The Catechism of the Council of Trent/Part 3: The Fifth Commandment
THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT.
" THOU SHALT NOT KILL." [1]
THE great happiness proposed to the peacemakers, of being called " the children of God," should prove a powerful excitement to animate the zeal of the pastor in explaining with diligent accuracy the obligations imposed by this commandment. No means more efficacious can be adopted to promote peace and harmony amongst mankind, than the due and holy and universal observance of the law announced by this commandment, if properly explained. Then might we hope that, united in the strictest bonds of union, mankind would live in perfect peace and concord. The necessity of explaining this commandment to the faithful is evinced by two considerations. Immediately after the earth was overwhelmed in universal deluge, the first prohibition issued by the Almighty was, that man should not imbrue his hands in the blood of his fellow man: " I will require the blood of your lives," says he, " at the hand of every beast, and at the hand of man." [2] In the next place, amongst the precepts of the Old Law expounded by our Lord, this commandment holds the first place, as may be seen by consulting the fifth chapter of St. Matthew, where the Redeemer says: " It has been said thou shall not kill," &c. [3] The Note, faithful should also hear with willing attention the exposition of a commandment, the observance of which must be the security of their own lives: these words, "Thou shall not kill," emphalically forbid the shedding of human blood; and they should be heard by all with the same pleasure as if God, expressly naming each individual, were to prohibit injury to be offered him under a threat of the divine anger, and the heaviest chastisement of the divine wrath. As, then, the announcement of this commandment must be heard with pleasure, so should its observance be to us a pleasing duty.
In its development our Lord himself points out its twofold obligation; the one forbidding to kill, the other commanding us to cherish sentiments of charity, concord, and friendship towards our enemies, to have peace with all men, and finally, to endure with patience every inconvenience which the unjust aggression of others may inflict. With regard to the prohibitory part of the commandment, the pastor will first point out the limits which restrict the prohibition. In the first place, we are not prohibited to kill those animals which are intended to be the food of man: if so intended by Almighty God, it must be lawful for us to exercise this jurisdiction over them. " When," says St. Augustine, " we hear the words thou shalt not kill, we are not to understand the prohibition to extend to the fruits of the earth which are insensible, nor to irrational animals, which form no part of the great society of mankind." [4]
Again, this prohibition does not apply to the civil magistrate, to whom is intrusted power of life and death, by the legal and judicious exercise of which he punishes the guilty and protects the innocent. The use of the civil sword, when wielded by the hand of justice, far from involving the crime of murder, is an act of paramount obedience to this commandment which prohibits murder. The end of the commandment is the preservation and security of human life, and to the attainment of this end the punishments inflicted by the civil magistrate, who is the legitimate avenger of crime, naturally tend, giving security to life by repressing outrage and violence. Hence these words of David: " In the morning I put to death all the wicked of the land; that I might cut off all the workers of iniquity HI. from the city of the Lord." [5] In like manner, the soldier is guiltless who, actuated not by motives of ambition or cruelty, but by a pure desire of serving the interests of his country, takes away the life of an enemy in a just war. [6] There are on record instances of carnage executed by the special command of God himself: the sons of Levi, who had put to death so many thousands in one day, were guilty of no sin: when the slaughter had ceased, they were addressed by Moses in these words: " you have consecrated your hands this day to the Lord." [7]
Death, when caused by accident, not by intent or design, is not murder: " He that killed his neighbour ignorantly," says the book of Deuteronomy, " and who is proved to have had no hatred against him yesterday, and the day before, but to have gone with him to the wood, to hew wood, and in cutting down the tree, the axe slipt out of his hand, and the iron slipping from the handle struck his friend and killed him, shall live." [8] Such accidental deaths, because inflicted without intent or design, involve no guilt whatever, and in this we are fortified by the opinion of St. Augustine: " God forbid," says he, " that what we do for a good or lawful end should be imputed to us, if, contrary to our intention, evil accrue to any one." [9] There are, however, two cases in which guilt attaches to accidental death: the one, when it is the consequence of an unlawful act; when, for instance, a person strikes a woman in a state of pregnancy, and abortion follows. The consequence, it is true, may not have been intended, but this does not exculpate the offender, because the act was in itself unlawful. The other case is, when death is caused by negligence, incaution, or want of due circumspection.
If a man kill another in self-defence, having used every precaution consistent with his own safety to avoid the infliction of death, he evidently does not violate this commandment.
