TREATISE ON THE PRECEPTS OF THE DECALOGUE

As the Symbol is the epitome of things to be believed, so the Decalogue is the epitome of things to be done. For it comprehends the ten precepts handed down by God to Moses on Mount Sinai, in which all the duties of man which the natural law prescribes are contained more or less openly. The first three immediately regard God, the remaining ones are referred to the neighbor.

I am the Lord thy God.... Thou shalt not have strange gods.¹

This precept, insofar as it is affirmative, prescribes in the first place the acts of Religion, by which the worship owed to the Divinity is rendered; insofar as it is negative, it prohibits vices opposed to Religion.