In the early ages of the Church, it was customary to impress on the minds
of hearers the nature and force of this Commandment. This we learn from the
reproof uttered by the Apostle against some who were most earnest in deterring
others from vices, in which they themselves were found freely to indulge: Thou,
therefore, that teachest another, teachest not thyself: thou that preachest
that men should not steal, stealest. 2 The
salutary effect of such instructions was not only to correct a vice then very
prevalent, but also to repress quarrels, litigation and other evils which
generally grow out of theft. Since in these our days men are unhappily addicted
to the same vices, with their consequent misfortunes and evils, the pastor,
following the example of the holy Fathers and Doctors, should strongly insist
on this point and explain with diligent care the force and meaning of this
Commandment. {a}
In the first place the pastor should exercise care and industry in
declaring the infinite love of God for man. Not satisfied with having fenced
round, so to say, our lives, our persons and our reputation, by means of the
two Commandments, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery,
God defends and places a guard over our property and possessions, by adding the
prohibition, Thou shalt not steal. These words can have no other meaning
than that which we indicated above when speaking of the other Commandments.
They declare that God forbids our worldly goods, which are placed under His
protection, to be taken away or injured by anyone.
Our gratitude to God, the author of this law, should be in proportion
to the greatness of the benefit the law confers upon us. Now since the truest
test of gratitude and the best means of returning thanks, consists not only in
lending a willing ear to His precepts, but also in obeying them, the faithful
are to be animated and encouraged to an observance of this Commandment.
Like the preceding Commandments, this one also is divided into two parts.
The first, which prohibits theft, is mentioned expressly; while the spirit and
force of the second, which en forces kindliness and liberality towards our
neighbour, are implied in the first part.
We shall begin with the prohibitory part of the Commandment, Thou shalt
not steal. It is to be observed, that by the word steal is understood not only
the taking away of anything from its rightful owner, privately and without his
consent, but also the possession of that which belongs to another, contrary to
the will, although not without the knowledge, of the true owner; else we are
prepared to say that He who prohibits theft does not also prohibit robbery,
which is accomplished by violence and injustice, whereas, according to St.
Paul, extortioners shall not possess the kingdom of God, 3 and their very company and
ways should be shunned, as the same Apostle writes.
But though robbery is a greater sin than theft, inasmuch as it not only
deprives another of his property, but also offers violence and insult to him; 4 yet it cannot be a matter
of surprise that the divine prohibition is expressed under the milder word, steal,
instead of rob. There was good reason for this, since theft is more
general and of wider extent than robbery, a crime which only they can commit
who are superior to their neighbour in brute force and power. Furthermore, it
is obvious that when lesser crimes are forbidden, greater enormities of the
same sort are also prohibited.
The unjust possession and use of what belongs to another are expressed
by different names, according to the diversity of the objects taken without the
consent and knowledge of the owners. To take any private property from a
private individual is called theft; from the public, peculation.
To enslave a freeman, or appropriate the slave of another is called man-stealing.
To steal anything sacred is called sacrilege a crime most enormous
and sinful, yet so common in our days that what piety and wisdom had set aside
for the necessary expenses of divine worship, for the support of the ministers
of religion, and the use of the poor, is employed in satisfying individual
avarice and the worst passions.
But, besides actual theft, that is, the outward commission, the will
and desire are also forbidden by the law of God. The law is spiritual and
concerns the soul, the source of our thoughts and designs. From the heart,
says our Lord in St. Matthew, come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,
fornications, thefts, false testimonies. 5
The grievousness of the sin of theft is sufficiently seen by the light of
natural reason alone, for it is a violation of justice which gives to every man
his own. The distribution and allotment of property, fixed from the beginning
by the law of nations and confirmed by human and divine laws, must be
considered as inviolable, and each one must be allowed secure possession of
what justly belongs to him, unless we wish the overthrow of human society.
Hence these words of the Apostle: Neither thieves, nor covetous, nor
drunkards, nor railers, nor extortioners, shall possess the kingdom of God.
6
The long train of evils which this sin entails are a proof at once of
its mischievousness and enormity. It gives rise to hasty and rash judgments,
engenders hatred, originates enmities, and sometimes subjects the innocent to
cruel condemnation.
What shall we say of the necessity imposed by God on all of satisfying
for the injury done? Without restitution, says St. Augustine, the sin is not
forgiven. 7
The difficulty of making such restitution, on the part of those who have been
in the habit of enriching themselves with their neighbor’s property, we may
learn not only from personal observation and reflection, but also from the
testimony of the Prophet Habacuc: Woe to him that heapeth together what is
not his own. How long also doth he load himself with thick clay? 8 The possession of other
men's property he calls thick clay, because it is difficult to emerge
and extricate one's self from (ill-gotten goods).
