Quote#Truth
We swear by a book whose most authoritative command is to swear not…
Quote byFrederick Douglass · 1818–1895
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Our Composite Nationality (1869).
English (original)
We swear by a book whose most authoritative command is to swear not at all. It is not of so much importance what a man swears by, as what he swears to, and if the Chinaman is so true to his convictions that he cannot be tempted or even coerced into so popular a custom as swearing by the Bible
— Frederick Douglass
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