Hugh of St. Cher, Postilla on Matthew 5:33-37

Hugh of St. Cher, Postilla on Matthew 5:33-37

Written c. 1229-1244 CE.

Source: Postilla Hugonis de Sancto Charo - éd. N. Pezzana, Venice, 1703 - Vol. 6 p. 20-21 

Iterum audistis, quia dictum est, &c.] 

Adhuc oftendit Dominus se non solvere legem, sed adimplere. Moyses quidem periurium prohibuit. Levit. 19. c. Non periurabis in nomine meo. Causa huius est, quia illum, per quem iurant homines in reverentia habent, ideo ne creaturas adorarent ut Deos, praecipit iurare per solum Deum, Deut. 6. B. Dominum tuum timebis, & per nomen illius iurabis. Dominus autem plus facit, omnino iurare prohibit. Iuramentum autem in se nec bonum, nec malum, sed sicut cohabitatio mulierum prohibetur propter suspicionem, ita iuramentum prohibetur propter periurium, quod saepe iurantes incurrunt.  

Unde Chrysost. [Opus Imperfectum, Hom. 12] Nemo est, qui frequenter iurat, qui non aliquando periuret. Eccles. 23. b. Iurationi non assuescat os tuum: multienim casus in illa. Permittur autem iurare propter incredulitatem hominum, ne peccent male suspicando de nobis, quia crudelitas est contemnere fanam, in qua crudelitas occiditur. 

Conceditur autem iurare.

Pro veritate confirmanda. 2. Cor. 1. d. Fidelis autem Deus, quia sermo noster, qui fuit apud vos, non est in illo, est & non, sed in illo, est.
Pro pace reformanda, ut Jacob iuravit Laban. Gen. 31. g.
Pro amititia contrahenda. Gen. 26. f. dixerunt viri Gerarae ad Isaac: Sit iuramentum inter nos. Pro veritate declaranda. Deut. 19 d. In ore duorum, vel trium testium stabit omne verbum.
Pro calumnia sopienda. Hebr. 6. c. Omnis controversiae finis est ad confirmationem iuramentorum.
Pro fidelitate servanda, ut princeps regi. 2. Reg. 5. a. Venerunt seniores de Israel ad regem, & percussit cum eis foedus David.
Pro subjectionis recognitione, ut Abbates Episcopis. Jud. 11. d. Dominus, qui hoc audit mediator, ac testis est, quia promissa nostra faciemus.
Pro purgatione. Deut. 21. a. Quando inventum fuit cadaver, &c.
Pro consuetudine Ecclesiae servanda, ut canonici. Exod. 24. b. Data lege omnes Filii Israel iuraverunt se servaturos iuramentum. 

Dicit ergo: Iterum audistis, quia dictum est antiquis. Levit. 19. c. Non periurabis in nomine meo, nec polluas nomen Dei tui, ego Dominus. 

Non periurabis: reddes autem Domino] 

non idolo, non creaturae, iuramenta tua. Chrysost. [Opus Imperfectum, Hom. 12] Qui non reddit Deo iuramenta sua, sed elementis, dupliciter peccat Primo, quia non reddit Deo ius suum. Secundo, quia deificat, per quid iurat. Caelum, & terram creavit Deus ad ministerium sibi, non ad iurandum hominibus. 

Ego autem dico vobis]

Alex. [Alexander of Hales] Istud praeceptum datum est Apostolis solis, cum primitivam aedificarent Ecclesiam. Si enim tunc iurassent, tunc scandalum oriretur, quia reputaretur Apostoli non tam perfecti. Apostolus autem tempore debito iuravit. Rom. 8. a. Vel omnino, id est, sine causa legitima, vel non apparente. Prohibet autem Dominus iuramentum, ne quis quasi bonum appetat iurare. Item ne quis labatur in periurium. Eccles. 23. b. Vir multum iurans implebitur iniquitate, & non recedet a domo eius plaga, scilicet periurii. Item ne fiat pro nihilo juramento. Exod. 20. b. Non assumes nomen Dei tui in vanum. 

Neque per caelum,]

credens aliquid numinis inesse, vel ex huiusmodi iuramento non nasci obligationem. Caelum, supple cum contentis. Chrysost. Qui per caelum iurat, caelum deificat, & ideo similiter qui iurat per terram, non vitat idolatriam. 

Quia thronus Dei est.]

Isa. 66. a. Caelum mihi sedes est, terra autem scabellum pedum meorum. Ps. 10. Dominus in caelo sedes eius. 

Neque per terram, &c.]

Rab. Considera, quod salvator non per Deum iurare prohibuerit, sed per caelum, & terram, & Ierosolyman, & per caput tuum. Et hoc quasi parvulis suit concessum. 

