On Oath Quotes

Senor, a large river separated two districts of one and the same lordship - will your worship please to pay attention, for the case is an important and a rather knotty one? Well then, on this river there was a bridge, and at one end of it a gallows, and a sort of tribunal, where four judges commonly sat to administer the law which the lord of river, bridge and the lordship had enacted, and which was to this effect, 'If anyone crosses by this bridge from one side to the other he shall declare on oath where he is going to and with what object; and if he swears truly, he shall be allowed to pass, but if falsely, he shall be put to death for it by hanging on the gallows erected there, without any remission.' Though the law and its severe penalty were known, many persons crossed, but in their declarations it was easy to see at once they were telling the truth, and the judges let them pass free. It happened, however, that one man, when they came to take his declaration, swore and said that by the oath he took he was going to die upon that gallows that stood there, and nothing else. The judges held a consultation over the oath, and they said, 'If we let this man pass free he has sworn falsely, and by the law he ought to die; but if we hang him, as he swore he was going to die on that gallows, and therefore swore the truth, by the same law he ought to go free.' It is asked of your worship, senor governor, what are the judges to do with this man? For they are still in doubt and perple ~ Miguel De Cervantes Saavedra

But if, on the other hand, we should be justified in rejecting it, if there testified on oath, then, supposing our rules of evidence to be sound, we may be excused if we hesitate elsewhere to give it credence. ~ Simon Greenleaf

A bishop in the church swore on oath, to tell the truth in this court, and then lied to you, ladies and gentlemen! Are we surprised? What do we expect from a man who conspires to obstruct justice, tampers with witnesses, plants listening devices in people's homes and offices, and offers huge amounts of cash in exchange for silence? ~ Mark M. Bello

Discovery is the chance they never had, to tell, on oath, how wickedness infects a life. One's only life. Beyond one's will, evil comes, looking for a surprise soft spot, a place to inject its poison. ~ Kaimana Wolff

What makes the bravery of the men and women of the FBI so special is that they know exactly what they're in for. They spend weeks and weeks in an academy learning just how hard and dangerous this work is. Then they raise their right hands and take an oath and do that work anyway. ~ James Comey

Through language, we can tell the truth and hear the truth spoken, just as we can be deceived. Sometimes it's a painful realization: we can be lied to. As I write, I think of myself as putting my eye under oath, so that what I write is the truth about my characters. ~ Michael Cadnum

Надобно смело признаться, Лира!
Мы тяготели к великим мира:
Мачтам, знаменам, церквам, царям,
Бардам, героям, орлам и старцам,
Так, присягнувши на верность - царствам,
Не доверяют Шатра - ветрам.

Знаешь царя - так псаря не жалуй!
Верность как якорем нас держала:
Верность величью - вине - беде,
Верность великой вине венчанной!
Так, присягнувши на верность - Хану,
Не присягают его орде.

Ветреный век мы застали, Лира!
Ветер в клоки изодрав мундиры,
Треплет последний лоскут Шатра…
Новые толпы - иные флаги!
Мы ж остаемся верны присяге,
Ибо дурные вожди - ветра.

14 августа 1918



Better, my Lyre, to confess it freely!
It was the great ever stirred our feelings:
masts, battle ensigns, churches, and kings,
bards, epic heroes, eagles, and elders.
Those that are pledged to the realm, like soldiers,
do not confide their Tent - to the winds.

You know the Tsar - do not toy with the hunter!
Loyalty has held us, firm as an anchor:
loyalty to greatness - to guilt - to grief,
to the great crowned guilt - loyalty unswerving!
Those that are pledged to the Khan will serve him
- their oath is not to the horde, but its chief.

We struck a fickle age, Lyre, that scatters
all to the winds! Uniforms ripped to tatters,
and the last shreds of the Tent worn thin...
New crowds ~ Marina Tsvetaeva

Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall not escape. ~ Anonymous

The Christian always swears a bloody oath that he will never do it again. The civilized man simply resolves to be a bit more careful next time. ~ H.L. Mencken

The chief bond of the soldier is his oath of allegiance and love for the flag. ~ Seneca The Younger

How small regard is had to the oath of God by men professing the name of God. ~ George Gillespie

This oath, which resides at the core of every iteration of Batman that has ever or will ever exist, from pulp antihero to TV buffoon, is much more practical and matter-of-fact. It is a declaration of war. The ~ Glen Weldon

Morelli beeped his truck unlocked. "If you're looking for your rent-a-cop, I told Ranger you'd be with me this morning."
"Did he make you take a blood oath that you'd protect me?"
"He asked me if I had adequate health insurance. ~ Janet Evanovich

The accusing spirit, which flew up to heaven's chancery with the oath, blushed as he gave it in; and the recording angel as he wrote it down dropped a tear upon the word and blotted it out forever. ~ Laurence Sterne

Human cruelty took the form of a pact with the deity. A solemn oath was made to kill everything, in which people forbade themselves any display of reason or compassion. A city or a land was devoted to destruction and it was believed an insult to God if one did not observe the abominable oath. ~ Ernest Renan

