Telling the truth vs. not telling a lie --- I do not think that the two pronouncements are equal. By all means, not telling a lie is easier that telling the truth.

One the one hand, "truth has a scratched face" (as the proverbs says, and proverbs are credited with telling the truth).

On the other hand, there are collateral advantages, as Mark Twain put it: "If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.”

Source author: Petru Dumitriu PetruD@diplomacy.edu