"A man is truthful because he likes truth, and to tell lies he feels would degrade himself."
"And yet men always lie to women—have you remarked that, girl?"
"Yes—that seems to be the one exception in their standard of truth."
"How do you account for this? Have you found the 'reason why' of this peculiarity?"
"It seems presumptuous of me to give my views to Your Ladyship."
"I think I am the best judge of that matter," and Lady Garribardine frowned a little. "I asked a question."
Katherine answered then immediately. She was not quite pleased with herself for her last remark, it had laid her open to a snub.
"Original man had no regard for women—they were as the animals to him—he would not have felt degraded in lying to animals—because such a thing could not occur. He would not consult animals—he simply ordered them."
"Well?"
"Then as soon as he had to consider women at all he found it easier to lie to them because of their want of understanding, and chattering tongues, and as he did not consider that they were his equals in anything, no degradation was entailed in making things easy for himself with them, by lying to them."