Ambrose, On Swearing
Homilies of Saint Ambrose on Psalm 118 (119), Homily 14.14
Written c. 386 - 390 CE.
Source: Saint Ambrose. 1998. Homilies
of Saint Ambrose on Psalm 118 (119), p. 197. Translated by Íde Ní Riain. Dublin:
Halcyon Press.
“I have
sworn and determined to keep your just judgements. I have been humbled
exceedingly." (Ps 118:106-107)
And so whoever has the Word of God for his lamp
will find that his paths shine bright wherever he goes, just as they were
bright for David. Therefore, as one who is walking in the light, he says: “I have sworn and determined to keep your
just judgements. I have been humbled exceedingly." The voice of one
who walks in the light can say with authority: "I have sworn and
determined." For one who has taken a firm stand is not moved, is not
afraid of falling; for to take a stand is more than simply to stand. Therefore
David determines in the sense of having taken a firm stand in his mind and is
not afraid of losing his way in the darkness of this world. For if he were
afraid he would not have sworn, and if he hesitated at all about keeping the
divine judgements he would not have decreed and taken a solemn oath. No one
takes an oath if he does not know what he is about. To take an oath means that
you possess knowledge of that to which you testify. It is a testimony that you
give in conscience. A person takes an oath properly when he directs his steps
towards the lamp of the word, and discerns the light in his path. Let light,
which is knowledge of the truth, precede you if you propose taking an oath. In
that way the taking of a solemn oath will not be injurious to you. The greater
your reverence and fear of God, the better and truer will be your keeping of
your oath. The Lord, when he came to teach little ones, to initiate beginners,
to confirm the perfect, said in the Gospel: "Do
not swear at all," because he was speaking to weak souls. He was not
speaking to the apostles only but to the crowds. He did not want you to swear
for fear that you might perjure yourself. And he added, "Do not swear at all, either by heaven, or by the earth, or by
Jerusalem, or by your own head," because of course not one of these
things is within your jurisdiction. "The
Lord has sworn an oath which he will never retract." Therefore let no
one take an oath unless he is never going to retract it. And what did the Lord
swear? That Christ is a priest for ever. Was it something doubtful, something
impossible, that the Lord swore? Was it something liable to change? So do not
take it on yourself to swear an oath unless you are capable of keeping the oath
that you swear.
_________________________________________________________________
On Virgins, Book 3
Source: Ramsey, Boniface. "Ambrose. The Early Church Fathers." p.113. London and New York: Routledge (1997).
6.28. For how can modesty exist where there is
dancing, shouting and noisemaking? Then the king, it says, was delighted and
told the young woman that she could ask the king for whatever she wanted. He
swore that, even if she asked for half his kingdom, he would grant it. See what
worldly people themselves think of their worldly wherewithal, when for a dance
even kingdoms are given away! But the young woman, advised by her mother,
requested that the head of John be brought to her on a dish. When it says that
‘the king was saddened’ it implies not the king’s repentance but a confession
of iniquity, since the divine judgement customarily works in such a way that
those who have done evil condemn themselves by their own admission. ‘But on
account of his guests’, it says. What could be more disgraceful than to order
that murder be committed lest one’s guests be displeased? ‘And,’ it says, ‘on
account of his oath’. O unheard-of conscientiousness! It would have been better
had he broken his oath. That is why, with good reason, the Lord commands in the
gospel that there should be no swearing, lest there be cause for perjury or a
need to transgress one’s oath. And so, lest an oath be violated, an innocent
man was struck down. I know of nothing more horrifying. More tolerable are the
perjuries of tyrants than their oaths.
---[PL 16:229] Et propter jus, inquit, jurandum. O religionem novam! Tolerabilius pejerasset. Unde non immerito Dominus in Evangelio jubet non esse jurandum, ne sit causa perjurii; ne sit necessitas delinquendi. Itaque ne jusjurandum violaretur, perentitur innocens. Quid prius horrescam nescio. Tolerabiliora perjuria, quam sacramenta sunt tyrannorum.
_______________________________________________________
De Fide, 5.19 (233)
233. It is not lawful for us to swear by heaven, but it is lawful to judge about God. Yet Thou hast given to Thy Son alone judgment over all.
_______________________________________________________
Exhortatio Virginitatis, 11.2 (74)
Let us consider another admonishment from scripture.
Do not swear easily [Sir. 23:9 OL], for it oft occurs that you cannot fulfil what you swear. He who swears not, will never perjure himself, but he who swears at times will inevitably fall into perjury; because every man is a liar (Ps. 115:11). Therefore, do not swear, lest you begin to swear falsely.
---
74. Quid deinde aliud nos Scriptura admoneat consideremus. Non iurandum facile (Eccl. XXIII, 9) , quia plerumque multi casus accidunt, ut non possimus implere quod iuraverimus. Qui autem non iurat, utique non peierat: qui autem iurat, aliquando necesse est incidat in periurium; quia omnis homo mendax (Psal. CXV, 11) . Noli ergo iurare, ne incipias peierare.
No comments:
Post a Comment