WIST Quotations

Bierce, Ambrose -- “Imagination,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)

Dave — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 20:34:45 +0000

IMAGINATION, n. A warehouse of facts, with poet and liar in joint ownership.

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) American writer and journalist
“Imagination,” The Cynic’s Word Book (1906)
(Source)

Included in The Devil's Dictionary (1911). Originally published in the "Devil's Dictionary" column in the San Francisco Wasp (1885-08-29).

Mencken, H. L. -- A Little Book in C Major, ch. 2, § 7 (1916)

Dave — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 14:35:33 +0000

The surest way to get a reputation as a liar is to pretend to be very good. The next surest way is to pretend to be very wicked.

H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) American writer and journalist [Henry Lewis Mencken]
A Little Book in C Major, ch. 2, § 7 (1916)
(Source)

Variants:

LlAR. (a) One who pretends to be very good; (b) one who pretends to be very bad.
[A Book of Burlesques, "The Jazz Webster" (1924)]

Liar — (a) One who pretends to be very good; (b) one who pretends to be very bad.
[Chrestomathy, ch. 30 "Sententiae" (1949)]

Jerome, Jerome K. -- Idler Magazine, “The Idler’s Club” column (1892-02)

Dave — Mon, 22 Jan 2024 18:27:04 +0000

Yes, it is always the best policy to speak the truth — unless, of course, you are an exceptionally good liar.

Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927) English writer, humorist [Jerome Klapka Jerome]
Idler Magazine, “The Idler’s Club” column (1892-02)
(Source)

Butler, Octavia -- Parable of the Talents, ch. 11, epigraph (1998)

Dave — Thu, 26 Aug 2021 23:45:33 +0000

Choose your leaders
     with wisdom and forethought.
To be led by a coward
     is to be controlled
     by all that the coward fears.
To be led by a fool
     is to be led
     by the opportunists
     who control the fool.
To be led by a thief
     is to offer up
     your most precious treasures
     to be stolen.
To be led by a liar
     is to ask
     to be lied to.
To be led by a tyrant
     is to sell yourself
     and those you love
     into slavery.

Octavia Butler (1947-2006) American writer
Parable of the Talents, ch. 11, epigraph (1998)
(Source)

The epigraph is cited to the in-fiction Earthseed: The Books of the Living.

Homer -- The Iliad [Ἰλιάς], Book 9, l. 312ff (9.312-313) [Achilles to Odysseus] (c. 750 BC) [tr. Pope (1715-20)]

Dave — Wed, 04 Nov 2020 20:11:25 +0000

Who dares think one thing, and another tell,
My heart detests him as the gates of hell.

[Ἐχθρὸς γάρ μοι κεῖνος ὁμῶς Ἀΐδαο πύλῃσιν
ὅς χ’ ἕτερον μὲν κεύθῃ ἐνὶ φρεσίν, ἄλλο δὲ εἴπῃ.]

Homer (fl. 7th-8th C. BC) Greek author
The Iliad [Ἰλιάς], Book 9, l. 312ff (9.312-313) [Achilles to Odysseus] (c. 750 BC) [tr. Pope (1715-20)]
(Source)

Original Greek. Alt. trans.:

For, like hell mouth I loath, Who holds not in his words and thoughts one indistinguish’d troth. [tr. Chapman (1611), ll. 300-01]

For I abhor the man, not more the gates Of hell itself, whose words belie his heart. [tr. Cowper (1791), ll. 385-86]

Hateful to me as the gates of Hades is he who conceals one thing in his mind and utters another. [tr. Buckley (1860)]

Him as the gates of hell my soul abhors,
Whose outward words his inmost thoughts conceal.
[tr. Derby (1864), ll. 373-74]

For hateful to me even as the gates of hell is he that hideth one thing in his heart and uttereth another. [tr. Leaf/Lang/Myers (1891)]

Him do I hate even as the gates of hell who says one thing while he hides another in his heart.
[tr. Butler (1898)]

I hate
as I hate Hell's own gate that man who hides
one thought within him while he speaks another.
[tr. Fitzgerald (1974), l. 381ff]

I hate that man like the very Gates of Death
who says one thing but hides another in his heart.
[tr. Fagles (1990), ll. 378-79]

Hitler, Adolph -- Mein Kampf [My Struggle], Vol. 1, ch. 10 (1925)

Dave — Tue, 13 Oct 2020 22:39:12 +0000

It would never come into their [the masses’] heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying.

Adolph Hitler (1889-1945) German leader
Mein Kampf [My Struggle], Vol. 1, ch. 10 (1925)

Chesterfield (Lord) -- Letter to his son, #225 (17 May 1750)

Dave — Wed, 26 Oct 2016 04:01:40 +0000

The heart never grows better by age; I fear rather worse; always harder. A young liar will be an old one; and a young knave will only be a greater knave as he grows older.

