The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1922-10-07
KINDS OF LIES.

/
thus: "a lie is a speech contrary to
ones mind" and st. Augustine puts
the same truth in these words: He
tells a lie, who has one thing in his
mind and says something else by word
or by any sign whatever" Note care
fully there are three essentials in ev-
cry lie. First, the thing we say is
not true: second, we must know it is
not true; and third, we must have the
intention to deceive Others and lead
them into error. When the Jewish
priests told, the guards to spread the
story that the disciples stole the body
of Christ, they. said something that
was not true; they knew it was not
true and they said it with the full in
tention to deceive others-here we
have all the essentials of a lie, and
their act was mortal, sin because
they intended to deceive the world in
very important matter
Apply these principles to the most
common cases in our day, the selling
of merchandise. You have used
| automobile of which you wish to dis
| pose You know full well the car has
been abused, that it needs many re.
pairs and that it is not worth the
| price you ask. You sell such a car
to a man who knows nothing about
cars and deceive him about it's condi-
| ton. In such cases, you are guilty OF
a lie, because you are saying what
you know to be untrue. and you do it
to deceive another and make money
to which you are not entitled
There are different kinds of lies
and theologians divide them into three
classes-the jocose, official and hurt
| full lies. A jocose lie is something
said merely as a joke to amuse 9th
ers, and if people see at once that
we do. not mean what we say, there
| is no harm in such stories and they
are not sinful at all. Many of the
ghost stories, as we'll as the fables
about hunting and fishing expeditions
come under this head.
The second class of falsehoods are
called officious lies, or lies of excuse
| This kind of lies is more prevalent
than the other two, and even little
children are masters in the work, ly.
! ing themselves out of trouble as read
lily as their elders do it. Before try.
ing to correct this fault in children
parents and older brothers and sisters
should take themselves to task for
trying to stop an abuse in others
when they are more guilty than the
youngsters.
Besides lies of excuse and lies told
as mere jokes, there are falsehoods
that are the worst of all, and these
are called hurtful or injurious lies
We are guilty of a hurtful lie when
we tell something that is not true
and do it to injure the reputation OF
another. The man or woman who
tells that kind of lies is without ques
ton doing the work of the devil
There are such liars in every com
munity, and day after day somebody
good name is torn to shreds by wick
ed, lying tongues. And the peculiar
thing about these slanderous, hurt
full stories is the fact that nobody
owns them-nobody knows who start
ed them or where they come from
| but far too many people are ready
to push them along and make them
bigger as they go on. Hurtful lies
are vile things about which all OF
us should be on our guard. Avoid
scandal-mongers as you would ser
pent, and avoid him in giving your
ear to his lies, as well as lending your
tongue to:keep them in circulation.
Then, too, there is another way in
which we can tell lies, and this is
! the lie of action Judas gives us an
example of this kind of lying. He
said not word, but kissed Jesus
and that kiss was an act by which he
pretended to love his Master, while
lin reality treachery lurked in his
wicked heart. There are those who
give Jesus kisses today; they out
wardly give this mark of love, and
feel hatred in their hearts. In this
way with smile, a shrug of the
shoulder, a kiss or a shake Of the
head, we may make people believe
something that is not true, and thus
be guilty of lie in action.
The Witness.