Eighth Commandment
Q. What is the eighth Commandment?
A. The eighth Commandment is, ‘Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour’.
Q. What does the eighth Commandment forbid?
A. The eighth Commandment forbids all false testimony, rash judgment, and lies.
False testimony. False witness—to swear falsely in a court of justice.
Rash judgement. Forming or expressing an evil opinion of others without sufficient
reason or cause.
A lie. Saying anything which we believe to be false, with the intention of deceiving those
to whom we are speaking. There are three kinds of lies (1) jocose, or those told in jest; (2)
officious, or those told to escape some evil, to obtain some benefit, or to excuse ourselves
or others; (3) malicious, or those told with the retention of injuring our neighbour.
Q. Are calumny and detraction forbidden by the eighth Commandment?
A. Calumny and detraction are forbidden by the eighth Commandment, and also tale-bearing and
any words which injure our neighbour’s character.
Calumny. Saying what is not true of our neighbour, with the intention of injuring his
character.
Detraction. Making known the sins of our neighbour, with the intention of injuring his
character.
Q. If you have injured your neighbour by speaking ill of him, what are you bound to do?
A. If I have injured my neighbour by speaking ill of him, I am bound to make him satisfaction by
restoring his good name as far as I can.
Make him satisfaction. To do all in one’s power to bring back the good name of one’s
neighbour—in the case of calumny, by contradicting the lie told; in the case of detracting,
by doing all we can to restore the good opinion in which he had been held.