JB/015/294/001

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privilege of lying.

The Spaniard who says Esta casa es de V. This house is yours –
when you quit him after a visit, tells a lie to no purpose whatever.
The Frenchman who says – 'Je suis enchanté je suis desolé' – 'I am enchanted
I am desolated', – tho' he preserves all the while his tranquility, lies to no
purpose whatever. The Eng lishman who says 'Not at home' – tho' he is at
home, lies to no purpose whatever. Of In the terms of politeness, so called
mendacity occupies a leading place.

The confusion of ideas between truth & veracity has often led to created
great ambiguities of expression. Brissot was misled by it. He wrote a book
on Verité which verité conducted marched him about like as if it had been a Will o' the Wisp he was running after. Sometimes it was
a knowledge of things – sometimes it was veracity – correctness of statement –the truth
Sometimes it was the love of truth, as opposed to religious tyranny – by
which he had meant was the that knowledge which is the result of evidence, as opposed
to those declarations of belief which do not grow out of evidence, but out
of authority. He sometimes used it was to represent the substantial fact that of the real existence of certain
objects such or Laws In fact, truth, is the abstract & with the
vague associations which attaches to it is a very strange entity, – and slippery as an eel.

Veracity is the disposition of a man to give to give to
others the exact impression of his own mind. It is the avoidance of
misrepresentation, – & that growing out of attention, intense in
proportion to the importance of the representation itself.

Veracity with being wholly subordinate to prudence & benevolence –
is its exercise a virtue where, or the breach of it a vice – in a case where neither neither case would be
violated by its infraction – is it a vice or would such infraction be a vice.
No! – but to find such cases would be no easy task. It Veracity is
not indeed of any value but with a reference to the circumstances that surround it.
In the case of lying it may be seen how insufficient the often employed religious sanction is
for restraining childhood from vice. A child tell a lie has it said to him, is told "if you tell a lie you will
go to hell". He tells a lie – he does not go to hell the menaced punishment does not fall upon him – & the menace soon ceases
to have any influence. Hence If the child believe, – If thinks about the his next thoughts
matter he may naturally be – I may as well tell a hundred lies – it will not
make the matter worse.

Sincerity has a wider import than veracity. It is
a breach of sincerity not to state a fact – it is no breach of veracity.
There is much less scruple in not stating things than in stating things
falsely – it is the contrast between what is positive negative & what is positive. To
state what is annoying to another when no purpose is answered of corresponding
pleasure chance of pleasure or exemption from pain is the contrary of
virtuous. Where there is a solemn demand for truth the cases are few where it
should not be disclosed.

The importance of veracity must also be considered with a reference
to the number of persons interested in it. He who deceives two or more commits a greater crime than he who deceives one.

Identifier: | JB/015/294/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 15.
Date_1		Marginal Summary Numbering
Box	015	Main Headings	deontology
Folio number	294	Info in main headings field
Image	001	Titles
Category	linking material	Number of Pages	1
Recto/Verso	recto	Page Numbering	f143
Penner	sir john bowring	Watermarks	j & m mills 1828
Marginals		Paper Producer	john fraunceis gwyn
Corrections		Paper Produced in Year	1828
Notes public		ID Number	5510
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