According to myth， a young George Washington confessed to cutting down a cherry tree by proclaiming， \"I cannot tell a lie.\" The story is a testament to how much respect Americans have for their cherished first president and honesty in general. Unfortunately， in the annals1） of history it seems there are 3 dishonest scoundrels2） for every honorable hero like Washington.

Han van Meegeren's Vermeer3） Forgeries

This lie resulted from a classic case of wanting to please the critics. Han van Meegeren was an artist who felt underappreciated and thought he could trick art experts into admitting his genius.

In the early 20th century， scholars were squabbling4） about whether the great Vermeer had painted a series of works depicting biblical scenes. Van Meegeren pounced on5） this opportunity and set to work carefully forging6） one such disputed work， \"The Disciples at Emmaus\". With tireless attention to detail， he faked the cracks and aged hardness of a centuries-old painting. He intentionally played on7） the confirmation bias8） of critics who wanted to believe that Vermeer painted these scenes. It worked： experts hailed the painting as authentic， and Van Meegeren made out9） like a bandit10） producing and selling more fake Vermeers. Greed apparently overcame his desire for praise， as he decided not to out himself.

However， Han van Meegeren， who was working in the 1930s and 1940s， made one major mistake. He sold a painting to a prominent member of the Nazi party in Germany. After the war， Allies11） considered him a conspirator12） for selling a \"national treasure\" to the enemy. In a curious change of events， Han van Meegeren had to paint for his freedom. In order to help prove that the painting was no national treasure， he forged another in the presence of authorities.

He escaped with a light sentence of one year in prison， but van Meegeren died of a heart attack two months after his trial.

Anna Anderson， Alias Anastasia

With the onslaught13） of the Russian Revolution， the existence of a royal family was intolerable to the Bolsheviks14）. In 1918， they massacred the royal Romanov family to ensure that no legitimate heir could later resurface and rally15） the public for support.

Soon， rumors floated around that certain members of the royal family had escaped and survived. As one might expect， claimants16） came out of the woodwork17）. \"Anna Anderson\" was the most famous. In 1920， Anderson was admitted to a hospital after attempting suicide and confessed that she was Princess Anastasia， the youngest daughter of the royal family. She stood out from other claimants because she held a certain resemblance to and surprising knowledge of the Russian family and life at court.

Although a few relatives and acquaintances who'd known Anastasia believed Anderson， most didn't. By 1927， an alleged former roommate of Anderson claimed that her name was Franziska Schanzkowska， not Anna and certainly not Anastasia. This didn't stop Anderson from indulging in celebrity and attempting to cash in18） on a royal inheritance. She ultimately lost her case in the legal proceedings that dragged on for decades， but she stuck to her story until her death in 1984. Years later， upon the discovery of what proved to be the remains of the royal family， DNA tests confirmed her to be a fake. In 2009， experts were able to finally confirm that all remains have been found and that no family member escaped the execution in 1918.

Watergate

Two decades before the Clinton scandal， another U.S. president was caught in a web of lies.

In the summer before President Richard Nixon's successful reelection to a second term， five men were caught breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters， housed in the Watergate Hotel. As details emerged over the next year， it became clear that officials close to Nixon gave the orders to the burglars， perhaps to plant wiretaps19） on the phones there. The question soon became about whether Nixon knew of， covered up or even ordered the break-in.

In response to mounting suspicions， Nixon denied allegations that he knew anything. In front of 400 Associated Press editors， famously proclaimed， \"I am not a crook20）.\" He was talking about whether he had ever profited from public service， but that one quote came to represent his entire political career.

It was a lie that came back to haunt him. When it was revealed that private White House conversations about the matter were recorded， the investigative committee subpoenaed21） the tapes. Nixon's refusal on the basis of \"executive privilege\" brought the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court， which ruled that he had to relinquish22） the tapes.

The tapes were exactly the smoking gun23） needed to implicate Nixon in the cover-up of the scandal. They revealed that he obviously knew more about the matter than he claimed. Upon the initiation of impeachment proceedings， Nixon gave up and resigned from office. The scandal left a lasting scar on the American political scene and helped usher Washington outsider Jimmy Carter into the presidency a few years later.

根據(jù)傳說，年幼的喬治·華盛頓在承認自己砍倒了一棵櫻桃樹時曾經說：“我不能說謊?！边@個故事證明了美國人總的來說對他們敬愛的開國總統(tǒng)以及誠實的品格有多尊重。但令人遺憾的是，在史書中，對于每一位像華盛頓這樣可敬的英雄而言，似乎就有三個不誠實的惡棍。

漢·凡·米格倫偽造維米爾的畫作

這個謊言源于一個想要博得評論家青睞的經典事例。漢·凡·米格倫是一位自我感覺懷才不遇的畫家，認為可以欺騙藝術鑒賞家使其認可自己的才華。

20世紀初，學者們圍繞繪畫大師維米爾是否曾創(chuàng)作過一系列以圣經故事為藍本的畫作展開了爭論。凡·米格倫抓住這個機會，開始精心偽造一幅專家們對其存在與否有爭議的作品——“以馬忤斯的門徒”。他對細節(jié)精益求精，在畫作上偽造出經歷幾個世紀才有的裂紋和滄桑的堅硬質感。他有意利用了那些想認為維米爾創(chuàng)作過這些作品的評論家的“驗證性偏差”心理。他的做法奏效了：評論家們?yōu)檫@幅作品是維米爾的真跡歡呼。凡·米格倫則像個敲詐者一樣繼續(xù)制作并出售了更多維米爾畫作的贗品。顯然，當他決定不說出這些畫是出自自己之手時，貪婪已戰(zhàn)勝了獲得贊美的欲望。

