ad no reason to
expect such a result. But if the ox hath been _wont to push_ with his
horns, and he knew it, he shall be responsible for the consequences,
whatever they may be; for he had every reason to expect that mischief
would be done, and took no measures to prevent it. And if the ox kill a
man or woman, the owner hath done the murder, and he shall be put to
death. Why? The death was the result of his selfishness, or his
indifference to the lives of others. And according to the law of God,
his life shall go for it. The principle of this law is a principle of
common-sense.

You see a fellow-creature struggling in the water. You know that he can
never deliver himself. And you know that a very little assistance, such
as you can render, will rescue him from a watery grave. You look on and
pass by. True, you did not thrust him in. But he dies by your neglect.
His blood will be upon your head. At the bar of God, and at the bar of
conscience, you are his murderer. Why? You did not kill him. Neither did
the owner of the ox lift a hand. _But he shall surely be put to death._
You had no malice, neither had he. You did not intend his death--at the
very worst, you did not care. This is just his crime. He did not care.
He turned loose a wild, fiery, ungovernable animal, knowing him to be
such; and what mischief that animal might do, or what suffering he might
cause, _he did not care_. But God held him responsible.

Every man is responsible for evils which result from his own selfishness
or indifference to the lives of men. In other words, to make a man
responsible for results, it is not necessary to prove that he has
malice, or that he intended the results. The highwayman has no malice
against him he robs and murders, nor does he desire his death, but his
money; and if he can get the money, he does not care. And he robs and
murders because he loves himself and does not care for others; acting in
a different way, but on the same selfish principle with the owner of the
ox; and on the very same principle is he held responsible.

In the trial of the owner of the ox, the only questions to be asked were
these two: Was the ox _wont to push_ with his horn in time past? Did the
owner _know it_ when he let him loose? If both these questions were
answered in the affirmative, the owner was responsible for all the
consequences. This is a rule which God himself has established.

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