his money,” &c. A passion for the exact
literalities of the Bible is too amiable, not
to be gratified in this case. The words in the
original are (Kaspo-hu,) “his silver
is he.” The objector’s principle
of interpretation is a philosopher’s stone!
Its miracle touch transmutes five feet eight inches
of flesh and bones into solid silver!
Quite a permanent servant, if not so nimble
withal—reasoning against "forever,”
is forestalled henceforth, and, Deut. xxiii. 15, quite
outwitted. The obvious meaning of the phrase,
“He is his money,” is, he is worth
money to his master, and since, if the master
had killed him, it would have taken money out of his
pocket, the pecuniary loss, the kind of instrument
used, and the fact of his living sometime after
the injury, (if the master meant to kill,
he would be likely to do it while about it.)
all together make a strong case of presumptive evidence
clearing the master from intent to kill.
But let us look at the objector’s inferences.
One is, that as the master might dispose of his property
as he pleased, he was not to be punished, if he destroyed
it. Whether the servant died under the master’s
hand, or after a day or two, he was equally
his property, and the objector admits that in the
first case the master is to be “surely
punished” for destroying his own property!
The other inference is, that since the continuance
of a day or two, cleared the master of intent to
kill, the loss of the servant would be a sufficient
punishment for inflicting the injury which caused his
death. This inference makes the Mosaic law false
to its own principles. A pecuniary loss
was no part of the legal claim, where a person took
the life of another. In such case, the
law spurned money, whatever the sum. God would
not cheapen human life, by balancing it with such a
weight. “Ye shall take NO SATISFACTION
for the life of a murderer, but he shall surely be
put to death.” Num. xxxv. 31. Even
in excusable homicide, where an axe slipped from the
helve and killed a man, no sum of money availed to
release from confinement in the city of refuge, until
the death of the High Priest. Num. xxxv. 32.
The doctrine that the loss of the servant would be
a penalty adequate to the desert of the master,
admits his guilt and his desert of some
punishment, and it prescribes a kind of punishment,
rejected by the law, in all cases where man took the
life of man, whether with or without intent to kill.
In short, the objector annuls an integral part of
the system—makes a new law, and
coolly metes out such penalty as he thinks fit.
Divine legislation revised and improved! The
master who struck out his servant’s tooth, whether
intentionally or not, was required to set him free.
The pecuniary loss to the master was the same
as though he had killed him. Look at the two