512 Chap.5 . Of Reproof and Flatter). Corr, 9. And as this is every where to be avoided, fo efpecially in this place when we Efay 9. 15. utter the word of God The Prophet that telleth lies es the tail cf the people, the Molt vile and abjeft of all, others.Godhathndneed oforer lye. ,as ?ob faith: what we fpeakc z Cor. 1.19. fröm him, mull not beyea, and nay, true and falfe , but only yea. The Apoflle Rori50i9. would not fpeak of any ofthofe things whichCbrifi hadnot wrought hhin.Itisvain arrogancy in men to name Authors they have never feen,- or affirm that which they do not know, efpecially in the Miniftersof Chriíl. The extream And as it is a fin for a man to Waft of what he path not, fo alfo to take that contrary to. fault upon himfelf which he is not guilty of;as be,that when Saul had killed him- &g Sam 3r.q. fell, Paid that he had killed him, hoping for a reward. So alto todeny any thing 2Sam,1.to, ofa mans felf which is true,whether it be to his praife or difpraife.S.Gregory faith this is Mendaxhumilitaa ,incantahumilitaa, a lying humility, and unadviled. And S.Auguflinefaith,He that uttereth an untruth of himfeif, out of modefly,pr hu- mility, though hehad not finned before,yetpeccator effcitar masticadó,he tins now by lying.Therefore S. Hieroms rule is,Ne itacaveatur arrogantiaat cavedtar veritas, not foto fhun arrogancy,as todeny thetruth. It's true in the afEirmative,a man may affirm, minus defe, lets of himfelf, becaufein majore eft minar, the greater cloth contain the lefs ; but otherwife, where there is a ,necefiìty of anfwering concerning himfelf,hemull hand on the negative, not todeny any truth ofhim- felf. Again, on the other fide,a man is not bound pradicare peccaramfuum,to declare Efay 3. 9. his fin. It was the height of impiety in them that declaredtheirfin ae Sodom : yet Gen. 18. 15. being asked, where we are bound to anfwer, we muff not deny our tin withSa- rah, though we arenot bound alwaies to fpeak all the truthof our felves,yet we muff not deny the truthor fpeak an untruth of our felves. Of Lye,: Having done with this dims reflexur,we come to thatâhich is falfe witnefs di- redily, of which we fpake fomething before, viz. Mendacium, a lye. Thefe we have already fpoken of, are Mendacia perniciofa, mendaciaferpentir , pernicious lyes, the lyes of the Serpent i whofe firfi word was, Meq:agnamme- riemini, ye lball in nowife dye. Betides thefe,there is alye they call lnnocaum, a harmlefs lye, of which cometh no hurt or lots. Eut S, Äugteftine faith, they that fay fo, that there is mendaciom innocoum, an innocent lye, are not inndcui in- nocenc'themfelves.And though men account nothing tobe lofs,but lofs of name, goods, life, and fuck like, yet there is no lye wherein there is not lofs of truth, which is more worth then all there. CHAP. VI. Of a rafh lye, an officious lye, a merry lye. Four cares whereina manteems to fpeakcon- trary to the truth, bat Both nor, OfMendacium Falli, the Real Lye, by fimulation. Mendacium \ OVA a lye in this fence may be two wayes. remervium, 1. To (peak contra quamfe res habet, otherwife then the thing is,though he e ri/b lye. that fpeaks is perfwaded in hismind that it is true and fach an one as S. Auga- ftine faith, Non tammendacüquam temeritatú accufandus eft, is not fo much guilty of a lye, as of raft, neis and temerity; fuch;as the fame Father faith,lhould learn Jude to. their tongues to fay, Nefcio, I know not : and not like thofe in S.'ude, to fpeak of things they know not. The officious z. To fpeak contraquam feanimus habet, otherwife thena man thinks ; and this hoe merry lye. they divide e merry lye, or the fcorners,lye,rnment'ioned in an They make h e Band. 1.1'9. Princes glad. with their lyes. 1.101,7,3, Nowfor the former of there, the officious lye, which is for our neighbours profit, S. 4uguftine confeffes,that thefe mendacia compenfativadid fomewhit trou- ble him. As if a man lying fick,his only fon fhoulddye,of which if l Raoul d tell him,it wouldkill him.In thiscafe, faith he, what hail I anfwer, ifh: should ask me ? I mull either fay, [leis alive, orhe is dead, or I cannot tell; III fay he is alive,or I cannot tell,a lye is made ; if I fay he is dead, it kills the father;fo that on
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