{"collection":"philosophy-ethics","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_53934/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_53934","id":"gutenberg_53934","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/53934","summary":null,"tags":["Category: History - British","Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Crystal Palace (Sydenham, London, England)","Sabbath","Sunday"],"text":"Transcribed from the [1860s] J. F. Shaw edition by David Price, email\nccx074@pglaf.org\n\n                          [Picture: Tract cover]\n\n\n\n\n\n                   THE SABBATH AND THE CRYSTAL PALACE.\n\n\nTHE question of Sabbath observance is again brought before the public,\nand subjected to a new discussion.  Points which we had considered as\nsettled, and settled beyond the reach of doubt, are disputed.  A change\nof circumstances is stated as requiring and involving a change of views;\nand the character which society is assuming in the present day, is said\nto justify a revision and reconsideration of the principles by which it\nhas been previously regulated.  A fresh attack in consequence is made on\nan ordinance which, having been accustomed to regard as the security of\nour national religion, the source of those streams of life which sanctify\nand refresh the souls of our people, we had hoped was secured from\nencroachment and curtailment by the law of the land, as well as by the\nauthority of the word of God.  The attack in this case, as might have\nbeen expected, comes from a different quarter, and is carried on in a\ndifferent manner.  It is not with open and avowed enemies that we have to\ncontest the point, but with professed friends.  Much for which we have\ncontended on former occasions is conceded now.  In many respects, the\ntone, the language, the object of those opposed to us are modified.  The\ndivine institution of a day of rest is admitted; the beneficent character\nof the appointment, its salutary influences, are acknowledged; its\npeculiar adaptation to the condition of man is recognised: and the only\nsubject of dispute would seem to be, the form in which those influences\nshould be exercised, and the general application of the blessing intended\nshould be accomplished.\n\nThe good of man, the improvement of the labouring classes, the softening\nof their character, the refinement of their tastes, the development of\nintellect, and the correction of what is low and sensual in their\nenjoyments, are named as the objects of pursuit: and no one can hesitate\nas to the importance of these points, nor as to the value which all\nthings lovely and of good report possess in christian estimation.  With a\nview to the promotion of these objects, the advantages of a day of rest;\nits beneficent influence on the mind as well as the body; its increasing\nimportance in a state of society like the present; its absolute necessity\nwhen man is exposed to the exhausting circumstances of manufacturing or\ncommercial life, are admitted,\u2014and not only admitted, but urged with as\nmuch zeal as was ever shown by those who contended for the strictest\nobservance of the Sabbath in the days of religious controversy.  Surprise\nand regret are therefore mixed together, when we find that those who see\nthe importance of the institution in one sense so clearly, and can\nadvocate its claims with so much power, should disappoint the\nexpectations that had been indulged of their co-operation, and should\nfinally become the assailants instead of the supporters of the principle\nwe feel bound to maintain.  They see so much in the institution of the\nSabbath that is adapted to the weaknesses and wants of our nature, that\nthey cannot help acknowledging its necessity.  Under that conviction,\nforced upon them by the outcry of the whole creation, groaning and\ntravailing together in pain, by the testimony of exhausted bodies and\nparalyzed intellect, they admit, they assert, as a fact that can no\nlonger be denied, that the Sabbath was made for man, and accept it as a\nmerciful provision made by God for the relief and consolation of his\ncreatures; but as to the specific purpose which it is to serve in respect\nof man, as to the way in which the balm is to be used and applied, they\nhave their own views, and those views they are determined to carry out in\nopposition to all that has been established and believed on the subject.\nIt is clear, then, that we have not gained much by the concessions made\nby those who have been induced, under these representations, and with\nthese views of the ordinance, to admit the divine authority of the\nSabbath.  