"Lying has a kind of respect and reverence with it. We pay a person the compliment of acknowledging his superiority whenever we lie to him"
- Samuel Butler
About this Quote
This quote by Samuel Butler recommends that lying can be viewed as a sign of regard. By lying to someone, we are acknowledging their superiority and revealing them that we value their opinion. This might be viewed as a type of flattery, as we are indicating that they are so essential that we feel the requirement to lie to them. It might also be viewed as a method of securing someone from the truth, as we might not want to injure their feelings or trigger them distress. Eventually, this quote suggests that lying can be viewed as a sign of regard, as we are revealing that we value the individual enough to lie to them.
"The law condemns and punishes only actions within certain definite and narrow limits; it thereby justifies, in a way, all similar actions that lie outside those limits"