ore unjustly from a
person what to that person is a notable amount is a grievous sin. It is
uniformly agreed that it is a notable loss for a man to be unduly
deprived of what constitutes a day's sustenance. This is the minimum of
grievous matter concerning theft.

But this rule will evidently not hold good applied on a rising scale to
more and more extensive fortunes; for a time would come when it would
be possible without serious guilt to appropriate good round sums from
those abundantly blessed with this world's goods.

The disorders necessarily attendant on such a moral rule are only too
evident; and it is plain that the law of God cannot countenance abuses
of this nature. Justice therefore demands that there be a certain fixed
sum beyond which one may not go without incurring serious guilt; and
this, independent of the fortune of the person who suffers. Theologians
have fixed that amount approximately, in this country, at five dollars.
This means that when such a sum is taken, in all cases, the sin is
mortal. It is not always necessary, it is seldom necessary, that one
should steal this much in order to offend grievously; but when the
thief reaches this amount, be his victim ever so wealthy, he is guilty
of grave injustice.

This rule applies to all cases in which the neighbor is made to suffer
unjustly in his lawful possessions; and it effects all wrongdoers
whether they steal or destroy another's goods or co-operate
efficaciously in such deeds of sin. It matters not whether the harm be
wrought directly or indirectly, since in either case there may be moral
fault; and it must be remembered that gross negligence may make one
responsible as well as malice aforethought.

The following are said to co-operate in crime to the extent of becoming
joint-partners with the principal agent in guilt: those in whose name
the wrong is done, in obedience to their orders or as a result of any
other means employed; those who influence the culprit by suggesting
motives and reasons for his crime or by pointing out efficient means of
arriving thereat; those who induce others to commit evil by playing on
their weaknesses thereby subjecting them to what is known as moral
force; those who harbor the thief and conceal his stolen property
against their recovery; those whose silence is equivalent to
approbation, permission or official consent; those finally who before,
during or after the deed, abstain from performing a plain duty in
pr