“You lie—under a mistake,
For this is the most civil sort of lie
That can be given to a man's face. I now
Say what I think.”

— Percy Bysshe Shelley

Translation of Calderon's Magico Prodigioso, Scene i; reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)

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Percy Bysshe Shelley 246

English Romantic poet 1792–1822

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“You lie—under a mistake,For this is the most civil sort of lieThat can be given to a man's face. I nowSay what I think.”

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Percy Bysshe Shelley 246

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“You lie—under a mistake,
For this is the most civil sort of lie
That can be given to a man's face. I now
Say what I think.”