Will Durant's observation cuts deeper than mere cynicism—he's identifying a mathematical problem built into democracy itself. The traditional saying comforts us with inevitability (truth wins eventually), but Durant reminds us that electoral systems don't require universal consent, only a workable majority. When we see political leaders thrive despite documented falsehoods, it's not because we've abandoned reason; it's because fooling 51 percent proves sufficient for real power, making the timeline of eventual exposure almost irrelevant to governance. The insight stings because it suggests that truth's victory comes too late to prevent harm—useful perhaps for historians, less so for citizens living through the fooling.