The Heart's Law

The Scriptural locus classicus generally referenced to support the proposition that the existence of a universal Natural Law is, in addition to a philosophical truth, also a revealed truth is St. Paul's epistle to the Romans, in particular Romans 2:15. The Jews may have the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments. All men (i.e., the "Greeks"), however, have the Ten Commandments written in their hearts. As St. Paul proclaims in Romans 2:15a, all men and women without distinction have, "the law are written in their hearts," the "legis scriptum in cordibus suis," "τοῦ νόμου γραπτὸν ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις αὐτῶν," the فَهُمْ يُظْهِرُونَ جَوْهَرَ الشَّرِيعَةِ مَكْتُوباً فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ (fahum iuthhruna jawhala as-shari'ai maktuban fi qulubihim), "dass Gottes Gesetz in ihre Herzen geschrieben," "la ley de Dios escrita en su corazón," "la loi écrite dans leurs coeurs," "la legge è scritta nei loro cuori," . . . . .

St. Irenaeus states: "From the beginning, God had implanted in the heart of man the precepts of the natural law. Then he was content to remind him of them. This was the Decalogue." St. Irenaeus, Adv. haeres. 4, 15, 1.