,,catalogue ,of ,books1 ,pamphlets1 ,tracts1 c41 ,issued by the ,seventh-,day ,adventist ,publishing ,association4 ,,the ,,advent ,,review ,,herald ,,of ,,the ,,sabbath1 weekly4 ,terms1 #b4jj a year1 in advance4 ,,the ,,youth',s ,,instructor1 monthly1 devoted to moral and religious instruction4 ,terms1 #ej cts4 a year1 in advance4 ,,the ,,health ,,reformer1 monthly1 devoted to an exposition of the laws of life1 etc4 ,terms1 #a4jj a year1 in advance4 ,,the ,,advent ,,tidende1 a religious monthly in the ,danish language4 ,terms1 #a4jj a year1 in advance4 ,,the ,,svensk ,,advent ,h,,rold1 a religious monthly in the ,swedish tongue4 ,terms1 #a4jj a year1 in advance4 ,,hymn ,,and ,,tune ,,book4--#ecf hymns--#adg tunes4 #a4jj4 ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,the ,,sabbath ,,and ,,first ,,day ,,of ,,the ,,week4 ,by ,j4 ,n4 ,andrews4 #ebh pp41 #a4be4 ,,the ,,christian ,,life ,,and ,,public ,,labors ,,of ,,wm4 ,,miller1 the noted ,lecturer and ,writer upon the ,prophecies4 #a4jj4 ,,thoughts ,,on ,,the ,,book ,,of ,,daniel1 critical and practical4 ,by ,u4 ,smith4 ,bound1 #a4jj2 condensed edition1 paper1 #ce cts4 ,,thoughts ,,on ,,the ,,revelation1 critical and practical4 ,by ,u4 ,smith4 #cbh pp41 #a4jj4 ,,the ,,nature ,,and ,,destiny ,,of ,,man4 ,by ,u4 ,smith4 #chd pp41 bound1 #a4jj1 paper1 #dj cts4 ,,the ,,constitutional ,,amendment3 or a ,discussion between ,w4 ,h4 ,littlejohn and the editor of the ,christian ,statesman on the ,sabbath question4 #a4jj4 ,,the ,,spirit ,,of ,,prophecy4 ,by ,mrs4 ,e4 ,g4 ,white4 #a4jj4 ,,life ,,of ,,elder ,,joseph ,,bates4 #a4be4 ,,the ,,game ,,of ,,life1 with notes4 ,three illustrations1 #ef inches each1 representing ,satan playing with man for his soul4 ,in board1 #ej cts41 in paper1 #cj cts4 7,,poem47 ,a ,,word ,,for ,,the ,,sabbath3 or ,false ,theories ,exposed4 ,by ,u4 ,smith4 #c;d ed4 revised and enlarged4 #dj cts4 ,,the ,,united ,,states ,,in ,,prophecy4 ,by ,u4 ,smith4 ,bound1 #ej cts42 paper1 #be cts4 ,,progressive ,,bible ,,lessons for ,youth1 in boards1 #ej cts4 ,children1 #ce cts4 7,see third page of cover47 ,,the ,,complete ,,testimony ,,of ,,the ,,fathers ,,of ,,the ,first ,three ,centuries ,,concerning ,the ,sabbath and ,first ,day ,,by ,,eld4 ,j4 ,n4 ,,andrews ,,second ,,edition4 ,,steam ,,press ,,of ,,the ,,seventh-,,day ,,adventist ,,publishing ,,association ,,battle ,,creek1 ,,mich43 #ahgf4 ,,preface4 ,the testimony for first-day sacredness is very meager in the ,scriptures1 as even its own advocates must admit4 ,but they have been wont to supply the deficiency by a plentiful array of testimonies from the early fathers of the church4 ,here1 in time past1 they have had the field all to themselves1 and they have allowed their zeal for the change of the ,sabbath to get the better of their honesty and their truthfulness4 ,the first-day ,sabbath was absolutely unknown before the time of ,constantine4 ,nearly one hundred years elapsed after ,john was in vision on ,patmos before the term ,lord's day was applied to the first day4 ,during this time1 it was called the day of the sun1 the first day of the week1 and the eighth day4 ,the first writers who gave it the name of ,lord's day1 state the remarkable fact that in their judgement the true ,lord's day consists of every day of a ,christian's life1 a very convincing proof that they did not give this title to ,sunday because ,john had so named it on ,patmos4 ,in fact1 no one of those who give this title to ,sunday ever assigned as a reason for so doing that it was thus called by ,john4 ,nor is there any intimation in one of the fathers that first-day observance was an act of obedience to the fourth commandment1 nor one clear statement that ordinary labor on that day was sinful4 ,in order to show these facts1 ,i have undertaken to give every testimony of every one of the fathers1 prior to ,a4 ,d4 #cbe1 who mentions either the ,sabbath or the first day4 ,though some of these quotations are comparatively unimportant1 others are of very great value4 ,i have given them all1 in order that the reader may actually possess their entire testimony4 ,i have principally followed the translation of the ,ante-,nicene ,christian ,library1 and have in every case made use of first-day translations4 ,the work has been one of great labor to me1 and ,i trust will be found of much profit to the candid reader4 ,j4 ,n4 ,,andrews4 ,lancaster1 ,mass41 ,jan4 #a1 #ahgc4 ,,preface ,,to ,,the ,,second ,,edition4 ,in this edition every quotation has been carefully compared with the works of the fathers from which they were taken4 ,a few minor errors have been detected1 but none of importance4 ,the work is commended to the attention of candid inquirers with the prayer that ,god will make it instrumental in opening the eyes of many to the truth concerning his holy day4 ,j4 ,n4 ,a4 ,neuchtel1 ,switzerland1 ,april #g1 #ahgf4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,the ,,fathers4 ,,chapter ,i4 ,,introductory ,,statement4 ,with respect to the ,sabbath1 the religious world may be divided into three classes3-- #a4 ,those who retain the ancient seventh-day ,sabbath4 #b4 ,those who observe the first-day ,sabbath4 #c4 ,those who deny the existence of any ,sabbath4,a ,it is inevitable that controversy should exist between these parties4 ,their first appeal is to the ,bible1 and this should decide the case2 for it reveals man's whole duty4 ,but there is an appeal by the second party1 and sometimes by the third1 to another authority1 the early fathers of the church1 for the decision of the question4 ,the controversy stands thus3 ,the second and third parties agree with the first that ,god did anciently require the observance of the seventh day2 but both deny the doctrine of the first1 that he still requires men to hallow that day2 the second asserting that he has changed the ,sabbath to the first day of the week2 and the third declaring that he has totally abolished the institution itself4 ,the first class plant themselves upon the plain letter of the law of ,god1 and adduce those scriptures which teach the perpetuity and immutability of the moral law1 and which show that the new covenant does not abrogate that law1 but puts it into the heart of every ,christian4 ,the second class attempt to prove the change of the ,sabbath by quoting those texts which mention the first day of the week1 and also those which are said to refer to it4 ,the first day is1 on such authority1 called by this party the ,christian ,sabbath1 and the fourth commandment is used by them to enforce this new ,sabbath4 ,the third class adduce those texts which assert the dissolution of the old covenant2 and those which teach the abolition of the ceremonial law with all its distinction of days1 as new moons1 feast days1 and annual sabbaths2 and also those texts which declare that men cannot be justified by that law which condemns sin2 and from all these contend that the law and the ,sabbath are both abolished4 ,but the first class answer to the second that the texts which they bring forward do not meet the case1 inasmuch as they say nothing respecting the change of the ,sabbath2 and that it is not honest to use the fourth commandment to enforce the observance of a day not therein commanded4 ,and the third class assent to this answer as truthful and just4 ,to the position of the third class1 the first make this answer3 ,that the old covenant was made between ,god and his people concerning his law2,b that it ceased because the people failed in its conditions1 the keeping of the commandments2 that the new covenant does not abrogate the law of ,god1 but secures obedience to it by putting it into the heart of every ,christian2 that there are two systems of law1 one being made up of typical and ceremonial precepts1 and the other consisting of moral principles only2 that those texts which speak of the abrogation of the handwriting of ordinances and of the distinction in meats1 drinks1 and days1 pertain alone to this shadowy system1 and never to the moral law which contains the ,sabbath of the ,lord2 and that it is not the fault of the law1 but of sinners1 that they are condemned by it2 and that justification being attained only by the sacrifice of ,christ as a sin offering1 is in itself a most powerful attestation to the perpetuity1 immutability1 and perfection1 of that law which reveals sin4 ,and to this answer the second class heartily assent4 ,but the second class have something further to say4 ,the ,bible1 indeed1 fails to assert the change of the ,sabbath1 but these persons have something else to offer1 in their estimation1 equally as good as the ,scriptures4 ,the early fathers of the church1 who conversed with the apostles1 or who conversed with some who had conversed with them1 and those who followed for several generations1 are by this class presented as authority1 and their testimony is used to establish the so-called ,christian ,sabbath on a firm basis4 ,and this is what they assert respecting the fathers3 ,that they distinctly teach the change of the ,sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week1 and that the first day is by divine authority the ,christian ,sabbath4 ,but the third class squarely deny this statement1 and affirm that the fathers held the ,sabbath as an institution made for the ,jews when they came out of ,egypt1 and that ,christ abolished it at his death4 ,they also assert that the fathers held the first day1 not as a ,sabbath in which men must not labor lest they break a divine precept1 but as an ecclesiastical institution1 which they called the ,lord's day1 and which was the proper day for religious assemblies because custom and tradition thus concurred4 ,and so the third class answer the second by an explicit denial of its alleged facts4 ,they also aim a blow at the first by the assertion that the early fathers taught the no-,sabbath doctrine1 which must therefore be acknowledged as the real doctrine of the ,new ,testament4 ,and now the first class respond to these conflicting statements of the second and the third4 ,and here is their response3-- #a4 ,that our duty respecting the ,sabbath1 and respecting every other thing1 can be learned only from the ,scriptures4 #b4 ,that the first three hundred years after the apostles nearly accomplished the complete development of the great apostasy1 which had commenced even in ,paul's time2 and this age of apostatizing cannot be good authority for making changes in the law of ,god4 #c4 ,that only a small proportion of the ministers and teachers of this period have transmitted any writings to our time2 and these are generally fragments of the original works1 and they have come down to us mainly through the hands of the ,romanists1 who have never scrupled to destroy or to corrupt that which witnesses against themselves1 whenever it has been in their power to do it4 #d4 ,but inasmuch as these two classes1 viz41 those who maintain the first-day ,sabbath1 and those who deny the existence of any ,sabbath1 both appeal to these fathers for testimony with which to sustain themselves1 and to put down the first class1 viz41 those who hallow the ancient ,sabbath1 it becomes necessary that the exact truth respecting the writings of that age1 which now exist1 should be shown4 ,there is but one method of doing this which will effectually end the controversy4 ,this is to give every one of their testimonies concerning the ,sabbath and first-day in their own words4 ,in doing this the following facts will appear3-- #a4 ,that in some important particulars there is a marked disagreement on this subject among them4 ,for while some teach that the ,sabbath originated at creation and should be hallowed even now1 others assert that it began with the fall of the manna1 and ended with the death of ,christ4 ,and while one class represent ,christ as a violator of the ,sabbath1 another class represent him as sacredly hallowing it1 and a third class declare that he certainly did violate it1 and that he certainly never did1 but always observed it6 ,some of them also affirm that the ,sabbath was abolished1 and in other places positively affirm that it is perpetuated and made more sacred than it formerly was4 ,moreover1 some assert that the ten commandments are absolutely abolished1 whilst others declare that they are perpetuated1 and are the tests of ,christian character in this dispensation4 ,some call the day of ,christ's resurrection the first day of the week2 others call it the day of the sun1 and the eighth day2 and a larger number call it the ,lord's day1 but there are no examples of this application till the close of the second century4 ,some enjoin the observance of both the ,sabbath and the first day1 while others treat the seventh day as despicable4 #b4 ,but in several things of great importance there is perfect unity of sentiment4 ,they always distinguish between the ,sabbath and the first day of the week4 ,the change of the ,sabbath from the seventh day to the first is never mentioned in a single instance4 ,they never term the first day the ,christian ,sabbath1 nor do they treat it as a ,sabbath of any kind4 ,nor is there a single declaration in any of them that labor on the first day of the week is sinful2 the utmost that can be found being one or two vague expressions which do not necessarily have any such sense4 #c4 ,many of the fathers call the first day of the week the ,lord's day4 ,but none of them claim for it any scriptural authority1 and some expressly state that it has none whatever1 but rests solely upon custom and tradition4 #d4 ,but the writings of the fathers furnish positive proof that the ,sabbath was observed in the ,christian church down to the time when they wrote1 and by no inconsiderable part of that body4 ,for some of them expressly enjoined its observance1 and even some of those who held that it was abolished speak of ,christians who observed it1 whom they would consent to fellowship if they would not make it a test4 #e4 ,and now mark the work of apostasy3 ,this work never begins by thrusting out ,god's institutions1 but always by bringing in those of men and at first only asking that they may be tolerated1 while yet the ones ordained of ,god are sacredly observed4 ,this1 in time1 being effected1 the next effort is to make them equal with the divine4 ,when this has been accomplished1 the third stage of the process is to honor them above those divinely commanded2 and this is speedily succeeded by the fourth1 in which the divine institution is thrust out with contempt1 and the whole ground given to its human rival4 #f4 ,before the first three centuries had expired1 apostasy concerning the ,sabbath had1 with many of the fathers1 advanced to the third stage1 and with a considerable number had already entered upon the fourth4 ,for those fathers who hallow the ,sabbath do generally associate with it the festival called by them the ,lord's day4 ,and though they speak of the ,sabbath as a divine institution1 and never speak thus of the so-called ,lord's day1 they do1 nevertheless1 give the greater honor to this human festival4 ,so far had the apostasy progressed before the end of the third century1 that only one thing more was needed to accomplish the work as far as the ,sabbath was concerned1 and this was to discard it1 and to honor the ,sunday festival alone4 ,some of the fathers had already gone thus far2 and the work became general within five centuries after ,christ4 #g4 ,the modern church historians make very conflicting statements respecting the ,sabbath during the first centuries4 ,some pass over it almost in silence1 or indicate that it was1 at most1 observed only by ,jewish ,christians4 ,others1 however1 testify to its general observance by the ,gentile ,christians2 yet some of these assert that the ,sabbath was observed as a matter of expediency and not of moral obligation1 because those who kept it did not believe the commandments were binding4 7,this is a great error1 as will appear in due time47 ,what is said1 however1 by these modern historians is comparatively unimportant inasmuch as their sources of information were of necessity the very writings which are about to be quoted4 #h4 ,in the following pages will be found1 in their own words1 every statement,c which the fathers of the first three centuries make by way of defining their views of the ,sabbath and first-day4 ,and even when they merely allude to either day in giving their views of other subjects1 the nature of the allusion is stated1 and1 where practicable1 the sentence or phrase containing it is quoted4 ,the different writings are cited in the order in which they purport to have been written4 ,a considerable number were not written by the persons to whom they were ascribed1 but at a later date4 ,as these have been largely quoted by first-day writers1 they are here given in full4 ,and even these writings possess a certain historical value4 ,for though not written by the ones whose names they bear1 they are known to have been in existence since the second or third century1 and they give some idea of the views which then prevailed4 ,first of all let us hear the so-called ,apostolical ,constitutions4 ,these were not the work of the apostles1 but they were in existence as early as the third century1 and were then very generally believed to express the doctrine of the apostles4 ,they do therefore furnish important historical testimony to the practice of the church at that time4 ,mosheim in his ,historical ,commentaries1 ,cent4 #a1 sect4 #ea1 speaks thus of these ,constitutions3-- ,the matter of this work is unquestionably ancient2 since the manners and discipline of which it exhibits a view are those which prevailed amongst the ,christians of the second and third centuries1 especially those resident in ,greece and the oriental regions4 ,of the ,apostolical ,constitutions1 ,guericke's ,church ,history speaks thus3-- ,this is a collection of ecclesiastical statutes purporting to be the work of the apostolic age1 but in reality formed gradually in the second1 third1 and fourth centuries1 and is of much value in reference to the history of polity1 and ,christian archology generally4--,ancient ,church1 p4 #bab4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,the ,,apostolical ,,constitutions4 ,have before thine eyes the fear of ,god1 and always remember the ten commandments of ,god1--to love the one and only ,lord ,god with all thy strength2 to give no heed to idols1 or any other beings1 as being lifeless gods1 or irrational beings or dmons4 ,consider the manifold workmanship of ,god1 which received its beginning through ,christ4 ,thou shalt observe the ,sabbath1 on account of ,him who ceased from his work of creation1 but ceased not from his work of providence3 it is a rest for meditation of the law1 not for idleness of the hands4 ,book ii41 sect4 #d1 par4 #cf4 ,this is sound ,sabbatarian doctrine4 ,but apostasy had begun its work in the establishment of the so-called ,lord's day1 which was destined in time to drive out the ,sabbath4 ,the next mention of the ,sabbath also introduces the festival called ,lord's day1 but the reader will remember that this was written1 not in the first century1 but the third3-- ,let your judicatures be held on the second day of the week1 that if any controversy arise about your sentence1 having an interval till the ,sabbath1 you may be able to set the controversy right1 and to reduce those to peace who have the contests one with another against the ,lord's day4 ,book ii41 sect4 #f1 par4 #dg4 ,by the term ,lord's day the first day of the week is here intended4 ,but the writer does not call the first day the ,sabbath1 that term being applied to the seventh day4 ,in section #g1 paragraph #ei1 ,christians are commanded to assemble for worship every day1 morning and evening1 singing psalms and praying in the ,lord's house3 in the morning saying the sixty-second psalm1 and in the evening the hundred and fortieth1 but principally on the ,sabbath day4 ,and on the day of our ,lord's resurrection1 which is the ,lord's day1 meet more diligently1 sending praise to ,god that made the universe by ,jesus and sent him to us4 ,otherwise what apology will he make to ,god who does not assemble on that day to hear the saving word concerning the resurrection1 on which we pray thrice standing1 in memory of him who arose in three days1 in which is performed the reading of the prophets1 the preaching of the gospel1 the oblation of the sacrifice1 the gift of the holy food4 ,the writer of these ,constitutions this time gives the first day great prominence1 though still honoring the ,sabbath1 and by no means giving that title to ,sunday4 ,but in book v41 section #b1 paragraph #aj1 we have a singular testimony to the manner in which ,sunday was spent4 ,thus the writer says3-- ,now we exhort you1 brethren and fellow-servants1 to avoid vain talk and obscene discourses1 and jestings1 drunkenness1 lasciviousness1 luxury1 unbounded passions1 with foolish discourses1 since we do not permit you so much as on the ,lord's days1 which are days of joy1 to speak or act anything unseemly4 ,from this it appears that the so-called ,lord's day was a day of greater mirth than the other days of the week4 ,in book v41 section #c1 paragraph #ad1 it is said3-- ,but when the first day of the week dawned he arose from the dead1 and fulfilled those things which before his passion he foretold to us1 saying3 ',the ,son of man must continue in the heart of the earth three days and three nights4' ,in book v41 section #c1 paragraph #ae1 the writer names the days on which ,christians should fast3-- ,but he commanded us to fast on the fourth and sixth days of the week2 the former on account of his being betrayed1 and the latter on account of his passion4 ,but he appointed us to break our fast on the seventh day at the cock-crowing1 but to fast on the ,sabbath day4 ,not that the ,sabbath day is a day of fasting1 being the rest from the creation1 but because we ought to fast on this one ,sabbath only1 while on this day the ,creator was under the earth4 ,in paragraph #ag1 ,christians are forbidden to celebrate the day of the resurrection of our ,lord on any other day than a ,sunday4 ,in paragraph #ah1 they are again charged to fast on that one ,sabbath which comes in connection with the anniversary of our ,lord's death4 ,in paragraph #ai1 the first day of the week is four times called the ,lord's day4 ,the period of #dj days from his resurrection to his ascension is to be observed4 ,the anniversary of ,christ's resurrection is to be celebrated by the supper4 ,and let this be an everlasting ordinance till the consummation of the world1 until the ,lord come4 ,for to ,jews the ,lord is still dead1 but to ,christians he is risen3 to the former1 by their unbelief2 to the latter1 by their full assurance of faith4 ,for the hope in him is immortal and eternal life4 ,after eight days let there be another feast observed with honor1 the eighth day itself1 on which he gave me1 ,thomas1 who was hard of belief1 full assurance1 by showing me the print of the nails1 and the wound made in his side by the spear4 ,and again1 from the first ,lord's day count forty days1 from the ,lord's day till the fifth day of the week1 and celebrate the feast of the ascension of the ,lord1 whereon he finished all his dispensation and constitution1 etc4 ,the things here commanded can come only once in a year4 ,these are the anniversary of ,christ's resurrection1 and of that day on which he appeared to ,thomas1 and these were to be celebrated by the supper4 ,the people were also to observe the day of the ascension on the fifth day of the week1 forty days from his resurrection1 on which day he finished his work4 ,in paragraph #bj1 they are commanded to celebrate the anniversary of the ,pentecost4 ,but after ten days from the ascension1 which from the first ,lord's day is the fiftieth day1 do ye keep a great festival2 for on that day1 at the third hour1 the ,lord ,jesus sent on us the gift of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,this was not a weekly but a yearly festival4 ,fasting is also set forth in this paragraph1 but every ,sabbath except the one ,christ lay in the tomb is exempted from this fast1 and every so-called ,lord's day3-- ,we enjoin you to fast every fourth day of the week1 and every day of the preparation the sixth day1 and the surplusage of your fast bestow upon the needy2 every ,sabbath day excepting one1 and every ,lord's day1 hold your solemn assemblies1 and rejoice2 for he will be guilty of sin