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Truth

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“Light fills the air, wind is aglow, drink of it, breathe of it, make leafing. Rainfall sows itself, it grows down through soil to the secret places where stones abide; it brings the strength of them up rootward. Lie still, molder away, then be again grass.”
Poul Anderson (1926–2001) said by 2001 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“O that we may all be living in such a state of preparedness, that, when summoned to depart, we may ascend the summit whence faith looks forth on all that Jesus hath suffered and done, and exclaiming, " We have waited for Thy salvation, O Lord," lie down with Moses on Pisgah, to awake with Moses in paradise.”
Henry Melvill (1798–1871) said by 1871 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“An easy way for the government to create criminality where there is none is to make it a crime to lie to its agents, in this case the FBI, which is Deep State Central.”
Ilana Mercer first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Non-Crime of Lying To The FBI," Mises.org, December 11, 2017
“But I am leaving the regions of fact, which are difficult to penetrate, but which bring in their train rich rewards, and entering the regions of speculation, where many roads lie open, but where a few lead to a definite goal.”
William Ramsay (1852–1916) first seen 1904 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speculating on the nature of radioactive emanations, in his Nobel lecture, December 12, 1904.
“Republican Party, you're a lie factory, that's all you do.”
Alan Grayson (born 1958) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Ed Show, October 1, 2009, MSNBC, .
“Most governments lie to each other. That’s the way business gets done.”
Robert Gates (born 1943) first seen 2011 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: CNN interview, 2011-06-19.
“There is no doubt that hundreds, probably thousands of Jews were shot to death in Eastern Europe because they were, rightly or wrongly, seen as Communists or potential partisans or partisan supporters. That was awful. But this nonsense about gas chambers is exposed as a total lie.”
Nick Griffin (born 1959) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Cook Report (1997)
“Night by night I will lie down and sleep in the thought of God, and in the thought, too, that my waking may be in the bosom of the Father; and some time it will be, so I trust.”
William Mountford (1816–1885) said by 1885 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“She hated to lie but she hated arguments even more.”
Jane Yolen (1939–2026) said by 2026 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But when I asked Mom, she shrugged and looked up at the sky. She had given up looking at me when we talked. “Reverend Beelson told us God would provide,” she said, as if reading that in the clouds. “And he does not lie.” It wasn’t clear if she meant Reverend Beelson or God.”
Jane Yolen (1939–2026) said by 2026 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The idea that God doesn't care about his children is rooted in a lie, plain and simple.”
Bill Hybels (born 1951) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We must unmask the ideological falsehoods of the many powers, and especially we must show that the famous theory of the rule of law which lulls the democracies is a lie from beginning to end.”
Jacques Ellul (1912–1994) said by 1994 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“People always say: "You're a comedian, tell us a joke." They don't say: "You're an MP, tell us a lie.”
Bob Monkhouse (1928–2003) said by 2003 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Everybody should be entitled to one lie, one failing, one infidelity.”
Martin Firrell (born 1963) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in the International Herald Tribune (24 November 2005).
“I'm not a woman; I'm not a man. I am something that U'll never understand. I'll never beat U; I'll never lie. And if U're evil I'll forgive U by and by.”
Prince (musician) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Three years after the CCTV headquarters fire [in Beijing in February 2009], human skeletons lie forgotten. Is anyone accountable?”
Ai Weiwei (born 1957) first seen 2012 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ai Weiwei on Twitter in English (beta). (February 26, 2012) http://aiwwenglish.tumblr.com/
“And down the dunes a thousand guns lie crouched, Unseen, beside the flood — Like tigers in some Orient jungle crouched That wait and watch for blood. Meanwhile, through streets still echoing with trade, Walk grave and thoughtful men, Whose hands may one day wield the patriot's blade As lightly as the pen.”
Henry Timrod (1828–1867) said by 1867 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Mr. Chairman, speaking for myself and myself only, it is my personal belief that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do. No matter how I look at this issue, I cannot escape being troubled by the fact that we have in place a policy that forces young men and women to lie about who they are in order to defend their fellow citizens.”
