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History of the Sabbath and First Day of the Week - John N. Andrews

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wild beasts be seen on it. ... If any will presume to<br />

<strong>of</strong>fend in <strong>the</strong> premises, if he be a military man, let<br />

him lose his commission; or if o<strong>the</strong>r, let his estate<br />

or goods be confiscated."[74]<br />

And this emperor determined to mend <strong>the</strong><br />

breach in Constantine's law, <strong>and</strong> thus prohibit<br />

agriculture on Sunday. So he adds:--<br />

"We comm<strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong>refore all, as well<br />

husb<strong>and</strong>men as o<strong>the</strong>rs, to forbear work on this day<br />

<strong>of</strong> our restoration."[75]<br />

The holy doctors <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> church had by this time<br />

very effectually despoiled <strong>the</strong> <strong>Sabbath</strong> <strong>of</strong> its glory,<br />

transferring it to <strong>the</strong> Lord’s <strong>Day</strong> <strong>of</strong> Pope Sylvester;<br />

as Augustine testifies; yet was not Sabbatical<br />

observance wholly extinguished even in <strong>the</strong><br />

Catholic church. The historian Socrates, who wrote<br />

about <strong>the</strong> middle <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> fifth century, thus testifies:-<br />

-<br />

"For although almost all churches throughout<br />

<strong>the</strong> world celebrate <strong>the</strong> sacred mysteries on <strong>the</strong><br />

624

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