Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) German philosopher, poet, composer, cultural critic, and classical philologist
Source: Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None
“Liars — especially liars in power — often conflate their interest with the public interest. (What’s good for General Motors is good for the United States.) Or they consider their lies sanctified by the essential goodness they presume to embody, like terrorists who believe that murder is sanctified by the godliness of their aspirations.”
"Lies and consequences." in The American Prospect (19 May 2002) http://prospect.org/cs/articles?article=lies_and_consequences&gId=6282 <br class="br">Context: To rationalize their lies, people — and the governments, churches, or terrorist cells they compose — are apt to regard their private interests and desires as just. Clinton may have lied to preserve his power while telling himself that he was lying to protect “the people” who benefited from his presidency. Liars — especially liars in power — often conflate their interest with the public interest. (What’s good for General Motors is good for the United States.) Or they consider their lies sanctified by the essential goodness they presume to embody, like terrorists who believe that murder is sanctified by the godliness of their aspirations. Sanctimony probably engenders at least as much lying as cynicism. We can’t condemn lying categorically, but we should categorically suspect it.
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American lawyer 1949Related quotes
“A good liar must have a good memory. Kissinger is a stupendous liar with a remarkable memory.”
Christopher Hitchens (1949–2011) British American author and journalist
[The Trial of Henry Kissinger, 2002, 1859846319, 46240330, [E840.8.K58 H58 2001]]
2000s, 2002
Tim Allen (1953) American actor, voiceover artist and comedian
As quoted in Land Your Dream Job : High-Performance Techniques to Get Noticed, Get Hired, and Get Ahead (2007) by John Middleton, Ken Langdon, and Nikki Cartwright
Philip Pullman book Northern Lights
Source: His Dark Materials, The Golden Compass (1995), Ch. 15 : The Dæmon Cages
Context: Being a practiced liar doesn't mean you have a powerful imagination. Many good liars have no imagination at all; it's that which gives their lies such wide-eyed conviction.
Kenneth Tynan (1927–1980) English theatre critic and writer
Sallust, Bellum Catilinae, X, 5. This particular translation of the original Latin is from the essay "On Liberty" by Abraham Cowley: "Sallust, therefore, who was well acquainted with them both and with many such-like gentlemen of his time, says, 'That it is the nature of ambition' (Ambitio multos mortales falsos fieri coegit, etc.) 'to make men liars and cheaters; to hide the truth in their breasts, and show, like jugglers, another thing in their mouths; to cut all friendships and enmities to the measure of their own interest, and to make a good countenance without the help of good will.'" http://ibiblio.org/pub/docs/books/gutenberg/etext02/cowes10.txt The Wikiquote page for Sallust has the quote and a different translation. <br class="br">Misattributed
“We Indians really should be better liars, considering how often we've been lied to.”
Sherman Alexie book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Source: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
“There is no such thing as a good writer and a bad liar.”
Amy Bloom (1953) Fiction writer, screenwriter, social worker, psychotherapist
Source: A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You
“Liars ought to have good memories.”
Algernon Sidney (1623–1683) British politician and political theorist
Source: Discourses Concerning Government (1689), Ch. 2, Sect. 15; comparable to: "He who has not a good memory should never take upon him the trade of lying", Michel de Montaigne, Book i. chap. ix. "Of Liars".
“A good End cannot sanctifie evil Means; nor must we ever do Evil, that Good may come of it.”
William Penn (1644–1718) English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, early Quaker and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania
537-539
Fruits of Solitude (1682), Part I
Context: A good End cannot sanctifie evil Means; nor must we ever do Evil, that Good may come of it. Some Folks think they may Scold, Rail, Hate, Rob and Kill too; so it be but for God's sake. But nothing in us unlike him, can please him.