39. But, some man will say,
“Strong meat is for them that are perfect.”2464
For in many things a relaxation by
way of indulgence is allowed to
infirmity, although in her utmost
sincerity the things be nowise pleasing to
truth. Let him say this,
whoever dreads not the consequences which are to be dreaded, if
once there shall be in any way any
lies permitted. In nowise,
however, must they be permitted to
climb up to such a height as to
reach to perjuries and blasphemies: nor must any plea whatever be
held out, for which it should be right that perjury should be
committed, or, what is more execrable, that
God should be
blasphemed. For it does not follow that because the blaspheming is
only in pretence and a
lie, therefore He is not
blasphemed. For at
this rate it might be said that perjury is not
committed, because
it is by a
lie that it is
committed: for who can be by
truth a
perjurer? So also by
truth can no man be a blasphemer. Doubtless it
is a milder
kind of false swearing, when a person does not know
that thing to be false and believes it to be true, which he swears:
like as also
Saul blasphemed more excusably, because he did it
ignorantly.
2465
But the
reason why it is worse to
blaspheme than to perjure one’s self,
is, that in false swearing
God is taken to witness a false thing,
but in blaspheming false things are spoken of
God Himself. Now by
so much is a man more
inexcusable, whether perjurer or blasphemer,
by how much the more, while asserting the things wherein they
perjure or
blaspheme, they know or believe them to be false.
Whoever therefore says that for an imperilled man’s temporal
safety or
life a
lie may be told, doth too much himself swerve from
the path of
eternal safety and
life, if he says that on that behalf
one may even swear by God, or even blaspheme God.
E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