They have attempted to disarm our opposition by professing to\nreceive the same truth, while they were introducing views which\nsuperseded its application; and the controversy must now be transferred\nfrom the religious authority of the Sabbath, as a day of rest, to the\nform and manner of its observance by those who, on these grounds,\nacknowledge its obligation.\n\nThe point at issue with our present opponents consists chiefly as to the\nmanner in which the Sabbath is to be applied.  Its value they admit; its\nbeneficent effects are acknowledged to be such that its divine authority\ncan hardly be disputed: but while they argue with us in considering that\nthe Sabbath was made for man, they differ widely from us as to the way\nand manner in which it is to be used, and as to the benefits to be\nexpected or derived from its observance.  We are compelled, from the\nlanguage made use of, to say, that they regard the Sabbath as having been\nmade for man, much as we believe that it was made for the animals that\nare placed under man\u2019s government, and are thus made partakers of his\nlife of labour.  In consequence, the sort of rest that they anticipate in\nthe Sabbath for man, differs only from that which is ordained for them,\nas the constitution of man differs from that of the brute creation, and\nrequires a different species of rest, in reference to a different form of\ntoil.  The rest of the animal is provided for when the exaction of labour\nceases, and natural wants are supplied.  The rest for man, according to\ntheir view, is equally provided for, when liberty is given to body and\nmind, and the refreshment that is required by each, in order to supply\nthe exhaustion that has taken place, is put within its reach.  The\nwearied limbs require sleep, the wearied senses quiet; and the first\nobject is to ensure the repose which the physical frame requires after\nits six days\u2019 labour.  In the case of man, however, when repose and quiet\nhave produced this effect on the body, and the mind, regaining its\nactivity, looks round for relaxation, there then ensues another\nnecessity, for there is another want to be provided for; and something\nmore must be done for the refreshment of the human system than had been\nfound necessary before.  An effort, therefore, is to be made to supply to\nall what seems the universal want of those who labour; and the wearied\nmind must have its food and rest, just as the wearied body has had\nbefore, in order to perfect the object for which the Sabbath is\nappointed.\n\nIt is proposed, therefore, to apply the afternoon of the Sabbath to such\nrecreations as may refine the taste while they amuse the man, and to\neffect an improvement in the general character of our population, by\nsupplying them with the means of intellectual and innocent amusement\nduring the interval of leisure.  Among the means of promoting this end,\nand with this as one of its avowed objects, public attention is being\ndrawn to the Crystal Palace erecting at Sydenham, which is, we hear, to\nbe opened every Sunday afternoon, as offering in a small compass, a\ncollection of those objects which are most likely to attract the notice\nand elevate the tastes of the people.  The energy and talent which are\nengaged in carrying out the plan of this magnificent undertaking, leave\nno room for doubt as to their success.  It is easy to imagine that such\nan assemblage of the wonders of nature and art will never have been\npresented to the public in modern days, or presented under such\nfavourable circumstances.  The immense size of the building contemplated,\nwe are told, will admit of the introduction of all the wonders of\ntropical vegetation, combined with copies of the finest works of art.\nThe whole world is to be laid under contribution to complete the interest\nof the scene, and things which we have only heard and read of, are to be\noffered to the inspection of the multitude.  Models of machinery,\nspecimens of workmanship, the trophies of the skill of our own people,\nand of foreign nations, are to be presented for examination and study,\nthat the exhibition may be made as profitable and instructive, as it must\nbe interesting and attractive.\n\nIt is not easy to state too highly the amount of innocent and elevating\namusement that may be derived from such a combination of objects.  The\nknowledge slowly gained by books will be here anticipated by what is\nseen.  A few hours spent in the Palace, with an intelligent guide, may\nteach more than had been learnt in months of study; and what is of more\nconsequence, those who never would have learnt anything from books, may\nhere gain much from seeing; and a spirit of inquiry may be kindled in\nminds which had resisted every other mode of teaching.  