You shall not covet your neighbor's house. Neither shall you covet his wife, his manservant, his maidservant, his ox, his donkey, or anything that is his.
1) This is included in the sixth and seventh commandments, since according to the interpretation of Christ all desire and coveting of the wife and the goods of the neighbor is forbidden there. For "whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her in his heart" [Matth. 5, 28]. He also condemned covetousness and the coveting of goods to such an extent that he also commanded to give the skirt to the one who took the cloak [Matth.
1) Probably the sermon on the day of the Purification of the Virgin Mary [2 Feb. 1517] is the exordium to the following piece (Weim. Ausg.). This introductory sermon is found in Walch, St. Louis Edition, Vol. XII, 1266.
5, 40.). But in my judgment, it seems to me that by these two commandments the tinder and the insurmountable desire are forbidden, I mean, the very root of evil thoughts; so that it must be understood that in the sixth and seventh commandments the assent of the heart and the gestures of the members are forbidden, the word of the mouth and the work of the evil body, but here also even the first stirrings together with the tinder, which is the origin of those. For we must become so pure before we can enter the kingdom of heaven that there are no evil impulses in us, nor any tinder that tends toward evil, but complete health of body and soul, absolutely without any infirmity, which, of course, is not possible in this life.
is not in our power. For who can boast [Prov. 20:9] that he has a pure heart? Who can quench this deep inward fire? For even the apostle complains of "the law in his members" and of "the law of sin" [Rom. 7:23. f.]. And therefore we resist the eyes, the ears, and all the senses, inwardly and outwardly, lest sin should reign in us; but the evil desire no man can resist. This is why the merciful God decided to turn our bodies into ashes and to burn them by the great fire of the last day (universal fire), so that all the infirmities of our flesh would be consumed by fire: that is how much God hates this impurity. And from this it follows that it is these two commandments alone that no man, however holy, fulfills even to some extent; all others fulfill them because they forcefully curb the work, the word, the consent, but here they remain guilty and sinners because they fulfill none of these commandments, because they are infected by the insurmountable evil lust of the flesh and the desire of goods: therefore they are "sinners all at once and lack the glory they should have in God" [Rom. 3, 23]; therefore all pray, "Hallowed be thy name, thy will be done, forgive us our trespasses"; therefore all despair of their merits for fear of their impurity, and put their trust in the mercy of God, that in such a way it may be established that the Lord is pleased with those who fear him, who wait for his goodness [Ps. 147, 11^
This also puts an end to the dispute of the scholastic teachers as to whether these two commandments forbid something different from the sixth and seventh, as well as whether they are two different commandments. And they labor in vain in understanding these two commandments of the works of the heart, since they cannot deny that these are forbidden in the sixth and seventh commandments, and that then the same would be repeated here, and these two commandments would be set in vain, since they would be the same with those. Nor can they say that the work is forbidden there, the thoughts here, or the hands there, the heart here, because Christ himself teaches against this, saying.
that those two commandments are to be understood by both.
So it only remains that we follow the apostle Paul, who combines these two commandments into one and says: "I did not know of lust that it was sin, where the law had not said, 'Do not lust'", Rom. 7, 7. And there he explains in detail that all saints are affected by this commandment, including himself. So here the evil of tinder and, that I say so, the essential and causal impurity in us is forbidden. Whoever therefore lets himself think that he has fulfilled all the previous commandments, sees at least here that he is unclean and needs the purity of Christ, who was sacrificed for him and accepted by God, the Father of mercy.
But what the Jews, or rather the sows, understand here is not worth mentioning in the discussion of these commandments. For they say that in the sixth and seventh commandments only the work is forbidden, and in the ninth and tenth an outward attempt and an obvious sign that one intends to do the work, just as among the jurists the attempt (conatus) is punished, as if someone has made preparations (inciperet) to kidnap someone's daughter, or has stood after another's life, he is beheaded. And so thoughts and words are free with them, which are full of malice and anger and bitterness and, as Christ says [Matth. 23, 27. f.], "full of all filthiness," because they keep pure what is outside, but their inside is full of avarice and all unrighteousness. Therefore, the synagogue is the woman who, because of her shameful nature, has received a letter of divorce and has been cast out.
