Pseudo-Isidore, Letter 39: Pope Cornelius to Bishop Rufus

Pseudo-Isidore, Letter 39: Pope Cornelius to Bishop Rufus

Letter forged in France in the mid-ninth century, purported to be by 3rd Century Roman Bishop, Cornelius.

Source: PL 130:165-167 [translation mine (first draft)]

We are not cognisant that an oath has been demanded from the highest prelates or any other priests except for the rule of faith, nor have we discovered that they were sworn voluntarily. 

With great dilligence therefore does St. James the Apostle prohibit oaths when he says: Above all things, my brothers, do not swear, neither by heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath. But let your speech be, yea, yea: no, no: that you fall not under judgment. 

And the Lord in the Gospel says: Again you have heard that it was said to them of old, Thou shalt not forswear thyself: but thou shalt perform thy oaths to the Lord. But I say to you do not swear at all, neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God: Nor by the earth, for it is his footstool: nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king: Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your speech be yea, yea: no, no: and that which is over and above these, is of evil. With this He expels the oath. 

Beloved brother, this Lord himself prohibits, that one must not swear oaths, this, all the apostles, our saintly predecessors, who presided over this holy, universal, apostolic church; this, the prophets and the rest of the holy teachers who had been dispersed to teach throughout the entire world, forbids, oaths to be taken. 

If the examples that we have begun to enumerate, or in the documents we have cited, before the hour of this day, be insufficient examples to show that these are prohibited; following the holy apostles and their successors, we confirm the laws and prohibit [incautious?] oaths to be made. 

And when the Lord himself, on the stone tablets that he gave to Moses said,: "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain," and the rest. 

We [say] however (as we touched on above) that a Bishop's oath is not offered, nor should it ever be, for (as mentioned above), we were commanded by the Lord not to swear, neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God: Nor by the earth, for it is his footstool: nor by your own head, because you cannot create a single hairdo not swear, neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God: Nor by the earth, for it is his footstool: nor by your own head, because you cannot create a single hair. 

Just as, in the same way, each stands before the altar, with fear of God before his eyes, and he keeps [his] conscience clean for God; what is in his memory, he should in no way leave out because the mouth that lies slays the soul. 

The Apostle says: “let all of us speak the truth to our neighbours, for we are members of one another.” And elsewhere: “Do not lie to one another.”

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Sacramentum autem hactenus a summis sacerdotibus vel reliquis exigi, nisi pro fide recta minime cognovimus, nec spontaneos iurasse reperimus. Summopere ergo sanctus Iacobus apostolus prohibens sacramentum loquitur dicens: «Ante omnia, fratres mei, nolite iurare, neque per coelum, neque per terram, neque aliud quodcunque iuramentum. Sit autem sermo vester, est est, non non, ut non sub iudicio decidatis (Iac. V, 12).» Et Dominus in Evangelio ait: «Audistis quia dictum est antiquis, non periurabis, reddes autem Domino iuramenta tua. Ego autem dico vobis, non iurare omnino; neque per coelum, quia thronus Dei est, neque per terram quia scabellum est pedum eius, neque per Hierosolymam, quia civitas magni regis est, neque per caput tuum iuraveris, quia non potes unum capillum album facere aut nigrum. Sit autem sermo vester, est est, non non. Quod autem his abundantius est, a malo est (Matth. V, 33-37),» id est ab exigente et a iurante. Haec, frater charissime, ipse Dominus prohibet, id est non debere iurare, haec apostoli maxime omnes, haec sancti viri praedecessores nostri qui huic sanctae universali apostolicae Ecclesiae praefuerunt ante nos, haec prophetae et reliqui sancti doctores per universum mundum dispersi ad praedicandum, iuramenta fieri vetant. Quorum nos exempla si coeperimus enumerare, aut in schedula hac inserere, ante deficeret hora diei quam eorum exempla de hac causa prohibita. Quae nos sanctorum sequentes apostolorum eorumque successorum iura firmamus, et sacramenta incauta fieri prohibemus. Unde et ipse Dominus in tabulis lapideis quas Moysi dedit, propria manu scripsit, dicens. «Vide ne assumas nomen Dei tui in vanum (Exod. XX, 7),» et reliqua. Nos autem (ut paulo superius praelibavimus) sacramentum episcopis nescimus oblatum, nec unquam fieri debet, quoniam (ut supra memoratum est) praeceptum est nobis a Domino non iurandum, neque per coelum, quia thronus Dei est, neque per terram, quia scabellum est pedum eius, neque per caput suum, quia nullus potest unum capillum creare. Unusquisque enim sicut ante altare stans Dei timorem habet prae oculis et propriam conscientiam mundam servat Deo, quod in memoriam retinet, nullatenus habet intermittere, quoniam os quod mentitur occidit animam. Et Apostolus ait: «Loquimini veritatem unusquisque cum proximo suo, quoniam sumus invicem membra (Ephes. IV, 25).» Et alibi: «Nolite mentiri invicem (Col. III, 9).»