d it was reasonable that the amount of first-fruits should not be
fixed by law, since, as stated above, first-fruits are offered by way
of oblation, a condition of which is that it should be voluntary.
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QUESTION 87

OF TITHES
(In Four Articles)

Next we must consider tithes, under which head there are four points
of inquiry:

(1) Whether men are bound by precept to pay tithes?

(2) Of what things ought tithes to be paid?

(3) To whom ought they to be paid?

(4) Who ought to pay tithes?
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FIRST ARTICLE [II-II, Q. 87, Art. 1]

Whether Men Are Bound to Pay Tithes Under a Necessity of Precept?

Objection 1: It would seem that men are not bound by precept to pay
tithes. The commandment to pay tithes is contained in the Old Law
(Lev. 27:30), "All tithes of the land, whether of corn or of the
fruits of trees, are the Lord's," and further on (Lev. 27:32): "Of
all the tithes of oxen and sheep and goats, that pass under the
shepherd's rod, every tenth that cometh shall be sanctified to the
Lord." This cannot be reckoned among the moral precepts, because
natural reason does not dictate that one ought to give a tenth part,
rather than a ninth or eleventh. Therefore it is either a judicial or
a ceremonial precept. Now, as stated above (I-II, Q. 103, A. 3; Q.
104, A. 3), during the time of grace men are hound neither to the
ceremonial nor to the judicial precepts of the Old Law. Therefore men
are not bound now to pay tithes.

Obj. 2: Further, during the time of grace men are bound only to those
things which were commanded by Christ through the Apostles, according
to Matt. 28:20, "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I
have commanded you"; and Paul says (Acts 20:27): "I have not spared
to declare unto you all the counsel of God." Now neither in the
teaching of Christ nor in that of the apostles is there any mention
of the paying of tithes: for the saying of our Lord about tithes
(Matt. 23:23), "These things you ought to have done" seems to refer
to the past time of legal observance: thus Hilary says (Super Matth.
can. xxiv): "The tithing of herbs, which was useful in foreshadowing
the future, was not to be omitted." Therefore during the time of
grace men are not bound to pay tithes.

Obj. 3: Further, during the time of grace, men are not more bound to
the legal observances than before the Law. But before the Law tithes
were given, by reason not of a precept but