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. 1,158,808 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
EnglishItalianoPolskiעבריתFrançaisPortuguêsفارسیEspañol中文РусскийDeutschالعربيةहिन्दी日本語ΕλληνικάLatina
Truth
LoveFriendshipHappinessHopeFearCourageDeathLifeTimeWarPeaceFreedomTruthWisdomKnowledgeScienceArtMusicNatureMoneyWorkPowerGodBeautyLaughterFamilySuccess and failureChangeDreamsBooks and reading
“The majority can tell ordinary truth, but they should not trust themselves for truth extraordinary.”
Alice Meynell (1847–1922) said by 1922 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The truth doesn’t hurt. Whatever it is, it doesn’t hurt. It’s better to know the truth.”
Ricky Gervais (born 1961) first seen 2009 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Inside the Actors Studio," 2009
“I think it is a truth, and an important truth, that the fundamentals of all school teaching ought to be the same.”
George Long (scholar) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“That nothing happens without God we know from many sources; and, reversely, that God’s dispensations have no element of chance and confusion in them every one will allow, who realizes that God is Reason, and Wisdom, and Perfect Goodness, and Truth, and could not admit of that which is not good and not consistent with His Truth.”
Gregory of Nyssa (born 335) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“...but what I eventually came to understand was that if a woman truly loves you, you can't always expect her to tell the truth. You see, women are more attuned to feelings than men are, and if they're not being truthful, more often than not it's because they think the truth might hurt your feelings. But it doesn't mean they don't love you.”
Nicholas Sparks (born 1965) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A truth emerges in any long marriage, and the truth is this: Our spouses sometimes know us better than we even know ourselves.”
Nicholas Sparks (born 1965) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The poet's need to try to find his own voice , a recognizable individual voice that carries the signature of his voice in almost every line . . . the unique tone being the consequence of the poet's rigorous search for truth ( his truth(, his absolute fidelity to the nature of the experience he was exploring.”
Vernon Scannell (1922–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A gaffe is when a politician tells the truth - some obvious truth he isn't supposed to say.”
Michael Kinsley (born 1951) first seen 1988 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Commentary: The gaffer speaks, The Times, April 23, 1988.
“Academic writing excuses itself from rhetorical care in the selfless service of some precise truth—and then deforms our only means for speaking truth.”
Mark D. Jordan (born 1953) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Well, art is reality, art is a muse if it helps us to realise the truth. It is the major guiding element which helps you to realise the truth.”
S. H. Raza (1922–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Walk on with courage and bravery. Go on working to improve humankind and establish the Path of Truth. (…) Fight for truth! To face life you must have great courage every day.”
Haidakhan Babaji (2000–1984) said by 1984 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am a -living shadow and Thou the Truth... Therefore, my God, Thou art alike shadow and Truth; Thou art alike the image and the Exemplar of myself and all men.”
Nicholas of Cusa (1401–1464) said by 1464 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All we know of the truth is that the absolute truth, such as it is, is beyond our reach.”
Nicholas of Cusa (1401–1464) said by 1464 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Some people (cabal members) who thought that they had a monopoly over truth and over wisdom found that the masses didn’t agree with them…These people are now confused …and want to say that they’re the repository of the entire truth and everything else is false consciousness.”
Swapan Dasgupta (born 1955) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Swapan Dasgupta, a Rajya Sabha MP, in reference to the Lutyens’ cabal, had stated in a debate at Jaipur Literature Festival 2017,
“I constantly sought knowledge and truth, and it became my belief that for gaining access to the effulgence and closeness to God, there is no better way than that of searching for truth and knowledge.”
Alhazen (965–1039) said by 1039 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Whosoever seeks the truth will not proceed by studying the writings of his predecessors and by simply accepting his own good opinion of them. Whosoever studies works of science must, if he wants to find the truth, transform himself into a critic of everything he reads. He must examine tests and explanations with the greatest precision and question them from all angles and aspects.”
Alhazen (965–1039) said by 1039 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Science makes no pretension to eternal truth or absolute truth; some of its rivals do. That science is in some respects inhuman may be the secret of its success in alleviating human misery and mitigating human stupidity.”
