As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand.

Frustrating as it is to discover how skimpy is one's knowledge, it is better than knowing everything. Imagine not experiencing the pleasure of discovering something you think you should have known but simply did not. One of the more pleasurable of negative feelings.

In this instance, Josh Billings.

Josh Billings was the pen name of 19th-century American humorist Henry Wheeler Shaw (April 21, 1818 – October 14, 1885). He was a famous humor writer and lecturer in the United States during the latter half of the 19th century. He is often compared to Mark Twain.

Some of the quotes for which he is known. It was in pursuit of "It's knowin' so many things that ain't so" which led me to Billings. We have an awful lot of opinion makers who know an awful lot of things which just ain't so.

"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.”

“The best time for you to hold your tongue is the time you feel you must say something or bust.”

“In the whole history of the world there is but one thing that money cannot buy...to wit--the wag of a dog's tail.”

“Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well”

“Love looks through a telescope; envy, through a microscope.”

“Don't put off till tomorrow what can be enjoyed today.”

“Half of the troubles of this life can be traced to saying yes too quickly and not saying no soon enough.”

“One of the greatest victories you can gain over someone is to beat him at politeness.”

“There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness.”

“As scarce as truth is, the supply has always been in excess of the demand.”

“The trouble with most folks isn't their ignorance. It's knowin' so many things that ain't so.”

“Success does not consist in never making blunders, but in never making the same one a second time.”

“Consider the postage stamp: its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing till it gets there.”

“Learning sleeps and snores in libraries, but wisdom is everywhere, wide awake, on tiptoe. ”

“Genius after all ain't anything more then elegant common sense.”

“There's a great power in words, if you don't hitch too many of them together.”

“Laughing is the sensation of feeling good all over and showing it principally in one spot.”

“Flattery is like cologne water, to be smelt of, not swallowed.”

“Man was created a little lower than the angels and has been getting a little lower ever since.”

“There are lots of people who mistake their imagination for their memory.”

“It's not only the most difficult thing to know one's self, but the most inconvenient.”

“Adversity has the same effect on a man that severe training has on the pugilist: it reduces him to his fighting weight.”

“Reason often makes mistakes, but conscience never does.”

He also penned the verse:

I hate to be a kicker,
I always long for peace,
But the wheel that does the squeaking,
Is the one that gets the grease.

Which reflects on one of the great ironies of the modern world. To progress we need good government. But once in place, government is systemically inclined to expand to address an ever-expanding array of squeaking problems. It expands until it can no longer sustain the burden of bribes, sinecures, subsidies, transfers, etc. which solve the problem of squeaking wheels at the cost of degrading the system itself. We still need good government, just not one hijacked by the squeaky wheels.

And for Classical Liberals and especially Libertarians, both of whom want government to function well but within its remit, the irksome burden is always having to police the system to protect it from squeaky wheelers. Individuals and groups who do not wish to work and serve the community but who wish to benefit from the centrally extracted and administered bribes, sinecures, subsidies, transfers.