Michael Mullen (born 1946) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Congressional testimony on repealing DADT, 2 February 2010
“Prose and poetry are different in construction. You can lie back and read prose, and you can read it fast. Poetry on the other hand, requires a different kind of attention and concentration … the effect it has on the ear and the imagination.”
Michael Schmidt (poet) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Yes, the claim that sex in humans is not a binary is pretty much a lie, and is made on ideological rather than scientific grounds.”
Jerry Coyne (born 1949) first seen 2020 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: A defense of the binary in human sex" February 14, 2020
“Men of the eleventh! the enemy say we are good at a long shot, but cannot stand the cold iron. I call on you to give the lie to that slander. Charge!”
Winfield Scott (1786–1866) first seen 1812 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Address to the 11th Infantry Regiment at the Battle of Chippawa (14 June 1814) in the War of 1812, as quoted in The Military Heroes of the War of 1812 (1849) by Charles Jacobs Peterson, p. 152
“Consider the attitude our great Vasile Conta held in the Chamber in 1879. Fifty years earlier the Romanian philosopher demonstrated with unshakeable scientific arguments, framed in a system of impeccable logic, the soundness of racial truths that must lie at the foundation of the national state...”
Corneliu Zelea Codreanu (1899–1938) said by 1938 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“tire swift swept front ly and lie and lane against”
Charles Bernstein (born 1950) first seen 1974 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: disfrutes" (1974), first published in 1981 by Potes & Poets Press
“Poetry will never win the war on terror But neither will error abetted by error We girly men are not afraid Of uncertainty or reason or interdependence We think before we fight, then think some more Proclaim our faith in listening, in art, in compromise So be a girly man & sing this gurly song Sissies & proud That we would never lie our way to war”
Charles Bernstein (born 1950) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Ballad of the Girlie Man", Milk Magazine, no. 6, 2005. Anthologized in Girlie Man (2006), .
“Out there in the spotlight you're a million miles away. Every ounce of energy you try to give away. As the sweat pours out your body like the music that you play. Later in the evening, as you lie awake in bed. With the echoes from the amplifiers ringin' in your head. You smoke the day's last cigarette, rememberin' what she said.”
Bob Seger (born 1945) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Folk music is not so much a body of art as it is a process, an attitude, and a way of life; its distinguishing features lie not within the songs themselves, but in the relations of those songs to a folk culture.”
Sam Hinton (1917–2009) said by 2009 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Jesus knows that we had rather labor than suffer; and that we would rather labor.and suffer, too, than be laid aside. No man is fit to rise up and labor, until he is made willing to lie still and suffer as long as his Master pleases.”
Edward Payson (1783–1827) said by 1827 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Fear puts an end to openness of manner; fear leads to concealment; fear sows the seed of much hypocrisy, and leads to many a lie.”
J. C. Ryle (1816–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“An old soldier, who had been in Waterloo, informed me that to his mind there was no pleasure equal to running a man through the body, and that he could lie awake at night musing on the pleasurable sensations afforded him by that act.”
Sabine Baring-Gould (1834–1924) said by 1924 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The girls show up wearing nothing. I can’t lie, I’m 16, I don’t hate it. I don’t have a girlfriend.”
Justin Bieber (born 1994) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Vibe "Justin Bieber on Photo Shoots, Puberty, 2Pac & Drake", 22 July 2010
“My moon shines so softly On the hair of my killer Pours flowers on his head Help me, give him some shelter! Come, lie by the river Rest your head, don't you fear Sleep softly, my baby They won't find you here.”
Mike Oldfield (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“You have marked your loyal entrance through water and sky, I cannot quite reach you, but by me you lie.”
Masiela Lusha (born 1985) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wealth and poverty do not lie in a person's estate, but in their souls.”
Antisthenes (445–365 BC) said by 365 BC at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Children wear their natures like brightly-colored clothes; that’s why they lie so transparently. Adulthood is the art of deceit.”
Robert Charles Wilson (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I think we'll make this whole situation a lot simpler by agreeing not to lie to each other," he says. "What do you think?" I think my tongue has frozen and speech will be impossible, so I surprise myself by answering back in a steady voice, "Yes, I think that would save time.”
