Ninth Century Commentaries on the Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 4, Rule 27

Ninth Century Commentaries on the Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 4, Rule 27

Smaragdus of Saint Mihiel, Commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 4, Rule 27: Non jurare, ne forte perjuret. (c. 816)

Source: Smaragdus Of Saint Mihiel. 2008. Smaragdus Of Saint Mihiel: Commentary On The Rule Of Saint Benedict, p. 192 – 194. Translated by David Barry. Kalamazoo, Mich: Cistercian Publications.

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27 Not to swear, lest one commit perjury. [Matt 5:33-37]

Swearing is not against God’s precept, because he said: You shall swear by my name. But when we make a habit of swearing we incur the charge of perjury. Therefore it is necessary that the person who is afraid of committing perjury should never swear [Cf. Sent. II.31.2; PL 83:633C]. For it is written: Let not your mouth grow accustomed to swearing [Sir. 23:11], and: A man who swears much will be filled with iniquity [Sir. 23:11]. And James the apostle warns us strongly not to swear when he says: Before all things, brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath; but let your word be Yes, yes, No, no, that you may not fall in judgment [James 5:12]. And our Lord Jesus Christ, everyone’s salvation and savior, who wants everyone to be saved, and wants to deliver them from the evil of perjury, admonishes us saying: You shall not swear by heaven, for it is the seat of God; nor by earth, for it is his footstool; neither shall you swear by your own head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your word be Yes, yes, No, no; and what is more is from the evil one [Matt 5:33-37]. Now the person who does not swear does not sin and is far from sin, while the person who swears, even if he swears the truth, is close to sin. If he slips and stumbles, down he crashes and incurs the penalty for perjury. Therefore false swearing is destructive, true swearing is dangerous; it is only no swearing that is sound and secure. Someone says: It isn’t swearing when I say, God is my witness; and: I call on God as witness, or things like that. But what does it mean to swear, if not to call on God and give back a right to God? What does it mean to say: God is my witness, if not to swear by God? For God himself, by whom a person swears, is invisible; he has sworn by the invisible One, he is struck by an invisible penalty. For the apostle also, when he says: Before all things, do not swear [James 5:12], puts us on our guard against our tongue so that we may be attentive and watchful, in case the habit of swearing finds its way into us unawares. Before all things, he says, to make you most attentive against the custom of swearing, so that you might examine everything and guard very carefully all the movements of your tongue. There follows: That you may not fall in judgment [James 5:12]. Therefore, he says, I restrain you from the fault of swearing, for fear that by frequently swearing the truth you may at some time even fall into perjury, and so that you may be all the further from the vice of perjury, the less willing you are to swear the truth unless there be a very real need. But that person does fall under a judgment of “Guilty” who, even though he never commits perjury, swears the truth more often than there is need, the reason being that he does wrong by the very lack of need for his speech, and he offends the judge who forbade both the useless word and every oath [Bede In Jac 5:12; CCSL 121:220]. 

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Hildemar of Corbie, Commentary on the Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 4, Rule 27 Non jurare, ne forte perjuret. (c. 845)

Source: Hildemar of Corbie: Commentary On The Rule Of Saint Benedict. Translated by Columba Stewart, The Hildemar Project. Available online at:
http://www.hildemar.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=147&catid=15&Itemid=102

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And then: 27 Do not swear oaths.

To swear oaths, as Cassiodorus says, is to promise something under attestation. [Cassiodorus, Expositio Psalmorum 14:4]

And he offers a reason why one should not swear oaths, when he adds: lest he swear falsely, as if to say: therefore one should not swear oaths, lest he swear falsely.

Let us see how the Lord speaks about oaths in the Gospel. In fact he said: You have heard what was spoken of old: Do not swear falsely, offer your oath to the Lord. I say to you, do not swear oaths at all, neither by heaven, because it is the throne of God, nor by earth, because it is his footstool, nor by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great king, nor should you swear by your head, because you cannot make even a single hair white or black. Let this be your word: yes, yes; no, no. Whatever is more than this comes from evil. [Mt 5:33-37]

The custom of the Jews was terrible, for having been given permission by the Lord to swear oaths by himself, they swore instead by the elements of the world, for which they were frequently rebuked [page 155] by the Lord, because the thing by which a man swears oaths he also venerates and cherishes and fears. The Lord had allowed them to swear oaths by himself, lest they swear by alien gods. And that intention by which he commanded them to swear oaths by himself was the same intention by which he commanded them to offer fleshly sacrifice to him. For he had earlier let them offer sacrifices to him lest they offer sacrifices to alien gods. He had controlled them like servants, and fed them like children. That permission to swear oaths or to sacrifice was not given to them in perpetuity, but was conceded to them until the one came who would give them a better law. So he said through the prophet: I gave them commandments that are not good, in which they will not live. [Ez. 20:25]

