People's sinfulness was the greatest threat to order. The Jacobeans were neurotically alert to the temptations surrounding life. Conflicting Christian sects shared basic beliefs when it came to right and wrong. Man was perpetually open to sin, temptation was all around him and evil existed. The Devil was to be defied, and Christ was man's redeemer and the way to salvation. The moral bases of life were agreed.

The Ten Commandments(abridged from Exodus 20:19)

1. 1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

2. 2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.

3. 3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

4. 4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

5. 5. Honour thy father and thy mother.

6. 6. Thou shalt not kill.

7. 7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

8. 8. Thou shalt not steal.

9. 9. Thou shalt not bear false witness.

10. 10. Thou shalt not covet […] any thing that is thy neighbour's.

It is this last Commandment that is the key failing exposed in Volpone.

The Seven Deadly Sins

1. 1. Pride(arrogance, vanity, vainglory, hubris)

2. 2. Wrath(anger, violence)

3. 3. Lust(lechery, wantonness, lasciviousness)

4. 4. Envy(covetousness)

5. 5. Greed(avarice)

6. 6. Gluttony(including drunkenness)

7. 7. Sloth(laziness, despair)

Commandments 1, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 are transgressed or contemplated throughout the play and all the sins too are present, even Sloth (in Volpone's idle dereliction of his duties).

Sin and Satan were as much a part of religious consciousness as the desire to emulate Jesus and live virtuously. The church's cultural monopoly meant even those indifferent to religion would acknowledge that faith was the common, underlying feature of life at all levels. The passing year was marked by religious events, each day was punctuated by aspects of faith, the parish church bell indicated the times of services, pious families gathered for morning and evening prayers and individuals might visit the church during the day. Schoolboys had communal classroom prayers with their teacher. A master craftsman, his journeymen and apprentices might start the working day with prayers. The formal ceremonies of their guild involved prayers, readings and sermon- like addresses. Children were taught the Bible, learned texts, creeds, catechisms and prayers and would kneel by their bedside to ask for protection during the dangerous hours of darkness.