We are assured,\nalso, that the exhibition is to be kept as free from the ordinary cause\nof evil, as it is unexceptionable in its original design.  No liquor of\nan intoxicating kind is to be sold there.  Order and propriety of\nbehaviour will be maintained by the officials; and the freedom of access\nis to be general, and every indulgence afforded to intelligent curiosity;\nno deviation will be permitted from the rules laid down at first.\n\nIt is not without a pang that we proceed to disperse this brilliant\nvision, and to show the danger that lies concealed under this specious\nand captivating project.  But let it be at once said, that the objections\nabout to be urged against this fascinating scheme, are simply and\nexclusively directed against its Sunday exhibition.  On other days we may\nregard it as an instance of the luxurious character of the age, as a\nwonderful example of the wealth possessed, and of the homage paid to the\npublic; and if some fears mix themselves with the admiration that must be\nfelt for the grandeur of the idea, and the boldness of the speculation,\nwe may still be thankful for the evidence thus given of an improving\ntaste in the character of our recreations, and for the care that is taken\nby individuals to cultivate and direct the rising intellect of the\npeople.  Our chief, our only real objection to the scheme, consists in\nits being opened to the public on Sunday afternoon; and in this we think\nthe error of its undertakers, the hollowness and unsoundness of the\narguments by which they are recommending it, must be manifest to all who\nwill deal fairly with the question, and give themselves the trouble of\nconsidering it.  The Sabbath was made for man, they say; and they think,\nthat in providing recreation and innocent amusement, as well as rest from\nlabour for man, they have answered the purpose of the institution, by the\nprovision thus made for mind as well as body.\n\nThe Sabbath was made for man, we say also; but the view we take of man,\nlets in a light on wants and necessities in his nature, of which we have,\nhitherto, been allowed to hear nothing.  The Sabbath was made for man, we\nsay; and we adore the wisdom as well as the benevolence exhibited in the\nordinance; but it was not made for man merely as an intellectual\ncreature, an animal gifted with various talents, and subject to various\nwants, but, at the same time, possessed of no other capacities than those\nof mind and sense, and liable to no other accidents than those which\naffect mind or body.  According to our view, and we feel that our view\nmust be that of the whole christian world, it was made for man as a being\nborn for eternity,\u2014as created in his Maker\u2019s likeness,\u2014as fallen from his\nhigh original, but capable of restoration,\u2014and as born under a system\nwhich unfolds the scheme devised by Infinite Wisdom, for the\naccomplishment of this great and glorious purpose.  It was made for man,\nwe say, as a spiritual and eternal existence, for a time clothed with\nflesh, subjected to the infirmities of the body, and the perverse\ninfluences of the mind, placed in the world with the view of developing\nin a state of trial, the graces and glories that belong to a higher\nnature, but destined to be a partaker of the inheritance of everlasting\nbliss.  It was made for him, for his refreshment and repose under the\nburdens of his lot,\u2014for the enlargement and perfection of his\nintellectual powers, by directing them to things above the world; and\nthus for the purpose of cherishing and strengthening that spiritual\ngrowth, which is the only real end of his being on earth, as it is the\nfulfilment of the will of God concerning him.\n\nFor this purpose we say the Sabbath was ordained.  In this sense we can\nsay that it was made for man, for we here perceive its merciful\nadaptation to the complicated wants of his mixed and mysterious nature.\nIn the Sabbath, therefore, thus understood, and thus applied, we see the\ndepth of the riches both of the wisdom and the goodness of God, and we\nadore the mercy which provided alleviations for a life doomed to labour,\nand cheered the burdened traveller on his way, by the pledge of a rest\neternal in the heavens.  With this view of the Sabbath before us,\u2014with\nthis picture of its purpose and its end,\u2014while we thus gaze on the\nglorious destiny unfolded to man in the institutions of the Sabbath, and\nsee the steps by which he is prepared to inherit it in its sanctifying\ninfluences,\u2014we must feel that all the temporal advantages offered to him\nhere\u2014the refinement of tastes, the enlargement of knowledge, are but a\nmockery of his woe, if they are proposed as the blessings connected with\nthe ordinance; and we wonder at the audacity that can present such a\npetty allurement to the inheritor of the kingdom, as worthy of his\nacceptance.