Suzanne Collins (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Maybe everyone is just trying to protect me by lying to me. I don’t care. I’m sick of people lying to me for my own good. Because really it’s mostly for their own good. Lie to Katniss about the rebellion so she doesn’t do anything crazy.”
Suzanne Collins (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Make believin in forever Is just a lie. And it seems a little sadder Each time we try. 'Cause it's a shame to make The same mistakes again, And again. It's over. Nobody wins.”
Kris Kristofferson (1936–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is better to make mistakes than to lie idle.”
Sri Chinmoy (1931–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“And when I first saw you I first loved you With a song that I sang to the fire in your eyes But somebody told you that it wouldn't be easy And you carried that lie for the devil to sing Some sail rivers deep and muddy some sail rivers clear and cold But the river that I'm sailin' goes to sea And sometimes I do grow weary sometimes I feel old And sometimes I wonder if you think of me”
Hoyt Axton (1938–1999) first seen 1975 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Lion In The Winter" on Southbound (1975) · Performance with Linda Ronstadt
“Human beings are blind to their own faults. In the movies, villains never proclaim that they are villains. Nor do idiots say that they are idiots. Our faults lie within us, active and fierce, but unconfessed. I've never seen a man walk downstage and announce, his head held high, "Ladies and gentleman, I'm a scumbag!”
Nelson Rodrigues (1912–1980) first seen 1000 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Flor de Obsessão: as 1000 melhores frases de Nelson Rodrigues," page 34.
“When it becomes serious, you have to lie.”
Jean-Claude Juncker (born 1954) first seen 2014 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The real Jean-Claude Juncker", BBC (July 15, 2014) "Jean-Claude Juncker profile: 'When it becomes serious, you have to lie'", Telegraph (November 12, 2014)
“Even if God could lie, He would have no motivation. He can gain nothing by lying. Everything He wants to have happen happens.”
James MacDonald (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I lie on the beach like a crocodile and let myself be roasted by the sun. I never see a newspaper and don't give a damn for what is called the world.”
Albert Einstein (1879–1955) first seen 1918 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Max Born, 1918, from The Born-Einstein Letters: Friendship, Politics and Physics in Uncertain Times, Macmillan (2005 edition), pg 7.
“Let us therefore continue our triumphal march to the realization of the American dream.... for all of us today, the battle is in our hands... The road ahead is not altogether a smooth one. There are no broad highways that lead us easily and inevitably to quick solutions... We are still in for the season of suffering... How long? Not long. Because no lie can live forever... our God is marching on.”
Martin Luther King Jr. (1929–1968) first seen 1965 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech on the steps of the State Capitol Building, Montgomery, Alabama (25 March 1965), as transcribed from a tape recording; reported in Respectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations (1989), which states that this sp…
“A world full of happiness is not beyond human power to create; the obstacles imposed by inanimate nature are not insuperable. The real obstacles lie in the heart of man, and the cure for these is a firm hope, informed and fortified by thought.”
Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Either we must have war against Russia, before she has the atom bomb, or we will have to lie down and let them govern us. ... Anything is better than submission.”
Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) first seen 1948 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech quoted in The Observer (21 November 1948), quoted in Robert Skildesky, Oswald Mosley (1981), p. 542 and Martin Ceadel, Thinking about Peace and War (1987), p. 52
“Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one's head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no tomorrow. To forget time, to forgive life, to be at peace.”
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) first seen 1887 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Canterville Ghost (1887)
“I know not whether Laws be right, Or whether Laws be wrong; All that we know who lie in gaol Is that the wall is strong; And that each day is like a year, A year whose days are long.”
Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) said by 1900 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If you die, I will lie down beside you and I will stay there until the end, without eating or drinking, you will rot in my arms and I will love you as carcass: for you love nothing if you do not love everything.”
Jean-Paul Sartre (1905–1980) said by 1980 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the blue sky, is by no means waste of time.”
John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury (1834–1913) first seen 1894 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Use of Life (1894), ch. IV: Recreation