Believe only half of what you see and nothing that you hear.

The saying urges radical skepticism: sensory evidence can mislead, and secondhand reports are even less reliable. Read as a maxim, it cautions against credulity, rumor, and manipulation—especially in environments where deception, exaggeration, or misperception are common. Attributed to Poe, it also aligns loosely with themes in his fiction (unreliable narrators, distorted perception, hoaxes, and the fragility of “truth”). However, without a secure Poe source, it is best treated as a general proverb-like warning rather than a statement whose meaning is anchored to a specific Poe text or moment.