CHAPTER X

OF THE NINTH AND TENTH COMMANDMENTS

THOU SHALT NOT COVET THT NEIGHBOUR’S HOUSE; THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOUR’S WIFE, NOR HIS MAN-SERVANT, NOR HIS MAID-SERVANT, NOR HIS OX, NOR HIS ASS, NOR ANYTHING THAT IS HIS.

QUESTION I

The Ninth and Tenth Commandments seem to comprehend the Observance of the Rest

Concerning these two precepts, which were delivered the last, it is first to be known that they afford in some sort a means of observing the rest; for the purport of what they prescribe is, that whosoever desires to observe the other commandments of the law, must be particularly careful not to covet; for he who covets not, content with that he hath, will not desire to possess what belongs to others; will rejoice in the advantages enjoyed by others; will give glory to the immortal God; will render him boundless thanks; will observe the Sabbath, that is to say, will enjoy perpetual repose; will respect his superiors; and will, in fine, injure no man in word or deed, or otherwise; for the root of all evil is evil concupiscence, which hurries its victims into every species of iniquity and crime. If these considerations be well weighed, they must serve to induce the pastor to explain what follows with increased diligence, and the faithful to hear his exposition with increased attention.

QUESTION II

Difference between these Two Commandments

But although we have united these two commandments, because, their subject not being dissimilar, they admit of the same mode of instruction; yet the pastor, when exhorting and admonishing, will be able to treat of them jointly or separately, as shall seem to him more convenient. If, however, he shall have undertaken the exposition of the Decalogue, he will point out in what these two commandments are dissimilar, or in what one coveting differs from the other; a difference explained by St. Augustine, in his book of questions on Exodus; for of them one looks only to utility and interest; the other, to unlawful lusts and pleasures. He, therefore, who covets a field or house, pursues profit and utility, rather than pleasure; whilst he who covets another man’s wife, burns with a desire not of profit but of lustfulness.

QUESTION III

Whether what is comprehended in these Two Last Commandments was sufficiently explained in the Sixth and Seventh

These two commandments were necessary for two reasons; first, to explain the import of the sixth and seventh, for, although by the light of natural reason alone we are informed that to prohibit adultery is also to prohibit the desire of another man’s wife, because, if it were lawful to desire, to indulge must be so likewise; yet, blinded by sin, many of the Jews could not be induced to believe that [such desires] were prohibited by God. Nay, even after the promulgation, and with a knowledge, of this law, many, who professed themselves interpreters of the law, committed the same error, as may be learnt from the sermon of our Lord in St. Matthew: Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery; but I say unto you, &c. The second reason for their necessity is, that they distinctly, and in express terms, prohibit things, of which the sixth and seventh commandments do not contain distinct prohibition. The seventh commandment, for instance, forbids an unjust wish or endeavour to take what belongs to another; but this prohibits to covet on any account, even though it could be obtained consistently with law and justice, that, from our possession of which, we see that injury must accrue to our neighbours.

QUESTION IV

How great is the Benefit conferred upon us by God in adding this to the other Commandments

But, before we come to the exposition of the precept, the faithful are first to be instructed, that by this law we are instructed not only to restrain our inordinate lusts, but also to know the boundless love of God towards us. For having, by the preceding commandments of the law, fenced us round, as it were, with safeguards, securing us and ours against injury, he wished by the annexation of this commandment, to provide principally against the injuries we might inflict on ourselves by our appetites, and which would follow as a natural consequence, were we at full liberty to covet and desire things indiscriminately. By the enactment then of this law, which forbids to covet, God has provided that the stings of the passions, by which we are usually excited to every evil, being plucked out in some sort by the force of this law, press us less urgently, and that, freed from that annoying importunity of the passions, we may thus have more time to devote to the performance of the numerous and important duties of piety and religion, which we owe to God himself.

