1. About Natural Right and Divine or Ecclesiastical Positive Right

18. About the first, we cannot find for the issue at hand a precept by which someone is bound to confession save one either of natural right or positive right, and the latter either of divine or ecclesiastical right.So there are three members in all, dealt with in turn: natural right [n.19], divine positive right [n.20], and ecclesiastical positive right [n.21]. ⁴⁹

19. Now that precept is a practical truth of natural right whose truth is known from the terms, and then it is a principle in the law of nature (as in speculative matters too a principle is known from the terms), or it is what evidently follows from such truth thus known, of which sort is a demonstrated practical conclusion. And strictly speaking, nothing else is of the law of nature save a principle or a demonstrated conclusion. However, by extending it as follows, sometimes that is said to be of the law of nature which is a practical truth consonant with the principles and conclusions of the law of nature, insofar as to everyone is it known at once that it agrees with such law. And hereby does it appear that Gratian [Decretum p.1 d.1“Natural right is what is contained in the Law and the Gospel” ⁵⁰] does not speak about the right of the law of nature correctly in wanting all the things that are in the scripture of the Old or New Testament to be of the law of nature; for neither are they all practical principles known from the terms, nor demonstrated practical conclusions, nor truths evidently consonant with such principles and conclusions. Therefore, exposition must be given of Gratian, that he is extending natural right to right posited by the Author of nature as it is distinguished from positive right, which clearly is posited by someone who is not author of nature.

20. The second member [n.18], namely about divine positive Law, is plain from what has been said [n.19, also Ord. IV d.1 nn.223-257, 343-345, 357, 370-381, 389-392].

For whatever is contained in Scripture for the time for which it is to be observed, and yet is not known from the terms, nor demonstrable from such known truths, nor at once evidently consonant with such truths, is merely of divine positive right, of which sort are all the ceremonies of Jews for the time of that law and of Christians for the time of our Law. For it is not known from the terms nor demonstrated nor evidently consonant with such truths that God is to be worshipped in the animal sacrifices of the Old Law (and this for all time), nor that he is to be worshipped in our ceremonies, namely in the offering of the Eucharist and the chanting of Psalms, although these are consonant with the law of Nature such that they are not repugnant to it.

This fact is plain too, because things that are of the law of nature, whether properly or by extension, are always uniform; not so are these ceremonies, which were different for the time of another Law.

21. The third member [n.18] is plain, because beyond divine positive right, which is contained in divine Scripture, the Church has established many statutes, both for more honorable observance in morals and for greater reverence in receiving and dispensing the sacraments.