Stephen Leacock Quotes
In ancient times they had no statistics so they had to fall back on lies.
Leacock, Stephen. Too Much College. Dodd, Mead & Company, 1939.
Referring to Donald Trump, the then Republican Presidential nominee whose background was in business and he was a strong promoter and had exaggerated and used hyperbole constantly in his adult life.
There is no known writing of Disraeli's with this quote although it is very commonly attributed to him as in this case by Mark Twain. Disraeli was even quoted earlier in 1895 by English Parliamentarian Leonard H. Courtney who said, “…the words of the Wise Statesman, "Lies— damned lies— and statistics," and although he does not mention Disraeli by name, the “Wise Statesman” was a name commonly used for the great prime minister and the timing was right. The two together make the quotation very probably attributable to Disraeli. See linked quote.
One of the major reasons that President George W. Bush had given for invading Iraq was that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. None were found.
Stephen P. H. Butler Leacock FRSC was a Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer, and humourist. Between the years 1915 and 1925, he was the best-known English-speaking humourist in the world. He is known for his light humour along with criticisms of people's follies.
