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                      Do all the moral precepts of the Old 
                      Law belong to the law of nature? 
                         
                          It seems that not all the moral precepts 
                          [of the Old Law] belong to the law of nature: 
                         
                          Objection 1:  Ecclesiasticus 
                          17:9 says, “He gave them teaching, and the law of life 
                          for an inheritance.”  But teaching (doctrina) 
                          is distinct from the law of nature, since the law of 
                          nature is not taught, but is instead had by natural 
                          instinct (ex naturali instinctu).  Therefore, 
                          not all the moral precepts belong to the law of nature. 
                                
                      Objection 2:  
                      Divine law is more perfect than human law.  But human law 
                      adds some things pertaining to good morals to what belongs 
                      to the law of nature; this is clear from the fact that the 
                      law of nature is the same for everyone, whereas diverse 
                      moral practices have been instituted among diverse 
                      peoples.  Therefore, a fortiori, it was fitting for 
                      divine law to add some things pertaining to good morals 
                      over and beyond the law of nature. 
                                
                      Objection 3:  
                      Just as reason induces men to good morals, so too does 
                      faith; hence, Galatians 5:6 says, “Faith works through 
                      love.”  But faith is not included in the law of nature, 
                      since what belongs to the Faith lies beyond natural 
                      reason.  Therefore, not every moral precept of divine law 
                      belongs to the law of nature. 
                                
                      But contrary to this:  
                      In Romans 2:14 the Apostle says, “The Gentiles, who have 
                      not the Law, do by nature those things that are of the 
                      Law.”  This has to be understood as referring to things 
                      that have to do with good morals.  Therefore, all the 
                      moral precepts of the Law belong to the law of nature. 
                                 
                          I respond:  
                          The moral precepts—as opposed to the ceremonial and 
                          judicial precepts—concern things that in their own right 
                          (secundum se) have to do with good morals.Now since human morals are set apart by their relation 
                          to reason, which is the proper principle of human acts, 
                          morals are called good when they are consonant with 
                          reason and bad when they are at variance with reason.  
                          And just as every judgment of speculative reason stems 
                          from the natural cognition of first principles, so too, 
                          as was explained above (q. 94, a. 2), every judgment 
                          of practical reason stems from naturally known principles 
                          on the basis of which one can proceed to make judgments 
                          in various ways about various matters.
 For instance, among human acts there are some so clear 
                          that they can immediately, with very little consideration, 
                          be approved of or disapproved of on the basis of these 
                          general first principles.
 By contrast, there are others such that judging them 
                          requires an extensive consideration of various circumstances 
                          that only the wise, and not just anyone, can carefully 
                          investigate—in the way that the role of investigating 
                          the particular conclusions of the sciences falls only 
                          to the philosophers and not to just anyone.
 Lastly, there are some acts such that in order for a 
                          man to pass judgment on them, he needs to be assisted 
                          by divine teaching.  This is the cases with the 
                          things that have to be taken on faith (credenda).
 So, then, it is clear that since (a) the moral precepts 
                          concern matters that belong to good morals, and (b) 
                          these good morals are consonant with reason, and (c) 
                          every one of human reason’s judgments stems in some 
                          way or other from natural reason, it must be the case 
                          that all the moral precepts belong to the law of nature—though 
                          in different ways.
 For there are some precepts of a sort that every man’s 
                          natural reason judges immediately and per se 
                          that such‑and‑such should be done or should 
                          not be done, e.g., “Honor your father and your mother,” 
                          “You shall not kill,” and “You shall not steal” (Exodus 
                          20:12‑15).  Precepts of this sort belong 
                          to the law of nature absolutely speaking.
 But other precepts are such that it is the wise who, 
                          after a more subtle investigation by reason, judge that 
                          they should be observed.  And these precepts belong 
                          to the law of nature, but in such a way that they require 
                          the sort of teaching by which the young are instructed 
                          by the wise—e.g., “Stand up in the presence of a hoary 
                          head, and honor the elderly person” (Leviticus 19:32), 
                          and others of this sort.
 Finally, 
                          there are other precepts such that in order to make 
                          a judgment about them, human reason needs divine instruction, 
                          through which we learn about divine things, e.g., “You 
                          shall not make for yourself a graven image, nor any 
                          likeness ..... nor shall you take the name of your God 
                          in vain” (Exodus 20:4,7).
 
                        
                      Reply to objection 1 and objection 2 
                      and objection 3:  The 
                      replies to the objections are clear from has been said. |