Quotes about the truth
page 80

Fyodor Dostoyevsky photo
Hu Shuli photo

“Revealing the truth to the public requires layers of checking and multiple source verification. Good journalism can safeguard interests and foster changes of rules.”

Hu Shuli (1953) Chinese journalist

As quoted in "HU SHULI: The Hard-Earned Right to Report" in Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (14 November 2016) https://www.rmaward.asia/rmtli/hu-shuli-the-hard-earned-right-to-report/

Peadar Tóibín photo

“The truth is respectful opposition is not the enemy, it’s an important part of a health a democracy.”

Peadar Tóibín (1974) Irish politician

Peadar Tóibín to host Waterford meeting about new party https://www.wlrfm.com/2019/01/21/peadar-toibin-to-host-waterford-meeting-about-new-party/ (January 21, 2019)

Frithjof Schuon photo
Frithjof Schuon photo

“Wisdom consists not only in knowing truths and being able to communicate them, but also in the sage’s capacity to recognize the most subtle limitations or hazards of human nature.”

Frithjof Schuon (1907–1998) Swiss philosopher

[2008, Christianity / Islam, World Wisdom, 141, 978-1-933316-49-9]
Spiritual path, Wisdom

Frithjof Schuon photo
Frithjof Schuon photo
Frithjof Schuon photo
Frithjof Schuon photo

“Truth and Holiness: all values are in these two terms; all that we must love and all that we must be.”

Frithjof Schuon (1907–1998) Swiss philosopher

[2003, Survey of Metaphysics and Esoterism, World Wisdom, 224, 978-0-94153227-3]
Spiritual life, Truth

Frithjof Schuon photo

“Truth is the raison d’être for man’s existence; it constitutes our grandeur and reveals to us our smallness.”

Frithjof Schuon (1907–1998) Swiss philosopher

[2012, Echoes of Perennial Wisdom, World Wisdom, 34, 978-1-93659700-0]
Spiritual life, Truth

Frithjof Schuon photo

“Beauty is a reflection of divine beatitude; and since God is Truth, the reflection of His beatitude will be that blend of happiness and truth found in all beauty.”

Frithjof Schuon (1907–1998) Swiss philosopher

[2007, Spiritual Perspectives and Human Facts, World Wisdom, 24, 978-1-933316-42-0]
God, Beauty

Frithjof Schuon photo
Christian Friedrich Hebbel photo

“Which do you pay dearer for, lies or the truth?
The former costs you yourself, the latter at most your happiness.”

Christian Friedrich Hebbel (1813–1863) German poet and dramatist

"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.

Robert A. Heinlein photo
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky photo

“Truth, high-seated upon its rock of adamant, is alone eternal and supreme.”

Isis Unveiled (1877), Vol. I Preface

Benjamin Creme photo

“This time can be seen as a time when we are experiencing the birth pains of new civilization... It's not me. It's the power of the inner truth of the story. It's an honor... a privilege.”

Benjamin Creme (1922–2016) artist, author, esotericist

The State of the World 2010, public lecture in New York City, USA, (July 2010)

David Mitchell photo

“I became a scientist because... it's like panning for gold in a muddy torrent. Truth is the gold.”

"Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery", p. 133
Cloud Atlas (2004), Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery (Part 1)

“The search for necessary truths, truths that are not only true, but they couldn’t have been false.”

Charles Hartshorne (1897–2000) Philosopher

In the Veery journal interview in 1996, in reply to the question of "What is the most rewarding aspect of philosophy?" presented by Veery editor Steven Vita, later reprinted in 1997 in the Austin American-Statesman and then quoted from in The New York Times obituary entitled “Charles Hartshorne, Theologian, Is Dead; Proponent of an Activist God Was 103.”

Arthur C. Brooks photo

“Many of the most profound truths come not in shouting and scandal but, rather, in a whisper. In our noisy world, they are easily missed or dismissed.”