In comparison with the better ones they are not good, but in themselves they are good. And again he says, I will give them a covenant not like the one I gave to their fathers, when I led them out of the land of Egypt. [Jer. 31:32]

He commanded them as servants that they swear oaths, but us he commanded as sons, not to swear oaths at all. For the law given by Moses was for the progress of the Jews, that is, he received [it] by the grace of the Gospel for the perfection of holiness and progress; for all that is new is based on testimonies by what is old. What the Lord commanded us, not to swear oaths at all, Solomon had said long before, saying: Do not let your mouth grow used to swearing oaths. [Sir. 23:9] And again Solomon says, Everyone swearing oaths or trading5 will not be purged of sin, [Sir. 23:11] that is, will not be without sin.

What must he – whose word ought to be trustworthy – swear on oath, that it be accepted as an oath? For that reason the Lord commanded not to swear oaths at all, lest others hoped, or we hoped, that there would be permission for us to lie without an oath.

The Lord wishes there to be no distinction between a lie and an oath; just as treachery is to be avoided in an oath, so also lying is to be avoided in speaking, because the Lord judges both. As the Psalmist says, You will destroy those who speak falsehood. [Ps. 5:7] And the Apostle: The mouth that lies kills the soul. [Sap 1:11].

And if [page 156] God destroys those who speak falsehood, and the mouth that lies kills the soul, falsehood is to be avoided in all speech, just like treachery in an oath. When a trustworthy person says something, he should speak truthfully so that it is accepted as if it were an oath, for it is written: A trustworthy witness does not lie [Prv 14:5].

Although this refers especially to Christ, nevertheless it can be referred to any of his members. Yet the Lord who commanded do not swear oaths, is read to have sworn. How? He did this because of the treachery of the Jews, for they believed nothing he said unless he backed it with an oath. For this reason the Lord swore an oath, so that those who were unwilling to believe the one speaking true things would at least believe one who swore an oath. Again you have heard, for it was said to those of old, Do not swear falsely. [Mt 5:33] Lesser is the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees in not swearing falsely, and greater is the righteousness of those who will enter the kingdom of heaven in not swearing oaths at all. For the Lord, who commanded do not swear oaths, did not abolish the Law but fulfilled it, because the one who does not swear oaths does not swear falsely.

[The following section is inspired by Augustine, De sermone Domini in Monte I, c. 17.51, which is partly paraphrased, partly quoted literally]

Just as he who does not speak does not lie, so he does not swear falsely who does not swear oaths. Because a man both invokes and calls upon the thing by which he swears, it is therefore necessary that we investigate carefully whether Paul, who is read to have sworn an oath, is considered to have sworn an oath against the commandments of the Lord. For he says: Consider what I write to you, for before God I do not lie. [Gal 1:20] And again: The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. [2 Cor 11:31] And again: Brothers, God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the Gospel of his Son, that I remember you always without ceasing in my prayers to God on your behalf. [Rm 1:9]

For there are some who try to defend Paul by saying, ‘because he who swears oaths speaks by something, Paul did not swear an oath because it did not speak by something.’

Blessed Augustine says this is ridiculous.6 But now for the sake of the contentious who defend Paul, it is necessary to consider that testimony in which Paul is found to have sworn oaths, in which they say he must have been swearing oaths. For he says: Brother, daily I am dying by your glory. [1 Cor 15:31].

This [phrase] by your glory is not to be interpreted as if it says: for your glory I am dying, or your glory makes me [page 157] die daily, as when it is said: someone became learned by his teaching, that is, it was done by his teaching, for it can be shown perfectly that the Greek word excludes it, for the Greek word from which this is translated can be understood in no way other than swearing an oath.7 Whereas in our manner of speaking such a phrase can be variously understood, nevertheless in this place it cannot be understood otherwise, as we have said, than as an oath. [cf. Augustine, De sermone Domini in Monte I, c. 17.51, CCSL 35, p. 56-58]

Since Paul cannot be defended from having sworn an oath, the saying of the Savior – which Paul obviously knew – must be examined more closely [to know] for what purpose the Lord prohibited swearing oaths, lest Paul be seen to have sworn oaths against the commandments of the Master.

For the Lord, when he says, Do not swear oaths at all [Mt 5:37], does not say it so that oaths not be sworn at all, but he says it because an oath must not at all be sought for a good thing.

For there are some things which by themselves or for themselves are not good, but because of circumstances or events are accepted as good things. For example, if you recommend necessary or useful things to someone, and he does not have confidence in your words, you might swear an oath to him, for his well-being, so that he might believe you. In such a case you are using something that is not good well.

