Whether Boasting Is a Mortal Sin?
Objection 1: It seems that boasting is a mortal sin. For it is
written (Prov. 28:25): "He that boasteth, and puffeth himself,
stirreth up quarrels." Now it is a mortal sin to stir up quarrels,
since God hates those that sow discord, according to Prov. 6:19.
Therefore boasting is a mortal sin.
Obj. 2: Further, whatever is forbidden in God's law is a mortal sin.
Now a gloss on Ecclus. 6:2, "Extol not thyself in the thoughts of thy
soul," says: "This is a prohibition of boasting and pride." Therefore
boasting is a mortal sin.
Obj. 3: Further, boasting is a kind of lie. But it is neither an
officious nor a jocose lie. This is evident from the end of lying;
for according to the Philosopher (Ethic. iv, 7), "the boaster
pretends to something greater than he is, sometimes for no further
purpose, sometimes for the sake of glory or honor, sometimes for the
sake of money." Thus it is evident that it is neither an officious
nor a jocose lie, and consequently it must be a mischievous lie.
Therefore seemingly it is always a mortal sin.
_On the contrary,_ Boasting arises from vainglory, according to
Gregory (Moral. xxxi, 17). Now vainglory is not always a mortal sin,
but is sometimes a venial sin which only the very perfect avoid. For
Gregory says (Moral. viii, 30) that "it belongs to the very perfect,
by outward deeds so to seek the glory of their author, that they are
not inwardly uplifted by the praise awarded them." Therefore boasting
is not always a mortal sin.
_I answer that,_ As stated above (Q. 110, A. 4), a mortal sin is one
that is contrary to charity. Accordingly boasting may be considered
in two ways. First, in itself, as a lie, and thus it is sometimes a
mortal, and sometimes a venial sin. It will be a mortal sin when a
man boasts of that which is contrary to God's glory--thus it is said
in the person of the king of Tyre (Ezech. 28:2): "Thy heart is lifted
up, and thou hast said: I am God"--or contrary to the love of our
neighbor, as when a man while boasting of himself breaks out into
invectives against others, as told of the Pharisee who said (Luke
18:11): "I am not as the rest of men, extortioners, unjust,
adulterers, as also is this publican." Sometimes it is a venial sin,
when, to wit, a man boasts of things that are against neither God nor
his neighbor. Secondly, it may be considered with regard to its
cause, namely, pride, or the desire of gain or of vainglory: and then
if it proceeds from pride or from such vainglory as is a mortal sin,
then the boasting will also be a mortal sin: otherwise it will be a
venial sin. Sometimes, however, a man breaks out into boasting
through desire of gain, and for this very reason he would seem to be
aiming at the deception and injury of his neighbor: wherefore
boasting of this kind is more likely to be a mortal sin. Hence the
Philosopher says (Ethic. iv, 7) that "a man who boasts for the sake
of gain, is viler than one who boasts for the sake of glory or
honor." Yet it is not always a mortal sin because the gain may be
such as not to injure another man.
Reply Obj. 1: To boast in order to stir quarrels is a mortal sin. But
it happens sometimes that boasts are the cause of quarrels, not
intentionally but accidentally: and consequently boasting will not be
a mortal sin on that account.
Reply Obj. 2: This gloss speaks of boasting as arising from pride
that is a mortal sin.
Reply Obj. 3: Boasting does not always involve a mischievous lie, but
only where it is contrary to the love of God or our neighbor, either
in itself or in its cause. That a man boast, through mere pleasure in
boasting, is an inane thing to do, as the Philosopher remarks (Ethic.
iv, 7): wherefore it amounts to a jocose lie. Unless perchance he
were to prefer this to the love of God, so as to contemn God's
commandments for the sake of boasting: for then it would be against
the charity of God, in Whom alone ought our mind to rest as in its
last end.
To boast for the sake of glory or gain seems to involve an officious
lie: provided it be done without injury to others, for then it would
at once become a mischievous lie.
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