An adaptation of the Catechism for Young Children in modern English.
Question: What is the essence of these duties?
Answer: To love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love my neighbor as myself.
Question: What is the sum of the ten commandments?
Answer: To love God with all my heart, and my neighbor as myself.
Heavily modified question to continue the theme of duty. While ‘essence’ is a rather specific term, it is preferred here to ‘sum’ or event the more modern ‘summary’ since it points to the idea of the “core” or “most important part” of the duties, which is what Jesus was getting at in his summary of the law. Additionally, the answer is also extended to include the full “heart, soul, mind and strength” to match more closely Jesus’ own summary of the law.