Oaths are the counterfeit money with which we pay the sacrifice of love. ~ Ninon De L'Enclos

Ut cum spiritu postrema sacramentum dejuremus," he chanted. "Et hostes ornamenta addent ad ianuam necem."
"You just ... finished the prophesy,"Rachael stammered. "-An oath to keep with a final breath/And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death. How did you-"
"I know those lines." Jason winced and put his hands to his temples. "I don't know how, but I KNOW that prophecy."
"In Latin, no less," Drew called out. "Handsome AND smart. ~ Rick Riordan

First, I want your solemn oath not even to talk in your sleep about this job."
"If my simple word is not good, is my oath better? ~ Robert A. Heinlein

Like your marriage, everything in the universe is trying to find its orbit. In the midst of this constant readjustment, both partners should be able to go to bed knowing that neither one is going to abandon a wounded, or struggling marriage. There is a comforting reassurance being with someone who keeps their promise.
pg iv ~ Michael Ben Zehabe

A whoreson jackanapes must take me up for swearing; as if I borrowed mine oaths of him and might not spend them at my pleasure. When a gentleman is disposed to swear, it is not for any standers-by to curtail his oaths, ha? ~ William Shakespeare

Still, it was better to swear an oath and never follow through than not even to bother with the oath. Wasn't it? ~ Joe Abercrombie

I refuse to be silent any longer. I refuse to be party to an illegal and immoral war against people who did nothing to deserve our aggression. My oath of office is to protect and defend America's laws and its people. By refusing unlawful orders for an illegal war, I fulfill that oath today. ~ Ehren Watada

NUMBERS 30:2 If a man vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. ~ Anonymous

We, the Sworn Sisterhood, do solemnly vow to take back Acadia from those who are responsible for the scourge of the dragon and the tempests. We will fight them with our hands and our weapons. We will fight them with the power of our conviction. We will face the enemy without fear. We will take the enemy down and bring the enemy to justice and there is nothing that can stand in our way. ~ Mercedes Lackey

It is Toussaint's supreme merit that while he saw European civilisation as a valuable and necessary thing, and strove to lay its foundations among his people, he never had the illusion that it conferred any moral superiority. He knew French, British, and Spanish imperialists for the insatiable gangsters that they were, that there is no oath too sacred for them to break, no crime, deception, treachery, cruelty, destruction of human life and property which they would not commit against those who could not defend themselves. ~ C.L.R. James

I think there should be some way to find some kind of reasonable accommodation that allows the state to continue to say, you know, that women's rights supersede any kind of a cultural custom that's oppressive to women, but also potentially allows a woman to take the oath, I don't know, in a separate room. It would be up to the court to find some kind of cultural accommodation. ~ Rona Ambrose

My choice ... I'll tell you, Phillipa, what I've chosen. I won't allow you to involve Ciri in your dirty machinations. I am warning you. Whoever dares harm Ciri will end up like those four lying there. I won't swear an oath. I have nothing by which to swear. I simply warn you. You accused me of being a bad guardian, that I don't know how to protect the child. I will protect her. As best I can. I will kill. I will kill mercilessly ... ~ Andrzej Sapkowski

The soldier in the field and the crew member aboard a warship inevitably see a war from a limited perspective. Their goal is to carry out their mission or their appointed task, and trust that their commanders are aware of the larger situation and the vast matrix of facts, positions, options, and dangers. Leadership is a role and a task that should never be aspired to lightly. Neither should loyalty be given without reason. Even if the primary reason is nothing more than the soldier's oath and duty, a true leader will work to prove worthy of a deeper trust.
But leadership and loyalty are both two-bladed weapons. Each can be twisted from its intended purpose. The consequences are never pleasant. ~ Timothy Zahn, Star Wars: Thrawn

You look so beautiful
No one but me knows you're insane
I feel so damn pathetic
My friends just don't get it

Cause you've got me under oath
Before you I was in a fucking rut
One day you are in the past
That night I ask you back

It started out just harmless fun
Now you've got me thinking you are the one

Cause if you wanna take me home
You know I'm ready to leave
You've got me under your spell
Please don't set me free

Cause I've been having all these nightmares
Seeing you is my only way up
Feeling so defenseless
But I'm telling you
I wouldn't change a thing

You've got me feeling strange
Cause I love to hate you so damn much
But I can't think of leaving
Cause you're what keeps me breathing

It started out just harmless fun
Now you've got me thinking you are the one

Cause if you wanna take me home
You know I'm ready to leave
You've got me under your spell
Please don't set me free

Cause I've been having all these nightmares
Seeing you is my only way up
Feeling so defenseless
But I'm telling you
I wouldn't change a thing

Cause if you wanna take me home
You know I'm ready to leave
You've got me under your spell
Please don't set me free

Cause if you wanna take me home
You know I'm ready to leave
You've got me under your spell
Calum Hood

