Quotations about:
    treachery


Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.


ALCESTE: His social polish can’t conceal his nature;
One sees at once that he’s a treacherous creature;
No one could possibly be taken in
By those soft speeches and that sugary grin.
The whole world knows the shady means by which
The low-brow’s grown so powerful and rich,
And risen to a rank so bright and high
That virtue can but blush, and merit sigh.

 
[Au travers de son masque on voit à plein le traître;
Partout il est connu pour tout ce qu’il peut être ;
Et ses roulements d’yeux, et son ton radouci
N’imposent qu’à des gens qui ne sont point d’ici.
On sait que ce pied plat, digne qu’on le confonde,
Par de sales emplois s’est poussé dans le monde,
Et que, par eux son sort de splendeur revêtu
Fait gronder le mérite et rougir la vertu.]

Molière (1622-1673) French playwright, actor [stage name for Jean-Baptiste Poquelin]
Le Misanthrope, Act 1, sc. 1 (1666) [tr. Wilbur (1954)]
    (Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

You may plainly perceive the traitor through his mask; he is well known everywhere in his true colours; his rolling eyes and his honeyed tones impose only on those who do not know him. People are aware that this low-bred fellow, who deserves to be pilloried, has, by the dirtiest jobs, made his way in the world; and that the splendid position he has acquired makes merit repine and virtue blush.
[tr. Van Laun (1878)]

The treacherous rascal is plainly seen through his mask, he is everywhere known for what he is; his rolling eyes and soft tones impose only upon strangers. People know that this wretched fellow, who ought to be hanged, has pushed his way in the world by dirty jobs, and that the splendid condition he finds himself in through them makes merit grumble and virtue blush.
[tr. Mathew (1890)]

Behind his mask the knave is seen, wherever he is known, for what he is; the rolling of his eye, his bated voice, impose on none but those who do not live here. All others know that the sneaking fellow, fit only to be shunned, has by the foulest actions foisted himself upon society, where his career, by their connivance clothed in splendor, makes merit groan and virtue blush.
[tr. Wormeley (1894)]

You can clearly see the traitor through his mask. He is known everywhere for what he is: his rolling eyes and his honeyed tones only impose on those people who do not know him. They know that this low-bred cur, who deserves to be exposed, has, by the dirtiest means, pushed himself on in the world; and the splendid position he has acquired by these means makes merit repine and virtue blush.
[tr. Waller (1903)]

The traitor's face shows plainly through his mask,
And everywhere he's known for what he is;
His up-turned eyes, his honeyed canting voice,
Impose on none but strangers. All men know
That this confounded, low-bred, sneaking scamp
Has made his way by doing dirty jobs,
And that the splendid fortune these have brought him
Turns merit bitter and makes virtue blush.
[tr. Page (1913)]

Behind his mask the scoundrel's visible.
Here everybody knows his character;
And his protesting eyes, his honeyed tongue,
Impose on no one but a casual stranger.
And that contemptible boor notoriously
Has made his way in the world by dirty means,
So that his present splendid situation
Makes merit grumble and makes virtue blush.
[tr. Bishop (1957)]

Right through his mask men see the traitor's face,
And everywhere give him his proper place;
His wheedling eyes, his soft and cozening tone,
Fool only those to whom he is not known.
That this knave rose, where he deserved to fall,
By shameful methods, is well known to all,
And that his state, which thanks to these is lush,
Makes merit murmur and makes virtue blush.
[tr. Frame (1967)]

 
Added on 9-Jan-25 | Last updated 9-Jan-25
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , , , , , , , , ,
More quotes by Moliere

ALCESTE: Finding on every hand base flattery,
Injustice, fraud, self-interest, treachery …
Ah, it’s too much; mankind has grown so base,
I mean to break with the whole human race.

[Je ne trouve partout que lâche flatterie,
Qu’injustice, intérêt, trahison, fourberie;
Je n’y puis plus tenir, j’enrage, et mon dessein
Est de rompre en visière à tout le genre humain.]

