The most dangerous untruths are truths
moderately distorted. If we were all given by magic the power to read each
other's thoughts, I suppose the first effect would be to dissolve all
friendships.
Some people will not tolerate honesty in
communication. They would rather defend their dishonesty on the grounds
that it might hurt others. Therefore, having rationalized their phoniness
into nobility, they settle for superficial relationships. It’s these people who
think it permissible to tell white lies and will soon grow colour-blind. They begin with making falsehood appear like truth, and end with
making truth itself appear like falsehood.
It is impossible to calculate the moral
mischief that lying has produced in society. When a man has so far
corrupted and prostituted the chastity of his mind as to subscribe his belief
to things he does not believe, he has prepared himself for the commission of
every other crime.
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