A mind conscious of innocence laughs at the lies of rumor.
Any fool can tell the truth, but it requires a man of some sense to know how to lie well.
Every violation of truth is not only a sort of suicide in the liar, but is a stab at the health of human society. If a lie is repeated often enough all the dumb jackasses in the world not only get to believe it, they even swear by it. A little inaccuracy sometimes saves tons of explanation. That's not a lie, it's a terminological inexactitude. Also, a tactical misrepresentation.