There are so many kinds of stealing that it is most difficult to
enumerate them all; but since the others can be reduced to theft and robbery,
it will be sufficient to speak of these two. To inspire the faithful with a
detestation of such grievous crimes and to deter them from their commission,
the pastor should use all care and diligence. Now let us consider these two
kinds of stealing.
They are guilty of theft who buy stolen goods, or retain the property
of others, whether found, seized, or pilfered. If you have found, and not
restored, says St. Augustine, you have stolen. 9 If the true owner cannot, however, be discovered, whatever is
found should go to the poor. {b} If the
finder refuse to make restitution, he gives evident proof that, were it in his power,
he would make no scruple of stealing all that he could lay his hands on.
Those who, in buying or selling, have recourse to fraud and lying,
involve themselves in the same guilt. The Lord will avenge their trickery.
Those who sell bad and adulterated goods as real and genuine, or who defraud
the purchasers by weight, measure, number, or rule, are guilty of a species of
theft still more criminal and unjust. It is written in Deuteronomy: Thou
shalt not have divers weights in thy bag. 10 Do not any unjust thing, says Leviticus,
in judgment, in rule, in weight or in measure. Let the balance be just, and the
weights equal, the bushel just, and the sextary equal. 11 And elsewhere it is
written: Divers weights are an abomination before the Lord; a deceitful balance
is not good. 12 {c}
It is, also, a downright theft, when laborers and artisans exact full
wages from those to whom they have not given just and due labor. Again,
dishonest servants and agents are no better than thieves, nay they are more
detestable than other thieves; against these everything may be locked, while
against a pilfering servant nothing in a house can be secure by bolt or lock.
They, also, who obtain money under pretence of poverty, or by deceitful
words, may be said to steal, and their guilt is aggravated since they add
falsehood to theft.
Persons charged with offices of public or private trust, who altogether
neglect, or but indifferently perform their duties, while they enjoy the salary
and emoluments of such offices, are also to be reckoned in the number of
thieves.
To enumerate the various other modes of theft, invented by the
ingenuity of avarice, which is versed in all the arts of making money, would be
a tedious and, as already said, a most difficult task.
The pastor, therefore, should next come to treat of robbery, which is
the second general division of these crimes. First, he should admonish the
Christian people to bear in mind the teaching of the Apostle: They that will
become rich fall into temptation, and the snare of the devil; 13 and never to forget the
rule: All things whatsoever you will that men do to you, do you also to them;
14 and always to bear in mind
the words of Tobias: See thou never do to another what thou wouldst hate to
have done to thee by another. 15
Robbery is more comprehensive than theft. Those who pay not the laborer
his hire are guilty of robbery, and are exhorted to repentance by St. James in
these words: Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries, which
shall come upon you. He adds the reason for their repentance: Behold the
hire of the labourers, who have reaped down your fields, which by fraud has
been kept back by you, crieth: and the cry of them hath entered into the ears
of the Lord of sabaoth. 16 This sort of robbery is strongly condemned in Leviticus, 17 Deuteronomy, 18 Malachy, and Tobias. 20
Among those who are guilty of robbery are also included persons who do
not pay, or who turn to other uses or appropriate to themselves, customs,
taxes, tithes and such revenues, which are owed to the Church or civil
authorities.
To this class also belong usurers, the most cruel and relentless of
extortioners, who by their exorbitant rates of interest, plunder and destroy
the poor. Whatever is received above the capital and principal, be it money, or
anything else that may be purchased or estimated by money, is usury; {d} for it is written in
Ezechiel: He hath not lent upon usury, nor taken an increase; 21 and in Luke our Lord says: Lend, hoping for nothing thereby.
22 Even among the pagans usury
was always considered a most grievous and odious crime. Hence the question,
"What is usury ?" was answered: "What is murder?"
{e} And, indeed, he who lends
at usury sells the same thing twice, or sells that which has no real existence.
{f}
Corrupt judges, whose decisions
are venal, and who, bought over by money or other bribes, decide against the
just claims of the poor and needy, also commit robbery.
Those who defraud their creditors, who deny their just debts, and also
those who purchase goods on their own, or on another's credit, with a promise
to pay for them at a certain time, and do not keep their word, are guilty of
the same crime of robbery. And it is an aggravation of their guilt that, in
consequence of their want of punctuality and their fraud, prices are raised to
the great injury of the public. To such persons seem to apply the words of
David: The sinner shall borrow, and not pay again. 23.