\n\nBut the real character of the Sabbath may be inferred, with greater\nconfidence, from considering the character of the Being by whom it was\nordained; for if the Sabbath was made for man, and made for man by Him\nwho created man, it surely is reasonable that we should collect the\ncharacter of the institution from the known will of the Institutor, and\nlearn the way in which it should be observed from what we know of His\ngeneral purpose.  If the Sabbath, then, was made for man, let us\nremember, that it was made for man by Him who not only formed man from\nthe dust, and breathed into him the breath of life, so that man became a\nliving soul, but who likewise opened heaven to his view, raised him above\nthe earth by the word of promise, and who, finally, sent his own blessed\nSon into the world to accomplish his restoration, Luke xix. 10.\n\nScripture, therefore, directs us to estimate the real value of\nattainments by the effect they produce upon the soul, rather than by what\nis exhibited,\u2014to dread the knowledge which puffs up,\u2014to shun that\nfriendship of the world which separates us from God,\u2014to check and to\nmortify the love of earthly things,\u2014that the heart may be given, in all\nits fulness, to Him who claims it as his own, and the mind may be fixed\non things above, rather than on those below.  In a word, we must be\nconscious, that the gospel was given to make us good, rather than to make\nus great,\u2014to fit us for heaven, rather than for earth; and though the\ngoodness of God has so wonderfully combined the effects which it\nproduces, that they are frequently united, the godliness has the promise\nof the life that now is, as well as of that which is to come; we cannot\nhave a moment\u2019s doubt as to that which is the higher and the nobler\nobject, or as to that which must be the will of God concerning ourselves.\n\nIf these things, then, be so,\u2014if the will of God is clearly,\nunequivocally declared, with regard to these objects of our pursuit at\npresent, can there be a question as to those which are to be preferred?\nWhat is the knowledge of the world, what is taste, what is civilization\nitself, in comparison with the blessings included in his favour? and if\nit were possible to obtain them by the sacrifice of religious principle,\nwhat would they be to the possessor, but the colours which deck the\nserpent, the sweetness which conceals the poison it conveys.\n\nWe must feel, then, that when men talk of the beneficent effects to be\nproduced by a sabbath, while that sabbath refers only to the physical or\nintellectual part of man, they greatly and grossly err; and that if,\nunhappily, this scheme should be realized, the soul would be sacrificed\nto the body, eternity to time, and the real purpose of man\u2019s being to the\nindulgence of vain and frivolous imaginations.  But while the main\nquestion is met in this way, and the promoters of the scheme are reminded\nof its insufficiency for the object which they profess to have at\nheart\u2014the improvement of the labouring classes\u2014it is hoped that the\nlegislature will bear in mind the price at which these refreshments for\nthose who are inclined to partake of them must be purchased.  On the\nSabbath day at present, the parks, the outlets of the metropolis, are\nfilled with crowds who prefer the amusement they can find there, to the\nreligious improvement of the day which God has consecrated.  We must\nregret the breach of the commandment, the offence offered to God, and the\ninjury done to the sabbath-breakers themselves; but we feel that, in\ndoing this, they claim no right to dictate to the practice of others, nor\nhave they the power of compelling others to act against their own\nconscientious convictions.  They may wish for refreshments, but they\ncannot compel the shops to be opened for their supply; and those windows\nwhich were unclosed through the six preceding days, are sealed to them on\nthis, and offer a shelter against the tyranny of a God-despising world.\nUp to this time the laws of the country have endeavoured to prevent the\nlicence of one man from trespassing on the liberty of another; and if\nthey have not always succeeded in doing so, they have left no room for\ndoubt as to their intentions.  Up to this time, therefore, those who call\nthemselves the servants of the public, have been allowed to feel that\nthere was One greater than the public, who cares for the weak and the\ndependent, and who restrains within certain limits the measure of labour\nthat is exacted from them.  