Peter Damian, Letter 170:1-8, On Swearing
Source: Peter Damian. Letters of Peter Damian 151-180, p.247-250. Translated by
Owen J. Blum and Irven M. Resnick.
Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press,
2005.
Written c. 1070.
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To
the most prudent judge, sir Moricus, the monk Peter the sinner sends greetings
in the Lord.
(2) Since, my dear friend, I am aware of your
weakness, and that inwardly you are suffering from a nervous condition, I will
forego presenting you with many precepts from Holy Scripture, and, satisfied
with a light bundle, will not burden your shoulders with a heavy load. And so
that my abbreviated remarks may comply with the topic itself, I shall confine
them to the few things that I advise, so that while fearing to weary you with
weighty matters, let me also be solicitous of your feeble condition by keeping
my remarks to the minimum. I therefore exhort you, my dear friend, and
reverently call to your attention, that in your charity you refrain from
swearing an oath, a practice that people of your region sacrilegiously indulge
in, and that you not overlook ministering to the needs of the poor in so far as
your means allow. And so, from the first of these I protect you, as if I were
saving you from being swallowed up by a yawning abyss, and toward the other I
urge you on, as toward a mighty stronghold offering life-giving defense. For as
Tobias says: “Almsgiving frees a man from every sin and from death and keeps
him from going down into darkness.”
(3) But first of all let me say a few words
about oath-taking. As I mentioned above, whoever violates his oath
by forswearing himself, severs himself from the body of Christ as if he were
actually cut away, and deprives himself of the sacraments of man’s redemption.
For when one takes an oath and according to the usual formula says, “This I
will do, or surely not do, so help me God and this holy book of the Gospels,”
he makes an agreement with God on the condition that, if he does not fulfill
what he has promised, he will never again be helped by God or by the holy
Gospel. And just as at the time when he was initiated into Christ, and at the
official catechizing of the priest renounced the devil and all his works, so
like a deserter and a traitor he renounces God and his Gospel, thereby refusing
to place his trust in him for the future, as if by some new agreement. And just
as Laban built a cairn of stones between himself and Jacob, and thus blocked
one another by preventing their passage way, so by lying does he, as it were,
place his false oath between himself and God.
(4) Moreover, he
causes the book of the Gospels to be sealed against him, so that he is unable
to open it as he blocks every approach to salvation that lies between it and
himself. Of this book it is said in Isaiah: “All prophetic vision will become
for you like the words in a sealed book that people will give to one who can
read, and say: ‘Come read this’; he will answer, ‘I cannot,’ because it is
sealed.” What is this sealed book if not the holy Gospel, wrapped in symbolic
statements and figures, and by a certain profound secret far removed from human
understanding? This is truly the book of which John says: “Then I saw in the
right hand of the One who sat on the throne a book, with writing inside and
out, and it was sealed up with seven seals.” And what are the seals with which
the book of the Gospels is said to be sealed up, but the seven mysteries by
which, to be sure, the whole range of the Lord’s providence is fulfilled,
namely, the Lord’s Incarnation, his Nativity, Passion, Resurrection, Ascension
into heaven, followed by the Judgment and lastly his Kingdom? And so, with
these seals the book of the Gospels is sealed up in such a way that unless
Christ had opened it, no one would be able to have access to it. And thus the
text cited above continues: “For the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the Scion of
David, has won the right to open the book and break its seven seals.”
(5) Therefore, whoever
takes a false oath should carefully consider that unless he repents and does
satisfaction according to the canons, he so closes for himself the seven seals
of the Gospel text, that neither the Lord’s Incarnation and Nativity, nor his
Passion, Resurrection, or Ascension, nor the Judgment or the Kingdom will ever
be able to benefit him. All of these he totally rejects, and so far as he is
concerned reduces them to nothing, for in violating his oath he renounces the
assistance of the Gospel, and thereby also the help of God.
(6) And so, I do not
think it out of place if I add here what Richard, the prior of our monastery, a
man of sterling virtue, told me only yesterday. “A man,” he said, “from the
territory of Perugia, who had come to the end of his days, willed his estate to
his two sons and to the same number of daughters in a sixfold proportion, so
that of the divided inheritance he left two thirds to the males, while the
females received one third. After the man’s death one of his sons also died,
but the surviving brother, as if it were not enough that he did not divide his
deceased brother’s property with his sisters, made a claim to their portion by
bringing a false charge against them. For the more one’s possessions increase,
so much greater is the cupidity of the owner. And then what happened? The case
was brought to court, witnesses for the various parties came forward, the
lawyers presented their arguments, the complaint was filed, the charge was
heard, and legal claim was withdrawn by the opponents. At length, the parties
met for further deliberation before the bench, allowing a certain priest, who
favored the case of the man against his sisters, to claim that he was present
when the dead man made his will. He took his oath, and so the case was solved,
and on the testimony of one man the controversy was laid to rest.
(7) But when the
priest came forward to testify under oath for the man against the women, and
had already placed his hand on the book that was set before him, suddenly a
horrible serpent fell from the tree which overshadowed them, and, entwining
itself about the book, encompassed it with the coils of its scaly body. All
were thunderstruck, astonished by this obvious portent, and the priest
especially became rigid with fear and abjured the oath that he had taken, not
to serve the truth but merely to win human favor. And thus the ancient enemy
who had spewed the poison of his ill will into the heart of the priest, causing
him to swear falsely, visibly proved that he was present when this oath was
taken, using the figure of the beast that is associated with him. The women’s
uncle, moreover, who knew about the affair, but to please their brother had
suppressed the truth, upon leaving the court fell into a pit together with the
horse on which he rode, and the animal, pinning him down, caused such serious
damage to his whole body that he was almost at death’s door. Thus divine
providence clearly showed that anyone who is unwilling to stand up for the
truth with constancy of spirit, will also deservedly suffer a bodily fall.
(8) Therefore, my dear
friend, do not suppress the truth, but with all your strength defend it in
every undertaking and dispute. Whoever resists the truth to gain human favor is
indeed guilty of denying Christ, who is Truth itself. Guard against false
oaths, and if possible even restrain yourself from taking any oath. For just as
one who has nothing to say, never lies, so for one who does not swear, it is
impossible to commit the crime of perjury. For it is Truth itself who says:
“Plain ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ is all you need to say; anything beyond that comes from
evil.” And so, avoid perjury lest you be compelled to find the book of man’s
redemption closed against you.
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