Untruths
Ok judgeing by hits and comments you liked lying and didn't like anagrams.
So I'll give the people what they want, more untruths.
Below is "The Decay of the Art of Lying" by Mark Twain. This was submitted for at a meeting of the Historical and Antiquarian Club of Hartford And offered for the $30 prize[*]
First, just some fav quotes if you don't want to read the whole thing.
"Everyone lies...Even in sermons--but that is a platitude." (yesterdays post got me thinking on this subject. tl.)
"An awkward, unscientific lie is often as ineffectual as the truth."
"Note that venerable proverb: Children and fools always speak the truth. The deduction is plain--adults and wise persons never speak it."
"An injurious lie is an uncommendable thing; and so, also, and in the same degree, is an injurious truth--a fact that is recognized by the lawof libel." (Bear in mind lies in blogs are libel only if they are defemation. Like saying, "You know how to tell Danny is lying... his lips are moving." That's libel, unless it is spoken in which case they become slander. tl.)
Second, the whole link on Project Guttenburg.
A short audio version - Only 1st two paragraphs.
The entire text - It's only 22oo words. Maybe 5 pages of text.
[*] Twain not take the prize.
Given Twain advice on lying. What advise do you have? And don't bother with "Just don't." You clearly didn't read Twain.
posted by Trey Laminack @ 9:40 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
I'd be lying if I told you I understood Mr. Twain's commentary. Pretty deep satire.
Brilliant. And I agree with every word except one sentence: "One ought always to lie when one can do good by it." The reason I disagree is because of the inclusion of "always". It presupposes a knowledge of the outcome when our own fallible minds could not possibly comprehend all of the potential consequences of our words. We could hope to do good by a lie, but to put forth maxims that include "always" is too presumptuous. I even tried to think of a circumstance where "Always tell the truth" could work. At first the only answer was "in court", but that was quickly tossed when I thought of extenuating circumstances to that rule (but don't tell the judge I said so). Besides, truths and lies don't even exist in the same headspace. When you lie, there is an element of danger, the fear that "the truth will out." When telling the truth, your only focus is on the possible repurcussions of what you've just said. A whole lot more thought has to go in before a lie is told.
And most of the time, I think the only difference between a lie and a truth is our own point of view on the subject. In my opinion, on a daily basis, the majority of the lies uttered in our world don't even concern universal truths. So, as most things do, it comes down to our own discretion.
That's why I love Twain: in a world where people are constantly trying to paint choices as black and white, he unveils the gray area. Which is, ironically, where the truth actually lies.
Post a Comment
<< Home