Arthur C. Brooks (1964) American policy analyst and musician

" Individuality Is an Illusion, https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2021/02/dalai-lama-gentle-transgressive-individuality-happiness/617901/" The Atlantic (04 February 2021)

“A bird's-eye view does not see the truth.”

Bernard MacLaverty (1942) Irish writer

Source: Novels, Lamb (1980), Ch.17 - p.145

Shobha Rao photo

“I think the only responsibility that writers have is to our own truth. If that happens to merge with contemporary issues, then yes, write that truth. But what we are haunted by is not a thing we choose. And that choice is most certainly not made by the latest headlines.”

On whether writers have the responsibility to write about contemporary issues in “‘I can’t think of a happier story’: Shobha Rao talks GIRLS BURN BRIGHTER” https://www.booklistreader.com/2018/03/06/books-and-authors/i-cant-think-of-a-happier-story-shobha-rao-talks-girls-burn-brighter/ in Booklist Reader (2018 Mar 6)

Donald J. Trump photo

“I don't have a big mouth, you know what I have, I have a mouth that tells the truth.”

Donald J. Trump (1946) 45th President of the United States of America

2021, September 2021
Source: "Trump says he has 'a mouth that tells the truth' while making false statements at Georgia rally" https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-says-has-mouth-tells-truth-while-lying-georgia-rally-2021-9?r=US&IR=T, Insider, 26 September 2021
Context: They want to go after me because I have, they think, a big mouth.

“The spirit manifests itself to a warrior at every turn. However, this is not the entire truth. The entire truth is that the spirit reveals itself to everyone with the same intensity and consistency, but only warriors are consistently attuned to such revelations.”

Source: The Wheel of Time: Shamans of Ancient Mexico, Their Thoughts About Life, Death and the Universe], (1998), Quotations from "The Power of Silence" (Chapter 18)

Isaac Asimov photo

“Truth is a discredited commodity among diplomats.”

Source: Empire novels (1950–1952), The Currents of Space (1952), Chapter 6 “The Ambassador” (p. 64)

Jules Van Praet photo

“Always tell the truth, even if it should make him jump out of his shoe.”

Jules Van Praet (1806–1887) Belgian diplomat

Source: All the King's Men' A search for the colonial ideas of some advisers and "accomplices" of Leopold II (1853-1892). (Hannes Vanhauwaert), 4. Viceroys without colonial aspirations? Jules Van Praet (1806-1887) http://www.ethesis.net/leopold_II/leopold_II.htm#2.%20 He certainly did not play his role of chief of staff to the king as that of a submissive slave: this is apparent from a preserved quote from him in Bruges in which he was determined to be his king. VIAENE, V. “Leopold I, Belgian Diplomacy and the Culture of the European Concert, 1831-1865”, 130. Van Praet then rebelled against the fact that Leopold I had already had several mistresses there, which according to the private secretary was detrimental to the popularity of the monarchy.

Michael Moorcock photo

“How many generations need to comply in a fallacy before it becomes accepted as truth?”

The Cornelius Quartet, The Condition of Muzak (1977)
Source: The BL 755 cluster bomb (p. 652)

Franjo Tuđman photo

“You can take my freedom, even my life, but not my thought, not my truth, not my contribution to the history of the people to which I belong.”

Franjo Tuđman (1922–1999) Croatian politician, soldier and president

Source: "Excerpts from his diary, written while in prison" https://www.tudjman.hr/promisljanja/ (14 August 1984)

Ti-Anna Wang photo

“The truth is, the lives of activists are much more complicated than what the novel presented. My father was not a regular man nor a regular father. He gave himself to his cause, and our relationship was forged by distance. There is no resentment. The world needs people like my father.”

Ti-Anna Wang (1989) Chinese dissident

"Daughter of imprisoned Chinese activist inspires ‘Nine Days’ by Fred Hiatt, a book about their plight" in The Washington Post https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:TAgbvFpO2-kJ:https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/daughter-of-imprisoned-chinese-activist-inspires-nine-days-by-fred-hiatt-a-book-about-their-plight/2013/04/05/67b339d0-9e03-11e2-a2db-efc5298a95e1_story.html+&cd=12&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us (5 April 2013)

Paul Gosar photo

“I object to the suppression of the truth. I think the injustice of not being able to bring light to the situation dissolves all equitable application of the rule of law.”

