of Government, they feem, according as they are in the Humour, to believe that a Sovereign is not to be reftrained by his Coronation-Oath, or his People by their Oaths of Allegiance: Or to reprefent them in a plainer Light in fome Reigns they are both for a Power and an Obedience that is unlimited, and in others are for retrenching within the narroweft Bounds, both the Authority of the Prince, and the Allegiance of the Subject.

Now the Guilt of Perjury is fo felf-evident, that it was always reckoned amongst the greatest Crimes, by those who were only govern'd by the Light of Reafon: The inviolable obferving of an Oath, like the other practical Duties of Christianity, is a Part of Natural Religion. As Reafon is common to all Mankind, the Dictates of it are the fame through the whole Species: And fince every Man's own Heart will tell him that there can be no greater Affront to the Deity, whom he worships, than to appeal to him with an Intention to deceive; nor a greater Injuftice to Men, than to betray them by falfe Affurances ; it is no wonder that Pagans and Chriftians, Infidels and Believers, fhould concur in a Point wherein the Honour of the Supreme Being, and the Welfare of Society are fo highly concerned. For this Reason, Pythagoras, to his firft Precept of honouring the Immortal Gods, immediately fubjoins that of paying Veneration to an Oath. We may fee the Reverence which the Heathens fhew'd to thefe Sacred and Solemn Engagements, from the Inconveniences which they often fuffered, rather than break through them. We have frequent Inftances of this Kind in the Roman Commonwealth; which, as it has been obferved by feveral eminent Pagan Writers, very much excell'd all other Pagan Governments in the Practice of Virtue.

Virtue. How far they exceeded, in this Particu. lar, thofe great Corrupters of Chriftianity, and indeed of Natural Religion, the Jefuits, may appear from their Abhorrence of every Thing that looked like a fraudulent or mental Evafion. Of this I fhall only produce the following Inftance. Several Romans, who had been taken Prifoners by Hannibal, were released, upon obliging themselves by an Oath to return again to his Camp. Among these there was One, who, thinking to elude the Oath, went the fame Day back to the Camp, on Pretence of having forgot fomething. But this Prevarication was fo fhocking to the Roman Senate, that they order'd him to be apprehended, and deliver'd up to Hannibal.

We may farther fee the juft Senfe the Heathens. had of the Crime of Perjury, from the Penalties which they inflicted on the Perfons guilty of it. Perjury among the Scythians was a Capital Crime; and among the Egyptians alfo was punifhed with Death, as Diodorus Siculus relates, who obferves that an Offender of this Kind is guilty of thofe two Crimes (wherein the Malignity of Perjury truly confifts) a failing in his Refpect to the Divinity, and in his Faith towards Men. 'Tis unneceflary to multiply Inftances of this nature, which may be found in almoft every Author who has written on this Subject.

If Men, who had no other Guide but their Reason, confider'd an Oath to be of fuch a tremendous Nature, and the Violation of it to be fo great a Crime; it ought to make a much deeper Impreffion upon Minds enlighten'd by Revealed Religion, as they have more exalted Notions of the Divinity. A fuppofed Heathen Deity might be fo poor in his Attributes, fo ftinted in his Knowledge, Goodness, or Power, that a Pagan might hope to

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N° 6 conceal his Perjury from his Notice, or not to provoke him, fhou'd he be difcover'd, or fhou'd he provoke him, not to be punifh'd by him. Nay, he might have produced Examples of Falfhood and Perjury in the Gods themselves, to whom he appeal'd. But as Revealed Religion has given us a more just and clear Idea of the Divine Nature, He, whom we appeal to, is Truth itself, the Great Searcher of Hearts, who will not let Fraud and Falfhood go unpunished, or hold him guiltless, that taketh his Name in vain. And as with regard to the Deity, fo likewife with regard to Man, the Obligation of an Oath is ftronger upon Christians than upon any other Part of Mankind; and that becaufe Charity, Truth, mutual Confidence, and all other Social Duties are carry'd to greater Heights, and enforc'd with stronger Motives by the Principles of our Religion.

