Seize the Day Lies and Deceit Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #4

And honest—but was Dr. Tamkin honest? There was a hypnotic power in his eyes, but this was not always of the same strength, nor was Wilhelm convinced that it was completely natural. He felt that Tamkin tried to make his eyes deliberately conspicuous, with studied art, and that he brought forth his hypnotic effect by an exertion. (4.40)

You know it's a bad sign when it's clear that someone is doing their best to look honest. Honestly, Wilhelm: how much more obvious can Tamkin be?

Quote #5

Wilhelm tried to take in these new claims and examine them. Howling from the window like a wolf when night comes sounded genuine to him. That was something really to think about. But the Greek! He realized that Tamkin was watching to see how he took it. (4.78)

Tamkin's rare moments of insight into the human condition keep Wilhelm coming back for more. Does it really matter whether or not Tamkin can read and speak Greek? If a man can understand the human soul, who cares about the rest?

Quote #6

A few days ago Tamkin had hinted that he had once been in the underworld, one of the Detroit Purple Gang. He was once head of a mental clinic in Toledo. He had worked with a Polish inventor on an unsinkable ship. He was a technical consultant in the field of television. In the life of a man of genius, all of these things might happen. But had they happened to Tamkin? (4.78)

What does it say about Wilhelm's character that he's so willing to give Tamkin the benefit of the doubt? Is Wilhelm a generous and open-minded man, or is he a gullible sucker?