Paul Gosar (1958) American politician and dentist

Appealing for Tommy Robinson on Twitter, as quoted in * 2018-07-19
Ronald J. Hansen
The Arizona Republic
Paul Gosar takes up for U.K. anti-Muslim activist, is accused of aiding a bigot.
Source: https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2018/07/19/paul-gosar-takes-up-anti-muslim-activist-accused-aiding-bigot/798818002/

Charles Fillmore photo
Maxine Hong Kingston photo

“I think that individual voices are not as strong as a community of voices. If we can make a community of voices, then we can speak more truth. Also in a community, we learn to listen…”

Maxine Hong Kingston (1940) Chinese American author

Source: On the strength of a community in “’I Can Write My Shadow’: Alexis Cheung Interviews Maxine Hong Kingston” https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/can-write-shadow-alexis-cheung-interviews-maxine-hong-kingston/ in Los Angeles Review of Books (2016 Dec 22)

Geling Yan photo

“My dream is to write with both pens, in English and Chinese. I want to be more truthful and more straightforward when I write in English.”

Geling Yan (1958) Chinese writer and screenwriter

Source: "Chinese writer finds freedom in English" in Reuters https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-literature-yan-interview/chinese-writer-finds-freedom-in-english-idUSTRE53M00D20090423 (22 April 2009)

“It is good to remember that the administration of justice is only just when it is exercised in conformity with the truth and the moral good.”

Juan Alberto Puiggari (1949) Argentine archbishop

Source: Argentinean bishop condemns mid term abortion, stresses that Church 'cannot remain silent' https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/20011/argentinean-bishop-condemns-mid-term-abortion-stresses-that-church-cannot-remain-silent (17 June 2010)

Padma Lakshmi photo

“The truth is, models are freaks of nature. We are not normal people, and we're just born this way because of a genetic cocktail that our parents gave to us. You know, most of us have a really high metabolism.”

Padma Lakshmi (1970) Indian-born American author, actress, model, television host and executive producer

Source: "Padma Lakshmi, Model, Actor And TV Host, Says Above All, She's A Writer" in NPR https://www.npr.org/2020/09/04/909583983/padma-lakshmi-model-actor-and-tv-host-says-above-all-shes-a-writer (4 September 2020)

James D. Watson photo

“This remarkable feat merely reaffirms what most of us in molecular biology have long known to be the truth: the essence of life is complicated chemistry and nothing more.”

James D. Watson (1928) American molecular biologist, geneticist, and zoologist.

Source: DNA: The Story of the Genetic Revolution (2003/2017), Chapter 9, “Reading Genomes: Evolution in Action” (p. 242)

Lev Shestov photo

“Philosophy can never reconcile itself with science. Science aims at self-evident truths and finds in them that "natural necessity" which, after having proclaimed itself for ever eternal, claims to serve as the foundation of all knowledge and strives to rule over all wanton "suddenly."”

Lev Shestov (1866–1938) Russian theologian

But philosophy has always been, and will always be, a fight with and a conquest of self-evident truths; philosophy is not looking for any "natural necessity", it sees in naturalness and in necessity alike an evil magic, which, if one cannot quite shake it off (for in this no mortal has ever yet succeeded), yet one must at least call by its right name; and even this is an important step! p. 342
Source: In Job's Balances: on the sources of the eternal truths, Words That Are Swallowed Up - Plotinus's Ecstasies

Lev Shestov photo

“The first commandment of modern philosophy runs: Thou shalt emancipate thyself from all postulates. The postulate has been declared a deadly sin, and he who makes one is the enemy of truth.”

Lev Shestov (1866–1938) Russian theologian

Source: In Job's Balances: on the sources of the eternal truths, On The Philosophy of History p. 247

Lev Shestov photo
Letitia Elizabeth Landon photo

“There is a flower, a purple flower
Sown by the wind, nursed by the shower,
O'er which Love has breathed a power and spell
The truth of whispering hope to tell.”

