mandment. All such offenses are not equally grievous, but each
contains a malice of its own, which is prescribed under the head of
killing.

Enmity that takes the form of fighting, assault and battery, is clearly
a breach of the law of God. It is lawful to wound, maim and otherwise
disable an assailant, on the principle of self-defense, when there is
no other means of protecting oneself against attack. But outside this
contingency, such conduct is ruffianism before man, and sin before God.
The State alone has the right to inflict penalties and avenge wrongs;
to turn this right over to every individual would be destructive of
society. If this sort of a thing is unlawful and criminal when there
might be some kind of an excuse for it on the ground of injury
received, the malice thereof is aggravated considerably by the fact of
there being no excuse at all, or only imaginary ones.

There is another form of enmity or hatred that runs not to blows but to
words. Herein is evil, not because of any bodily injury wrought, of
which there is none, but because of the diabolical spirit that
manifests itself, a spirit reproved by God and which, in given
circumstances, is ready to resort to physical injury and even to the
letting of blood. There can be no doubt that hatred in itself is
forbidden by this commandment, for "whosoever hateth his brother is a
murderer," according to St. John. It matters little, therefore, whether
such hatred be in deeds or in words; the malice is there and the sin is
consummated. A person, too weak to do an enemy bodily harm, may often
use his or her tongue to better effect than another could his fists,
and the verbal outrage thus committed may be worse than a physical one.

It is not even necessary that the spirit of enmity show itself at all
on the outside for the incurring of such guilt as attends the violation
of this commandment. It is sufficient that it possess the soul and go
no farther than a desire to do harm. This is the spirit of revenge, and
it is none the less sinful in the eyes of God because it lacks the
complement of exterior acts. It is immoral to nourish a grudge against
a fellow-man. Such a spirit only awaits an occasion to deal a blow,
and, when that occasion shows itself, will be ready, willing and
anxious to strike. The Lord refuses the gifts and offerings and prayers
of such people as these; they are told to go and become reconciled with
their brother and lay low the spirit that hol