John of Damascus, Sacred Parallels, O.11
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Sacred Parallels, O.11
Traditionally ascribed to
John of Damascus, though some have questioned the attribution. Written 8th century in Greek. Extant only in redacted recensions. For a similar Greek florilegium, see Sermon 33 of the 10th century Pseudo-Maximus the Confessor, Loci Communes, found in PG 91: 892-893.
Source: [PG
96: 219-221][1]
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Concerning those who willingly take an oath; and that one should not swear.[2]
“You shall not take the
name of God in vain. For the Lord will never acquit the one who takes his name
in vain.”[3]
“You shall not swear by
my name in an unjust matter.”[4]
“Stop swearing by the
living Lord.”[5]
“Do not accustom your
mouth to an oath, and do not become used to the naming of the Holy One. For
just as a domestic who is scrutinized will not be wanting for a bruise, so also
he who swears and speaks the name will never be cleansed from sin.”[6]
“I say
to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or
by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of
the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair
white or black. Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than
this comes from the evil one.”[7]
“Whoever
swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it; and whoever swears
by the sanctuary, swears by it and by the one who dwells in it; and
whoever swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by the one who is
seated upon it.”[8]
“Above
all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other
oath, but let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall
under condemnation.”[9]
“To swear is not useful,
but very pernicious; a detestable thing to be abhorred. From now on cease to swear, nor even will that your
tongue become accustomed to oaths.”[10]
[1] Recensiones secundum alphabeti
litteras dispositae, quae tres libros conflant (fragmenta e cod. Vat. gr. 1236).
Translation is my own, using the New English Translation of the Septuagint
[NETS] for Old Testament quotations, and the New Revised Standard Version
[NRSV] for New Testament quotations, editing where necessary to correspond to
the text in Migne.
[2] Περὶ τῶν τοὺς ὅρκους στεργόντων· καὶ ὅτι οὐ χρὴ ὀμνύειν. My own
translation.
[3] Exod. 20:7 [NETS] – The text of
Sacra Parallela has removed [the Lord your] from the following: the name of
[the Lord your] God.
[4] Lev. 19:12a [NETS]
[5] Hos. 4:15e [NETS]
[6] Sir. 23:9-10 [NETS] – The text of
Sacra Parallela has removed the idea of “continually” swearing.
[7] Matt 5:34-37 [NRSV]
[8] Matt 23:20-21 [NRSV]
[9] Jas 5:12 [NRSV]
[10]
Οὐκ ἔστιν ὠφέλιμον τὸ ὀμνύειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ σφόδρα βλαβερὸν, καὶ ἐπάρατον, καὶ ἐβδελυγμένον.
Πέπαυσο λοιπὸν τοῦ ὀμνύειν· μὴ βούλου τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γλῶσσαν πρὸς τοὺς ὅρκους ἐθίζειν.
My own Translation. Attributed to Saint Nilus of Sinai by the Migne editors, in an unknown work.
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