Regarding Oaths of Office

This discussion starts with an analysis of oaths of office at the Federal level, considering both whether oaths function as barriers to service and whether they are appropriate in symbolic terms. We then turn to the same questions with reference to the oaths of office of the various states. Finally, we consider the purpose behind oaths of office and determine whether any changes should be made to oaths of office at either the Federal or state level

Oath formulas in the Poetic Edda

This study examines oaths in the ON Poetic Edda primarily from a linguistic and rhetorical standpoint with the aim of deducing syntactic-rhetorical formulas for oath swearing. As J. Grimm (1816) said and Hibbitts (1992) reiterated, poetic formulations in oral performance cultures may have had mnemonic functions and likely closely resembled real performance, which lends further validity and benefit to this project. This report begins with an examination of the relevant scholarly literature on oaths from Indo-European through ON. Four examples of oaths from the Poetic Edda are then presented, compared, and read with rhetorical and syntactic strategies to discover the formulas. A discussion section presents three evident conclusions on the structure of oath formulas: oaths are indeed formulaic, formula pieces can be optional but ordering does not change, and certain morpho-syntactic choices are intricately tied to the setting of oaths. Finally, directions for future research are suggested.Germanic Studie

A Trickster’s Oaths in The \u3cem\u3eHomeric Hymn to Hermes\u3c/em\u3e

Hermes’ maturation into a god of commerce and diplomacy is punctuated by a series of oaths. At first he uses tricky or unsworn oaths in the investigation of his theftof Apollo’s cattle, but eventually he and Apollo exchange oaths that evoke the protocols of ritualized friendship. Although the ceremony suggests that Hermes has achieved adulthood, a narrative sleight of hand leaves some ambiguity about the completion of the ritual

Greek and pre-Greek Oath : The Importance of Styx

This paper seeks to prove that in pre-Greek oaths and truth-tests , liturgy associated with this religious stratum did not have libations as the primary ritual feature. Rather, from an examination of a variety of textual sources we uncover evidence not only that Styx and Demeter are aspects of the same pre- Greek female deity but also that pre-Greek oaths may have been associated with certain stones rather than merely libations

Women and Oaths in Euripides

“The oath is what holds democracy together,” claimed the Athenian orator Lycurgus, whose democracy was composed exclusively of men.1 Athens was the definitive phallogocentric community where public discursive practices such as the oath were the prerogative of male citizens who competed for power in the agora, the assembly, and the lawcourts. Euripides, however, represents the disquieting occurrence of women tendering oaths for men, a phenomenon that challenges the gendered hierarchy of his society.2 In this article I explore how three Euripidean dramas, Medea, Hippolytus, and Ipigenia in Tauris, allow women to use these potent speech acts to control men’s language and action.3 By tendering promissory oath Euripides’ female characters cite a conventional social practice that is intrinsically performative; oath taking scenes are reflective boath of the world external to the drama and of the dramatic performance itself. Furthermore when men swear to do something for a woman—grant sanctuary, keep a secret, carry a letter—they also enter into a contract with the gods who function as the guarantors of the oath. This triangulated relationship—man, woman, god—contributes to the increased agency of female protagonists, whose authority is fortified by invoking the gods as witnesses to the oaths. Oaths “were divinely ordained and magically protected,” as Anne Burnett puts it, and they “stood like the primeval pillar that supports the sky.” Consonant with the ancient world’s respect for their cultural authority, Euripidean oaths become a powerful dramaturgical device by which the divine world aids women’s machinations, now an inexorable force that propels the tragedy to its reversal

Can Courts Save Us From Unconstitutional Government Conduct?

[Excerpt] We are living in a troubled time. Across the political spectrum, there is a great deal of concern that government officials have been derelict in honoring their oaths to support and defend the Constitution

Human Rights and Lawyer’s Oaths

Each lawyer in the United States must take an oath to be licensed to practice law. The first time a lawyer takes this oath is usually a momentous occasion in their career, marked by ceremony and celebration. Yet, many lawyer’s oaths today are unremarkable and irrelevant to modern law practice at best, and at worst, inappropriate, discriminatory, and obsolete. Drawing on a fifty-state survey of lawyer’s oaths in the United States, this article argues that it is past time to update lawyer’s oaths in the United States and suggests drawing on human rights to make lawyer’s oaths more accessible and impactful

Constitution questions are not new

Considers historical precedents for the writing of a new Scottish constitution in the event of a yes vote in the 2014 referendum. Argues that the tensions inherent in the Union of Crowns (1603-1707) led the Scots to write and rewrite their constitution through new parliamentary statutes and coronation oaths regulating the powers of the monarchy