These are the instances in which human blood may be shed without the guilt of murder; and with these exceptions the precept binds universally with regard to the person who kills, the person killed, and the means used to kill. As to the person who kills, the commandment recognises no exception whatever, be he rich or powerful, master or parent: all, without exception of person or distinction of rank, are forbidden to kill. With regard to the person killed, the obligation of the law is equally extensive, embracing every human creature; there is no individual, however humble or lowly his condition, whose life is not shielded by this law. It also forbids suicide. No man possesses such absolute jurisdiction over himself as to be at liberty to put a period to his own existence; and hence we find that the commandment does not say, " thou shall not kill an other," but simply, "Thou shalt not kill." Finally, if we consider the numerous means by which murder may be committed, the law admits of no exception: not only does it forbid to take away the life of another by laying violent hands on him, by means of a sword, a dagger, a stone, a stick, a halter, or by ad ministering poison; but also strictly prohibits the accomplishment of the death of another by counsel, assistance, or any other means of co-operation.
The Jews, with singular dulness of apprehension, thought that to abstain from shedding human blood was enough to satisfy the obligation imposed by this commandment. But the Christian, who, instructed by the interpretation of Jesus Christ, has learned that the precept is spiritual, and that it commands us not only to keep our hands unstained, but our hearts pure and undefiled, will not deem such a compliance sufficient: him the Gospel has taught, that it is unlawful even to be angry with a brother: " But I say to you that whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of a council; and whosoever shall say, thou fool, shall be guilty of the hell of fire." [10] From these words it clearly follows that he who is angry with his brother, although he may conceal his resentment, is not exempt from sin; that he who gives indication of that anger sins grievously; and that he who dreads not to treat his brother with harshness, and to utter contumelious reproaches against him, sins still more grievously. [11]
This, however, is to be understood of cases in which no just cause O f anger exists. To animadvert on those who are placed under our authority, when they commit a fault, is an occasion of anger, which God and his laws permit; but even in these circumstances the anger of a Christian should be the dictate of duty, not the impulse of passion, for we should be temples of the Holy Ghost, in which Jesus Christ may dwell. [12] Our Lord has left us many other lessons of instruction which regard the perfect observance of this law, such as " not to resist evil; but if one strike thee on thy right cheek, turn to him also the other; and to him that will contend with thee in judgment, - and take away thy coat, let go thy cloak also unto him; and whosoever will free thee one mile, go with him other two." [13]
From what has been already said, it is easy to perceive how propense man is to those sins which are prohibited by this commandment, and how many are guilty of murder, if not in fact, at least in desire. As then the sacred Scriptures prescribe remedies for so dangerous a disease, to spare no pains in making them known to the faithful becomes an obvious duty of the pastor. Of these remedies the most efficacious is to form a just conception of the wickedness of him who imbrues his hands in the blood of his fellow-man. The enormity of this sin is set forth by attestations of Holy Scripture as strong as they are numerous. In the inspired Volume God pours out the deepest execrations against the murderer, declares that of the very beast of the field he will exact vengeance for the life of man, commanding the beast that sheds human blood to be put to death. [14] And if the Almighty commanded man to abstain from the use of blood, he did so for no other reason than to impress on his mind the obligation of entirely refraining, both in act and desire, from the enormity of shedding human blood. The murderer is the worst enemy of his species, and consequently of nature: to the utmost of his power, he destroys the universal work of God by the destruction of man, for whose sake God declares that he created all things: nay, as it is prohibited in Genesis to take away human life, because God created man to his own image and likeness, he, therefore, who destroys his image offers great injury to God, and seems, as it were, to lay violent hands on God himself! David, with a mind illumined from above, deeply impressed with the enormity of such guilt, characterizes the sanguinary in these words: " Their feet are swift to shed blood." [15] He does not simply say, " they kill," but, " they shed blood;" words which serve to set that execrable crime in its true light, and to mark emphatically the barbarous cruelty of the murderer. With a view also to describe energetically how the murderer is precipitated by the impulse of the devil into the commission of such an enormity, he says: " Their feet are swift."
But the tendency of the injunctions of Christ our Lord, regarding the observance of this commandment, is, that we have peace with all men. Interpreting the commandment he says: " I: therefore thou offer thy gift at the altar, and there thou remember that thy brother hath aught against thee; leave there thy offering, and go first to be reconciled to thy brother; and then coming thou shall offer thy gift," &c. [16] In unfolding the spirit of this admonition, the pastor will show that it inculcates the duty of cherishing charitable feelings towards all without exception, feelings to which, in his exposition of this commandment, he will exhort with the most earnest solicitude, evincing, as they do most effectually, the virtue of fraternal charity. It will not be doubted that hatred is forbidden by this commandment, for, " whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer;" [17] from this principle it follows as an evident consequence, that the commandment also inculcates charity and love; and inculcating charily and love it must also enjoin all those duties and good offices which follow in their train. " Charity is patient," says St. Paul; [18] we are therefore commanded patience, in which, as the Redeemer teaches, " we shall possess our souls." [19] " Charity is kind;" [20] beneficence is, therefore, her companion and hand-maid. The virtue of beneficence is one of very great latitude: its principal offices are to relieve the wants of the poor, to feed the hungry, to give drink to the thirsty, to clothe the naked; and in all these acts of beneficence we should proportion our liberality to the wants and necessities of their objects.
