This Code of Ethics is adapted from the SQLite Project’s Code of
Ethics (https://sqlite.org/codeofethics.html).
The SQLite document draws inspiration from Chapter 4 (“Instruments of
Good Works”) of The Rule of St. Benedict, a text that has
guided communities for over fifteen centuries.
Like the original, this adaptation is not intended to function as a
procedural code of conduct or an enforcement framework. Rather, it
serves as a statement of ethical intent and personal commitment.
2. A Note from the Maintainer
Although I am not a Christian, I find the principles expressed in
this rule thoughtful and constructive. The text emphasizes humility,
self-restraint, honesty, patience, forgiveness, and care for others,
values that transcend religious context and remain relevant in modern
collaborative work.
This Code of Ethics reflects a commitment to:
Treat others with respect and dignity
Respond to disagreement without hostility
Avoid personal attacks, deception, or bad faith behavior
Act with integrity and intellectual honesty
Support and assist others where possible
These principles are not imposed on contributors as a condition of
participation. Rather, they represent a personal commitment by the
maintainer regarding how this project will be conducted and how others
will be treated.
This document is therefore best understood not as a regulatory
instrument, but as a public statement of values guiding the stewardship
of the project.
3. The Rule
First of all, love the Lord God with your whole heart, your whole
soul, and your whole strength.
Then, love your neighbor as yourself.
Do not murder.
Do not commit adultery.
Do not steal.
Do not covet.
Do not bear false witness.
Honor all people.
Do not do to another what you would not have done to yourself.
Deny oneself in order to follow Christ.
Chastise the body.
Do not become attached to pleasures.
Love fasting.
Relieve the poor.
Clothe the naked.
Visit the sick.
Bury the dead.
Be a help in times of trouble.
Console the sorrowing.
Be a stranger to the world’s ways.
Prefer nothing more than the love of Christ.
Do not give way to anger.
Do not nurse a grudge.
Do not entertain deceit in your heart.
Do not give a false peace.
Do not forsake charity.
Do not swear, for fear of perjuring yourself.
Utter only truth from heart and mouth.
Do not return evil for evil.
Do no wrong to anyone, and bear patiently wrongs done to
yourself.
Love your enemies.
Do not curse those who curse you, but rather bless them.
Bear persecution for justice’s sake.
Be not proud.
Be not addicted to wine.
Be not a great eater.
Be not drowsy.
Be not lazy.
Be not a grumbler.
Be not a detractor.
Put your hope in God.
Attribute to God, and not to self, whatever good you see in
yourself.
Recognize always that evil is your own doing, and to impute it to
yourself.
Fear the Day of Judgment.
Be in dread of hell.
Desire eternal life with all the passion of the spirit.
Keep death daily before your eyes.
Keep constant guard over the actions of your life.
Know for certain that God sees you everywhere.
When wrongful thoughts come into your heart, dash them against
Christ immediately.
Disclose wrongful thoughts to your spiritual mentor.
Guard your tongue against evil and depraved speech.
Do not love much talking.
Speak no useless words or words that move to laughter.
Do not love much or boisterous laughter.
Listen willingly to holy reading.
Devote yourself frequently to prayer.
Daily in your prayers, with tears and sighs, confess your past sins
to God, and amend them for the future.
Fulfill not the desires of the flesh; hate your own will.
Obey in all things the commands of those whom God has placed in
authority over you even though they (which God forbid) should act
otherwise, mindful of the Lord’s precept, “Do what they say, but not
what they do.”
Do not wish to be called holy before one is holy; but first to be
holy, that you may be truly so called.
Fulfill God’s commandments daily in your deeds.
Love chastity.
Hate no one.
Be not jealous, nor harbor envy.
Do not love quarreling.
Shun arrogance.
Respect your seniors.
Love your juniors.
Pray for your enemies in the love of Christ.
Make peace with your adversary before the sun sets.