Article First. On Prohibited Works

268. Distinction of works. 1. A threefold kind of works is distinguished: servile, liberal, and middle or common.

Those are called servile which are ordered to the advantages of the body, are exercised chiefly by bodily labor, and were anciently accustomed to be done by slaves, as to plow, dig, sow.

Those are called liberal which are ordered to the utilities of the mind, are exercised chiefly by the powers of the soul, and were accustomed to be done by free men, as to read, teach, study.

Those are called common which serve partly the advantages of the soul, partly of the body, and were exercised promiscuously both by free men and by slaves, as to hunt, play, make a journey.

a. It is clear that servile and liberal works are distinguished from each other from the very end of the work, but not from the intention of the one working, nor from the delay of time, nor from the fatigue of the body; wherefore a servile work does not cease to be servile and prohibited because it is done gratis, or for recreation, or from a holy end, or only for a brief time; and, by equal reason, a liberal work remains liberal and licit, even if it is exercised for pay and profit or from an evil end. Hence, for example, to sew garments is servile, even if with little labor, and to make a journey on foot is liberal or common, even if it is performed with great labor.

b. Which works are servile and which liberal is, indeed, in many cases manifest from their nature; but in others this does not depend upon the nature of the work alone, but much must also be deferred to the custom and estimation of men. Therefore it can happen that a work which in itself is servile is, from the usage and estimation of the faithful, licit; moreover, that what in one place is licitly performed is prohibited in another on feast days.

2. To these are added forensic works, by whose name a twofold kind of actions is designated: a. judicial actions; and b. civil actions or markets; for each is signified by the name of forum: the place where judgments are held, and the place where markets are held.

269. The precept of abstaining from certain works. 1. On Sundays and feasts the following are prohibited: a. servile works, and indeed for the whole day from midnight up to midnight, but not liberal nor common works;¹ b. forensic works: for although these works are not servile, nevertheless they are prohibited by special law,² because on account of the excessive distractions which they bring and on account of the contentions and discords which they are accustomed to cause, they impede religious quiet and application of the mind to divine things.

2. The precept of abstaining from servile and forensic works is of its kind grave. According to the opinion now received, labor of about two hours constitutes grave matter, so that it is a grave sin to labor, whether continuously or interruptedly, when labor much exceeds two hours, that is, two and a half hours, in very servile labor, and labor which extends to about three hours if the labor is of lesser bodily exertion. But in forensic works the gravity of matter is taken not so much from delay of time as from the quality of the work, as if a case were publicly conducted.

He who on a feast day commands six servants to labor for an hour does not sin gravely by himself, because the works of the servants, whether they labor simultaneously or successively, are not joined to form grave matter; but he would sin gravely who on a feast day commanded one servant several times to labor up to grave matter.³

¹ C. Omnes 1, De feriis (II, 9).

² Ibid.

³ St. Alphonsus, n. 206.

270. Servile, liberal, and common works. a. Certainly servile are: rural works, as to plow, dig, sow, reap, etc.; mechanical arts, as the works of masonry, smithery, carpentry, tailoring, shoemaking, weaving, sculpture, typography, etc.; labors of workers in factories, mines, foundries, etc.; light manual labors, even if they are done with slight fatigue of the body, as to make rosaries, scapulars, artificial flowers, etc.; likewise to pluck roses, peel fruits, etc.

b. Certainly liberal are works of letters and arts: to devote oneself to the study of letters, to teach, even for pay, to sing, to play musical instruments, to draw (Zeichnen), to write, transcribe, dance, etc.

c. Those which are certainly common are not prohibited, even if they are done with great fatigue of the body: to make a journey on foot, by horse, by carriage, by ship; likewise to hunt, to catch birds, to fish with a hook or reed or small nets, but not with large nets with great apparatus and great labor.

Since to make a journey in whatever way is licit on feast days, all those things also are licit which are necessary for obtaining this end, even if by their nature, as rowing, they are servile. Therefore in our time those labors are licitly undertaken which are necessary for transporting travelers either by railroad or by steamship.

d. There are several works whose character is doubtful: in judging these, attention must be given both to the nature of the work and especially to the custom, whether universal or particular, of the region. And so:

To draw, that is, to draw up plans of buildings (Entwurfe, Bauplane ausarbeiten), is licit, since it is a liberal work, in which the mind is exercised more than the body.

