The phrase ( "wrapping truth in mystery") is from Virgil's Aeneid (VI, 100).

The quote was described in David Evans Macdonnel's Dictionary of Quotations (1799) as being "frequently used to reprobate a style which is at once pompous and ambiguous". The Routledge Dictionary of Latin Quotations (2005) defines it as meaning "concealing the truth in obscurity" or "shrouding the truth in darkness", and notes it is "said of political figures". Eugene Ehrlich said the phrase defined "the uncommon word 'obfuscation', a common technique practiced by uncommonly clever people intent on confusing voters, listeners, or readers".

It is also found on an engraving on the title page of Francis Bacon's Wisdom of the Ancients (1641 French edition).

See also Obscurantism

References

External links Worldwide school library Aeneid (fifth paragraph) Picture of engraving on Wisdom of the Ancients (Francis Bacon Research Trust)