--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Atticus sometimes said that one way to…" description: "\"“Atticus sometimes said that one way to tell whether a witness was lying or telling the truth was to listen rather than watch.”\" — Harper Lee" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/harper-lee-451_telling-the-truth_atticus-sometimes-said-that-one-way-to-t_963783.png" --- # Atticus sometimes said that one way to tell whether a… ![“Atticus sometimes said that one way to tell whether a witness was lying or telling the truth was to listen rather than watch.” quote by Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/harper-lee-451_telling-the-truth_atticus-sometimes-said-that-one-way-to-t_963783.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/harper-lee-451_telling-the-truth_atticus-sometimes-said-that-one-way-to-t_963783.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/harper-lee-451_telling-the-truth_atticus-sometimes-said-that-one-way-to-t_963783.png) > ““Atticus sometimes said that one way to tell whether a witness was lying or telling the truth was to listen rather than watch.”” [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Listening closely reveals truth more reliably than watching, as deception often hides in visual cues. **In simple terms:** Listening uncovers truth better than watching. Key Takeaway Prioritize listening to discern honesty. Themes truth listening perception deception Mood analytical thoughtful Type literary educational When to use this quote - courtroom testimony - interviews - conflict resolution - parent‑child talks Key Concepts psychology communication law Questions to Reflect On - How does listening change your judgment? - When might watching be more reliable? A Different Perspective Listening can be misinterpreted without context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Telling the truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-the-truth/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [Whether this tale be true or false, none can tell, for none were there to witness it themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/whether-this-tale-be-true-or-false-none-can-tell-for-none-were-there/) [Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/) > [“For every group, malevolence is always somewhere else. Maybe we understand at this point in history that it can occur at night in darkened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-salter/for-every-group-malevolence-is-always-somewhere-else-maybe-we/) [Anna Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-salter/) > [There's no polite way of telling the truth. So, I have to keep my heart and ears strong to to receive the truth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/there-s-no-polite-way-of-telling-the-truth-so-i-have-to-keep-my-heart/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [“Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win,” Atticus said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/simply-because-we-were-licked-a-hundred-years-before-we-started-is-no/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“Atticus---" ...said Jem bleakly. "How could they do it, how could they?" "I don't know, but they did it. They've done it before &…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/atticus-said-jem-bleakly-how-could-they-do-it-how-could-they-i-don-t/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Atticus said that Jem was trying hard to forget something, but what he was really doing was storing it away for a while, until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/atticus-said-that-jem-was-trying-hard-to-forget-something-but-what-he/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Atticus said naming people after Confederate generals made slow steady drinkers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/atticus-said-naming-people-after-confederate-generals-made-slow/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“She was not on the porch. In later years, I sometimes wondered exactly what made Jem do it, what made him break the bonds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/she-was-not-on-the-porch-in-later-years-i-sometimes-wondered-exactly/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“Well, Atticus, I was just sayin’ to Mr. Cunningham that entailments are bad an’ all that, but you said not to worry, it take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/well-atticus-i-was-just-sayin-to-mr-cunningham-that-entailments-are/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“Nobody knew what form of intimidation Mr. Radley employed to keep Boo out of sight, but Jem figured that Mr. Radley kept him chained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/nobody-knew-what-form-of-intimidation-mr-radley-employed-to-keep-boo/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“I wish Bob Ewell wouldn’t chew tobacco,” was all Atticus said about it. According to Miss Stephanie Crawford, however, Atticus was leaving the post…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-wish-bob-ewell-wouldn-t-chew-tobacco-was-all-atticus-said-about-it/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Atticus had said it was the polite thing to talk to people about what they were interested in, not about what you were interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/atticus-had-said-it-was-the-polite-thing-to-talk-to-people-about-what/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“I was too surprised to cry. I crept from Jem’s room and shut the door softly, lest undue noise set him off again. Suddenly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-was-too-surprised-to-cry-i-crept-from-jem-s-room-and-shut-the-door/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [If you want the truth, I'll tell you the truth. Listen to the secret sound, the real sound, which is inside you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir/if-you-want-the-truth-i-ll-tell-you-the-truth-listen-to-the-secret/) [Kabir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir/) > [It speaks truth when you listen to Bob Marley.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohan-marley/it-speaks-truth-when-you-listen-to-bob-marley/) [Rohan Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohan-marley/) ## More by Harper Lee > [“No jury in this part of the world's going to say, "We think you're guilty, but not very," on a charge like that. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/no-jury-in-this-part-of-the-world-s-going-to-say-we-think-you-re/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [That proves something- that a gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply because they're still human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/that-proves-something-that-a-gang-of-wild-animals-can-be-stopped/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“I wanted you to see something about her—I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-wanted-you-to-see-something-about-her-i-wanted-you-to-see-what-real/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Any writer worth his salt writes to please himself...It's a self-exploratory operation that is endless. An exorcism of not necessarily his demon, but of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/any-writer-worth-his-salt-writes-to-please-himself-it-s-a-self/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“folks don’t like to have somebody around knowin’ more than they do. It aggravates ’em. You’re not gonna change any of them by talkin’…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/folks-don-t-like-to-have-somebody-around-knowin-more-than-they-do-it/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [ “...\[Summer\] was a thousand colors in a parched landscape...” