Capital Thirteen

According to the Old Law, the Ten Commandments, one must not bear false witness against one's neighbor nor covet his property (Exodus 20:16-17). The New Law which Jesus taught required one to love God above all and "your neighbor as yourself" (Luke 10:27). When a lawyer asked, "Who is my neighbor?" Jesus responded with the parable of the Good Samaritan. Samaritan's were inhabitants of northern Israel who did not fully accept the Old Testament and were therefore excluded by orthodox Jews. The parable tells of a man (presumably a Jew) who was attacked by thieves and left for dead by the roadside. Other Jews passed him by, but a "despised" Samaritan showed compassion and came to his aid. In this parable Jesus redefined the word "neighbor" as "the one who showed mercy" (Luke 10:37) despite ethnic or religious affiliations.

Biblical source: Luke 10:25-37.

Inscribed: And he fell into the hands of thieves...a certain Samaritan...a High Priest and a Levite passed by...He took care of him.

East View: The indifference of the priest and the Levite. Inscribed: SACERDOS : CVM LEVITA : PERTRANSIT	South View: The compassion of the Samaritan. Inscribed: : SAMARITANVS: QVIDAM
West View: The man is beaten and robbed. Inscribed: ET INCIDIT : IN LATRONES :	North View: The Samaritan blesses the man. inscribed: CURAM: ILLIVS : HABE :

DETAILS
Impost: North side. Intwined birds and mountains. Upper molding inscribed:

Luke 10:25-37.
²⁵And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
²⁶He said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read?"
²⁷And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."
²⁸And he said to him, "You have answered right; do this, and you will live."
²⁹But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
³⁰Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
³¹Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.
³²So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
³³But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion,
³⁴and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
³⁵And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.'
³⁶Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?"
³⁷He said, "The one who showed mercy on him." And Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Revised Standard Version.
Inscriptions based on Robert Favereau, Jean Michaud, and Bernadette Leplant, Corpus des Inscriptions de la France Medievale. Vol. 8, Ariege, Haute-Garonne, Hautes-Pyrenees, Tarn-et-Garonne. Paris: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1982.