




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.              5
be wished," the writer will have accomplished an
object lying very near to his heart.
The plan we propose to pursue will be, to commence with the subordinate benefits conferred by
the Sabbath, and gradually ascend to the contemplation of those affecting the higher interests of
mankind. And should we be tempted to dwell
longer on these inferior advantages than may be
thought necessary, it will be in consequence of
their being usually very inadequately set forth,
and because they are actually realized by far
greater numbers than are those of a more exalted
character. We shall noticeI. THE PHYSICAL ADVANTAGES OF THE SABBATH.
Among these may be enumerated repose, cleanliness, and health.
I. REPOSE.
Man needs periodic intervals of rest.  The
strongest constitutional stamina, the most robust or
sinewy human frame, must speedily relax beneath
the exactions of the mildest forms of continuous
labour. A kind provision is partially made to
avert this result, by the season of nocturnal repose,
when the benevolent Creator, quenching the glare
of day, and drawing the curtains of darkness
around a wearied world, enfolds the children of
creation beneath the shadow of his wings, and




6       HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO
hushes them to slumber on their beds of peace.
But this sweet restorative-welcome as it always
is to human infirmity, and anxiously as it is longed
for, as the day drags to its close, by multitudes
overmastered by the severities of toil and the monotonous struggles of life —does not fully meet the
exigencies of man's nature. The nightly supply
of refreshment and strength is not equivalent to
the daily expenditure of energy ordinarily incurred;
and especially is this true in vast numbers of cases
among the working classes, where the constitution
has been deteriorated by early privations, by insufficiency of food, and by uncleanly or intemperate
habits. A supplemental period of rest is therefore
required, to treasure up such a degree of strength
as shall enable those upon whom the burden of
labour presses most heavily, to fulfil their allotted
tasks without prematurely wearing out the animal
system.
But neither is this all. It is not enough that a
race of rational beings should be dealt with on the
mercenary principles adopted with respect to our
beasts of burthen.  Man's two-fold nature-his
nobler capabilities-his elevation as a moral agent
-his soul, resplendent even in its ruins-challenge
a loftier recognition of his claims than is due to the
mere drudges of creation. To calculate the daily
ravages committed upon the loins, the muscles, and
the limbs of labour, and to dole out the minimrum
amount of rest and nutriment that will suffice to




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.               7
repair these damages-to barely maintain the equilibrium of functional waste and supply, at the
smallest possible sacrifice of their services-is to
embrute the labouring population; yea, to degrade
beings originally fashioned in the image of God
into mere animate machines, to be used in the production of wealth, luxury, and patrician indulgences, in which they are never suffered to participate; instead of which, they are doomed-through
the elasticity of youth, the vigour of manhood,
and the decrepitude of age-to spend all their intervals of relaxation from physical exertion in
eating, in drinking, or in sleeping-and all this
only to gather fresh power for the strained sinews,
and new moisture for the dripping brow! But
man yearns for a higher order of repose than this:
something more congenial with the diviner indwellings of his being. Not the mere oblivion of the
senses; not the luxurious stretch of the tired limbs;
not the subdued throbbings of the overwrought
brain; not alone the casting out of mortal weariness and pain;-not a rest altogether imposed by
physical necessity, but a rest that may be wakefully, intelligently, and complacently enjoyed. Such
a want is delightfully supplied by the institution of
the Sabbath!
The wisdom as well as the benevolence of
Heaven is clearly exemplified in this ordinance, in
its manifest adaptation to the circumstances of the
bulk of mankind. These days are not "like angels'




8       HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE  TO
visits, few and far between;" nor is the respite
from secular employment, when it arrives, too protracted in its duration. It preserves a judicious
mean between these mischievous extremes. Had
its recurrence fallen at intervals more distant than
at present, its benign influence would have been
found insufficient to withstand the crushing effects
of unremitting labour on the health of our operatives. And, on the other hand, if it had occurred
oftener, it would have exposed multitudes to privations, from the scantiness of their earnings; it
might have tended to undermine those industrial
habits upon which the working classes have to rely
for their prosperity and advancement; and might,
moreover, have increased those propensities to indolence and dissipation, which even now are too
extensively disclosed. As it is, the Sabbatical rest,
whilst it affords but a brief holiday to idleness,
suffices to oil the wheels of industry, to give new
zest to enterprise, and to renerve the arm, and gird
up afresh the loins of labour.
The Sabbath, as a day of relaxation and refreshment, should be esteemed precious by the
working classes in particular. The statesman, the
merchant, the manufacturer, and even the tradesman, can often escape the duties or emancipate
themselves from the thrall of business; and, vanishing from their respective engagements, may embark for foreign travel, and luxuriate awhile in
some invigorating clime; or, wandering up and




THE  CURSE  OF LABOUR.               9
down our own fair isle in search of health, may
halt at spots rich in historic interest and in memorials of ancient fame, or may visit the wonderteeming cities and towns reared by modern enterprise; or else, if wearied with the excitement of
such scenes, may turn aside for a season to the
margin of the ocean, and there inhale health and
gladness from its bracing breezes, refresh their
bodies in its living waters, and soothe the irritation
of their feelings with the music of its murmurings.
But not so the poor working man; he cannot go
beyond his tether-he can rarely cast off his collar.
From morning's dawn to evening's close, and often
into the deep shadows of the night-through scenes
of sorrow and tribulation, and the incipient stages
of disease-his necessities chain him to his post.
Condemned, like Sisyphus of old, to roll the stone
of labour up the steep acclivity of life, which, on
having neared the summit, rebounds to its starting
point again, he finds himself, after the disbursement of his scanty wages, again at the bottom of
the mountain, yoked to his hopeless task, and compelled to begin anew the up-hill struggle.
But cheer thee, child of travail! The blessed
Sabbath is thine own!  It is the excellent gift of
thy Maker-see, then, that no man rob thee of the
boon! It is the heir-loom of thy family-see that
it be not alienated from their possession! It is a
sacred inheritance, bequeathed by successive generations of the godly-see, then, that its frail fences
4                 D




10      HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO
are kept unbroken, and that its fruitful soil is not,
through neglect, cursed with sterility and nakedness! The fifty-two Sabbaths of rest with which
the year is interspersed are like patches of verdure,
watered by ever-springing fountains, that dot the
inhospitable wilderness, and invite its fainting travellers to exhilaration and repose. They are the
ports that fringe the sea of human industry, in
which the distressed bark may find a sure anchorage, and where it may renew its outfit for time and
for eternity.
Oh, precious day! the workman's jubilee-the
slave's release-the shield of servitude-the antidote of weariness-the suspension of the curse!
How  it smoothes the brow  of care!  How it
brightens the countenance of gloom!  How  it
braces the enervated limbs of labour!  How it
revives the drooping spirit of despair!  How it
gives wings to the clogged affections and aspirations of the soul!  How it pours some drops of
sweetness on the bitterest lot, and sheds some
gleams of sunshine athwart the saddest heart!
How it lifts the groveller from his low pursuits,
and fills him with a noble self-respect! How it
extinguishes the jealousies and rivalries of weekday occupations, and links men's hearts in the
bonds of brotherhood! It does homage to the
glorious attributes of the man, even when it finds
him in the condition of the serf. In most cases it
proclaims to the servant equal liberty with the




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.              11
master. It is a perpetual rebuke to the reigning
rapacity of the world. It deals out, with evenhanded justice, the essential rights of manhood, to
all classes alike; and is designed to protect the
poor from the bribes of wealth, and the weak from
the encroachments of power.
Companions in labour! have you never attempted to compute the value of the Sabbath, even
in this, the meanest of its uses, as a provision of
rest -for the body? Have any among you been
wont scornfully to repudiate it, as an institution
originated and upheld by the craft of priests? Do
you regard its weekly advent as an unwelcome intrusion-as a perpetual restriction on your privileges, a curb to your enterprise, and a sacrifice to
your pocket? Can you read no inscription of Divine loving-kindness on its serene brow, and discover none of the gifts strewn by its bountiful
hands? Are you accustomed to yawn away its
lagging hours in idleness, or sport them away in
folly or in wantonness? Oppressed by the insipidity of inaction, do you cry, " Oh, what a weariness it is! When will the Sabbath be gone, that
we may sell corn, and set forth the refuse of the
wheat?-that we may dress the vineyard, plough
the field, weld the metal, print the book, weave the
cloth, make the garment, build the house, or garnish
the sepulchre?"  Brethren! reflect seriously on
these things; and though it should appear that the
Sabbath was ordained for no higher purpose than




12      HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO
to minister to the animal refreshment of man, yet
even this is a blessing of such priceless worth, that
to wring it from the possession of society would
superinduce a catastrophe too frightful to contemplate.
That the Sabbath is no modern ecclesiastic innovation, and that it is not an exploded ordinance of
the Jewish economy engrafted upon the Christian
system, are clear from acknowledged records of a
remote antiquity; some of which furnish indubitable proofs of a general tradition respecting the
primitive Sabbath. Hesiod, who lived about 900
years before the advent of Christ, says, " The seventh day is holy." Homer, who sang about the
same period, and Callimachus, likewise a Greek
poet, who flourished about 700 years later, allude
to the seventh day as holy. Theophilus, of Antioch, says, concerning the seventh day, "The day
which all mankind celebrate." Porphyry says,
" The Phoenicians consecrated one day in seven as
holy." Lucian remarks, " The seventh day is
given to school-boys as a holiday." Eusebius observes, " Almost all the philosophers and poets acknowledge the seventh day as holy." Clemens
Alexandrinus says, "The Greeks, as well as the
Hebrews, observe the seventh day as holy." Josephus, the Jewish historian, says, " No city of
Greeks or barbarians can be found which does not
acknowledge a seventh day's rest from labour.'"
Philo testifies, "The seventh day is a festival to




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.             13
every nation." Thus, through a long succession
of ages, and by numerous Gentile nations, who
were not at all likely to adopt any one of the exclusive rites of Judaism, we have ample evidence
that the seventh day has been observed, with more
or less of religious ceremonial, as a period of relaxation for the wearied body, and as a temporary
asylum from the wasting strifes and cares of life.
The illustrations furnished above point unquestionably to vestiges of the primeval Sabbath, instituted
in Paradise, and which had been republished to
the new world by Noah and his posterity-memorials of which were thus preserved among heathen
races, despite the prevalence of depravity and the
growth of human selfishness, not so much from
veneration for the high authority that prescribed it,
as from an appreciation of its suitableness and profitableness for the burdened masses of mankind.
A really sanctified Sabbath throughout the world
would exhibit impressive proofs of the Divine benignity, and would present to the devout mind,
even in its merely picturesque aspects, one of the
most interesting spectacles that could be witnessed
upon earth. Go forth at early morning, and climb
the side of an upland peak, contiguous to some
thickly-peopled city. Gaze eastward, southward,
westward, and northward-through the whole circuit travelled by the sun-and behold the delectable representation of Sabbath rest. Every sound
breathes softer; every tint gleams brighter; every
4*              D2




14      HEAVEN'S  ANTIDOTE  TO
scene seems fresher. Cast thy glance across the
country-pass from field to field, from rill to river,
from alp'to glen, from hill to valley, from grove to
grove, from one cluster of human dwellings to another, and read in every softened feature of nature
the sweet tranquillity of Sabbath rest!
The flocks are wandering and gambolling in the
dells; the cattle are grazing on the hill-sides; and
the beasts of burden, freed from their yoke, are
feeding on the open plains. The plough stands
where it halted in its course across the furrows;
but the husbandman is gone home to cultivate his
soul. The sound of the axe has ceased from the
forest, and the prostrate trees lie as they fell; but
the woodman is gone away to ponder on the sudden death-stroke that may lay him low, or is on his
way to the place where the keen axe of truth will
be levelled at the roots of his stubborn sins. The
mills are at rest on every hill-top, but their inmates
have retired to their habitations to garner up the
corn of heaven. Few men are seen abroad; they
are chiefly at home, by the domestic hearth, beside
the family altar, teaching groups of children, watching at the couch of sickness, or smoothing the pillow, and pouring balmy speech into the ear of the
dying. Again behold and rejoice over the glorious
benefits of Sabbath rest!
Turn next towards the great city, rearing its
roofs, chimneys, steeples, monuments, and huge
masses of masonry in an atmosphere less murky




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.               15
and impure than that which broods over it on the
other days of the week. The swarms of industry
are now hived. The mingled hum of busy multitudes, the heavy tramp of traffic, the rush of enterprise, the clamour of human passions, the noise of
innumerable tools and implements of handicraft,
the fierce panting of engines, the ringing of anvils,
and the furious racings of machinery; the shouts
of crowds, the brawls of drunkenness, and the
plaints of mendicant misery, are all sunk into silence, and disturb not with a ripple of agitation the
still Sabbath air. The huge factories and workshops that girdle the city, and which are the fountains of its prosperity, are empty and dumb; and
the swarms that carry on their earthly burrowings
in those warrens of industry are reposing themselves in the companionship of their families. The
tall ships at anchor in the harbour have furled their
sails, closed down their hatches, and hid -from all
eyes the merchandise treasured in their holds,
whilst the Bethel-flag waves amidst a forest of
masts, and they that go down to the sea, and do
business on great waters, are below, studying the
chart of Revelation, tracing the dangers of their
life's voyage, and anticipating the glad hour when,
redeemed from every peril, and borne on the bosom
of a favouring tide, they shall safely moor their
bark in the haven of eternal life. The black and
dusty wharves, usually the Babel-scenes of confusion, are cleared of their hordes of porters, and




