Polynesian Researches
VII. Concerning the Disregard of the Sabbath
VII. Concerning the Disregard of the Sabbath
For a man to work on the Sabbath is a great crime before God. Work that cannot be deferred, such as dressing food when a sick person desires warm or fresh food, this it is right to do; but not such work as erecting houses, building canoes, cultivating land, catching fish, and every other employment that can be deferred. Let none travel about to a long distance on the Sabbath. For those who desire to hear a preacher, on the day of food (the preceding day) it is proper to travel. If inconvenient to journey on the preceding day, it is proper to travel on the Sabbath (to attend public worship;) but not to wander about to a great distance (to different villages) on the Sabbath. The individual who shall persist in following these prohibited occupations, shall be warned by the magistrates not to do so; but if he will not regard, he shall be set to work, such as making a piece of road fifty fathoms long, and two fathoms wide. If, after this he work again on the Sabbath, let it be one furlong.