That We Must Beware of All Manner of Lies

Boo all, let true speech go before thee, says the Wise Man (Ecclus. xxxvii. 20). Before all, always speak the truth and never tell a lie. One would think it were not necessary much to commend this to religious, since it carries its own commendation. Even in the world they reckon it a great vice to be given to lying, and to call one a liar is a great insult; what should it be here in religion, where far more esteem and good opinion is lost by such a vice than there in the world? It is easy to see what a base and foul thing it is, and how unworthy of a religious. And much further should he be from lying to excuse himself and cover his fault. Far indeed is he from mortification and humility who tells a lie that his fault may not be known nor his reputation diminished. We should go out of our way to seek occasions of humiliation and mortification; and do you fly from those that come in your way of themselves, occasions that you cannot avoid without sin? That would be a great renunciation of the perfection which we profess. For the salvation of the whole world, so theologians and saints say, it would not be lawful to tell one lie; see if it would be lawful to tell one to escape the shame of failure in some trifling matter. Of seven things that God abhors, according to the Wise Man, the second is a lying tongue (Prov. vi. 17).

Another way of telling a lie, though not in such set terms, is when we tell a story “with advantages,” putting in more than was true. Truth is one and indivisible; so anything that is added to it beyond the facts or beyond the knowledge of the speaker will be a lie. And of this there is commonly much danger, because we like it to appear that there is something in what we say and so seek to make the most of the story. Here we should proceed with much caution. St. Bonaventure says further that we should avoid ‘amplifications and exaggerations, since it is not in accordance with religious gravity and modesty to exaggerate things. It should be your veracity and gravity that gives authority to what you say, not superfluous words and exaggerations; for these, so far from giving authority to what you say, make you lose the authority you had. The reason why the use of highly figurative and exaggerated language is a loss to the credit and authority of the speaker is that in such frequent exaggerations there comes to be a lie in the statement. It was not such a big thing as that. So men prone to exaggeration are not generally held to be very truthful, and lose credit and authority. It is told of our blessed Father Ignatius that he hardly ever employed what are called in Latin superlative nouns, because in them there is a lurking danger of sometimes overstating things beyond the fact, but said and told things simply and plainly without amplification or exaggeration. And so far was he from overstatements and exaggerations that it is said of him that even the things that he did know he did not strongly affirm. This is a common lesson given us on this subject by the saints. The glorious Bernard says: ‘Never affirm or deny with unmeasured asseveration and certitude that you know, but speak always with a little salt and grace of some doubt, saying for instance, ‘I think it is so,’ or ‘If I am not mistaken, it is so,’ ‘I fancy I have heard it said.’” If this can be done discreetly, it is a modest mode of speech, humble and religious, and showing a man not too self-reliant, nor self-opinionated—a thing impossible to a humble man. The saints spoke in this way, since they were very humble and distrustful of self. Surius relates of St. Dominic Loricatus that, if anyone asked him what o’clock it was, he never answered flatly “eight” or “nine,” but “about eight,” or “about nine.” And being asked why he answered in that way, he answered: “Because in that way I am sure of not telling a lie; now it may have struck the hour, now it may be still to strike.” This ig another reason why it is part of religious prudence and modesty not to affirm things strongly “without a little salt and savor of some doubt,” as St. Bernard says, because in that way you escape the danger of telling a lie, even though the thing should turn out to be otherwise than as you say. But when people make affirmations absolutely with much decision and asseveration, and afterwards it turns out not to be so, as does sometimes happen, they are annoyed with them- Selves afterwards for having told a lie and so strongly _ affirmed it for certain. And besides it disedifies the hearer when he finds that things are not so. I say this about things that we take for certain, because if I affirm a thing absolutely when I am in doubt about it, it is a lie still, even though it turns out to be true, because I speak beyond my knowledge; or at least I put myself in manifest danger of what I say being a lie, which comes to the same thing.

St. Bonaventure says further, you must not only always speak the truth, but speak it plainly and simply, without double-meaning and without equivocal words that may bear more than one sense, because that is a thing very foreign to religious straightforwardness and simplicity; and St. Augustine adds that such manner of speaking is lying. There are people who do not want to lie and do not want to speak the truth either, but use circumlocutions and equivocations that you may understand one thing while they understand another. In a grave case it is lawful to use equivocal speech, to conceal something which it is proper to conceal; but in ordinary conversation it is not lawful, but is a vicious habit of men who are double-dealers and insincere; and so it is clean contrary to the purity and simplicity, not only of religious, but even of Christian and social life, because it stands in the way of fidelity in the dealings and intercourse of men one with another—neither more nor less than downright lying, for it is certain that if such language were ordinarily lawful men would not dare to trust one another. And so experience teaches us that, when we know of any persons that they are addicted to this vice, though in other respects they be virtuous men, their acquaintance do not dare to trust them, but treat them with reserve and fear of being deceived. So says the Wise Man: He who speaketh sophistically, is a hateful person (Ecclus. xxxvii. 23). Then let not that be said of you which we hear said of some people: “John is far from telling a lie and equally far from speaking the truth.”