Authority can be faked. That's why impersonating a police officer is a crime. Sometimes the outward appearances of authority can be deceiving.
I often had no scruples about deceiving nitwits and scoundrels and fools when I found it necessary. ...We avenge intelligence when we deceive a fool, and... deceiving a fool is an exploit worthy of an intelligent man. What has infused my very blood with an unconquerable hatred of the whole tribe of fools from the day of my birth is that I become a fool myself when I am in their company.
It is best, if possible, to deceive no one; for he that ... begins by deceiving others, will end ... by deceiving himself.
Poverty has, in large cities, very different appearances; it is often concealed in splendour, and often in extravagance.
Appearances are not reality; but they often can be a convincing alternative to it. You can control appearances most of the time, but facts are what they are. When the facts are too sharp, you can craft a cheerful version of the situation and cover the facts the way that you can covered a battered old four-slice toaster with a knitted cozy featuring images of kittens.
The intention of never deceiving often exposes us to deception.
We often shed tears that deceive ourselves after deceiving others.
When one is in love, one always begins by deceiving one's self, and one always ends by deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance.
Propaganda is that branch of the art of lying which consists in nearly deceiving your friends without quite deceiving your enemies.
Diplomacy means the art of nearly deceiving all your friends, but not quite deceiving all your enemies.
Men who cannot deceive others are very often successful at deceiving themselves.
Men who can succeed in deceiving no one else, will succeed at last in deceiving themselves.
To deceive gracefully is the very essence of social life. One must start by deceiving oneself, and make a lifelong practice of deceiving others; if one does it well enough, in time one might even become an artist, the greatest illusionists of all.