A form of words that is strictly true may be used to state what is
wholly false:
Daniel O’Connell was engaged in a will case, the allegation
being that the will was a forgery. The subscribing witnesses
swore that the will had been signed by the deceased “while
life was in him”--a mode of expression derived from the Irish
language, and which peasants who have ceased to speak Irish
still retain. The evidence was strong in favor of the will, when
O’Connell was struck by the persistency of the man, who always
repeated the same words, “The life was in him.” O’Connell asked:
“On the virtue of your oath, was he alive?” “By the virtue of my
oath, the life was in him.” “Now I call upon you in the presence
of your Maker, who will one day pass sentence on you for this
evidence, I solemnly ask--and answer me at your peril--was there
not a live fly in the dead man’s mouth when his hand was placed
on the will?” The witness was taken aback at this question; he
trembled, turned pale, and faltered out an abject confession
that the counselor was right; a fly had been introduced into
the mouth of the dead man, to allow the witnesses to swear that
“life was in him.” (Text.)--CROAKE JAMES, “Curiosities
of Law and Lawyers.”
(1053)
=Falsehood from Kindness=--See KINDNESS VIOLATING TRUTH.
=False Safety=--See DEATH, CHRISTIAN ATTITUDE TOWARD.