Molière (1622-1673) French playwright, actor [stage name for Jean-Baptiste Poquelin]
Le Misanthrope, Act 1, sc. 1 (1666) [tr. Wilbur (1954)]
    (Source)

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

Everywhere I find nothing but base flattery, in justice, self-interest, deceit, roguery. I cannot bear it any longer; I am furious; and my intention is to break with all mankind.
[tr. Van Laun (1878)]

I find nothing anywhere but base flattery, injustice, interest, treachery, and knavery. I can contain myself no longer; I am. in a rage, and my purpose is to break off all intercourse with all mankind.
[tr. Mathew (1890)]

Everywhere I find base flattery, injustice, self-interest, treachery, deceit. I cannot bear it any longer; I am enraged; and my intention is to tell the truth, henceforth, to all the human race.
[tr. Wormeley (1894)]

Nothing is to be seen anywhere but base flattery, injustice, self-interest, deceit, roguery. I cannot bear it any longer: I am furious: and it is my intention to break a lance with all mankind.
[tr. Waller (1903)]

There's nowhere aught but dastard flattery,
Injustice, treachery, selfishness, deceit;
I can't endure it, I go mad -- and mean
Squarely to break with all the human race.
[tr. Page (1913)]

All I see everywhere is flattery,
Injustice, treason, selfishness, deceit.
It makes me furious; I cannot stand it;
I will defy the entire human race.
[tr. Bishop (1957)]

Cowardly flattery is all I see,
Injustice, selfishness, fraud, treachery;
I've had my fill; it makes me mad; I plan
To clash head-on with the whole race of man.
[tr. Frame (1967)]

 
Added on 26-Nov-24 | Last updated 26-Nov-24
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , , , , , , , , ,
More quotes by Moliere

Dark stratagems, and treachery, to relieve
The coward’s wants, were by mankind devis’d.

[δόλοι δὲ καὶ σκοτεινὰ μηχανήματα
χρείας ἀνάνδρου φάρμαχ᾽ εὕρηται βροτοῖς.]

Euripides (485?-406? BC) Greek tragic dramatist
Bellerophon [Βελλεροφῶν], frag. 288 (TGF) (c. 430 BC) [tr. Wodhull (1809)]
    (Source)

Nauck frag. 290, Barnes frag. 42, Musgrave frag. 8. (Source (Greek)). Alternate translations:

Tricks and dark schemes are mankind's invention as
cowardly remedies against need.
[tr. Collard, Hargreaves, Cropp (1995)]

Trickery and devious devices are man’s unmanly means to meet his needs.
[tr. Stevens (2012)]

 
Added on 24-Oct-23 | Last updated 24-Oct-23
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , , , ,
More quotes by Euripides

Hear now the treachery of the Greeks and from one learn the wickedness of all.

[Accipe nunc Danaum insidias, et crimine ab uno
Disce omnes.]

Virgil the Poet
Virgil (70-19 BC) Roman poet [b. Publius Vergilius Maro; also Vergil]
The Aeneid [Ænē̆is], Book 2, l. 65ff (2.65-66) [Aeneas] (29-19 BC) [tr. Fairclough (1916)]
    (Source)

Regarding Sinon, who posed as a Greek refugee and persuaded the Trojans that the Trojan Horse was harmless. (Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

Receive Greeks treacheries now; and from one crime
Learn all.
[tr. Ogilby (1649)]

Now hear how well the Greeks their wiles disguis'd;
Behold a nation in a man compris'd.
[tr. Dryden (1697)]

Now learn the treachery of the Greeks, and from one crime take a specimen of the whole nation.
[tr. Davidson/Buckley (1854), "Literally, 'from one of their tricks learn what they all are.'"]

