Quotes about Deception

Why yes, I can," said Midas Mulligan, when he was asked whether he could name a person more evil than the man with a heart closed to pity. "The man who uses another's pity for him as a weapon.

He knew that the conference was a trap; he knew also that he was walking into it with nothing for any trappers to gain.

he knew that the words they were eager to absorb and believe were the chains slipping in to hold them

Illusions mistaken for truth are the pavement under our feet. They are what we call civilization.

Lies are infinite in number, and the truth so small and singular.

You can fool history sometimes, but you can't fool the memory of your intimates.

We can "pose" and "put on" for a stranger or an associate. We can pretend. And for a while we can get by with it—at least in public. We might even deceive ourselves. Yet I believe that most of us know the truth of what we really are inside; and I think many of those we live with and work with do as well.

A lie is any communication with intent to deceive.

Integrity also means avoiding any communication that is deceptive, full of guile, or beneath the dignity of people. "A lie is any communication with intent to deceive," according to one definition of the word. Whether we communicate with words or behavior, if we have integrity, our intent cannot be to deceive.

Love believes all things and yet is never deceived.

The real history of consciousness starts with one's first lie.

We have been told the lie ever since we can remember: human beings are basically nice and good. Everyone is born equal and innocent and self-sufficient. The world is a pleasant, harmless place. We are born free. If we are in chains now, it is someone's fault, and we can correct it with just a little more intelligence or effort or time.