--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am a minstrel. I know more about lying…" description: "\"“I am a minstrel. I know more about lying than you will ever discover. And minstrels know that sometimes lies are what a man needs most. In order to ma..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a95/robin-hobb-489_truth_i-am-a-minstrel-i-know-more-about-lying_2265043.jpg" --- # I am a minstrel. I know more about lying than you will… ![“I am a minstrel. I know more about lying than you will ever discover. And minstrels know that sometimes lies are what a man needs most. In order to make a new truth of them.” quote by Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a95/robin-hobb-489_truth_i-am-a-minstrel-i-know-more-about-lying_2265043.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a95/robin-hobb-489_truth_i-am-a-minstrel-i-know-more-about-lying_2265043.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a95/robin-hobb-489_truth_i-am-a-minstrel-i-know-more-about-lying_2265043.jpg) > ““I am a minstrel. I know more about lying than you will ever discover. And minstrels know that sometimes lies are what a man needs most. In order to make a new truth of them.”” [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator admits that deception can be a necessary tool, shaping reality to meet essential human needs. **In simple terms:** Lying can create needed truths. Key Takeaway Use honesty wisely, but recognize when a lie serves a greater purpose. Themes deception truth human need storytelling Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - political negotiation - personal therapy - creative writing - conflict resolution Key Concepts ethics psychology narrative strategy Questions to Reflect On - When is a lie justified? - How can a falsehood become a beneficial truth? A Different Perspective Lies can erode trust and cause unintended harm if misused. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Know Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-lies-563585/) [Know Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-lying/) [Minstrel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minstrel-549659/) [Minstrel Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minstrel-know-5226665/) [Minstrels Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minstrels-know-5226666/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [“We passed a street minstrel who was singing in one of the more obscure Eastern languages, and I dropped a few orbs into his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-brust/we-passed-a-street-minstrel-who-was-singing-in-one-of-the-more/) [Steven Brust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-brust/) > [I subscribe to that school of thespian - to be a wandering minstrel or traveling player, a thing of rags and patches, of ballads,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-sands/i-subscribe-to-that-school-of-thespian-to-be-a-wandering-minstrel-or-2/) [Julian Sands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-sands/) > [We need to look beyond the obvious. Yes, there are minstrel images in hip-hop. Yes, there are demeaning, anti-racist, misogynistic and homophobic representations. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakari-kitwana/we-need-to-look-beyond-the-obvious-yes-there-are-minstrel-images-in/) [Bakari Kitwana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakari-kitwana/) > [Is there any sign of spring quite so welcome as the glint of the first bluebird unless it is his softly whistled song? No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neltje-blanchan/is-there-any-sign-of-spring-quite-so-welcome-as-the-glint-of-the/) [Neltje Blanchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neltje-blanchan/) > [I subscribe to that school of thespian - to be a wandering minstrel or traveling player, a thing ofrags and patches, of ballads, songs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-sands/i-subscribe-to-that-school-of-thespian-to-be-a-wandering-minstrel-or/) [Julian Sands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-sands/) > [The triumphs of the warrior are bounded by the narrow theatre of his own age; but those of a Scott or a Shakspeare will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-prescott/the-triumphs-of-the-warrior-are-bounded-by-the-narrow-theatre-of-his/) [William H. Prescott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-prescott/) > [I am a troubadour, a wandering minstrel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-sayer/i-am-a-troubadour-a-wandering-minstrel/) [Leo Sayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-sayer/) > [Every lover is, in his heart, a madman, and, in his head, a minstrel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/every-lover-is-in-his-heart-a-madman-and-in-his-head-a-minstrel/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [O for the gentleness of old Romance, the simple planning of a minstrel's song!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/o-for-the-gentleness-of-old-romance-the-simple-planning-of-a-minstrel/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [A wandering minstrel I A thing of shreds and patches Of ballads, songs and snatches And dreamy lullaby!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-raleigh/a-wandering-minstrel-i-a-thing-of-shreds-and-patches-of-ballads-songs/) [Walter Raleigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-raleigh/) > [The only ones who ever come here from your lands are the minstrels, and the lovers, and the mad. And you don't look like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-only-ones-who-ever-come-here-from-your-lands-are-the-minstrels/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I personally am into the minstrel technique - if I hear someone playing a lute or playing a crumhorn, it just moves me. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-satriani/i-personally-am-into-the-minstrel-technique-if-i-hear-someone-playing/) [Joe Satriani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-satriani/) > [MINSTREL, adj. Formerly a poet, singer or musician; now a nigger with a color less than skin deep and a humor more than flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/minstrel-adj-formerly-a-poet-singer-or-musician-now-a-nigger-with-a/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [I have the instincts of a minstrel rather than those of a scrivener. There you have it. We are not of the same trade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/i-have-the-instincts-of-a-minstrel-rather-than-those-of-a-scrivener/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [If there were no such creatures as minstrel-maidens, it would be necessary to invent them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/if-there-were-no-such-creatures-as-minstrel-maidens-it-would-be/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) ## More by Robin Hobb > [Boredom is vastly underrated. Boredom means that nothing is trying to kill you every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/boredom-is-vastly-underrated-boredom-means-that-nothing-is-trying-to/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“But that is not true for all folk. Some folk are meant to argue with fate. And win.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/but-that-is-not-true-for-all-folk-some-folk-are-meant-to-argue-with/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“I tried to leave you alone, Fitz. To find what peace you could, even if it excluded me from your life.” Ten years ago,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-tried-to-leave-you-alone-fitz-to-find-what-peace-you-could-even-if/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“Do you think you're taking Etta out of here?" "Yes," Kennit called over his shoulder up the sairs. "What about all these dead men?