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Truth

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“Wut's words to them whose faith an' truth On war's red techstone rang true metal; Who ventered life an' love an' youth For the gret prize o' death in battle?”
James Russell Lowell (1819–1891) said by 1891 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I will not say that thou wast true, Yet let me say that thou wast fair! And they that lovely face who view, They should not ask if truth be there.”
Matthew Arnold (1822–1888) first seen 1869 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Euphrosyne", st. 1 (1869)
“The well of true wit is truth itself.”
George Meredith (1828–1909) said by 1909 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If ceaseless vigilance is the price of liberty, more so is it true that ceaseless criticism of ever new opinions and ever new views, however distasteful, bizarre, and paradoxical, is the price of truth.”
Boris Sidis (1867–1923) said by 1923 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It takes more than an invading army or crusaders or a demolition squad with sledge-hammers to establish the domain of Truth… Similarly, it is not that easy to get over ‘falsehood’… True spiritual demolition involves the demolition of desire-gods and ego-gods, the demolition of the false gods that reside in conceited theologies, in pretentious revelations and fond belief…”
Ram Swarup (1920–1998) first seen 1987 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Understanding Islam Through Hadis , Voice of India, Second Reprint, 1987, Pp. 115-16. other source
“Is all she says true?” Asura whispered. “Ah,” Pieter said, smiling. “Now, that is a question. Let’s say it is all based on truth, but the facts are open to different interpretations from the one she supplies.”
Iain Banks (1954–2013) said by 2013 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Only recently have we begun to clarify these muddy waters by revealing the Demosthenean corpus for what it is: oratory designed to sway public opinion and thereby to formulate public policy. That elusive creature, Truth, is everywhere subordinate to Rhetoric; Demosthenes' pronouncements are no more the true history of the period than are the public statements of politicians in any age.”
Eugene N. Borza (1935–2021) said by 2021 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Religion has ever filled the mind of man with darkness, and kept him in ignorance of his real duties and true interests. It is only by dispelling the clouds and phantoms of Religion, that we shall discover Truth, Reason, and Morality. Religion diverts us from the causes of evils, and from the remedies which nature prescribes; far from curing, it only aggravates, multiplies, and perpetuates them.”
Baron d'Holbach (1723–1789) said by 1789 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The books that I have written are sent out with no claim for their acceptance. They may, or may not, be correct, true and useful. It is for you to ascertain their truth by right practice and by the exercise of the intuition. Neither I nor A.A.B. is the least interested in having them acclaimed as inspired writings...”
Alice Bailey (1880–1949) said by 1949 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I believe it is an established maxim in morals that he who makes an assertion without knowing whether it is true or false, is guilty of falsehood; and the accidental truth of the assertion, does not justify or excuse him.”
Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865) first seen 1846 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to Allen N. Ford (11 August 1846), reported in Roy Prentice Basler, ed., Abraham Lincoln: His Speeches and Writings (1990 [1946])
“I knew as well as anyone that the priests taught what they wanted us to know, not necessarily what was true. And sometimes even when they told the truth, they got it wrong.”
N. K. Jemisin (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is enough to do for all. In gratitude to the past we owe a duty to the future. Let every one, then, be true to his highest convictions, and faithful to the cause of human progress. Truth is the highest aim in principle, and goodness the noblest object in practice.”
Ernestine Rose (1810–1892) first seen 1856 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to the Editor (April 30, 1856)
“Nature is for art the garb of the Eternal. The real is the finite expression and representation of the true ; forms are the limits affixed by time and space to the power of life. Nature, reality, and form, should, all of them, be so rendered and expressed by art, as to reveal to mankind some ray of the truth — a vaster and profounder sentiment of life.”
Giuseppe Mazzini (1805–1872) first seen 1861 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Life and Writings of Joseph Mazzini (1864 translation), Preface (1861) Vol. II, p. vii
“From age to age, Love's word rings forth, “The truth is true and all is well, Unconquerable life prevails.”
Martin Cecil, 7th Marquess of Exeter (1909–1988) said by 1988 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Thus It Is, 1989, p. 1
“But the philosophy that killed off truth proclaims unlimited tolerance for the "language games" (i.e., opinions, beliefs and doctrines) that people find useful. The outcome is expressed in the words of Karl Kraus: "Alles ist wahr und auch das Gegenteil." "Everything is true, and also its opposite.”
Leszek Kołakowski (1927–2009) first seen 1997 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Our Merry Apocalypse" (1997), as quoted in Is God Happy? Selected Essays (Basic Books, 2013), p. 318
“That’s a nice speech, Trujillo,” Rybicki said. “It doesn’t make it true.” “General, at the moment, I wouldn’t place you as an authority on truth.”
