also in urgent necessity; therefore poor people may take those things as due to themselves in urgent necessity.

"Ans. From this argument it would follow that this might be lawful not only in urgent but also in common necessity; which no one would say. Besides, when any one is obliged to give something to another, the other may not on that account steal it; and especially here, when it is not a debt of justice, but only of charity and mercy," &c. &c.

Concerning Recovery or Compensation. (90.)

"What is compensation?

"Ans. It is called in law, a mutual settling of debt and credit. It may be done in two ways, either by retaining so much, or by privately taking so much from the property of a debtor as the debtor owes.

"How manifold is compensation?

"Ans. Twofold; namely, manifest and secret. "What is manifest compensation?

"Ans. It is a mutual settling of debt and credit with a knowledge of the debtor: for instance, John owes Peter 100 for clothing, and Peter owes John 100 for wine; debt and credit are compensated, and satisfaction is made to both.

"Is manifest compensation always lawful?

"Ans. If the question is asked concerning retaining property due to another, because another owes me an equal amount, such compensation is lawful.

"It is also lawful to recover one's property in revenge of an act of theft, or when it is not yet put away in a safe place; because this has the plea of just defence: and what is more, many authors say, that this is lawfully done with moderate force, if the thing to be recovered is plainly in sight, and cannot otherwise be recovered; only let there be no scandal and other improprieties.

"But if a thing owned by another is manifestly taken, because the other owes that thing or an equivalent, such compensation is ordinarily unlawful; because it is contrary to the order of justice, and calculated to disturb the public peace.

"What compensation is called secret?

"Ans. That which is made without the knowledge of

the debtor. But it may be done in a threefold manner: 1st. By recovering one's property in the whole, unjustly kept back by another. 2d. By privately stealing from the debtor an equivalent to the amount due, if he will not pay or make restitution. 3d. By secretly retaining from the goods of the debtor so much as he owes me.

"Is secret compensation lawful ?

"Ans. St. Thomas, Art. 5. ad. 3., says: 'But he who by stealth takes his own property, unjustly kept back by another, sins indeed, not because he wrongs him who detains it, (and therefore he is not obliged to make any restitution or recompense,) but he sins against common justice, when he usurps to himself the judgment of his own case, passing by the established order of law. And therefore he is bound to make satisfaction to God, and to take care that the scandal among his neighbours, if any should thence arise, may be allayed.' "Hence Steyaert maintains that it is always unlawful, in Appendix, Controv. 4, &c.

"Besides, although the offence against the common law might sometimes be only a venial sin, yet other serious disorders are liable to follow, as scandal, infamy, risk of double payment, danger of frequent abuse against the common good, &c.; hence most authors, even those who defend it as lawful, say that it is dangerous in practice; and therefore, generally, the contrary is to be recommended.

"Yet Sylvius, Wiggers, de Cocq, Billuart, Collet, &c., teach that it may be lawful through circumstances, the following conditions being laid down:

"1. That the debt is certain and apparent, or that it is certainly agreed that the property is yours. Also, that it is due from justice, not from charity or any other virtue.

"2. That it cannot be recovered by any other method; for instance, by way of the law, except with great difficulty and inconvenience.

"3. That there is no danger of scandal and infamy : lest, for instance, he may be regarded as a thief by recovering in this way.

"4. That care must be taken lest the debtor in this way, should pay or restore twice.

"5. That a thing is taken the same in kind if it can be

done, and that no injury is done to a third person by taking his property; for instance, if lent to the debtor.

of

"6. That compensation be not made from the property a debtor deposited with a creditor, or from something lent: for this the laws forbid (Chap. Good faith respecting Deposit) nor can this compensation be made from property due to the state or governor: v. g., from tolls; thus also, he who has been condemned to give money or anything else, cannot use compensation.

"7. In order to avoid the difficulty of objections, Billuart adds, that it is requisite that all these things are ascertained, not by the private judgment of the person taking compensation, but in the opinion of some prudent man: lest iniquity should lie to itself.

But so many conditions and cautions, which can scarcely ever all be afforded, justly argue the weakness of this opinion : besides, the reason of St. Thomas always militates against it, that the person compensating himself sins against common justice, when he usurps to himself the judgment of his own case, neglecting the established order of the law.

