The linking of love to God and love towards the neighbour.

It is well known that the law delivered from Mount Sinai was written on two tablets, one of them relating to God, the other to men; and that these were in Moses' hand a single tablet, with the writing about God on the right side and that about men on the left.* Thus when it was presented to human eyes, the writing on both sides would be seen together; so one part would be visible to the other, like Jehovah talking with Moses, and Moses with Jehovah face to face, as we read. This was done so that the tablets thus joined should represent the linking of God with men, and reciprocally that of men with God. This was the reason why the law so written was called a covenant and a witness; a covenant means linking, and witness means living in accordance with agreements.

[2] These two tablets so joined allow us to see the linking of love to God and love towards the neighbour. The first tablet is concerned with everything to do with love to God, and these occupy the leading position: we should acknowledge one God, the divinity of His Human, and the holiness of the Word, and God is to be worshipped by means of the holy things coming from Him. It is clear that this is the subject of this tablet from the remarks made in Chapter 5 about the Ten Commandments. The second tablet is concerned with everything to do with love towards the neighbour; its first five commandments deal with actions and are called deeds, and the last two with matters of the will, so what is to do with charity in its origin. In these last it says, 'You are not to covet,' and when a person does not covet what is his neighbour's, then he wishes him well. The Ten Commandments contain everything to do with love to God and everything to do with love towards the neighbour; see 329-331 above. It was also shown there that the linking of the two tablets takes place with those who possess charity.

* Since Hebrew writing is from right to left, the right-hand column would be written first.