John Scalzi (born 1969) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I believe my doctrines to be in the main true; I believe all truth to be valuable, and its dissemination a blessing.”
Robert Chambers (publisher, born 1802) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“After defining semantical concepts like logical truth and related ones, I proposed to interpret the modalities as those properties of propositions which correspond to certain semantical properties of the sentences expressing the propositions. For example, a proposition is logically necessary if and only if a sentence expressing it is logically true.”
Rudolf Carnap (1891–1970) said by 1970 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ther poetry of the second World War conveys the true feeling of those desolate and desperate days with an urgency and sense of truth that no other means of recording could emulate.”
Vernon Scannell (1922–2007) said by 2007 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The true laboratory is the mind, where behind illusions we uncover the laws of truth.”
Jagadish Chandra Bose (1858–1937) said by 1937 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Everything in this world is ‘PHURO’ – transient. It has no reality. True reality is to proceed on the path of truth, to keep the company of saintly people, and to render service to men.”
Haidakhan Babaji (2000–1984) said by 1984 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It is essential, when persons in trade come into this Court, that they should remember that the administration of equity is founded on perfect truth, and that if persons attempt to mislead the public by stating that which is not true, this Court will restrain them upon a clear case being made out against them.”
John Romilly, 1st Baron Romilly (1802–1874) first seen 1871 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Cocks v. Chandler (1871), L. R. 11 Eq. Ca. 449.
“The episodes range broadly and widely, but there's a through line, which is, it matters what's true. Not absolute truth. We don't get that! But these little successive approximations of reality are all we have.”
Ann Druyan (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The manner of the transaction was to gild over and conceal the truth; and whenever Courts of law see such attempts made to conceal such wicked deeds they will brush away the cobweb varnish and show the transactions in their true light.”
John Eardley Wilmot (1709–1792) said by 1792 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[I]n the very term Philosophy... the man who first declared that he was not a... possessor, but a... seeker of truth, at once enounced the true end of human speculation, and embodied it in a significant name.”
Sir William Hamilton, 9th Baronet (1788–1856) said by 1856 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“True religion is not about possessing the truth. No religion does that. It is rather an invitation into a journey that leads one toward the mystery of God. Idolatry is religion pretending that it has all the answers.”
John Shelby Spong (1931–2021) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Q&A on The Parliament of the World's Religions," weekly mailing, 2007-SEP-05, as reported on Religious Tolerance.org
“Characterized in this way, interest properly understood is an amalgam of objective and subjective elements. An entirely objective conception would substitute true beliefs for well-founded beliefs. But it is impossible to make political decisions dependent on the possession of truth.”
Jon Elster (born 1940) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In Thy light shall we see light... afterwards we have a light indeed for our poor being, if it be true that we thus know Him: but that must be truth; otherwise one, after many good appearances, is liable to be carried away, at one time or another, by various winds of doctrine, deluded by some spirit of error, or overpowered afresh by one's former natural corruptions...”
James Hutton (Moravian) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In the human figure as it approaches perfection... is contained the sure guide for the determination of all true principles of design. ...it was because the ancient Greeks... realized this truth that they excelled all others in art.”
Ernest Flagg (1857–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Jesus doesn’t talk about being conservative or being liberal. He talks about knowing the truth or living in darkness. It is true and false that define our internal dynamics and not politics or law directly.”
Francis George (1937–2015) said by 2015 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As attributed in Glorifying Christ, The Life of Cardinal Francis E. George, O.M.I. by Michael R. Heinlein, Our Sunday Visitor, Huntington, Indiana 2023 p.333
“Laura is a free spirit. She's also a great student and a dedicated artist – and there aren't very many people I call artists. But the entire cast of this film, they're all true artists, dedicated to their own inner truth, and they have the courage to share that. You don't find that very often.”
Sandra Seacat (1936–2023) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in "Laura Dern: a Hollywood old-timer at 37" by John Anderson, in The Baltimore Sun (August 23, 2004)
“Only the childish and immature mind can lose by learning that much in the Old Testament is poetical and that some of the stories are not true historically. Poetry is a superior medium for conveying religious truth.”
Ralph Vary Chamberlin (1879–1967) first seen 1910 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Some Early Hebrew Legends" (1910)
“Art is nothing but the expression of our dream; the more we surrender to it the closer we get to the inner truth of things, our dream-life, the true life that scorns questions and does not see them.”
