Whether All Vows Are Binding?
Objection 1: It would seem that vows are not all binding. For man
needs things that are done by another, more than God does, since He
has no need for our goods (Ps. 15:2). Now according to the
prescription of human laws [*Dig. L. xii, de pollicitat., i] a simple
promise made to a man is not binding; and this seems to be prescribed
on account of the changeableness of the human will. Much less binding
therefore is a simple promise made to God, which we call a vow.
Obj. 2: Further, no one is bound to do what is impossible. Now
sometimes that which a man has vowed becomes impossible to him,
either because it depends on another's decision, as when, for
instance, a man vows to enter a monastery, the monks of which refuse
to receive him: or on account of some defect arising, for instance
when a woman vows virginity, and afterwards is deflowered; or when a
man vows to give a sum of money, and afterwards loses it. Therefore a
vow is not always binding.
Obj. 3: Further, if a man is bound to pay something, he must do so at
once. But a man is not bound to pay his vow at once, especially if it
be taken under a condition to be fulfilled in the future. Therefore a
vow is not always binding.
_On the contrary,_ It is written (Eccles. 5:3, 4): "Whatsoever thou
hast vowed, pay it; and it is much better not to vow, than after a
vow not to perform the things promised."
_I answer that,_ For one to be accounted faithful one must keep one's
promises. Wherefore, according to Augustine [*Ep. xxxii, 2: De
Mendac. xx] faith takes its name "from a man's deed agreeing with his
word" [*_Fides . . . fiunt dicta._ Cicero gives the same etymology
(De Offic. i, 7)]. Now man ought to be faithful to God above all,
both on account of God's sovereignty, and on account of the favors he
has received from God. Hence man is obliged before all to fulfill the
vows he has made to God, since this is part of the fidelity he owes
to God. On the other hand, the breaking of a vow is a kind of
infidelity. Wherefore Solomon gives the reason why vows should be
paid to God, because "an unfaithful . . . promise displeaseth Him"
[*Eccles. 5:3].
Reply Obj. 1: Honesty demands that a man should keep any promise he
makes to another man, and this obligation is based on the natural
law. But for a man to be under a civil obligation through a promise
he has made, other conditions are requisite. And although God needs
not our goods, we are under a very great obligation to Him: so that
a vow made to Him is most binding.
Reply Obj. 2: If that which a man has vowed becomes impossible
to him through any cause whatsoever, he must do what he can, so that
he have at least a will ready to do what he can. Hence if a man has
vowed to enter a monastery, he must endeavor to the best of his power
to be received there. And if his intention was chiefly to bind himself
to enter the religious life, so that, in consequence, he chose this
particular form of religious life, or this place, as being most
agreeable to him, he is bound, should he be unable to be received
there, to enter the religious life elsewhere. But if his principal
intention is to bind himself to this particular kind of religious
life, or to this particular place, because the one or the other
pleases him in some special way, he is not bound to enter another
religious house, if they are unwilling to receive him into this
particular one. On the other hand, if he be rendered incapable of
fulfilling his vow through his own fault, he is bound over and above
to do penance for his past fault: thus if a woman has vowed virginity
and is afterwards violated, she is bound not only to observe what is
in her power, namely, perpetual continency, but also to repent of what
she has lost by sinning.
Reply Obj. 3: The obligation of a vow is caused by our own
will and intention, wherefore it is written (Deut. 23:23): "That which
is once gone out of thy lips, thou shalt observe, and shalt do as thou
hast promised to the Lord thy God, and hast spoken with thy own will
and with thy own mouth." Wherefore if in taking a vow, it is one's
intention and will to bind oneself to fulfil it at once, one is bound
to fulfil it immediately. But if one intend to fulfil it at a certain
time, or under a certain condition, one is not bound to immediate
fulfilment. And yet one ought not to delay longer than one intended to
bind oneself, for it is written (Deut. 23:21): "When thou hast made a
vow to the Lord thy God thou shalt not delay to pay it: because the
Lord thy God will require it; and if thou delay, it shall be imputed
to thee for a sin."
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