The Washington times., 1901-08-30
Dr.. Andrew. on yeracitv,

DR.. E. Benjamin Andrews, Chancellor
of the University of Nebraska, has been
| lecturing on ''veracity," and giving
voice to arguments which are some
what extraordinary considered from an
ethical point of view. He says that de-
ception is permissible when the motive
Is good, and that clergyman has a
perfect right to preach and teach doc
trines which he does not believe. He
also defends what he calls the white
lies of society, as, for example, the
message of the society woman that she
is not at home, or the conventional end
ing of a letter, Yours, truly" He
maintains that the latter is. technically,
a lie, because we do not mean what is
said, and the recipient knows that we
do not
To take the last argument first, the
justice Of its claim may be doubted. OF
course, the writer of a letter does not
mean that he belongs body and soul to
his correspondent. The pronoun
yours" does not mean that in any
other relation, unless the context inn
plies it. When the lover says. Il am
yours he implies that he Is at the SER
vice of his beloved. But he may also
say, II am your fathers lawyer and
yours" without implying anything but
a business relation. SO, Yours, truly
becomes synonym of Yours, sincere
ly," and conveys simply the idea that
the writer has been sincere in what he
has written.
A great deal of breath has been I'M
necessarily wasted over the conven-
tional phrase, mot at home The
words, lat home have an acquired
meaning distinct from the literal one.
When Mrs. Brown says that she is at
home On Thursdays she does not. of
course. mean that on the other six days
of the week she is absent. AT home"
in certain connections has come to
mean merely that one is ready to re-
ceive visitors. and only very stupid
servant or child would be incapable of
perceiving the distinction. If the lady
in question told her servant to tell the
visitor that she had gone to the thea
tire. or was out of town, when she was
really in the house, there would be an
intention to deceive, and therefore lie:
and there is practically no emergency
in ordinary life when any such decep-
ton is necessary.
In stating that deception is excusable
If the motive is good. DIR. Andrews
opens the door to a most dangerous lib
erty of judgment. Who is to decide
whether the motive is good or not? And
who wants to be deceived with the
best intentions?" Even a child resents
that sort of thing. Deceptions are al
ways likely to be discovered sooner or
later, for the act of false representation
is artificial and therefore contrary to
the laws of nature Often the liar is
not believed even when he thinks he is
About o-thirds of his acquaintances
are sharp enough to see that he Is not
telling the truth. There seems to be
some sort of mental atmosphere which |
an insincere person. and |
arouscs doubt in the minds of those |
with whom he comes in contact.
One of the most embarrassing sItua- |
tons In life is the one created by a So |
called diplomatic individual who lies |
with the best intentions. This diplomat |
Is likely to be a woman. She has a |
neighbor whom she secretly disiikes, |
but to avoid trouble she appears most |
The neighbor instinctively
perceives insincerity. but what can SHE
do2 To decline the proffered advances
Is ungracious: to accept them may be
disastrous. There Is trouble In both
directions. Nobody can find out what !