Letitia Elizabeth Landon (1802–1838) English poet and novelist

According to the Lady's Book of Flowers, 1842 , this is the centaury
Source: The London Literary Gazette, 1824

“My burning desire is to lead my generation into the very act of worship, worshiping the Lord in spirit and in truth.”

Tope Alabi (1970) Nigerian Gospel artist

https://quotes.ng/mobile/author.php?title=tope-alabi&id=1290

Omotola Jalade Ekeinde photo

“I used to think I was odd, as the things that interested many weren’t my interest. Not anymore, now I understand my interests and live in my truth.”

Omotola Jalade Ekeinde (1978) Nigerian actress and singer

https://naijagists.com/omotola-jalade-ekeinde-wisdom-quotes-top-20-motivational-quotes-sayings-omosexy/ Omotola Jalade Ekehinde speaking on Success.

“The fundamental truth that makes us free is the grateful recognition that we come from God and we are not the product of chance, or of mere biological evolution, or of some cosmic coincidence.”

Andrés Stanovnik (1949) Catholic archbishop

Source: Bishop reminds Argentineans “man comes from God and is not product of chance” https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/4419/bishop-reminds-argentineans-man-comes-from-god-and-is-not-product-of-chance (17 July 2005)

Bo Xilai photo

“I was dragged into this and really wronged, but the truth will come out one day.”

Bo Xilai (1949) former Politburo member of the Communist Party of China

Source: "Disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai anticipated prison in letter to family" in CNN https://www.cnn.com/2013/09/19/world/asia/china-bo-xilai-letter/index.html (23 September 2013)

Peter Thiel photo
Prayut Chan-o-cha photo

“We'll probably just execute them. You don't have to support the government, but you should report the truth.”

Prayut Chan-o-cha (1954) Thai military officer, junta chief, and politician

Source: On how the government would deal with journalists who did not adhere to the government's laws https://web.archive.org/web/20210316002628/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-junta-media-idUSKBN0ML0RV20150325 (25 March 2015)

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky photo
Ben Aaronovitch photo

“It’s always better to tell a half-truth than a half-lie.”

Source: Moon Over Soho (2011), Chapter 13, “Autumn Leaves” (p. 277)

Ben Aaronovitch photo

“There we continued the time-honored tradition of brazenly lying through our teeth while telling nothing but the truth.”

Source: Rivers of London (2011; American edition title: Midnight Riot), Chapter 10, “The Blind Spot” (p. 210)

Robert Ndlovu photo

“We have to also realise that celibacy itself is not an easy life and I think anyone who tells you it's an easy life, will not be truthful. Celibacy is not an easy life but is a life that is worth living with the grace of God.”

Robert Ndlovu (1955) Archbishop of Harare

Source: ‘Pius Ncube now living a life of prayer’ https://thestandard.newsday.co.zw/2012/08/05/pius-ncube-now-living-a-life-of-prayer/ (5 August 2012)

Henry Lawson photo
Arthur C. Clarke photo

“Maybe it’s a mark of a maturing culture, do you think, that secrets aren’t kept, that truth is told, that things are talked out?”

Source: 2000s and posthumous publications, A Time Odyssey, Firstborn (2007), Chapter 49, “Areosynchronous” (p. 313)

Wojciech Jaruzelski photo
Catherine Rowett photo

“Xenophanes might be saying that we have only superficial understanding, and we never get to knowledge of the clear truth.”

Catherine Rowett (1956) Professor of Philosophy at the University of East Anglia (born 1956)

Source: Presocratic Philosophy: A Very Short Introduction (2004), Ch. 4 : Reality and appearance: more adventures in metaphysics

“We’re clusters of chemical reactions that contemplate deep truths about the nature of reality.”

