“Men are most apt to believe what they least understand.”
Book III, Ch. 11. Of Cripples
Essais (1595), Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)
“In most cases men willingly believe what they wish.”
The quote "In most cases men willingly believe what they wish." is famous quote by Julius Caesar (-100–-44 BC), Roman politician and general.
Book III, Chapter 18
Variant translation: Men willingly believe what they wish to be true.
As quoted in The Adventurer No. 69 (3 July 1753) in The Works of Samuel Johnson (1837) edited by Arthur Murphy, p. 32
Compare: "What each man wishes, that he also believes to be true" Demosthenes, Olynthiac 3.19
De Bello Gallico
Original
Fere libenter homines id quod volunt credunt.
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
Julius Caesar 18
Roman politician and general -100–-44 BCRelated quotes
“What most men do not know - and if they could know it, why could they be called on to believe it?”
Is that this blue sky, though illusory as an optical error and belied by the vision of interplanetary space, is nonetheless an adequate reflection of the Heaven of the Angels and the Blessed and that therefore, despite everything, it is this blue mirage, flecked with silver clouds, that is right and will have the final say; to be astonished at this amounts to admitting that it is by chance that we are here on earth and see the sky as we do.
Understanding Islam (1963)
Nicolas Chamfort
(1741–1794) French writer
Sentir fait penser. On en convient assez aisément; on convient moins que penser fasse sentir; mais cela n'est guère moins vrai.
Maximes et Pensées, #377
Maxims and Considerations, #377
“It becomes so easy to believe what one wishes to believe.”
Source: Book 2, Chapter 2 “The Castle Built of Blood” (p. 320), Corum, The King of the Swords (1971)
Letter to Elisabeth Nietzsche, Bonn, 1865-06-11. Quoted in Walter Kaufmann, The Faith of a Heretic (opening epigram).
Variant: Here the ways of men divide. If you wish to strive for peace of soul and happiness, then believe; if you wish to be a disciple of truth, then inquire.
Source: Twilight of the Idols
“Writing what you wished was the most dangerous form of wishful thinking.”
Source: The Bonesetter's Daughter
Bertrand Russell
(1872–1970) logician, one of the first analytic philosophers and political activist
In London Calling http://books.google.pt/books?id=l80fAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Men+tend+to+have+the+beliefs+that+suit+their+passions.%22&dq=%22Men+tend+to+have+the+beliefs+that+suit+their+passions.%22&hl=pt-PT&sa=X&ei=q9mEUcj-AoqM7AbW3IGoBQ&ved=0CFMQ6AEwBw (1947), p. 18
1940s
Bernard Cornwell
(1944) British writer
Major Richard Sharpe, p. 94
Sharpe (Novel Series), Sharpe's Enemy (1984)
