 Second, why does al-Fārābī say in [Canons] 268.15 that “poetic discourse is in all cases absolutely false”? This is a gross exaggeration, and it raises the question whether a poet can really expect the audience to assent to a pack of lies. It seems we can handle this problem. Al-Fārābī’s statement in [Canons] is a typical Neoplatonist soundbite, witness the Alexandrian Elias (In Categorias Prooemium 117.2–5):