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Dist. 39, Art. 1, Q. 3

Book III: On the Incarnation of the Word · Distinction 39

Textus Latinus
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Quaestio III. Utrum omne periurium sit mortale peccatum.

Tertio quaeritur, utrum omne periurium sit mortale peccatum1. Et quod sic, videtur.

1. Augustinus in quodam sermone de iuramento2: «Falsa iuratio perniciosa, vera periculosa, nulla secura»; sed quod est perniciosum est mortale peccatum: cum ergo omne periurium sit falsa iuratio: ergo periurium est mortale peccatum.

2. Item, quod directe est contra mandatum et prohibitionem est peccatum mortale3; sed periurium directe est contra prohibitionem secundae tabulae et primae: ergo videtur, quod semper sit mortale peccatum; in utraque enim prohibetur periurium.

3. Item, contemptus introducit mortale peccatum; sed omnis peierans contemnit ipsam summam Veritatem, dum eam adducit in testimonium falsi4: ergo omne periurium est peccatum mortale.

4. Item, mendacium de se, quando seriosum est, peccatum grave est: cum ergo iuramentum superadditum trahat ipsum mendacium in aliud genus5, videtur, quod qualecumque mendacium per iuramentum superadditum fiat mortale peccatum.

Sed contra:

1. Sicut contingit, aliquem iocose mentiri6, sic etiam contingit, aliquem iurare falsum; sed quod ioco fit non fit contemptu: si ergo aliquod periurium potest esse iocosum, non videtur, quod omne periurium sit mortale peccatum.

2. Item, sicut est aliquod mendacium, quod nulli obest et alicui prodest, ita potest esse aliquod periurium; sed tale periurium magis procedit ex pietate quam ex libidine: cum ergo libido sit radix omnis peccati mortalis7, videtur, quod non omne periurium necessario sit mortale peccatum.

3. Item, sicut contingit, aliquem impraemeditate loqui falsum, ita contingit, aliquem impraemeditate iurare falsum; sed peccatum non est mortale, nisi fiat ex deliberatione et consensu8: ergo non omne periurium est mortale peccatum.

4. Item, sicut assumere nomen Dei super falsum repugnat mandato Decalogi, ita etiam assumere in vanum; sed non semper, cum quis assumit nomen Dei in vanum, peccat mortaliter, ut patet de his qui iurant praeter necessitatem9: ergo videtur similiter, quod non semper mortaliter peccet qui assumit nomen Dei super falsum: ergo non omne periurium est mortale peccatum.

Conclusio.

Non omne periurium est mortale peccatum, deficiente scilicet sufficienti deliberatione.

Respondeo: Ad praedictorum intelligentiam est notandum, quod periurium duo dicit, videlicet iurationem et inordinationem. Est enim periurium iuramentum inordinatum et indebitum. Iuratio autem triplex est. Quaedam est deliberata et solemnizata, sicut quando testes iurant super sacrosancta Dei Evangelia in iudicis praesentia. Quaedam10 est deliberata, sed non solemnizata, quando quis in occulto iurat aliquid ex deliberatione, intendens illud per divinae Veritatis testimonium confirmare. Quaedam autem est nec deliberata nec solemnizata, sicut quando quis iurat in communi sermone, non attendens, quem invocat et ad quid, sed ex quadam consuetudine.

Et secundum hoc periurium potest committi tripliciter; et si committatur circa iurationem deliberatam et solemnizatam, sic est grave peccatum et enorme, ita quod reddit etiam hominem infamem11. Si vero committatur circa iurationem nec solemnizatam nec deliberatam; sic non est peccatum mortale,

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sed veniale, propter hoc quod lingua in lubrico posita est12. — Si vero committatur circa iurationem deliberatam, licet non solemnizatam; tunc distinguendum est: quia aut deliberat de dicto et de iuramento, utrum videlicet dictum sit verum, et utrum sit iuramento confirmandum; et tunc, si peierat, mortaliter peccat. Aut deliberat de dicto tantum, utrum sit verum, non tamen de iuramento superaddito; et tunc potest esse veniale peccatum. Valde tamen est cavendum, quia veniale illud periculosum est et multum appropinquat ad mortale peccatum. — Concedendum est igitur, quod non omne periurium est mortale peccatum, sicut illud quod non est deliberatum. Concedendae sunt etiam rationes, quae hoc ostendunt, licet aliquae ex eis non necessario cogant.

