LYING Chapter 1 nHE QUESTION OF LYING is important since it often disturbs us in our daily actions lest we rashly blame ourselves for what, in reality, is not a lie, or, on the other hand, lest we think that at times we must deviate from the truth by telling a lie through a sense of honor, of duty, or even of mercy. I shall treat this question so carefully as to seem to be seeking truth myself along with my ques. tioners. Whether I shall succeed in this quest the treatise itself will indicate sufficiently to the attentive reader, even though I assert nothing rashly. The problem is involved; be. cause of certain profound and intricate issues, its solution often eludes the comprehension of the one probing it, so that what has been ascertained at one moment escapes one, at another moment reappears and is once more apprehended. In the end, however, it will, like a carefully laid snare, seize upon our mind. If there is error in this presentation, I think that, since truth frees one from all error and lack of truth enmeshes one in all error, it is better to err by an excessive regard for the truth and by an equally emphatic rejection of falsehood. Persons who severely criticize this attitude say that it is carrying things too far; truth, however, would per. haps insist that it is not enough. Now, I ask you, whoever you are who read this, to blame nothing until you have read the 53 54 SAINT AUGUSTINE entire work. Then you will find less to censure. Do not look for striking phraseology. In my endeavor to probe into the various points involved and to put into fonn as quickly as possible a work of such tremendous import for the regulation of daily living, I have paid scant, and, indeed, almost negligible attention to the selection of words. Chapter 2 (2) In this treatise I am excluding the question of jocose lies, which have never been considered as real lies, since both in the verbal expression and in the attitude of the one joking such lies are accompanied by a very evident lack of intention to deceive, even though the person be not speaking the truth. Whether or not this type of untruthfulness should be indulged in by souls striving for perfection is matter not encompassed within the scope of this work. Therefore, to prescind from jocose lies, the first point to be examined is whether he may be considered as lying who does not actually tell a lie. Chapter 3 (3) The first problem, then, centers upon the question as to what constitutes a lie, for the person who utters a falsehood does not lie if he believes or, at least, assumes that what he says is true. There is a distinction between believing and assuming. Sometimes, he who believes realizes that he does not understand that which he believes, although if he believes it very finnly he does not doubt at all about the matter which he realizes he does not understand.1 On the other I E. Gilson, Introduction al' etude de S. Augustin (Paris 1943) 36; also. St. Augustine. Epistulae 120.2.8. PL 33.456. [54.152.216.170] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 12:10 GMT) LYING 55 hand, he who assumes something thinks that he knows what he does not know.2 Whoever gives expression to that which he holds either through belief or assumption does not lie even though the statement itself be false. For, he owes this expression of his' view to his faith, so that through faith he voices that which he holds in his mind and he expresses it just as he understands it. Nevertheless, even though he does not lie, he is not, on that account, without fault if he believes what should not be believed or if he thinks he knows what he does not know, even if this be the truth, for he considers as known what is not known. He lies, moreover, who holds one opinion in his mind and who gives expression to another through words or any other outward manifestation. For this reason the heart of a liar is said to be double, that is, twofold in its thinking: one part consisting of that knowledge which he knows or thinks to be true, yet does not so express it; the other part consisting of that knowledge which he knows or thinks to be false...