Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-12-30
Misesllaaeuus 8sading.
ANTIQUITY OF THE OATH

ANTIQUITY OF THE OATH
Used in All Ages to Establish Conf
dence and for Confirmation.
The first authentic account of the
| use Of the oath is found in the oldest
of all histories. the Bible. in the book
Of Genesis in the year Of the world
2092, according to the generally re-
ceived chronology. AS is we'll said.
in the language of another: This
| historical account Of the use of the
oath is more than 1000 years earlier
than any authentic portion Of profane
| history. 1t carries us to a remoter
period Of antiquity than ever the fam
ciful wing of pagan fable has dared
to fly. 1t assures us of the existence
of this institution centuries before the
period at which Chiron, the centaur,
Is said to have invented oaths."
On the return Of Abraham from
the battle with the five kings who had
invaded the land Of Sodom, we find
him making this declaration to the
king of Sodom II have lifted up
my hand unto the Lord, the Most
High God, the Possessor Of Heaven
and Earth, that I will not take any
thing that is thine" 1t Is next men,
TONED when, on the occasion of a
treaty between Abraham and Abime-
lech, a heathen prince, the latter re-
quested that the treaty be ratified by
an oath, saying to Abraham: Now,
therefore, swear unto me here by God
that thou wilt not deal falsely with
me-"
1t is evident from this that the
practice Of using oaths for the estab-
lishment of confidence and "for con-
firmation" was a thing well known,
understood and in common use at
the early period in the worlds his
tory, by all nations. This universal
or general use of the worlds his
tory so to speak, must be conclusive
evidence to those of us who accept
the Bible as veritable and authentic
that it was instituted by God him
self. most likely before the dispersion
of the nations, possibly when the
whole living race of man was COM
prised in the single family Of Noah,
after the flood, when the covenant
of the rainbow was made, and on this
supposition we can readily account
for its universally.
To trace the history Of the use Of
the oath down through the successive
oa 90 hn
would be highly interesting, and per-
haps instructive. but the limits Of this
paper forbid. We find it constantly
referred to not only In sacred his
tory, but in the writings of almost
every author of antiquity. We find the
oath in use in some form with almost
all nations, in all ages civilized and
barbarous. We believe that no ma
ton or tribe of which history or
travellers give us any account, who
believe in any kind Of a supreme be-
ing (and comparatively very few have
ever been found who do not acknowl-
edge some deity), but have some form
of oath or adjuration, and almost
without exception regard perjury or
the violation Of the oath as one of the
most heinous Of crimes and punish
able with the greatest severity.
Almost universally the ancients
swore by their deities, or some object
that they worshiped, or which repre-
sented the object of worship. Thus
we find the ancient Indians swearing
by a stream flowing from a foun-
tain Of unfailing water, representing,
doubtless the eternity and immor-
tality of their gods. The Persians
swore by the sun, which was regarded
as their chief deity-the author of
light and life and all blessings. The
ancient Scythians swore by the air,
the sustainer and promoter Of life.
Among the Grecians in olden times
the men swore by Jupiter, and the
women by Juno and her chaste bed.
Later, each state invoked it's own
tutelary god or heroes-the. Thebans,
Hercules: the Corinthians, Neptune.
Homer tells us that in oaths for con-
firmation, in treaties, &c, the parties
mingled wine and poured it on the
ground, calling on the gods thus to
scatter the brains of the one who
first violated his faith.
Solon, the great Grecian lawgiver,
commanded the invocation Of the
three greater deities, and public oaths
were then administered In the name
of Jupiter, Neptune and Minerva. In
the early days Of Rome Numa COM
manded to swear by Fides. In an
early and solemn form Of adjuration,
the Roman juror took a pebble in his
right hand and threw it away, using
these words: IF knowingly | speak
falsely, may Diospiter cast me away,
as | cast this stone away" After the
death of Caesar the Roman senate
decreed that oaths should be taken
by his genius We are told also that
the ancient Scandinavians and Ger
mans swore by their gods, Odin, Thor,
&c, resting their hands on some spe-
cial object while repeating the oath
the Scandinavans on a bloody ring.
held by the priest, and the Germans
OH their boards or their swords.
The Significance Of these forms and
customs is, as to many Of them, at
this distance of time. merely con-
jectural. and time and space fail to-
even attempt to give a solution of
their meaning, however interesting It
might be to do so. As almost all our
laws and custom which are in any
manner connected with religious wor-
ship or ordinances have come down
to US from the ancient Jewish ma
ton, it would perhaps be more in
teresting and much more practical to
trace the history Of the oath in its
various changes amongst this people.
We have already mentioned the fact
that Abraham, the father of the
faithful" the prOgenitor and patri-
arch from whom the Jewish nation
was descended, made use of the oath.
and we find 1t mentioned in the Bible
as In constant and continued use
among the Jews down to the time