who fasts on the ,lord's day1 being the day of the resurrection1 or during the time of ,pentecost1 or1 in general1 who is sad on a festival day to the ,lord4 ,for on them we ought to rejoice1 and not to mourn4 ,this writer asserts that it is a sin to fast or mourn on ,sunday1 but never intimates that it is a sin to labor on that day when not engaged in worship4 ,we shall next learn that the decalogue is in agreement with the law of nature1 and that it is of perpetual obligation3-- ,in book vi41 section #d1 paragraph #ai1 it is said3 ,he gave a plain law to assist the law of nature1 such an one as is pure1 saving1 and holy1 in which his own name was inscribed1 perfect1 which is never to fail1 being complete in ten commands1 unspotted1 converting souls4 ,in paragraph #bj it is said3 ,now the law is the decalogue1 which the ,lord promulgated to them with an audible voice4 ,in paragraph #bb he says3 ,you therefore are blessed who are delivered from the curse4 ,for ,christ1 the ,son of ,god1 by his coming has confirmed and completed the law1 but has taken away the additional precepts1 although not all of them1 yet at least the more grievous ones2 having confirmed the former1 and abolished the latter4 ,and he further testifies as follows3 ,and besides1 before his coming he refused the sacrifices of the people1 while they frequently offered them1 when they sinned against him1 and thought he was to be appeased by sacrifices1 but not by repentance4 ,for this reason the writer truthfully testifies that ,god refused to accept their burnt-offerings and sacrifices1 their new moons and their ,sabbaths4 ,in book vi41 section #bc1 he says3 ,he who had commanded to honor our parents1 was himself subject to them4 ,he who had commanded to keep the ,sabbath1 by resting thereon for the sake of meditating on the laws1 has now commanded us to consider of the law of creation1 and of providence every day1 and to return thanks to ,god4 ,this savors somewhat of the doctrine that all days are alike4 ,yet this cannot be the meaning2 for in book vii41 section #b1 paragraph #bc1 he enjoins the observance of the ,sabbath1 and also of the ,lord's-day festival1 but specifies one ,sabbath in the year in which men should fast4 ,thus he says3-- ,but keep the ,sabbath1 and the ,lord's-day festival2 because the former is the memorial of the creation1 and the latter1 of the resurrection4 ,but there is one only ,sabbath to be observed by you in the whole year1 which is that of our ,lord's burial1 on which men ought to keep a fast1 but not a festival4 ,for inasmuch as the ,creator was then under the earth1 the sorrow for him is more forcible than the joy for the creation2 for the ,creator is more honorable by nature and dignity than his own creatures4 ,in book vii41 section #b1 paragraph #cj1 he says3 ,on the day of the resurrection of the ,lord1 that is1 the ,lord's day1 assemble yourselves together1 without fail1 giving thanks to ,god1 etc4 ,in paragraph #cf1 the writer brings in the ,sabbath again3 ,o ,lord ,almighty1 thou hast created the world by ,christ1 and hast appointed the ,sabbath in memory thereof1 because that on that day thou hast made us rest from our works1 for the meditation upon thy laws4 ,in the same paragraph1 in speaking of the resurrection of ,christ1 the writer says3-- ,on which account we solemnly assemble to celebrate the feast of the resurrection on the ,lord's day1 etc4 ,in the same paragraph he speaks again of the ,sabbath3 ,thou didst give them the law or decalogue1 which was pronounced by thy voice and written with thy hand4 ,thou didst enjoin the observation of the ,sabbath1 not affording them an occasion of idleness1 but an opportunity of piety1 for their knowledge of thy power1 and the prohibition of evils2 having limited them as within an holy circuit for the sake of doctrine1 for the rejoicing upon the seventh period4 ,in this paragraph he also states his views of the ,sabbath1 and of the day which he calls the ,lord's day1 giving the precedence to the latter3-- ,on this account he permitted men every ,sabbath to rest1 that so no one might be willing to send one word out of his mouth in anger on the day of the ,sabbath4 ,for the ,sabbath is the ceasing of the creation1 the completion of the world1 the inquiry after laws1 and the grateful praise to ,god for the blessings he has bestowed upon men4 ,all which the ,lord's day excels1 and shows the ,mediator himself1 the ,provider1 the ,law-giver1 the ,cause of the resurrection1 the ,first-born of the whole creation1 etc4 ,and he adds3 ,so that the ,lord's day commands us to offer unto thee1 ,o ,lord1 thanksgiving for all4 ,for this is the grace afforded by thee1 which on account of its greatness has obscured all other blessings4 ,it is certainly noteworthy that the so-called ,lord's day1 for which no divine warrant is produced1 is here exalted above the ,sabbath of the ,lord notwithstanding the ,sabbath is acknowledged to be the divine memorial of the creation1 and to be expressly enjoined in the decalogue1 which the writer declares to be of perpetual obligation4 ,tested by his own principles1 he had far advanced in apostasy2 for he held a human festival more honorable than one which he acknowledged to be ordained of ,god2 and only a single step remained2 viz41 to set aside the commandment of ,god for the ordinance of man4 ,in book viii41 section #b1 paragraph #d1 it is said1 when a bishop has been chosen and is to be ordained1-- ,let the people assemble1 with the presbytery and bishops that are present1 on the ,lord's day1 and let them give their consent4 ,in book viii41 section #d1 paragraph #cc1 occurs the final mention of these two days in the so-called ,apostolical ,constitutions4 ,let the slaves work five days2 but on the ,sabbath day and the ,lord's day let them have leisure to go to church for instruction in piety4 ,we have said that the ,sabbath is on account of the creation1 and the ,lord's day1 of the resurrection4 ,to this may be added the #fdth ,canon of the ,apostles1 which is appended to the ,constitutions3-- ,if any one of the clergy be found to fast on the ,lord's day1 or on the ,sabbath day1 excepting one only1 let him be deprived2 but if he be one of the laity1 let him be suspended4 ,every mention of the ,sabbath and first-day in that ancient book called ,apostolical ,constitutions is now before the reader4 ,this book comes down to us from the third century1 and contains what was at that time very generally believed to be the doctrine of the apostles4 ,it is therefore valuable to us1 not as authority respecting the teaching of the apostles1 but as giving us a knowledge of the views and practices which prevailed in the third century4 ,at the time these ,constitutions were put in writing1 the ten commandments were revered as the immutable rule of right1 and the ,sabbath of the ,lord was by many observed as an act of obedience to the fourth commandment1 and as the divine memorial of the creation4 ,but the first-day festival had already attained such strength and influence as to clearly indicate that ere long it would claim the entire ground4 ,but observe that the ,sabbath and the so-called ,lord's day are treated as distinct institutions1 and that no hint of the change of the ,sabbath to the first day of the week is ever once given4 ,the ,apostolical ,constitutions are cited first1 not because written by the apostles1 but because of their title4 ,for the same reason the so-called ,epistle of ,barnabas is quoted next1 not because written by that apostle1 for the proof is ample that it was not1 but because it is often quoted by first-day writers as the words of the apostle ,barnabas4 ,it was in existence1 however1 as early as the middle of the second century1 and1 like the ,apostolical ,constitutions1 is of value to us in that it gives some clue to the opinions which prevailed in the region where the writer lived1 or at least which were held by his party4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,barnabas--,pliny--,ignatius--,the ,church at ,smyrna--,the ,epistle to ,diognetus--,recognitions of ,clement--,syriac ,documents concerning ,edessa4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,the ,,epistle ,,of ,,barnabas4 ,in his second chapter this writer speaks thus3-- ,for he hath revealed to us by all the prophets that he needs neither sacrifices1 nor burnt-offerings1 nor oblations1 saying thus1 ',what is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me1 saith the ,lord8 ,i am full of burnt-offerings1 and desire not the fat of lambs1 and the blood of bulls and goats1 not when ye come to appear before me3 for who hath required these things at your hands8 ,tread no more my courts1 not though ye bring with you fine flour4 ,incense is a vain abomination unto me1 and your new moons and ,sabbaths ,i cannot endure4' ,he has therefore abolished these things1 that the new law of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 which is without the yoke of necessity1 might have a human oblation4 ,the writer may have intended to assert the abolition of the sacrifices only1 as this was his special theme in this place4 ,but he presently asserts the abolition of the ,sabbath of the ,lord4 ,here is his fifteenth chapter entire3-- ,further1 also1 it is written concerning the ,sabbath in the decalogue which the ,lord spoke1 face to face1 to ,moses on ,mount ,sinai1 ',and sanctify ye the ,sabbath of the ,lord with clean hands and a pure heart4' ,and he says in another place1 ',if my sons keep the ,sabbath1 then will ,i cause my mercy to rest upon them4' ,the ,sabbath is mentioned at the beginning of the creation thus3 ',and ,god made in six days the works of his hands1 and made an end on the seventh day1 and rested on it1 and sanctified it4' ,attend1 my children1 to the meaning of this expression1 ',he finished in six days4' ,this implieth that the ,lord will finish all things in six thousand years1 for a day is with him a thousand years4 ,and he himself testifieth1 saying1 ',behold to-day will be as a thousand years4' ,therefore1 my children1 in six days1 that is1 in six thousand years1 all things will be finished4 ',and he rested on the seventh day4' ,this meaneth3 when his ,son1 coming again1 shall destroy the time of the wicked man1 and judge the ungodly1 and change the sun1 and the moon1 and the stars1 then shall he truly rest on the seventh day4 ,moreover1 he says1 ',thou shalt sanctify it with pure hands and a pure heart4' ,if1 therefore1 any one can now sanctify the day which ,god hath sanctified1 except he is pure in heart in all things1 we are deceived4 ,behold1 therefore3 certainly then one properly resting sanctifies it1 when we ourselves1 having received the promise1 wickedness no longer existing1 and all things having been made new by the ,lord1 shall be able to work righteousness4 ,then we shall be able to sanctify it1 having been first sanctified ourselves4 ,further1 he says to them1 ',your new moons and your ,sabbaths ,i cannot endure4' ,ye perceive how he speaks3 ,your present ,sabbaths are not acceptable to me1 but that is which ,i have made namely this1 when1 giving rest to all things1 ,i shall make a beginning of the eighth day1 that is1 a beginning of another world4 ,wherefore1 also1 we keep the eighth day with joyfulness1 the day1 also1 on which ,jesus rose again from the dead4 ,and when he had manifested himself1 he ascended into the heavens4 ,here are some very strange specimens of reasoning4 ,the substance of what he says relative to the present observance of the ,sabbath appears to be this3 ,no one can now sanctify the day which ,god hath sanctified except he is pure in heart in all things4 ,but this cannot be the case until the present world shall pass away1 when we ourselves1 having received the promise1 wickedness no longer existing1 and all things having been made new by the ,lord1 shall be able to work righteousness4 ,then we shall be able to sanctify it1 having been first sanctified ourselves4 ,men cannot therefore keep the ,sabbath while this wicked world lasts4 ,and so he says1 ,your present ,sabbaths are not acceptable to me4 ,that is to say1 the keeping of the day which ,god has sanctified is not possible in such a wicked world4 ,but though the seventh day cannot now be kept1 the eighth day can be1 and ought to be1 because when the seventh thousand years are past there will be at the beginning of the eighth thousand the new creation4 ,so the persons represented by this writer1 do not attempt to keep the seventh day which ,god sanctified1 for that is too pure to keep in this world1 and can only be kept after the ,saviour comes at the commencement of the seventh thousand years2 but they keep the eighth day with joyfulness1 the day also on which ,jesus rose again from the dead4 ,sunday1 which ,god never sanctified1 is exactly suitable for observance in the world as it now is4 ,but the sanctified seventh day we shall be able to sanctify when all things have been made new4 ,if our first-day friends think these words of some unknown writer of the second century more honorable to the first day of the week than to the seventh1 they are welcome to them4 ,had the writer said1 ,it is easier to keep ,sunday than the ,sabbath while the world is so wicked1 he would have stated the truth4 ,but when in substance he says1 ,it is more acceptable to ,god to keep a common than a sanctified day while men are so sinful1 he excuses his disobedience by uttering a falsehood4 ,several things however should be noted3-- #a4 ,in this quotation we have the reasons of a no-,sabbath man for keeping the festival of ,sunday4 ,it is not ,god's commandment1 for there was none for that festival2 but the day ,god hallowed being too pure to keep while the world is so wicked1 ,sunday is therefore kept till the return of the ,lord1 and then the seventh day shall be truly sanctified by those who now regard it not4 #b4 ,but this writer1 though saying what he is able in behalf of the first day of the week1 applies to it no sacred name4 ,he does not call it ,christian ,sabbath1 nor ,lord's day1 but simply the eighth day1 and this because it succeeds the seventh day of the week4 #c4 ,it is also to be noticed that he expressly dates the ,sabbath from the creation4 #d4 ,the change of the ,sabbath was unknown to this writer4 ,he kept the ,sunday festival1 not because it was purer than the sanctified seventh day1 but because the seventh day was too pure to keep while the world is so wicked4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,the ,,epistle ,,of ,,pliny4 ,pliny was the ,roman governor of ,bithynia in the years #ajc and #ajd4 ,he wrote a letter to the emperor ,trajan1 in which he states what he had learned of the ,christians as the result of examining them at his tribunal3-- ,they affirmed that the whole of their guilt or error was1 that they met on a certain stated day stato die1 before it was light1 and addressed themselves in a form of prayer to ,christ1 as to some ,god1 binding themselves by a solemn oath1 not for the purposes of any wicked design1 but never to commit any fraud1 theft1 or adultery2 never to falsify their word1 nor deny a trust when they should be called upon to deliver it up2 after which it was their custom to separate1 and then reassemble to eat in common a harmless meal4--,coleman's ,ancient ,christianity1 chap4 i4 sect4 #a4 ,the letter of ,pliny is often referred to as though it testified that the ,christians of ,bithynia celebrated the first day of the week4 ,yet such is by no means the case1 as the reader can plainly see4 ,coleman says of it 7page #ebh73-- ,this statement is evidence that these ,christians kept a day as holy time1 but whether it was the last1 or the first day of the week1 does not appear4 ,such is the judgment of an able1 candid1 first-day church historian of good repute as a scholar4 ,an anti-,sabbatarian writer of some repute speaks thus3-- ,as the ,sabbath day appears to have been quite as commonly observed at this date as the ,sun's day 7if not even more so71 it is just as probable that this 'stated day' referred to by ,pliny was the seventh day1 as that it was the first day2 though the latter is generally taken for granted4--,obligation of the ,sabbath1 p4 #cjj4 ,every candid person must acknowledge that it is unjust to represent the letter of ,pliny as testifying in behalf of the so-called ,christian ,sabbath4 ,next in order of time come the reputed epistles of ,ignatius4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,the ,,epistles ,,of ,,ignatius4 ,of the fifteen epistles ascribed to ,ignatius1 eight are1 by universal consent1 accounted spurious2 and eminent scholars have questioned the genuineness of the remaining seven4 ,there are1 however1 two forms to these seven1 a longer and a shorter1 and while some doubt exists as to the shorter form1 the longer form is by common consent ascribed to a later age than that of ,ignatius4 ,but the epistle to the ,magnesians1 which exists both in the longer and in the shorter form1 is the one from which first-day writers obtain ,ignatius' testimony in behalf of ,sunday1 and they quote for this both these forms4 ,we therefore give both4 ,here is the shorter3-- ,for the divinest prophets lived according to ,christ ,jesus4 ,on this account also they were persecuted1 being inspired by his grace to fully convince the unbelieving that there is one ,god1 who has manifested himself by ,jesus ,christ his ,son1 who is his eternal ,word1 not proceeding forth from silence1 and who in all things pleased him that sent him4 ,if1 therefore1 those who were brought up in the ancient order of things have come to the possession of a new hope1 no longer observing the ,sabbath1 but living in the observance of the ,lord's day1 on which also our life has sprung again by him and by his death--whom some deny1 by which mystery we have obtained faith1 and therefore endure1 that we may be found the disciples of ,jesus ,christ1 our only master--how shall we be able to live apart from him1 whose disciples the prophets themselves in the ,spirit did wait for him as their teacher8 ,and therefore he whom they rightly waited for1 being come1 raised them from the dead4 ,chaps4 viii4 and ix4 ,this paragraph is the one out of which a part of a sentence is quoted to show that ,ignatius testifies in behalf of the ,lord's-day festival1 or ,christian ,sabbath4 ,but the so-called ,lord's day is only brought in by means of a false translation4 ,this is the decisive sentence3 mketi sabbatizontes1 alla kata kyriakn zn zntes2 literally3 no longer sabbatizing1 but living according to ,lord's life4 ,eminent first-day scholars have called attention to this fact1 and have testified explicitly that the term ,lord's day has no right to appear in the translation2 for the original is not kyriakn hmeran1 ,lord's day1 but kyriakn zn1 ,lord's life4 ,this is absolutely decisive1 and shows that something akin to fraud has to be used in order to find a reference in this place to the so-called ,christian ,sabbath4 ,but there is another fact quite as much to the point4 ,the writer was not speaking of those then alive1 but of the ancient prophets4 ,this is proved by the opening and closing words of the above quotation1 which first-day writers always omit4 ,the so-called ,lord's day is inserted by a fraudulent translation2 and now see what absurdity comes of it4 ,the writer is speaking of the ancient prophets4 ,if1 therefore1 the ,sunday festival be inserted in this quotation from ,ignatius he is made to declare that the divinest prophets1 who were brought up in the ancient order of things1 kept the first day and did not keep the ,sabbath6 ,whereas1 the truth is just the reverse of this4 ,they certainly did keep the ,sabbath1 and did not keep the first day of the week4 ,the writer speaks of the point when these men came to the newness of hope1 which must be their individual conversion to ,god4 ,they certainly did observe and enforce the ,sabbath after this act of conversion4 ,see ,isa41 chaps4 #ef1 #eh2 ,jer4 #ag2 ,eze41 chaps4 #bj1 #bb1 #bc4 ,but they did also1 as this writer truly affirms1 live according to the ,lord's life4 ,the sense of the writer respecting the prophets must therefore be this3 ,no longer after their conversion to ,god observing the ,sabbath merely1 as natural men but living according to the ,lord's life1 or according to ,christ ,jesus4 ,so much for the shorter form of the epistle to the ,magnesians4 ,though the longer form is by almost universal consent of scholars and critics pronounced the work of some centuries after the time of ,ignatius1 yet as a portion of this also is often given by first-day writers to support ,sunday1 and given too as the words of ,ignatius1 we here present in full its reference to the first day of the week1 and also to the ,sabbath1 which they generally omit4 ,here are its statements3-- ,let us therefore no longer keep the ,sabbath after the ,jewish manner1 and rejoice in days of idleness2 for 'he that does not work1 let him not eat4' ,for1 say the holy oracles1 ',in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread4' ,but let every one of you keep the ,sabbath after a spiritual manner1 rejoicing in meditation on the law1 not in relaxation of the body1 admiring the workmanship of ,god1 and not eating things prepared the day before1 nor using lukewarm drinks1 and walking within a prescribed space1 nor finding delight in dancing and plaudits which have no sense in them4 ,and after the observance of the ,sabbath1 let every friend of ,christ keep the ,lord's day as a festival1 the resurrection day1 the queen and chief of all the days of the week4 ,looking forward to this1 the prophet declared1 ',to the end1 for the eighth day1' on which our life both sprang up again1 and the victory over death was obtained in ,christ1 etc4 ,chapter ix4 ,this epistle1 though the work of a later hand than that of ,ignatius1 is valuable for the light which it sheds upon the state of things when it was written4 ,it gives us a correct idea of the progress of apostasy with respect to the ,sabbath in the time of the writer4 ,he speaks against ,jewish superstition in the observance of the ,sabbath1 and condemns days of idleness as contrary to the declaration1 ,in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread4 ,but by days of idleness he cannot refer to the ,sabbath1 for this would be to make the fourth commandment clash with this text1 whereas they must harmonize1 inasmuch as they existed together during the former dispensation4 ,moreover1 the ,sabbath1 though a day of abstinence from labor1 is not a day of idleness1 but of active participation in religious duties4 ,he enjoins its observance after a spiritual manner4 ,and after the ,sabbath has been thus observed1 let every friend of ,christ keep the ,lord's day as a festival1 the resurrection day1 the queen and chief of all the days4 ,the divine institution of the ,sabbath was not yet done away1 but the human institution of ,sunday had become its equal1 and was even commended above it4 ,not long after this1 it took the whole ground1 and the observance of the ,sabbath was denounced as heretical and pernicious4 ,the reputed epistle of ,ignatius to the ,trallians in its shorter form does not allude to this subject4 ,in its longer form1 which is admitted to be the work of a later age than that of ,ignatius1 these expressions are found3-- ,during the ,sabbath1 he continued under the earth2 at the dawning of the ,lord's day he arose from the dead2 the ,sabbath embraces the burial2 the ,lord's day contains the resurrection4 ,chap4 ix4 ,in the epistle to the ,philippians1 which is universally acknowledged to be the work of a later person than ,ignatius1 it is said3-- ,if any one fasts on the ,lord's day or on the ,sabbath1 except on the paschal ,sabbath only1 he is a murderer of ,christ4 ,chap4 xiii4 ,we have now given every allusion to the ,sabbath and first-day that can be found in any writing attributed to ,ignatius4 ,we have seen that the term ,lord's day is not found in any sentence written by him4 ,the first day is never called the ,christian ,sabbath1 not even in the writings falsely attributed to him2 nor is there in any of them a hint of the modern doctrine of the change of the ,sabbath4 ,though falsely ascribed to ,ignatius1 and actually written in a later age1 they are valuable in that they mark the progress of apostasy in the establishment of the ,sunday festival4 ,moreover1 they furnish conclusive evidence that the ancient ,sabbath was retained for