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> Besides, as the vilest Writer has his Readers, so the greatest Liar has his Believers; and it often happens, that if a Lie be believ’d only for an Hour, it ha
by js2 8y ago
> Besides, as the vilest Writer has his Readers, so the greatest Liar has his Believers; and it often happens, that if a Lie be believ’d only for an Hour, it has done its Work, and there is no farther occasion for it. Falsehood flies, and the Truth comes limping after it; so that when Men come to be undeceiv’d, it is too late; the Jest is over, and the Tale has had its Effect…
Jonathan Swift (1710)
https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/07/13/truth/ https://quoteinvestigator.com/2014/07/13/truth/
- jcl 8y agoThanks for the quoteinvestigator link... I was likewise reminded of Terry Pratchett's version, also mentioned there: "A lie can run around the world before the truth has got its boots on." It's quite amazing that the researchers essentially quantified those idioms. And it's also somewhat surprising that none of the idioms found their way into the article. :)
- js2 8y agoIndeed, I went looking for the version I was familiar with ("A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.") in order to correctly attribute it, whereupon I discovered the source of that version is unknown, so I quoted the Swift version since I it's centuries older, sourced, and I liked it best after reading them all.