Famous quotes
Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,158,269 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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Truth
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“If we believe that the task of physics is the discovery of a timeless mathematical equation that captures every aspect of the universe, then we believe that the truth about the universe lies outside the universe.”
Lee Smolin (born 1955) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The violinist must possess the poet's gift of piercing the protective hide which grows on propagandists, stockbrokers and slave traders, to penetrate the deeper truth which lies within.”
Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999) first seen 1986 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Cited in The complete violinist: thoughts, exercises, reflections of an itinerant violinist, Summit Books (1 April 1986), p. 95
“The status of evil is that of a parasite. It has no permanent life of itself; its whole existence depends on the life it borrows from its parent, and when its connection with the parent is severed nothing remains. Apparent evil is the result of ignorance, and when the truth is presented the error disappears. Jesus called it a liar and the father of lies.”
Charles Fillmore (1854–1948) said by 1948 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Put simply, I want to teach people in this country to tell lies from the truth and to tell bad from good. ... This is what our people still cannot do.”
Pavel 183 (1983–2013) first seen 2013 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: as reported by Vladimir Isachenkov, in "P183 Dead: Street Artist Known As 'Russian Banksy' Dies At 29 Years Old" at The Huffington Post (3 April 2013)
“Adversaries including the self-declared Islamic State and the Kremlin are free to spread lies and conspiracy theories, while the U.S. government generally feels compelled to hew to the truth in its public pronouncements (even as it often tries to conceal scandalous misconduct).”
“We often speak of Theosophy as not in itself a religion, but the truth which lies behind all religions alike. That is so; yet, from another point of view, we may surely say that it is at once a philosophy, a religion and a science. It is a philosophy, because it puts plainly before us an explanation of the scheme of evolution of both the souls and the bodies contained in our solar system.”
Charles Webster Leadbeater (1854–1934) said by 1934 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I don’t think she told any lies. She just forgot to tell the whole truth.”
“We know how to tell many believable lies, But also, when we want to, how to speak the plain truth.”
Stanley Lombardo (born 1943) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Kṛiṣṇa says (vii. 19) that the man of knowledge affirms that Vāsudeva is All. This is the central doctrine of the Bhagavadgītā. Kṛiṣṇa Vāsudeva is one with Brahman, the ultimate unity that lies behind this manifold universe, the changeless truth behind impermanent appearance.”
W. Douglas P. Hill (1884–1962) said by 1962 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“…the great truth which lies at the foundation of all society—that every man has property in his fellow-man!”
George Fitzhugh (1806–1881) said by 1881 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wil knew that he had done something that might never be undone: his Dad might forgive the years of lies, but he would never forgive this one moment of absolute truth.”
Paul Jenkins (born 1965) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is the nature of the human race to feel safer in the shelter of lies than in the shelter of truth.”
Humayun Ahmed (1948–2012) said by 2012 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“That was a good time in my life, in spite of having the sensation of floating on a cloud, surrounded by both lies and things left unspoken. Occasionally I thought I glimpsed the truth, but soon found myself once again lost in a forest of ambiguities. (p125)”
Isabel Allende (born 1942) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Truth could not be spawned in lies and deceit.”
Steven Barnes (born 1952) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Do we love one another enough to say that all life has value, and that dignity lies in respecting that truth until the very end? It’s suffering and heart-wrenching, but amazing things can happen in those final months and days and hours. I’ve seen it, and I’m far from alone. Don’t deprive the vulnerable of love. There should be no off-ramp, but lots of roadside assistance.”
Kathryn Jean Lopez (born 1976) first seen 2020 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Standing Athwart More Suicide (February 10, 2020)
“Comrade Mao Tse-tung’s great merit lies in the fact that he has succeeded in integrating the universal truth of Marxism-Leninism with the concrete practice of the Chinese revolution and has enriched and developed Marxism-Leninism by his masterly generalization and summation the experience gained during the Chinese people’s protracted revolutionary struggle.”
Lin Biao (1907–1971) said by 1971 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Careful now: just the way you rehearsed it. Use as much truth as possible: that’s how you’ll get away with the lies.”
