Source: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848), Ch. XXXII : Comparisons: Information Rejected; Helen to Milicent
“False facts are highly injurious to the progress of science, for they often long endure; but false views, if supported by some evidence, do little harm, as every one takes a salutary pleasure in proving their falseness; and when this is done, one path towards error is closed and the road to truth is often at the same time opened.”
volume II, chapter XXI: "General Summary and Conclusion", page 385 http://darwin-online.org.uk/content/frameset?pageseq=402&itemID=F937.2&viewtype=image
The Descent of Man (1871)
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Charles Darwin 161
British naturalist, author of "On the origin of species, by… 1809–1882Related quotes
William Whewell
(1794–1866) English philosopher & historian of science
Lectures on the History of Moral Philosophy in England, Lecture 7. (1852).
Arthur Schopenhauer
(1788–1860) German philosopher
"Religion: A Dialogue."
Variant translation: To free a man from error does not mean to take something from him, but to give him something.
Essays
Source: Essays and Aphorisms
Context: To free a man from error is to give, not to take away. Knowledge that a thing is false is a truth. Error always does harm; sooner or later it will bring mischief to the man who harbors it. Then give up deceiving people; confess ignorance of what you don't know, and leave everyone to form his own articles of faith for himself. Perhaps they won't turn out so bad, especially as they'll rub one another's corners down, and mutually rectify mistakes. The existence of many views will at any rate lay a foundation of tolerance. Those who possess knowledge and capacity may betake themselves to the study of philosophy, or even in their own persons carry the history of philosophy a step further.
Wallace Stevens
(1879–1955) American poet
Notes Toward a Supreme Fiction (1942), It Must Be Abstract
“Wisdom's first progress is to take a view
What's decent or indecent, false or true.”
John Denham
(1615–1669) English poet and courtier
Source: Of Prudence (1668), line 1
“The cause of anger is the belief that we are injured; this belief, therefore, should not be lightly entertained. We ought not to fly into a rage even when the injury appears to be open and distinct: for some false things bear the semblance of truth. We should always allow some time to elapse, for time discloses the truth.”
Contra primus itaque causas pugnare debemus; causa autem iracundiae opinio iniuriae est, cui non facile credendum est. Ne apertis quidem manifestisque statim accedendum; quaedam enim falsa ueri speciem ferunt. Dandum semper est tempus: ueritatem dies aperit.
De Ira (On Anger): Book 2, cap. 22, line 2
Alternate translation: Time discovers truth. (translator unknown).
Moral Essays
Percy Bysshe Shelley
(1792–1822) English Romantic poet
One Word is Too Often Profaned http://www.readprint.com/work-1370/Percy-Bysshe-Shelley (1821), st. 1
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
(1749–1832) German writer, artist, and politician
Es ist so gewiß als wunderbar, daß Wahrheit und Irrthum aus Einer Quelle entstehen; deßwegen man oft dem Irrthum nicht schaden darf, weil man zugleich der Wahrheit schadet.
Maxims and Reflections (1833)
Salvador Dalí
(1904–1989) Spanish artist
Quote from Tiny Surrealism: Salvador Dalí and the Aesthetics of the Small, Roger Rothman, 2012 UNP-Nebraska.
Quotes of Salvador Dali, Miscellaneous