Quotation
...of which was as certain to come as the sun to set, kept running in his head till they confuted the idea of telling the truth by reducing it to an absurdity. Truth might be heroic, but it was not within the range of practical domestic politics.
Having settled then that he was to tell a lie, what lie should he tell? Should he say he had been robbed? He had enough imagination to know that he had not enough imagination to carry him out here. Young as he was, his instinct told him thatThe best liar is he who makes the smallest amount of lying go the longest way.
-who husbands it too carefully to waste it where it can be dispensed with. The simplest course would be to say that he had lost the watch, and was late for dinner because he had been looking for it. He had been out for a long walk--he chose the line across the fields that he had actually taken--and the weather being very hot, he had taken off his coat and waistcoat; in carrying them over his arm his watch, his money, and his knife had dropped out of them. He had got nearly home when he... Butler, Samuel
Excerpt from The Way of All Flesh · This quote is filed under Lies and Lying · Search on Google Books to find all references and sources for this quotation · Tell us if you know any facts or errors in this quote · Make a shirt with this quote on our USA or UK shop · Help your friends discover QB
These people bookmarked this quote:
-
arm815I'm male
-
Kuwait4everI'm female, taken
Search the web for Butler, Samuel
More on the author
- Find photos of this author
- Consult wikipedia for the author
- Search BBC TV and radio for shows referencing this author
This quote around the web
Powered by Google Blogs
Search the web for Butler, Samuel
- Find photos of this author
- Consult wikipedia for the author
- Search BBC TV and radio for shows referencing this author

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