Curtis Dahlgren
On the faux outrage, which is itself a lie (many proverbs)
By Curtis Dahlgren
"Better to speak truth rudely, than lie covertly." – Herbert (1640)
"Christ Himself . . scruples not to name the dunghill." – Milton (1642)
"Truth cannot be buried." – Swiss proverb
"At first the throne is set up for the liar, but at last his [or her] lies shall find him [/her] out." – Ahikar (550 BC)
DON'T YOU JUST HATE IT when people miss the point? When you call someone crazy or a "racist," and he's not, you aren't just imputing motives judgmentally, but you are lying. William James said, "There is no worse lie than a Truth misunderstood." These days, if a Truth is politically incorrect, you "dast" not say it. My name is Curtis, which means courteous, but it's also Curt, which means short or curt, so it's time to call out lies and make the liars own them. Therefore:
"Truth breeds hatred." – Bias (600 BC)
"When [liars] speak the truth, they aren't believed." – Aristotle (340 BC)
"Truth is often attended with danger." – Marcellinus (330 BC)
"If you say what is just, men will hate you; if you say what is unjust, the gods will." – Aristotle (330 BC)
"Truth is often eclipsed but never extinguished." – Quintus Favious Maximus (216 BC)
"As a rule we do not believe a liar even when he speaks the truth." – Cicero (44 BC)
"Satan is the father of lies." – the Apostles, first century AD
"I believe that in the end the truth will conquer." – John Wyclif (1381)
"Call a mattock nothing els but a mattock, and a spade a spade." – Taverner (1539)
"The liar is never believed, although an oath he take." – Stefano Guazzo (1574)
"It is not the Lie that passes through the Minde, but the Lie that sinketh in that hurts." – Francis Bacon (1597)
"Lying is the father to falsehood, and grandsire to perjury; fraud (with two faces) is his daughter, a very monster; treason (with hairs like a snake) is his kinsman." – Thos. Dekker ((1606)
"Is not the truth the truth? . . We call a nettle but a nettle and the fruit of fools but folly." – Shakespeare (1607)
"Truth may be blamed, but 't shall never he ashamed." – John Ray (English Proverbs, 1670)
"Falsehood flies and truth comes limping after." - Jonathan Swift (1710)
"A lie stands on one leg, and the truth on two." – Poor Richard's Almanac (1735)
"No one believes a common liar or a common defamer." – Thomas Paine (1789)
"Liars begin by imposing upon others, but end by deceiving themselves." – H.G. Bohn (1855)
"Truth like oil comes to the top." – Le Roux de Lincy (French Proverbs, 1859)
"Truth is tough. It will not break, like a bubble . . Truth gets well if she is run over by a locomotive, while Error dies of lockjaw if she scratches her finger." – Oliver Wendell Holmes (1860)
"Truth is stranger than fiction, but not so popular." – paraphrasing Mark Twain (1893)
"We must go to the bottom of the well for Truth." – O. Henry (1906)
"I ain't fooled. They play different when the other team is trying too." – Casey Stengel (1962, on the Mets' prospects after 12 wins in spring training)
P.S. The foregoing sayings will stand the test of time, but a few closing comments about the contemporary scene: The Left is experiencing some rare Public Relations defeats because the Right suddenly shows some backbone, thanks to the President of the United States. Democrats controlled the House of Representatives for forty years until 1994; Republicans were content to play the Washington Patsies to the Globetrotters – as long as they could be the "nice guys" and "it's how you play the game, not the winning or losing." But even a surfer knows you can only ride a wave so long, especially a wannabe wave. Like 2018's "blue wave."
PPS: A guy looked at one of the books I published and said, "Why would you want to publish a bunch of quotations?" I'm glad he asked and I said that I'm trying to promote interest in the writers of old, because they were smart (and obviously consistent, based upon the foregoing paragraphs). Another reason for the quotations is that I'm good at picking the best ones, and I'm perhaps the only writer who sets them in order like this.
"There are stranger things in reality than can be found in romances." – T.C. Haliburton (1843)
More to come.