16      HEAVEN S ANTIDOTE TO
clerks, and captains, and loitering crews, who have
cast off their burdens along with their foul skins
and rough garments, and are now lading themselves with the rich freightage of the Holy Word.
The merchant has quitted the desk of his dusky
counting-house, and is now, in secret places, turning over the blotted leaves of his own heart. The
shopman has left his counter, the weaver his loom,
the joiner his bench, the smith his forge, and the
broker his stall, for the new Sabbath, in its advent,
has published to all its tidings of liberty and rest.
The gates of the temple of Mammon are shut,
and the gods of gold and silver are forsaken by
their week-day devotees. The chiming bells, sounding alike across country and town, are calling upon
all men to cut the cords of their earth-bound
thoughts and low cares, and go up to worship at
the footstool of Jehovah; and the tapering spires,
like holy fingers, are pointing significantly towards
the sky
And now the minister is descending from his
study, his countenance impressed with a solemn
sense of his responsibility; the saint is coming
forth refreshed from his closet; the pardoned penitent is rising from his knees; the evangelist is on
his way to his mission work; the Sabbath-school
teacher is pleading with his class, and the Christian
matron is gently leading forth her children to the
mountain of the Lord's house.
At length a new traffic fills the streets; a grow



THE CURSE.OF LABOUR.             17
ing bustle stirs the air; a new scene expands before the eye. Religious assemblies are gathering
the major part of the population.  They come
from the spacious squares and the crowded lanes;
they are seen issuing alike from the lordly palace
and the plebeian hut. Trooping together are seen
gray-haired sires and sprightly youth; the widow
in her weeds and the virgin in her teens; the father
in hale manhood and the mother in her charms;
the lofty in their grandeur and the lowly in their
simplicity; the mighty in their pride and the feeble
in their meekness; the healthy in their bloom and
the sickly in their paleness; the saint with his
pleasant gravity and the sinner with his indifference; the coxcomb in his daintiness and the rustic
in his rudeness. They pass along, not with the
swift-footedness of week-day enterprise, but with
a measured step and gait, befitting the solemn associations of the day. Gradually their numbers are
diminished, and ere long the throng has disappeared,
whilst the silence of the streets is broken only by
the footfall of some lonely passenger. They are
gone to the places where the rich and poor meet
together on terms of equality-where world-made
distinctions are effaced-and where one common
Father looks down, with impartial benignity and
grace, on priest and people, on peer and pauper, on
sovereign and slave. The bells grow dumb one by
one, and the doors of the sanctuaries shut in their
congregated worshippers.




18      HEAVEN' S ANTIDOTE TO
Organs are pealing through the lofty roofs of cathedrals, and along the aisles of churches; anthems
are swelling from scores of unseen chapels; the
glad outbursts of thanksgiving and the hallelujahs
of the happy are mingling in the air, and filling the
clear vault of heaven with rich harmony. Then
the holy breath of prayer goes up like fragrant incense, ascending to the sky; after which the manna
of the word is scattered round the camp, and the
doctrines of grace are distilled like reviving dew
upon the parched hearts of men. Prayer and
praise again succeed, and then-convinced by some
eloquent Apollos, or conscience-stricken by some
vehement Paul, or comforted by some consoling
Barnabas, or melted by some fervent John-the
assemblies break up and return, fervently ejaculating their gratitude for the priceless privileges of
Sabbath rest!
Alas! that the preceding sketch of Sabbath sanctification should seem so much like an ideal creation. Its observance, in the most favoured spots
of our world, is but a remote approximation to its
destined quietude and purity. The picture is everywhere blotted and blurred. Clouds of human depravity darken its divine beauty. The greed of
covetousness has wrung from its hands some of its
noblest blessings, while the natural impiety of
man's heart, and the constraints of his evil habits,
complete the awful work of desecration. God has
given the day, and blind selfishness not only wrongs




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.                19
itself of the invaluable boon, but would lay an
embargo upon its free blessings in relation to
others also. Sloth is seen foolishly idling away
the golden hours. Profaneness is heard uttering
its coarse jests and blasphemies in the very precincts of the sanctuary. Profligacy comes forth
meretriciously attired, and, heedless of rebuke,
tracks the very footsteps of the pious.  The
"lovers of pleasure," transported by the wild
liberty of the day, rush into scenes of sinful excitement-crowd the steamboats, riot in suburban
tea-gardens, or promenade the streets, the parks, or
the river's banks. Trains rush across the startled
country, robbing thousands of railway servants of
their heritage of rest, and pouring influxes of dissipated strangers into quiet villages and distant
towns, whence, after roaming and carousing for
hours, they are again borne back by the returning
train, but not without having given an additional
stimulus to all that was evil, and leaving behind
them broad sowings of demoralization, destined to
spring up and yield a wild produce of corruption
and sorrow in future years.
II. CLEANLINESS.
The Sabbath is productive of habits of cleanliness.  Superficial thinkers might, possibly, pronounce this alleged advantage to be foreign and
far-fetched; but a dip beneath the surface will




20     XHEAVEN S ANTIDOTE TO
reveal its intimate relation to the day, and invest it
with an importance that cannot well be exaggerated. Recent investigations have brought to light
a revolting picture of squalor, impurity, and wretchedness, herding together in the crowded avenues
and courts of our great towns and cities. Philanthropy has pleaded earnestly and long for the removal of these nests of social abomination, and
the public, catching at length the same humane inspiration, are sternly demanding that sweeping
sanatory measures should be adopted to get rid of
these receptacles of corruption and nurseries of
crime. Now, to the outcasts self-banished to these
regions, the Sabbath never comes! In vain its
morning eye peeps kindly in at the patched and
gloomy windows, for it meeteth no recognition
there! In vain its meridian beams, struggling
through the murkiness and filth above, around, beneath, seek to shine into the doorways of those
den-like homes, for they are quickly quenched by
the deep darkness that abideth there! There the
Sabbath's decencies are never cultivated, the Sabbath's peace is never enjoyed, the Sabbath's festival is never kept, the Sabbath's blessing is never
known!
But oh! what augmented numbers of the working classes would become the irredeemable victims
of this dark lot if the Sabbath were repealed!
The periodical return of the Sabbath supplies a
powerful motive to the cultivation of the proprie



THE CURSE OF LABOUR.               21
ties of life. It promotes, at regularly recurring intervals, the purification of the dwelling, the cleansing of household utensils, and the lustration and
anointing of the person. By what washings and
purgings, by what scourings and polishings, by
what decorations and trimmings is its near approach announced! What multitudes of buckets,
and brushes, and dust disturbers are called into
active requisition, and what streams of beautiful
water are spoiled to remove the unclean accumulations of the week, and to offer a fitting tribute to
the purity of the day. The greasy coating of
mingled dirt and perspiration, deposited day by
day upon the surface of the body, is cast off with
the soiled work-day dress, and those whose calling
brings them continually into defiling contacts are
permitted to know the deliciousness and delight of
a purified skin.
And then, when the day of hebdomadal release
arrives, and, denuded of every badge of servitude,
and appareled in his best garments, the transformed artisan steps forth from his abode into the
presence of others metamorphosed like himself,
what manly and dignified feelings are awakened
in his breast; and, on finding himself saluted by
his superiors in station, what feelings of selfrespect will arise in his soul! Thus the Sabbath
counteracts the inevitable tendency of the servilities of labour-it is perpetually at war with the
sad effects of the curse, for, whilst menial occupa5                 E




22      HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE  TO
tions gradually undermine and lower a man in his
own estimation, and shroud the excellence of his
being in mysterious darkness, it is the aim of the
Sabbath, by the hallowing associations into which
it ushers him, to impress him with a sense of the
solemnity of his position and the grandeur of his
destiny.
It is impossible to overrate the beneficial influence of the habits of cleanliness thus superinduced,
upon the health, decencies, and morals of the labouring population. It is an influence so constant
in its operation, and so comprehensive in itS range,
that none but the most abandoned in character and
condition can resist its assimilating action, and
these escape it only by fleeing to some dark retreat
on the first approach of the Sabbath's sun, where
they will hide their shame and filthiness till the
Monday's bustle again calls them forth, to prowl
up and down and prey upon the world. Besides,
this luxury of purification and this beauty of order,
enjoyed by the provident and thrifty on the Sabbath, by no means terminate with the close of that
day, but, following them through the week, and
through the year, and through the successive stages
of life, materially aid in the formation of the general character of that great class among the people.
For those who are accustomed to study the phenomena of society will find it to be an almost invariable law, that improvidence and impurity go
hand in hand —that profligacy and physical filthi



THE CURSE OF LABOUR.              23
ness are twin evils, whilst devotion ever companies
with decency, and piety has always a fitting symbol of itself in external cleanliness.
Thus one benefit comes not alone. Cleanliness
allures and leads the way to other graces. Physical benefits are often a prelude to moral blessings.
The appendages of the body become a true index
to the condition of the mind. The dwelling, like a
faithful mirror, reflects from every side an image
of the family, and household life, in its revolving
phases, is but the visible development of the habits
and garniture of the soul.
The objection may be started to the foregoing
lines of argumentation, that if the Sabbath's visitation did not present its appeals to the cleanly propensities of the people, other opportunities would
be sought and set apart by them for the realization
of so desirable an object as that at which we have
glanced.
But when, we seriously ask, are such opportunities, recurring with sufficient frequency, to be
found? When would there occur such a confluence of powerful motives, favoured by adequate
leisure, as would stimulate, not here and there an
isolated individual or a solitary family only, but
large masses of the working classes, to the cultivation of the proprieties and amenities of life?
Where, amid the fierce contentions, the grinding
extortions, the lustful rivalries, and the everlasting
labours of a Sabbathless world, would these




24      HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO
blessed pauses be met with? Nay, the spirit of
the mechanic would be so paralysed and abased as
to make him utterly reckless of all decent appearances. Every finer instinct and every germ of
greatness would perish in his nature; and these
gone, and together with them every facility and incentive to self-improvement, the man would degenerate into the brute, and communities of such
beings would become awful scourges in the earth.
We solemnly believe that the Sabbath alone, by'its universal provisions, its benignant restraints, and
its proclamations of mercy, stands angel-like between us and this abyss of ruin.
III. HEALTH.
The Sabbath is eminently conducive to health.
Health consists in the proper performance of the
functions of those organs which constitute the
body of man: it is the perfection of the physical
system. The preservation of health depends upon
the maintenance of the energy of the living functions, which, when severely tasked by protracted
labour, can only be restored by commensurate repose and recreation, and by such other exercises as
tend to impart vivacity and exhilaration to the
mind. Now, these indispensable advantages, as
we have attempted to show, are guaranteed by the
Sabbath, and that in far more abundance and with
greater certainty than could be otherwise secured.




