1. Introduction -- 2. Topicality and the Limits of Party Commitment -- 3. Satire -- 4. The 'Pseudologia' and Scientific Learning -- 5. A System of Politics -- 6. Casuistry -- 7. Political Lying -- 8. Philosophical Lying -- 9. Conclusion -- App. A. A Scant biographical note on John Arbuthnot -- App. B. Scriblerian satire and the authorship of Peri Bathous -- App. C. The text of The Art of Political Lying