
“The search for truth is more precious than its possession.”
Misattributed
This quote does appear in Einstein's 1940 essay "The Fundaments of Physics" which can be found in his book Out of My Later Years (1950), but Einstein does not claim credit for it, instead calling it "Lessing's fine saying".
Misattributed
“The search for truth is more precious than its possession.”
Misattributed
“Time is precious, but truth is more precious than time.”
Speech at Aylesbury, Royal and Central Bucks Agricultural Association (21 September 1865), cited in Wit and Wisdom of Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield, Collected from his Writings and Speeches (1881), p. 356
1860s
“The seeking for truth is better than its loveless possession.”
Source: Aphorisms and Reflections (1901), p. 182
“You cannot possess the truth, you can only search for it.”
La vérité ne se possède pas, elle se cherche.
[Albert Jacquard, Petite philosophie à l'usage des non-philosophes, Quebec Livres, 1997, 2920596179].
“The search for the truth is the noblest of occupations, and its publication a duty.”
La recherche de la vérité est la plus noble des occupations, et sa publication un devoir.
Pt. 4, ch. 2
De l’Allemagne [Germany] (1813)
1960s, Nobel Prize acceptance speech (1964)
The Universe of Experience: A Worldview Beyond Science and Religion (1974)
Context: Faced by the dire nihilism of our time, we need a greater honesty... The Western search for unifying truth did not come to an end with Christianity, any more than with the physical theories of forty years ago.
“Today is our most precious possession. It is our only sure possession.”
Source: How to Stop Worrying and Start Living
“Of all possessions a friend is the most precious.”
Way to Wisdom: An Introduction to Philosophy (1951) as translated by Ralph Mannheim, Ch. 1, What is Philosophy?, p. 12
Variant translation: It is the search for the truth, not possession of the truth which is the way of philosophy. Its questions are more relevant than its answers, and every answer becomes a new question.
Context: The Greek word for philosopher (philosophos) connotes a distinction from sophos. It signifies the lover of wisdom (knowledge) as distinguished from him who considers himself wise in the possession of knowledge. This meaning of the word still endures: the essence of philosophy is not the possession of the truth but the search for truth. … Philosophy means to be on the way. Its questions are more essential than its answers, and every answer becomes a new question.