These works of beneficence and goodness, in themselves exalted, become still more illustrious when done towards an enemy, in accordance with the command of the Saviour: " Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you:" [21] " If thine enemy be hungry," says St. Paul, " give him to eat: if he thirst, give him to drink; for doing this, thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome by evil, but overcome evil by good." [22] Finally, if we consider the law of charity, which is " kind," we shall be convinced that to practise the good offices of mildness, clemency, and other kindred virtues, is a duty prescribed by that law.
But a duty of pre-eminent excellence, and that, too, which is the fullest expression of charity, and to the practice of which we should most habituate ourselves, is to pardon and forgive from the heart the injuries which we may have received from others. To a full and faithful compliance with this duty the Sacred Scriptures, as we have already observed, frequently admonish and exhort, not only pronouncing those who do so "blessed," but also declaring that, whilst to the sinner, who neglects or refuses to comply with this precept, pardon is denied by the Almighty, it is extended to him who discharges this duty of charity towards an offending brother. [23] But, as the desire of revenge is almost natural to fallen man, it be comes necessary for the pastor to exert his utmost diligence not only to instruct but also earnestly to persuade the faithful, that a Christian should forget and forgive injuries; and as this is a duty frequently inculcated by theological writers, he will consult them on the subject, and furnish himself with the cogent and appropriate arguments urged by them, in order to be enabled to subdue the pertinacity of those, whose minds are obstinately bent on revenge. [24]
The three following considerations, however, demand particular attention and exposition. First, to use every effort to persuade him, who conceives himself injured, that the man of whom he desires to be revenged, was not the principal cause of the loss sustained or of the injury inflicted. This is exemplified in the conduct of that admirable man, Job: when violently assailed by men and demons, by the Labeans, the Chaldeans, and by Satan, without at all directing his attention to them, as a righteous and holy man he exclaimed with no less truth than piety: " The Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away." [25] The words and the example of that man of patience should, therefore, convince Christians, and the conviction is most just, that whatever chastisements we endure in this life come from the hand of God, the fountain of all justice and mercy. He chastises us not as enemies, but, in his infinite goodness, corrects us as children. To view the matter in its true light, men, in these cases, are nothing more than the ministers and agents of God. One man, it is true, may foster the worst feelings towards another: he may harbour the most malignant hatred against him; but, without the permission of God, he can do him no injury. Hence Joseph patiently endured the wicked counsels of his brethren, [26] and David the injuries inflicted on him by Semei. [27] To this also applies an argument which St. Chrysostome has ably and learnedly handled: it is that no man is injured but by himself. [28] Let the man, who considers himself injured by another, consider the matter calmly and dispassionately, and he will feel the justness of the observation: he may, it is true, have experienced injury from external causes; but he is himself his greatest enemy, by wickedly contaminating his soul with hatred, malevolence, and envy.
The second consideration to be explained by the pastor embraces two advantages, which are the special rewards of those, who, influenced by a holy desire to please God, freely forgive injuries. In the first place, God has promised that he who forgives shall himself obtain forgiveness; [29] a promise which proves how acceptable to God is this duty of piety. In the next place, the forgiveness of injuries ennobles and perfects our nature; for by it man is, in some degree, assimilated to God, " who maketh his sun to shine on the good and the bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust." [30]
Finally, the disadvantages which arise from the indulgence of revenge are to be explained. The pastor will place before the eyes of the unforgiving man a truth which has the sanction of experience, that hatred is not only a grievous sin, but also that a continued habit of indulgence renders it inveterate. The man, in whose heart this passion has once taken deep root, thirsts for the blood of his enemy: day and night he longs for revenge: continually agitated by this perverse passion, his mind seems never to repose from malignant projects, or even from thoughts of blood; and thus phrensied by hatred, never, or at least not without extreme difficulty, can he be induced generously to pardon an offending brother, or even to mitigate his hostility towards him. Justly, therefore, is revenge compared to a festering wound, from which the weapon has never been extracted.
