honorable, but also a necessary state, and it is solemnly commanded by
God that, in general, in all conditions, men and women, who were
created for it, shall be found in this estate; yet with some exceptions
(although few) whom God has especially excepted, so that they are not
fit for the married estate, or whom He has released by a high,
supernatural gift that they can maintain chastity without this estate.
For where nature has its course, as it is implanted by God, it is not
possible to remain chaste without marriage. For flesh and blood remain
flesh and blood, and the natural inclination and excitement have their
course without let or hindrance, as everybody sees and feels. In
order, therefore, that it may be the more easy in some degree to avoid
unchastity, God has commanded the estate of matrimony, that every one
may have his proper portion and be satisfied therewith; although God's
grace besides is required in order that the heart also may be pure.
From this you see how this popish rabble, priests, monks, and nuns,
resist God's order and commandment, inasmuch as they despise and forbid
matrimony, and presume and vow to maintain perpetual chastity, and,
besides, deceive the simple-minded with lying words and appearances
[impostures]. For no one has so little love and inclination to chastity
as just those who because of great sanctity avoid marriage, and either
indulge in open and shameless prostitution, or secretly do even worse,
so that one dare not speak of it, as has, alas! been learned too fully.
And, in short, even though they abstain from the act, their hearts are
so full of unchaste thoughts and evil lusts that there is a continual
burning and secret suffering, which can be avoided in the married life.
Therefore all vows of chastity out of the married state are condemned
by this commandment, and free permission is granted, yea, even the
command is given, to all poor ensnared consciences which have been
deceived by their monastic vows to abandon the unchaste state and enter
the married life, considering that even if the monastic life were
godly, it would nevertheless not be in their power to maintain
chastity, and if they remain in it, they must only sin more and more
against this commandment.
Now, I speak of this in order that the young may be so guided that they
conceive a liking for the married estate, and know that it is a blessed
estate and pleasing to God. For in this way we might in the course of
time bring it about that married life be restored to honor, and that
there might be less of the filthy, dissolute, disorderly doings which
now run riot the world over in open prostitution and other shameful
vices arising from disregard of married life. Therefore it is the duty
of parents and the government to see to it that our youth be brought up
to discipline and respectability, and when they have come to years of
maturity, to provide for them [to have them married] in the fear of God
and honorably; He would not fail to add His blessing and grace, so that
men would have joy and happiness from the same.
Let me now say in conclusion that this commandment demands not only
that every one live chastely in thought, word, and deed in his
condition, that is, especially in the estate of matrimony, but also
that every one love and esteem the spouse given him by God. For where
conjugal chastity is to be maintained, man and wife must by all means
live together in love and harmony, that one may cherish the other from
the heart and with entire fidelity. For that is one of the principal
points which enkindle love and desire of chastity, so that, where this
is found, chastity will follow as a matter of course without any
command. Therefore also St. Paul so diligently exhorts husband and wife
to love and honor one another. Here you have again a precious, yea,
many and great good works, of which you can joyfully boast, against all
ecclesiastical estates, chosen without God's Word and commandment.
The Seventh Commandment.
Thou shalt not steal.
After your person and spouse temporal property comes next. That also
God wishes to have protected, and He has commanded that no one shall
subtract from, or curtail, his neighbor's possessions. For to steal is
nothing else than to get possession of another's property wrongfully,
which briefly comprehends all kinds of advantage in all sorts of trade
to the disadvantage of our neighbor. Now, this is indeed quite a
wide-spread and common vice, but so little regarded and observed that
it exceeds all measure, so that if all who are thieves, and yet do not
wish to be called such, were to be hanged on gallows the world would
soon be devastated and there would be a lack both of executioners and
gallows. For, as we have just said, to steal is to signify not only to
empty our neighbor's coffer and pockets, but to be grasping in the
market, in all stores, booths, wine- and beer-cellars, workshops, and,
in short, wherever there is trading or taking and giving of money for
merchandise or labor.
