Men Love Trivialities, Banalities, Lies,
Prejudice, Habits, Common Sense
Goethe said: «Two souls dwell - woe to me! - in my
breast».
Something alike can be applied to our relationship with
truth. We love the truth - that’s what we say to
ourselves. We are available to chase it whenever it fits
our interests and mental comforts. «Truth is sweet as
the peach-tree flower» (Gandhi).
But when truth is menacing to our interests, or
frightening – and truth is often scaring and «harsh as
the diamond» (Gandhi) – then there is often a voice
calling from within us to run away from it.
To know is to suffer, proclaims the holy Budhist
scriptures. Ignorance is a blessing, proclaims the
Ecclesiastes. «For in much wisdom is much vexation, and
he who increases knowledge increases sorrow». «Love what
consoles you. That is the truth», says our deeper soul.
And that’s why Heraclites says about men:
What men do when awake they do when asleep.
Heraclites, 540-480 a. C., Greek philosopher, Of Nature
It is one thing to wish to have truth on our side, and
another to wish sincerely to be on the side of truth.
Richard Whately, 1787-1863, English poet, Essay
on…Writings of the Apostle Paul
And Calderon de La Barca, about our lives:
What is life? An illusion, a dream, a fiction, and the
biggest well is small, because all life is a dream, and
the dreams, themselves are only dreams.
Calderon de La Barca, 1600-1681, Spanish writer, Life
is a Dream
Unfortunately for us, the dream we love so much may also
be an equivalent of triviality, banality, lying. Two
souls, owe to us! – live in our breasts.
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Quotations
Our relationship with Truth and Our Love of Truth
The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing.
We know the truth, not only by the reason, but also by
the heart.
B. Pascal, 1623-1662, French philosopher and physicist,
Thoughts
Drive out prejudices through the door, and they will
return through the window.
King Frederic of Prussia, 1712-1786, Oeuvres Complétes
The satirist may laugh, the philosopher may preach, but
Reason herself will respect the prejudices and habits
which have been consecrated by the experience of
mankind.
Edward Gibbon, 1734-1794, British historian, Memoirs
of My Life
Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth
and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the
gods.
Albert Einstein, 1879-1955, Physicist, in
EinsteinQuotes.html, rescomp.stanford.edu, Kevin
Harris
«Just» and «right» means nothing but what is in the
interest of the stronger party.
Plato, 429-347 a. C., Greek Philosopher, Republic
Errors, like straws, upon the surface flow;
He who would search for pearls must dive below.
John Dryden, 1631-1700, English writer, All for love
If you would be a real seeker after truth, you must at
least once in your life doubt, as far as possible, all
things.
Descartes, 1696-1650, French philosopher, Discourse on
the Method
He who wants to discern the truth from the false has to
have an appropriate idea of both the truth and the
false.
B. Spinosa, 1632-1677, Dutch philosopher, Ethics
Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision
for the limits of the world.
Arthur Schopenhauer, 1788-1860, German philosopher,
Studies in Pessimism
Quotations
Humour about our Love of Truth
It is one thing to wish to have truth on our side, and
another to wish sincerely to be on the side of truth.
Richard Whately, 1787-1863, English writer and theologian,
Essay on…Writings of the Apostle Paul
Words are cheap. The biggest thing you can say is
‘elephant’.
Charlie Chaplin, English actor, in B. Norman The Movie
Greats
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Alexander Pope, 1688-1744, An Assay on Criticism
Children and fools speak true.
John Lyly, 1554-1606, English writer, Endymion
A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of
it is absolutely fatal.
Oscar Wilde, 1854-1900, Irish writer, Intentions
Without lies humanity would perish of despair and boredom.
Anatole France, 1844-1924, French writer, La vie en fleur
When in doubt, tell the truth.
Mark Twain, 1835-1919, American writer, Pudd'nhead
Wilson's Calendar
It is dangerous to be sincere unless you are also stupid.
Bernard Shaw, 1856-1950, Irish writer, Man and Superman
Truth is the most valuable thing we have. Let us economize
it.
Mark Twain, 1835-1910, American writer, Following the
Equator
Nature has buried the truth in the sea’s depths.
Democritus, 460-270 a. C., Greek philosopher, cited in
Cicero De finibus
Facts are the enemy of truth.
Cervantes, 1547-1616, Spanish writer, Don Quixote
No poet ever interpreted nature as freely as a lawyer
interprets the truth.
Jean Giraudoux, 1882-1994, French writer, La Guerre de Troie
n’aura pas lieu
Good sense is of all things in the world the most equally
distributed, for everybody thinks himself so abundantly
provided with it, that even those most difficult to please
in all other matters do not commonly desire more of it than
they already possess.
Descartes, 1696-1650, French philosopher, Discourse on the
Method
Great spirits have often encountered violent opposition from
weak minds.
Albert Einstein, 1879-1955, Physician, in
EinsteinQuotes.html, rescomp.stanford.edu, Kevin Harris
One should respect public opinion insofar as is necessary to
avoid starvation and keep out of prison, but anything that
goes beyond this is voluntary submission to an unnecessary
tyranny.
Bertrand Russell, 1872-1970, English philosopher, The
Conquest of Happiness
Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices
laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.
Albert Einstein, 1879-1955, Physicist, in Lincoln Barnett
The Universe and Einstein
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