--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The cruelest lies are often told in…" description: "\"The cruelest lies are often told in silence.\" — Robert Louis Stevenson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e2/robert-louis-stevenson-289_lies_the-cruelest-lies-are-often-told-in-sile_2701324.jpg" --- # The cruelest lies are often told in silence. ![“The cruelest lies are often told in silence.” quote by Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e2/robert-louis-stevenson-289_lies_the-cruelest-lies-are-often-told-in-sile_2701324.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e2/robert-louis-stevenson-289_lies_the-cruelest-lies-are-often-told-in-sile_2701324.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2e2/robert-louis-stevenson-289_lies_the-cruelest-lies-are-often-told-in-sile_2701324.jpg) > “The cruelest lies are often told in silence.” [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Silence can conceal the most harmful falsehoods, making them more damaging than spoken lies. **In simple terms:** Silence hides harmful lies. Key Takeaway Speak truth, avoid harmful silence. Themes honesty communication trust Mood reflective serious Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - relationships - family discussions - workplace meetings - public discourse Key Concepts psychology social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - When have you stayed silent and caused harm? - How can you safely voice truth? A Different Perspective Silence may be protective in some contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies/) [Silence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence/) ## Related quotes > [The cruelest lies are often told in silence. 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The cruelest lies are often told in silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/friends-people-who-know-you-well-but-like-you-anyway-the-cruelest/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“My my, the cruelest lies are often told without a word My my, the kindest truths are often spoken, never heard”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-folds/my-my-the-cruelest-lies-are-often-told-without-a-word-my-my-the/) [Ben Folds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-folds/) > [The cruelest lies are often told without a word The kindest truths are often spoken, never heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-folds/the-cruelest-lies-are-often-told-without-a-word-the-kindest-truths/) [Ben Folds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-folds/) > [A story is told as much by silence as by speech.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-griffin/a-story-is-told-as-much-by-silence-as-by-speech/) [Susan Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-griffin/) > [“Someone once told me that silence was golden. They lied. It’s deafening.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amelia-hutchins/someone-once-told-me-that-silence-was-golden-they-lied-it-s-deafening/) [Amelia Hutchins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amelia-hutchins/) > [The most beautiful words of love are told in silence for a look.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-most-beautiful-words-of-love-are-told-in-silence-for-a-look/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If there is so much to tell between two people but nothing is spoken then may be because everything is being told through silence!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-there-is-so-much-to-tell-between-two-people-but-nothing-is-spoken/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [When whole races and peoples conspire to propagate gigantic mute lies in the interest of tyrannies and shams, why should we care anything about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/when-whole-races-and-peoples-conspire-to-propagate-gigantic-mute-lies/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [When the lies are all told and forgot the truth will be their yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/when-the-lies-are-all-told-and-forgot-the-truth-will-be-their-yet/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [Lies were something you told other people to make things easier, somehow - hopefully, for them, but often more selfishly for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/lies-were-something-you-told-other-people-to-make-things-easier/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When your best friend turns out to be your enemy after all those years you know you were the better friend after finding out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chey/when-your-best-friend-turns-out-to-be-your-enemy-after-all-those/) Chey > [I wish I could anticipate some of the stories and lies that will be told. It's going to be great to get everyone together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-conley/i-wish-i-could-anticipate-some-of-the-stories-and-lies-that-will-be/) Larry Conley ## More by Robert Louis Stevenson > [You must suffer me to go my own dark way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/you-must-suffer-me-to-go-my-own-dark-way/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Nobody speaks of a beautifful view for 5 minutes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/nobody-speaks-of-a-beautifful-view-for-5-minutes/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best that we find is an honest friend. He is a fortunate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/we-are-all-travelers-in-the-wilderness-of-this-world-and-the-best/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The little rift between the sexes is astonishingly widened by simply teaching one set of catchwords to the girls and another to the boys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-little-rift-between-the-sexes-is-astonishingly-widened-by-simply/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The problem of education is twofold: first to know, and then to utter. Everyone who lives any semblance of an