As, for instance, to explain this somewhat grossly for the common
people, that it may be seen how godly we are: When a manservant or
maid-servant does not serve faithfully in the house, and does damage,
or allows it to be done when it could be prevented, or otherwise ruins
and neglects the goods entrusted to him, from indolence idleness, or
malice, to the spite and vexation of master and mistress, and in
whatever way this can be done purposely (for I do not speak of what
happens from oversight and against one's will), you can in a year
abscond thirty, forty florins, which if another had taken secretly or
carried away, he would be hanged with the rope. But here you [while
conscious of such a great theft] may even bid defiance and become
insolent, and no one dare call you a thief.
The same I say also of mechanics, workmen, and day-laborers, who all
follow their wanton notions, and never know enough ways to overcharge
people, while they are lazy and unfaithful in their work. All these are
far worse than sneak-thieves, against whom we can guard with locks and
bolts, or who, if apprehended, are treated in such a manner that they
will not do the same again. But against these no one can guard, no one
dare even look awry at them or accuse them of theft, so that one would
ten times rather lose from his purse. For here are my neighbors, good
friends, my own servants, from whom I expect good [every faithful and
diligent service], who defraud me first of all.
Furthermore, in the market and in common trade likewise, this practice
is in full swing and force to the greatest extent, where one openly
defrauds another with bad merchandise, false measures, weights, coins,
and by nimbleness and queer finances or dexterous tricks takes
advantage of him; likewise, when one overcharges a person in a trade
and wantonly drives a hard bargain, skins and distresses him. And who
can recount or think of all these things? To sum up, this is the
commonest craft and the largest guild on earth, and if we regard the
world throughout all conditions of life, it is nothing else than a
vast, wide stall, full of great thieves.
Therefore they are also called swivel-chair robbers, land- and
highway-robbers, not pick-locks and sneak-thieves who snatch away the
ready cash, but who sit on the chair [at home] and are styled great
noblemen, and honorable, pious citizens, and yet rob and steal under a
good pretext.
Yes, here we might be silent about the trifling individual thieves if
we were to attack the great, powerful arch-thieves with whom lords and
princes keep company, who daily plunder not only a city or two, but all
Germany. Yea, where should we place the head and supreme protector of
all thieves, the Holy Chair at Rome with all its retinue, which has
grabbed by theft the wealth of all the world, and holds it to this day?
This is, in short, the course of the world: whoever can steal and rob
openly goes free and secure, unmolested by any one, and even demands
that he be honored. Meanwhile the little sneak-thieves, who have once
trespassed, must bear the shame and punishment to render the former
godly and honorable. But let them know that in the sight of God they
are the greatest thieves, and that He will punish them as they are
worthy and deserve.
Now, since this commandment is so far-reaching [and comprehensive], as
just indicated, it is necessary to urge it well and to explain it to
the common people, not to let them go on in their wantonness and
security, but always to place before their eyes the wrath of God, and
inculcate the same. For we have to preach this not to Christians, but
chiefly to knaves and scoundrels, to whom it would be more fitting for
judges, jailers, or Master Hannes [the executioner] to preach.
Therefore let every one know that it is his duty, at the risk of God's
displeasure, not only to do no injury to his neighbor, nor to deprive
him of gain, nor to perpetrate any act of unfaithfulness or malice in
any bargain or trade, but faithfully to preserve his property for him,
to secure and promote his advantage, especially when one accepts money,
wages, and one's livelihood for such service.
He now who wantonly despises this may indeed pass along and escape the
hangman, but he shall not escape the wrath and punishment of God; and
when he has long practiced his defiance and arrogance, he shall yet
remain a tramp and beggar, and, in addition, have all plagues and
misfortune. Now you are going your way [wherever your heart's pleasure
calls you] while you ought to preserve the property of your master and
mistress, for which service you fill your crop and maw, take your wages
like a thief, have people treat you as a nobleman; for there are many
that are even insolent towards their masters and mistresses, and are
unwilling to do them a favor or service by which to protect them from
loss.
But reflect what you will gain when, having come into your own
property and being set up in your home (to which God will help with all
misfortunes), it [your perfidy] will bob up again and come home to you,
and you will find that where you have cheated or done injury to the
value of one mite, you will have to pay thirty again.
Such shall be the lot also of mechanics and day-laborers of whom we are
now obliged to hear and suffer such intolerable maliciousness, as
though they were noblemen in another's possessions, and every one were
obliged to give them what they demand. Just let them continue
practicing their exactions as long as they can; but God will not forget
His commandment, and will reward them according as they have served,
and will hang them, not upon a green gallows, but upon a dry one so
that all their life they shall neither prosper nor accumulate anything.
And indeed, if there were a well-ordered government in the land, such
wantonness might soon be checked and prevented, as was the custom in
ancient times among the Romans, where such characters were promptly
seized by the pate in a way that others took warning.
No more shall all the rest prosper who change the open free market into
a carrion-pit of extortion and a den of robbery, where the poor are
daily overcharged, new burdens and high prices are imposed, and every
one uses the market according to his caprice, and is even defiant and
brags as though it were his fair privilege and right to sell his goods
for as high a price as he please, and no one had a right to say a word
against it. We will indeed look on and let these people skin, pinch,
and hoard, but we will trust in God -- who will, however, do this of
His own accord, -- that, after you have been skinning and scraping for
a long time, He will pronounce such a blessing on your gains that your
grain in the garner, your beer in the cellar, your cattle in the stalls
shall perish; yea, where you have cheated and overcharged any one to
the amount of a florin, your entire pile shall be consumed with rust,
so that you shall never enjoy it.
And indeed, we see and experience this being fulfilled daily before our
eyes, that no stolen or dishonestly acquired possession thrives. How
many there are who rake and scrape day and night, and yet grow not a
farthing richer! And though they gather much, they must suffer so many
plagues and misfortunes that they cannot relish it with cheerfulness
nor transmit it to their children. But as no one minds it, and we go on
as though it did not concern us, God must visit us in a different way
and teach us manners by imposing one taxation after another, or
billeting a troop of soldiers upon us, who in one hour empty our
coffers and purses, and do not quit as long as we have a farthing
left, and in addition, by way of thanks, burn and devastate house and
home, and outrage and kill wife and children.
And, in short, if you steal much, depend upon it that again as much
will be stolen from you; and he who robs and acquires with violence and
wrong will submit to one who shall deal after the same fashion with
him. For God is master of this art, that since every one robs and
steals from the other, He punishes one thief by means of another. Else
where should we find enough gallows and ropes?
Now, whoever is willing to be instructed let him know that this is the
commandment of God, and that it must not be treated as a jest. For
although you despise us, defraud, steal, and rob, we will indeed manage
to endure your haughtiness, suffer, and, according to the Lord's
Prayer, forgive and show pity; for we know that the godly shall
nevertheless have enough, and you injure yourself more than another.
But beware of this: When the poor man comes to you (of whom there are
so many now) who must buy with the penny of his daily wages and live
upon it, and you are harsh to him, as though every one lived by your
favor, and you skin and scrape to the bone, and, besides, with pride
and haughtiness turn him off to whom you ought to give for nothing, he
will go away wretched and sorrowful, and since he can complain to no
one he will cry and call to heaven, -- then beware (I say again) as of
the devil himself. For such groaning and calling will be no jest, but
will have a weight that will prove too heavy for you and all the
world. For it will reach Him who takes care of the poor sorrowful
hearts, and will not allow them to go unavenged. But if you despise
this and become defiant, see whom you have brought upon you: if you
succeed and prosper, you may before all the world call God and me a
liar.
