The Spanish Inquisition forced many Jews to abjure their religion. After the holidays, many people abjure all sweets and fattening foods. This abjuration is not usually accompanied by an oath, but it is often a vow to oneself. He was convicted of perjury for having lied under oath about his business dealings. A witness who perjures himself or herself in a court of law does harm to the truth by knowingly telling a lie.
Perjurious testimony is a serious criminal offense.
The philosophy behind a body of law. As a young lawyer his heroes were the crusaders of 20th-century jurisprudence, especially William O. Douglas and Thurgood Marshall. Felix Frankfurter had a lasting effect on American jurisprudence. He began his career as a government prosecutor. He later became a professor of law, especially interested in the jurisprudential philosophy and principles upon which our system of jurisprudence is based.