Sacred holidays, and holidays generally, are of the nature of a tribute levied on the body of the people.

The tribute is paid in vicarious leisure, and the honorific effect which emerges is imputed to the person or the fact for whose good repute the holiday has been instituted.

Such a tithe of vicarious leisure is a perquisite of all members of the preternatural leisure class and is indispensable to their good fame.

Un saint qu'on ne chome pas is indeed a saint fallen on evil days.
Besides this tithe of vicarious leisure levied on the laity, there are also special classes of persons--the various grades of priests and hierodules--whose time is wholly set apart for a similar service.

It is not only incumbent on the priestly class to abstain from vulgar labor, especially so far as it is lucrative or is apprehended to contribute to the temporal well-being of mankind.