centuries in the so-called ,catholic church1 and that the ,sunday festival was an institution entirely distinct from the ,sabbath of the fourth commandment4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,the ,,church ,,at ,,smyrna4 ,the epistle of ,polycarp makes no reference to the ,sabbath nor to the first day of the week4 ,but the encyclical epistle of the church at ,smyrna concerning the martyrdom of the holy ,polycarp1 informs us that the blessed ,polycarp suffered martyrdom on the great ,sabbath at the eighth hour4 ,chapter xxi4 ,the margin says3 ,the great ,sabbath is that before the passover4 ,this day1 thus mentioned1 is not ,sunday1 but is the ancient ,sabbath of the ,lord4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,the ,,epistle ,,to ,,diognetus4 ,this was written by an unknown author1 and ,diognetus himself is known only by name1 no facts concerning him having come down to us4 ,it dates from the first part of the second century4 ,the writer speaks of the superstition as respects the ,sabbaths which the ,jews manifested1 and he adds these words3 ,to speak falsely of ,god1 as if he forbade us to do what is good on the ,sabbath days--how is not this impious8 ,but there is nothing in this to which a commandment-keeper would object1 or which he might not freely utter4 ,the ,recognitions of ,clement is a kind of philosophical and theological romance4 ,it purports to have been written by ,clement of ,rome1 in the time of the apostle ,peter1 but was actually written somewhere in the first half of the third century4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,the ,,recognitions ,,of ,,clement4 ,in book i41 chapter xxxv41 he speaks of the giving of the law thus3-- ,meantime they came to ,mount ,sinai1 and thence the law was given to them with voices and sights from heaven1 written in ten precepts1 of which the first and greatest was that they should worship ,god himself alone1 etc4 ,in book iii41 chapter lv41 he speaks of these precepts as tests3 ,on account of those1 therefore1 who by neglect of their own salvation please the evil one1 and those who by study of their own profit seek to please the good ,one1 ten things have been prescribed as a test to this present age1 according to the number of the ten plagues which were brought upon ,egypt4 ,in book ix41 chapter xxviii41 he says of the ,hebrews1 that no child born among them is ever exposed1 and that on every seventh day they all rest1 etc4 ,in book x41 chap4 lxxii41 is given the conversion of one ,faustinianus by ,st4 ,peter4 ,and it is said1 ,he proclaimed a fast to all the people1 and on the next ,lord's day he baptized him4 ,this is all that ,i find in this work relating to the ,sabbath and the so-called ,lord's day4 ,the writer held the ten commandments to be tests of character in the present dispensation4 ,there is no reason to believe that he1 or any other person in that age1 held the ,sunday festival as something to be observed in obedience to the fourth commandment4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,the ,,syriac ,,documents ,,concerning ,,edessa4 ,on pages #ce-ee of this work is given what purports to be ,the ,teaching of the ,apostles4 ,on page #cf1 the ascension of the ,lord is said to have been upon the first day of the week1 and the end of the ,pentecost4 ,two manifest falsehoods are here uttered2 for the ascension was upon ,thursday1 and the ,pentecost came ten days after the ascension4 ,it is also said that the disciples came from ,nazareth of ,galilee to the mount of ,olives on that selfsame day before the ascension1 and yet that the ascension was at the time of the early dawn4 ,but ,nazareth was distant from the mount of ,olives at least sixty miles6 ,on page #ch1 a commandment from the apostles is given3 ,on the first day of the week1 let there be service1 and the reading of the holy ,scriptures1 and the oblation1 because ,christ arose on that day1 was born on that day1 ascended on that day1 and will come again on that day4 ,but here is one truth1 one falsehood1 and two mere assertions4 ,the apostles are represented1 on page #ci1 as commanding a fast of forty days1 and they add3 ,then celebrate the day of the passion ,friday1 and the day of the resurrection1 ,sunday4 ,but this would be only an annual celebration of these days4 ,and on pages #ch and #ci they are also represented as commanding service to be held on the fourth and sixth days of the week4 ,the ,sabbath is not mentioned in these ,documents1 which were written about the commencement of the fourth century1 when1 in many parts of the world1 that day had ceased to be hallowed4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,justin ,,martyr4 ,justin's ,apology was written at ,rome about the year #adj4 ,his ,dialogue with ,trypho the ,jew was written some years later4 ,in searching his works1 we shall see how much greater progress apostasy had made at ,rome than in the countries where those lived whose writings we have been examining4 ,and yet nearly all these writings were composed at least a century later than those of ,justin1 though we have quoted them before quoting his1 because of their asserted apostolic origin1 or of their asserted origin within a few years of the times of the apostles4 ,it does not appear that ,justin1 and those at ,rome who held with him in doctrine1 paid the slightest regard to the ancient ,sabbath4 ,he speaks of it as abolished1 and treats it with contempt4 ,unlike some whose writings have been examined1 he denies that it originated at creation1 and asserts that it was made in the days of ,moses4 ,he also differs with some already quoted in that he denies the perpetuity of the law of ten commandments4 ,in his estimation1 the ,sabbath was a ,jewish institution1 absolutely unknown to good men before the time of ,moses1 and of no authority whatever since the death of ,christ4 ,the idea of the change of the ,sabbath from the seventh day of the week to the first1 is not only never found in his writings1 but is absolutely irreconcilable with such statements as the foregoing1 which abound therein4 ,and yet ,justin ,martyr is prominently and constantly cited in behalf of the so-called ,christian ,sabbath4 ,the ,roman people observed a festival on the first day of the week in honor of the sun4 ,and so ,justin in his ,apology1 addressed to the emperor of ,rome1 tells that monarch that the ,christians met on the day of the sun1 for worship4 ,he gives the day no sacred title1 and does not even intimate that it was a day of abstinence from labor1 only as they spent a portion of it in worship4 ,here are the words of his ,apology on the ,sunday festival3-- ,and on the day called ,sunday1 all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place1 and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read1 as long as time permits2 then1 when the reader has ceased1 the president verbally instructs1 and exhorts to the imitation of these good things4 ,then we all rise together and pray1 and1 as we before said1 when our prayer is ended1 bread and wine and water are brought1 and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings1 according to his ability1 and the people assent1 saying1 ,amen2 and there is a distribution to each1 and a participation of that over which thanks have been given1 and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons4 ,and they who are well to do1 and willing1 give what each thinks fit2 and what is collected is deposited with the president1 who succors the orphans and widows1 and those who1 through sickness or any other cause1 are in want1 and those who are in bonds1 and the strangers sojourning among us1 and1 in a word1 takes care of all who are in need4 ,but ,sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly1 because it is the first day on which ,god1 having wrought a change in the darkness and matter1 made the world2 and ,jesus ,christ our ,saviour on the same day rose from the dead4 ,for he was crucified on the day before that of ,saturn 7,saturday72 and on the day after that of ,saturn1 which is the day of the sun1 having appeared to his apostles and disciples1 he taught them these things1 which we have submitted to you also for your consideration4 ,chap4 lxvii4 ,not one word of this indicates that ,justin considered the ,sunday festival as a continuation of the ,sabbath of the fourth commandment4 ,on the contrary1 he shows clearly that no such idea was cherished by him4 ,for though the fourth commandment enjoins the observance of the seventh day because ,god rested on that day from the work of creation1 ,justin urged in behalf of the ,sunday festival that it is the day on which he began his work4 ,the honor paid to that festival was not therefore in ,justin's estimation in any sense an act of obedience to the fourth commandment4 ,he mentions as his other reason for the celebration by ,christians of the day of the sun1 that the ,saviour arose that day4 ,but he claims no divine or apostolic precept for this celebration2 the things which he says ,christ taught his apostles being the doctrines which he had embodied in this ,apology for the information of the emperor4 ,and it is worthy of notice that though first-day writers assert that ,lord's day was the familiar title of the first day of the week in the time of the ,apocalypse1 yet ,justin1 who is the first person after the sacred writers that mentions the first day1 and this at a distance of only #dd years from the date of ,john's vision upon ,patmos1 does not call it by that title1 but by the name which it bore as a heathen festival6 ,if it be said that the term was omitted because he was addressing a heathen emperor1 there still remains the fact that he mentions the day quite a number of times in his ,dialogue with ,trypho1 and yet never calls it ,lord's day1 nor indeed does he call it by any name implying sacredness4 ,now we present the statements concerning the ,sabbath and first-day found in his ,dialogue with ,trypho the ,jew4 ,the impropriety1 not to say dishonesty1 of quoting ,justin in behalf of the modern doctrine of the change of the ,sabbath1 will be obvious to all4 ,he was a most decided no-law1 no-,sabbath writer1 who used the day commonly honored as a festival by the ,romans1 as the most suitable1 or most convenient1 day for public worship1 a position identical with that of modern no-,sabbath men4 ,justin may be called a law man in this sense1 however1 that while he abolishes the ten commandments1 he calls the gospel the new law4 ,he is therefore really one who believes in the gospel and denies the law4 ,but let us hear his own words4 ,trypho1 having in chapter viii4 advised ,justin to observe the ,sabbath1 and do all things which have been written in the law1 in chapter x4 says to him1 ,you observe no festivals or ,sabbaths4 ,this was exactly adapted to bring out from ,justin the answer that though he did not observe the seventh day as the ,sabbath1 he did thus rest on the first day1 if it were true that that day was with him a day of abstinence from labor4 ,and now observe ,justin's answer given in chapter twelve3-- ,the new law requires you to keep perpetual ,sabbath1 and you1 because you are idle for one day1 suppose you are pious1 not discerning why this has been commanded you2 and if you eat unleavened bread1 you say the will of ,god has been fulfilled4 ,the ,lord our ,god does not take pleasure in such observances3 if there is any perjured person or a thief among you1 let him cease to be so2 if any adulterer1 let him repent2 then he has kept the sweet and true ,sabbaths of ,god4 ,this language plainly implies that ,justin held all days to be alike1 and did not observe any one day as a day of abstinence from labor4 ,but in chapter xviii41 ,justin asserts that the ,sabbaths--and he doubtless includes the weekly with the annual--were enjoined upon the ,jews for their wickedness3-- ,for we too would observe the fleshly circumcision1 and the ,sabbaths1 and in short1 all the feasts1 if we did not know for what reason they were enjoined you--namely1 on account of your transgressions and the hardness of your hearts4 ,for if we patiently endure all things contrived against us by wicked men and demons1 so that amid cruelties unutterable1 death and torments1 we pray for mercy to those who inflict such things upon us1 and do not wish to give the least retort to any one1 even as the new ,law-giver commanded us3 how is it1 ,trypho1 that we would not observe those rites which do not harm us--,i speak of fleshly circumcision1 and ,sabbaths1 and feasts8 ,not only does he declare that the ,jews were commanded to keep the ,sabbath because of their wickedness1 but in chapter xix4 he denies that any ,sabbath existed before ,moses4 ,thus1 after naming ,adam1 ,abel1 ,enoch1 ,lot1 and ,melchizedek1 he says3-- ,moreover1 all those righteous men already mentioned1 though they kept no ,sabbaths1 were pleasing to ,god4 ,but though he thus denies the ,sabbatic institution before the time of ,moses1 he presently makes this statement concerning the ,jews3-- ,and you were commanded to keep ,sabbaths1 that you might retain the memorial of ,god4 ,for his word makes this announcement1 saying1 ',that ye may know that ,i am ,god who redeemed you4' ,eze4 #bj3ab4 ,the ,sabbath is indeed the memorial of the ,god that made the heavens and the earth4 ,and what an absurdity to deny that that memorial was set up when the creative work was done1 and to affirm that twenty-five hundred years intervened between the work and the memorial6 ,in chapter xxi4 ,justin asserts that ,god enjoined you the ,jews to keep the ,sabbath1 and imposed on you other precepts for a sign1 as ,i have already said1 on account of your unrighteousness1 and that of your fathers1 c41 and quotes ,ezekiel #bj to prove it4 ,yet that chapter declares that it was in order that they might know who was that being who sanctified them1 i4 e41 that they might know that their ,god was the ,creator1 that the ,sabbath was made to them a sign4 ,in chapter xxiii41 he again asserts that in the times of ,enoch no one observed ,sabbaths4 ,he then protests against ,sabbatic observance as follows3-- ,do you see that the elements are not idle1 and keep no ,sabbaths8 ,remain as you were born4 ,for if there was no need of circumcision before ,abraham1 or of the observance of ,sabbaths1 of feasts and sacrifices1 before ,moses2 no more need is there of them now1 after that1 according to the will of ,god1 ,jesus ,christ the ,son of ,god has been born without sin1 of a virgin sprung from the stock of ,abraham4 ,that is to say1 there was no ,sabbatic institution before ,moses1 and neither is there any since ,christ4 ,but in chapter xxiv41 ,justin undertakes to bring in an argument for ,sunday1 not as a ,sabbath1 but as having greater mystery in it1 and as being more honorable than the seventh day4 ,thus1 alluding to circumcision on the eighth day of a child's life as an argument for the first-day festival1 he says3-- ,it is possible for us to show how the eighth day possessed a certain mysterious import1 which the seventh day did not possess1 and which was promulgated by ,god through these rites4 ,that is to say1 because ,god commanded the ,hebrews to circumcise their children when they were eight days old1 therefore all men should now esteem the first day of the week more honorable than the seventh day1 which he commanded in the moral law1 and which ,justin himself1 in chapter xix41 terms the memorial of ,god4 ,in chapter xxvi41 ,justin says to ,trypho that-- ,the ,gentiles1 who have believed on him1 and have repented of the sins which they have committed1 they shall receive the inheritance along with the patriarchs and the prophets1 and the just men who are descended from ,jacob1 even although they neither keep the ,sabbath1 nor are circumcised1 nor observe the feasts4 ,and in proof of this1 he quotes from ,isa4 #db1 and #fb1 and #fc1 respecting the call of the ,gentiles4 ,upon this 7chapter xxvii471 ,trypho the ,jew very pertinently asks3-- ,why do you select and quote whatever you wish from the prophetic writings1 but do not refer to those which expressly command the ,sabbath to be observed8 ,for ,isaiah thus speaks chap4 #eh3ac1 #ad1 ',if thou shalt turn away thy foot from the ,sabbath1' etc4 ,to which ,justin makes this uncandid answer3-- ,i have passed them by1 my friends1 not because such prophecies were contrary to me1 but because you have understood1 and do understand1 that although ,god commands you by all the prophets to do the same things which he also commanded by ,moses1 it was on account of the hardness of your hearts1 and your ingratitude towards him1 that he continually proclaims them1 in order that1 even in this way1 if you repented1 you might please him1 and neither sacrifice your children to demons1 nor be partakers with thieves1 etc4 ,and he adds3 ,so that1 as in the beginning1 these things were enjoined you because of your wickedness1 in like manner1 because of your steadfastness in it1 or rather your increased proneness to it1 by means of the same precepts1 he calls you by the prophets to a remembrance or knowledge of it4 ,these are bitter words from a ,gentile who had been a pagan philosopher1 and they are in no sense a just answer unless it can be shown that the law was given to the ,jews because they were so wicked1 and was withheld from the ,gentiles because they were so righteous4 ,the truth is just the reverse of this4 ,eph4 #b4 ,but to say something against the ,sabbath1 ,justin asks3-- ,did ,god wish the priests to sin when they offer the sacrifices on the ,sabbaths8 or those to sin1 who are circumcised and do circumcise on the ,sabbaths2 since he commands that on the eighth day--even though it happen to be a ,sabbath--those who are born shall be always circumcised8 ,and he asks if the rite could not be one day earlier or later1 and why those who lived before ,moses observed no ,sabbaths8 ,what ,justin says concerning circumcision and sacrifices is absolutely without weight as an objection to the ,sabbath1 inasmuch as the commandment forbids1 not the performance of religious duties1 but our own work4 ,ex4 #bj3h-aa4 ,and his often repeated declaration that good men before the time of ,moses did not keep the ,sabbath1 is mere assertion1 inasmuch as ,god appointed it to a holy use in the time of ,adam1 and we do know of some in the patriarchal age who kept ,god's commandments1 and were perfect before him4 ,in chapter xxix41 ,justin sneers at ,sabbatic observance by saying1 ,think it not strange that we drink hot water on the ,sabbaths4 ,and as arguments against the ,sabbath he says that ,god directs the government of the universe on this day equally as on all others1 as though this were inconsistent with the present sacredness of the ,sabbath1 when it was also true that ,god thus governed the world in the period when ,justin acknowledges the ,sabbath to have been obligatory4 ,and he again refers to the sacrifices and to those who lived in the patriarchal age4 ,in chapter xli41 ,justin again brings forward his argument for ,sunday from circumcision3-- ,the command of circumcision1 again1 bidding them always circumcise the children on the eighth day1 was a type of the true circumcision1 by which we are circumcised from deceit and iniquity through ,him who rose from the dead on the first day after the ,sabbath namely1 through1 our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,for the first day after the ,sabbath1 remaining the first of all the days1 is called1 however1 the eighth1 according to the number of all the days of the cycle1 and yet remains the first4 ,sunday-keeping must be closely related to infant baptism1 inasmuch as one of the chief arguments in modern times for the baptism of infants is drawn from the fact that ,god commanded the ,hebrews to circumcise their male children2 and ,justin found his scriptural authority for first-day observance in the fact that this rite was to be performed when the child was eight days old6 ,yet this eighth day did not come on one day of the week1 only1 but on every day1 and when it came on the seventh day it furnished ,justin with an argument against the sacredness of the ,sabbath6 ,but let it come on what day of the week it might 7and it came on all alike71 it was an argument for ,sunday6 ,o wonderful eighth day1 that can thrive on that which is positively fatal to the seventh1 and that can come every week on the first day thereof1 though there be only seven days in each week6 ,in chapters xliii41 and xlvi41 and xcii41 ,justin reiterates the assertion that those who lived in the patriarchal age did not hallow the ,sabbath4 ,but as he adds no new thought to what has been already quoted from him1 these need not be copied4 ,but in chapter xlvii41 we have something of interest4 ,trypho asks ,justin whether those who believe in ,christ1 and obey him1 but who wish to observe these institutions will be saved8 ,justin answers3 ,in my opinion1 ,trypho1 such an one will be saved1 if he does not strive in every way to persuade other men 444 to observe the same things as himself1 telling them that they will not be saved unless they do so4 ,trypho replied1 ,why then have you said1 ',in my opinion1 such an one will be saved1' unless there are some who affirm that such will not be saved8 ,in reply1 ,justin tells ,trypho that there were those who would have no intercourse with1 nor even extend hospitality to1 such ,christians as observed the law4 ,and for himself he says3-- ,but if some1 through weak-mindedness1 wish to observe such institutions as were given by ,moses 7from which they expect some virtue1 but which we believe were appointed by reason of the hardness of the people's hearts71 along with their hope in this ,christ1 and wish to perform the eternal and natural acts of righteousness and piety1 yet choose to live with the ,christians and the faithful1 as ,i said before1 not inducing them either to be circumcised like themselves1 or to keep the ,sabbath1 or to observe any other such ceremonies1 then ,i hold that we ought to join ourselves to such1 and associate with them in all things as kinsmen and brethren4 ,justin's language shows that there were ,sabbath-keeping ,christians in his time4 ,such of them as were of ,jewish descent no doubt generally retained circumcision4 ,but it is very unjust in him to represent the ,gentile ,sabbath-keepers as observing this rite4 ,that there were many of these is evident from the so-called ,apostolical ,constitutions1 and even from the ,ignatian ,epistles4 ,one good thing1 however1 ,justin does say4 ,the keeping of the commandments he terms the performance of the eternal and natural acts of righteousness4 ,he would consent to fellowship those who do these things provided they made them no test for others4 ,he well knew in such case that the ,sabbath would die out in a little time4 ,himself and the more popular party at ,rome honored as their festival the day observed by the heathen ,romans1 as he reminds the emperor in his ,apology1 and he was willing to fellowship the ,sabbath-keepers if they would not test him by the commandments1 i4 e41 if they would fellowship him in violating them4 ,that ,justin held to the abrogation of the ten commandments is also manifest4 ,trypho1 in the tenth chapter of the ,dialogue1 having said to ,justin1 ,you do not obey his commandments1 and again1 ,you do not observe the law1 ,justin answers in chapter xi4 as follows3-- ,but we do not trust through ,moses1 or through the law2 for then we would do the same as yourselves4 ,but now--for ,i have read that there shall be a final law1 and a covenant1 the chiefest of all1 which it is now incumbent on all men to observe1 as many as are seeking after the inheritance of ,god4 ,for the law promulgated on ,horeb is now old1 and belongs to yourselves alone2 but this is for all universally4 ,now1 law placed against law has abrogated that which is before it1 and a covenant which comes after in like manner has put an end to the previous one4 ,we must1 therefore1 pronounce ,justin a man who held to the abrogation of the ten commandments1 and that the ,sabbath was a ,jewish institution which was unknown before ,moses1 and of no authority since ,christ4 ,he held ,sunday to be the most suitable day for public worship1 but not upon the ground that the ,sabbath had been changed to it1 for he cuts up the ,sabbatic institution by the roots2 and so far is he from calling this day the ,christian ,sabbath that he gives to it the name which it bore as a heathen