But what shall we say of those rich men who exact with rigor what they
lend to the poor, even though the latter are not able to pay them, and who,
disregarding God's law, take as security even the necessary clothing of the
unfortunate debtors ? For God says: If thou take of thy neighbour a garment
in pledge, thou shalt give it him again before sunset, for that same is the
only thing wherewith he is covered, the clothing of his body, neither hath he
any other to sleep in: if he cry to me I will hear him, because I am
compassionate. 24 Their rigorous exaction is
justly termed rapacity, and therefore robbery.
Among those whom the holy Fathers pronounced guilty of robbery are persons
who, in times of scarcity, hoard up their corn, thus culpably rendering
supplies scarcer and dearer. This holds good with regard to all necessaries of
life and sustenance. These are they against whom Solomon utters this
execration: He that hideth up corn, shall be cursed among the people. 25 Such persons the pastor should warn of their guilt, and should
reprove with more than ordinary freedom; he should explain to them at length
the punishments which await such sins. So
much for what the seventh Commandment forbids. {g}
We now come to the positive part of this Commandment, in which the
first thing to be considered is satisfaction or restitution; for without restitution
the sin is not forgiven. 26
But as the law of making restitution to the injured party is binding
not only on the person who commits theft, but also on all who cooperate in the
sin, it is necessary to explain who are indispensably bound to this
satisfaction or restitution. There are several classes (who are thus bound).
The first consists of those who order others to steal, and who are not
only the authors and accomplices of theft, but also the most criminal among thieves.
Another class embraces those, who, when they cannot command others to
commit theft persuade and encourage it. These, since they are like the first
class in intention, though unlike them in power, are equally guilty of theft.
A third class is composed of those who consent to the theft committed
by others.
The fourth class is that of those who are accomplices in, and derive
gain from theft; if that can be called gain, which, unless they repent,
consigns them to everlasting torments. Of them David says: If thou didst see
a thief, thou didst run with him. 27
The fifth class of thieves are those who, having it in their power to
prohibit theft, so far from opposing or preventing it, fully and freely suffer
and sanction its commission.
The sixth class is constituted of those who are well aware that the
theft was committed, and when it was committed; and yet, far from mentioning
it, pretend they know nothing about it.
The last class comprises all who assist in the accomplishment of theft,
who guard, defend, receive or harbor thieves.
All these are bound to make restitution to those from whom anything has
been stolen, and are to be earnestly exhorted to the discharge of so necessary
a duty.
Neither are those who approve and commend thefts entirely innocent of
this crime. Children also who steal from their parents, and wives who steal
from their husbands are not guiltless of theft. {h}
This Commandment also implies an obligation to sympathize with the poor
and needy, and to relieve their difficulties and distresses by our means and
good offices. Concerning this subject, which cannot be insisted on too often or
too strongly, the pastor will find abundant matter to enrich his discourses in
the works of St. Cyprian, St. John Chrysostom, St. Gregory Nazianzen, and other
eminent writers on almsdeeds.
The pastor, therefore, should encourage the faithful to be willing and
anxious to assist those who have to depend on charity, and should make them
realize the great necessity of giving alms and of being really and practically
liberal to the poor, by reminding them that on the last day God will condemn
and consign to eternal fires those who have omitted and neglected the duty of
almsgiving, while on the contrary He will praise and introduce into His
heavenly country those who have exercised mercy towards the poor. These two
sentences have been already pronounced by the lips of Christ the Lord: Come,
ye blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you; and: Depart front
me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire. 28
Priests should also cite those texts which are calculated to persuade
(to the performance of this important duty): Give and it shall be given to
you. 29
They should dwell on the promise of God, the richest and most abundant that can
be conceived: There is no man who hath left house, or brethren, etc., that
shall not receive an hundred times as much now in this time and in the world to
come life everlasting; 30 and he should add these words
of our Lord: Make unto yourselves friends of the mammon of iniquity, that
when you shall fail, they may receive you into everlasting dwellings. 31
They should also explain the parts of this necessary duty, so that
whoever is unable to give may at least lend to the poor what they need to
sustain life, according to the command of Christ our Lord: Lend, hoping for
nothing thereby. 32 The happiness of doing this is thus expressed by holy David: Acceptable
is the man that showeth mercy and lendeth. 33
But if we are not able to give to those who must depend on the charity
of others for their sustenance, it is an act of Christian piety, as well as a
means of avoiding idleness, to procure by our labor and industry what is
necessary for the relief of the poor. To this the Apostle exhorts all by his
own example. For yourselves, he says to the Thessalonians, know how
you ought to imitate us; 34 and again, writing to the same people: Use your endeavour to be
quiet, and that you do your own business, and work with your own hands, as we
commanded you; 35 and to the Ephesians: He that stole, let him steal no more; but
rather let him labour working with his hands the thing which is good, that he
may have something to give to him that suffereth need. 36 {i}
We should also practice frugality and draw sparingly on the kindness of
others, that we may not be burden or a trouble to them. The exercise of
considerateness is conspicuous in all the Apostles, but preeminently so in St. Paul.
