I. The passions of anger and revenge, of which the Fifth
Commandment says, "Thou shalt not kill." This Commandment has
one work, which however includes many and dispels many vices,
and is called meekness. Now this is of two kinds. The one has
a beautiful splendor, and there is nothing back of it. This we
practice toward our friends and those who do us good and give
us pleasure with goods, honor and favor, or who do not offend
us with words nor with deeds. Such meekness irrational animals
have, lions and snakes, Jews, Turks, knaves, murderers, bad
women. These are all content and gentle when men do what they
want, or let them alone; and yet there are not a few who,
deceived by such worthless meekness, cover over their anger
and excuse it, saying: "I would indeed not be angry, if I were
left alone." Certainly, my good man, so the evil spirit also
would be meek if he had his own way. Dissatisfaction and
resentment overwhelm you in order that they may show you how
full of anger and wickedness you are, that you may be
admonished to strive after meekness and to drive out anger.
The second form of meekness is good through and through, that
which is shown toward opponents and enemies, does them no
harm, does not revenge itself, does not curse nor revile, does
not speak evil of them, does not meditate evil against them,
although they had taken away goods, honor, life, friends and
everything. Nay, where it is possible, it returns good for
evil, speaks well of them, thinks well of them, prays for
them. Of this Christ says, Matthew v: "Do good to them that
despitefully use you. Pray for them that persecute you and
revile you." And Paul, Romans xii: "Bless them which curse
you, and by no means curse them, but do good to them."
II. Behold how this precious, excellent work has been lost
among Christians, so that nothing now everywhere prevails
except strife, war, quarreling, anger, hatred, envy,
back-biting, cursing, slandering, injuring, vengeance, and all
manner of angry works and words; and yet, with all this, we
have our many holidays, hear masses, say our prayers,
establish churches, and more such spiritual finery, which God
has not commanded. We shine resplendently and excessively, as
if we were the most holy Christians there ever were. And so
because of these mirrors and masks we allow God's Commandment
to go to complete ruin, and no one considers or examines
himself, how near or how far he be from meekness and the
fulfilment of this Commandment; although God has said, that
not he who does such works, but he who keeps His Commandments,
shall enter into eternal life.
Now, since no one lives on earth upon whom God does not bestow
an enemy and opponent as a proof of his own anger and
wickedness, that is, one who afflicts him in goods, honor,
body or friends, and thereby tries whether anger is still
present, whether he can be well-disposed toward his enemy,
speak well of him, do good to him, and not intend any evil
against him; let him come forward who asks what he shall do
that he may do good works, please God and be saved. Let him
set his enemy before him, keep him constantly before the eyes
of his heart, as an exercise whereby he may curb his spirit
and train his heart to think kindly of his enemy, wish him
well, care for him and pray for him; and then, when
opportunity offers, speak well of him and do good to him. Let
him who will, try this and if he find not enough to do all his
life long, he may convict me of lying, and say that my
contention was wrong. But if this is what God desires, and if
He will be paid in no other coin, of what avail is it, that we
busy ourselves with other great works which are not commanded,
and neglect this? Therefore God says, Matthew v, "I say unto
you, that whosoever is angry with his neighbor, is in danger
of the judgment; but whosoever shall say to his brother, Thou
fool (that is, all manner of invective, cursing, reviling,
slandering), he shall be in danger of everlasting fire." What
remains then for the outward act, striking, wounding, killing,
injuring, etc., if the thoughts and words of anger are so
severely condemned?
III. But where there is true meekness, there the heart is
pained at every evil which happens to one's enemy. And these
are the true children and heirs of God and brethren of Christ,
Whose heart was so pained for us all when He died on the holy
Cross. Even so we see a pious judge passing sentence upon the
criminal with sorrow, and regretting the death which the law
imposes. Here the act seems to be one of anger and harshness.
So thoroughly good is meekness that even in such works of
anger it remains, nay, it torments the heart most sorely when
it must be angry and severe.
But here we must watch, that we be not meek contrary to God's
honor and Commandment. For it is written of Moses that he was
the very meekest man on earth, and yet, when the Jews had
worshiped the golden calf and provoked God to anger, he put
many of them to death, and thereby made atonement before God.
Likewise it is not fitting that the magistrates should be idle
and allow sin to have sway, and that we say nothing. My own
possessions, my honor, my injury, I must not regard, nor grow
angry because of them; but God's honor and Commandment we must
protect, and injury or injustice to our neighbor we must
prevent, the magistrates with the sword, the rest of us with
reproof and rebuke, yet always with pity for those who have
merited the punishment.
This high, noble, sweet work can easily be learned, if we
perform it in faith, and as an exercise of faith. For if faith
does not doubt the favor of God nor question that God is
gracious, it will become quite easy for a man to be gracious
and favorable to his neighbor, however much he may have
sinned; for we have sinned much more against God. Behold, a
short Commandment this, but it presents a long, mighty
exercise of good works and of faith.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
In this Commandment too a good work is commanded, which
includes much and drives away much vice; it is called purity,
or chastity, of which much is written and preached, and it is
well known to every one, only that it is not as carefully
observed and practised as other works which are not commanded.
So ready are we to do what is not commanded and to leave
undone what is commanded. We see that the world is full of
shameful works of unchastity, indecent words, tales and
ditties, temptation to which is daily increased through
gluttony and drunkenness, idleness and frippery. Yet we go our
way as if we were Christians; when we have been to church,
have said our little prayer, have observed the fasts and
feasts, then we think our whole duty is done.