Source: The Ape That Understood the Universe: How the Mind and Culture Evolve (2018), p. 15

G. K. Chesterton photo
Phill Kline photo
Jean Zerbo photo
Benjamin Franklin photo

“Our great security lies, I think, in our growing strength, both in numbers and wealth; ... unless, by a neglect of military discipline, we should lose all martial spirit ...; for there is much truth in the Italian saying, Make yourselves sheep, and the wolves will eat you.”

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) American author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, …

Letter to Thomas Cushing (1773) http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/franklin-the-works-of-benjamin-franklin-vol-vi-letters-and-misc-writings-1772-1775#lf1438-06_head_007.

Katie Hill (politician) photo

“The truth is, distributing intimate photos with the intent to publish them is a crime, and the perpetrator should be punished to the full extent of the law. I have notified Capitol Police, who are investigating it, and therefore will have no further comment on the matter.”

Katie Hill (politician) (1987) former U.S. Representative from California

Source: "Rep. Katie Hill threatens legal action after another conservative outlet publishes her nude photo" https://www.salon.com/2019/10/25/rep-katie-hill-threatens-legal-action-after-another-conservative-outlet-publishes-her-nude-photo/, Salon (October 25, 2019)

Jay Samit photo

“The third of the twelve truths in this book is that you must accept that fear is good.”

Jay Samit (1961) American businessman

Future Proofing You (2021)

Jay Samit photo
Zaman Ali photo
Donald J. Trump photo

“I ran twice and we won twice.This crowd is a massive symbol of what took place, because people are hungry for the truth. They want their country back.”

Donald J. Trump (1946) 45th President of the United States of America

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2022/01/trump-arizona-rally-2024-election/621244/ theatlantic
2022, January 2022

János Áder photo

“International relations and dialogue cannot be built either on lies or the denial of truth.”

János Áder (1959) President of Hungary

Source: János Áder (2022) cited in: " President Áder: Int’l Dialogue Cannot Be Built on Lies, Denial of Truth https://hungarytoday.hu/ader-diplomats-ambassadors-foreign-diplomatic-corps/" in Hungary Today, 11 January 2022.

Nassim Nicholas Taleb photo
Gustave Le Bon photo

“The masses have never thirsted after truth. Whoever can supply them with illusions is easily their master; whoever attempts to destroy their illusions is always their victim.”

Gustave Le Bon (1841–1931) French psychologist

Source: Psychologie des Foules [The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind] (1895)

Jurnee Smollett photo

“You are not weak. You are brave. One of the bravest I know. Speaking your truth, a person living at the intersection of multiple identities, unapologetically, takes courage. I love you”

Jurnee Smollett (1986) American actress

14 February 2019 https://twitter.com/jurneesmollett/status/1096168270506258432 re Jussie Smollett (older brother)

Swami Vivekananda photo

“After so much austerity I have known that the highest truth is this: He is present in every being! These are all in manifold forms of him. There is no other God to seek for! He alone is worshipping God, who serves all beings!”

Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902) Indian Hindu monk and phylosopher

Source: As quoted in Vivekananda : The Yogas and Other Works (1953), p. 173; also at "The Story Of Swami Vivekananda: Mission Impossible" at MyLifeYoga (10 December 2011) http://mylifeyoga.com/2011/12/10/the-story-of-swami-vivekananda-mission-impossibl/

Julian Assange photo

“If wars can be started with lies, they can be stopped by truth.”

Julian Assange (1971) Australian editor, activist, publisher and journalist

Source: Quoted in Fate Of Anti-War Journalism Lies in Upcoming Assange Hearings, Sam Carliner, https://www.commondreams.org/views/2021/10/22/fate-anti-war-journalism-lies-upcoming-assange-hearings October 22, 2021

Burt Lancaster photo

“I always try to improve, to find new ways of expressing myself, to keep looking for truth and originality.”

