"Vtrubique autem orator meminisse debebit actione tota quid finxerit, quoniam solent excidere quae falsa sunt: verumque est illud quod vulgo dicitur, mendacem memorem esse oportere."
— Quintilian

January 1, 1970

Quote Details

Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Added on April 10, 2026
Unverified quote
0 likes
Literary criticsEducatorsPeople from Rome
Original Language: English

Sources

In either case the orator should bear clearly in mind throughout his whole speech what the fiction is to which he has committed himself, since we are apt to forget our falsehoods, and there is no doubt about the truth of the proverb that a liar should have a good memory. — Book IV, Chapter II, 91; translation by H. E. Butler — Compare: "Liars ought to have good memories", Algernon Sidney, Discourses on Government, chapter ii, section xv. — Alternate translation for "solent excidere quae falsa su