“’One God alone, thou shalt adore,
   And love him perfectly.’

“Have you ever loved anything, or anybody, as well as you loved God?  Have you loved him with all your soul, all your heart, all the strength of your love?”

Sabot was perspiring with the effort of thinking.  He replied: 

“No.  Oh, no, m’sieu le cure.  I love God as much as I can.  That is —­yes—­I love him very much.  To say that I do not love my children, no—­I cannot say that.  To say that if I had to choose between them and God, I could not be sure.  To say that if I had to lose a hundred francs for the love of God, I could not say about that.  But I love him well, for sure, I love him all the same.”  The priest said gravely “You must love Him more than all besides.”  And Sabot, meaning well, declared “I will do what I possibly can, m’sieu le cure.”  The abbe resumed: 

  “’God’s name in vain thou shalt not take
   Nor swear by any other thing.’

“Did you ever swear?”

“No-oh, that, no!  I never swear, never.  Sometimes, in a moment of anger, I may say sacre nom de Dieu!  But then, I never swear.”

“That is swearing,” cried the priest, and added seriously: 

“Do not do it again.

  “’Thy Sundays thou shalt keep
   In serving God devoutly.’

“What do you do on Sunday?”

This time Sabot scratched his ear.

“Why, I serve God as best I can, m’sieu le cure.  I serve him—­at home.  I work on Sunday.”

The cure interrupted him, saying magnanimously: 

“I know, you will do better in future.  I will pass over the following commandments, certain that you have not transgressed the two first.  We will take from the sixth to the ninth.  I will resume: 

  “‘Others’ goods thou shalt not take
   Nor keep what is not thine.’

“Have you ever taken in any way what belonged to another?”

But Theodule Sabot became indignant.

“Of course not, of course not!  I am an honest man, m’sieu le cure, I swear it, for sure.  To say that I have not sometimes charged for a few more hours of work to customers who had means, I could not say that.  To say that I never add a few centimes to bills, only a few, I would not say that.  But to steal, no!  Oh, not that, no!”

The priest resumed severely: 

“To take one single centime constitutes a theft.  Do not do it again.

   ’False witness thou shalt not bear,
   Nor lie in any way.’

“Have you ever told a lie?”

“No, as to that, no.  I am not a liar.  That is my quality.  To say that I have never told a big story, I would not like to say that.  To say that I have never made people believe things that were not true when it was to my own interest, I would not like to say that.  But as for lying, I am not a liar.”

The priest simply said: 

“Watch yourself more closely.”  Then he continued: