Fulke Greville Quotes

Dishonesty is so grasping it would deceive God himself, were it possible.

Nobody speaks the truth when there is something they must have.

Who has not remarked the readiness with which the closest of friends and honestest of men suspect and accuse each other of cheating when they fall out on money matters? Everybody does it. Everybody is right, I suppose, and the world is a rogue.

Deceit and falsehood, whatever conveniences they may for a time promise or produce, are, in the sum of life, obstacles to happiness. Those who profit by the cheat distrust the deceiver; and the act by which kindness was sought puts an end to confidence.

The world loves to be deceived.

There will always be cheaters. It is human nature. It will never be 100 percent clean, in any sport.

A man of such obvious and exemplary charm must be a liar.

Liars share with those they deceive the desire not to be deceived.

No man is so much a fool as not to have wit enough sometimes to be a knave; nor any so cunning a knave as not to have the weakness sometimes to play the fool.

Ambition drove many men to become false; to have one thought locked in the breast, another ready on the tongue.

Fear, prejudice, malice, and the love of approbation bribe a thousand men where gold bribes one.

You can fool too many of the people too much of the time.

You know that if you lie to yourself, surely other people lie to themselves. And if they lie to themselves, they will lie to you also.

The sad truth is that most of my husbands turned out to be convincing liars.

Politicians often lie.

If you do not know how to lie, cheat and steal, turn your attention to politics and learn.

Two forms of government are favorable to the prevalence of falsehood and deceit. Under a Despotism, men are false, treacherous, and deceitful through fear, like slaves dreading the lash. Under a Democracy they are so as a means of attaining popularity and office, and because of the greed for wealth.

I think, basically, if you talk to anybody, you can gauge an idea of what it's like to feel deceived. You don't have to have run into a con artist to feel like you've been deceived by someone.

That's the biggest act of cowardice, faking injuries.

In every sport you get cheats.

Compromise is the welcome mat to deception.

Lesson number one: Don't underestimate the other guy's greed.

It is the nature of ambition to make men liars and cheats, to hide the truth in their breasts, and show, like jugglers, another thing in their mouths, to cut all friendships and enmities to the measure of their own interest, and to make a good countenance without the help of good will.

How fondly swindlers coddle their dupes! No mother is as caressing or thoughtful towards her adored child as a merchant in hypocrisy toward his milch-cow.

Man is ice to truth and fire to falsehood.