We must strive to reach that simplicity that lies beyond sophistication.
—John W. Gardner (1912–2002) American Activist
Every violation of truth is not only a sort of suicide in the liar, but is a stab at the health of human society.
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) American Philosopher
Ask no questions and hear no lies.
—Common Proverb
An excuse is worse than a lie, for an excuse is a lie, guarded.
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744) English Poet
We lie loudest when we lie to ourselves.
—Eric Hoffer (1902–83) American Philosopher, Author
Never to lie is to have no lock to your door, you are never wholly alone.
—Elizabeth Bowen (1899–1973) Irish Novelist, Short-story Writer
Liars are the cause of all the sins and crimes in the world.
—Epictetus (55–135) Ancient Greek Philosopher
Lying is done with words and also with silence.
—Adrienne Rich (1929–2012) American Poet, Essayist
Lying is not only excusable; it is not only innocent; it is, above all, necessary and unavoidable. Without the ameliorations that it offers, life would become a mere syllogism and hence too metallic to be borne.
—H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) American Journalist, Literary Critic
He who is not very strong in memory should not meddle with lying.
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–92) French Essayist
Telling lies is a fault in a boy, an art in a lover, an accomplishment in a bachelor, and second-nature in a married man.
—Helen Rowland (1875–1950) American Journalist, Humorist
It is easier to believe a lie that one has heard a thousand times than to believe a fact that no one has heard before.
—Unknown
Gradually I came to realize that people will more readily swallow lies than truth, as if the taste of lies was homey
—Martha Gellhorn (1908–98) American Novelist, Travel Writer, Journalist
You can fool too many of the people too much of the time.
—James Thurber
And, after all, what is a lie? ‘Tis but the truth in masquerade.
—Lord Byron (George Gordon Byron) (1788–1824) English Romantic Poet
Lying has a kind of respect and reverence with it. We pay a person the compliment of acknowledging his superiority whenever we lie to him.
—Samuel Butler
A wise man does not waste so good a commodity as lying for naught.
—Mark Twain (1835–1910) American Humorist
Lying is a terrible vice, it testifies that one despises God, but fears men.
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–92) French Essayist
A liar begins with making falsehood appear like truth, and ends with making truth itself appear like falsehood.
—William Shenstone (1714–63) British Poet, Landscape Gardener
I don’t mind lying, but I hate inaccuracy.
—Samuel Butler
A half truth is a whole lie.
—Yiddish Proverb
I’m not smart enough to lie.
—Ronald Reagan (1911–2004) American Head of State
It is easier to gather up a bag of loose feathers than to round up or head off a single lie.
—Indian Proverb
Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it.
—Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) Nazi Leader, Chancellor of Germany
I should like to lie at your feet and die in your arms.
—Voltaire (1694–1778) French Philosopher, Author
Women believe the strangest of lies as long as they are wrapped up in praise.
—French Proverb
A fellow who says he has never told a lie has just told one.
—Unknown
I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you.
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German Philosopher, Scholar, Writer
We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth, at least the truth that is given us to understand. The artist must know the manner whereby to convince others of the truthfulness of his lies.
—Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) Spanish Painter, Sculptor, Artist
In our country the lie has become not just a moral category but a pillar of the State.
—Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918–2008) Russian Dissident Novelist
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