| A man who lies to himself, and believes his own lies, becomes unable to recognize truth, either in himself or in anyone else. Fyodor Dostoyevsky, 1821-1881, A lie told often enough becomes the truth. The great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie — deliberate, contrived, and dishonest — but the myth — persistent, persuasive, and unrealistic. When people can not change things, they change the words. The liar’s punishment is, not in the least that he is not believed, but that he cannot believe anyone else. In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth.— George Carlin, 1936-2008, American comedian Half a truth is often a great lie. What is the truth, but a lie agreed upon. A lie has speed, but truth has endurance. A lie is more comfortable than doubt, more useful than love, more lasting than truth. Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth. When in doubt tell the truth. It will confound your enemies and astound your friends. It takes two to speak the truth — one to speak and another to hear. I never did give them hell. I just told the truth, and they thought it was hell. That which has always been accepted by everyone, everywhere, is almost certain to be false. |
The most dangerous of all falsehoods is a slightly distorted truth. A lie that is half-truth is the darkest of all lies. Freedom is a very great reality, but it means above all things, freedom from lies. Truth never damages a cause that is just. Although you may tell lies, people will believe you, if only you speak with authority. The man who tells lies hides the truth, but the man who tells half-lies has forgotten where he put it. Falsehood is invariably the child of fear in one form or another. The fact that so many successful politicians are such shameless liars is not only a reflection on them, it is also a reflection on us. When the people want the impossible, only liars can satisfy. Lying is the strongest acknowledgment of the force of truth. It is the responsibility of intellectuals to speak the truth and expose lies. Only enemies speak the truth; friends and lovers lie endlessly, caught in the web of duty. When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself, you tell them what they want to hear. The words of truth are simple by nature. The truth can walk around naked; the lie has to be clothed. Truth gives a short answer, while the lie usually babbles.
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