Lying (a.k.a. being economical with the truth, or economical with the actualite or semantic presdigitation): Ancient Greek philosophers speak out.
Aristotle: Important to be normally truthful.
Socrates (Xenophon reports): It's a good thing to lie to a sick son or a friend who wants to commit suicide, if you can stop the person from doing so.
Socrates: It is useful for a field general to lie to his troops in order to drive them to fight with greater valour or a parent to deceive a child into taking some unpleasant medicine that will be good for him/her.
Plato: Some lies can be useful, such as those doctors might tell their patients for their own good or those rulers of a country might tell their people to ensure the healthy functioning of society.
Heliodorus: ''A lie is good when it benefits the one who speaks it without doing harm to the one who hears.''
Augustine: 'It is never, ever, under any circumstances permissible to lie.'
What is your attitude to lying?
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