1920s, The Prospects of Industrial Civilization (1923)
Context: The governors of the world believe, and have always believed, that virtue can only be taught by teaching falsehood, and that any man who knew the truth would be wicked. I disbelieve this, absolutely and entirely. I believe that love of truth is the basis of all real virtue, and that virtues based upon lies can only do harm.
“The endeavor to understand is the first and only basis of virtue.”
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Baruch Spinoza 210
Dutch philosopher 1632–1677Related quotes
Source: Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), P. 267.
Variant: The man of virtue makes the difficulty to be overcome his first business, and success only a subsequent consideration: this may be called perfect virtue.
Source: The Analects, Other chapters
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919), Journal
Source: The Agony and the Ecstasy
Jean-Christophe (1904 - 1912), Journey's End: The Burning Bush (1911)
For anyone who had experienced just once the understanding of one single thing, thus truly tasting how knowledge is accomplished, would then recognize that of the infinity of other truths, he understands nothing.
Source: Galileo's Dream (2009), Ch. 15, p. 354; note: though this statement is incorporated into the story as one Galileo spoke, it is actually a quotation of one he historically made in his Dialogue Concerning The Two Chief World Systems http://www4.ncsu.edu/~kimler/hi322/Dialogue-extracts.html as translated by Stillman Drake.
Source: Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), P. 62.