My lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit.
Read Chapter 27
Gregory The Dialogist
AD 604
What he first calls “iniquity,” afterward he calls “falsehood.” All “falsehood” is “iniquity,” and all “iniquity” is “falsehood.” For whatever is at variance with truth is surely at odds with justice. But there is a wide difference between “to speak” and “to meditate,” which he adds afterward. For sometimes it is a worse thing to “meditate” falsehood than to speak it, because speaking it is very frequently a matter of being impetuous, but to “meditate” on it shows deliberate wickedness. And who could be ignorant of the great differernce when distinguishing sin, whether one tells a lie inconsiderately or deliberately? But the holy person who perfectly adheres to the truth would neither lie deliberately, nor would he do so impetuously. - "Morals on the Book of Job 18.5"
