“ We pay a person the compliment of acknowledging his superiority whenever we lie to him. ”
Samuel Butler, The Note-Books of Samuel Butler (1912). copy citation
| Author | Samuel Butler |
|---|---|
| Source | The Note-Books of Samuel Butler |
| Topic | lie compliments |
| Date | 1912 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/6173/6173-h/6173-h.htm |
Context
“There can no more be a true statement without falsehood distributed through it, than a note on a well-tuned piano that is not intentionally and deliberately put out of tune to some extent in order to have the piano in the most perfect possible tune. Any perfection of tune as regards one key can only be got at the expense of all the rest.
IX 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.
X I seem to see lies crowding and crushing at a narrow gate and working their way in along with truths into the domain of history. Nature's Double Falsehood That one great lie she told about the earth being flat when she knew it was round all the time!” source
IX 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.
X I seem to see lies crowding and crushing at a narrow gate and working their way in along with truths into the domain of history. Nature's Double Falsehood That one great lie she told about the earth being flat when she knew it was round all the time!” source
Meaning and analysis
