Evening star., 1930-06-28

himself, Eyes, this was the cause of
this"
AS far back as the records go men
lied to one another No doubt in the
beginning of speech a few men took
advantage of the new weapon which
words offered and made use of it to
their own ends. The simple sense of
justice lying in human brains struggled
to say what we of today can say easily
enough, Why, you did not tell me the
truth-that was a lie!"
Bas1caly, therefore, mankind must
be held to be correct in its assumption
that lie is lie. and is to be frowned
upon as such. This viewpoint would be
entirely right If it did not completely
overlook the individual human being.
Since the race began there has been
a struggle against the mob by the indi-
vidual. The mob when in full force is
more powerful in a ruthless, destructive
way. The individual has felt this, and
has realized that in the handling of
such brute as the mob constitutes he
has right to make use of such weapons
as will yield results Anything is fair
in love and war, as the saying puts it.
Simple and compound lies, therefore
early came to play an important part
in the history of nations. Many un-
truths we're not so much written or
others to assume certain things. His
tory is full of such lies.
X * X
The life of every individual, too, has
its full share of the J. we'll conceived
and handled. 1t is uS,e to deny it.
The man who won't lie when the situa-
ton calls for it is a plain fool. What
is this thing one calls lie" after all?
1t Is simply Encouragement of facts
to suit given case. If the case juSti-
fieS it, the lie is justified. Even Prof
Einsteins mathematics give no better
equation. The result is what counts,
and If the result is that sought by an
honest man, by a decent man, then God
will forgive the liar.
The crux of the matter reposes in the
type of person who lies and in the pur-
pose for which he lies. The range Of
these falsehoodS runs from the so-called
white lie" of polite society to the false
hood which keeps from a dying man
the truth of his condition. The multi
form situations of life and living offer
countless opportunities for choosing be-
tween crude, harsh and merciless
truth and a sweet, clean and decent lie.
He who would hesitate between them is
one with the cruel aspect of life. He is
not civilized. Often there is a greater
truth in truth than the mere outer
aspect This is the shell, or mere letter
of the law, as it were. The real truth
behind the truth may be just the oppo-
site of what the ruthless realist would
insist upon.
1t would seem to the intelligent man
that Nature made vast and unalter-
able mistake in permitting cruelty to
form such a large part of life. One
form of life Stays and eats another, and
the ether another, and so on up the
scale, or rather down; for larger kills
smaller, except in the cases of small
things, such as germs, craftily turning
the tables upon their hosts.
1t is again this inherent cruelty that
the lie, which often assumes the guise
of craftiness, steps in as an angel of
mercy, right-and, yes, of the truth;
that greater truth which flowers today
throughout the world in deeds of mercy
and kindness. We hope that no one
will construe anything VIC have said
here as an apology for the evil lie, the
lie foul, indecorous, unwholesome, but
only as an apology, if one is needed, for
the sane lying of civilized human be-
ingS whose lives daily prove that,
though facts are hard taSkmasters, man
possesses the means of pleasantly out
whiting them.