How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #4
His scarred face only reminded her of the lies he had told to lure her out to him, like the Pied Piper in the story. He had played with her as he played with fire, with his brightly colored juggler's balls: Come along, Meggie; this way, Meggie; trust me, Meggie. (17.28)
Meggie realizes that Dustfinger played her, and she feels stupid and gullible for believing his lies. No one likes realizing that they've been manipulated, and Meggie is no exception. It makes us wonder: Is Dustfinger a better liar because he's already good at manipulating physical objects like juggling balls and fire?
Quote #5
"You're such a gullible fellow, Dustfinger. It's fun to tell you lies. Your innocence always amazed me—after all, you lie very cleverly yourself." (17.58)
Capricorn is just toying with Dustfinger here, gloating about how easy it was to lie to him. Lying to Dustfinger is part of what helped Capricorn get his hands on the book, Mo, and Meggie, but it seems like Capricorn is also into lying for the sheer pleasure of the pain it causes.
Quote #6
With a chilling smirk, Capricorn answered merely with a smile. "I'm sorry, Silvertongue, but the fact is I don't believe anyone. You ought to know that by now. We're all liars when it serves our purpose." (17.68)
Mo is claiming that he can't really control his ability to read people in or out of the books, but Capricorn doesn't believe him. The thing is though, that we know Mo is telling the truth here… and yet we've also seen Mo tell lies to people. This makes him a little hard to trust, and so (for once) we actually kinda agree with Capricorn: everyone lies when it's in their best interest, at least some of the time. Man, we sound really cynical, don't we?