LIES.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XIII, Issue 144, 15 June 1878, Page 4

LIES.

(Prom "Saunders's News Letter." We are told on (he best authority that all men are liare, and it would ceem, indeed, eg if lies were a staple commodity in every branch of social tnd political life. On the multiplication of lies depends a Urge amount of litigation in tbe country, and the corresponding importance of the legal profession. On lies depend most of the diplomatic schemes of the European Powers, and from lies have orison many Woody wars, It may be instructive to give a slight sketch of the various kinds of the more conventional lies which obtain among men. It is convenient to divide lies into tbe necessary, politic, imaginary, diplomatic, unconscious, and legal. Necesjiajry lies are principally social lies, such as the formulas " not at home," or" I'm glad to see you," "I'm ■orry I have a previous engagement," "I never sing," The last of which nay be termed tbe musical or JEolian lie, and so on ; and of course they can be either bred or ill-bred lies, or to use ft botanical expression, either garden or hothouse lies, Tbe lie politic may be divided into tbe specially politic or judiciooally politic lie. The special being • fact false in itself, ottered for a particular purpose; while the judicious, being generally a comprehensive lie,

told in view of future events which might be determined by the effect of the lie working in the meanwhile. The imaginary lie is manifold, and ia innocent, fanciful, exaggerative, and oneodolio, according to circumstances. The innocent is that class which pertains unto very email children, and is as harmless as it is innceant. The fanciful is a mere conceit of the brain— humorous, harmless, and soon forgotten — told by a man of himself, whereas it never oocurrad in real life at all. The exaggerative is somewhat similar, but more harmful, tending to bring a man into exceßsive ridicule, and thereby iojuring his fame. Lastly, the lie aneodote, which is the property of society at large, and which laats under various forms from generation to generation. The diplomatic He, perhaps, ranks highest of all lies, as it has to be manipulated with extreme caution and delicaoy, dealing, as it does, with tremendous issues ; and the principal are the Russian and the Turkish lie, the former being of a somewhat stouter substance, and very hard of digestion. Of the Turkish He. the Cretan, is ! of course, a sub-section, but it is unnecessary to treat of it here. The unconsoious lie is entirely the prerogative of absent people, as when a man, having two children in the measles, assures an inquiring friend that all are well at home. The legal or statute lie contains so many clauses that it would be impossible to follow them into detail. It is a sufficient faot in favor of this that a whole profession is engaged in the manufacture and detection of the sul'ject in hand. Nor shall we attempt to enter iuto the vast subject of the printed or nowepaper lie. To discuss liars themselves, and their systems, too, is unnecessary, as we have probably said sufficient here to show the amount of faith that is required to believe the maxim, " Magna est veritas. et prevalent."