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.               25
The weekly Sabbath comes to sprinkle its reviving
dews on the hot brow of industry, and administer
the elixir of life to a fainting world.
A moderate amount of physical effort, proportioned to the degree of muscular energy possessed,
and interspersed by intervals of refreshment, contributes decidedly to the development of the
strength and well-being of the frame; but wherever the tasks of toil are pitilessly multiplied —
where the shoulders can never throw off the yoke
-where the spur is ceaselessly applied to the poor
fettered slave-such a course of stimulation must
strain and derange the delicate mechanism, engender disease and premature decay, and goad the
body, with unnatural swiftness, into the bosom of
a welcome grave.
Health is unquestionably the greatest temporal
blessing sweetening the condition of those who are
dependent for their subsistence on manual labour.
It is the chief element in the scanty capital of the
poor operative. Rob him of this, and you reduce
him to pauperism and want. While health tints
his countenance, nerves his arm, wings his feet,
exhilarates his spirits, and pours a spring-tide of
energy through the channels of life, the robust mechanic will sport with labour, laugh at poverty, and
find existence to be a luxury and a joy. But,
when the health sickens and the strength declines
-when the arm hangs pithless and the eye grows
dull-then it is that confidence reels, the buoyant
5 *Jic           ]E2




26      HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO
spirits droop, and hope —that heavenly guest, which
is the first to come and the last to leave the human
bosom-languishes and dies. It is a sorrowful
sight to behold the delicate and sickly compelled
by dire necessity to bend their weakness to efforts
suited only to the athletic-to see the shriveled
limb straining its feebleness to earn some scanty
pittance, and the decrepid form borne to the dust
in painfulness beneath its cruel load. Yet such
sights are at present mournfully common in our
world. We cannot walk along our streets, or visit
the retreats of industry and the marts of business,
without having our eyes grieved and our hearts
pained by their recurrence.
But if man fade so rapidly, with a seventh portion of his time consecrated to rest and renovation,
then what imagination can conceive the frightful
condition into which he would be plunged if the
barriers of the Sabbath were hurled down, and reclining humanity were summoned from its repose
to commence a life of uninterrupted bondage! If
the wear and tear of the beautiful machine be attended with so much mischief now, how fearful
would be the destruction of health and life under a
system so grinding and ruthless! How dreary and
death-like would the world become! Its workshops would resemble the wards of some mighty
hospital, tenanted by the pining victims of intense
toil. Manhood would, in one or two generations,
lose all its characteristic strength; youth would be




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.             27
smitten with a fatal blight ere it had half attained
its growth, and hale old age would soon become a
prodigy to be wondered at in the land.
Yokefellows! think how the abstraction of the
Sabbath would hopelessly enslave the working
classes, with whom we are identified. Think of
labour thus going on in one monotonous and eternal cycle-the limbs for ever on the rack, the fingers for ever plying, the eye-balls for ever straining,
the brow for ever sweating, the feet for ever plodding, the brain for ever throbbing, the shoulders
for ever drooping, the loins for ever aching, and
the restless mind for ever scheming. Think-as
your imagination beholds the unvarying wheel of
work, the tread-mill of labour, thus going round,
and round, and round, without a change, without a
pause, from morn to night, from moon to moon,
and from year to year-think, if you can, of the
desolations that must follow this absolute reign of
labour over the whole realm of time. Think of
the beauty it would efface; of the merry-heartedness it would extinguish; of the giant strengths
that it would tame; of the resources of nature that
it would exhaust; of the aspirations it would
crush; of the sicknesses that it would breed; of
the projects it would wreck; of the groans that it
would extort; of the lives that it would immolate;
and of the cheerless graves that it would prematurely dig! See them, toiling and moiling, sweating and fretting, grinding and hewing, weaving




28      HEAVEN' S ANTIDOTE TO
and spinning, strewing and gathering, sowing and
reaping, razing and building, digging and planting,
unlading and storing, striving and struggling;-in
the garden and in the field, in the' granary and in
the barn, in the factory and in the mill, in the warehouse and in the shop, on the mountain and in the
ditch, on the road-side and in the wood, in the city
and in the country, on the sea and on the shore, on
the earth and in the earth, in days of brightness
and days of gloom, in hours of sun and seasons of
storm, in times of trouble and times of peace, in
the heights of day and in the depths of night,
through the savageness of winter and through the
gentleness of spring, in the energy of youth and in
the impotence of age, when health is merrily dancing in the blood, and when disease is eating up the
strength, when death is in the lonely home, and
when happy life encircles the hearth; —thus the
wheel of labour would go round with the earth,
and the children of industry, chained to its surface,
must follow its ruinous circumvolutions, till, exhausted by unnatural efforts, they relax their hold,
drop off,'and suddenly disappear!
The worn-out wayfarer, finding no verdant resting place, and no house of entertainment to cheer
him in his travel, must sink at length on the roadside and miserably perish. The delicate and the
fragile would be speedily "crushed," by such a
doom, "before the moth."  Feeble constitutions,
that with a seventh day's fostering care might eke




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.              29
out their residue of strength for many years, would
be broken down with a sudden crash. Incipient
diseases, which nature, invigorated by adequate
rest, might overgrow, would be developed with a
deadly rapidity. An intenser labour would be
found a dreadful forcer of the seeds and rudiments
of decay which are imbedded, more or less plentifully, in all of us. Under the vassalage of such a
gigantic oppressor as unrestricted labour, earth
would reek with the sufferings of her offspring,
while the all-absorbing prayer of her millions would
be for " Rest! Rest! Rest!" or the quiet slumber
of the grave!
Oh, glorious Sabbath! almoner and nurse of
health! we, the children of toil, flee to the shadow
of thy protection. Thou standest beside us, like
some guardian spirit, casting over us the shield of
thine excellency, enfolding our jaded powers in thy
sustaining arms, and saying to the encroaching tide
of human selfishness, " Hitherto shalt thou come,
but no further; and here shall thy proud waves be
stayed." May thy bulwarks, notwithstanding all
hostile assaults, stand strong as the everlasting
hills, and be, in all coming ages, for a refuge and a
covert to the children of men!




30      HEAVEN S ANTIDOTE TO
II. THE MERCANTILE ADVANTAGES OF THE
SABBATH.
WE have dwelt somewhat at length upon the
physical benefits resulting from the observance of
the Sabbath-contemplating it as the couch especially provided for the repose of the prostrated
powers of industry; as a season eminently adapted
to lure to the cultivation of all the graces and refinements of civilization, and as a provision designed
to replenish the impoverished springs upon which
an energetic condition of health and strength depends. But, besides these advantages, we believe
it is capable of proof, that the suspension of all
secular employment on the Sabbath contributes
directly to the pecuniary interests of the working
classes. This assertion will, perhaps, excite a momentary surprise in those who have have only
viewed the subject with the eye of covetousness,
and under the bias of a sordid heart. But, after
pondering well the few rudimental thoughts we
are about to submit, we think they will arrive at
a thorough conviction of the soundness of this
somewhat startling proposition.
For the sake of perspicuity, we shall divide the
working classes of our country into two distinct
branches-the two great arterial streams of production, that supply the necessities of the social
body, and that create the wealth of the empire



THE CURSE OF LABOUR.               31
viz., our mechanics and our agricultural labourers;
the former division comprehending our manufacturing operatives, our artificers, the workers in
metals, and those following numerous other skilful
crafts; and the latter branch comprising all farm
servants, or individuals engaged in the production
of food. Let us first view the subject in relation
to the mechanical department of labour, by whose
agencies we are furnished with all the external necessities and luxurious appendages of life; such as
our apparel and all our personal ornaments, our
dwellings, with all their garniture and utensils, and
our libraries, with their literary stores.
The addition of the Sabbath to the established
period of labour, would be attended by such consequences as are greatly to be deprecated by those
whose hands are obliged to minister to their daily
wants.  They are these: —increased production,
diminished consumption, a new stimulus to competition, and a reduction of wages. If these effects
can be shown to be the legitimate fruit yielded by
the secularization of the seventh day, we shall
have done much towards winning for it a higher
and warmer estimate on the part of many who
have been wont to regard its observance with
grudging aversion. If the former two results mentioned can be satisfactorily proved, the latter two,
at least in a country like ours, depressed by a superabundant population, must inevitably follow.




32      HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO
I. INCREASED PRODUCTION.
The appropriation of the Sabbath to worldly
occupations would be accompanied by increased
production. That is, the fruit of our manufacturing exertions would be multiplied, just in proportion to the additional period of time devoted to labour. We are aware that this position is by no
means certain-that it is based, perhaps, upon a
fallacy. But then the alternative of relinquishing
it would tell fearfully against the interests of our
overtasked artisans, and would disclose such a
state of things as Christians, philanthropists, patriots, and statesmen must alike deplore. However,
as it is our intention to recur to this surmised objection again, we shall for the present assume the
proposition to be sound, and give the working
people of England the full benefit thereof. We
shall now attempt simply to furnish some illustrations of its truth and validity. It is very clear that,
all things being equal, the result of a man's industry who works six days or sixty hours, would be
exceeded one-sixth by the result of seven days' or
seventy hours' work per week. Only let this principle be expanded over the whole field of labour,
and the aggregate result must be of the same nature as that in every individual case. Thus, then,
it follows, that the present amount of manufactured stock, annually produced from the raw material, would be multiplied in the proportion of one



THE CURSE OF LABOUR.               33
sixth, by the abstraction of the Sabbath from rest,
which would be an increase equivalent to the sudden influx of nearly a million fresh operatives.
Now the question for the working classes to consider is, would this increase of production be advantageous or detrimental to their interests? Would
it promote their prosperity and independence, or
conduce to their depression and servility? Would
it tend to their progressive enrichment, or would it
hang at length like a mill-stone about their necks,
and drag them down to the depths of wretchedness? Is there a fair prospect of disposing of this
immense excess of production? Are there markets
available for this purpose? Are the ports of the
world's commerce opening so rapidly to our trading
enterprise, that there can be no reason to fear lest
the supply should-exceed the demand, lest our
marts of merchandise should be glutted, and our
warehouses crammed with unsaleable goods? Increased production, to any extent, could be attended
by no evils, if consumption, domestic or foreign,
kept pace with it. Do the signs of the times indicate the probable advent of such a state of mercantile prosperity?  We trow not; but rather the
reverse. So far, indeed, is it from being the case
now, that we are in exactly the opposite condition.
Our manufacturing industry already furnishes more
than home necessities and foreign purchases combined can remuneratingly take off. Even now,
during some portion of every year, tens of thou6                 F




34      HEAVEN' S ANTIDOTE TO
sands of operatives are without emyloyment, or are
compelled to abridge their hours of labour; whilst
ever and anon some commercial crisis convulses
the frame-work of society, drives multitudes forth
from their cells of industry, and sends them drifting
through the land-a famishing and beggared race!
The effect of the secularization of the seventh day
would be to augment and aggravate these terrible
evils. But this is not all. It would lead to
II. DIMINISHED CONSUMPTION.
Storehouses gorged with surplus merchandise on
the one hand, and a visible decline in the trading
prosperity of a nation on the other, generally go
together. The falling off, in the case we are assuming, would affect the staple commodities of
business-food, apparel, and furniture; and this
decline would result mainly from these two causes:
-first, the non-employment of hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children, whose ordinary
week-day operations would be superseded by the
labours of the Sabbath, and who would, therefore,
be incapacitated from obtaining any of the comforts, and but a few scanty morsels of the necessaries of life;-and a second source of this decline
would exist in the diminished requirements of the
working classes themselves for the indulgences of
life. A population, despoiled of its holidays, and




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.             35
brutalized by ceaseless toil, would have little taste,
and less leisure, for the acquisition of such things.
The extension of our work over another day of
the week would not create one new want, nor add
any keenness to those already felt. No more food
would be consumed in consequence, even with the
sharpest appetite that labour could impart; for the
Sabbath is, proverbially, with the thrifty poor, a
day of feasting and good fare. The dwelling
would boast of no richer garniture in consequence;
no tasteful ornaments would be seen scattered about
the room, when there would be no neighbours to
drop in to admire the cottage tidiness. Alas! under
such a system, how soon would the pride of housewifery be swept away, and nothing but the meanest
utensils would remain to relieve the nakednesss of
the domestic abode. And then, no more wearing
apparel would be required in consequence. On
the contrary, every inducement to procure showy
and costly attire would be withdrawn. What millions then would never change the clothes that
served them well enough for the drudgeries of life!
It is impossible to calculate how great a portion of
the working classes are indebted for their prosperity
to the Sunday suits worn by the industrious millions. When we take into consideration the hands
employed in manufacturing and beautifying the
stuffs of which they are composed-in distributing
and retailing them throughout the length and
breadth of the land-and the everlasting stitch,




36      HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO
stitch, stitch, in fashioning them into vestments of
elegance and beauty-rwe shall have some conception of the multitudes that draw their subsistence
from this source alone.
Perhaps it may be urged against this view, that,
if the lower orders did not purchase their dresses
for Sabbath use, they would, nevertheless, procure
them for other occasions. This would undoubtedly
be the case, to some extent, among the better class
of artificers, but would still, we apprehend, leave
a serious defalcation in the demand for goods of
other qualities. For it should be remembered that,
with multitudes, the Sunday suit is quite distinct
in material from the clothing required by them in
following their respective crafts. Whether these
festive habiliments are worn partly for the gratification of pride, is not now the question for us to
discuss. We have here to consider it simply as an
element of comparative mercantile prosperity, or
depression-as a matter of pounds, shillings, and
pence, in relation to the condition of the productive classes. And, so considered, the diminished
consumption of the staple articles above mentioned,
would reduce myriads of industrious families to
destitution, and would recoil fearfully upon the
cupidity of man.




