How many wicked intentions climb aboard a pure and innocent phrase, after it is already on its way! It is enough to make one suspect that lying is, many a time, as involuntary as breathing.

Quantas intenções viciosas há assim que embarcam, a meio caminho, numa frase inocente e pura! Chega a fazer suspeitar que a mentira é muita vez tão involuntária como a transpiração.

Original text (Portuguese)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Machado de Assis (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.