Now, if no other work were commanded but chastity alone, we
would all have enough to do with this one; so perilous and
raging a vice is unchastity. It rages in all our members: in
the thoughts of our hearts, in the seeing of our eyes, in the
hearing of our ears, in the words of our mouth, in the works
of our hands and feet and all our body. To control all these
requires labor and effort; and thus the Commandments of God
teach us how great truly good works are, nay, that it is
impossible for us of our own strength to conceive a good work,
to say nothing of attempting or doing it. St. Augustine says,
that among all the conflicts of the Christian the conflict of
chastity is the hardest, for the one reason alone, that it
continues daily without ceasing, and chastity seldom prevails.
This all the saints have wept over and lamented, as St. Paul
does, Romans vii: "I find in me, that is in my flesh, no good
thing."
II. If this work of chastity is to be permanent, it will drive
to many other good works, to fasting and temperance over
against gluttony and drunkenness, to watching and early rising
over against laziness and excessive sleep, to work and labor
over against idleness. For gluttony, drunkenness, lying late
abed, loafing and being without work are weapons of
unchastity, with which chastity is quickly overcome. On the
other hand, the holy Apostle Paul calls fasting, watching and
labor godly weapons, with which unchastity is mastered; but,
as has been said above, these exercises must do no more than
overcome unchastity, and not pervert nature.
Above all this, the strongest defence is prayer and the Word
of God; namely, that when evil lust stirs, a man flee to
prayer, call upon God's mercy and help, read and meditate on
the Gospel, and in it consider Christ's sufferings. Thus says
Psalm cxxxvii: "Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth the
little ones of Babylon against the rock," that is, if the
heart runs to the Lord Christ with its evil thoughts while
they are yet young and just beginning; for Christ is a Rock,
on which they are ground to powder and come to naught.
See, here each one will find enough to do with himself, and
more than enough, and will be given many good works to do
within himself. But now no one uses prayer, fasting, watching,
labor for this purpose, but men stop in these works as if they
were in themselves the whole purpose, although they should be
arranged so as to fulfil the work of this Commandment and
purify us daily more and more.
Some have also indicated more things which should be avoided,
such as soft beds and clothes, that we should avoid excessive
adornment, and neither associate nor talk with members of the
opposite sex, nor even look upon them, and whatsoever else may
be conducive to chastity. In all these things no one can fix a
definite rule and measure. Each one must watch himself and see
what things are needful to him for chastity, in what quantity
and how long they help him to be chaste, that he may thus
choose and observe them for himself; if he cannot do this, let
him for a time give himself up to be controlled by another,
who may hold him to such observance until he can learn to rule
himself. This was the purpose for which the monastic houses
were established of old, to teach young people discipline and
purity.
III. In this work a good strong faith is a great help, more
noticeably so than in almost any other; so that for this
reason also Isaiah xi. says that "faith is a girdle of the
reins," that is, a guard of chastity. For he who so lives that
he looks to God for all grace, takes pleasure in spiritual
purity; therefore he can so much more easily resist fleshly
impurity: and in such faith the Spirit tells him of a
certainty how he shall avoid evil thoughts and everything that
is repugnant to chastity. For as the faith in divine favor
lives without ceasing and works in all works, so it also does
not cease its admonitions in all things that are pleasing to
God or displease Him; as St. John says in his Epistle: "Ye
need not that any man teach you: for the divine anointing,
that is, the Spirit of God, teacheth you of all things."
Yet we must not despair if we are not soon rid of the
temptation, nor by any means imagine that we are free from it
as long as we live, and we must regard it only as an incentive
and admonition to prayer, fasting, watching, laboring, and to
other exercises for the quenching of the flesh, especially to
the practice and exercise of faith in God. For that chastity
is not precious which is at ease, but that which is at war
with unchastity, and fights, and without ceasing drives out
all the poison with which the flesh and the evil spirit attack
it. Thus St. Peter says, "I beseech you, abstain from fleshly
desires and lusts, which war always against the soul." And St.
Paul, Romans vi, "Ye shall not obey the body in its lusts." In
these and like passages it is shown that no one is without
evil lust; but that everyone shall and must daily fight
against it. But although this brings uneasiness and pain, it
is none the less a work that gives pleasure, in which we shall
have our comfort and satisfaction. For they who think they
make an end of temptation by yielding to it, only set
themselves on fire the more; and although for a time it is
quiet, it comes again with more strength another time, and
finds the nature weaker than before.
Thou shalt not steal.
This Commandment also has a work, which embraces very many
good works, and is opposed to many vices, and is called in
German Mildigkeit, "benevolence;" which is a work ready to
help and serve every one with one's goods. And it fights not
only against theft and robbery, but against all stinting in
temporal goods which men may practise toward one another: such
as greed, usury, overcharging and plating wares that sell as
solid, counterfeit wares, short measures and weights, and who
could tell all the ready, novel, clever tricks, which multiply
daily in every trade, by which every one seeks his own gain
through the other's loss, and forgets the rule which says:
"What ye wish that others do to you, that do ye also to them."
If every one kept this rule before his eyes in his trade,
business, and dealings with his neighbor, he would readily
find how he ought to buy and sell, take and give, lend and
give for nothing, promise and keep his promise, and the like.
And when we consider the world in its doings, how greed
controls all business, we would not only find enough to do, if
we would make an honorable living before God, but also be
overcome with dread and fear for this perilous, miserable
