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."