"Whatever this may be, it is certain, however, that servants, although in fact they might receive less pay than the labour which they undergo is worth, yet may not on that account avail themselves of secret compensation; as is plain from this 37th proposition, condemned by Innocent XI.; 'servants and house-girls may secretly steal from their masters for the compensation of their labour, which they deem greater than the salary which they receive;' and authors extend this even to the case in which a servant has been compelled by poverty, &c., to serve for too little wages."

Concerning Small Thefts. (91.)

"It has been said, No. 88, that theft from its very nature is a mortal sin: yet it may be venial from the imperfect deliberation of the act, and the trifling value of the matter.

"Is theft always venial, when the matter which is taken away is trifling?

:

"Ans. No for it may become mortal in seven ways, just as any sin whatever, venial on account of the smallness of the matter, can become mortal; as may be seen, from No. 165, &c.

"Yet a theft, trifling as to matter, becomes mortal, principally in the three following ways:

"1. He sins mortally, who takes away a trifling matter, having the will, desire, or intention of taking away a valuable article, if opportunity were afforded.

"2. Any one sins mortally as often as he takes away a thing of little value, intending by many small thefts to reach a considerable sum, thus, v. g. he who from an intention of stealing 5 florins should have taken away at each time one farthing, would have committed up to that time 100 mortal sins: the reason is, because each theft proceeds from a bad intention.

"Daelman with some others maintains that many such thefts continually committed constitute one mortal theft, because they flow from one and the same prevailing, uninterrupted intention; but practically the thing amounts to the same, because this one is equivalent to many.

"3. Although any one should not have the intention either of taking away anything valuable, nor yet intend by small amounts to reach a considerable sum, yet he who often steals small amounts from one or even from different persons, sins mortally from the very circumstance that he makes up the same, perceiving, or being able and in duty bound to perceive, that it would reach a considerable amount. And hence the previous acts will be venial sins from the trifling value of the matter; but the act by which the amount is completed, sufficient for a mortal sin, will be mortal: because this last act is regarded as pertaining to an important amount, for the reason that the previous amounts coalesce with the last; and thus by willing the last, he by inference wills the former amounts.

"For the same reason, it must be said, that if, v. g. a person by the ninth trifling theft shall have completed an important amount, he will have sinned mortally, and he again sins mortally by adding the tenth trifling theft, and so of the rest, &c.

"In relation to this subject, this 38th proposition has been condemned by Innocent XI. A person is not bound under pain of mortal sin to restore what has been taken away by small thefts, however great the sum may be.'

"From what has been said, you will infer, that innkeep

ers, merchants, or those who keep a shop, who defraud in number, weight, or measure, even if at each time, they may intend to steal only something trifling, yet at each time sin mortally, because their intention is by such frauds to reach a considerable sum. Even if from the beginning they may not have had this intention, they still sin mortally every time after they have completed an important amount.

"Many authors say that a greater quantity of matter is requisite in order to be mortal, when things are taken away by small thefts from different persons, or from the same person at different times: but Braunman rejects this as pernicious in practice: because, in order to be mortal, a considerable absolute quantity of loss, or of another's property which is unjustly detained, is sufficient.

"When each one of several persons causes a loss to the same person, which, when taken together, is serious, do the amounts coalesce?

"Ans. No: unless they mutually co-operate. See Daelman, &c.

"Is he who takes a considerable sum by small thests, bound under mortal sin to restore the whole?

"Ans. No: BUT IN ORDER TO BE FREE FROM THE MORTAL SIN OF UNJUST DETENTION, IT IS SUFFICIENT TO MAKE RESTITUTION SO FAR THAT WHAT HE RETAINS MAY NO LONGER BE A SERIOUS AMOUNT.

"Yet authors remark that this is dangerous in practice: and hence confessors, in regard to all thieves, should be inexorable, and oblige the penitents to the restitution of all, even the minutest thefts; in order that thus they may more efficaciously be deterred from greater.

"How to proceed practically with him, who confesses that he has stolen, may be seen in Schema 7, in the volume concerning Penance."

Concerning the thefts of certain persons in particular. (92.)

"What is to be thought concerning thefts of children from the property of their parents?

"If the son steals a considerable amount from parents who are seriously unwilling, it is certain that he sins mortally.