Eric Temple Bell (1883–1960) said by 1960 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The question—Is Truth, or is the Mental Exercise in the pursuit of truth, the superior end?—this is perhaps the most curious theoretical, and certainly the most important practical, problem in the whole compass of philosophy.”
Sir William Hamilton, 9th Baronet (1788–1856) said by 1856 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When Marco Polo traveled to the East and reported what he had seen, mixing truth with falsehood but in any event telling something of the truth, the men of the West refused to believe him. In the late Medieval Ages his account of his travels was viewed as a book of fables... It was as if occidentals were unable to believe in the reality of the marvels of the Orient.”
Marco Polo (1254–1324) said by 1324 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Jacques Le Goff, quoted in John M. Hobson, The Eastern Origins of Western Civilisation (New York: Bridge University Press, 2004)
“Above all, words must be recognized as symbolic pointers to truth, not objective containers of truth.”
John Shelby Spong (1931–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If our aim is the objective truth, we can have a motivation and a reason for revising our epistemic norms whenever we have reason to think they aren’t helping us optimally to reach that goal, and we can have a sounds basis for criticizing others’ claims that we should adhere to the norms. But how can we have any of these things if the truth just is whatever follows from our epistemic norms?”
David Detmer (born 1958) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is more reasonable to remove error from truth, than to venerate error because it is mix'd with truth.”
Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle (1657–1757) said by 1757 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The danger arises when a culture takes its own story as the absolute truth, and seeks to impose this truth on others as the yardstick of all knowledge and belief.”
F. David Peat (1938–2017) said by 2017 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Myths simply throw roadblocks in the path to enlightenment, and it is from truth that we have the most to learn. One man's truth, however, can be another's myth, and only through dispassionate and disinterested dissection of such stories can we tell the difference. The Confederate experience is dotted with episodes that are not particularly admirable.”
William C. Davis (historian) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Kernik had stumbled on an immutable truth, a truth older than the world. Priests claimed the gods made men, but this was not so. Men made the gods. Firstly, by forming them in clay, by chipping them from stone. Secondly, and more importantly, by believing in them, believing in them utterly.”
Tanith Lee (1947–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Truth is at the door, howling and stamping her foot. Truth is not always decorous.”
Tanith Lee (1947–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When I said that 90 per cent Indians are fools I spoke an unpleasant truth. The truth is that the minds of 90 per cent Indians are full of casteism, communalism, superstition.”
Markandey Katju (born 1946) first seen 2012 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "The 90%", The Indian Express (9 April 2012)
“Truth disdains the aid of the law for its defence–it will stand upon its own merit. … It is error, and error alone, that needs human support; and whenever men fly to the law or sword to protect their system of religion, and force it upon others, it is evident that they have something in their system that will not bear the light, and stand upon the basis of truth. (p. 185)”
John Leland (Baptist) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The great commandment of the narratives is that your life must be meaningful,” said Charon. “If knowing the truth strips the meaning away, then the truth must be suppressed.”
Karl Schroeder (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Danger is like a nutrient for truth. When you have danger, you get the best truth. When it's safe, who cares?”
Andrea Lewis (writer) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Eulogy" Pebble Lake Review, Vol. 4 Issue 3 (Summer, 2007)
“Something is beautiful if it is honest. If you do an engaged piece of work, which is sincere, the concept of beauty meets the concept of truth. So no illusive harmony. I try to reach people who strive for truth, for identity. Although these conceptions are incredibly warn out, one must try to find the way back to these simple conceptions.”
Jörg Immendorff (1945–2007) first seen 1983 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Heidrun Reshöft & Joachim Pente (Transl.) "Art : Interview; Jörg Immendorff" at BOMB Magazine, (7) Fall 1983.
“Truth is truth, no matter who else believes it.”
Alastair Reynolds (born 1966) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“So at bottom Foucault's enterprise seems stuck on the horns of a huge epistemological dilemma: if it tells the truth, then all knowledge is suspect in its pretense of objectivity; but in that case, how can the theory itself vouch for its truth? It's like the famous paradox about the Cretean Liar--and Foucault seemed quite unable to get out of it (which explains why he didn't even try to face it).”
José Guilherme Merquior (1941–1991) said by 1991 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“… especially considering that the whole matter of applying photography to purely artistic ends is in such a state of infancy, and that this idea of deliberate violation of truth to fact, for the sake of securing truth to ideas, has hardly yet been put into practice.”
