Therefore this commandment is given first of all that every one shall help his neighbor to secure his rights,and not allow them to be hindered or twisted,but shall promote and strictly maintain them,no matter whether he be judge or witness,and let it pertain to whatsoever it will.And especially is a goal set up here for our jurists that they be careful to deal truly and uprightly with every case,allowing right to remain right,and,on the other hand,not perverting anything [by their tricks and technical points turning black into white and making wrong out to be right],nor glossing it over or keeping silent concerning it,irrespective of a person's money,possession,honor,or power.This is one part and the plainest sense of this commandment concerning all that takes place in court.
Next,it extends very much further,if we are to apply it to spiritual jurisdiction or administration;here it is a common occurrence that every one bears false witness against his neighbor.For wherever there are godly preachers and Christians,they must bear the sentence before the world that they are called heretics,apostates,yea,seditious and desperately wicked miscreants.Besides the Word of God must suffer in the most shameful and malicious manner,being persecuted blasphemed,contradicted,perverted and falsely cited and interpreted.But let this pass;for it is the way of the blind world that she condemns and persecutes the truth and the children of God,and yet esteems it no sin.
In the third place,what concerns us all,this commandment forbids all sins of the tongue whereby we may injure or approach too closely to our neighbor.For to bear false witness is nothing else than a work of the tongue.Now,whatever is done with the tongue against a fellow-man God would have prohibited,whether it be false preachers with their doctrine and blasphemy,false judges and witnesses with their verdict,or outside of court by lying and evil-speaking.Here belongs particularly the detestable,shameful vice of speaking behind a person's back and slandering,to which the devil spurs us on and of which there would be much to be said.For it is a common evil plague that every one prefers hearing evil to hearing good of his neighbor;and although we ourselves are so bad that we cannot suffer that any one should say anything bad about us,but every one would much rather that all the world should speak of him in terms of gold,yet we cannot bear that the best is spoken about others.
Therefore,to avoid this vice we should note that no one is allowed publicly to judge and reprove his neighbor,although he may see him sin,unless he have a command to judge and to reprove.For there is a great difference between these two things,judging sin and knowing sin.
You may indeed know it,but you are not to judge it.I can indeed see and hear that my neighbor sins,but I have no command to report it to others.Now,if I rush in,judging and passing sentence,I fall into a sin which is greater than his.But if you know it,do nothing else than turn your ears into a grave and cover it,until you are appointed to be judge and to punish by virtue of your office.
Those,then,are called slanderers who are not content with knowing a thing,but proceed to assume jurisdiction,and when they know a slight offense of another,carry it into every corner,and are delighted and tickled that they can stir up another's displeasure [baseness],as swine roll themselves in the dirt and root in it with the snout.This is nothing else than meddling with the judgment and office of God,and pronouncing sentence and punishment with the most severe verdict.For no judge can punish to a higher degree nor go farther than to say:"He is a thief,a murderer,a traitor,"etc.Therefore,whoever presumes to say the same of his neighbor goes just as far as the emperor and all governments.For although you do not wield the sword,you employ your poisonous tongue to the shame and hurt of your neighbor.
God therefore would have it prohibited that any one speak evil of another even though he be guilty,and the latter know it right well;much less if he do not know it,and have it only from hearsay.But you say:Shall I not say it if it be the truth?Answer:Why do you not make accusation to regular judges?Ah,I cannot prove it publicly,and hence I might be silenced and turned away in a harsh manner [incur the penalty of a false accusation]."Ah,indeed,do you smell the roast?"If you do not trust yourself to stand before the proper authorities and to make answer,then hold your tongue.But if you know it,know it for yourself and not for another.For if you tell it to others,although it be true,you will appear as a liar,because you cannot prove it,and you are,besides acting like a knave.For we ought never to deprive any one of his honor or good name unless it be first taken away from him publicly.
False witness,then,is everything which cannot be properly proved.
Therefore,what is not manifest upon sufficient evidence no one shall make public or declare for truth;and in short,whatever is secret should be allowed to remain secret,or,at any rate,should be secretly reproved,as we shall hear.Therefore,if you encounter an idle tongue which betrays and slanders some one,contradict such a one promptly to his face,that he may blush thus many a one will hold his tongue who else would bring some poor man into bad repute from which he would not easily extricate himself.For honor and a good name are easily taken away,but not easily restored.
Thus you see that it is summarily forbidden to speak any evil of our neighbor,however the civil government,preachers,father and mother excepted,on the understanding that this commandment does not allow evil to go unpunished.Now,as according to the Fifth Commandment no one is to be injured in body,and yet Master Hannes [the executioner]