Burt Lancaster (1913–1994) American actor and producer

other quotes

Jessamyn Stanley photo
Alfred Austin photo
Greta Thunberg photo
John Wesley photo
John Wesley photo
John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton photo

“A time came when the Catholics, having long relied on force, were compelled to appeal to opinion. That which had been defiantly acknowledged and defended required to be ingeniously explained away. The same motive which had justified the murder now prompted the lie. Men shrank from the conviction that the rulers and restorers of their Church had been murderers and abetters of murder, and that so much infamy had been coupled with so much zeal. They feared to say that the most monstrous of crimes had been solemnly approved at Rome, lest they should devote the Papacy to the execration of mankind. A swarm of facts were invented to meet the difficulty: The victims were insignificant in number; they were slain for no reason connected with religion; the Pope believed in the existence of the plot; the plot was a reality; the medal is fictitious; the massacre was a feint concerted with the Protestants themselves; the Pope rejoiced only when he heard that it was over. These things were repeated so often that they have been sometimes believed; and men have fallen into this way of speaking whose sincerity was unimpeachable, and who were not shaken in their religion by the errors or the vices of Popes. Möhler was pre-eminently such a man. In his lectures on the history of the Church, which were published only last year, he said that the Catholics, as such, took no part in the massacre; that no cardinal, bishop, or priest shared in the councils that prepared it; that Charles informed the Pope that a conspiracy had been discovered; and that Gregory made his thanksgiving only because the King's life was saved. Such things will cease to be written when men perceive that truth is the only merit that gives dignity and worth to history.”

John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton (1834–1902) British politician and historian

Source: 1860s, The Massacre Of St. Bartholomew (1869)

Michel Henry photo
Michel Henry photo
Michel Henry photo
Alfred de Zayas photo

“Patriotism means different things to different people. For me it entails citizen solidarity in promoting justice at home and resisting official lies, apologetics, euphemisms, crime and tyranny. Love of country requires a commitment to truth and readiness to counter «fake news » and skewed political «narratives.»”

Alfred de Zayas (1947) American United Nations official

Internationally, patriotism means averting harm from one’s country by pro-actively seeking dialogue and compromise, so as to contribute to peace and justice – pax et iustitia.
2021

Arthur James Balfour photo

“It is unfortunate, considering that enthusiasm moves the world, that so few enthusiasts can be trusted to speak the truth.”

Arthur James Balfour (1848–1930) British Conservative politician and statesman

Chief Secretary for Ireland
Source: Letter to Mary Gladstone Drew (17 May 1891), in Some Hawarden Letters, 1878–1913, Written to Mrs. Drew (Miss Mary Gladstone) Before and After Her Marriage, chosen and arranged by Lisle March-Phillipps and Bertram Christian (London: Nisbet & Co., 1917), p. 248.

René Guénon photo

“A philosopher's renown is increased more by inventing a new error than by repeating a truth that has already been expressed by others.”

René Guénon (1886–1951) French metaphysician

Source: The Crisis of the Modern World (1927), p. 56

Theodore Watts-Dunton photo

“When hope lies dead—ah, when 'tis death to live,
And wrongs remembered make the heart still bleed,
Better are Sleep's kind lies for Life's blind need
Than truth, if lies a little peace can give.”

Theodore Watts-Dunton (1832–1914) English literary critic and poet

"Prophetic Pictures at Venice II: The Temptation", p. 199.
The Coming of Love and Other Poems (1897)

John C. Maxwell photo

“Speak the truth. Transparency breeds legitimacy.”

John C. Maxwell (1947) American author, speaker and pastor

Source: https://www.facebook.com/100044605381690/posts/512632483566927/?d=n

Louis De Bernières photo
Pema Chödron photo

“Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.”

Pema Chödron (1936) American philosopher

When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times (1997)

Jonathan Bailey photo

“There’s a lot of pressure on romance, I think, because you have to be so truthful. But that’s what you want, isn’t it? You just want to find the truth in everything.”

Jonathan Bailey (1988) British actor

"Jonathan Bailey: Why romance is such serious business for Jonathan Bailey" in the Los Angeles Times https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2022-05-24/jonathan-bailey-viscount-anthony-bridgerton (26 May 2022)

Dmitry Peskov photo