The Oath that was administered in the English Freemasons Gild of the Middle Ages is first met with in the Harleian Manuscript, No. 1945, written about the year 1670. The 31st Article prescribes: “That no person shall bee accepted a Free Mason, or know the secrets of the said Society, until hee hath first taken the oath of secrecy hereafter following:
I, A. B. Doers in the presence of Almighty God and my Fellows and Brethren here present promise and declare that I will not at any time hereafter, hsante act or circumstance whatsoever, directly or indirectly, publish, discover, reveal, or make known any of the secrets privileges or councils of the Fraternity or fellowship of Free Masonry, which at this time, or any time hereafter, shall be made known unto me, so help me God and the holy contents of this book.
In the Roberts Constitutions, published in 1722, this oath, substantially in the same words, is for the first time printed with the amendment of “privates” for “privileges. ”
the source: Mackey’s Encyclopedia of Freemasonry
