“At the outset the solemn asseverations of monarchs and leading statesmen in each nation that they did not want war must be placed on a par with the declarations of men who pour paraffin about a house knowing they are continually striking matches and yet assert they do not want a conflagration. This form of self-deception, which involved the deception of others, is fundamentally dishonest.”

— Arthur Ponsonby

Falsehood in Wartime (1928), Introduction

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

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British Liberal and later Labour politician and pacifist 1871–1946

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