Whether Irony Is a Sin?
Objection 1: It seems that irony, which consists in belittling
oneself, is not a sin. For no sin arises from one's being
strengthened by God: and yet this leads one to belittle oneself,
according to Prov. 30:1, 2: "The vision which the man spoke, with
whom is God, and who being strengthened by God, abiding with him,
said, I am the most foolish of men." Also it is written (Amos 7:14):
"Amos answered . . . I am not a prophet." Therefore irony, whereby a
man belittles himself in words, is not a sin.
Obj. 2: Further, Gregory says in a letter to Augustine, bishop of the
English (Regist. xii): "It is the mark of a well-disposed mind to
acknowledge one's fault when one is not guilty." But all sin is
inconsistent with a well-disposed mind. Therefore irony is not a sin.
Obj. 3: Further, it is not a sin to shun pride. But "some belittle
themselves in words, so as to avoid pride," according to the
Philosopher (Ethic. iv, 7). Therefore irony is not a sin.
_On the contrary,_ Augustine says (De Verb. Apost., Serm. xxix): "If
thou liest on account of humility, if thou wert not a sinner before
lying, thou hast become one by lying."
_I answer that,_ To speak so as to belittle oneself may occur in two
ways. First so as to safeguard truth, as when a man conceals the
greater things in himself, but discovers and asserts lesser things of
himself the presence of which in himself he perceives. To belittle
oneself in this way does not belong to irony, nor is it a sin in
respect of its genus, except through corruption of one of its
circumstances. Secondly, a person belittles himself by forsaking the
truth, for instance by ascribing to himself something mean the
existence of which in himself he does not perceive, or by denying
something great of himself, which nevertheless he perceives himself
to possess: this pertains to irony, and is always a sin.
Reply Obj. 1: There is a twofold wisdom and a twofold folly. For
there is a wisdom according to God, which has human or worldly folly
annexed to it, according to 1 Cor. 3:18, "If any man among you seem
to be wise in this world, let him become a fool that he may be wise."
But there is another wisdom that is worldly, which as the same text
goes on to say, "is foolishness with God." Accordingly, he that is
strengthened by God acknowledges himself to be most foolish in the
estimation of men, because, to wit, he despises human things, which
human wisdom seeks. Hence the text quoted continues, "and the wisdom
of men is not with me," and farther on, "and I have known the science
of the saints" [*Vulg.: 'and I have not known the science of the
saints'].
It may also be replied that "the wisdom of men" is that which is
acquired by human reason, while the "wisdom of the saints" is that
which is received by divine inspiration.
Amos denied that he was a prophet by birth, since, to wit, he was not
of the race of prophets: hence the text goes on, "nor am I the son of
a prophet."
Reply Obj. 2: It belongs to a well-disposed mind that a man tend to
perfect righteousness, and consequently deem himself guilty, not only
if he fall short of common righteousness, which is truly a sin, but
also if he fall short of perfect righteousness, which sometimes is
not a sin. But he does not call sinful that which he does not
acknowledge to be sinful: which would be a lie of irony.
Reply Obj. 3: A man should not commit one sin in order to avoid
another: and so he ought not to lie in any way at all in order to
avoid pride. Hence Augustine says (Tract. xliii in Joan.): "Shun not
arrogance so as to forsake truth": and Gregory says (Moral. xxvi, 3)
that "it is a reckless humility that entangles itself with lies."
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