QUESTION V

What Difference these Commandments imply between Divine and Human Laws

Nor is this the only lesson of instruction derived from this law: it also shows that the nature of the law of God is such as to require to be observed not only by the outward performance of duties, but also by the inmost sentiments of the mind; so that between divine and human laws there is this difference, that the latter extend to external things only, whereas the laws of God (for God seeth the heart) require pure and undefiled chastity and integrity of soul. The law of God, therefore, is a sort of mirror, in which we perceive the corruption of our nature; and hence these words of the apostle: I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. Concupiscence, that is, a propensity to sin, which propensity originated in sin, clings ever inherent in us: from it we recognize that we are born in sin; and therefore do we fly suppliant for assistance unto him, who alone can efface the defilements of sin.

QUESTION VI

Concupiscence twofold, and which is here forbidden

In common with the other commandments, each of these also is in part mandatory, and in part prohibitory. With regard to the prohibitory part, let the pastor instruct the faithful what sort of concupiscence is proscribed by this law to be shunned, lest some perchance may think that concupiscence to be in some sort vicious, which is not vicious; such as the concupiscence mentioned by the apostle, when he says: The spirit lusteth against the flesh, and that which was the object of David’s most earnest desires: My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy justifications at all times. It is therefore to be known, that concupiscence is a certain commotion and impulse of the mind, by which men are urged to the desire of pleasures they have not; and as the other propensities of the soul are not always evil, so neither is this impulse of concupiscence always to be accounted vicious. Hence it is not evil to desire meat or drink, or, when cold, to wish to become warm; when warm, to wish to become cool. This lawful species of concupiscence was implanted in us by nature, and by the design of God; but, in consequence of the sin of our first parents, passing the limits prescribed by nature, it has become so depraved, that it is often excited to desire those things that conflict with the spirit, and are repugnant to reason.

QUESTION VII

What are the Advantages of the Right and Reasonable Sort of Concupiscence

However, if well regulated, and kept within proper bounds, this influence is also the source of no inconsiderable advantages. In the first place, it prompts us to supplicate God by assiduous prayers, and humbly to beg of him those things which are the objects of our most earnest desires; for prayer is the interpreter of our desires. And did not this lawful concupiscence exist, there would not so often be prayers in the house of God. It also gives a higher value in our estimation to the gifts of God; for the more vehement the desire with which we are inflamed for anything, the dearer and the more pleasing is it to us when we have obtained it; and the delight itself, which we experience from the desired object, serves to increase the piety with which we return thanks to God. If then it is at any time lawful to covet, we must of necessity acknowledge that every species of concupiscence is not forbidden.

QUESTION VIII

In what sense the Apostle uses the word “Concupiscence”

St. Paul, it is true, has said that concupiscence is sin; but his words are to be understood in the same sense as those of Moses, whose testimony he cites; a sense conveyed by the apostle himself; for in his epistle to the Galatians, he calls it, the lusts of the flesh: Walk in the spirit, says he, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

QUESTION IX

What Concupiscence is not here prohibited and is free from the Character of Sin

That natural and well-regulated concupiscence, therefore, which transgresses not its proper limits, is not prohibited; still less is that spiritual desire of the upright mind, by which we are prompted to wish for those things that war against the flesh, for to this same desire the sacred Scriptures exhort us: Set your affection on my words; and: Come unto me all ye that be desirous of me.

QUESTION X

What Sort of Concupiscence is here prohibited

It is not then the mere force of concupiscence, directed equally, as it may be, to good or evil, that is prohibited by these commandments: it is the indulgence of criminal desire, which is called the concupiscence of the flesh, and a propensity to evil, and which, when it sways the assent of the mind, is always to be deemed sinful. That, therefore, which the apostle calls the lust of the flesh, is alone prohibited; that is to say, those motions of concupiscence that pass the bounds of reason, and exceed the limits prescribed by God.

QUESTION XI

Why Concupiscence is prohibited as a Sin

This concupiscence is condemned, either because it desires evil, such as adultery, drunkenness, murder, and other such heinous crimes, of which the apostle says: We should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted; or because, although the objects are not bad in themselves, yet outward circumstances render the desire of them criminal; as, for instance, when their possession is prohibited by God or his Church. For we are not warranted in desiring what it is absolutely unlawful to possess, such as were, in the old law, the gold and silver from which idols were wrought, and which the Lord in Deuteronomy forbade any one to desire. Another reason why this vicious concupiscence is condemned is, that it has for its object that which belongs to another; such as a house, servant, field, wife, ox, ass, and many other things; all of which, as they belong to another, the divine law forbids us to covet. The desire of such things, when consented to, is criminal, and is numbered amongst the most grievous sins.

