LXXIII. Albertus Magnus on Mat. v. Swearing is by Indulgence.'

Thomas Aquinas cites Rabanus on Mat. v.

LXXIV. Alex. de Ales citeth Hug. Cardinal, faying, The Lord forbad fwearing, left any fhould defire to fwear as a good thing; alfo that none might fall into Perjury.'

LXXV. Remigius on Rom. i.

< never Forfwears.'

Who never Swears,

LXXVI. Ruffinus on Pfalm xiv. "Not to fwear at "all, is of perfect men." See alfo Smaragdus on Mat. v. Titelmannus on Pfalm xiv. Brugenfis on Mat. v. Ludolphus Carthufianus, Vita Chrifti, part 2. cap. 12. Rupertus, de Operibus Spiritus Sancti, Fol. 453. Baptifta Folengius, on Pfalm xv. Nic. Lyra, and Ordinary Gloss on Mat. v.

LXXVII. Euthymius Zigabenus, on Mat. v. p. 43. faith thus, "Again, ye have heard, that it hath been "faid to them of old time, Thou shalt not forfwear, "&c. But I fay unto you, Swear not at all, &c."] Now the old law faith,' " Thou shalt not forfwear, but fhalt offer to the Lord thine oaths;" • added, that he might put fear into the swearer, that he 'fhall not forfwear, knowing that God, which knows all

which he

things, undertakes the oath.' [" But I fay unto you, "fwear not at all."] For he that easily fweareth, ⚫ fometimes perchance may forfwear, by the custom of fwearing; but he that fwears by no means, will never forfwear. Befides, thou that fweareft, fo be thou do not forfwear, thou obferveft the worship of • God; but swearing, by no means, thou doft promote ‹ it: and the other is the part of mean and imperfect philofophy; but this of that which is the highest and perfect. The other,' "Thou shalt not forfwear," is written in the book of Exodus; but this,' "Thou "shalt restore to the Lord thine oaths," in the book of • Deuteronomy; but in other words. Now he commanded this, left they fhould fwear by gods of a • falfe name.' Again,

• Not

* Not to fwear, and not to require an oath, come to the fame thing. For, how canft thou induce thy • brother unto that which thou avoideft thyself, if fo be that thou art a lover of thy brother, and not rather • of money?'

"Nor by Heaven, for it is the Throne of God," &c.

‹ Left they should think, that he forbad to swear by • God only, in saying, by God, he adds also other kind • of oaths, by which the Jews did then fwear; for he ⚫ that sweareth by these things, fweareth again by God, ⚫ who fills these things, and rules them; for they have these things in honour for Him, and not for themfelves: for he faith by the prophet,' "Heaven is my "Throne, and Earth is my Foot-ftool;" the prophet manifefting by this, that God filleth all things:' "Do "not I fill Heaven and Earth?" David alfo faith,' "The City of the Great King.'

"Neither by thy Head."

• Therefore thou fhouldft not fwear the meanest oath; • I fay even by thy own Head, left thou proceed to greater, or by any other manner; for the Creature is alfo the poffeffion of God.' And again, The Oath • is made by God, who hath it (the Creature) in his Power: for although it (the Head) be made thine, ⚫ yet it is not thy Work; which is manifeft from this, that thou canst not make one hair white or black.' "But let your words be Yea Yea, and Nay Nay," &c. 'Let your speech be, when ye affirm, Yea, and when you deny, Nay; and use only these for, or instead of, Oaths to confirmation, and no other than Yea and Nay. What are adjoined befides thefe, he calleth ⚫ an Oath *.'

Queft. But if an oath be of the Devil, how did the old Law permit it?'

Anfw. Because the facrifices of living creatures were also of evil, and by the deceit of Idols, yet the Law permitted them, because of the infirmity of the

See Bibliotheca veter. patrum.
Ff2

"Hebrews,

'Hebrews. For whereas they were gluttons, and fmell-feasts, they loved the facrifices of Idols; and whereas also they were unbelieving, they also loved an Oath and that they fhould not afterwards either facrifice to Idols, or fwear by Idols, the Law per'mitted them to facrifice and to fwear, and if there 'were any thing elfe of that kind, they transferred all unto God. Now it was come to pafs, that in procefs of time he would cut off these things alfo, by a more < fublime law, to be brought in; because it is good for Infants to be fuckled; but for Men it is very unfit : there we allow this to them that live after the manner of Infants; but we withdraw or prohibit them that are Manly from it *.'

Queft. What then is to be done, if any require an Oath; yea, compel to fwear?'