Charles E. Gannon (born 1960) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Two lives, living two lives I don't know which side of me is where the truth lies I'm living two lives, living two lives I got two sides of me try'n'a do right I got one on each shoulder both saying "I told ya" One is saying "Go" and the other's saying "No, no, no.”
Example (musician) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is no truth to peace,” she said. “Peace is at best a brief interlude between hostilities. The treaties which might be signed here are no more than lies. The field of battle is more honest.”
Genevieve Cogman (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“International relations and dialogue cannot be built either on lies or the denial of truth.”
János Áder (born 1959) first seen 2022 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: János Áder (2022) cited in: "President Áder: Int’l Dialogue Cannot Be Built on Lies, Denial of Truth" in Hungary Today, 11 January 2022.
“The truth is that Russia is an aggressor country. Treacherously attacked an independent state at night. This means that the responsibility for today's explosion in Kramatorsk and for the war crimes in Bucha lies solely with her. And no one else. Ukrainians are defending their native land by all available means. So they will always be right.”
Marina Ovsyannikova (born 1978) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We’re going to have to let truth scream louder to our souls than the lies that have infected us.”
Beth Moore (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“At the heart of Rwanda's progress lies a simple but powerful truth: you can not expect others to invest in you, if you do not invest in yourself.”
Paul Kagame (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Lies couldn't call out the way truth does. They feared discovery. They were constantly confused and had soft edges that overlapped. (p45)”
Linda Hogan (writer) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“lies are the first recognition of truth. (p45)”
Linda Hogan (writer) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“For the citizens of Romania, communism was a regime imposed by a political group self-designated as possessor of the truth, a totalitarian regime born through violence and ended through violence. It was a regime of oppression, which expropriated five decades of modern history from the Romanian people, which trampled law underfoot and forced citizens to live in lies and fear.”
Traian Băsescu (born 1951) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Speech given by the President of Romania, Traian Băsescu, on the occasion of the Presentation of the Report by the Presidential Commission for the Analysis of the Communist Dictatorship in Romania" (18 December 2006)
“They’ve told so many lies in their lives that they’ve run out and can now tell only the truth.”
Jeffrey Ford (born 1955) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“... the word of God is the only truth that driveth awaye all lies, and discloseth all Juggling and deceit, ...”
Myles Coverdale (1488–1569) said by 1569 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A single truth well-told did the work of a dozen lies.”
R. Garcia y Robertson (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The universities in our country are fundamentally corrupt and dedicated to deceit and lies, not to the truth.”
J.D. Vance (born 1984) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Truth lies beyond the mountains. You must travel to find it.”
Ferdinand Oyono (1929–2010) said by 2010 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“So, those stories of Mages’ ability to read truth and lies are accurate?” the older woman from Julesport commented with a sharp glance at the others present. “What a useful skill to have in a gathering of politicians!”
John G. Hemry (born 1956) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Strangely, all four portrayals contain both truth and lies. Mauritius is like that. Contradictions and extremes”
Lindsey Collen (born 1948) first seen 2013 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Country Profile: Mauritius; Lindsay Collen, 1 April 2013
“Searching, I roamed the world—to arrive at the origin—at beauty—at truth—away from the lies of everyday—and my longing was burning hot—then the darkness opened up and I stood at the source of the Beginning—Paradise.”
Irma Stern (1894–1966) said by 1966 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Shain, Milton; Pimstone, Miriam. "Irma Stern". Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
“The power to be me in all the senses. I think every person's superpower lies in really living their truth. To just do you. For the longest time I've struggled with trying to please people at the expense of my peace and my joy. When I realised it, it was a heavy wake up call... to say 'Hey, it's okay to say no, you don't have to say yes to everything”
Winnie Ntshaba (born 1975) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Winnie Ntshaba opens up about the lessons her mom's sudden death taught her,11 September 2018,By Chrizelda Kekana and Nonhlanhla Msibi
“It is essential to know who surrounds us. Knowledge is power, it all starts from there. I come from a family that thinks differently from me, which has always been right-wing, but my parents never imposed their ideas on me. That's how I realised that the truth lies in the middle, that factions are dead, and that you have to take action.”
