Counterfeiters comparison

The counterfeiting comparison is a comparison that comes from the work of Thomas Aquinas .

In his work Summa theologica ( II-II, qu. 11, art. 3 and art. 4 ), Thomas Aquinas raises the question of whether they should not treat those who commit an offense in the spiritual sense, i.e. heretics , at least as strictly should be like with those who commit an offense in the worldly sense, for example counterfeiting:

"Multo enim gravius ​​est corrumpere fidem, per quam est animae vita, quam falsare pecuniam, per quam temporali vitae subvenitur."

"For it is much more difficult to undermine the faith that gives life to the soul than to forge money that sustains transient life."

The claim to make up for the discrepancy between high punishments on one side and low punishments on the other was soon used as one of the theoretical justifications of the Inquisition .