August 4, 2025

Liars ought to have good memories.

Algernon Sidney (1622–1683), English conspirator, Discourses concerning Government (1698), Jay p.340

Do you keep notes of what you tell people? If you lie a lot, don’t you think you should? If you think you always tell the truth, you’re a liar!

Truth-telling is based on the material facts that correspond to images in our own minds. Lies have no such reference points and hence the confusion that liars often reveal about themselves.