The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1881-01-12

not as man." Glib. ", N. 1857
An accused person. or witness, if
he think himself unlawfully interrogated
by the Judge may swear that lie is ignor-
ant of crime which in fact he knows,
secretly understanding that he does not
know it so as to be questioned about it,
or to make deposition concerning it,"
'Qb. N. 154)
IAN accused person if in danger of
capital punishment, or lifelong imprison-
ment, or exile, or the loss of all his pro-
perty, or sentence to the galleys, or the
like, may deny crime even upon oath,
at least without grave SIM" Ib. N. 1856 }
A poor man having concealed goods
for his support may answer to the Judge
that he has none" Ob. N. 1889
"A guest, when asked if the food is
good may answer that it is, even when
it is in fact insipid, mentally reserving to
himself that it is good for modification.
Qb. N. 1907
GA servant ordered to say that his
master is not at home, when he really is,
may say he is not here, with the men
tai reservation Gin this doorway" or sin
this window" where the servant happens
has gone out" secretly understanding
"on some previous occasion" Qb N.
1867
"a wife, asked by her husband if she
has committed adultery may answer
equivocally that she has not broken her
marriage vow, since the VOW still remains
in force; or if she has made confession
sacramentally of the adultery, she may
answer, / am innocent of this crime
since by confession it has been taken
away Gb. N. 1922
-, j." lie who has sworn to judge that he
will speak what he knows, is not bound
to reveal secrets" (Ib. N. 1887
A man may swear to false state
ment, provided he add in an undertone
80 as not to be heard, such qualifying
circumstances would make his statement
true" Qb. N. 1857
Liguori asks the question whether one
who swears without the intention of bind
ing himself is under an obligation to keep
his OATH and answers in the negative,
giving the following as his reasons: "Such
an oath is not a true oath, both because
1T wants the necessary condition to the
nature of promissory oath, such as is
the intention of binding ones self, and
because an oath follows the nature of the
promise which it confirms, as is certain
from Rosenbaum. But promise with
out such an intention is not indeed a
promise, but mere purpose: therefore
the promise being evanescent, the oath is
also such, and is considered as made with
out the intention of swearing, which GER
talnly as we have seen is null and void.
But If no oath exists, there is no obliga-
ton OF fulfilling that oath" Qb. N. 172)
Let rs suppose for a moment that this
system of morals should prevail in this
country-this system of equivocation,
mental reservation, and suppression of
the truth-and what would become of
our courts of Justice? and what faith
would there be between man and man !?
If man who swears to do thing and at
the same time secretly purposes not to do
1T, is under no obligation to keep his oath :
II a man may swear to false statement
by adding 8otto voce, the circumstances
which materially change the statement
and remove its falsehood, of what con-
ceivable value will afidavits, and testi-
mony before courts, &C., be?
Take next the subject of theft and hear
Liguori on that:
1t is certain that one in extreme want
may steal the property of another to sat
lsfy his necessities. (Ib. N. 519.) And
in this case the author tells us the obli-
cation to make restitution is not only
suspended, but is also extinguished by
the consumption of what has thus been
taken. Not onl ly so but "nobleman
who is ashamed to beg or work, may steal
to supply his wants if he is poor" Gb.
N. $3.50
Domestic servant men and women
may steal (occuAe Sur7ipere) from their
own masters for the purpose of compensa-
ting themselves for their own labor which
they judge to be greater than the salary
they receive" Qb. ~ 521.) Here this
Roman casuist goes on to say that the
compensation need not be in the same
kind in which the salary is paid; that
while the servant ought first to seek re-
dress by law, yet the mission Of this is
only to be reckoned a venial sin; and
that the servants own judgment as to the
value Of his services is to be his guide in
determining how much of the property
of his master he will secretly appropriate
to himself.
Now suppose for moment that this
part of Liguori's system was introduced.
and that every servant in our households,