These are "the ten words", as Moses says, in which every salutary commandment is completely contained, and although they can be brought to a smaller number of huts, they could also have been divided into more commandments. But it pleased God to give them in the number ten, which is the number of a complete whole (universitatis) and of a perfect sum, so that, as once everything happened in the model (figura), also this number ten of the commandments was chosen for the sake that it should represent the sum of all commandments.
Now that the Ten Commandments have been completed, the many kinds of sins must be included among the commandments, because there is no sin that does not go against a commandment of God. For I do not know whether it is of use to those who want to confess that they burden their memory with so many different kinds of sins and tire the priest, as there are: 1. by doings and omissions; 2. by the heart, by the mouth, by works; 3. by the five senses; 4. by the six works of mercy; 5. by the seven sacraments; 6. by the seven deadly sins; 7. by the seven gifts [of the Holy Spirit^; 8. by the eight beatitudes; 9. by the nine strange sins; 10. by the ten commandments; 11. by the twelve articles of faith 2) 12. by the twelve fruits of the Spirit. In addition to these, there are the four main virtues and the three theological virtues, as well as the dumb sins, the heaven-sent sins, and finally the sins against the Holy Spirit. I beg you, what is the use of such confusion and distraction of the mind? This is done in such a way that it is considered necessary to enumerate the names of these different divisions and distinctions, of course only to waste time, to stupefy the confessor and to confuse oneself, so that one spends more effort to remember these things than to think of true repentance, then also to hinder others. Due to the ignorance of the teachers, this untidiness (tumultus) has arisen in confession, while confession should be short and open, so that both confessor and child could soon be finished.
Now let us first consider the deadly sins, whose number, as it seems, was taken from John Chrysostom. For he also interprets the seven nations of the Canaanites 5 Mos. 7, 1. in a moral way (moraliter) as seven vices, by wanting all sins to be understood under the same, more on the basis of the seven number, which is a whole.
. 1) Löscher: "The following was preached by Luther on the Sunday of Septuagesimä [February 8, 1817]." The Erordium belonging to it is found in Walch, St. Louis Edition, Vol. XII, 1816.
2) "The twelve articles of faith" are the apostolic creed. Cf. Table Talks Cap. 54, 8 13. Walch, St. Louis Edition, Vol. XXII, 1358.
than that the names contain such things in themselves. For some make eight, others nine mortal sins, adding disobedience and vain teaching; still others divide mothers into daughters, and genera into species, the whole into parts belonging to it (integrales) and subordinate (subjectivas): from these they have derived an infinite number, yes, whole seas of sins, but in the meantime have not taken care of the right understanding of the commandments.
Therefore, there are not only seven deadly sins, but this is an arbitrary division, which has no necessary reason nor proof [from Scripture], but there can be both fewer and more, depending on a different figurative speech (tropologia) occurring in Scripture. Therefore, St. Augustine divided it into two parts, namely, a kindled fire and a suppressed fire, that is, love, which ignites evil, and fear, which humbles in an evil way.
The first mortal sin is hopefulness, which is twofold: the external, which takes place in physical goods, and the internal, which expresses itself in spiritual goods, and is therefore always against the first commandment. This is obvious, for to have no other God means to trust in nothing, to have no pleasure in anything, to rejoice in nothing, to delight in nothing, to enjoy no thing but God alone. But hope puts its trust now in wealth, now in strength, now in beauty and clothing, now in power and honor, now in noble lineage; likewise inwardly in wisdom, art, understanding, justice, virtue, holiness, takes pleasure in them, and honors these created goods in such a way (eo actu) as is due to God alone. For pride always entails two things: first, that one may please oneself; second, that one may arrogantly despise others. For this reason it includes vain honor within itself; if this breaks outwardly, it is all the worse. That is why the arrogant one, who sees something good in himself, does not honor God in it, nor does he thank Him for it by praising God, but stands on himself, takes pleasure in himself, and is vain in his thoughts. But then, at the same time, he pays attention to the one who does not have such gifts; if he now compares him with himself, it follows with necessity
He despises him and says: he is something, he is nothing, and the word Rom. 1, 22. is fulfilled: "Since they said they were wise, they have become fools"; since they speak in this way (namely inwardly, to themselves) that they are righteous, beautiful, rich etc., they have become unrighteous, ugly, poor. Revelation 3:17: "Thou sayest, I am rich, and am full; and knowest not that thou art poor, and miserable, and bare."
