Orson Scott Card Quotes

Realizing that people should lie when they do makes me a little more open-minded, a little more tolerant, when my child or my partner lies.

When we tell little white lies, we become progressively color-blind. It is better to remain silent than to mislead.

Know that a lie is not haram [wrong] in itself, but only because the evil conclusions to which it leads the hearer, making him believe something that is not really the case.... If a lie is the only way of obtaining a good result, it is permissible.... We must lie when truth leads to unpleasant results.

Sometimes you're lying to protect people in a way.

There were people who lied for gain, people who lied from pain, people who lied simply because the concept of telling the truth was utterly alien to them . . . and then there were people who lied because they were waiting for it to be time to tell the truth.

There was a distinction between lying and telling half-truths, but it was a very narrow one.

Of course I lie to people. But I lie altruistically - for our mutual good. The lie is the basic building block of good manners. That may seem mildly shocking to a moralist - but then what isn't?

Honesty is always good, except when it's better to lie.

I think it's better to have limits. My limits are different from other people's limits. I'm all for freedom, I'm all for people doing what they want. I'm also all for people shouldering the consequences of their behaviors, and not being assholes, and not lying unless they need to, and being honest except when you shouldn't, and being faithful except when it's okay to cheat. I guess I'm just a mass of contradictions.

Part of growing up was learning not to be quite that honest - learning when it was better to lie, rather than to hurt someone with the truth.

I suppose everyone tells little white lies. Quite often they're necessary to make someone feel better or prevent feelings from being hurt. Whoppers? No, that's dangerous and they'll boomerang.

It's okay to lie as long as you reach a higher truth doing it.

We're a nation of liars. But I mean that in the kindest sense.

When you're on the side of the angels, it's easier to stretch the truth.

There are times when lying is the most sacred of duties.

It is perhaps being economical with the truth.

Truly, to tell lies is not honorable; But when the truth entails tremendous ruin, To speak dishonorably is pardonable.

I tell the truth where it's the ethical thing to do, but in terms of entertainment, there's a certain fun and enjoyment that can be added to the experience by a few judicious lies.

I can't lie - I have one of those faces where you can tell. It's expressive and lends itself to being cheeky. I always tell the truth even when I should probably tell a white lie.

Lying is an indispensable part of making life tolerable.

I guess sometimes you have to lie to find the truth.

But don't we often lie to people we love, or not tell them things, precisely because we love them?

We can assume that most people, most of the time, are moral creatures. But imagine that this morality is like a gearshift that at times gets pushed into neutral. When that happens, morality is disengaged. If the car happens to be on an incline, car and driver move precipitously downhill. It is then the nature of the circumstances that determines outcomes, not the driver's skills or intentions.

One should go easy on smashing other people's lies. Better to concentrate on one's own.

I am my own judge of what truths I shall tell. The truth can do just as much harm as a lie.