Cha: 3. of taping Gods name by an oath. Corn. 2 247 thing be poffible, but nothoneft, to fwear todo it, is not juts, if it be not poElible , it is not jurandum, and fo jasjurandum,an oath cannot be taken in thefe cafes. But herewe muft know, that a thing may be unlawful or impoffible, either r. aprin- cipio, at the firft taking an oath ; or 2. There may be emergens illicirum, or impof- bile, the unlawfulnefs orimpofiibility may arife after it is taken, in the firft cafe, it is unlawful to take an oath; in the fecond it is unlawful to perform or keep it, though there were no fin at the firft taking of it. Saint Augoftine (upon Herods oath) faith, that of it felf it was lawful, and not limply evil to promife halfofhis Mat. 6. sa. kingdom, but upon Herodias asking S.gohn Baptifis head there was emergens illi- chum; for there is an oath, but it doth elicere, draw out, or fuppofe thefe two conditions, poffibile and liciram. How can Í do this ? faith yofph to his Miltris ; Gsn. that is, do it honeftly or lawfully. Therefore in malis prom/fps, we mu:b refsindere fadem; unlawfuloaths are better broken thenkept ; they binde to nothing but Re- pentance. The reafon is, becaufe otherwife there is not exirusfine tertio, no wind- ing our felves out, but a falling into a third fine, for when an oath is paff, betide the finne part, which cannot be recalled, though it may be repented of, one falls into two other finnes, as in the cafe already mentioned ; r. Murder. 2. Superftition Into fuper(lition, when he thinks it is not tó be.broken, and intomurder if he keep it. And according to thefe three limitationsmuff every oath be regulated, elfe it is not a lawfull oath, but a taking of Gods name in vain. of lr t q Now concerningvoluntary oaths (not judicially taken) there is no order takenby 'aivobr an men, but rashly, upon every vain perturbation, an oath flies out, whereinmenare fo gam, 2;.;; rathand frequent, that Gods name is made aParenthefis in their fpeech. Davidbe- ing moved with angerand grief for Nabaisunkindne(fe, makes a rafh oath againft Nabal ; but when he confideredbetter ofit, he bleffed God for fending Abigail to keep him from executing what he had rafhly fworn, on the other fide , Saul, touched with a greater defrre of viftory, then with reverence to the-name of God fwears, that if any dideat,or drinkbefore the Sun went down, he fhould die, and we fee what the fuccette was, howthe life ofhis gomothan was endangered thereby. ThusGods name iscommonly ufed in every foolifh fpeech, and we may fpeak it with grief, men herein do that to God, which they would be loth to do to any ordinary perfon. In every half hour or oftner, they call him from heaven to con- firm their quarrels; and fo by the common ufage of Gods name, as one faith, his name which fhould beafylum,aSan tuary,is turned into a brothel houfe. This made lib. i. éonf , Saint Augufiine, touched with a holy grief,to break out into there /words, vu eibi ap, t6. (lumen morns human, turfed be the ftreanies of the cuftomes pf men, quis refiflet tibi ? guandononficcavaris ? quovfg; evolves ecclefisfilios in mare magnum&formidolo- fum, podvix tranfcendunt, c-c. When will this dry up ? it carrieth meneven as a ttrong ftream into that fearful lake, that theywhichare in the (hip can hardlyefcape -it. Perte agunturflagitia, & non puranrur f eogitia, by this cuffomary fwearing, de- teffable fins are committed which are not thought to be -fuss. And in another place hefaith, it is becaufe ofthe flipperinefre of the member, becaufe in udo pofita ei lingua, it is in a molt flippery place ; and therefore S. games gives a more (pedal Vide Augvft._, `charge of it, theneither ofthe hand or foot games 3. Wherefore his counfel is, Tem. ro fer.io,, Quanto cities illa movetur, & facilius, tanta is adverfus damfixi os ita ; -domabis, f de verbo Apos9. ve ilabis, vi slábisautem, z timebis timebi.é', fi to Chriftianumeffe recorderis. & nomen Paula r g g % > > medium. Chrifti effe : firmfaíiu?nnon foerit, nonfiatjuramentum hodie, pignus fief eras eras non amain : Cj- tridua moritur peftis ills a die qua laboramos , /leaf vigilabis , fie vines : by howmuch the tongue is quickly & eafily moved,by fomuch the .snore be thou fixtd,&c. thou {halt tame it by watching it,and thou (halt be watchful, if thou fear; and thou (halt fear, ifthou remember thy Pelf to be a Chriftian, &c. And con- cerninghimfelf, he faith,. gurávsinus do- nos'paffìm, cadierms on ifiam deterrimam con- fuetudsnesn, fed exquo Deefervore ïnceprmus, timuimus vehementer, toveternofam con fuetirdinem timore excumas., I have been ä fwearer my Pelf, &c, but after I began to ferveGod, &c. to fee thegreatneffe of thefin, I feared greatly, and fo (hook off that evilcuftome,. &c. . Then for thefe la(t voluntary oaths privately taken up, and not impofed upon us, it may be queftioned, whether they be lawful in fomecafes; which doubt the fame Father refolves thus.. ,u_antxm ad me attinet, non juro, fedquantum =hi videtur, znagnsb
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=