Alfred Horsley Hinton (1863–1908) said by 1908 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The truth is always the truth.”
Nick Drake (poet) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All things on earth have their price, and for truth we pay the dearest. We barter it for love and sympathy. The road to honour is paved with thorns; but on the path to truth, at every step you set your foot down on your heart.”
Olive Schreiner (1855–1920) said by 1920 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Our love grows soft if it is not strengthened by truth, and our truth grows hard if it is not softened by love.”
John Stott (1921–2011) first seen 1964 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Epistles of John: An Introduction and Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1964), p. 205. Commentary on 2 John 4–11
“Splendid, it has done me enormous good to finally see and read something in Switzerland that isn't bullshit. All of it is very nice, it is really something; your manifesto expresses every philosophy seeking truth, when there is no truth, only convention.”
Francis Picabia (1879–1953) first seen 1919 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In a letter to Tristan Tzara, Nov. 1919, (after having received a copy of 'Manifesto Dada 3.', written by Tzara); as quoted in: TaTa Dada: The Real Life and Celestial Adventures of Tristan Tzara, Marius Hentea, MIT Pres…
“For example, in many ways nonsense is a more effective organizing tool than the truth. Anyone can believe in the truth. To believe in nonsense is an unforgeable demonstration of loyalty. It serves as a political uniform. And if you have a uniform, you have an army.”
Curtis Yarvin (born 1973) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Open Letter 4: Dr. Johnson's hypothesis" (May 8, 2008).
“Americans can't really handle the truth, the enormity of the truth.”
Brian Reynolds Myers (born 1963) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We have instructed our attorneys to appeal [the judgment]. Not even the courts should be allowed to silence the truth, also if that truth is against the Thuma Mina group of the ruling elite.”
Julius Malema (born 1981) first seen 2019 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: On 20 May 2019, after the EFF lost a defamation case to Trevor Manuel, as quoted by Rebecca Davis in Trevor Manuel 1, EFF 0 in defamation case, Daily Maverick (30 May 2019). Thuma Mina refers to a slogan of president Cy…
“I hope that I will be the last victim in China's long record of treating words as crimes. Free expression is the base of human rights, the root of human nature and the mother of truth. To kill free speech is to insult human rights, to stifle human nature and to suppress truth.”
Liu Xiaobo (1955–2017) first seen 2012 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: NPR - "Liu Xiaobo: 'No Enemies, No Hatred,' Only Courage" 16 Feb. 2012
“[T]he prophet Muhammad began... by condemning... fellow Arabs for living in ignorance of the divine truth. Yet Muhammad... argue[d] that he knew the full truth, and... followers began calling him 'the '.”
Yuval Noah Harari (born 1976) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The most important secular commitment is to the truth, which is based on observation and evidence rather than on mere faith. Seculars strive not to confuse truth with belief.”
Yuval Noah Harari (born 1976) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[I]nformation isn't truth. Most information is not truth.”
Yuval Noah Harari (born 1976) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If we make a just computation, and take in the primitive martyrs with the Prophets and Apostles themselves, the professed defenders of Truth, only for Truth's sake, will be found to be a small handful with respect to the numerous partisans of error.”
John Toland (1670–1722) said by 1722 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Just because the left has ignored and disparaged truth for years is no excuse for the right to do so as well. And unfortunately, truth-free politics seems to be growing exponentially on the right.”
Ben Shapiro (born 1984) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Is Truth Becoming Irrelevant to Conservatives?, (December 5, 2016)
“If we have truth, [it] cannot be harmed by investigation. If we have not truth, it ought to be harmed.”
J. Reuben Clark (1871–1961) said by 1961 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: J. Reuben Clark, as recorded by D. Michael Quinn, J. Reuben Clark: The Church Years. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 1983, p. 24
“It is not enough for a wise man to study nature and truth; he should dare state truth for the benefit of the few who are willing and able to think.”
Julien Offray de La Mettrie (1709–1751) said by 1751 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Art is the beautiful illustration of Truth from the creative imagination. The truth is in our life and unless it comes from the formlessness to the form we do not realize it.”
Laxmi Prasad Devkota (1909–1959) said by 1959 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source