如果一个人说了并不伤害你或任何人的谎话，为什么不在你心里说，他堆放事实的房子是太小了，搁不下他的胡想，他必须把胡想留待更大的地场。

Should one tell a lie which does not hurt you nor anyone else, why not say in your heart that the house of his facts is too small for his fancies, and he had to leave it for larger space?

youdao

这种谎话确有成效——都柏林的康奈尔大街上的投票点，一个年轻人说，他投了反对票，这是因为“他们会把孩子们送去打仗之类之类的。”

That untruth worked too: at a polling station near O’Connell Street in Dublin, a young man said he had voted No “because they're sending the kids to war and all that.

youdao

考虑到说点小谎话会避免一场争吵和冲突，你可能会争论说如果有一个可以自由裁量的地方，他们肯定会在某种程度上认同你的做法。

Given that fudging may prevent fights, you might argue that there's a place for discretion, and you'd be right -- up to a point.

youdao