Franz Marc (1880–1916) first seen 1907 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: quote from Franz Marc's note in 1907, he wrote down on his return from Paris; as cited by , in Expressionism; Praeger Publishers, New York, 1973, p. 126
“A perfectly true thought, expressed in very sound terms, can satisfy the reason without giving any impression of the Beautiful; but in that case certainly there is something false in its statement. It is essential that Truth be in Glory. Splendor of style is not a luxury. It is a necessity.”
Léon Bloy (1846–1917) said by 1917 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“There is no question on whether the prophets existed. We are talking about whether the religions they invented were true. Can you show me the truth of that? Of course, they can’t. None of them can. They don’t want to. They don’t need to. I have seen people make that admission too.”
Aron Ra (born 1962) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Exclusive Interview with Aron Ra – Public Speaker, Atheist Vlogger, and Activist, Conatus News (May 17, 2017)
“Remember above all to be true to yourself. It is ok to act and to pretend that something is ok, but admit the truth to yourself.”
Nigel Cumberland (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“All history is art, because to tell a story is art, whereas to tell a true story is history: thus history is art, but a specification of art, art qualified by a condition (truth) which deprives it of a part of its character but not of all.”
R. G. Collingwood (1889–1943) first seen 1925 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: R. G. Collingwood (1925). The Nature and Aims of a Philosophy of History
“Is it not true that no two human beings understand anything whatsoever about each other, that those who consider themselves bosom friends may be utterly mistaken about their fellow and, failing to realize this sad truth throughout a lifetime, weep when they read in the newspapers about his death?”
Osamu Dazai (1909–1948) said by 1948 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“No man need fear that we shall attack his religion, but we may help him to understand it better than he did before There is nothing in Theosophy which is many way in opposition to true primitive Christianity, though it may not always be possible to agree with the interpretations put upon that truth by modern dogmatic theology, which is quite another matter.”
Charles Webster Leadbeater (1854–1934) said by 1934 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“She wanted to be crazy. She said when you’re crazy the truth is whatever you want it to be. She wanted what she remembered not to be true.”
Glen Cook (born 1944) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If the Moon is made of green cheese, then Napoleon lost the battle of Waterloo. We would be committing this fallacy (i. e., affirming the consequent) if we used this sentence to claim that the Moon is made of green cheese. Pseudosciences employ this fallacy frequently, because it enables you to claim the truth of any premise you wish simply by choosing a true conclusion.”
Mordechai Ben-Ari (born 1948) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Our anger is directed not just against particular happenings but against a more general wrongness, a feeling that the world is askew, that the world is in some way untrue... We know that it is true, but feel that it is the truth of an untrue world.”
John Holloway (sociologist) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I can see him. I know that God is real. I know it in my heart. You can only believe in what you know to be true. You know your own truth. I know mine. Everyone should be able to find that within themselves.”
Rachel Scott (1981–1999) said by 1999 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in No Easy Answers: The Truth Behind Death at Columbine (2002), by Brooks Brown and Rob Merritt, New York: Lantern Books, p. 149
“It was both true, and not the complete truth, like so much of his talk.”
Paul J. McAuley (born 1955) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To me, faith means treating the truth as true.”
Anna J. Cooper (1858–1964) said by 1964 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In all of my historical novels (from Becoming Madame Mao to Empress Orchid and The Last Empress to Pearl of China) I have tried to be as accurate as possible because accuracy gives my historical themes weight. But some have been more literally true than others. The advantage of being a novelist is having the freedom to go directly after the truth of the human heart…”
Anchee Min (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If everyone could experience that inner Truth, if everyone could understand his real nature, there would no longer be enmity among people, but only friendliness, affection, and the feeling of universal brotherhood... When we look at ourselves with the true awareness of humanity, we will see that same humanity in everyone else, and then we will realize that everyone in this world is a child of God.”
Muktananda (1908–1982) said by 1982 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“True religion is a firm belief in an Almighty Creator, in immortality, in self-perfection, in service, truth, love and compassion for all fellow beings, as the only way for the sanctification of human life to manifest the glory of the soul.”
Gopi Krishna (yogi) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Failure to live up to a truth doesn’t make it any less true, less worth striving for, or less worth defending.”
Shaun Chamberlin first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Confessions of a Hypocrite: Utopia in the Age of Ecocide" Kosmos (2016)
“Ukraine will continue to defend itself and will win in this war waged against us. Because we are on our land. The truth is on our side. And the whole civilized world is with us. We are fighting for what is true for any people on the planet - for life and freedom, for the right to happiness for all our families, for all our children.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy (born 1978) first seen 2022 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Address to the indigenous peoples of Russia: Fight to avoid death, defend your freedom in the streets and squares" (29 September 2022