We have exhorted, warned, and protested enough; he who will not heed or
believe it may go on until he learns this by experience Yet it must be
impressed upon the young that they may be careful not to follow the old
lawless crowd, but keep their eyes fixed upon God's commandment, lest
His wrath and punishment come upon them too. It behooves us to do no
more than to instruct and reprove with God's Word; but to check such
open wantonness there is need of the princes and government, who
themselves would have eyes and the courage to establish and maintain
order in all manner of trade and commerce, lest the poor be burdened
and oppressed nor they themselves be loaded with other men's sins.
Let this suffice as an explanation of what stealing is, that it be not
taken too narrowly but made to extend as far as we have to do with our
neighbors. And briefly, in a summary, as in the former commandments, it
is herewith forbidden, in the first place, to do our neighbor any
injury or wrong (in whatever manner supposable, by curtailing,
forestalling, and withholding his possessions and property), or even to
consent or allow such a thing, but to interpose and prevent it. And, on
the other hand, it is commanded that we advance and improve his
possessions, and in case he suffers want, that we help, communicate,
and lend both to friends and foes.
Whoever now seeks and desires good works will find here more than
enough such as are heartily acceptable and pleasing to God, and in
addition are favored and crowned with excellent blessings, that we are
to be richly compensated for all that we do for our neighbor's good and
from friendship; as King Solomon also teaches Prov. 19, 17: He that
hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath
given will He pay him again. Here, then you have a rich Lord, who is
certainly sufficient for you, and who will not suffer you to come short
in anything or to want; thus you can with a joyful conscience enjoy a
hundred times more than you could scrape together with unfaithfulness
and wrong. Now, whoever does not desire the blessing will find wrath
and misfortune enough.
The Eighth Commandment.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Over and above our own body, spouse, and temporal possessions, we have
yet another treasure, namely, honor and good report [the illustrious
testimony of an upright and unsullied name and reputation], with which
we cannot dispense. For it is intolerable to live among men in open
shame and general contempt. Therefore God wishes the reputation, good
name, and upright character of our neighbor to be taken away or
diminished as little as his money and possessions, that every one may
stand in his integrity before wife, children, servants, and neighbors.
And in the first place, we take the plainest meaning of this
commandment according to the words (Thou shalt not bear false witness),
as pertaining to the public courts of justice, where a poor innocent
man is accused and oppressed by false witnesses in order to be punished
in his body, property, or honor.
Now, this appears as if it were of little concern to us at present; but
with the Jews it was quite a common and ordinary matter. For the people
were organized under an excellent and regular government; and where
there is still such a government, instances of this sin will not be
wanting. The cause of it is that where judges, burgomasters, princes,
or others in authority sit in judgment, things never fail to go
according to the course of the world; namely, men do not like to offend
anybody, flatter, and speak to gain favor, money, prospects, or
friendship; and in consequence a poor man and his cause must be
oppressed, denounced as wrong, and suffer punishment. And it is a
common calamity in the world that in courts of justice there seldom
preside godly men.
For to be a judge requires above all things a godly man, and not only a
godly, but also a wise, modest, yea, a brave and bold man; likewise, to
be a witness requires a fearless and especially a godly man. For a
person who is to judge all matters rightly and carry them through with
his decision will often offend good friends, relatives, neighbors, and
the rich and powerful, who can greatly serve or injure him. Therefore
he must be quite blind, have his eyes and ears closed, neither see nor
hear, but go straight forward in everything that comes before him, and
decide accordingly.
Therefore this commandment is given first of all that every one shall
help his neighbor to secure his rights, and not allow them to be
hindered or twisted, but shall promote and strictly maintain them, no
matter whether he be judge or witness, and let it pertain to whatsoever
it will. And especially is a goal set up here for our jurists that they
be careful to deal truly and uprightly with every case, allowing right
to remain right, and, on the other hand, not perverting anything [by
their tricks and technical points turning black into white and making
wrong out to be right], nor glossing it over or keeping silent
concerning it, irrespective of a person's money, possession, honor, or
power. This is one part and the plainest sense of this commandment
concerning all that takes place in court.
