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preachers. Thy word, O my God, is a kindled brightness and a flaming fire.

Give me rest, my loving God, from the cares of the world, from fleshly passions, from the restlessness of sin. Let this be to me a prelude of the wealthy rest in heaven. Lead me, by the sweetness of Thy hand, from the tabernacles of confidence to the beauty of the unending peace. There is the resting-place of the soul, O adorable Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, where it resteth evermore in Thee.

CHAPTER IX.

OF THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT OF THE LAW.

I. HONOUR thy father and thy mother, that thou mayest be long-lived in the land which the Lord thy God will give thee' (Ex. xx. 12).

The perfection of man consists in the love of God and the love of his neighbour.

To the love of God pertain the three commandments which were written on the first table; and to the love of our neighbour pertain the other seven, which were written on the second table.

But, as we have seen, we ought to love not only in word and in tongue, but in deed and in truth. Man, therefore, loving in this way, ought to do two things, that is to say, he ought to fly from what is evil and cleave to what is good. Some of the commandments, therefore, lead us to good, while others keep us back from evil.

We must bear in mind, however, that it is in our power to keep from evil, whereas it is not always in our power to do good to others. For this reason Blessed Augustin said that we are bound to love all men, but we are not bound to do acts of kindness to all.* Most of all ought we to do acts of kindness to our kindred, according

*We cannot have the time or the means for such works; and so they are out of our power, however much we may wish to do them.

to St. Paul's teaching (1 Tim. v. 8), 'If any man have not care of his own, and especially of those of his house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.' But father and mother are the nearest to us of all our relatives; and therefore St. Ambrose says that, loving God first, we should next love our father and mother; and that this is why God says, 'Honour thy father and thy mother.'

The Philosopher gives a natural reason for this duty to parents, saying, that we can never make them an adequate return for what they have done, so great are the benefits which we have received from them; and that therefore a father being angry has a right to send away his son from his house, while a son has no such right with regard to his father. Now children have three gifts from their parents.

1. Their existence. Thus it is said (Ecclus. vii. 29, 30), 'Honour thy father, and forget not the groanings of thy mother. Remember that thou hadst not been born

but through them; and make a return to them as they have done for thee.'

2. Nourishment or support with regard to the necessaries of life. It is said in the Book of Job (i. 21), 'Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither.' Children, having nothing, are kept and supported by their parents.

3. Instruction. So the Apostle says (Heb. xii. 9, 10), 'We have had fathers of our flesh for instructors, and we reverenced them; shall we not much more obey the Father of spirits, and live? They indeed for a few days, according to their own pleasure, instructed us; but He for our profit, that we might receive His sanctification.' Again (Ecclus. vii. 25), 'Hast thou children? Instruct them.' The instruction that parents ought to give to their children is twofold: a. to fear God, and, b. to keep from sin. This instruction ought to be given promptly, for first we read (Prov. xxii. 6), It is a proverb: A young man

according to his way, and even when he is old he will not depart from it;' and next (Lam. iii. 27), 'It is good for a man when he hath borne the yoke from his youth.'

Such was the instruction which Tobias gave to his son (Tobias i. 10): 'From his infancy he taught him to fear God, and to abstain from all sin.'

These words are spoken against parents who take pleasure in the wickedness of their children. In Ecclesiasticus it is said

(iv. 6), ‘The children that are borne of unlawful beds are witnesses of wickedness against their parents at their trial.' Thus God punishes in the children the sin of the parents.

II. We see, then, that from their parents children receive, 1. existence, 2. support, 3. instruction; and it follows that each of these things lays on us a duty to our father and mother.

1. Reverence. Because we receive our being from them we should reverence them more than all our masters but God. From

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