--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I may … surprise you - but I shall not…" description: "\"I may … surprise you - but I shall not deceive you.\" — Eugene Talmadge" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fa/eugene-talmadge-80906_deceive_i-may-surprise-you-but-i-shall-not-decei_3024767.jpg" --- # I may … surprise you - but I shall not deceive you. ![“I may … surprise you - but I shall not deceive you.” quote by Eugene Talmadge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fa/eugene-talmadge-80906_deceive_i-may-surprise-you-but-i-shall-not-decei_3024767.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fa/eugene-talmadge-80906_deceive_i-may-surprise-you-but-i-shall-not-decei_3024767.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fa/eugene-talmadge-80906_deceive_i-may-surprise-you-but-i-shall-not-decei_3024767.jpg) > “I may … surprise you - but I shall not deceive you.” [Eugene Talmadge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-talmadge/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker promises honesty, emphasizing that despite expectations, they will not mislead. **In simple terms:** They commit to truthfulness. Key Takeaway Uphold honesty in promises. Themes integrity trust communication Mood serious determined Type political motivational When to use this quote - public speaking - leadership - negotiations Key Concepts ethics political rhetoric Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify someone's honesty? - What actions demonstrate true integrity? A Different Perspective Even sincere promises can be doubted. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Deceive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deceive/) [Deceiving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deceiving/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Shall Deceive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shall-deceive-4398953/) [Surprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise/) [Surprise Shall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise-shall-4913742/) ## Related quotes > [“There is safety in learning doctrine in gatherings which are sponsored by proper authority. Some members, even some who have made covenants in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyd-k-packer/there-is-safety-in-learning-doctrine-in-gatherings-which-are/) [Boyd K. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyd-k-packer/) > [It is quite as ignominious to allow oneself to be deceived as to deceive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-queen-of-sweden/it-is-quite-as-ignominious-to-allow-oneself-to-be-deceived-as-to/) [Christina, Queen of Sweden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-queen-of-sweden/) > [The best way to deceive a knave is to tell him the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-panin/the-best-way-to-deceive-a-knave-is-to-tell-him-the-truth/) [Ivan Panin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-panin/) > [It is as easy to unknowingly deceive yourself as it is to deceive others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/it-is-as-easy-to-unknowingly-deceive-yourself-as-it-is-to-deceive/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [And since we cannot deceive the whole human race all the time, it is most important thus to cut every generation off from all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/and-since-we-cannot-deceive-the-whole-human-race-all-the-time-it-is/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [We avenge intelligence when we deceive a fool, and the victory is worth the trouble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giacomo-casanova/we-avenge-intelligence-when-we-deceive-a-fool-and-the-victory-is/) [Giacomo Casanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giacomo-casanova/) > [It is in the ability to deceive oneself that the greatest talent is shown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-in-the-ability-to-deceive-oneself-that-the-greatest-talent-is/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [We often shed tears that deceive ourselves after deceiving others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/we-often-shed-tears-that-deceive-ourselves-after-deceiving-others/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Trust the story ... the storyteller may dissemble and deceive, the story can't: the story can only ever be itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-robertson/trust-the-story-the-storyteller-may-dissemble-and-deceive-the-story/) [James Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-robertson/) > [Those who try to achieve success without hard work ultimately deceive themselves-or worse-deceive others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/those-who-try-to-achieve-success-without-hard-work-ultimately-deceive/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [No, it's not that they're bad. It's that they're obliged to pretend they're good. They've been brought up to deceive and be cunning, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-fuentes/no-it-s-not-that-they-re-bad-it-s-that-they-re-obliged-to-pretend/) [Carlos Fuentes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-fuentes/) > [Nothing is so easy as to deceive oneself; for what we wish, we readily believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/nothing-is-so-easy-as-to-deceive-oneself-for-what-we-wish-we-readily/) [Demosthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demosthenes/) > [“Looks sure can be deceiving: not every ‘ugly’ person is a ‘bad’ person (or is guilty of whatever it is that they are accused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/looks-sure-can-be-deceiving-not-every-ugly-person-is-a-bad-person-or/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. She desperately needs to believe such pure joy is still possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/she-knows-she-s-deceiving-herself-about-that-but-she-prefers-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [We deceive ourselves when giving respect to the person for whom we have surrendered ourselves, when we respectively expect them to be as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-deceive-ourselves-when-giving-respect-to-the-person-for-whom-we/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) ## More by Eugene Talmadge > [You all got only three friends