Medieval Sourcebook:
Thomas Aquinas: On Usury, c. 1269-71
Of the Sin of Usury, Which is Committed in Loans:
To take usury for money lent is unjust in itself, because this is to sell what does not
exist, and this evidently leads to inequality which is contrary to justice....
Now money, according to the Philosopher (Ethics v, Polit. i) was invented
chiefly for the purpose of exchange: and consequently the proper and principal use of
money is its consumption or alienation
whereby it is sunk in exchange. Hence it is by its very nature unlawful to take payment
for the use of money lent, which payment is known as usury: and just as man is bound to
restore ill-gotten goods, so is he bound to restore the money which he has taken in
usury....
A lender may without sin enter an agreement with the borrower for compensation for the
loss he incurs of something he ought to have, for this is not to sell the use of money but
to avoid a loss. It may also happen that the borrower avoids a greater loss than the
lender incurs, wherefore the borrower may repay the lender with what he has gained. But
the lender cannot enter an agreement for compensation, through the fact that he makes no
profit out of his money: because he must not sell that which he has not yet and may be
prevented in many ways from having....
It is lawful to borrow for usury from a man who is ready to do so and is a usurer by
profession; provided the borrower have a good end in view, such as the relief of his own
or another's need.
Source.
From: St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, trans. Fathers of the English
Dominican Province, (London: R. T. Washburne, Ltd., 1918), pp. 330-340, reprinted in Roy
C. Cave & Herbert H. Coulson, A Source Book for Medieval Economic History, (Milwaukee:
The Bruce Publishing Co., 1936; reprint ed., New York: Biblo & Tannen, 1965), p. 182
Scanned by Jerome S. Arkenberg, Cal. State Fullerton. The text has been modernized by
Prof. Arkenberg.
This text is part of the Internet
Medieval Source Book. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and
copy-permitted texts related to medieval and Byzantine history.
Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright.
Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational
purposes and personal use. If you do reduplicate the document, indicate the source. No
permission is granted for commercial use.
© Paul Halsall, September 1998
halsall@murray.fordham.edu
The Internet History Sourcebooks Project is located at the History Department of Fordham University, New York. The Internet
Medieval Sourcebook, and other medieval components of the project, are located at
the Fordham University Center
for Medieval Studies.The IHSP recognizes the contribution of Fordham University, the
Fordham University History Department, and the Fordham Center for Medieval Studies in
providing web space and server support for the project. The IHSP is a project independent of Fordham University. Although the IHSP seeks to follow all applicable copyright law, Fordham University is not
the institutional owner, and is not liable as the result of any legal action.
© Site Concept and Design: Paul Halsall created 26 Jan 1996: latest revision 20 Oct 2025 [CV]
|
