Hacker News Reader

> why not attribute it to Churchill anyhow?

Because it isn't true. Was the irony intentional?

Apparently [0] it's from Roosevelt’s secretary of state, Cordell Hull.

[0] https://richardlangworth.com/galloping-lie , also https://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2017/oct/09...

The original original is from Jonathan Swift: "Falsehood flies, and truth comes limping after it, so that when men come to be undeceived, it is too late; the jest is over, and the tale hath had its effect: like a man, who hath thought of a good repartee when the discourse is changed, or the company parted; or like a physician, who hath found out an infallible medicine, after the patient is dead."

Indeed, that's why, as Swift insists, we have to "Speak Now" !

Reply on news.ycombinator.com