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.               37
III. INCREASED COMPETITION AND REDUCTION OF WAGES.
From a redundancy of production and an abated
demand, must follow increased competition and
reduction of wages. With less work to be performed, with a multiplying number of operatives,
and with more time by one-sixth in which to exercise their callings, there would arise, of necessity,
sharper emulations among those who have no property besides their hands and their health-nothing
wherewith to support themselves and feed their
families save their skill and labour. Men thus circumstanced, in order to secure some few crumbs at
nature's table, would be found struggling desperately with their fellows, beating each other down
to such a minimum of remuneration as would
barely suffice for the necessaries of life. In a race
where all the competitors could not win, each one
would strive, at whatever hazards, to be himself
the successful candidate: "Skin for skin, yea, all
that a man hath will he give for his life." Now,
it would be utterly impossible for an adequate rate
of wages to be maintained amid the inroad of such
evils upon the social economy. They must continue to sink lower and lower towards the point of
utter penury and distress.
If the abrogation of the Sabbatical rest were not
attended by the results we have predicted, then it
would be in consequence of the two following
facts: —viz., that seven days' uninterrupted labour
6                F 2




38      HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO
is not more productive than six days' toil, supplemented by a day of rest; for it should be remembered, that time is but one of the many elements
conducing to efficient and fruitful labour. Vigour
of limb, buoyancy of spirit, and a joyous sense of
freedom, are almost equally essential; —and again,
that the mortality of our species, occasioned by
this grinding system, would be increased to such a
frightful extent, as continually to relieve the overgorged labour-market of its surplus hands. We
leave the abettors of Sabbath abolition to decide
on which of the horns of this dilemma they choose
to be impaled.
But we must now offer a word or two respecting the bearings of the question on the husbandmen of our land. By the growth of the rural
population, and the extensive displacement of
manual labour by the introduction of machinery,
the wages of this great body of our yokefellows
have been already frittered down well nigh to a
famishing point. But, miserable as is their condition at present, seven days' toil in every week
would only serve to aggravate its horrors. A sixth
portion of those at present employed, would be
immediately expelled from the soil, billeted upon
the large towns, and drafted into other occupations;
or, disappointed in their most vigilant efforts thus
to found for themselves a home by dint of honest
industry, they would be compelled to take refuge
within the precincts of some union-house; or else,




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.               39
by the pressure of their wants, would, under the
influence of exasperated feelings, be goaded into
the commission of crimes that would embitter all
their days, and darken the once bright prospect of
their eternal future. Whilst, at the same time,
those who continued to plod at the employments
of husbandry would soon discover that the pitiful
sum, at which their sweat and strength were valued,
would undergo no rise in consequence of their
multiplied tasks: they would receive the same insulting pittance for seven days' labour that they
had formerly received for six; for it is not the
question, with many of their oppressors, what remuneration their hard services deserve, but upon
how little of human fare the sons of the soil can
labour and exist.
The foregoing considerations disclose to us this
fact-that we do not need the Sabbath for mercantile, manufacturing, or agricultural pursuits, and
that it is clearly the pecuniary interest of working
men in particular to resist to the utmost all the encroachments of unnecessary labour upon that day.
In volunteering their own services, either out of
contempt for the day, or through a longing for unhallowed gains, or in countenancing the enthralment of their fellows, they are fighting against
themselves, and plunging a dagger into the heart
of their own prosperity. Rather let the whole
community of labour, with unity of soul, rise to




40      HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO
withstand every insidious attempt to wrest from
them this magna charta of their rights, as the free
creatures of God!
III. THE INTELLECTUAL ADVANTAGES OF THE
SABBATH.
WE have hitherto confined our illustrations of
the value of this institution to its meaner usesas a benevolent provision, conservative of the wellbeing and happiness of the body, and as an economical arrangement, conducive to the wealth and
prosperity of the empire, but we now propose to
advance a step further, and view the Sabbath in
its adaptation to the higher attributes and more
dignified relationships of man.. He errs guiltily
who regards the mechanic simply as a curious
piece of mechanism, consisting of brains, and
bones, and muscles, and nerves, endowed with extraordinary capabilities of labour, and who treats
him precisely as he would any other piece of machinery, casting him off when no longer serviceable.
Man is a being of mysterious complexity, and
he who, in subjugating his powers to menial tasks,
overlooks or blinks this fact, commits a sacrilege
upon his nature. Whilst there is nothing too low
or groveling for him to stoop to, there is, at the
same time, nothing too high to be attainable by




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.              41
his ambition. While his feet tread the ground, his
brow fronts the sky. While his hands turn the sod,
tug at the oar, or ply the loom, his soul, in its spiritual outgoings, may be roaming among the stars.
The extremes of majesty and meanness thus meet
in his nature. His perishing body establishes his
affinity with the dust, while his indestructible spirit
links him with the heavens. His limbs furnish him
with instruments fitted for labour, but his intellect
qualifies him for thought. The meanest serf, whose
figure is bowed earthwards by the hardships of his
lot, is invested with an immortal mind —all unhewn, and shapeless, and beautiless it may be, but
still lying there, imbedded in the deep mines of his
nature-dungeoned in darkness, pe'radventure, but
still alive, looking hopefully through its bars, and
struggling to be free-void and unfashioned now,
but with capacities for treasuring up a vast fund of
ideas-poor and talentless in its present state, but
nevertheless a mint that may hereafter coin and
give currency to its intellectual opulence-barren
and birthless now, but containing in its womb the
dormant rudiments of noble purposes, startling discoveries, beneficent deeds, or mighty revolutions.
The annals of politics, the chronicles of science,
and the archives of religion, bear witness to the
bountiful upspringings of great and good men from
these uninclosed wastes of humanity. Science can
boast of its Kepler, its Ferguson, its Watt, its Newton, and its Stephenson; and literature can point,




42      HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO
amidst innumerable others, to the names of Erasmus, Shakspeare, and Burns-all these having
sprung from the loins of labour. Philanthropy has
called some from the forge and from the anvil to
the more blessed work of fusing hostile hearts and
welding human sympathies. Religion, too, has ever
selected her bravest and holiest champions from
among the "common people." In primitive times
she found her John, and James, and Peter, following the occupation of fishermen on the banks of
the Galilean lake, and, taking them from thence,
made them the apostles of her sublime revelations;
and, in this late age of missions, she has drawn her
most illustrious Christian heroes-her Martyn, her
Brainerd, her Carey, her Williams, her Knibb, and
her Moffat-from similar spheres of social obscurity, and sent them forth to humanize, regenerate,
and redeem mankind.
Such being the inherent grandeur of man, even
when found in the rudest condition and fulfilling the
humblest functions, we may reasonably suppose
that the Sabbath, being made expressly for man,
whilst it ministered refreshment to his corporeal
frame, would not overlook the higher necessities of
his compound nature. Nor are we disappointed in
these expectations. The Sabbath has a two-fold
function to perform. It comes to give rest to mat.
ter and liberty to mind. Whilst it soothes the
senses, it unleashes the spirit from its tether. It
withdraws the hands from gold-gathering, that it




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.                43
may feed and feast the intellect with knowledge.
It disinters the soul from the rubbish of earthly
cares, and plumes it for higher converse and loftier
studies. It favours inaction only so far as it shall
contribute to the advancement of intelligence. Thus
the Sabbath as clearly indicates that the working
man has a mind, demanding to be exercised and
enriched, as that he has a body sighing in its weariness for the sweet indulgences of rest. And how
beautifully is it adapted to the former, as well as to
the latter of these ends! It supplies the great desideratum of the artisan and husbandman's plodding existence-leisure for profitable reading and
mental and moral culture. Its benign influences
are eminently calculated to warm into life and
nurse into maturity many of the finer attributes
of mankind.
I. OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRIVATE STUDY AND REFLECTION.
The advantage of the Sabbath, as it respects the
enlargement and fructification of the minds of the
lower classes, is strikingly seen in the opportunities it affords for private study and. reflection. The
different callings pursued by the bulk of our
working men engross nearly all their time, which
they are thus compelled, by their indigent circumstances, to give in exchange for the means of subsistence. Where some few parings of time remain
at the disposal of the sons of toil, they are gene



44      HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO
rally so scattered, and occur at seasons when the
corporeal powers are so prostrated, and the spirits
so spent, as to be comparatively valueless, and
passed in negligent musing. It must be admitted
that such intervals of spiritless exhaustion are not
calculated to predispose to intellectual effort, or to
increase the hunger of the mind; but rather, where
no deliberate resolve to excel has been formed,
present strong inducements to waste them in scenes
of excitement and sensuality. And, sad to tell, the
garish and syren-voiced temptations of the world
have prevailed, to a lamentable extent, in alluring
our artisans and peasantry from the more solid pursuits of learning.
Now this great defect of the week is bountifully
supplied by the boon of the Sabbath. It prescribes
the ancient landmarks of labour, and incloses from
the wide waste of common life an allotment sacred
to the culture and growth of mind. A seventh portion of our time-fifty-two Sabbaths in every year,
and ten years of Sabbaths, or 3650 days, in a life
of threescore years and ten-is thus redeemed from
secular pursuits, and becomes the especial property
of mind. Oh, what intellectual riches would the
Sabbath hours of an average life, wisely husbanded,
enable us to hoard! How might we elevate our
condition, dignify our characters, strengthen our
virtues, and sweeten the bitterness of our lives, by
a conscientious use of these oft-recurring opportunities! But, alas, how little is this princely




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.             45
blessing understood or appreciated by the working
classes! How fearfully are its privileges abused,
and its purposes perverted!  Instead of works
healthful in their tone and moral in their tendency,
we find the reading multitude delighting in low and
pernicious productions. Instead of reading books
calculated to expand their intellect, and nourish in
them great, and good, and god-like thoughts, we
find among them works irreligious in their character, and designed to pander to the corrupt passions
of human nature. In the place of the Bible may
be seen the romance; in the place of the volume
illustrating the works and ways of God, or descanting on the destiny of man, will be found the
Sunday newspaper, consisting of the weekly offscourings of a nation's depravity diligently raked
together. This literary garbage is the mental aliment served up for Sabbath entertainment to tens
of thousands of our working population.  The
issue of these messengers of impiety and immorality fluctuates between 50,000 and 100o,ooo
weekly. What streams of corruption a prostituted
press thus pours forth throughout the land, polluting the souls and vitiating the tastes of old and
young, imparting morbid cravings to the minds of
both sexes, and poisoning the nether springs of
morality and religion. Where is the man who
has risen from a low station to eminence of rank,
or to commanding influence of mind, by feeding
on such trash as this? Where shall we find the
7                G




46      HEAVEN S ANTIDOTE TO
pioneer of liberty, the wrestler for human rights,
the social regenerator, the original thinker, the conqueror of science, or the preacher of religion, who,
in surmounting his early disadvantages, has not
jealously husbanded the precious hours of the
Sabbath? Never, until the working classes shall
change their predilections, root out these literary
tares from their homes, and spend a portion of the
Sabbath in storing their minds with wholesome
knowledge, will they realize the full advantages
of the day, in relation to their intellectual development.
II. MEANS OF PUBLIC ORAL INSTRUCTION.
Besides the facilities thus supplied for the private
acquisition of knowledge, the Sabbath also furnishes the means of public oral instruction. This
provision is peculiarly valuable to the mass of the
people, whose avocations and straitened circumstances necessarily exclude them from many sources
of improvement accessible to others. It is preeminently the glory of the Sabbath. In England,
Scotland, and Wales, about 35,000 buildings are
flung open on this day for the impartation of instruction in morals and religion. About 40,000
minds, many of them gifted and powerful, have
consecrated their talents to this work, and distribute on this day the fruit they have garnered up
by the studies of the week. Everything in the




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.                47
nature and accompaniments of the day favours and
aids their efforts. The cessation of business, the
sudden enfranchisement of the thoughts from
worldly thraldom, and the universal tranquillity
that reigns around-all conduce to the success of
the preacher's ministrations. But for the institution of these means, what multitudes of every generation must have passed to the grave ignorant
of their responsibilities, their moral relations, and
their destiny. The Sabbath abstracts the mind
from carnal contacts, and keeps it from rooting itself altogether in the earth. It beckons the crouching spirit of the trader away from week-day scenes
to higher and calmer regions.
The instruction dispensed on this day is of a character calculated to expand, refine, and sublimate
the mind. It embraces a boundless range of topics,
from the simplest elements of knowledge appreciable by the dullest intellect, to the most recondite
mysteries that baffle the highest reason. It unseals
the fountain-head of truth, in the nature of God.
It unlocks the treasures of divine philosophy, in
creation, in providence, and in redemption.  It
impresses into its sacred service whatever is beautiful in nature, grand in science, and instructive in
art; whatever is pure in ethics, lovely in virtue,
and sublime in revelation; whatever is monitory in
the past, perilous in the present, and inspiriting in
the future. It leads the mind backward to the
ages before the flood, to the paradisaical state of




48      HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO
man, to the origin of the universe, and thence to
the vast solitudes of a past eternity; or it urges
the shrinking spirit forwards, through the valley of
the shadow of death-through the dark and populous empire of the grave-into the august presence
of the Judge of all the earth-to the home of the
beatified-to the pandemonium  of the wickedand outwards into the immensities of the everlasting future! It addresses itself to all the faculties and passions of the soul; it illumines the understanding, sobers the judgment, thrills the heart,
softens the feelings, energises the conscience, and
sanctifies the deepest affections of our mysterious
nature.
The public instruction of the Sabbath teaches
man also to understand himself-a study of supreme importance, and of intense interest, and one
that should take precedence of every other. It is
ever reminding him of his immortality, and giving
premonitions of his latter end. Its lessons are
suited to the changeful circumstances and experiences of his chequered history; it counsels him in
his embarrassments, comforts him under his adversities, encourages him amidst his struggles, and
strengthens him for the hour of temptation. It
habituates the mind to the contemplation of all
that is wonderful and glorious in God, and all that
is hateful and terrible in sin; all that is divine in
compassion, and victorious in love; all that is
beautiful in holiness, and hideous in depravity;




