Peter Lombard, Sentences, III.39: On Perjury

Peter Lombard, Sentences, III.39: On Perjury

Written c. 1150 CE.

Source: Peter Lombard. "The Sentences Book 3: On the Incarnation of the Word", p. 161-168. Trans.: Giulio Silano. Medieval Sources in Translation, 45. Toronto: PIMS (2008).

DISTINCTION XXXIX

Chapter 1 (150)

WHAT IS PERJURY. Now let us consider perjury. Perjury is a lie confirmed by an oath.

Chapter 2 (151)

1. WHETHER SOMETHING WHICH IS NOT A LIE CAN BE A PERJURY.-

JEROME, ON JEREMIAS. Here it is asked whether there can be perjury, where there is no lie. This seems to be the case to some, on the authority of Jerome, who says: "It is to be noted that the swearing of an oath has three components: truth, judgement, and justice. If these are lacking, there is no oath, but perjury." But where a falsehood is sworn, truth is lacking; and so if a falsehood is sworn, even if there is no intention to deceive, it seems to constitute perjury, because truth is lacking.

2. THE OPINION OF SOME ON THIS MATTER. It pleases some to hold that there is no perjury where there is no lie; and just as at times a falsehood is uttered without lying, so a falsehood is sworn without perjury. Perhaps the Apostle spoke a falsehood when he said that he would be coming to Corinth,' and yet, despite charges to the contrary,' he did not incur the fault of lying because he said what he felt in his soul. And if he had con-firmed that by an oath, he would not have incurred perjury, because he told the truth insofar as it was in him; and if he had added an oath, he would have sworn the truth insofar as it was in him, even if it turned out otherwise than he said. And so, just as one is not a liar, unless he feels in his soul otherwise than he says, whether the matter is so or not, so it seems to some that no one is made a perjurer, unless he feels in his soul otherwise than he says, whether the matter is so or not.

Chapter 3 (152)

1. ON THE TRIPLE MANNER OF PERJURY.- THE TRUER VIEW. But the better view is that he commits perjury who swears what is false with the will to deceive, as well as he who swears what is true while believing it to be false, and he who swears what is false while believing it to be true.— Hence Augustine: "Men swear falsely either when they deceive, or when they are deceived. Either a man believes to be true that which is false, and he swears rashly; or he knows or believes it to be false, and yet swears it to be true, and then he swears criminously. But these two perjuries which I have mentioned are different. Suppose someone swears, who believes that which he swears to be the truth: he believes it to be true, and yet it is false. Such a one does not commit perjury from his soul, but is deceived he holds as true something which is false, but he does not knowingly utter an oath for a false thing. Posit another who knows it to be false and says it is true, and swears as if it were true, even though he knows it to be false. See how detestable this wild animal is. Posit yet another who believes something to be false, and swears as if it were true, and perhaps it is true. So that you may understand, here is an example: You ask this man: Did it rain in that place? He says that it rained. And then it did rain there, but he believes that it did not: he is a perjurer. How a word proceeds from the soul is relevant; a tongue is not guilty unless a guilty mind makes it so."—Here it is plainly set out that a man commits perjury a three ways, as we said earlier: either when he knowingly swears what is false, or when he swears what is true believing it to be false, or when he swears what is false deeming it to be true.

2. But this last case does not seem to be perjury; or, if it is called perjury because a falsehood has been sworn, the one who so swears does not seem to be guilty of perjury, because his mind is not guilty, and so neither is his tongue.—But his mind is guilty, since he presumes to affirm by oath something which he does not clearly perceive to be true. And so not every perjury is a lie, nor does every perjurer lie; but everyone who lies under oath is a perjurer, and everyone who swears a falsehood, whether or not he lies, commits perjury.

3. QUESTION. But when one swears what is true, believing it to be false, the question arises of where the perjury is in that case. For the very meaning of the words is true, because he unknowingly speaks the truth. And so it is not the meaning itself which is false or a lie, since it is true; and what is true does not seem to constitute perjury. SOLUTION. To this, we say that to speak in this way, namely against one's own mind and under the attestation of an oath, is perjury. And so to lie under oath is perjury. Therefore perjury consists either in uttering a falsehood under oath with the intention of deceiving, or in uttering a falsehood under oath without the intention to deceive, or in telling a truth under oath with the intention of deceiving.

4. OBJECTION. Here an objection is made: If anyone who swears a falsehood commits perjury, then one who swears to give something to another by a certain term, which he then will not do, perjured himself at the swearing of his oath, because he swore a falsehood: for it did not turn out as he had sworn.— DETERMINATION. To this, it may be said that not everyone who swears what is false is a perjurer from the moment he swears, and this is the case with the person of whom we speak; it is from the moment that he changes his intention, or fails to meet the deadline, that such an oath becomes perjury.

Chapter 4 (153)

1. WHETHER IT IS AN EVIL TO SWEAR OATHS. But if it is asked whether it is evil to swear, we say that it is sometimes evil, sometimes not. For to swear voluntarily and without necessity, or to swear a falsehood, is a great sin. But to swear from necessity, namely either to assert one's innocence, or to confirm peace treaties, or to persuade one's listeners of something which is useful to them, is not evil because it is necessary.

