disposition to defend the same, either by word or deed, he must go to the bishop, or some priest of the district, for instruction; and the latter must explain to him the precepts of religion, and, with the consent of the metropolitan, also give him the formulas of doctrine and the rules of faith. If any heretic, after having been instructed as aforesaid, should still persist in his error, he shall be liable to the penalty imposed by a preceding law; that is to say, the one which is provided for those who publicly defend their own sect, in opposition to our religion. And we hereby especially confirm such laws as are directed against the offences of the Jews, to wit: such as have been enacted concerning the wickedness of the Jews, or for the purpose of eradicating their errors. Thus, Jews shall no longer celebrate the Passover, according to their customs; or presume to marry, as formerly; or practise circumcision; or distinguish food as clean and unclean; or presume to torture Christians, or to testify against them, and no Jew shall circumcise a Christian slave. All Christian slaves who have been either sold or set at liberty by Jews, shall at once receive their freedom unconditionally, and under no circumstances shall a Christian slave remain in the service of a Jew. Concerning the law by which all Christians are forbidden to protect a Jew, we decree that no Christian, under any circumstances, by any act or favor, shall attempt to shelter or defend a Jew; or shall presume to conceal a judaizing Christian. We, therefore, decree that the severe laws formerly promulgated to suppress the perfidy of the aforesaid Jews shall remain in force, for all time; with the exception of such as are referred to in the two following chapters, which have been found to be contradictory to the others, as well as opposed to the principles of justice, and to our ordinances; and we hereby declare, in the plenitude of our wisdom, that said laws shall remain irrevocable and forever in force, provided they in no wise conflict with such others as we may hereafter promulgate. In respect to such edicts as seem to us improper and conflicting, the following two are repugnant to reason and to our institutions; wherefore they shall, henceforth, not be observed and shall have no force or effect in law. The first of these is that whereby the detestable power of liberating Christian slaves is bestowed upon the Jews. The second we condemn, because it subjects to the same penalty those who are guilty of different offences. While there are different degrees of guilt according to the laws, the latter do not always impose different penalties, but many crimes are treated alike, and each offence is not punished according to the measure of its guilt; for it is evident that crimes of greater and less gravity should not be punished in the same manner; especially as our Lord has said in the Divine Law that the penalty shall be in proportion to the offence; and, therefore, this law