Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
Hope deceives people, but the speaker refuses to be a deceiver like her.
In plain terms
Hope tricks us, but I will not lie to anyone.
What can you take from it?
Avoid deception even when hope is comforting.

Where it applies

  • comforting others
  • moral choices
  • philosophical debate

Putting it to work

  • practice honesty
  • question hopeful assurances

Questions to consider

  • Is hope ever worth the deception?
  • Can truth be cruel?

Another view

Hope sometimes protects us from harsh truths.

More from A. E. Housman

  1. They say my verse is sad: no wonder. Its narrow measure spans Rue for eternity, and sorrow Not mine, but man's. This is for all ill-treated fellows Unborn and …

    Permalink to quote #42
  2. The rainy Pleiads wester, Orion plunges prone, The stroke of midnight ceases, And I lie down alone.

    Permalink to quote #44
  3. Tell me not here, it needs not saying, What tune the enchantress plays In aftermaths of soft September Or under blanching mays, For she and I were long acquain…

    Permalink to quote #41

Related quotes

  1. 'A German is someone who cannot tell a lie without believing it himself.'

    Theodor AdornoTheodor Adorno quote #6
  2. Men who can succeed in deceiving no one else will succeed at last in deceiving themselves.

    Anthony TrollopeAnthony Trollope quote #8
  3. The quiet conscience is an invention of the devil.

    Albert SchweitzerAlbert Schweitzer quote #8