1. Ad illud vero quod obiicitur in contrarium, quod falsa iuratio est perniciosa; dicendum, quod Augustinus non intelligit generaliter de omni iuratione, sed de illa quae fit cum deliberatione; et de illa verum est, quod mortale peccatum est.

2. Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod omne periurium directe repugnat divinae prohibitioni; dicendum, quod illud non est verum de quolibet, sed de illo solum, quod fit cum plena deliberatione et consensu. Et si tu obiicias, quod omnis actus fornicationis et adulterii repugnat illi praecepto: Non moechaberis, et ideo est peccatum mortale; dicendum, quod non est simile de verbo, quod facile evolat, et de perpetratione peccati carnalis, quoniam actus ille semper debet subiacere imperio rationis. Unde nunquam consummatur opus carnis, quin homo reputetur consensisse pleno consensu. Ideo magis generaliter repugnat prohibitioni13 quam actus periurii.

3. Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod in omni periurio est contemptus summae Veritatis; dicendum, quod quando aliquis iurat ex quadam consuetudine vel ioco, non deliberans de excellentia Veritatis in testimonium invocatae, etsi aliquo modo possit dici contemnere, quia non adeo veneratur sicut debet; tamen proprie non contemnit, quia potius est ibi debiti honoris omissio quaedam et14 negligentia quam illatio contumeliae. Sed si ex deliberatione hoc faceret, absque dubio tunc graviter peccaret.

4. Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod iuramentum trahit mendacium in aliud genus; dicendum, quod illud est verum, quando iuramentum additur cum deliberatione ipsi mendacio; tunc enim habet plenam rationem iuramenti et trahit in aliud genus peccati. Quando vero praeter deliberationem additur, tunc quaedam est circumstantia aggravans, non necessario trahens in genus mortalis peccati, pro eo quod iuramentum illud superadditum non introducit plenum veritatis contemptum nec est ipsius veritatis destructivum, licet aliquo modo disponat ad veritatis contrarium, quia consuetudo frequenter parit libidinem et contemptum. Ideo valde cavendum est periurium; et quia propter incertitudinem sermonis frequenter periurium iuramento coniungitur: hinc est, quod ipsum iuramentum in christianis viris, et maxime perfectis, debet esse valde rarum, secundum consilium Ecclesiastici, vigesimo tertio15, qui dicit: Iurationi non assuescat os tuum, sunt enim multi casus in illa16.

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English Translation

Question III. Whether every perjury is a mortal sin.

Thirdly it is asked whether every perjury is a mortal sin1. And that it is so, it seems.

1. Augustine, in a certain sermon on the oath2: «A false oath is pernicious, a true one perilous, none secure»; but what is pernicious is a mortal sin: since therefore every perjury is a false oath: therefore perjury is a mortal sin.

2. Likewise, what is directly against a precept and prohibition is a mortal sin3; but perjury is directly against the prohibition of the second tablet and of the first: therefore it seems that it is always a mortal sin; for in both perjury is forbidden.

3. Likewise, contempt introduces a mortal sin; but everyone who perjures himself contemns the supreme Truth itself, while he adduces it as testimony of a falsehood4: therefore every perjury is a mortal sin.

4. Likewise, a lie of itself, when it is serious, is a grave sin: since therefore the superadded oath draws the lie itself into another genus5, it seems that any lie whatsoever becomes, through the superadded oath, a mortal sin.

On the contrary:

1. Just as it happens that someone lies in jest6, so too it happens that someone swears something false; but what is done in jest is not done out of contempt: if therefore some perjury can be jesting, it does not seem that every perjury is a mortal sin.

2. Likewise, just as there is some lie which harms no one and benefits someone, so there can be some perjury; but such perjury proceeds rather from piety than from lust: since therefore lust is the root of every mortal sin7, it seems that not every perjury is necessarily a mortal sin.