There are also many evil consequences, many sins which follow in the train of this gloomy passion. Hence these words of St. John: " He that hateth his brother is in darkness and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, be cause the darkness hath blinded his eyes." [31] He must therefore frequently fall; for how, possibly, can any one view in a favourable light the words or actions of him whom he hates? Hence arise rash and unjust judgments, anger, envy, depreciation of character and other evils of the same sort, in which are often involved those who are connected by ties of friendship or blood; and thus does it frequently happen that this one sin is the prolific source of many.
Hatred has been denominated " the sin of the devil," and not without good reason: the devil was a murderer from the beginning; and hence our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of Goa, when the Pharisees sought his life, said, that " they were begotten of their father the devil." [32]
But besides the reason already adduced, which afford good grounds for detesting this sin, other and most efficacious remedies are prescribed in the pages of inspiration; and of these remedies the first and greatest is the example of the Redeemer, which we should set before our eyes as a model for imitation. When scourged with rods, crowned with thorns, and finally nailed to a cross, lie, in whom even suspicion of fault could not be found, " the sprinkling of whose blood speaketh better than that of Abel," [33] poured out his last breath a prayer for his executioners: " Father," says he, " forgive them, for they know not what they do." [34]
Another remedy prescribed by Ecclesiasticus is to call to mind death and judgment: " Remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin;"* as if he had said: frequently and again and again reflect that you must soon die, and, as at the hour of death you will have occasion to invoke the infinite mercy of God, his pardon and peace, you should now, and at all times, place that awful hour before your eyes, in order to extinguish within you the consuming fire of revenge; for, than the forgiveness of injuries and the love of those who may have injured you or yours, in word or deed, you can discover no means better adapted, none more efficacious to obtain the mercy of God.
- ↑ Exod. xx. 13.
- ↑ Gen ix. 5.
- ↑ Matt. v. 21.
- ↑ De civit. Dei. lib. 1. c. 20. item de morib. Manich. lib. 2. c. 13--15.
- ↑ Ps. c. 8. Aug. epist 154. et citat 23. q. 5. cap. de occidendis. item epist. 54 et citatur ibid. cap. non est iniquitatis. Vide adhuc ibid, alia capita et D. Thorn. 2. 2. q. 64. a. 2. etq. 108. a. 3.
- ↑ Aug. de civit. Dei. c. 26. citatus 23. q. 5. cap. miles. Vide item de bello D. Thorn. 2. 2. q. 40. per 4. art.
- ↑ Exod. xxxii. 29.
- ↑ Deut. xix.
- ↑ Vide Aug. epist. 154. et citatur 23. q. 5. c. de occidendis. Item vide multa capita dist- 5. D. Thorn, 2. 2. q. 64. a. 8. Trid Sess. 14. de reform, c. 7.
- ↑ Matt. v. 22. De ira vide Basil, horn. 10. Chrysost. horn. 29. ad pop. Antioch. D. Thorn. 22. qusest. 108. per totam.
- ↑ Vide Aug. de serm. Dom. in monte, lib. 1. D. Thorn. 2. 2. q. 158. a. 3.
- ↑ 1 Cor. vi. 19.
- ↑ Matt. v. 39. Vide Aug. epist. 5. ad Mar. et de serm. Domini in monte, lib. 2. c. 20.
- ↑ Gen. ix. 5, 6.
- ↑ Ps. xiii. 5.
- ↑ Matt. v. 24.
- ↑ 1 John iii. 1 5.
- ↑ 1 Cor. xiii. 4.
- ↑ Luke xxi. 19.
- ↑ 1 Cor. xiii. 4.
- ↑ Matt. v. 44.
- ↑ Rom. xii. 20.
- ↑ Vide Deut. xxxii. 35. item 1 Reg. 25. 32, 33. item 26. 6. 7 8. 9. item 2 Reg. 19. 20. Ps. 7. 5. Eccl. xxviii. per totum. Isa. lviii. 6. Matt. vi. 14. et in Evarigelio passim. Vide item Tertul. in Apol. c. 31 et 37. Aug. in Joan tract. 81. lib. 50. horn. Horn. 6. item ser. 61 et 168. de temp
- ↑ Vid. quse citantur numero 18.
- ↑ Job i. 21.
- ↑ Gen. xlv. 5.
- ↑ 2 Kings xvi. 10.
- ↑ Tom. 3. in hom. quod nemo lasditur nisi a seipco.
- ↑ Matt, xviii. 33.
- ↑ Matt. v. 48.
- ↑ 1 John ii. 11
- ↑ John viii. 44.
- ↑ Luke xxiii. 34.
- ↑ Heb. xii. 24.