然而，奔命于20世紀30年代和40年代的漢·凡·米格倫卻犯了一個重大失誤。他將一幅畫賣給了德國納粹黨的一位要員。二戰(zhàn)后，同盟國因他將一件“國寶”賣給敵人而視之為叛國者。隨著事態(tài)的離奇發(fā)展，漢·凡·米格倫不得不為了獲得自由而作畫。為了幫助證明那幅作品并非國寶，他當著權威專家們的面又畫了一幅贗品。

他逃過了法律的嚴懲，只獲得了刑期一年的輕判，但是審判過后兩個月，凡·米格倫就死于心臟病發(fā)作。

安娜·安德森冒名頂替阿利亞斯·阿納斯塔西婭

隨著俄國革命來襲，皇室的存在讓布爾什維克黨人無法容忍。1918年，他們殺害了沙皇羅曼諾夫全家，以確保以后不會有沙皇的合法繼承人重新露面并團結民眾獲取支持。

不久之后流言四起，說某些皇室成員逃過一劫活了下來。正如人們所料，突然冒出來幾個人自稱是沙皇的家人，“安娜·安德森”便是最有名的一個。1920年，安德森自殺未遂被送進醫(yī)院，她對人們坦白說自己是皇室最小的女兒阿納斯塔西婭公主。她從其他自稱沙皇家人的人當中脫穎而出，因為她長得與沙皇一家有些相似，而且對沙皇一家和宮廷生活所知驚人。

盡管認識阿納斯塔西婭的少數(shù)親屬和熟人相信安德森，但大多數(shù)人并不相信她。到了1927年，一位據(jù)稱是安德森前室友的人聲稱，安德森的真名是弗蘭齊斯卡·山茨科夫斯卡，不是安娜，當然就更不是阿納斯塔西婭。這并沒能阻止安德森沉溺于做名人并企圖從沙皇的遺產中撈取好處。官司拖拖沓沓打了幾十年，她最終敗訴了。但是直到她1984年過世，她都一直堅持自己的說法。幾年之后，隨著被證實是沙皇一家的遺骸被發(fā)現(xiàn)，DNA鑒定證實了安德森是一個冒名頂替者。2009年，專家們最終可以證實，沙皇一家的遺骸已全部找到，其所有家庭成員無一幸免于1918年的那場處決。

水門事件

在克林頓鬧出丑聞的20年前，另一位美國總統(tǒng)也曾身陷謊言之網(wǎng)當中。

在理查德·尼克松總統(tǒng)勝選連任之前的那個夏天，五名男子因為非法闖入位于水門飯店的民主黨全國委員會總部而被抓獲。隨著事件的細節(jié)在翌年浮出水面，事情變得明朗起來，是尼克松的親信向那五個人下達了命令，其目的可能是給那里的電話安裝竊聽器。很快，問題就成了尼克松是否知道、掩蓋甚至直接下令實施了這次非法闖入行動。

尼克松在回應越來越多的質疑時，否認了說他知情的各種指控。他當著400名美聯(lián)社記者的面，發(fā)表了那句著名的聲明：“我不是個騙子?！彼敃r正在談論自己是否曾經從公職中獲取私利，而那句話被用來代表他的整個政治生涯。

就是這個謊言日后成了他的困擾。當在白宮進行的關于此事的私密談話被錄了音這件事被揭露時，調查委員會要求傳召錄音帶到庭。尼克松以享有“行政特權”為由拒絕交出那些錄音帶，把事情鬧到了美國最高法院，最高法院裁定他必須交出錄音帶。

那幾卷錄音帶正是證明尼克松參與掩蓋丑聞所需要的確鑿證據(jù)。根據(jù)錄音帶的內容，尼克松對于事件的了解顯然比他此前所聲稱的要多。在彈劾程序啟動時，尼克松放棄抵抗并辭去了總統(tǒng)職務。這樁丑聞在美國的政治圖景上留下了永久的傷疤，并幫助華盛頓的局外人吉米·卡特在幾年后登上了總統(tǒng)寶座。

1.annals [??nlz] n. 編年史

2.scoundrel [?ska?ndr?l] n. （尤指騙人的）惡棍

3.Vermeer： 維米爾，即約翰內斯·維米爾（Johannes Vermeer， 1632～1675），17世紀荷蘭畫家，被稱為荷蘭黃金時代最偉大的畫家之一。

4.squabble [?skw?bl] vi. （為瑣事）爭吵

5.pounce on： 抓住并大肆利用

6.forge [f??d?] vt. 偽造（貨幣、文件或畫作等）

7.play on： 有意利用

8.confirmation bias： 驗證性偏差，是心理層面對人類大腦施加的一種“障眼法”，它使得人們傾向于留意那些可以證明我們既有觀點的證據(jù)而同時忽略其反面。

9.make out： 證明

10.bandit [?b?nd?t] n. 土匪；惡棍

11.Allies： （第二次世界大戰(zhàn)中的）同盟國

12.conspirator [k?n?sp?r?t?（r）] n. 謀反者；共謀者

13.onslaught [??nsl??t] n. 襲擊；猛攻

14.Bolshevik [?b?l??v?k] n. 布爾什維克黨，于1917年俄國革命后掌握政權。

15.rally [?r?li] vt. 團結起來

16.claimant [?kle?m?nt] n. 要求者，要求權利（或所有權）的人

17.come out of the woodwork： 突然出現(xiàn)以表達觀點或利用局面

18.cash in： 從……中牟利

19.wiretap [?wa??t?p] n. 竊聽器；竊聽裝置

20.crook [kr?k] n. 騙子

21.subpoena [s??pi?n?] vt. （發(fā)傳票）命令交出

22.relinquish [r??l??kw??] vt. 放棄

23.smoking gun： 確鑿的證據(jù)