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| Some of God's Laws Defended as Good, Which the Marcionites Impeached, Such as the Lex Talionis. Useful Purposes in a Social and Moral Point of View of This, and Sundry Other Enactments.
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Chapter XVIII.—Some
of God’s Laws Defended as Good, Which the Marcionites Impeached,
Such as the Lex Talionis. Useful Purposes in a Social and Moral Point
of View of This, and Sundry Other Enactments.
But what parts of the law can I defend as good
with a greater confidence than those which heresy has shown such a
longing for?—as the statute of retaliation, requiring eye for
eye, tooth for tooth, and stripe for stripe.2912
Now there is not here any smack of a permission to mutual injury; but
rather, on the whole, a provision for restraining violence. To a people
which was very obdurate, and wanting in faith towards God, it might
seem tedious, and even incredible, to expect from God that vengeance
which was subsequently to be declared by the prophet: “Vengeance
is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”2913
Therefore, in the meanwhile, the commission of wrong was to be
checked2914
by the fear of a
retribution immediately to happen; and so the permission of this
retribution was to be the prohibition of provocation, that a stop might
thus be put to all hot-blooded2915
injury, whilst by
the permission of the second the first is prevented by fear, and by
this deterring of the first the second fails to be committed. By the
same law another result is also obtained,2916
even the more ready kindling of the fear of retaliation by reason of
the very savour of passion which is in it. There is no more bitter
thing, than to endure the very suffering which you have inflicted upon
others. When, again, the law took somewhat away from men’s food,
by pronouncing unclean certain animals which were once blessed, you
should understand this to be a measure for encouraging continence, and
recognise in it a bridle imposed on that appetite which, while eating
angels’ food, craved after the cucumbers and melons of the
Egyptians. Recognise also therein a precaution against those companions
of the appetite, even lust and luxury, which are usually chilled by the
chastening of the appetite.2917
For “the
people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to
play.”2918
Furthermore, that
an eager wish for money might be restrained, so far as it is caused by
the need of food, the desire for costly meat and drink was taken out of
their power. Lastly, in order that man might be more readily educated
by God for fasting, he was accustomed to such articles of food as were
neither plentiful nor sumptuous, and not likely to pamper the appetite
of the luxurious. Of course the Creator deserved all the greater blame,
because it was from His own people that He took away food, rather than
from the more ungrateful Marcionites. As for the burdensome sacrifices
also, and the troublesome scrupulousness of their ceremonies2919
and oblations, no one should blame them, as
if God specially required them for Himself: for He plainly asks,
“To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto
me?” and, “Who hath required them at your
hand?”2920
But he should see
herein a careful provision2921
on God’s
part, which showed His wish to bind to His own religion a people who
were prone to idolatry and transgression by that kind of services
wherein consisted the superstition of that period; that He might call
them away therefrom, while requesting it to be performed to Himself, as
if He desired that no sin should be committed in making
idols.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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