Who said this about lying?

This quote has been attributed to Abraham Lincoln. 16th Pres. of the US until his assassination in 1865. Well, we call it an 'assassination' but he was shot in the back of the head. To be given a term with such gravitas, it should be done by a long-range sniper, straight to the face, not an opportunistic 'pop' in the bonce from behind. How do you add dramatic build-up music to that?

It was Samuel Butler. He was a 19th century English novelist who also translated the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer. Not sure why I'm telling you this, Just trying to give you some context. Hopefully it'll come up in a pub quiz or something.

It was Ambrose Bierce. He was a 19th century American writer and Civil War veteran. Yeah, I think I've made some of these a little too obscure.

It was Fyódor Dostoyévsky. I expect you've heard of him, but he was a 19th century Russian novelist. I'd probably need to take a month off to read one of his books.

It was Sophocles! He was a 5th century, Ancient Greek playwright. I probably should have heard of him before; he did write Oedipus Rex. (I know it means 'Oedipus the King' but I keep imagining a T-Rex in a laurel wreath and toga. No one is sure how dinos mated, so we can keep its mother out of this.)

It was Percy Bysshe Shelley. He was an 19th century, English Romantic poet in his own right, but his first wife, Mary, wrote Frankenstein. So...overshadowed much?

It was Edgar Allen Poe. I expect you know who he was (The Raven, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Tell-Tale Heart). 19th century American writer and critic who supposedly wrote with a Siamese cat on his shoulder. I'm going to assume it didn't nibble his ear...

It was John Locke. He was an 18th century English philosopher. (Most of these are much older than they needed to be. I was trying to avoid copyright infringement. Not sure why I bothered – no one else does.)

It was Aristotle. You'll know who he was, but anyway: 4th century BCE, Ancient Greek Philosopher, taught by Plato. In turn, he taught Alexander the Great. That must have been a cool thing to say at parties: "Yes, I was taught by the greatest philosopher who ever lived, and in turn I taught the greatest conqueror who ever lived. And what do you do?" "Me? I'm in accounts."

It was Susanna Centlivre. She was an 18th century English poet and actress. I'm probably going overboard with the 'satire' on some of these. The idea was: the CEO of deBeers lies about the supply of diamonds to keep the price up, the House of Commons is generally full of it, and 'nuff said about The Daily Mail. Are any of these hitting the mark?

It was Friedrich Nietzsche. Again, you probably already know, but he was a 19th century German philosopher. Also gave us: "Stare into the abyss and the abyss gazes back into you." I get that every time I open the fridge. What you do mean, 'flippant'?

It was Finley Peter Dunne. He was a 20th century American journalist, so he would have known all about profitable lying, or at least the reporting of it. No, I don't think I'm being cynical. Where is the trust? In an off-shore account.

It was Eliza Cook. She was a 19th century English author. There seem to be a lot of those in these answers. I need to update my references. Having said that, Cook believed in an ideology of self-improvement she called 'levelling up'. Sound familiar?

It was Mark Twain. Again, you'll know who he was, but for consistency: he was a 20th century American writer and humourist, among other accomplishments. Of course, his greatest legacy must be that he was portrayed by Vanilla Ice in 'The Ridiculous Six' with Adam Sandler. (Honestly, that's what it says. I didn't get that far into it – I only managed the first ten minutes.)

It was Baltasar Gracián. He was a 17th century Spanish writer and philosopher. Well, if nothing else, you've learned some new names in classic literature and philosophy.