The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1910-07-09
OATHS IN DIFFERENT LANDS,
lErnrnn the Green Rag.l

The ceremony of taking the oath
has been known since earliest history.
The only changes in form which have
come in thousands of years have been
due to the Introduction of the Bible
and the cross by Christian nations.
AS administered in most of the Eng
lish law courts the form of the oath Is
practically the same as that in the
United States, though rather perhaps
the simplest A crucif1x above the
judges seat is supposed to obviate the
necessity of the witness handling
either the cross or the Bible.
you swear to tell the truth, the
whole truth and nothing but the
truth % asks the judge. And the
witness, raising his right hand, an
swers, Fl swear it,
In Austria a Christian witness is
sworn before crucifix placed be.
tween two lighted candles. Holding
up his right hand the witness says:
''I swear by God, the Almighty and
All-Wise, that 1 will speak the pure
and full truth in answer to anything
1 may be asked by the court"
If the witness is of the Jewish race
he uses the same words but places his
hand on Bible opened at the page on
which appears the third command
ment, and the crucifiX is removed.
In Belgian court the witness says:
ct will speak the truth, the whole
truth and nothing but the truth, so
help me God and all the saints No
Bible is required in the administering
Of this oath.
The Italian witness generally takes
the oath in dramatic manner. sRest-
ing his hand on an open Bible, he ex-
plains: II will swear to tell the truth
a. ~ h,J4
truth"
More ceremony attends the admin
istering of an oath in a Spanish court.
The witness kneels on his right knee
and places his right hand on the sa
cred book. The judge then asks: "Will
you swear to God and by those holy
gospels to speak the truth to all you
may be asked? ?" The witness replies:
Yes: swear" to which the Judge re-
joins: '"Then if thus you do God will
reward you and if not will require of
you
In few districts this form is va.
ried by the witness placing the mid
die of his thumb on the middle of his
forefinger. kissing his thumb and de-
claring, "By this cross I swear"
1t is to be hoped that the Norwe-
gian witness is properly impressed
with his obligation to speak the truth
or considerable energy is wasted. He
is required to raise his thumb, fore
finger and middle finger these signify
the Trinity. Before the oath is ac-
tually taken long exhortation is de-
livered, running in part:
Whatever person is so ungodly,
corrupt or hostile to himself as to
swear a false oath or not to keep the
oath sworn sins in such a manner as
if he were to say: IF swear falsely.
then may God the Father, God the Son
and God the Holy Ghost punish me,
so that God the Father who created
me and all mankind in His image, and
His fatherly goodness. grace and mer-
cy, may not profit me, but that as a
perverse and obstinate transgressor
and sinner may be punished eternally
in hell. If I swear falsely, then may
all 1 have and own in this world be
cursed; cursed be my land. field and
meadow, so that I may never enjoy
any fruit or yield from them: cursed
be my cattle. my beasts, my sheep, so
that after this day they may never
thrive or benefit me; year. cursed may
be and everything possess"
And sometimes all that-and all the