'An anxious entangling and perplexing of consciences': John Donne and catholic recusant mendacity

This article explores Donne’s defence of the Jacobean Oath of Allegiance in Pseudo-Martyr, and argues that in this text mendacity is presented as a Christian virtue during a time when the religious conscience was being called into question. It contends that critics who commonly assert that Donne’s support of the State was at odds with his religious beliefs have misread the argument in Pseudo-Martyr, which demonstrates that the safest way to achieve salvation is not through the Church but through the State. It further argues that in Donne’s view the taking of an oath should benefit society rather than reflect the true interiority of the subject.