Burke, in speaking of the morals of France prior to the Revolution, says,—
Vice itself lost half its evil by losing all its grossness.
This statement—the falsity of which is apparent—is disproved by a score of contradictions. Let Lord Bacon suffice:—
Another [of the Rabbins] noteth a position in moral philosophy, that men abandoned to vice do not so much corrupt manners as those that are half good and half evil.—Advancement of Learning.
Things not to be trusted:—
A bright sky,
A smiling master,
The cry of a dog,
A harlot’s sorrow.
Howitt’s Literature and Romance of Northern Europe.