Bonaventure, on Exod 20:10

“But on the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work on it, thou nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy beast, nor the stranger that is within thy gates.”

“There is contained in the precept something that is partly moral and partly ceremonial, such as the cessation from works. And here certain things are to be understood generally, and certain things specifically. If we understand it generally, as the Jews do, who say that there ought to be a universal cessation from every servile work, so it is suggested to the Christian that he ought to abstain from all sin. But if we understand it specifically, that we ought to abstain from some things and not from others, then it is moral, not as in a precept, but as in well-being, and it has remained, as it is commanded in ecclesiastical institution. Now I call servile works mechanical works, which are seven, namely: agriculture, which comprehends every manner of cultivating the earth; wool-working, which consists in every work and kind of garments; fabrication, whether it be in iron material, or metallic, or stone, or wood; hunting, which comprehends every work of bakers and cooks and every manner of preparing food; medicine, which consists in the art of preparing ointments or syrups and things of this kind; navigation, which comprehends every work of sailors on the sea or every work of commerce; and theatrics, which comprehends every manner of play or amusement. Now among all of these there are some things that are of pure servility; some that are of continual necessity; and some that are of pure enjoyment. Those that are of pure servility are prohibited by the Church; but those that are of continual necessity, such as those that pertain to the preservation of life or health, are permitted insofar as they are of necessity, but are prohibited insofar as they are of servility. But those that are of pure enjoyment are permitted, not prohibited, because on account of our inclination they are allowed by the Church.”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.