8604. TRUTH, Importance of.—
It is of
great importance to set a resolution, not to
be shaken, never to tell an untruth. There
is no vice so mean, so pitiful, so contemptible;
and he who permits himself to tell a lie once,
finds it much easier to do it a second and a
third time, till at length it becomes habitual;
he tells lies without attending to it, and truths
without the world's believing him. This
falsehood of the tongue leads to that of the
heart, and in time depraves all its good dispositions.—
To Peter Carr. Washington ed. i, 396.
(P.
1785)
