The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1913-10-25
THE SECOND COMMANDMENT.

The Second Commandment forbids
all false and rash oaths. An oath is
taking God to witness, by Himself or
by one of his creatures, the truth of
what is said or the sincerity of the
promise which is made. There is moth
ing more common in the world than
the use of oaths, yet there are few
people who really understand what an
oath is. Sometimes it is COMPOUNDED
with blasphemy, with cursing, with
im~precations, and injurious words.
These are indeed sins and oftentimes
sins that are exceedingly serious, but
they are not oaths. To swear or to
ness the truth of what we say. The
ordinary and direct form of it is to
formally name God, saying, Il take
God to Witness" to swear by the name
of God, and thus to make Him, as it
were, a witness to the statement. 1t
is also an oath to take God to witness
by any one of his creatures. Moses
said to the Israelites: 81 call this day
heaven and earth to witness" When
we swear by creatures, we do not re-
gard them, in themselves, which would
be idolatry, but as having ONE rela-
ton with God, Who is the Creator. 1t
is not these creatures of God who
give force and authority to the oath,
but the majesty of God which dwells
in them, as our Divine Savior teaches
us when He says, HE who veal by
heaven, swears by the throne of God
and by Him who is seated thereon"
We also call God to witness by certain
~imprecations that we make against
ourselves, as when one says, Il may
die this moment" "God may take me
out of life," "The evil spirit may have
me-" These things cannot happen
without a miracle or a quasi-miracle,
and when thus invoked God is a vindi-
Gator of the lie and consequently is
called as a witness. st. Paul used this
form of oath to sustain his reputation
and the honor of his apostolate against
his detractors. In order to take an
oath it is not absolutely necessary to
pronounce the words, it is sufficient to
make an action or sign which ex-
presses the intention to swear. 1t is
sufficient to raise the hand, to place
it on the heart, to touch the crucifix or
the altar, in the circumstances where
in these acts or signs are regarded as
oaths. There are various forms of
oaths, according to the character and
the in which they are made.
The Second Commandment does not
forbid US to swear, but it forbids us to
swear in vain: Thou shalt not take
the name of the Lord thy God in
vain" The oath, therefore, taken in
itself, is not an evil deed but an act
of religion, and when God is taken to
witness He is recognized as the truth,
and the sole guarantee of the truth.
1t is therefore perfectly licit to take
an oath when the occasion requires it,
and the conditions necessary for it are
fulfilled. st. Augustine says that when
Christ, in His Sermon on the Mount,
said not to swear at all, it was really
for fear that the habit of cursing
might be acquired because it was clear
that there are times in human affairs
when the oath is required, as, for in
stance, in the making of treaties oil
peace, the oaths of Office which the
rulers of the people should make, and
the statements bound by an oath made
in the court of justice. For the licit
ness of an oath there should be truth
and justice, judgment and discretion
and the oath becomes vain when i
violates any one of these conditions
To swear against the truth is perjury
and the sin Of perjury is frequently