Quote from Silas Marner Explanation

Question

Hi,

Can you explain this quote from Silas Marner;

"The prevarication and white lies which a mind that keeps itself ambitiously pure is as uneasy under as a great artist under the false touches that no eye detects but his own, are worn as lightly as mere trimmings when once the actions have become a lie."

Thank you.

Answer 1

I believe that this quote is saying that people feel uneasy or guilty about lying when they witness a lie being told, but when they are actually the one lying they are completely at ease with it. Prevarications means lies or skirting around the truth. When they say a pure mind feeling uneasy hearing lies or an artist that noticed “false touches” or a forgery, he saying that people feel uneasy when they notice or witness a lie, but when they commit the lie or the lie becomes an action they commit they are fine with it.