Epictetus his Morals, with Simplicius his comment made English from the Greek, by George Stanhope ...

COMMENT.

THE First place in this Catalogue of Duties which respect our selves, was due to the restraining those Eruptions and Vehemencies of Passion, which give a disturbance to the Quiet of our Minds, and render our Behaviour Irregular and Inconsistent. The next he assigns to that wherein the Honour of God is con∣cerned.

For the very Nature of an Oath consists in this, That it invokes Almighty God as a Witness, and introduces him as a Mediator, and a Bonds∣man, to undertake for our Honesty and Truth. Now to make bold with God, upon every trivi∣al Occasion, (and few of the Affairs of Man∣kind are any better) is to take a very unbe∣coming Freedom, and such as argues great want of Reverence for so tremendous a Majesty. Re∣spect and Duty then ought to make us decline an Oath, and so, as if we can possibly help it, never to bind our Souls with so Sacred an En∣gagement at all. And a man that is duly cau∣tious, and tender in these matters, would rather undergo some Trouble, or pay some Forfeiture, than allow himself the Liberty of swearing. But

if there be any urgent and unavoidable Necessity for doing it, as if that Testimony of my Truth be required to rescue my Friend, or my Re∣lation from the Injuries of an Oppressor, or a False Accuser; or if my Country, and the Peace of it command this Assurance of my Fidelity; in such Cases, and other such like, we may take an Oath indeed; but then we must be sure not to prostitute our Consciences. For when once we have brought our selves under so so∣lemn an Obligation, and engaged God as a Wit∣ness and a Party in it, no Consideration must ever prevail with us to be unfaithful to our Promise, or untrue in our Assertions.