Thus, hope has no real essence (substantiam) in itself, except that the hopeful can compare himself with a lesser one, and looks down, as it were, from above. On the other hand, the essence of humility is only there where the humble man compares himself with a better one, and looks upward, as it were, to the highest things. That is why this horny and cowardly calf has four feet, namely:
Ignorance of his bishop. Knowledge of His GoodGod
This is the right ignorance
The antithesis of this quadruped has four feet of humility, 'namely:
Ignorance of his good.
Ignorance of foreign evil.
Knowledge of His EvilGod
This is the right knowledge <
Therefore it is not necessary that you confess that you are inclined to hope, because we are always all hopeful, and no man is without all hope, but only when you have obeyed their evil desire and consented to it by word, work or heart. The rest you have to complain to God in secret sighing and hidden confession in the closet, so that he by his grace eradicates this evil, the old root.
It has been said of godliness, as it was forbidden under the first commandment, for godliness is the beginning of sin, or, which is the same thing, the beginning of sin is to fall away from God, namely, to become an idol to oneself, to please oneself, to delight in oneself more than in the Lord, and thus to honor in oneself another god. This is the most serious and first sin, although there is no one who has come from Adam, as long as we live, who does not in some way practice this idolatry in himself, and for this reason must always repent and groan about pleasing himself.
Now it is necessary to speak of avarice, which is a craving and, as the apostle says
1) Löscher: "Luther preached the following sermon on the Sunday of Sexagesimä" [February 15, 1517]. The Exvrdium Hiezu is found in Walch, St. Louis Edition, Vol. XII, 1822.
[1 Tim. 6, 9. f.] says, likewise "a root of all evil," "for they that desire to be rich fall into the snares of the devil, and many foolish and hurtful lusts."
This vice is forbidden in two, even in three commandments, namely in the seventh: "Thou shalt not steal" and in the last: "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods" and in the first. For since in the seventh commandment (as has been said) all taking (tractatio) of other people's goods is forbidden, and every commandment (as has also been said) is so spiritual that it forbids not only the work and the fruit and the leaves and branches, that is, the works, words and deeds, but also the root and the sap, that is, the evil desire from which such things come, it is evident that covetousness is forbidden under theft, since in a thief and a covetous man there is the same root, that is, covetousness. Likewise, since in the last commandment the coveting of one's neighbor's good is forbidden in the letter, it is evident that the source and head of this coveting is also forbidden in the spirit; but this is avarice. Therefore, the very last commandment actually forbids the last and most vital vice, which is reborn in the elderly and is alive in the dying.
But the apostle Paul, who wrote Eph. 5, 5.
