Saturday, October 12, 2024

 

Liars

Proverb quoted by Jerome, Letters 6.1 (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum, vol. 54, p. 24; tr. Charles Christopher Mierow):
Liars achieve that they are not believed even when they tell the truth.

mendaces faciunt ut nec vera dicentibus credatur.
Isidor Hilberg ad loc. cited "Aristotles apud Diog. Laert. V 1, 11" (sic, should be "V 1, 17"; tr. R.D. Hicks):
To the question, "What do people gain by telling lies?" his answer was, "Just this, that when they speak the truth they are not believed."

ἐρωτηθεὶς τί περιγίνεται κέρδος τοῖς ψευδομένοις, "ὅταν," ἔφη, "λέγωσιν ἀληθῆ, μὴ πιστεύεσθαι."
See also Cicero, On Divination 2.71.146 (William Armistead Falconer):
As a rule we do not believe a liar even when he tells the truth.

cum mendaci homini ne verum quidem dicenti credere soleamus.
Arthur Stanley Pease ad loc.:



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