Next, it extends very much further, if we are to apply it to spiritual
jurisdiction or administration; here it is a common occurrence that
every one bears false witness against his neighbor. For wherever there
are godly preachers and Christians, they must bear the sentence before
the world that they are called heretics, apostates, yea, seditious and
desperately wicked miscreants. Besides the Word of God must suffer in
the most shameful and malicious manner, being persecuted blasphemed,
contradicted, perverted and falsely cited and interpreted. But let this
pass; for it is the way of the blind world that she condemns and
persecutes the truth and the children of God, and yet esteems it no
sin.
In the third place, what concerns us all, this commandment forbids all
sins of the tongue whereby we may injure or approach too closely to our
neighbor. For to bear false witness is nothing else than a work of the
tongue. Now, whatever is done with the tongue against a fellow-man God
would have prohibited, whether it be false preachers with their
doctrine and blasphemy, false judges and witnesses with their verdict,
or outside of court by lying and evil-speaking. Here belongs
particularly the detestable, shameful vice of speaking behind a
person's back and slandering, to which the devil spurs us on and of
which there would be much to be said. For it is a common evil plague
that every one prefers hearing evil to hearing good of his neighbor;
and although we ourselves are so bad that we cannot suffer that any one
should say anything bad about us, but every one would much rather that
all the world should speak of him in terms of gold, yet we cannot bear
that the best is spoken about others.
Therefore, to avoid this vice we should note that no one is allowed
publicly to judge and reprove his neighbor, although he may see him
sin, unless he have a command to judge and to reprove. For there is a
great difference between these two things, judging sin and knowing sin.
You may indeed know it, but you are not to judge it. I can indeed see
and hear that my neighbor sins, but I have no command to report it to
others. Now, if I rush in, judging and passing sentence, I fall into a
sin which is greater than his. But if you know it, do nothing else
than turn your ears into a grave and cover it, until you are appointed
to be judge and to punish by virtue of your office.
Those, then, are called slanderers who are not content with knowing a
thing, but proceed to assume jurisdiction, and when they know a slight
offense of another, carry it into every corner, and are delighted and
tickled that they can stir up another's displeasure [baseness], as
swine roll themselves in the dirt and root in it with the snout. This
is nothing else than meddling with the judgment and office of God, and
pronouncing sentence and punishment with the most severe verdict. For
no judge can punish to a higher degree nor go farther than to say: "He
is a thief, a murderer, a traitor," etc. Therefore, whoever presumes to
say the same of his neighbor goes just as far as the emperor and all
governments. For although you do not wield the sword, you employ your
poisonous tongue to the shame and hurt of your neighbor.
God therefore would have it prohibited that any one speak evil of
another even though he be guilty, and the latter know it right well;
much less if he do not know it, and have it only from hearsay. But you
say: Shall I not say it if it be the truth? Answer: Why do you not make
accusation to regular judges? Ah, I cannot prove it publicly, and hence
I might be silenced and turned away in a harsh manner [incur the
penalty of a false accusation]. "Ah, indeed, do you smell the roast?"
If you do not trust yourself to stand before the proper authorities and
to make answer, then hold your tongue. But if you know it, know it for
yourself and not for another. For if you tell it to others, although it
be true, you will appear as a liar, because you cannot prove it, and
you are, besides acting like a knave. For we ought never to deprive any
one of his honor or good name unless it be first taken away from him
publicly.
False witness, then, is everything which cannot be properly proved.
Therefore, what is not manifest upon sufficient evidence no one shall
make public or declare for truth; and in short, whatever is secret
should be allowed to remain secret, or, at any rate, should be secretly
reproved, as we shall hear. Therefore, if you encounter an idle tongue
which betrays and slanders some one, contradict such a one promptly to
his face, that he may blush thus many a one will hold his tongue who
else would bring some poor man into bad repute from which he would not
easily extricate himself. For honor and a good name are easily taken
away, but not easily restored.