Anfw. "Let the Fear of God be more forcible than this compulfion or neceffity; and chufe rather to fuffer all things, than to tranfgrefs the Command, fith in every precept, force, and violent danger will often meet with thee: and unless thou esteemeft the command of God every-where more forcible, all things will depart from thee void and unperformed. In the following paffages, the Lord faith,' " The "kingdom of heaven fuffereth violence, and the vio"lent take it by force."

LXXVIII. Oecumenius, a famous Greek writer, about Ann, one thousand and seventy, writes on Jam. v. 12. thus, But fome will fay,' "If any be forced to "fwear, what is to be done?" We say, that the fear ' of God fhall be ftronger than the force of him that compels. But fome may doubt, how it comes to pass, that Grace doth not command this, as did the old Law, affording praise to him that did fwear by the Name of the Lord? We fay, The old Law, leading the Jews not to fwear by Devils, appointed to fwear

They all agree in the reafon of fuffering Oaths under the Law, viz. the Jews Weakness.

• by

by GoD, as it commanded them to facrifice, drawing them from the facrifice of Idols, or Devils. But when it had fufficiently taught them to have a religious <refpect to God, then it rejected Sacrifices, as unprofitable; seeking not a facrifice by Beasts, but a broken Spirit; that is, a fweet whole Burnt-facrifice, inflamed C by the Fire of Love.'

"That ye fall not into Hypocrify," (fo fome Copies have it; for the words in Greek are fornetimes alike). Hypocrify,' he faith, or Condemnation, which foĺlows them that fwear without fparing; and, through the customs of oaths, are carried out to forfwear. The word Hypocrify fignifies thus much,' "That "which being one thing, appears another."

'How

then falleth he into hypocrify that fweareth? Answer. When he that is believed for the Oath's fake to be true, and yet tranfgreffion following, is declared to be a Liar, instead of a true man, not producing Yea • in certainty. He forbids to fwear by God, because of Perjury; but by Heaven, and other oaths, that • men should not bring these things into the Honour of God; for all that swear, do fwear by the Greater.' LXXIX. Anfelmus, bishop of Canterbury, about Ann. one thousand and ninety, on that place of Mat. v. thus, p. 38. “Thou shalt not forfwear," &c.] Mofes, seeing that he could not take away Swearing, takes away Perjury.' And again, Because men have in great reverence those things by which they fwear, lest ⚫ they should make the Creatures gods themselves, he ⚫ commands them to render their oaths to God, and not to fwear by Creatures. But the Lord removes them < more perfectly from Perjury, when he forbids them to fwear at all.'

LXXX. The ancient Waldenfes, we have good caufe to fay, denied the taking of any oath, in what sense the primitive Christians and Fathers refused, and that was altogether: to be fure their enemies charged them with it, for above three hundred years; and we cannot find that they then denied the charge: we fuppofe none

Ff3

will

will attempt to prove that they did; for they were well known in the world as to this particular *.

LXXXI. And Bp.. Ufher pleads for them, against the Papists, who were Swearers t.

LXXXII. Likewife a people of Albi, in France, Ann. one thousand one hundred and feventy-fix, held it was unlawful to fwear.

LXXXIII. The "Plowman's Complaint," containing, as abundance of mournful applications to God, fo many notable and serious reprehenfions of the lapfed, erroneous, and cruel nature of men: among others, it hath this notable paffage to our purpose, Lord, thou givest ⚫ us a command of truth, in bidding us, Yea Yea, and fwear for nothing; but, Lord, he (Pope) that calls himself thy Vicar on Earth, hath broken the • Commandment, fo makes a law to compel men to fwear .' Who was the author of this, is not certainly known; but to be sure it was embraced of the Wickliffians, as worthy of their patronage; and remembred and recorded by John Fox, as not unworthy to keep company with Proteftant Martyrs .

LXXXIV. John Wickliff, our countryman, and, in his time, Divinity Profeffor of Oxford, (famous for his learning and godly courage, in oppugning the doctrines and practices of Rome, in the time of Edward the Third, and Richard the Second, about the year one thousand three hundred and feventy) was accufed, among other things, for maintaining, that all Oaths, which be made for any Contract or civil Bargain, betwixt man and man, are unlawful §.'

LXXXV. We will bring in here a paffage out of the "Plowman's Tale," as it lies in Geoffry Chaucer's Works, not impertinent to our purpose, whofe learning, honour, and wit, were great in the time he lived, which

Vide Baron. Anno 1310. John Walden ady. Wickliff and Wal. denf. Reiner Rub. Capitan. + W. Woodford. De Succeff. 1. 6. Fox Mart. v. 1. p. 527. Men J. Fox Mart. v. 1. p. 554 to 558,

Bar. Anno 1310. n. 3.

honoured by Proteftants.

+ J.

Geff. Chauc, works, fol. 86.

was