Neque per Ierosolyman, &c.]

Iuxta consuetudinem Hebraeorum loquitur, qui iurabant per civitatem Ierusalem, & religionem templi, & sanctuarrii Regis magni. Ps. 76 Quis Deus magnus sicut Deus noster. 

Neque per caput tuum iuravis, &c.]

Sed obiicitur de offuscantibus capillos suos. Solutio. Hoc intelligitur de albedine, sive nigredine naturali. 

Sit autem sermo vester,]

supple, quando necesse est loqui. 

Est, est]

de re, scilicet, quae est. Bis ponitur est, propter veritatem existentis rei, & propter veritatem conscientiae. 

Non non,]

de re, scilicet, quae non est. Unde ipsa geminatio pondus habet, quasi dicat, quod dicis verbo, dic opera ipso, & quod negas verbo, noli confirmare facto. 2. Cor. 1. d. Sermo noster, qui fuit apud vos, non est in illo, est, & non. 

Quod autem his abundantius est, a malo est]

ex infirmitate compellentis iurare. Nota, quod omne iuramentum debet habere tres comites, sicut dicitur Jer. 4. a. Et iurabis, vivit Dominus in veritate, in iudicio, & iustitia. Sed est veritas rei, & est veritas conscientiae. Si verum sit, & conscientia sic dictat, vere iurat, iustum iurat, qui licitum iurat, in iudicio, qui pro causa sufficiente. 

Hugh of St. Victor, De Sacramentis, 1.12.17-18; 23

Hugh of St. Victor, De Sacramentis, 1.12.17-18; 23 

Written c. 1134 CE. 

Source: Hugh of Saint Victor on the Sacraments of the Christian Faith: (De Sacramentis), p.198-199; 202. Trans.: Roy J. Deferrari. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2007. 

1.12.17 On taking oath. 

Not every oath is evil and yet every oath with truth as witness is without evil. For when anyone swears to the truth for the necessity of his neighbour or for utility, when indeed he to whom the oath is sworn either cannot believe on account of ignorance or refuses to believe on account of malice, an oath of this kind indeed is not evil for him who swore, since he bore witness to the truth out of necessity; yet it is without evil for him to whom the oath is sworn, that is, either if he cannot believe otherwise from infirmity or if he contemns believing from perversity. Now whoever swears without cause, even if he swears the truth, is not without blame, because either he is censured for levity or he is condemned for arrogance. Who-ever swears that he will do evil sins, in which case, however, it would be better to break an oath than to fulfil it, so that he should beware of the evil which he swore and nevertheless understand the guilt in that he swore evilly. 

1.12.18 On perjury. 

Perjury is a lie confirmed by introducing sacrosanct testimony. For whoever swears to something false perjures himself or commits perjury, in which the first evil is the guilt of the lie when that which is false is spoken but the second is the fact that the testimony of truth is taken irreverently to protect falsehood. Whoever sees another swear to a falsehood willingly becomes a participant in the sin, if he consents and if, in so far as he can with saving truth, he does not by contradicting and admonishing prevent the evil from being accomplished. Now here we must consider that, although we cannot approve the sin of a brother, we should not publish it, lest perhaps we seem to be willing not to correct our neighbour but to defame him. On this account admonition should be given sinners when convincing testimony cannot be brought to them as they deny. 

1.12.23 On the movable precepts and those that have been superadded. 

… Now there were certain others of these middle things which the written law proposed rather through concession than through command and prohibition, which possibly would have been evil in themselves if a concession had not been made. For example, the law says that if anyone should find some uncleanness in his wife and on this account should hold her in hatred, he should write for her a bill of divorce and so should dismiss her, (Cf. Deut. 24, 1), because indeed it was better that being held in hatred she should be dismissed according to his will than being retained against his will she should be killed. It is also said in the law: "That shalt offer your oath to the Lord and shall swear by the Lord," (Cf. Deut. 10, 20), not because indeed it is good to swear or to swear by the Lord but oath was conceded to the imperfect on this account, that perjury might more easily be avoided, also at the same time that they might learn to venerate the name of God, when they received it more frequently into the assertion and the testimony of their words, and might not be forced to take the names of false gods to confirm their oaths. And to these not only was it permitted but ordered to invoke the name of the Lord as testimony if the reason for confirming the truth should demand. A similar example also was this, that they were permitted for an injury inflicted to render retaliation in kind, lest perhaps burning with rather vehement fury they should try to return greater evils than those inflicted. …

Pseudo-Patrick, Second Synod of St. Patrick, Can. 23

Pseudo-Patrick, Second Synod of St. Patrick, Can. 23

Written 7th century CE in Ireland.