THE CURSE- OF LABOUR.                49
all that is hallowing in truth, and pestiferous in error; all that is alluring in heaven, and revolting in
hell. It is impossible to exaggerate the blessed
effects resulting to the working classes from thus
familiarizing their minds with sound scriptural
views and holy Bible principles. Such instruction
exerts a plastic power upon the character, and
tends to make them more conscientious as servants, more patriotic as citizens, more peaceful as
subjects; wiser as men, better as parents, and happier as Christians.
III. SABBATH-SCHOOLS.
The Sabbath-schools of our land afford another
exemplification of the advantages of the Sabbath
in relation to mind. These delightful institutions
are mainly supplied with scholars from the families
of the lower ranks of society. There are at the
present time, according to a recent calculation,*
not fewer than two millions of such children gathered every Sabbath day into these Christian nurseries; a large proportion of whom are employed
through the entire week, and who, but for this expedient of Christian benevolence and zeal, would
grow up in a state of barren ignorance. Here,
then, we have a machinery, simple in its construe* See Edward Baine's Lecture on Education at Crosby
Hall, Feb. 15, 1848.
7*                G2




50      HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO
tion, noiseless and unobtrusive in its operations,
but nevertheless wonderful and far-reaching in its
results.  The ten thousand little streamlets glide
unseen along the bed of society-the children and
their teachers come and go from week to weekthe busy world, meanwhile, taking no note of
them; but a mighty and beneficent work is
stealthily going on in secret. The fallow ground
of two millions of minds is brought under the culture of spiritual husbandry.* The virgin soil of
youthful hearts is turned up, and exposed to the
warm  breath of instruction.  The seeds of evil
germinating there-those indigenous to their nature, those shed upon them by a pernicious parental
example, and those borne to them on the wings
of every worldly influence-are sought out and
carefully eradicated.  Fresh sowings simultaneously take place, living germs of goodness are implanted, the stony heart is oft-times made ductile
by tender treatment, the conscience is aroused, the
intellect is dressed and fructified, an appetite for
nutritious knowledge is created, and thus the work
hopefully goes on.
Sometimes the green blade of promise speedily
appears, the budding intellect expands its leaves,
and the progressive life yields a rich crop of piety
and usefulness. In other cases the springing is
delayed. The golden grain seems to have perished
* A glorious band of 250,000 teachers are employed in the
work of Sabbath-school tuition.-Vide Baine's Lecture.




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.            51
in the ungenial bed to which it had been consigned.
But no. Rank passions and luxuriant vices have
only checked the precious seed, and retarded its
growth. The living rudiments can never rot: they
lie deeply earthed in the heart, entangled, perhaps,
with the fibres of sins that root themselves there,
awaiting a predestined day-an hour-a placewhen and where they shall suddenly burst, with
startling energy, into sight. It may be on the desolate rock, when the wreck is going down; it may
be in the heart of a deep wilderness, or in the
worse solitude of a crowded city, when no friendly
face beams upon them; it may be in the graveyard, in the day of desolation; it may be in the
lonely chamber, in the dead of night; it may be in
the dungeon, when crime is fully ripe; or it may
be on the death-bed, when the judgment hour
draws near! For on all these occasions, and in all
these places, have the imperishable reminiscences
of Sabbath-school instructions been suddenly revived, sometimes to communicate a glimmering
hope of the Divine mercy, at others, to add fuel to
the burnings of despair.
What rich fruitage has this blessed system already
yielded! The Sabbath-school is a nursery of national righteousness. It has supplied men of integrity for responsible stations in society. It has,
from year to year, replenished the church of God
with new members. It has provided the ministry
of our land with not a few of its most illustrious




52      HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO
ornaments, and has given the first impulses of seraphic zeal to many of the most distinguished missionaries of modern-times. And who can compute
the number of dormant minds it has quickened into activity-the fine intelligences it has opened and
expanded, the memories it has stored with precious truths, the trailing virtues it has supported
and invigorated, and the thriving vices it has withered, uprooted, and destroyed!
It is, moreover, the peculiar excellence of this
educational system, that it not only developes intellect, but it developes it in a right manner. It
does this, not by artificial stimulants, forcing a precocious and sickly growth, but by simply aiding
the healthy action of nature. For it is not the abstract acuteness and capacity of any mind, but the
proper application of its powers, that should be a
matter of solicitude. A splendid intellect prostituted to the advocacy of error is a fearful curse,
whilst the humblest talents, plighted to truth, and
wisely directed, may prove an enduring blessing.
Had the Sabbath no other benefit of which to
boast, than that of educating the incipient mind of
the children of the working classes, it would be entitled to our warmest gratitude and commendation.
Sabbath-school instruction is one of the most hopeful and influential of all labours, and in the present
perilous times is emphatically required! If the
wide under-growth of youthful mind be not carefully watched, and directed, in its earlier stages of




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.               53
development, small success will attend any subsequent efforts to improve it, when it has attained a
dwarfed, misshapen, and stubborn maturity. If
good impulses are not given to the rising intelligence of the labouring population in childhood,
there is painful reason to fear that, in very many
cases, the impressing season is irrevocably lost.
Other teachers are in the field. Other influences
are busy all around. Life opens up its beguiling
scenes to the inexperienced eye. Harlotry lavishes
its blandishments and weaves its snares. Scepti.
cism  insinuates its doubts. Profanity next approaches, flashing its witty jests and blasphemies.
Enticements to dissoluteness and sensuality ply the
unguarded victim on every side, till at length the
time not spent in the duties of his calling is wasted
in awful wickedness. Thus the fallen one becomes
a wretched outcast from all good men. And thus
minds that, with timely training, might have struggled into light and usefulness, become blasted by
early neglect, and the fierce onset of earthly temptations.
But if youth will push its way to the brink of
destruction, let us, nevertheless, fence the path with
all possible resistances and obstructions. Since the
road to ruin is so easy and congenial to the heart
of man, let us lodge in his mind every principle
that is calculated to retard his progress and damp
his guilty ardour. This object is blessedly achieved
by the Sabbath-schools of our country.




54      HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO
What a fund of blessing is thus hoarded up in
the Sabbath! Its uses in relation to mind are not
at present fully understood, for its rich available
sources have never yet been half explored. The
present Sabbath-school system, for instance, is but
the embryo of a more perfect scheme for intellectual
elevation hereafter to be disclosed.
IV. THE DOMESTIC ADVANTAGES OF THE SABBATH.
BESIDES numerous incidental and collateral benefits resulting from the advent of the Sabbath, in
relation to the homes of the working classes, there
are three great ends directly promoted by it that
are worthy of special regard: it favours the cultivation of natural affection, it secures family fellowship, and it generates and fosters domestic piety.
I. UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE SABBATH NATURAL AFFECTION IS NURTURED AND INCREASED.
The institution of families does not owe its origin
to human ingenuity. God himself has grouped the
human race in these miniature associations, and,
by the refined instincts which he has implanted in
their bosom, has, in all ages, and amidst all the
confused comminglings of mankind, preserved this
unique institution fromn destruction. The homes




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.             55
of men are the centres of nearly all the light and
warmth that cheer the social world; the arks that
shelter mankind from the raging tumults and
storms of life; the cells where the loving and the
loved hoard the sweet fruits of their reciprocal
affection; the well-springs that supply mankind
with the purest draughts of earthly happiness.
Attachment to home is always strongest in the
hearts of the virtuous and the good, whilst it will
be found, that those who have abandoned themselves to sensualism and vice, have first learned to
loathe the quiet joys, the chaste delights, and the
gentle affections of the family circle.
All our natural affections are quickened by frequent and kindly domestic communion. The offices
of love, the acts of devotedness, and the proofs of
tenderness, constantly repeated among relatives
mingling in the same dwelling, cannot but powerfully affect their emotional nature, and continue to
weave, day by day, a chain of love around their
hearts. The strength of this chain will depend, in
a great measure, upon the frequency or infrequency
of the intercourse subsisting between the respective
members of the household. It is proverbial that
absence tends to the estrangement of the heart,
even from those claiming the closest kinship with
us. Where our seasons of communion, therefore,
only occur at lengthened intervals, or where they
are hurried and embarrassed by the intrusion of
care and anxiety, the bonds linking together the




56      HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO
members of the family must of necessity be thereby relaxed and weakened.
These observations bring at once to our view
the position of the working classes, in their respective families, as it respects the cultivation of
those natural affections from which so large a share
of their earthly enjoyments spring. During the
days of labour the artisan or the husbandman is,
to a great extent, an involuntary absentee from his
home. He rises early in the morning, before the
remainder of the family are up, and goes forth,
like the sun, to perform his daily circuit of duty.
If the scene of his operations happens to be near,
he shows himself punctually at the hours of refreshment, partakes hastily of the family meals,
and again disappears; but if, as is frequently the
case, his sphere of labour be remote, then he returns no more to his fire-side till the evening is far
spent, and when the children, or the sick wife perhaps, have retired to rest, whilst in very many instances the great distance of his employment will
detain him from the bosom of his family till the
broad shadows of the closing week are stretched
across the land. This is the perpetual lot of millions of our toiling tribes.  What opportunities,
then, have they, in these swift visits to the domestic hearth, or in the drowsiness of evening exhaustion, to breathe sympathy or minister comfort
to an ailing and suffering wife? What opportunities to win, by parental endearments, a lodgment








il   H.!
~~ —-— ~-~                               i:::.    _iiiili,.Manvlle, i
"The zone of Charity encompasses the household."
IIEAVE'S ANTIDOTE, p. 57.




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.               57
in the hearts of their offspring? What leisure to
sit under the shadow of the gourd their own hands
have planted, and eat of its delicious fruits? If
some provision had not been made to obviate the
effects of this domestic deprivation, the families of
the working classes generally would present a
painful spectacle of mutual indifference and disaffection between husbands and wives, and of alienation between fathers and children; for when the
natural affections, which mainly give birth to all
the delights of home, are suffered to. languish
through neglect, there are no evils or distractions
to which such households may not become a prey.
But the same benevolent Being who has, by certain constraining laws interwoven with our nature,
clustered mankind in these little communities, has
also, even in the most unpropitious circumstances,
afforded facilities for promoting those refined instincts on the strength of which the happiness of
the family institution chiefly depends. God has
given to the sons of labour the Sabbath for a sacred possession. On this day the separations of
the week do not take place; the dissociated are
brought together into fellowship, the brother caresses the sister, the father lavishes his fondnessupon the children, the husband tenderly greets the
wife, and the zone of charity encompasses the
household. The pulses of affection are quickened
in every soul; each beholds his or her happiness
imaged in the beaming countenances of all beside,
8                 H




58      HEAVEN' S ANTIDOTE TO
and thus love ripens apace beneath the clear sunshine of the heart.
If the Sabbath fails to bring household harmony
and interchanges of affection, as it does in too
many cases, we must attribute it, not to any defectiveness in the provisions of the day, but to the
prevalence of discordant passions in the bosoms of
the members of the family. Their heart-strings
are out of tune, consequently the music of domestic
life is marred. The father is austere and despotic,
it may be, or the mother is querulous and ill-tempered; in either case the green affections of childhood are blighted as soon as they appear. The
husband is perhaps enslaved by intemperance, and
robs his family to satiate his lusts; the down-trodden wife either upbraids him, or sullenly submits
to her fate, and the slighted children learn to dread
and recoil from their degraded sire. To such the
Sabbath re-union brings no divine concord, no holy
heart-communion, and thus ruthlessly does sin oftentimes blur the bright beauty of Sabbath homes,
and neutralize the kind intents of Him who is alike
the founder of families and of Sabbath days.
II. THE SABBATH SECURES TO THE WORKING CLASSES OPPORTUNITIES FOR DOMESTIC FELLOWSHIP.
This is but an amplification of the idea upon
which we have already dilated. During the week




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.               59
by far the largest portion of their time is consumed
amidst their coadjutors in toil, many of whom are
comparative strangers to them, others are unworthy of their confidence and friendship, whilst the
fellowship of not a few is decidedly distasteful and
distressing. It imparts a double joy, therefore, to
the intelligent and virtuous man, to be able to escape for a season from such contacts, and to find a
temporary retreat in the bosom of a cheerful family.
Here he can breathe freely, in an atmosphere untainted by the impurities that have surrounded him
throughout the week. Here he can solace his soul
with the sweet converse of those he loves. On
this day he has time to imprint, line by line, lineament by lineament, an indelible image of himself
on the hearts of his sons and daughters. On this
day he has leisure to extract the honey of domestic
happiness from the beauteous flowers bursting and
blooming around him in the garden of his home.
On this day he has opportunity to cultivate the affections of his children, by directing them towards
worthy objects; to admonish them of their faults
and follies, to point out the temptations to which
they are exposed, to forewarn them, with a parent's
earnestness, of the perils that beset their steps, to
impregnate their minds with sound principles, to
instil virtuous sentiments, to extirpate vindictive
dispositions, to encourage the exercise of the intellect, and strive to exalt the moral sense, in short,
to weed out of their natures whatever would prove