Sculpting is a liberal and licit art only if the matter is one of the final perfection of the work; otherwise, by the common estimation of men, it pertains to the mechanical arts.

To paint with a brush (malen) seems to be a liberal work, because it is ordered more to expressing the conceptions of the mind than to laboring; therefore it is licit to paint on feast days, excepting those actions which are done with much labor, as to mix colors, prepare panels, whitewash walls, and generally those things which constitute the daily labor of craftsmen during the week.

To embroider (sticken) does not seem to be a servile work.¹ Therefore it can be permitted where this work is taken up occasionally and incidentally; but it cannot be permitted where it constitutes daily labor. Other manual works of women, as to knit or crochet (stricken, hakeln), are of themselves servile and prohibited.

Photography seems to be a middle work, excepting the apparatus which is prerequisite and requires much labor.

Typography is certainly a mechanical art; therefore the printing of books is prohibited on feast days, unless necessity excuses, as in the printing of newspapers which must appear daily. Nevertheless there are some who permit the setting of type, unless it is done in a public workshop by many, because it is similar to transcription, which is not prohibited.²

Milling is not licit, since it is a servile work; yet if the mill is driven by wind or water and therefore moderate labor of men is required, with custom acceding, it can be permitted.

¹ St. Alphonsus, n. 281.

² St. Alphonsus, n. 279.

271. Judicial actions. All judicial acts which are done with judicial stir are prohibited, whether the cause is civil or criminal, whether secular or ecclesiastical; but actions which are done without stir are not prohibited.

a. Judicial stir is said to be required in the exercise of contentious jurisdiction, namely where a judicial process is instituted, but not in the exercise of voluntary jurisdiction, as is to dispense, absolve, etc.

b. The prohibited judicial acts, in which the judicial stir itself consists, are: to summon the parties, examine witnesses, demand a judicial oath, pronounce or execute sentence. Actions which are done without stir are these: to consult an advocate, inform a judge, interpose an appeal, etc. Judicial actions are not only prohibited, but also annulled; but markets are only prohibited.¹

¹ C. Conquestus 5, De feriis (II, 9).

272. Civil actions or markets. By this name two things are prohibited: public fairs and the act of trading, that is, contracts of buying, selling, leasing, etc. Hence by law not only all markets, both annual and weekly, but also all contracts of buying, selling, leasing are interdicted. But from present-day custom those things which follow are to be observed.

a. Annual fairs (Jahrmarkte), in which things are sold which the day before are brought to the place of the fair, are licit on feast days where the custom exists.

Weekly markets (Wochenmarkte) are prohibited;¹ wherefore if a feast day falls on the day of markets, these ought to be anticipated or transferred after the feast day; yet if the magistrate establishes otherwise, the faithful are excused on account of necessity.

Public sales by auction are not licit; nevertheless in some places they are tolerated after the divine offices have been completed, on account of the greater concourse of buyers.

Private sales, not only of those things which pertain to daily use but also of other things, even if they require much time, are licit by custom; but sales in public shops are prohibited. Wherefore merchants ought to close shops on feast days, unless a contrary custom prevails somewhere. For in very many places a custom has prevailed of opening shops for a time, both so that those things may be sold which are required for daily use, and in favor especially of those buyers who are unable to approach shops on other days.

b. Solemn contracts of selling, buying, leasing, etc., namely those which are made with instruments drawn up by notaries and with public authority, are prohibited on feast days, unless by contrary custom they are licit.

Private contracts of selling, etc., which are made without public instruments by private authority, are permitted by universal custom; thus everywhere on feast days workers are hired, beasts of burden are bought, horses are sold, houses are leased, etc.; indeed, according to the testimony of St. Alphonsus (n. 286), custom bears that contracts are celebrated even through instruments, as betrothals, sales, testaments, etc.

From these things it is now gathered what must be said about the acts of notaries. Namely, contracts of selling, leasing, etc., on feast days are of themselves prohibited under the name of market; gradually by custom it has come about that contracts of this sort without instruments and without the public authority of a notary were licitly entered into; finally custom has effected that contracts can be celebrated even with instruments drawn up by notaries, provided judicial stir is not required.

¹ Constit. Ab eo tempore of Benedict XIV, 5 Nov. 1745, n. 26.