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| A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z |
Called also simply THE COMMANDMENTS, COMMANDMENTS OF GOD, orTHE DECALOGUE (Gr.deka, ten, andlogos, a word), the Ten Words of Sayings, the latter name generally applied by theGreekFathers.
The Ten Commandments are precepts bearing on the fundamentalobligations ofreligion andmorality and embodying therevealed expression of theCreator's will in relation toman's wholeduty toGod and to his fellow-creatures. They are found twice recorded in thePentateuch, inExodus 20 andDeuteronomy 5, but are given in an abridged form in thecatechisms. Written by the finger ofGod on two tables of stone, thisDivine code was received from theAlmighty byMoses amid the thunders ofMount Sinai, and by him made the ground-work of theMosaic Law.Christ resumed these Commandments in the double precept ofcharity--love ofGod and of the neighbour; He proclaimed them as binding under the New Law inMatthew 19 and in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5). He also simplified or interpreted them, e.g. by declaring unnecessaryoaths equally unlawful with false, by condemninghatred andcalumny as well asmurder, by enjoining evenlove of enemies, and by condemning indulgence ofevil desires as fraught with the same malice asadultery (Matthew 5). TheChurch, on the other hand, after changing the day of rest from theJewish Sabbath, or seventh day of the week, to the first, made the Third Commandment refer toSunday as the day to be keptholy as theLord's Day. TheCouncil of Trent (Sess. VI, can. xix) condemns those who deny that the Ten Commandments are binding onChristians.
There is no numerical division of the Commandments in theBooks of Moses, but the injunctions are distinctly tenfold, and are found almost identical in both sources. The order, too, is the same except for the final prohibitions pronounced againstconcupiscence, that ofDeuteronomy being adopted in preference toExodus. A confusion, however, exists in the numbering, which is due to a difference of opinion concerning the initial precept onDivine worship.
The system of numeration found inCatholicBibles, based on theHebrew text, was made bySt. Augustine (fifth century) in his book of "Questions of Exodus" ("Quæstionum in Heptateuchum libri VII", Bk. II, Question lxxi), and was adopted by theCouncil of Trent. It is followed also by the GermanLutherans, except those of the school ofBucer. This arrangement makes the First Commandment relate to false worship and to theworship of false gods as to a single subject and a single class ofsins to be guarded against — the reference toidols being regarded as mere application of the precept toadore but oneGod and the prohibition as directed against the particular offense ofidolatry alone. According to this manner of reckoning, the injunction forbidding theuse of the Lord's Name in vain comes second in order; and the decimal number is safeguarded by making a division of the final precept onconcupiscence--the Ninth pointing tosins of the flesh and the Tenth to desires for unlawful possession ofgoods.
Another division has been adopted by theEnglish andHelvetianProtestant churches on the authority ofPhilo Judæus,Josephus,Origen, and others, whereby two Commandments are made to cover the matter ofworship, and thus the numbering of the rest is advanced one higher; and the Tenth embraces both the Ninth and Tenth of theCatholic division. It seems, however, as logical to separate at the end as to group at the beginning, for while one single object is aimed at underworship, two specifically differentsins are forbidden undercovetousness; ifadultery and theft belong to two distinct species ofmoral wrong, the same must be said of the desire to commit theseevils.
TheSupreme Law-Giver begins by proclaimingHis Name and His Titles to theobedience of the creatureman: "I am theLord, thyGod. . ." Thelaws which follow have regard toGod and His representatives on earth (first four) and to our fellow-man (last six).
The precepts which follow are meant to protectman in his naturalrights against theinjustice of his fellows.
This legislation expresses not only theMaker's positive will, but the voice ofnature as well--thelaws which govern our being and are written more or less clearly in everyhuman heart. The necessity of thewritten law is explained by the obscuring of theunwritten inmen'ssouls bysin. TheseDivine mandates are regarded as binding on everyhuman creature, and their violation, with sufficient reflection andconsent of the will, if the matter be grave, is considered a grievous or mortaloffense against God. They have always been esteemed as the most precious rules of life and are the basis of all Christian legislation.
APA citation.Stapleton, J.(1908).The Ten Commandments. InThe Catholic Encyclopedia.New York: Robert Appleton Company.http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04153a.htm
MLA citation.Stapleton, John."The Ten Commandments."The Catholic Encyclopedia.Vol. 4.New York: Robert Appleton Company,1908.<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04153a.htm>.
Transcription.This article was transcribed for New Advent by Marcia L. Bellafiore.
Ecclesiastical approbation.Nihil Obstat. Remy Lafort, Censor.Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York.
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