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Even a liar can be scared into telling the truth, same as an honest man can be tortured into telling a lie.

— William Faulkner Light in August (1932)

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Truth

More quotes by William Faulkner

Clocks slay time. ... Time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels; only when the clock stops does time come to life.

The Sound and the Fury (1929)

The past is never dead. It's not even past.

Requiem for a Nun (1951)

When people act like niggers, no matter who they are, the only thing to do is treat them like a nigger.

The Sound and the Fury (1929)

People to whom sin is just a matter of words, to them salvation is just words too.

As I Lay Dying (1930)

That's a very good way to learn the craft of writing — from reading.

Faulkner in the University (1959)

All William Faulkner quotes →

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You have to start with the truth. The truth is the only way that we can get anywhere. Because any decision-making that is based upon lies or ignorance can't lead to a good conclusion.

Julian Assange

False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil.

Socrates

I believe in evil. It is the property of all those who are certain of truth. Despair and fanaticism are only differing manifestations of evil.

Edward Teller

Wars produce many stories of fiction, some of which are told until they are believed to be true.

Ulysses S. Grant Personal Memoirs of General U. S. Grant (1885)

Attribution

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