“So little pains do the vulgar take in the investigation of truth, accepting readily the first story that comes to hand.”
Variant translation: "...the search for truth strains the patience of most people, who would rather believe the first things that come to hand." Translation by Paul Woodruff.
Book I, 1.20-[3]
History of the Peloponnesian War, Book I
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Thucydides 76
Greek historian and Athenian generalRelated quotes

“The first duty of a man is the seeking after and the investigation of truth.”
As quoted in A Crowd of One: The Future of Individual Identity (2007) by John Clippinger, p. 130
Compare: "The distinguishing property of man is to search for and to follow after truth." – De Officiis, Book I, 13
Disputed

On her creation process in “Q & A with Jen Wang” https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-authors/article/81155-q-a-with-jen-wang.html in Publishers Weekly (2019 Sep 12)

“We accept reality so readily - perhaps because we sense that nothing is real.”
“So often the pain of our life is no more than a reminder to take our hand off the stove.”
Source: The Carousel
Sermon (1899)

The Way to Love (1995)
Context: It is the desire for "the more" that prevents clear thinking, whereas if we are discontent, not because we want something, but without knowing what we want; if we are dissatisfied with our jobs, with making money, with seeking position and power, with tradition, with what we have and with what we might have; if we are dissatisfied, not with anything in particular but with everything, then I think we shall find that our discontent brings clarity. When we don't accept or follow, but question, investigate, penetrate, there is an insight out of which comes creativity, joy.