Rupert. “‘Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.’ That I did not do.”
Mr. Penrose. “This commandment forbids falsehood. A boy who, like John Strong, would drive his father’s horses on Sunday, without permission, would be likely to tell a falsehood to screen himself from blame.”
Rupert. “He did say that he meant to tell his father he took the horses directly home from the church.”
Mr. Penrose. “Then I very much fear that your company was the temptation to John to take that ride, which ended in his telling a falsehood to his father. When we are, in any way, knowingly the cause of another person’s committing sin, it is the same as if we had committed the sin ourselves. So, my dear Rupert, I fear you are not quite guiltless upon the ninth commandment. But go on with the tenth.”
Rupert. “‘Thou shalt not covet.’ There! Now I know you will bring me up with that too, uncle; because I said I wished I had John’s grays. I do think that I broke that. But just to think that in less than an hour I broke almost all the commandments!”
Mr. Penrose. “You see by this that the breaking of one commandment leads to the breach of many. We rarely ever break one commandment alone. As St. James says, ‘Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.’ James ii, 10.”
Rupert. “Well, I do not believe any person ever kept all the commandments, or ever could keep them either.”
CHAPTER XII
LOVE MAKES OBEDIENCE EASY.
May I in my God delight,