--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Lying is a terrible vice, it testifies…" description: "\"Lying is a terrible vice, it testifies that one despises God, but fears men.\" — Michel de Montaigne" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96e/michel-de-montaigne-142_despise_lying-is-a-terrible-vice-it-testifies-th_552357.jpg" --- # Lying is a terrible vice, it testifies that one despises… ![“Lying is a terrible vice, it testifies that one despises God, but fears men.” quote by Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96e/michel-de-montaigne-142_despise_lying-is-a-terrible-vice-it-testifies-th_552357.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96e/michel-de-montaigne-142_despise_lying-is-a-terrible-vice-it-testifies-th_552357.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96e/michel-de-montaigne-142_despise_lying-is-a-terrible-vice-it-testifies-th_552357.jpg) > “Lying is a terrible vice, it testifies that one despises God, but fears men.” [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Lying reveals a contempt for the divine and a fear of human judgment, showing moral weakness. **In simple terms:** Lying shows disrespect for God and fear of people. Key Takeaway Avoid deceit; uphold integrity. Themes morality faith fear integrity Mood guilt reflective Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - personal relationships - public speaking - leadership - conflict resolution Key Concepts ethical philosophy human nature Questions to Reflect On - When have you justified a lie? - What are the long‑term costs of deceit? A Different Perspective Lying may sometimes be used to protect others, complicating moral judgment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) ## Related quotes > [Lying is a most disgraceful vice; it first despises God, and then fears men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plutarch/lying-is-a-most-disgraceful-vice-it-first-despises-god-and-then-fears/) [Plutarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plutarch/) > [My motto is: When in doubt, just keep lying. Even if you're terrible at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-laurie/my-motto-is-when-in-doubt-just-keep-lying-even-if-you-re-terrible-at/) [Victoria Laurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-laurie/) > [I'm almost incapable of lying. I'd be a terrible spy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-oldman/i-m-almost-incapable-of-lying-i-d-be-a-terrible-spy/) [Gary Oldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-oldman/) > [Cowardice was undoubtedly one of the most terrible vices - thus spoke Yeshua Ha-Nozri. 'No, philosopher, I disagree with you: it is the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bulgakov/cowardice-was-undoubtedly-one-of-the-most-terrible-vices-thus-spoke/) [Mikhail Bulgakov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bulgakov/) > [ \[Hermogenes\] despises God's law in his painting, maintains repeated marriages \[almost certainly a reference to remarrying after divorce or perhaps even widowhood, which Tertullian,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tertullian/hermogenes-despises-god-s-law-in-his-painting-maintains-repeated/) [Tertullian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tertullian/) > [In midlife, I feel that my tendency to acquire books is rather like someone smoking two packs a day: it's a terrible vice that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/in-midlife-i-feel-that-my-tendency-to-acquire-books-is-rather-like/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [Fear not the man who fears God, but the one who fears you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/fear-not-the-man-who-fears-god-but-the-one-who-fears-you/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [“You wish you could go back to a time when God wasn’t confusing--when God and everything made sense. Your questions matter. Your fears matter.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-seefeldt-amodea/you-wish-you-could-go-back-to-a-time-when-god-wasn-t-confusing-when/) [Brenda Seefeldt Amodea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-seefeldt-amodea/) > [He who fears God fears no man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-ravenhill/he-who-fears-god-fears-no-man/) [Leonard Ravenhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-ravenhill/) > [Despots govern by terror. They know that he who fears God fears nothing else; and therefore they eradicate from the mind, through their Voltaire,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/despots-govern-by-terror-they-know-that-he-who-fears-god-fears/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [As he that fears God fears nothing else, so he that sees God sees everything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/as-he-that-fears-god-fears-nothing-else-so-he-that-sees-god-sees/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [But God fears women even more that He fears the devil- and is right to. She, with her power to bring life into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/but-god-fears-women-even-more-that-he-fears-the-devil-and-is-right-to/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [Free men freely work: Whoever fears God, fears to sit at ease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/free-men-freely-work-whoever-fears-god-fears-to-sit-at-ease/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [Lying is a disgraceful vice, and one that Plutarch paints in most disgraceful colors, when he says that it is "affording testimony that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/lying-is-a-disgraceful-vice-and-one-that-plutarch-paints-in-most/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [My whole life has conspired to bring me to this place, and I can’t despise my whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/my-whole-life-has-conspired-to-bring-me-to-this-place-and-i-can-t/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) ## More by Michel de Montaigne > [No man is exempt from saying silly things; the mischief is to say them deliberately.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/no-man-is-exempt-from-saying-silly-things-the-mischief-is-to-say-them/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The laws keep up their credit, not by being just, but because they are laws; 'tis the mystic foundation of their authority; they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-laws-keep-up-their-credit-not-by-being-just-but-because-they-are/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Every one rushes elsewhere and into the future, because no one wants to face one's own inner self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/every-one-rushes-elsewhere-and-into-the-future-because-no-one-wants/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Beauty is the true prerogative of women, and so peculiarly their own, that our sex, though naturally requiring another sort of feature, is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/beauty-is-the-true-prerogative-of-women-and-so-peculiarly-their-own/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The height and value of true virtue consists in the facility, utility, and pleasure of its exercise; so far from difficulty, that boys, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-height-and-value-of-true-virtue-consists-in-the-facility-utility/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Fie on the eloquence that leaves us craving itself, not things!