2. AUGUSTINE, ON THE LORD'S SERMON ON THE MOUNT. Hence Augustine: "An oath is to be sworn in regard to necessary things, when men are slow in believing what is good for them. The swearing of oaths is not good; and yet it is not evil, if it is necessary,' that is, it is not to be desired as if it were good, but neither is it to be avoided as if it were evil, when it is necessary.

3. AUGUSTINE, ON THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS: "For the swearing of oaths is not against God's precept; the Lord's prohibition against oath-swearing is to be understood in the sense that, insofar as it lies in him, one is not to swear: which many do, having an oath in their mouths as if it were something great and sweet. For the Apostle knew the Lord's precept, and yet he swore.' It follows that we are forbidden to swear out of a desire for and pleasure in swearing."

4. AUGUSTINE, ON THE LORD'S SERMON ON THE MOUNT. And so, when Christ says in the Gospel: I tell you not to swear at all,' "he is understood to have so commanded, lest any one should desire an oath as a good thing and by the assiduous use of oaths sink into perjury." And when he added: "Let your speech be, Yes, yes; No, no,' this is good and desirable. For whatever is more than this comes from evil,' that is, if you are compelled to swear, understand it to come from the need of the weakness of those whom you are trying to persuade of something. This weakness is certainly an evil, from which we daily pray to be delivered, when we say: Deliver us from evil.' And so he did not say: Whatever is more is evil; for you are not doing what is evil when you make right use of an oath; but it comes from the evil of him ... who otherwise does not believe,' that is, from weakness, which at times is punishment, and at times punishment and fault.' In this passage, then, the Lord forbade the evil, counselled the good, allowed the necessary.

Chapter 5 (154)

1. ON THE OATH WHICH IS SWORN BY CREATURES. It is also asked whether it is lawful to swear by creatures. It seems not, since it is written in the Law: You shall render your oaths to the Lord,' and Christ commands is the Gospel not to swear at all, neither by heaven, nor by earth, nor by Jerusalem, nor by your own head.'

2. JEROME, ON MATTHEW: "To Jews, as if to children, it was allowed to swear by the Creator," and (AUGUSTINE) "it was commanded that, if they should have to swear, they should do so only by the Creator, and not by a creature," because "those who swore by the angels or the elements venerated creatures with honour, and it was better to extend this to God than to creatures." And so he forbade this to the weak; but he did not forbid it to the saints, who in creatures venerated only the Creator. Hence Joseph swore by the health of Pharaoh,' and so revered God's judgement in the one by whom he had been placed in the depths. But Christ forbade swearing by creatures, lest there should be believed to be something divine in them for the sake of which reverence would be owed to them; or perhaps lest, in swearing a falsehood by them, men should believe they were not bound by their oath.'

Chapter 6 (155)

WHICH OATH IS MORE BINDING, WHETHER THE ONE DONE BY GOD, OR BY THE GOSPELS, OR BY CREATURES. If it is asked who is more bound, whether one who swears by God, or one who does so by the Gospel or by creatures, we say: the one who swears by God, because these other things were made by him.—JOHN CHRYSOSTOM. Hence Chrysostom: "If this were the case, one who swears by God appears to do little; but the one who swears by the Gospels seems to achieve somewhat more. To whom we ought to say: Fools! The Scriptures are holy because of God, not God because of the Scriptures."' In the same way, creatures were made by God.

Chapter 7 (156)

1. WHAT IT MEANS TO SAY: BY GOD. Here it is asked what it means to say: 'I swear by God.' It is to call God as a witness. For the Apostle swore saying: God is my witness; as if he had said: By God, it is so.— AUGUSTINE, IN A SERMON ON PERJURY. Hence Augustine: "It is ridiculous to hold this."' "You swear, if you say 'by God'; do you not also swear, if you say `God is my witness'? For what does 'God is my witness' mean, if not 'by God?' What does it mean to swear, if not to render to God his right, when you swear by him? That is, the right of truth, and not of falsehood."

2. IN A SERMON ON PERJURY. Also: "Behold, I say to your charity: Even one who swears a falsehood by a stone is a perjurer," because he does not take as witness the stone, which "cannot hear," but its Creator. And so to swear by any creature is this: namely to produce its Creator as a witness.

3. AUGUSTINE, ON PSALM 7. There is also "a very grave kind of oath, which is done in the form of a curse, as when a man says: If I have done so and so, may I suffer so and so," or may it happen to my children. In this sense it is also taken sometimes, when someone swears by saying: 'by my health,' or 'by my children,' and suchlike. For in this way he binds these to God.

4. IN A SERMON ON PERJURY. Hence Augustine: "When someone says `by my health,' he binds his health to God; when he says 'by my children,' he gives his children to God as pledges that whatever comes out of his mouth should fall upon their heads: if truth, truth; if falsehood, falsehood."' And just as one who swears by these binds them to God, so one who swears by God calls him as witness. Therefore in every oath either God is taken as witness, or a creature is bound and offered as a pledge to God, and so this is what swearing is, namely to take God as witness, or to give something to God as a pledge.

