[68]
secondly, that he must not treat this oath as an
ordinary oath, but as one which no man swears for any other purpose; for he
stands over the entrails of a boar, a ram, and a bull, and they must have been
slaughtered by the necessary officers and on the days appointed, so that in
respect both of the time and of the functionaries every requirement of solemnity
has been satisfied. Even then the person who has sworn this tremendous oath does
not gain immediate credence; and if any falsehood is brought home to him, he
will carry away with him to his children and his kindred the stain of
perjury,—but gain nothing.
Demosthenes. Demosthenes with an English translation by A. T. Murray, Ph.D., LL.D. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1939.
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