Writing to the Thessalonians he says: You remember, brethren, our labour and
toil; working night and day lest we should be chargeable to any of you, we
preached amongst you the gospel of God. 37 And in another place the same Apostle says: In
labour and in toil, we worked night and day, lest we should be burdensome to
any of you. 38 {j}
To inspire the faithful with an abhorrence of all infamous sins against
this Commandment, the pastor should have recourse to the Prophets and the other
inspired writers, to show the detestation in which God holds the crimes of
theft and robbery, and the awful threats which He denounces against their
perpetrators. Hear this, exclaims the Prophet Amos, you that crush the poor,
and make the needy of the land to fail, saying: "When will the month be
over, and we shall sell our wares, and the sabbath, and we shall open the corn;
that we may lessen the measure, and increase the sickle, and may convey in
deceitful balances?” 39 Many passages of the same kind
may be found in Jeremias, 40 Proverbs, 41 and Ecclesiasticus. 42 Indeed it cannot be doubted
that such crimes are the seeds from which have sprung in great part the evils
which in our times oppress society. {k}
That Christians may accustom themselves to those acts of generosity and
kindness towards the poor and the needy which are inculcated by the second part
of this Commandment, the pastor should place before them those ample rewards
which God promises in this life and in the next to the beneficent and the
bountiful.
As there are not wanting those who would even excuse their thefts,
these are to be admonished that God will accept no excuse for sin; and that
their excuses, far from extenuating, serve only greatly to aggravate their
guilt.
How insufferable the vanity of those men of exalted rank who excuse
themselves by alleging that they act not from cupidity or avarice, but stoop to
take what belongs to others only from a desire to maintain the grandeur of
their families and of their ancestors, whose repute and dignity must fall, if
not upheld by the possession of another man's property. Of this harmful error
they are to be disabused; and they are to be convinced that the only means to
preserve and augment their wealth and to enhance the glory of their ancestors
is to obey the will of God and observe His Commandments. Once His will and
Commandments are contemned, the stability of property, no matter how securely
settled, is overturned; kings are dethroned, and hurled from the highest
stations of honor; while the humblest individuals, men too, towards whom they
cherished the most implacable hatred, are sometimes called by God to occupy
their place.
It is incredible to what degree the divine wrath is kindled against
such offenders, and this we know from the testimony of Isaias, who records
these words of God: Thy princes are faithless, companions of thieves; they
all love bribes, they run after rewards. Therefore, saith the Lord, the God of
Hosts, the mighty one of Israel: Ah! I will comfort myself over my adversaries;
and I will be revenged of my enemies; and I will turn my hand to thee, and I
will clean purge away thy dross. 43
Some there are, who plead in justification of such conduct, not the
ambition of maintaining splendor and glory, but a desire of acquiring the means
of living in greater ease and elegance. These are to be refuted, and should be
shown how impious are the words and conduct of those who prefer their own ease
to the will and the glory of God whom, by neglecting His Commandments, we
offend extremely. And yet what real advantage can there be in theft? Of how
many very serious evils is it not the source? Confusion and repentance,
says Ecclesiasticus, is upon a thief. 44 But
even though no disadvantage overtake the thief, he offers an insult to the
divine name, opposes the most holy will of God, and contemns His salutary
precepts. From hence result all error, all dishonesty, all impiety.
But do we not sometimes hear the thief contend that he is not guilty of
sin, because he steals from the rich and the wealthy, who, in his mind, not only
suffer no injury, but do not even feel the loss? Such an excuse is as wretched
as it is baneful.
Others imagine that they should be excused, because they have
contracted such a habit of stealing as not to be able easily to refrain from
such desires and practices. If such persons listen not to the admonition of the
Apostle: He that stole, let him now steal no more, 45 let them recollect that one
day, whether they like it or not, they will become accustomed to an eternity of
torments.
Some excuse themselves by saying that the opportunity presented itself.
