Chapter 3 (152)
162 | THE SENTENCES, BOOK 3
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 1s 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 in 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
'Augustine, Sermo 180, c2 n2.