“The beginning of wisdom is found in doubting; by doubting we come to the question, and by seeking we may come upon the truth.”

Variant: The key to wisdom is this - constant and frequent questioning, for by doubting we are led to question and by questioning we arrive at the truth.

Last update Jan. 3, 2025. History

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Peter Abelard 20
French scholastic philosopher, theologian and preeminent lo… 1079–1142

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“By doubting we come to examine, and by examining we reach the truth.”

Introduction as translated in Readings in European History, Vol. I (1904) edited by James Harvey Robinson, p. 451
Variant translation:
Constant and frequent questioning is the first key to wisdom … For through doubting we are led to inquire, and by inquiry we perceive the truth.
Prologue as translated in A History of Education During the Middle Ages and the Transition to Modern Times (1918) by Frank Pierrepont Graves; 2005 edition, p. 53<!-- translation of Prima sapientiae clavis definitur, assidua scilicet seu frequens interrogatio … Dubitando enim ad inquisitionem venimus; inquirendo veritatem percipimus. -->
Sic et Non (1120)
Context: I have ventured to bring together various dicta of the holy fathers, as they came to mind, and to formulate certain questions which were suggested by the seeming contradictions in the statements. These questions ought to serve to excite tender readers to a zealous inquiry into truth and so sharpen their wits. The master key of knowledge is, indeed, a persistent and frequent questioning. Aristotle, the most clear-sighted of all the philosophers, was desirous above all things else to arouse this questioning spirit, for in his Categories he exhorts a student as follows: "It may well be difficult to reach a positive conclusion in these matters unless they be frequently discussed. It is by no means fruitless to be doubtful on particular points." By doubting we come to examine, and by examining we reach the truth.

André Gide photo

“Trust those who seek the truth but doubt those who say they have found it.”

André Gide (1869–1951) French novelist and essayist

<!--from Gide's Journal 1939-1949-->
Variant: Believe those who seek the truth, doubt those who find it
Context: Believe those who seek the truth, doubt those who find it; doubt all, but do not doubt yourself.

Orson Scott Card photo
André Gide photo

“Believe those who seek the truth, doubt those who find it; doubt all, but do not doubt yourself.”

André Gide (1869–1951) French novelist and essayist

Ainsi soit-il; ou, Les Jeux sont faits
So be it; or, The chips are down
Gallimard
1952
174
Original: (fr) Croyez ceux qui cherchent la vérité, doutez de ceux qui la trouvent; doutez de tout, mais ne doutez pas de vous-même.

Clarence Darrow photo

“The fear of God is not the beginning of wisdom. The fear of God is the death of wisdom. Skepticism and doubt lead to study and investigation, and investigation is the beginning of wisdom.”

Clarence Darrow (1857–1938) American lawyer and leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union

Why I Am An Agnostic (1929)
Source: Why I Am An Agnostic and Other Essays

Clarence Darrow photo

“I have always felt that doubt was the beginning of wisdom, and the fear of God was the end of wisdom.”

Clarence Darrow (1857–1938) American lawyer and leading member of the American Civil Liberties Union

Source: The Story of My Life (1932), Ch. 4 "Called To The Bar"

Stanisław Leszczyński photo

“To believe with certainty we must begin with doubting.”

Stanisław Leszczyński (1677–1766) king of Poland

No. 61.
Maxims and Moral Sentences

Margaret Thatcher photo

“Where there is discord, may we bring harmony. Where there is error, may we bring truth. Where there is doubt, may we bring faith. And where there is despair, may we bring hope.”

Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) British stateswoman and politician

Statement on the doorstep of 10 Downing Street, after her election as Prime Minister, as quoted at On this day (BBC) http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/4/newsid_2503000/2503195.stm. (This is a paraphrasing of a prayer commonly misattributed to St. Francis of Assisi.)
First term as Prime Minister
Source: [Who wrote Prayer of St. Francis? Doubtful it was friar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 January 2009, 28 July 2019, https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-1n27prayer00320-who-wrote-prayer-st-francis-doubtf-2009jan27-htmlstory.html, Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; Where there is sadness, joy.]
Source: [The real prayer of Francis of Assisi, Howse, Christopher, The Daily Telegraph, 12 April 2013, 28 July 2019, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9991301/The-real-prayer-of-Francis-of-Assisi.html, That was written in 1912, in French, and published in a pious magazine edited by Fr Esther Bouquerel. It was attributed to St Francis in 1927 through its having been printed on the back of a picture of the saint.]
Source: [Who wrote Prayer of St. Francis? Doubtful it was friar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 January 2009, 28 July 2019, https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-1n27prayer00320-who-wrote-prayer-st-francis-doubtf-2009jan27-htmlstory.html, An article published last week in L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, said the prayer in its current form dates only from 1912, when it appeared in a French Catholic periodical. ... Although news to many, the truth about the prayer had apparently been hiding in plain sight. “No one among the Franciscans ever thought it really was by St. Francis,” said Giovanni Maria Vian, the editor of L'Osservatore Romano.]

Bernart de Ventadorn photo

“But true love comes, not so lightly
Without fear and with no doubting,
We always fear that what we love may fail,
So I don't dare to stir myself to speak.”

Mas greu veiretz fin' amansa
ses paor e ses doptansa,
c'ades tem om vas so c'ama, falhir,
per qu'eu no·m aus de parlar enardir.
"Ab joi mou lo vers e·l comens", line 13; translation by James H. Donalson. http://www.brindin.com/poven001.htm

Mahavatar Babaji photo

“I only came here to give.
If you come to doubt, I'll give you every reason to doubt. If you come suspicious, I'll give you every reason to be suspicious. But if you come seeking Love, I'll show you more love than you've ever known.”

Mahavatar Babaji Hindu Yogi

Haidakhan Babaji, as quoted in "The legend of Herakhan Baba", by Dio Urmilla Neff in Yoga Journal, No. 32 (May-June 1980), p. 53; Haidakhan Babaji's claims to be Mahavatar Babaji/Hariakhan Baba are disputed by the Self-Realization Fellowship founded by Paramahansa Yogananda.
Disputed

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