Now listen while my tongue declares
The tale you ask of Danaan snares,
And gather from a single charge
Their catalogue of crimes at large.
[tr. Conington (1866)]

Now
Hear what the treachery of the Grecians was,
And from one crime learn all.
[tr. Cranch (1872), l. 89ff]

Know now the treachery of the Grecians, and from a single crime learn all.
[tr. Mackail (1885)]

Lo now, behold the Danaan guile, and from one wrong they wrought
Learn ye what all are like to be.
[tr. Morris (1900)]

Mark now the Danaans' cunning; from one wrong
Learn all.
[tr. Taylor (1907), st. 10, ll. 82-83]

Hear now what Greek deception is, and learn
from one dark wickedness the whole.
[tr. Williams (1910)]

Listen, and learn Greek trickiness; learn all
Their crimes from one.
[tr. Humphries (1951)]

Now hear how the Greeks tricked us; learn from one case of their wickedness
What every Greek is like.
[tr. Day Lewis (1952)]

Now listen to the treachery of the Danaans
and learn from one the wickedness of all.
[tr. Mandelbaum (1971), ll. 92-93]

Be instructed now
In Greek deceptive arts: one barefaced deed
Can tell you of them all.
[tr. Fitzgerald (1981), l.91ff]

Listen now to this story of Greek treachery, and from this one indictment, learn the ways of a whole people.
[tr. West (1990)]

Listen now to Greek treachery, and learn of all their crimes
from just this one.
[tr. Kline (2002)]

Hear now
The treachery of the Greeks, and from one offense
Learn all their evil.
[tr. Lombardo (2005)]

Now, hear the treachery of the Greeks and learn
from a single crime the nature of the beast.
[tr. Fagles (2006)]

Now hear how the Greeks baited their trap, and from one act of treachery, understand them all!
[tr. Bartsch (2021)]

 
Added on 9-Mar-22 | Last updated 21-Jun-23
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , ,
More quotes by Virgil

Or fraud lurks somewhere to destroy:
Mistrust, mistrust it, men of Troy!
Whate’er it be, a Greek I fear,
Though presents in his hand he bear.

[Aliquis latet error; equo ne credite, Teucri.
Quidquid id est, timeo Danaos et dona ferentes.]

Virgil the Poet
Virgil (70-19 BC) Roman poet [b. Publius Vergilius Maro; also Vergil]
The Aeneid [Ænē̆is], Book 2, l. 48ff (2.48-49) [Laocoön] (29-19 BC) [tr. Conington (1866)]
    (Source)

Warning of the Trojan Horse; the origin of the phrase, "Beware Greeks bearing gifts." (Source (Latin)). Alternate translations:

Some deceit lurks, Dardans trust not this Horse, What ere it is, Greeks bringing gifts I feare. [tr. Ogilby (1649)]
Somewhat is sure designed, by fraud or force;
Trust not their presents, nor admit the horse.
[tr. Dryden (1697)]

Some mischievous design lurks beneath it. Trojans, put no faith in this horse. Whatever it be, I dread the Greeks, even when they bring gifts.
[tr. Davidson/Buckley (1854)]

     Some other guile
Is lurking. Trojans, do not trust this horse.
Whatever it may be, I fear the Greeks,
Even when they bring us gifts.
[tr. Cranch (1872)]

Some delusion lurks there: Trust not the horse, O Trojans. Be it what it may, I fear the Grecians even when they offer gifts.
[tr. Mackail (1885)]

Some guile at least therein abides: Teucrians, trust not the horse!
Whatso it is, the Danaan folk, yea gift-bearing I fear.
[tr. Morris (1900)]

     Some mischief lies behind.
Trust not the horse, ye Teucrians. Whatso'er
This means, I fear the Greeks, for all the gifts they bear.
[tr. Taylor (1907), st. 7; l. 61ff]

     'T is a snare.
Trust not this horse, O Troy, whate'er it bode!
I fear the Greeks, though gift on gift they bear.
[tr. Williams (1910)]