© Curtis Dahlgren
January 28, 2018
"Better to speak truth rudely, than lie covertly." – Herbert (1640)
"Christ Himself . . scruples not to name the dunghill." – Milton (1642)
"Truth cannot be buried." – Swiss proverb
"At first the throne is set up for the liar, but at last his [or her] lies shall find him [/her] out." – Ahikar (550 BC)
DON'T YOU JUST HATE IT when people miss the point? When you call someone crazy or a "racist," and he's not, you aren't just imputing motives judgmentally, but you are lying. William James said, "There is no worse lie than a Truth misunderstood." These days, if a Truth is politically incorrect, you "dast" not say it. My name is Curtis, which means courteous, but it's also Curt, which means short or curt, so it's time to call out lies and make the liars own them. Therefore:
"Truth breeds hatred." – Bias (600 BC)
"When [liars] speak the truth, they aren't believed." – Aristotle (340 BC)
"Truth is often attended with danger." – Marcellinus (330 BC)
"If you say what is just, men will hate you; if you say what is unjust, the gods will." – Aristotle (330 BC)
"Truth is often eclipsed but never extinguished." – Quintus Favious Maximus (216 BC)
"As a rule we do not believe a liar even when he speaks the truth." – Cicero (44 BC)
"Satan is the father of lies." – the Apostles, first century AD
"I believe that in the end the truth will conquer." – John Wyclif (1381)
"Call a mattock nothing els but a mattock, and a spade a spade." – Taverner (1539)
"The liar is never believed, although an oath he take." – Stefano Guazzo (1574)
"It is not the Lie that passes through the Minde, but the Lie that sinketh in that hurts." – Francis Bacon (1597)
"Lying is the father to falsehood, and grandsire to perjury; fraud (with two faces) is his daughter, a very monster; treason (with hairs like a snake) is his kinsman." – Thos. Dekker ((1606)
"Is not the truth the truth? . . We call a nettle but a nettle and the fruit of fools but folly." – Shakespeare (1607)
"Truth may be blamed, but 't shall never he ashamed." – John Ray (English Proverbs, 1670)
"Falsehood flies and truth comes limping after." - Jonathan Swift (1710)
"A lie stands on one leg, and the truth on two." – Poor Richard's Almanac (1735)
"No one believes a common liar or a common defamer." – Thomas Paine (1789)
"Liars begin by imposing upon others, but end by deceiving themselves." – H.G. Bohn (1855)
"Truth like oil comes to the top." – Le Roux de Lincy (French Proverbs, 1859)
"Truth is tough. It will not break, like a bubble . . Truth gets well if she is run over by a locomotive, while Error dies of lockjaw if she scratches her finger." – Oliver Wendell Holmes (1860)
"Truth is stranger than fiction, but not so popular." – paraphrasing Mark Twain (1893)
"We must go to the bottom of the well for Truth." – O. Henry (1906)
"I ain't fooled. They play different when the other team is trying too." – Casey Stengel (1962, on the Mets' prospects after 12 wins in spring training)
P.S. The foregoing sayings will stand the test of time, but a few closing comments about the contemporary scene: The Left is experiencing some rare Public Relations defeats because the Right suddenly shows some backbone, thanks to the President of the United States. Democrats controlled the House of Representatives for forty years until 1994; Republicans were content to play the Washington Patsies to the Globetrotters – as long as they could be the "nice guys" and "it's how you play the game, not the winning or losing." But even a surfer knows you can only ride a wave so long, especially a wannabe wave. Like 2018's "blue wave."
PPS: A guy looked at one of the books I published and said, "Why would you want to publish a bunch of quotations?" I'm glad he asked and I said that I'm trying to promote interest in the writers of old, because they were smart (and obviously consistent, based upon the foregoing paragraphs). Another reason for the quotations is that I'm good at picking the best ones, and I'm perhaps the only writer who sets them in order like this.
"There are stranger things in reality than can be found in romances." – T.C. Haliburton (1843)
More to come.
© Curtis Dahlgren
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