festival4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,irenus--,dionysius--,melito--,bardesane s4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,iren,,us4 ,this father was born somewhere between ,a4 ,d4 #abj and ,a4 ,d4 #adj4 ,he was bishop of ,lyons in ,france during the latter quarter of the second century1 being ordained to that office probably about ,a4 ,d4 #agg4 ,his work ,against ,heresies was written between ,a4 ,d4 #ahb and ,a4 ,d4 #ahh4 ,first-day writers assert that ,irenus says that the ,lord's day was the ,christian ,sabbath4 ,they profess to quote from him these words3 ,on the ,lord's day every one of us ,christians keeps the ,sabbath1 meditating on the law and rejoicing in the works of ,god4 ,no such language is found in any of the writings of this father4 ,we will quote his entire testimony respecting the ,sabbath and first-day1 and the reader can judge4 ,he speaks of ,christ's observance of the ,sabbath1 and shows that he did not violate the day4 ,thus he says3-- ,it is clear1 therefore1 that he loosed and vivified those who believe in him as ,abraham did1 doing nothing contrary to the law when he healed upon the ,sabbath day4 ,for the law did not prohibit men from being healed upon the ,sabbaths2 on the contrary it even circumcised them upon that day1 and gave command that the offices should be performed by the priests for the people2 yea1 it did not disallow the healing even of dumb animals4 ,both at ,siloam and on frequent subsequent occasions1 did he perform cures upon the ,sabbath2 and for this reason many used to resort to him on the ,sabbath days4 ,for the law commanded them to abstain from every servile work1 that is1 from all grasping after wealth which is procured by trading and by other worldly business2 but it exhorted them to attend to the exercises of the soul1 which consist in reflection1 and to addresses of a beneficial kind for their neighbor's benefit4 ,and therefore the ,lord reproved those who unjustly blamed him for having healed upon the ,sabbath days4 ,for he did not make void1 but fulfilled the law1 by performing the offices of the high priest1 propitiating ,god for men1 and cleansing the lepers1 healing the sick1 and himself suffering death1 that exiled man might go forth from condemnation1 and might return without fear to his own inheritance4 ,and again1 the law did not forbid those who were hungry on the ,sabbath days to take food lying ready at hand3 it did1 however1 forbid them to reap and to gather into the barn4--,against ,heresies1 b4 iv4 chap4 viii4 sects4 #b1 #c4 ,the case of the priests on the ,sabbath he thus presents3-- ,and the priests in the temple profaned the ,sabbath1 and were blameless4 ,wherefore1 then1 were they blameless8 ,because when in the temple they were not engaged in secular affairs1 but in the service of the ,lord1 fulfilling the law1 but not going beyond it1 as that man did1 who of his own accord carried dry wood into the camp of ,god1 and was justly stoned to death4 ,book iv4 chap4 viii4 sect4 #c4 ,of the necessity of keeping the ten commandments1 he speaks thus3-- ,now1 that the law did beforehand teach mankind the necessity of following ,christ1 he does himself make manifest1 when he replied as follows to him who asked him what he should do that he might inherit eternal life3 ',if thou wilt enter into life1 keep the commandments4' ,but upon the other asking1 'which8' again the ,lord replied3 ',do not commit adultery1 do not kill1 do not steal1 do not bear false witness1 honor father and mother1 and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself1'--setting as an ascending series before those who wished to follow him1 the precepts of the law1 as the entrance into life2 and what he then said to one1 he said to all4 ,but when the former said1 ',all these have ,i done' 7and most likely he had not kept them1 for in that case the ,lord would not have said to him1 ',keep the commandments'71 the ,lord1 exposing his covetousness1 said to him1 ',if thou wilt be perfect1 go1 sell all that thou hast1 and distribute to the poor2 and come follow me1' promising to those who would act thus1 the portion belonging to the apostles4444 ,but he taught that they should obey the commandments which ,god enjoined from the beginning1 and do away with their former covetousness by good works1 and follow after ,christ4 ,book iv4 chap4 xii4 sect4 #e4 ,irenus certainly teaches a very different doctrine from that of ,justin ,martyr concerning the commandments4 ,he believed that men must keep the commandments1 in order to enter eternal life4 ,he says further3-- ,and we must not only abstain from evil deeds1 but even from the desires after them4 ,now he did not teach us these things as being opposed to the law1 but as fulfilling the law1 and implanting in us the varied righteousness of the law4 ,that would have been contrary to the law1 if he had commanded his disciples to do anything which the law had prohibited4 ,book iv4 chap4 xiii4 sect4 #a4 ,he also makes the observance of the decalogue the test of true piety4 ,thus he says3-- ,they 7the ,jews7 had therefore a law1 a course of discipline1 and a prophecy of future things4 ,for ,god at the first1 indeed1 warning them by means of natural precepts1 which from the beginning he had implanted in mankind1 that is1 by means of the decalogue 7which1 if any one does not observe1 he has no salvation71 did then demand nothing more of them4 ,book iv4 chap4 xv4 sect4 #a4 ,the precepts of the decalogue he rightly terms natural precepts1 that is1 precepts which constitute the work of the law written by nature in the hearts of all men1 but marred by the presence of the carnal mind or law of sin in the members4 ,that this law of ,god pertains alike to ,jews and to ,gentiles1 he thus affirms3-- ,inasmuch1 then1 as all natural precepts are common to us and to them 7the ,jews71 they had in them1 indeed1 the beginning and origin2 but in us they have received growth and completion4 ,book iv4 chap4 xiii4 sect4 #d4 ,it is certain that ,irenus held the decalogue to be now binding on all men2 for he says of it in the quotation above1 ,which if any one does not observe1 he has no salvation4 ,but1 though not consistent with his statement respecting the decalogue as the law of nature1 he classes the ,sabbath with circumcision1 when speaking of it as a sign between ,god and ,israel1 and says1 ,the ,sabbaths taught that we should continue day by day in ,god's service4 ,moreover the ,sabbath of ,god1 that is1 the kingdom1 was1 as it were1 indicated by created things2 in which kingdom1 the man who shall have persevered in serving ,god shall1 in a state of rest1 partake of ,god's table4 ,he says also of ,abraham that he was without observance of ,sabbaths4 ,book iv4 chap4 xvi4 sects4 #a1 #b4 ,but in the same chapter he again asserts the perpetuity and authority of the decalogue in these words3-- ,preparing man for this life1 the ,lord himself did speak in his own person to all alike the words of the decalogue2 and therefore1 in like manner1 do they remain permanently with us1 receiving1 by means of his advent in the flesh1 extension and increase1 but not abrogation4 ,section #d4 ,this statement establishes the authority of each of the ten commandments in the gospel dispensation4 ,yet ,irenus seems to have regarded the fourth commandment as only a typical precept1 and not of perpetual obligation like the others4 ,irenus regarded the ,sabbath as something which pointed forward to the kingdom of ,god4 ,yet in stating this doctrine he actually indicates the origin of the ,sabbath at creation1 though1 as we have seen1 elsewhere asserting that it was not kept by ,abraham4 ,thus1 in speaking of the reward to be given the righteous1 he says3-- ,these are to take place in the times of the kingdom1 that is1 upon the seventh day1 which has been sanctified1 in which ,god rested from all the works which he created1 which is the true ,sabbath of the righteous1 in which they shall not be engaged in any earthly occupation2 but shall have a table at hand prepared for them by ,god1 supplying them with all sorts of dishes4 ,book v4 chap4 xxxiii4 sect4 #b4 ,and he elsewhere says3 ,in as many days as this world was made1 in so many thousand years shall it be concluded4444 ,for the day of the ,lord is as a thousand years3 and in six days created things were completed3 it is evident1 therefore1 that they will come to an end at the sixth thousand year4 ,book v4 chap4 xxviii4 sect4 #c4 ,though ,irenus is made by first-day writers to bear a very explicit testimony that ,sunday is the ,christian ,sabbath1 the following1 which constitutes the seventh fragment of what is called the ,lost ,writings of ,irenus1 is the only instance which ,i have found in a careful search through all his works in which he even mentions the first day4 ,here is the entire first-day testimony of this father3-- ,this custom1 of not bending the knee upon ,sunday1 is a symbol of the resurrection1 through which we have been set free1 by the grace of ,christ1 from sins1 and from death1 which has been put to death under him4 ,now this custom took its rise from apostolic times1 as the blessed ,irenus1 the martyr and bishop of ,lyons1 declares in his treatise ,on ,easter1 in which he makes mention of ,pentecost also2 upon which feast we do not bend the knee1 because it is of equal significance with the ,lord's day1 for the reason already alleged concerning it4 ,this is something very remarkable4 ,it is not what ,irenus said1 after all1 but is what an unknown writer1 in a work entitled ,qus4 et ,resp4 ad ,othod41 says of him4 ,and all that this writer says of ,irenus is that he declares the custom of not kneeling upon ,sunday took its rise from apostolic times6 ,it does not even appear that ,irenus even used the term ,lord's day as a title for the first day of the week4 ,its use in the present quotation is by the unknown writer to whom we are indebted for the statement here given respecting ,irenus4 ,and this writer1 whoever he be1 is of the opinion that the ,pentecost is of equal consequence with the so-called ,lord's day6 ,and well he may so judge1 inasmuch as both of these ,catholic festivals are only established by the authority of the church4 ,the testimony of ,irenus in behalf of ,sunday does therefore amount simply to this3 ,that the resurrection is to be commemorated by not bending the knee upon ,sunday6 ,the fiftieth fragment of the ,lost ,writings of ,irenus is derived from the ,nitrian ,collection of ,syriac ,,mss4 ,it relates to the resurrection of the dead4 ,in a note appended to it the ,syriac editor says of ,irenus that he wrote to an ,alexandrian to the effect that it is right1 with respect to the feast of the resurrection1 that we should celebrate it upon the first day of the week4 ,no extant writing of ,irenus contains this statement1 but it is likely that the ,syriac editor possessed some portion of his works now lost4 ,and here again it is worthy of notice that we have from ,irenus only the plain name of first day of the week4 ,as to the manner of celebrating it1 the only thing which he sets forth is not bending the knee upon ,sunday4 ,in the thirty-eighth fragment of his ,lost ,writings he quotes ,col4 #b3af1 but whether with reference to the seventh day1 or merely respecting the ceremonial sabbaths1 his comments do not determine4 ,we have now given every statement of ,irenus which bears upon the ,sabbath and the ,sunday4 ,it is manifest that the advocates of first-day sacredness have made ,irenus testify in its behalf to suit themselves4 ,he alludes to the first day of the week once or twice1 but never uses for it the title of ,lord's day or ,christian ,sabbath1 and the only thing which he mentions as entering into the celebration of the festival was that ,christians should not kneel in prayer on that day6 ,by first-day writers1 ,irenus is made to bear an explicit testimony that ,sunday is the ,lord's day and the ,christian ,sabbath6 ,and to give great weight to this alleged fact1 they say that he was the disciple of ,polycarp1 who was the disciple of ,john3 and whereas ,john speaks of the ,lord's day1 ,irenus1 who must have known what he meant by the term1 says that the ,lord's day is the first day of the week6 ,but ,polycarp1 in his epistle1 does not even mention the first day of the week1 and ,irenus1 in his extended writings1 mentions it only twice1 and that in lost fragments1 preserved at secondhand1 and in neither instance does he call it any thing but plain first day of the week6 ,and the only honor which he mentions as due this day is that the knee should not be bent upon it6 ,and even this was not spoken of every ,sunday in the year1 but only of ,easter ,sunday1 the anniversary of ,christ's resurrection6 ,here we might dismiss the case of ,irenus4 ,but our first-day friends are determined at least to connect him with the use of ,lord's day as a name for ,sunday4 ,they therefore bring forward ,eusebius1 who wrote #aej years later1 to prove that ,irenus did call ,sunday by that name4 ,eusebius alludes to the controversy in the time of ,irenus1 respecting the annual celebration of ,christ's resurrection in what was called the festival of the passover4 ,he says 7,eccl4 ,hist41 b4 v4 chap4 xxiii47 that the bishops of different countries1 and ,irenus was of the number1 decreed that the mystery of our ,lord's resurrection should be celebrated on no other day than the ,lord's day2 and that on this day alone we should observe the close of the paschal fasts1 and not on the fourteenth of the first month as practiced by the other party4 ,and in the next chapter1 ,eusebius represents ,irenus as writing a letter to this effect to the ,bishop of ,rome4 ,but observe1 ,eusebius does not quote the words of any of these bishops1 but simply gives their decisions in his own language4 ,there is therefore no proof that they used the term ,lord's day instead of first day of the week4 ,but we have evidence that in the decision of this case which ,irenus sent forth1 he used the term first day of the week4 ,for the introduction to the fiftieth fragment of his ,lost ,writings1 already quoted1 gives an ancient statement of his words in this decision1 as plain first day of the week4 ,it is ,eusebius who gives us the term ,lord's day in recording what was said by these bishops concerning the first day of the week4 ,in his time1 ,a4 ,d4 #cbd1 ,lord's day had become a common designation of ,sunday4 ,but it was not such in the time of ,irenus1 ,a4 ,d4 #agh4 ,we have found no writer who flourished before him who applies it to ,sunday2 it is not so applied by ,irenus2 and we shall find no decisive instance of such use till the close of the second century4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,dionysius1 ,,bishop ,,of ,,corinth4 ,this father1 about ,a4 ,d4 #agj1 wrote a letter to the ,roman church1 in which are found these words3-- ,we passed this holy ,lord's day1 in which we read your letter1 from the constant reading of which we shall be able to draw admonition1 even as from the reading of the former one you sent us written through ,clement4 ,this is the earliest use of the term ,lord's day to be found in the fathers4 ,but it cannot be called a decisive testimony that ,sunday was thus known at this date1 inasmuch as every writer who precedes ,dionysius calls it first day of the week1 eighth day1 or ,sunday1 but never once by this title2 and ,dionysius says nothing to indicate that ,sunday was intended1 or to show that he did not refer to that day which alone has the right to be called the ,lord's holy day4 ,isa4 #eh3ac4 ,we have found several express testimonies to the sacredness of the ,sabbath in the writers already examined4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,melito1 ,,bishop ,,of ,,sardis4 ,this father wrote about ,a4 ,d4 #agg4 ,we know little of this writer except the titles of his books1 which ,eusebius has preserved to us4 ,one of these titles is this3 ,on the ,lord's ,day4 ,but it should be remembered that down to this date no writer has called ,sunday the ,lord's day2 and that every one who certainly spoke of that day called it by some other name than ,lord's day4 ,to say1 therefore1 as do first-day writers1 that ,melito wrote of ,sunday1 is to speak without just warrant4 ,he uses ,greek3 ts kyriaks1 the ,lord's1 but does not join with it hmera1 a day1 as does ,john4 ,he wrote of something pertaining to the ,lord1 but it is not certain that it was the ,lord's day4 ,moreover1 ,clement1 who next uses this term1 uses it in a mystical sense4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,the ,,heretic ,,bardesanes4 ,bardesanes1 the ,syrian1 flourished about ,a4 ,d4 #ahj4 ,he belonged to the ,gnostic sect of ,valentinians1 and abandoning them1 devised errors of his own4 ,in his ,book of the ,laws of ,countries1 he replies to the views of astrologers who assert that the stars govern men's actions4 ,he shows the folly of this by enumerating the peculiarities of different races and sects4 ,in doing this1 he speaks of the strictness with which the ,jews kept the ,sabbath4 ,of the new sect called ,christians1 which ,christ at his advent planted in every country1 he says3-- ,on one day1 the first of the week1 we assemble ourselves together1 and on the days of the readings we abstain from taking sustenance4 ,this shows that the ,gnostics used ,sunday as the day for religious assemblies4 ,whether he recognized others besides ,gnostics1 as ,christians1 we cannot say4 ,we find no allusion1 however1 to ,sunday as a day of abstinence from labor1 except so far as necessary for their meetings4 ,what their days of fasting1 which are here alluded to1 were1 cannot now be determined4 ,it is also worthy of notice that this writer1 who certainly speaks of ,sunday1 and this as late as ,a4 ,d4 #ahj1 does not call it ,lord's day1 nor give it any sacred title whatever1 but speaks of it as first day of the week4 ,no writer down to ,a4 ,d4 #ahj1 who is known to speak of ,sunday1 calls it the ,lord's day4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,theophilus--,clement of ,alexandria4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,theophilus ,,of ,,antioch4 ,this father became ,bishop of ,antioch in ,a4 ,d4 #afh1 and died ,a4 ,d4 #aha4 ,first-day writers represent him as saying1 ,both custom and reason challenge from us that we should honor the ,lord's day1 seeing on that day it was that our ,lord ,jesus completed his resurrection from the dead4 ,these writers1 however1 give no reference to the particular place in the works of ,theophilus where this is to be found4 ,i have carefully examined every paragraph of all the extant writings of this father1 and that several times over1 without discovering any such statement4 ,i am constrained1 therefore1 to state that nothing of the kind above quoted is to be found in ,theophilus6 ,and further than this1 the term ,lord's day does not occur in this writer1 nor does he even refer to the first day of the week except in quoting ,genesis #a1 in a single instance6 ,but though he makes no mention of the ,sunday festival1 he makes the following reference to the ,sabbath in his remarks concerning the creation of the world3-- ,moreover they spoke1 concerning the seventh day1 which all men acknowledge2 but the most know not that what among the ,hebrews is called the ',sabbath1' is translated into ,greek the 'seventh' 7hebdomas71 a name which is adopted by every nation1 although they know not the reason of the appellation4 ,theophilus to ,autolycus1 b4 ii4 chap4 xii4 ,though ,theophilus is in error in saying that the ,hebrew word ,sabbath is translated into ,greek seventh1 his statement indicates that he held the origin of the ,sabbath to be when ,god sanctified the seventh day4 ,these are the words of ,scripture1 as given by him1 on which he wrote the above3-- ,and on the sixth day ,god finished his works which he made1 and rested on the seventh day from all his works which he made4 ,and ,god blessed the seventh day1 and sanctified it2 because in it he rested from all his works which ,god began to create4 ,book ii4 chap4 xi4 ,in the fifteenth chapter of this book1 he compares those who keep the law and commandments of ,god to the fixed stars1 while the wandering stars are a type of the men who have wandered from ,god1 abandoning his law and commandments4 ,of the law itself1 he speaks thus3-- ,we have learned a holy law2 but we have as law-giver him who is really ,god1 who teaches us to act righteously1 and to be pious1 and to do good4 ,after quoting all but the third and fourth commandments1 he says3 ,of this great and wonderful law which tends to all righteousness1 the ,,ten ,,heads are such as we have already rehearsed4 ,book iii4 chap4 ix4 ,he makes the keeping of the law and commandments the condition of a part in the resurrection to eternal life3-- ,for ,god has given us a law and holy commandments2 and every one who keeps these can be saved1 and1 obtaining the resurrection1 can inherit incorruption4 ,book ii4 chap4 xxvii4 ,and yet this man who bears such a noble testimony to the commandments and the law1 and who says not one word concerning the festival of ,sunday1 is made to speak explicitly in behalf of this so-called ,christian ,sabbath6 ,,testimony ,,of ,,clement ,,of ,,alexandria1 ,a4 ,d4 #aid4 ,this father was born about ,a4 ,d4 #afj1 and died about ,a4 ,d4 #bbj4 ,he wrote about ,a4 ,d4 #aid1 and is the first of the fathers who uses the term ,lord's day in such a manner as possibly to signify by it the first day of the week4 ,and yet he expressly speaks of the ,sabbath as a day of rest1 and of the first day of the week as a day for labor6 ,the change of the ,sabbath and the institution of the so-called ,christian ,sabbath were alike unknown to him4 ,of the ten commandments1 he speaks thus3-- ,we have the decalogue given by ,moses1 which1 indicating by an elementary principle1 simple and of one kind1 defines the designation of sins in a way conducive to salvation1 etc4--,the ,instructor1 b4 iii4 chap4 xii4 ,he thus alludes to the ,sabbath3-- ,thus the ,lord did not hinder from doing good while keeping the ,sabbath2 but allowed us to communicate of those divine mysteries1 and of that holy light1 to those who are able to receive them4--,the ,miscellanies1 b4 i4 chap4 i4 ,to restrain one's self from doing good is the work of vice2 but to keep from wrong is the beginning of salvation4 ,so the ,sabbath1 by abstinence from evils1 seems to indicate self-restraint4 ,book iv4 chap4 iii4 ,he calls love the ,lord of the ,sabbath3-- ,he convicted the man1 who boasted that he had fulfilled the injunctions of the law1 of not loving his neighbor2 and it is by beneficence that the love which1 according to the ,gnostic ascending scale1 is ,lord of the ,sabbath1 proclaims itself4 ,book iv4 chap4 vi4 ,referring to the case of the priests in ,eze4 #dc3bg1 he says3-- ,and they purify themselves seven days1 the period in which creation was consummated4 ,for on the seventh day the rest is celebrated2 and on the eighth1 he brings a propitiation1 as it is written in ,ezekiel1 according to which propitiation the promise is to be received4 ,book iv4 chap4 xxv4 ,we come now to the first instance in the fathers in which the term ,lord's day is perhaps applied to ,sunday4 ,clement is the father who does this1 and he very properly substantiates it with evidence4 ,he does not say that ,saint ,john thus applied this name1 but he finds authority for this in the writings of the heathen philosopher ,plato1 who1 he thinks1 spoke of it prophetically6 ,and the ,lord's day ,plato prophetically speaks of in the tenth book of the ,republic1 in these words3 ',and when seven days have passed to each of them in the meadow1 on the eighth day they are to set out and arrive in four days4' ,by the meadow is to be understood the fixed sphere1 as being a mild and genial spot1 and the locality of the pious2 and by the seven days each motion of the seven planets1 and the whole practical art which speeds to the end of the rest4 ,but after the wandering orbs the journey leads to ,heaven1 that is1 to the eighth motion and day4 ,and he says that souls are gone on the fourth day1 pointing out the passage through the four elements4 ,book v4 chap4 xiv4 ,by the eighth day to which ,clement here applies the name of ,lord's day the first day is possibly intended1 though he appears to speak solely of mystical days4 ,but having said thus much in behalf of the eighth day1 he in the very next sentence commences to establish