Lawyer: One skilled in circumvention of the law
Source: The Devil's Dictionary (1911)
Topic
Deception is among the most examined subjects in human thought — partly because it is everywhere, partly because its moral weight is so difficult to calibrate. The quotes here span the full range: the self-deception we practice without knowing it, the white lies that oil social life, the deliberate betrayals that shatter trust. Philosophers have long debated whether any deception is ever justified; poets and novelists have mapped its emotional consequences with far more nuance. What emerges from this collection is a picture of deception as fundamentally corrosive — not because every lie is catastrophic, but because the habit of dishonesty distances us from reality and from others. Several voices here are particularly sharp on self-deception: the stories we tell ourselves to avoid discomfort, the illusions we maintain to preserve a flattering self-image. Recognizing those patterns may be the most practically useful thing this collection offers.
Lawyer: One skilled in circumvention of the law
Appearances are oft deceiving, and seeing shouldn't always be believing.