I think it's originally French; Richelieu (it sez 'ere) coined the definition of a diplomat as "a man sent abroad to lie for his country". And apparently "if it's good for France, it's good for God", rather prefiguring the old line about General Motors.
My personal favourite was the view of that great Oklahoman who we were taught about at school (well at school in Oklahoma anyway), Will Rogers. He defined diplomacy as the art of saying "nice doggie" until you can find a rock. He knew a thing or two did Will Rogers. best, dd -----Original Message----- From: PEN-L list [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Doug Henwood Sent: 01 February 2005 20:25 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Castro, a "fair assessment"? Devine, James wrote: >what is diplomacy if not professional lying? Back around 1992, I was picking up the Guardian every day, and I remember a French diplomat being described as someone "who is paid to lie for France." I don't know if that's a British cliche, but it was pretty striking. Doug
