repudiate so blatant a claim far more vigorously than to circulate it; likewise, if someone lies about an incident and that lie reaches those who actually witnessed it, the combined motives to expose the falsehood are stronger than the motives they originally had to relate the event itself. Thus, when the matter is of the sort about which silence is impossible, keeping silent about refuting the liar becomes even more inconceivable.

At times, the evidence consists of characteristics that accompany the speaker himself. A person may notice the redness of his face and distinguish between redness caused by modest bashfulness, redness brought on by fever and an excess of blood, redness produced by the heat of a bathhouse, and redness stirred by anger. In the same way, one differentiates the pallor that comes from sudden terror and alarm, the pallor that stems from sorrow and fear, and the pallor that results from illness. Just as a man’s complexion and facial appearance reveal his body’s natural condition and its various ailments—so much so that skilled physicians can judge the patient’s state from his visage without needing to feel the pulse or inspect a flask of urine—so too do they disclose his psychological states: is he cheerful and delighted, or sad and distressed; and is he a loving friend who seeks what is good,