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William Hazlitt Quotes about Lying

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Lying is the strongest acknowledgement of the force of truth.

Lying is the strongest acknowledgement of the force of truth.

William Hazlitt
Lying, Force, Acknowledgement
William Hazlitt (1859). “Table talk”

He who expects from a great name in politics, in philosophy, in art, equal greatness in other things, is little versed in human nature. Our strength lies in our weakness. The learned in books are ignorant of the world. He who is ignorant of books is often well acquainted with other things; for life is of the same length in the learned and unlearned; the mind cannot be idle; if it is not taken up with one thing, it attends to another through choice or necessity; and the degree of previous capacity in one class or another is a mere lottery.

William Hazlitt
Art, Lying, Philosophy
William Hazlitt (2015). “Delphi Collected Works of William Hazlitt (Illustrated)”, p.1471, Delphi Classics

A man's reputation is not in his own keeping, but lies at the mercy of the profligacy of others. Calumny requires no proof. The throwing out [of] malicious imputations against any character leaves a stain, which no after-refutation can wipe out. To create an unfavorable impression, it is not necessary that certain things should be true, but that they have been said. The imagination is of so delicate a texture that even words wound it.

William Hazlitt
Lying, Character, Men
William Hazlitt (1837). “Characteristics: in the manner of Rochefoucault's Maxims [by W. Hazlitt].”, p.75

As hypocrisy is said to be the highest compliment to virtue, the art of lying is the strongest acknowledgment of the force of truth.

William Hazlitt
Art, Lying, Hypocrisy
William Hazlitt (2015). “Delphi Collected Works of William Hazlitt (Illustrated)”, p.1319, Delphi Classics

A man's reputation is not in his own keeping, but lies at the mercy of the profligacy of others. Calumny requires no proof.

William Hazlitt
Lying, Men, Reputation
William Hazlitt (1871). “The Round Table. A collection of Essays ... By W. H. and Leigh Hunt”, p.487

I am not, in the ordinary acceptation of the term, a good-natured man; that is, many things annoy me besides what interferes with my own ease and interest. I hate a lie; a piece of injustice wounds me to the quick, though nothing but the report of it reach me. Therefore I have made many enemies and few friends; for the public know nothing of well-wishers, and keep a wary eye on those who would reform them.

William Hazlitt
Lying, Hate, Eye
William Hazlitt (1826). “The plain speaker: opinions on books, men, and things [by W. Hazlitt].”, p.364

Our opinions are not our own, but in the power of sympathy. If a person tells us a palpable falsehood, we not only dare not contradict him, but we dare hardly disbelieve him to his face. A lie boldly uttered has the effect of truth for the instant.

William Hazlitt
Lying, Faces, Opinion
William Hazlitt (1871). “The Round Table. A collection of Essays ... By W. H. and Leigh Hunt”, p.487

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