Saturday, October 12, 2024
Liars
Proverb quoted by Jerome, Letters 6.1 (Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum, vol. 54, p. 24; tr. Charles Christopher Mierow):
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Liars achieve that they are not believed even when they tell the truth.Isidor Hilberg ad loc. cited "Aristotles apud Diog. Laert. V 1, 11" (sic, should be "V 1, 17"; tr. R.D. Hicks):
mendaces faciunt ut nec vera dicentibus credatur.
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."See also Cicero, On Divination 2.71.146 (William Armistead Falconer):
ἐρωτηθεὶς τί περιγίνεται κέρδος τοῖς ψευδομένοις, "ὅταν," ἔφη, "λέγωσιν ἀληθῆ, μὴ πιστεύεσθαι."
As a rule we do not believe a liar even when he tells the truth.Arthur Stanley Pease ad loc.:
cum mendaci homini ne verum quidem dicenti credere soleamus.