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About this quote

What does it mean?
Giraudoux argues that war creates an atmosphere where lying becomes the norm.
In plain terms
War forces people to live in an environment of lies.
What can you take from it?
Conflict often requires or breeds dishonesty.

Where it applies

  • conflict zones
  • political discourse

Putting it to work

  • seek truth
  • critique narratives

Questions to consider

  • Where do you see lies used now?

Another view

Not all conflicts rely equally on falsehood.

More from Jean Giraudoux

  1. Education makes us more stupid than the brutes. A thousand voices call to us on every hand, but our ears are stopped with wisdom.

    Permalink to quote #9
  2. Faithful women are all alike, they think only of their fidelity, never of their husbands.

    Permalink to quote #11
  3. A man has only one way of being immortal on earth: he has to forget he is a mortal.

    Permalink to quote #8

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