Lying to ourselves is more deeply ingrained than lying to others.

The line expresses a central Dostoyevskian insight: self-deception is not merely a moral lapse but a psychological habit that can be more tenacious than ordinary dishonesty. We often lie to others for advantage or fear, but lying to ourselves can become a way of preserving a coherent self-image, avoiding guilt, or escaping painful truths about our motives. In Dostoyevsky’s moral universe, this inward falsification is especially dangerous because it corrodes conscience and makes genuine repentance or transformation impossible. The quote thus points to the paradox that the hardest person to tell the truth to is oneself—and that ethical life begins with the courage to see one’s own inner reality clearly.