3. Likewise, just as it happens that someone speaks something false unpremeditatedly, so it happens that someone swears something false unpremeditatedly; but a sin is not mortal unless it be done from deliberation and consent8: therefore not every perjury is a mortal sin.

4. Likewise, just as to take the name of God upon a falsehood conflicts with the precept of the Decalogue, so also to take it in vain; but not always, when someone takes the name of God in vain, does he sin mortally, as is plain concerning those who swear beyond necessity9: therefore it seems likewise that he who takes the name of God upon a falsehood does not always sin mortally: therefore not every perjury is a mortal sin.

Conclusion.

Not every perjury is a mortal sin, namely when sufficient deliberation is lacking.

I respond: For the understanding of the foregoing it must be noted that perjury states two things, namely the swearing and the disorder. For perjury is a disordered and undue oath. Now an oath is threefold. One is deliberate and solemnized, as when witnesses swear upon the most holy Gospels of God in the presence of a judge. Another10 is deliberate, but not solemnized, when someone swears something in secret out of deliberation, intending to confirm it by the testimony of the divine Truth. But another is neither deliberate nor solemnized, as when someone swears in common speech, not attending to whom he invokes and for what, but out of a certain custom.

And according to this perjury can be committed in three ways; and if it be committed concerning a deliberate and solemnized oath, thus it is a grave and enormous sin, so much so that it even renders a man infamous11. But if it be committed concerning an oath neither solemnized nor deliberate; thus it is not a mortal sin,

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but venial, on account of this, that the tongue is set in a slippery place12. — But if it be committed concerning a deliberate oath, though not solemnized; then a distinction must be made: for either he deliberates about the saying and about the oath, namely whether the saying is true, and whether it is to be confirmed by an oath; and then, if he perjures himself, he sins mortally. Or he deliberates about the saying only, whether it is true, yet not about the superadded oath; and then it can be a venial sin. Yet great care must be taken, because that venial [sin] is perilous and approaches very near to mortal sin. — It is therefore to be granted that not every perjury is a mortal sin, such as that which is not deliberate. The reasons also which show this are to be granted, although some of them do not necessarily compel.

1. But to that which is objected to the contrary, that a false oath is pernicious; it must be said that Augustine does not understand [it] generally of every oath, but of that which is done with deliberation; and of that it is true that it is a mortal sin.

2. To that which is objected, that every perjury directly conflicts with the divine prohibition; it must be said that that is not true of just any [perjury], but only of that which is done with full deliberation and consent. And if you object that every act of fornication and adultery conflicts with that precept: You shall not commit adultery, and therefore is a mortal sin; it must be said that the case is not alike concerning a word, which easily flies away, and concerning the perpetration of a carnal sin, since that act must always be subject to the rule of reason. Whence the work of the flesh is never consummated without a man being reckoned to have consented with full consent. Therefore it more generally conflicts with the prohibition13 than the act of perjury [does].

3. To that which is objected, that in every perjury there is contempt of the supreme Truth; it must be said that when someone swears out of a certain custom or in jest, not deliberating about the excellence of the Truth invoked in testimony, even though he can in some way be said to contemn, because he does not venerate as he ought; yet he does not properly contemn, because there is rather there a certain omission of due honor and14 negligence than the infliction of an affront. But if he were to do this out of deliberation, then without doubt he would sin grievously.

4. To that which is objected, that the oath draws the lie into another genus; it must be said that that is true when the oath is added with deliberation to the lie itself; for then it has the full account of an oath and draws [it] into another genus of sin. But when it is added apart from deliberation, then it is a certain aggravating circumstance, not necessarily drawing [it] into the genus of mortal sin, for the reason that that superadded oath does not introduce a full contempt of truth, nor is it destructive of truth itself, although in some way it disposes toward the contrary of truth, because custom frequently begets lust and contempt. Therefore perjury is greatly to be guarded against; and because, on account of the uncertainty of speech, perjury is frequently joined to an oath: hence it is that the oath itself, among Christian men, and most of all among the perfect, ought to be very rare, according to the counsel of Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-third [chapter]15, who says: Let not your mouth become accustomed to swearing, for there are many occasions [of falling] in it16.

