Choose a topic from Part 2B:
1. 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 essenceof a lie. Any serious statement which is opposed to the truth asknown by the speaker is a lie, whether the speaker intends todeceive anyone or not. And if a speaker sayswhat he honestlythinks is true, but is, in fact, not true, the speaker does nottell a lie. His words make the material for a lie, butthey lack the form or essential determinant of a he. Theessential determinant, or form, of a he is the intention to speakfalsely.
2. Lies are called officious, jocose, or mischievous,according as they are told for profit or convenience, for pleasureor entertainment, or for the purpose of hurting someone or causingtrouble. The mischievous lie is the worst of lies; it is oftencalled a malicious He, for it is the fruit of malice orbad will.
3. A lie is always evil. For it is an inordinate andunreasonable thing, and hence an evil, to employ speech, which isthe natural instrument for expressing what is in the mind, as ameans of expressing what is not in the mind. It is not evil toevade a question; that is, it is not evil, except underextraordinary circumstances, to keep what one knows to oneself. Butit is evil to tell lies. Similarly, it is not evil to elude thesalesman who wishes us to buy something; it is not evil to keepone's money in one's pocket; but it is evil to buy what thesalesman offers with counterfeit money. It is not evil either tospeak in figurative language, provided those who hear can, orshould, understand what is meant.
4. A malicious lie may be a mortal sin, for it can be agrave 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 oftenfails to have the character of a lie because it is not aserious statement; those who utter such things, and thosewho hear, are well aware that the speaker is not manifesting hismind, his knowledge, or his convictions, but is merely jesting.
"To think of oneself as nothing, and always to think well and highly of others is the best and most perfect wisdom. Wherefore, if you see another sin openly or commit a serious crime, do not consider yourself better, for you do not know how long you can remain in good estate. All men are frail, but you must admit that none is more frail than yourself.
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Thomas á Kempis
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"Before a man chooses his confessor, he ought to think well about it, and pray about it also; but when he has once chosen, he ought not to change, except for most urgent reasons, but put the utmost confidence in his director."
St Philip Neri
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"A person who rails at God in adversity, suffers without merit; moreover by his lack of resignation he adds to his punishment in the next life and experiences greater disquietude of mind in this life."
St Alphonsus de Liguori
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