from the ,greek writers the sacredness of that seventh day which the ,hebrews hallowed4 ,this shows that whatever regard he might have for the eighth day1 he certainly cherished the seventh day as sacred4 ,thus he continues3-- ,but the seventh day is recognized as sacred1 not by the ,hebrews only1 but also by the ,greeks2 according to which the whole world of all animals and plants revolves4 ,hesiod says of it3-- ',the first1 and fourth1 and seventh days were held sacred4' ,and again3 ',and on the seventh the sun's resplendent orb4' ,and ,homer3 ',and on the seventh then came the sacred day4' ,and3 ',the seventh was sacred4' ,and again3 ',it was the seventh day1 and all things were accomplished4' ,and again3 ',and on the seventh morn we leave the stream of ,acheron4' ,callimachus the poet also writes3 ',it was the seventh morn1 and they had all things done4' ,and again3 ',among good days is the seventh day1 and the seventh race4' ,and3 ',the seventh is among the prime1 and the seventh is perfect4' ,and3 ',now all the seven were made in starry heaven1 ,in circles shining as the years appear4' ,the ,elegies of ,solon1 too1 intensely deify the seventh day4 ,book v4 chap4 xiv4 ,some of these quotations are not now found in the writings which ,clement cites4 ,and whether or not he rightly applies them to the seventh-day ,sabbath1 the fact that he does so apply them is incontestible proof that he honored that day as sacred1 whatever might also be his regard for that day which he distinguishes as the eighth4 ,in book vi41 chapter v41 he alludes to the celebration of some of the annual sabbaths4 ,and in chapter xvi41 he thus speaks of the fourth commandment3-- ,and the fourth word is that which intimates that the world was created by ,god1 and that he gave us the seventh day as a rest1 on account of the trouble that there is in life4 ,for ,god is incapable of weariness1 and suffering1 and want4 ,but we who bear flesh need rest4 ,the seventh day1 therefore1 is proclaimed a rest--abstraction from ills--preparing for the primal day1 our true rest2 which1 in truth1 is the first creation of light1 in which all things are viewed and possessed4 ,from this day the first wisdom and knowledge illuminate us4 ,this certainly teaches that the ,sabbath was made for man1 and that he now needs it as a day of rest4 ,it also indicates that ,clement recognized the authority of the fourth commandment1 for he treats of the ten commandments in order1 and comments on what each enjoins or forbids4 ,in the next paragraph1 however1 he makes some remarkable suggestions4 ,thus he says3-- ,having reached this point1 we must mention these things by the way2 since the discourse has turned on the seventh and the eighth4 ,for the eighth may possibly turn out to be properly the seventh1 and the seventh1 manifestly the sixth1 and the latter1,d properly the ,sabbath1 and the seventh1 a day of work4 ,for the creation of the world was concluded in six days4 ,book vi4 chap4 xvi4 ,clement thinks it possible that the eighth day 7,sunday71 may really be the seventh day1 and that the seventh day 7,saturday7 may in fact be the true sixth day4 ,but let not our ,sunday friends exult at this1 for ,clement by no means helps their case4 ,having said that ,sunday may be properly the seventh day1 and ,saturday manifestly the sixth day1 he calls the ,,latter properly the ,sabbath1 and the seventh a day of work6 ,by the latter1 of necessity must be understood the day last mentioned1 which he says should be called not the seventh1 but the sixth2 and by the seventh1 must certainly be intended that day which he says is not the eighth1 but the seventh1 that is to say1 ,sunday4 ,it follows therefore in the estimation of ,clement that ,sunday was a day of ordinary labor1 and ,saturday1 the day of rest4 ,he had an excellent opportunity to say that the eighth day or ,sunday was not only the seventh day1 but also the true ,sabbath1 but instead of doing this he gives this honor to the day which he says is not the seventh but the sixth1 and declares that the real seventh day or ,sunday is a day of work4 ,and he proceeds at length to show the sacredness and importance of the number six4 ,his opinion of the numbering of the days is unimportant2 but the fact that this father who is the first writer that connects the term ,lord's day with the eighth day or ,sunday1 does expressly represent that day as one of ordinary labor1 and does also give to the previous day the honors of the ,sabbath is something that should shut the mouths of those who claim him as a believer in the so-called ,christian ,sabbath4 ,in the same chapter1 this writer alludes to the ,sabbath vaguely1 apparently understanding it to prefigure the rest that remains to the people of ,god3-- ,rightly1 then1 they reckon the number seven motherless and childless1 interpreting the ,sabbath1 and figuratively expressing the nature of the rest1 in which 'they neither marry nor are given in marriage any more4' ,the following quotation completes the testimony of ,clement4 ,he speaks of the precept concerning fasting1 that it is fulfilled by abstinence from sinful pleasure4 ,and thus he says3-- ,he fasts1 then1 according to the law1 abstaining from bad deeds1 and1 according to the perfection of the gospel1 from evil thoughts4 ,temptations are applied to him1 not for his purification1 but1 as we have said1 for the good of his neighbors1 if1 making trial of toils and pains1 he has despised and passed them by4 ,the same holds of pleasure4 ,for it is the highest achievement for one who has had trial of it1 afterwards to abstain4 ,for what great thing is it1 if a man restrains himself in what he knows not8 ,he1 in fulfillment of the precept1 according to the gospel1 keeps the ,lord's day1 when he abandons an evil disposition1 and assumes that of the ,gnostic1 glorifying the ,lord's resurrection in himself4 ,book vii4 chap4 xii4 ,clement asserts that one fasts according to the law when he abstains from evil deeds1 and1 according to the gospel1 when he abstains from evil thoughts4 ,he shows how the precept respecting fasting is fulfilled when he speaks of one who in fulfillment of the precept1 according to the gospel1 keeps the ,lord's day when he abandons an evil disposition4 ,this abandonment of an evil disposition1 according to ,clement1 keeps the ,lord's day1 and glorifies the ,lord's resurrection4 ,but this duty pertains to no one day of the week1 but to all alike1 so that he seems evidently to inculcate a perpetual ,lord's day1 even as ,justin ,martyr enjoins the observance of a perpetual ,sabbath1 to be acceptably sanctified by those who maintain true repentance4 ,though these writers are not always consistent with themselves1 yet two facts go to show that ,clement in this book means just what his words literally import1 viz41 that the keeping of the ,lord's day and the glorifying of the resurrection is not the observance of a certain day of the week1 but the performance of a work which embraces every day of one's whole life4 #a4 ,the first of these facts is his express statement of this doctrine in the first paragraph of the seventh chapter of this book4 ,thus he says3-- ,now1 we are commanded to reverence and to honor the same one1 being persuaded that he is ,word1 ,saviour1 and ,leader1 and by him1 the ,father1 ,,not ,,on ,,special ,,days1 ,,as ,,some ,,others1 but doing this continually in our whole life1 and in every way4 ,certainly the elect race1 justified by the precept1 says1 ',seven times a day have ,i praised thee4' ,whence not in a specified place1 or selected temple1 or at certain festivals1 and on appointed days1 but during his whole life1 the ,gnostic in every place1 even if he be alone by himself1 and wherever he has any of those who have exercised the like faith1 honors ,god2 that is1 acknowledges his gratitude for the knowledge of the way to live4 ,book vii4 chap4 vii4 #b4 ,the second of these facts is that in book vi41 chapter xvi41 as already quoted1 he expressly represents ,sunday as a day of work4 ,certainly ,clement of ,alexandria should not be cited as teaching the change of the ,sabbath1 or advocating the so-called ,christian ,sabbath4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,tertullian1 ,a4 ,d4 #bjj4 ,this writer contradicts himself in the most extraordinary manner concerning the ,sabbath and the law of ,god4 ,he asserts that the ,sabbath was abolished by ,christ1 and elsewhere emphatically declares that he did not abolish it4 ,he says that ,joshua violated the ,sabbath1 and then expressly declares that he did not violate it4 ,he says that ,christ broke the ,sabbath1 and then shows that he never did this4 ,he represents the eighth day as more honorable than the seventh1 and elsewhere states just the reverse4 ,he asserts that the law is abolished1 and in other places affirms its perpetual obligation4 ,he speaks of the ,lord's day as the eighth day1 and is the second of the early writers who makes an application of this term to ,sunday1 if we allow ,clement to have really spoken of it4 ,but though he thus uses the term like ,clement he also like him teaches a perpetual ,lord's day1 or1 like ,justin ,martyr1 a perpetual ,sabbath in the observance of every day4 ,and with the observance of ,sunday as the ,lord's day he brings in offerings for the dead and the perpetual use of the sign of the cross4 ,but he expressly affirms that these things rest1 not upon the authority of the ,scriptures1 but wholly upon that of tradition and custom4 ,and though he speaks of the ,sabbath as abrogated by ,christ1 he expressly contradicts this by asserting that ,christ did not at all rescind the ,sabbath1 and that he imparted an additional sanctity to that day which from the beginning had been consecrated by the benediction of the ,father4 ,this strange mingling of light and darkness plainly indicates the age in which this author lived4 ,he was not so far removed from the time of the apostles but that many clear rays of divine truth shone upon him2 and he was far enough advanced in the age of apostasy to have its dense darkness materially affect him4 ,he stood on the line between expiring day and advancing night4 ,sometimes the law of ,god was unspeakably sacred2 at other times tradition was of higher authority than the law4 ,sometimes divine institutions were alone precious in his estimation2 at others he was better satisfied with those which were sustained only by custom and tradition4 ,tertullian's first reference to ,sunday is found in that part of his ,apology in which he excuses his brethren from the charge of sun-worship4 ,thus he says3-- ,others1 again1 certainly with more information and greater verisimilitude1 believe that the sun is our ,god4 ,we shall be counted ,persians1 perhaps1 though we do not worship the orb of day painted on a piece of linen cloth1 having himself everywhere in his own disk4 ,the idea1 no doubt1 has originated from our being known to turn to the east in prayer4 ,but you1 many of you1 also1 under pretense sometimes of worshiping the heavenly bodies1 move your lips in the direction of the sunrise4 ,in the same way1 if we devote ,sunday to rejoicing1 from a far different reason than sun-worship1 we have some resemblance to those of you who devote the day of ,saturn to ease and luxury1 though they1 too1 go far away from ,jewish ways1 of which indeed they are ignorant4--,thelwell's ,translation1 sect4 #af4 ,several important facts are presented in this quotation4 #a4 ,sunday was an ancient heathen festival in honor of the sun4 #b4 ,those ,christians who observed the festival of ,sunday were claimed by the heathen as sun-worshipers4 #c4 ,the entrance of the ,sunday festival into the church in an age of apostasy when men very generally honored it1 was not merely not difficult to be effected1 it was actually difficult to be prevented4 ,it would seem from the closing sentence that some of the heathen used the seventh day as a day of ease and luxury4 ,but ,mr4 ,reeve's ,translation gives a very different sense4 ,he renders ,tertullian thus3-- ,we solemnize the day after ,saturday in contradistinction to those who call this day their ,sabbath1 and devote it to ease and eating1 deviating from the old ,jewish customs1 which they are now very ignorant of4 ,the persons here mentioned so contemptuously could not be heathens1 for they do not call any day their ,sabbath4 ,nor could they be ,jews1 as is plain from the form of expression used4 ,if we accept ,mr4 ,reeve's ,translation1 these persons were ,christians who observe the seventh day4 ,tertullian does not say that the ,sunday festival was observed by divine authority1 but that they might distinguish themselves from those who call the seventh day the ,sabbath4 ,tertullian again declares that his brethren did not observe the days held sacred by the ,jews4 ,we neither accord with the ,jews in their peculiarities in regard to food1 nor in their sacred days4--,apology1 sect4 #ba4 ,but those ,christians who would not keep the ,sabbath because the festival of ,sunday was in their estimation more worthy of honor1 or more convenient to observe1 were greatly given to the observance of other days1 in common with the heathen1 besides ,sunday4 ,thus ,tertullian charges home upon them this sin3-- ,the ,holy ,spirit upbraids the ,jews with their holy days4 ',your sabbaths1 and new moons1 and ceremonies1' says he1 'my soul hateth4' ,by us 7to whom ,sabbaths are strange1 and the new moons1 and festivals formerly beloved by ,god7 the ,saturnalia and ,new ,year's and mid-winter's festivals and ,matronalia are frequented--presents come and go--,new ,year's gifts--games join their noise--banquets join their din6 ,oh6 better fidelity of the nations to their own sect1 which claims no solemnity of the ,christians for itself6 ,not the ,lord's day1 not ,pentecost1 even if they had known them1 would they have shared with us2 for they would fear lest they should seem to be ,christians4 ,we are not apprehensive lest we seem to be heathens6 ,if any indulgence is to be granted to the flesh1 you have it4 ,i will not say your own days1 but more too2 for to the heathens each festive day occurs but once annually2 you have a festive day every eighth day4--,on ,idolatry1 chap4 xiv4 ,these ,sunday-festival ,christians1 to whom ,sabbaths were strange1 could not have kept ,sunday as a ,sabbath4 ,they had never heard that by divine authority the ,sabbath was changed from the seventh to the first day of the week1 and that ,sunday is the ,christian ,sabbath4 ,let any candid man read the above words from ,tertullian1 and then deny1 if he can1 that these strangers to the ,sabbath1 and observers of heathen festivals1 were not a body of apostatizing ,christians6 ,hereafter ,tertullian will give an excellent commentary on his quotation from ,isaiah4 ,it seems from him that the so-called ,lord's day came once in eight days4 ,were these words to be taken in their most obvious sense1 then it would come one day later each week than it did the preceding week1 and thus it would come successively on all the days of the week in order1 at intervals of eight days4 ,he might in such case well say3-- ,however1 every day is the ,lord's2 every hour1 every time1 is apt for baptism2 if there is a difference in the solemnity1 in the grace1 distinction there is none4--,on ,baptism1 chap4 xix4 ,but it seems that ,tertullian by the eighth day intended ,sunday4 ,and here is something from him relative to the manner of keeping it4 ,thus he says3-- ,in the matter of kneeling also1 prayer is subject to diversity of observance1 through the act of some few who abstain from kneeling on the ,sabbath2 and since this dissension is particularly on its trial before the churches1 the ,lord will give his grace that the dissentients may either yield1 or else indulge their opinion without offense to others4 ,we1 however 7just as we have received71 only on the day of the ,lord's resurrection ought to guard not only against kneeling1 but every posture and office of solicitude2 deferring even our businesses1 lest we give any place to the devil4 ,similarly1 too1 in the period of ,pentecost2 which period we distinguish by the same solemnity of exultation4 ,but who would hesitate every day to prostrate himself before ,god1 at least in the first prayer with which we enter on the daylight4--,on ,prayer1 chap4 xxiii4 ,a more literal translation of this passage would expressly connect the term ,lord's day with the day of ,christ's resurrection1 the original being die ,dominico resurrexionis4 ,the special weekly honor which ,tertullian would have men confer solely upon ,sunday was to pray on that day in a standing posture4 ,and somewhat to his annoyance1 some few would thus act with reference to the ,sabbath4 ,there is1 however1 some reference to the deferral of business on ,sunday4 ,and this is worthy of notice1 for it is the first sentence we have discovered that looks like abstinence from labor on ,sunday1 and we shall not find another before the time of ,constantine's famous ,sunday law1 ,a4 ,d4 #cba4 ,but this passage is far from asserting that labor on ,sunday was sinful4 ,it speaks of deferring even our businesses2 but this does not necessarily imply anything beyond its postponement during the hours devoted to religious services4 ,and we shall find nothing in ,tertullian1 nor in his cotemporaries1 that will go beyond this1 while we shall find much to restrict us to the interpretation of his words here given4 ,tertullian could not say that ,sabbaths were strange to him and his brethren if they religiously refrained from labor on each ,sunday4 ,but let us hear him again concerning the observance of ,sunday and kindred practices3-- ,we take also1 in meetings before daybreak1 and from the hand of none but the presidents1 the sacrament of the ,eucharist1 which the ,lord both commanded to be eaten at meal-times1 and enjoined to be taken by all alike4 ,as often as the anniversary comes round1 we make offerings for the dead as birth-day honors4 ,we count fasting or kneeling in worship on the ,lord's day to be unlawful4 ,we rejoice in the same privilege also from ,easter to ,whit-sunday4 ,we feel pained should any wine or bread1 even though our own1 be cast upon the ground4 ,at every forward step and movement1 at every going in and out1 when we put on our clothes and shoes1 when we bathe1 when we sit at table1 when we light the lamps1 on couch1 on seat1 in all the ordinary actions of daily life1 we trace upon the forehead the sign of the cross4 ,if1 for these and other such rules1 you insist upon having positive ,scripture injunction1 you will find none4 ,tradition will be held forth to you as the originator of them1 custom1 as their strengthener1 and faith1 as their observer4 ,that reason will support tradition1 and custom1 and faith1 you will either yourself perceive1 or learn from some one who has4--,de ,corona1 sects4 #c and #d4 ,the things which he counted unlawful on ,sunday he expressly names4 ,these are fasting and kneeling on that day4 ,but ordinary labor does not come into his list of things unlawful on that day4 ,and now observe what progress apostasy and superstition had made in other things also4 ,offerings for the dead were regularly made1 and the sign of the cross was repeated as often as ,god would have men rehearse his commandments4 ,see ,deut4 #f3f-i4 ,and now if you wish to know ,tertullian's authority for the ,sunday festival1 offerings for the dead1 and the sign of the cross1 he frankly tells you what it is4 ,he had no authority from the ,scriptures4 ,custom and tradition were all that he could offer4 ,modern divines can find plenty of authority1 from the ,scriptures1 as they assert1 for maintaining the so-called ,lord's day4 ,tertullian knew of none4 ,he took the ,sunday festival1 offerings for the dead1 and the sign of the cross1 on the authority of custom and tradition2 if you take the first on such authority1 why do you not1 also1 the other two8 ,but ,tertullian finds it necessary to write a second defense of his brethren from the charge of being sun-worshipers1 a charge directly connected with their observance of the festival of ,sunday4 ,here are his words3-- ,others1 with greater regard to good manners1 it must be confessed1 suppose that the sun is the god of the ,christians1 because it is a well-known fact that we pray towards the east1 or because we make ,sunday a day of festivity4 ,what then8 ,do you do less than this8 ,do not many among you1 with an affectation of sometimes worshiping the heavenly bodies likewise1 move your lips in the direction of the sunrise8 ,it is you1 at all events1 who have even admitted the sun into the calendar of the week2 and you have selected its day ,sunday1 in preference to the preceding day1 as the most suitable in the week for either an entire abstinence from the bath1 or for its postponement until the evening1 or for taking rest1 and for banqueting4 ,by resorting to these customs1 you deliberately deviate from your own religious rites to those of strangers4 ,for the ,jewish feasts are the ,sabbath and 'the ,purification1' and ,jewish also are the ceremonies of the lamps1 and the fasts of unleavened bread1 and the 'littoral prayers1' all which institutions and practices are of course foreign from your gods4 ,wherefore1 that ,i may return from this digression1 you who reproach us with the sun and ,sunday should consider your proximity to us4 ,we are not far off from your ,saturn and your days of rest4--,ad ,nationes1 b4 i4 chap4 xiii4 ,tertullian in this discourse addresses himself to the nations still in idolatry4 ,the heathen festival of ,sunday1 which was with some nations more ancient1 had been established among the ,romans at a comparatively recent date1 though earlier than the time of ,justin ,martyr1 the first ,christian writer in whom an authentic mention of the day is found4 ,the heathen reproached the early ,sunday ,christians with being sun-worshipers1 because1 says ,tertullian1 we pray towards the east1 or because we make ,sunday a day of festivity4 ,and how does ,tertullian answer this grave charge8 ,he could not say1 ,we do it by command of ,god to honor the first day of the week1 for he expressly states in a former quotation that no such precept exists4 ,so he retorts thus3 ,what then8 ,do you heathen do less than this8 ,and he adds3 ,you have selected its day ,sunday in preference to the preceding day 7,saturday71 etc4 ,that is to say1 ,tertullian wishes to know why1 if the heathen could choose ,sunday in preference to ,saturday1 the ,christians could not have the same privilege6 ,could there be a stronger incidental evidence that ,sunday was cherished by the early apostatizing ,christians1 not because commanded of ,god1 but because it was generally observed by their heathen neighbors1 and therefore more convenient to them8 ,but ,tertullian next avows his faith in the ten commandments as the rules of our regenerate life1 that is to say1 the rules which govern ,christian men2 and he gives the preference to the seventh day over the eighth3-- ,i must also say something about the period of the soul's birth1 that ,i may omit nothing incidental in the whole process4 ,a mature and regular birth takes place1 as a general rule1 at the commencement of the tenth month4 ,they who theorize respecting numbers1 honor the number ten as the parent of all the others1 and as imparting perfection to the human nativity4 ,for my own part1 ,i prefer viewing this measure of time in reference to ,god1 as if implying that the ten months rather initiated man into the ten commandments2 so that the numerical estimate of the time needed to consummate our natural birth should correspond to the numerical classification of the rules of our regenerate life4 ,but inasmuch as birth is also completed with the seventh month1 ,i more readily recognize in this number than in the eighth the honor of a numerical agreement with the ,sabbatical period2 so that the month in which ,god's image is sometimes produced in a human birth1 shall in its number tally with the day on which ,god's creation was completed and hallowed4--,de ,anima1 chap4 xxxvii4 ,this kind of reasoning is of course destitute of any force4 ,but in adducing such an argument ,tertullian avows his faith in the ten commandments as the rule of the ,christian's life1 gives the preference to the seventh day as the ,sabbath1 and deduces the origin of the ,sabbath from ,god's act of hallowing the seventh day at creation4 ,though ,tertullian elsewhere1 as we shall see1 