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Apparatus Criticus
  1. Vide scholion ad praecedentem quaest.
    See the scholion to the preceding question.
  2. Serm. 180. (alias 28. de Verbis Apostoli) c. 4. n. 4, ubi textus originalis pro perniciosa substituit exitiosa.
    Sermon 180 (otherwise 28, on the Words of the Apostle), c. 4, n. 4, where the original text substitutes exitiosa ("destructive") for perniciosa ("pernicious").
  3. Vide II. Sent. d. 42. a. 2. q. 1. — De minori cfr. supra d. 37. dub. 2. et 8. — Pro contra mandatum et prohibitionem cod. K contra mandatorum prohibitionem.
    See II Sent., d. 42, a. 2, q. 1. — On the minor [premise] cf. above, d. 37, dub. 2 and 8. — For contra mandatum et prohibitionem codex K [reads] contra mandatorum prohibitionem.
  4. Ut monstratum est quaest. praeced. — De maiori cfr. II. Sent. d. 42. a. 2. q. 1.
    As was shown in the preceding question. — On the major [premise] cf. II Sent., d. 42, a. 2, q. 1.
  5. Scilicet periurii. Cfr. supra q. 1; et de maiori supra d. 38. q. 2. seq.
    Namely of perjury. Cf. above, q. 1; and on the major [premise], above, d. 38, q. 2 and following.
  6. Vide supra d. 38. q. 5, ubi etiam maior seq. arg. insinuatur. — Inferius voci contemptu cod. U praemittit ex.
    See above, d. 38, q. 5, where also the major of the following argument is intimated. — Below, to the word contemptu codex U prefixes ex.
  7. Videsis d. 38. dub. 2. — Cod. K omnium mortalium peccatorum.
    See d. 38, dub. 2. — Codex K [reads] omnium mortalium peccatorum ("of all mortal sins").
  8. Cfr. supra pag. 845, nota 9.
    Cf. above, p. 845, note 9.
  9. Vide supra d. 37. dub. 2.
    See above, d. 37, dub. 2.
  10. In codd. A F G H N T V aa additur autem, in codd. U Z bb vero. Mox verbo quando cod. Z praemittit sicut.
    In codices A F G H N T V aa is added autem, in codices U Z bb vero. Presently, to the word quando codex Z prefixes sicut.
  11. Can. 17. Infames c. 6. q. 1: Infames esse eas personas dicimus, quae pro aliqua culpa notantur infamia, id est omnes qui christianae legis normam abiiciunt... periuros etc. Cfr. ibid. C. Praedicandum c. 22. q. 1. — Superius pro et si edd. num si.
    Canon 17, Infames, C. 6, q. 1: «We say that those persons are infamous who for some fault are branded with infamy, that is, all who cast off the norm of the Christian law... perjurers, etc.» Cf. ibid., C. Praedicandum, C. 22, q. 1. — Above, for et si the editions [read] num si.
  12. Cfr. supra pag. 846, nota 3. — Inferius pro licet codd. K bb sed.
    Cf. above, p. 846, note 3. — Below, for licet codices K bb [read] sed.
  13. Codd. F G L N V aa prohibitum, cod. T legit ideo magis generaliter prohibitum.
    Codices F G L N V aa [read] prohibitum, codex T reads ideo magis generaliter prohibitum.
  14. Cod. A bene ex, edd. legunt est ibi debita honoris omissio, quaedam etiam. Superius pro possit dici cod. A posset dici, et pro veneratur codd. U Z reveretur.
    Codex A [reads] bene ex; the editions read est ibi debita honoris omissio, quaedam etiam. Above, for possit dici codex A [reads] posset dici, and for veneratur codices U Z [read] reveretur.
  15. Vers. 9. — Pro assuescat codd. A K bb assuescas. Superius pro Ideo cod. G et ideo, et pro cavendum cod. Z timendum.
    Verse 9. — For assuescat codices A K bb [read] assuescas. Above, for Ideo codex G [reads] et ideo, and for cavendum codex Z [reads] timendum.
  16. Vide scholion ad 1. huius articuli quaestionem.
    See the scholion to the first question of this article.
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