CHAP. XVI. I. OATH 8. 1. FORMS of Oaths, III. Lawfulness. V. What oaths do not bind. VI. In what fenfe oaths are to be interpreted. I. The forms of oaths, like other religious ce remonies, have been always various; but confifting, for the most part, of fome bodily action,* and of a prefcribed form of words. Amongst the Jews, the juror held up his right hand towards heaven, which explains a paffage in the cxlivth Pfalm, whofe mouth fpeaketh vanity, and their right"hand is a right-hand of falsehood." The fame form is retained in Scotland ftill, amongst the fame Jews. An oath of fidelity was taken, by the fervant's putting his hand under the thigh of his lord, as Eliezar did to Abraham, Gen. xxiv. 2. from whence, with no great variation, is derived perhaps the form of doing homage at this day, by putting the hands between the knees, and within the hands of the liege. It is commonly thought that oaths are denominated corporal oaths from the bodily action which accompanies them of laying the right hand upon a book containing the four gofpels. This opinion, however, appears to be a miflake; for the term is borrowed from the ancient ufage of touching, upon these occa, fions, the corporale, or cloth which covered the confecrated elements. Amongst Amongst the Greeks and Romans, the form varied with the fubject and occafion of the oath. In private contracts, the parties took hold of each other's hand, whilft they fwore to the performance; or they touched the altar of the God, by whofe divinity they fwore. Upon more folemn occafions, it was the custom to flay a victim; and the beast being ftruck down, with certain ceremonies and invocations, gave birth to the expreffions reuves opxov, ferire pactum, and to our English phrafe, tranflated from thefe, of" ftriking a bargain." The forms of oaths in Chriftian countries are also very different; but in no country in the world, I believe, worse contrived, either to convey the meaning, or imprefs the obligation of an oath, than in our own. The juror, with us, after repeating the promise or affirmation, which the oath is intended to confirm, adds, " fo help me God:" or more frequently the fubftance of the oath is repeated to the juror, by the officer or magiftrate who administers it, adding in the conclufion " fo help you "God." The energy of the fentence refides in the particle fo; fo, that is, hac lege, upon condition of my fpeaking the truth, or performing this promife, and not otherwise, may God help me. The juror, whilft he hears or repeats the words of the oath, holds his right hand upon a bible, or other book, containing the four gofpels. The conclufion of the oath fometimes runs, ita me Deus adjuvet, "et hæc fancta evangelia," or, " fo help me God, "and the contents of this book;" which laft claufe forms a connection between the words and action of the juror, that before was wanting. The juror then kiffes the book: the kifs, however, feems rather a reverence to the contents of the book, as, in the popish ritual, the priest kiffes the gospel before he reads it, than any part of the oath. This obfcure and elliptical form, together with the levity and frequency with which it is adminiftered, niftered, has brought about a general inadvertency to the obligation of oaths, which, both in a religious and political view, is much to be lamented: and it merits public confideration, whether the requiring of oaths on fo many frivolous occafions, efpecially in the cuftoms, and in the qualification for petty offices, has any other effect, than to make them cheap in the minds of the people. A pound of tea cannot travel regularly from the fhip to the confumer, without cofting half a dozen oaths at the leaft; and the fame fecurity for the due difcharge of their office, namely, that of an oath, is required from a churchwarden and an archbishop, from a petty conftable and the chief juftice of England. Let the law continue its own fanctions, if they be thought requifite; but let it fpare the folemnity of an oath. And where it is neceffary, from the want of fomething better to depend upon, to accept men's own word or own account, let it annex to prevarication penalties proportioned to the public confequence of the offence. II. But whatever be the form of an oath, the fignification is the fame. It is the calling upon "God to witnefs, i. e. to take notice of what we fay, and invoking his vengeance, or renouncing his favour if what we fay be falfe, or what we "promise be not performed." III. Quakers and Moravians refufe to fwear upon any occafion; founding their fcruples concerning the lawfulness of oaths, upon our Saviour's prohibitjon, Matth. v. 34. "I fay unto you, swear not at "all." The anfwer which we give to this objection cannot be understood, without firft ftating the whole paffage: "Ye have heard that it hath been faid, * by them of old time, thou shalt not forfwear thy"felf; but fhalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: "but I fay unto you, fwear not at all; neither by "heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by earth, for «< it "it is his foot-ftool; neither by Jerufalem, for it is "the city of the great King; neither fhalt thou "fwear by thy head, becaufe thou canst not make "one hair white or black: but let your communi"cation be yea yea, nay nay, for whatsoever is 6c more than these cometh of evil." To reconcile with this paffage of Scripture, the practice of fwearing, or of taking oaths, when required by law, the following obfervations must be attended to. by 1. It does not appear, that fwearing "heaven," (6 by the earth," " t by Jerufalem," or by their own head," was a form of fwearing ever made ufe of among the Jews in judicial oaths; and confequently, it is not probable that they were judicial oaths, which Chrift had in his mind when he mentioned thofe inftances, ven, nor " 2. As to the feeming univerfality of the prohibition, "fwear not at all," the emphatic claufe "not "at all," is to be read in connection with what follows; 66 not at all," i. e. "neither by the heaby the earth," nor by " Jerufalem," nor by thy "head"" not at all" does not mean upon no occafion, but by none of thefe forms. Our Saviour's argument feems to fuppofe, that the people to whom he fpake, made a diftinction between fwearing directly by the name of God," and fwearing by those inferior objects of veneration, "the heavens,' "the earth," " Jerufalem,' OT "their own head." In oppofition to which diftinction he tells them, that, on account of the relation which these things bore to the fupreme Being, to fwear by any of them, was in effect and fubftance to swear by him; " by heaven, for it is "his throne; by the earth, for it is his footstool; by Jerufalem, for it is the city of the great King; by thy head, for it is his workmanfhip, not thine, thou canst not make one hair white or "black for which reafon, he fays, "fwear not دو ૮ ; "at all," that is, neither directly by God, nor indirectly by any thing related to him. This interpretation is greatly confirmed, by a paffage in the twenty-third chapter of the fame gofpel, where a fimilar diftinction, made by the Scribes and Pharifees, is replied to in the fame manner. 3. Our Saviour himself being "adjured by the living God," to declare whether he was the Chrift, the fon of God, or not, condefcended to anfwer the high priest, without making any objection to the oath, (for fuch it was) upon which he examined him. "God is my witness,' "God is my witness," fays St. Paul to the Romans, "that without ceafing, I make " mention of you in my prayers:" And to the Corinthians still more ftrongly," I call God for a re"cord upon my foul, that to fpare you, I came not as yet to Corinth." Both thefe expreffions contain the nature of oaths. The epiftle to the Hebrews speaks of the custom of fwearing judicially, without any mark of cenfure or disapprobation: "Men verily "fwear by the greater, and an oath, for confirma❝tion, is to them an end of all strife.” Upon the ftrength of these reasons, we explain our Saviour's words to relate, not to judicial oaths, but to the practice of vain, wanton, and unauthorized fwearing, in common discourse. St. James's words, chap. v. 12, are not fo ftrong as our Saviour's, and therefore admit the fame explanation with more ease. IV. Oaths are nugatory, that is, carry with them no proper force or obligation, unless we believe, that God will punish falfe fwearing with more feverity than a fimple lie, or breach of promife; for which belief there are the following reasons: The 1. Perjury is a fin of greater deliberation. Juror has the thoughts of God and of religion upon his mind at the time; at least, there are very few who can fhake them off entirely. He offends, therefore, if he do offend, with a high hand, in the face, |