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All of us have to be prevaricators, hypocrites, and liars every day of our lives; otherwise the social structure would fall into pieces the first day. We must act in one another's presence just as we must wear clothes. It is for the best

All of us have to be prevaricators, hypocrites, and liars every day of our lives; otherwise the social structure would fall into pieces the first day. We must act in one another's presence just as we must wear clothes. It is for the best

Approximate author period: c. 1886 AD · industrial

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Attribution & collection notes
Author or tradition
O. Henry
Attribution: attributed
Country attributed
Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin.
Historical period
Approximate author period: c. 1886 AD · industrial
Approximate period for the recorded attribution to O. Henry, based on documented lifetime 1862 to 1910. Source: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q172788 (checked 2026-10-08). This is not a quotation composition date or independent authentication of its attribution. Source: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q172788 (accessed 2026-10-08).
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken.
Recorded source
Contributor-provided quotation collection

Supplied reference C; CSV row 365091; supplied attribution, independently unverified

A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.