Plato (Laws, v. 742) and Aristotle (Politics, I,
x, xi) considered interest as contrary to the nature of things; Aristophanes
expressed his disapproval of it, in the "Clouds" (1283 sqq.); Cato
condemned it (see Cicero, "De officiis, II, xxv), comparing it to homicide, as also did
Seneca (De beneficiis, VII, x) and Plutarch in his treatise against incurring debts….
Nevertheless, the 12th canon of the First Council of Carthage (345) and the
36th canon of the Council of Aix (789) have declared it to be reprehensible even for laymen to make money
by lending at interest. The canonical laws of the Middle Ages absolutely
forbade the practice. This prohibition is contained in the Decree of Gratian,
q. 3, C. IV, at the beginning, and c. 4, q. 4, C. IV; and in 1. 5, t. 19 of the Decretals, for example in
chapters 2, 5, 7, 9, 10, and 13. These chapters order the profit so obtained to
be restored; and Alexander III (c. 4,
"Super eo", eodem) declares that he has no power to dispense from the obligation. Chapters 1, 2,
and 6, eodem, condemns the strategems to which even clerics resorted to
evade the law of the general councils, and the Third of
the Lateran (1179) and the Second of Lyons (1274)
condemn usurers. In the Council of Vienne (1311) it was declared that if any personobstinately
maintained that there was no sin in the practice of demanding interest, he should be
punished as a heretic (see c.
"Ex gravi", unic. Clem., "De usuris", V, 5).
No comments:
Post a Comment