in his mind goes higher, says that a miser is a servant of idols, that is, a worshipper of them, and so he puts this under the first commandment. The same is done by Baruch, Cap. 3, 17: "They that gather silver and gold, in them men put their trust." And the 78th Psalm, v. 58. [Ps. 106, 38.], says in spirit, "And they served the idols of Canaan." Canaan means a merchant; what could their idols more appropriately mean than money and coins, gold and silver vessels, houses and other possessions? Yes, therefore we are chiefly forbidden in the law not to make gold and silver gods, and the first idolatry of the people was with gold, under the golden calf [Ex. 32:4, 1, but in like manner also the greatest idolatry in the days of Jeroboam, under the golden calves [1 Kings 12:28.]. Therefore the apostle correctly understood by gold an idol, calling the miser a worshipper of idols, and in Latin aurum sounds almost like auarum; auri auro, auari auaro are merely different in One letter, so that aurum [gold] seems to have received its name from auere [to desire fiercely]. Now since the apostle calls the miser an idolater, he thereby sufficiently interprets the first commandment, that the heart of man should trust in God alone. For on the same opinion he says that also the gluttons and the unchaste are worshippers of the belly, and says [Phil. 3, 19.f: "To whom the belly is their god." But in this sense all the commandments are contained in the first commandment as in their head. For every sin is a contempt of God, and just thereby against the first commandment, and no commandment can be violated without at the same time also violating the first, which contains all of them in itself. For God's will is transgressed in all the commandments and is made inferior to our will [, if one does against them], and thus God is not honored, but rather another [God] is honored instead of Him. But the apostle has actually stated that avarice is against the same, because it delights in the images of gold and silver, very similar to right idolatry. All other sins, however, do not have such idols and images.
Therefore, we must again conclude that no one is completely pure of stinginess, as Isaiah and Jeremiah say [Isa. 56:11, Jer. 6:13], "They are all stingy. Small and great." But blessed is he who for the sake of this follows less this inclination of his depraved nature. All must therefore groan before God, but only confess the work, whether internal or external, before the priest. And whoever would say that he does not have this desire would certainly arrogate to himself the highest perfection of purity in great arrogance. Therefore, blessed are those who mourn [Matth. 5, 4], for they have reason (materiam) in themselves to mourn over themselves, as the Lord said to the women who followed him [Luc. 23, 28].
1) The third mortal sin is unchastity, the types of which are sufficiently indicated under the sixth commandment, "Thou shalt not commit adultery," and no one doubts that it belongs there; therefore, it may suffice that this is indicated.
The fourth is eating and drinking, the sister, indeed, the inducement and the suitor and servant of unchastity, as the pagan also says: Sine Cerere et Baccho friget Venus [Without food and drink, unchastity thrives nothing. The apostle Phil. 3, 19. puts this vice under the first commandment by saying: "Whose belly is their god." He does the same in Rom. 16, 18: "For such serve not Christ, but their belly." But it can simply be placed under the sixth commandment, for where unchastity is forbidden, surely all occasion and stimulus to unchastity is also forbidden. But among all stimuli to unchastity, the greatest and strongest is eating and drinking. The cause of this is that this is something internal; everything else, as looking, talking, hearing, touching, is external. But eating and drinking makes the veins swell and moves the whole body to unchastity. For even the pagan Pliny says that drunkenness is followed by terrible unchastity. And St. Jerome says
1) Löscher: "The following was recited by Luther on the day of Matthew [February 24, 1517]." The Exorbinm Hiezu is found in Walch, St. Louis Edition, Vol. XII, 1762, and again, in improved translation, Vol. XIX, 754.
in his writing to the Eustochins and elsewhere, that nothing so moves to unchastity as undigested food. Therefore, a gluttonous man (gulosus) willingly gives himself up to unchastity. In the same way, idleness and laziness, sleepiness, soft bedding and all other things that arouse unchastity are forbidden, which can undoubtedly be seen from the sixth commandment. And if a man who has overdone in eating and drinking (gulosus) does not immediately occupy himself with much work, he will be taken in by insurmountable unchastity and tickling. Hence St. Jerome says: A belly that glows with wine soon seethes with unchastity. See how unchastity is, as it were, the natural foam of gluttony, just as smoke rises naturally from fire, and foam rises from wine that has just been poured in, and boiling water throws out bubbles. Who can prevent this, except with the greatest violence? Therefore, he who commands chastity undoubtedly commands the means that serve chastity, such as temperance, watchfulness, work, prayer, reading, reflection, study, serving one's neighbor, cold, heat, poverty etc.
