rged the first unfortunate to defy the Almighty. In the other
'twas hatred for the Church that honors the image of Christ crucified
as one honors the portrait of a mother. The blasphemy in the second
case reached God as effectively as in the first, and the outrage
contained in both is of an order that human language is incapable of
qualifying.

CHAPTER XLVI.
CURSING.

TO bless one is not merely to wish that one well, but also to invoke
good fortune upon his head, to recommend him to the Giver of all goods.
So, too, cursing, damning, imprecation, malediction--synonymous terms--
is stronger than evil wishing and desiring. He who acts thus invokes a
spirit of evil, asks God to visit His wrath upon the object cursed, to
inflict death, damnation, or other ills. There is consequently in such
language at least an implicit calling upon God, for the evil invoked is
invoked of God, either directly or indirectly. And that is why the
Second Commandment concerns itself with cursing.

Thus it will be seen that this abuse of language offends against
religion and charity as well. To the malice of calling down evil upon a
brother's head is added the impiety of calling upon God to do it, to
curse when He should be prayed to bless.

Of course all depends on what is the object of our imprecations. One
species of this vice contains blasphemy pure and simple, that is, a
curse which attains something that refers to God in an especial manner,
and as such is cursed. The idea of God cannot be separated from that of
the soul, of faith, of the Church, etc. Malediction addressed to them
reaches God, and contains all the malice of blasphemy.

When the malediction falls on creatures, without any reference to their
relationship to God, we have cursing in its proper form with a special
malice of its own. Directly, charity alone is violated, but charity has
obligations which are binding under pain of mortal sin. No man can sin
against himself or against his neighbor without offending God.

A curse may be, and frequently is, emphasized with a vow or an oath.
One may solemnly promise God in certain contingencies that he will damn
another to hell; or he may call upon God to witness his execrations.
The malice of two specific sins is here accumulated, the offense is
double in this one abominable utterance; nothing can be conceived more
horrible, unless it be the indifferent frequency with which it is
perpetrated.

The guilt incurred by those wh