“He thought about that for a moment, wondered what he should say. The truth or nothing. The truth.”
Octavia E. Butler book Adulthood Rites
Part IV “Home” chapter 5 (p. 501)
Adulthood Rites (1988)
On Truth and Lie in an Extra-Moral Sense (1873)
Context: Are designations congruent with things? Is language the adequate expression of all realities?
It is only by means of forgetfulness that man can ever reach the point of fancying himself to possess a "truth" of the grade just indicated. If he will not be satisfied with truth in the form of tautology, that is to say, if he will not be content with empty husks, then he will always exchange truths for illusions.
“He thought about that for a moment, wondered what he should say. The truth or nothing. The truth.”
Octavia E. Butler book Adulthood Rites
Part IV “Home” chapter 5 (p. 501)
Adulthood Rites (1988)
Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914) American philosopher, logician, mathematician, and scientist
Vol. V, par. 211
Collected Papers (1931-1958)
Mark Clifton book They'd Rather Be Right
Source: They'd Rather Be Right (1954), p. 187.
Novalis (1772–1801) German poet and writer
Novalis (1829)
Context: Man consists in Truth. If he exposes Truth, he exposes himself. If he betrays Truth, he betrays himself. We speak not here of lies, but of acting against Conviction.
Alphonse Daudet book Tartarin of Tarascon
L'homme du Midi ne ment pas, il se trompe. Il ne dit pas toujours la vérité, mais il croit la dire.
Source: Tartarin de Tarascon (1872), P. 40; translation p. 17.
“A gaffe is when a politician tells the truth - some obvious truth he isn't supposed to say.”
Michael Kinsley (1951) American political journalist, commentator television host
As quoted in Commentary: The gaffer speaks, The Times, April 23, 1988.
“a writer must always tell the truth (unless he's a journalist)”
Gore Vidal (1925–2012) American writer
Source: The American Presidency