The theatres, the places of public amusement,\nhave, on this account, been closed; the post-office has suspended its\nissues; the transactions of business have been stopped; legal acts have\nbeen declared null and void.  It has been declared that the command was\ngeneral, for that its intention was, \u201cthat thy servant may rest as well\nas thou;\u201d and it has been the privilege of the Englishman to feel that on\nthis day the slave of the world was free from his master.\n\nA new era, however, will be commenced with the chartered existence of the\nCrystal Palace, should such an outrage be permitted.  Hundreds of\nofficials will be called into stated attendance, and will be compelled to\nwait on the fancies of an ungodly multitude.  Thousands of the unhappy\nand depressed class who are now engaged in furnishing the means of public\nconveyance, will be put into requisition, and tens and hundreds of\nthousands of the young and thoughtless will be swept away by the stream,\nand be made victims to a plan for improving the taste and enlarging the\nintellect of the irreligious section of our metropolitan operatives.  It\nmust be added, that the evil will not be confined to this single case.\nThe precedent established here will be immediately followed in other\nplaces, and in all parts of the kingdom.  The British Museum, the\ngalleries, the exhibitions, will be thrown open in London.  The curators\nin all these will be crushed with the burden of unsuspended labour, and\nthe population, maddened by excitement, when excitement is substituted\nfor the rest they need, will be the ready instruments for executing the\njudgments which will infallibly follow on such an act of national\ndelinquency.  Nor let it be forgotten, that this scheme, which, falling\nin with the prevailing humours of the day, is hailed by the immoral, or,\nat least, by the irreligious part of our people, as an accession to their\nresources of amusement, will be to many a bitter aggravation of a life of\ntoil, by wresting from them that Sabbath which has, hitherto, been their\nonly season of repose.  But what is of more consequence, and which claims\nthe serious consideration of the legislature, it will be an outrage such\nas has not yet been offered to the conscience and religious feelings of\nmany who specially deserve the protection, if not the favour, of the\nlegislature.  For it must not be assumed because a cry is got up on\nbehalf of the scheme, that all classes concur in welcoming the change\nthat is proposed.  There are multitudes, no doubt, which will do so.\nThere are multitudes who find the present opportunities for Sunday\ndissipation too limited, and fret and murmur against the restraints which\nthe law imposes; but there are many who feel that this opening will bring\nno blessings to them, and will only multiply or increase the burdens\nunder which they groan.  They see that the enjoyments of a few will be\npurchased by the sufferings of many; wives and children will have to\nlament a home left without its natural guardian; parents will have to\nmourn over children drawn away from domestic control or religious\nobservances; and the character of the day, as a day of rest, will be lost\nto all the inhabitants of that side of the metropolis.\n\nIs this, then, a state of things which the legislature of England can\ncountenance or permit? and will the sound sense of the British parliament\nbe dazzled and blinded by the arts which have been employed to cloak the\nessential ungodliness of the proposal?  We trust that there will be no\nhesitation or condescension in the tone of their answer.  We trust that\nthe representatives of the nation, conscious of the account they will\nhave to give of the way in which they exercise their power, will\nseriously and calmly weigh the consequences of the measure brought before\nthem, and, dismissing the illusions with which their imagination is\nassailed, will consider what the effects must be of legalizing a breach\nof one of God\u2019s commandments.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n               J. F. SHAW, BOOKSELLER, SOUTHAMPTON ROW, AND\n                         PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON:\n        AND W. INNES, BOOKSELLER, SOUTH HANOVER STREET, EDINBURGH.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n         London: J. & W. RIDER, Printers, 14, Bartholomew Close.\n\n                                   160","title":"The Sabbath and the Crystal Palace","tradition":"philosophy-ethics","translated_text":null,"word_count":3905}