here made, as far as he was able, a liar of
King Solomon himself: he has wilfully garbled the Holy Scripture; and
that, too, for the manifest purpose of justifying cruelty in courts and
judges; for the manifest purpose of justifying the most savage oppression
of the poor.

29. After all, HALE has not the courage to send forth this doctrine of
his, without allowing that the case of extreme necessity does, "in _some
measure_," and "in _particular cases_," and, "by the _tacit_ or _silent_
consent of nations," _hold good_! What a crowd of qualifications is here!
With what reluctance he confesses that which all the world knows to be
true, that the disciples of JESUS CHRIST pulled off, without leave, the
ears of standing corn, and ate them "_being an hungered_." And here are
two things to observe upon. In the first place this _corn_ was not what
_we call corn_ here in England, or else it would have been very droll sort
of stuff to crop off and eat. It was what the Americans call _Indian
corn_, what the French call _Turkish corn_; and what is called _corn_ (as
being far surpassing all other in excellence) in the Eastern countries
where the Scriptures were written. About four or five ears of this corn,
of which you strip all the husk off in a minute, are enough for a man's
breakfast or dinner; and by about the middle of August this corn is just
as wholesome and as efficient as bread. So that, this was _something_ to
take and eat without the owner's leave; it was something of value; and
observe, that the Pharisees, though so strongly disposed to find fault
with everything that was done by Jesus Christ and his disciples, did not
find fault of their _taking_ the corn to eat; did not call them _thieves_;
did not propose to punish them for _theft_; but found fault of them only
for having _plucked the corn on the Sabbath-day_! To pluck the corn was
_to do work_, and these severe critics found fault of this working on the
Sabbath-day. Then, out comes another fact, which HALE might have noticed
if he had chosen it; namely, that our Saviour reminds the Pharisees that
"DAVID and his companions, _being an hungered_, entered into the House of
God, and did eat the show-bread, to eat which was unlawful in any-body but
the priests." Thus, that which would have been _sacrilege_ under any other
circumstances; that which would have been one of the most _horrible of
crimes against the law of God_, became no crime at all when committed by a
person