Caput XIV.
Interest is prohibited by divine law, from which the saying of Cato comes, lending money at interest is to kill a man. Clothing accepted as a pledge must be returned before nightfall; and by the term interest, it is understood anything demanded beyond the principal: after which follows the condemnation of the rich for their extortion from their dependents.
46. This is not a new or perfunctory evil, which is prohibited by the prescription of the old and divine law. The people who plundered Egypt, who crossed the sea on foot, are warned to beware of the money of usury. And when it has once or with much repetition prescribed other sins, it has often warned about usury. You have it in Exodus: And if you lend money to a beggar, an orphan, a poor person, you shall not suffocate him, you shall not impose interest on him (Exod. XXII, 25). He shows what it is to suffocate, that is, to impose interest; for he strangles and, what is worse, the soul of the creditor with a noose: in this way he expresses both the violence of a robber and the ugly knot of death. But if you have taken as a pledge the garment of your neighbor, you shall return it before sunset; for that is his covering only, that is his garment of shame in which he will sleep. But if he cries out to me, I will hear him. Have you heard, money-lenders, what the Law says, of which the Lord said: I have not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17)? What the Lord did not abolish, do you abolish? To seek interest, he says, is suffocation. This too was said late abroad by some of their wise men: What is money-lending? To kill a man, he says (Cicero, book II of Offices, at the end). But certainly not Cato before Moses, who received the law. He came much later.
47. If you shall receive as a pledge the garment of your neighbor, you shall restore it before sunset, lest his shame appear when he is naked (Exod. XXII, 26 and 27). But you strip and leave naked, and do not restore. See that the sun does not set upon your greed, lest the sun of justice set upon you; for you do not hold justice, or the sun of iniquity may be hidden upon your crimes. The day also perishes unwillingly, the night rushes in like the Jews, who when the devil had sent himself into their hearts, rose up to betrayal, and night came; for the sun of justice had set upon them, and had set upon them. He who entered his heart, made darkness for him, so that he did not see the author of light. There the wretched man perished in that banquet in which others are saved. Therefore, return the debtor's clothing, in which he may sleep and be at peace. If you are unwilling to return it, I will hear him, for I am merciful. If you do not hear him, I will hear him, I will have mercy, I will not despise the prayer of the needy.
48. In Deuteronomy it is also written: You shall not exact interest from your brother on money, interest on food, or interest on anything that is lent. You may exact interest from a foreigner, but not from your brother (Deut. XXIII, 19 and 20). You see how significant these words are. Do not, it says, exact interest from your brother, that is, from someone with whom you should have everything in common, you exact interest from him? Your brother, partner of nature and heir of grace, do not demand more from him whom it is difficult to retrieve what you have given, unless he has the means to repay.
49. And because many people, when they lend money to merchants, do not demand interest on the money, but receive benefits from their goods as if they were interest (Commentary on the Sentences, dist. 14, q. 3, c. Plerique), let them hear what the Law says: You shall not take interest from your brother on food or on anything that may be lent at interest. For this deceit and circumvention of the Law, not observance, is it. And do you think you are acting piously because you receive a gift from a merchant? Therefore, he commits fraud in the price of goods, from which he pays you interest. You are the author of that fraud, you are a participant, whatever he cheats benefits you. And food is interest, and clothing is interest, and whatever comes to chance is interest: whatever name you wish to give it, it is interest. If it is lawful, why do you refuse the term, why do you hide under a cover? If it is unlawful, why do you seek profit?
50. What is worse, this is a vice of many people, and especially the wealthy, who fill their cellars for this purpose. If someone thinks of organizing a feast, they send a message to the merchant to bring them the cup of absinthe free of charge: they direct themselves to the innkeeper to inquire about Picenum wine or Tyrian wine: they go to the butcher to procure meat: they go to someone else to adorn themselves with fruit. And so they consider these acts as acts of kindness, which are sustained by the danger of others. You drink, and another person is dissolved in tears: you feast, and you choke others with your food: you delight in music, and another person laments with miserable howls: you taste fruit, and another person devours thorns. Do they gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? A thorn is for use, a hundredth thorn is interest, a thistle is interest, it burns badly. So how can you bear fruit from thorns? If this fruit does not grow from thorns, that eternal one will be born. You enrich yourself from hardships, you seek profit from tears, you feed on another's hunger, you forge silver from the spoils of stripped men: and you judge yourself rich, when you demand alms from a poor person? But listen to what the Savior says: Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. (Luke VI, 24).
Caput XV.
It is only permitted to demand interest from a stranger, that is, someone who may be killed: a brother, however, who is a partner in faith or in law, is never permitted to be charged interest. Any interest is prohibited, and blessings are given to those who refrain from it, with an exhortation to mercy and truth.