Perjury, with relation to the Oaths which are at prefent requir'd of us, has in it all the aggravating Circumftances, which can attend that Crime. We take them before the Magiftrates of Publick Juftice; are reminded by the Ceremony, that it is a Part of that Obedience which we learn from the Gofpel; exprefly difavow all Evafions and mental Refervations whatfoever; appeal to Almighty God for the Integrity of our Hearts, and only defire him to be our Helper, as we fulfil the Oath we there take in his Prefence. I mention these Circumftances, to which feveral other might be added, because it is a received Doctrine among thofe, who have treated of the Nature of an Oath, that the greater the Soleminities are which attend it, the more they aggravate the Violation of it. And here what must be the Success that a Man can hope for, who turns a Rebel, after having difclaimed the Divine

Affiftance,

Affiftance, but upon Condition of being a Faithful and Loyal Subject? He first of all defires that God may help him, as he fhall keep his Oath, and afterwards hopes to profper in an Enterprise, which is the direct Breach of it.

Since therefore Perjury, by the common Senfe of Mankind, the Reafon of the Thing, and from the whole Tenor of Chriftianity, is a Crime of fo flagitious a Nature, we cannot be too careful in avoiding every Approach towards it.

The Virtue of the Ancient Athenians is very remarkable in the Cafe of Euripides. This great Tragick Poet, tho' famous for the Morality of his Plays, had introduced a Perfon, who, being reminded of an Oath he had taken, reply'd I fwore with my Mouth, but not with my Heart. The Impiety of this Sentiment fet the Audience in an Uproar; made Socrates (tho' an intimate Friend of the Poet) go out of the Theatre with Indignation; and gave fo great Offence, that he was publickly accused, and brought upon his Trial, as One who had fuggefted an Evafion of what they thought the most Holy and Indiffoluble Bond of human Society. So jealous were thefe Virtuous Heathens of any the smallest Hint that might open a Way to Perjury.

And here it highly imports us to confider, that we do not only break our Oath of Allegiance by Actual Rebellion, but by all thofe other Methods which have a natural and manifeft Tendency to it. The Guilt may lie upon a Man, where the Penalty cannot take hold of him. Those who fpeak irreverently of the Perfon to whom they have fworn Allegiance; who endeavour to alienate from Him the Hearts of His Subjects; or to infpire the People with Difaffection to His Government, cannot be thought to be true to the

Oath

Oath they have taken. And as for those, who by concerted Falfhoods and Defamations endeavour to blemish His Character, or weaken His Authority, they incur the complicated Guilt both of Slander and Perjury. The moral Crime is compleated in fuch Offenders, and there are only accidental Circumftances wanting, to work it up for the Cognizance of the Law.

Nor is it fufficient for a Man, who has given thefe Solemn Affurances to his Prince, to forbear the doing him any Evil, unless at the fame time he do Him all the Good he can in his proper Station of Life.

Loyalty is of an active Nature, and ought to difcover itself in all the Inftances of Zeal and Affection to our Sovereign: And if we carefully examine the Duty of that Allegiance which we pledge to His Majefty, by the Oaths that are tendred to us, we fhall find that We do not only renounce, refuse, and abjure any Allegiance or Obedience to the Pretender, but Swear to defend King George to the utmost of our Power, against all Traiterous Confpiracies and Attempts whatsoever, and to difclofe and make known to his Majefty all Treafons and Traiterous Confpiracies, which we fhall know to be against Him.

To conclude; as among those who have bound themselves by these Sacred Obligations, the actual Traitor or Rebel is guilty of Perjury in the Eye of the Law; the fecret Promoter or Well-wisher of the Cause is so before the Tribunal of Confcience. And tho' I fhou'd be unwilling to pronounce the Man who is indolent, or indifferent in the Cause of his Prince, to be abfolutely perjured; I may venture to affirm, that he falls very short of that Allegiance to which he is obliged by Oath. Upon the whole we may be affured, that in a