首页 >出版文学> On the Decay of the Art of Lying>第3章
  didn't;_Ileftitblank!_""Justso—youhavetolda_silent_lie;youhaveleftittobeinferredthatyouhadnofaulttofindinthatmatter。"Shesaid,"Oh,wasthatalie?And_how_couldImentionheronesinglefault,andsheissogood?—Itwouldhavebeencruel。"Isaid,"Oneoughtalwaystolie,whenonecandogoodbyit;yourimpulsewasright,butyourjudgmentwascrude;
  thiscomesofunintelligentpractice。Nowobservetheresultsofthisinexpertdeflectionofyours。YouknowMr。Jones'sWillieislyingverylowwithscarlet—fever;well,yourrecommendationwassoenthusiasticthatthatgirlistherenursinghim,andtheworn—outfamilyhaveallbeentrustinglysoundasleepforthelastfourteenhours,leavingtheirdarlingwithfullconfidenceinthosefatalhands,becauseyou,likeyoungGeorgeWashington,haveareputa—
  However,ifyouarenotgoingtohaveanythingtodo,Iwillcomearoundto—morrowandwe'llattendthefuneraltogether,for,ofcourse,you'llnaturallyfeelapeculiarinterestinWillie'scase—aspersonalaone,infact,astheundertaker。"
  Butthatwasnotalllost。BeforeIwashalf—waythroughshewasinacarriageandmakingthirtymilesanhourtowardtheJonesmansiontosavewhatwasleftofWillieandtellallsheknewaboutthedeadlynurse。Allofwhichwasunnecessary,asWilliewasn'tsick;Ihadbeenlyingmyself。Butthatsameday,allthesame,shesentalinetothehospitalwhichfilleduptheneglectedblank,andstatedthe_facts,_too,inthesquarestpossiblemanner。
  Now,yousee,thislady'sfaultwas_not_inlying,butinlyinginjudiciously。Sheshouldhavetoldthetruth,_there,_andmadeituptothenursewithafraudulentcomplimentfurtheralonginthepaper。Shecouldhavesaid,"Inonerespectthissick—nurseisperfection—whensheisonthewatch,sheneversnores。"Almostanylittlepleasantliewouldhavetakenthestingoutofthattroublesomebutnecessaryexpressionofthetruth。
  Lyingisuniversal—we_all_doit。Therefore,thewisethingisforusdiligentlytotrainourselvestoliethoughtfully,judiciously;toliewithagoodobject,andnotanevilone;tolieforothers'advantage,andnotourown;toliehealingly,charitably,humanely,notcruelly,hurtfully,maliciously;toliegracefullyandgraciously,notawkwardlyandclumsily;
  toliefirmly,frankly,squarely,withheaderect,nothaltingly,tortuously,withpusillanimousmien,asbeingashamedofourhighcalling。Thenshallweberidoftherankandpestilenttruththatisrottingtheland;thenshallwebegreatandgoodandbeautiful,andworthydwellersinaworldwhereevenbenignNaturehabituallylies,exceptwhenshepromisesexecrableweather。
  Then—ButamIbutanewandfeeblestudentinthisgraciousart;Icannotinstruct_this_club。
  Jokingaside,Ithinkthereismuchneedofwiseexaminationintowhatsortsofliesarebestandwholesomesttobeindulged,seeingwe_must_alllieandwe_do_alllie,andwhatsortsitmaybebesttoavoid—andthisisathingwhichIfeelIcanconfidentlyputintothehandsofthisexperiencedClub—aripebody,whomaybetermed,inthisregard,andwithoutundueflattery,OldMasters。