Passing from the primary principle to the subordinate principles and conclusions, moralists divide these into two classes: (1) those dictates of reason which flow so directly from the primary principle that they hold in practical reason the same place as evident propositions in the speculative sphere, or are at least easily deducible from the primary principle. Such, for instance, are “Adore God”; “Honour your parents”; “Do not steal”; (2) those other conclusions and precepts which are reached only through a more or less complex course of inference.
CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Natural Law