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Poetry · Chapter
CCXXXIX explained
A brief reflection on the Ten Commandments, suggesting that the absence of explicit prohibitions does not prevent one from committing sins not listed.
What happens
A brief reflection on the Ten Commandments, suggesting that the absence of explicit prohibitions does not prevent one from committing sins not listed.
Themes in this chapter
Hypocrisy and Corruption
The stanza implies a loophole in moral law, highlighting the hypocrisy of exploiting unlisted sins.
Key passages
“There are but ten Commandments, true, But that’s no hardship, friend, to you; The sins whereof no line is writ You’re not commanded to commit.”
Though there are only ten commandments, that is no burden for you, because you are not commanded to avoid sins that are not written down.
The speaker sarcastically notes that the absence of a written prohibition on certain sins gives license to commit them.