Cassiodorus on Swearing

Cassiodorus on Psalm 23:4 (LXX/Vul.)

Source: Cassiodorus, Explanation of the Psalms: Psalms 1-50, p. 243. Trans: P.G. Walsh. ACW 51. Paulist Press, 1990.

Psalm 23:4 (LXX/Vul.) Nor sworn deceitfully to his neighbour.

By saying deceitfully, he seems to allow oaths that are sacred. As Scripture says: The Lord hath sworn, and he will not repent, and we also read that the most holy patriarchs swore oaths. Why then does the gospel say: You will not swear by heaven or by earth, and what follows? Swearing truthfully was certainly not forbidden in the Old Testament, but because a pretext for perjury often occurs to human beings through mental weaknesses, in the New Testament it states that it is more profitable that we should not swear at all. This is the case too with other things acknowledged as being worthy of circumspection rather than forbidden. In the gospel, for example, the Lord Himself states: It has been said by the ancients an eye for an eye, but I say to you not to resist evil. So a man swears deceitfully if he intends to act differently from his promise, not regarding it as perjury if he wilfully misleads one who makes the mistake of trusting him.

Cassiodorus, On Psalm 62.12 (LXX/Vul,)

Written c. 550 CE.

Source: Cassiodorus, Explanation of the Psalms: Psalms 51-100, p. 88-89. Trans: P.G. Walsh. ACW 52. Paulist Press, 1991.

Psalm 62.12 But the king shall rejoice in the Lord: all shall be praised that swear to him.

The king denotes the Lord Saviour, for He is King forever. The unchangeable title of His passion showed that the label is especially apt for Him. When Pilate questioned Him, He said of Himself: For this was I born.  The Church further says: He shall rejoice in the Lord, that is, in the Father; as Christ Himself attests: I am in the Father, and the Father is in me. She added: All shall be praised. When the saints of God praise Christ, they themselves are undoubtedly praiseworthy, for only those deserving to attain the palm of mercy can worthily recount His praises. She added: That swear to him. She did not say: "That swear by Him," to prevent your thinking that an oath had been enjoined, for elsewhere as we know He has forbidden it. As He Himself says: Do not swear by heaven nor by earth, and the rest. But those who promise Him mental obedience which cannot be breached swear to Him, for elsewhere this word indicates a faithful promise. As we read in another psalm: The Lord has sworn truth to David, and He will not make it void. The Godhead could not swear by another, for He had no peer to swear by.

Cassiodorus, On Psalm 94:11 (LXX/Vul.)

Written c. 550 CE.

Source: Cassiodorus, Explanation of the Psalms: Psalms 51-100, p. 414. Trans: P.G. Walsh. ACW 52. Paulist Press, 1991.

Psalm 94:11. I swore to them in my wrath: they shall not enter my rest.

God is said to swear in two ways. He swears in a peaceful and gentle way, as we read in another Psalm: Once have I sworn about my holy one: to David I will not lie. But here He is said to swear in anger, because we find Him threatening vengeance. Clearly, however, this oath is relevant to the strength of the promise. If men swear to abide by their promises, how much more is God said to swear, so that what has been foretold may come to pass with the requisite consistency! But god swears by Himself, for He has no better; as He says to Abraham: By my own self have I sworn, saith the Lord: I shall bless with a blessing. But human persons call on God because the know he avenges infidelity. This is why men are forbidden to swear, because they cannot fulfil their promises by their own efforts. What then does the Lord swear? That the obdurate will not enter His rest, but instead eternal death will embrace those who have not deserved to attain the blessings of making satisfaction to Him.

It is right that they cannot enter into rest, for they offend Christ Himself who is the Gate to peacefulness. We must however investigate what His words they shall not enter into my rest mean. The teacher of the Gentiles explains the passage in this way, with the words: And God rested the seventh day from all his works. So the person who has entered into His rest obtains rest also from his own works, as God did from His. He is pointing to the blessed time when the just, after the struggle of this world, enjoy eternal rest. This will be withheld from the unholy who have grown hard in their wickedness.