QUESTION XII

When this Concupiscence is chiefly a Sin

For then is sin committed, when the mind, following the impulse of evil desires, is pleased with, assents to, or does not resist them, as St. James, setting forth the beginning and progress of sin, shows, when he says: Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed: then, when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

QUESTION XIII

What is the Purport of the Two Last Precepts

When, therefore, the law says: Thou shalt not covet, it means that we are to restrain our desires from the things that belong to others; for the thirst for what belongs to others is immense, immeasurable, and insatiate, as it is written: He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; and of him Isaiah says: Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field. But an explanation of each of the words [of these commandments] will serve to place the enormity and grievousness of this sin in a clearer point of view.

QUESTION XIV

Exposition of the word “House” in the Form of this Precept

The pastor therefore will teach, that by the word house is to be understood not only the habitation in which we dwell, but, as we know from the usage and custom of the inspired writers, the entire property of its owner. Thus, to signify that God had enlarged their means and ameliorated their condition, he is said in Exodus to have made houses for the midwives. From this interpretation, therefore, we perceive, that by the law of this precept we are forbidden to indulge a greedy desire of riches, or to envy others their wealth, power, or rank, but [commanded] to be content with our own condition, whatever it be, whether humble or elevated; and we are also prohibited, for in the word house is included this also, to desire the glory won by others.

QUESTION XV

“Nor his Ox, nor his Ass”

Next follow the words, nor his ox, nor his ass, which show that it is unlawful to desire not only things of great value, such as a house, rank, glory, because they belong to others; but also small matters, whatever they be, whether animate or inanimate.

QUESTION XVI

To what Servants this Precept refers

The words, nor his man servant, come next, and include captives as well as other slaves, whom it is not less unlawful to covet than the other property of our neighbour. With regard to freemen, who, induced by wages, affection, or respect, serve voluntarily, it is unlawful, either by words, or hopes, or promises, or rewards, to bribe or solicit them, under any pretext whatever, to leave those to whose service they have voluntarily bound themselves; and if, before the period of their engagement to serve has expired, they leave their masters or employers, they are to be admonished, on the authority of this commandment, to return to them by all means.

QUESTION XVII

Why mention is also made of “thy Neighbour”

The mention of the word neighbour, in this commandment, has for its object to mark the wickedness of those men who covet neighbouring lands, houses, or the like, which lie contiguous; for neighbourhood, which consists in friendship, is transformed by covetousness from love into hatred.

QUESTION XVIII

They do not offend against this Law who seek to purchase the Property of their Neighbours at a Just Price

But this commandment is by no means transgressed by those who desire to purchase, or have purchased at a fair price, from a neighbour, things which he has for sale; for instead of doing their neighbour injury, they render him a considerable service, because to him the money will be more convenient and useful than the things which he sells.

QUESTION XIX

In what way the Tenth Precept, not to covet our Neighbour’s Wife, is to be understood

The commandment, forbidding us to covet the goods of another, is followed by another, which forbids to covet our neighbour’s wife; and by this law is prohibited not only that criminal concupiscence, by which the adulterer desires the wife of another, but also the wish to be united to her in marriage; for when of old a bill of divorce was permitted, it could easily have happened that she, who was repudiated by one husband, might be married to another. But this our Lord forbade, lest husbands might be solicited to abandon their wives, or wives to conduct themselves with such peevishness and moroseness towards their husbands, as thereby to impose on them a sort of necessity of repudiating them. But now, [under the gospel dispensation], this sin is more grievous, because the wife, although repudiated by her husband, cannot marry another during his lifetime. To him, therefore, who desires another man’s wife, the transition from one lust to another is easy; for he will desire either the death of the husband or the commission of adultery. The same principle holds good with regard to women, who have been betrothed to another: for, to desire them in marriage is also unlawful; and whoever strive to dissolve the contract, by which they are affianced, violate the most sacred engagement of plighted faith. And as to covet the wife of another is highly criminal; so is it also criminal, to desire in marriage her who is consecrated to religion and to the service of God.