speaks lightly of the law of ,god1 and represents it as abolished1 his next testimony most sacredly honors that law1 and while acknowledging the ,sabbath as one of its precepts1 he recognizes the authority of the whole code4 ,thus he says3-- ,of how deep guilt1 then1 adultery--which is likewise a matter of fornication1 in accordance with its criminal function--is to be accounted1 the law of ,god first comes to hand to show us2 if it is true as it is1 that after interdicting the superstitious service of alien gods1 and the making of idols themselves1 after commending to religious observance the veneration of the ,sabbath1 after commanding a religious regard toward parents1 second only to that toward ,god1 that law laid1 as the next substratum in strengthening and fortifying such counts1 no other precept than ',thou shalt not commit adultery4'--,on ,modesty1 chap4 v4 ,and of this precept ,tertullian presently tells us that it stands in the very forefront of the most holy law1 among the primary counts of the celestial edict4 ,in his treatise ,on ,fasting1 chapter xiv41 he terms the ,sabbath--a day never to be kept as a fast except at the passover season1 according to a reason elsewhere given4 ,and in chapter xv41 he excepts from the two weeks in which meat was not eaten the ,sabbaths and the ,lord's days4 ,but in his ,answer to the ,jews1 chapter ii41 he represents the law as variously modified from ,adam to ,christ2 he denies that the ,sabbath is still to be observed2 classes it with circumcision2 declares that ,adam was inobservant of the ,sabbath1 affirms the same of ,abel1 ,noah1 ,enoch1 and ,melchizedek1 and asserts that ,lot was freed from the conflagration of the ,sodomites for the merits of righteousness1 without observance of the law4 ,and in the beginning of chapter iii41 he again classes the ,sabbath with circumcision1 and asserts that ,abraham did not observe the ,sabbath4 ,in chapter iv41 he declares that the observance of the ,sabbath was temporary4 ,and he continues thus3-- ,for the ,jews say1 that from the beginning ,god sanctified the seventh day1 by resting on it from all his works which he made2 and that thence it was1 likewise1 that ,moses said to the people3 ',remember the day of the ,sabbaths1' etc4 ,now see how ,tertullian and his brethren disposed of this commandment respecting the seventh day3-- ,whence we ,christians understand that we still more ought to observe a ,sabbath from all 'servile work' always1 and not only every seventh day1 but through all time4 ,that is to say in plain language1 they would1 under pretense of keeping every day as a ,sabbath1 not only work on the seventh day of the week1 but on all the days of the week4 ,but this plainly proves that ,tertullian did not think the seventh day was superseded by the first4 ,and thus he proceeds3-- ,and through this arises the question for us1 what ,sabbath ,god willed us to keep4 ,our first-day friends quote ,tertullian in behalf of what they call the ,christian ,sabbath4 ,had he believed in such an institution he would certainly have named it in answer to this question4 ,but mark his answer3-- ,for the ,scriptures point to a ,sabbath eternal and a ,sabbath temporal4 ,for ,isaiah the prophet says1 ',your ,sabbaths my soul hateth4' ,and in another place he says1 ',my ,sabbaths ye have profaned4' ,whence we discern that the temporal ,sabbath is human1 and the eternal ,sabbath is accounted divine4 ,this temporal ,sabbath is the seventh day2 this eternal ,sabbath is the keeping of all days alike1 as ,tertullian affirms that he and those with him did4 ,he next declares that ,isaiah's prediction respecting the ,sabbath in the new earth 7,isa4 #ff3 #bb1 #bc71 was fulfilled in the times of ,christ1 when all flesh--that is1 every nation--came to adore in ,jerusalem ,god the ,father4 ,and he adds3 ,thus1 therefore1 before this temporal ,sabbath the seventh day1 there was withal an eternal ,sabbath foreshown and foretold1 i4 e41 the keeping of all days alike4 ,and this he fortifies by the assertion that the holy men before ,moses did not observe the seventh day4 ,and in proof that the ,sabbath was one day to cease1 he cites the compassing of ,jericho for seven days1 one of which must have been the ,sabbath4 ,and to this he adds the case of the ,maccabees who fought certain battles on the ,sabbath4 ,in due time we shall see how admirably he answers such objections as these of his own raising4 ,in chapter vi41 he repeats his theory of the ,sabbath temporal the seventh day1 and the ,sabbath eternal or the ,spiritual ,sabbath1 which is to observe a ,sabbath from all 'servile works' always1 and not only every seventh day1 but through all time4 ,he says that the ancient law has ceased1 and that the new law and the ,spiritual ,sabbath have come4 ,in the twentieth chapter of his first book against ,marcion1 ,tertullian cites ,hosea #b3aa1 and ,isa4 #a3ac1 #ad1 to prove that the ,sabbath is now abrogated4 ,and in his fifth book against ,marcion1 chapter iv41 he quotes ,gal4 #d3aj2 ,john #ai3ca2 ,isa4 #a3ac1 #ad2 ,amos #e3ba1 and ,hosea #b3aa1 to prove that the ,creator abolished his own laws1 and that he destroyed the institutions which he set up himself4 ,these quotations are apparently designed to prove that the ,sabbath is abolished1 but he does not enter into argument from them4 ,but in the nineteenth chapter of this book he quotes ,col4 #b3af1 #ag1 and simply says of the law3 ,the apostle here teaches clearly how it has been abolished1 even by passing from shadow to substance--that is1 from figurative types to the reality1 which is ,christ4 ,this remark is truthful and would justly exclude the moral law from this abolition4 ,but in chapter xxi4 of his second book against ,marcion1 he answers the very objection against the ,sabbath which himself has elsewhere urged1 as we have noticed1 drawn from the case of ,jericho4 ,he says to ,marcion3-- ,you do not1 however1 consider the law of the ,sabbath3 they are human works1 not divine1 which it prohibits4 ,for it says1 ',six days shalt thou labor1 and do all thy work2 but the seventh day is the ,sabbath of the ,lord thy ,god3 in it thou shalt not do any work4' ,what work8 ,of course your own4 ,the conclusion is1 that from the ,sabbath day he removes those works which he had before enjoined for the six days1 that is1 your own works2 in other words1 human works of daily life4 ,now1 the carrying around of the ark is evidently not an ordinary daily duty1 nor yet a human one2 but a rare and a sacred work1 and1 as being then ordered by the direct precept of ,god1 a divine one4444 ,thus1 in the present instance1 there is a clear distinction respecting the ,sabbath's prohibition of human labors1 not divine ones4 ,accordingly1 the man who went and gathered sticks on the ,sabbath day was punished with death4 ,for it was his own work which he did2 and this the law forbade4 ,they1 however1 who on the ,sabbath carried the ark round ,jericho1 did it with impunity4 ,for it was not their own work1 but ,god's1 which they executed1 and that1 too1 from his express commandment4 ,in the following chapter he again cites ,isa4 #a3aa-ad1 as proof that the ,sabbath is abolished4 ,he will1 however1 presently explain this text which he has so many times used against the ,sabbath1 and show that it actually has no such bearing4 ,in the meantime he will again declare that ,joshua did not break the ,sabbath1 and having done this he will find it in order again to assert that the ,sabbath was actually then broken by ,joshua4 ,in his fourth book against ,marcion1 chapter xii41 he discusses the question whether ,christ as ,lord of the ,sabbath had the right to annul the ,sabbath1 and whether in his life he did actually violate it4 ,to do this he again cites the case of ,jericho1 and actually affirms that the ,sabbath was broken on that occasion1 and at the same time denies it4 ,thus he says3-- ,if ,christ interfered with the ,sabbath1 he simply acted after the ,creator's example2 inasmuch as in the siege of the city of ,jericho the carrying around the walls of the ark of the covenant for eight days running1 and therefore on a ,sabbath day1 actually annulled the ,sabbath1 by the ,creator's command--according to the opinion of those who think this of ,christ ,luke #f3a-e in their ignorance that neither ,christ nor the ,creator violated the ,sabbath1 as we shall by-and-by show4 ,and yet the ,sabbath was actually then broken by ,joshua1 so that the present charge might be alleged also against ,christ4 ,the ,sabbath was not violated in the case of ,jericho1 and yet it certainly was there violated6 ,tertullian adds that if ,christ hated the ,sabbath he was in this like the ,creator himself1 who declares ,isa4 #a3ad that he hates it4 ,he forgets that the ,creator has expressly declared his great regard for the ,sabbath by this very prophet chap4 #eh3ac1 #ad1 and overlooks the fact that what ,god hates is the hypocritical conduct of the people as set forth in ,isaiah #a4 ,in his fourth book against ,marcion1 chapter xvi41 ,christ is mentioned as the ,lord of the ,sabbath1 but nothing is said bearing upon ,sabbatic obligation4 ,in chapter xxx41 of this same book1 he alludes to the cure wrought by ,christ upon the ,sabbath day1 mentioned in ,luke #ac3aa-af1 and says1 ,when1 therefore1 he did a work according to the condition prescribed by the law1 he affirmed1 instead of breaking1 the law1 etc4 ,in the twelfth chapter of this book1 however1 he asserts many things relative to ,christ4 ,he says that the disciples in rubbing out the ears of corn on the ,sabbath had violated the holy day4 ,christ excuses them and became their accomplice in breaking the ,sabbath4 ,he argues that as the ,sabbath from the beginning1 which he here places at the fall of the manna though elsewhere dating it from the creation1 had never been designed as a day of fasting1 the ,saviour did right in justifying the act of the disciples in the cornfield4 ,and he terms the example of ,david a colorable precedent to justify the eating of the corn4 ,but though he represents the ,saviour as annulling the ,sabbath at this time1 he also asserts that in this very case he maintains the honor of the ,sabbath as a day which is to be free from gloom rather than from work4 ,he justifies the ,saviour in his acts of healing on the ,sabbath1 declaring that in this he was doing that which the ,sabbath law did not forbid4 ,tertullian next affirms precisely the reverse of many things which he has advanced against the ,sabbath1 and even answers his own objections against it4 ,thus he says3-- ,in order that he might1 whilst allowing that amount of work which he was about to perform for a soul1 remind them what works the law of the ,sabbath forbade--even human works2 and what it enjoined--even divine works1 which might be done for the benefit of any soul1 he was called ',lord of the ,sabbath' because he maintained the ,sabbath as his own institution4 ,now1 even if he had annulled the ,sabbath1 he would have had the right to do so1 as being its ,lord1 and still more as he who instituted it4 ,but lie did not utterly destroy it1 although its ,lord1 in order that it might henceforth be plain that the ,sabbath was not broken by the ,creator1 even at the time when the ark was carried around ,jericho4 ,for that was really ,god's work1 which he commanded himself1 and which he had ordered for the sake of the lives of his servants when exposed to the perils of war4 ,book iv4 chap4 xii4 ,in this paragraph ,tertullian explains the law of ,god in the clearest manner4 ,he shows beyond all dispute that neither ,joshua nor ,christ ever violated it4 ,he also declares that ,christ did not abolish the ,sabbath4 ,in the next sentence he goes on to answer most admirably his own repeated perversion of ,isaiah #a3ac1 #ad1 and to contradict some of his own serious errors4 ,listen to him3-- ,now1 although he has in a certain place expressed an aversion of ,sabbaths1 by calling them 'your ,sabbaths1' reckoning them as men's ,sabbaths1 not his own1 because they were celebrated without the fear of ,god by a people full of iniquities1 and loving ,god 'with the lip1 not the heart1' he has yet put his own ,sabbaths 7those1 that is1 which were kept according to his prescription7 in a different position2 for by the same prophet1 in a later passage1 he declares them to be 'true1 delightful1 and inviolable4' ,isa #eh3ac2 #ef3b4 ,thus ,christ did not at all rescind the ,sabbath3 he kept the law thereof1 and both in the former case did a work which was beneficial to the life of his disciples 7for he indulged them with the relief of food when they were hungry71 and in the present instance cured the withered hand2 in each case intimating by facts1 ',i came not to destroy the law1 but to fulfill it1' although ,marcion has gagged his mouth by this word4 ,here ,tertullian shows that ,god did not hate his own ,sabbath1 but only the hypocrisy of those who professed to keep it4 ,he also expressly declares that the ,saviour did not at all rescind the ,sabbath4 ,and now that he has his hand in1 he will not cease till he has testified to a noble ,sabbatarian confession of faith1 placing its origin at creation1 and perpetuating the institution with divine safeguards and additional sanctity4 ,moreover he asserts that ,christ's adversary ,satan would have had him do this to some other days1 a heavy blow as it happens upon those who in modern times so stoutly maintain that he consecrated the first day of the week to take the place of the ,creator's rest-day4 ,listen again to ,tertullian1 who continues as follows3-- ,for even in the case before us he fulfilled the law1 while interpreting its condition2 moreover1 he exhibits in a clear light the different kinds of work1 while doing what the law excepts from the sacredness of the ,sabbath1 and while imparting to the ,sabbath day itself1 which from the beginning had been consecrated by the benediction of the ,father1 an additional sanctity by his own beneficent action4 ,for he furnished to this day divine safeguards1--a course which his adversary would have pursued for some other days1 to avoid honoring the ,creator's ,sabbath1 and restoring to the ,sabbath the works which were proper for it4 ,since1 in like manner1 the prophet ,elisha on this day restored to life the dead son of the ,shunammite woman1 you see1 ,o ,pharisee1 and you too1 ,o ,marcion1 how that it was proper employment for the ,creator's ,sabbaths of old to do good1 to save life1 not to destroy it2 how that ,christ introduced nothing new1 which was not after the example1 the gentleness1 the mercy1 and the prediction also of the ,creator4 ,for in this very example he fulfills the prophetic announcement of a specific healing3 ',the weak hands are strengthened1' as were also 'the feeble knees' in the sick of the palsy4--,tertullian against ,marcion1 b4 iv4 chap4 xii4 ,tertullian mistakes in his reference to the ,shunammite woman4 ,it was not the ,sabbath day on which she went to the prophet4 #b ,kings #d3bc4 ,but in the last three paragraphs quoted from him1 which in his work form one continuous statement1 he affirms many important truths which are worthy of careful enumeration4 ,they are as follows3-- #a4 ,christ1 in determining what should1 and what should not1 be done on the ,sabbath1 was called ',lord of the ,sabbath1' because he maintained the ,sabbath as his own institution4 #b4 ,the ,sabbath was not broken by the ,creator1 even at the time when the ark was carried around ,jericho4 #c4 ,the reason why ,god expressed his aversion to your ,sabbaths1 as though they were men's ,sabbaths1 not his own1 was because they were celebrated without the fear of ,god1 by a people full of iniquities4 ,see ,isa4 #a3ac1 #ad4 #d4 ,by the same prophet ,isa4 #eh3ac2 #ef3b1 he declares them the ,sabbaths to be 'true and delightful and inviolable4' #e4 ,thus ,christ did not at all rescind the ,sabbath4 #f4 ,he kept the law thereof4 #g4 ,the ,sabbath day itself1 which from the beginning had been consecrated by the benediction of the ,father4 ,this language expressly assigns the origin of the ,sabbath to the act of the ,creator at the close of the first week of time4 #h4 ,christ imparted to the ,sabbath an additional sanctity by his own beneficent action4 #i4 ,he furnished to this day divine safeguards1--a course which his adversary would have pursued for some other days1 to avoid honoring the ,creator's ,sabbath1 and restoring to the ,sabbath the works which were proper for it4 ,this last statement is indeed very remarkable4 ,christ furnished the ,creator's ,sabbath1 the seventh day1 with divine safeguards4 ,his adversary 7,,the adversary of ,christ is the devil7 would have had this course pursued for some other days4 ,that is to say1 the devil would have been pleased had ,christ consecrated some other day1 instead of adding to the sanctity of his ,father's ,sabbath4 ,what ,tertullian says that the devil would have been pleased to have ,christ do1 that our first-day friends now assert that he did do in the establishment of what they call the ,christian ,sabbath6 ,such an institution1 however1 was never heard of in the days of the so-called ,christian fathers4 ,notwithstanding ,tertullian's many erroneous statements concerning the ,sabbath and the law1 he has here borne a noble testimony to the truth1 and this completes his words4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,fabian--,origen--,hippolytus--,novatian 4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,the ,,epistles ,,and ,,decrees ,,of ,,pope ,,fabian4 ,this man was bishop of ,rome from ,a4 ,d4 #bcf to ,a4 ,d4 #bej4 ,the letters ascribed to ,fabian were probably written at a considerably later date4 ,we quote them1 however1 at the very point of time wherein they claim to have been written4 ,their testimony is of little importance1 but they breathe the self-important spirit of a ,roman bishop4 ,we quote as follows3-- ,you ought to know what is being done in things sacred in the church of ,rome1 in order that1 by following her example1 ye may be found to be true children of her who is called your mother4 ,accordingly1 as we have received the institution from our fathers1 we maintain seven deacons in the city of ,rome1 distributed over seven districts of the state1 who attend to the services enjoined on them week by week1 and on the ,lord's days1 and the solemn festivals1 etc4--,epistle ,first4 ,this pope is said to have made the following decree1 which contains the only other reference to the so-called ,lord's day to be found in the writings attributed to him3-- ,we decree that on each ,lord's day the oblation of the altar should be made by all men and women in bread and wine1 in order that by means of these sacrifices they may be released from the burden of their sins4--,decrees of ,fabian1 b4 v4 chap4 vii4 ,in these quotations we see that the ,roman church is made the mother of all churches1 and also that the ,roman bishop thinks himself the rightful ruler over all ,christian people4 ,and it is in fit keeping with these features of the great apostasy that the pope1 instead of pointing sinful men to the sacrifice made on ,calvary1 should decree that on each ,lord's day every person should offer an oblation of bread and wine on the altar1 that by means of ,,these ,,sacrifices they may be released from the burden of their sins6 ,,testimony ,,of ,,origen4 ,origen was born about ,a4 ,d4 #ahe1 probably at ,alexandria in ,egypt4 ,he was a man of immense learning1 but unfortunately adopted a spiritualizing system in the interpretation of the ,scriptures that was the means of flooding the church with many errors4 ,he wrote during the first half of the third century4 ,i have carefully examined all the writings of every ,christian writer preceding the council of ,nice with the single exception of ,origen4 ,some of his works1 as yet1 ,i have not been able to obtain4 ,while1 therefore1 ,i give the entire testimony of every other father on the subject of inquiry1 in his case ,i am unable to do this4 ,but ,i can give it with sufficient fullness to present him in a just light4 ,his first reference to the ,sabbath is a denial that it should be literally understood4 ,thus he says3-- ,there are countless multitudes of believers who1 although unable to unfold methodically and clearly the results of their spiritual understanding1 are nevertheless most firmly persuaded that neither ought circumcision to be understood literally1 nor the rest of the ,sabbath1 nor the pouring out of the blood of an animal1 nor that answers were given by ,god to ,moses on these points4 ,and this method of apprehension is undoubtedly suggested to the minds of all by the power of the ,holy ,spirit4--,de ,principiis1 b4 ii4 chap4 vii4 ,origen asserts that the spiritual interpretation of the ,scriptures whereby their literal meaning is set aside is something divinely inspired6 ,but when this is accepted as the truth who can tell what they mean by what they say8 ,in the next chapter he quotes ,isa4 #a3ac1 #ad1 but with reference to the subject of the soul and not to that of the ,sabbath4 ,in chapter xi41 alluding again to the hidden meaning of the things commanded in the ,scriptures1 he asserts that when the ,christian has returned to ,christ he will1 amongst other things enumerated1 see also the reasons for the festival days1 and holy days1 and for all the sacrifices and purifications4 ,so it seems that ,origen thought the spiritual meaning of the ,sabbath1 which he asserted in the place of the literal1 was to be known only in the future state6 ,in book iv4 chapter i41 he quotes ,col4 #b3af1 but gives no exposition of its meaning4 ,but having asserted that the things commanded in the law were not to be understood literally1 and having intimated that their hidden meaning cannot be known until the saints are with ,christ1 he proceeds in section #ag of this chapter to prove that the literal sense of the law is impossible4 ,one of the arguments by which he proves the point is1 that men were commanded not to go out of their houses on the ,sabbath4 ,he thus quotes and comments on ,ex4 #af3bi3-- ',ye shall sit1 every one in your dwellings2 no one shall move from his place on the ,sabbath day1' which precept it is impossible to observe literally2 for no man can sit a whole day so as not to move from the place where he sat down4 ,origen quotes a certain ,samaritan who declares that one must not change his posture on the ,sabbath1 and he adds1 ,moreover the injunction which runs1 ',bear no burden on the ,sabbath day1' seems to me an impossibility4 ,this argument is framed for the purpose of proving that the ,scriptures cannot be taken in their literal sense4 ,but had he quoted the text correctly there would be no force at all to his argument4 ,they must not go out to gather manna1 but were expressly commanded to use the ,sabbath for holy convocations1 that is1 for religious assemblies4 ,lev4 #bc3c4 ,and as to the burdens mentioned in ,jer4 #ag3ba-bg1 they are sufficiently explained by ,neh4 #ac3ae-bb4 ,such reasons as these for denying the obvious1 simple signification of what ,god has commanded1 are worthy of no confidence4 ,in his letter to ,africanus1 ,origen thus alludes to the ,sabbath1 but without further remarking upon it3-- ,you will find the law about not bearing a burden on the ,sabbath day in ,jeremiah as well as in ,moses4 ,though these allusions of ,origen to the ,sabbath are not in themselves of much importance1 we give them all1 that his testimony may be presented as fully as possible4 ,his next mention of the ,sabbath seems from the connection to relate to ,paul3-- ,was it impious to abstain from corporeal circumcision1 and from a literal ,sabbath1 and literal festivals1 and literal new moons1 and from clean and unclean meats1 and to turn the mind to the good and true and spiritual law of ,god1 etc4--,origen against ,celsus1 b4 ii4 chap4 vii4 ,we shall soon get his idea of the true ,sabbath as distinguished from the literal one4 ,he gives the following reason for the literal ,sabbath among the ,hebrews3-- ,in order that there might be leisure to listen to their sacred laws1 the days termed ',sabbath1' and the other festivals which existed among them1 were instituted4 ,book iv4 chap4 xxxi4 ,what ,origen mentions as the reason for the institution of the ,sabbath is in fact only one of its incidental benefits4 ,the real reason for its institution1 viz41 that the creation of the heavens and the earth should be remembered1 he seems to have overlooked because