--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A few men are sufficient to broach…" description: "\"A few men are sufficient to broach falsehoods, which are afterwards innocently diffused by successive relaters.\" — Samuel Johnson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ec/samuel-johnson-50_falsehood_a-few-men-are-sufficient-to-broach-false_2195331.png" --- # A few men are sufficient to broach falsehoods, which are… ![“A few men are sufficient to broach falsehoods, which are afterwards innocently diffused by successive relaters.” quote by Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ec/samuel-johnson-50_falsehood_a-few-men-are-sufficient-to-broach-false_2195331.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ec/samuel-johnson-50_falsehood_a-few-men-are-sufficient-to-broach-false_2195331.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ec/samuel-johnson-50_falsehood_a-few-men-are-sufficient-to-broach-false_2195331.png) > “A few men are sufficient to broach falsehoods, which are afterwards innocently diffused by successive relaters.” [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People spread falsehoods, and each reteller passes them on, making lies seem harmless over time. **In simple terms:** Lies spread when repeated. Key Takeaway Question sources before sharing. Themes truth communication deception Mood skeptical concerned Type cautionary observational When to use this quote - news sharing - social media - gossip - academic citation Key Concepts propagation social influence credibility Questions to Reflect On - What mechanisms can stop misinformation? - How do you verify a story’s origin? A Different Perspective Even well‑intentioned retelling can distort facts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Falsehood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falsehood/) [Falsehoods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falsehoods/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) ## Related quotes > [Many falsehoods are passing into uncontradicted history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/many-falsehoods-are-passing-into-uncontradicted-history/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [There is a contagion in example which few men have sufficient force of mind to resist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-hamilton/there-is-a-contagion-in-example-which-few-men-have-sufficient-force/) [Alexander Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-hamilton/) > [Men have a sufficient natural instinct for what is true, and usually do arrive at the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/men-have-a-sufficient-natural-instinct-for-what-is-true-and-usually/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Habitual liars invent falsehoods not to gain any end or even to deceive their hearers, but to amuse themselves. It is partly practice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/habitual-liars-invent-falsehoods-not-to-gain-any-end-or-even-to/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Some years ago I was struck by the large number of falsehoods that I had accepted as true in my childhood, and by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/some-years-ago-i-was-struck-by-the-large-number-of-falsehoods-that-i/) [Rene Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [If we could believe that Jesus...countenanced the follies, falsehoods and charlatanisms which his biographers father on him, ...the conclusion would be irresistible...that he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/if-we-could-believe-that-jesus-countenanced-the-follies-falsehoods/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [History - a vast Mississippi of falsehoods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/history-a-vast-mississippi-of-falsehoods/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [That public men publish falsehoods Is nothing new. That America must accept Like the historical republics corruption and empire Has been known for years.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/that-public-men-publish-falsehoods-is-nothing-new-that-america-must/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [Maybe honesty is overvalued. What's truly priceless is picking out from a stream of falsehoods the ones you most need to hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/maybe-honesty-is-overvalued-what-s-truly-priceless-is-picking-out/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Alternative facts are not facts. They're falsehoods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-todd/alternative-facts-are-not-facts-they-re-falsehoods/) [Chuck Todd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-todd/) > [ “I just wish this social institution \[religion\] wasn't based on what appears to me to be a monumental hoax built on an accumulation of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/i-just-wish-this-social-institution-religion-wasn-t-based-on-what/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [Vulgarity is the conduct of other people, just as falsehoods are the truths of other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/vulgarity-is-the-conduct-of-other-people-just-as-falsehoods-are-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Inculcating the various competing - competing, note - falsehoods of the major faiths into small children is a form of child abuse, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-grayling/inculcating-the-various-competing-competing-note-falsehoods-of-the/) [A.C. Grayling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-grayling/) > [Tangible language, which often tells more falsehoods than truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/tangible-language-which-often-tells-more-falsehoods-than-truths/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [ A mind conscious of right laughs at the falsehoods of rumour. \[Lat., Conscia mens recti famae mendacia risit.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/a-mind-conscious-of-right-laughs-at-the-falsehoods-of-rumour-lat/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) ## More by Samuel Johnson > [The size of a man's understanding might always be justly measured by his mirth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-size-of-a-man-s-understanding-might-always-be-justly-measured-by/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Pound St. Paul's Church into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is to be sure, good for nothing; but put all these atoms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/pound-st-paul-s-church-into-atoms-and-consider-any-single-atom-it-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [You can never be wise unless you love reading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/you-can-never-be-wise-unless-you-love-reading/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [If our aim is to praise, we should forget to criticize; if our aim is to criticize, we should remember to praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/if-our-aim-is-to-praise-we-should-forget-to-criticize-if-our-aim-is/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [All theory is against free will; all experience is for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/all-theory-is-against-free-will-all-experience-is-for-it/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Had I learned to fiddle, I should have done nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/had-i-learned-to-fiddle-i-should-have-done-nothing-else/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [It is as foolish to make experiments upon the constancy of a friend, as upon the chastity of a wife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/it-is-as-foolish-to-make-experiments-upon-the-constancy-of-a-friend/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/resolve-not-to-be-poor-whatever-you-have-spend-less-poverty-is-a/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The basis of all excellence is truth: he that professes love ought to feel its power.