So: if he was no longer an angel, so-called, who would he be? Perhaps it was time to find out. Perhaps it didn't matter. The one thing he now knew was that he couldn't lie to Mayflower Cabot Fitzgerald -not after he had lied to Suzy.
"You can lie to God but not to the Devil."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Slowly Switters returned to sitting position. Good question.
What was it supposed to mean? "Lies may disappoint God or exasperate him, but ultimately his compassion dissolves them, cancels them out. The Devil, though, he grows fat on our lies; the more you lie to him, the better he likes it. It's an investment in his firm, it increases the value of his stock by fostering the practice of lying. Only truth can hurt the Devil. That's why honesty has been banished from almost every existing institution: corporate, religious, and governmental.
Truth can be dangerously liberating. Did I mention thet the Devil's other name is El Controlador? he who controls."
From Fierce Invalids Home from Hot Climates.
