It will mean what the words say! An oath is made of words!

From The Man For All Seasons, Act Two of the play.

ROPER We don't need to know the wording-we know what it will mean!

MORE It will mean what the words say! An oath is made of words! It may be possible to take it. Or avoid it.

Brought to mind by yesterdays post, To pretend to know something about a character when the novel is silent about it is to reveal something about ourselves, not about the novel
We need Thomas More today. In an increasingly complex, often mystifying, society, we often get along by leaving plenty of gray areas and unspoken assumptions. Oftentimes this works. Even though we may lose sight of the fact, it is still true that sometimes the words do have to mean what the words say.