Some trickery lurks therein. Trust not the horse, ye Trojans. Whatever it be, I fear the Greeks, even when bringing gifts.
[tr. Fairclough (1916)]

     Tricky business
Is hiding in it. Do not trust it, Trojans,
Do not believe this horse. Whatever it may be,
I fear the Greeks, even when bringing presents.
[tr. Humphries (1951)]

     Sure, some trick
Is there. No, you must never feel safe with the horse, Trojans.
Whatever it is, I distrust the Greeks, even when they are generous.
[tr. Day Lewis (1952)]

Some trickery is here. Trojans, do not
trust in the horse. Whatever it may be,
I fear the Greeks, even when they bring gifts.
[tr. Mandelbaum (1971), l. 68ff]

     Some crookedness
Is in this thing. Have no faith in the horse!
Whatever it is, even when Greeks bring gifts
I fear them, gifts and all.
[tr. Fitzgerald (1981), l. 67ff]

There is some other trick we cannot see. Do not trust the horse, Trojans. Whatever it is, I am afraid of Greeks, particularly when they bring gifts.
[tr. West (1990)]

Or it hides some other trick: Trojans, don’t trust this horse.
Whatever it is, I’m afraid of Greeks even those bearing gifts.
[tr. Kline (2002)]

Some other evil lurks inside. Do not trust the Horse, Trojans! Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks, even when they bring gifts.
[tr. Lombardo (2005)]

Some other deception’s lurking deep inside it.
Trojans, never trust that horse. Whatever it is,
I fear the Greeks, especially bearing gifts.
[tr. Fagles (2006), l. 60ff]

Some trick lurks here. Citizens, don't trust the horse; fear Greeks, even bringing offerings.
[tr. Bartsch (2021)]

 
Added on 2-Mar-22 | Last updated 21-Jun-23
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , , ,
More quotes by Virgil

It is just as foolish to complain that people are selfish and treacherous as it is to complain that the magnetic field does not increase unless the electric field has a curl. Both are laws of nature.

John von Neumann (1903-1957) Hungarian-American mathematician, physicist, inventor, polymath [János "Johann" Lajos Neumann]
(Attributed)
    (Source)

More in Eugene Wigner, "John von Neumann (1903-1957)," Yearbook of the American Philosophical Society (1958); later collected in Wigner's Symmetries and Reflections.
 
Added on 1-Jun-21 | Last updated 1-Jun-21
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , , ,
More quotes by Von Neumann, John

Treachery and violence are spears pointed at both ends — they wound those who resort to them worse than their enemies.

Emily Brontë (1818-1848) British novelist, poet [pseud. Ellis Bell]
Wuthering Heights, ch. 17 [Isabella Linton] (1847)
    (Source)
 
Added on 5-Jan-17 | Last updated 5-Jan-17
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , , , ,
More quotes by Bronte, Emily

ANTONY: Through this the well-belovèd Brutus stabbed,
And, as he plucked his cursèd steel away,
Mark how the blood of Caesar followed it,
As rushing out of doors to be resolved
If Brutus so unkindly knocked or no;
For Brutus, as you know, was Caesar’s angel.
Judge, O you gods, how dearly Caesar loved him!
This was the most unkindest cut of all.

Shakespeare
William Shakespeare (1564-1616) English dramatist and poet
Julius Caesar, Act 3, sc. 2, l. 188ff (3.2.188-195) (1599)
    (Source)
 
Added on 16-May-13 | Last updated 29-Jan-24
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , ,
More quotes by Shakespeare, William

The treacherous are ever distrustful.

J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) English writer, fabulist, philologist, academic [John Ronald Reuel Tolkien]
The Lord of the Rings, Vol. 2: The Two Towers, Book 3, ch. 10 “The Voice of Saruman” [Gandalf] (1954)
    (Source)
 
Added on 19-Jul-11 | Last updated 16-Feb-23
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , ,
More quotes by Tolkien, J.R.R.

