The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-07-22

mental anguish, the u~nspeakable sor-
sows that ensue, show the opinion
which the Divine Being has of those
who violate this commandment.
The eighth commandment places its
safeguard around property. God in,
tended every man and woman to have
"a home of their W and as essential
to the weI-doing of that home prop
erty of their own, and this command
ment safeguarding the property of
the home follows naturally that pro-
tecting its purity. The conditions I'M
der which man is placed on the planet
necessitates labor, toll, the putting
forth of energy and forethought to
provide the means of maintaining the
home. Money or value thus earned is
sacred. The Scriptures recognize the
family as the unit and regards the
property secured by that family as the
result of material labor and toll as
sacred. Theft, however, does not con-
sist merely in picking the pocket or
breaking into the house. The spirit
of this commandment forbids all un-
fair and unjust trades; it requires the
giving of value for value, and honesty
and integrity in every business trans
action. 1t is directly opposed to the
Jockey spirit" which prevails to such
an extent in some rural districts
where everything is regarded as fair
in trade, and to the commercial NOR
atty which prevails to such an alarm
ing extent in cities and especially
among corporations.
The ninth commandment throws its
safeguard around the human charac-
ter. The most valuable asset which
any man has is that character which
he forms as the result of his life long
work. That is his exclusive property;
it is more than property; it is the man
himself. The ninth commandment
fOrbids misrepresentation of that
character. It protects reputation or
the estimate that the world makes of
character. Character is what a man
is, and can be destroyed only by his
own act. Reputation is what the
world takes him to be; therefore, the
ninth commandment forbids not only
direct lying about your neighbor, but
telling half truths or Withholding the
truth; in other words, lying by indi-
r%ection or in any way disappearing
our fellow men. 1t regards the per
sonality of the man as sacred because
made in the image of God.
The tenth commandment aims not
at special sins but the sinful desire,
the beginning of sin, the desire to Sc
cure for nothing or without giving a
just and full equivalent for anything
that belongs to anybody else. The
Lord of all requires every man to de-
pend on himself, upon his W energy,
thrift and foresight, and forbids the
desire to secure anything belonging
~ any OlG 6ISc WIJIlOuI giving Il just
and full equivalent.
The study of these commandments
as we are taught to study them by
the Saviour Himself will soon con-
vince any man of the utter hopeless
ness of completely fulfilling their re-
quirements. He will soon find, as
David did, that "the commandment is
exceeding broad" and that there is
not the slightest hope of eternal life
on condition of keeping fully and
completely all the commandments of
God. Hence, the need of the atone
ment of Jesus, who, while Himself
fulfilling all these requirements of
the law, bare the penalty of human
sin. We may not understand the phil
osophy of this atonement, nor do we
need to do so.-Dr. Henry Wallace, in
Wallace's Farmer.