第2章
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  Themeninthatfarcountrywereliars,everyone。Theirmerehowdy—dowasalie,because_they_didn\'tcarehowyoudid,excepttheywereundertakers。Totheordinaryinquireryouliedinreturn;foryoumadenoconscientiousdiagnosticofyourcase,butansweredatrandom,andusuallymisseditconsiderably。Youliedtotheundertaker,andsaidyourhealthwasfailing—awhollycommendablelie,sinceitcostyounothingandpleasedtheotherman。

  Ifastrangercalledandinterruptedyou,yousaidwithyourheartytongue,\"I\'mgladtoseeyou,\"andsaidwithyourheartiersoul,\"Iwishyouwerewiththecannibalsanditwasdinner—time。\"Whenhewent,yousaidregretfully,\"_Must_yougo?\"andfolloweditwitha\"Callagain;\"butyoudidnoharm,foryoudidnotdeceiveanybodynorinflictanyhurt,whereasthetruthwouldhavemadeyoubothunhappy。

  Ithinkthatallthiscourteouslyingisasweetandlovingart,andshouldbecultivated。Thehighestperfectionofpolitenessisonlyabeautifuledifice,built,fromthebasetothedome,ofgracefulandgildedformsofcharitableandunselfishlying。

  WhatIbemoanisthegrowingprevalenceofthebrutaltruth。Letusdowhatwecantoeradicateit。Aninjurioustruthhasnomeritoveraninjuriouslie。

  Neithershouldeverbeuttered。Themanwhospeaksaninjurioustruthlesthissoulbenotsavedifhedootherwise,shouldreflectthatthatsortofasoulisnotstrictlyworthsaving。Themanwhotellsalietohelpapoordeviloutoftrouble,isoneofwhomtheangelsdoubtlesssay,\"Lo,hereisanheroicsoulwhocastshisownwelfareinjeopardytosuccorhisneighbor\'s;

  letusexaltthismagnanimousliar。\"

  Aninjuriouslieisanuncommendablething;andso,also,andinthesamedegree,isaninjurioustruth—afactthatisrecognizedbythelawoflibel。

  Amongothercommonlies,wehavethe_silent_lie—thedeceptionwhichoneconveysbysimplykeepingstillandconcealingthetruth。Manyobstinatetruth—mongersindulgeinthisdissipation,imaginingthatifthey_speak_nolie,theylienotatall。InthatfarcountrywhereIoncelived,therewasalovelyspirit,aladywhoseimpulseswerealwayshighandpure,andwhosecharacteransweredtothem。OnedayIwasthereatdinner,andremarked,inageneralway,thatweareallliars。Shewasamazed,andsaid,\"Not_all_?\"

  Itwasbefore\"Pinafore\'s\"time。soIdidnotmaketheresponsewhichwouldnaturallyfollowinourday,butfranklysaid,\"Yes,_all_—weareallliars。

  Therearenoexceptions。\"Shelookedalmostoffended,\"Why,doyouinclude_me_?\"\"Certainly,\"Isaid。\"Ithinkyouevenrankasanexpert。\"Shesaid\"Sh—\'sh!thechildren!\"Sothesubjectwaschangedindeferencetothechildren\'spresence,andwewentontalkingaboutotherthings。Butassoonastheyoungpeoplewereoutoftheway,theladycamewarmlybacktothematterandsaid,\"Ihavemadearuleofmylifetonevertellalie;andI

  haveneverdepartedfromitinasingleinstance。\"Isaid,\"Idon\'tmeantheleastharmordisrespect,butreallyyouhavebeenlyinglikesmokeeversinceI\'vebeensittinghere。Ithascausedmeagooddealofpain,becauseI\'mnotusedtoit。\"Sherequiredofmeaninstance—justasingleinstance。

  SoIsaid—

  \"Well,hereistheunfilledduplicateoftheblank,whichtheOaklandhospitalpeoplesenttoyoubythehandofthesick—nursewhenshecameheretonurseyourlittlenephewthroughhisdangerousillness。Thisblankasksallmannersofquestionsastotheconductofthatsick—nurse:\'Didsheeversleeponherwatch?Didsheeverforgettogivethemedicine?\'andsoforthandsoon。Youarewarnedtobeverycarefulandexplicitinyouranswers,forthewelfareoftheservicerequiresthatthenursesbepromptlyfinedorotherwisepunishedforderelictions。Youtoldmeyouwereperfectlydelightedwiththisnurse—thatshehadathousandperfectionsandonlyonefault:youfoundyounevercoulddependonherwrappingJohnnyuphalfsufficientlywhilehewaitedinachillychairforhertorearrangethewarmbed。

  Youfilleduptheduplicateofthispaper,andsentitbacktothehospitalbythehandofthenurse。Howdidyouanswerthisquestion—\'Wasthenurseatanytimeguiltyofanegligencewhichwaslikelytoresultinthepatient\'stakingcold?\'Come—everythingisdecidedbyabethereinCalifornia:tendollarstotencentsyouliedwhenyouansweredthatquestion。\"Shesaid,\"I

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