51. But perhaps you will say that it is written: You shall charge interest to foreigners (Deut. XXIII, 20); and you do not consider what the Gospel says, which is more complete. But for now let us consider the words of the Law itself: You shall not charge interest to your brother, it says, but you may charge interest to a foreigner. Who were the foreigners at that time, if not the Amalekites, if not the Amorites, if not the enemies? Charge interest there, it says. To whom you wish to harm rightly, to whom weapons are properly directed, to him interest is legitimately imposed. Whom you cannot easily defeat in war, from this one you can quickly take revenge. Demand interest from one who it is not a crime to kill. He who demands interest fights without a sword; he who was an exacting usurious enemy avenges himself without a sword. Therefore, where there is the right of war, there is also the right of interest. But your brother is the entirety, first of faith, then of Roman law: I will proclaim your name to my brothers, I will praise you in the midst of the Church (Ps. XXI, 23).
52. Finally, even in Leviticus, the Law prescribes that interest should not be demanded from a brother. For you have it thus: And your brother shall live with you, you shall not give him your money at interest, nor shall you give him your food to be received back in abundance (Lev. 25:36). Generally, this divine sentiment excluded every kind of increase. Hence, David also considered it blessed and worthy of heavenly habitation, who did not give money at interest (Ps. 14:5). If therefore he who has not given, is blessed; without a doubt he who has given for interest is cursed. Why therefore do you choose curse rather than blessing? You can be blessed if you want, you can be just. For a just man, according to Ezekiel (Ezek. XVIII, 7), is one who returns a pledge to the debtor, and does not give his money for interest, and does not receive surplus, and turns away his hand from injustice: This man is just, he will live by life, says the Lord (Ibid., 9). Whoever does not give back the pledge, and sets his eyes on idols, commits iniquity, gives with usury, and accepts excess, this one shall not live. All these iniquities he has committed, he shall die in death: his blood shall be upon him. See how he has joined the moneylender with the idolater, as if he were equating the crime. Therefore, choose what is sweet.
Why are you always sad, why are you always most bitter, why are you always anxious? Let mercy sometimes proceed from you, let truth proceed: let lying be condemned, let fraud be hated. You have taught perjury: a loan is called a sacrament, where perjury is prepared. You often prepare it when the money has been returned, so that the contract does not appear: afterwards you swear that you did not receive the money. Therefore, do not always be miserable, always greedy, always mournful. The lions are, and they change their fierceness: 'Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness' (Judges 14:14); 'It is Greek to me, and it is sad; thus we find.' However, this is understood in reference to the strong; because a lion is strong in fierceness, and he who is wild is sad. And may mercy come forth from you who devour money and greed; for this is the food of the needy: and may sweetness come forth from sadness, so that you may pardon him who has nothing with which to pay. Why do you drag out sins like a long rope and the yoke of calves unceasingly? This happens, of course, when you extend interest. You hold on to a poor debtor, either out of some favor or where there is no hope of profit. And I say this according to your greed.
Caput XVI.
From an evangelical precept, we must lend to those from whom nothing is expected, even to enemies: the most fruitful interest is that which is lent to the Lord: and one must not doubt his poverty, which bestows true wealth.
54. Moreover, the Lord in the Gospel thinks that lending should be done more to those from whom repayment is not expected. For he says: And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful (Luke 6:34-35). Note that you have received the name 'lender' from the Lord, and the one who is obligated to your loan also has that name. Sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back what was lent. In this transaction, both the sinner and the lender become debtors. But you, love your enemies. Do not debate what your enemies deserve, but rather, what you should do. Give to those from whom you do not expect to receive, and what is given will be returned to you. There is no loss here, but gain. Giving the minimum, you will receive much: giving on earth, and it will be repaid to you in heaven; you lose interest, but you will have great reward; by ceasing to be lenders, you will become sons of the Most High; be merciful, for you will be proven as heirs of the eternal Father.
55. But you delight in the title of moneylenders and usurers. I do not envy you for that either. I will teach you how you can be good moneylenders, how you can seek good interest. Solomon says: He who lends to the Lord shows mercy to the poor, and his loan will be repaid to him (Prov. XIX, 17). Behold, a good profit is made from evil: behold, an irreproachable moneylender: behold, praiseworthy interest. Therefore, do not consider me envious of your benefits anymore. Do you think that I will take away a debtor from you? God provides, I substitute Christ, I show him who cannot defraud you. Therefore, generously give your money to the poor in the hand of the Lord. He is obligated and bound: he writes down whatever he has received from the needy: his caution is the Gospel: he promises for all the needy, he declares faith; why do you hesitate to give? If someone from this world's riches offers himself, promising his faith for a debtor, immediately give him the money: the Lord of heaven is poor to you, and the creator of this world; and yet you deliberate whom you seek as a wealth guarantor.