37. That counsel I tenth, that thou trust never oath of an outlaw's son; ~ Anonymous

They moved in dance steps too intricate for the noninitiated eye to imitate or understand. Clearly they were of one soul. Handsome, rangy, wildly various, they were bound in total loyalty, not by oath, but by the simple, unquestioning belongingness of part of one organism. ~ Louise Erdrich

The king is as much bound by his oath not to infringe the legal rights of the people, as the people are bound to yield subjection to him. From whence it follows that as soon as the prince sets himself above the law, he loses the king in the tyrant. He does, to all intents and purposes, un-king himself. ~ Jonathan Mayhew

You should take no action unwillingly, selfishly, uncritically, or with conflicting motives. Do not dress up your thoughts in smart finery: do not be a gabbler or a meddler. Further, let the god that is within you be the champion of the being you are a male, mature in years, a statesman, a Roman, a ruler: one who has taken his post like a soldier waiting for the Retreat from life to sound, and ready to depart, past the need for any loyal oath or human witness. And see that you keep a cheerful demeanour, and retain your independence of outside help and the peace which others can give. Your duty is to stand straight - not held straight. ~ Marcus Aurelius

[About the demand of the Board of Regents of the University of California that professors sign non-Communist loyalty oaths or lose their jobs within 65 days.] No conceivable damage to the university at the hands of hypothetical Communists among us could possibly have equaled the damage resulting from the unrest, ill-will and suspicion engendered by this series of events. ~ Joel Henry Hildebrand

Harvester cocked a dark eyebrow. 'I swore an oath to watch over you. Not to put up with your shit. I'm not evil anymore, but I'm still not nice. Keep that in mind. ~ Larissa Ione

Now let's repeat the non-conformists' oath: I promise to be different! (audience repeats) I promise to be unique! (audience repeats) I promise not to repeat things other people say! (audience repeats, laughs) Good! ~ Steve Martin

Thus, experience has ever shown, that education, as well as religion, aristocracy, as well as democracy and monarchy, are, singly, totally inadequate to the business of restraining the passions of men, of preserving a steady government, and protecting the lives, liberties, and properties of the people ... Religion, superstition, oaths, education, laws, all give way before passions, interest, and power, which can be resisted only by passions, interest, and power. ~ John Adams

We believe that we invent symbols. The truth is that they invent us; we are their creatures, shaped by their hard, defining edges. When soldiers take their oath they are given a coin, an asimi stamped with the profile of the Autarch. Their acceptance of that coin is their acceptance of the special duties and burdens of military life - they are soldiers from that moment, though they may know nothing of the management of arms. I did not know that then, but it is a profound mistake to believe that we must know of such things to be influenced by them, and in fact to believe so is to believe in the most debased and superstitious kind of magic. The would-be sorcerer alone has faith in the efficacy of pure knowledge; rational people know that things act of themselves or not at all. ~ Gene Wolfe

Let me strive every moment of my life to make myself better and better, to the best of my ability, that all may profit by it.
Let me think of the right and lend all my assistance to those who need it, with no regard for anything but justice.
Let me take what comes with a smile, without loss of courage.
Let me be considerate of my country, of my fellow citizens and my associates in everything I say and do.
Let me do right to all, and wrong no man. ~ Kenneth Robeson

If I were to disclose all their rituals, I think that it would be easy to prove that witches are not diabolists; but the oaths are solemn and the witches are my friends. I would not want to hurt their feelings. They have secrets which to them are sacred. They have good reason for their secrecy. ~ Gerald Gardner

Standing beside you,
I took an oath
to make your life simpler
by complicating mine
and what I always thought
would happen did:
I was lifted up in joy. ~ David Ignatow

Don't use his name as an oath, Vin,' Kelsier said. 'Even blasphemy honors him - when you curse by that creature's name, you acknowledge him as your god. ~ Brandon Sanderson

Ay! Louder, Vengeance, much louder, and still she will scarcely hear thee. Louder yet, Vengeance, with a little oath or so added, and yet it will hardly bring her. Send other women up and down to seek her, lingering somewhere; and yet, although the messengers have done dread deeds, it is questionable whether of their own wills they will go far enough to find her! ~ Charles Dickens

The peaceful transfer of authority is rare in history, yet common in our country. With a simple oath, we affirm old traditions and make new beginnings. ~ George W. Bush

When I say my name

I hear a burned-down church. ~ Bob Hicok

I made an oath to myself:
as long as I live
as long as my soul remains in this body
I won't deviate from the right way
but later I looked to my left and then to my right
and I saw our beloved everywhere
how could I make a wrong turn? ~ Rumi

He watched the scene unfolding at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The President was administering the oath of office to the charismatic woman. She was dressed in her usual off-white cotton saree, trimmed with a pale gold border, and wore no jewellery except for a pair of simple solitaire diamond earrings. She quite ~ Ashwin Sanghi

We don't think of being bound to the oath as a sacrifice, but as an honor. It is an honor to use our powers to better this world. ~ Elizabeth Lim