OATHS.
THE first quality of an oath is that it be true. It is evident that
every statement we make, whether simple or sworn, must be true. If we
affirm what we know to be false we lie, if we swear to what we know to
be false, we perjure ourselves. Perjury is a sacrilegious falsehood,
and the first sin against the Second Commandment.
If, while firmly believing it to be true, what we swear to happens to
be false, we are not guilty of perjury, for the simple reason that our
moral certitude places us in good faith, and good faith guarantees us
against offending. The truth we proclaim under oath is relative not
absolute, subjective rather than objective, that is to say, the
statement we make is true as far as we are in a position to know. All
this holds good before the bar of conscience, but it may be otherwise
in the courts where something more than personal convictions, something
more akin to scientific knowledge, is required.
He who swears without sufficient certitude, without a prudent
examination of the facts of the question, through ignorance that must
be imputed to his guilt, that one takes a rash oath--a sin great or
small according to the gravity of the circumstances. It is not
infrequently grievous.
Some oaths, instead of being statements, are promises, sworn promises.
That of which we call God to witness the truth is not something that
is, but something that will be. If one promises under oath, and has no
intention of redeeming his pledge; or if he afterwards revokes such an
intention without serious reasons, and fails to make good his sworn
promise, he sins grievously, for he makes a fool and a liar of Almighty
God who acts as sponsor of a false pledge. Concerning temperance
pledges, it may here be said that they are simple promises made to God,
but not being sworn to, are not oaths in any sense of the word.
Then, again, to be lawful, an oath must be necessary or useful,
demanded by the glory of God, our own or our neighbor's good; and it
must be possible to fulfil the promise within the given time.
Otherwise, we trifle with a sacred thing, we are guilty of taking vain
and unnecessary oaths. There can be no doubt but that this is highly
offensive to God, who is thus made little of in His holy name.
This is the most frequent offense against the Second Commandment, the
sin of profane swearing, the calling upon God to witness the truth of
every second word we utter. It betrays in a man a very weak sense of
his own honesty when he cannot let his words stand for themselves. It
betokens a blasphemous disrespect for God Himself, represented by that
name which is made a convenient tool to further every vulgar end. It is
therefore criminal and degrading, and the guilt thereby incurred cannot
be palliated by the plea of habit. A sin is none the less a sin because
it is one of a great many. Vice is criminal. The victim of a vice can
be considered less guilty only on condition of seriously combating that
vice. Failing in this, he must bear the full burden of his guilt.
Are we bound to keep our oaths? If valid, we certainly are. An oath is
valid when the matter thereof is not forbidden or illicit. The matter
is illicit when the statement or promise we make is contrary to right.
He who binds himself under oath to do evil, not only does not sin in
fulfiling his pledge, but would sin if he did redeem it. The sin he
thus commits may be mortal or venial according to the gravity of the
matter of the oath. He sinned in taking the oath; he sins more
grievously in keeping it.
The binding force of an oath is also destroyed by fraud and deception.
Fear may have a kindred effect, if it renders one incapable of a human
act. Likewise a former oath may annul a subsequent oath under certain
conditions.
Again, no man in taking an oath intends to bind himself to anything
physically or morally impossible, or forbidden by his superiors; he
expects that his promise will be accepted by the other party, that all
things will remain unchanged, that the other party will keep faith, and
that there will be no grave reason for him to change his mind. In the
event of any of these conditions failing of fulfilment his intention is
not to be held by his sworn word, and his oath is considered
invalidated. He is to be favored in all doubts and is held only to the
strict words of his promise.
The least therefore we have to do with oaths, the better. They are
things too sacred to trifle with. When necessity demands it, let our
swearing honor the Almighty by the respect we show His holy name.