so literally expressed in the commandment4 ,of ,god's rest-day he thus speaks3-- ,with respect1 however1 to the creation of the world1 and the 'rest ,sabbatismou which is reserved after it for the people of ,god1' the subject is extensive1 and mystical1 and profound1 and difficult of explanation4 ,book v4 chap4 lix4 ,origen's next mention of the ,sabbath not only places the institution of the ,sabbath at the creation1 but gives us some idea of his mystical ,sabbath as distinguished from a literal one4 ,speaking of the ,creator's rest from the six days' work he thus alludes to ,celsus3-- ,for he ,celsus knows nothing of the day of the ,sabbath and rest of ,god1 which follows the completion of the world's creation1 and which lasts during the duration of the world1 and in which all those will keep festival with ,god who have done all their works in their six days1 and who1 because they have omitted none of their duties1 will ascend to the contemplation of celestial things1 and to the assembly of righteous and blessed beings4 ,book vi4 chap4 lxi4 ,here we get an insight into ,origen's mystical ,sabbath4 ,it began at creation1 and will continue while the world endures4 ,to those who follow the letter it is indeed only a weekly rest1 but to those who know the truth it is a perpetual ,sabbath1 enjoyed by ,god during all the days of time1 and entered by believers either at conversion or at death4 ,and this last thought perhaps explains why he said before that the reasons for days observed by the ,hebrews would be understood after this life4 ,but last of all we come to a mention of the so-called ,lord's day by ,origen4 ,as he has a mystical or perpetual ,sabbath like some of the earlier fathers1 in which1 under pretense of keeping every day as a ,sabbath1 they actually labor on every one1 so has he also1 like what we have found in some of them1 a ,lord's day which is not merely one definite day of the week1 but which embraces every day1 and covers all time4 ,here are his words3-- ,for 'to keep a feast1' as one of the wise men of ,greece has well said1 'is nothing else than to do one's duty2' and that man truly celebrates a feast who does his duty and prays always1 offering up continually bloodless sacrifices in prayer to ,god4 ,that therefore seems to me a most noble saying of ,paul1 ',ye observe days1 and months1 and times1 and years4 ,i am afraid of you1 lest ,i have bestowed upon you labor in vain4' ,if it be objected to us on this subject that we ourselves are accustomed to observe certain days1 as1 for example1 the ,lord's day1 the ,preparation1 the ,passover1 or ,pentecost1 ,i have to answer1 that to the perfect ,christian1 who is ever in his thoughts1 words1 and deeds1 serving his natural ,lord1 ,god the ,word1 all his days are the ,lord's1 and he is always keeping the ,lord's day4 ,book viii41 close of chapter xxi4 and beginning of chapter xxii4 ,with respect to what he calls the ,lord's day1 ,origen divides his brethren into two classes1 as he had before divided the people of ,god into two classes with respect to the ,sabbath4 ,one class are the imperfect ,christians1 who content themselves with the literal day2 the other are the perfect ,christians1 whose ,lord's day embraces all the days of their life4 ,undoubtedly ,origen reckoned himself one of the perfect ,christians4 ,his observance of the ,lord's day did not consist in the elevation of one day above another1 for he counted them all alike as constituting one perpetual ,lord's day1 the very doctrine which we found in ,clement of ,alexandria1 who was ,origen's teacher in his early life4 ,the keeping of the ,lord's day with ,origen as with ,clement embraced all the days of his life1 and consisted according to ,origen in serving ,god in thought1 word1 and deed1 continually2 or as expressed by ,clement1 one keeps the ,lord's day when he abandons an evil disposition1 and assumes that of the ,gnostic4 ,these things prove that ,origen did not count ,sunday as the ,lord's day to be honored above the other days as a divine memorial of the resurrection1 for he kept the ,lord's day during every day in the week4 ,nor did he hold ,sunday as the ,lord's day to be kept as a day of abstinence from labor1 while all the other days were days of business1 for whatever was necessary to keeping ,lord's day he did on every day of the week4 ,as to the imperfect ,christians who honored a literal day as the ,lord's day1 ,origen shows what rank it stood in by associating it with the ,preparation1 the ,passover1 and the ,pentecost1 all of which in this dispensation are mere church institutions1 and none of them days of abstinence from labor4 ,the change of the ,sabbath from the seventh day to the first1 or the existence of the so-called ,christian ,sabbath was in ,origen's time absolutely unknown4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,hippolytus1 ,,bishop ,,of ,,portus4 ,hippolytus1 who was bishop of ,portus1 near ,rome1 wrote about ,a4 ,d4 #bcj4 ,it is evident from his testimony that he believed the ,sabbath was made by ,god's act of sanctifying the seventh day at the beginning4 ,he held that day to be the type of the seventh period of a thousand years4 ,thus he says3-- ,and #fjjj years must needs be accomplished1 in order that the ,sabbath may come1 the rest1 the holy day on which ,god rested from all his works4 ,for the ,sabbath is the type and emblem of the future kingdom of the saints1 when they shall reign with ,christ1 when he comes from ,heaven1 as ,john says in his ,apocalypse3 for a day with the ,lord is as a thousand years4 ,since1 then1 in six days ,god made all things1 it follows that six thousand years must be fulfilled4--,commentaries on ,various ,books of ,scripture4 ,sect4 #d1 on ,daniel4 ,the churches of ,ethiopia have a series of ,canons1 or church rules1 which they attribute to this father4 ,number thirty-three reads thus3-- ,that commemoration should be made of the faithful dead every day1 with the exception of the ,lord's day4 ,the church of ,alexandria have also a series which they ascribe to him4 ,the thirty-third is thus given3-- ,of the ,atalmsas 7the oblation71 which they shall present for those who are dead1 that it be not done on the ,lord's day4 ,the thirty-eighth one has these words3-- ,of the night on which our ,lord ,jesus ,christ rose4 ,that no one shall sleep on that night1 and wash himself with water4 ,these are the only things in ,hippolytus that can be referred to the ,sunday festival4 ,prayers and offerings for the dead1 which we find some fifty years earlier in ,tertullian1 are1 according to ,hippolytus1 lawful on every day but the so-called ,lord's day4 ,they grew up with the ,sunday festival1 and are of equal authority with it4 ,tertullian1 as we have already observed1 tells us frankly that there is no scriptural authority for the one or the other1 and that they rest on custom and tradition alone4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,novatian1 ,a ,,roman ,,presbyter4 ,novatian1 who wrote about ,a4 ,d4 #bej1 is accounted the founder of the sect called ,cathari1 or ,puritans4 ,he tried to resist some of the gross corruptions of the church of ,rome4 ,he wrote a treatise on the ,sabbath1 which is not extant4 ,there is no reference to ,sunday in any of his writings4 ,in his treatise ,on the ,jewish ,meats1 he speaks of the ,sabbath thus3-- ,but how perverse are the ,jews1 and remote from the understanding of their law1 ,i have fully shown1 as ,i believe1 in two former letters1 wherein it was absolutely proved that they are ignorant of what is the true circumcision1 and what the true ,sabbath4 ,chapter i4 ,if we contrast the doctrine of the ,pharisees concerning the ,sabbath with the teaching of the ,saviour1 or with that of ,isaiah in his fifty-eighth chapter1 we shall not think ,novatian far from the truth in his views of the ,jewish people4 ,in his treatise ,concerning the ,trinity is the following allusion to the ,sabbath3-- ,for in the manner that as man he is of ,abraham1 so also as ,god he is before ,abraham himself4 ,and in the same manner as he is as man the ',son of ,david1' so as ,god he is proclaimed ,david's ,lord4 ,and in the same manner as he was made as man 'under the law1' so as ,god he is declared to be ',lord of the ,sabbath4' ,chapter xi4 ,these are the only references to the ,sabbath in what remains of the writings of ,novatian4 ,he makes the following striking remarks concerning the moral law3-- ,the law was given to the children of ,israel for this purpose1 that they might profit by it1 and ,,return to those virtuous manners1 which1 although they have received them from their fathers1 they had corrupted in ,egypt by reason of their intercourse with a barbarous people4 ,finally1 also1 those ten commandments on the tables teach nothing new1 but remind them of what had been obliterated--that righteousness in them1 which had been put to sleep1 might revive again as it were by the afflatus of the law1 after the manner of a fire nearly extinguished4--,on the ,jewish ,meats1 chap4 iii4 ,it is therefore certain that in the judgment of ,novatian1 the ten commandments enjoined nothing that was not sacredly regarded by the patriarchs before that ,jacob went down into ,egypt4 ,it follows1 therefore1 that in his opinion the ,sabbath was made1 not at the fall of the manna1 but when ,god sanctified the seventh day1 and that holy men from the earliest ages observed it4 ,the ,sunday festival with its varied names and titles he never mentions4 ,,chapter ,,ix4 ,cyprian--,dionysius of ,alexandria--,anatolius--,commodianus--, archelaus4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,cyprian1 ,,bishop ,,of ,,carthage4 ,cyprian wrote about ,a4 ,d4 #bee4 ,i find only two references to ,sunday in his works4 ,the first is in his thirty-second epistle 7the thirty-eighth of the ,oxford edition71 in which he says of one ,aurelius that he reads on the ,lord's day for him4 ,but in the second instance he defines the meaning of the term1 and gives evidence in support of his application of it to the first day of the week4 ,he is arguing in behalf of infant baptism1 or rather in controverting the opinion that baptism should be deferred till the child is eight days old4 ,though the command to circumcise infants when eight days of age is one of the chief grounds of authority for infant baptism1 yet the time in that precept according to ,cyprian does not indicate the age of the child to be baptized1 but prefigures the fact that the eighth day is the ,lord's day4 ,thus he says3-- ,for in respect of the observance of the eighth day in the ,jewish circumcision of the flesh1 a sacrament was given beforehand in shadow and in usage2 but when ,christ came1 it was fulfilled in truth4 ,for because the eighth day1 that is1 the first day after the ,sabbath1 was to be that on which the ,lord should rise again1 and should quicken us1 and give us circumcision of the ,spirit1 the eighth day1 that is1 the first day after the ,sabbath1 and the ,lord's day1 went before in the figure2 which figure ceased when by and by the truth came1 and spiritual circumcision was given to us4--,epistle lviii4 sect4 #d2 in the ,oxford edition1 ,epistle lxiv4 ,circumcision is made to prove twin errors of the great apostasy1 infant baptism and that the eighth day is the ,lord's day4 ,but the eighth day in the case of circumcision was not the day succeeding the seventh1 that is1 the first day of the week1 but the eighth day of the life of each infant1 and therefore it fell on one day of the week as often as upon another4 ,such is the only argument addressed by ,cyprian for first-day sacredness1 and this one seems to have been borrowed from ,justin ,martyr1 who1 as we have seen1 used it about one hundred years before him4 ,it is however quite as weighty as the argument of ,clement of ,alexandria1 who adduced in its support what he calls a prophecy of the eighth day out of the writings of the heathen philosopher ,plato6 ,and both are in the same rank with that of ,tertullian1 who confessed that they had not the authority of ,scripture1 but accepted in its stead that of custom and tradition6 ,in his ,exhortation to ,martyrdom1 section #aa1 ,cyprian quotes the larger part of ,matt4 #bd1 and in that quotation at verse #bj1 the ,sabbath is mentioned1 but he says nothing concerning that institution4 ,in his ,testimonies against the ,jews1 book i41 sections #i and #aj1 he says that the former law which was given by ,moses1 was about to cease1 and that a new law was to be given2 and in the conclusion of his ,treatise against the ,jews1 section #aai1 he says that the yoke of the law was heavy which is cast off by us1 but it is not certain that he meant to include in these statements the precepts of the moral law4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,dionysius1 ,,bishop ,,of ,,alexandria4 ,this father1 who was one of ,origen's disciples1 wrote about ,a4 ,d4 #bfj4 ,in the first canon of his ,epistle to ,bishop ,basilides he treats of the proper hour for bringing the fast to a close on the day of ,pentecost4 ,he has occasion to quote what the four evangelists say of the ,sabbath and first-day in connection with the resurrection of ,christ4 ,but in doing this he adds not one word expressive of first-day sacredness1 nor does he give it any other title than that of plain first day of the week4 ,the seventh day is simply called the ,sabbath4 ,he also speaks of the preparation and the ,sabbath as the last two days of a six days' fast1 at the anniversary of the week of ,christ's death4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,anatolius1 ,,bishop ,,of ,,laodicea4 ,this father wrote about ,a4 ,d4 #bgj4 ,he participated in the discussion of the question whether the festival of ,easter1 or passover1 should be celebrated on the fourteenth day of the first month1 the same day on which the ,jews observed the passover1 or whether it should be observed on the so-called ,lord's day next following4 ,in this discussion he uses the term ,lord's day1 in his first canon once1 quoting it from ,origen2 in his seventh1 twice2 in his tenth1 twice2 in his eleventh1 four times2 in his twelfth1 once2 in his sixteenth1 twice4 ,these are all the instances in which he uses the term4 ,we quote such of them as shed any light upon the meaning of it as used by him4 ,in his seventh canon he says3 ,the obligation of the ,lord's resurrection binds to keep the paschal festival on the ,lord's day4 ,in his tenth canon he uses this language3 ,the solemn festival of the resurrection of the ,lord can be celebrated only on the ,lord's day4 ,and also that it should not be lawful to celebrate the ,lord's mystery of the passover at any other time but on the ,lord's day1 on which the resurrection of the ,lord from death took place1 and on which rose also for us the cause of everlasting joy4 ,in his eleventh canon he says3 ,on the ,lord's day was it that light was shown to us in the beginning1 and now also in the end1 the comforts of all present and the tokens of all future blessings4 ,in his sixteenth canon he says3 ,our regard for the ,lord's resurrection which took place on the ,lord's day will lead us to celebrate it on the same principle4 ,the reader may be curious to know why a controversy should have arisen respecting the proper day for the celebration of the passover in the ,christian church when no such celebration had ever been commanded4 ,the explanation is this3 ,the festival was celebrated solely on the authority of tradition1 and there were in this case two directly conflicting traditions1 as is fully shown in the tenth canon of this father4 ,one party had their tradition from ,john the apostle1 and held that the paschal feast should be celebrated every year whenever the fourteenth day of the moon had come1 and the lamb was sacrificed by the ,jews4 ,but the other party had their tradition from the apostles ,peter and ,paul that this festival should not be celebrated on that day1 but upon the so-called ,lord's day next following4 ,and so a fierce controversy arose which was decided in ,a4 ,d4 #cbe1 by the council of ,nice1 in favor of ,saint ,peter1 who had on his side his pretended successor1 the powerful and crafty bishop of ,rome4 ,the term ,lord's day is never applied to ,sunday till the closing years of the second century4 ,and ,clement1 who is the first to make such an application1 represents the true ,lord's day as made up of every day of the ,christian's life4 ,and this opinion is avowed by others after him4 ,but after we enter the third century the name ,lord's day is quite frequently applied to ,sunday4 ,tertullian1 who lived at the epoch where we first find this application1 frankly declares that the festival of ,sunday1 to which he gives the name of ,lord's day1 had no ,scriptural authority1 but that it was founded upon tradition4 ,but should not the traditions of the third century be esteemed sufficient authority for calling ,sunday the ,lord's day8 ,the very men of that century who speak thus of ,sunday strenuously urge the observance of the feast of the passover4 ,shall we accept this festival which they offer to us on the authority of their apostolic tradition8 ,as if to teach us the folly of adding tradition to the ,bible as a part of our rule of faith1 it happens that there are1 even from the early part of the second century1 two directly conflicting traditions as to what day should be kept for the passover4 ,and one party had theirs from ,saint ,john1 the other had theirs from ,saint ,peter and ,saint ,paul6 ,and it is very remarkable that although each of these parties claimed to know from one or the other of these apostles that they had the right day for the passover and the other had the wrong one1 there is never a claim by one of these fathers that ,sunday is the ,lord's day because ,john on the isle of ,patmos called it such6 ,if men in the second and third centuries were totally mistaken in their traditions respecting the passover1 as they certainly were1 shall we consider the traditions of the third century sufficient authority for asserting that the title of ,lord's day belongs to ,sunday by apostolic authority8 ,,testimony ,,of ,,commodianus4 ,this person was a native of ,africa1 and does not appear to have ever held any office in the ,christian church4 ,he wrote about ,a4 ,d4 #bgj4 ,the only allusions made by him to the ,sabbath are in the following words addressed to the ,jews3-- ,there is not an unbelieving people such as yours4 ,o evil men6 in so many places1 and so often rebuked by the law of those who cry aloud4 ,and the ,lofty ,one despises your ,sabbaths1 and altogether rejects your universal monthly feasts according to law1 that ye should not make to him the commanded sacrifices2 who told you to throw a stone for your offense4--,instructions in ,favor of ,christian ,discipline1 sect4 #dj4 ,this statement is very obscure1 and there is nothing in the connection that sheds any light upon it4 ,his language may have reference to the ceremonial sabbaths1 or it may include also the ,sabbath of the ,lord4 ,if it includes the ,sabbath made for man it may be intended1 like the words of ,isa4 #a3ac1 #ad1 to rebuke the hypocrisy of those who profess to keep it rather than to condemn the institution itself4 ,he makes only one use of the term ,lord's day1 and that is as obscure as is his reference to the subject of the ,sabbath4 ,here it is3-- ,neither dost thou fear the ,lord1 who cries aloud with such an utterance2 even he who commands us to give food even to our enemies4 ,look forward to thy meals from that ,tobias who always on every day shared them entirely with the poor man4 ,thou seekest to feed him1 ,o fool1 who feedeth thee again4 ,dost thou wish that he should prepare for me1 who is setting before him his burial8 ,the brother oppressed with want1 nearly languishing away1 cries out at the splendidly fed1 and with distended belly4 ,what sayest thou of the ,lord's day8 ,if he have not placed himself before1 call forth a poor man from the crowd whom thou mayest take to thy dinner4 ,in the tablets is your hope from a ,christ refreshed4 ,section #fa4 ,whether ,commodianus meant to charge his brethren to relieve the hungry on one day only of the week1 or whether he held to such a ,lord's day as that of ,clement of ,alexandria1 ,origen1 and others 7namely1 one that includes every day of the life of him who refrains from sin71 and so would have his brethren imitate ,tobias1 who fed the hungry every day1 must be left undetermined4 ,he could not have believed that ,sunday was the ,lord's day by divine appointment1 for he refers to the passover festival 7which rests solely upon the traditions and commandments of men7 as coming once in the year and he designates it as ,easter that day of ours most blessed4 ,section #ge4 ,the day of the passover was therefore in his estimation the most sacred day in the ,christian church4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,archelaus1 ,,bishop ,,of ,,cascar4 ,this person wrote about ,a4 ,d4 #bgg1 or according to other authorities he wrote not far from ,a4 ,d4 #cjj4 ,he flourished in ,mesopotamia4 ,what remains of his writings is simply the record of his ,disputation with ,manes1 the heretic4 ,i do not find that he ever uses the term ,lord's day4 ,he introduces the ,sabbath and states his views of it thus3-- ,moses1 that illustrious servant of ,god1 committed to those who wished to have the right vision1 an emblematic law1 and also a real law4 ,thus1 to take an example1 after ,god had made the world1 and all things that are in it1 in the space of six days1 he rested on the seventh day from all his works2 by which statement ,i do not mean to affirm that he rested because he was fatigued1 but that he did so as having brought to its perfection every creature which he had resolved to introduce4 ,and yet in the sequel it 7the new law7 says3 ',my ,father worketh hitherto1 and ,i work4' ,does that mean1 then1 that he is still making heaven1 or sun1 or man1 or animals1 or trees1 or any such thing8 ,nay2 but the meaning is1 that when these visible objects were perfectly finished1 he rested from that kind of work2 while1 however1 he still continues to work at objects invisible with an inward mode of action1 and saves men4 ,in like manner1 then1 the legislator desires also that every individual among us should be devoted unceasingly to this kind of work1 even as ,god himself is2 and he enjoins us consequently to rest continuously from secular things1 and to engage in no worldly sort of work whatsoever2 and this is called our ,sabbath4 ,this he also added in the law1 that nothing senseless should be done1 but that we should be careful and direct our life in accordance with what is just and righteous4 ,section #ca4 ,these words appear to teach that he held to a perpetual ,sabbath1 like ,justin ,martyr1 ,tertullian1 and others4 ,yet this does not seem possible1 inasmuch as1 unlike ,justin1 who despises what he calls days of idleness1 this writer says that we are to engage in no worldly sort of work whatsoever and this is that our ,sabbath4 ,it is hardly possible that he could hold it a wicked thing to labor on one or all of the six working days4 ,yet he either means to assert that it is sinful to work on a single one of the days1 or else he asserts the perpetual obligation of that ,sabbath which it is manifest he believed originated when ,god set apart the seventh day1 and which he acknowledges on the authority of what he also added in the law4 ,we shall shortly come to his final statement1 which seems clearly to show that the second of these views was the one held by this writer4 ,after showing in this same section that the death penalty at the hand of the magistrate for the violation of the ,sabbath is no longer in force because of forgiveness through the ,saviour1 and after answering the objection of ,manes in sections #dj1 #da1 #db1 that ,christ in healing on the ,sabbath directly contradicted what ,moses did to those who in his time violated the ,sabbath1 he states his views of the perpetuity of the ancient ,sabbath in very clear language4 ,thus he says3-- ,again1 as to the assertion that the ,sabbath has been abolished1 we deny that he has abolished it plainly 7plane72 for he was himself also ,lord of the ,sabbath4 ,and this 7the law's relation to the ,sabbath7 was like the servant who has charge of the bridegroom's couch1 and who prepares the same with all carefulness1 and does not suffer it to be disturbed or touched by any stranger1 but keeps it intact