[Ads-l] Quote: When you have to fool the world, tell the truth. Otto von Bismarck

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Gerald Leonard wrote:
>  I remember coming across a related quote but can't locate it now
>
> (I think it was by Disraeli):
> "Always tell the truth. You will confound your enemies and conceal
> your true intentions."
>
> The closest I can find is one by Mark Twain: "When in doubt tell the
> truth. You will confound your enemies and astound your friends."

Thanks Gerald for posting an interesting lead.

I sent an inquiry via twitter to colleague Gerald Krieghofer who
investigates German (and English) quotations.
https://twitter.com/QuoteResearch/status/1143388224427106304

A pertinent quotation in German in 1898 was shared via twitter:

https://twitter.com/RalfBuelow/status/1143965271390130177
https://twitter.com/krieghofer/status/1143968657216888834

I also shared some thematically related passages about Bismarck that I
plan to add to the QI article in the coming days:

https://twitter.com/QuoteResearch/status/1143971057923252225
https://twitter.com/QuoteResearch/status/1143971799253880835
https://twitter.com/QuoteResearch/status/1143972523429761024
https://twitter.com/QuoteResearch/status/1143976504600211457

Garson O'Toole

______________________________
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Sent: Tuesday, June 25, 2019 12:12 AM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Quote: When you have to fool the world, tell the truth. Otto von Bismarck
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Quote: When you have to fool the world, tell the truth. Otto von
>               Bismarck
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I was asked to explore the saying in the subject line which has a few
> close variants.
>
> 1)   When you have to fool the world, tell the truth.
> 2)   To fool the world tell the truth.
> 3)   The way to fool the people is to tell the truth.
> 4)   When you want to fool the world, tell the truth.
>
> The Quote Investigator article is here.
> https://quoteinvestigator.com/2019/06/25/fool-tell/
>
> The earliest match I found appeared in 1885 within an article about a
> confusing financial move executed by a partner of powerful speculator
> Jay Gould:
>
> [ref] 1885 February 16, Democrat and Chronicle, Mystifying Wall
> Street: Selling Out Western Union, Quote Page 1, Column 3, Rochester,
> New York. (Newspapers_com) [/ref]
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> Others held that Gould was simply acting on Bismarck's principle:
> "When you have to fool the world, tell the truth."
> [End excerpt]
>
> In 1885 Bismarck was still a powerful figure in European politics; he
> lived until 1898. I haven't found a contemporary German version of
> this quotation ascribed to the statesman. The newspaper referred to
> the adage as "Bismarck's principle"; hence, it remains possible that
> he never said it; instead, observers synthesized the statement to
> describe the behavior of Bismarck.
>
> By 1887 the saying was already listed in a reference titled "Proverbs,
> Maxims and Phrases of All Ages" compiled by Robert Christy:
>
> [ref] 1887, Proverbs, Maxims and Phrases of All Ages: Classified
> Subjectively and Arranged Alphabetically, Compiled by Robert Christy,
> Volume Two of Two Volumes Combined, Topic: Truth, Quote Page 389, G.
> P. Putnam's Sons, New York. (Internet Archive at archive.org) link
> [/ref]
> https://archive.org/stream/proverbsmaximsa01chrigoog?ref=ol#page/n1072/mode/1up
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> 130. When you have to fool the world, tell the truth. Bismarck.
> [End excerpt]
>
> Help would be appreciated
> Garson O'Toole
>
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