Therefore, when the Lord says not to swear by heaven or earth, because he wanted it to mean do not swear oaths at all, as we have said, he went so far in that instance as to add what is more than these [“yes” or “no”] is from evil, [Mt 5:37] that is, from the evil of the weakness of the one who does not believe. This weakness or disbelief is not the evil that we ask the Lord daily in the prayer that we be worthy to be liberated from. It is, rather, that we not be found less believing than we ought to be. Other, less intelligent, people want to interpret the saying from evil to mean from the devil [“Evil One”], because it is written, The devil is a liar and the father of lies. [cf. Io 8:44] [Such an interpretation] owes more to sophistry than to reason, because if it is understood in that way, then Paul and other saints who are found to have sworn oaths appear to have sworn oaths against the commandment of the Lord.

This should be investigated more carefully, for why did he say from evil and not ‘evil’? If he had said ‘evil’, it would have been uncertain whether evil would be [applicable] to the one who speaks, or to the one who is persuaded. But because the Lord did not want this evil to pertain to the one who speaks, but rather to one who does not believe, therefore he said from [page 158] evil, for it is not evil for the one who persuades if he swears oaths for the good of the other. But it pertains to the one who is persuaded, from the evil of his weakness, that his, from his failure to believe.

He continues: neither by heaven, which is the throne of God, nor by earth, which is his footstool, [Mt 5:34] and the rest.

The Lord forbade swearing by the elements in two ways: in one way, lest the veneration of the Creator be transferred to veneration of created things, as we said above, for the thing by which a man swears an oath he also venerates, honors, and fears.

The other way [in which the Lord forbade swearing by the elements] is because the Jews were afraid to swear by the Lord, as had been allowed them, lest they be held to their oath, as had been said to them: Render your oaths unto the Lord. [Mt 5:33] They cleverly swore by the elements, and so deceived those to whom they swore oaths, because they considered themselves not to be bound by the oath if they swore by the elements. And they supposed that those to whom they swore would suppose they could trust such oaths, acting against what the Psalmist says: Nor does he swear in deceit to his neighbor. [cf. Ps. 14:3] One who swears oaths in such a way [does it so that] he who swears not be held to his oath, even though the one to whom it is sworn accepts it as an oath.

The Lord exposes such trickery in another place, saying: Whoever swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything that is upon it; and whoever swears by the Temple, swears by it and by him who dwells in it. And whoever swears by heaven, swears by the Throne of God and by him who sits upon it. [Mt 23:20-22]

How can someone who swears by heaven be free of an oath, when heaven is the throne of God? Similarly, how can he not be bound by an oath who swears by the earth or by Jerusalem or by his head, when the earth is God’s footstool, and Jerusalem represents a prefiguring of the heavenly [page 159] Jerusalem, that is, of the Body of Christ, and the head represents a figure of Christ, as the Apostle says: The head of a man is Christ? [1 Cor 11:3]

And it must be observed, as Jerome says, that an oath has these companions: truth, judgment, and justice. If these are absent, it will not be an oath at all, but rather a false oath. [Jerome, Commentarii in Jeremiam 4:2]

Also, he who swears by heaven, swears by it and by the one who created heaven, and he who swears by earth, swears by it and by him who is its Creator, and he who swears by Jerusalem swears by it and by him whose city it is. Indeed, he says: nor by Jerusalem, which is the great King’s city. [Mt 5:35]

Although he is himself the great King, it was better to say the great King’s rather than ‘my,’ because at that time the power of his divinity was yet to be shown. Nor should you swear by your head, since nothing is closer to us than the head, [Mt 5:36] and yet it is not our own, as he subsequently says: nor ought you to swear by your head, since you cannot make a single hair white or black. [Mt 5:36]

And if we cannot make even a single hair white or black, then [the head] must belong to him, the one who can do this, that is, make a hair black or white. And if even the head is not ours, why does the Lord say, nor ought you to swear by your head?

The Lord spoke according to our custom when he said ‘by your head’, that is, by the head, which you suppose is yours. Therefore the Lord began with a great element, saying: nor by heaven and the rest, and continued down to the least, that is, a white or black hair, for he wanted to show that nothing created depends on us, and nothing created exists without his control. If nothing created depends on us, and nothing created can exist without his control, then every created thing must be his, and he does not want us to swear oaths by any created thing.

For the sake of the less intelligent it is now necessary that we investigate what it means when the Lord says: neither by heaven, because it is the throne of God, nor by earth, because it is his footstool, [Mt 5:35] lest they believe God to have limbs like men.

