A truth is not hard to kill ... a lie told well is immortal. - Mark Twain

The humorous story is told gravely; the teller does his best to conceal the fact that he even dimly suspects that there is anything funny about it.

"Herodotus says, "Very few things happen at the right time, and the rest do not happen at all: the conscientious historian will correct these defects.

The church is always trying to get other people to reform; it might not be a bad idea to reform itself a little by way of example.