Here, however, this is to be noted: Many people have a greater conscience about vomiting than about binge drinking and drunkenness, just as many consider the nocturnal defilement to be something greater than the cause of it, the evil thoughts and gluttony. But surely vomiting is not evil, nor is it ever a sin, since it takes place both against one's will and in pain. Therefore, the drunken should not only not flee vomiting, but even seek it, as Sirach Cap. 31, 25. says [Vulg.], "If thou hast been compelled to drink much, 1) stand up and cast it out, and it shall refresh thee, and thou shalt not bring sickness on thy body." This advice of the wise man is to be accepted, and not without reason. For he says, "It will refresh thee," that is, it will relieve thee. For the purpose of this discharge is that the veins may not be so distended and tickling of the flesh may arise, since the little that remains may be more easily consumed.
1) In the Vulgate: in säsnüo.
dant. For it is better to escape unchastity by vomiting than to fall into unchastity by being full.
Secondly, because sickness of the body is avoided, as, injury to the head and all the senses and powers. But who should not believe that it is a greater sin for the whole body to be injured by being full and keeping the comrade, than to be freed from this danger by vomiting? For to shorten life is a greater sin than to vomit; yea, to vomit is no sin, but that is evil, that thou hast filled thyself and overcharged thyself so as to vomit. And would to God that a law were given that all drunk and full people were forced to vomit! I hope that they would finally abhor drunkenness, knowing that they would soon have to spit out what they drink. Even though they soon have to leave the water and go to the chair, they do not turn back to it. But that the Scriptures sometimes punish spitting, as [2 Petr. 2:22]: "The dog eats again what he has eaten," and Isa. 28:8: "All the tables are full of spitting," is understood by the spitting out of the good and wholesome word, which he should have kept.
Thirdly. If someone has drunk poison or something else that is harmful and spits it out without sin, why should he spit with sin who has drunk wine or another drink in such a way that it causes harm similar to the poison? Therefore, one must have a conscience about the pouring in, not about the giving out, since there one serves many evil things against God's commandment, but here one serves many good things, against no commandment, yes, for God's commandment.
I pass over the types and differences of gluttony because they are not always mortal sins, since eating and drinking are not always mortal sins either, indeed rarely, unless they have become a habit.
The fifth mortal sin is anger, about which enough has been said in the fifth commandment.
The sixth is hatred, which should not have been distinguished from anger [as a special sin], since it is nothing but ingrained anger, as St. Augustine says in his Rule: Do not let anger become hatred,
and make a beam out of the splinter. For anger is a young rice, but hatred is a tree and a great beam. Therefore this also belongs to the fifth commandment, for which we have the apostle John as a guarantor [1 John 3:15]: "He who hates his brother is a murderer."
The seventh mortal sin is sloth, which is the disinclination to do good, laziness, Greek This is twofold. One is in the figurative and external worship, such as attending church, hearing the Word, praying, reading, contemplating, singing, and in this way this vice is forbidden under the third commandment: "You shall keep holy the holiday," as is sufficiently evident. The other is more subtle and inward and takes place in the whole service of God and in every kind of it, and in this way it is nothing other than trusting in the righteousness begun and carelessness in increasing; that one stands still in the way of God, is lukewarm, becomes secure, forsakes the fear of God. All Scripture speaks of this vice of the hypocrites. For this slothfulness makes sure saints of works, before whose eyes there is no
is the fear of God, and "the judgments of God are far from them" [Ps. 10:5]. Afterwards it will be worse with these people than before [Luc. 11, 25. f.], because the devil finds their house decorated, but empty and safe. Therefore the devils go in and dwell there. O what an exceedingly dreadful word, that the devils dwell there, because men who are of this sort, after their righteousness begun, become much more hardened than before, as we see in experience, that they are not moved to what they hear, but think it does not affect them, and in truth have become a brood of vipers [Matt. 3:7, 12], a chaff prepared for the eternal fire. So this sin is found in all the commandments, since one should increase in each one. But I do not know whether one should confess it. I believe that one should not do it, because it is a spiritual infirmity, which one should open to God alone, who alone can heal it.)
1) In the Basel, Wittenberg, and Jena editions, there is added at the end: "End of the sermons on the Ten Commandments, which the venerable father Martin Luther preached to the people in Wittenberg in 1516 and 1517."