--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is not permissible to lie merely to…" description: "\"It is not permissible to lie merely to save one's face. But it is sometimes permissible to lie to save another person's face.\" — Katharine Fullerton Ge..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/katharine-fullerton-gerould-13_faces_it-is-not-permissible-to-lie-merely-to-s_1676596.jpg" --- # It is not permissible to lie merely to save one's face… ![“It is not permissible to lie merely to save one's face. But it is sometimes permissible to lie to save another person's face.” quote by Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/katharine-fullerton-gerould-13_faces_it-is-not-permissible-to-lie-merely-to-s_1676596.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/katharine-fullerton-gerould-13_faces_it-is-not-permissible-to-lie-merely-to-s_1676596.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/katharine-fullerton-gerould-13_faces_it-is-not-permissible-to-lie-merely-to-s_1676596.jpg) > “It is not permissible to lie merely to save one's face. But it is sometimes permissible to lie to save another person's face.” [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Lying to protect one's own reputation is wrong, but lying to protect another's reputation can be morally acceptable. **In simple terms:** Lying for self‑image is wrong; lying for others may be okay. Key Takeaway Consider others' dignity before protecting your own. Themes ethics honesty social self others Mood reflective empathetic Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - personal relationships - professional settings - conflict resolution - family discussions - public statements Key Concepts moral relativism protective deception social harmony Questions to Reflect On - When is protecting another's image more important than truth? - How does self‑preservation affect honesty? A Different Perspective Truth may be needed for accountability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [To say that "the camera cannot lie" is merely to underline the multiple deceits that are now practised in its name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/to-say-that-the-camera-cannot-lie-is-merely-to-underline-the-multiple/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [If you're to lie, lie to save a friend. If you're to cheat, cheat death. If you're to steal, steal the heart of someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-re-to-lie-lie-to-save-a-friend-if-you-re-to-cheat-cheat-death/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Some people LIE to save their asses. Some people LIE to make themselves look better then you. Some people LIE to hide who they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-people-lie-to-save-their-asses-some-people-lie-to-make/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don't tell me a lie to save me tears, just be real with me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kayla-hawk/don-t-tell-me-a-lie-to-save-me-tears-just-be-real-with-me/) [Kayla Hawk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kayla-hawk/) > [How wonderful to know someone who was bad and dishonorable and a cheat and a liar, when all the world was filled with people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mitchell/how-wonderful-to-know-someone-who-was-bad-and-dishonorable-and-a/) [Margaret Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mitchell/) > [I think the inherent right of the Government to lie to save itself when facing a nuclear disaster is basic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-sylvester/i-think-the-inherent-right-of-the-government-to-lie-to-save-itself/) Arthur Sylvester > [“But if you were given the chance to go back, to tell the truth instead of lie to save someone’s life and their feelings...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-sivec/but-if-you-were-given-the-chance-to-go-back-to-tell-the-truth-instead/) [T.E. Sivec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-e-sivec/) > [“Whether we forget something we are not proud of, or embellish it, or blame somebody else, we want to save face by not owning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-horney/whether-we-forget-something-we-are-not-proud-of-or-embellish-it-or/) [Karen Horney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-horney/) > [“Sometimes you do it to save face, thought Jerry, other times you just do it because you haven't done your job unless you've scared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/sometimes-you-do-it-to-save-face-thought-jerry-other-times-you-just/) [John le Carré](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) > [Let the other person save face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/let-the-other-person-save-face/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [“Save someone's face once and your influence with him rises. Save his face every time you can, and there is practically nothing he won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie-associates/save-someone-s-face-once-and-your-influence-with-him-rises-save-his/) Dale Carnegie & Associates > [“tied to honor and shame, how a person was seen, how things appeared, whether a person was respectable or not. All efforts to save…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-reid/tied-to-honor-and-shame-how-a-person-was-seen-how-things-appeared/) Cheryl Reid > [Isn't the best way to save face to keep the lower part shut?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/isn-t-the-best-way-to-save-face-to-keep-the-lower-part-shut/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Don't waste the breath to save your face, When you have done your best, And even more is asked of you, Let fate decide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-hunter/don-t-waste-the-breath-to-save-your-face-when-you-have-done-your-best/) [Robert Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-hunter/) > [The best way to save face is not to use the lower half.