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/do-you-think-you-re-taking-etta-out-of-here-yes-kennit-called-over/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“A way out is a way in. Then,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/a-way-out-is-a-way-in-then/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“Die in your dreams, wake up insane.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/die-in-your-dreams-wake-up-insane/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“I felt a familiar squeezing in what I thought must be my heart. I had heard of being "heartbroken" or "heavy-hearted" but I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-felt-a-familiar-squeezing-in-what-i-thought-must-be-my-heart-i-had/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“They spoke of a dream of a child who bore the heart of a wolf.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/they-spoke-of-a-dream-of-a-child-who-bore-the-heart-of-a-wolf/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“We all perish in our last attempt to live.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/we-all-perish-in-our-last-attempt-to-live/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“There is always power in holding a secret.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/there-is-always-power-in-holding-a-secret/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“... finally realizing that life was to be lived, rather than hoarded against an unseen tomorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/finally-realizing-that-life-was-to-be-lived-rather-than-hoarded/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“Why, I suddenly wondered, had I wasted all those hours I could have spent with her? Why hadn’t I gone with them, to listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/why-i-suddenly-wondered-had-i-wasted-all-those-hours-i-could-have/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“I think I made a better boy than I do a man, I admitted ruefully to the wolf. Why not wait until you've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-think-i-made-a-better-boy-than-i-do-a-man-i-admitted-ruefully-to/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“So, with all the wide world to choose from, you didn't choose at all. You simply stopped wandering one day”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/so-with-all-the-wide-world-to-choose-from-you-didn-t-choose-at-all/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“I don't think I can stand it much longer,” he warned her. “Something will have to give way. And I fear it will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-don-t-think-i-can-stand-it-much-longer-he-warned-her-something-will/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) [Explore all 500 Robin Hobb quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) ## More Truth quotes > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [High school sucked. It was a universal truth, and whoever said these were supposed to be the best years of your life was probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kami-garcia/high-school-sucked-it-was-a-universal-truth-and-whoever-said-these/) [Kami Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kami-garcia/) > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“The truth is heavier than a sword.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naiyem-chowdhury-rony/the-truth-is-heavier-than-a-sword/) [Naiyem Chowdhury Rony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naiyem-chowdhury-rony/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [I could program a 'fabulous, I love it' kind of hit season right now. I'm more interested in breaking boundaries, telling a story, defying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-c-wolfe/i-could-program-a-fabulous-i-love-it-kind-of-hit-season-right-now-i-m/) [George C. Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-c-wolfe/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I just speak the truth. I keep it real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-vera/i-just-speak-the-truth-i-keep-it-real/) [Marlon Vera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-vera/) > [I always believed that photography was subjective, interpretive and certainly did not represent the truth, but I did think that its status as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-ritchin/i-always-believed-that-photography-was-subjective-interpretive-and/) [Fred Ritchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-ritchin/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The greatest act of courage is to be and to ownall of who you are—without apology, without excuses, without masks to cover the truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-ford/the-greatest-act-of-courage-is-to-be-and-to-ownall-of-who-you-are/) [Debbie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-ford/) > [There's no authoritarian structure at Reed College, but the education is conservative. So what you have is a lot of students who are very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/there-s-no-authoritarian-structure-at-reed-college-but-the-education/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [“The Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose, Sergeant,’ Anthony Payne replied. ‘That is from The Merchant of Venice, but it holds great truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arnold/the-devil-can-cite-scripture-for-his-purpose-sergeant-anthony-payne/) [Michael Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-arnold/) > [Logic is essentially a tool for getting at truth; it is the tool, for without it no reasoning is possible in any field of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oderberg/logic-is-essentially-a-tool-for-getting-at-truth-it-is-the-tool-for/) [David Oderberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oderberg/) [Browse all 45,081 Truth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I am a minstrel. I know more about lying than you will ever discover. And minstrels know that sometimes lies are what a man needs most. In order to make a new truth of them.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robin Hobb" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-am-a-minstrel-i-know-more-about-lying-than-you-will-ever-discover/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Truth" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-am-a-minstrel-i-know-more-about-lying-than-you-will-ever-discover/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a95/robin-hobb-489_truth_i-am-a-minstrel-i-know-more-about-lying_2265043.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a95/robin-hobb-489_truth_i-am-a-minstrel-i-know-more-about-lying_2265043.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a95/robin-hobb-489_truth_i-am-a-minstrel-i-know-more-about-lying_2265043.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am a minstrel. I know more about lying than you will ever discover. And minstrels know that sometimes lies…” — Robin Hobb", "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": "Robin Hobb", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I am a minstrel. I know...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-am-a-minstrel-i-know-more-about-lying-than-you-will-ever-discover/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-am-a-minstrel-i-know-more-about-lying-than-you-will-ever-discover/#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 } } ] } ```