Lying

Lying or mendacity is a vice opposed to the virtue oftruthfulness. A lie is the intentional telling of a falsehood. Butthe intention to deceive does not enter into the essence of a lie. Any serious statement which is opposed to the truth as known by the speaker is a lie, whether the speaker intends to deceive anyone or not. And if a speaker says what he honestly thinks is true, but is, in fact, not true, the speaker does not tell a lie. His words make the material for a lie, but they lack the form or essential determinant of a he. The essential determinant, or form, of a he is the intention to speak falsely.

Lies are called officious, jocose, or mischievous,according as they are told for profit or convenience, for pleasure or entertainment, or for the purpose of hurting someone or causing trouble. The mischievous lie is the worst of lies; it is often called a malicious He, for it is the fruit of malice or bad will.

A lie is always evil. For it is an inordinate and unreasonable thing, and hence an evil, to employ speech, which isthe natural instrument for expressing what is in the mind, as a means of expressing what is not in the mind. It is not evil to evade a question; that is, it is not evil, except under extraordinary circumstances, to keep what one knows to oneself. Butit is evil to tell lies. Similarly, it is not evil to elude the salesman who wishes us to buy something; it is not evil to keep one’s money in one’s pocket; but it is evil to buy what the salesman offers with counterfeit money. It is not evil either to speak in figurative language, provided those who hear can, or should, understand what is meant.

A malicious lie may be a mortal sin, for it can be a grave offense against charity and justice as well as againsttruthfulness. But jocose lies (when they are really lies at all)and officious lies are usually venially sinful. A jocose lie often fails to have the character of a lie because it is not a serious statement; those who utter such things, and those who hear, are well aware that the speaker is not manifesting his mind, his knowledge, or his convictions, but is merely jesting.