Oaths

An oath is an appeal to a god or to something revered or sacred as witness of the truth of a statement. The usual pattern of the oath is to require some punishment for the speaker if he is not telling the truth. Lying under oath is perjury. The President of the United States, for another example of an oath, places his hand upon the Holy Bible to be 'sworn' in, that is, by pledging or making an oath on the Bible, that he will uphold the duties of his office. Criminal perjurers therefore have in common with Presidents who do not uphold their office, the fact that they violated their oaths.