56. But he became poor, though he was rich, for our sake. Therefore, you see that his faith is rich, his faith is sufficient; he became poor, so that he could pay for us, and even poverty itself did not deceive him; for he made the rich whom you considered to be poor. For the Apostle says: He became poor, though he was rich, so that you may be enriched through his poverty (II Cor. VIII, 9). It is a good poverty, which bestows riches. Do not therefore fear poverty, so that you may be rich. Give idle money, and you will receive fruitful grace, and you will support the needs of the poor, and the burden of care will be lessened for you. What the poor receive will not perish; and what you give to the needy will be preserved without a guardian. But if you seek an increase of interest, in the Law there is a blessing, in the Gospel there is a heavenly reward: what is sweeter than a blessing; what is greater than heaven? If the use of food is desired, it is also available, as we read: For he who has compassion on the poor, he himself will be fed (Prov. 22:9).
Caput XVII.
There is an objection, in which some deny that it is generally prohibited to retain a pledge, but they restrict it to the pledges of the poor according to the Law.
Therefore, return the pledges that you hold, since you have found a suitable guarantor. But they are still murmuring, saying that even though they can hold pledges, they defend themselves with the Law. For they say: It is written in Deuteronomy: If you have any debt from your neighbor, you shall not enter his house to take a pledge, but you shall stand outside, and the man to whom you owe the debt shall bring the pledge to you outside. But if that man is poor, you shall not sleep in his pledge; rather, you shall return the pledge to him at sunset, and he shall sleep in his own garment, and he shall bless you, and there shall be mercy for you in the presence of the Lord your God (Deut. XXIV, 10 et seq.). And elsewhere, it is said: You shall not take a millstone as a pledge, nor the upper millstone of a mill; for he is using it as a pledge (Ibid., 6). And elsewhere: You shall not take a widow's garment as a pledge (Ibid., 17). From this they argue that specific pledges are prohibited, not all of them, that is, those of the poor and the widow. It is also forbidden to take a millstone and the upper millstone of a mill as a pledge.
But when the Lord Himself says through the prophet Ezechiel (Ezech. XVIII, 7) that the one who returns a pledge is just, and the one who withholds it is unjust, He clearly suggests that not just some specific pledge, but every pledge should be returned. When Job says: 'I used to lay down a law against anyone who had a complaint against me, and I would wear a crown as I read it aloud. If I didn't give back what was owed to me, I took nothing from the debtor' (Job. XXXI, 26-27). Since the Lord commands us to not expect anything in return from those to whom we have given a loan (Luc. VI, 34), how can they believe that a pledge should be retained according to the Law?
Caput XVIII.
In order to respond sufficiently to those who argue that we are prompted by divine law to engage in usury, it is asked what a just person, for example Peter, could give as interest; and it is shown that those are his words which he lends at interest.
59. But lest they should now break out again in the same manner, and should say that they are also incited to usury by the oracle of the Law, because it is written, Thou shalt lend to many nations, but thou shalt not borrow (Deut. XXVIII, 12); it is a fitting time to discuss and teach more fully and expressly what is to be lent on interest, and what regulations the Law prescribes concerning it; for the cause of interest precedes the cause of the pledge. 'The sinner,' it is said, 'shall borrow, and shall not pay: but the righteous showeth mercy, and giveth' (Ps. XXXVI, 21). Listen, debtor, to what you ought to avoid: listen, creditor, to what you ought to imitate. And below: I was young, and I grew old, and I have not seen the just forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread. All day long he shows mercy and lends (Ibid., 25). So why does this just man lend all day long? Therefore, the just man is rich; and the richer each individual is, the more just he is: whoever has more to lend, he himself will be more just. But it is difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
60. So tell me, holy David, what did he lend for? He presented testimony against me, unless you come to my aid. Peter said: I have no silver or gold (Acts 3:6), was he not just? Therefore, explain to me what he lent. For you have said: Blessed is the man who has mercy and lends; he will order his words with judgment (Psalm 112:5). I found what the just man lent. Let Peter himself also teach me what he lent, who said to the poor man looking at him and John: I have no silver or gold. Therefore, will you give nothing to the poor, apostle? You do give, and you give more than others: you give to the needy, which others cannot give: you give to the needy, so that they may not be in need: you give to the needy, which even the rich desire to receive: you give to the needy, which those who possess silver and gold do not know how to bestow; because greed hinders them: you give to the needy, so that you may make them richer than those rich. You have stirred my soul, I desire this gift of yours. Tell me, I ask, what you give. Do not keep me in suspense for long, I desire to ask, if you quickly solve. But you have solved quickly: you did not delay the needy, you did not despise the prayer of the poor, you did not make him despair for longer, you did not go up to the temple empty-handed saying: I have no silver and gold. Not only do those with silver and gold go up with full hands, but also the poor one goes up not empty-handed: he goes up and he is not empty, because he does not have gold and silver. Let us hear what that poor man has to give: But what I have, he says, I give to you. In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise and walk (Ibid.). O desired poverty; O richer than need! The one who limped, to whom the rich gave, the poor man gave and immediately the lame man became well.