60      H E AVEN' S ANTIDOTE TO
detrimental to their happiness or usefulness, and at
the same time to foster in them whatever might
tend to improve their characters, or give stability
to their future lives.
If this parental mission, to which the Sabbath
peculiarly calls the heads of households, were but
conscientiously fulfilled, what myriads of youth
might be snatched from infamy, and what numbers
of sorrowful parents, whose heads are prematurely
bending to the grave, might spend a happy and
extended old age beneath the family vine they had
planted in their days of strength.  But, in the
most critical periods of their children's history,
their minds and morals were neglected-left exposed to the sower of every sort of evil-and now,
alas! they are harvesting a terrible retribution in
the crimes and sufferings of their scattered offspring!
Contrasted with this dark picture, how blessed is
the retrospect of a well-spent Sabbath in the family! What a sweet preparative for the struggles
of the coming week! Where is the father who
would not go forth on the Monday morning with
a heart brimful with rapture to toil anew for his
wife and children? And how often, as the hot
dews of labour roll from his forehead, and his
weary arms drop pithless by his side, will the
swift thoughts of home rush over him, reviving
him like new wine, and quickening all his flagging
energies? The exertions of such a man, acting




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.               61
under such abiding impulses, cannot be otherwise
than fruitful; and how precious should such fruits
be esteemed, when cast into the family lap for the
impartial use of all!
It is equally cheering to the matronly wife to be
privileged, for one day in seven, to entertain her
lord in the peaceful realms wherein she lives and
reigns. Exiled to a great extent from her presence
in the week, she ardently longs for the day when
her husband shall fill the vacant chair beside the
hearth, irradiate the cottage with his smiles, and
delight her ear with that voice whose tones of tenderness whispered away her heart in the romantic
days of her maidenhood.
But, if the communion of a well-ordered home
be thus refreshing to parents, it is difficult to overrate the hallowing influence it exerts upon the
minds of the rising members of the family. It
helps to consolidate the virtuous formations of their
characters.  It preserves the guileless and unsuspecting from the fatal seductions that bestrew
the highways of the world. It restrains those prurient desires that so often burn in the bosoms of the
young, to rush into the world and into the blighting excitement that rages out of doors, and teaches
them betimes that real happiness may be imbibed
at the quiet cistern of domestic enjoyments, but
never from the turbid currents of a dissipated life.
And then, this influence is as lasting as it is beneficial. The recollections of a happy home will
H2




62      HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO
cling to the young adventurer when his turn comes
to plunge into the wild waters of a turbulent world.
In the case of him who is under the sway of virtuous principles, these sacred remembrances will
never lose their power; whilst in the case of him
who has swerved from the path of rectitude, the
Sabbath counsels of a serious father, and the fervent pleadings of a pious mother, will vibrate upon
his ear amid the guilty excesses of a profligate career. The earliest impressions of home are generally the deepest, and the last to be effaced;
and where these are of a pleasing and salutary
character, they will often act like an anchor, in
steadying the heart of the young sinner, and preventing him from driving headlong on the rocks of
destruction!  But there is yet another aspect in
which the domestic advantages of the Sabbath may
be viewed.
III. THE SABBATH AFFORDS FACILITIES FOR THE PROMOTION
AND EXERCISE OF FAMILY PIETY.
The ordinary work-days of most of our operatives are necessarily so engrossed by their out-door
occupations, and the time consumed in going to and
fro, that, whatever their inclinations may be, they
seldom have opportunity to indulge in the offices
of family devotion. Business, as now conducted,
is so thoroughly worldly in its spirit and requirements, and so greedy of every moment it can wrest




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.              63
from its slaves, that no space is left, between the
rising and the setting sun, for the pious labourer to
assemble his household around the domestic altar.
His meal-times barely suffice to enable him to reach
his home, to appease the appetites of nature, and
to retrace his steps again. Thus the devout workman, however his soul may pant for a brief daily
season which he may consecrate to the social exercises of religion, finds himself irresistibly borne onwards by the tide of human selfishness, and compelled to conform to many of the customs and restrictions imposed by the ungodly.
But here again, as elsewhere, the mercy of
Heaven interposes on behalf of its vexed children.
Every seventh day that breaks upon the groaning
world publishes liberty to these lamenting captives.
The rich banquet which this day spreads, atones,
in some measure, for the spiritual scarcity of the
week. On the Sabbath the perusal of the Scriptures may be resumed, the re-united household, free
from the inquietudes and claims of secular duties,
may meet for praise and prayer around the throne
of grace; the well-matched pair will take sweet
counsel together, and of the Lord; the inquisitive
children, gladdened at their father's sojourn among
them, will drink from his lips the words of sacred
instruction; friends and kindred, dropping in, will
fraternise with the family in their communings with
each other and with heaven, and go away bearing
a rich blessing in their souls; songs of rejoicing




64      HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO
and canticles of praise will resound through the
templed cottage, whilst the foretastes of heavenly
bliss will often ravish the hearts, and the foreshadowings of a coming glory will gleam upon the
countenances, of its happy inmates. Nor will the
public ordinances of divine worship interrupt this
holy fellowship. An intelligent and earnest piety
in the rulers of the family will generally so contrive, as that most, if not all, of its members may
repair in company to the house of God, and there
celebrate divine mercy with the great congregation
of Israel.
Such are some of the inestimable privileges
which the Sabbath institution guaranties to the
families of the working classes. It requires, therefore, but a glance to perceive the deranged and
godless state to which the repeal of the Sabbath
law would reduce them. The natural affections
of the lower orders would thereby be blunted, and
a diminished interest in each other's well-being
would ensue, in consequence of the infrequency
and hastiness of their family intercourse. The several members of the same household would grow
up in strange and freezing apathy towards each
other. The children would seldom see the father,
except for a few hurried minutes, and then it would
be when he is chafing beneath the labour-yoke,
and when his eye is continually roving to the admonitory hands of his watch-a time not at all
calculated to encourage the reciprocities of pater



THE CURSE OF LABOUR.               65
nal and filial love. The father, too, on his part,
never having a few consecutive hours of leisure, to
enable him to explore the mine of household treasure which he nominally possesses, would soon
feel the chain of labour drag as heavily as his
dead heart within him, while the brawny arm of
energy, and the soul of enterprise, would flag, because the inspirations of love were wanting. For,
where ambition, or covetousness, or emulation stimulates one to indefatigable effort, love impels
thousands on in the fierce races of human industry.
Think of this state of things everywhere existing
among the working classes-think of homes divested of their attractions-think of the bonds of
sympathy between the closest kindred universally
relaxed-think of the strong affinities of nature
which, for lack of adequate domestic fellowship,
are dying out of human hearts-think of hard labour, thus deprived of its elastic spring, going on
with sluggishness and languor, for who would toil,
and sweat, and "grind the bones out of his arms,"
without a powerful motive?-and what motive is
sufficiently strong to urge millions of our yokefellows to menial offices all their lives, save necessity
to provide for themselves, and love towards those
dear ones who have a natural claim upon their services?-think of the consequences that would ensue from the withdrawal of this mainstay of the
industrial habits of the people, and infer therefrom
the inexpressible advantages accruing to innumer



66      HE AVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO
able family groups, and to society at large, from
the maintenance of the Sabbath from all secular
and carnal innovations.
The extinction of the Sabbath, moreover, as a
day designed to be especially devoted to religious
pursuits, must lead to the extinction of domestic
piety; and wheresoever piety shall cease to have a
voice and an altar in the house, it will simultaneously cease to have an embodiment in the church,
and an existence in the world. Were religion,
with its angel-retinue of graces, to be thus banished
from our earth, godlessness and impiety, with their
demon-throng of attendant evils-oppression, extortion, discord, hatred, revenge, blood-thirstiness,
and every species of sensuality that can debase the
human form-would reign and riot unchecked
among mankind! Between us and a catastrophe
so dire stands the Sabbath day, whose seemingly
frail barriers were originally built, and whose dilapidations from age to age have been repaired, by
the hands of a divine artificer.
V. THE MORAL ADVANTAGES OF THE SABBATH.
THIS is one of the most solemn phases of the
subject.  It may be viewed very differently by
different minds. The dominant mood of the ruminator is likely to darken or illumine the steps by




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.                67
which he reaches his conclusion. We believe that
the beneficial influence of the Sabbath on the interests of morality can be triumphantly established.
In the right dedication of the day is locked up all
its hoarded blessedness. Used in accordance with
its institutional laws, it is birthful of unmingled
good. Desecrated to dissipation, wasted in the
chase of vanity, or pawned for unblessed gains, it
entails a terrible and an accumulating curse.
I. THE SABBATH FAVOURS MORALITY, INASMUCH AS IT INCULCATES THE PRACTICE OF MORAL DUTIES, AND GIVES
FREE SCOPE TO THE EXPRESSION OF THE MORAL VIRTUES.
In the fulfilment of these functions it wages a
vigorous war against the reigning spirit of the
work-day world. The mandates of Christianity,
thundered across the Sabbath stillness, are calculated to arrest the demoralizing mania of worldly
grasping, and bring men to a reflective pause.
The prescriptions of the gospel, which are being
constantly republished under the sanctions of the
Sabbath, are utterly at variance with the selfish
maxims and greedy impulses of a trading community. Whilst, on work-days, the competitions of
industry and the contentions of trade are continually
fomenting jealousies and animosities between mankind, the Sabbath seeks, by its lessons of forgiveness, to reconcile and fraternise the alienated.
Whilst, throughout the week, prosperous extor



68      HEAVEN S ANTIDOTE TO
tioners overreach their neighbours, and wring the
materials of wealth out of the stinted poor, on the
Sabbath they are confronted by some stern messenger from the avenger of oppression, and into
their tingling ears is pealed the royal law of love,
"Do unto others as you would that others should
do unto you." Amidst the weekly drudgeries or
hirelingship, the factitious disparities of station,
and the inequalities of lot, stand out in dismaying
prominence, causing heart-burnings among the
more dependent classes: in the eye of the Sabbath
all men are regarded as equal-the wide chasms
that yawn between the different sections of society
are closed, and class enmities and feuds are abated.
The frequent hardships and indignities inflicted
upon the labouring poor breed bitterness in their
souls, and prompt them to reprisals: the Sabbath
not only manumits them from these galling impositions, but teaches them to love, to forgive, and to
do good unto those who despitefully use them. In
the desperate struggles which the week witnesses
for earthly distinction and aggrandizement, the
rights of others are frequently trampled on with
reckless temerity; competing rivals are mercilessly
over-ridden, and thus an awful disregard of the
charities of life is propagated: the Sabbath lifts up
its standard against this prevalent spirit of selfishness, reproves all such encroachments on the primary rights of man, and pleads the cause of the
injured and distressed. All the commercings of




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.              69
week-day life nourish the selfism of man, whilst
the Sabbath, on the contrary, appeals to, and seeks
to bring forth, the benevolence of his nature. The
whole gist of secular occupations is to tempt man
to sacrifice others, as far as is needful, for the attainment of his own private ends, whilst the scope
of the Sabbath is to prevail upon him to sacrifice
himself for the benefit of his fellows, whether by
ministering with his gold to their physical necessities, whether by extending a helping hand to the
unfortunate and sinking, whether by exploring the
outlying settlements of social darkness and degradation, and afterwards calling the attention of the
world to their humiliating revelations, whether by
consecrating his gifts to the general advancement
of his species, whether by going meekly from
hovel to hovel, and from cellar to garret, breaking
the bread of truth, and handing round the cup of
comfort to the ignorant and the unhappy, or
whether, if needs be, by pouring out his blood and
life, a libation on the altar of human happiness.
For, while dissuading from gainful frauds and
worldly greediness, as ignoble in themselves, and
trenching on the dues of others, the Sabbath also
summons the sons of men to all these moral duties
and disinterested services.
The day that inculcates these obligations likewise
teems with opportunities for their discharge. The
Sabbath is the fulcrum on which the lever of the
Gospel mainly rests. It fosters every noble enter9                  1




70         E AVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO
prise, and promotes all that is truly good, and great,
and hopeful in man. It is earthly life filtered of
its dregs. It is the cream of time. It closes the
ordinary outlets of cupidity, and directs the activity
of men into a thousand holier channels. It gives
abundant time for well-doing. It works out, too,
a generous willinghood of heart. It breaks down
alike the opposing barriers of business and the
more stubborn aversions of mind. It empties the
warrens of the world, and swarms the vineyards
of the church. It clears the shops, the mines, and
the factories of the land, and, with their inmates,
peoples human homes. It flings wide open the
doors of opportunity to all, and thus prepares a
harvest for the Christian reaper's sickle. It gathers
the younger children from the school, or from the
mill, the grown sisters from the seamstress's, the
elder brothers from the desk, or from the field, the
father from the workshop, the barn, or the mine,
and the mother from her cottage drudgeries, and
groups them all around the cheerful fireside.
All trading, world-made distinctions are now effaced. Men appear no longer as miners, as weavers, as masons, as ploughmen, or as builders. The
Sabbath recognises them alone as men-as responsible beings-moral agents-candidates for immortality-the subjects of a retributive governmentand the objects of impartial, divine benignity and
grace. How solemn are the aspects of human nature that the Sabbath thus discloses!  What a




