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Orthodox Doctrine (Summary of Christian Divinity)

Metropolitan Platon of Moscow, tr. Pinkerton, 1814

12. Part 3, Section 12: The Eighth Commandment

In the eighth commandment God forbiddeth every kind of theft and injustice; and requireth, that to promote the general good, we should regard our neighbour’s interest as our own.

There are three kinds of theft.

The life of man can neither be free from danger, nor happy, if his property is not preserved from thieves; but under the word theft are to be understood different kinds of dishonesty, that is, different ways, whatever they may be, in which one man unlawfully appropriates to himself that which belongs to another. There are three kinds of dishonesty, viz. open, secret, and that which is accomplished by deceit.

1. Open dishonesty is when any one takes by force that which is the property of another, as highwaymen, who commit robbery, or as potentates who take by force from their subjects, and the powerful from the weak, their estates, houses, servants, or lands, &c. or oblige them to sell that which they wish not to dispose of, or to sell it below its value. They too are chargeable with open dishonesty, who oblige their labourers to work more than they agreed to, or than corresponds with the reward they give them, or who, by intrigue, reduce free people into slavery, or, without permission, make use of other people’s property, such as clothes, or any other articles, or who plough on other people’s grounds, or unlawfully demand waggons,¹ or hold back part of the wages due for work or for service. Similar to these also are those unprincipled monopolizers, who, when people are in extreme need, for instance in the time of scarcity, refuse to sell corn except at an exorbitant price; or those who take houses, or lands, or horses in pawn; or such as will not grant assistance except upon heavy conditions, even when persons are in the utmost distress, and though the help required be not great, as for instance, to draw near with a boat to him that is drowning in the water, &c. Those also belong to this class, who, seeing their neighbour in need, will not lend him either money, or bread, or any thing else, or who withhold those things that have been given in pawn; and by other such ways openly rob their neighbour, and treat with unkindness.

2. Secret dishonesty or theft, is when any one carries off an article without the will or knowledge of the owner. Such thieves are those deceitful fellows who plunder houses, shops, barns, farm-yards, fisheries, gardens, forests, hay-fields, &c. But there are thieves upon a greater scale, who cause loss to the nation at large; for instance, such as import contraband goods, or rob the national treasury, or take away the precious articles belonging to churches or monasteries; which last kind of theft is called sacrilege. They also are guilty of the crime of stealing, who, though they have found articles that are lost, and know to whom they belong, do not return them, or who conceal strayed cattle, or runaway slaves,² and appropriate them to themselves. But those are dreadfully inhuman thieves, who steal in the time of a fire, and thereby aggravate the distress of such as are already ruined by the conflagration.

3. Cunning dishonesty, consists in getting possession of another’s property through deceit. Such dishonesty takes place in various ways; namely, when any one sells an article dearer than it is worth, or deceives by measure or weight, or sells bad commodities for good. Instances of this are the mixing chaff among corn, and water with wine, or giving false money for good, and particularly the secret coinage of base money, or the taking more custom than is lawful. To this class belong those judges who take bribes, and thus, whether they give a right or wrong sentence, they steal; also those who appoint unworthy and unfit persons to public offices; for thereby the worthy are excluded, the public offices are filled with improper characters, and the treasury becomes the prey of thieves.

The spiritual powers are guilty of the same sin, when they ordain a person to the office of a bishop, or archbishop, or to any other office of the church for a reward; such wickedness is denominated Simony. Those also steal who, being stewards or overseers, conceal the incomes, or add unjustly to the expenditure on the estate; or who, by their negligence, lessen their masters’ income. Those also belong to this class who make false testaments, and unjustly appropriate to themselves property which does not belong to them, or who falsely stile themselves the nearest relations of a person deceased, in order to become his heirs.

Such likewise should be accounted thieves, as having been engaged to work for a sufficient reward, unjustly and carelessly spend their time in loitering in place of labour. Also those deceitful beggars, who being healthy, and in no need, pretend to be diseased and poor, or feign some kind of lying stories, as being ruined by fire,³ or robbed; or who beg alms falsely in the name of others, as, for instance, to support hospitals, or to ransom prisoners, or for such other benevolent purposes. Hypocrites ought also to be ranked with these deceivers, who, under the garb of false sanctity, or by unlawful devices, represent Mosches,⁴ of saints, and pictures, as wonder-workers, and thereby deceive the common people, and get them to give alms. Such are also flatterers and fawners, who, though they receive never so much for their flattery and fawning, still continue to practise deceit. There are various other ways of dishonesty, which, though not mentioned here, yet may easily be understood from the examples now given.

Here it is necessary to be known, that the sin of theft is not pardoned till such time as the article stolen be restored to its owner; or if this is impossible, till an equivalent is given for the loss sustained. And if there are such, as, out of poverty and want, are unable to return either the article stolen, or an equivalent, then, if such a person manifests a sincere desire to return what he took away, his sincere desire may be accepted, with an honest confession of the sin, and manifestation of sorrow on account of it. Otherwise, this sin is not forgiven, because, in such a man, real repentance does not exist.

Antidotes against Theft.

In order to keep clear of that mean and most injurious sin of theft, antidotes are necessary to preserve us from the sources in which it originates. These sources are avarice, or an insatiable desire to gather riches, and laziness or idleness. The avaricious can be satisfied with nothing, and he accounts every means lawful if he can only increase his gains; the idle and the lazy willingly reduce themselves to poverty, and then they are obliged to steal for support. Therefore, every one ought to remain diligent in his calling, and derive his support from honest labour. It is better to have little and be an honest man, than to possess much, with the shameful name of a thief and a dishonourable person. We should also trust in the providence of God, who, we are assured in the gospel, careth for the smallest of birds, and sustains and clothes the quick-withering flower; how much more will he not forsake us, if we, trusting in his bounty, do not faint, and keep in remembrance, that the poverty of conscious fidelity shall be adorned and rewarded with the riches of heaven!

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