So what is it that the Lord is saying here: neither by heaven, because it is the throne of God, nor by earth, because it is his footstool? And through the Prophet is crying out: Heaven [page 160] is my throne, and earth is the stool for my feet? [Act 7:49]

Can it be that God has limbs like a man? For a man sits in one place, and puts his feet in another place. Can it be that God, like a man, can be somewhere else, that is, sit in heaven but put his feet on earth? Not at all! But he is speaking according to our custom. For when we sit, we sit in a higher or more prominent place.

There are four principal elements in the composition of the world, and the most eminent and excellent of these elements is heaven [air], and the least is earth. And so when he says: Heaven is my throne, it is as though the divine power favors the more eminent and worthy element, that is heaven, while he orders and rules and governs the earth, the lesser element, to its lowest and farthest bounds.

On the spiritual level, the name ‘heaven’ means holy souls, and ‘earth’ means sinful one. Solomon explains that ‘heaven’ means the souls of the just when he says: The soul of the just one is the throne of wisdom. [Sap 7:27] And Paul says: Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. [1 Cor 1:24] And if the soul of the just one is the throne of God, and wisdom is of God, then aptly are the souls of the just said to be the throne of God. Look: you have proven that the souls of the saints are the throne of God.

Now it must be seen why souls are said to be a ‘throne’ rather than a ‘dwelling.’ The ‘sitting of heaven’ means judicial power (the Apostle says: The spiritual man judges all things [1 Cor 2:15]), which is given to the saints, who examine [things] by their merit. ‘Earth’ means sinful souls because after he had sinned, the man heard: You are earth and unto earth you shall go. [cf. Gn 3:19] And if ‘earth’ means sinful souls, what then is ‘footstool’? ‘Footstool’ means sinful souls as well, because man, not willing to remain within the law, was placed under the law, and was made like a footstool under feet, and we place our feet in a lower place.

Can one think of anything more laborious and painstaking than to cut off limbs (for example an eye or a hand, [cf. Mt 18:8-9] which mean a dear friend); to get rid of bad habits; to have to put up with the various misfortunes and events that can be imagined or alleged of a wife (apart from a case of fornication [cf. Mt 5:32]). [page 161] And if he does not have [a wife], let him not take someone divorced from a man, [even if she] is beautiful, healthy, rich and fertile. If it is not lawful to do this, much less is one to consider it lawful to give himself over to any other unlawful sexual act. [cf. Augustine, De sermone Domini in Monte I, c. 18.54] No one knows what a labor this is except someone who has experienced it.

For example, someone has a dear friend who provides him advice in divine things (signified by ‘eye’), but then later places a stumbling block for him in the way of God. Or perhaps [he has] another friend, who offers help in divine things (signified by ‘hand’) and later causes scandal, and he hears the Lord saying: if your eye or your hand is a stumbling block for you, cast it away from you; for it is better for you to enter life crippled than to have all of your limbs and be cast into the gehenna of fire. [cf. Mt 18:8-9] So he wants to cast him away from himself, and no one knows what a labor that is, except him, who has now done it.

And again, if someone has bad habits of swearing oaths and hears the Lord saying: do not swear oaths at all, neither by heaven nor by earth. [Mt 5:34] etc., he will want to cast off these habits from himself. And what a labor that is, no one knows, except him, who has now driven these things out from himself.

And again, if someone has a wife consumed with diseases--blind, sterile, deformed, crippled, leprous, deaf, lame and whatever else can befall her—and hears the Lord saying: If someone divorces his wife except for reason of fornication, he makes her commit adultery, and whoever takes a divorced woman commits adultery, [Mt 5:32] he does not dare to dismiss her for any reason besides fornication. And what a labor it is to bear this, no one knows, except him who now endures such a thing.

For all these things – cutting off limbs and casting out bad habits and bearing a wife’s misfortunes – great strength is necessary. No one can join this army of Christ except the one who hungers and thirsts for justice, for just as the one who is hungry thinks of nothing but food, or the one who thirsts loves nothing except drink, so it is also for the one who hungers and thirsts for justice: [page 162] nothing is more useful to him than simply justice, so that those things which the lovers of the world say are impossible become possible for him with the Lord’s help. And so will be fulfilled in him what the Lord says: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. [Mt 5:6]

See, now that you are embarked upon this difficult way and have encountered trials, even strong ones, surrounding you on all sides, to the point that you despair of finishing what you have begun, what is there for you to do except flee for counsel to the one of whom the Prophet clearly speaks: The Spirit of counsel, [Isa 11:2] so that you patiently bear the evil deeds of your neighbors and, as much as you can, help those whom you desire to assist by divine inspiration.