Annotatio XLVIII

”And they shall be two in one flesh.” — Genesis 2:24

Chrysostom, in the homily on Genesis, after the exposition of this passage, exhorting his hearers at the end of the sermon to the flight from oaths, seems to take away from Christians all faculty of swearing¹ — even in just and necessary causes. For he writes thus: “Let him also who hears the sentence of Christ flee oaths in all ways: [Christ] who says, ‘It was said to the ancients, THOU SHALT NOT FORSWEAR THYSELF. But I say to you, [thou shalt] not swear at all.’ Therefore let no one say, ‘I swear in a just matter’ — for it is lawful to swear neither in a just matter nor in an unjust one.” See Annotation 26 of the sixth book.