Source: Bieler, Ludwig, ed. The Irish Penitentials, p. 193-194. Scriptores Latini Hiberniae Vol. 5. DIAS, Dublin, 1963.

XXIII. OF TAKING AN OATH

Swear not at all: the lection beginning with these words teaches that no other creature is to be sworn by, but only the creator, as is the custom of the prophets: The Lord liveth, and my soul liveth, and The Lord liveth in whose sight I stand to-day. Yet: The end of all controversy is the oath, but ‹in› the Lord; for by all that a man loves, by this does he make oath.

Pseudo-Bede, In Matthaei evangelium expositio, Mt. 5:33-37

Pseudo-Bede, In Matthaei evangelium expositio, Mt. 5:33-37

Anonymous commentary written 8^th Century.

Source: PL 92:28-29

Iterum audistis quod dictum est antiquis: Non periurabis, usque, Non potes unum capillum album facere, aut nigrum. Iudaei permittebantur in Deum iurare, non quia facerent recte, sed quod melius est et Deo quam daemonibus vel aliis creaturis hoc exhibere, quia qui iurat aut veneratur aut diligit eum per quem iurat, et quia periurare non potest, qui non iurat. Ideo raro et non nisi necessitate utamur iuramento, cum pigros ad credendum viderimus homines, ut Apostolus ait: Quae scribo vobis, ecce coram Deo, quia non mentior (Galat. I) . Sedes autem iudicium Dei significat, qui in coelo sedere dicitur, non quia habeat membra sicut nos collocata, sed quoniam in universo mundi corpore maximam speciem coelum habeat, et terra minimam, tanquam praesentior excellenti pulchritudini vis divina, minimam vero ordinet in infimis sedere in coelo, terramque calcare dicitur. Spiritaliter autem sanctas animas coeli nomine significat, et terrae peccatrices. Spiritalis autem qui omnia iudicat, et a nemine iudicatur, convenienter sedes Dei dicitur. Peccator autem cui dictum est: Terra es, et in terram ibis, per iustitiam digna meritis tribuentem in infimis ordinatur.

Sit autem sermo vester, Est est, Non non; quod autem his abundantius est, a malo est. Ac si diceret: Quod est, sufficiat dicere, et quod non sufficiat non. Sive ideo bis dicitur Est est, Non non, ut quod ore confirmes operibus probes, ut quod verbo neges factis non confirmes. Non dixit: quod amplius est, malum est, sed a malo est, ab illius videlicet infirmitate, a quo cogeris iurare; et haec infirmitas, malum est, tu autem bene facis, qui bene iuratione uteris, ut alteri persuadeas quod utiliter suades.

Pseudo-Jerome, Expositio quattuor evangeliorum (Recensio I), Matt. 5:34

Pseudo-Jerome, Expositio quattuor evangeliorum (Recensio I), Matt. 5:34

Written 7th Century.

Source: PL 30:547 (PL 30:564 in Reprints)

Non iurare: id est, non periurare: non iurare omnino: id est, numquam iurare: neque per coelum, quia sedes est Dei: aliter est, est: non, non, id est, verbum dici in ore et in corde: quod amplius est a malo est, id est, ex indignitate illius, cui non creditur.

Pseudo-Hilary of Arles, Tractatus in septem epistulas catholicas, James 5:12

Pseudo-Hilary of Arles, Tractatus in septem epistulas catholicas, James 5:12

Anonymous commentary written in late 7^th or early 8^th century. Traditionally ascribed to Hilary of Arles.

Source: CCSL 108B:74-75

Ante omnia autem, fratres mei. Nunc communem regulam familiae Christi ponit apostolus. Ante omnia autem dixit, id est ante minimum et magnum. Nolite iurare neque per caelum, quia thronum Dei est; neque per terram, qui scabellum pedum eius est; neque per aliud id est per caput tuum siue per Hierusalem. Sit autem sermo uester, id est communis diction. Est, Est. Haec sit cordis et uocis confession. Non, non. Et haec cordis et uocis negatio. Vt non in iudicio incidatis, id est in iudicio de quo legitur in euangelio: Omne uerbum otiosum quod locuti fuerint homines, reddent rationem | pro eo in die iudicii.

Anon., Commentarius in epistolas catholicas, James 5:12

Anon., Commentarius in epistolas catholicas, James 5:12

Anonymous commentary written in the 7^th century.

Source: CCSL 108B:21

Ante omnia autem, id est que restant in finem epistolae. Neque per celum subiungitur, quia tronus Dei est; neque per terram, id est quia scabellum pedum eius est.