ESSAY，FORDISCUSSION，READATAMEETINGOFTHEHISTORICAL
ANDANTIQUARIANCLUBOFHARTFORD，ANDOFFEREDFORTHE
THIRTY—DOLLARPRIZE。
Didnottaketheprize。
Observe，Idonotmeantosuggestthatthe_custom_oflyinghassufferedanydecayorinterruption—no，fortheLie，asaVirtue，APrinciple，iseternal；theLie，asarecreation，asolace，arefugeintimeofneed，thefourthGrace，thetenthMuse，man\'sbestandsurestfriend，isimmortal，andcannotperishfromtheearthwhilethisclubremains。Mycomplaintsimplyconcernsthedecayofthe_art_oflying。Nohigh—mindedman，nomanofrightfeeling，cancontemplatethelumberingandslovenlylyingofthepresentdaywithoutgrievingtoseeanobleartsoprostituted。InthisveteranpresenceI
naturallyenteruponthisthemewithdiffidence；itislikeanoldmaidtryingtoteachnurserymatterstothemothersinIsrael。Itwouldnotbecometometocriticiseyou，gentlemen—whoarenearlyallmyelders—andmysuperiors，inthisthing—ifIshouldhereandthere_seem_todoit，Itrustitwillinmostcasesbemoreinaspiritofadmirationthanfault—finding；indeedifthisfinestofthefineartshadeverywherereceivedtheattention，theencouragement，andconscientiouspracticeanddevelopmentwhichthisclubhasdevotedtoit，Ishouldnotneedtoutterthislament，orshredasingletear。
Idonotsaythistoflatter：Isayitinaspiritofjustandappreciativerecognition。[Ithadbeenmyintention，atthispoint，tomentionnamesandtogiveillustrativespecimens，butindicationsobservableaboutmeadmonishedmetobewareoftheparticularsandconfinemyselftogeneralities。]
Nofactismorefirmlyestablishedthanthatlyingisanecessityofourcircumstances—thedeductionthatitisthenaVirtuegoeswithoutsaying。
Novirtuecanreachitshighestusefulnesswithoutcarefulanddiligentcultivation—therefore，itgoeswithoutsayingthatthisoneoughttobetaughtinthepublicschools—eveninthenewspapers。Whatchancehastheignorantuncultivatedliaragainsttheeducatedexpert？WhatchancehaveI
againstMr。Per—againstalawyer？_Judicious_lyingiswhattheworldneeds。
Isometimesthinkitwereevenbetterandsafernottolieatallthantolieinjudiciously。Anawkward，unscientificlieisoftenasineffectualasthetruth。
Nowletusseewhatthephilosopherssay。Notethatvenerableproverb：
Childrenandfools_always_speakthetruth。Thedeductionisplain—adultsandwisepersons_never_speakit。Parkman，thehistorian，says，\"Theprincipleoftruthmayitselfbecarriedintoanabsurdity。\"Inanotherplaceinthesamechaptershesays，\"Thesayingisoldthattruthshouldnotbespokenatalltimes；andthosewhomasickconscienceworriesintohabitualviolationofthemaximareimbecilesandnuisances。\"Itisstronglanguage，buttrue。Noneofuscould_live_withanhabitualtruth—teller；butthankgoodnessnoneofushasto。Anhabitualtruth—tellerissimplyanimpossiblecreature；hedoesnotexist；heneverhasexisted。Ofcoursetherearepeoplewho_think_theyneverlie，butitisnotso—andthisignoranceisoneoftheverythingsthatshameourso—calledcivilization。Everybodylies—everyday；everyhour；
awake；asleep；inhisdreams；inhisjoy；inhismourning；ifhekeepshistonguestill，hishands，hisfeet，hiseyes，hisattitude，willconveydeception—andpurposely。Eveninsermons—butthatisaplatitude。
InafarcountrywhereIoncelivedtheladiesusedtogoaroundpayingcalls，underthehumaneandkindlypretenceofwantingtoseeeachother；
andwhentheyreturnedhome，theywouldcryoutwithagladvoice，saying，\"Wemadesixteencallsandfoundfourteenofthemout\"—notmeaningthattheyfoundoutanythingimportantagainstthefourteen—no，thatwasonlyacolloquialphrasetosignifythattheywerenotathome—andtheirmannerofsayingitexpressedtheirlivelysatisfactioninthatfact。Nowtheirpretenceofwantingtoseethefourteen—andtheothertwowhomtheyhadbeenlessluckywith—wasthatcommonestandmildestformoflyingwhichissufficientlydescribedasadeflectionfromthetruth。Isitjustifiable？
Mostcertainly。Itisbeautiful，itisnoble；foritsobjectis，_not_toreapprofit，buttoconveyapleasuretothesixteen。Theiron—souledtruth—mongerwouldplainlymanifest，orevenutterthefactthathedidn\'twanttoseethosepeople—andhewouldbeanass，andinflicttotallyunnecessarypain。
Andnext，thoseladiesinthatfarcountry—butnevermind，theyhadathousandpleasantwaysoflying，thatgrewoutofgentleimpulses，andwereacredittotheirintelligenceandanhonortotheirhearts。Lettheparticularsgo。