On Lying Without Speaking

There has sometimes been an all too common assumption that truth pertains only to what one says or writes—an assumption that if we give a wrong impression with the right words, we are still within the truth. But words are not the only way of conveying meanings. And whether or not we are truthful depends not only on the words we use, but also upon the intentions we have and the impressions we give. The truth has not been told unless there is an honest transference of thought, regardless of what we say. And if we knowingly leave a false impression, to that extent we are not truthful. Indeed, the untruth of actions can be more misleading than the untruth of words. A picture or a gesture may tell a thousand untruths without a word’s being said. It is a relatively easy matter to convict a man of a spoken or a written lie, but it is often difficult to convict him of deliberately making a false impression. We can read words; we can record them; we can define them; we can hear the true or false ring of the voice that speaks them. But an unspoken lie is an illusive deception. It is akin to the kind of lying a man does when he falsely wears a uniform, which, without his saying so, gives the impression that he is someone which he is not. For this kind of impersonation there are specific penalties. But for some kinds of false impressions, the penalties are difficult to invoke. Nevertheless, he who acts a lie, he who lives a lie, or he who knowingly permits a deception is guilty on moral grounds with him who deliberately speaks a lie, because both contrive to mislead the minds of men. To those with many years ahead of them, to youth especially—and to all others—let this be said: We are not wholly truthful when we offer a half-truth to anyone who has a right to the whole truth. We are not truthful when we warp the facts with words or in any other way. He who deliberately falsifies without words is guilty with him who does it with words. And even though the rules of legal evidence may not always be able to hold him accountable, the rules of moral evidence will.