We betray more often through weakness than through deliberate intention to betray.

[L’on fait plus souvent des trahisons par foiblesse que par un dessein formé de trahir.]

François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) French epigrammatist, memoirist, noble
Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶120 (1665-1678) [tr. Tancock (1959)]
    (Source)

Present in the 1st edition (1665). The manuscript has a variant form:

La foiblesse fait commettre plus de trahisons que le véritable dessein de trahir.

[Weakness makes one commit more betrayals than the real intention to betray.]

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

Weakness occasions the committing of more treacherous actions, than the real design of being treacherous.
[tr. Davies (1669), ¶178]

Treachery is oftner the Effect of Weakness, than of a fixed Design.
[tr. Stanhope (1694), ¶121]

Treachery is oftner the Effect of Weakness than of a form'd Design.
[tr. Stanhope (1706), ¶121]

Men are oftener treacherous through weakness than design.
[pub. Donaldson (1783), ¶425; ed. Lepoittevin-Lacroix (1797), ¶117]

Men are treacherous oftener through weakness than design.
[ed. Carvill (1835), ¶402]

Men are more often guilty of treachery from weakness of character than from any settled design to betray.
[ed. Gowens (1851), ¶123]

We often act treacherously more from weakness than from a fixed motive.
[tr. Bund/Friswell (1871), ¶120]

Deception is more often the fruit of weakness than of an intent to deceive.
[tr. Heard (1917), ¶120]

Treachery is the result of weakness more often than of a deliberate intention to betray.
[tr. Stevens (1939), ¶120]

Treason is more often the result of weakness than of a deliberate plan to betray.
[tr. FitzGibbon (1957), ¶120]

We are oftener treacherous through weakness than through calculation.
[tr. Kronenberger (1959), ¶120]

We betray more often from weakness than out of a resolute intention to betray.
[tr. Whichello (2016) ¶120]

 
Added on 1-Feb-04 | Last updated 24-Jan-25
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , , ,
More quotes by La Rochefoucauld, Francois

Tricks and Treachery are the practice of Fools that have not Wit enough to be Honest.

[Les finesses et les trahisons ne viennent que de manque d’habileté.]

François VI, duc de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) French epigrammatist, memoirist, noble
Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims], ¶126 (1665-1678) [tr. Stanhope (1694), ¶127]
    (Source)

Present in the 1st (1665) edition. A 1665 variant reads:

Si on étoit toujours assez habile, on ne ferait jamais de finesses ni de trahisons.
 
[If one were sufficiently able, one would never do tricks or treasons]

(Source (French)). Alternate translations:

Cunning and treachery proceed from want of capacity.
[pub. Donaldson (1783), ¶80; ed. Lepoittevin-Lacroix (1797), ¶122]

Cunning and treachery proceed often from want of capacity.
[ed. Carvill (1835), ¶68]

Treacheries and acts of artifice only originate in the want of ability.
[ed. Gowens (1851), ¶129]

Cunning and treachery are the offspring of incapacity.
[tr. Bund/Friswell (1871), ¶126]

Trickery and treachery are a mark of stupidity.
[tr. Heard (1917), ¶126]

Guile and treachery are merely the result of want of talent.
[tr. Stevens (1939), ¶126]

Cunning and treachery come solely from a lack of skill.
[tr. FitzGibbon (1957), ¶126]

Tricks and treachery are merely proof of lack of skill.
[tr. Kronenberger (1959), ¶126]

Intrigues and treasons simply come from lack of adroitness.
[tr. Tancock (1959), ¶126]

Cunning and treachery are given rise to by mere incompetence.
[tr. Whichello (2016)]

 
Added on 1-Feb-04 | Last updated 17-Feb-25
Link to this post | No comments
Topics: , , , , , , , ,
More quotes by La Rochefoucauld, Francois