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-basis-of-all-excellence-is-truth-he-that-professes-love-ought-to/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Words are daughters of earth but ideas are sons of heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/words-are-daughters-of-earth-but-ideas-are-sons-of-heaven/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The composition of Shakespeare is a forest, in which oaks extend in the air, interspersed sometimes with weeds and brambles, and sometimes giving shelting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-composition-of-shakespeare-is-a-forest-in-which-oaks-extend-in/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [“The cherubim were never intended as an object of worship, because they were only the appendices to another thing. But a thing is then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-cherubim-were-never-intended-as-an-object-of-worship-because-they/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [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/) > [That kind of life is most happy which affords us most opportunities of gaining our own self-esteem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/that-kind-of-life-is-most-happy-which-affords-us-most-opportunities/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [The time will come to every human being when it must be known how well he can bear to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-time-will-come-to-every-human-being-when-it-must-be-known-how/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) [Explore all 1,998 Samuel Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More Falsehood quotes > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [falsehood is not more unjustifiable than unsafe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-burney/falsehood-is-not-more-unjustifiable-than-unsafe/) [Fanny Burney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fanny-burney/) > [THE ART OF PEACE is not easy. It is a fight to the finish, the slaying of evil desires and all falsehood within. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morihei-ueshiba/the-art-of-peace-is-not-easy-it-is-a-fight-to-the-finish-the-slaying/) [Morihei Ueshiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morihei-ueshiba/) > [ A mind conscious of right laughs at the falsehoods of rumour. \[Lat., Conscia mens recti famae mendacia risit.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/a-mind-conscious-of-right-laughs-at-the-falsehoods-of-rumour-lat/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [“Falsehood of a good man is better than truth of a bad one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/falsehood-of-a-good-man-is-better-than-truth-of-a-bad-one/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [So true is it that all transactions of preeminent importance are wrapt in doubt and obscurity; while some hold for certain facts the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/so-true-is-it-that-all-transactions-of-preeminent-importance-are/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [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/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Tangible language, which often tells more falsehoods than truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/tangible-language-which-often-tells-more-falsehoods-than-truths/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Whether statistics be an art or a science... or a scientific art, we concern ourselves little. It is the basis of social and political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolphe-quetelet/whether-statistics-be-an-art-or-a-science-or-a-scientific-art-we/) [Adolphe Quetelet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolphe-quetelet/) > [Falsehood, like the dry-rot, flourishes the more in proportion as air and light are excluded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/falsehood-like-the-dry-rot-flourishes-the-more-in-proportion-as-air/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [“God is not as a man.” He thus shows that all men are indeed guilty of falsehood, inasmuch as they change from one thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-church-fathers/god-is-not-as-a-man-he-thus-shows-that-all-men-are-indeed-guilty-of/) The Church Fathers > [People who do not know the Bible well have been gulled into thinking it is a good guide to morality. This mistaken view may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/people-who-do-not-know-the-bible-well-have-been-gulled-into-thinking/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [One of the reasons, surely, why women have been credited with less perfect veracity than men is that the burden of conventional falsehood falls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-reasons-surely-why-women-have-been-credited-with-less/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He had the unlucky capacity many men have of seeing and believing in the possibility of goodness and truth, but of seeing the evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-had-the-unlucky-capacity-many-men-have-of-seeing-and-believing-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) [Browse all 724 Falsehood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falsehood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A few men are sufficient to broach falsehoods, which are afterwards innocently diffused by successive relaters.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel Johnson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/a-few-men-are-sufficient-to-broach-falsehoods-which-are-afterwards/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Falsehood" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/a-few-men-are-sufficient-to-broach-falsehoods-which-are-afterwards/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ec/samuel-johnson-50_falsehood_a-few-men-are-sufficient-to-broach-false_2195331.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ec/samuel-johnson-50_falsehood_a-few-men-are-sufficient-to-broach-false_2195331.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ec/samuel-johnson-50_falsehood_a-few-men-are-sufficient-to-broach-false_2195331.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A few men are sufficient to broach falsehoods, which are afterwards innocently diffused by successive…” — Samuel Johnson", "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": "Samuel Johnson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A few men are sufficient to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/a-few-men-are-sufficient-to-broach-falsehoods-which-are-afterwards/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/a-few-men-are-sufficient-to-broach-falsehoods-which-are-afterwards/#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 } } ] } ```