The Old Law Against Anger in the Heart

But why should we spend more time on the precepts of the gospel and the apostle, when even the old law, which is thought to be somewhat lenient, guards against the same thing? For it says, “You shall not hate your brother in your heart”; and again, “Do not keep in mind the injury done you by your fellow citizens”; and again, “The ways of those who keep wrongs in memory lead to death.” You see that there too wickedness is restrained not only in action but also in the secret thoughts, since it is commanded that hatred be rooted out of the heart completely, and not merely the paying back of a wrong, but the very memory of it. [a]