On the Decay of the Art of Lying
By Mark Twain
- Release Date: 1910-04-21
- Genre: Literary Fiction
Description
In the essay, Twain laments the four ways in which men of America's Gilded Age employ man's 'most faithful friend'. He concludes by insisting that: the wise thing is for us diligently to train ourselves to lie thoughtfully, judiciously; to lie with a good object, and not an evil one; to lie for others' advantage, and not our own; to lie healingly, charitably, humanely, not cruelly, hurtfully, maliciously; to lie gracefully and graciously, not awkwardly and clumsily; to lie firmly, frankly, squarely, with head erect, not haltingly, tortuously, with pusillanimous mien, as being ashamed of our high calling.
Reviews
On the Decay of the Art of Lying
5By SoftEdgeThis should be required reading for both political parties and the entirety of the Judicial branch of the US government... or maybe they’re the aforementioned experts.9 pages well worth reading.
5By TheNthMouseTruly an essay for our time (whatever time that might happen to be).Another gem
5By Johnny GarlicTwain is brilliant. This is a short but profound piece. Highly recommended.The Decay of Lying
2By Medic3396So far the book has been great. Whitty yet with alot of humor. I think it shall be a good read.Educate yourself
4By Rupert Smith II"“What chance has the ignorant uncultivated liar against the educated expert?” (Reference the following expert industries: political, food industry, medical industry, educational industry, financial industry, news media industry...)Interesting
4By Tah_pang_uhVery interesting. Almost convincing argument that lying is a 'virtue'.On Decay of The Art of Lying
5By Jaden LynnA truly hard hitting essay on the ancient art of lying done by Mark Twain