against the time of the bridegroom's arrival2 so that when he is come1 the bed may be used as it pleases himself1 or as it is granted to those to use it whom he has bidden enter along with him4 ,section #db4 ,three things are plainly taught4 #a4 ,the law sacredly guarded the ,sabbath till the coming of ,christ4 #b4 ,when ,christ came1 he did not abolish the ,sabbath1 for he was its ,lord4 #c4 ,and the whole tenor of this writer's language shows that he had no knowledge of the change of the ,sabbath in honor of ,christ's resurrection1 nor does he even once allude to the first day of the week4 ,,chapter ,x4 ,victorinus--,peter--,methodius--,lactan tius--,poem on ,genesis--,conclusion4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,victorinus1 ,,bishop ,,of ,,petau4 ,this person wrote about ,a4 ,d4 #cjj4 ,his bishopric was in ,germany4 ,of his work on the ,creation of the ,world1 only a fragment is now preserved4 ,in the first section he speaks thus of the sanctification of the seventh day3-- ,god produced that entire mass for the adornment of his majesty in six days2 on the seventh to which he consecrated it some words are here lost out of the text with a blessing4 ,for this reason1 therefore1 because in the septenary number of days both heavenly and earthly things are ordered1 in place of the beginning4 ,i will consider of this seventh day after the principle of all matters pertaining to the number seven4 ,victorinus1 like some other of the fathers1 held that the true and just ,sabbath should be observed in the seventh millenary4 ,he believed that the ,sabbath was abolished by the ,saviour4 ,he was in sympathy with the act of the church of ,rome in turning the ,sabbath into a fast4 ,he held to a two days' weekly fast1 as his words necessarily imply4 ,he would have men fast on the sixth day to commemorate ,christ's death1 and on the seventh1 lest they should seem to keep the ,sabbath with the ,jews1 but on the so-called ,lord's day they were to go forth to their bread with giving of thanks4 ,thus he reasons3-- ,on this day the sixth also1 on account of the passion of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 we make either a station to ,god1 or a fast4 ,on the seventh day he rested from all his works1 and blessed it1 and sanctified it4 ,on the former day the sixth we are accustomed to fast rigorously1 that on the ,lord's day we may go forth to our bread with giving of thanks4 ,and let the parasceve the sixth day become a rigorous fast1 lest we should appear to observe any ,sabbath with the ,jews1 which ,christ himself1 the ,lord of the ,sabbath1 says by his prophet that 'his soul hateth2' which ,sabbath he in his body abolished1 although1 however1 he had formerly himself commanded ,moses that circumcision should not pass over the eighth day1 which day very frequently happens on the ,sabbath1 as we read written in the gospel4 ,moses1 foreseeing the hardness of that people1 on the ,sabbath raised up his hands1 therefore1 and thus fastened himself to a cross4 ,and in the battle they were sought for by the foreigners on the ,sabbath day1 that they might be taken captive1 and1 as if by the very strictness of the law1 might be fashioned to the avoidance of its teachings4 ,section #d4 ,these statements are in general of little consequence1 but some of them deserve notice4 ,first1 we have one of the grand elements which contributed to the abandonment of the ,sabbath of the ,lord1 viz41 hatred toward the ,jews for their conduct toward ,christ4 ,those who acted thus forgot that ,christ himself was the ,lord of the ,sabbath1 and that it was his institution and not that of the ,jews to which they were doing despite4 ,secondly1 it was the church of ,rome that turned the ,sabbath into a fast one hundred years before this1 in order to suppress its observance1 and ,victorinus was acting under its instructions4 ,thirdly1 we have a reference to the so-called ,lord's day1 as a day of thanksgiving1 but no connection between it and the ,sabbath is indicated for in his time the change of the ,sabbath had not been thought of4 ,he has other reasons for neglecting the seventh day which here follow3-- ,and thus in the sixth psalm for the eighth day1 ,david asks the ,lord that he would not rebuke him in his anger1 nor judge him in his fury2 for this is indeed the eighth day of that future judgment1 which will pass beyond the order of the sevenfold arrangement4 ,jesus also1 the son of ,nave1 the successor of ,moses1 himself broke the ,sabbath day2 for on the ,sabbath day he commanded the children of ,israel to go round the walls of the city of ,jericho with trumpets1 and declare war against the aliens4 ,matthias also1 prince of ,judah1 broke the ,sabbath2 for he slew the prefect of ,antiochus the king of ,syria on the ,sabbath1 and subdued the foreigners by pursuing them4 ,and in ,matthew we read1 that it is written ,isaiah also and the rest of his colleagues broke the ,sabbath--that that true and just ,sabbath should be observed in the seventh millenary of years4 ,wherefore to those seven days the ,lord attributed to each a thousand years2 for thus went the warning3 ',in mine eyes1 #j ,lord1 a thousand years are as one day4' ,therefore in the eyes of the ,lord each thousand of years is ordained1 for ,i find that the ,lord's eyes are seven4 ,wherefore1 as ,i have narrated1 that true ,sabbath will be in the seventh millenary of years1 when ,christ with his elect shall reign4 ,section #e4 ,this completes the testimony of ,victorinus4 ,he evidently held that the ,sabbath originated at the sanctification of the seventh day1 but for the reasons here given1 the most of which are trivial1 and all of which are false1 he held that it was abolished by ,christ4 ,his argument from the sixth psalm1 and from ,isaiah's violation of the ,sabbath1 is something extraordinary4 ,he had an excellent opportunity to say that though the seventh-day ,sabbath was abolished1 yet we have the ,christian ,sabbath1 or the ,lord's day1 to take its place4 ,but he shows positively that he knew of no such institution2 for he says1 ,that true and just ,sabbath will be in the seventh millenary of years4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,peter1 ,,bishop ,,of ,,alexandria4 ,this father wrote about ,a4 ,d4 #cjf4 ,in his ,canon #ae he thus sets forth the celebration of the fourth1 the sixth1 and the first days of the week3-- ,no one shall find fault with us for observing the fourth day of the week1 and the preparation the sixth day1 on which it is reasonably enjoined us to fast according to the tradition4 ,on the fourth day1 indeed1 because on it the ,jews took counsel for the betrayal of the ,lord2 and on the sixth1 because on it he himself suffered for us4 ,but the ,lord's day we celebrate as a day of joy1 because on it he rose again1 on which day we have received it for a custom not even to bow the knee4 ,on this ,balsamon1 an ancient writer whose commentary is appended to this canon1 remarks that this canon is in harmony with the #fdth apostolical canon1 which declares that we are not to fast on the ,sabbath1 with one exception1 the great ,sabbath the one connected with the passover1 and to the #fith canon1 which severely punishes those who do not fast in the ,holy ,lent1 and on every fourth day of the week and day of preparation4 ,so it appears that they were commanded by the canons to fast on the fourth and sixth days of the week1 and forbidden to do this on the ,sabbath and first-day4 ,zonaras1 another ancient commentator upon the canons of ,peter1 gives us the authority upon which these observances rest4 ,no one of these three days is honored by ,god's commandment4 ,zonaras mentions the fasts on the fourth and sixth days1 and says no one will find fault with these4 ,but he deems it proper to mark ,peter's reason for the ,lord's-day festival1 and the nature of that festival4 ,thus he says3-- ,but on the ,lord's day we ought not to fast1 for it is a day of joy for the resurrection of the ,lord1 and on it1 says he1 we have received that we ought not even to bow the knee4 ,this word1 therefore1 is to be carefully observed1 'we have received' and 'it is enjoined upon us according to the tradition4' ,for from hence it is evident that long-established custom was taken for law4 ,moreover1 the great ,basil annexes also the causes for which it was forbidden to bend the knee on the ,lord's day1 and from the passover to ,pentecost4 ,the honors which were conferred upon this so-called ,lord's day are specified4 ,they are two in number4 #a4 ,it was a day of joy1 and therefore not a day of fasting4 #b4 ,on it they ought not even to bow the knee4 ,this last honor however applied to the entire period of fifty days between the passover and the ,pentecost as well as to each ,sunday in the year4 ,so that the first honor was the only one which belonged to ,sunday exclusively4 ,that honor excluded fasting1 but it is never said to exclude labor1 or to render it sinful4 ,and the authority for these two first-day honors is frankly given4 ,it is not the words of holy ,scripture nor the commandment of ,god1 but it is enjoined upon us according to the tradition4 ,for from hence it is evident that long-established custom was taken for law4 ,such is the testimony of men who knew the facts4 ,in our days men dare not thus acknowledge them1 and therefore they assert that the fourth commandment has been changed by divine authority1 and that it is sinful to labor upon the first day of the week4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,methodius1 ,,bishop ,,of ,,tyre4 ,this father wrote about ,a4 ,d4 #cjh1 and suffered martyrdom in ,a4 ,d4 #cab4 ,a considerable portion of his writings have come down to our time1 but in them all ,i find not one mention of the first day of the week4 ,he held to the perpetuity of the ten commandments1 for he says of the beast with ten horns3-- ,moreover1 the ten horns and stings which he is said to have upon his heads are the ten opposites1 ,o virgins1 to the decalogue1 by which he was accustomed to gore and cast down the souls of many1 imagining and contriving things in opposition to the law1 ',thou shalt love the ,lord thy ,god1' and to the other precepts which follow4--,banquet of the ,ten ,virgins1 ,discourse viii4 chap4 xiii4 ,in commenting on the feast of tabernacles 7,lev4 #bc3ci-dc7 he says3-- ,these things being like air and phantom shadows1 foretell the resurrection and the putting up of our tabernacle that had fallen upon the earth1 which at length1 in the seventh thousand of years1 resuming again immortal1 we shall celebrate the great feast of true tabernacles in the new and indissoluble creation1 the fruits of the earth having been gathered in1 and men no longer begetting and begotten1 but ,god resting from the works of creation4 ,discourse ix4 chap4 i4 ,methodius understood the six days of creation1 and the seventh day sanctified by the ,creator1 to teach that at the end of #fjjj years the great day of joy shall come to the saints of ,god3-- ,for since in six days ,god made the heaven and the earth1 and finished the whole world1 and rested on the seventh day from all his works which he had made1 and blessed the seventh day and sanctified it1 so by a figure in the seventh month1 when the fruits of the earth have been gathered in1 we are commanded to keep the feast to the ,lord1 which signifies that1 when this world shall be terminated at the seventh thousand years1 when ,god shall have completed the world1 he shall rejoice in us4 ,discourse ix4 chap4 i4 sect4 #d4 ,in the fifth chapter of this discourse he speaks of the day of ,judgment as the millennium of rest1 which is called the seventh day1 even the true ,sabbath4 ,he believed that each day of the first seven represented one thousand years1 and so the true ,sabbath of the ,lord sets forth the final triumph of the saints in the seventh period of a thousand years4 ,and in his work ,on ,things ,created1 section #i1 he refers to this representation of one day as a thousand years1 and quotes in proof of it ,ps4 #ij3b1 #d4 ,then he says3-- ,for when a thousand years are reckoned as one day in the sight of ,god1 and from the creation of the world to his rest is six days1 so also to our time1 six days are defined1 as those say who are clever arithmeticians4 ,therefore1 they say that an age of six thousand years extends from ,adam to our time4 ,for they say that the ,judgment will come on the seventh day1 that is1 in the seventh thousand years4 ,the only weekly ,sabbath known to ,methodius was the ancient seventh day sanctified by ,god in ,eden4 ,he does not intimate that this divine institution has been abolished2 and what he says of the ten commandments implies the reverse of that1 and he certainly makes no allusion to the festival of ,sunday1 which on the authority of custom and tradition had been by so many elevated above the ,sabbath of the ,lord4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,lactantius4 ,lactantius was born in the latter half of the third century1 was converted about ,a4 ,d4 #cae1 and died at ,treves about ,a4 ,d4 #cbe4 ,he was very eminent as a teacher of rhetoric1 and was intrusted with the education of ,crispus1 the son of ,constantine4 ,the writings of ,lactantius are quite extensive2 they contain1 however1 no reference to the first day of the week4 ,of the ,sabbath he speaks twice4 ,in the first instance he says that one reason alleged by the ,jews for rejecting ,christ was1 ,that he destroyed the obligation of the law given by ,moses2 that is1 that he did not rest on the ,sabbath1 but labored for the good of men1 etc4--,divine ,institutes1 b4 iv4 chap4 xvii4 ,it is not clear whether ,lactantius believed that ,christ violated the ,sabbath1 nor whether he did away with the moral law while teaching the abrogation of the ceremonial code4 ,but he bears a most decisive testimony to the origin of the ,sabbath at creation3-- ,god completed the world and this admirable work of nature in the space of six days 7as is contained in the secrets of holy ,scripture71 and ,,consecrated the seventh day1 on which he had rested from his works4 ,but this is the ,sabbath day1 which in the language of the ,hebrews received its name from the number1 whence the seventh is the legitimate and complete number4 ,book vii4 chap4 xiv4 ,it is certain that ,lactantius did not regard the ,sabbath as the memorial of the flight out of ,egypt1 but as that of the creation of the heavens and the earth4 ,he also believed that the seven days prefigured the seven thousand years of our earth's history3-- ,therefore1 since all the works of ,god were completed in six days1 the world must continue in its present state through six ages1 that is1 six thousand years4 ,for the great day of ,god is limited by a circle of a thousand years1 as the prophet shows1 who says1 ',in thy sight1 ,o ,lord1 a thousand years are as one day4' ,and as ,god labored during those six days in creating such great works1 so his religion and truth must labor during these six thousand years1 while wickedness prevails and bears rule4 ,and again1 since ,god1 having finished his works1 rested the seventh day and blessed it1 at the end of the six thousandth year all wickedness must be abolished from the earth1 and righteousness reign for a thousand years and there must be tranquility and rest from the labors which the world now has long endured4 ,book vii4 chap4 xiv4 ,thus much for ,lactantius4 ,he could not have believed in first-day sacredness1 and there is no clear evidence that he held to the abrogation of the ,sabbath4 ,finally we come to a poem on ,genesis by an unknown author1 but variously attributed to ,cyprian1 to ,victorinus1 to ,tertullian1 and to later writers4 ,,testimony ,,of ,,the ,,poem ,,on ,,genesis4 ,the seventh came1 when ,god ,at his works' end did rest1 ,,decreeing ,,it ,,sacred ,,unto ,,the ,,coming ,,ages' ,,joys4 ,lines #ea-ec4 ,here again we have an explicit testimony to the divine appointment of the seventh day to a holy use while man was yet in ,eden1 the garden of ,god4 ,and this completes the testimony of the fathers to the time of ,constantine and the ,council of ,nice4 ,one thing is everywhere open to the reader's eye as he passes through these testimonies from the fathers3 they lived in what may with propriety be called the age of apostatizing4 ,the apostasy was not complete1 but it was steadily developing itself4 ,some of the fathers had the ,sabbath in the dust1 and honored as their weekly festival the day of the sun1 though claiming for it no divine authority4 ,others recognize the ,sabbath as a divine institution which should be honored by all mankind in memory of the creation1 and yet at the same time they exalt above it the festival of ,sunday1 which they acknowledge had nothing but custom and tradition for its support4 ,the end may be foreseen3 in due time the ,sunday festival obtained the whole ground for itself1 and the ,sabbath was driven out4 ,several things conspired to accomplish this result3-- #a4 ,the ,jews1 who retained the ancient ,sabbath1 had slain ,christ4 ,it was easy for men to forget that ,christ as ,lord of the ,sabbath had claimed it as his institution1 and to call the ,sabbath a ,jewish institution which ,christians should not regard4 #b4 ,the church of ,rome as the chief in the work of apostasy took the lead in the earliest effort to suppress the ,sabbath by turning it into a fast4 #c4 ,in the ,christian church almost from the beginning men voluntarily honored the fourth1 the sixth1 and the first days of the week to commemorate the betrayal1 the death1 and the resurrection of ,christ1 acts of respect in themselves innocent enough4 #d4 ,but the first day of the week corresponded to the widely observed heathen festival of the sun1 and it was therefore easy to unite the honor of ,christ with the convenience and worldly advantage of his people1 and to justify the neglect of the ancient ,sabbath by stigmatizing it as a ,jewish institution with which ,christians should have no concern4 ,the progressive character of the work of apostasy with respect to the ,sabbath is incidentally illustrated by what ,giesler1 the distinguished historian of the church1 says of the ,sabbath and first-day in his record of the first1 the second1 and the third century4 ,of the first century he says3-- ,whilst the ,christians of ,palestine1 who kept the whole ,jewish law1 celebrated of course all the ,jewish festivals1 the heathen converts observed only the ,sabbath1 and1 in remembrance of the closing scenes of our ,saviour's life1 the passover 7#a ,cor4 #e3f-h71 though without the ,jewish superstitions1 ,gal4 #d3aj2 ,col4 #b3af4 ,besides these the ,sunday as the day of our ,saviour's resurrection 7,acts #bj3g2 #a ,cor4 #af3b2 ,rev4 #a3aj71 h kyriak hmera1 was devoted to religious worship4--,giesler's ,ecclesiastical ,history1 vol4 i4 sect4 #bi1 edition #ahcf4 ,sunday having obtained a foothold1 see how the case stands in the second century4 ,here are the words of ,giesler again3-- ,both ,sunday and the ,sabbath were observed as festivals2 the latter however without the ,jewish superstitions therewith connected4--,id4 vol4 i4 sect4 #eb4 ,this time1 as ,giesler presents the case1 ,sunday has begun to get the precedence4 ,but when he gives the events of the third century he drops the ,sabbath from his record and gives the whole ground to the ,sunday and the yearly festivals of the church4 ,thus he says3-- ,in ,origen's time the ,christians had no general festivals1 excepting the ,sunday1 the ,parasceve 7or preparation71 the passover1 and the feast of ,pentecost4 ,soon after1 however1 the ,christians in ,egypt began to observe the festival of the ,epiphany1 on the sixth of ,january4--,id4 vol4 i4 sect4 #gj4 ,these three statements of ,giesler1 relating as they do to the first1 second1 and third centuries1 are peculiarly calculated to mark the progress of the work of apostasy4 ,coleman tersely states this work in these words3-- ,the observance of the ,lord's day was ordered while the ,sabbath of the ,jews was continued2 nor was the latter superseded until the former had acquired the same solemnity and importance1 which belonged1 at first1 to that great day which ,god originally ordained and blessed4444 ,but in time1 after the ,lord's day was fully established1 the observance of the ,sabbath of the ,jews was gradually discontinued1 and was finally denounced as heretical4--,ancient ,christianity ,exemplified1 chap4 xxvi4 sect4 #b4 ,we have traced the work of apostasy in the church of ,christ1 and have noted the combination of circumstances which contributed to suppress the ,sabbath1 and to elevate the first day of the week4 ,and now we conclude this series of testimonies out of the fathers by stating the well-known but remarkable fact1 that at the very point to which we are brought by these testimonies1 the emperor ,constantine while yet1 according to ,mosheim1 a heathen1 put forth the following edict1 ,a4 ,d4 #cba1 concerning the ancient ,sunday festival3-- ,let all the judges and town people1 and the occupation of all trades1 rest on the venerable day of the sun3 but let those who are situated in the country1 freely and at full liberty1 attend to the business of agriculture2 because it often happens that no other day is so fit for sowing corn and planting vines2 lest1 the critical moment being let slip1 men should lose the commodities granted by ,heaven4 ,by the act of a wicked man the heathen festival of ,sunday has now ascended the throne of the ,roman ,empire4 ,we cannot here follow its history through the long ages of papal darkness and apostasy4 ,but as we close1 we cite the words of ,mosheim respecting this law as a positive proof that up to this time1 as shown from the fathers1 ,sunday had been a day of ordinary labor when men were not engaged in worship4 ,he says of it3-- ,the first day of the week1 which was the ordinary and stated time for the public assemblies of the ,christians1 was1 in consequence of a peculiar law enacted by ,constantine1 observed with greater solemnity than it had formerly been4--,mosheim1 century #d1 part ii4 chap4 iv4 sect4 #e4 ,this law restrained merchants and mechanics1 but did not hinder the farmer in his work4 ,yet it caused the day to be observed with greater solemnity than formerly it had been4 ,these words are spoken with reference to ,christians1 and prove that in ,mosheim's judgment1 as a historian1 ,sunday was a day on which ordinary labor was customary and lawful with them prior to ,a4 ,d4 #cba1 as the record of the fathers indicates1 and as many historians testify4 ,but even after this the ,sabbath once more rallied1 and became strong even in the so-called ,catholic church1 until the ,council of ,laodicea ,a4 ,d4 #cfd prohibited its observance under a grievous curse4 ,thenceforward its history is principally to be traced in the records of those bodies which the ,catholic church has anathematized as heretics4 ,,footnotes3 ,a ,those who compose this class are unanimous in the view that the ,sunday festival was established by the church2 and they all agree in making it their day of worship1 but not for the same reason2 for1 while one part of them devoutly accept the institution as the ,lord's day on the authority of the church1 the other part make it their day for worship simply because it is the most convenient day4 ,b ,such is the exact nature of the covenant mentioned in ,ex4 #bd3h2 and ,paul1 in ,heb4 #i3ah-bj1 quotes this passage1 calling the covenant therein mentioned the first testament1 or covenant4 ,c ,the case of ,origen is a partial exception4 ,not all his works have been accessible to the writer1 but sufficient of them have been examined to lay before the reader a just representation of his doctrine4 ,d ,we notice that one first-day writer is so determined that ,clement shall testify in behalf of ,sunday1 that he deliberately changes his words4 ,instead of giving his words as they are1 thus3 the latter1 properly the ,sabbath1 in which case1 as the connection shows1 ,saturday is the day intended1 he gives them thus3 ,the eighth1 properly the ,sabbath1 thereby making him call ,sunday the ,sabbath4 ,this is a remarkable fraud1 but it shows that the words as written by ,clement could not be made to uphold ,sunday4 ,see ,the ,lord's ,day1 by ,rev4 ,g4 ,h4 ,jenks1 p4 #ej4 ,,transcriber',s ,,notes3 ,text in italics is surrounded by underscores3 italics4 ,greek transliterations are surrounded by pound signs3 hebdomas4 ,obvious typographical errors have been corrected4