Letters to the Editor
[In view of the length of many of the letters which we receive, we would remind correspondents that we often cannot give space for long letters and that short ones are generally read with more attention. The length which we consider most suitable is about that of one of our paragraphs on " News of the Week."—[Ed. SPECTATOR.]
SUNDAY AND THE SABBATH
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—IS it not time that some principle emerged and was clearly stated with regard to Sunday and its observance ? Writers, readers, speakers and hearers alike seem possessed by the vaguest and filmiest ideas when engaged upon this topic. To begin with, as Dr. Johnson says, " Let us clear our minds of cant." Sunday is not the Sabbath Day. The Puritans, endeavouring to place all things upon an Old Testament basis, are responsible for fathering upon our Lord's Day the name of Sabbath. It has naturally resulted in the wildest confusion of thought and much error. The Sabbath Day, seventh of the week, was instituted to com- memorate God's rest from Creation, and it is a Day of Rest. The Lord's Day, first of the week, was instituted to com- memorate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is a Day of Worship. Of the endless mischief and mental aberration resulting from the attempt to regard the implications and sanctions of these two days as identical, no one was more completely aware than Doctor Martin Luther. To those intent on Hebraizing the Lord's Day he speaks in no uncertain terms. Regarding this novel hybrid, the Judaized Sunday, he says " Let us rend it, trample upon it, break it, smash it in pieces," or words to that exact effect.—I am, Sir, &e.,
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