Dighanikaya 26.94

26.94

Na hi, devāti so kira cintesi – ‘‘ayaṃ rājā saccaṃ devāti mukhapaṭiññāya dinnāya mārāpeti, handāhaṃ musāvādaṃ karomī’’ti, maraṇabhayā ‘‘na hi devā’’ti avoca.

‘No, sire’ (na hi, deva): he, it is said, thought: ‘This king has people executed when an admission is given out of their own mouths that “It is true, sire”; come now, let me tell a lie!’ So, out of fear of death, he said, ‘No, sire.’