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-holtz/the-best-way-to-save-face-is-not-to-use-the-lower-half/) [Lou Holtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-holtz/) ## More by Katharine Fullerton Gerould > [When did the word 'temperament' come into fashion with us? Perhaps it came in when we discovered that artists were human beings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/when-did-the-word-temperament-come-into-fashion-with-us-perhaps-it/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [The insidiousness of science lies in its claim to be not a subject, but a method. You could ignore a subject; no subject is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/the-insidiousness-of-science-lies-in-its-claim-to-be-not-a-subject/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [... if a person is to be unconventional, he must be amusing or he is intolerable: for, in the nature of the case, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/if-a-person-is-to-be-unconventional-he-must-be-amusing-or-he-is/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [The aristocracy most widely developed in America is that of wealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/the-aristocracy-most-widely-developed-in-america-is-that-of-wealth/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [There are only three things worthwhile -- fighting, drinking, and making love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/there-are-only-three-things-worthwhile-fighting-drinking-and-making/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [ \[Science\] has challenged the super-eminence of religion; it has turned all philosophy out of doors except that which clings to its skirts; it has… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/science-has-challenged-the-super-eminence-of-religion-it-has-turned/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [Culture' means a long receptivity to things of the mind and the spirit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/culture-means-a-long-receptivity-to-things-of-the-mind-and-the-spirit/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [All violations of essential privacy are brutalizing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/all-violations-of-essential-privacy-are-brutalizing/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [I know exaggerators of both kinds: people whose lies are only picturesque adjectives, and people whose picturesque adjectives are only lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/i-know-exaggerators-of-both-kinds-people-whose-lies-are-only/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [Society, by insisting on conventions, has merely insisted on certain convenient signs by which we may know that a man is considering, in daily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/society-by-insisting-on-conventions-has-merely-insisted-on-certain/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [ We put \[young children\] into kindergarten where their reasoning powers are ruined; or, if we can afford it, we buy Montessori outfits that were… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/we-put-young-children-into-kindergarten-where-their-reasoning-powers/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [... there are some who, believing that all is for the best in the best of possible worlds, and that to-morrow is necessarily better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/there-are-some-who-believing-that-all-is-for-the-best-in-the-best-of/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [... it is one thing to sow your wild oats in talk, and quite another to live by your own kaleidoscopic paradoxes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/it-is-one-thing-to-sow-your-wild-oats-in-talk-and-quite-another-to/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [The indiscreet questioner - and by indiscreet questions I mean questions which it is not conceivably a man's duty either to the community or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/the-indiscreet-questioner-and-by-indiscreet-questions-i-mean/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [You can be slum-born and slum-bred and still achieve something worth while; but it is a stupid inverted snobbishness to be proud of it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/you-can-be-slum-born-and-slum-bred-and-still-achieve-something-worth/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) [Explore all 52 Katharine Fullerton Gerould quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) ## More Faces quotes > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [Because the truth is that gossip is as good as gospel in this town. You can save face but you won't ever save your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/because-the-truth-is-that-gossip-is-as-good-as-gospel-in-this-town/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [His fingertips slid down from my face, lightly stroking the line of my neck, down toward my shoulder. Everywhere he touched, a trail of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/his-fingertips-slid-down-from-my-face-lightly-stroking-the-line-of-my/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [I've seen every one, from Motley Crue to John Denver, with tears running down my face. I had no idea everyone had such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-nicks/i-ve-seen-every-one-from-motley-crue-to-john-denver-with-tears/) [Stevie Nicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-nicks/) > [So," I said. "Seems you're going to be stuck with me for a while." He smiled. A real smile that lit up his whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-armstrong/so-i-said-seems-you-re-going-to-be-stuck-with-me-for-a-while-he/) [Kelley Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-armstrong/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [If I had a million dollars, I just wouldn't just completely set back. I'd have to get out there and show my face to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muddy-waters/if-i-had-a-million-dollars-i-just-wouldn-t-just-completely-set-back-i/) [Muddy Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muddy-waters/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [If enough money is involved and enough people believe that two plus two equals five the media will report the story with a straight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/if-enough-money-is-involved-and-enough-people-believe-that-two-plus/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [Here comes old Rosie she's looking mighty fine, here comes hot Nancy she's steppin' right on time. There go the street lights bringing on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-seger/here-comes-old-rosie-she-s-looking-mighty-fine-here-comes-hot-nancy/) [Bob Seger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-seger/) > [A face is too slight a foundation for happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wortley-montagu/a-face-is-too-slight-a-foundation-for-happiness/) [Mary Wortley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wortley-montagu/) > [ That's probably why my face was looking so crazy when I was crying \[in "Hardball"\] because it was some real. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-b-jordan/that-s-probably-why-my-face-was-looking-so-crazy-when-i-was-crying-in/) [Michael B. Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-b-jordan/) > [Are we fighting?" I asked Morelli. "No. Were discussing." "Are you sure?" "Am I yelling?" Morelli asked. "Is my face purple? Are the cords…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/are-we-fighting-i-asked-morelli-no-were-discussing-are-you-sure-am-i/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) [Browse all 13,128 Faces quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is not permissible to lie merely to save one's face. 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