על החוקים לפרטיהם, ספר ד א׳On the Special Laws, Book IV 1
א׳
1THE SPECIAL LAWS BOOK IV
On The Special Laws Which Fall Under Three Of The Ten Commandments, The Eighth Against Stealing, The Ninth Against Bearing False Witness, The Tenth Against Covetousness, And On Laws Which Fall Under Each, And On Justice Which Is Proper To All Ten, Which Concludes The Whole Treatise.
[1] The laws directed against adultery and murder and the offences which fall under either head have been already discussed with all possible fullness as I venture to think. But we must also examine the one which follows next in order, the third in the second table or eighth in the two taken together, which forbids stealing.
On The Special Laws Which Fall Under Three Of The Ten Commandments, The Eighth Against Stealing, The Ninth Against Bearing False Witness, The Tenth Against Covetousness, And On Laws Which Fall Under Each, And On Justice Which Is Proper To All Ten, Which Concludes The Whole Treatise.
[1] The laws directed against adultery and murder and the offences which fall under either head have been already discussed with all possible fullness as I venture to think. But we must also examine the one which follows next in order, the third in the second table or eighth in the two taken together, which forbids stealing.
ב׳
2[2] Anyone who carries off any kind of property belonging to another and to which he has no right must be written down as a public enemy, if he does so openly and with violence, because he combines shameless effrontery with defiance of the law. But if he does it secretly and tries to avoid observation like a thief, since his ashamedness serves to palliate his misdeeds, he must be punished in his private capacity, and, as he is liable only for the damage which he has attempted to work, he must repay the stolen goods twofold and thus by the damage which he most justly suffers make full amends for the injustice of his gains.
ג׳
3[3] If his lack of means makes the payment of this penalty impossible he must be sold, since it is only right that one who has allowed himself to become a slave to profit-making of an utterly lawless kind should be deprived of his liberty. And in this way the injured party also will not be turned away without a solatium or seem to have his interest neglected through the impecuniosity of the thief.
ד׳
4[4] No one should denounce this sentence as inhuman, for the person sold is not left a slave for all time but he is released at or before the seventh year under the general proclamation as I have shown in the treatise on the seventh day.
ה׳
5[5] Nor need he complain because he has to repay twice the value of the stolen goods, or even if he is sold. For he is guilty in several ways. First because dissatisfied with what he has he desires a greater abundance and thus fortifies the malignant and well-nigh deadly passion of coveteousness. Secondly because it is the property of others which he eyes so avidly and sets his snares to secure for himself and deprive the owners of their possession. Thirdly because the concealment which he also practises, while it secures him the profits of the business often for his sole enjoyment, leads him to divert the charge in each case to innocent persons and so blindfold the quest for the truth.
ו׳
6[6] It would seem too that he is his own accuser, since his conscience convicts him when he filches in this stealthy way, for he must be actuated by shame or fear. Shame is a sign that he feels his conduct to be disgraceful, for only disgraceful actions are followed by shame. Fear would show that he considers himself to deserve punishment, for it is the thought of punishment which produces terror.