The problems of Neurosis
The truth is often a terrible weapon of aggression. It is possible to lie, and even to murder, for the truth.
Anonymous
Old men and far travelers may lie with authority.
Armstrong Sir Robert 1927-
(during ‘Spycatcher' trial)
It contains a misleading impression, not a lie. It was being economical with the truth.
Bacon Francis 1561-1626
Essays ‚Of Truth'
A mixture of a lie doth ever add pleasure.
Butler Samuel 1835-1902
We pay a person the compliment of acknowledging his superiority whenever we lie to him.
Cervantes Miguel de 1547-1616
Don Quixote
Let them eat the lie and swallow it with their bread. Whether the two were lovers or no, they'll have accounted to God for it by now. I have my own fish to fry.
Clarke John d. 1658
Paraemiologia Anglo-Latina ‘Diligentia'
He that would thrive
Must rise at five;
He that hath thriven
May lie till seven.
Gay John 1685-1732
Fables ‘The Squire and his Cur'
That politician tops his part,
Who readily can lie with art.
James William 1842-1910
The Varieties of Religious Experience
There is no worse lie than a truth misunderstood by those who hear it.
Johnson Samuel 1709-1784
I deny the lawfulness of telling a lie to a sick man for fear of alarming him; you have no business with consequences, you are to tell the truth.
Jonson Ben c. 1573-1637
Underneath this stone doth lie
As much beauty as could die.
Jowett Benjamin 1817-1893
The lie in the soul is a true lie.
McCarthy Mary 1912-1989
(of Lillian Hellmann)
Every word she writes is a lie, including ‘and' and ‘the'.
MacDonald George 1824-1905
David Elginbroad
Here lie I , Martin Elginbrodde:
Hae mercy o' my soul, Lord God;
As I wad do, were I Lord God,
And ye were Martin Elginbrodde.
Montaigne Michel de 1533-1592
Essays
Unless a man feels he has a good enough memory, he should never venture to lie.
Nicholson Jack 1937-
You only lie to two people; your girlfriend and the police. Everyone else you tell the truth to.
Picasso Pablo 1881-1973
We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth.
Proust Marcel 1871-1922
Time Regained
One of those telegrams of which M. de
Guermantes had wittily fixed the formula:
‘Cannot come, lie follows'.
Proverbs and Sayings
Jewish
Truth is the safest lie.
Proverbs and Sayings
Jewish
A half-truth is a whole lie.
Ralegh Sir Walter 1552-1618
Tell zeal it wants devotion;
Tell love it is but lust;
Tell time it metes but motion;
Tell flesh it is but dust;
And wish them not reply,
For thou must give the lie.
Shakespeare William 1564-1616
Sa You Like it
Under the greenwood tree
Who loves to lie with me.
Springsteen Bruce 1949-
„The River"
Is a dream a lie if it don't come true,
Or is it something worse?
Tennyson Alfred Lord 1809-1892
‘The Grandmother'
That a lie which is all a lie may be met and fought with outright,
But a lie which is part a truth is a harder matter to fight.
Tennyson Alfred Lord 1809-1892
‘Maud'
One still strong man in a blatant land,
Whatever they call him, what care I,
Aristocrat, democrat, autocrat - one
Who can rule and dare not lie.
Washington George 1732-1799
I can't tell a lie, Pa; you know I can't tell a lie. I did cut it with my hatchet.
Wooton Sir Henry 1568-1639
An ambassador is an honest man sent to lie abroad for the good of his country.
Yeats William Butler 1865-1939
‘The Circus Animals' Desertion'
Now that my ladder's gone
I must lie down where all ladders start
In the foul rag and bone shop of the heart.