Fedez (born 1989) first seen 2014 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From an interview of Edoardo Vigna Fedez, il rapper che s'è fatto da solo: «Ora voglio insegnare agli altri giovani come non farsi fregare», Sette (December 19, 2014)
“A man's worth is within him. It is in his mind and heart. It is in his sympathies, his loves, his motives, his aims and ambitions. It is in the truth of his words, in the nobility of his thoughts, in the rectitude of his conduct. It lies in his courageous obedience to conscience, doing always that which he knows to be right.”
Alexander Joseph McGavick (1863–1948) first seen 1909 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Some Incentives to Right Living (1909)
“The problem with lies is they do not only quarrel with the truth. They also quarrel among themselves.”
Raul Roco (1941–2005) said by 2005 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The heart of faith in the Catholic Church lies in the teaching of the Church itself. You cannot create something new or start adding it on your own initiative. I cannot do it, nor can the Pope. Therefore, give correct instructions so that people can learn the truth about God, the Church and how to live the Christian life.”
Benjamin S. Phiri (born 1959) first seen 2021 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Catechesis is at the center of the life of the Church: 63 new catechists in the district of Ndola (29 November 2021) Fides News Agency
“You chose truth over lies and decided to A.R.I.S.E. with our vision.”
“We wanted to know the whole truth, good and bad. For it would be a continuing degradation of the African people if we simply destroyed the present system of racial lies embedded in world literature only to replace it with glorified fiction based more on wishful thinking than on the labors of historical research.”
Chancellor Williams (1893–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I don’t like the word "allegorical", I don’t like the word "symbolic", the word I really like is "mythic" and people always think that means "full of lies" when what it really means is full of a truth that cannot be told in any other way but a story.”
William Golding (attributed) first seen 2012 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Interview in regard to his work Rites of Passage, quoted in The Dreams of William Golden, BBC Arena (2012)
“The truth lies in black and white.”
Michael Powell (director) (attributed) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We have thus two legends. Man as individual being came into the world in accordance with God's will and with His blessing. Or, individual life appeared in the universe against God's will and is therefore in its essence impious, and death, annihilation, is the just and natural punishment for the sinful self-will. How and by whom shall it be decided where the truth lies? p. 254”
Lev Shestov (1866–1938) said by 1938 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I pull in resolution, and begin To doubt the equivocation of the fiend That lies like truth: "Fear not, till Birnam wood Do come to Dunsinane.”
William Shakespeare (1564–1616) said by 1616 at the latest bartlett, Public domain source
“Urge him with truth to frame his fair replies; And sure he will: for Wisdom never lies.”
Alexander Pope (1688–1744) said by 1744 at the latest bartlett, Public domain source
“Here, all ye learned, full of all Dispute, Of true and false Religion lies the Root. The Mind of Christ, when He became a Man, With all Its Tempers, forms its real Plan, The Sheep from Goats distinguishing full well; — His Love is Heav'n, and Want of It is Hell.”
John Byrom (1692–1763) said by 1763 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The true secret in being a hero lies in knowing the order of things. … Things must happen when it is time for them to happen. Quests may not simply be abandoned; prophecies may not be left to rot like unpicked fruit; unicorns may go unrescued for a very long time, but not forever. The happy ending cannot come in the middle of the story.”
Peter S. Beagle (born 1939) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“What most of us present to the world isn’t necessarily our true self: It’s a combination of years of bad habits and fear-based behavior. Our real self lies buried underneath all the insecurities and inhibitions. So rather than just being yourself, focus on discovering and permanently bringing to the surface your best self.”
Neil Strauss (born 1973) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Society has been hoodwinked into accepting many lies, and one of the greatest is that homosexuals are "born that way." If that is true, we were all born homosexuals. As we developed, we all had the capacity to be a homosexual.”
Ray Comfort (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source