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/summer-was-a-thousand-colors-in-a-parched-landscape/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [It’s never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/it-s-never-an-insult-to-be-called-what-somebody-thinks-is-a-bad-name/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I wonder how much of the day I spend just callin' after you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-wonder-how-much-of-the-day-i-spend-just-callin-after-you/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [Writing is something you'll never learn in any university or at any school. It's something that is within you, and if it isn't there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/writing-is-something-you-ll-never-learn-in-any-university-or-at-any/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence that the crime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/to-begin-with-this-case-should-never-have-come-to-trial-the-state-has/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“Naw, Jem. I think that there is just one kind of folks. Folks." Jen turned and punched his pillow. WHen he settle back his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/naw-jem-i-think-that-there-is-just-one-kind-of-folks-folks-jen-turned/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“The course of English Literature would have been decidedly different had Mr. Wordsworth owned a power mower.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/the-course-of-english-literature-would-have-been-decidedly-different/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I would like to be the chronicler of something that I think is going down the drain very swiftly, and that is small-town, middle-class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-would-like-to-be-the-chronicler-of-something-that-i-think-is-going/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [“The gum looked fresh. I sniffed it and it smelled all right. I licked it and waited for a while. When I did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/the-gum-looked-fresh-i-sniffed-it-and-it-smelled-all-right-i-licked/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [I just thought you'd like to know I can read. You got anything needs readin' I can do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/i-just-thought-you-d-like-to-know-i-can-read-you-got-anything-needs/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) [Explore all 494 Harper Lee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) ## More Telling the truth quotes > [When you put your hand on the Bible, you are saying something much stronger than just telling your peers that you're going to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-greenwood/when-you-put-your-hand-on-the-bible-you-are-saying-something-much/) [Lee Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-greenwood/) > [Tell the truth about your wound, and then you will get a truthful picture of the remedy to apply to it. Don't pack whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarissa-pinkola-estes/tell-the-truth-about-your-wound-and-then-you-will-get-a-truthful/) [Clarissa Pinkola Estes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarissa-pinkola-estes/) > [It requires as much to tell the truth as to conceal it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baltasar-gracian/it-requires-as-much-to-tell-the-truth-as-to-conceal-it/) [Baltasar Gracian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baltasar-gracian/) > [I'm a Christian because Christianity names and addresses sin. It acknowledges the reality that the evil we observe in the world is also present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-held-evans/i-m-a-christian-because-christianity-names-and-addresses-sin-it/) [Rachel Held Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-held-evans/) > [Tell the truth and you won't have so much to remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/tell-the-truth-and-you-won-t-have-so-much-to-remember/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [One must be very particular about telling the truth. Through truth one can realize God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramakrishna/one-must-be-very-particular-about-telling-the-truth-through-truth-one/) [Ramakrishna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramakrishna/) > [When you're playing country music, you have to tell the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-kane/when-you-re-playing-country-music-you-have-to-tell-the-truth/) [Christian Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-kane/) > [Nobody has the right to put another under such a difficulty that he must either hurt the person by telling the truth or hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/nobody-has-the-right-to-put-another-under-such-a-difficulty-that-he/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Tell the truth or trump-but get the trick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/tell-the-truth-or-trump-but-get-the-trick/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Journalists are notoriously easy to kid. All you have to do is speak to a journalist in a very serious tone of voice, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/journalists-are-notoriously-easy-to-kid-all-you-have-to-do-is-speak/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught in falsehood's school, and the one man that dares to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/strange-times-are-these-in-which-we-live-when-old-and-young-are/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [You can't undo anything you've already done, but you can face up to it. You can tell the truth. You can seek forgiveness. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tertullian/you-can-t-undo-anything-you-ve-already-done-but-you-can-face-up-to-it/) [Tertullian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tertullian/) > [In the last few years, the very idea of telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth is dredged up only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-musto/in-the-last-few-years-the-very-idea-of-telling-the-truth-the-whole/) [Michael Musto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-musto/) > [ \[Eugene Smith\] was always writing these diatribes about truth, and how he wanted to tell the truth, the truth, the truth. It was a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-clark/eugene-smith-was-always-writing-these-diatribes-about-truth-and-how/) [Larry Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-clark/) > [Satire must always accompany any free society. It is an absolute necessity. Even in the most repressive medieval kingdoms, they understood the need for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-randazzo/satire-must-always-accompany-any-free-society-it-is-an-absolute/) Joe Randazzo [Browse all 1,345 Telling the truth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-the-truth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Atticus sometimes said that one way to tell whether a witness was lying or telling the truth was to listen rather than watch.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harper Lee" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/atticus-sometimes-said-that-one-way-to-tell-whether-a-witness-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Telling the truth" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/atticus-sometimes-said-that-one-way-to-tell-whether-a-witness-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/harper-lee-451_telling-the-truth_atticus-sometimes-said-that-one-way-to-t_963783.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/harper-lee-451_telling-the-truth_atticus-sometimes-said-that-one-way-to-t_963783.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5c1/harper-lee-451_telling-the-truth_atticus-sometimes-said-that-one-way-to-t_963783.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Atticus sometimes said that one way to tell whether a witness was lying or telling the truth was to listen…” — Harper Lee", "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": "Harper Lee", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Atticus sometimes said that one way...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/atticus-sometimes-said-that-one-way-to-tell-whether-a-witness-was/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/atticus-sometimes-said-that-one-way-to-tell-whether-a-witness-was/#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 } } ] } ```