inner life thinks more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-problem-of-education-is-twofold-first-to-know-and-then-to-utter/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“For thirty years," he said, "I've sailed the seas and seen good and bad, better and worse, fair weather and foul, provisions running out,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/for-thirty-years-he-said-i-ve-sailed-the-seas-and-seen-good-and-bad/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [“Mutiny, it was plain, hung over us like a thunder-cloud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/mutiny-it-was-plain-hung-over-us-like-a-thunder-cloud/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Jealousy is the most radical primeval and naked form of admiration in war paint, so to speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/jealousy-is-the-most-radical-primeval-and-naked-form-of-admiration-in/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [It is the property of things seen for the first time, or for the first time after long, like the flowers in spring, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/it-is-the-property-of-things-seen-for-the-first-time-or-for-the-first/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [You have no idea, unless you have tried it, how endlessly long is a summer's day, that you measure out only by hunger, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/you-have-no-idea-unless-you-have-tried-it-how-endlessly-long-is-a/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Do not measure success by today's harvest. Measure success by the seeds you plant today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/do-not-measure-success-by-today-s-harvest-measure-success-by-the/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [To be idle requires a strong sense of personal identity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/to-be-idle-requires-a-strong-sense-of-personal-identity/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Saints are sinners who kept on going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/saints-are-sinners-who-kept-on-going/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [Loving God, help us remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/loving-god-help-us-remember-the-birth-of-jesus-that-we-may-share-in/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [The friendly cow, all red and white, I love with all my heart; She gives me cream with all her might, To eat with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/the-friendly-cow-all-red-and-white-i-love-with-all-my-heart-she-gives/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) [Explore all 701 Robert Louis Stevenson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) ## More Lies quotes > [I'm Fine!, the most common LIE in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/i-m-fine-the-most-common-lie-in-the-world/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [Heaven lies around us in our infancy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/heaven-lies-around-us-in-our-infancy/) [William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“What shapes us is not always our achievements but our omissions. Not lies; simply the truths we don’t tell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-tudor/what-shapes-us-is-not-always-our-achievements-but-our-omissions-not/) [C.J. Tudor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-tudor/) > [He is almost a statesman. He lies well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/he-is-almost-a-statesman-he-lies-well/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [“We lie the loudest when we lie to ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/we-lie-the-loudest-when-we-lie-to-ourselves/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [The greatest gift you can give to those around you is honesty. Sometimes honest words may sting the heart, but dishonesty pierces deep into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/the-greatest-gift-you-can-give-to-those-around-you-is-honesty/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [“It's the basic truth of the human condition: everybody lies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/house/it-s-the-basic-truth-of-the-human-condition-everybody-lies/) [house](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/house/) > [A lie always needs a truth for a handle to it. The worst lies are those whose blade is false, but whose handle is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/a-lie-always-needs-a-truth-for-a-handle-to-it-the-worst-lies-are/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [Words To Remember: Nobody's phone is ever off. They're lying...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/words-to-remember-nobody-s-phone-is-ever-off-they-re-lying/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Those who know New York City primarily through tourism or mass culture may think of us natives as possessing certain shared characteristics, not all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-dee/those-who-know-new-york-city-primarily-through-tourism-or-mass/) [Jonathan Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-dee/) > [“I'm over your lies and I'm over your games. I'm over you asking me when you know I'm not okay.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-mcphee/i-m-over-your-lies-and-i-m-over-your-games-i-m-over-you-asking-me/) [Katharine McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-mcphee/) > [“DIGITAL TRUTH DIGITAL LIES • Searches • Social media posts • Views • Social media likes • Clicks • Dating profiles • Swipes”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-stephens-davidowitz/digital-truth-digital-lies-searches-social-media-posts-views-social/) [Seth Stephens-Davidowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-stephens-davidowitz/) > [You said you loved me, You said you cared for me, you said you wouldn't let anything happen to me. 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