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Quotes about truth and lies

458 quotes from 240 people

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Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see:
She has deceiv’d her father, and may thee.
William Shakespeare1564–1616Othello (c. 1604), Act I, Scene III, spoken by BrabantioIn context
Men should be what they seem;
Or those that be not, would they might seem none!
William Shakespeare1564–1616Othello (c. 1604), Act III, Scene III, spoken by IagoIn context
The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
An evil soul producing holy witness
Is like a villain with a smiling cheek,
A goodly apple rotten at the heart.
O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!
William Shakespeare1564–1616The Merchant of Venice (c. 1597), Act I, Scene III, spoken by AntonioIn context
- Good & Evil
The world is still deceiv’d with ornament.
In law, what plea so tainted and corrupt
But, being season’d with a gracious voice,
Obscures the show of evil?
William Shakespeare1564–1616The Merchant of Venice (c. 1597), Act III, Scene II, spoken by BassanioIn context
- Laws
Sigh no more, ladies, sigh no more,
Men were deceivers ever;
One foot in sea, and one on shore,
To one thing constant never.
Then sigh not so, but let them go,
And be you blithe and bonny,
Converting all your sounds of woe
Into Hey nonny, nonny.
William Shakespeare1564–1616Much Ado About Nothing (c. 1598), Act II, Scene III, spoken by BalthasarIn context
- Men
Marry, sir, they have committed false report; moreover, they have spoken untruths; secondarily, they are slanders; sixth and lastly, they have belied a lady; thirdly, they have verified unjust things; and to conclude, they are lying knaves.
William Shakespeare1564–1616Much Ado About Nothing (c. 1598), Act V, Scene I, spoken by DogberryIn context
- Comedy
An honest tale speeds best being plainly told.
William Shakespeare1564–1616Richard III (c. 1593), Act IV, Scene IV, spoken by Queen ElizabethIn context
- Talking
The truth is rarely pure and never simple. Modern life would be very tedious if it were either, and modern literature a complete impossibility!
Oscar Wilde1854–1900The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), First Act, spoken by AlgernonIn context
I’ve now realised for the first time in my life the vital Importance of Being Earnest.
Oscar Wilde1854–1900The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), Third Act, spoken by JackIn context
- Comedy
But all was false and hollow; though his tongue
Dropped manna, and could make the worse appear
The better reason
John Milton1608–1674Paradise Lost (1667), Book IIIn context
- Talking
In the following pages I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense
Thomas Paine1737–1809Common Sense (1776), Part 2In context
- Facts
“Villains!” I shrieked, “dissemble no more! I admit the deed!⁠—tear up the planks!⁠—here, here!⁠—it is the beating of his hideous heart!”
Edgar Allan Poe1809–1849The Tell-Tale Heart (1843)In context
- Emotion
If all the world and love were young,
And truth in every shepherd’s tongue,
These pretty pleasures might me move
To live with thee and be thy Love.
Walter Raleigh1552–1618The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd (1600)In context
- Love
Just the place for a Snark! I have said it thrice:
What I tell you three times is true.
Lewis Carroll1832–1898The Hunting of the Snark (1876), Fit the FirstIn context
We wear the mask that grins and lies,
It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes,⁠—
This debt we pay to human guile;
With torn and bleeding hearts we smile,
And mouth with myriad subtleties.
Paul Laurence Dunbar1872–1906We Wear the Mask (1895)In context
- Emotion