QUESTION XX

He does not offend against this Law who seeks in Marriage a Woman whom he supposes to have lost her Husband

But should any one desire in wedlock a woman who is already married, but whom he supposes to be unmarried, not being disposed, had he known that she was already married, to indulge such a desire, he certainly does not appear to violate this commandment. Pharaoh and Abimelech, as the Scripture informs us, were betrayed into this error; they wished to take Sarah to wife, supposing her to be unmarried, and the sister, not the wife, of Abraham.

QUESTION XXI

What further Commands are contained in this Precept

But to make known the remedies calculated to remove this vice of covetousness, the pastor will explain the other part of the commandment; which consists in this, that, if riches increase, we set not our hearts upon them; that we be prepared to sacrifice them to a love of piety and religion; that we contribute cheerfully towards the relief of the poor; and that, if poverty be our own lot, we bear it with equanimity and joy. And, indeed, if we show liberality in giving our goods to the poor, it will be an effectual means of extinguishing the desire of what belongs to another. But, on the praises of poverty and the contempt of riches, the pastor will find little difficulty in collecting abundant matter, for the instruction of the faithful, from the sacred Scriptures, and the works of the Fathers. To desire with ardour, and with all earnestness, the consummation, not of our own desires, but of the will of God, as it is expressed in the Lord’s Prayer, is also commanded by this law. Now the will of God chiefly tends to this, that we be made pre-eminently holy; that we preserve our souls pure and unstained; that we practise ourselves in those duties of mind and spirit that are opposed to our bodily senses; that having subdued our sensual appetites, we pursue, under the guidance of reason and the spirit, an upright course of life; and that, moreover, we use all our endeavours to repress the force of those sensual appetites that minister to our lusts and passions.

QUESTION XXII

What are the Meditations best suited to enable Christians to restrain the Force of Concupiscence

But to extinguish this ardour of lusts, it will also be found very efficacious to place before our eyes the disadvantages that arise from their indulgence. Amongst those inconveniences the first is, that, whilst we obey evil desires, sin reigns in us uncontrolled; and hence the admonition of the apostle: Let not sin, therefore, reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof; for as, by resisting the passions, we overthrow the power of sin; so by succumbing to them, we expel God from his throne, and introduce sin in his place. Another evil is, that, as St. James teaches, from concupiscence, as from a fountain, flow all sins. St. John also says: All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. A third disadvantage is, that by such desires the understanding is darkened; for, blinded by passion, men deem all the objects of their criminal desires, whatever they be, lawful and even laudable. Moreover, by concupiscence the seed of the divine word, sown in our souls by God, that great husbandman, is stifled: Some, says St. Mark, are sown among thorns: these are they who hear the word; and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things, entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

QUESTION XXIII

Who are most enslaved by Cupidity

But they who, more than others, labour under this vice of concupiscence, and whom, therefore, the pastor should exhort with greater assiduity to the observance of this precept, are those who are addicted to improper diversions, or who indulge immoderately in play, and also merchants who wish for dearth and dearness, and who, that they themselves may be able to sell at too high, or purchase at too low, a price, cannot bear that others buy or sell. In this respect they too offend, who, with a view to gain by buying or selling, wish to see others want. Soldiers also, who long for war in order to be enabled to plunder; physicians too, who wish for disease; lawyers, who are anxious for a number of causes and suits; and artisans who, greedy of gain, and with a view to increase immoderately their own profits, wish for a scarcity of all necessaries for food and raiment, offend against this commandment. They too, who, envious of the praise and glory of others, strive also to tarnish, in some degree, their fame, sin grievously against this commandment; especially if they themselves are idle and worthless characters; for fame and glory are the reward of worth and industry, not of indolence and inexertion.