“A deception that elevates us is dearer than a host of low truths.”

A similar statement was attributed to Aristotle in antiquityː &quot;&quot;Φίλος μὲν Σωκράτης, ἀλλὰ φιλτέρα ἀλήθεια.&quot;&quot; [&quot;&quot;Socrates is a friend, but truth is a greater.&quot;&quot;] — Ammonius Hermiae, Life of Aristotle (as translated in Dictionary of Quotations http://archive.org/details/dictionaryquota02harbgoog (1906) by Thomas Benfield Harbottle, p. 527). The variant mentioned above may possibly be derived from a reduction of a statement known to have been made by Isaac Newton, who at the head of notes he titled Quaestiones Quaedam Philosophicae (Certain Philosophical Questions) wrote in Latin: &quot;&quot;Amicus Plato— amicus Aristoteles— magis amica veritas&quot;&quot; which translates to: &quot;&quot;Plato is my friend— Aristotle is my friend— but my greatest friend is truth.&quot;&quot; (c. 1664)<br>Another possible origin of the &quot;&quot;dear is Plato&quot;&quot; statement is in the Nicomachean Ethics; the Ross translation (of 1096a.11–1096a.16) provides: &quot;&quot;We had perhaps better consider the universal good and discuss thoroughly what is meant by it, although such an inquiry is made an uphill one by the fact that the Forms have been introduced by friends of our own. Yet it would perhaps be thought to be better, indeed to be our duty, for the sake of maintaining the truth even to destroy what touches us closely, especially as we are philosophers; for, while both are dear, piety requires us to honour truth above our friends.&quot;&quot;<br>Note that the last clause, when quoted by itself loses the connection to &quot;&quot;the friends&quot;&quot; who introduced &quot;&quot;the Forms&quot;&quot;, Plato above all. Therefore the misattribution could be the result of the &quot;&quot;quote&quot;&quot; actually being a paraphrase which identifies Plato where Aristotle only alludes to him circumspectly.<br>According to the notes in Plato: Republic Book X, edited by John Ferguson, p. 71, «the familiar &#x27;amicus Plato sed magis amica veritas&#x27; is found in Cervantes&#x27; Don Quixote II 8 and cannot be traced further back. Cf. Roger Bacon Op. mai. I vii, &#x27;&lt;i&gt;amicus est Socrates, magister meus, sed magis est amica veritas&lt;/i&gt;&#x27;. For the opposite view, see Cicero, T.D. I 17,39, &#x27;&lt;i&gt;errare mehercule malo cum Platone . . . quam cum istis vera sentire&lt;/i&gt;&#x27;.» <br class="br">Disputed <br class="br">Variant: Plato is my friend, but the truth is more my friend.

Speech in Cleveland http://books.google.com/books?id=o3j10P6YFZIC&amp;pg=PA1090&amp;dq=%22nation&#x27;s+honor+is+dearer+than+the+nation&#x27;s+comfort%22 (January 1916) <br class="br">1910s

Source: Ender's Game

"Epigrams" in Sämtliche Werke, volume 6, page 365
Original: (de) Was du teurer bezahlst, die Lüge oder die Wahrheit?
Jene kostet dein Ich, diese doch höchstens dein Glück.

Introductory Remarks
Thoughts on African Colonization (1832)
Context: Is Error, though unwittingly supported by a host of good men, stronger than Truth? Are Right and Wrong convertible terms, dependant upon popular opinion? Oh no! Then I will go forward in the strength of the Lord of Hosts — in the name of Truth — and under the banner of Right. As it is not by might nor by power, but by the Spirit of God, that great moral changes are effected, I am encouraged to fight valiantly in this good cause, believing that I shall "come off conqueror, and more than conqueror" — yet not I, but Truth and Justice. It is in such a contest that one shall chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight.

The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Vol. 5
Diary entries (1914 - 1974)

Source: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848), Ch. XLV : Reconciliation; Helen to Gilbert

Source: Life of Pi

On the Contrary (1964)