A20760:120
Four treatises tending to dissuade all Christians from four no less heinous then common…Foure treatises tending to disswade all Christians from foure no lesse hainous then common…
Four treatises tending to dissuade all Christians from four no less heinous then common sins; namely, the abuses of swearing, drunkenness, whoredom, and bribery. Wherein the greatness and odiousness of these vices is discovered; and the means and remedies, which may either preserve, or wean men from them, are propounded. Whereunto is annexed a treatise of anger. By John Downame Bachelor in Divinity, and preacher of Gods word.Foure treatises tending to disswade all Christians from foure no lesse hainous then common sinnes; namely, the abuses of swearing, drunkennesse, whoredome, and briberie. Wherein the greatnes and odiousnesse of these vices is discouered; and the meanes and remedies, which may either preserue, or weane men from them, are propounded. Whereunto is annexed a treatise of anger. By Iohn Dovvname Batcheler in Diuinitie, and preacher of Gods word.
London: printed by Felix Kyngston for William Welby, 1609
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
And thus much concerning the abuse of an oath by vain swearing.1 Now we are to speak of the abuse thereof by false swearing, commonly called perjury; where first I will show what perjury is, that we may know it; and then the greatness and heinousness of this sin, that we may avoid it. For the first; Perjury is nothing else but false swearing. Or more fully, It is a known or imagined untruth, confirmed by oath, joined with deceit, which was either purposed and intended before the oath was made, or resolved on afterwards. Whereby it ⟨p. 48⟩appeareth that two things do always concur in perjury: first the general matter thereof, which is an untruth: and secondly, the form which giveth being unto it, namely, a false oath, made with purposed and affected deceit, or resolved on afterwards. Now, untruth is either logical or moral. Logical, when as we do not speak as the thing is, or when as our speech agreeth not with the thing. Moral untruth is, when as we do not speak as we think, or when as our speech agreeth not with our mind. Of the former we do not here speak; neither doth it make perjury, but only when it is joined with the second; whereas the moral untruth confirmed with an oath is perjury, although it be a logical truth. More plainly, if I swear an untruth, being persuaded that it is true, it may be my oath may justly deserve the censure of rashness or profaneness; but yet I am not perjured, because my speech agreeth with my mind, though not with the thing: neither do I swear falsely, although that which I swear be false, in that I do not swear with a mind to deceive, but being my self deceived: whereas contrariwise if I swear an untruth, knowing it to be so, yea if I swear as the truth is, being persuaded in the mean time, that it is false and untrue,2 I fall into the sin of perjury, because my speech and oath agree not with my mind and persuasion, though it agreeth with the thing; and the end of my oath is not to confirm the truth, but to deceive those unto whom I swear. And this kind of perjury whereby a man deceitfully sweareth that which he thinketh false to be true, is an heinous sin in Gods sight, though afterwards it fall out to be indeed the truth, and as well excludeth him out of Gods kingdom, as when a man sweareth that which he knoweth certainly is false,3