in this world: The Lord God Almighty, the Sears Roebuck catalog and Eugene Talmadge. And you can only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-talmadge/you-all-got-only-three-friends-in-this-world-the-lord-god-almighty/) [Eugene Talmadge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-talmadge/) > [You have only three real friends: Jesus Christ, Sears Roebuck, and Gene Talmadge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-talmadge/you-have-only-three-real-friends-jesus-christ-sears-roebuck-and-gene/) [Eugene Talmadge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-talmadge/) [Explore all 3 Eugene Talmadge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-talmadge/) ## More Deceive quotes > [We deceive ourselves when giving respect to the person for whom we have surrendered ourselves, when we respectively expect them to be as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-deceive-ourselves-when-giving-respect-to-the-person-for-whom-we/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. She desperately needs to believe such pure joy is still possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/she-knows-she-s-deceiving-herself-about-that-but-she-prefers-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“To recklessly excuse a failure is to believe that I’ve effectively erased it from the story of my life, when I’ve actually imprinted it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/to-recklessly-excuse-a-failure-is-to-believe-that-i-ve-effectively/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [A woman one loves rarely suffices for all our needs, so we deceive her with another whom we do not love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/a-woman-one-loves-rarely-suffices-for-all-our-needs-so-we-deceive-her/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [“Looks sure can be deceiving: not every ‘ugly’ person is a ‘bad’ person (or is guilty of whatever it is that they are accused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/looks-sure-can-be-deceiving-not-every-ugly-person-is-a-bad-person-or/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“When people say they do not care what others thing of them, for the most part they deceive themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-thing-of-them-for-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Nothing is so easy as to deceive oneself; for what we wish, we readily believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demosthenes/nothing-is-so-easy-as-to-deceive-oneself-for-what-we-wish-we-readily/) [Demosthenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demosthenes/) > [No, it's not that they're bad. It's that they're obliged to pretend they're good. They've been brought up to deceive and be cunning, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-fuentes/no-it-s-not-that-they-re-bad-it-s-that-they-re-obliged-to-pretend/) [Carlos Fuentes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-fuentes/) > [“In my opinion, a lie is a physical act, verbal statement, or omission, deliberately designed to deceive another of the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-craig/in-my-opinion-a-lie-is-a-physical-act-verbal-statement-or-omission/) [David Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-craig/) > [“When you slice the truth too thin, you deceive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eileen-wilks/when-you-slice-the-truth-too-thin-you-deceive/) [Eileen Wilks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eileen-wilks/) > [Those who try to achieve success without hard work ultimately deceive themselves-or worse-deceive others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/those-who-try-to-achieve-success-without-hard-work-ultimately-deceive/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [Even when they are trying to deceive the voters, the Democrats are incompetent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-hilton/even-when-they-are-trying-to-deceive-the-voters-the-democrats-are/) [Steve Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-hilton/) > [Trust the story ... the storyteller may dissemble and deceive, the story can't: the story can only ever be itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-robertson/trust-the-story-the-storyteller-may-dissemble-and-deceive-the-story/) [James Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-robertson/) > [Oh, what a tangled web we weave...when first we practice to deceive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/oh-what-a-tangled-web-we-weave-when-first-we-practice-to-deceive/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We often shed tears that deceive ourselves after deceiving others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/we-often-shed-tears-that-deceive-ourselves-after-deceiving-others/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) [Browse all 340 Deceive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deceive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I may … surprise you - but I shall not deceive you.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Eugene Talmadge" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-talmadge/i-may-surprise-you-but-i-shall-not-deceive-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Deceive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-talmadge/i-may-surprise-you-but-i-shall-not-deceive-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fa/eugene-talmadge-80906_deceive_i-may-surprise-you-but-i-shall-not-decei_3024767.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fa/eugene-talmadge-80906_deceive_i-may-surprise-you-but-i-shall-not-decei_3024767.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8fa/eugene-talmadge-80906_deceive_i-may-surprise-you-but-i-shall-not-decei_3024767.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I may … surprise you - but I shall not deceive you.” — Eugene Talmadge", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Eugene Talmadge", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-talmadge/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I may … surprise you -...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-talmadge/i-may-surprise-you-but-i-shall-not-deceive-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-talmadge/i-may-surprise-you-but-i-shall-not-deceive-you/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```