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.               71
spectacle of hidden majesty it enshrouds! How
silently it tears away all that is merely adventitious
in man, and bares to view a world of spirits, awing
the eye that surveys them in all their grandeur and
vast interests!  A world of spirits! shrined in
flesh! guested in tabernacles of dust! self-sunken
in abysses of depravity! borne down by heavy
tasks of toil! all the radiant beamings of their
high destiny shut in, or else extinguished! This
infinite region of spiritual existence would have
remained well nigh unknown but for the Sabbath,
for when would despotic labour have voluntarily
suspended its mean pursuits to explore its mysteries? When would avarice or ambition, for ever
on the drive, have found leisure to study its sublime
secrets? To the mass of men, rolled onward on
the restless surges of a Sabbathless life, this illimitable world of spiritualism must have continued
unknown, save when some stray glimmerings of
its glories might occasionally struggle through an
opening in the gloom wherewith their nature and
destiny were enwrapped. Too contented as men
are to linger in the outer courts of the temple of
the universe, were it not for the rending of the veil,
by the hand of the Sabbath, few men would have
had the inclination to enter within the sacred penetralia of their being. But, glorious to tell, the
Sabbath has torn off man's earthly disguises,
raised the vassal of labour from his abject posture,
and pro5claimed aloud his original dignity and




72      HEAVEN' S ANTIDOTE TO
worth.  How  magnificent the field, and how
boundless the scope, thus opened to the moral student and the Christian husbandman!
II. THE SABBATH FAVOURS MORALITY BY THE DIVERSIFIED
TALENTS IT ENLISTS, AND THE INNUMERABLE AGENCIES IT ORGANIZES, IN ITS SERVICE.
The blessed release which the seventh day brings,
and the sacred leisure which it bestows, have in.
duced the benevolent and the good of our world
to seize upon these facilities and turn them to the
highest profit and advantage of mankind. On this
day talents that had been buried in the world,
through lack of a fitting sphere for their exercise,
are disinterred and employed.  Sanctified gifts,
that are often compelled to lie barren through the
week, are fruitful in usefulness on the Sabbath.
On this day the pent-up goodness of the world
obtains vent, the cramped energies of philanthropy find enlargement, while all the holier sympathies of men for their erring and outcast brethren
are evoked. Exhortations and teachings, which it
would affront the children of the world to thrust
upon their attention during the week, may now be
fittingly and more effectually addressed. Compassion, that can find an outlet only for its yearnings
whilst under the bonds of secular engagements,
may now freely go forth in search of the wretched
objects of its commiseration.




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.               73
As soon as the golden gates of the Sabbath are
flung back, what angel-shapes of good rush in
upon the world! As the day advances, what glorious legions are going up to assail the evils reigning in the earth! What a holy host of messengers
are running to and fro! What lips are dropping
with divine instruction! What a multitude of
voices, attuned by love, are exhausting all the arts
of eloquence! What vehement appeals, gushing
from full souls, are everywhere smiting the ears of
apathy, riving the consciences of the guilty, and
fiusing the petrified hearts of the wicked! On this
day, in our own land, not fewer than from 30,000
to 40,000 recognized ministers are reasoning, pleading, and expostulating with millions of their fellowmen, composed of all shades of character and of
all grades of guilt. About the same number of
exhorters and evangelists are itinerating the villages, the hamlets, and the more outlying portions
of the population. Home missionaries, city mission agents, visitors of the sick, and Bible readers,
in abundance, are permeating the channels of obscure life, and purifying the dregs of society with
the vital elements of truth. Not less than 250,000
Sabbath-school teachers are seeking to disinfect the
minds, and to mould and sanctify the characters,
of two millions of the rising generation, that are
soon to supplant their fathers. Besides these more
public and organized efforts in the service of morality and religion, what earnest lessons are being
9*                I2




74      HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO
instilled in the retirements of home; mothers indoctrinating their offspring with virtuous sentiments
and godly precepts, and shedding tears of solicitude
upon indurated hearts, and fathers inculcating upon
the impatient temperament of their sons the lessons
of wisdom they have acquired in the suffering
school of adversity and experience.
Now the end and aim of all these simultaneous
efforts is, so far as they have respect to the present
world, to promote the interests of public morality.
And only think for a moment of the stupendous,
deep, and permanent influence which this weekly
concentration of holy forces must exert upon the
general mind. How it emboldens virtue and abashes
vice! How it chastises arrogance and rewards
humility! How it opens the heart of niggardliness, and quickens the'pulses of benevolence!
How it dashes the chalice of sinful pleasure with
bitterness, and discovers its dregs of gall! How
it bridles furious passions, and slakes the fires of
consuming lusts! How it hedges with briars and
thorns the ways of wickedness, and illumines with
honour the paths of justice and uprightness! How
many retire to their evening rest, as the stricken
deer to its mossy couch, with the arrows of remorse rankling in their hearts! And what numbers on the succeeding morning cross the Sabbath
frontiers, and pass into the world with the dread
voice of God vibrating on their ears, and the thunders of his anger reverberating through their souls!




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.               75
But, in the position we have taken, we are open
to the objection that, whilst the Sabbath brings a
vast accession to the moral forces ordinarily at
work upon the world, it at the same time lets loose
upon society an amount of demoralizing influences,
fearfully predominating over all that is healthful
and good. It will be retorted, that the suspension
of employment which we demand for the working
classes may, by multitudes of our countrymen who
possess no religious predilections, and who are conscious of no intellectual cravings, be abused to
their own injury and to the infliction of serious
evils upon society. Idleness, it may be alleged, is
the parent of mischief. Authorized leisure, falling
into the hands of the profligate, will be sure to be
spent in wantonness and rioting; drunkards will
waste it in debauchery; courtezans will find a disengaged population peculiarly susceptible to their
blandishments; the devotees of pleasure will convert it into a carnival of delight: and thousands,
prompted by a lust for gain, will abet these practices and pander to these vile tastes. The priests
of Bacchus will be driving a flourishing trade in
the myriad temples of their god; tea-gardens,
abounding with music and dancing, hot excitement,
and all the witcheries of sin, will present their enticements to the young; whilst the proprietors of
steamboats, and the directors of railways, will increase their dividends, by ministering to this feverish, passion for lawless liberty and joy.




76      HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO
It is too true. We admit it all. Facts impart a
mournful plausibility to this objection. But we
deny the inference which the adversary of the Sabbath would draw from it. Because the sacred
leisure which God gives to man is thus perverted
from its exalted uses, must we then chain men
down, like condemned galley-slaves, to everlasting
drudgeries, in order to keep them out of the reach
of temptation? Must we bandage their limbs and
stultify their minds, to prevent the gratification of
their low-born desires and the spread of their contagious example? Are we to deny them the freedom and rights of men lest they should abuse them
to licentiousness and immorality? Nay, men must
be dealt with as moral agents, and not as tools in
the hands of purblind expediency. The Sabbath
is a test of moral bias. It leaves men to the spontaneous outgoings of their nature. It discovers of
what sort they are. The Gospel wars not so much
against particular forms as it does against the principle of evil. It directs its remedial measures not
so much to the symptoms as to the central seat of
the disorder. It is not chiefly engaged in plucking
and crushing the poisonous fruits as fast as they
ripen, but fetches its heavy blows at the roots of
the upas tree. For, be it remembered, that whatever luxuriant evils may be thrust to the surface
on the Sabbath, they were previously already in
existence, sprouting in the seed-bed of the heart,
and waiting only for favourable circumstances to




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.               77
accelerate their development and nurse them to
maturity. The Sabbath, therefore, does not give
birth to the many baneful evils that spring up and
flourish beneath its brightness, any more than the
sun can be said to create the deadly hemlock and
nightshade, or the hurtful tares, that are nourished
from the fountain of its splendour. All violent,
arbitrary, and oppressive attempts to hinder the
desecration of the Sabbath must fail. The cure
will be only skin-deep. If every outlet for the
virus of society be closed, the raging malady will
be driven deeper into the social constitution. Any
panacea, to be efficacious, must go to the very core
of human nature, and purge its innate rottenness.
Thus the friends of morality and of the Gospel
have abundant incentives to exert themselves. Let
them still continue bravely to breast the dark
surges of the world's wickedness. Their Sabbath
mission is pre-eminently aggressive. To stand still
is impossible, amid the rush, and restlessness, and
roar of the human sea. By presenting a broad
front, and by a firm evangelical bulwark alone,
can the strong tide of worldliness be turned, and
progress be achieved. Whilst the Sabbath peculiarly exposes the irreligious and the vicious to the
appliances of hell, it likewise opens a sublime
sphere for Christian labour and enterprise, which,
without it, we might seek in vain. On every Sabbath the weekly controversy is renewed, between
God and Satan, between truth and error, between




78      HEAVEN' S ANTIDOTE TO
virtue and vice, between loyalty and treason! The
singular moral phenomenon is seen of light struggling for ascendency in the midst of darkness, and
of a redeemed race seeking to imbue the corrupted
mass of men with the principles of holiness and
love.  Thus, from  year to year, the universal
battle rages on between the emissaries of heaven
and hell-between Michael and the dragon; but,
through all the vicissitudes and evolutions of the
church, the tide of public morality is ever mounting higher and higher.
It is true this is not at all times apparent. There
are, ever and anon, seasons of depression and of
temporary retrogression. The religious progress
of a nation is subject to fluctuations, as well as its
trade and commerce. The present period, for instance, is a fearful crisis in the social and spiritual
condition of our country. Practical religion seems
long to have been ebbing; it is indeed at its neaptide. The bonds of public morals are alarmingly
relaxed. Still we are anxiously looking for the
return of a spring-tide of prosperity. Meanwhile,
if we take an average standard of comparison, we
shall find that we have advanced considerably
above the highest point of past times. Besides,
many of the popular sins which we most pungently
deplore, are such only as seen in the purer and
clearer light which Christianity sheds increasingly
around us.
But a solemn responsibility rests upon all Chris



THE CURSE OF LABOUR.              79
tian people! Let them, especially at this critical
juncture, beware of throwing any stumbling-blocks
in the way of the general reformation of Sabbath
manners, and of the moral and spiritual regeneration bf society. All now depends upon the energy
and perseverance of the good; for if the Sabbath,
through their supineness and unfaithfulness, should
be partially abolished, and spent in labour or in
licentiousness, how then could the agents of good
reach the people? —how could the machinery of
salvation be successfully worked?  All men-and
our working population in particular-would be
subjected to evil influences only, and that continually.
VI. THE RELIGIOUS ADVANTAGES OF THE SABBATH.
THESE are so manifest and unequivocal, that,
but for the completion of the argument, their consideration might well be omitted. Forming, however, as they do, the culminating point in the subject, they claim a succinct notice at our hands. A
record of them is as essential to the perfection of
the subject as the head-stone is to the finish of an
edifice. The higher we have ascended into the
Sabbath's lofty territory, the purer has the air become, the more has the prospect widened, and the
richer have been the clusters of blessings we have




80      HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO
plucked. And now we have at length reached its
divine heights, and stand midway betwixt earth
and heaven, from whence the mists of human woe
are seen floating at our feet, the tumults of earth
dying away into a confused murmur, whilst upwards the enraptured gaze is riveted upon the
scenery of the opening skies. The benefits of the
Sabbath are commensurate with the heights and
depths of man's nature, and the lengths and
breadths of its necessities. The mind of man is
not capacious enough to hold all the benefactions
that the Sabbath pours forth; neither can the dower
which it confers upon the intellect, nor the contributions it makes to domestic enjoyment, exhaust
the treasures that it holds in store. It reserves its
noblest blessings for the spirit of man, in the exercise of its highest prerogatives and in its most dignifying relations.
Let us now, with as much brevity as possible,
advert to a few spiritual advantages of supreme
moment, accruing from the observance of the Sabbath, so far as they bear upon the temporal interests
of mankind.
I. THE SABBATH IS THE CHIEF MEDIUM FOR PRESERVING
AND PERPETUATING THE KNOWLEDGE AND WORSHIP
OF GOD IN THE WORLD.
A correct conception of God, together with
veneration for his character, is of infinite import



THE CURSE OF LABOUR.               81
ance to mankind. It constitutes the best safeguard
of states. It imposes a salutary check upon rulers,
and it inspires the governed with respect for the
majesty of law. It is essential to the preservation
of morality; virtue would perish without it. It is
indispensable to the maintenance of society. It is
the basis of all true brotherhood. It reveals the
origin and guaranties the possession of human
rights. It is the most ennobling element of human
character. It is at once the most simple and sublime, the most necessary and stupendous, of all
studies. It keeps man, on the one hand, from degenerating into the brute, whilst, on the other, it
advances him to a state of intellectuality and spiritualization. It is requisite for the cultivation of the
religious sentiment in man; and without such development his nature is but half disclosed-his
latent character but half expressed.
But the knowledge of God, and therefore all the
precious benefits resulting from it, depend upon
the sanctification of the Sabbath. Wherever the
Sabbath does not exist, there is no religion, no intelligent homage. Man utterly forgets God, and
God punitively hides his face from man.' The
moral world becomes a desert, where life never
springs and beauty never smiles. Putrid with sin,
and stupefied with ignorance, the soul of man loses
its rational character, and prostrates itself before
idols, stocks, and stones. To these man offers his
prayers, his praises, and his victims; to these he
10                K




82      HEAVEN S ANTIDOTE TO
sacrifices his offspring; and to these he immolates
the honour of his wife. A brutal worshipper of a
brutal god, he hopes for protection and blessing
from the assumption of every folly and the perpetration of every crime."* A population wronged
of their Sabbaths, and enslaved by ceaseless toil,
cannot possibly retain any spiritual or exalted conceptions of the Supreme Being. Besides, having
no adequate opportunities for the acquisition of
defined ideas on this momentous subject, the inevitable tendency of a servile destiny is to generate
gross and derogatory notions, corresponding with
their own debased condition. With the spiritual
portion of their nature virtually cancelled, and
well nigh every diviner lineament effaced, how
can they think of God-if they think of Him at
all-otherwise than as such an one as themselves?
The popular religion of a people is an infallible index to their character and habits. Where low and
obscure notions of God are entertained, we shall
find them indicative of an ignominious condition,
of a rude disposition, of an entombment of mind,
of an utter prostration of all moral majesty.
Whereas, where the most luminous, vivid, and
profound conceptions of the Divine Being abound,
we find a people distinguished by all that is re.
fined in manners, urbane in disposition, and ennobling in pursuits; renowned for their scientific at* Dr. Dwvight.




