SIXTH
COMMANDMENT

M.—Repeat the sixth commandment.

S.—Thou shalt not kill.

M.—Does it forbid nothing but the perpetration of murder?

S.—Yes, indeed. For seeing it is God who speaks, he here gives law not only to outward works, but also to the affections of the mind, and indeed to them chiefly.

M.—You seem to insinuate that there is some kind of secret murder from which God here recalls us.

S.—I do. For anger, and hatred, and any desire to hurt, is murder in the sight of God.

M.—Is it enough if we do not hate any one?

S.—By no means. Since the Lord, by condemning hatred and restraining us from any harm by which our neighbor may be injured, shows at the same time that he requires us to love all men from the heart, and study faithfully to defend and preserve them.