It is natural for man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against read more

It is natural for man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts... For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth, to know the worst, and to provide for it.

Deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance.

Deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance.

Illusions commend themselves to us because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy pleasure instead. We must therefore read more

Illusions commend themselves to us because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy pleasure instead. We must therefore accept it without complaint when they sometimes collide with a bit of reality against which they are dashed to pieces.

You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the
people some of the read more

You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the
people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people
all of the time.

Which I wish to remark--
And my language is plain,--
That for ways that are dark
read more

Which I wish to remark--
And my language is plain,--
That for ways that are dark
And for tricks that are vain,
The heathen Chinee is peculiar.

It is vain to find fault with those arts of deceiving, wherein
men find pleasure to be deceived.

It is vain to find fault with those arts of deceiving, wherein
men find pleasure to be deceived.

It seems to me that there are two kinds of trickery: the "fronts" people assume before one another's eyes, and read more

It seems to me that there are two kinds of trickery: the "fronts" people assume before one another's eyes, and the "front" a writer puts on the face of reality.

Trial by jury itself, instead of being a security to persons who
are accused, shall be a delusion, a read more

Trial by jury itself, instead of being a security to persons who
are accused, shall be a delusion, a mockery, and a snare.

All deception in the course of life is indeed nothing else but a lie reduced to practice, and falsehood passing read more

All deception in the course of life is indeed nothing else but a lie reduced to practice, and falsehood passing from words into things.