The proverb is well known: Those who are not thieves are made so by
opportunity. Such persons are to be disabused of their wicked idea by reminding
them that it is our duty to resist every evil propensity. If we yield instant
obedience to every inordinate impulse, what measure, what limits will there be
to crime and disorder? Such an excuse, therefore, is of the lowest character,
or rather is an avowal of a complete want of restraint and justice. To say that
you do not commit sin, because you have no opportunity of sinning, is almost to
acknowledge that you are always prepared to sin when opportunity offers.
There are some who say that they steal in order to gratify revenge,
having themselves suffered the same injury from others. To such offenders it
should be answered first of all that no one is allowed to return injury for
injury; next that no person can be a judge in his own cause; and finally that
still less can it be lawful to punish one man for the wrong done you by
another.
Finally, some find a sufficient justification of theft in their own
embarrassments, alleging that they are overwhelmed with debt, which they cannot
pay off otherwise than by theft. Such persons should be given to understand
that no debt presses more heavily upon all men than that which we mention each
day in these words of the Lord's Prayer: Forgive us our debts. 46 Hence it is the height of
folly to be willing to increase our debt to God by new sin, in order to be able
to pay our debts to men. It is much better to be consigned to prison than to be
cast into the eternal torments of hell; it is by far a greater evil to be
condemned by the judgment of God, than by that of man. Hence it becomes our
duty to have recourse to the assistance and mercy of God from whom we can
obtain whatever we need.
There are also other excuses, which, however, the judicious and zealous
pastor will not find it difficult to meet, so that thus he may one day be
blessed with a people who are followers of good works. 47
1>
Exod.
xx. 15.
2>
Rom.
ii. 21.
3>
Cor.
vi. 10.
4>
1
Cor. v. 10.
5>
Matt.
xv. 19.
6>
1
Cor. vi. 10.
7>
Epist.
liv. ad Maced.
8>
Habac.
ii. 6.
9>
Lib.
50. hom. ix; De Verbis Apost. Serm. xix.
10> Deut. xxv. 13.
11> Lev. xix. 35, 36.
12> Prov. xx. 23.
13> 1 Tim. vi. 9.
14> Matt. vii. 12.
15> Tob. iv. 16.
16> James v. 1, 4.
17> Lev. xix. 13.
18> Deut. xxiv. 14.
19> Mal. iii. 5.
20> Tob. iv. 15.
21> Ezech. xviii. 8; xxii. 12.
22> Luke vi. 33.
23> Ps. xxxvi. 21.
24> Exod. xxii. 26.
25> Prov. xi. 26.
26> Aug. ep. liv.
27> Ps. xlix. 18.
28> Matt. xxv. 34, 41.
29> Luke vi. 38.
30> Mark x. 29, 30.
31> Luke xvi. 9.
32> Luke. vi. 35.
33> Ps. cxi. 5.
34> 2 Thess. iii. 7.
35> 1 Thess. iv. 11.
36> Eph. iv. 28.
37> 1 Thess. ii. 9.
38> 2 Thess. iii. 8.
39> Amos viii. 4, 5.
40> Jer. v.; xxi.; xxii.
41> Prov. xxi.
42> Eccl. x.
43> Isa. i. 23-26.
44> Eccl. v. 17.
45> Eph. iv. 28.
46> Matt. vi. 12.
47> Tit. ii. 14.
{a}
On the seventh Commandment see Summa theol. 2a. 2ć. cxxii. 6; St. Alphonsus,
Theol. Mor. iii. tr. 5.
{b}
It is unnecessary to remind the reader that human laws may affect this
decision.
{c}
On cheating in trade see Summa Theol. 2a. 2ć. lxxvii.
{d}
Money, as such; i.e., as a mere medium
of exchange is essentially unproductive and interest on it is unjust; but
to-day money is also capital, i.e., an instrument of production, and he who
lends it has the right to a share in its profits by charging a reasonable rate
of interest. (See Cronin, “The Science
of Ethics,” ii. pp. 331-334).
{e}
This answer was given by Cato in Cicero’s De Officiis, ii. 25.
{f}
On usury see Summa Theol. 2a. 2ć. lxxviii.
{g}
On stealing see Summa Theol. 2a. 2ć. lxvi.
{h}
On restitution see Summa Theol. 2a. 2ć. lxii.
{i} On almsdeeds and liberality see Summa Theol.
2a. ć. xxxii.; cxvii.: cxxxiv.
{j} On prodigality see Summa Theol. 2a. 2ć.
cxix.
{k}
On the ecclesiastical penalties against stealing see Code of Canon Law, canon
2354.