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-craving-itself-not-things/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The plainest sign of wisdom is a continual cheerfulness: her state is like that of things in the regions above the moon, always clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-plainest-sign-of-wisdom-is-a-continual-cheerfulness-her-state-is/) [Michel De Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [The corruption of the age is made up by the particular contribution of every individual man; some contribute treachery, others injustice, atheism, tyranny, avarice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-corruption-of-the-age-is-made-up-by-the-particular-contribution/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [If people must be talking about me, I would have it to be truthfully and justly. I would willingly return from the next world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/if-people-must-be-talking-about-me-i-would-have-it-to-be-truthfully/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Most pleasures embrace us but to strangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/most-pleasures-embrace-us-but-to-strangle/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [In true friendship, in which I am expert, I give myself to my friend more than I draw him to me. I not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/in-true-friendship-in-which-i-am-expert-i-give-myself-to-my-friend/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [There are as many and innumerable degrees of wit, as there are cubits between this and heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/there-are-as-many-and-innumerable-degrees-of-wit-as-there-are-cubits/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [A man has need of tough ears to hear himself fairly judged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/a-man-has-need-of-tough-ears-to-hear-himself-fairly-judged/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Lucius Arruntius killed himself, he said, to escape both the future and the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/lucius-arruntius-killed-himself-he-said-to-escape-both-the-future-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [I have a vocabulary all my own. I pass the time when itis wet and disagreeable. Whenit is fine I do not wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/i-have-a-vocabulary-all-my-own-i-pass-the-time-when-itis-wet-and/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) [Explore all 1,131 Michel de Montaigne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) ## More Despise quotes > [My whole life has conspired to bring me to this place, and I can’t despise my whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/my-whole-life-has-conspired-to-bring-me-to-this-place-and-i-can-t/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [It may be important to great thinkers to examine the world, to explain and despise it. But I think it is only important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/it-may-be-important-to-great-thinkers-to-examine-the-world-to-explain/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“You don’t know what it’s like to worry you’ll start to despise the people who help you, the ones you should love, because they’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-guzeman/you-don-t-know-what-it-s-like-to-worry-you-ll-start-to-despise-the/) [Tracy Guzeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-guzeman/) > [Never despise a drink because it is easy to make and/or uses commercial mixes. Unquestioning devotion to authenticity is, in any department of life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/never-despise-a-drink-because-it-is-easy-to-make-and-or-uses/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [Everyone has conscience enough to hate; few have religion enough to love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/everyone-has-conscience-enough-to-hate-few-have-religion-enough-to/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [I agree that biphobia is real, but I think it's absolutely worth considering that someone who "despises" having sex with her husband - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mallory-ortberg/i-agree-that-biphobia-is-real-but-i-think-it-s-absolutely-worth/) [Mallory Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mallory-ortberg/) > [If you want to know how to make people shun you and laugh at you behind your back and even despise you, here is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/if-you-want-to-know-how-to-make-people-shun-you-and-laugh-at-you/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [Russians not only vehemently despise blacks, they believe Africa begins at the Ukraine border.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/russians-not-only-vehemently-despise-blacks-they-believe-africa/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [I despise a person of little mind - one might as well not have any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-dunham-kelley-hawkins/i-despise-a-person-of-little-mind-one-might-as-well-not-have-any/) Emma Dunham Kelley-Hawkins > [I despise computers in many ways. I think they’re hopelessly underevolved and overrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-despise-computers-in-many-ways-i-think-they-re-hopelessly/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [With the single exception of Homer, there is no eminent writer, not even Sir Walter Scott, whom I can despise so entirely as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/with-the-single-exception-of-homer-there-is-no-eminent-writer-not/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I despise the pleasure of pleasing people that I despise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wortley-montagu/i-despise-the-pleasure-of-pleasing-people-that-i-despise/) [Mary Wortley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wortley-montagu/) > [It was beautiful and rare, and you have every right to despise me." She stood pressed to the wall, not moving. "When you came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/it-was-beautiful-and-rare-and-you-have-every-right-to-despise-me-she/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“I'm really starting to despise good -nights and good -byes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mi-juan-yu-tu/i-m-really-starting-to-despise-good-nights-and-good-byes/) Mi Juan Yu tu > [But miserable most, to love unloved? This you should pity rather than despise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/but-miserable-most-to-love-unloved-this-you-should-pity-rather-than/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) Browse all 918 Despise quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Lying is a terrible vice, it testifies that one despises God, but fears men.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michel de Montaigne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/lying-is-a-terrible-vice-it-testifies-that-one-despises-god-but-fears/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Despise" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/lying-is-a-terrible-vice-it-testifies-that-one-despises-god-but-fears/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96e/michel-de-montaigne-142_despise_lying-is-a-terrible-vice-it-testifies-th_552357.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96e/michel-de-montaigne-142_despise_lying-is-a-terrible-vice-it-testifies-th_552357.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96e/michel-de-montaigne-142_despise_lying-is-a-terrible-vice-it-testifies-th_552357.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Lying is a terrible vice, it testifies that one despises God, but fears men.” — Michel de Montaigne", "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": "Michel de Montaigne", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Lying is a terrible vice, it...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/lying-is-a-terrible-vice-it-testifies-that-one-despises-god-but-fears/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/lying-is-a-terrible-vice-it-testifies-that-one-despises-god-but-fears/#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 } } ] } ```