Lord Chesterfield (1694-1773) English statesman, wit [Philip Dormer Stanhope]
Letter to his son, #225 (17 May 1750)
(Source)

Hubbard, Elbert -- The Roycroft Dictionary and Book of Epigrams (1923)

Dave — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 13:08:37 +0000

Every life is its own excuse for being, and to deny or refute the untrue things that are said of you is an error in judgment. All wrong recoils upon the doer, and the man who makes wrong statements about others is himself to be pitied, not the man he vilifies. It is better to be lied about than to lie. At the last no one can harm us but ourselves.

Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915) American writer, businessman, philosopher
The Roycroft Dictionary and Book of Epigrams (1923)
(Source)

Butler, Samuel -- The Way of All Flesh, ch. 39 (1903)

Dave — Wed, 23 Sep 2015 13:16:56 +0000

The best liar is he who makes the smallest amount of lying go the longest way.

Samuel Butler (1835-1902) English novelist, satirist, scholar
The Way of All Flesh, ch. 39 (1903)

Montaigne, Michel de -- Essays, Book 1, ch. 9 (1.9), “Of Liars [Des Menteurs]” (1572) [tr. Ives (1925)]

Dave — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:16:27 +0000

If falsehood, like truth, had but one face, we should be better off, for we should take for certain the contrary of what the liar said. But the opposite of truth has a hundred thousand shapes and a limitless field.

[Si comme la verité, le mensonge n’avoit qu’un visage, nous serions en meilleurs termes : car nous prendrions pour certain l’opposé de ce que diroit le menteur. Mais le revers de la verité a cent mille figures, et un champ indefiny.]

Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592) French essayist
Essays, Book 1, ch. 9 (1.9), “Of Liars [Des Menteurs]” (1572) [tr. Ives (1925)]
(Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

If a lie had no more faces but one, as truth hath; we should be in farre better termes then we are: For, whatsoever a lier should say, we would take it in a contrarie sense. But the opposite of truth hath many-many shapes, and an undefinite field.
[tr. Florio (1603)]

If Falshood had, like Truth, but one Face only, we should be upon better Terms; for we should then take the contrary to what the Lyer says for certain Truth; but the Reverse of Truth has a hundred thousand Figures, and a Field indefinite without Bound or Limit.
[tr. Cotton (1686)]

If Falsehood had, like Truth, only one face, we should be upon better terms; for we should then take the contrary of what the liar should say for certain truth; but the reverse of truth has a hundred thousand forms, and a field without limits.
[tr. Friswell (1868)]

If falsehood had, like truth, but one face only, we should be upon better terms; for we should then take for certain the contrary to what the liar says: but the reverse of truth has a hundred thousand forms, and a field indefinite, without bound or limit.
[tr. Cotton/Hazlitt (1877)]

If falsehood, like truth, had only one face, we would be in better shape. For we would take as certain the opposite of what the liar said. But the reverse of truth has a hundred thousand shapes and a limitless field.
[tr. Frame (1943)]

If a lie, like truth, had only one face we could be on better terms, for certainty would be the reverse of what the liar said. But the reverse side of truth has a hundred thousand shapes and no defined limits.
[tr. Screech (1987)]

If, like truth, falsehood had only one face, we would be better off. We could trust that the opposite of whatever a liar says is true. But the flip side of the truth is endless and has a hundred thousand faces.
[tr. HyperEssays (2023)]

Rogers, Will -- Column (1923-04-08), “Weekly Article: How To Stop the Bootleggin'” [No. 17]

Dave — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 09:41:57 +0000

The income tax has made more liars out of the American people than golf has. Even when you make one out on the level, you don’t know when it’s through if you are a crook or a martyr.

Will Rogers (1879-1935) American humorist
Column (1923-04-08), “Weekly Article: How To Stop the Bootleggin'” [No. 17]
(Source)

Collected in The Illiterate Digest, "Helping the Girls With Their Income Taxes" (1924).

For more discussion of this quote's origins and variants, see Quote Origin: The Income Tax Has Made More Liars Out of the American People Than Golf Has – Quote Investigator®.

Shakespeare, William -- Henry IV, Part 1, Act 5, sc. 4, l. 148 (5.4.148) (1597)

Dave — Wed, 12 May 2004 19:37:42 +0000

FALSTAFF: Lord, Lord, how this world is given to lying!

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Henry IV, Part 1, Act 5, sc. 4, l. 148 (5.4.148) (1597)
(Source)

Brilliant, Ashleigh -- Pot-Shots

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

Please don’t lie to me, unless you’re absolutely sure I’ll never find out the truth.

Ashleigh Brilliant (b. 1933) Anglo-American epigramist, aphorist, cartoonist
Pot-Shots

Boorman, John -- Excalibur (1981) [with Rospo Pallenburg]

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

MERLIN: When a man lies, he murders some part of the world.

John Boorman (b. 1933) English film director, writer
Excalibur (1981) [with Rospo Pallenburg]