Oaths are but words, and words but wind.
- -- Samuel Butler, (1612-1680)
Okay, so now I'm wondering just WHAT KIND OF oaths he's talking about. Swear words were my first thought, but maybe he's talking about vows, maybe the kind made with a hand shake... Far more sinister quotation in that case...
The context in the story where I ran across it was a wedding vow, but I really don't know first hand if that was the original author's intent, or merely the use made of it in that passage...