Chapter 8 (157)

CONCERNING THOSE WHO SWEAR BY FALSE GODS. After these matters, it is asked whether one ought to rely on the promise of one who has sworn by demons or idols.—Concerning this, Augustine writes to Publicola and says: "I wish you to consider first whether, if a man has sworn by false gods and then failed to keep his promise, he does not seem to you to have sinned twice. And indeed he has sinned twice, because he swore by those by whom he should not, and did what he should not have done in violation of the promise which he had sworn. And so anyone who relies on the promise of one who is known to have sworn by false gods, and relies on it not for an evil purpose, but for a good one, does not associate himself with the sin of him who swore by demons, but with the good pact with which he kept his faith. Without any doubt, it is less bad to swear truly by false gods than to swear falsely by the true God. For the holier is that by which we swear, so much more punishable the perjury."

Chapter 9 (158)

1. THAT AN OATH OR VOW WHICH IS CARELESSLY SWORN IS NOT TO BE KEPT, NOR A PROMISE WHICH IS UNJUSTLY MADE. It remains now to see whether every oath is to be fulfilled. For if someone has sworn something against faith and charity, "whose observance might make for a worse outcome,'" it is rather to be changed than to be fulfilled.—AMBROSE, IN BOOK 1, ON OFFICES. Hence Ambrose: "It is sometimes contrary to duty to fulfil a sworn promise, as Herod did."

2. ISIDORE, IN THE SYNONYMS. Also Isidore: "If you have promised evils, rescind your promise; if you have made a shameful vow, change what you have decreed. If you have made a vow carelessly, do not do it; that promise is impious which is fulfilled by a crime."—ISIDORE, IN THE BOOK OF SENTENCES. The same: "That oath is not to be kept by which an evil thing is incautiously promised, as if one should swear to an adulteress a promise to remain with her forever. For it is more tolerable not to fulfil an oath than to remain in defilement."

3. BEDE, IN HOMILY 43. Also Bede: "If it has happened that we have sworn something carelessly, whose observance might make for a worse outcome, we know that we ought freely to change it to a more salubrious counsel; and if necessity presses, we ought rather to perjure ourselves, than to fall into some graver crime for the sake of avoiding perjury. David swore by God to kill Nabal, a foolish man; but at the first inter-cession of Abigail, a prudent woman, he set aside his threats, put his sword back in its scabbard,6 nor did he sorrow that he had contracted any guilt by such perjury."

4. AUGUSTINE, IN SOME SERMON. Also Augustine: "It was a greater piety that David did not fulfil his oath by the spilling of blood. David was rash in his swearing, but it was with a greater piety that he did not fulfil his oath."—From these and several other texts, it is shown that some oaths are not to be kept. And one who swears in this way sins gravely; but when he changes, he does well. But one who does not change sins twice: because he swore unjustly, and because he does what he ought not to do.

Chapter 10 (159)

1. WHETHER HE WHO DOES NOT DO WHAT HE HAD INCAUTIOUSLY SWORN IS A PERJURER. But it is usual to ask whether one who changes is to be called a perjurer. Bede, above, called such an oath perjury.'—John too, the apocrisary of the Eastern sees, said: "The word of our father Sophro-nius means that it is better that the swearer should become a perjurer, than to keep the oath to break the holy images."

2. But such an unkept oath is called 'perjury,' and one who does not keep it is called a 'perjurer,' because he swore a falsehood, not because he is guilty by reason of his failure to keep it, but because he swore some-thing unjust, and so he is as guilty as one who perjures himself.

Chapter 11 (160)

CONCERNING HIM WHO SWEARS WITH VERBAL ARTFULNESS.—ISIDORE, IN BOOK 2 OF THE SENTENCES. It is also to be known that, "by whatever artfulness of words one may swear, God, who is the witness of conscience, takes the oath the way it is understood by the one to whom it is made. And the swearer is doubly guilty because he takes God's name in vain, and he entangles his neighbour in fraud."'

Chapter 12 (161)

1. CONCERNING HIM WHO COMPELS ANOTHER TO SWEAR. It is also asked whether he sins, who compels another to swear.—AUGUSTINE, IN SOME SERMON. Concerning this, Augustine says: "If one exacts an oath, it is of great relevance whether he does or does not know that the swearer will swear a falsehood. For if he does not know, and so says 'swear to me' in order to establish faith, it is not a sin; yet it is human temptation.' But if he knows about the falsehood, and compels him to swear, then he is a murderer."—The same: "Whoever calls another to swear an oath and knows that he is swearing a falsehood, he is worse than a murderer; a murderer will kill the body, but such a one the soul, indeed two souls: that of the one whom he called to swear and his own."

2. FROM THE COUNCIL OF ORLEANS: "The holy synod proclaimed that, except for the making of peace, all the faithful should come fasting to swear oaths."