Lying

Augustine of Hippo wrote two books about lying: On Lying (De Mendacio) and Against Lying (Contra Mendacio).
From his text, it can be derived that St. Augustine divided lies into eight categories, listed in order of descending severity:

    •    Lies in religious teaching
    •    Lies that harm others and help no one
    •    Lies that harm others and help someone
    •    Lies told for the pleasure of lying
    •    Lies told to "please others in smooth discourse"
    •    Lies that harm no one and that help someone materially
    •    Lies that harm no one and that help someone spiritually
    •    Lies that harm no one and that protect someone from "bodily defilement"
    •   
Augustine wrote that lies told in jest, or by someone who believes or opines the lie to be true are not, in fact, lies.