Deception Sayings and Quotes

Below you will find our collection of inspirational, wise, and humorous old deception quotes, deception sayings, and deception proverbs, collected over the years from a variety of sources.

There's a degree of deception in silence. Don Lemon
The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions. Leonardo da Vinci
All deception in the course of life is indeed nothing else but a lie reduced to practice, and falsehood passing from words into things. Robert Southey
A deception that elevates us is dearer than a host of low truths. Marina Tsvetaeva
Any seeming deception in a statement is costly, not only in the expense of the advertising but in the detrimental effect produced upon the customer, who believes she has been misled. John Wanamaker
Only one deception is possible in the infinite sense, self-deception. Soren Kierkegaard
Self-deception is sometimes as necessary a tool as a crowbar. Moss Hart
He who tries to protect himself from deception is often cheated, even when most on his guard. Plautus
Don't tell me of deception; a lie is a lie, whether it be a lie to the eye or a lie to the ear. Samuel Johnson
Nothing is so difficult as not deceiving oneself. Ludwig Wittgenstein
Deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance. Oscar Wilde
We are never so easily deceived as when we imagine we are deceiving others. Francois de la Rochefoucauld
It is vain to find fault with those arts of deceiving wherein men find pleasure to be deceived. John Locke
He who has made it a practice to lie and deceive his father, will be the most daring in deceiving others. Horace
Cunning is the art of concealing our own defects, and discovering the weaknesses of others. William Hazlitt
Hateful to me as the gates of Hades is that man who hides one thing in his heart and speaks another. Homer
It is twice the pleasure to deceive the deceiver. Jean de la Fontaine
It seems to me that there are two kinds of trickery: the ''fronts'' people assume before one another's eyes, and the ''front'' a writer puts on the face of reality. Francoise Sagan
Nothing is more common on earth than to deceive and be deceived. Johann G. Seume
The art of using deceit and cunning grow continually weaker and less effective to the user. John Tillotson
The easiest way to be cheated is to believe yourself to be more cunning than others. Pierre Charron
Tricks and treachery are the practice of fools, that don't have brains enough to be honest. Benjamin Franklin
We are never deceived; we deceive ourselves. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
To give up pretensions is as blessed a relief as to get them ratified. William James
The craftiest trickery are too short and ragged a cloak to cover a bad heart. Johann Kaspar Lavater
You can fool some of the people all the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all the time. Abraham Lincoln
We like to be deceived. Blaise Pascal
Whatever deceives men seems to produce a magical enchantment. Plato
When a person cannot deceive himself the chances are against his being able to deceive other people. Mark Twain
The people of the world having once been deceived, suspect deceit in truth itself. Hitopadesa
Deception is a cruel act... It often has many players on different stages that corrode the soul. Donna A. Favors
Reality denied comes back to haunt. Philip K. Dick
You can fool yourself, you know. You'd think it's impossible, but it turns out it's the easiest thing of all. Jodi Picoult
Lying to ourselves is more deeply ingrained than lying to others. Fyodor Dostoyevsky
If it is necessary sometimes to lie to others, it is always despicable to lie to oneself. W. Somerset Maugham
Beware of becoming a pawn in your own game. Marty Rubin
Avoidance of self deception is a matter of integrity not comfort. Orrin Woodward
Whenever, therefore, people are deceived and form opinions wide of the truth, it is clear that the error has slid into their minds through the medium of certain resemblances to that truth. Socrates
There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact. Arthur Conan Doyle
It is not difficult to deceive the first time, for the deceived possesses no antibodies and is unvaccinated by suspicion. John Updike
Any fool can tell the truth, but it requires a man of some sense to know how to lie well. Samuel Butler
A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true. Demosthenes
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. Thomas Jefferson
Lying is not only excusable; it is not only innocent; it is, above all, necessary and unavoidable. Without the ameliorations that it offers, life would become a mere syllogism and hence too metallic to be borne. H. L. Mencken
He who is not very strong in memory should not meddle with lying. Michel de Montaigne
Whoever is detected in a shameful fraud is ever after not believed even if they speak the truth. Phaedrus
If you do not wish to be lied to, do not ask questions. If there were no questions, there would be no lies. B. Traven
Yet still we hug the dear deceit. Nathaniel Cotton
Skilled in every trick, a worthy heir of his paternal craft, he would make black look white, and white look black. Ovid
Deceit is the false road to happiness; and all the joys we travel through to vice, like fairy banquets, vanish when we touch them. Aaron Hill
Nature never deceives us; it is we who deceive ourselves. John Bartlett
Cheats never prosper. English Proverb
Deceive boys with toys, but men with oaths. Lysander
And if, to be sure, sometimes you need to conceal a fact with words, do it in such a way that it does not become known, or, if it does become known, that you have a ready and quick defense. Niccolo Machiavelli
A false report, if believed during three days, maybe of great service to the government. Catherine de Medici
Doubtless, the pleasure is as great / Of being cheated, as to cheat./ As lookers-on feel most delight / That least perceive a juggler's sleight. Samuel Butler
One is easily fooled by that which one loves. Moliere
An open foe may prove a curse, / But a pretended friend is worse. John Gay
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. St. Matthew
Keep up appearances; there lies the test. The world will give thee credit for the rest. Outward be fair, however, foul within; Sin if thou wilt, but then in secret sin. Charles Churchill
The underlying principle of all Satan's tactics is deception. He is a crafty and clever camouflage. Billy Graham
For Satan's deceptions to be successful, they must be so cunningly devised that his real purpose is concealed by wiles. Billy Graham
Satan is masterful at using just enough of God's truth to capture a person's attention and then mix it with his devious potion that will lead believers astray. Billy Graham
A mouth that praises may conceal a hand that kills. Arabian Proverb
Good works and bad acts deceive both wise and simple. Portuguese Proverb
He who has once used deception will deceive again. Roman Proverb
To deceive a diplomat, speak the truth — he has no experience with it. Greek Proverb
Even what appears to be the purest feeling could still be a deception. Soren Kierkegaard
Watch out brothers, so that there won't be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart that departs from the living God. But encourage each other daily while it is called today so that none of you is hardened by sin's deception. Hebrews 3:12
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 1 John 1:8
Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak. Sun Tzu
Just because something isn't a lie does not mean that it isn't deceptive. A liar knows that he is a liar, but one who speaks mere portions of truth in order to deceive is a craftsman of destruction. Criss Jami
Someone who smiles too much with you can sometimes frown too much with you at your back. Michael Bassey Johnson
And thus I clothe my naked villainy / With odd old ends stol'n out of holy writ; / And seem a saint, when most I play the devil. William Shakespeare
People trust their eyes above all else - but most people see what they wish to see, or what they believe they should see; not what is really there. Zoe Marriott
His lies were so exquisite I almost wept. Dave Eggers
Many things are not as they seem: The worst things in life never are. Jim Butcher
The truest way to be deceived is to think oneself more knowing than others. Francois de la Rochefoucauld
People appear like angels until you hear them speak. You must not rush to judge people by the colour of their cloaks, but by the content of their words! Israelmore Ayivor
Her words were like tinfoil; they shone and they covered things up. Helen Cross