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.                83
tainments, for the achievements of their genius,
and the beneficence of their virtues.
II. NECESSARY FOR THE DIFFUSION OF CHRISTIANITY.
The Sabbath is imperatively necessary for the
diffusion of Christianity. These are natural and
hereditary allies. There is a divine kinship between them. The hand that smites the one insults
and wounds the other also. Their success or defeat is correlative.  They live or die together,
sharers in one indissoluble fate. Voltaire keenly
felt this, and gnashed his teeth in impotent rage.
His malignant attempt to subvert Christianity signally failed, through his inability to abolish the
Sabbath, and stifle the immortal yearnings of men's
hearts for its sacred privileges and immemorial
usages. The Sabbath, every week, opens the vast
temple of creation, for the celebration of solemn worship, gathering adoring hosts around the enshrinements of mercy, and repeating, throughout its spacious courts, with ten thousand times ten thousand
voices, the transforming story of the Cross. Christians! we urgently appeal to you. Shall this temple
of praise-this pavilion of peace-be closed by the
suppression of the Lord's Day? Shall the throne
be forsaken, and the altar overturned? Shall the
anxious crowds, that have been wont to come up
to the solemn feasts of Zion, be turned back upon




84      HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO
the desert places of a bleak and bitter world?
Shall the rehearsals of the Song of Redemption
cease, and, instead thereof, the groans of those who
are wrestling with a slavish lot be heard ascending
to the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth? Shall Christianity be arrested in the very midst of its enterprises, and hunted from the world ere its benign
mission has been half accomplished?  Is the
highest manifestation of benevolence to succumb
to the hostile combinations of human selfishness?
Is piety to be trampled under foot by impiety? Is
religion to be supplanted by atheism? Is guilt to
go pining to the grave without the discovery of its
expiatory sacrifice? Is the day coming-are we
already entering its shadows-when the great
Teacher and loving Saviour is to be suffered to go
in and out among his purchased ones no more?
Oh, men of God! awake and bestir yourselves to
a right appreciation of the Sabbath! If you love
Christianity-if you believe it to be of God-if
you believe it to be the only means of restoring
man to his Maker's allegiance, likeness, and fellowship-then diligently guard its imperiled treasures
by upholding the bulwarks of the Sabbath. Every
profane foot that trespasses upon its sanctityevery additional burden of duty imposed upon
our operatives, our cabmen, our domestics, and railway servants-every effort to relax the stringency
of its requirements-every attempt to popularise it
by the introduction of continental licentiousness



THE CURSE OF LABOUR.               85
must be jealously watched and strenuously resisted. If the working orders can but be brought
to despise or undervalue this blessed birthright, it
will not be long before it is either forcibly wrested
from them, or bribed away for some alluring morsel. In that melancholy day of their whole nature's
nakedness, may God have mercy on them! for the
pity and the help of man will not avail!
III. THE SABBATH GUARANTIES A SEASON FOR UNMOLESTED
ATTENTION TO THE SOUL.
If the body needs intervals of repose-if the
mind requires the redemption of opportunities for
its improvement-how much more does the soul
sigh for a kind recognition of its claims! And the
Sabbath-day does pay homage to man's immortal
spirit. It enshrines his dignity. It memorializes
his primitive excellence and glory. It foreshadows
his brilliant or his appalling destiny. It is the ancient and enduring witness to the undiminished
worth of his sullied nature. It is that strip of our
time which especially links earth with eternity;
which dwindles the present to a mere speck, in the
vastness of that futurity which it discloses. In
many senses it is a type and symbol of heaven.
It repeals, to a great extent, for the time being, the
invidious distinctions of society. It unsceptres the
master, and denudes the hireling of the badges of
10 *              K2




86      HEAVEN S ANTIDOTE  TO
his servitude. Opulence cannot buy up its spiritual
blessings, whilst poverty operates as no disqualification for its favours. Its smiles are as sweet in
the wood-side hut as in the apartments of the
marble palace. It pays no obsequious deference to
learning, rank, or worldly power; and it offers no
insulting slights to millions whom the world disdains. Its glances go far deeper than the rags or
robes, the roughness or the polish, of the outer
man.  It is sent as a messenger to the godlike
guest lodging in all men's bosoms, and proclaims,
in the ears of all alike, the abstract grandeur and
preciousness of the human soul.
On this day, the merchant, the trader, the husbandman, and the mechanic, can yield up their
whole thoughts to the momentous matters of salvation, and give wing to their aspirations after
eternal life; while at the same time they enjoy the
satisfying conviction, that no temporal duties are
thereby neglected, nor any deranging check interposed to the ordinary courses of business. Free
from the irritations incident to secular pursuits,
here is a season eminently adapted for celestial
contemplation, for the study of the heart, for the
perusal of the Scriptures, for the special exercise
of spiritual gifts and graces, for intercession on behalf of others, and for an undistracted attendance
on the public solemnities of religion.
"God has anointed this day with the oil of gladness above all its fellows. What the sun is among




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.               87
the planets-what the market-day is to the tradesman-what a fair wind is to the sailor-what the
tide is to the waterman-that the Sabbath-day is
to the soul. Augustine calls it the' Queen of days.'
It is the great market-day of heaven, when starving
souls may take in, and lay up, provision for the
rest of the week, yea, for eternity itself. Blot out
this day from the calendar of the Christian, and all
that remains would be cloudy and cheerless."*
IV. ITS OBSERVANCE THE BEST PREPARATIVE FOR THE YICISSITUDES OF THE WEEK.
The sanctification of the Sabbath is the best preparative for the vicissitudes of the week. It instils
accurate views of the world. It disenchants the
imagination of the spells of the great delusion. It
sends us forth into the highways and bypaths of
life, with watchful eyes, an engarrisoned heart, and
an attempered spirit. It dignifies our daily duties,
instead of suffering us to be undignified and debased by them. It corrects our estimate of temporal prosperity, and enables us to enjoy its favours
with moderation and meekness; whilst it unstings
the privations of adversity, and helps us to bear
them with magnanimity. It superinduces a mood
of mind and tone of feeling, calculated to blunt the
poignancy of human griefs, to break the shocks of
* Sherman's Plea for the Sabbath.




88      HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO
worldly disappointments, and to preserve some
cheering beams of hopefulness amidst the darkest
day.  It imparts equanimity to the disordered
passions —acts as an anodyne to the feverish excitement of the mind-smooths the asperities of the
temper-and thus, by restoring the functions of
self-control, aids us in triumphing over the adverse
circumstances of life. It forewarns and forearms
for the conflict between grace and corruption; it
rouses the mind into a defiant and repellent attitude
to meet the onsets of temptation; and it makes the
blackest cloud of impending trial transparent with
divine light, as we enter upon its shadows. Its
counsels are generally conducive to our worldly
interests, to social elevation, to independence of
character, and to an honourable reputation. And
this it achieves, not by fostering the spirit of sordid
gain, but by enforcing the claims of godliness,
whose prerogative it is, to have "the promise of
the life that now is, as well as of that which is to
come." We cannot conclude this part of our
subject better, than by adducing the testimony of
the eminent Lord Chief Justice Hale, respecting
the salutary influence of the Sabbath on the engagements of the ensuing week. He says: "I
have found, by a strict and diligent observation,
that a due observing of the Lord's Day has ever
had joined to it a blessing upon the rest of my
time, and the week thus begun has been blessed
and prosperous to me; and, on the other side,




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.              89
when I have been negligent of the duties of this
day, the rest of the week has been unsuccessful and
unhappy to my secular employments, so that I
could easily make an estimate of my success
through the week by the manner of my passing
this day."
Although the demonstration of the divine origin
of the Sabbath forms no part of our contemplated
design, still it is by no means extraneous to the
scope of this essay. If the foregoing views be
correct, they must force on every candid mind the
conviction, that the redemption of a seventh portion of our time from common uses, and its preservation from age to age, despite the encroachments
of human hostility, impiety, and cupidity, does not
arise from a mere conventional compact of society;
but rather that it exhibits marks of a more profound and far-seeing wisdom, and tokens of a
higher and more benevolent watchfulness, than
human sagacity could possibly have displayed. If
an obvious fitness of things-if striking institutional
adaptations to man's nature and necessities-may be
regarded here, as elsewhere, as proofs of intelligent
design, then are we driven to the irresistible conclusion, that "the Sabbath was made for man"
by his benignant Creator, and was part of the
original constitution of things. For it would be
irrational to suppose that these beautiful harmonies
are fortuitous, or that the sum of these advantages
is the result of mere accident.




90      HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO
It only remains for us now to draw these remarks to a close. And, in doing so, we would
energetically urge upon our enlightened yokefellows the tremendous importance of being found
true to themselves and to their country in the
present crisis. Let them display a magnanimous
firmness equal to the emergency. Let them unite
and make common cause against every attempt at
Sabbath spoliation and invasion.  Let not the
individuals of one section of the community of
labour be so base and venal, as to be successfully
bribed into the surrender of their own privileges,
or the betrayal of the rights of their comrades.
Great vigilance and wariness must be exercised;
as the transference of the seventh day to mammon
will not, probably, be overtly sought, but attempts
will be made to bring it about gradually and
stealthily-now tampering with one section, and
now with another; and manifesting great care and
craftiness in introducing the thin part of the wedge,
which will be well edged with gold to make it
work its way. Plausible pretexts will be found in
abundance; for wickedness is never at a loss for
specious arguments wherewith to sanctify its foulest treasons. But, by a timely persuasion of the
perils by which they are menaced; by a prompt
and manful decision of purpose; and by a-simultaneous movement in the right direction, the crisis
may be safely passed. Whilst, on the other hand,
by disunion and faithlessness among themselves,




THE CURSE OF LABOUR.               91
by a reckless indifference to the issues of the pending contest, or by a blind and an infatuated hostility to the day, on the ground of its sanctity, such
mad and suicidal conduct must lead at least to the
partial overthrow of an institution conservative of
peerless blessings to the working classes, and will
entail upon them and their progeny an awful
retribution.
Suppose the Sabbath were to be, by all people,
consentaneously abolished; let the railway trains,
as on other days, dart athwart the land; let the
tide of commerce, unarrested, flow; let the hives
of industry still swarm; let the clangor of machinery and the deafening roar of trade continue to
resound; let the tramp of traffic still go on; let the
greedy grasp their gains, and the slaves go groaning
beneath their fetters; in short, let the contentious
world proceed as at other times. And what would
be the upshot of all this? Should we be the happier-the healthier-the freer-the richer? Would
any one of the ends of our terrestrial existence be
in any degree facilitated thereby? Would the selfishness of man, unchecked and unreproved, be
less grinding or cruel? Would the oppressor be
less tyrannical? Would any of the acknowledged
evils of society be diminished one iota? Would
the competitions, the rivalries, and the heartburnings of men be less crushing and ruinous?
Alas, no! every evil under which we now writhe
would be aggravated; every carnal passion would




92  HEAVEN'S ANTIDOTE TO, ETC.
then have full swing, every undamped lust would
then burn with increased intensity, health would
be prematurely blasted, the nobility of man would
be annihilated, and the glorious energies of his immortal spirit would be hopelessly imprisoned.
Mammon and Bacchus might continue to be diligently served, but God would be unworshipped!
Mankind, thus ingloriously wedded.to the world,
would through all their lives grovel in the dust,
and never devoutly raise their foreheads to the
temple of the sky!
Help, ye wearied children of labour! Help, ye
Christian ministers and philanthropists!  Help,
ye statesmen and  legislators!  Help, ye patriots, whose hearts yearn for the welfare of your
suffering kind! Help, that the most distant approach to such a state of things as we have just
surmised may be prevented, and that the blessed
advantages chartered by the Sabbath may be faithfully preserved and zealously extended.








FRONTISPIECE TO THE TORCH OF TIME.
"By this kind provision, home is still a reality."-See page 21.